Cup-Shaped Support Means for NIR Transmittance Grading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional fruit and vegetable grading apparatuses face difficulties in accurately using Near Infra-Red (NIR) transmittance technology due to physical constraints from the conveyor setup, which obstructs the light beam reception by sensors, making reflectance-based methods less accurate.
Innovation Solution
A conveying device with cup-shaped support means featuring a longitudinal slot at the bottom to allow the NIR light beam to pass through the product, aligned with a void between chain links, enabling transmittance-based quality control by a fibre-optic sensor positioned underneath the conveyor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional cup-shaped support means are used on the conveyor, then the products are contained and kept in the same position during transport, but the light beam reception by the sensor is obstructed, making NIR transmittance measurement difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The cup-shaped support means is segmented into two functional parts: the upper cup portion for containing the product, and the lower open portion that forms a groove. This segmentation allows the cup to maintain its product-containment function while creating an open pathway for the NIR light beam to pass through the product and reach the sensor underneath the conveyor.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution transitions from a fully enclosed three-dimensional cup structure to a two-dimensional open groove structure at the bottom of the cup. This dimensional change creates a light passage that enables NIR transmittance measurement while maintaining the cup's ability to hold the product during conveyor transport.
2Ease of manufacture
If the conveyor chain means are arranged underneath the support means along the median longitudinal axis, then the conveyor structure is simplified, but the light beam passage is blocked, preventing accurate quality control through NIR transmittance
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the light passage function from the conventional solid cup structure by creating an open groove at the bottom of the cup. This extracted light passage allows the NIR beam to pass through the product and reach the sensor, enabling quality control measurements while the conveyor chain remains arranged underneath for simplified assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The open groove in the cup acts as an intermediary structure that facilitates the light beam's passage between the product and the sensor. It mediates the conflict between the conveyor's structural simplicity and the measurement requirement by providing a dedicated light transmission pathway.
3Device complexity
If reflectance-based NIR technique is used, then the measurement setup is simpler, but the accuracy is insufficient for proper grading
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using reflectance-based measurement where the light source and sensor are on the same side, the invention inverts the approach by positioning the sensor underneath the conveyor to detect light that has passed through the product. This transmittance-based approach provides higher accuracy for quality parameter detection, though it requires the modified cup structure to enable light passage.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables accurate and reliable NIR transmittance-based quality control of fruit and vegetable products, overcoming the limitations of traditional setups by creating an open groove for light passage, thus improving the accuracy of quality parameter analysis.
Implementation Method 1
the use of the technology called NIR (Near Infra-Red) based on a near infra-red spectrography to perform the quality control in said apparatuses for sizing and grading the products
Implementation Method 2
The use of the same technique through transmittance is, on the contrary, preferable for its higher accuracy, due to the fact that only the light filtered by the product is analyzed
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The transport device is applied to an apparatus for grading fruit and vegetable products including a conveyor developed along a horizontal direction and equipped with haul-off units (3) of a plurality of means (10) to support the products (2), arranged regularly spaced and suited to convey the same products (2) at a quality control station (C) through near infra-red spectrography. Each support means (10) consists of a cup-shaped rest member (11) having at the bottom a feed-through opening (20) arranged vertically aligned with a corresponding void (7) defined by the haul-off units (3), in order to allow the direct passage of a light beam, which passes, through transmittance, the individual product (2) placed resting in the central cavity (12) of the cup-shaped rest member (11) at the quality control station (C).