Systems and methods of use for commodities analysis, collection, resource-allocation, and tracking

• US 10,545,491 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2017
• Issued: 01/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BEXT Holdings, Inc.
• Original Assignee: BEXT Holdings, Inc.
• Inventors: Kingston, Dean Michael, Jones, Daniel Paul, Kashiwa, Corey Baker
• Primary Examiner(s): Rodriguez, Joseph C
• Application Number:
  US15/703,134
• Publication Number:
  US 20180074481A1
• Time in Patent Office: 867 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/342 according to optical properties, e.g. colour according to radiation transmittivity B07C5/3416
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/3422 using video scanning devices, e.g. TV-cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/363 by means of air
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/38 Collecting or arranging articles in groups
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/41875 characterised by quality surveillance of production
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32194 Quality prediction
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32204 Performance assurance; assure certain level of non-defective products
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06395 Quality analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/22 Payment schemes or models
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30128 Food products
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0004 Industrial image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0643 Hash functions, e.g. MD5, SHA, HMAC or f9 MAC
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/90 Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 : Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

The disclosure provides systems and methods of use in the analysis, collection, resource allocation, and tracking associated with the sale of commodities. Embodiments include a vibratory-and-optical analysis and collection system that may be incorporated into a collection and storage machine. The analysis and collection system and/or the collection and storage machine may be associated with a consumption-based resource-allocation system that determines a payment price for a batch of commodity sold and then digitally allocates all transaction resources to the relevant stakeholders to the commodity sales transaction occurring at the analysis and collection system and/or the collection and storage machine. A commodity-to-consumer tracking system may be provided to track the batch of commodity sold from the point of harvest and sale through to the end consumer. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A system for analyzing a quality of a batch of commodity particles, comprising:

a material hopper having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet configured to receive the batch of the commodity particles;

a vibratory assembly, comprising;

a vibratory input feeder; and

a vibratory plate having a proximal end and a distal end, the vibratory plate positioned to receive at the proximal end a continuous stream of the commodity particles exiting the outlet of the material hopper, the vibratory input feeder configured to vibrate the vibratory plate, causing the vibratory plate to repeatedly apply a vibrational force to each of the commodity particles on the vibratory plate, thereby translating each of the commodity particles toward the distal end of the vibratory plate by an incremental displacement with each application of the vibrational force;

a first imaging assembly comprising a first camera, the first imaging assembly configured to capture a first image set of each of the commodity particles as the each of the commodity particles translate from the proximal end toward the distal end of the vibratory plate;

a second imaging assembling comprising second and third cameras, the second imaging assembly configured to capture second and third image sets of each of the commodity particles as the each of the commodity particles free fall from the distal end of the vibratory plate; and

one or more processors communicatively coupled with the vibratory assembly, the first imaging assembly, and the second imaging assembly, the one or more of the processors executing an analysis and collection module that uses the first, the second, and the third image sets, along with the vibrational force applied to each of the commodity particles, to perform a quality analysis for each of the commodity particles.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the quality analysis includes a determination, for each of the commodity particles, of the incremental displacement in response to the vibrational force, a time over which the incremental displacement occurs, a velocity of the incremental displacement, a momentum, a volume, a mass, a density, and a presence of one or more internal defects.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the quality analysis further includes an optical assessment, for each of the commodity particles, of a size consistency, a color, a color consistency, and a presence of one or more extrinsic defects.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or more of the processors execute the analysis and collection module to determine, based upon the quality analysis for each of the commodity particles and a number of threshold quality limits, whether each of the commodity particles is an acceptable particle or a defective particle.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising a number of air jet nozzles positioned downstream from the second imaging assembly, wherein aligned ones of the air jet nozzles cycle to divert the defective particles from the continuous stream of the commodity particles.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the quality analysis further includes a determination, based on the mass of each of the acceptable particles, of a total weight of the acceptable particles.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the quality analysis further includes a classification of all or a proportion of the acceptable particles according to one or more predefined quality ratings.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the batch of commodity particles comprises a batch of coffee cherries.

9. An optical-sorting system for commodity particles, the optical-sorting system having a quality analysis system, the quality analysis system comprising:

a vibratory plate having a proximal end in receipt of a stream of the commodity particles and a distal end, the vibratory plate configured to repeatedly apply a vibratory force to the stream of the commodity particles to translate each of the commodity particles proximally-to-distally through incremental displacements of each of the commodity particles in response to each application of the vibratory force;

at least two cameras configured to capture a series of images of each of the commodity particles translating proximally-to-distally across the vibratory plate and falling from the distal end of the vibratory plate; and

a processor communicatively coupled with the at least two cameras, the processor executing an analysis and collection module to;

based on data collected from the series of the images and the vibratory force applied to the commodity particles translating across the vibratory plate, determine a number of analysis attributes associated with each of the commodity particles; and

based on the number of the analysis attributes, sort each of the commodity particles into acceptable particles that are retained or defective particles that are rejected;

wherein the analysis attributes include a volume of each of the commodity particles, a mass of each of the commodity particles, a density of each of the commodity particles, a color of each of the commodity particles, a color consistency of each of the commodity particles, a shape of each of the commodity particles, a shape consistency of each of the commodity particles, a presence of one or more extrinsic defects associated with each of the commodity particles, and a presence of one or more intrinsic defects associated with each of the commodity particles;

further comprising a good product chute configured to deliver the acceptable particles from the analysis system to a collection system, the collection system comprising a weigh hopper mount supporting a weigh hopper above a weigh scale lift assembly, the weigh scale lift assembly having a weigh scale lift and a weigh scale, wherein;

the acceptable particles exit the good product chute into the weigh hopper, and

the weigh scale lift is configured to rise vertically until the weigh hopper is fully supported upon the weigh scale such that the weigh scale registers a total weight of the acceptable particles within the weigh hopper.

10. The optical-sorting system of claim 9, further comprising:

an array of air jet nozzles positioned at an outlet of the analysis system; and

a reject chute, wherein a select one of the air jet nozzles activates to divert each of the defective particles from the analysis system into the reject chute.

11. The optical-sorting system of claim 9, wherein the processor further executes the analysis and collection module to determine, based on the analysis attributes of each of the acceptable particles and the total weight of the acceptable particles, one or more quality ratings associated with the acceptable particles.

12. The optical-sorting system of claim 9, wherein the commodity particles are coffee cherries.

13. A method for analyzing a batch of commodity particles using a quality analysis system including (1) a vibratory assembly including a vibratory input feeder coupled with a vibratory plate having a proximal end and a distal end, (2) a material hopper positioned to feed material to the proximal end of the vibratory plate, (3) an overhead imaging assembly having a first camera positioned to view a first image-capture zone located on a top surface of the vibratory plate, (4) an imaging box assembly having a distally-facing second camera and a proximally-facing third camera positioned to view a second image-capture zone located below the distal end of the vibratory plate, and (5) a processor communicatively coupled with the vibratory assembly, the overhead imaging assembly, and the imaging box assembly, the processor configured to execute an analysis and collection module, the method comprising:

dispensing a batch of commodity particles into the material hopper;

actuating the vibratory input feeder to repeatedly generate a vibratory force that is applied by the vibratory plate to the commodity particles exiting the material hopper onto the proximal end of the vibratory plate, causing the commodity particles to translate proximally-to-distally across the vibratory plate;

using the overhead imaging assembly, capturing a first set of images of each of the commodity particles as the commodity particles move through the first image-capture zone;

using the imaging box assembly, capturing second and third sets of images of each of the commodity particles after the commodity particles fall from the distal end of the vibratory plate and move through the second image-capture zone; and

using the processor along with the analysis and collection module, analyzing each of the commodity particles to determine a number of analysis attributes associated with each of the commodity particles;

wherein the analysis attributes include an incremental displacement of each of the commodity particles in response to the vibrational force, a time over which the incremental displacement occurs, a velocity of the incremental displacement, a momentum of each of the commodity particles, a volume of each of the commodity particles, a mass of each of the commodity particles, a density of each of the commodity particles, and a presence of one or more intrinsic defects within each of the commodity particles.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the analysis attributes further include a size consistency of each of the commodity particles, a color of each of the commodity particles, a color consistency of each of the commodity particles, and a presence of one or more extrinsic defects upon each of the commodity particles.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising using the processor along with the analysis and collection module, and based on one or more of the mass, the density, and the presence of the one or more of the intrinsic defects associated with each of the commodity particles, making a determination regarding whether each of the commodity particles is a defective particle or an acceptable particle.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising, using the processor along with the analysis and collection module and based on the analysis attributes associated with each of the commodity particles, assigning a quality rating to all or a proportion of the acceptable particles.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

cycling an aligned one of a number of air jet nozzles positioned at an outlet of the imaging box assembly to divert each of the defective particles to a reject chute; and

collecting each of the acceptable particles in a collection and weigh system via a good product chute.