Shrimp Processing System with UV and White-Light Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
In the shrimp-processing industry, raw shrimps often exit peeling machines with residual shell or are damaged, resulting in undesirable shrimp bits, which are not effectively detected and removed by existing technologies.
Innovation Solution
A shrimp processing system that includes an imaging chamber with continuous ultraviolet radiation and periodic white-light illumination, allowing for the capture of white-light and ultraviolet images of shrimps. This system uses image processing to identify and reject shrimps with residual shell and damaged bits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If only white-light imaging is used, then the imaging system is simple, but it cannot effectively distinguish shrimps with residual shell from normal shrimps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines white-light imaging and ultraviolet imaging into a single integrated inspection system. The imaging device includes both white-light and ultraviolet light sources along with a camera that captures images under both illuminations, merging multiple detection capabilities into one unified system to identify shrimps with residual shell more accurately.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the different visual characteristics of shrimps under white-light and ultraviolet illumination. Under ultraviolet light, residual shell exhibits different fluorescence or color properties compared to normal shrimp tissue, enabling the system to distinguish defective shrimps based on color/visual changes under different lighting conditions.
2Measurement precision
If continuous white-light illumination is used, then image quality is consistent, but energy consumption increases and UV image capture becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic switching between white-light and ultraviolet illumination modes. The white-light source and ultraviolet source are activated alternately in periodic cycles, allowing the system to capture both types of images over time while minimizing energy consumption. The controller coordinates the lighting cycles to ensure both image types are captured within the inspection timeframe.
3Productivity
If manual inspection is used, then equipment complexity is low, but productivity is reduced and rejection accuracy is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual visual inspection with an automated optical inspection system. The system uses controlled white-light and ultraviolet illumination combined with digital image capture and processing to automatically identify shrimps with residual shell, eliminating the need for manual inspection and enabling continuous high-speed processing.
4Use of energy by moving object
If only UV imaging is used, then energy consumption is reduced, but the system cannot identify all types of defects including damaged shrimps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges white-light imaging and ultraviolet imaging capabilities into a single inspection system. The controller coordinates both lighting sources to capture images under different illumination conditions, combining the advantages of both methods: white-light for general defect detection and UV for specific residual shell identification, achieving comprehensive defect detection while managing energy consumption.
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
The system effectively identifies and diverts shrimps with residual shell and damaged bits from the processing stream, improving the quality of the final product by ensuring that only acceptable shrimps proceed for further processing.
Implementation Method 1
a UV source continuously subjecting an exposure region of the conveyor in the imaging chamber to ultraviolet radiation
Implementation Method 2
a white-light source turned on and off periodically to subject the exposure region to white light only when the white-light source is turned on
Data Source
AI summary
A shrimp processing system conveys raw peeled shrimps to an imaging chamber in which shrimp bits and shrimps with residual shell are detected and diverted from the stream of acceptable shrimps allowed to pass on to downstream processing. An ultraviolet (UV) light source in the imaging chamber is constantly on. A visual inspection system takes images of the passing stream of shrimp when a white-light source is turned on to illuminate an exposure region to detect bits, clumps of shrimps, and acceptable individual shrimps. The visual inspection system takes images of the passing stream when the white-light source is turned off and the exposure region is subjected only to ultraviolet radiation. The visual inspection system detects shrimps with residual shell in the UV images. Shrimp bits and shrimps with residual shell are diverted from the stream of shrimps by air jet nozzles to corresponding reject destinations.