JP2008175760A - Grain quality evaluation equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a grain quality evaluation apparatus that can measure components without damaging or degrading not only brown rice and white rice but also brown rice, and having a compact shape.
A grain quality determination apparatus including a sample storage chamber in which a grain sample is stored, a measurement chamber having a light projecting port and a light receiving port, and a casing in which the light projecting unit and the light receiving unit are disposed. The light projecting means includes a light source that emits irradiation light including near-infrared light, a reflector that reflects the irradiation light emitted from the light source toward the measurement hole, and one opening that serves as the light source and the reflector. A reflection tube is provided between the light source and the measurement hole with the other opening facing the measurement hole.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a grain quality determination apparatus for determining the quality of grains such as glutinous rice and brown rice using near infrared light (near infrared light) included in irradiation light such as a halogen lamp.

  Conventionally, the protein and moisture content of brown rice, white rice and other grains are measured using near infrared light (generally, electromagnetic waves having a wavelength of 0.7 to 2.5 micrometers) to evaluate the quality of the grains. A quality evaluation apparatus to perform is known. These devices irradiate a grain sample to be measured with irradiation light including near infrared light, measure the amount and spectrum of transmitted light transmitted through the sample or reflected light from the sample surface, and compute the measured values. The quality of the sample is judged by comparing the obtained data with known data.

  For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-125586, “a measurement container filled with a measurement object, a light source that irradiates the measurement object of the measurement container with a specific wavelength light at a measurement position of the spectroscopic analyzer, and a measurement object. A light receiving device that receives the obtained light, a storage device that stores a related specific coefficient, an arithmetic device that calculates a specific component from a signal output from the light receiving device and a specific coefficient of the storage device, and each of these devices An invention related to a “spectroscopic analysis apparatus provided with a control apparatus that controls in association with each other” is disclosed.

JP-A-11-125586

  When measuring a sample using transmitted light of near-infrared light irradiated on the sample, the amount of components can be measured relatively easily with brown rice or white rice. Absorption was large and measurement with transmitted light was difficult. When trying to increase the amount of transmitted light by increasing the output of the light source to be used, the problem was that the glutinous rice itself would burn or explode due to the amount of heat of the light source.

  In addition, in an apparatus as disclosed in Patent Document 1, light from a light source (such as the halogen lamp 15 in Patent Document 1) is filtered in advance to extract light of a specific wavelength, and the sample to be measured is irradiated. Due to the configuration, there is a problem that the structure is complicated and large.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a grain quality evaluation apparatus that can measure components without damaging and degrading rice bran and has a compact shape.

  In order to solve such a problem, the invention described in claim 1 includes a sample storage chamber in which a grain sample is stored and having a measurement hole and a transparent plate closing the measurement hole at the bottom, and the bottom of the sample storage chamber A measurement chamber that faces the measurement hole and has a light projection port and a light reception port and is blocked from outside light during measurement, and close to the measurement hole in the sample storage chamber through the light projection port of the measurement chamber. A light-projecting means for irradiating irradiation light including infrared light, and a housing in which light-receiving means for receiving reflected light of the irradiation light irradiated to the measurement hole through the light-receiving port is provided. The grain quality judging device for judging the quality of the grain sample by comparing data obtained by calculating the measurement value of the reflected light received by the light receiving means with known quality data, wherein the light projecting means comprises: A light source that emits irradiation light including near infrared light, and a light source disposed near the light source. A reflector that reflects the irradiation light emitted from a light source toward the measurement hole, and one opening faces the light source and the reflector and the other opening faces the measurement hole, and the light source and the measurement A reflecting cylinder disposed between the reflecting hole and the light receiving means, the reflecting means for converting the received reflected light into parallel light, and a specific part of the parallel light converted by the reflecting mirror. It comprises a grating that reflects light of a wavelength in a specific direction, and a photoelectric conversion element that receives light diffracted by the grating and converts it into an electrical signal.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the grain quality determination apparatus according to the first aspect, the housing is provided with a light projecting unit storage chamber in which the light projecting unit is disposed and the light receiving unit. The light receiving means storage chamber is divided by a partition wall, an intake device is provided in the light receiving means storage chamber, and an exhaust device is provided in the light projecting means storage chamber.

  According to the grain quality determination apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, a sample storage chamber in which a grain sample is stored and having a measurement hole and a transparent plate closing the measurement hole at the bottom, and the bottom of the sample storage chamber A measurement chamber that has a light-projecting port and a light-receiving port facing the other measurement holes and is blocked from outside light during measurement, and near-infrared light is transmitted to the measurement holes in the sample storage chamber through the light-projecting port of the measurement chamber. And a housing in which a light receiving means for receiving the reflected light of the irradiation light irradiated to the measurement hole and a light receiving means for receiving the reflected light through the light receiving port are disposed, and is received by the light receiving means. A quality determination device for a grain that compares the data obtained by calculating the measurement value of the reflected light with known quality data to determine the quality of the grain sample, wherein the light projecting means emits irradiation light including near infrared light. A light source that emits light and irradiation light that is arranged near the light source and emitted from the light source And a reflector that is disposed between the light source and the measurement hole with one opening facing the light source and the reflector and the other opening facing the measurement hole. The light emitted from the light source is reflected directly or by the reflector and enters the reflecting cylinder, is diffused inside the reflecting cylinder, and is irradiated to the measurement hole in the sample storage chamber. Therefore, with a simple configuration, the sample is irradiated with diffused light from multiple directions, so that reflected light with a large amount of information can be obtained. In addition, by disposing the reflection tube between the light source and the measurement hole, the distance between the light source serving as the heat source and the measurement hole can be increased, so that the sample does not deteriorate or burn out due to high heat.

  In addition, the light receiving means reflects the received reflected light into parallel light, a grating that reflects light of a specific wavelength of the parallel light converted by the reflective mirror in a specific direction, and diffraction by the grating. And a photoelectric conversion element that receives the received light and converts it into an electrical signal, so that the information of the received reflected light can be obtained from a photoelectric conversion element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Devices) with high-accuracy spectrum measurement values. Can be obtained as

  According to the grain quality determination apparatus according to the present invention, the light projecting means and the light receiving means can be formed with the above-described simple configuration, so that a quality determination apparatus having a compact shape can be provided.

  According to the grain quality determination apparatus according to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, in the grain quality determination apparatus according to claim 1, the casing is The light projecting unit storage chamber in which the light unit is disposed and the light receiving unit storage chamber in which the light receiving unit is disposed are divided by a partition wall, an intake device is disposed in the light receiving unit storage chamber, and the light is exhausted into the light projecting unit storage chamber. Since the device is arranged, outside air is sucked into the quality judgment device from the light receiving means storage chamber side without a large heat source, and the hot air is discharged from the light projecting means storage chamber side having a large heat source such as a light source. Therefore, an effective cooling structure of the quality determination device can be configured.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a grain quality determination apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a front view of the quality evaluation apparatus according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an outline of an internal structure viewed from the back side of the quality evaluation apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a quality evaluation shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the outline of the internal structure seen from the side surface side of the apparatus.

  1 to 3, the quality evaluation apparatus 1 includes a sample storage chamber 4 for storing a grain sample, a measurement chamber 23 that is shielded from external light when measuring the sample, a light projecting means 50, and a light receiving means 60. And a housing 24 to be housed.

  The sample storage chamber 4 has a sample supply port 2 opened at the top, left and right side plates 4a and 4b, a bottom portion 4c disposed so as to incline downward from the back side to the front side, and a sample storage. And a front door 3 disposed in front of the chamber 4. A sample measurement hole 7 is formed in the center of the bottom 4c of the sample storage chamber 4, and a glass plate 8 is laid as a transparent plate so as to close the measurement hole 7. The front door 3 is attached to the beam portion 5 at the upper front of the quality evaluation apparatus 1 with a hinge 6 and is configured to be opened and closed as shown in FIG. Therefore, the sample which is stored in the sample storage chamber 4 and has been measured is discharged to the front of the quality evaluation apparatus 1 by its own weight by operating the front door opening / closing member 9 to open the front door 3 forward. . The front door 3 is configured by molding a transparent or translucent plastic material such as acrylic resin into a plate shape so that the filling state of the sample stored in the sample storage chamber 4 can be visually recognized from the front of the quality determination device 1. Has been.

  On the front plate 12 of the quality evaluation apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 1, a power switch 13, sample selection buttons 14a (brown rice), 14b (brown rice), 14c (white rice), a sample evaluation button 14d, a sample discharge button 14e, and a sample A display device 15 for displaying the quality evaluation results and the like is provided. When evaluating a grain sample, the sample to be evaluated is stored in the sample storage chamber 4 through the glass plate 8 to such an extent that external light does not enter the measurement chamber 23 from the measurement hole 7 and the sample type is selected. The button 14a, 14b, 14c is selected and the sample evaluation button 14e is pressed. When the sample evaluation button 14e is pressed, the sample is measured, the measured value is subjected to arithmetic processing by a CPU (620), which will be described later, and compared with known quality data, and the evaluation result is displayed on the display device 15.

  The measurement chamber 23 is disposed on the back side and below the sample storage chamber 4, and the bottom plate 16 of the measurement chamber 23 is provided with light projecting means 50 housed in a casing 24 disposed below the measurement chamber 23. A projection port for guiding the emitted light to the measurement hole 7 of the sample storage chamber 4 and a reflected light reflected by the sample through the measurement hole 7 to the light receiving means 60 accommodated in the housing 24. A light receiving opening 16b is formed. The measurement chamber 23 houses a standard reflector 21 attached to a linear motor 22 that can move in the horizontal direction. The reflected light from the standard reflecting plate 21 is measured in advance, the spectrum of the reflected light of the sample is measured from the ratio of the signal intensity for each wavelength of the reflected light from the sample, and an arithmetic process (statistics) is performed on the measured value of the reflected spectrum. It is possible to estimate the component of the sample. The back side of the measurement chamber 23 is closed with a back plate 25 together with the housing 24.

  A housing 24 disposed in the lower part of the measurement chamber 23 houses a light projecting means 50, a light receiving means 60, various switching power supplies 19a, 19b, 19c, and a switchboard 20.

  The light projecting means 50 condenses the light emitted from the light source 51 such as a halogen lamp that emits irradiation light including near infrared light and reflects it toward the measurement hole 7 in the sample storage chamber 4. And a reflecting tube 53 having a reflecting surface on the inner peripheral surface for diffusing the light emitted from the light source 51 and the light reflected by the reflector 52 to irradiate the measurement hole 7. Has been. By irradiating the measurement hole 7 with light through the reflecting cylinder 53, the degree of diffusion of the irradiated light can be increased, and the light projecting means 50 that can obtain light with a large amount of information is configured. In the present embodiment, a halogen lamp that emits irradiation light including near infrared light having a wavelength of 0.7 to 1.1 micrometers is used as the light source 51. Thereby, an inexpensive general-purpose CCD can be adopted as a photoelectric conversion element 605 (see FIG. 4) described later.

  The light receiving means 60 includes a multi-channel spectroscope 61 and an arithmetic control board 62. The diffusely reflected light incident from the entrance 61 a of the spectroscope 61 is measured for the spectrum in the spectroscope 61, and the output signal is transmitted to the calculation control board 62.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the spectroscope 61, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an electronic circuit formed on the arithmetic control board 62.

  In FIG. 4, diffusely reflected light that has entered from the entrance 61 a of the spectroscope 61 travels from the slit 601 to a range indicated by virtual lines 610 a and 610 b in FIG. 4, and is converted into parallel light by the reflecting mirror 602. It proceeds to the grating 603 within the range indicated by the virtual lines 611a and 611b. The grating (diffraction grating) 603 has about 1000 parallel fine grooves per mm on the surface of glass or the like having high light reflectivity. A parallel light beam is incident on the grating surface and is diffracted by each groove. The light having a specific wavelength is reflected in a specific direction by causing the generated light to interfere. The light reflected by the grating 603 travels to the reflecting mirror 604 within the range indicated by the virtual lines 612a and 612b, and is reflected by the reflecting mirror 604 and travels to the photoelectric conversion element 605 such as a CCD within the range indicated by the virtual lines 613a and 613b. . The photoelectric conversion element 605 converts the spectrum of the received light into an electrical signal and transmits it to the arithmetic control board 62. The spectroscope 61 preferably has an S / N ratio (signal to noise ratio) of about 0.01%. In addition, the measurement accuracy can be improved by adopting a deep well type sensor having a large exposure saturation as the photoelectric conversion element 605.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining the function of the electronic circuit formed on the arithmetic control board 62. The arithmetic control board 62 includes a CPU 620, an input unit 621, a storage unit 622, and an output unit 623.

  The input unit 621 receives various operation buttons (sample selection buttons 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, sample evaluation button 14 d, sample discharge button 14 e, etc.) disposed on the front plate 12 of the quality determination apparatus 1 and the output signal of the spectrometer 61. It has a function of receiving and analyzing, and causing the CPU 620 to execute predetermined arithmetic processing.

  The storage unit 622 includes a read-only ROM (Read Only Memory) in which a predetermined program and known quality data are stored, a rewritable RAM (Random Access Memory) as a work area of the CPU 620 and a temporary data storage area. And.

  The output unit 623 has a function of performing a process of outputting a signal for causing the display device 15 disposed on the front panel 12 to display a message or announcement according to a calculation result (evaluation result) by the CPU 620 or an operation state of the CPU 620. Have.

  The CPU 620 performs statistical calculation processing such as multiple regression analysis on the measurement value based on the output signal of the spectroscope 61 based on the type of the sample selection buttons 14 a, 14 b, and 14 c received by the input unit 621, and stores it in the storage unit 622. Compared with the known quality data, the content of protein, moisture, etc. of the grain sample is estimated to determine the quality, and the determination result is transmitted to the output unit 623.

  As described above, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the sample storage chamber 4 having the measurement hole 7 stored in the bottom 4c and the transparent plate 8 such as a glass plate that closes the measurement hole 7 is stored according to the embodiment of the present invention. A measurement chamber 23 that has a light projection port 16a and a light reception port 16b facing the measurement hole 7 in the bottom 4c of the sample storage chamber 4 and is blocked from external light during measurement, and a light projection port 16a of the measurement chamber 23 are provided. The light projection means 50 for irradiating the measurement hole 7 of the sample storage chamber 4 with irradiation light including near infrared light and the reflected light of the irradiation light irradiated to the measurement hole 7 are received via the light receiving port 16b. A grain 24 for determining the quality of the grain sample by comparing the data obtained by calculating the measurement value of the reflected light received by the light receiving means 60 with the known quality data. The light projecting means 50 includes a near infrared light. A light source 51 such as a halogen lamp that emits irradiation light, a reflector 52 that is disposed in the vicinity of the light source 51 and reflects the irradiation light emitted from the light source 51 toward the measurement hole 7, and one opening of the light source 51. And a reflecting cylinder 53 disposed between the light source 51 and the measurement hole 7 with the other opening facing the reflector 52 and the other opening facing the measurement hole 7, so that light emitted from the light source 51 is provided. Is reflected directly or by the reflector 52 and enters the reflecting cylinder 53, is diffused inside the reflecting cylinder 53, and is applied to the measurement hole 7 of the sample storage chamber 4. Therefore, with a simple configuration, the sample is irradiated with diffused light from multiple directions, so that reflected light with a large amount of information can be obtained. In addition, by disposing the reflection tube 53 between the light source 51 and the measurement hole 7, the distance between the light source 51, which also serves as a heat source, and the measurement hole 7 can be increased, so that the sample is deteriorated or damaged by high heat. There is no. Therefore, even a sample such as sticky rice can measure the components of the sample without burning or exploding, and the quality can be determined.

  The light receiving means 60 converts the received reflected light into parallel light; and a grating 603 that reflects light of a specific wavelength of the parallel light converted by the reflective mirror 62 in a specific direction; And a photoelectric conversion element 605 that receives the light diffracted by the grating 603 and converts it into an electric signal, so that information on the received reflected light is obtained from a photoelectric conversion element 605 such as a general-purpose inexpensive CCD. It can be obtained as a highly accurate spectrum measurement value.

  Moreover, according to the quality determination apparatus 1 by the said embodiment, since the light projection means 50 and the light-receiving means 60 can be formed with the above simple structure, the irradiation light is filtered beforehand and specific wavelength light is extracted. Compared to the above, it is possible to provide the quality determination device 1 having a compact shape. By installing the quality determination device 1 according to the present embodiment in a combine (a mowing threshing machine), it is possible to quickly determine and sort the quality of the grain harvested in the field.

  Next, a grain quality determination apparatus 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view schematically showing the internal structure viewed from the back side of the quality evaluation apparatus 1, corresponding to FIG. 2 in the above-described embodiment. In FIG. 6, the same members and portions as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In this embodiment, the structure of the sample storage chamber 4 and the measurement chamber 23 is the same as that of the previous embodiment. In the present embodiment, a partition wall 26 is provided that divides the casing 24 into a light projecting unit storage chamber 24a in which the light projecting unit 50 is stored and a light receiving unit storage chamber 24b in which the light receiving unit 60 is stored. Further, an intake fan 27 as an intake device that sucks outside air into the quality determination device 1 is disposed below the side plate 10a of the light receiving unit storage chamber 24b, and below the side plate 10b of the light projecting unit storage chamber 24a. An exhaust fan 28 is provided as an exhaust device for exhausting the air in the quality judgment device 1 to the outside.

  According to the present embodiment, the casing 24 is divided by the partition wall 26 into the light projecting unit storage chamber 24a in which the light projecting unit 50 is disposed and the light receiving unit storage chamber 24b in which the light receiving unit 60 is disposed. Since the intake fan 27 serving as an intake device is provided in the means storage chamber 24b and the exhaust fan 28 serving as the exhaust device is provided in the light projecting means storage chamber 24a, the light receiving means storage chamber 24b side without a large heat source is provided. Therefore, it is possible to inhale the outside air into the quality judgment device 1 and discharge the hot air to the outside from the light projecting means storage chamber 24a side having a large heat source such as the light source 51, thereby constituting an effective cooling structure of the quality judgment device 1. can do.

It is a front view of the quality determination apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the outline of the internal structure seen from the back side of the quality evaluation apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the outline of the internal structure seen from the side surface side of the quality evaluation apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the spectrometer of the quality determination apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the electronic circuit currently formed in the calculation control board of the quality determination apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the outline of the internal structure seen from the back side of the quality evaluation apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Quality determination apparatus, 2 ... Sample supply port, 3 ... Front door, 4 ... Sample storage chamber,
4c ... bottom, 7 ... measurement hole, 8 ... transparent plate (glass plate), 12 ... front plate,
13 ... Power switch, 14a, 14b, 14c ... Sample selection button,
14d ... Sample evaluation button, 14e ... Sample discharge button, 15 ... Display device,
16a ... light emitting port, 16b ... light receiving port,
19a, 19b, 19c ... switching power supply, 20 ... switchboard,
21 ... Standard reflector, 22 ... Linear motor, 23 ... Measurement room, 24 ... Housing,
24a ... light projecting means storage chamber, 24b ... light receiving means storage chamber, 50 ... light projecting means,
51 ... Light source (halogen lamp) 52 ... Reflector 53 ... Reflector tube
60 ... light receiving means, 61 ... spectrometer, 62 ... calculation control board, 601 ... slit,
602 ... Reflecting mirror, 603 ... Grating,
605... Photoelectric conversion element (CCD), 620... CPU, 621.
622 ... storage unit, 623 ... output unit

Claims (2)

A sample storage chamber having a measurement hole at the bottom where a grain sample is stored and a transparent plate for closing the measurement hole, and a measurement opening at the bottom of the sample storage chamber facing the measurement hole and a light-receiving opening, and a light-receiving opening. A measurement chamber that is shielded from outside light, a light projecting unit that irradiates the measurement hole of the sample storage chamber with irradiation light including near infrared light via the light projection port of the measurement chamber, and the measurement hole And a housing provided with a light receiving means for receiving the reflected light of the irradiated light irradiated on the light receiving port through the light receiving port, and processing the measured value of the reflected light received by the light receiving means A grain quality determination device for comparing data with known quality data to determine the quality of the grain sample,
The light projecting means is
A light source that emits the irradiation light including the near-infrared light;
A reflector that is disposed in the vicinity of the light source and reflects the irradiation light emitted from the light source toward the measurement hole;
A reflecting tube disposed between the light source and the measurement hole with one opening facing the light source and the reflector and the other opening facing the measurement hole;
With
The light receiving means is
A reflecting mirror for converting the received reflected light into parallel light;
A grating that reflects light of a specific wavelength of the parallel light converted by the reflecting mirror in a specific direction;
A photoelectric conversion element that receives light diffracted by the grating and converts it into an electrical signal;
A grain quality evaluation apparatus comprising:   The casing is divided by a partition wall into a light projecting unit storage chamber in which the light projecting unit is disposed and a light receiving unit storage chamber in which the light receiving unit is disposed, and an intake device is disposed in the light receiving unit storage chamber. 2. The grain quality judging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an exhaust device is disposed in the light projecting means storage chamber.

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