Blueberry Sorting Sensor Detects Recirculation Bottlenecks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automated systems for treating horticultural products like blueberries face challenges in detecting productivity drops due to non-optimal video camera operation, leading to increased reprocessing and reduced productivity, especially when handling delicate and valuable fruits.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with a detection sensor and electronic control unit is implemented downstream of the distribution station to monitor the number of unsorted products and trigger countermeasures when a threshold is exceeded, ensuring prompt intervention and minimizing reprocessing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If recirculation apparatus is used to return unsorted fruits to upstream stations, then automated operation continues without stops, but productivity decreases due to multiple treatment cycles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where sensors detect unsorted fruits and trigger alerts or automatic stops when threshold values are exceeded. This feedback loop allows the system to respond to malfunction conditions, preventing continuous operation under degraded performance and maintaining productivity by stopping recirculation when necessary.
2Extent of automation
If video cameras and analysis software are used to detect fruit parameters, then automated sorting is achieved, but detection accuracy decreases due to environmental variability and technical limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces intermediate detection devices (sensors) positioned at strategic locations to detect unsorted fruits. These intermediaries provide additional verification beyond the video camera system, compensating for its limitations in detecting parameters like sugar content and ripeness, and improving overall detection accuracy through multiple sensing modalities.
3Ease of operation
If recirculation apparatus operates for extended periods to avoid rejects, then automated handling continues, but fruit deterioration and jamming increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses sensors to continuously monitor the recirculation apparatus and provides feedback when unsorted fruit accumulates beyond threshold values. This triggers alerts or automatic stops, preventing extended operation that would lead to fruit deterioration and jamming, while maintaining automated handling during normal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preventive measures by detecting unsorted fruits before they accumulate to dangerous levels. The threshold-based detection system cushions against potential harm by triggering corrective actions (alerts or stops) before fruit deterioration and jamming occur, protecting the valuable blueberries from damage.
4Manufacturing precision
If multiple unloading devices are used for sorting, then product uniformity improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the unloading devices universally applicable by enabling each device to be selectively activated for different collection containers based on detected fruit parameters. This multi-functional approach allows a single set of unloading devices to handle multiple sorting categories, achieving product uniformity without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
An apparatus for treating horticultural products, such as blueberries and the like, which comprises in series at least one station (2) for loading the horticultural products (A), at least one preliminary checking station (3), at least one alignment station (4), for their subsequent advancement aligned on at least one row, at least one viewing station (5), for acquiring information related to at least one parameter of interest of each horticultural product (A), such as the color, size, shape, sugar content, defectiveness, and the like, at least one distribution station (6), for sorting the products (A) into uniform subgroups, as a function of the information acquired by the viewing station (5), and at least one recirculation apparatus, for returning, at least to the viewing station (5), any horticultural products (A) that have not been sorted by the distribution station (6). The apparatus comprises at least one sensor (7) for detecting any presence of horticultural products (A), which is arranged downstream of the distribution station (6) along a transit line (8) of the products (A), which leads to the recirculation apparatus. The detection sensor (7) is associated with at least one electronic control and management unit, which is provided with at least one module for counting the number of detected horticultural products (A).