JP2002346483A - Grain component analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain such a grain ingredient analyzer provided with a constitution that requires workers little labor by not only performing a discrimination processing of supplied grain automatically and continuously but also making selection work to be performed for every discrimination processing result automatically. SOLUTION: This is equipment used for analysis of grain component, and it is equipped with a specimen supply part 2 that is able to supply the above-mentioned grain from the outside, a measurement part 3 which is able to measure spectrum of near infrared rays which can be obtained by analyzing transmitted light or reflected light which is obtained when the grain supplied to the above-mentioned specimen supply port 2 is irradiated with light, a control part 4 which is able to perform a component classification of grain and classification for every component from the measurement result form the above-mentioned measurement part 3, a selection part 5 which is able to classify the corresponding grain from the discrimination result from the above-mentioned control part 4, and a storage part 6 which is able to house the grain classified for every grain in the above-mentioned specimen supply part 2. The above-mentioned grain is characterized in that it is automatically conveyed continuously in the process from the above-mentioned specimen-supply part 2 to the above- mentioned storage part 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a grain component analyzer and, more particularly, to a configuration capable of analyzing components such as rice grains such as brown rice and wheat or seeds and classifying them based on the analysis results.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the use of optical means for quality inspection of grains such as brown rice is known, for example, from Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 63-84577 filed by the present applicant. In the apparatus disclosed in the above publication, the quality of the appearance, such as cracks on the surface of brown rice, is the subject of the inspection items.
In such an apparatus, for example, light is irradiated to each sample of brown rice, the amount of transmitted light and the amount of reflected light are detected based on the translucency of the brown rice, the ratio is calculated, and the calculation result is used as a reference value. By comparing with, it was determined whether there was any problem in appearance.

[0003]

On the other hand, there is a case where a component analysis of a grain is performed separately from the above-described quality inspection on the appearance. In the component analysis, the amount of the component is measured for each grain, and the time required for measuring the amount of the component is required to be about 30 seconds. For this reason, there is a problem that if the number of inspections is large, the measurement time is correspondingly long and the work load on the worker is increased.
In addition, it is necessary to perform classification, that is, classification according to the result of the analysis, which may increase the labor burden on the worker.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems in the conventional grain component analysis work, an object of the present invention is to enable a worker to perform a separation work based on a result of analysis in addition to the work of analyzing a grain component without depending on the worker. An object of the present invention is to provide a grain component analyzer having a configuration capable of eliminating a burden on a grain component.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
An apparatus used for analyzing the components of cereals, a sample supply unit into which the cereals can be externally input, and a spectroscope for transmitting or reflecting light when irradiating light to the cereals input to the sample supply units. A measuring unit capable of measuring the near-infrared spectrum obtained, a control unit capable of performing component analysis and classification of each component based on the measurement result from the measuring unit, and a grain corresponding to the determination result from the control unit A sorting unit capable of sorting the same, and a storage unit capable of accommodating each grain sorted in the sorting unit, wherein the grain is automatically and continuously conveyed in a process from the supply unit to the storage unit. It is characterized by.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the sample supply unit is provided with a parts feeder for moving grains by using a vibration and a hopper capable of feeding grains to the parts feeder. At the end of the moving direction, there is provided a cut-out portion capable of transferring grains for each grain toward the measuring portion. In a process in which the grain transferred from the cut-out portion reaches the sorting portion from the measuring portion, a crank is provided. Conveying means having a structure capable of sequentially moving the grain forward by exercise is provided, and the sorting section is configured to connect the storage section and the conveying means with each other when the corresponding grain reaches the selected storage section, and And a dispensing means having a configuration capable of introducing into the storage unit.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the above-mentioned conveying means,
The tooth portion capable of storing the grain is constituted by a plurality of sliding bodies formed along the direction of conveyance of the grain, and on the side facing the conveyance means, the longitudinal direction of the grain is parallel to the direction of conveyance of the grain. A guide member having a guide groove to be provided is provided, and the grain stored in the tooth portion of the sliding body is parallel to the transport direction and the longitudinal direction following the direction of the guide groove in a transport process.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the input grain is automatically transferred to the measuring section, the components are measured, and the work is performed until the grain is sorted into the storing section for separation according to the measurement result. The need for assistance by a person can be eliminated.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the operation of cutting out the input grain for each grain, the transportation to the measuring section and the sorting after the measurement are all performed on the rice grains automatically transported via the transport means. It is performed as.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the automatically conveyed grain can follow the direction of the guide groove of the guide member by sliding the conveying means before reaching the measuring section in the conveying process. Erroneous detection due to the difference in the direction can be automatically canceled.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the example described below, brown rice is mentioned as an example of cereal. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is of course possible to target wheat, seeds, and the like. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a grain component analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the grain component analyzer 1 includes a sample supply unit 2, a measurement unit 3, a control unit 4, a selection unit 5, and a storage unit 6 as main components. FIG.
Is a perspective view showing the appearance of each of the above-mentioned parts, and these parts are separately mounted on the operation console 7 and the housing 8, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sample supply section 2 includes a hopper 2A into which brown rice can be introduced from the outside, and a parts feeder 2B for sequentially moving brown rice dropped from the hopper 2A by vibration.

As shown in FIG. 3, a cut-out portion 9 is provided at the end position of the brown rice in the parts feeder 2B in the moving direction. The cut-out section 9 is a member for transferring brown rice moved to a terminal position toward a conveying means to be described later for each grain, and includes a reciprocally movable sliding body 9A as shown in FIG. . The sliding body 9A is provided with a pneumatic control unit A1.
(See FIG. 1), a recess 9A capable of accommodating brown rice is formed on a part of the side edge, that is, the side edge facing the brown rice reaching the end position of the parts feeder 2B.
1 is provided. In FIG. 3, the sliding body 9A is such that the recess 9A1 faces the end position of the brown rice in the moving direction of the brown rice in the parts feeder 2B (the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 3).
And a case in which it is opposed to a conveying means 11 described later (a state shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3).
When the rice is located at a position facing the transporting unit 11, brown rice in the recess 9 </ b> A <b> 1 is transported toward the transporting unit 11 by a pickup device 10 described later.

As shown in FIG. 1, the pickup device 10 is a vacuum means having a structure capable of moving up and down and reciprocating by a pneumatic control means A2.
When 1 is at the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3, it descends and sucks brown rice, and when it is raised, the transporting means 11 moves in one direction of the reciprocating direction, that is, in the direction indicated by arrow F in FIG. By moving toward the right side where it is located and descending again, the brown rice can be fixed in the conveying means 11.
FIG. 4 is an external view of the pickup device 10, in which an arrow indicates an operation in which the arrow moves from the sliding body 9A side to the conveying means 11 side. Note that, in FIG.
2 'indicates an actuator section of the pneumatic control means A2.

In FIG. 1, the conveying means 11 is constituted by a sliding body which can be cranked (moves along a rectangular arrow in FIG. 1) by a pneumatic control means A3. It extends from the side to a sorting unit 5 described later. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the sliding member forming the conveying means 11 has a tooth portion 1 capable of storing brown rice at an edge portion.
1A is provided in plurality along its own extension direction. As shown in FIG. 3, a blocking member 12 for preventing brown rice from dropping is provided at a position facing the tooth portion 11A in the conveying means 11.
This damming member 12 is provided with an intake section (communicated with a vacuum pump indicated by a reference symbol V in FIG. 1 for convenience). The air intake functions to align the brown rice.

On the lower surface side of the sliding body constituting the transport means 11,
For convenience, in FIG. 5 which shows only the facing positional relationship ignoring the size, the guide member 13 in which the guide groove 13A parallel to the extension direction of the conveying means 11 is formed faces each other. The guide groove 13 </ b> A in the guide member 13 is a portion for making the longitudinal direction of the brown rice parallel to the extension direction of the transport means 11 parallel to the transport direction of the brown rice.
The brown rice stored in the tooth portion 11A is aligned in such a manner that its longitudinal direction is parallel along the guide groove 13A while rolling in the conveying process. The direction of the brown rice can be easily set by using a force that tries to be parallel to the damming member 12 by the suction action from the suction section.

The conveying means 11 is adapted to be able to sequentially advance the brown rice stored in the teeth 11A by the pickup device 10 by the crank motion. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the transport unit 11. FIG.
(A) shows a state where the first brown rice (indicated by a symbol α for convenience) is transferred to the tooth portion 11A by the pickup device 10. From the state shown in FIG.
Moves forward in the transport direction, the tooth portion 1 storing the brown rice α
1A also moves (see FIG. 6B). 1 of the conveying means 11
The number of forward strokes is such that when one of the teeth 11A faces the measuring unit 3, the next brown rice (indicated by β for convenience) is next to the tooth 11A facing the measuring unit 3 by the pickup device 10. The stroke is set so that the stroke can be transferred to the corresponding tooth portion 11A. 6 (A) from the state of FIG. 6 (A)
Corresponds to the stroke that shifts to the state. When one forward stroke is reached, as shown in FIG.
The conveying means 11 moves in a direction away from the damming member 12 and moves back (see FIG. 6D). Since the tooth portion 11A of the transporting means 11 that has returned has returned to the state facing the damming member 12 and faces the pickup device 10,
The next brown rice β is positioned so that it can be transferred (see FIG. 6E), and the next brown rice β is transferred to the tooth portion 11A by the pickup device 10 as shown in FIG. 6F. In the state shown in FIG.
The forward movement is started, and the brown rice α previously stored in the tooth portion 11A reaches the measuring section 3 (see FIG. 6 (G)). Hereinafter, when the stroke for the forward movement is reached, as shown in FIGS.
By repeating the crank motion, the brown rice transferred to the tooth portion 11A is sequentially advanced and conveyed to the measuring unit 3 and the sorting unit 5 described later. In FIG. 6, the symbol γ indicates brown rice transferred third.

Although not shown, the measuring section 3 comprises a light source capable of irradiating light, an optical fiber for condensing reflected light or transmitted light from brown rice, a spectroscope and a detector capable of measuring near infrared rays. ing. In the measuring section 3, light is emitted from a light source to the positioned brown rice, and the reflected light or transmitted light from the brown rice is collected by an optical fiber (not shown) and introduced into the spectroscope. . The light introduced into the spectroscope is separated for each wavelength in the near infrared region and is incident on the detector, and the detector outputs light amount data for each wavelength to the control unit 4 described later. In this example, as the spectral characteristics of the spectrometer, the amount of the protein to be analyzed in the short wavelength region and the long wavelength region is classified into four types.
The wavelength range from visible light to near-infrared light is set within the range of 00 to 2250 nm.

The control unit 4 includes an arithmetic control unit, and measures the protein of brown rice as a sample from a spectrum converted into a transmittance or a reflectance by comparison with a reference plate based on light amount data from the detector. I do. Furthermore, based on the measured result, it is possible to execute a sorting operation using the sorting unit 5 described later. In the control unit 4,
In addition to component analysis and separation, it is also possible to monitor the transport mode and storage mode of brown rice as a sample. For example, when the remaining amount of brown rice in the sample supply unit 2 becomes less than a predetermined amount, The remaining amount detection sensor 2C (see FIGS. 1 and 2) detects and issues an alarm.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the sorting unit 5 corresponds to the four types that are classified by the control unit 4 and the number of spare shooters for accommodating brown rice other than undetermined or abnormal standards. As shown in FIG. 6, the plunger 5A is provided with a plunger 5A.
1A can be disengaged. In the sorting section 5, the plunger 5A is normally kept in a protruding state, and in this state, the plunger 5A is engaged with the teeth 11A of the conveying means 11. Plunger 5A on tooth 11A of transfer means 11
Is engaged, a through-hole (not shown) formed in the guide member 13 located on the lower surface side of the conveying means 11 and communicating with the shooter constituting the storage section 6 is closed. The brown rice being conveyed cannot be introduced into the shooter of the storage unit 6. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 14 denotes a cover for preventing brown rice from scattering.

In the above arrangement, when judging the quality of brown rice, the following procedure is executed, and continuous and continuous quality judgment and sorting are performed almost without human intervention. (1) An operator puts brown rice as a sample into the hopper 2B. (2) When the device is started in the control unit 4, the control unit 4
Is performed, the parts feeder 2B is started, and the respective air pressure control units A1 to A3 are started. (3) When the brown rice moves to the end position in the moving direction of the brown rice in the parts feeder 2B while being aligned, the cutout unit 9
Brown rice is fed out one by one, and the pick-up device 1
The brown rice taken out by the toothed portion 11
Transferred to A. This state is as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. (4) The brown rice transferred to the tooth portion 11A is sequentially advanced by the carrying means 11 performing the crank motion described with reference to FIG. 6, and reaches the measuring unit 3, where the spectrum based on the transmittance or the reflectance is measured. The measurement result is output to the control unit 4. (5) Brown rice is successively transferred from the parts feeder 2B to the teeth 11A of the conveying means 111 by the cut-out section 9 and the pickup device 10 by repeating the crank movement of the conveying means 11. (6) When rank determination is performed in the control unit 4 based on the measurement result from the measurement unit 3, the plunger 5A of the selection unit 65 provided corresponding to the storage unit 6 corresponding to the determination result.
Is usually pulled from a posture. When the plunger 5A is pulled, the through hole of the guide member 13 located on the lower surface side of the conveying means 11 is opened, the shooter forming the storage section 6 communicates with the tooth portion 1A of the conveying means 11, and brown rice is removed from the shooter. It is introduced and sorted. In this example, a result of 2 seconds / particle was obtained as the sorting speed required from the sample supply to the separation into the storage unit 6. The shooter that forms the storage unit 6
Although a window is provided, the amount of brown rice can be checked from the outside, but since it is monitored by the control unit 4, an alarm is issued when the amount reaches the limit.

[0022]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cereal fed is automatically transferred to the measuring section to measure the component content, and sorted into the storage section for separation according to the measurement result. Until then, the need for assistance by the operator can be eliminated. This makes it possible to analyze the essential components of the cereal regardless of the amount of the cereal, particularly efficiently even for a large amount of the cereal without requiring a labor burden.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the operation of cutting out the input grain for each grain, the transportation to the measuring unit and the sorting after the measurement are all automatically transported through the transport means. It is performed for the target. This makes it possible to carry out the component analysis, including the work of loading into the measuring section, and also the entire sorting work in addition to this, without the need for human intervention.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the grain automatically conveyed can follow the direction of the guide groove of the guide member by sliding the conveying means before reaching the measuring section in the conveying process. Erroneous detection due to the difference in the direction can be automatically canceled. As a result, it is possible to improve efficiency and analysis accuracy in analyzing the components of the grain.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a grain component analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the grain component analyzer shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining a part of a rice grain transporting process in the grain component analyzer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a part of a pickup device used in a part of the transport process shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a configuration of a guide member facing a conveying means used in the grain component analyzer shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining a crank motion of a conveying unit.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a part of the configuration of a sorting unit used in the grain component analyzer shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Grain component analyzer 2 Sample supply part 2A hopper 2B Parts feeder 3 Measuring part 4 Control part 5 Sorting part 5A Plunger 6 Storage part 9 Cut-out part 10 Pickup device 11 Transport means 11A Teeth part 13 Guide member 13A Guide groove

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Akitoshi Nakamura 1 at 4 Yamanacho, Fukuroi City, Shizuoka Prefecture Inside (72) Inventor Tomoko Chiba 1 at 4 Yamanakacho, Fukuroi City, Shizuoka Prefecture Shizuoka Machinery Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Sumio Kono 1153-15 Ekuni, Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Pref. CB10 3F079 AC13 AC17 BA06 BA12 CA31 CB24 CC02 DA11

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus used for component analysis of a grain, comprising: a sample supply unit into which the grain can be externally input; and a transmission or reflection when light is applied to the grain input into the sample supply unit. A measuring unit capable of measuring a near-infrared spectrum obtained by analyzing light; a control unit capable of executing component analysis and classification of each component based on a measurement result from the measuring unit; and a determination from the control unit A sorting unit capable of sorting the cereal corresponding to the result, and a storage unit capable of storing each grain sorted in the sorting unit, wherein the cereal is automatically processed in a process from the supply unit to the storage unit. A grain component analyzer continuously transported. 2. The grain component analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the sample supply unit includes a parts feeder that moves the grains by using a vibration, and a hopper that can feed the grains into the parts feeder. At the end of the grain movement direction of the parts feeder, a cut-out portion that can transfer grain for each grain toward the measurement unit is provided, and the grain transferred from the cut-out unit reaches the sorting unit from the measurement unit. In the process, there is provided a conveying means having a configuration capable of sequentially moving the grain forward by a crank motion, and the sorting unit has a storage unit and a conveying unit when the corresponding grain reaches the selected storage unit. And a dispensing means having a configuration capable of introducing a grain into the storage part by communicating with the grain. 3. The grain component analyzer according to claim 2, wherein the transporting means is constituted by a sliding body having a plurality of teeth capable of storing the grain formed along a transport direction of the grain. On the side facing the means, there is provided a guide member having a guide groove that makes the longitudinal direction of the grain parallel to the transport direction of the grain, and the grain stored in the tooth portion of the sliding body is provided with the guide groove during the transport process. A grain component analyzer in which the transport direction and the longitudinal direction are parallelized according to the direction of the grain.