JPH06213719A - Selecting/transferring method of product based on color tone - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a selecting/transferring method of products based on color tone inspection in which the color tone can be inspected accurately and quickly and a product having a target color tone can be obtained based on the inspection results. CONSTITUTION:The selecting/transferring system 20 comprises a blender 21 for admixing a material resin A, an antioxidant B, a dye C, etc., uniformly, an extruder 22, an automatic sampling machine 23 for sampling colored polycarbonate (pellet) produced by the extruder 22, a continuous color tone monitoring system 1 for inspecting the color tone of a sampled pallet, a controller 24, silos 25, 26, 27 for containing the pellets, transfer paths 28 from the extruder 22 to the silos 25-27, and solenoid switching valves 29, 30, 31 for switching supply of pellet between the silos 25-27.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for sorting and transferring products by color tone, and in particular, by performing color tone inspection and sorting of powders and liquids such as foods, medical products, soft drinks, cosmetics and industrial materials, It can be used when transferring them to a predetermined housing such as a silo.

[0002]

BACKGROUND ART In recent years, the quality of materials used for products such as powder and granules such as foods, medical care, and industrial materials, and liquids has been questioned, and especially as a user need, the quality can be easily judged by non-specialists. The required characteristics of color tone are becoming severe. Therefore, in many manufacturing industries, the color tone of powders and liquids is inspected during the manufacturing process. Regarding the inspection of the color tone of powders and liquids, conventionally, they are sampled, for example, a color sample (limit sample) is prepared, and a sensory test using a part of the human senses such as visual inspection, or a color difference meter is used. A method of using measured values such as And based on these inspection results,
The manufacturing process, raw materials and compounding dyes and pigments were adjusted.

[0003]

However, in the sensory test among the above-described color tone tests, the evaluation is different depending on the skill of the inspector. Therefore, the correct color tone evaluation cannot be made, and it is compared with the color sample. It took a long time to evaluate the color. Further, in the inspection by the color difference meter, since the calibration data by the standard white plate changes depending on the intensity of the light source, it is necessary to align the 0 point and the reference point every one hour, and the calibration work is complicated. Yes Evaluation took time. In addition, it is difficult to evaluate the sensational hue with the measurement data of the X, Y, and Z coordinate systems of the color difference meter, and the actual hue may differ subtly even with the same data value due to differences in the light source etc. It was difficult to evaluate the specific shade of the product.

As described above, in the conventional color tone inspection, correct color tone evaluation is difficult and time is required for evaluation. Therefore, it takes a lot of time to obtain a target color tone product in various production lines. In addition to this, there is a problem that the raw materials, dyes, and pigments are lost.

For example, in the case of coloring a resin, due to residual solvent in the raw material, residual monomer, water content, process variation, etc.,
Since the coloring state changes subtly, it took a long time to match the colors when the raw materials changed. In addition, since accurate color tone evaluation cannot be performed, in order to create the target color tone of powders and liquids, it is necessary to make many adjustments such as control of the manufacturing process and compounding system, and many raw materials and dye,
There was a loss of pigments and the like. Also, for agricultural products such as grains, the color tone may change due to moisture, etc.
It was necessary to evaluate the color tone each time and change the set time of the drying process based on the evaluation, which again required a great deal of time for color matching. Further, in the field of foods such as confectionery, pharmaceuticals, and soft drinks, it takes a lot of time to adjust the addition ratio of the coloring raw material to create the color tone.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of sorting and transferring products by color tone inspection, which can accurately and quickly inspect the color tone and can obtain a product of a target color tone based on the inspection result. Especially.

Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to inspect the color tone accurately, quickly and easily, obtain a product of the target color tone based on the inspection result, and to improve the manufacturing process or compounding system. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for sorting and transferring a controllable product by color tone inspection.

[0008]

Therefore, a first aspect of the present invention relates to a method of sorting and transferring products produced by a color tone of a product sent from a manufacturing process or a blending system outlet to the containing unit, wherein the manufacturing process or the blending system outlet and the containing unit are provided. In between, the transmitted light or the reflected light from the product irradiated with light is detected by the light detection means to capture the image of the product, and the RGB signal and the Y signal of this image are converted into the values of the XYZ coordinate system. And this XY
The measurement point on the XY chromaticity diagram is obtained from the value of the Z coordinate system, and the chromaticity coefficient is the ratio of the distance between the measurement point and the white reference point to the distance between the white reference point and the spectrum locus on the XY chromaticity diagram. And, the color tone is inspected by obtaining the deviation of the measurement wavelength with respect to the reference wavelength of each color, it is determined whether the color tone is within the range of the preset value, and based on the result of the determination, the product This is a sorting and transferring method according to the color tone of the product, which is characterized by sorting.

A second aspect of the present invention is a method for selecting and transferring the product sent from the manufacturing process or the mixing system outlet to the containing section by the color tone, wherein the manufacturing process or the mixing system outlet and the containing section are provided with a light source. The transmitted light or reflected light from the irradiated product is detected by the light detecting means, the image of the product is taken in, the RGB signal and the Y signal of this image are converted into the values of the XYZ coordinate system, and the XYZ coordinates are obtained. The measurement point on the XY chromaticity diagram is obtained from the value of the system, and the chromaticity coefficient is the ratio of the distance between the measurement point and the white reference point to the distance between the white reference point and the spectrum locus on the XY chromaticity diagram, The color tone is inspected by obtaining the deviation of the measurement wavelength from the reference wavelength of each color, and it is determined whether or not the color tone is within the range of preset values, and the products are sorted based on the result of the determination. When you do Moni, is obtained by a screening method for transferring according to the color tone of the produced article and controlling the manufacturing process or formulation system to produce a product article shades the target.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the invention as described above, the RGB signal and the Y signal of the image of the product captured by the light detecting means are converted into the X signal.
The values are converted into values in the YZ coordinate system, and the measurement points on the XY chromaticity diagram are obtained. Next, the ratio of the distance between the measurement point and the white reference point to the distance between the white reference point on the XY chromaticity diagram and the spectrum locus at the measurement wavelength is obtained as a chromaticity coefficient by a data processing device or the like. Further, the deviation of the measurement wavelength from the reference wavelength of each color is also obtained by a data processing device or the like.
Then, the color tone of the product is inspected and evaluated from the deviation of the chromaticity coefficient and the wavelength, and the product is sorted and transferred to the accommodating portion based on the inspection result. At this time, since the color tone inspection is performed based on the image data of the product obtained by the light detection means, the limitation of the calibration frequency and the light source life such as a color difference meter is reduced, and the color tone inspection can be performed at the manufacturing site. Is also applicable. Further, since the color tone of the product is represented by the chromaticity coefficient or the wavelength deviation instead of the XYZ coordinate values, it is easy to evaluate the specific shade of the product. Furthermore, since the specific shade of the product can be easily evaluated and the feedback can be performed quickly, the product can be easily sorted.

Further, in the second invention, similarly to the first invention, the color tone of the product is evaluated and inspected from the deviation of the chromaticity coefficient and the wavelength, and the product is sorted based on the inspection result. In addition to this, the production process or formulation system is controlled to produce a product having a target color tone. Also in this invention, the evaluation of the specific shade of the product is easy and the feedback is fast, so
Products can be easily sorted, and the loss of raw materials, pigments, dyes, etc. can be reduced.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a sorting and transferring apparatus 20 to which the sorting and transferring method according to the color tone of a product according to the present invention is applied.
This sorting / transferring device 20 is a device for obtaining a product, a blue colored polycarbonate, and is a blender 21 for uniformly mixing the input raw material resin A, the antioxidant B, the dye C, etc., and the extrusion. Machine 22, an automatic sampler 23 for sampling the colored polycarbonate (hereinafter referred to as pellets) produced by the extruder 22, a continuous color tone monitoring system 1 for inspecting the color tone of the collected pellets, and a controller 24, A plurality of silos 25, 26, 27 that are storage units for storing pellets, a transfer path 28 from the extruder 22 to each silo 25-27, and an electromagnetic switching valve 29 that switches the supply of pellets to each silo 25-27. , 30,31 and.

The blender 21 is of continuous operation type,
A quantitative feeder for adjusting the proportion of the raw material resin A and the like and continuously adding the raw material resin A is provided therein. The blender 21 is also equipped with additives such as a flame retardant, an anti-UV agent, an antistatic agent, and a release agent, if necessary, and is a facility capable of uniformly mixing them. The amounts of the raw material resin A, the antioxidant B, and the dye C are controlled by electromagnetic switching valves 32, 33, 34 connected to the control device 24.

The extruder 23 is for granulating the raw material resin A mixed with the antioxidant B and the dye C into a predetermined size.

The automatic sampler 23 is a device for sampling a part of the pellets conveyed in the conveying path 26 and continuously feeding the pellets to the continuous color tone monitoring system 1, both of which are connected by a pipe. There is.

The continuous color tone monitoring system 1 is a system for continuously inspecting the color tone (chromaticity coefficient and deviation) of sampled pellets. As shown in FIG. 2, the continuous color tone monitoring system 1 includes a sample container 2 in which pellets, which are samples to be inspected for color tone, are stored, a CCD color camera 3, and illumination equipment 4 and 5 for reflected light and transmitted light. 1, a color filter board 6, a color decoder 7, an image processing device 8, a data processing device 9, and an external display device 10.

The sample container 2 is installed at a predetermined position within the visual field of the CCD color camera 3. In addition, in order to maintain the repeatability of measurement, the sample container 2 is
Is equipped with a mechanism for regularly cleaning the so that the sharpness of the image can be maintained.

The CCD color camera 3 is a camera equipped with a CCD element used as a light detecting means for color tone inspection, and a model having a high detection resolution and stable operation even for long-term use is selected. There is. In addition, the color camera 3 is provided with a color filter board 6 in which several color filters of different colors are fitted on a rotating disk in order to regularly measure a color reference signal at the time of color tone inspection. . Further, the power supply unit to the color camera 3 uses a stabilized power supply in order to improve the detection accuracy.

The lighting equipments 4 and 5 are equipments for measuring the color tone inspection image in a constant environment, and have long life and stable wavelengths depending on the use conditions, for example, high frequency lighting such as a fluorescent lamp and strobe light. The light source is light, a light emitting diode, or the like. Further, the illumination equipment 4 for reflected light and the illumination equipment 5 for transmitted light can be selectively used so that illumination can be performed with transmitted light or reflected light according to the transparency of the measurement sample. Furthermore, in order to improve the measurement accuracy, measures such as stabilization of the power supply and prevention of ambient light are taken, and a device for measuring the amount of received light is also installed to monitor changes over time in measured values over long-term use.

The color decoder 7 is for separating the video signal sent from the CCD color camera 3 into RGB signals and inputting them into the image processing device 8.

The image processing device 8 is a device that can perform color image processing based on the RGB signal and the Y signal (luminance) from the color decoder 7, and can be continuously used by taking measures against the environment. The model is selected. In addition, a high-speed image processing is selected so that the processing contents can be programmed and automatically processed. What is color image processing?
For example, when inspecting a sample with large particles such as pellets, the process of removing the contour line of each sample from the image signal, and the frequency distribution (histogram) of the brightness of each image shows that the frequency of high brightness is the same as the frequency of low brightness. That is, a brightness value that satisfies the above condition is obtained, that is, the barycentric value of each of the RGB images and the Y signal is calculated and the RGB characteristic value is extracted.

The data processing device 9 is composed of a personal computer or the like, and at least arithmetic processing of the image processing result, display of the arithmetic result, control of the entire system of the color tone inspection device 1, and man-machine of the image arithmetic processing device 8. It has four functions with the interface.

The calculation processing of the image processing result is a color which is an index for actually managing the color tone from the center of gravity value (characteristic value) of each RGB image obtained by the image processing device 8 and the center of gravity value of the Y signal. This is a process of performing a numerical process for calculating the deviation between the frequency coefficient and the wavelength and outputting the result to the external display device 10.

At this time, the calculation method of the chromaticity coefficient and the wavelength deviation is performed as follows. First, the RGB characteristic value and the Y characteristic value are converted from the RGB coordinate system to XYZ using a conversion formula.
The coordinate is converted into a coordinate system, and as shown in FIG. 3, the measurement point P ₁ shown in the XY chromaticity diagram is obtained from the XYZ coordinate values. On the other hand, an image without a sample, that is, a white reference point O obtained from a transparent image and a color reference point S ₁ obtained by each color filter of the color filter board 6 are measured in advance, and each wavelength is measured. The spectrum locus L is represented by, for example, JIS Z8701.
The data of the white reference point O, the color reference point S ₁ and the spectrum locus L are obtained from the values shown in Appendix 1 and stored in the data processing device 9 in advance as a database.

Next, a straight line passing through the measurement point P ₁ is drawn from the white reference point O to find an intersection P ₂ with the spectrum locus L.
Then, the chromaticity coefficient is set so that it becomes 100 at the intersection point P ₂ and 0 at the reference point O, and the chromaticity coefficient at the measurement point P ₁ is obtained by proportional calculation. Further, the deviation (λ ₀ −λ) between the reference wavelength λ _{0 at} the intersection S ₂ of the straight line passing from the white reference point O through the color reference point S ₁ and the spectrum locus L and the wavelength λ at the intersection P ₂ .
Ask for. The chromaticity coefficient and the wavelength deviation are obtained by performing the above numerical processing in the data processing device 9.

The data processing device 9 not only outputs the above calculation result to the external display device 10 but also displays the calculation result directly so that it can be directly displayed on the display unit provided in the data processing device 9. Is provided.

The data processing device 9 is also provided with a function of controlling the timing of image capturing into the image processing device 8, activating arithmetic processing, outputting the measurement result to the external display device 10, and controlling the entire system. Has been. Since the color tone inspection apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can perform measurement without human intervention if the sample is set in the sample container 2, it is possible to perform online measurement by automating the delivery of the sample. In this case, if various interfaces such as a sample unloading device are added to the card throttle of the data processing device 9, the data processing device 9 can perform timing control of the entire system and management of input / output signals to facilitate the entire color tone inspection. It can be automated.

Further, the data processing device 9 is also equipped with a man-machine interface function of the image processing device 8 so that the image processing program of the image processing device 8 can be created and various parameters can be set.

The external display device 10 is a device for finally displaying the color tone inspection result to the user. When the color tone inspection device 1 is incorporated in a chemical plant or the like, the external instrumentation system of the plant is used as the external display device 10. The color tone inspection data is fetched from the data processing device 9 and its numerical value is displayed, or is displayed as a trend graph. In this way, by using the instrumentation system as the external display device 10, operation control of the color tone inspection device 1 can be performed at the same time as monitoring other control loops.
However, when there is no instrumentation system that serves as the external display device 10, it is possible to directly display the data on the display unit of the data processing device 9 and monitor the data.

Based on the color tone of the pellets inspected by the continuous color tone monitoring system 1, the control device 24 controls the electromagnetic switching valves 29, 30,
31 and blender 21 which is a compounding system are controlled. That is, the setting range of the blueness coefficient is defined in advance in the control device 24, and the blueness coefficient of the inspected pellets within the setting range, that is, the non-defective product, controls the switching valve 30 to control the silo A25. For those below the set range, the changeover valve 29 is controlled to the silo B26, and for those above the set range, the changeover valve 31 is controlled to the silo C27. Here, the pellets conveyed while the sampled pellets are inspected, such as at the start of the operation, are conveyed to the silo A25 by the switching valve 30. At this time, when the blue coloring is insufficient when the value is out of the set value, a signal is sent to the electromagnetic switching valve 34 on the blender 21 side to increase the dye C, and when the blue coloring is strong, the dye is decreased. A signal is sent to the electromagnetic switching valve 34 to control the blender 21.

Each silo 25-27 has a capacity capable of receiving 1 ton of colored polycarbonate, and the pellets can be blended in order to make the internal pellet properties uniform.

Next, the selection and transfer of pellets using the selection and transfer device 20 will be described. First, the raw material resin A in which the antioxidant B and the dye C are uniformly mixed by the blender 21.
Is fed to the extruder 22, and the extruder 22 cuts the raw material resin A into particles by a pelletizer or the like to produce pellets. Then, the pellets are sent from the exit of the extruder 22 to the silos 25 to 27 via the transfer path 28.

A part of the pellets conveyed in the conveying path 28 is sampled by the automatic sampler 23, and the pellets are sampled through the pipe to the sample container 2 of the continuous color tone monitoring system 1.
Send to.

In the continuous color tone monitoring system 1, first, the image processing device 8 is activated by outputting an image input start signal from the data processing device 9. Further, the pellets are put in the sample container 2, and the illumination equipments 4 and 5 are selected according to the transparency of the pellets to illuminate the sample.

The CCD color camera 3 photographs the sample, and the RGB signals of the photographed image are sent to the image processing device 8 via the color decoder 7. The image processing device 8 synthesizes a monochrome grayscale image based on the Y signal (luminance signal), and in the case of a large sample such as a pellet, a contour line removal process of the sample for removing a disturbance component, etc. Pre-processing is performed. Then, the center of gravity of the RGB image is calculated to obtain the characteristic values of the RGB signal and the Y signal, and the characteristic values are output to the data processing device 9.

In the data processor 9, as described above, the RG
The B coordinate system is converted to the XYZ coordinate system, and the chromaticity coefficient and the wavelength deviation are obtained. Of the chromaticity coefficients, the blueness coefficient, the yellowness coefficient, and the redness coefficient are shown in an XY chromaticity diagram as shown in FIG. As can be seen from this figure, the high purity of the color of the sample can be recognized by the value of the chromaticity coefficient, and the change of the hue by the value of the wavelength deviation, that is, the measurement range of the blueness coefficient is taken as an example. The blue of the can recognize whether it is greenish or reddish.

The results of these calculations are displayed as numbers or points on a graph and output to the external display device 10 as required. The above-described color tone inspection is repeated a predetermined number of times, or the sample is replaced and repeated to perform the color tone inspection of each sample, and the result is sent to the control device 24 each time.

The control device 24 compares the input color tone inspection result of the pellet with a preset range of set values,
For pellets whose blueness coefficient is within the setting range,
The electromagnetic switching valve 30 is controlled to convey the pellet to the silo A25. In addition, for those whose blueness coefficient is less than or equal to the setting range, the switching valve 29 is controlled to put the pellet in the silo 26,
Items above the set range are transported to silo C27. Further, when the blueness coefficient of the pellet is out of the set value and the blue coloring is insufficient, a signal is sent to the electromagnetic switching valve 33 of the blender 21 to control the dye C to increase. When blue coloring is strong, a signal is sent to the electromagnetic switching valve 33 to control the dye C so as to decrease it.

According to the present embodiment as described above, the chromaticity coefficient and the wavelength deviation are obtained as the color tone inspection of the sample.
Compared to the conventional case where the color tone of a sample is evaluated using XYZ coordinate values, the specific color tone can be easily evaluated, and it is not necessary for an extremely professional operator to judge the color tone from the XYZ coordinate values. Color tone inspection can be performed. Therefore, even a worker at a manufacturing site such as online or in-line can easily perform the color tone inspection.

Further, since the color tone inspection is performed on the basis of the image data taken by the CCD color camera 3, it is possible to use a fluorescent lamp or a strobe light as an illumination light source. Therefore, the life of the lamp can be several times longer than that of a color difference meter using a halogen lamp as an illumination light source, and it is not necessary to replace the lamp for a long time. Therefore, it is particularly suitable for a color tone inspection at a manufacturing site.

Further, since the color tone inspection is performed based on the image data, even when performing the color tone inspection of the granular material having a non-uniform surface condition, image processing such as contour line removal processing is performed to prevent influence from the outside. Can be reduced. In addition, a large amount of sample can be measured at a higher speed than a color difference meter or the like.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, since the chromaticity coefficient for each coordinate value can be calculated in advance on the XY chromaticity diagram, this chromaticity coefficient data is made into a database and the data processing device 9 or the like. It can also be stored in.
By doing so, the chromaticity coefficient can be obtained without proportionally calculating each chromaticity coefficient at the time of measurement, and the processing can be performed at high speed.

Further, since the chromaticity coefficient and the wavelength deviation are calculated based on the white reference point O and the reference wavelength λ ₀ , if the 0 point and the reference point are adjusted only when the light source is updated, the same sample is always the same. Measurement data can be obtained. Therefore, it is not necessary to calibrate as frequently as a color difference meter, and especially if a database of chromaticity coefficient data is used, a correction value can be calculated from the 0 point and reference point alignment at the time of updating the light source. The wavelength deviation can be corrected, and it is possible to easily cope with the case where the light source is updated. As described above, since the calibration is small and the data can be corrected only by the calculation, it can be easily used at the manufacturing site.

Further, since the illumination equipments 4 and 5 for reflected light and transmitted light are provided, it is possible to inspect in an optimal illumination state according to the transparency of the sample.

The color tone of the pellets transported in the transport path 28 is easily and automatically measured by the continuous color tone monitoring system 1, and the result is sent to the controller 24 each time. Therefore, less feedback time is needed,
Easy sorting of pellets. In addition, since the color tone can be correctly inspected, it is not necessary to repeatedly input the raw material and the like into the manufacturing process for the inspection, and there is an effect that the loss of the pigment, the dye and the like can be reduced.

In addition, by utilizing the present invention, it is possible to reduce the loss of raw materials, pigments, dyes, etc. by returning a product having an out-of-color tone to the manufacturing process or compounding system which is the previous process.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes modifications and improvements as long as the object of the present invention can be achieved. For example, the present invention is not limited to the case of inspecting the color tone of powder particles as in the above-described embodiment, but can be used for the color tone inspection of various products such as liquids and gases. Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the compounding system for manufacturing pellets was described as the color tone inspection, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it can also be used for the color tone inspection during the manufacturing process.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, when the product pellets are sorted and stored, three silos are used as the storage portion, but the number of silos is not limited. Further, the accommodating portion is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a tank or another container, or can be used when stacking powdered particles or the like in a partitioned area.

Further, although the CCD color camera 3 is used as the light detecting means in the above embodiment, for example, an image pickup tube or the like may be used. In short, various photo-taking devices that can take a color image of the product can be used as the light detecting means. Further, when the chromaticity coefficient is stored in the database in advance, the measurement region portions of other colors such as green as well as the measurement regions of blue, red and yellow may be stored in the database as shown in FIG. It may be set appropriately according to the type and color of the product to be inspected.

In addition, the specific structure and shape for carrying out the present invention may be any other structure as long as the object of the present invention can be achieved.

Next, experimental examples and comparative examples conducted to confirm the usefulness of the present invention will be described. In these experimental examples and comparative examples, resin powder particles were used as samples and produced to obtain a colored polycarbonate having a target color tone.

As the sample, 10 samples of Idemitsu polycarbonate, TAFRON (grade FN2200), which are fine-grained powder samples, were used.
I used 00kg. Then, for this 1000 kg of raw material, the goal was to obtain 900 kg of colored polycarbonate. The color tone at this time was set to b * =-1 to -1.5 with a color difference meter Σ90 manufactured by Nippon Denshoku Co., Ltd.

In the blender installed in the blending system in the production of colored polycarbonate, in addition to the raw material resin, a quantitative feeder was added in which Irganox 1010 as an antioxidant was continuously added to the raw material in an amount of 0.05 parts. did. The color is blue, and the colorant is an anthraquinone-based dye, Diaresint Blue N (S
The quantitative feeder was installed so that the addition and adjustment of olvent Blue 95) could be adjusted within the range of 0.1 to 2.0 ppm. The injection amount of the colorant is automatically controlled by a signal from the control device.

As the raw material blended with the antioxidant and the colorant, a 65 mm extruder with a vent manufactured by Ishinaka Iron Works Co., Ltd. was used.
The pellets granulated by this extruder were colored pellets having a pellet size of 2 to 4 mmφ, and the production amount was 100 kg / hour.

A part of the produced pellets was sampled, and the pellets were taken into a continuous color tone inspection system to inspect the color tone. The coefficient of blueness at this time is 8.10-8.85, and the deviation is λ
The deviation is a constant value in this color area. The continuous color tone inspection system is C
Sony with 380,000 effective pixels as a CD color camera
Each device shown in Table 1, such as a CCD camera, was used.

[0056]

[Table 1]

The color camera 3, the image processing device 8, the data processing device 9 and the color video copying device in Table 1 are
"Color image monitor JCI-3" manufactured by JEOL Ltd.
What was commercialized as "0" was used.

Pellets inspected in the continuous color tone inspection system whose blueness coefficient is within the setting range are put into a predetermined silo, those below the setting range are put into another silo, and those exceeding the setting range are further put into another silo. I drove into the silo. When the blueness coefficient deviates from the preset value, send a signal to the compounding system to increase the dye when the blue coloring is insufficient, and decrease the dye when the blue coloring is strong. A signal was sent to the compounding system to control the compounding system.

The capacity of the product silo can accept 1 ton of colored polycarbonate, and in order to make the resin pellet property in the product silo uniform, after 1 ton is received, the blending operation in the product silo is performed for 30 minutes. It was

On the other hand, as a comparative example, the above-mentioned colored polycarbonate was checked for each batch in which the raw material and the dye were charged in the blender by a sensory test (visual inspection) by a person using a color sample of pellets. At this time, a color difference meter Σ90 manufactured by Nippon Denshoku Co., Ltd. was used to measure the color tone of the colored polycarbonate, and a powder cell for Σ90 having an inner diameter of 52 mmφ and a height of 50 mm was used as the sample container. The standard white plate of the color difference meter has XY
A Z-coordinate value of X = 95.26, Y = 93.44, and Z = 113.09 was used, and as a light source, a reflection illumination of a C light source specified in JIS was used. Then, based on the result, the blending system was manually operated and the silo switching was also manually operated.

The product silo is the same as in the above-mentioned experiment, that is, the capacity of the product silo can accommodate 1 ton of colored polycarbonate, and in order to make the resin pellet properties in the product silo uniform, After receiving tons, the blending operation in the product silo was performed for 30 minutes.

Table 2 shows the measurement results of this experimental example and comparative example.

[0063]

[Table 2]

Regarding the measurement result b *, JIS
L * a * b * specified in Z8730 was measured. The standard deviation was calculated from the average of n = 5.

As can be seen from Table 2 above, the present experimental example has a smaller standard deviation than the comparative example, and a large amount of regular silos can be obtained, and the usefulness of the present invention is clear from the above experimental examples. Became.

[0066]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to accurately and quickly inspect the color tone of a product and to obtain a product having a target color tone based on the inspection result. According to the second aspect of the invention, the color tone can be accurately and quickly and easily inspected, and the product having the target color tone can be obtained based on the inspection result, and the manufacturing process or the compounding system can be controlled. The effect is that you can do it.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a sorting and transferring apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a continuous color tone inspection system of a sorting and transferring device.

FIG. 3 is an XY chromaticity diagram for explaining a method of calculating a chromaticity coefficient and a wavelength deviation in the continuous color tone inspection system.

FIG. 4 is an XY chromaticity diagram for explaining a method of calculating a chromaticity coefficient and a wavelength deviation in the continuous color tone inspection system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Continuous color tone inspection system 20 Sorting transfer device 21 Blender 22 Extruder 23 Automatic sampler 24 Controller 25 ~ 27 Silo A ~ B (accommodation section) 28 Conveyance path 29 ~ 33 Electromagnetic switching valve

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A method for selecting and transferring a product sent from a manufacturing process or a compounding system outlet to a container by color tone, wherein the product is irradiated with light between the manufacturing process or compounding system outlet and the container. The transmitted light or the reflected light from is detected by the light detection means, the image of the product is taken in, the RGB signal and the Y signal of this image are converted into the values of the XYZ coordinate system, and the XY color is converted from the values of the XYZ coordinate system. The measurement point on the chromaticity diagram is obtained, and the chromaticity coefficient, which is the ratio of the distance between the white reference point and the white reference point to the distance between the white reference point and the spectrum locus on the XY chromaticity diagram, and the measurement for the reference wavelength of each color Inspect the color tone by obtaining the deviation of the wavelength, determine whether the color tone is within the range of preset values,
A sorting and transferring method according to the color tone of the product, wherein the product is sorted based on the result of the determination. 2. A method for selecting and transferring a product, which is sent from a manufacturing process or a compounding system outlet to an accommodation section, by a color tone, wherein the product is irradiated with light between the manufacturing process or the compounding system outlet and the accommodation section. The transmitted light or the reflected light from is detected by the light detection means, the image of the product is taken in, the RGB signal and the Y signal of this image are converted into the values of the XYZ coordinate system, and the XY color is converted from the values of the XYZ coordinate system. The measurement point on the chromaticity diagram is obtained, and the chromaticity coefficient, which is the ratio of the distance between the white reference point and the white reference point to the distance between the white reference point and the spectrum locus on the XY chromaticity diagram, and the measurement for the reference wavelength of each color Inspect the color tone by obtaining the deviation of the wavelength, determine whether the color tone is within the range of preset values,
A method of sorting and transferring products according to color tone, characterized in that the products are sorted based on the result of the determination, and that the manufacturing process or the compounding system is controlled in order to produce products having a target color tone.