JPH07232136A - Automatic separating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an automatic separating device capable of improving separating accuracy and treating speed. CONSTITUTION:This automatic separating is designed to identify the shapes of beans as slender objects transported by conveyors 14a to 14e and to classify these beans to plural taking-out sections 8A to 8F and is provided with a recognizing section 7 for recognizing the shapes of the incoming beans transported by these conveyors 14a to 14e as images and outputting these images, selectors which are disposed in correspondence to the plural taking-out sections 8A to 8f and have discharging devices 15 for discharging the beans to the taking-out sections corresponding to the conveyors 14a to 14e and a means for controlling the discharging devices 15 by determining the taking-out sections 8A to 8f from which the beans are discharged by the conveyors 14a to 14e in accordance with the data outputted from the recognizing section 7.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic sorting device suitable for automatically sorting and packing elongated objects such as kidney beans, asparagus and cucumber.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, the work of packing long and narrow vegetables or fruits such as kidney beans into boxes according to shape has been done manually. In addition, in the sorting work, in order to facilitate the sorting, the rotating brush is brought into contact with the object sent by the conveyor, and this object is moved to one side of the conveyor for comparison, and the position of each length is set. It was dropped and distributed.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned conventional sorting method has a problem in that since the brush is directly applied and rubbed, the vegetables and fruits are finely scratched and the quality of the product is deteriorated. It was In addition, since the operator visually makes the determination, the determination criteria vary depending on the operator, and accurate length determination and thickness determination cannot be performed. Further, if there is a change in size standard, there is a possibility that accuracy may deteriorate, quality may not be stable, and processing speed may not be increased too much.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an automatic sorting apparatus capable of improving sorting accuracy and processing speed. Furthermore, other purposes will be clarified one after another in the content described below.

[0005]

According to the present invention, an object of the present invention is to convey an elongate object conveyed by a conveyer in an automatic sorting apparatus for identifying the shape of an elongated object and sorting it into a plurality of positions. A recognition unit for image-recognizing the shape of the object and outputting data, and a selector that is provided in correspondence with the plurality of positions and discharges the object from the conveyor to the corresponding position. And means for controlling the selector by determining a position for discharging the object from the conveyor based on the data output from the recognition unit.

[0006]

According to this structure, the shape of the object is image-recognized and determined by non-contact, and when the object is conveyed to the position where it needs to be discharged, the selector is driven to automatically move the object from the conveyor. It can be mechanically processed without the need for manual labor.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 are overall schematic configuration layout diagrams of an automatic sorting machine shown as an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a top view thereof, FIG. 2 is a side view seen from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1, and FIG.
1 is an enlarged side view seen from the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view seen from the direction of arrow C in FIG. In addition, the automatic sorter here is the size (length and thickness) of kidney beans.
An example is the case of selecting according to the degree of bending and the like.

1 to 4, the automatic sorting machine has a control panel 1a and a control panel 1b, which is a central control unit 1 for controlling the operation of the entire sorting machine, and a loading unit which also serves as a visual sorting unit. Unit 2, first separation supply unit 3, distribution unit 4, second separation supply unit 5, vibrating unit 6, and recognition unit 7
The sorting section 8, the recognition section 7, and the auxiliary control section 9 and the like interposed between the sorting section 8 and the central control section 1 and the like.

Here, the general operation of the whole will be described. In the present embodiment, the selection of kidney beans is S, M, L, 2S, 2
It is divided into 6 types, L and non-standard, and the sorted ones are packed in each box. Then, the kidney beans to be selected are scattered and thrown into the feeding section 2 by an operator or the like. A belt conveyor 10 is arranged in the feeding section 2, and the fed kidney beans are fed by the belt conveyor 10 toward the first separating and supplying section 3. At this time, the operator visually observes the kidney beans sent on the belt conveyor 10 and roughly selects and removes those that do not fit in the normal sales route due to extremely large bends or those that are damaged. To do.

When it is conveyed to the first separating / supplying section 3 by the belt conveyor 10, the first separating / supplying section 3 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1
1 and the second which is also rotated counterclockwise in FIG.
The rotary separator 12 and the separation belt 13 capable of transporting kidney beans toward the sorting unit 4 side are provided,
The kidney beans from the belt conveyor 10 are first received by the first rotary separator 11 and aligned sideways (in a direction intersecting the conveying direction at right angles), and then on the lower side of the first rotary separator 11. The second rotary separator 12 arranged in
Sent to. When the first rotary separator 11 is sent to the second rotary separator 12, the kidney beans that have been overlapped and sent are separated into finer numbers and dropped horizontally on the separation belt 13. Supplied. Further, the corrugated groove 26 is formed on the separation belt 13, and
This separation belt 13 is rotated while forming an inclined surface on the way, and only one kidney bean that has entered a plurality of corrugated grooves in the inclined surface is overlapped while separating the other beans,
An extremely large bend that has been overlooked and conveyed by a visual inspection in the input section 2 and a kidney bean that has climbed vertically are excluded while being prevented from climbing the inclined surface, and the sorting section 4 Supply to.

The kidney beans that have been supplied to the distributing section 4 are five conveyor belts 51 provided in the second separating and supplying section 5 arranged below the distributing section 4.
a, 51b, 51c, 51d, 51e, respectively. Further, conveyor belts 51a-5
The kidney beans discharged to 1e are separated and supplied by the separating and supplying devices 52a, 52b, 52 arranged on the downstream side of the respective conveyor belts 51a to 51e to facilitate the recognition in the recognition unit 7.
c, 52d, 52e separate each bean into beans one by one with a certain distance or more between the beans and the beans, and the beans are the conveyor belt 14a on the sorting section 8 side.
It is supplied to 14b, 14c, 14d and 14e, respectively.

The conveyor belts 14a to 14e are respectively arranged through the vibrating section 6 and the recognition section 7, and the kidney beans supplied on the conveyor belts 14a to 14e pass through the recognition section 7. It is sent to the sorting section 8. Immediately before being sent into the recognition unit 7, kidney beans are moved in the left-right direction (direction orthogonal to the transport direction) on the transport conveyor belts 14a to 14e by the vibrating unit 6, and substantially in the center of the transport conveyor belts 14a to 14e. Parted to the part.
This is because if the kidney beans are conveyed while leaning on the partition plate that partitions the conveyor belts 14a to 14e, the recognition unit 7 may have difficulty in recognizing the beans and may reduce recognition accuracy. There is a purpose to prevent this. Further, in the recognition unit 7, a lamp for irradiating the beans that pass through the recognition unit 7 with light and one CCD camera as a CCD line sensor are provided. Transport conveyor belt 14a-
The kidney beans on 14e are imaged, the data is taken into the auxiliary control unit 9, and the size (length and thickness) and the direction (direction of the mouth) are recognized. Further, the kidney beans that have passed through the recognition unit 7 are conveyed to conveyor belts 14a to 14a.
It is conveyed to the sorting section 8 side at 4e.

The sorting section 8 is formed with six pick-up sections 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E and 8F for picking kidney beans based on the data recognized by the recognition section 7. Of these, the size of "S" in the takeout unit 8A, the size of "M" in the takeout unit 8B, the size of "L" in the takeout unit 8C, the size of "2L" in the takeout unit 8D, and the takeout unit 8E. Then, the kidney beans of the size "2S" are taken out respectively, and the take-out portion 8F is set to take out the "non-standard" kidney beans.
Ejectors 15 (selectors) for ejecting the beans from the conveyor belts 14a to 14e to the take-out portions 8A to 8E are provided in the A to 8E. Then, the recognition unit 7 is formed by the conveyor belts 14a to 14e.
The kidney beans that have been conveyed through are discharged to the take-out sections 8A to 8E according to the size thereof by controlling the ejector 15 based on the above data, and any of the take-out sections 8A to 8E. Non-standard kidney beans that were not discharged to the take-out section 8F (conveyor conveyor belt 14a
It is stored in a basket 94 arranged at the downstream end of 14e. As a result, the kidney beans input to the input unit 2 are
It can be automatically selected and taken out from the respective take-out sections 8A to 8F.

Next, the configuration of each section will be described in more detail. First, the first separating / supplying section 3 will be described. The first separating / supplying section 3 is also shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. Therefore, referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the first separating / supplying unit 3 is arranged below the first end of the downstream end of the belt conveyor 10 as described above.
Of the rotary separation body 11, the second rotation separation body 12 arranged below the first rotation separation body 11, the separation belt 13 arranged below the second rotation separation body 12, and the like. Has been done.

The first rotary separator 11 has a central shaft 16 and
A drum 17 that rotates integrally with the central shaft 16 and disk-shaped collars 18 attached to both left and right sides of the drum 17.
And the four blades 1 radially attached to the outer periphery of the drum 17 from radially equidistant positions over the left and right flanges 18 respectively.
And 9 and are laid in a state of being laid in the left-right direction (direction crossing the transport direction).

The second rotary separator 12 is a central shaft 20 that is rotated at a speed that is approximately one fourth of the rotational speed of the central shaft 16 of the first rotary separator 11, and is integral with the central shaft 20. The drum 21 rotating around, the disk-shaped flanges 22 attached to the left and right sides of the drum 21, and the eight blades 23 radially attached from the substantially outer peripheral positions of the drum 21 between the left and right flanges 22 respectively. And has a first rotary separator 1
1 is arranged in parallel with 1 in the left-right direction (direction crossing the transport direction). A guard member 24 is formed between the first rotary separator 11 and the second rotary separator 12. The guard member 24 is provided on the side of the first rotation separation body 11 in the rotation direction of the first rotation separation body 1.
It is arranged so as to lie in the left-right direction in a state of being parallel to 1, and the upper end is fixed and the lower end side is extended to a position adjacent to the second rotary separator 12. The card member 24 is for allowing kidney beans spilled from the first rotary separator 11 to flow into the second rotary separator 12.

The separation belt 13 is formed with a corrugated groove 26 extending in the left-right direction repeatedly, has a small friction coefficient, and has a flexible endless belt member 25, and this belt member 25. Endless chains 2 arranged along both the left and right sides of the
7 and the sprocket 28 engaged with the chain 27
a, 28b, 28c, 28d, 28e, 28f, 28g
And a pressing roller 29 and the like that are in contact with the chain 27 from the front side via the belt member 25. Further, the rotating shaft 30 to which the sprocket 28d is integrally rotatable is provided with the wave portion vibrating body 31 for imparting vibration once for each wave pitch formed by the corrugated groove 26. It is attached so as to rotate integrally with the shaft 30.

The belt member 25 is fixed to the top 27a of the chain 27 through the L-shaped bracket 32 for each wave, and the chain 27 is sprockets 28a to 28g.
3 has a structure in which it is moved in the clockwise direction in FIG. 3 integrally with the chain 27, and this movement is such that one pitch of the blades 23 of the second rotary separator 12 and one pitch of the wave are one. The speed is set to correspond to the one-to-one correspondence. Further, the belt member 25 has, on the upper surface side, a substantially horizontal portion formed between the sprocket 28a and the pressing roller 29, and a portion formed between the pressing roller 29 and the sprocket 28b and inclined by approximately 60 degrees. A substantially horizontal portion formed between the sprocket 28b and the pressing roller 29, and the pressing roller 29 and the sprocket 28c.
And a substantially horizontal portion formed between the sprocket 28c and the pressing roller 29, the pressing roller 29 and the sprocket 2
8d and a portion inclined by about 60 degrees,
The sprocket 28d and the sprocket 28e are stretched so as to have a reversely inclined portion that is inclined in the opposite direction. And a first between the parts
Nodule (portion that is raised on the surface side and has a stepped shape)
33a is formed, and a second hump is formed between the parts (a part that is also raised on the surface side and has a step shape).
33b is formed.

In addition, above the belt member 25, the first
The interlocking non-return member 34 is formed corresponding to the hump 33a. The check member 34 is arranged so as to be laid in the left-right direction, and has a fixed upper end and a lower hump 33 at the lower end.
The first hump 33 extends to a position adjacent to a.
It is possible to stop the kidney beans that have accumulated on a, that is, the portion, as a lump so as not to fall down to the portion side.

Therefore, in the thus-formed first separating / supplying section 3, when the kidney beans are dropped from the belt conveyor 10, the beans 19 and the blades of the first rotary separator 11 are rotated. 19 is dropped into a gap formed as a V-shaped groove, and the beans are aligned by the first rotary separator 11 so that the beans are oriented substantially parallel to the rotation shaft 16.

The kidney beans, which are oriented in the same direction with the first rotary separator 11, are also below the first rotary separator 11 and are about four times as fast as the speed of the first rotary separator 11. Blades 23 and 2 of the second rotary separator 12 rotating at
3 is dropped into a gap formed as a V-shaped groove, where the amount of kidney beans is distributed to each groove in the second rotary separator 12. Further, as the rotation of the second rotary separator 12 progresses, the kidney beans positioned between the blades 23 and the blades 23 are separated from each other by the pitch of the blades 23 of the second rotary separator 12 and the waveform groove 26. And 1
It is sequentially dropped onto the belt member 25 which is being moved by the body 1, and this enters the corrugated groove 26 while being aligned. Also,
The kidney beans that have not entered the corrugated groove 26 remain on the surface of the belt member 25.

Then, the kidney beans dropped on the belt member 25 are partially rotated by the rotation of the belt member 25.
,,, and are sequentially conveyed to the sorting unit 4 side. Then, immediately after being dropped onto the belt member 25, until a portion almost climbing up to the vicinity of the vibration body 31 is approached, a plurality of kidney beans overlap each other, and some of them are caught in the corrugated groove 26, If the paper is oriented vertically, the conveyance will proceed. In this way, when approaching the portion of the vibration body 31, the vibration body 31 vibrates the belt member 25, and the portion corresponding to the vibration body 31 has the third hump 33c. As a result, the opening of the corrugated groove 26 is largely opened, so that the corrugated groove 26 may be incompletely inserted or may be large (about 35 mm when the length is about 50 to 220 mm). The curling thing is rolled down from the part, and the kidney beans that have climbed vertically without entering the corrugated groove 26 are also belt members 2.
Since the surface of No. 5 is formed by the belt having a low coefficient of friction, it is slid off, and only the kidney beans, which fit neatly in the corrugated groove 26 and have a straight shape, are conveyed to almost the partial side.

In addition, the kidney beans that have fallen down from the portion to the second hump 33b pass through the second hump 33b.
Since the outer circumference of the second hump 33b and the corrugated groove 26 immediately below are largely opened by the formation of b,
When the corrugated groove 26 is vacant, the corrugated groove 26 falls into the corrugated groove 26 which is empty at this portion, and the conveyance is started again in a state of being housed in the corrugated groove 26. Then, immediately above the second hump 33b, the opening of the corrugated groove 26 is narrowed to be securely held, so that even kidney beans falling from the portion collide with this and fall again. Things will disappear.

On the other hand, the kidney beans that are not caught in the second hump 33b are dropped through the portion to the first hump 33a.
In the portion of the first hump 33a, as in the case of the second hump 33b, the outer periphery of the first hump 33a and the corrugated groove 26 immediately below are largely opened, so that the corrugated groove 26 is formed.
If there is a vacancy, the corrugated groove 2 vacant in this part
It falls within 6. Then, immediately above the first hump 33a, the mouth of the corrugated groove 26 is narrowed to be securely held, so that even if kidney beans are dropped from the portion, they will hit and fall again. Nothing. Further, if the kidney beans stay without being caught here, the non-return member 34 stops the reversion to the partial side, and the non-return member 34 is retained in a large lump. . If a lump of kidney beans is formed in this portion, it is removed by the operator and returned to the input section 2. Further, when the beans are curled to such an extent that they are apparently out of specification when returned to the input section 2, the selection line is removed as out of specification.

On the other hand, in the case where the kidney beans that have passed through the portion of the wave oscillator 31 enter the adjacent corrugated groove 26, the portion is formed as an inverted slope portion and the wave oscillator 31 is formed. Since the corrugated groove 26 immediately above is largely opened, the center of gravity of the corrugated groove 26 is slightly moved to the traveling direction side, and the corrugated groove 26 falls into its own corrugated groove 26 and is positioned. As a result, kidney beans overlapping each other in each wave groove 26 are not formed, and the beans are conveyed to the distribution unit 4 side.

Therefore, in the portion of the first separating / supplying section 3, kidney beans falling from the belt conveyor 10 are laterally aligned by the first rotating separating body 11, and the beans are fed to the second rotating separating body 12. Further, it is possible to supply the second rotary separator 12 so that the second rotary separator 12 can limit the amount dropped on the belt member 25 of the separation belt 13 per unit time so as to be averaged, and can be supplied in a sideways state. Then, on the side of the separation belt 13, by providing a hump shape at a plurality of positions (two positions 33a and 33b in the present embodiment) at an intermediate position on the belt member 25, the kidney beans are entangled and accumulated while rolling. The hump can be broken down and the number can be reduced, and smooth transportation can be performed. Further, since the belt member 25 is provided with an inclined portion in the middle thereof and the wave vibration body 31 is provided on the upper end side of the inclined portion to vibrate the belt member 25 in the vertical direction, the belt member 25 is bent to a large extent in the wave groove 26. It is possible to supply only non-defective level kidney beans by preventing the defective kidney beans that are not contained in them, the kidney beans that have vertically climbed the belt member 25, etc. from falling and slipping and flowing into the subsequent process. it can. This facilitates the process of selecting kidney beans in the subsequent step and contributes to the improvement of the total throughput. Further, by forming the upstream side portion beyond the wave vibration body 31 as an inversely inclined portion, the kidney beans that have entered over the adjacent corrugation groove 26 enter the corrugation groove 26 that they are expected to settle down. In the subsequent process, 1 horizontal kidney bean
By separating them one by one, it is possible to reliably deliver only a fixed amount.

Next, the structure of the distribution unit 4 will be described. The distribution unit 4 is also shown in FIG. 7 to FIG. Therefore, to explain with reference to FIG. 7 to FIG. 9, the sorting unit 4 chucks the kidney beans that are laterally aligned and fed one by one from the separation belt 13 of the first separating and supplying unit 3 one by one. First separation supply unit 3
On the second separating and supplying section 5 side which is arranged at right angles to the conveyor belts 51a to 51e in five rows, and the kidney beans are distributed so as to face in the conveying direction of the conveyor belts 51a to 51e. Is. And
This distribution unit 4 is provided with the front and rear sprockets 3
A plurality of chucks 37 are built into the chain-type transfer conveyor 36 that is hung over 5 at substantially equal intervals, and when the chucks 37 are moved by the transfer conveyor 36, the chuck 38 is used to open and close the chucks 37. The speed of the conveyor 36 here is the first.
1 chuck 3 for 1 corrugated groove 26 on the side of the separation and supply unit 3 of
7 relationship, that is, a one-to-one relationship is set so that they are moved synchronously.

More specifically, the transfer conveyors 36 are arranged on both left and right sides. Then, each transfer conveyor 36 has a plurality of frames 39.
Is formed as a chain which is sequentially connected endlessly via a connecting bracket 40 and a shaft pin 41, and is moved by a sprocket 35 arranged in front and rear, and one end side is arranged below the separation belt 13. The other end side is arranged above the conveyor belts 51a to 51e. In addition, at the position facing the outer periphery of the transfer conveyor 36, five receiving side cams 38 are provided.
A, 38B, 38C, 38D, and 38E and five discharge side cams 38a, 38b, 38c, 38d, and 38e are arranged. Of these, the receiving cams 38A, 38
B, 38C, 38D, and 38E are provided corresponding to the lower side of the separation belt 13, and the discharge side cam 38a,
38b, 38c, 38d and 38e are conveyor belts 51
It is provided corresponding to the upper side of a to 51e. In addition, the receiving side cams 38A, 38B, 38C, 38D, 38E and the discharging side cams 38a, 38b, 38c, 38d, 38e are arranged at positions different from the left and right sides of the chuck 37, respectively. As shown in FIG. 10, the cams 38a, 38c, 38e and the cams 38A, 38e
C and 38E are provided on the same side as each other, and cams 38b and 3E are provided.
8d and the cams 38B and 38D are provided on the same side.

Each chuck 37 is in a state of straddling the transfer conveyors 36 on both left and right sides, and both sides thereof being fixedly attached to the transfer conveyor 36. This chuck 37 is a bracket 4
A fixed chuck claw plate member 37A fixedly attached to the transfer conveyor 36 on both left and right sides via a shaft 2 and a shaft pin 41, and rotatably attached to the fixed chuck claw plate member 37A via a pivot 43. The movable chuck claw plate member 37B and the pivot 4
3, the one end 44a is abutted against the fixed chuck claw plate member 37A and the other end 44b is abutted against the movable chuck claw plate member 37B so that the movable chuck claw plate member 37B is fixed. It is composed of a coil spring 44 and the like for urging it to rotate toward the 37A side (closing direction). A cam follower 46 is attached to one side surface of the movable chuck claw plate member 37B via a pivot 45.

And, normally, each chuck 37 has a coil spring 4
It is rotated in the closing direction by the urging force of No. 4, and the tip of the movable chuck claw plate member 37B is brought into contact with the tip of the fixed chuck claw plate member 37A to close the chuck as shown in FIG. Has become. Further, the cam follower 46 is brought into contact with the cam 38 by being moved integrally with the transfer conveyor 36. When the movable chuck claw plate member 37B is further moved in this abutting state, the movable chuck claw plate member 37B is rotated in the direction of arrow R in FIG. The chuck is opened apart from the tip of the chuck claw plate member 37A. Here, the movable chuck claw plate member 37B shown by the solid line in FIG. 9 is in the maximum opened state when the chucks are opened by the discharge side cams 38a to 38e, and the movable chuck claw plate member 37B shown by the alternate long and short dash line is the supply side cam 38A.
It is the maximum opening state when the chuck is opened at ~ 38E. That is, since the size of the beans can be dropped at the time of discharging, the opening amount is comparatively small, and the chuck needs to be wide open to surely receive the beans from the separation belt 13 side, which is large. It becomes the opening amount.

Further, in this embodiment, the chuck 37
Are five chucks 37 corresponding to the five conveyor belts 51a to 51e on the transfer conveyor 36.
Are treated as one group, and on the transfer conveyor 36 (the number of lines L × the number of chuck groups G).
Will be prepared. Further, in each group, the position where the cam follower 46 is arranged is different for each chuck, and the position thereof is as shown in FIG.
A, 38B, 38C, 38D, 38E and discharge side cam 3
8a, 38b, 38c, 38d, 38e. That is, (a) of FIG. 10 is a chuck 37 corresponding to the conveyor belt 51a, (b) is a chuck 37 corresponding to the conveyor belt 51b, (c) is a chuck 37 corresponding to the conveyor belt 51c, and (d) is a conveyor. The chuck 37 corresponding to the belt 51d, (e) is the chuck 37 corresponding to the conveyor belt 51e,
Cam followers 46 provided on each chuck
The positions of the receiving cams 38A, 38B, 38C, 38D,
38E and discharge side cams 38a, 38b, 38c, 38
It depends on the positions of d and 38e. Then, in each chuck 37, when arranged below the separation belt 13, the cam followers 46 correspond to the corresponding cams (38A, 38B, 38C,
38D, 38E) so that the cam (3
8A, 38B, 38C, 38D, 38E), the coil spring 44 is closed by the urging force of the coil spring 44, and is opened when the discharge cams (38a, 38b, 38c, 38d, 38e) are contacted again. Thus, the opening / closing operation is repeated twice during one round so that the chuck is closed again after the passage.

Next, the operation of the distribution unit 4 will be described. Here, in order to simplify the explanation, it is assumed that only one group of chucks 37, that is, only five chucks 37 are mounted on the transfer conveyor 36. First, the chuck 37 is fed in one-to-one correspondence with the corrugated groove 26 of the separation belt 13, and when it is arranged below the separation belt 13, the cam follower 46 immediately before this arrangement causes the corresponding cam ( 38A, 38B, 3
8C, 38D, 38E), the chuck 37 changes from the closed state to the open state, and opens greatly as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIGS. 7 and 9. As a result, one row of kidney beans stored in the corrugated groove 26 on the separation belt 13 side is moved downward and dropped into the chuck 37 in the open state. Then, after passing this supply position, the cams (38A, 38B, 38C, 38D, 38) of the cam follower 46.
The contact with E) is released, and the chuck 37 is closed again. As a result, even if the chuck 37 faces downward, the kidney beans dropped in the chuck 37 do not drop.

Next, when it comes to a position above the conveyor belts (51a to 51e) corresponding to the chuck 37,
The cam follower 46 of the chuck 37 is brought into contact with the corresponding cam (38a, 38b, 38c, 38d, 38e), and the chuck 37 changes from the closed state to the open state and opens as shown by the solid line in FIGS. 7 and 9. As a result, the kidney beans that have been chucked in the chuck 37 are simultaneously dropped onto the conveyor belts (51a to 51e) immediately below the chuck 37 by one row with their orientations directed in the traveling direction. Also,
Similarly, the other chucks 37 are also dropped onto the conveyor belts (51a to 51e) at corresponding positions, whereby the kidney beans sequentially supplied from the separation belt 13 are distributed to the respective conveyor belts (51a to 51e). be able to. Further, the kidney beans distributed here are carried to the separating and supplying devices 52a to 52e by the respective conveyor belts (51a to 51e), and further correspond to the separating and supplying devices 52a to 52e one by one. It will be sent out on the conveyor belts 14a to 14e.

Therefore, in the sorting section 4, the beans 37 housed in the corrugated groove 26 on the separation belt 13 side are received by the chuck 37 row by row, and N conveyors (in this embodiment, five conveyors 51a to 51e) are received. Each time it moves N pitches, the chuck 37 can be opened to drop the kidney beans. By doing so, a plurality of conveyor belts (5
Beans can be evenly distributed to 1a to 51e). As a result, the process of selecting kidney beans in the subsequent step can be facilitated and the total throughput can be further improved.

Next, the configurations of the vibrating section 6 and the recognizing section 7 will be described. The vibrating section 6 and the recognizing section 7 are also shown in FIG. Therefore, as will be described with reference to FIG. 11, the vibrating unit 6 includes a conveyor belt (14 a to 1 a).
4e) side plates 47 arranged on both left and right sides,
The side plate 47 is supported by the supporting member 48, and the supporting member 48 is vibrated in the acting direction by a vibration source (not shown), and the kidney beans passing through the vibrating section 6 are transferred to the center of each conveyor belt (14a to 14e). It is ready for placement.

On the other hand, the recognition unit 7 includes a CCD camera 49 as a CCD line sensor for simultaneously picking up images of kidney beans conveyed by five conveyor belts (14a to 14e) passing through the recognition unit 7, and a CCD camera. Four
It is composed of a light source lamp 50 and the like for applying light to a portion taken in by 9. In the recognition unit 7, the kidney beans that pass through the recognition unit 7 are reflected on the guide wall 55 on the inner surface of each guide wall 55 that partitions the conveyor belts (14a to 14e). To prevent it from being recognized, for example, black coating or luster (the portion indicated by reference numeral 54) is applied to prevent its reflection. Therefore, the kidney beans passing through the recognition unit 7 are conveyed into the recognition unit 7 while being positioned at the center of the belt by the vibration unit 6, and the size (length and thickness) of the recognition unit 7 is The bend will be recognized.

Next, the structure of the sorting section 8 will be described. This sorting unit 8 is also shown in FIG. Note that, in FIG. 12, the extraction units 8A and 8F are shown, and the other extraction units 8B to 8E are omitted.
Therefore, the main configuration of the sorting section 8 will be described with reference to FIG. 12. Each transport conveyor belt (14a to 14e) has a rotary encoder 57 attached at its end, and the rotary encoder 57 is mounted on the transport conveyor belt (14a to 14e). When the beans on the table are recognized by the recognition unit 7, they are associated with the code obtained from the rotary encoder 57, and the beans are conveyed on the conveyor belts (14a to 14a).
e) The position above is managed. Further, the ejector 15 is attached to each of the conveyor belts (14a to 14) in each of the take-out portions 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D and 8E of the sorting portion 8.
The selector 56 provided corresponding to e) is provided. It should be noted that this selector 56 has
In A, 8B and 8C, each conveyor belt (14A-1
4e) is divided into front and rear, and one pair of 15a and 15b is provided, and only one of 15a (or 15b) is provided in the take-out portions 8D and 8E. Then, each ejector 15 is rotated by an actuator in response to a command from a control device (CPU 102 in FIG. 16) which will be described later, and this rotation causes the kidney beans on the corresponding conveyor belt to drop from the conveyor belt. It is designed to let you.

Further, a hopper conveyor 58 is disposed below the transfer conveyor belts (14a-14e) in each of the take-out sections 8A, 8B, 8C. The hopper conveyor 58 is arranged so as to extend in the left-right direction, and is rotated in the direction of arrow 59 in FIG. 12 (hereinafter, this direction is referred to as the front side). Also,
On the hopper conveyor 58, partition plate sections rows (rows a and b) in which partition board portions 60 are attached at substantially equal intervals are formed corresponding to the respective ejectors 15. Then, between the partition plate parts 60 of each partition plate part row, the kidney beans discharged and dropped by the discharge device 15 are stored. The reason why the partition plate portion rows are provided in two rows, ie, row a and row b, is that the rows are arranged in the same direction with respect to the mouth. In addition, in the vicinity of the hopper conveyor 58, a sensor 61 is provided fixed to the main body side, the position of the partition plate portion 60 is detected by this sensor 61, and each partition plate portion 60 is detected by the data from the sensor 61. The number of kidney beans stored inside is managed by a control unit (CPU 102 in FIG. 16) described later.

A hopper 62 is disposed below the tip side of each hopper conveyor 58. The hopper 62 has a hopper main body 63 with an open upper surface as described later, and the kidney beans that are falling from the hopper conveyor 58 are received by the hopper main body 63, which is placed on a box holding stand 64. It is stored in 65.

The box holder 64 on which the box 65 is placed
Has a built-in generator capable of rotating and moving in the vertical and front-rear directions, and imparting vibration for improving the jam when the beans are packed in the box 65. By moving the box holding table 64 in the front-rear direction, the kidney beans can be stored in the front-rear direction of the box 65 on average, and can be stored in the left-right direction in a well-balanced manner by rotation.

Further, below the hopper conveyor 58, there is provided an empty box transfer conveyor 66 to which a box 65 for packing kidney beans is transferred, and a box holder 64.
On the opposite side of the empty box transfer conveyor 66 with the box sandwiched therebetween, a discharge conveyor 67 for transferring the box 65 in which the kidney beans have been packed is carried. In addition, the discharge conveyor 67 is provided with a space 68 for escaping the box holding base 64. Then, when the box 65 on the box holding table 64 that has been packed with kidney beans is discharged to the discharging conveyor 67, the box holding table 64 is raised to a position where the box 65 does not hit the discharging conveyor 67. Then, in this state, when the space 65 is moved into the space 68 and then lowered, the box 65 on the box holding table 64 can be placed on the driven discharging conveyor 67 and discharged to the next process. Further, the box holding base 64 that has delivered the box 65 to the discharge conveyor 67 side returns to the initial position, and the next empty box is placed on it, thus completing one cycle. And
This is repeated.

Next, the structure of the hopper 62 is shown in FIGS.
4 will be described. 13 and 14, the hopper 62 is composed of a base 70 arranged vertically and a pair of left and right hopper bodies 63 arranged on the base 70 via a pivot 71. The pair of left and right hopper bodies 63 are symmetrically formed. Therefore, in order to simplify the description, the configuration on one side will be described, and the configuration on the other side will be denoted by the same reference numerals and redundant description will be omitted. The hopper body 63 is formed in a thin box shape having an open top surface, and has two inclined surfaces (7
2, 73) is formed in a V shape. Of these, one inclined surface 72 is a fixed wall, and the other inclined surface 73 is an opening / closing lid (hereinafter, the inclined surface 73 is referred to as an “opening / closing lid 73”),
The kidney beans stored from the top opening are leaned toward the opening / closing lid 73 side, and are stored with the tip abutting the inclined surface 72. When the kidney beans are stored in the hopper body 63, although not shown, the hopper body 63
The whole is stored while being vibrated, and this vibration causes the kidney beans to be stuffed.

The opening / closing lid 73 is attached to the hopper main body 63 so as to be openable / closable via a hinge 74, and is normally urged to rotate in the closing direction by a return spring 75. An opening / closing projection 76 is fixedly attached to a part of the opening / closing lid 73. When the opening / closing projection 76 is pulled toward the front side in FIG. 13 against the biasing force of the return spring 75. The opening / closing lid 73 is opened integrally with this, and when the pulling force is removed, it is returned by the biasing force of the return spring 75 and closed again.

Further, the hopper main body 63 has a base 7
A lever 78, which is rotatably attached to the shaft 0 via a pivot 77, is linked. A long hole 79 is provided at one end of the lever 78, and a fixing pin 80 on the hopper body 63 side is coupled to the long hole 79,
The link connection is formed. On the other hand, to the other end of the lever 78, an actuator 81 a of a plunger 81 fixedly attached to the base 70 via a bracket 82 is linked via a pivot shaft 83. Then, the actuator 81a of the plunger 81
13 is in a retracted state, the hopper main body 63 is arranged at a position shown by a solid line in FIG. 13 with the opened upper surface facing upward, and when the actuator 81a of the plunger 81 is in a projected state, the hopper main body 63 is rotated by the pivot shaft 71. 13 is rotated about the fulcrum, and the opening / closing lid 73 is in a state in which the opening / closing lid 73 faces downward. And
At this position, the lever 84 of the opening / closing lid control device (not shown) for controlling the opening / closing of the opening / closing lid 73 is in a state corresponding to the inside of the opening / closing projection 76. Therefore, when the opening / closing projection 76 is pulled toward the front side in FIG. 13 in this state, the opening / closing lid 73 is opened, and the kidney beans stored in the hopper body 63 are dropped and stored in the box 65. Will be done.

Here, the hopper body 63 and the opening / closing lid 7 are
3, chains 85 and 86 are attached in a suspended state. This chain 85,8
When the opening / closing lid 73 is opened and the kidney beans are dropped into the box 65, 6 serves to prevent the dropped kidney beans from being scattered and losing their orientation. That is, when the chains 85 and 86 are not provided, the kidney beans that have fallen from the hopper body 63 may be scattered around. However, when the chains 85 and 86 are provided, as shown in FIG. 86 can be prevented from being scattered as a guide at the time of dropping, and can be packed in the box 65 while maintaining the orientation.

When the discharge of kidney beans from the hopper body 63 is completed, the opening / closing projection 76 is moved to the initial position (see FIG. 14).
To the position indicated by the solid line), so that the opening / closing lid 73 is closed again by the restoring force of the restoring spring 75. At the same time, the plunger 81 is also driven to drive the actuator 81a.
Is retracted, the hopper main body 63 is returned from the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 13 to the position shown by the solid line, and one cycle is completed.

FIG. 16 is a control block circuit diagram of the recognition section 7 and the sorting section 8. In this control circuit, a host computer 101 as a central processing control unit is mainly formed, and the host computer 101 is provided with a CCD.
CPU (central processing unit) for the camera 49 and the ejector 15
102, an image processor 103 for image-processing data from the CCD camera 49, conveyor belts (14a to 14e), hopper conveyor 58, box holder 64, empty box conveyor 66, discharge conveyor 6
7. The CPU 104 and the like control opening and closing of the hopper 68 according to a predetermined procedure. Of these, the host computer 101 is, for example, NEC Corporation.
IC (V40) manufactured by Hitachi, the CPU 102 for the ejector 15 is an IC manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd. (HD647180), and the image processor 103 is an IC manufactured by NEC Corporation.
(V40HL), CPU104 is OMRON Corporation I
C (C20HS) is used respectively.

Next, the operation of the sorting section 8 will be described from the image recognition section of the recognition section 7 with reference to the control circuit block circuit diagram of FIG. First, the conveyor belt (14a-14
When the kidney beans delivered by e) are delivered to the recognition unit 7, the light source lamp 50 illuminates the light, the CCD camera 49 captures the image, and the image data is captured by the host computer 101. The processed image data is processed in the host computer 101, and the length and the thickness are determined here, and the flowing direction (the direction of the neck opening) is determined. Then, according to the determination result, the kidney beans are classified into S, M, L, 2L, 2S and non-standard, and flow on the transport conveyors (14a to 14e) until they arrive at their respective drop positions. Further, at this time, the CPU 102 for the ejector 15 calculates the position of the kidney beans based on the data from the rotary encoder 57, and when the kidney beans come to their respective drop positions (removal portions), the corresponding ejector 15 is discharged. Is driven to drop it on the hopper conveyor 58. Here, when the kidney beans are first conveyed from the straightening mouth side, the ejector 15 on the a row side in FIG. 12 is shown, and when they are conveyed from the opposite side to the straightening mouth, the ejector 15 on the b row side is shown. Each is operated and the direction of the kidney beans is aligned.

The number of kidney beans dropped on the hopper conveyor 58 is controlled by the CPU 104 while being divided by the two partition plates 60, and is conveyed to the position of the hopper 62.
It is dropped in 2.

The kidney beans dropped in the hopper 62 are aligned on the opening / closing lid 73 in the hopper 62 and are stocked until a fixed amount is reached. Further, when the amount exceeds a certain amount, the hopper 62 is rotated as described above, the opening / closing lid 73 is then opened, and the hopper 62 is put into the box 65 set on the box holding base 64. Also, the box holder 64
Is rotated or moved in the front-rear direction under the control of the CPU 104 to change the position of the box 65 according to the number of kidney beans input by the hopper 62 so that the kidney beans are evenly arranged in the box 65. To be done. In this way, the CPU 104 manages the number of kidney beans in the box 65 and arranges a necessary amount of kidney beans in the box 65. Further, when the required amount of kidney beans in the box 65 is reached, the box holding table 64 is moved to move the box 65 to the conveyor 6 for discharging.
7 and discharge conveyor 67 as described above
Discharge on top.

The above is the operation in the take-out sections 8A, 8B, 8C. Then, in the take-out sections 8D and 8E, when dropped from the conveyor belts (14a to 14e),
The sheet is discharged by the discharge conveyor belt 92 (see FIG. 1) disposed below the transfer conveyor belts (14a to 14e), and the discharge conveyor belt 92 pulls the cage 93 from the discharge conveyor belt 92.
(Refer to FIG. 2) and is discharged and processed. Further, the kidney beans conveyed to the take-out section 8F are nonstandard, and the nonstandard beans are in the basket 94 (see FIGS. 1 and 2).
(See) and be processed.

Therefore, in the sorting system of the sorting section 8, the CCD line sensor (CCD camera 4
9) using the shape of kidney beans (thickness, length, bend,
Direction), the rotary encoder 57 is provided on the conveyor belt (14a to 14e) at the point where the kidney beans should fall from the time when the beans pass under the CCD line sensor, and the number of pulses is counted. When the kidney beans are conveyed to that point, the ejector 15 is operated to drop the kidney beans from the conveyor belts (14a to 14e) and the kidney beans can be sorted. This makes it possible to sort kidney beans mechanically with high precision and speed without resorting to. In addition, the conveyor belt (14a-14
The number of kidney beans is controlled by dropping the kidney beans that have fallen from e) between the partition plates 60 of the hopper conveyor 58, and the inside of the box 65 is moved by the movement of the partition plates 60 (movement of the hopper conveyor 58). Since it is possible to perform boxing while controlling how many kidney beans are put in, it is possible to perform boxing accurately.

In the sorting system described above, the CCD line sensor may be replaced with a laser displacement sensor or the like instead of the image processing apparatus using the CCD camera 49, and the ejector 15 may also be a rotary actuator, an air nozzle or the like. Use conveyor belt (14
a to 14e) may be dropped. Further, the take-out portions 8A to 8C, the take-out portions 8D,
8E and the take-out portion 8F are different from each other, the take-out portions 8D to 8F are different from each other.
The same structure as A to 8C can be used.
Further, the number of each conveyor is different depending on the number to be sorted. Further, the case of selecting the kidney beans has been described, but it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the selection of the kidney beans and can be applied as a general workpiece selection such as a selection of long-shaped parts.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is said that the shape of an object is image-recognized and judged by non-contact, and when this object is conveyed to the position where it needs to be discharged, the ejector is driven and the object is automatically discharged from the conveyor. Since the processing is performed mechanically without manual labor, effects such as improvement in quality accuracy and selection processing speed due to selection can be expected.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic configuration layout diagram of an automatic sorting machine shown as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the same automatic sorting machine as seen from the direction of arrow A in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the same automatic sorting machine as seen from the direction of arrow B in FIG.

4 is a side view of the same automatic sorting machine as seen from the direction of arrow C in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a first separation supply unit.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a main part of the separation belt in the first separation / supply section of the same.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a distribution unit.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the chuck in the above-mentioned distribution unit.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the chuck in the above-mentioned distribution unit.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of an arrangement state of a cam and a cam follower in the above-mentioned distribution unit.

FIG. 11 is a main part configuration diagram of a vibrating unit and a distribution unit.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of a main part of an automatic sorting machine according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a hopper in the present embodiment.

FIG. 14 is an operation explanatory view of the opening / closing lid of the hopper in the present embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an operation explanatory view of the chain in the hopper of the present embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a main control circuit of the automatic sorting machine according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a Operation panel 1b Control panel 1 Central control section 2 Input section 3 First separation supply section 4 Sorting section 5 Second separation supply section 7 Recognition section 8 Sorting section 8A to 8F Extraction section 9 Auxiliary control section 10 Belt conveyor 14a- 14e Conveyor belt 15 Ejector 49 CCD camera 50 Light source lamp 56 Selector 57 Rotary encoder 62 Hopper 64 Box holder 65 box 101 Host computer 102 CPU 103 Image processor 104 CPU

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An automatic sorting device for identifying the shape of an elongated object conveyed by a conveyor and sorting the elongated object into a plurality of positions, for performing image recognition of the shape of the object conveyed by the conveyor and outputting data. A recognition unit, a selector provided corresponding to the plurality of positions, for discharging the object from the conveyor to the corresponding position, and on the conveyor based on the data output from the recognition unit Means for controlling the selector by deciding a position for discharging the object from the automatic sorting apparatus. 2. The automatic sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveyor is provided with a plurality of lines, and the recognition unit simultaneously processes identification of objects on the plurality of conveyors. 3. The automatic sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a CCD line sensor is used for the identification section. 4. An automatic sorting device for identifying the shape of a long and narrow object conveyed by a conveyor and sorting the elongated object into a plurality of positions, for recognizing the shape of the object conveyed by the conveyor and outputting data. A recognition unit, a selector provided corresponding to the plurality of positions, for discharging the object from the conveyor to the corresponding position, and on the conveyor based on the data output from the recognition unit Means for controlling the selector by determining a position for discharging the object, a means for packing the object discharged in the discharging position in the same direction, and a box discharged in each discharging position Means for controlling the number of objects and controlling the quantity to be packed based on this data. 5. An automatic sorting device for identifying the shape of an elongated object conveyed by a conveyor for sorting and sorting the elongated object into a plurality of positions, and separating the elongated objects supplied one by one and aligning the directions. And a conveyer for separation to be conveyed, and means for sequentially receiving the elongated objects conveyed from the conveyer for separation and supplying the conveyer while maintaining the aligned direction on the conveyer for separation. A recognition unit for image-recognizing the shape of the object conveyed by the conveyor for outputting and outputting the data; and the object provided on the conveyor corresponding to the plurality of positions. A selector for discharging the object to the corresponding position, and a position for discharging the object from the conveyor is determined based on the data output from the recognition unit. Control means, a means for packing the objects discharged to the discharging position in the same direction, and a box for managing the number of the objects discharged to each discharging position, and based on this data. And a means for controlling the quantity of the boxed product, and an automatic sorting device. 6. The conveyor for transporting is provided in plural, and the recognition unit simultaneously processes the identification of the objects on the conveyors for transporting.
The automatic sorting device described in.