JPS63229252A - Reading method for marked symbol on production line of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate reading even if a marked symbol is put on a place where it is difficult to read said symbol by converting said marked symbol into an optical signal and transmitting said optical signal into a reading device via an optical fiber bundle having flexibility end reading it. CONSTITUTION:A vehicle part in which a transmission 32 is installed on an engine 31 is transferred by a conveyor 33, and a marked symbol reading station 34 is provided midway. And, robots 37, 38 each having a reading head U for reading the marked symbol on each marked symbol part 35, 36 are provided on the station 34, and detected picture images are transmitted to a symbol collating controller 41 through optical fiber bundles 39, 40 having flexibility and read. A three-way optical fiber bundle is used for these optical fiber bundles 39, 40, and a light source is provided on the end part of an optical fiber bundle which is branched midway, and the marked symbol is read by radiating this light. Accordingly, reading can be easily carried out even if the marked symbol is put on a place where it is difficult to read the symbol.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a method for reading marking symbols in a vehicle production line.

(Prior art) Symbols, numbers, etc. are engraved on the surfaces of vehicle parts such as engines and transmissions mounted on vehicles.
As disclosed in Publication No. 9, when the engine is transported to the mounting station where it is mounted on the vehicle body, the number engraved on the engine is read and compared with the reference number stored in memory, so that both parties can If they match, the engine is transported to the mounting station.

In this case, the above-mentioned stamp symbol or stamp number (hereinafter referred to as "engraved symbol") is often placed in a place that is difficult to see visually, and there is a risk of misreading, so it is preferable to use an optical reading device. .

However, even if optical reading 'AH is used, it cannot be said that it is easy to read stamp marks attached to narrow places.

(Objective of the Invention) Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method by which marking symbols can be easily read.

(Structure of the Invention) The method of the present invention converts the stamped symbol into an optical signal by bringing the end of a flexible optical fiber bundle close to the stamped symbol provided on the vehicle and vehicle parts, and converts the stamped symbol into an optical signal. is transmitted to a reading device through the optical fiber bundle to read the stamped symbol.

Furthermore, in order to further facilitate the reading of the engraved symbol, the present invention provides a space between the engraved symbol and the end of the optical fiber bundle.
interposing a read head capable of displaying the local pressure difference applied to the pressure sensitive area as an optical contrast or color difference;
The reading head is pressed against the marking symbol to convert it into an image corresponding to the marking symbol, and this image is transmitted to the reading device through a flexible optical fiber bundle whose one end is connected to the reading head. , the above engraved symbol is readable.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, even if a stamped symbol is attached at a location that is difficult to read visually or with a conventional optical reading device, the stamped symbol can be easily read. Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, a pressure-sensitive reading head capable of detecting the unevenness of the stamped symbol is interposed between the stamped symbol portion and the end of the optical fiber bundle, so that the stamped symbol can be easily detected. This has the advantage of being easier to read.

(Example) Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an automated marking reading system in a vehicle production line in which the method of the present invention is implemented. A vehicle part including an engine 31 and a transmission 32 is transferred on a conveyor 33. An engraved symbol reading station 34 is provided. At this station 34, stamped symbol portions 35 and 36 affixed to predetermined positions on the surfaces of the engine 31 and transmission 32, respectively, are read and compared with reference numbers stored in memory. For this purpose, a robot 37, 38 is disposed at this station 34 for reading the stamp marks affixed to the mark parts 35, 36 of the engine 31 and transmission 32.

These robots 37 and 38 are each equipped with a reading head U, and the image signals detected by these reading heads U are transmitted through a flexible optical fiber bundle 39, respectively.
．． 40 to the symbol matching controller 41. This symbol matching controller 41 binarizes the input image, compares and matches this binarized image with the memory corresponding to the reference symbol input in the reference symbol group memory, and automatically determines pass/fail. If the test passes, the subassembly is transported to a loading station. Note that 42 is an operation panel, and 43 is a robot controller.

The optical fiber bundle 39, 40 is generally a three-way optical fiber bundle, and a light source is attached to the end of the optical fiber bundle branched from the middle, and the light from this light source is transmitted through the optical fiber bundle to mark the marking symbol part. The markings are illuminated to make them easier to read.

Next, FIGS. 2 to 7 show the engraved symbol part and the optical fiber bundle 39.
40 shows an example of a reading head that is interposed between the ends of the markings 40 and 40 to further facilitate the reading of the engraved symbols. Reference numeral 1 denotes a frame formed into a channel shape with an elongated flat main plate part 2, and an elongated rectangular display window 3 is opened along the longitudinal center line of this main plate part 2. A transparent plate 4 made of, for example, glass or acrylic resin is fitted. A flexible membrane body 5 is attached to the back surface 2a of the frame main plate portion 2.
This membrane body 5 is made of a polyester resin or an inorganic material membrane with a thickness of about 50 μm, for example, and at least its surface on the frame main plate portion 2 side is colored black. This membrane body 5 has its peripheral edge bonded to the back surface 2a of the frame main plate 2, thereby forming a flat bag-like body that extends over almost the entire back surface 2a of the frame main plate 2, and this membrane The body 5 is attached to the back surface 2a of the frame main plate 2 in a state in which a white recirculating fluid 6 in the form of nickel or paste is filled and sealed between the body 5 and the back surface 2a of the main frame plate 2.

Further, on the back surface 2a of the frame main plate portion 2, a pair of presser plates 7.7 are provided substantially parallel to the main plate portion 2 along both longitudinal side edges of the window 3. These holding plates 7.7 are slidably supported at both ends by two each of four guide pins 8 fixed to the four corners of the frame main plate 2 substantially perpendicularly to the main plate 2. , and these presser plates 7.7 are urged toward the main plate portion 2 by the spring force of a plurality of springs 9 compressed between the frame 1 and the presser plate 7.7, and enclose the rotating fluid 6. The membrane body 5 presses both side edges of the bag-like body formed. For this reason, the recirculating fluid 6 is pressed by the holding plate 7.7 and most of it gathers in the central part that is in contact with the inner surface 4a of the transparent plate 4, and the inner surface 4a of the transparent plate 4 and the membrane body 5 form a white rotating fluid. If the display window 3 is viewed from the outer surface 4b side of the transparent plate 4, facing each other with the fluid 6 interposed therebetween, it will exhibit a reset state that looks white. Further, the frame 1 is provided with a window 10 for inserting an engraved symbol at a position facing the display window 3. This window 10 is formed to have a slightly larger area than the display window 3, and the membrane body 5
The outer surface of the window 10 is exposed to the outside through this window 10.

On the other hand, in FIG. 3(A) and FIG. 5(A), 11
is an engraved symbol portion attached to the surface of a vehicle component 12 such as an automobile engine, for example, and displays a symbol and a number by a convex portion 11a, and has dimensions slightly smaller than the window IO. By pressing the frame 1 against the surface of the vehicle component 12, as shown in FIG. 3(B) and FIG. 1 at a predetermined position. At this time, the tip of the convex part 11a of the marking symbol part 11 comes into contact with the outer surface of the membrane body 5, and the membrane body 5 is pressed toward the transparent plate 4, but as is particularly clear from FIG. 3(B), The rotating fluid 6 is expelled by this pressure, moves the holding plate 7.7 against the spring force of the spring 9, and flows to both side edges of the bag-like body formed by the membrane body 5, and the membrane The portion of the body 5 pressed by the convex portion 11a of the engraved symbol portion 11 approaches or comes into close contact with the inner surface 4a of the transparent plate 4, resulting in the engraved symbol detection state. However, if the part of the membrane body 5 that is close to or in close contact with the inner surface 4a of the transparent plate 4 is observed from the outer surface 4b side of the transparent plate 4, that part will appear black; A white circulating fluid 6 is provided between the transparent plate 4 and the portion not pressed by the portion 11a.
As shown in FIG. 2, a black image corresponding to the convex portion 11a of the engraved symbol portion 11 is projected on the outer surface 4b of the transparent plate 4 as a display of the engraved symbol on a white background. It will be served. Therefore, on the outer surface 4b of the transparent plate 4, a known optical detection device 13, such as the end of an optical fiber bundle, is attached, and the optical signal is detected as shown in FIGS. 8(A) and 8(B), which will be described later. The engraved symbol attached to the engraved symbol portion 11 can be optically read by transmitting it to a reading device through such an optical fiber bundle. After this reading, when the pressure on the membrane body 5 by the stamped symbol part 11 is released, the membrane body 5 and the circulating body 6 are pressed against the presser foot 7.7, as shown in FIGS. 3(A) and 5(a). Return to the reset state of A).

In the above embodiment, the transparent plate 4 side of the membrane body 5 is colored black to provide a clear contrast against the white recirculating fluid 6, but the membrane body 5 is not transparent. It doesn't matter if you do that. However, in that case, it is necessary to color the surface of the engraved symbol part 11 in red, for example, and a red image showing the engraved symbol in a white background will be displayed on the outer surface 4b of the transparent plate 4. .

The above explanation has clarified the configuration and operation of the reading head for identifying engraved symbols that display symbols and numbers using the convex portion 11a. A reading head for this purpose will be explained with reference to FIGS. 8(A) and 8(B). FIG. 8(A) shows the reset state, and FIG. 8(B) shows the engraved symbol detection state, and in principle they operate in the same way as the configurations shown in FIGS. 2 to 7. The main components are shown with the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 2 to 7, and redundant explanations are omitted, but in this case, the transparent plate 4 of the membrane body 5
The side surface is colored white, and the circulating fluid 6 is colored black.

The recirculating fluid 6 filled in the bag-like body formed on the surface 4a of the transparent plate 40 by the transparent plate 4 and the membrane body 5 is
is pressed by the marking symbol part 14, the frame 2
The holding plate 7.7 provided in the recess 15 formed in 1 is moved against the spring force of the spring 9, and thereby,
The membrane body 5 enters the recess 15 together with the circulating fluid 6,
The portion of the membrane body 5 that is pressed against the flat surface 14a of the stamped symbol portion 14 comes into close contact with the surface 4a of the transparent plate 40, while the stamped symbol portion 14
By interposing the circulating fluid 6 between the concave portion 14b and the surface 4a of the transparent plate 4, a black image with an engraved symbol on a white background is displayed on the opposite surface 4b of the transparent plate 4, This image is detected by an optical detection device 13 attached to the surface 4b of the transparent plate 4 and transmitted through a three-way optical fiber bundle 17. 18 is a light source that illuminates the surface 4b of the transparent plate 4 through the optical fiber bundle 17;
In some cases, images can be detected without the need for 8. This also applies to the configurations shown in FIGS. 2 to 7, but in any configuration, the present invention can be achieved by using a reading head as shown in FIGS. 2 to 8. It is something that can be easily implemented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an automated marking reading system in a vehicle production line in which the method of the present invention is implemented;
The figure is a plan view showing the engraved symbol detection state in the reading head, and FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B) are the m-m lines of FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the rV-rV line of FIG. 2 showing the reset state, and FIGS. 5(A) and 5(B) are the reset state and stamp symbol detection state, respectively. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the Vl-Vl line in FIG. 2 showing the reset state, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 6. A cross-sectional view along
FIG. 8(A) and FIG. 8(B) are cross-sectional views showing the reset state and stamp symbol detection state in other reading heads, respectively. 1--Frame 2--Main plate portion of frame 3--Display window 4--Transparent plate 5--Membrane body 6--Recirculating fluid 7--pressing plate
8・-Guide pin 9・・・Spring 10・・・Window for inserting the engraved symbol part 11 ・・・Engraved symbol part 31−・Engine 32・・・
Transmission 33 - Conveyor 34 - Stamp symbol reading station 35.36.
・-Engraved symbol part 37.3 days--Robot 39.40--Optical fiber bundle

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A device that converts the stamped symbol into an optical signal by bringing the end of a flexible optical fiber bundle close to the stamped symbol section provided on the vehicle and vehicle parts, and reads this optical signal through the optical fiber bundle. A method for reading a stamped symbol in a vehicle production line, characterized in that the stamped symbol is read by transmitting the stamped symbol to the vehicle production line. (2) A reading head capable of displaying the partial pressure difference applied to the pressure-sensitive area as an optical contrast difference or a color difference is pressed against the surface of the marking symbol section provided on the vehicle and vehicle parts, and the above marking is applied. The engraved symbol is read by converting it into an image corresponding to the symbol and transmitting this image to a reading device through a flexible optical fiber bundle whose one end is connected to the reading head. How to read stamp symbols on vehicle production lines.