JP2002014050A - Equipment for inspecting cigarette - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an equipment for inspecting cigarette in which a foreign matter contained at the forward end of a cigarette can be detected easily and effectively. SOLUTION: The equipment for inspecting a foreign matter at the forward end of a cigarette is provided with a color sensor for irradiating the forward end of cigarettes C being carried sequentially, side by side, in the production process of cigarette with light comprising three prime color components of red, green and blue and receiving reflected light while decomposing into three prime color components of red, green and blue. The quantity of light received by the color sensor is collated, for each prime color component, with an allowable color discrimination range being set for each color component with reference to the color of cut tobacco thus detecting a foreign matter contained at the forward end of a cigarette without being affected by the color of cut tobacco.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cigarette inspecting apparatus suitable for reliably detecting foreign matter such as filter chips and paper chips contained in the tip of a cigarette in a cigarette manufacturing process and eliminating cigarettes containing foreign matter. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Cigarettes are usually formed by winding a cut cigarette continuously in a longitudinal direction with a long wrapping paper to form a long rod-shaped tobacco rod (bar-wound tobacco), and cutting the tobacco rod at predetermined lengths. Manufactured. By attaching a filter to one end of the cigarette, a cigarette with a filter is manufactured.

[0003]

However, if the tip of the cigarette thus manufactured contains a relatively large tobacco leaf core, filter dust, or even foreign matter such as a piece of paper, contained in the cut tobacco, This can hinder proper combustion of cigarettes and cause off-flavors. In addition, the appearance of the product is impaired, and the quality of the product is reduced. Therefore,
In the cigarette manufacturing process, it is important to detect the presence or absence of foreign matter at the tip of the cigarette and to surely remove cigarettes containing foreign matter.

However, as described above, the foreign matter contained in the tip of the cigarette consists of the tobacco leaf bone, filter waste, and paper pieces, and the color and shape are different.
It is extremely difficult to detect these foreign substances under a certain standard. In addition, the chopped tobacco itself rolled up with wrapping paper generally has a brownish color, but the color and size appearing on the end face (cut surface) of the cigarette vary widely. For this reason, it is difficult to reliably detect foreign matter even if the tip (end face) of the cigarette is optically imaged and image-processed.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to easily and effectively detect foreign matter contained in the tip of a cigarette without performing complicated image processing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cigarette inspection device capable of performing the above-mentioned operations.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a cigarette inspecting apparatus according to the present invention is incorporated in a cigarette manufacturing apparatus, inspects the tip of a cigarette for foreign matter, and checks the presence of foreign matter. In the cigarette manufacturing process, for example, light consisting of the three primary color components of red, green, and blue is applied to the tip of a cigarette held side by side by a transport drum and sequentially transported. A light source to irradiate, a color sensor that separates the light reflected at the tip of the cigarette irradiated with the light into the three primary color components of red, green, and blue, and receives light, respectively; Detecting the presence or absence of foreign matter contained in the tip of the cigarette according to the amount of received light, the ratio of each of the primary color components, or the brightness thereof It is characterized in that a constant means.

That is, according to the cigarette inspection apparatus of the present invention, the light receiving amount of each of these primary color components is calculated from the reflected light components of the three primary color components of red, green and blue reflected at the tip of the cigarette. , The ratio or the brightness thereof, and when a component other than the original color component of the cut tobacco is detected, the component is determined as a foreign substance.

Preferably, the determination means compares each of the red, green and blue color components of the reflected light with, for example, a predetermined color discrimination allowable range of the cut tobacco. Then, these comparison results are comprehensively determined to determine the presence or absence of foreign matter. More specifically, when it is detected that any one of the color components exceeds the permissible color discrimination range, this is detected as the presence of a foreign substance. Note that the color discrimination allowable range is set by previously storing a color component detected from a cigarette having no foreign matter mixed therein as its reference color, and defining an upper limit and a lower limit of color discrimination with respect to this reference color. You.

In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the determining means determines the presence or absence of a foreign object in synchronization with the transport timing of the cigarette, and when the presence of the foreign object is detected, Is configured to issue an exclusion command in synchronization with the transfer timing.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A cigarette inspection apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a main part of the cigarette inspection device. This cigarette inspection device is to be incorporated in the cigarette transporting process in the cigarette manufacturing device, specifically, after cutting the tobacco rod at a predetermined length,
The cigarette with a filter having a filter attached to one end thereof is incorporated in a portion provided with a transport drum 1 for sequentially transporting the cigarettes side by side one by one. The tip of the cigarette C conveyed while being held by the conveyance drum 1 is red,
Irradiate light consisting of three primary color components of green and blue,
An optical sensor 2 for receiving the reflected light is arranged.

Incidentally, in the cigarette inspecting apparatus according to this embodiment, two light sensors 2 for irradiating the tip of the cigarette C with a light beam having a diameter of about half the diameter of the cigarette C and receiving the reflected light are provided. , 2 are provided. These optical sensors 2 and 2 scan different areas (upper half and lower half) at the front end of the cigarette C held and transported by the transport drum 1 as shown in FIG. 2, for example. The light irradiation areas B1 and B2 are set and provided side by side. With the transport of the cigarette C by the transport drum 1, these two optical sensors 2,
2 is set so that the entire area of the tip (end face) of the cigarette C is scanned.

If the optical sensor 2 irradiates a light beam having a diameter larger than the diameter of the cigarette C and receives the reflected light, it is sufficient to use only one optical sensor 2. If a light beam having a diameter smaller than half of the diameter of the cigarette C is irradiated and the reflected light is received, for example, three or more optical sensors 2 may be used side by side. In short, the optical sensor 2 may be provided so as to scan the entire front end portion (end surface) of the cigarette C.

The optical sensor 2 has a red, green,
And a light source (illuminator) 3 for irradiating light composed of three primary color components of blue, red, green and blue.
A color sensor (light-receiving device) 4 that separates the light into primary color components and receives light. Specifically, the light source (light emitter) 3
Has, for example, a red diode 3r, a green diode 3g, and a blue diode 3b that emit red, green, and blue light, respectively, as shown in FIG. 3, and has wavelength selectivity (green reflection characteristics, blue reflection characteristics). , Two reflecting mirrors 3m, 3n for sequentially combining the lights of the respective color components emitted from the respective diodes 3r, 3g, 3b, and the red, green, and green lights synthesized through these reflecting mirrors 3m, 3n. And a condenser lens 3L for irradiating white light (three primary color components) composed of each light component of blue toward the cigarette C (detection object).

The color sensor (light-receiving device) 4 has two wavelength selective (green reflection characteristics, blue reflection characteristics) provided on the optical path of the reflected light condensed via the condenser lens 4L. Reflectors 4m, 4n and these reflectors 4m, 4n
and light receiving elements 4r, 4g, and 4b such as phototransistors that receive light of respective color components of red, green, and blue, which are sequentially separated by n. The light reflected at the tip (end face) of the cigarette C is configured to individually detect three primary color components of red, green, and blue.

The information on the light reflected at the tip (end face) of the cigarette C detected by the optical sensors 2, 2 is used as a tip foreign matter determining unit (determining means) as shown in FIG.
It is led to 5. The tip foreign matter determination unit 5 determines whether the light receiving amount of each of the color components (red, green, and blue) received by the light receiving elements 4r, 4g, and 4b is within a predetermined color discrimination allowable range for each color component. And a function of determining whether or not there is a foreign substance, and when the amount of received light is out of the color determination allowable range, detecting this as the presence of a foreign substance.

That is, the tip foreign matter judging section 5 is provided with a light receiving amount judging circuit configured as shown in FIG. 4, for example, for each color component described above. Incidentally, each received light amount determination circuit is configured to store, for each color component, an upper limit value and a lower limit value which preliminarily define a color discrimination permissible range, and each color detected by the light receiving elements 4r, 4g, 4b. Comparators 5c and 5d for comparing the received light amount of the component with the upper limit value and the lower limit value given from the memories 5a and 5b, respectively.
And a judgment processing unit 5e for judging the comparison result. When the amount of received light of each color component is out of the permissible color discrimination range (upper limit value, lower limit value), it is determined that foreign matter is present.

Incidentally, such a foreign matter determination process is executed at the timing when the reflected light is detected from the leading end of the cigarette C in synchronization with the transport of the cigarette C by the transport drum 1. Specifically, the irradiation is performed by scanning the front end of the cigarette C over the irradiation area of the light beams B1 and B2 emitted from the optical sensor 2 over the timing at which the cigarette C held on the transport drum 1 passes. .

The upper limit value and the lower limit value for specifying the color discrimination allowable range are determined in advance by detecting a standard color (cutting cigarette color) at the tip of the cigarette C to be inspected and determining the red color constituting the color. Each color level of the three primary color components of green, green and blue is set as a reference (reference color), and is set in consideration of a standard color variation range of the cigarette color cut by each reference color as shown in FIG. Is done. In the tip foreign matter determining unit 5, as shown in FIG. 5, the received light amount (color level) of any one of the three primary colors described above.
Is out of the permissible color discrimination range, in other words, for all three primary color components, the light reception amount (color level) is set at the tip of the cigarette C, except when the light reception amount (color level) is within the permissible color discrimination range of each color component. It is determined that a foreign object is present.

Thus, the tip of the cigarette C is irradiated with light of three primary color components (white light) consisting of red, green and blue, and the reflected light is separated into red, green and blue. According to the cigarette inspection device that detects each of the color components and determines the amount of received light for each of these color components to detect foreign matter at the tip of the cigarette C, when the foreign matter is contained at the tip of the cigarette C, the type of the foreign matter is determined. Is used, the presence of the foreign matter is reliably detected without being affected by the difference in the color of the tobacco at the tip of the cigarette C. It becomes possible.

In particular, the color of the cut tobacco which is free of foreign matter is
The reference color is determined for each color component by decomposing the color into three primary color components of red, green, and blue, and a permissible color discrimination range for each color component which allows the variation of the color of the cut tobacco according to these reference colors is determined. . Then, for each color component of the reflected light detected from the front end of the cigarette C, which is decomposed into the three primary color components of red, green, and blue, the received light amount is compared with the respective color discrimination allowable ranges. The difference between colors can be clearly determined. In other words, as described above, the color of the reflected light at the tip end (inspection object) of the cigarette C is decomposed into three primary color components of red, green, and blue, and the level of each color component is within an allowable range. Since it is determined whether or not there is a foreign substance which is quite close to the color component of the cut tobacco, the foreign substance can be accurately detected.

Therefore, even if the foreign matter contained in the tip of the cigarette C is a tobacco leaf bone, a filter waste, or even a paper piece, the color is subtle depending on the type of the foreign matter. Even when the reflected light is different, it is possible to reliably detect a component other than the color component of the cut tobacco, that is, a foreign substance, from the three primary color components obtained by color separation of the reflected light.

Therefore, by issuing an exclusion command in synchronization with the transport timing to the cigarette C in which the presence of the foreign matter is detected as described above, the cigarette C is reliably excluded from the manufacturing process. Thus, the cigarette production quality can be simplified and effectively improved. Moreover, since the above-described foreign substance inspection can be performed sequentially and continuously in synchronization with the transport of the cigarette C in the manufacturing process, the process from the above-described foreign substance inspection to the elimination processing is performed in real time while the cigarette manufacturing process is continuously performed. It is possible to obtain effects such as execution.

As described above, instead of decomposing the reflected light obtained from the tip of the cigarette C into three primary color components of red, green, and blue and determining the level of each color component, the Foreign matter detection may be performed by focusing on the component ratio. In this case, as shown in an example of the processing circuit in FIG. 6, each of the red, green, and blue color components of the reflected light decomposed into three primary color components is logarithmically compressed, and the difference is obtained to obtain each color component. Ratio between, for example
[R / G] and [B / G] are obtained. Then, the ratio of these color components may be compared with a predetermined criterion, and the result of the comparison may be determined.

If the foreign matter detection is performed by paying attention to the ratio of the three primary color components separated as described above, the difference in the color components is not affected by the change in the amount of reflected light at the tip of the cigarette C. Can be accurately determined. That is, even if the amount of reflected light increases or decreases depending on the surface condition of the tip (inspection object) of the cigarette C, the third problem is caused.
Since the ratio of primary color components (light intensity ratio) does not change,
The change in the amount of reflected light does not affect the detection accuracy.
Therefore, the inspection accuracy can be maintained at a sufficiently high level.

Further, in addition to performing the foreign matter inspection by focusing on the color component ratio of the reflected light as described above, if the lightness of each color component is determined, for example, the inspection accuracy can be further improved and the accurate foreign matter inspection can be performed. An inspection can be performed. Incidentally, in the conventional inspection of foreign matter focusing on black and white (shading), the change in the amount of reflected light itself is regarded as a change in the color at the tip of the cigarette C, and even if there is no change in the color component, the change in the amount of light is Since it is regarded as a non-reference color, it is difficult to sufficiently increase the detection accuracy. Therefore, according to the present apparatus that determines the subtle differences in the color components based on the color components of the reflected light, the color component ratio, and the lightness thereof, the presence or absence of foreign matter at the tip of the cigarette C can be determined with high accuracy. Inspection becomes possible.

In the above-described embodiment, the presence or absence of a foreign substance is determined by comparing the amount of reflected light received for each color component with an upper limit and a lower limit that define the permissible range for color determination. As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of color determination standards may be set for each color component, and the amount of reflected light received by each color component may be determined for each of the color determination standards. Then, the determination processing section 6 selects a color determination criterion to be used in the foreign substance inspection, outputs a signal indicating "normal" when all of the determination criteria (conditions) are satisfied, or outputs the signal indicating "normal". May be output when the condition is not satisfied. In FIG. 7, 7a, 7
b, .about.7n are memories for respectively storing a plurality of color discrimination standards, and 8a, 8b,.
b, .about.7n, and a comparator for comparing the color discrimination criterion given from b and .about.7n with the amount of reflected light received.

In this embodiment, the tip of the cigarette C held and transported by the transport drum 1 is inspected for foreign substances. However, it is of course possible to inspect foreign substances in other parts in the cigarette manufacturing process. is there. However, also in this case, it goes without saying that the transport timing of the cigarette C subjected to the foreign substance inspection is managed, and control is performed so that the cigarette C in which the presence of the foreign substance is detected can be removed without fail. Further, as a means for detecting the reflected light from the other end of the cigarette C, it is of course possible to employ a color camera having an RGB output, and use a white light source having a uniform mixing ratio of the three primary color components. It is also possible to illuminate the tip (end face) of C.

Further, instead of comparing each of the received light amounts of the three separated primary color components with the permissible color determination range,
Alternatively, in addition to the determination process, for example, it is also possible to determine the ratio of each of the color components and the brightness to perform the foreign substance inspection,
In short, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, the tip of a cigarette continuously conveyed in the manufacturing process is irradiated with white light, and the reflected light is reflected on the three primary colors of red, green and blue. The cigarette is decomposed into components, and the presence or absence of a foreign substance is determined according to the amount of received light, the ratio of each of these color components, or the brightness thereof. It is possible to reliably detect foreign matter such as a tobacco leaf having a large shape, filter dust, and a piece of paper, and to reliably remove a cigarette containing the foreign matter.

Therefore, a simple configuration that can easily and effectively detect and eliminate foreign matter contained in the tip of a cigarette without performing complicated image processing, thereby improving the production quality of the cigarette. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a main part of a cigarette inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a light beam irradiation area on an end of a cigarette in the cigarette inspection apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and a scan of the inspection area.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an optical sensor in the cigarette inspection device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a tip foreign matter determination unit in the cigarette inspection device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a determination process in a tip foreign matter determination unit illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a processing circuit for performing a foreign matter determination process focusing on the ratio of the color components of reflected light.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a modification of the tip foreign matter determination unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 C Cigarette 1 Carrier drum 2 Optical sensor 3 Light source (light emitter) 3r Red diode 3g Green diode 3b Blue diode 3m, 3n Reflector (wavelength selectivity) 3L Condenser lens 4 Color sensor (light receiver) 4r, 4g, 4b Light receiving element (Phototransistor) 4m, 4n Reflecting mirror (wavelength selectivity) 4L Condensing lens 5 Tip foreign matter judging unit 5a, 5b Memory (upper limit, lower limit) 5c, 5d Comparator 5e Judgment processing unit 6 Judgment processing unit 7a, 7b , ７7n memory (color discrimination standard) 8a, 8b, ８8n comparator

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Norigami 2-2-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo Japan Tobacco Inc. F-term (reference) 2G020 AA08 DA05 DA13 DA32 DA53 2G051 AA90 AB01 BA01 BA08 BA20 CA03 CA07 CB01 DA01 DA06 EA01 EA14 EB01 EB02 2G059 AA05 BB15 CC20 DD12 EE02 EE13 GG02 GG03 JJ11 JJ13 KK03 KK04 MM01 MM05 MM10 4B044 CF01Y CF06Y CM14

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cigarette inspecting apparatus for inspecting the front end of a cigarette for the incorporation of foreign matter into the front end of the cigarette. A light source that irradiates light, a color sensor that separates the reflected light at the tip of the cigarette into the three primary color components of red, green, and blue, and receives light, respectively; and the primary colors that are received by the color sensor. A cigarette inspecting device comprising: a judging means for detecting the presence or absence of a foreign substance contained in the tip of the cigarette according to the amount of received light, the ratio of the components, or the brightness thereof. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit compares each of the red, green, and blue color components of the reflected light with a predetermined color determination allowable range, and comprehensively determines the comparison result to determine the presence of a foreign substance. The cigarette inspection device according to claim 1, wherein presence or absence is determined. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit determines presence or absence of a foreign object in synchronization with the transport timing of the cigarette, and issues an exclusion command in synchronization with the transport timing of the cigarette when the presence of the foreign object is detected. The cigarette inspection device according to claim 1.