Granular material sorting device

Abstract

To provide a granular material screening device which can grasp the operation state of a device in real time.SOLUTION: A granular material screening device comprises: a delivery mechanism 10 which delivers a granular material along a plurality of paths arranged in parallel to each other to an inspection region; a detection mechanism 20 which inspects the granular material delivered by the delivery mechanism 10 to detect a defective; a removal mechanism 30 which removes the defective detected by the detection mechanism 20; and an operation amount calculation unit 7c which calculates an operation amount of removing the granular material by the removal mechanism 30 for each of a plurality of regions set in the removal mechanism 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a granular material sorting device.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a granular material sorting device (referred to as a color sorter in the document). This granular material sorting device has a sorting mode for sorting granular materials into good products and defective products, and is configured to be switchable to a quality discrimination mode for discriminating and displaying the quality of damaged grains, green immature grains, paddy rice, milky white grains, and foreign matters during the pause of the sorting mode.

[0003] In this quality discrimination mode, the quality result indicating the ratio of good products and defective products and the analysis result obtained by analyzing the quality of the obtained defective products can be displayed in a pie chart.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Since the granular material sorting device described in Patent Document 1 displays the quality discrimination mode during the pause of the sorting mode, the sorting state during the operation of the device cannot be grasped in real time. Therefore, during the operation of the device, malfunctions of sorting equipment and the like cannot be confirmed.

[0006] Therefore, a granular material sorting device capable of grasping the operating state of the device in real time is desired.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The characteristic configuration of the granular material sorting apparatus according to the present invention is a dispensing mechanism that sends granular material along a plurality of parallel paths to an inspection area; a detection mechanism that inspects the granular material sent by the dispensing mechanism and detects defective products; a rejection mechanism that rejects the defective products detected by the detection mechanism; and an operation amount calculation unit that calculates the amount of operation performed by the rejection mechanism to reject the granular material for each of the plurality of areas set in the rejection mechanism. A display unit that includes a region-specific exclusion display that displays the operating amount calculated by the operating amount calculation unit for each of the multiple regions obtained by dividing a predetermined number of adjacent regions together, Its strength lies in its combination of features.

[0008] If the device is tilted, the flow rate of granular material sent through multiple parallel paths will be uneven. As a result, it is expected that the amount of defective material removed by the rejection mechanism will be uneven. Furthermore, if part of the detection mechanism is contaminated, it is expected that the amount of defective material removed by that part of the rejection mechanism will increase.

[0009] Therefore, the operation amount calculation unit in this configuration calculates the operation amount by which the exclusion mechanism excludes granular material for each of the multiple regions set in the exclusion mechanism. In other words, the exclusion mechanism is divided into multiple regions, and the operation amount by which the exclusion mechanism excludes granular material is calculated for each region. As a result, Multiple adjacent regions were grouped together and divided into a predetermined number. This allows for the evaluation of the rejection mechanism in multiple areas, and enables real-time prediction of the cause of equipment malfunctions based on biases and abnormal values ​​in the amount of defective products rejected by the rejection mechanism.

[0010] Thus, this granular material sorting device allows for real-time monitoring of the device's operating status.

[0011] Other feature configurations are: The multiple regions are provided corresponding to the multiple paths and are multiple injection ports from which air is injected, the exclusion mechanism has a solenoid valve that adjusts the amount of air injected, and the operating amount is the cumulative amount of the opening time of the solenoid valve. It's at a single point.

[0012] As shown in this configuration, If the cumulative opening time of the solenoid valve is used as the operating amount, calculations are simplified, and relative evaluation of each injection port becomes easier. As a result, if there is an imbalance in the amount of defective products removed by the removal mechanism between the left and right sides, it becomes possible to determine that the device is tilted, making it easier to take countermeasures.

[0013] Furthermore, the characteristic configuration of the granular material sorting apparatus according to the present invention includes: a delivery mechanism that sends granular material along a plurality of parallel paths to an inspection area; a detection mechanism that inspects the granular material sent by the delivery mechanism and detects defective products; a removal mechanism that removes the defective products detected by the detection mechanism; and an operation amount calculation unit that calculates the amount of operation performed by the removal mechanism to remove the granular material for each of the plurality of areas set in the removal mechanism. The multiple regions are provided corresponding to the multiple paths and are multiple nozzles from which air is injected. The exclusion mechanism has a solenoid valve that adjusts the amount of air injected, and the operating amount is the cumulative amount of the opening time of the solenoid valve. The point is that...

[0014] If the device is tilted, the flow rate of granular material sent through multiple parallel paths will be uneven. As a result, it is expected that the amount of defective material removed by the rejection mechanism will be uneven. Furthermore, if part of the detection mechanism is contaminated, it is expected that the amount of defective material removed by that part of the rejection mechanism will increase. Therefore, the operation amount calculation unit in this configuration calculates the operation amount by which the exclusion mechanism excludes granular material for each of the multiple regions set in the exclusion mechanism. In other words, the exclusion mechanism is divided into multiple regions, and the operation amount by which the exclusion mechanism excludes granular material for each region is calculated. As a result, it becomes possible to evaluate the exclusion mechanism for each of the multiple regions, and the cause of equipment malfunction can be predicted in real time from the bias or abnormal values ​​of the amount of defective products excluded by the exclusion mechanism. Thus, this granular material sorting device allows for real-time monitoring of the device's operating status. Furthermore, if the cumulative amount of the solenoid valve opening time is used as the operating amount, the calculation is simpler and it is easier to perform a relative evaluation of each injection port. As a result, if there is an imbalance in the amount of defective products removed by the removal mechanism on the left and right sides, the device is tilted. It becomes possible to make judgments such as etc., and it is easy to take countermeasures.

[0015] Other characteristic configurations The system includes a display unit that includes a region-specific exclusion display that displays the operating amount calculated by the operating amount calculation unit for each of the multiple regions. lies in the point.

[0016] Like this present configuration, If the display unit shows the amount of work performed by the rejection mechanism to remove granular material in each of the multiple areas, it is possible to visually grasp any bias in the amount of defective products rejected by the rejection mechanism. Performing this visual assessment at the start of the device makes it possible to detect malfunctions in the detection mechanism and other components early and take countermeasures, thereby preventing misidentification of defective products.

[0017] As other characteristic configurations, The aforementioned region-specific exclusion display has the multiple injection nozzles arranged sequentially on the horizontal axis, and the operating amount corresponding to the multiple injection nozzles on the vertical axis. The vertical axis lies in the point that it is a level display divided according to the level of the integrated amount.

[0018] In this configuration, the area-specific exclusion display shows multiple nozzles arranged sequentially on the horizontal axis, and the vertical axis represents the amount of operation required to exclude the granular material corresponding to those nozzles. This allows for instant identification of abnormal nozzles. As a result, it becomes possible to determine if there is a malfunction in the detection mechanism located around the abnormal nozzle, making it easier to implement countermeasures. Furthermore, If the vertical axis is made into a level display like this present configuration, it is easy to visually grasp, and an abnormal injection port can be grasped instantaneously. Also, by making it a level display, it becomes possible to shorten the vertical axis, and the relative evaluation of a plurality of injection ports can be intuitively performed without taking the place for the area-by-area exclusion display.

[0019] As other characteristic configurations, the display unit ,before includes an exclusion frequency display which is the ratio of defective products to the total amount of the granular bodies sent out by the recording sending mechanism Furthermore, the exclusion frequency display is arranged in a vertical column with the other exclusion display for the area. lies in the point.

[0020] Like this present configuration, if there is an exclusion frequency display which is the ratio of defective products to the total amount of granular bodies in addition to the area-by-area exclusion display, the operating state of the device can be grasped in real time considering the overall balance.

[0021] As other characteristic configurations, the exclusion frequency display lies in the point that it is arranged to be switchable with a flow rate display indicating the flow rate of the granular bodies sent out by the sending mechanism.

[0022] When the ratio of defective products is high in the exclusion frequency display, control to reduce the flow rate of the granular bodies may be executed. In this case, by switching the exclusion frequency display to the flow rate display, the operating state of the device can be grasped in real time.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023] [Figure 1] This is a right-side view of the granular material sorting device. [Figure 2] This is a front view of a granular material sorting device. [Figure 3] This is a right side view showing the main components of the inspection unit. [Figure 4] This is a block diagram of the control system in a granular material sorting device. [Figure 5] This is a schematic diagram of the optical inspection process in a granular material sorting device. [Figure 6] This is an explanatory diagram of the sorting sensitivity in a granular material sorting device. [Figure 7] This is an example of the display screen of the display unit. [Figure 8] This is an example of the display screen of the display unit. [Figure 9] This is an example of the display screen of the display unit. [Figure 10] This is another example of area-specific exclusion display on the display unit. [Figure 11] This is another example of area-specific exclusion display on the display unit. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0024] Hereinafter, embodiments of the granular material sorting apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. In each figure, the direction indicated by the reference numeral (FR) is the front side of the device, the direction indicated by the reference numeral (BK) is the rear side of the device, the direction indicated by the reference numeral (LH) is the left side of the device, the direction indicated by the reference numeral (RH) is the right side of the device, the direction indicated by the reference numeral (UP) is the top side, and the direction indicated by the reference numeral (DW) is the bottom side.

[0025] The granular material sorting device 100 is a device that optically inspects whether the granular material being fed in is normal or defective, sorts the normal material from the defective material, and discharges it. In this embodiment, the granular material is grain such as brown rice or white rice. The granular material may also be resin pellets or the like.

[0026] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the granular material sorting device 100 includes an input hopper 1, a first lifting conveyor 2, a storage hopper 3, an inspection unit 4, a second lifting conveyor 5, a display unit 6, and a control unit 7 (see Figure 4).

[0027] The input hopper 1 is located at the bottom of the rear of the device and receives the granular material to be inspected.

[0028] The first lifting conveyor 2 is located on the right side of the rear of the device and transports the granular material fed into the input hopper 1 upwards to the storage hopper 3.

[0029] The storage hopper 3 stores the granular material fed in from the first conveying conveyor 2 and also supplies the granular material to the inspection unit 4.

[0030] The inspection unit 4 inspects the granular material supplied from the storage hopper 3, detects defective products, and sorts the granular material into normal and defective products before discharging them.

[0031] The second lifting conveyor 5 is located on the left side of the rear of the device and transports the granular material discharged from the inspection unit 4 as normal upwards and discharges it outside the device.

[0032] The display unit 6 is located in the center of the front of the device, and its tilt and height are set to make it easy for the operator to operate and to see. The display unit 6 receives manual input from the operator and transmits it to the control unit 7. The display unit 6 is also controlled by the control unit 7 to display various screens. In this embodiment, the display unit 6 is a liquid crystal display with a touch panel. The display unit 6 may also be a device that combines push buttons and a liquid crystal display. Details of the display unit 6 will be described later.

[0033] The control unit 7 controls the overall operation of the granular material sorting device 100. Details of the control unit 7 will be described later.

[0034] [Inspection Unit] Referring to Figure 3, the configuration and operation of the inspection unit 4 will be described below. Hereinafter, as shown in Figure 3, the direction of movement of the granular material will be referred to as the Z direction, the upstream side of the direction of movement of the granular material will be referred to as the Z1 side, the downstream side of the direction of movement of the granular material will be referred to as the Z2 side, the direction perpendicular to the Z direction in the plane perpendicular to the left-right direction of the device will be referred to as the Y direction, the front side of the device in the Y direction will be referred to as the Y1 side, and the rear side of the device in the Y direction will be referred to as the Y2 side.

[0035] The granular material to be inspected falls from the chute 12 toward the Z2 side and is sent to the inspection area IA. The inspection area IA is illuminated by the illumination mechanism 21. Light from the inspection area IA enters the front camera 22A, the rear camera 22B, and the through-camera 22C, and is detected by the front sensor 23A, the rear sensor 23B, and the through-camera 23C (hereinafter, the front camera 22A, the rear camera 22B, and the through-camera 22C will be collectively referred to as "camera 22," and the front sensor 23A, the rear sensor 23B, and the through-camera 23C will be collectively referred to as "sensor 23").

[0036] Light reflected from the Y1 side of the granular material enters the front camera 22A and is detected by the front sensor 23A. Light reflected from the Y2 side of the granular material enters the rear camera 22B and is detected by the rear sensor 23B. Light transmitted through the granular material from the Y1 side to the Y2 side enters the transmission camera 22C and is detected by the transmission sensor 23C.

[0037] The output of sensor 23 is transmitted to control unit 7. Based on the output of sensor 23, control unit 7 determines whether the granular material is normal or defective. When the granular material determined to be defective falls to the front of the air blowing device 31, control unit 7 activates the air blowing device 31. The granular material that has been blown with air is pushed towards Y1 and falls into the defective product collection unit 41. The remaining granular material falls into the normal product collection unit 42.

[0038] The inspection unit 4 includes a dispensing mechanism 10, a detection mechanism 20, and a rejection mechanism 30.

[0039] The dispensing mechanism 10 is a device that dispenses granular material into the inspection area IA in multiple parallel directions (left-right direction of the device, orthogonal direction to the plane of the paper in Figure 3). The dispensing mechanism 10 includes a vibrating feeder 11 and a chute 12.

[0040] The vibrating feeder 11 receives the granular material flowing down from the storage hopper 3 in the trough 11a and vibrates the trough 11a to send the granular material to the chute 12 (see Figure 1).

[0041] The chute 12 is a plate-shaped member. Multiple straight grooves are formed on the upper surface of the chute 12, arranged parallel to each other in the left-right direction, serving as pathways. The width of the grooves is set to a size that allows granular material to flow down in a single line. Granular material that falls from the trough 11a of the vibrating feeder 11 into the chute 12 is guided by the grooves of the chute 12, flows down the chute 12 in multiple parallel lines, and is sent to the inspection area IA.

[0042] The detection mechanism 20 is a device that detects light from the inspection area IA and comprises the illumination mechanism 21, camera 22, sensor 23, and mirror 24 described above. The detection mechanism 20 inspects the granular material sent out by the sending mechanism 10 to detect defective products.

[0043] The lighting mechanism 21 includes background members 21A, 21B, 21C, and lighting units 21D, 21E, 21F, 21G.

[0044] Background members 21A, 21B, and 21C are components that guide light from a light-emitting device (not shown) to illuminate the inspection area IA. Background members 21A, 21B, and 21C function as a granular background for the light reaching the camera 22 from the inspection area IA.

[0045] Lighting units 21D, 21E, 21F, and 21G have LED packages that illuminate the inspection area IA. Lighting units 21D and 21E are positioned on the Y1 side of the inspection area IA and illuminate the inspection area IA from the Y1 side. Lighting units 21F and 21G are positioned on the Y2 side of the inspection area IA and illuminate the inspection area IA from the Y2 side.

[0046] The front camera 22A has a front lens unit 25A. The front sensor 23A is positioned inside the front camera 22A. The optical axis 26A of the front camera 22A is shown in Figure 3. Light reflected from the Y1-side surface of the granular material and light emitted from the background member 21A are emitted from the inspection area IA toward the Y1 side. This light is reflected by the mirror 24, focused by the front lens unit 25A, and irradiated onto the front sensor 23A. In other words, the front sensor 23A of the front camera 22A detects the light reflected from the Y1-side surface of the granular material and the light emitted from the background member 21A.

[0047] The rear camera 22B has a rear lens unit 25B. The rear sensor 23B is positioned inside the rear camera 22B. The optical axis 26B of the rear camera 22B is shown in Figure 3. Light reflected from the Y2-side surface of the granular material and light emitted from the background member 21B are emitted from the inspection area IA towards the Y2 side. This light is reflected by the mirror 24, focused by the rear lens unit 25B, and irradiated onto the rear sensor 23B. In other words, the rear sensor 23B of the rear camera 22B detects the light reflected from the Y2-side surface of the granular material and the light emitted from the background member 21B.

[0048] The transmission camera 22C has a transmission lens unit 25C. A transmission sensor 23C is positioned inside the transmission camera 22C. The optical axis 26C of the transmission camera 22C is shown in Figure 3. Light transmitted through the granular material from the Y1 side to the Y2 side, and light emitted from the background member 21C are emitted from the inspection area IA to the Y2 side. This light is reflected by the mirror 24, focused by the transmission lens unit 25C, and irradiated onto the transmission sensor 23C. In other words, the transmission sensor 23C of the transmission camera 22C detects the light transmitted through the granular material from the Y1 side to the Y2 side, and the light emitted from the background member 21C.

[0049] The front sensor 23A, the rear sensor 23B, and the transmission sensor 23C detect light over time and transmit moment-by-moment output data at predetermined time intervals to the control unit 7.

[0050] A light-shielding member 27 is placed in the inspection area IA. The light-shielding member 27 prevents light reflected from the granular material and illumination light from the illumination units 21D, 21E, 21F, and 21G from directly entering the transmission camera 22C.

[0051] The rejection mechanism 30 is a device that removes granular material determined to be defective by the detection mechanism 20. The rejection mechanism 30 is composed of an air blowing device 31. The air blowing device 31 has a plurality of nozzles S arranged in the left-right direction of the device. The nozzles S are positioned to correspond to the granular material being sent out from a plurality of grooves in the chute 12.

[0052] The air blowing device 31 supplies compressed air from a compressor (not shown) to the injection nozzle 31b via a solenoid valve 31a. The air blowing device 31 blows air from the injection port S of the injection nozzle 31b onto granular material (such as "stink bug damage," "burn," "glass") that has been determined to be defective, by opening the solenoid valve 31a, causing it to fall into the defective product collection unit 41. The on time (amount of air injected) of the solenoid valve 31a in the air blowing device 31 can be changed and set.

[0053] [Control Unit] The control unit 7 is an ECU and, as shown in Figure 4, comprises a pass / fail determination unit 7a, a transmission control unit 7b, an operating amount calculation unit 7c, a display control unit 7d, and a storage unit 7e. The control unit 7 is connected to the inspection unit 4, the display unit 6, and the notification unit 8, and is configured to control them. The control unit 7 includes a memory (such as an HDD or non-volatile RAM) that stores programs and control parameters corresponding to each functional unit, and a CPU that executes the program. The functions of each functional unit are realized when the program is executed by the CPU. The control unit 7 may be composed of multiple ECUs that can communicate with each other.

[0054] The quality determination unit 7a determines whether the granular material is normal or defective based on the output of the sensor 23 received by the control unit 7. The quality determination unit 7a determines the quality of the granular material based on a sorting threshold as an operating parameter. In other words, the detection mechanism 20 detects the granular material as defective based on the sorting threshold. Details of the quality determination unit 7a will be explained later with reference to Figures 5 and 6.

[0055] The dispensing control unit 7b controls the dispensing mechanism 10 (vibration feeder 11, etc.) based on the set dispensing amount as an operating parameter. In other words, the dispensing mechanism 10 controls the amount of granular material dispensed based on the set dispensing amount.

[0056] Incidentally, if the device is tilted, the flow rate of granular material sent to multiple parallel paths will be uneven. As a result, it is expected that the amount of defective products removed by the removal mechanism 30 will be uneven. Also, if part of the detection mechanism 20 (for example, the lens of the camera 22) is dirty, it is expected that the amount of defective products removed by part of the removal mechanism 30 will increase.

[0057] Therefore, the operation amount calculation unit 7c calculates the operation amount by which the removal mechanism 30 removes granular material for each of the multiple regions set in the removal mechanism 30. Here, "operation amount" includes the opening time (on time) of the solenoid valve 31a, the amount of air injected from the injection nozzle 31b, or the number of granular materials removed by blowing air from the injection port S. "Multiple regions set in the removal mechanism 30" includes multiple regions obtained by grouping and dividing a predetermined number of adjacent injection ports S (for example, 5 injection ports S), or multiple regions corresponding to each of the multiple injection ports S.

[0058] In other words, the operation amount calculation unit 7c divides the exclusion mechanism 30 into multiple regions and calculates the operation amount by which the exclusion mechanism 30 excludes granular material for each region. This operation amount calculation is performed at predetermined intervals (for example, every 2 seconds), and the operation amount for a predetermined time (for example, every 3 seconds) is transmitted to the display control unit 7d. As a result, it becomes possible to evaluate the exclusion mechanism 30 for each of the multiple regions, and the cause of equipment malfunctions can be predicted in real time from the bias in the amount of defective products excluded by the exclusion mechanism 30. By providing such an operation amount calculation unit 7c, the granular material sorting device 100 is made possible by the ability to grasp the operating status of the device in real time.

[0059] The display control unit 7d controls the display mode of the display unit 6 based on information from the transmission mechanism 10, the detection mechanism 20, and the exclusion mechanism 30.

[0060] The memory unit 7e stores, for example, the operating parameters of the inspection unit 4 and the threshold values ​​used to determine the quality of the granular material. The notification unit 8 includes, for example, a buzzer, speaker, lamp, and information display device.

[0061] [Determination of the quality of granular material] Referring to Figures 5 and 6, the quality determination of granular material and the removal of defective products performed in inspection unit 4 will be explained. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the inspection area IA viewed from the front of the device in directions perpendicular to the Y and Z directions, with the right side of the diagram corresponding to the right side of the device and the top side corresponding to the Z1 side.

[0062] The granular material released from the grooves of the chute 12 falls in the Z2 direction, passes through the inspection area IA, and passes in front of the air blowing device 31. The multiple paths through which the granular material moves are referred to from left to right as paths R1, R2, R3, ... Rn (in this embodiment, n=55). n is the same as the number of grooves in the chute 12.

[0063] The nozzles S of the air blowing device 31 are arranged to correspond to each of the paths R1 through Rn. The nozzles S corresponding to paths R1, R2, ..., Rn are referred to as nozzles S1, S2, S3, ..., Sn. That is, granular material falling along path R1 passes in front of nozzle S1.

[0064] The quality determination unit 7a performs quality determination of the granular material based on the output of the sensor 23 for each of the multiple paths R1, R2, ...Rn. Specifically, the quality determination unit 7a distributes multiple pixels E1, E2, ...Em of the sensor 23 to correspond to the multiple parallel paths R1, R2, ...Rn to set up multiple channels CH1, CH2, ...CHn, and determines the quality of the granular material for each of these multiple channels. That is, the multiple channels CH1, CH2, ...CHn correspond to the multiple paths R1, R2, ...Rn and to the multiple nozzles S1, S2, ...Sn of the air blowing device 31 (removal mechanism 30). These channels are initially set during the manufacture of the device. The setting values ​​for the distribution of pixels E1, E2, ...Em to channels CH1, CH2, ...CHn are stored in the storage unit 7e. The quality determination unit 7a reads data indicating the correspondence between channels and pixels from the storage unit 7e and performs quality determination of the granular material for each channel based on the output of each sensor.

[0065] An example of the output of the front sensor 23A is shown at the bottom of Figure 5. The front sensor 23A is a line sensor and has multiple pixels E1, E2, ... Em arranged in a single row. m is the total number of pixels that the front sensor 23A has. The front sensor 23A detects light from the inspection area IA, specifically from a long, narrow region extending from the optical axis 26A in the left-right direction of the device. This region is called the detection area DU. Light from this detection area DU is incident on the front sensor 23A. The multiple pixels E1, E2, ... Em are arranged along a direction corresponding to the parallel direction of the granular material in the inspection area IA (detection area DU) (left-right direction of the device).

[0066] In this embodiment, the rear sensor 23B of the rear camera 22B is also a line sensor. The optical axis 26B of the rear camera 22B passes through the detection region DU. That is, light from the detection region DU is incident on the rear sensor 23B. The transmission sensor 23C of the transmission camera 22C is also a line sensor. The transmission sensor 23C of the transmission camera 22C detects light from the inspection region IA, specifically from an elongated region extending from the optical axis 26C in the left-right direction of the device. This region is referred to as the detection region DL.

[0067] In the example shown in Figure 5, a decrease in output is observed at two points in the output of the front sensor 23A. This is because granular material G1 falling along path R2 and granular material G2 falling along path R4 are located in the detection region DU, and light reflected from granular material G1 and granular material G2 is incident on the front sensor 23A. In other words, the intensity of the light reflected from the granular material and incident on the front sensor 23A is less than the intensity of the light from the background member 21A. Thus, when granular material passes through the detection region DU (and detection region DL), a change occurs in the output of the sensor 23. The detection mechanism 20 detects the presence of granular material in the detection region DU in the path R corresponding to a channel if there is a pixel in the output of the sensor 23 whose output is less than the granular material detection threshold SH (see Figure 6) in a portion corresponding to a certain channel.

[0068] Figure 6 shows an example where the granular material G1 is defective. In the illustrated example, the granular material G1 is a grain of rice and has a normal region A1, a colored region A2, and a black region A3. The color of the colored region A2 is darker than the color of the normal region A1. Therefore, the intensity of light reflected from the colored region A2 is lower than the intensity of light reflected from the normal region A1. The color of the black region A3 is darker than the color of the colored region A2. Therefore, the intensity of light reflected from the black region A3 is lower than the intensity of light reflected from the colored region A2. When the granular material G1 is in the position shown in Figure 5 relative to the detection region DU, the output of the front sensor 23A will have regions where the output is reduced due to the normal region A1, the colored region A2, and the black region A3.

[0069] The quality determination unit 7a determines that the granular material is defective if there are pixels in the output of the front sensor 23A whose output is smaller than the lower first threshold SL1 or the lower second threshold SL2. Specifically, the quality determination unit 7a determines that the granular material is defective related to the lower first defect if there are pixels in the output of the front sensor 23A whose output is smaller than the lower first threshold SL1. The lower first defect is, for example, "stink bug damage". The quality determination unit 7a determines that the granular material is defective related to the lower second defect if there are pixels in the output of the front sensor 23A whose output is between the lower first threshold SL1 and the lower second threshold SL2. The lower second defect is, for example, "burning".

[0070] Furthermore, the quality determination unit 7a determines that the granular material is defective if there are pixels in the output of the front sensor 23A whose output is greater than the upper first threshold SU1 or the upper second threshold SU2. Specifically, the quality determination unit 7a determines that the granular material is defective related to the upper first defect if there are pixels in the output of the front sensor 23A whose output is greater than the upper first threshold SU1. Upper first defects include, for example, "glass" or "transparent resin". The quality determination unit 7a determines that the granular material is defective related to the upper second defect if there are pixels in the output of the front sensor 23A whose output is greater than the upper second threshold SU2.

[0071] The quality determination unit 7a determines the quality of the granular material based on the output of the rear sensor 23B, similar to the case of the output of the front sensor 23A described above. The rear sensor 23B detects light emitted from the detection area DU of the inspection area IA toward the Y2 side. Therefore, the quality determination unit 7a determines the quality of the granular material based on the reflected light from both the Y1 side and the Y2 side of the granular material.

[0072] The quality determination unit 7a determines the quality of the granular material based on the output of the transmission sensor 23C, similar to the case of the output of the front sensor 23A described above. If the granular material is rice grains, the quality determination unit 7a's determination of a lower first defect based on the output of the transmission sensor 23C is a determination that the material is less permeable to light than normal, such as "hulled rice," "white grain," or "milky white." The determination of an upper first defect is a determination that the material is more permeable to light than normal, such as "non-glutinous rice in glutinous rice" or "green rice."

[0073] The quality determination unit 7a determines that the granular material in the path corresponding to a channel is defective if the above-described criteria are met in the portion of the output of the sensor 23 corresponding to that channel. The quality determination unit 7a then operates the air blowing device 31 (removal mechanism 30) to blow air from the nozzle S corresponding to that channel. Specifically, the quality determination unit 7a operates the air blowing device 31 after a predetermined time has elapsed since determining that the granular material is defective.

[0074] [Display] The display modes of the display unit 6, which are controlled by the display control unit 7d, will be explained with reference to Figures 7 to 9. Figure 7 shows the initial screen, and Figures 8 to 9 show the operating screen. When the sorting start button 6A shown in Figure 2 is pressed, the screen switches from the initial screen shown in Figure 7 to the operation start screen shown in Figure 8.

[0075] In the initial screen shown in Figure 7, the initial setting display 64 and the sensitivity setting display 65 are arranged vertically from top to bottom. In the operation start screen shown in Figure 8, the initial setting display 64, the area exclusion display 61, and the flow rate display 63 are arranged vertically from top to bottom. In the operating screen shown in Figure 9, the sensitivity setting display 65, the area-specific exclusion display 61, and the exclusion frequency display 62 are arranged in a vertical column. In other words, the display unit 6 includes at least the area-specific exclusion display 61, the exclusion frequency display 62, the flow rate display 63, the initial setting display 64, and the sensitivity setting display 65.

[0076] The region-specific exclusion display 61 displays the operating amount calculated by the operating amount calculation unit 7c for each of the multiple regions (as shown in Figures 8 and 9, "Channel-Specific Exclusion Monitor"). In this region-specific exclusion display 61, multiple injection ports S (55 channels in this embodiment) from which air is injected are shown as multiple regions. The region-specific exclusion display 61 has the multiple injection ports S1 to Sn arranged sequentially on the horizontal axis, and the vertical axis represents the operating amount corresponding to the multiple injection ports S1 to Sn. This operating amount is represented by the cumulative amount of the opening time of the solenoid valve 31a, displayed in five levels.

[0077] The area-specific exclusion display 61 shows the operating amount for a predetermined time (e.g., 3 seconds), and is reset at predetermined intervals (e.g., 2 seconds) to display the operating amount for the next predetermined time (e.g., 3 seconds). In other words, the area-specific exclusion display 61 displayed at each predetermined interval partially (1 second) overlaps the previous operating amount with the current operating amount. Alternatively, the area-specific exclusion display 61 may be configured so that the predetermined time and predetermined interval are the same, preventing overlap between the previous operating amount and the current operating amount.

[0078] In this way, by displaying the amount of operation by the exclusion mechanism 30 to exclude granular material for each of the multiple areas on the display unit 6, it is possible to visually grasp any bias in the amount of defective products excluded by the exclusion mechanism 30. Performing this visual assessment at the start of the device makes it possible to detect malfunctions of the detection mechanism 20, etc., at an early stage and take countermeasures, thereby preventing misidentification of defective products.

[0079] This region-specific exclusion display 61 has multiple nozzles S1 to Sn arranged sequentially on the horizontal axis, and the vertical axis represents the amount of operation required to exclude granular material corresponding to multiple nozzles S1 to Sn. As a result, it is possible to instantly identify abnormal nozzles S. Consequently, it becomes possible to determine if there is a malfunction in the detection mechanism 20 located around the abnormal nozzle S, making it easier to take countermeasures.

[0080] Furthermore, since the cumulative amount of the opening time of the solenoid valve 31a is used as the operating amount, the calculation is simple and it is easy to perform a relative evaluation of each injection port S1 to Sn. As a result, if there is an imbalance in the amount of defective products removed by the removal mechanism 30 between the left and right sides, it becomes possible to determine that the device is tilted, making it easier to take countermeasures.

[0081] The vertical axis of the area-specific exclusion indicator 61 is a level indicator, making it easy to understand visually and allowing for instant identification of abnormal nozzles S. Furthermore, using a level indicator allows for a shorter vertical axis, enabling intuitive relative evaluation of multiple nozzles S without requiring the area-specific exclusion indicator 61 to take up much space. This level indicator consists of five segments: the first segment lights up if air is injected from the nozzle S even once; the upper limits of the first to fourth segments are divided proportionally to the cumulative opening time of the solenoid valve 31a; and the fifth segment represents the cumulative opening time exceeding the allowable injection volume (for example, a 12% defect rate). This division format can be uneven, such as setting a small upper limit for the first segment, and can be arbitrarily set according to the product type and equipment.

[0082] The rejection frequency indicator 62 is arranged in a vertical column below the region-specific rejection indicator 61 (rejection frequency shown in Figure 9). This rejection frequency indicator 62 is the percentage of defective products relative to the total amount of granular material sent to the dispensing mechanism 10. If the rejection frequency indicator 62 exceeds the defective product percentage threshold (for example, 10%), the dispensing control unit 7b reduces the amount of granular material sent by the dispensing mechanism 10, as this may be due to a misjudgment based on the granular material flow rate being too fast.

[0083] The exclusion frequency display 62 is positioned to be switchable with the flow rate display 63, which shows the flow rate of the granular material sent out by the delivery mechanism 10 (switching between the "feeder operation value" shown in Figure 8 and the "exclusion frequency" shown in Figure 9). Touching the "exclusion frequency display" shown in Figure 8 will switch to the "exclusion frequency" shown in Figure 9, and touching the "feeder operation value display" shown in Figure 9 will switch to the "feeder operation value" shown in Figure 8.

[0084] The flow rate indicator 63 is arranged in a vertical column below the area-specific exclusion indicator 61 (shown as "feeder operating value" in Figure 8). The flow rate indicator 63 shows the flow rate ratio at which the dispensing mechanism 10 dispenses granular material based on the set dispensing amount. The flow rate indicator 63 gradually increases from the start of operation and reaches its maximum flow rate after a certain period of time.

[0085] Thus, in addition to the area-specific rejection display 61, if there is a rejection frequency display 62, which is the percentage of defective products relative to the total amount of granular material, the operating status of the device can be grasped in real time while considering the overall balance. Furthermore, if the percentage of defective products is high in the rejection frequency display 62 (for example, 10%), the operating status of the device can be grasped in real time by switching the rejection frequency display 62 to the flow rate display 63.

[0086] As shown in the upper part of Figure 7, the initial screen of the display unit 6 before sorting begins includes an initial setting display 64 and a sensitivity setting display 65. The initial setting display 64 includes a "set flow rate" display for setting the set discharge amount and a "mode" display for selecting the granular material to be sorted. In the example shown in the figure, the set flow rate is set to 80% of the maximum discharge rate, and the mode is set to brown rice sorting mode. Touching "Change" on the sensitivity setting display 65 shown in the upper part of Figure 7 allows switching to the sensitivity setting display 65 (see the lower part of Figure 7).

[0087] The sensitivity setting display 65 shown in the lower part of Figure 7 is a "sensitivity" display for changing the sorting threshold of the quality determination unit 7a described above. As described above using Figure 6, the sorting sensitivity can be set for the lower first defect "stink bug damage", the lower second defect "burnt", the upper first defect "glass", the lower first defect "white / milky", and the upper first defect "green rice" detected by the transmission sensor 23C. The sorting threshold of the quality determination unit 7a is set when the operator inputs the sorting sensitivity. Even during sorting operation, the sensitivity can be switched from the initial setting display 64 to the sensitivity setting display 65 by touching the "sensitivity icon" on the operation screen shown in Figures 8 and 9.

[0088] [Other embodiments] (1) The granular material sorting device 100 may be equipped with two or more inspection units 4.

[0089] (2) Figure 10 shows another example of the region-specific exclusion display 61 in the display unit 6. In the region-specific exclusion display 61, if all nozzles S1 to Sn are displayed, one nozzle S will be displayed small. Therefore, multiple adjacent nozzles S are grouped together in a predetermined number (for example, 5 nozzles S) and displayed in multiple regions. This improves visibility and allows for an instantaneous grasp of general trends such as the tilt of the device and the contamination of the detection mechanism 20.

[0090] (3) Figure 11 shows another example of the area-specific exclusion display 61 in the display unit 6. As shown in the figure, the area-specific exclusion display 61 may use a line graph instead of the bar graph described above. In this case as well, it is possible to visually grasp the bias in the amount of defective products excluded by the exclusion mechanism 30.

[0091] (4) The switch from the initial screen shown in Figure 7 to the operating screens shown in Figures 8 and 9 may be performed automatically after a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of operation, or it may be configured to be switchable manually.

[0092] (5) The defect pattern may be stored in the memory unit 7e based on the degree of bias in the amount of defective products removed by the removal mechanism 30, and the operator may be notified of the expected defect by the display unit 6 or notification unit 8 (warning sound, warning lamp, etc.). In this case as well, by providing the area-specific removal display 61, the amount of work performed by the removal mechanism 30 to remove granular material for each of the multiple areas can be visually grasped, so that the operator can understand the nature of the defect.

[0093] (6) The arrangement and display modes of the area-specific exclusion display 61, exclusion frequency display 62, flow rate display 63, initial setting display 64, and sensitivity setting display 65 in the display unit 6 described above are not limited to the above-described configuration.

[0094] (7) The amount of operation calculated by the operation amount calculation unit 7c for the elimination mechanism 30 that eliminates granular material may be transmitted to other devices via communication for use. Alternatively, instead of providing the area-specific elimination display 61 on the display unit 6, the cause of the malfunction may be estimated based on the operation amounts for each of the multiple areas calculated by the operation amount calculation unit 7c, and the operator may be notified via the display unit 6 or the notification unit 8. [Industrial applicability]

[0095] The present invention is applicable to granular material sorting devices, color sorters, optical sorters, and the like, all equipped with an inspection unit. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0096] 6:Display section 7c: Operating amount calculation section 10: Delivery mechanism 20: Detection mechanism 30: Exclusion mechanism 31a: Solenoid valve 61: Exclusion display by area 62: Exclusion frequency display 63:Flow rate display G1: Granular material G2: Granular IA: Inspection area R1~Rn: Multiple routes S: Spray port S1~Sn: Nozzle (multiple regions) 100: Granular material sorting device

Claims

1. A dispensing mechanism that sends granular material along multiple parallel paths to the inspection area, A detection mechanism that inspects the granular material dispensed by the aforementioned dispensing mechanism to detect defective products, A rejection mechanism for removing the defective product detected by the detection mechanism, The system includes an operation amount calculation unit that calculates the amount of operation by which the exclusion mechanism removes the granular material for each of a plurality of regions set in the exclusion mechanism, The multiple regions are provided corresponding to the multiple paths and are multiple nozzles from which air is injected. The aforementioned exclusion mechanism has a solenoid valve that adjusts the amount of air injected. The aforementioned operating amount is the cumulative amount of the opening time of the solenoid valve. The system includes a display unit that includes a region-specific exclusion display that displays the operating amount calculated by the operating amount calculation unit for each of the multiple regions, The aforementioned region-specific exclusion display has the multiple injection nozzles arranged sequentially on the horizontal axis, and the operating amount corresponding to the multiple injection nozzles on the vertical axis. The vertical axis of the granular material sorting device is a level indicator divided according to the level of the accumulated amount.

2. The granular material sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit includes an exclusion frequency display which is the ratio of defective products to the total amount of granular material sent to the dispensing mechanism, and the exclusion frequency display is arranged in a vertical column with the area-specific exclusion display.

3. The granular material sorting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the exclusion frequency indicator is configured to be switchable with a flow rate indicator showing the flow rate of the granular material discharged by the discharge mechanism.

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