Crop production management system

Abstract

Supports automated sorting of agricultural products. In the production management system, agricultural products are transported by a transport device. Sorting devices such as a refiner 120 and a gravity separator 122 separate the transported agricultural products into acceptable products and unacceptable products. A flow meter 128 measures the flow rate, which is the amount of unacceptable products detected per unit time. A monitoring device determines whether an abnormal condition exists based on the flow rate.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to agricultural production management, and in particular to automation support technology for production management. [Background technology]

[0002] After harvesting crops such as grains and beans, a sorting process is carried out to select the crops that can be shipped commercially. During the sorting process, waste such as stems and pods is removed, and crops that do not meet quality standards are discarded. Sorting work that relies on human judgment places a heavy burden on workers. There is also the issue of labor shortages. Labor-saving sorting is particularly important for small crops such as beans that are produced in large quantities.

[0003] In light of these issues, devices have been developed to automate part of the sorting process (hereinafter referred to as "sorting devices"). However, even if a sorting device is introduced, there are many challenges to automating the entire sorting process. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7166673 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Unlike industrial products, agricultural products vary greatly in size and shape. Quality standards also depend on the agricultural product, so they cannot be set uniformly. For example, even if a lot of beans is intended to be second-grade, if there are too many beans that do not meet the quality standards for second-grade beans, it would be more economical to separate them using quality standards intended for third-grade beans. Quality standards will need to be adjusted as appropriate depending on the condition of the agricultural product.

[0006] In addition, garbage mixed in with the harvest and produce that does not meet quality standards (hereinafter collectively referred to as "unwanted items") can impair the functionality of the sorting equipment. For example, in the case of a sorting device called a sifter, which uses a mesh to remove unwanted items, if the mesh becomes clogged with unwanted items, the sifter will not be able to perform its intended function.

[0007] If the sorting equipment continues to perform inappropriate automatic sorting, it will cause significant economic losses. Therefore, when the automatic sorting work is not being performed properly, it is necessary to detect this early and solve the problem.

[0008] The present invention was completed based on the above-mentioned problem recognition, and its main purpose is to provide a technology for supporting the automation of sorting of agricultural products. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In one aspect of the present invention, an agricultural production management system includes a conveying unit that conveys the agricultural products, a sorting unit that sorts the conveyed agricultural products into acceptable products and unacceptable products, and a monitoring unit that determines whether a predetermined abnormal condition is met based on the detected amount of acceptable products or unacceptable products per unit time.

[0010] In another aspect of the present invention, an agricultural production management system includes a conveying unit that conveys the agricultural products; a sorting unit that takes images of the agricultural products conveyed to a predetermined observation area and calculates the ratio of acceptable products to unacceptable products by image processing the captured images; and a monitoring unit that determines whether or not a predetermined abnormal condition exists based on the calculated ratio. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it becomes easier to realize appropriate automatic sorting of agricultural products. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is a conceptual diagram showing the overall process of sorting agricultural products. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an upstream process. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a production management system. [Figure 4] 10 is a graph showing a change in the flow rate of selected waste when an abnormal condition is established. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a data structure diagram of abnormality cause information. [Figure 6] 10 is a graph showing the change in flow rate of selected scraps when conveyance is stopped and restarted. [Figure 7] 10 is a photograph of beans and impurities. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the overall process of sorting agricultural produce. In this embodiment, beans are used as an example of agricultural produce. The sorting process is roughly divided into an upstream process 100 and a downstream process 102.

[0014] The harvested product is first placed in an input tank 104. In addition to beans 106, the input tank 104 contains various foreign objects such as stems and pods (hereinafter referred to as "impurities 112"). A conveying device 110 (conveying section) conveys the beans 106 placed in the input tank 104 together with the impurities 112 to an upstream process 100 (an example of a sorting section). The upstream process 100 uses a mechanical sorting method to remove beans 106 and impurities 112 that do not meet quality standards from the harvested product. "Mechanical sorting" is a method of mechanically sorting the beans 106 based on physical properties such as size and specific gravity, and will be described in detail below.

[0015] The conveying device 110 then conveys the beans 106 sorted by the upstream process 100 to the downstream process 102 (an example of a sorting unit). The downstream process 102 uses an electric sorting method to remove beans 106 that do not meet quality standards. "Electrical sorting" is a method of removing unsuitable beans 106 by inspecting the appearance of the beans 106 using image recognition or the like. For example, beans 106 with abnormal colors are removed as unwanted beans.

[0016] The beans 106 sorted in the downstream process 102 are poured into an output tank 108. Only beans 106 that meet quality standards regarding size, specific gravity, color, shape, etc. remain in the output tank 108. After going through the above processing steps, the sorting process is completed.

[0017] The upstream process 100 homogenizes the physical properties of the beans 106 fed into the downstream process 102 to a certain extent. Since there is little variation in the beans 106, problems are less likely to occur, making the downstream process 102 easier to achieve unmanned operation and automation than the upstream process 100. On the other hand, the upstream process 100 has complex mechanical control, and not only beans 106 of various shapes but also impurities 112 are fed into it, making it more likely that problems will occur during automatic sorting, and there are many situations in which operator intervention is required. Therefore, in order to achieve labor savings in the entire sorting process, it is important to consider "how long the automatic sorting time in the upstream process 100 can be" and "how quickly and reliably problems can be detected in the upstream process 100 when they occur." In the following, a method will be described in which, while automatic sorting is proceeding in the upstream process 100, if an abnormality occurs in the upstream process 100 or if there is a possibility that an abnormality has occurred, an operator is quickly involved and the automatic sorting is resumed in a normal state.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of the upstream process 100. The upstream process 100 includes a refiner 120, a gravity separator 122, a polisher 124, and a grain separator 126. The conveyor 110 first transfers the harvested product (beans 106 and impurities 112) placed in the input tank 104 to the refiner 120 (first sorting section). The refiner 120 is a type of sorting device also known as a "sifter." The refiner 120 separates the beans 106 based on size.

[0019] The sorting machine 120 vibrates the beans 106 and impurities 112 placed on a mesh. At this time, beans 106 smaller than the mesh holes fall through the mesh. The sorting machine 120 also removes many of the impurities 112. Hereinafter, the unwanted items removed by the sorting machine 120 will be referred to as "sorted waste." The output product after the unwanted items have been removed by a sorting device such as the sorting machine 120 will be referred to as "accepted product."

[0020] The selected waste flows into flow meter 128A, which measures the weight of the selected waste. Hereinafter, the weight (detected amount) of each type of waste measured per unit time, for example, per second, will be simply referred to as the "flow rate."

[0021] When a net with a large mesh is used, the amount of refined waste tends to be large and only large beans 106 pass through. On the other hand, when the mesh is small, the amount of refined waste tends to be small and small beans 106 also pass through. The worker uses different nets depending on the desired quality standard (first judgment standard). Also, as the number of impurities 112 caught in the net increases, the sorting ability of the refiner 120 decreases, so the worker needs to clean and replace the net of the refiner 120 as appropriate.

[0022] The beans 106 sorted by the sorting machine 120, i.e., the beans 106 selected as acceptable products, are placed in a first tank 130. A conveying device 110 sends the beans 106 accumulated in the first tank 130 to a gravity sorter 122 (second sorting section) at a constant speed.

[0023] The gravity sorter 122 is a type of sorting device that sorts beans 106 based on weight (specific gravity). The gravity sorter 122 has an inclined deck, onto which beans 106 are sent from the first tank 130. The gravity sorter 122 selects only heavy beans 106 by blowing air from the underside of the deck. The gravity sorter 122 removes beans 106 that are not heavy enough due to insect damage, cracks, chips, etc., as well as impurities 112 that could not be completely removed by the sorting machine 120. Hereinafter, the unwanted items removed by the gravity sorter 122 will be referred to as "specific gravity waste." The operator adjusts the strength of the air blow or the angle of the deck according to the quality standard (second judgment standard).

[0024] The specific gravity waste is fed into the flow meter 128B, and the flow rate is measured by the flow meter 128B. On the other hand, beans 106 selected as acceptable by the gravity sorter 122 are poured into a second tank 132. The conveying device 110 sends the beans 106 accumulated in the second tank 132 to the polisher 124 at a constant speed.

[0025] The polishing machine 124 polishes the beans 106 with a polishing cloth after they have been separated by the gravity sorter 122. During this polishing process, some of the beans 106 may crack or chip. In addition, some of the polishing cloth may fray, generating scraps such as lint. The conveying device 110 sends the polished beans 106 to the third tank 134. The conveying device 110 sends the beans 106 stored in the third tank 134 to the grain sorter 126 at a constant speed.

[0026] The grain sorter 126 uses airflow to remove broken beans 106, cloth scraps, and the like. The unwanted items removed by the grain sorter 126 are called "grain sorting waste." The flow rate of the grain sorting waste is measured by a flow meter 128C. The beans 106 selected as acceptable by the grain sorter 126 are transported by a transport device 110 and sent to the downstream process 102.

[0027] The sorter 120 removes approximately 1.6% of the beans 106 as sorting waste. The gravity sorter 122 removes approximately 2.5% of the beans 106 as specific gravity waste. The grain sorter 126 removes approximately 0.8% of the beans 106 as grain sorting waste. The total of the three types of waste is approximately 4.9%, so the yield is approximately 95%. The above is just one example, and the flow rate of each type of waste will vary depending on the quality of the harvested beans 106, the amount of impurities 112, quality standards, etc.

[0028] FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of the production management system 200. In the production management system 200, factory equipment 152, a plurality of flow meters 128, a communication terminal 142, and a monitoring device 140 (monitoring unit) are connected via the Internet 136. The factory equipment 152 is a general term for various equipment installed in a factory that separates beans 106, and includes a conveying device 110 (conveying unit), a plurality of sorting devices 156 (sorting units), and a console 154. The sorting device 156 is a general term for various devices such as the refiner 120, the gravity separator 122, etc.

[0029] An operator can use the console 154 or the communication terminal 142 to perform various operations on the factory equipment 152 and the monitoring device 140, and can also check on a monitor various information from the factory equipment 152, the flow meter 128, and the monitoring device 140. The operator can also stop the conveying device 110 or each sorting device 156 by operating the console 154 or the communication terminal 142.

[0030] The monitoring device 140 (monitoring unit) acquires flow rate data from the flow meter 128 and determines whether the abnormal condition exists based on the flow rate data. The abnormal condition exists when an abnormality occurs in the upstream process 100 or when there is a possibility that an abnormality occurs in the upstream process 100. Details of the abnormal condition will be described later. When the abnormal condition exists, the monitoring device 140 stops the conveying device 110. The monitoring device 140 may also stop the sorting device 156 at the same time. The monitoring device 140 also notifies the worker that there is a possibility that an abnormality has occurred in the upstream process 100 (hereinafter referred to as "abnormality notification").

[0031] When the worker receives the abnormality notification on the console 154 or the communication terminal 142, he or she checks the status of the sorting device 156 and then resumes the upstream process 100. The monitoring device 140 may notify the worker on-site of the abnormality by activating a lamp or buzzer provided in the factory equipment 152.

[0032] FIG. 4 is a graph showing the change in the flow rate of the selected waste when an abnormal condition is established. The flow meter 128A, which measures the flow rate of the refined scrap, constantly transmits the flow rate of the refined scrap per unit time, for example, per second, to the monitoring device 140, console 154, and communication terminal 142. The horizontal axis of FIG. 4 represents time, and the vertical axis represents the flow rate of the refined scrap. An allowable range W (flow rates T1 to T2) is set in advance for the flow rate of the refined scrap. When the flow rate of the refined scrap falls outside the allowable range W, an abnormality condition is established, and the monitoring device 140 transmits an abnormality notification and stops the transport device 110. In FIG. 4, at time t1, the flow rate of the refined scrap is below the lower limit T1 of the allowable range W, so the monitoring device 140 stops the transport device 110 at time t1.

[0033] These abnormal conditions are defined based on the knowledge that when an abnormality occurs in the automatic sorting of the refining machine 120, the flow rate of the refined waste changes significantly. However, even if the flow rate falls outside the allowable range W, it does not necessarily mean that an abnormality has occurred in the upstream process 100. Therefore, the establishment of an abnormal condition means that "there is a high possibility that an abnormality has occurred."

[0034] When an abnormal condition is established, the monitoring device 140 stops the transport device 110 and also sends a message to the console 154 and the communication terminal 142. The message will be described later with reference to Fig. 5. When an abnormal condition is established, the monitoring device 140 may slow down the transport speed of the transport device 110 rather than stopping it (zero speed).

[0035] The allowable range W can be set in the following ways. (1) Setting method 1 In the monitoring device 140, the lower limit T1 and the upper limit T2 are determined in advance as fixed values. (2) Setting method 2 The operator specifies the lower limit T1 and the upper limit T2. The operator can freely set and change the allowable range W by accessing the monitoring device 140 from the console 154 or the communication terminal 142. (3) Setting method 3 The monitoring device 140 sets the flow rate at a time specified by an operator or at a predetermined time (for example, 7:00 AM) as a "reference value." Next, the monitoring device 140 sets an allowable range W that includes this reference value. For example, the monitoring device 140 may set "reference value x 1.2" as the upper limit value T2 and "reference value x 0.8" as the lower limit value T1. (4) Setting method 4 The monitoring device 140 sets the reference value to the average value of the flow rate over a predetermined time period, for example, a one-hour reference period, or the moving average value over the previous one-hour reference period. The monitoring device 140 sets a predetermined range that includes the reference value as the tolerance range W. For example, for flow rates that fluctuate over the reference period, the tolerance range W may be set to a range that is two sigma (standard deviation) around the reference value.

[0036] Unlike industrial products, agricultural products such as beans 106 vary in size, specific gravity, and shape. Therefore, it may not be appropriate to predetermine the allowable range W, as in setting method 1, especially for the selection waste. For example, for harvested crops processed in the morning, the average flow rate of the selection waste was 3%. However, as the average flow rate gradually increases, the average flow rate of the selection waste for harvested crops processed in the afternoon may increase to 5%. However, if the average flow rate is 3% and the flow rate suddenly drops to 1%, some kind of trouble may have occurred. The monitoring device 140 compares the flow rate of the selection waste with the allowable range W to determine whether there is an increasing possibility of an abnormality occurring and sets it as an abnormal condition.

[0037] 4 has been described with respect to the flow rate of refined scrap, but the same applies to specific gravity scrap and grain-selected scrap. The monitoring device 140 compares the flow rates of refined scrap, specific gravity scrap, and grain-selected scrap with the allowable ranges set for each of the three types of scrap, and determines that an abnormal condition has been established when the flow rate of any of the scrap falls outside the allowable range.

[0038] FIG. 5 is a data structure diagram of the abnormality cause information 150. The abnormality cause information 150 is stored in a database held by the monitoring device 140. As described above, an abnormality condition is established when the selected waste, specific gravity waste, and grain selected waste fall outside their respective allowable ranges. The abnormality cause information 150 is a list showing the estimated causes of the abnormality.

[0039] For example, suppose the amount of refined waste suddenly decreases, and the flow rate of refined waste falls below the lower limit of the allowable range. The causes of this phenomenon are as follows: (A1) Because there is less harvested product being put into the input tank 104, the throughput of the sorter 120 is reduced, and as a result, the flow rate of sorted waste is reduced. (A2) The mesh of the screening machine 120 is clogged with impurities 112, so the flow rate of the screening waste is low. Possible reasons include:

[0040] When the flow rate of the sorted waste suddenly drops, the monitoring device 140 sends a message indicating these two possible causes. The operator follows the message from the monitoring device 140 to check whether a sufficient amount of harvested material is being put into the input tank 104 and whether the mesh of the sorter 120 is dirty. If the mesh of the sorter 120 is clogged, the operator needs to clean or replace the mesh.

[0041] Let's say that the amount of refined waste increases suddenly and the flow rate of refined waste exceeds the upper limit of the allowable range. When this happens, (B1) The mesh of the screening machine 120 is installed improperly. The following is a possible cause. In addition, it is possible that the amount of waste from sorting is increasing due to damage to part of the mesh of the sorting machine 120, or that the amount of waste from sorting is increasing due to the large number of small beans 106.

[0042] When the amount of specific gravity waste is decreasing rapidly, there is a possibility that the discharge port for specific gravity waste in the specific gravity sorter 122 is clogged. When the amount of specific gravity waste is increasing rapidly, there is a possibility that the density properties of the beans 106 have changed overall, and therefore the specific gravity sorter 122 is not able to fully perform its sorting function.

[0043] In addition, when the amount of sorted grain waste is suddenly decreasing, it is possible that part of the polishing cloth of the polishing machine 124 has peeled off and clogged the chute pipe, causing a delay in the supply of raw material to the grain sorter 126.

[0044] When it was expected that large beans 106 would be selected, if a large amount of selection waste is generated, it is possible that many of the beans 106 contained in this lot are small beans 106. In such a case, it is desirable for the worker to change the quality standards so that they select small beans 106 rather than large beans 106. By monitoring the flow rate of waste, it is possible to determine whether the current quality standards are too strict or too lax.

[0045] The monitoring device 140 issues a message depending on the type of abnormal condition. When the conveying device 110 is stopped due to the establishment of an abnormal condition, the worker can quickly learn what to check by following the message.

[0046] FIG. 6 is a graph showing the change in the flow rate of selected scrap when the transport is stopped and restarted. In Figure 6, the conveying device 110 and the sorting machine 120 are stopped at time t2. After stopping, no more sorting debris is generated from the sorting machine 120. At time t4, the conveying of beans 106 is resumed. When restarting, the flow rate of sorting debris usually temporarily overshoots the allowable range W, then undershoots, before settling back within the allowable range W. This is because when the sorting machine 120 restarts, the sorting debris that has accumulated below the screen of the sorting machine 120 is released all at once (overshoot), and the reaction causes a temporary, sudden decrease in the amount of sorting debris (undershoot). The same applies to other debris such as specific gravity debris and grain sorting debris.

[0047] Furthermore, the sorting device 156 automatically stops when the downstream tank becomes full. This is called an "interlock." For example, when the second tank 132 becomes full, the gravity sorter 122 located upstream of it temporarily stops operating. As processing by the downstream polisher 124 and grain sorter 126 progresses and the number of beans 106 in the second tank 132 decreases, the gravity sorter 122 resumes operation. At this time, the same phenomenon is likely to occur.

[0048] If the flow rate falls outside the allowable range due to overshooting or undershooting, an abnormal condition will be established immediately after restart. Therefore, in this embodiment, a "holding time" is set after restart. During the hold time, the monitoring device 140 does not determine whether the abnormal condition is established or not. In the case shown in FIG. 6, the hold time may be set from time t3 to time t4. By setting a hold time, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience of the upstream process 100 stopping immediately after restart.

[0049] The hold time can be set in the following ways: (1) Setting method 1 In the monitoring device 140, a holding time is determined in advance as a fixed value. (2) Setting method 2 The worker accesses the monitoring device 140 from the console 154 or the communication terminal 142 to freely set and change the hold time. (3) Setting method 3 Monitoring device 140 sets the hold time to the time a predetermined time has elapsed since an overshoot and an undershoot occurred a predetermined number of times, for example, once each. In Figure 6, the flow rate returns to within the allowable range W from the undershoot at time t5, so monitoring device 140 sets the hold time to the time a predetermined time has elapsed from time t5, for example, three minutes. (4) Setting method 4 After restarting, the monitoring device 140 sets the hold time until the flow rate is continuously maintained within a predetermined normal range (which may be the same as or different from the allowable range W) for a predetermined time. After the flow rate returns to the normal range from undershoot at time tX, if the flow rate does not deviate from the normal range for a predetermined time or more, for example, 3 minutes or more, the hold time ends at that point.

[0050] The monitoring device 140 may further set a maximum monitoring time. The monitoring device 140 stops the transport device 110 when the maximum monitoring time, for example, six hours, has elapsed. By periodically stopping the transport device 110, the risk of automatic operation continuing in an abnormal state can be further reduced. In summary, the monitoring device 140: When an abnormal condition occurs When the maximum monitoring time has elapsed When the monitoring device 140 detects an interlock error, it stops the conveying device 110. As described above, the monitoring device 140 may also stop the sorting device 156. Each sorting device 156 also automatically stops when an interlock occurs.

[0051] [Summary] The production management system 200 has been described above based on the embodiment. To realize automatic sorting in the upstream process 100, one possible method would be to use various sensors to monitor the status of the sorting device 156 and detect abnormalities. However, increasing the number of sensors makes monitoring and control more complicated. Also, in mechanical sorting methods, automatic sorting can fail for various reasons, so using sensors to detect various abnormal events one by one is not necessarily realistic.

[0052] When the flow rate of each type of scrap falls outside the allowable range, the monitoring device 140 of this embodiment notifies the worker that "an abnormality may have occurred" and stops the automatic sorting in the upstream process 100. By applying field experience that when some abnormality occurs in the upstream process 100, a significant change in the scrap flow rate appears, it is possible to simply and rationally determine when the upstream process 100 should be stopped.

[0053] Each worker has a lot of work to do. For this reason, it is not realistic for the worker to constantly monitor the upstream process 100 and the downstream process 102. If the flow rate is abnormal, the monitoring device 140 alerts the worker, indicating that an abnormality may be occurring in the automatic sorting process. The biggest problem with automating sorting is the continuation of improper sorting. If it is discovered that improper sorting is being performed in the upstream process 100, the sorted beans 106 must be re-added to the input tank 104 and the sorting process must be restarted. The monitoring device 140 can minimize the risk of improper automatic sorting continuing by stopping the automatic sorting in the upstream process 100 when the flow rate of waste falls outside the allowable range.

[0054] The tolerance range for determining abnormal conditions can be set individually for each type of waste. Workers can freely set the tolerance range according to the quality standards for the sorting work. The monitoring device 140 may also use the current flow rate as a reference value and adjust the tolerance range based on the reference value. Alternatively, the monitoring device 140 may use the average flow rate over a reference period as a reference value and adjust the tolerance range based on the reference value. This setting method allows for early detection of abnormalities while freely setting quality standards, even for agricultural products with unstable quality.

[0055] For example, the average size of the beans 106 in the crop on the first day may differ significantly from that of the crop on the second day. In this case, the size of the beans 106 on the first day may be set as a reference value on the first day, and the size of the beans 106 on the second day may be set as a reference value on the second day. If the reference value differs, the tolerance range will also differ. This control method can flexibly respond to changes in crop size, while also determining that an abnormal condition has occurred when a sudden change in flow rate is detected.

[0056] When automating sorting work, it is important to extend the automatic sorting time of the upstream process 100 (mechanical sorting). If the upstream process 100 stops, the downstream process 102 (electrical sorting) will also stop. The upstream process 100 physically separates agricultural products of varying quality using nets or decks, making it more prone to problems than the downstream process 102 (electrical sorting). In this embodiment, while automating the upstream process 100, the transport of beans 106 is stopped when an abnormality is suspected, thereby achieving both improved anomaly detection and labor savings through automatic sorting. By monitoring the flow rate of waste, the monitoring device 140 can detect signs of problems that are not malfunctions. This allows workers to focus on various other tasks with peace of mind.

[0057] If the conveying device 110 stops abnormally, the operator inspects the sorting device 156 and restarts automatic sorting according to the message provided by the monitoring device 140. In addition, a hold time is set, so the process can be controlled so that it does not stop immediately when operation is restarted.

[0058] An operator can remotely access the monitoring device 140 by using a communication terminal 142. When the monitoring device 140 manages multiple pieces of factory equipment 152, the operator can monitor and operate the multiple pieces of factory equipment 152 from the monitoring device 140.

[0059] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and the components can be modified without departing from the spirit of the invention. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiments and modifications. Furthermore, some components can be omitted from all the components shown in the above-described embodiments and modifications.

[0060] [Variations] In the present embodiment, the monitoring device 140 has been described as determining whether an abnormal condition exists based on the flow rate of unwanted items such as selected waste. As a variation, the monitoring device 140 may determine whether an abnormal condition exists based on the flow rate of acceptable items rather than unwanted items. When the flow rate of unwanted items increases, the flow rate of acceptable items decreases, so whether an abnormal condition exists can be determined for either unwanted items or acceptable items.

[0061] The monitoring device 140 may determine whether an abnormal condition exists based on a parameter of the absolute amount of flow rate. For example, the monitoring device 140 may determine that an abnormal condition exists when the amount of change in the flow rate (e.g., the difference between the flow rate at a first point in time and the flow rate at a second point in time) falls outside a predetermined allowable range. Alternatively, the monitoring device 140 may determine that an abnormal condition exists when the flow rate remains within a predetermined narrow range for a predetermined period of time or longer. Since the flow rate of scraps is expected to fluctuate somewhat even under normal circumstances, if the flow rate hardly fluctuates, it is possible that automatic sorting is not working properly. In this way, various abnormal conditions can be set in consideration of the type and quality of the agricultural produce, etc.

[0062] The monitoring device 140 stops the upstream process 100 when an abnormal condition is established for any of the refined waste, the specific gravity waste, and the grain-sorted waste. The monitoring device 140 may determine that an abnormal condition is established when the total amount of the refined waste, the specific gravity waste, and the grain-sorted waste falls outside a predetermined allowable range.

[0063] When an abnormal condition is established, the monitoring device 140 may set the transport speed to a low speed other than zero, for example, an extremely low speed.

[0064] The determination is not limited to that by the monitoring device 140, but if an on-site worker senses an abnormality, the upstream process 100 may be stopped urgently using the console 154 or the communication terminal 142.

[0065] The tolerance range has been described as a range specified by a lower limit and an upper limit. Alternatively, the tolerance range may be defined by only an upper limit or a lower limit, such as a range equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold T3 or a range equal to or less than a predetermined threshold T4.

[0066] As the electrical sorting in the downstream process 102, unnecessary items may be removed by X-ray inspection, metal detection, or the like.

[0067] The monitoring device 140 may record the pattern of flow rate fluctuations when the upstream process 100 is stopped and then restarted. The monitoring device 140 may set the hold time based on this pattern of fluctuations. For example, suppose a fluctuation pattern is obtained in which the flow rate of the selected scraps fluctuates significantly during the first stop and restart, and then 10 minutes after restart, the flow rate stabilizes within the allowable range. In this case, the monitoring device 140 may set the hold time to 10 minutes during the next stop and restart.

[0068] In the production management system 200 of this embodiment, the monitoring device 140 has been described as being connected to the factory equipment 152 and the flow meter 128 via the Internet 136. In this case, the monitoring device 140 may function as a cloud server, so to speak. As a variant, the monitoring device 140 may be a PC installed in the factory. In this case, the monitoring device 140 may be connected to the flow meter 128 and the factory equipment 152 via a LAN (Local Area Network).

[0069] FIG. 7 is a screen shot of beans 106 and impurities 112. The refiner 120 in this embodiment has been described as removing unwanted items such as the impurities 112 by "sifting" through a net. Before removing the unwanted items, the refiner 120 may calculate the rate at which unwanted items are included (hereinafter referred to as the "unwanted rate") by image recognition.

[0070] An observation area is set in advance in the sorting machine 120. Beans 106 and the like supplied to the sorting machine 120 from the input tank 104 are imaged in the observation area, and then sorted by the sorting machine 120. Figure 7 shows the image captured at this time. In addition to beans 106A (acceptable products) that are larger than a predetermined size, the image also shows small beans 106B and beans 106B that are cracked or chipped. Also visible are impurities 112 such as twigs.

[0071] An image recognition unit (not shown) of the sorting machine 120 calculates the total area of the image regions corresponding to beans 106A as the "accepted product area." Similarly, the image recognition unit calculates the total area of the image regions corresponding to beans 106B and impurities 112 as the "unwanted product area." An unwanted product rate determination unit (not shown) of the sorting machine 120 calculates the unwanted product rate as unwanted product area / (accepted product area+unwanted product area). The monitoring device 140 determines that an abnormal condition has been established when the unwanted product rate falls outside a predetermined allowable range.

[0072] In this way, even in the image recognition method, it is possible to determine whether the abnormal condition exists by calculating the unnecessary rate. Inspection using such an image recognition method may be performed not only in the refiner 120 but also at any timing in the upstream process 100 or any timing in the downstream process 102.

[0073] For example, before the grinder 124, the beans 106 that the gravity sorter 122 has discharged as acceptable products may be imaged. If the beans 106 are azuki beans, good beans will have a vivid azuki bean color, while defective beans tend to be whitish. This is because the beans 106 are cracked, exposing many cross sections. An inspection device (not shown) installed in the gravity sorter 122 images the beans 106 discharged from the gravity sorter 122 and calculates the ratio of good beans to defective beans by color discrimination. The monitoring device 140 may determine whether an abnormal condition exists based on this ratio.

[0074] As another example, an observation area may be set at a predetermined position before the harvested product is discharged from the input tank 104 and introduced into the upstream process 100 (sorting machine 120). An inspection device (not shown) periodically captures images of the harvested product passing through this observation area. The monitoring device 140 calculates the waste rate based on the captured images. The monitoring device 140 calculates the estimated waste rate based on the average value, median value, etc. of the waste rate calculated from each of the multiple captured images.

[0075] Next, the monitoring device 140 calculates the proportion of selection waste generated by the sorting machine 120 as the selection waste rate. For example, if 1% of the harvest is rejected as selection waste, the selection waste rate is 1%. Similarly, the monitoring device 140 calculates the specific gravity waste rate and the grain selection waste rate. The monitoring device 140 calculates the sum of the selection waste rate, specific gravity waste rate, and grain selection waste rate as the unnecessary execution rate. The monitoring device 140 calculates the difference between the assumed unnecessary execution rate and the unnecessary execution rate, and determines that an abnormal condition exists when this difference is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. If there is a large discrepancy between the assumed unnecessary execution rate calculated by image recognition and the unnecessary execution rate measured by actual sorting work, it is possible that one of the sorting devices 156 is not functioning properly.

[0076] An observation area may also be set in front of the output tank 108. The inspection device periodically captures images of the beans 106 passing through this observation area. The monitoring device 140 calculates the waste rate from the captured images. The monitoring device 140 calculates the final waste rate from the average, median, etc. of the waste rates calculated from each of the multiple captured images. If there are no abnormalities in the sorting work in the upstream process 100 and the downstream process 102, the final waste rate should be close to zero. The monitoring device 140 may determine that an abnormality condition is established when the final waste rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

[0077] As yet another variation, the inspection device may calculate an estimated reject rate for each type of reject. The monitoring device 140 analyzes the captured images acquired in the observation area before being input into the upstream process 100, and calculates the proportion of unwanted items that should be rejected as refined reject (beans 106B, conveying device 110) as the estimated refined reject rate. Similarly, the monitoring device 140 calculates the proportion of unwanted items that should be rejected as specific gravity reject as the estimated specific gravity reject rate. The monitoring device 140 may also detect beans 106 that should be rejected as specific gravity reject based on appearance characteristics unique to "light beans 106," such as wormholes or light color. The grain refined reject rate is calculated in a similar manner. The monitoring device 140 is not limited to an optical camera, and may acquire captured images using a camera in the non-visible light range such as infrared (near-infrared) light.

[0078] The monitoring device 140 may calculate the difference between the expected refinement waste rate and the actual refinement waste rate, and determine that an abnormal condition exists when this difference value is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. The same applies to the specific gravity waste rate and the grain refinement waste rate.

[0079] The production management system 200 can be widely applied to agricultural products other than the beans 106. For example, it can be applied to the sorting of wheat, rice, and fruits and vegetables. It can also be applied to the sorting of milk and animal feed. [Explanation of symbols]

[0080] 100 Upstream process, 102 Downstream process, 104 Input tank, 106 Beans, 108 Output tank, 110 Conveying device, 112 Impurities, 120 Refining machine, 122 Gravity separator, 124 Polishing machine, 126 Grain separator, 128 Flow meter, 130 First tank, 132 Second tank, 134 Third tank, 136 Internet, 140 Monitoring device, 142 Communication terminal, 150 Abnormality cause information, 152 Factory equipment, 154 Console, 156 Sorting device, 200 Production management system

Claims

1. a conveying unit for conveying agricultural products; a sorting unit that sorts the transported agricultural products into acceptable products and unacceptable products; a monitoring unit that determines whether a predetermined abnormal condition is met or not with respect to the amount of acceptable or unacceptable products detected per unit time; The sorting unit includes: a first sorting unit that sorts the transported agricultural products into acceptable products and unacceptable products based on a first judgment criterion; a second sorting unit that further sorts the products that pass the first judgment criterion into pass products and unacceptable products based on a second judgment criterion; The monitoring unit a first determination unit that determines that a first abnormal condition is established when a detected amount of acceptable products or unacceptable products per unit time based on the first determination criterion is outside a first allowable range; A crop production management system including a second judgment unit that judges that a second abnormal condition has been established when the detected amount of acceptable or unacceptable products per unit time based on the second judgment criterion is outside a second allowable range.

2. The crop production management system according to claim 1 , wherein the transport unit reduces a transport speed of the crops when both or one of the first abnormal condition and the second abnormal condition is established.

3. 2. The crop production management system according to claim 1, wherein the first determination unit determines that the first abnormal condition is met when the detected amount based on the first determination criterion falls outside the first allowable range.

4. 2. The crop production management system according to claim 1, wherein the first determination unit determines that the first abnormal condition has been established when a change in the detected amount per unit time based on the first determination criterion falls outside a predetermined allowable range.

5. 4. The crop production management system according to claim 3, wherein the first determination unit sets a detected amount based on the first determination criterion at a predetermined timing as a reference value, and sets the first allowable range based on the reference value.

6. The agricultural produce production management system according to claim 3 , wherein the first determination unit adjusts the first allowable range based on past data of the detected amount based on the first determination criterion while the agricultural produce is being transported.

7. the first sorting unit sorts the transported agricultural products using the size of the agricultural products as the first determination criterion; The crop production management system according to claim 1 , wherein the second sorting unit sorts the transported crops using specific gravity of the crops as the second criterion.

8. The first sorting unit places the transported agricultural products on a net and separates the agricultural products or impurities that fall below the net as unwanted products and the agricultural products that do not fall below the net as acceptable products, 8. The agricultural production management system of claim 7, wherein the monitoring unit determines that the first abnormal condition exists when the detected amount of unwanted items falling under the net per unit time is equal to or less than a threshold value, and notifies an operator that a tank that supplies agricultural products to the first sorting unit may be empty or that the net may be clogged.

9. The agricultural produce production management system according to claim 1 , wherein the first determination unit does not determine whether the first abnormal condition exists until a holding time has elapsed after an instruction to start transporting the agricultural produce is given.

10. 10. The agricultural produce production management system according to claim 9, wherein the first determination unit sets the hold time as the time from when an instruction to start transporting the agricultural produce is given until the detected amount based on the first determination criterion falls within a predetermined normal range for a certain period of time or more.

11. 2. The agricultural produce production management system according to claim 1, wherein the transport unit reduces the transport speed of the agricultural produce when the first abnormal condition is met during transport of the agricultural produce or when a maximum monitoring time has elapsed since the transport of the agricultural produce began.

12. a conveying unit for conveying agricultural products; a sorting unit that sorts the transported agricultural products into acceptable products and unacceptable products; a monitoring unit that determines whether a predetermined abnormal condition is met or not with respect to the amount of acceptable or unacceptable products detected per unit time; The sorting unit includes: a mechanical sorting unit that separates the transported agricultural products into acceptable products and unacceptable products by a mechanical sorting method; an electrical sorting unit that further separates the passed products by the mechanical sorting method into passed products and unacceptable products by an electrical sorting method; The monitoring unit determines whether the abnormal condition exists or not based on the amount of acceptable or unacceptable products detected per unit time in the mechanical sorting method.

13. The crop production management system according to claim 12 , wherein the transport unit reduces a transport speed of the crops when the abnormal condition is established.

14. The crop production management system according to claim 12 , wherein the monitoring unit determines that the abnormal condition is established when the detected amount falls outside an allowable range.

15. The crop production management system according to claim 12 , wherein the monitoring unit determines that the abnormal condition has been established when a rate of change per unit time of the detected amount falls outside an allowable range.

16. The crop production management system according to claim 14 , wherein the monitoring unit sets the detected amount at a predetermined timing as a reference value, and sets the allowable range based on the reference value.

17. The crop production management system according to claim 14 , wherein the monitoring unit adjusts the allowable range based on past data of the detected amount while the crop is being transported.

18. The crop production management system according to claim 12 , wherein the monitoring unit does not determine whether the abnormal condition exists until a holding time has elapsed after an instruction to start transporting the crops has been issued.

19. The agricultural produce production management system according to claim 18 , wherein the suspension time is set to a time from when a command to start transporting agricultural produce is given until the detected amount falls within a predetermined normal range for a certain period of time or more.

20. 13. The crop production management system according to claim 12, wherein the transport unit reduces the transport speed of the crop when the abnormal condition is met during transport of the crop or when a maximum monitoring time has elapsed since the start of transport of the crop.

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