Seaweed drying system

Abstract

To provide a seaweed drying system which can distinguish an easy-to-dry part and a hard-to-dry part in seaweed from each other.SOLUTION: A seaweed drying system according to an aspect of the present invention is a seaweed drying system having a drying device for drying seaweed collected from under the sea. The seaweed drying system includes: an imaging part 10 for imaging seaweed; an image analysis part 20 for analyzing an image imaged by the imaging part 10; and a seaweed part discrimination part 30 for discriminating a first part and a second part that is harder to dry than the first part in the seaweed from each other, on the basis of a result of the analysis performed by the image analysis part 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a seaweed drying system.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a method for drying seaweed when resourceifying seaweed as biomass.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The inventors have found that in seaweed, the female strain part is more difficult to dry than the leaf part. Therefore, there is a need to distinguish between the easily dried part and the difficult-to-dry part in seaweed and dry it efficiently.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a seaweed drying system capable of distinguishing between an easily dried part and a difficult-to-dry part in seaweed and drying it efficiently.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A seaweed drying system according to one aspect of the present invention is a seaweed drying system including a drying device for drying seaweed collected from the sea, an imaging unit for imaging the seaweed, an image analysis unit for analyzing an image captured by the imaging unit, and a seaweed part discrimination unit for discriminating a first part in the seaweed and a second part that is more difficult to dry than the first part based on an analysis result by the image analysis unit.

[0007] A seaweed drying system according to one aspect of the present invention includes an image analysis unit that analyzes an image of seaweed, and a seaweed part discrimination unit that discriminates between a leaf part and a female plant part that is more difficult to dry than the leaf part in the seaweed based on the analysis result by the image analysis unit. Therefore, the seaweed drying system according to one aspect of the present invention can distinguish between parts of seaweed that are easy to dry and parts that are difficult to dry, and can dry the seaweed efficiently.

[0008] It further includes a cutting unit that cuts the first part and the second part, and in the drying device, the first part and the second part may be dried separately. Also, in the drying device, the temperature of the air blown onto the second part may be made higher than the temperature of the air blown onto the first part. With such a configuration, the seaweed can be dried efficiently.

[0009] The drying device further includes a detection unit that detects a change in the color of the seaweed while the seaweed is being dried. When the detection unit detects a change in the color of the seaweed, the temperature of the air blown onto the first or second part whose color has changed may be lowered. Here, when the detection unit detects a change in the color of the seaweed, the amount of air blown onto the first or second part whose color has changed may be reduced. With such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the temperature of the seaweed from rising too much during drying, and for example, suppress the outflow of active ingredients such as alginic acid.

Effects of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to distinguish between parts of seaweed that are easy to dry and parts that are difficult to dry, and provide a seaweed drying system that can be dried efficiently.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Also, for clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings are appropriately simplified.

[0013] (First Embodiment) First, with reference to FIG. 1, the configuration of the seaweed drying system according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the seaweed drying system according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the seaweed drying system according to the present embodiment includes an imaging unit 10, an image analysis unit 20, a seaweed part determination unit 30, a drying control unit 40, and a drying device 50. As shown in FIG. 1, in the drying device 50, seaweed collected from the sea is dried.

[0014] The imaging unit 10 is, for example, a camera and images the seaweed. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the seaweed before drying conveyed to the drying device 50 is imaged. The image analysis unit 20 acquires the image of the seaweed imaged by the imaging unit 10 and performs image analysis. Although not particularly limited, the image analysis unit 20 performs, for example, edge detection on the image of the seaweed.

[0015] The seaweed part determination unit 30 acquires the image analysis result from the image analysis unit 20 and, based on the image analysis result, discriminates between the leaf part (first part) and the female plant part (second part) that is more difficult to dry than the leaf part in the seaweed. The seaweed part determination unit 30 can discriminate between the leaf part and the female plant part, for example, based on the edge density which is the image analysis result. Here, the edge density of the female plant part is higher than that of the leaf part.

[0016] The drying control unit 40 acquires the discrimination result from the seaweed part discrimination unit 30, and controls the drying device 50 based on the discrimination result. For example, the drying control unit 40 controls the drying device 50 so that the temperature of the air blown onto the female plant part is higher than the temperature of the air blown onto the leaf part. Further, the drying control unit 40 may control the drying device 50 so that the amount of air blown onto the female plant part of the seaweed is larger than the amount of air blown onto the leaf part of the seaweed. With such a configuration, the seaweed can be dried efficiently.

[0017] Although not shown, the seaweed part discrimination unit 30 and the drying control unit 40 each include, for example, an arithmetic unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and a storage unit such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which various programs, data, etc. are stored. That is, both the seaweed part discrimination unit 30 and the drying control unit 40 have functions as a computer, and execute discrimination processing and control processing based on the above various programs and the like.

[0018] The drying device 50 is a device for drying seaweed. For example, it blows air at a predetermined temperature onto the seaweed to dry the seaweed. The drying device 50 has, for example, a plurality of air nozzles (not shown), and blows air of different temperatures and amounts onto the leaf part and the female plant part of the seaweed respectively based on the control signal acquired from the drying control unit 40.

[0019] Further, the drying device 50 may include, for example, a cutting part (not shown), and cut the leaf part and the female plant part of the seaweed by the cutting part based on the control signal acquired from the drying control unit 40. Then, the drying device 50 may dry the leaf part and the female plant part of the seaweed separately. With such a configuration, the seaweed can be dried efficiently.

[0020] As described above, the seaweed drying system according to the present embodiment includes an image analysis unit 20 that analyzes an image of seaweed, and a seaweed part discrimination unit 30 that discriminates between a leaf part and a female strain part that is more difficult to dry than the leaf part in the seaweed based on the analysis result by the image analysis unit 20. Therefore, in the seaweed drying system according to the present embodiment, it is possible to distinguish between parts of the seaweed that are easy to dry and parts that are difficult to dry, and the seaweed can be dried efficiently.

[0021] (Second Embodiment) Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the configuration of the seaweed drying system according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the seaweed drying system according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the seaweed drying system according to the present embodiment includes a color detection unit 60 in addition to the imaging unit 10, the image analysis unit 20, the seaweed part discrimination unit 30, the drying control unit 40, and the drying device 50 shown in FIG. 1.

[0022] The color detection unit 60 is, for example, a color sensor, and detects a change in the color of the seaweed while the seaweed is being dried, and outputs it to the drying control unit 40. Here, the color of the seaweed changes when the temperature rises. For example, in the case of wakame, when the temperature increases, it changes from brown to green. If the temperature of the seaweed during drying rises too much, for example, active ingredients such as alginic acid will flow out.

[0023] Therefore, when the color detection unit 60 detects a change in the color of the seaweed, the drying control unit 40 controls the drying device 50 so as to lower the temperature of the air blown onto the leaf part or the female strain part whose color has changed. Further, when the color detection unit 60 detects a change in the color of the seaweed, the drying control unit 40 may control the drying device 50 so as to reduce the amount of air blown onto the leaf part or the female strain part whose color has changed.

[0024] With such a configuration, in the seaweed drying system according to the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the temperature of the seaweed during drying from rising too much, and suppress the outflow of active ingredients such as alginic acid. Note that the imaging unit 10 may also serve as the color detection unit 60. That is, the drying control unit 40 may control the drying device 50 based on the color change of the image of the seaweed captured by the imaging unit 10. Since other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

[0025] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified without departing from the gist thereof. In addition, the present invention promotes the utilization of blue carbon (seaweed) and contributes to carbon neutrality, decarbonization, and sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Description of Reference Numerals

[0026] 10 Imaging unit 20 Image analysis unit 30 Seaweed part discrimination unit 40 Drying control unit 50 Drying device 60 Color detection unit

Claims

1. A seaweed drying system comprising a drying device for drying seaweed collected from the sea, an imaging unit for imaging the seaweed, an image analysis unit for analyzing the image captured by the imaging unit, and a seaweed part discrimination unit for discriminating between the leaf part and the female strain part that is more difficult to dry than the leaf part in the seaweed based on the analysis result by the image analysis unit, wherein in the drying device, the leaf part and the female strain part in the seaweed are not cut, and the temperature of the air blown onto the female strain part discriminated by the seaweed part discrimination unit is made higher than the temperature of the air blown onto the leaf part, a seaweed drying system.

2. The drying device further comprises a detection unit for detecting a change in the color of the seaweed while the seaweed is being dried, when the detection unit detects a change in the color of the seaweed, the temperature of the air blown onto the leaf part or the female strain part whose color has changed is lowered, The seaweed drying system according to Claim 1.

3. when the detection unit detects a change in the color of the seaweed, the amount of air blown onto the leaf part or the female strain part whose color has changed is reduced, The seaweed drying system according to Claim 2.

Images