JPH0881047A - Fruit and vegetable sorting device and sorting system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To enable correct sorting over a long period of time by recording the sorting information of fruits and vegetables in each information recording medium moving in correspondence with the movement of the fruits and vegetables conveyed on a conveying line, and receiving the sorting information of this medium in a sorting position to execute sorting. CONSTITUTION: A conveying line 11 for conveying fruits and vegetables 10 are formed of four conveying lines 11a-11d, and the respective placing positions 12... for placing the fruits and vegetables 10 of the respective conveying lines 11a-11d are so formed that the bottom parts can be opened to enable the placed fruits and vegetables 10 to fall downward. The conveying line 11 is additionally provided at one side with a recording tag conveying line 14 on which recording tags 13 move synchronously with the placing positions 12... of the line 11. In sorting positions 19-21 for first size, second size and NG size, the sorting information of the recording tags 13 is received by transceivers 18a-18c to perform sorting, and the sorted fruits and vegetables 10 are delivered to sorting lines 22-24.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fruit and vegetable sorting apparatus and sorting system for mechanically discriminating and sorting grades or classes of various fruits or vegetables.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a determination unit for determining the size of fruit and vegetables is provided on the upstream side of a transportation line for transporting fruits and vegetables, and a sorting position for each of a plurality of sizes is provided on the downstream side of transportation. There is a sorting device that sorts fruits and vegetables from the transport line at each sorting position, and drives the sorting means of the corresponding size to sort the fruits and vegetables based on the determination result of the determination unit.

In this sorting device, an address is set at the placement position of the fruit and vegetables on the transfer line, and the size of the determination result of the fruit and vegetables is stored in the storage means in the above-mentioned determination section in correspondence with the address of the placement position of the fruit and vegetables. Then, the moving speed of the transport line and the moving distance from the judgment position to the sorting position of the size are converted into the moving time, and the time when this fruit and vegetables will have moved to the sorting position of the predetermined size. In addition, the sorting means at the sorting position is driven and controlled so that the fruits and vegetables are sorted and taken out from the transport line.

As described above, when the address is set at the placement position of the fruit and vegetables and the sorting process is carried out by this address, the conveyor constituting the transport line is extended, or the position of the address is displaced due to stop / drive, or However, there is a problem that an address shift due to maintenance occurs and the normal operation period is extremely short, and the adjustment is required again.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, it is possible to surely prevent a deviation between a sorting position of conveyed fruits and vegetables and a sorting position set on a conveying line, and to perform a reliable sorting process. The purpose is to provide a sorting device and a sorting system.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a sorting position is set on a conveying line for conveying fruit and vegetables, and the sorting position is moved corresponding to the fruit and vegetables conveyed on the conveying line. An information recording medium that transmits and receives and records information in a non-contact state is provided, and sorting information of the fruit and vegetables is recorded on the information recording medium, and the fruit and vegetables that are set to be sorted at the sorting position are sorted. And the information receiving means for receiving the sorting information transmitted from the information recording medium in a non-contact state, and the sorting means at the sorting position corresponding to the sorting based on the sorting information received by the information receiving means. It is characterized by being a sorting apparatus of fruit and vegetables provided with control means for driving and controlling.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a sorting determination unit is set on the transporting side on the transporting line for transporting fruit and vegetables, and a sorting position is set on the transporting side. An information recording medium that moves corresponding to the fruits and vegetables conveyed on the conveying line and executes transmission / reception and recording of information in a non-contact state is provided, and the sorting determination unit includes:
Information transmitting means for transmitting the sorting information of the determination result of the fruit and vegetables determined by the sorting determination unit to the information recording medium corresponding to the fruit and vegetable is provided, and the fruit and vegetables which are sorted and set at the position are provided at the sorting position. Sorting means for sorting and information receiving means for receiving sorting information transmitted from the information recording medium in a non-contact state are provided, and sorting of sorting positions corresponding to sorting based on the sorting information received by the information receiving means. It is a fruit vegetable sorting system provided with a control means for driving and controlling the means.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the fruits and vegetables conveyed on the conveying line reach the sorting position, the information receiving means at the position receives the sorting information of the information recording medium corresponding to the fruits and vegetables. Then, when the control means determines that the fruit or vegetables are to be sorted at the sorting position, the sorting means at the sorting position is driven to take out the fruit or vegetables from the transport line.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, with respect to the fruit and vegetables conveyed on the conveyance line, the classification information which is the judgment result of the fruit and vegetables is stored in the information storage corresponding to the fruit and vegetables. When the fruits and vegetables reach the sorting position by transmitting to the medium, the information receiving means of the position receives the sorting information of the information recording medium corresponding to the fruits and vegetables, and the control means sorts at the sorting position. When it is determined that it is a fruit and vegetables, the sorting means at the sorting position is driven to take out the fruit and vegetables from the transport line.

[0010]

According to the present invention, an information recording medium that moves in response to movement of fruits and vegetables conveyed on a conveyance line,
Since the sorting information of the fruit and vegetables is recorded and the sorting information of this medium is received at the sorting position and the sorting process is executed, even if the conveyor forming the transport line is stretched,
In addition, even if you start and stop the transfer line,
An accurate sorting process can be obtained for a long period of time without any displacement between the fruit and vegetables and the sorting position. Further, according to the optical sorting means using the bar code, a bar code reading error occurs due to dirt such as mechanical oil or dust of the bar code tag, but according to the present invention, non-contact communication, that is, Since the information is transmitted and received by wireless communication, there is no error in determining the information due to the above-mentioned contamination, and reliable sorting can be performed.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The drawing shows a sorting system of fruit and vegetables, and in FIG. 1, a transport line 11 for transporting the fruit and vegetables 10 is constituted endlessly by four transport lines 11a, 11b, 11c and 11d, and each of these transport lines 11a to 11d.
The placement positions 12 on which the fruit and vegetables 10 are placed are arranged at regular intervals in the transport direction, and each transport line 11a is placed.
It is configured to move in synchronization with 11d.

Further, each of the placing positions 12 ... Is constructed so that the bottom portion is opened so that the placed fruit and vegetables 10 can be dropped downward. Since this opening is a well-known technique, its details are omitted, but the bottom portion is omitted. Is released by driving a solenoid, for example.

On one side of the above-mentioned transfer line 11, there is provided a recording tag transfer line 14 in which the recording tags 13 move in synchronization with the horizontal row of mounting positions 12 of the transfer line 11. .

On the upper hand side of the above-mentioned transfer line 11,
A determination unit 15 is set which performs determination of size, shape, maturity, etc. of the fruits and vegetables 10 placed on the placement positions 12 in the horizontal row by reading the appearance, and the determination unit 1 is set.
5, a first camera 16a and a second camera 16b are arranged, and these cameras 16a and 16b are, for example, C
The first camera 16a includes a CD array, other image sensors, a video camera, and the like. The first camera 16a images the fruit and vegetables 10 on the first and second transfer lines 11a and 11b.
The camera 16b is used for the third and fourth transfer lines 11c and 11d.
The fruit and vegetables 10 are imaged, and these imaging signals are connected so as to be input to the control unit 17.

A first transmitter / receiver 18a for transmitting / receiving information to / from the recording tag 13 in a non-contact state is provided in the vicinity of the recording tag conveying line 14 of the above-mentioned judging section 15.
On the lower transfer side of the transfer line 11, the sorting position 1 for the first size is provided corresponding to one horizontal row of the transfer line 11.
9. A sorting position 20 for the second size and a sorting position 21 for the NG size are set, and information is transmitted and received in a non-contact state with the recording tag 13 in the vicinity of the recording tag transport line 14 at each position 19 to 21. The second transceiver 18b, the third transceiver 18c, and the fourth transceiver 18d are arranged. And these 1st-4th transceivers 18a-1
8d is connected to the above-mentioned control unit 17,
Transmission and reception are controlled.

Below the transport line 11 at each of the sorting positions 19 to 21 described above, the first size sorting line 2 is provided corresponding to the sorting size at each sorting position 19 to 21.
2, a second size sorting line 23 and an NG size sorting line 24 are formed, and each of these lines 22 to 24 is constructed by stretching a belt conveyor. A solenoid (not shown) as a drive source for opening the bottom of the placement positions 12 ... Of the transport line 11 that has arrived at the sorting positions 19 to 21 is arranged below the sorting positions 19 to 21.

FIG. 2 shows a system diagram of the control circuit of the above-mentioned control unit 17, in which the CPU 30 drives and controls each circuit device in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 31.
The RAM 32 stores necessary information.

The drop driver 33 for the first size is arranged at the sorting position 19 for the first size on the transport line 11 to sort the fruit 10 which is determined to be the fruit 10 of the first size at the lower sorting line 22 for the first size. The solenoids 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d provided on the respective transfer lines 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d at the position 19 are individually driven and controlled in order to be dropped.

The drop driver 34 for the second size is arranged at the sorting position 20 for the second size on the conveying line 11 to sort the fruit 10 which is determined to be the fruit 10 of the second size at the lower sorting line 23 for the second size. The solenoids 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d provided on the respective transfer lines 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d at the position 20 are individually driven and controlled in order to be dropped.

The NG size drop driver 35 is provided to drop the NG size fruit 10 determined to be the NG size fruit 10 at the NG size sorting position 21 of the transfer line 11 to the lower NG size sorting line 24. First, the solenoids 35a, 35b, 35c and 35d provided on the respective transfer lines 11a, 11b, 11c and 11d at the position 21 are individually driven and controlled.

FIG. 3 shows a system diagram of the circuit configuration of the above-mentioned one recording tag 13 and, for example, the first transceiver 18a,
The first transmitter / receiver 18a includes a transmitter / receiver circuit 36 including a modulation / demodulation circuit, a power transmitter circuit 37, and an antenna 38 formed of a coil. The transmitter / receiver circuit 36 is a CPU.
The information signal from the CPU 30 is connected to the antenna 30, modulated and transmitted by the antenna 38, and the information signal received from the recording tag 13 is demodulated and output to the CPU 30. At the same time, the power transmission circuit 37 transmits power to the recording tag 13 via the antenna 38. The other second, third, and fourth transceivers 18b, 18c, and 18d are also configured similarly to the above-mentioned first transceiver 18a.

The recording tag 13 includes a CPU 40 and a CPU 4
A ROM 41 storing a program of 0, a RAM 42 storing necessary information, a non-volatile EEPROM 43 recording sorting information of the fruit and vegetables 10, a transmission / reception circuit 44 including a modulation / demodulation circuit, a power reception circuit 45, and a coil. The antenna 46 is used.

The power receiving circuit 45 uses the power received by the antenna 46 as a circuit power source, and the transmitting / receiving circuit 44
C demodulates the information signal received via the antenna 46
The data is output to the PU 40, the information mesh from the CPU 40 is modulated, and the modulated information is transmitted by the antenna 46. Then, the first transceiver 18
The sorting information transmitted from a is recorded in the EEPROM 43.

The sorting process of the sorting system for the fruit and vegetables 10 thus configured will be described. On the transfer side of the transfer line 11, the fruit and vegetables 1 are placed at the placement position 12 of the transfer line 11.
0 is placed and this is transported.

The determination unit 15 includes the first and second cameras 16
a, 16b images the fruit and vegetables 10 that have arrived at the position,
The image pickup signal is transmitted to the control unit 17.
The CPU 30 of the control unit 17 described above, based on the image pickup signal of the fruit and vegetables 10 that has been input, sets the transport lines 1
Determination of the presence or absence of the fruit vegetables 10 in 1a to 11d, and when there is the fruit vegetables 10, the size, shape, and ripeness thereof are determined, and the imaged fruit vegetables 10 are taken as the first size, the second size, and the NG size. And sort information to edit.
For example, as the [sorting information 1], the first transfer line 11
a, no fruit and vegetables, second transfer line 11b, fruit and vegetables,
1st size, 3rd transport line 11c, with vegetables, 2nd
The sorting information of each of the transport lines 11a to 11d, such as the size, the fourth transport line 11d, and no fruit and vegetables, is edited and output to the first transceiver 18a.

The first transmitter / receiver 18a described above has a recording tag transport line 1 corresponding to the horizontal row on which the fruit and vegetables 10 picked up by the first and second cameras 16a and 16b are placed.
The sorting information described above is recorded in the recording tag 13 of No. 4. That is, when the recording tag 13 receives the sorting information from the first transceiver 18a, the recording tag 13 is controlled by the CPU 40 and the EEP.
The sorting information is recorded in the ROM 43. In this way,
The determination unit 15 sequentially records the sorting information determined by the determination unit 15 in the recording tag 13 located in the determination unit 15.

When the fruit and vegetables 10 determined as described above reach the sorting positions 19, 20, and 21, the second, third, and fourth transceivers 18 arranged at the sorting positions 19 to 21 are provided.
b, 18c and 18d communicate with the recording tags 13 facing each other to read the sorting information and output the sorting information to the control unit 17.

CPU 30 of the control unit 17
Determines the sorting information read from each of the transmitters / receivers 18b, 18c, 18d, and determines the sorting positions 19, 20, 2 respectively.
When the fruit and vegetables 10 to be sorted by 1 are determined, for example, [sorting information 1] in the above-mentioned example is set to the sorting position 19 for the first size.
When the second transmitter / receiver 18b reads the fruit vegetables 10 on the second transport line 11b are of the first size, the CP should be dropped at the sorting position 19 for the first size.
U30 drives the first size drop driver 33 to drive the solenoid 33b of the second transfer line 11b to drop the fruit 10 of the second transfer line 11b at the first size sorting position 19. First size sorting line 22
Reprinted to.

In addition, the [sorting information 1] of the above-mentioned example is changed to the second
When the third transceiver 18c at the size sorting position 20 reads the fruit and vegetables 10 on the third transport line 11c, the CPU 30 causes the CPU 30 to drop the fruit and vegetables 10 at the second size sorting position 20. Drives the second size drop driver 34 to drive the solenoid 34c of the second transfer line 11b, and the fruit and vegetables 1 of the third transfer line 11c.
0 is dropped at the second size sorting position 20 and transferred to the second size sorting line 23.

According to the above-described embodiment, the sorting information of the fruit and vegetables 10 is recorded in the recording tag 13 which moves in correspondence with the movement of the fruit and vegetables 10 carried on the carrying line 11, and the sorting positions 19 and 20. , 21 receive the sorting information of the recording tags 13 and perform the sorting process, so that even if the conveyer forming the transport line 11 is stretched, the start / stop operation of the transport line 11 is performed. Even if the fruit 10 and the sorting positions 19, 20 and 21 are not displaced at all, accurate sorting processing can be obtained for a long period of time.

Further, according to the optical sorting means using the bar code, a bar code reading error occurs due to dirt such as mechanical oil or dust on the bar code tag. However, according to this embodiment, non-contact Since the information is transmitted and received by wireless communication, that is, there is no error in determining the information due to the above-mentioned contamination, and reliable sorting can be performed.

In the above embodiment, the sorting information is taken by the first and second cameras 19a and 19b, but the sorting information may be obtained based on the weighing signal from the automatic weighing device. Alternatively, the input may be made by an operator by an artificial judgment, and further, the cameras 19a, 1 of the embodiment.
9b Further, the sorting determination information may be input from the above-described automatic weighing device or a plurality of other information inputs. The recording tag 13 may be attached to the side surface of the mounting position 12 of the first transport line 11a, and the recording tag transport line 14 may be omitted.

In the correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the above-described embodiment, the sorting apparatus of the present invention is such that the sorting positions 19, 20, 21, second, third and fourth transceivers of the carrier line 11 of the embodiment are provided. 18b, 18c, 18d, the control unit 17, and so on. Similarly, the information recording medium corresponds to the recording tag 13, and the sorting means is for the first size and the second.
Drop driver 33, 34, 35 for size and NG size
The information receiving means corresponds to the second, third and fourth transceivers 18b, 18c and 18d, and the information transmitting means corresponds to
The control means corresponds to the CPU 30 of the control unit 17 although it corresponds to the first transceiver 18a, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a fruit and vegetable sorting system.

FIG. 2 is a system diagram of a control circuit of the sorting system.

FIG. 3 is a system diagram of a control circuit for a transmitter / receiver and a recording tag.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 ... Fruit and vegetables 11 ... Conveying line 12 ... Placement position 13 ... Recording tag 15 ... Judgment part 17 ... Control unit 18a, 18b, 18c, 18d ... Transceiver 19, 20, 21 ... Sorting position 30 ... CPU 33, 34, 35 ... Drop driver

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An information recording system in which a sorting position is set on a transportation line for transporting fruit and vegetables, which moves corresponding to the fruit and vegetables transported on the transportation line, and which transmits and receives and records information in a non-contact state. A medium is provided, and sorting information of fruit and vegetables is recorded on the information recording medium, and sorting means for sorting and processing the fruit and vegetables sorted and set at the sorting position, and sorting information transmitted from the information recording medium. An apparatus for assorting fruits and vegetables, comprising information receiving means for receiving in a non-contact state, and control means for driving and controlling the sorting means at a sorting position corresponding to sorting based on the sorting information received by the information receiving means. 2. A sort determination unit is set on the upper hand side of the conveying line for conveying the fruit and vegetables, and a sorting position is set on the lower side, and the fruit line is conveyed to the convey line. An information recording medium that moves in response to the above, and transmits / receives and records information in a non-contact state is provided, and the sorting determination unit is provided with sorting information of the determination result of the fruit and vegetables determined by the sorting determination unit. An information transmitting means for transmitting to the information recording medium corresponding to the item is provided, and at the sorting position, sorting means for sorting the fruit and vegetables that have been sorted and set at the position, and sorting information transmitted from the information recording medium are provided. Fruits and vegetables provided with information receiving means for receiving in a non-contact state, and with control means for driving and controlling the sorting means at the sorting position corresponding to sorting based on the sorting information received by the information receiving means. Divided system.