Seed processing device

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to promote the growth of plants by efficiently treating seeds and increasing the rooting force of plants.　Seeds 10 of a plant are conveyed by a conveyance path 24, the posture of the seed 10 on the conveyance path 24 is converted by a posture conversion part 38 so that the embryo axis 1402 of the seed 10 is positioned on top of the seed 10, it is determined by a determination unit 40 whether the embryo axis 1402 of the seed 10 is on top of the seed 10 on the conveyance path 24, a notch 18 is formed by a notch formation unit 30 in the embryo axis 1402 of the seed 10 determined to have the embryo axis 1402 of the seed 10 on top of the seed 10, and the seed 10 determined by the determination unit 40 not to have the embryo axis 1402 on top of the seed 10 is guided to the outside of the conveyance path 24 by a conveyance switching unit 28.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a seed treatment device.

Background Art

[0002] As a method of increasing the rooting ability of plants and promoting the growth of plants, it is known to perform root pruning by cutting off the roots of seedlings at the timing when the seeds of the plants germinate and the true leaves appear. However, since such root pruning requires growing seedlings from seeds, the work efficiency is poor, and in fact, it is not currently being used. Therefore, a method has been proposed in which by performing a process of making a cut in the hypocotyl of a seed, an effect of promoting the growth of plants similar to the above root pruning process can be obtained (see Patent Document 1). According to this method, the seeds subjected to the cutting process can be sown using a conventional seeder, and since there is no need to grow seedlings, an improvement in work efficiency is expected.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, manually making a cut in the hypocotyl of a seed is time-consuming, so there is room for improvement. The present invention has been devised in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a seed treatment device that is advantageous for efficiently performing seed treatment and is advantageous for increasing the rooting ability of plants and promoting the growth of plants.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] One embodiment of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a transport path for transporting plant seeds; a posture changing unit for changing the posture of the seeds on the transport path so that the hypocotyl of the seed is located at the top of the seed; a determination unit for determining whether or not the hypocotyl of the seed is at the top of the seed on the transport path; a notch forming unit for forming a notch in the hypocotyl of the seed determined by the determination unit to be at the top of the seed on the transport path; and a transport switching unit for guiding either the seed determined by the determination unit to be at the top of the seed or the seed determined not to be at the top of the seed outside the transport path. Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the transport path comprises a transport platform having a flat upper surface, a recess formed on the upper surface that extends in the direction of transport of the seeds and allows for the storage of the lower part of one seed in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction, and a vibrating unit that vibrates the transport platform and moves the seeds along the transport direction by this vibration, wherein the vibrating unit constitutes the attitude changing unit. Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the recess has a pair of sides facing each other in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction, and when the lower part of the seed is housed in the recess, the lower part of the seed is supported by the upper ends of the pair of sides, and the lower part of the seed, excluding the supported portion, is separated from the surface forming the recess. Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the seeds are elongated in shape, the seeds are contained in the recess and transported with their length direction facing the transport direction, the notch forming section is provided above the transport table and includes a cutter that forms a notch in the hypocotyl of the seed, and the cutter includes two blades that form notches at both ends of the seed in the length direction. Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the notch forming unit further includes an actuator that moves the cutter back and forth between a standby position in which its blade tip is spaced upward from the seed and a cutting position in which the blade tip makes a cut in the hypocotyl of the seed; a size detection unit installed upstream of the cutter in the transport direction and for detecting the size of the seed on the transport path; a movement amount calculation unit that calculates the amount of movement of the cutter from the standby position to the cutting position in accordance with the size of the seed detected by the size detection unit; and an actuator control unit that controls the actuator based on the amount of movement. Furthermore, one embodiment of the present invention is characterized by further comprising a seed supply unit that supplies the seeds one by one to the transport path. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the formation of notches in the hypocotyl of seeds can be automated, which is advantageous for efficient seed processing and for increasing the rooting ability of plants and promoting plant growth. Furthermore, if the transport path, which has a recess that allows for the storage of seeds at the bottom, is composed of a transport platform and a vibrating unit, and the vibrating unit also constitutes a posture change unit, it is advantageous in simplifying the structure of the seed processing device and reducing costs. Furthermore, when the lower part of the seed is housed in a recess, and is supported by the upper ends of a pair of sides of the recess, while the lower part of the seed, excluding the supported portion, is separated from the surface forming the recess, it is advantageous for transporting seeds of different lengths, widths, and heights in a stable manner. Furthermore, if the seeds are contained in the recess with their length oriented in the transport direction and transported, and the cutter that forms the notch in the hypocotyl of the seed is composed of two blades that form notches at both ends of the seed in the length direction, it is advantageous for reliably forming notches in the hypocotyl of the seed. Furthermore, by calculating the cutter's cutting depth according to the seed size and controlling the actuator's movement based on the calculated cutting depth, it becomes unnecessary to sort seeds by size or set the optimal cutting depth for each sorted seed in the actuator control unit. This is advantageous in improving the seed processing efficiency of the seed processing device. Furthermore, providing a seed supply unit that delivers seeds one by one to the transport path offers advantages in terms of efficient seed processing, which in turn increases the rooting ability of plants and promotes plant growth. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of a seed processing device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] (A) is a plan view of the transport path from above, showing the seeds on the transport path and the position detection sensor, and (B) is a view of (A) from the direction of arrow B. [Figure 3] This is a front view showing seeds on the transport path; (A) shows the cutter in the standby position, and (B) shows the cutter in the cutting position with a cut formed in the seed. [Figure 4] The images of seeds captured by the imaging unit are shown, with (A) and (B) showing the hypocotyl facing laterally and (C) showing the hypocotyl facing downward. [Figure 5] This is a plan view showing the state in which a notch has been formed at the top of the seed. (A) shows the hypocotyl pointing vertically upward, while (B) and (C) show the hypocotyl inclined relative to the vertical. [Figure 6] These diagrams schematically show the structure of a seed. (A) is a plan view of the seed with the hypocotyl pointing vertically upward, (B) is a view of (A) from the perspective of arrow B, and (C) is a view of (A) from the perspective of arrow C. [Figure 7] This is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of a seed processing device in a modified example of the embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, with reference to Figure 6, we will describe the plant seeds that are processed by the seed processing device of the present invention. In this embodiment, the case where the plant seeds are soybeans is described, but the present invention is not limited to leguminous seeds and can be broadly applied to seeds of other families as well. As shown in Figures 6(A), (B), and (C), the seed 10 has an elongated shape and comprises a seed coat 12 covering the surface of the seed 10, an embryo 14 covered by the seed coat 12, and a hilum (eye) 16 located on the surface of the seed 10.

[0009] The embryo 14 contains the hypocotyl 1402, cotyledons 1404, and cotyledons 1406, which are covered by the seed coat 12. The hilum 16 of seed 10 is located approximately in the center of the length of seed 10 and extends in an elongated shape along the length of seed 10. The hypocotyl 1402 is adjacent to the umbilicus 16 and extends in an elongated shape along the length of the seed 10, along the surface of the seed 10, on the extension of the umbilicus 16. Depending on the type of seed 10 (plant) and individual differences in the seeds 10, there are some seeds 10 in which the hypocotyl 1402 can be identified by the appearance of the seed 10, and others in which the hypocotyl 1402 cannot be identified by the appearance of the seed 10. On the other hand, the hilum 16 is formed in a concave shape on the surface of the seed coat 12, and the area inside the outline of the hilum 16 often exhibits a different color from the surface of the seed coat 12 other than the hilum 16. Therefore, it is easy to identify the hilum 16 of the seed 10 by its appearance.

[0010] Furthermore, the root growth point is located at one end of the hypocotyl 1402 (the end closer to the hilum 16), and the leaf growth point is located at the other end of the hypocotyl 1402 (the end further from the hilum 16). By forming an incision 18 (see Figure 5) at the hypocotyl 1402, the hypocotyl 1402 between the root growth point and the leaf growth point is cut, making it possible to achieve an effect similar to root pruning that promotes plant growth. As shown in FIG. 5, in order to make a cut in the hypocotyl 1402 regardless of whether the hypocotyl 1402 is in front of or behind the umbilicus 16 due to the arrangement of the seed 10, cuts 18 are made at two locations. Note that the cut 18 formed in the hypocotyl 1402 can be formed at a depth where the hypocotyl 1402 is completely cut, or at a depth where a part of the hypocotyl 1402 is cut and the remaining part is continuous. Similar to the root pruning treatment, an effect of promoting the growth of the plant can be obtained.

[0011] As shown in FIGS. 6(A), (B), and (C), the seed 10 has a length, a width shorter than the length, and a height with the hypocotyl 1402 and the umbilicus 16 facing upward. In addition, in FIGS. 1 - 6, the shape of the seed 10 is simply drawn as an ellipsoid of revolution obtained by rotating around the major axis of an ellipse. The weight of the part where the umbilicus 16 and the hypocotyl 1402 are located in the seed 10 is lighter than the weight of the part on the opposite side. In other words, the center of gravity of the seed 10 is located at a position biased to the part on the opposite side of the part where the umbilicus 16 and the hypocotyl 1402 are located. Therefore, for example, when vibration is applied to the seed 10 placed on a horizontal plane, as shown in FIG. 6(B), the seed 10 is likely to take a posture with the umbilicus 16 and the hypocotyl 1402 facing upward.

[0012] Next, the seed treatment apparatus 20 of the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the seed treatment apparatus 20 includes a seed supply unit 22, a transport path 24, a posture conversion unit 38, a determination unit 40, a transport switching unit 28, a cut formation unit 30, a first collection container 32, a second collection container 34, and a control device 36. The seed supply unit 22 includes a hopper 2202 into which the seeds 10 are loaded, and a supply mechanism 2204 that supplies the seeds 10 one by one onto the transport path 24 from the discharge port at the lower end of the hopper 2202. As such a supply mechanism 2204, various supply mechanisms can be used, such as using a gate that opens and closes the discharge port at the lower end of the hopper 2202 and drops the seeds 10 one by one.

[0013] The transport path 24 is the point where the seeds 10 supplied from the seed supply unit 22 are transported. In this embodiment, the transport path 24 is configured to include a transport platform 2402 and a vibrating unit 2404. As shown in Figures 2(A) and (B), the upper part of the conveying platform 2402 is formed as a flat conveying platform surface 2412. In the center of the conveying platform surface 2412, a recess 2410 is formed extending in the direction of the conveying direction F of the seed 10, which allows for the storage of the lower part of one seed 10 in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction F. The recess 2410 has a pair of side surfaces 2414 that face each other in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction F, and a bottom surface 2416 that connects the lower ends of the pair of side surfaces 2414. With the length of the seed 10 oriented in the direction of the extension of the recess 2410 and the lower part of the seed 10 contained within the recess 2410, the seed 10 is supported by the upper ends of a pair of opposing side surfaces 2414 of the recess 2410. More specifically, the seed 10 is supported at a pair of corners where the pair of side surfaces 2414 intersect with the upper surface 2412 of the conveyor table. The lower part of the seed 10, excluding this supported portion, is separated from the pair of side surfaces 2414 and the bottom surface 2416. In short, the lower part of the seed 10 is separated from the surface forming the recess 2410, i.e., separated from the conveyor table 2402. Such a structure of recess 2410 is advantageous for stably transporting seeds of different lengths, widths, and heights. Furthermore, the seeds 10 are housed in the recess 2410 while allowing rotation of the seeds 10 around an axis that passes through the center of the width and height of the seeds 10 and extends in the longitudinal direction of the seeds 10, while restricting movement of the seeds 10 in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3(B), the structure of the recess 2410 allows the cutting edge 3004B of the cutter 3004 to be easily positioned at a location separated above the upper surface 2412 of the transport table at the cutting position where the cutter 3004A, which will be described later, forms the cut 18 in the hypocotyl 1402. Therefore, it is advantageous for easily and reliably forming the cut 18 in the hypocotyl 1402 with the two cutting edges 3004A. As the recess 2410 for accommodating the seeds 10, various configurations can be adopted, such as providing a pair of protrusions on the upper surface 2412 of the transport platform, spaced apart in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the seeds 10, extending in the direction of transport of the seeds 10, forming the recess 2410 between the pair of protrusions, and placing the seeds 10 on the top of the pair of protrusions, thereby restricting the movement of the seeds 10 in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction. The configuration shown in the embodiments in Figures 2(A) and (B) is advantageous in stably supporting seeds of different widths and heights. The vibrating unit 2404 vibrates the transport table 2402, and this vibration moves the seeds 10 along the transport direction F. In this embodiment shown in Figure 1, the transport platform 2402 is installed horizontally, but the transport platform 2402 may also be installed at an angle such that the upstream side in the transport direction F is higher or lower than the downstream side. In this case as well, the seeds 10 can be transported in the transport direction F by vibration. As such a vibrating part 2404, for example, an electromagnetic vibrator used in commercially available parts feeders can be used.

[0014] The posture changing section 38 is the part that changes the posture of the seed 10 on the transport path 24 so that the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located at the top of the seed 10. Seeds 10 are supplied from the supply mechanism 2204 of the seed supply unit 22 onto the recess 2410 of the transport path 24, and the seeds 10 are vibrated by the vibration of the transport platform 2402. The vibration changes the orientation of the seeds 10 so that their length direction matches the direction in which the recess 2410 extends, i.e., the transport direction F, and the lower part of the seed 10 is accommodated in the recess 2410. At this time, the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located either in front of or behind the transport direction F. Furthermore, when the seed 10 is vibrated by the vibration of the transport platform 2402 while it is housed in the recess 2410, as shown in Figures 2(A) and (B), the seed 10 rotates around an axis that passes through the center of the width and height of the seed 10 and extends in the length direction of the seed 10, so that the umbilicus 16 and hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 face upward, due to the aforementioned relationship of the center of gravity, and the posture of the seed 10 is changed. Therefore, the attitude changing unit 38 is composed of the vibration unit 2404.

[0015] The transport path 24 may be constructed using a conveyor belt with recesses 2410 continuously formed along its longitudinal direction, instead of the transport platform 2402 and the vibrating unit 2404. The configuration of the transport path 24 is not limited to the embodiment described above. When a conveyor belt is used as the transport path, components such as drive rollers, driven rollers, and motors are required. Configuring the transport path 24 with a transport platform 2402 and a vibrating unit 2404, as in the embodiment, is advantageous in simplifying the configuration of the seed processing device 20 and reducing costs. Furthermore, if the transport path 24 is configured with a conveyor belt as described above, the posture changing unit 38 may be configured to blow air upward from below a recess 2410 provided in the conveyor belt, causing the seed 10 to float above the conveyor belt, and then return it to the recess 2410 of the conveyor belt. In this case, the seed 10 rotates so that the hypocotyl 1402 faces upward due to the relationship of the center of gravity of the seed 10 as described above, before it floats and returns to the conveyor belt. It is also possible to change the posture of the seed 10 on the conveyor belt so that the hypocotyl 1402 is positioned at the top of the seed 10 by blowing air from below. In other words, various configurations can be adopted for the attitude changing unit 38, and the configuration of the attitude changing unit 38 is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment described above. When the attitude changing unit 38 is configured as in the embodiment, the vibration unit 2404 is used for both the transport path 24 and the attitude changing unit 38, which is advantageous in simplifying the configuration of the seed processing device 20 and reducing costs.

[0016] As shown in Figure 1, the determination unit 40 determines whether the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located on the upper part of the seed 10 on the transport path 24. In this embodiment, the determination unit 40 is composed of the imaging unit 26 and the image determination unit 36A of the control device 36, which will be described later. The imaging unit 26 is located above the transport path 24 and captures the upper part of the seeds 10 on the transport path 24, supplying the generated image information to the image determination unit 36A. A commercially available CCD camera or the like can be used as the imaging unit 26. The image determination unit 36A is configured to determine whether or not the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located at the top of the seed 10, based on the image information supplied from the imaging unit 26.

[0017] As mentioned above, the hypocotyl 1402 of seed 10 may be difficult to identify by appearance alone, so the image determination unit 36A determines whether the hypocotyl 1402 of seed 10 is located on the upper part of seed 10 based on the position of the hypocotyl 1402 and the position of the umbilicus 16 included in the image information. In this embodiment, since the hypocotyl 1402 is adjacent to the visible umbilicus 16 and extends along the extension of the umbilicus 16, it is determined whether or not the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located on the upper part of the seed 10 based on the position of the umbilicus 16 included in the image information. For example, as shown in Figure 6(A), if the position of the umbilicus 16 is facing directly upwards in the image information, and as shown in Figures 5(B) and (C), if the position of the umbilicus 16 is slightly shifted laterally from directly above in the image information, but the notch forming unit 30 can still form a notch 18 on the hypocotyl 1402, the image determination unit 36A determines that the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located at the top of the seed 10. Furthermore, as shown in Figures 4(A) and (B), if the position of the umbilicus 16 in the image information is completely facing sideways, or as shown in Figure 4(C), if the umbilicus 16 is facing downwards and is not included in the image information, the image determination unit 36A determines that the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is not located at the top of the seed 10.

[0018] The transport switching unit 28 is configured to guide either the seed 10 whose hypocotyl 1402 is determined to be at the top of the seed 10 by the determination unit 40, or the seed 10 whose hypocotyl 1402 is determined not to be at the top of the seed 10, out of the transport path 24. In this embodiment, the transport switching unit 28 is located upstream of the notch forming unit 30 in the transport direction F, and is configured to guide seeds 10 whose hypocotyl 1402 is determined by the determination unit 40 to be not on the upper part of the seed 10 out of the transport path 24.

[0019] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the transport switching unit 28 that sorts the seeds 10 out of the transport path 34 includes an air nozzle 2802, a solenoid valve 2804, and an air control unit 36B, which will be described later, as shown in Figure 1. The air nozzle 2802 is located on the side of the transport path 24, downstream of the imaging area of ​​the imaging unit 26 in the transport direction F, and upstream of the notch forming unit 30 in the transport direction F. The air nozzle 2802 is configured to inject compressed air supplied from an air supply unit (not shown) onto the seeds 10, causing the seeds 10 to fall from the transport path 24 into the first collection container 32 below. The solenoid valve 2804 is located between the air supply unit and the air nozzle 2802 and is configured to switch the presence or absence of compressed air injection from the air nozzle 2802 by opening and closing according to a control signal from the air control unit 36B. The transport switching section 28 may be provided upstream of the cut-forming section 30 in the transport direction F, as in the embodiment, or it may be provided downstream of the cut-forming section 30 in the transport direction F.

[0020] The notch forming section 30 forms a notch 18 (see Figure 5) from above into the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 on the transport path 24, which the determination section 40 has determined to be located at the top of the seed 10. As shown in Figures 1 and 3, in this embodiment, the notch forming section 30 is configured to include an actuator 3002, a cutter 3004, a position detection sensor 3006, and an actuator control unit 36C, which will be described later. The actuator 3002 comprises a main body 3002A and a piston rod 3002B that extends and retracts vertically from the lower part of the main body 3002A. The movement of the piston rod 3002B is controlled by a control signal supplied from the actuator control unit 36C. Specifically, as shown in Figure 3(A), the movement of the piston rod 3002B is controlled to reciprocate between a standby position where the tip of the cutter 3004 is spaced upward from the seed 10, and a cutting position where the tip of the cutter 3004 makes an incision in the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10, as shown in Figure 3(B). Furthermore, commercially available electric cylinders and commercially available pickup units for picking up workpieces can be used as actuator 3002.

[0021] The cutter 3004 is attached to the tip of the piston rod 3002B via a mounting fixture 3005. In this embodiment, the cutter 3004 is equipped with two thin, plate-shaped blades 3004A. The two blades 3004A are mounted on a fixture 3005 such that their cutting edges 3004B face downward and extend linearly in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction F, with a gap between them in the conveying direction F. The two blades 3004A are used to create notches at both ends of the seed 10 in the longitudinal direction. As shown in Figure 5(A), the spacing between the two cutting edges 3004B in the transport direction F is set so that one of the two cutting edges 3004B forms an incision 18 in the hypocotyl 1402, and the incision 18 cuts the portion of the hypocotyl 1402 between the root growth point and the leaf growth point. The notch 18 formed in the hypocotyl 1402 by the cutting edge 3004B may be formed to a depth that completely cuts the hypocotyl 1402, as shown in Figure 3(B), or it may be formed to a depth that cuts a portion of the hypocotyl 1402 and leaves the remaining portion continuous. Furthermore, the number of blades 3004A (cutting edge 3004B) may be one or three or more, as long as they can form notches 18 in the hypocotyl 1402. Also, the shape of the cutting edge 3004B may extend in a curved shape, and is not limited to this embodiment.

[0022] Furthermore, the amount of movement (stroke) of the cutter 3004 from the standby position to the cutting position must be set to correspond to the size of the seed 10, or in other words, the vertical height of the seed 10 with the hypocotyl 1402 located at the top. In this embodiment, the seeds 10 to be processed are sorted in advance into multiple size categories (e.g., large, medium, small) using a conventionally known sorting device (not shown). Then, the amount of movement (stroke) required to obtain the optimal cutting depth from the standby position to the cutting position of the cutter 3004 is determined for each size of seed 10. Then, each time the classified seeds 10 are processed by the seed processing device 20, the optimal amount of movement (stroke amount) is set in the actuator control unit 36C, which will be described later.

[0023] As shown in Figures 2(A) and (B), the position detection sensor 3006 detects the position of the seeds 10 being transported along the transport path 24. In this embodiment, the position detection sensor 3006 is composed of, for example, a reflective optical sensor provided on the side of the transport path 24 near the cutter 3004. The optical sensor emits detection light 3008 toward the seeds 10 on the transport path 24 and detects the position of the seeds 10 based on the reflected light reflected by the seeds 10. In this embodiment, the optical sensor detects the front end of the seeds 10 located in front of the transport direction F and supplies the detection signal obtained to the control device 36. In Figure 2(A), the symbols P1 and P2 indicate the positions of the two cutting edges 3004B at the time the front end of the seed 10 is detected by the position detection sensor 3006.

[0024] As shown in Figure 1, the control device 36 is composed of a computer equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, storage device, and input / output interface (all not shown). ROM stores predetermined control programs and other data, while RAM provides the working area. The storage device, for example, consists of a hard disk drive and stores the control program. The input / output interface facilitates the exchange of input / output signals between the imaging unit 26, solenoid valve 2804, actuator 3002, and the image determination unit 36A, air control unit 36B, and actuator control unit 36C within the control device 36. The CPU executes the control program for the hard disk drive, thereby realizing the aforementioned image determination unit 36A, air control unit 36B, and actuator control unit 36C.

[0025] The air control unit 36B outputs a control signal to the solenoid valve 2804 when the image determination unit 36A determines that the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is not located on the upper part of the seed 10. The control signal causes the solenoid valve 2804 to open for a predetermined time, thereby injecting compressed air from the air nozzle 2802 onto the seed 10. The compressed air causes the seed 10 to fall from the transport path 24 into the first collection container 32 below.

[0026] When the image determination unit 36A determines that the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located at the top of the seed 10, a detection signal is generated from the position detection sensor 3006. Upon receiving the detection signal, the actuator control unit 36C provides a control signal to the actuator 3002. Upon receiving the control signal, the actuator 3002 moves the cutter 3004 from the standby position to the cutting position and makes an incision 18 in the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10. Once the incision 18 has been formed in the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10, the actuator control unit 36C provides a control signal to the actuator 3002, causing the cutter 3004 to move from the cutting position to the standby position. Furthermore, the formation of the incision 18 in the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 by the cutter 3004 is performed while the seed 10 is moving along the transport path 24, but since the movement of the cutter 3004 by the actuator 3002 is performed in a very short time, there is no problem. Furthermore, the seeds 10 in which the notches 18 have been formed on the hypocotyl 1402 fall from the downstream end of the transport path 24 into the second collection container 34 below and are collected.

[0027] Next, the operation of the seed processing device 20 will be described. It is assumed that seeds 10 have already been loaded into the hopper 2202 of the seed supply unit 22, and that the vibration of the transport table 2402 has been performed by the vibration unit 2404. Seeds 10 are supplied one by one from the supply mechanism 2204 of the seed supply unit 22 onto the recesses 2410 of the transport path 24. These seeds 10 are transported along the transport direction F on the recesses 2410 of the vibrating transport path 24. The imaging unit 26 captures images of the seeds 10, generates image information, and supplies it to the image determination unit 36A. If the image determination unit 36A determines that the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is not located at the top of the seed 10, the compressed air ejected from the air nozzle 2802 under the control of the air control unit 36B causes the seed 10 to fall from the transport path 24 into the first collection container 32 and be collected.

[0028] If the image determination unit 36A determines that the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located at the top of the seed 10, the actuator control unit 36C controls the actuator 3002 based on the detection signal from the position detection sensor 3006, and moves the cutter 3004 from the standby position to the cutting position, thereby forming a cut 18 in the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10. In this case, since only the lower part of the seed 10 is contained in the recess 2410 of the transport path 24, the cutter 3004 does not come into contact with the transport table 2402 at the cutting position, and the cut 18 is reliably formed in the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 5, the two cutting edges 3004B of the cutter 3004 form cuts 18 at two longitudinally spaced locations on the upper part of the seed 10. Therefore, regardless of whether the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located in front of or behind the transport direction F, the cuts 18 on the hypocotyl 1402 are reliably formed. Then, the seeds 10, in which the notches 18 have been formed on the hypocotyl 1402, fall from the downstream end of the transport path 24 into the second collection container 34 and are collected.

[0029] Furthermore, the seeds 10 contained in the first collection container 32 were determined by the image determination unit 36A to be those in which the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 was not located at the top of the seed 10. Seeds 10 determined in this way may include some that were not, by chance, subjected to orientation change by the orientation change unit 38. Therefore, the seeds 10 contained in the first collection container 32 are put back into the hopper 2202 of the seed supply unit 22 and judged by the image determination unit 36A. If the image determination again determines that the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located at the top of the seed 10, then a notch 18 should be formed in the hypocotyl 1402.

[0030] The operation of this embodiment can be summarized as follows: Plant seeds 10 are transported by the transport path 24. The posture changing unit 38 changes the posture of the seeds 10 on the transport path 24 so that the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located at the top of the seed 10. The determination unit 40 determines whether or not the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is at the top of the seed 10 on the transport path 24. The notch forming unit 30 forms a notch 18 in the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 that has been determined to be at the top of the seed 10. Seeds 10 that have been determined by the determination unit 40 not to have the hypocotyl 1402 at the top of the seed 10 are guided off the transport path 24 by the transport switching unit 28. Therefore, the formation of the notch 18 in the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 can be automated, which is advantageous for efficiently processing the seed 10, and is advantageous for increasing the rooting ability of the plant and promoting plant growth.

[0031] Alternatively, the seeds 10 may be supplied to the transport path 24 one by one manually. Providing a seed supply unit 22 that supplies the seeds 10 one by one to the transport path 24, as in this embodiment, is advantageous in terms of efficiently processing the seeds 10, and is advantageous in increasing the rooting ability of plants and promoting plant growth.

[0032] In this embodiment, the transport path 24 is composed of a transport table 2402 having a recess 2410 that extends in the transport direction F of the seeds 10 and allows for the storage of one seed 10 in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction F, and a vibrating unit 2404 that vibrates the transport table 2402 and moves the seeds 10 along the transport direction F by this vibration, with the vibrating unit 2404 constituting the attitude changing unit 38. Therefore, the vibration unit 2404 can perform both the function of transporting the seeds 10 along the transport path 24 and the function of changing the orientation of the seeds 10 on the transport path 24, which is advantageous in simplifying the configuration of the seed processing device 20 and reducing costs.

[0033] In this embodiment, the determination unit 40, which determines whether the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located on the upper part of the seed 10 on the transport path 24, consists of an imaging unit 26 that images the upper part of the seed 10 and generates image information, and an image determination unit 36A that determines whether the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located on the upper part of the seed 10 based on the position of the hilum 16 of the seed 10 included in the image information. Therefore, it is advantageous to reliably determine, based on image information, whether or not the hypocotyl 1402 of seed 10 is located at the top of seed 10 without touching seed 10. Furthermore, if the hypocotyl 1402 can be identified by the appearance of the seed 10, that is, if the hypocotyl 1402 is visible in the seed 10, the determination unit 40 only needs to determine whether or not the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located on the upper part of the seed 10 based on the position of the hypocotyl 1402. Furthermore, if there is a mix of seeds 10 in which the hypocotyl 1402 can be identified by the appearance of the seed 10 and seeds 10 in which the hypocotyl 1402 cannot be identified, the determination unit 40 can determine whether or not the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located at the top of the seed 10 based on the position of the visible hilum 16. In other words, the determination unit 40 only needs to include an imaging unit 26 provided above the transport path 24 to image the upper part of the seed 10 and generate image information, and an image determination unit 36A that determines whether or not the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is in the upper part of the seed 10 based on the position of the hypocotyl 1402 or umbilicus 16 of the seed 10 included in the image information.

[0034] The determination unit 40 may also have the following configuration. The determination unit 40 may be configured using an ultrasonic detection unit instead of the imaging unit 26. In this case, an ultrasonic detection unit is provided that applies ultrasonic waves to the seed 10 and generates image information of the internal shape of the seed 10 based on the ultrasonic waves reflected back from the seed 10. The image determination unit 36A may determine whether or not the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located at the top of the seed 10 based on this image information. Alternatively, the determination unit 40 may be configured using an X-ray detection unit instead of the imaging unit 26. In this case, an X-ray detection unit is provided that shines X-rays onto the seed 10 and generates image information of the internal shape of the seed 10 based on the X-rays that have passed through the seed 10. The image determination unit 36A may then determine, based on this image information, whether or not the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located at the top of the seed 10. In other words, the determination unit 40 determines whether the hypocotyl 1402 of the seed 10 is located at the top of the seed 10 based on the position of the hypocotyl 1402 or umbilicus 16 of the seed 10 included in the image information. While various configurations of the determination unit can be used, using the imaging unit 26 is advantageous in simplifying and reducing the cost of the seed processing device 20.

[0035] Furthermore, the transport switching unit 28 may consist of a guide plate that is retractable and extends on the transport path 24 to guide the seeds 10 to the outside of the transport path 24, a guide plate actuator that extends and retracts the guide plate on the transport path 24, and a guide plate control unit that controls the guide plate actuator based on the determination result of the determination unit 40. Alternatively, the transport switching unit 28 may be configured as a suction path that sucks up the seeds 10 on the transport path 24 and guides them to the outside of the transport path 24. The transport switching unit 28 is not limited to the configuration of this embodiment, and various structures can be adopted, but configuring the transport switching unit 28 as in this embodiment is advantageous in making the seed processing device 20 more compact and cost-effective.

[0036] Next, a modified example will be explained with reference to Figure 7. In the following drawings, parts and components similar to those in the embodiments described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions are omitted. In the embodiment described above, the size of the seeds 10 is sorted in advance into multiple stages (for example, large, medium, and small) using a conventionally known sorting device, and the optimal amount of movement (stroke amount) from the standby position to the cutting position of the cutter 3004, i.e., the cutting amount, is set in the actuator control unit 36C for each sorted size of seed 10. On the other hand, in the embodiment shown in Figure 7, the amount of cutting may be controlled according to the size of the seed 10, as follows. In other words, the notch forming unit 30 is configured to include, in addition to the actuator 3002, cutter 3004, position detection sensor 3006, and actuator control unit 36C, a size detection unit 42 and a movement amount calculation unit 36D. The size detection unit 42 is installed upstream of the cutter 3004 in the transport direction and detects the size of the seeds 10 on the transport path 24. The size detection unit 42 only needs to be capable of detecting the size (height) of the seeds 10 on the transport path 24. Various sensors can be used, such as a displacement sensor that irradiates detection light onto the upper part of the seeds 10 on the transport path 24 and detects the height of the seeds 10 based on the reflected light, or a line sensor that images the seeds 10 on the transport path 24 in a linear fashion along the height direction. The movement amount calculation unit 36D is realized when the CPU of the control device 36 executes the control program for the hard disk drive. The movement amount calculation unit 36D calculates the amount of cut by the cutter 3004 corresponding to the size of the seed 10 detected by the size detection unit 42. The actuator control unit 36C controls the actuator 3002 based on the depth of cut calculated by the movement amount calculation unit 36D. In this way, by detecting the size of each seed 10 on the transport path 24 and controlling the cutting amount of the cutter 3004 for each seed 10, even when seeds 10 of various sizes are mixed together, it becomes unnecessary to classify the seeds 10 by size or to set the optimal cutting amount for each classified seed 10 in the actuator control unit 36C. This is advantageous in improving the processing efficiency of the seeds 10 by the seed processing device 20. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0037] 10 seeds 12 Seed coat 14 embryos 1402 hypocotyl 1404 Young leaves 1406 Cotyledons 16. Navel (Eye) 18 cuts 20 Seed Processing Devices 22 Seed supply section 2202 Hoppa 2204 Supply mechanism 24 Conveyor paths 2402 Transport platform 2404 Vibration section 2410 recess 2412 Top surface of the transport platform 2414 Side view 2416 Bottom 26 Imaging Department 28 Conveyor switching section 2802 Air Nozzle 2804 Solenoid valve 30 Cutting section 3002 Actuator 3002A Main Unit 3002B Piston Rod 3005 Mounting hardware 3004 Cutter 3004A Cutting Tools 3004B cutting edge 3006 Position detection sensor 3008 Detecting light 32. First collection container 34. Second collection container 36 Control device 36A Image determination unit 36B Air Control Unit 36C Actuator Control Unit 36D Movement amount calculation section 38 Posture Change Unit 40 Judgment section 42 Size detection unit P1, P2 cutting edge position

Claims

1. A transport path for transporting plant seeds, A posture changing unit that changes the posture of the seed on the transport path so that the hypocotyl of the seed is located at the top of the seed, A determination unit that determines whether the hypocotyl of the seed is located on the upper part of the seed on the transport path, A notch forming unit that forms a notch in the hypocotyl of a seed where the determination unit has determined that the hypocotyl of the seed is located at the top of the seed on the transport path, A transport switching unit that leaves the seeds on the transport path after a notch has been formed in the hypocotyl by the notch forming unit, and guides the seeds that are determined not to have their hypocotyls above the seed to the transport path, A seed processing device characterized by comprising the following features.

2. The aforementioned transport path is A transport platform having a flat top surface, A recess formed on the upper surface, extending in the direction of seed transport and perpendicular to the transport direction, which allows for the storage of the lower part of one seed, The system includes a vibrating unit that vibrates the transport platform and moves the seeds along the transport direction by this vibration, The vibrating unit constitutes the attitude changing unit. The seed processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it is a seed processing apparatus.

3. The recess has a pair of sides facing each other in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction, With the lower part of the seed housed in the recess, the lower part of the seed is supported by the upper ends of the pair of sides, and the lower part of the seed, excluding the supported portion, is separated from the surface forming the recess. The seed processing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized by the above.

4. The aforementioned seeds are elongated in shape, The seeds are transported in the recess with their longitudinal direction facing the transport direction. The aforementioned notch-forming section is provided above the conveying table and includes a cutter that forms a notch in the hypocotyl of the seed. The cutter is composed of two blades that form notches at both ends of the seed in the longitudinal direction. The seed processing apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that it is a seed processing apparatus.

5. The aforementioned cut-forming portion is An actuator that moves the cutter back and forth between a standby position where its blade tip is spaced upward from the seed and a cutting position where the blade tip makes an incision in the hypocotyl of the seed, A size detection unit is installed upstream of the cutter in the conveying direction to detect the size of the seeds on the conveying path, A movement amount calculation unit calculates the amount of cutting, which is the amount of movement from the cutter's standby position to the cutting position, corresponding to the size of the seed detected by the size detection unit. The system further includes an actuator control unit that controls the actuator based on the amount of cutting, The seed processing apparatus according to claim 4.

6. The system further includes a seed supply unit that supplies the seeds one by one to the transport path. The seed processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it is a seed processing apparatus.

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