APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MEASURING MATURITY DEGREE OF VEGETABLES AND FRUITS

摘要

PURPOSE:To extremely easily and accurately evaluate the maturity degree of vegetables and fruits by applying a blow to the vegetables and fruits and measuring the propagation rate of the impulse waveforms generated by this blow. CONSTITUTION:The collision of a striking ball 6 against the vegetable or fruit 2 is detected by a photoelectric switch 8 and the striking sound generated by this collision is detected by a microphone 9 behind a stage 1. The signal from the microphone 9 is inputted via an amplifier 10 and an AD conversion board 11 to a computing section 13 of a microcomputer 12. The data on the measured propagation rate computed in the computing section 13 is inputted to a comparing section 14 of the microcomputer 12. The data on the reference propagation determined from the correlation of the maturity degree of the vegetable or fruit 2 and the propagation rate of the impulse waveform is inputted via a setter 15 to this comparing section 15. The data on the reference propagation rate and the data on the measured propagation rate determined by the measurement are compared in this comparing section 14 and the maturity degree of the vegetable or fruit 2 is evaluated by the result of this comparison.