The present disclosure relates to insect detection systems, and more
specifically, to a food inspection device and method for the detection of worms inside pea pods and separation of defaulted pea pods.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Background description includes information that may be useful in
understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
[0003] Food products such as fruits and vegetables are generally inspected to remove
defective food. Defects may be aesthetic such as blemishes in the surface of the food, or may be due to more serious issues such as contamination due to insects. Depending on the use of the food product, the defects may or may not be important. For example, food products that are used by canneries typically are not typically concerned with aesthetic defects. However, food such as fruit that is to be sold based on appearance may regard blemishes to be an important consideration during inspection. Therefore, the type of food and its use is an important factor when inspecting food. Food products can be inspected at the time of harvest, or at processing plants, such as depots that distribute food products.
[0004] One way to inspect food is by simply visual inspection, usually by unskilled
labour. However, the use of unskilled labour is not without problems. People's perception of what is considered a blemish varies and this can lead to variability in the quality of a bulk quantity of food after inspection. This variability can also arise even when guidelines are in place to indicate to the unskilled labour what is and is not defective food. Further, visual inspection generally cannot assess the quality of the food under the surface. For example, the presence of fruit fly and other similar insects underneath the skin of fruit is not always easily detected for fruit that is otherwise blemish-free. The cost of labour can also prohibit thorough inspection protocols, since thorough inspection may lead to excessive costs or slow inspection times.

[0005] However, Problems to be solved in the present invention are that: there is no
device and/or system and/or method that are available in the market that detects insects before removing peas from their pods. While, there exists sensors detecting insects but are very costly and still detecting insects inside the pod is difficult in real-time. Furthermore, a man power or labor is more time consuming process to check each pod manually. Additionally, till now there is no device is available that detects insects before removing peas from their pods in real-time.
[0006] Therefore, there is a need of an efficient, effective or improved food inspection
system, device and method for the detection of worms inside pea pods in real-time and thereby separating the defaulted pea pods in real-time having such worms. Further, there is a need of a device and system available that detects insects before removing peas from their pods.
[0007] As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the
meaning of "a," "an," and "the" includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein, the meaning of "in" includes "in" and "on" unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
[0008] In some embodiments, the numerical parameters set forth in the written
description and attached claims are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as practicable. The numerical values presented in some embodiments of the invention may contain certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements.
[0009] The recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a
shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range. Unless otherwise indicated herein, each individual value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g. "such as") provided with respect to certain embodiments herein is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element essential to the practice of the invention.
[0010] Groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed
herein are not to be construed as limitations. Each group member can be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein. One or more members of a group can be included in, or deleted from, a group for reasons of convenience and/or patentability. When any such inclusion or deletion occurs, the specification is herein deemed to contain the group as modified thus fulfilling the written description of all groups used in the appended claims.
OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE
[0011] Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment
herein satisfies are as listed herein below.
[0012] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a food inspection device and
method of use.
[0013] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a food inspection device
and method of use that is cost effective and easy to implement.
[0014] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a food inspection device
and method of use that requires least manual intervention and hence reduces human errors.
[0015] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a food inspection device
and method of use that help in avoiding further contamination by separating defected peas
pods.
[0016] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a food inspection device
and method of use that helps in wastage of food as the defected pods can be detected at earlier
stage before whole produce gets infected.
[0017] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a food inspection device
and method of use that is time efficient.

SUMMARY
[0018] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified
form to be further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended
to identity key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to
be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0019] An aspect of the present disclosure relates to a detection device (hereinafter
interchangeably referred as "food inspection system" or "inspection system") for detecting
presence of one or more worms available in a pod and separating the pod having the one or
more worms. The detection device includes an X-Ray generator, an image processing device
and a robotic arm separator. The X-Ray generator configured to emit X-rays having a
wavelength suitable to illuminate the pod within the detection device to reproduce one or
more images associated with the internals of the pod. The image processing device configured
to process said one or more images reproduced by the X-Ray generator to detect presence of
the one or more worms in said pod. The robotic arm separator communicably coupled with
the image processing device and is configured to separate said pod upon detecting presence of
the one or more worms.
[0020] In an aspect, the image processing device includes one or more artificial
intelligence algorithms pre-configured to process said one or more images.
[0021] In an aspect, the image processing device includes one or more machine
learning algorithms pre-configured to process said one or more images.
[0022] In an aspect, the detection device is adapted to receive a plurality of pod.
[0023] In an aspect, the detection device is adapted to receive a single pod.
[0024] In an aspect, the image processing device upon detecting presence of the one
or more worms therein is configured to generate a notification.
[0025] In an aspect, the image processing device upon detecting presence of the one
or more worms therein is configured to generate a notification.
[0026] In an aspect, the detection device is configured to detect presence of the one or
more worms available in the pod in real-time.
[0027] In an aspect, the detection device is configured to separate the pod having the
one or more worms therein in real-time.

[0028] An aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method for detecting presence
of one or more worms available in a pod and separating the pod having the one or more
worms. The method includes the following steps: an X-Ray generator emits X-rays having a
wavelength suitable to illuminate the pod within the detection device to reproduce one or
more images associated with the internals of the pod; an image processing device process said
one or more images reproduced by the X-Ray generator to detect presence of the one or more
worms in said pod and a robotic arm separator communicably coupled with the image
processing device separates said pod upon detecting presence of the one or more worms.
[0029] Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will
become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which like numerals represent like features.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0030] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of
the present disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The
drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the
description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.
[0031] In the figures, similar components and/or features may have the same reference
label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the
reference label with a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only
the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of
the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second
reference label.
[0032] FIG. 1 illustrates exemplary block diagram of a proposed system, in
accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0033] FIG. 2 illustrates a module diagram of a proposed detection device, in
accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0034] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram of the proposed system, in
accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0035] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary computer system utilized for implementation of
the proposed system, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0036] Embodiments of the present disclosure include various steps, which will be
described below. The steps may be performed by hardware components or may be embodied in machine-executable instructions, which may be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with the instructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, steps may be performed by a combination of hardware, software, and firmware or by human operators.
[0037] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be provided as a computer
program product, which may include a machine-readable storage medium tangibly embodying
thereon instructions, which may be used to program a computer (or other electronic devices)
to perform a process. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, fixed
(hard) drives, magnetic tape, floppy diskettes, optical disks, compact disc read-only memories
(CD-ROMs), and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor memories, such as ROMs, PROMs,
random access memories (RAMs), programmable read-only memories (PROMs), erasable
PROMs (EPROMs), electrically erasable PROMs (EEPROMs), flash memory, magnetic or
optical cards, or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic
instructions (e.g., computer programming code, such as software or firmware).
[0038] Various methods described herein may be practiced by combining one or more
machine-readable storage media containing the code according to the present disclosure with
appropriate standard computer hardware to execute the code contained therein. An apparatus
for practicing various embodiments of the present disclosure may involve one or more
computers (or one or more processors within a single computer) and storage systems
containing or having network access to computer program(s) coded in accordance with
various methods described herein, and the method steps of the disclosure could be
accomplished by modules, routines, subroutines, or subparts of a computer program product.
[0039] If the specification states a component or feature "may", "can", "could", or
"might" be included or have a characteristic, that particular component or feature is not required to be included or have the characteristic.
[0040] Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments are shown. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed

as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. These embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those of ordinary skill in the art. Moreover, all statements herein reciting embodiments of the disclosure, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future (i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure).
[0041] Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art
that the diagrams, schematics, illustrations, and the like represent conceptual views or processes illustrating systems and methods embodying this disclosure. The functions of the various elements shown in the figures may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing associated software. Similarly, any electronic code generator shown in the figures are conceptual only. Their function may be carried out through the operation of program logic, through dedicated logic, through the interaction of program control and dedicated logic, or even manually, the particular technique being selectable by the entity implementing this disclosure. Those of ordinary skill in the art further understand that the exemplary hardware, software, processes, methods, and/or operating systems described herein are for illustrative purposes and, thus, are not intended to be limited to any particular named.
[0042] Various terms as used herein are shown below. To the extent a term used in a
claim is not defined below, it should be given the broadest definition persons in the pertinent art have given that term as reflected in printed publications and issued patents at the time of filing.
[0043] Problems to be solved in the present invention are that: there is no device
and/or system and/or method that are available in the market that detects insects before removing peas from their pods. While, there exists sensors detecting insects but are very costly and still detecting insects inside the pod is difficult in real-time. Furthermore, a man power or labor is more time consuming process to check each pod manually. Additionally, till now there is no device is available that detects insects before removing peas from their pods in real-time.

[0044] Therefore, there is a need of an efficient, effective or improved food inspection
system, device and method for the detection of worms inside pea pods in real-time and
thereby separating the defaulted pea pods in real-time having such worms. Further, there is a
need of a device and system available that detects insects before removing peas from their
pods.
[0045] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a system and method proposes the
incorporation of an X-Ray machine, an image processing module, Machine Learning, and a
robotic arm for its functioning. Interior of pea pods can be imaged by the help of the X-Ray
machine, wherein Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning based image processing helps
in the identification and verification of the presence of worms in the pea pods. The robotic
arm can be used to separate the defaulted pea pods from the rest of the pods.
[0046] In an aspect, the system can be coupled to the devices that unrobe pea pods to
recover peas such that only worm free peas are recovered.
[0047] In an aspect, the x-ray machine can be used to give an inside view of pea pods.
[0048] In an aspect, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
techniques based image processing can be used to identify the presence of worms inside pea
pods.
[0049] FIG. 1 illustrates exemplary block diagram of a proposed system, in
accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0050] In an embodiment, the proposed system 100 can include an X-ray generator or
X-ray machine 102, an image processor 104 and a robotic arm 106.
[0051] In an embodiment, the X-Ray machine 102 can provide inner view of pod and
with the use of the image processor 104 and machine learning insects are detected before
shelled peas from their pods. After distinguish the pods with insects the robotic arm 106 can
keep that pod aside from other pods.
[0052] In an embodiment, the X-Ray machine 102 can provide inner view as a photo
of pod having peas. Insects are detected at earlier stage without harming or opening the pod.
An Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning techniques can be used to identify pods
having insects or not. With the use of robotic Arm 106 defected pod can keep aside from rest.
Integration can be done with the device shelled peas from pods to get clean and hygienic peas.

[0053] FIG. 2 illustrates a module diagram of a proposed detection device, in
accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0054] In one embodiment, the proposed detection device 202 may include at least
one processor 202, an input/output (I/O) interface 204, and a memory 206. The at least one
processor 202 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers,
microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic
circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions.
Among other capabilities, the at least one processor 202 is configured to fetch and execute
computer-readable instructions stored in the memory. The I/O interface may include a variety
of software and hardware interfaces, for example, a web interface, a graphical user interface,
and the like. The I/O interface may allow the proposed system to interact with a user directly
or through the client devices. Further, the I/O interface may enable the proposed detection
device 202 to communicate with other computing devices, such as web servers and external
data servers (not shown). The I/O interface can facilitate multiple communications within a
wide variety of networks and protocol types, including wired networks, for example, LAN,
cable, etc., and wireless networks, such as WLAN, cellular, or satellite. The I/O interface may
include one or more ports for connecting a number of devices to one another or to another
server.
[0055] In another embodiment, the proposed detection device 202 can include an X-
Ray generator 208, an image processing device 210 and a robotic arm 212.
[0056] In another embodiment, the X-Ray generator 208 emits X-rays having a
wavelength suitable to illuminate the pod within the detection device to reproduce one or
more images associated with the internals of the pod.
[0057] In another embodiment, the image processing device 210 can process said one
or more images reproduced by the X-Ray generator 208 to detect presence of the one or more
worms in said pod.
[0058] In another embodiment, the robotic arm separator or robotic arm 212
communicably coupled with the image processing device 210. The robotic arm can separate
said pod upon detecting presence of the one or more worms.
[0059] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram of the proposed system, in
accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0060] At step 302, an X-Ray generator emits X-rays having a wavelength suitable to
illuminate the pod within the detection device to reproduce one or more images associated with the internals of the pod.
[0061] At step 304, an image processing device process said one or more images
reproduced by the X-Ray generator to detect presence of the one or more worms in said pod.
[0062] At step 306, a robotic arm separator communicably coupled with the image
processing device separates said pod upon detecting presence of the one or more worms.
[0063] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary computer system utilized for implementation of
the proposed system, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, proactive network security assessment based on benign variants of known threats can be implemented in the computer system 400 to enable aspects of the present disclosure. Embodiments of the present disclosure include various steps, which have been described above. A variety of these steps may be performed by hardware components or may be tangibly embodied on a computer-readable storage medium in the form of machine-executable instructions, which may be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with instructions to perform these steps. Alternatively, the steps may be performed by a combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. As shown in the figure, computer system 400 includes an external storage device 410, a bus 420, a main memory 430, a read only memory 440, a mass storage device 450, communication port 460, and a processor 470. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that computer system 400 may include more than one processor and communication ports. Examples of processor 470 include, but are not limited to, an Intel® Itanium® or Itanium 2 processor(s), or AMD® Opteron® or Athlon MP® processor(s), Motorola® lines of processors, FortiSOC™ system on a chip processors or other future processors. Processor 470 may include various modules associated with embodiments of the present invention. Communication port 460 can be any of an RS-232 port for use with a modem based dialup connection, a 10/100 Ethernet port, a Gigabit or 10 Gigabit port using copper or fiber, a serial port, a parallel port, or other existing or future ports. Communication port 460 may be chosen depending on a network, such a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), or any network to which computer system 400 connects. Memory 430 can be Random Access Memory (RAM), or any other dynamic storage device commonly known in the art. Read only memory 440 can be any static

storage device(s) e.g., but not limited to, a Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM) chips
for storing static information e.g., start-up or BIOS instructions for processor 470. Mass
storage 450 may be any current or future mass storage solution, which can be used to store
information and/or instructions. Exemplary mass storage solutions include, but are not limited
to, Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA) or Serial Advanced Technology
Attachment (SATA) hard disk drives or solid-state drives (internal or external, e.g., having
Universal Serial Bus (USB) and/or Firewire interfaces), e.g. those available from Seagate
(e.g., the Seagate Barracuda 7200 family) or Hitachi (e.g., the Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000), one
or more optical discs, Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) storage, e.g. an array of
disks (e.g., SATA arrays), available from various vendors including Dot Hill Systems Corp.,
LaCie, Nexsan Technologies, Inc. and Enhance Technology, Inc. Bus 420 communicatively
couples processor(s) 470 with the other memory, storage and communication blocks. Bus 420
can be, e.g. a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) / PCI Extended (PCI-X) bus, Small
Computer System Interface (SCSI), USB or the like, for connecting expansion cards, drives
and other subsystems as well as other buses, such a front side bus (FSB), which connects
processor 470 to software system. Optionally, operator and administrative interfaces, e.g. a
display, keyboard, and a cursor control device, may also be coupled to bus 420 to support
direct operator interaction with computer system 400. Other operator and administrative
interfaces can be provided through network connections connected through communication
port 460. External storage device 410 can be any kind of external hard-drives, floppy drives,
IOMEGA® Zip Drives, Compact Disc - Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Compact Disc - Re-
Writable (CD-RW), Digital Video Disk - Read Only Memory (DVD-ROM). Components
described above are meant only to exemplify various possibilities. In no way should the
aforementioned exemplary computer system limit the scope of the present disclosure.
[0064] The food product may be of the group including: fruit, vegetables, seafood,
meat, dairy products and other processed food products. Further, since the system inspects the food product by generating a photoluminescence response, the system may be non-destructive. Imaging sensors may also allow the inspection system to inspect more than 1, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 100+ individual food products per minute. The system may be configured to be retrofitted to existing food inspection apparatus and systems.

[0065] The foregoing object, features and advantages will be able to easily carry out
self-technical features of the present invention one of ordinary skill in the art are described later in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, accordingly. If the detailed description of the known art related to the invention In the following description of the present invention that are determined to unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, and detailed description thereof will not be given. It will be described in the following, a preferred embodiment according to the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, for example, in detail. Like reference numerals in the drawings it is used to refer to same or similar elements.
[0066] It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications
besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms "comprises" and "comprising" should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced. Where the specification claims refers to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C ... .and N, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc. The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

[0067] While embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and
described, it will be clear that the disclosure is not limited to these embodiments only. Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions, and equivalents will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure, as described in the claims.
ADVANTAGES OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE
[0068] The present disclosure provides a food inspection device and method of use.
[0069] The present disclosure provides a food inspection device and method of use
that is cost effective and easy to implement.
[0070] The present disclosure provides a food inspection device and method of use
that requires least manual intervention and hence reduces human errors.
[0071] The present disclosure provides a food inspection device and method of use
that help in avoiding further contamination by separating defected peas pods.
[0072] The present disclosure provides a food inspection device and method of use
that helps in wastage of food as the defected pods can be detected at earlier stage before
whole produce gets infected.
[0073] The present disclosure provides a food inspection device and method of use
that is time efficient.

We Claim:

1. A detection device (202) for detecting presence of one or more worms available in a pod
and separating the pod having the one or more worms therein, the detection device (202)
comprising:
an X-Ray generator (210) configured to emit X-rays having a wavelength suitable to illuminate the pod within the detection device to reproduce one or more images associated with the internals of the pod;
an image processing device (212) configured to process said one or more images reproduced by the X-Ray generator to detect presence of the one or more worms in said pod; and
a robotic arm separator (214) communicably coupled with the image processing device and is configured to separate said pod upon detecting presence of the one or more worms therein.
2. The detection device (202) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image processing device (212) comprises one or more artificial intelligence algorithms pre-configured to process said one or more images.
3. The detection device (202) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image processing device (212) comprises one or more machine learning algorithms pre-configured to process said one or more images.
4. The detection device (202) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the detection device (202) is adapted to receive a plurality of pod.
5. The detection device (202) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the detection device (202) is adapted to receive a single pod.
6. The detection device (202) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image processing device (212) upon detecting presence of the one or more worms therein is configured to generate a notification.
7. The detection device (202) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image processing device (212) upon detecting presence of the one or more worms therein is configured to transmit a notification.
8. The detection device (202) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the detection device (202) is configured to detect presence of the one or more worms available in the pod in real-time.
9. The detection device (202) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the detection device (202) is configured to separate the pod having the one or more worms therein in real-time.
10. A method for detecting presence of one or more worms available in a pod and separating the pod having the one or more worms therein, the detection device comprising:
emitting, at an X-Ray generator, X-rays having a wavelength suitable to illuminate the pod within the detection device to reproduce one or more images associated with the internals of the pod;
processing, at an image processing device, said one or more images reproduced by the X-Ray generator to detect presence of the one or more worms in said pod; and
separating, by a robotic arm separator communicably coupled with the image processing device, said pod upon detecting presence of the one or more worms therein.