CN111434592B

CN111434592B - Conveyance management system and conveyance device

Info

Publication number: CN111434592B
Application number: CN202010024515.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 佐佐木贵大; 吉田朋彦; 伊藤荣
Original assignee: Huaxin Innovation Research Co ltd; DAISHIN CO LTD
Current assignee: Huaxin Innovation Research Co ltd; DAISHIN CO LTD
Priority date: 2019-01-15
Filing date: 2020-01-10
Publication date: 2023-03-21
Anticipated expiration: 2040-01-10
Also published as: TW202030135A; JP7244823B2; CN111434592A; KR20200088761A; JP2020111451A; KR102633645B1; TWI802780B

Abstract

The invention provides a conveying management system and a conveying device, which can facilitate the adjustment operation of the conveying form of the conveyed object and can exert high performance; the present invention relates to a conveyance management system for adjusting the conveyance form of a conveyance object conveyed in a conveyance path provided in a conveyance body; the system is provided with: an imaging unit that repeatedly images the conveyance object at a predetermined position on the conveyance path; and a conveyance behavior detection unit that detects a behavior of the conveyance object in a direction separating from the conveyance path or in a direction along the width direction of the conveyance path, the conveyance object being separated from the conveyance path or moving along the width direction of the conveyance path on the conveyance path, based on image data of the conveyance object arranged in a predetermined detection area in the captured image captured by the imaging unit.

Description

Conveyance management system and conveyance device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a conveyance management system and a conveying apparatus, and more particularly to an adjustment technique suitable for use in a vibration type conveying apparatus and for optimizing a conveyance mode of a conveyed article moving in a conveyance path provided on a conveyance body.

Background

In general, in a transport apparatus, there are cases where: the conveying posture or the quality of the conveyed article is determined by checking the appearance of the conveyed article during conveyance, and various processes such as sorting (removing), posture changing (reversing), and forwarding route changing (distributing) of the conveyed article are performed on the conveyed article by a mechanical unit, an air compressing unit, or the like based on the determination result. In a conveying apparatus, particularly a vibration type conveying apparatus such as a feeder, in order to convey conveyed objects supplied in an unordered manner in a conveying direction along a conveying path by vibrating a conveying body, the conveyed objects are moved in the conveying direction while moving up and down in the conveying path. Therefore, it is necessary to perform the various processes described above on the transported object that becomes unstable as it moves up and down.

In the above-described conveying apparatus, it is proposed to adopt a conveyed article discrimination control system as disclosed in the following patent documents 1 and 2: the determination processing is performed by performing image processing on a plurality of camera images repeatedly captured in a short time, and various processing is executed according to the determination result.

Prior art documents

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2016-130674

Patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2017-121995

Disclosure of Invention

However, in the conveyed object discrimination control systems described in

patent documents

1 and 2, the behavior of the conveyed object when the conveyed object is moved in a direction separating from the conveyance path by the various processes described above becomes unstable, or the conveyance object on the conveyance path is moved up and down in the conveyance path by the vibration in the vibrating conveyor, and the behavior of the conveyed object becomes unstable, and therefore, there are cases where the sorting, posture change, forward path change, or conveyance speed or conveyance density of the conveyed object cannot be appropriately performed.

In particular, when electronic components are handled as a transported object, in recent years, surface-mount electronic components have been rapidly miniaturized and high-speed and high-density supply is required, and therefore, it is necessary to set a transport condition optimal for the transported object or control a precise processing operation for the transported object. Further, this also has the following problems: each time the article to be conveyed is changed, a complicated adjustment operation of the conveying device is required, and if the person who performs the adjustment operation is not a skilled person, the capability of the conveying device cannot be fully utilized.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transport apparatus that can easily adjust a transport mode of a transport object and can exhibit high performance by configuring a transport management system that can easily optimize the transport mode for various processes of the transport object.

In view of the above, a conveyance management system according to the present invention is a system for managing a conveyance mode of a conveyance object conveyed on a conveyance path provided on a conveyance body. The system is characterized by comprising: an imaging unit that repeatedly images the conveyance object on the conveyance path; and a conveyance behavior detection unit that detects a behavior of the conveyance object in a direction separating from the conveyance path or in a direction along the width direction of the conveyance path, the conveyance object being separated from the conveyance path or moving along the width direction of the conveyance path on the conveyance path, based on image data of the conveyance object arranged in a detection area in the captured image captured by the imaging unit; and a conveyance form adjustment unit that adjusts a conveyance form of the conveyed object based on the behavior detected by the conveyance behavior detection unit. In this case, the conveyance behavior detection means obtains an index indicating the behavior of the conveyed object in a direction other than the conveyance direction from the image data. The conveyance mode adjustment means derives a statistical value or a detection value indicating a movement mode of the behavior from a plurality of indices obtained from a plurality of image data, and adjusts the conveyance mode based on the statistical value or the detection value. Here, the index indicating the behavior is preferably an index indicating the behavior of the transport object in a direction other than the transport direction, and is a position of the transport object in a direction away from the transport path or in a direction along the width direction of the transport path, or an angular posture of the transport object with respect to the transport surface of the transport path.

In the present invention, it is preferable that: a conveyed article discrimination unit that discriminates the conveyed article (for example, determines the quality or posture of the conveyed article) from an image of the conveyed article in a first measurement area on the conveyance path; and a conveyed object processing unit that processes the conveyed object on the basis of the discrimination result of the conveyed object discrimination unit in a processing area on the conveyance path provided at a position corresponding to the first measurement area; the conveyance form adjustment unit controls a processing form of the conveyance object by the conveyance object processing unit so as to adjust the conveyance form. In this case, the processing method is at least a part of processing elements such as the magnitude of a processing force (for example, air pressure) applied to the transport material when the transport material is processed and the timing of applying the processing force (for example, the timing of applying the air pressure). Preferably, the transport processing control unit is further provided, based on the discrimination result, to switch between a non-processing state in which the transport object is not processed when passing through a processing area on the transport path and a processing state in which the transport object is processed when passing through the processing area on the transport path.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the conveying body moves the conveyed material along the conveying path by vibration generated by an excitation mechanism, and the conveying form adjusting means controls an excitation method of the excitation mechanism so as to adjust the conveying form. In this case, the excitation method is at least a part of excitation factors such as an excitation frequency, an amplitude, an excitation direction, or an excitation power of the excitation mechanism that excites the transport body. In addition, when a plurality of excitation portions for exciting the transport body are provided, the excitation method may include relative conditions such as the difference, the size, and the ratio of the excitation elements between the plurality of excitation portions.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the conveyance form adjustment means derives a statistical value from an index (specifically, the position or the angular posture as an index indicating the behavior) indicating the plurality of behaviors detected by the conveyance behavior detection means, and adjusts the conveyance form of the conveyance body based on the statistical value. In this case, the statistical value is preferably a value indicating a degree of deviation of a plurality of behaviors. For example, it is preferable that the standard deviation of the position or the angular posture isDifference sigma or variance sigma ² Or a correlation value indicating a correlation substantially equivalent to the above with respect to the degree of deviation. Preferably, the statistical value is a representative value representing an overall tendency of a plurality of the behaviors. Such as the average, median, etc.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the imaging unit is configured to continuously image the transported object at predetermined imaging intervals. In this case, it is preferable that the detection area is set so as to always include all the objects passing through the conveyance path based on a plurality of captured images captured at the imaging interval and on a relationship between a conveyance speed of the objects on the conveyance path and the imaging interval. In this case, it is more preferable that the detection area is set so that all the transported objects passing through the transport path are included in the plurality of captured images. Preferably, the detection zone is in a range that is capable of containing the entire cargo within the detection zone. In particular, the range of the detection area in the transport direction is preferably a range exceeding the dimension of the transported object in the transport direction, and more preferably a range of 1.5 times or more and 2.5 times or less the dimension of the transported object in the transport direction. Preferably, a range of the detection area in a direction away from the conveyance path or a direction along the width direction of the conveyance path is in a range of 2 times or more and 5 times or less a dimension of the conveyance object in the direction away from the conveyance path or the direction along the width direction of the conveyance path.

In the present invention, it is preferable that, when the article identification means and the article processing means are further provided, the first measurement area is set in advance so as to always include all the articles passing through the conveyance path, based on a plurality of captured images captured at the imaging interval and on a relationship between a conveyance speed of the articles on the conveyance path and the imaging interval. In this case, it is further preferable that the first measurement area is set so that all the transported objects passing through the transport path are included in the plurality of captured images.

In the present invention, it is preferable that when n = a natural number of 1 to 10, where LD is a range of the detection area in a transport direction along the transport path, LDs is a length of one of the transport objects in the transport direction, ts is the imaging period, and Vs is the transport speed, the following equation is satisfied.

LD≥LDS+n×α＝LDS+n×Ts×Vs

In this way, the conveyance behavior detection means detects the behavior (specifically, the position or the angular orientation as an index indicating the behavior) in a state where all the conveyed materials are always arranged in the detection area in any image data, and the conveyance form adjustment means adjusts the conveyance form based on the detected behavior, so that the control of the conveyance state corresponding to the conveyed materials can be reliably performed. Here, n is more preferably in the range of 3 to 7.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the conveyance form adjustment means adjusts the conveyance form based on an index (specifically, the position or the angular posture as an index indicating the behavior) indicating the behavior of the conveyance object separated by a predetermined distance or more in the direction from a contact position on the conveyance path (the position of the conveyance object when in contact with the conveyance path). In this case, it is preferable that the conveyance behavior detection means detects an index indicating the behavior (specifically, the position or the angular posture as an index indicating the behavior) with respect to the conveyance object separated from the contact position on the conveyance path by a predetermined distance or more. In particular, it is more preferable that the range of the detection area (the position of the boundary line described later) is set so that only the transported object separated from the contact position by the predetermined distance or more is a detection target.

In the present invention, it is preferable that, when the article identification means and the article processing means are further provided, the transport form adjustment means adjusts the transport form on the basis of an index indicating the behavior of the transported article being processed when passing through the processing area on the transport path (specifically, the position or the angular orientation as an index indicating the behavior), except for the transported article that is not processed when passing through the processing area on the transport path. In this case, it is preferable that the conveyance behavior detection means detects the position or the angular posture only with respect to the conveyance object to be processed when the conveyance object passes through the processing area. In particular, it is preferable that the detection area is set so that only the transported material that is processed when passing through the processing area is a detection target.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the transport processing means has a configuration in which an air flow directed in a direction away from the transport path or in a direction along the width direction of the transport path is selectively blown to the transport, the transport behavior detection means detects a position of the transport in the direction away from the transport path or in the direction along the width direction of the transport path, and the transport mode adjustment means controls the intensity of the air flow based on the index of the behavior (specifically, the position or the angular posture as the index indicating the behavior) detected by the transport behavior detection means so as to adjust the transport mode. In this case, it is preferable that, when the detection area is set so that all the transported objects passing through the transport path are included in the plurality of captured images, the intensity of the airflow be controlled based on a difference between indexes indicating a plurality of behaviors of the respective transported objects (specifically, the position or the angular orientation as an index indicating the behavior). In particular, it is preferred that the behavior is the position. In this case, it is preferable that the conveyance form adjustment unit does not adjust the processing mode of the conveyed object processing unit when the distance between the position of the conveyed object detected by the conveyance behavior detection unit and the contact position is equal to or less than a predetermined value. Further, when a statistical value of a plurality of the positions is used, it is preferable that the statistical value is not added to the position of the transported object where the distance is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the article processing means has a configuration for selectively blowing the article with an air flow in a direction away from the conveyance path or in a direction along the width direction of the conveyance path, and the conveyance form adjustment means controls the timing of blowing the air flow so as to adjust the conveyance form, based on the index of the behavior (specifically, the position or the angular orientation as the index indicating the behavior) detected by the conveyance behavior detection means. In particular, it is preferable that the blowing timing is a blowing start timing of the air stream. Preferably, the behavior is the angular posture. In this case, it is preferable that the transport mode adjustment means controls the transport object processing means so as to delay the timing of starting the air flow blowing when the direction of the angular position corresponds to an inclined position in which the front side of the transport object in the transport direction is farther from the transport path than the rear side of the transport direction, and so as to advance the timing of starting the air flow blowing when the direction of the angular position corresponds to an inclined position in which the rear side of the transport object in the transport direction is farther from the transport path than the front side of the transport direction. Further, it is preferable that the transport form adjusting means does not adjust the processing method of the transported object processing means when the angle of intersection between the angular posture and the transport direction is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value. Further, when a plurality of statistics of the angular postures are used, it is preferable that the angular posture of the transported object in which the angle of intersection of the angular postures with respect to the transport direction is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value is not added to the statistics.

A conveyance management system according to another example of the present invention includes: an imaging unit that continuously images the conveyed object at predetermined imaging intervals on the conveyance path; a conveyance object processing unit configured to be capable of switching between a non-processing state in which the conveyance object passes through a processing area on the conveyance path without being processed and a processing state in which the conveyance object is processed in the processing area on the conveyance path; a conveyed article determination unit that performs a conveyed article determination process including a conveyed article determination stage and a conveyed article determination stage, wherein the conveyed article determination stage detects that the conveyed article is disposed in a first measurement area by performing an image measurement process on image data in the first measurement area, the first measurement area is disposed adjacent to an upstream side of the processing area, and has a range that is set in advance to always include all of the conveyed articles passing through the conveyance path, in any one of a plurality of captured images captured at the imaging interval by the imaging unit, based on a relationship between a conveyance speed of the conveyed article on the conveyance path and the imaging interval, and the conveyed article determination stage determines the conveyed article based on an image of at least a determination target portion of the conveyed article when the conveyed article is detected to be disposed in the first measurement area by the conveyed article determination stage; a conveyance processing control unit that switches the non-processing state and the processing state of the conveyance object processing unit according to a result of discrimination of the conveyance object by the conveyance object discrimination unit; and a conveyance behavior detection unit that detects a behavior of the conveyance object separated from the conveyance path or moving on the conveyance path in a direction of separation from the conveyance path or in a direction of width of the conveyance path, based on image data of the conveyance object arranged in a detection area including the processing area in the captured image captured by the imaging unit. Preferably, the conveyance mode adjusting device further includes a conveyance mode adjusting unit that adjusts a processing mode of the conveyed object processing unit based on the behavior detected by the conveyance behavior detecting unit.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the apparatus further includes a transported object passage detection unit that detects that the transported object has passed through the processing area and separated downstream from the processing area by performing image measurement processing on the basis of image data of the transported object in a second measurement area in any one of a plurality of captured images captured by the imaging unit at the imaging interval; the second measurement area is provided with a range which is preset according to a relationship between the conveyance speed of the conveyed material on the conveyance path and the imaging interval and which includes at least a part of the image of all the conveyed materials passing through the conveyance path, and is disposed adjacent to the downstream side of the processing area, and the conveyance processing control unit switches the conveyed material processing unit from the non-processing state to the processing state when the discrimination result of the preceding conveyed material corresponds to the non-processing state and the discrimination result of the next conveyed material corresponds to the processing state, and when the conveyed material passage detection unit detects that the preceding conveyed material has passed through the processing area and deviated to the downstream side.

In this case, it is preferable that the transport processing control unit sets the transport processing unit to the non-processing state to pass the transport when the discrimination result of the transport discrimination unit is a predetermined discrimination form, returns the transport processing unit to the processing state when the transport passage detection unit detects that the transport preceding to the predetermined discrimination form obtained as the discrimination result has passed through the processing area and deviated to the lower right side, and does not obtain the discrimination result that the transport following is the predetermined discrimination form, and maintains the transport processing unit in the processing state at other times.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the transported object discrimination unit does not perform the transported object determination step on the determination target portion of the transported object when the transported object is not detected to be disposed in the first measurement area by the transported object determination step.

In the present invention, it is preferable that when n = a natural number of 1 to 10, when a length of the first measurement area in a conveyance direction along the conveyance path is LD1, a length of one of the conveyed objects in the conveyance direction is LDs, the imaging period is Ts, and the conveyance speed is Vs, the following equation is satisfied.

LD1≥LDS+n×α＝LDS+n×Ts×Vs

In this case, it is preferable that a length LD2 of the second measurement area in the conveyance direction along the conveyance path is a value equal to or greater than a length LDs of one conveyed material in the conveyance direction.

In the present invention, it is preferable to further include: a data holding unit that holds image data in at least the detection area among the plurality of captured images; and a data display unit that reads out and displays the past image data held by the data holding unit; the conveyance behavior detection unit is configured to: the image measuring process may be performed on the past image data stored in the data storage unit, and the behavior of the transport object may be detected based on the image data in the detection area.

In the present invention, it is preferable to further include: a data holding unit that holds image data in at least the first measurement area among the plurality of captured images; and a data display unit that reads out and displays the past image data held by the data holding unit; the transported object discrimination unit is configured to: the image measurement processing may be performed on the past image data stored in the data storage unit, and the transported object may be determined from an image of at least the determination target portion in the first measurement area.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the conveyance path conveys the conveyance object by vibrating in a reciprocating manner in a direction along a conveyance direction of the conveyance object, and that, when the imaging unit is stationary, a position of the first measurement area (or the first measurement area and the second measurement area) or the detection area in the captured image is corrected so as to eliminate a positional variation in the captured image with respect to the conveyance path caused by the vibration of the conveyance path at the time of imaging.

Next, the transport apparatus according to the present invention preferably includes any one of the transport management systems described above and the transport body including the transport path. In particular, it is preferable that the conveying device is a vibration type conveying device further including an excitation mechanism that excites the conveying body.

(effect of the invention)

According to the present invention, since the behavior of the transport object separated from the transport path or moving along the width direction of the transport path on the transport path in the direction separating from the transport path or in the direction along the width direction of the transport path is detected by processing the captured image of the transport object, the transport mode can be adjusted based on the behavior in consideration of the instability of the transport object from another point of view different from the moving mode of the transport direction of the transport object, and therefore, the adjustment work of the transport mode of the transport object can be facilitated, and the excellent effect of high performance of the transport apparatus can be exhibited.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an overall configuration common to the respective embodiments of the conveyance management system and the conveyance device according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an explanatory view showing an appearance of the conveyed objects in the conveyance path and an example of an arrangement form of the conveyed objects.

Fig. 3 (a) - (c) are explanatory views for explaining a discrimination method for discriminating a conveyed material by image processing.

Fig. 4 (a) to (g) are explanatory views showing examples of image data in the detection area in the first embodiment.

Fig. 5 (a) to (g) are explanatory views showing positional differences of the transported object due to the magnitude of the blowing pressure (processing force) in the first embodiment.

Fig. 6 (a) to (g) are explanatory views showing examples of image data in the detection area in the second embodiment.

Fig. 7 (a) to (g) are explanatory views showing examples of calculation of distances between positions of the objects in the image data in the detection area in the third embodiment.

Fig. 8 (a) to (c) are explanatory diagrams showing a relationship between an example of image data in a detection area and a processing start timing in the fourth embodiment, (d) is an explanatory diagram showing a main axis angle of an angular posture of a conveyed article detected in the fourth embodiment, and (e) to (g) are timing charts showing an adjustment example of the processing start timing.

Fig. 9 (a) to (f) are explanatory views showing an example of image data in the detection area and whether or not to add a statistic value in the fifth embodiment.

Fig. 10 (a), (b), (c), and (d) are explanatory diagrams showing an example of image data in the detection area and a relationship between processing start timings in the sixth embodiment.

Fig. 11 (a) to (g) are explanatory views showing examples of image data in the detection area in the seventh embodiment.

Fig. 12 is a schematic flowchart showing a configuration example of an operation program used in each embodiment.

(symbol description)

10 \8230, a conveying device 11 \8230, a feeder 110 \8230, a conveying body 111 \8230, a conveying path 12 \8230, a linear feeder 120 \8230, a conveying body 121 \8230, a conveying path OPS \8230, an ejection port for exclusion and OPR \8230, an ejection port for inversion, CA1 to CA3 \8230, a conveying object CM1 and CM2 \8230, a camera CL11 and CL12 \8230, a controller DTU \8230, an inspection processing unit DP1 and DP2 \8230, a display device GP1 and GP2 \8230, an image processing device GM1 and GM2 \8230, an image processing memory GPX 8230, captured image GPY 8230, image area GWA-GWB 8230, judgment area MPU 8230, operation processing device MM 8230, main memory device ME1 8230, first measurement area ME2 8230, second measurement area MES and MER 8230, processing area SAE and SAR 8230, search area SP1 and SP2 8230, operation input device RAM 8230, memory for operation processing MED, MRD and MFD 8230, detection area MRDa and MFDA 8230, boundary line and PCA 8230, position theta 8230, main shaft angle (angle posture)

Detailed Description

General constitution

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, the general overall structure of the embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 3. Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration of a drive control system of the transport apparatus 10 and a transport management system of the transport apparatus 10.

The conveyor device 10 is a vibration type conveyor device including a feeder 11 and a linear feeder 12, wherein the feeder 11 includes a bowl-shaped conveyor body 110 having a spiral conveyor path 111, the linear feeder 12 includes a conveyor body 120 having a linear conveyor path 121, and the linear conveyor path 121 includes an inlet configured to receive a conveyed article from an outlet of the conveyor path 111 of the feeder 11. In the conveyance management system according to each embodiment, the conveyance object CA in the conveyance path 121 of the conveyance body 120 of the linear feeder 12 is inspected and determined based on the captured image GPX. In the present invention, the configuration of the vibrating conveyor is not limited to the one used for various types of conveyors for conveying the conveyed object CA along the conveying path. The vibrating type conveying device is not limited to the combination of the feeder 11 and the linear feeder 12, and may be used in other types of conveying devices such as a circulating type feeder. Further, even in the above combination, the inspection of the conveyed objects CA in the conveyance path 111 of the feeder 11 is not limited to the inspection of the conveyed objects CA in the conveyance path 121 of the linear feeder 12.

The feeder 11 is driven and controlled by a controller CL 11. The linear feeder 12 is driven and controlled by the controller CL 12. The controllers CL11 and CL12 alternately drive the vibration mechanisms (including an electromagnetic drive body, a piezoelectric drive body, and the like) of the feeder 11 and the linear feeder 12, and vibrate the conveying

bodies

110 and 120 so as to move the conveyed objects CA in the conveying paths 111 and 121 in the predetermined conveying direction F. The controllers CL11 and CL12 are connected to an inspection processing unit DTU having an image processing function as a main body of the conveyance management system via an input/output circuit (I/O).

The controllers CL11 and CL12 stop driving of the transport device 10 in accordance with an operation program when a predetermined operation input (debug operation) is performed to an arithmetic processing unit MPU, which executes the operation program, via operation input devices SP1 and SP2, which will be described later, such as a mouse. At this time, for example, the image measurement process in the inspection processing unit DTU is also stopped according to the above operation program. The debugging operation and the operation of each part corresponding to the debugging operation will be described in detail later.

The inspection processing unit DTU is configured with an arithmetic processing unit MPU (microprocessor) of a personal computer or the like as a core, and in the illustrated example, the arithmetic processing unit MPU is configured with a central processing unit CPU1, a central processing unit CPU2, a cache memory CCM, a memory controller MCL, a chip set CHS, and the like. The inspection processing unit DTU is provided with image processing circuits GP1 and GP2, and the image processing circuits GP1 and GP2 are connected to cameras CM1 and CM2 as imaging units, respectively, and perform image processing. The image processing circuits GP1, GP2 are connected to image processing memories GM1, GM2, respectively. The outputs of the image processing circuits GP1 and GP2 are also connected to the arithmetic processing unit MPU, and process image data of the captured image GPX obtained from the cameras CM1 and CM2, and transfer an appropriate processed image (for example, image data in an image area GPY described later) to the arithmetic processing unit MPU. The main memory MM stores an operation program of the conveyance management system in advance. When the inspection processing unit DTU is started, the operation program is read out and executed by the arithmetic processing unit MPU. In addition, the main memory MM stores image data of a captured image GPX or an image area GPY to be subjected to image measurement processing described later by the arithmetic processing unit MPU.

The inspection processing unit DTU is connected to display devices DP1 and DP2 such as a liquid crystal monitor or operation input devices SP1 and SP2 via an input/output circuit (I/O). The display devices DP1 and DP2 display the image data of the captured image GPX or the image area GPY processed by the arithmetic processing unit MPU, the result of the image measurement process, that is, the result of the conveyance behavior detection process or the conveyance object discrimination process, and the like in a predetermined display form. The display function is not limited to the function that is performed when the transport object is actually transported, and the display function is also performed when past data is read and reproduced as described later. Further, by operating the operation input devices SP1 and SP2 while viewing the screens of the display devices DP1 and DP2, it is possible to input processing conditions such as various operation commands and setting values to the arithmetic processing unit MPU.

Next, an example of a basic method of identifying the transport object CA in the transport device 10 using the transport management system in each embodiment will be described. Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the shape of the conveyance object CA and the conveyance posture in the conveyance path 121 in each example. In the illustrated example, the conveyance object CA is an electronic component (e.g., a chip resistor, a chip inductor, a chip capacitor, etc.) having a substantially cubic shape (e.g., a shape in which eight corners of a cube are rounded). The conveyance object CA is conveyed in a conveyance path 121 having conveyance surfaces 121a and 121b orthogonal to each other in a posture in which a longitudinal axis (main axis) is oriented in the conveyance direction F. Metal terminal portions CAa are exposed at both front and rear ends of the carrier CA, and a white surface CAb made of an insulating material and a black surface CAc as a direction recognition mark are exposed at a side surface portion between the terminal portions CAa. The normal conveyance posture of the conveyance object CA is a posture in which the leading end face CAt5 faces the conveyance destination (downstream side, right side in the figure), the trailing end face CAt6 faces the conveyance source (upstream side, left side in the figure), the conveyance destination side of the four side faces CAs 1 to CAs4 presents the white surface CAb, the side face CAs 1 presenting the black surface CAc on the conveyance source side faces upward, and the side face CAs2 of the white surface CAb faces the side of the open side of the conveyance path 121 as a whole.

Fig. 2 and 3 show images taken while the conveyance surface 121a of the conveyance path 121 is a relatively steep surface, the conveyance surface 121b is a relatively gentle surface, and the cameras CM1 and CM2 are tilted from the lower front side in the figure (i.e., the upper front side of the conveyance surface 121 b). Therefore, in the conveyed article CA, the side surface of the conveyance path 121 disposed on the upper side in the figure (the side surface disposed on the conveyance surface 121a side) is a surface facing upward (hereinafter, simply referred to as "upper side surface"), and the side surface disposed on the lower side in the figure (the side surface disposed on the conveyance surface 121b side) is a surface facing lateral (hereinafter, simply referred to as "lateral side surface"). The upper side surface of the conveyance object CA at the right end position in fig. 2 is a side surface CAs 1, and the side surface is a side surface CAs2.

Fig. 3 (a) to (c) are explanatory views for explaining examples of setting of the measurement area for determining whether or not the conveyance posture of the conveyance object CA shown in fig. 2 is the normal conveyance posture. The captured image GPX captured by the cameras CM1 and CM2 is appropriately processed by the image processing circuits GP1 and GP2, and as shown in fig. 3 (a), only image data included in an image width GPW, which is a necessary range in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction F on the conveying path 121, is acquired. In addition, as illustrated, the range along the conveyance direction F in the captured image GPX may be acquired within a range limited to the image length GPL. By limiting the image area GPY actually acquired from the captured image GPX and transferred to the arithmetic processing unit MPU in this manner, the acquisition speed and transfer speed can be increased. As shown in fig. 3 (a), the image area GPY of each embodiment is a rectangular area that is long in the conveyance direction F.

In each embodiment, the transported object CA is detected and determined by the image measurement processing performed by the discrimination processing means embedded in the operation program. This image measurement processing is performed not on the entire image area GPY shown in fig. 3 (a), but on only an area limited to a part of the image area GPY. In each embodiment, the search area SAE or SAR is set in the image area GPY. The search areas SAE, SAR contain processing areas MES, MRS for sorting the transport CA. In the illustrated example, the processing areas MES and MRS are areas for sorting the transport products CA, and are areas in which the transport products CA are sorted by passing the transport products CA through the transport path 121 or by excluding the transport products CA from the transport path 121, and only desired transport products CA are output downstream. In the sorting process of the transported object CA, only the image data in the search areas SAE and SAR are targeted for the image measurement process.

As shown in fig. 3 (b), search areas SAE and SAR further include first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 adjacent to the upstream side of processing areas MES and MRS, and second measurement areas ME2 and MR2 adjacent to the downstream side of processing areas MES and MRS. Here, the processing area MES is an area on the conveying path 121 where the conveyed article CA can be removed through the removal air ejection port OPS formed at the center position CLN. The first measurement area ME1 is an area which is located inside the search area SAE and in which the transported material CA transported from the upstream side cannot be excluded by the exclusion air port OPS. Further, the second measurement area ME2 is an area where the transported material CA cannot be excluded through the exclusion air port OPS when the transported material CA passes through the processing area MEs and is separated to the downstream side, which is located inside the search area SAE. The purge air ejection port OPS is opened on the conveyance surface 121b on one side (for example, a lower side in the drawing) of the conveyance path 121. The opening position of the eliminating air ejection port OPS on the conveying surface 121b is preferably set within a range covered by the side surface of the conveyed article CA passing through the conveying path 121. As described above, the processing region MRS is a region on the conveyance path 121 where the conveyance object CA can be reversed by the reversing air vent OPR formed at the center position CLN. The first measurement region MR1 is a region which is located inside the search region SAR and in which the transport object CA transported from the upstream side cannot be inverted by the inverting air outlet OPR. The second measurement region MR2 is a region in which the conveyance object CA cannot be reversed by the reversing air nozzle OPR when the conveyance object passes through the processing region MRs and leaves the downstream side, and is located inside the search region SAR. The reversing air outlet OPR is opened in a conveying surface 121b on one side (for example, a lower side in the drawing) of the conveying path 121. The opening range of the reversing air outlet OPR on the conveying surface 121b is preferably set to a position at least partially opposed to the upper part of the side surface of the conveyed article CA passing through the conveying path 121. For example, the opening position of the reversing air nozzle OPR on the conveying surface 121b is preferably set to a range in which the lower part of the opening range is covered by the side surface of the conveyed article CA passing through the conveying path 121 and the upper part of the opening range is not covered by the side surface.

In the search areas SAE and SAR, the image measurement process searches whether or not an image (hereinafter, simply referred to as "detection image") having an outer edge shape corresponding to an image of the transport object CA (hereinafter, simply referred to as "reference image") registered in advance exists. When the detection image is present, the position of the area occupied by the detection image is determined as the conveyance object determination area WDS. This is the transport determination stage in the transport discrimination process. In the transport object specifying stage, it is only necessary to specify the presence and position of the transport object CA without distinguishing the posture or defect of the transport object CA, and therefore, the degree of coincidence between the shape of the outer shape of the transport object CA or the like, the average brightness inside the outer shape, or the like is obtained and compared with a predetermined threshold value to determine the presence or absence of the detection image. At the time of this specification, the positions of the pattern shapes in the search areas SAE and SAR are calculated, and the article-to-be-transported determination area WDS is specified as described above. In the transport object specifying stage, only the degree of coincidence of the pattern shapes such as the outer shape may be used as the determination element, but as described above, the degree of coincidence of the average brightness or the like inside the outer shape may be used as the determination element, thereby improving the accuracy of discrimination of the transport object CA. For example, when the brightness of the transport object CA is entirely darkened due to the relationship between the illumination direction and the posture of the component, detection omission of the transport object is likely to occur because it is difficult to distinguish the brightness from the background of the image.

In the transport object specifying step, when the transport object specifying region WDS is located in the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1, a transport object determination step described below is performed. When the article-identifying region WDS is located in the processing regions MES, MRS and the second measurement regions ME2, MR2, the measurement is performed directly, and article passage detection processing for outputting an article passage detection signal is performed when the article-identifying region WDS in the processing regions MES, MRS and the second measurement regions ME2, MR2 disappears. As described later, when a state in which any one of the conveyance objects CA is arranged in the first measurement area ME1 or MR1 is captured in the plurality of captured images GPX, the conveyance object specifying phase may be performed and the conveyance object specifying area WDS may be derived every time.

In the search area SAE, the transport determination phase is performed as follows. First, with the conveyance object specifying area WDS specified as described above as a reference, the first determination area GWA and the second determination area GWB are positioned as shown in fig. 3 (c), and whether or not the side surfaces CAs 1 to CAs4 correspond to each other is detected from the brightness thereof. For example, the first determination area GWA is disposed on the upper side surface of the conveyance object CA, and the second determination area GWB is disposed on the side surface of the conveyance object CA. In each embodiment, when the upper side surface is the side surface CAs 1 and the side surface is the side surface CAs2, the conveyance object CA is set to be conveyed in a normal posture. In this case, the first determination area GWA has an elongated determination support area GWA1 extending in the transport direction F, a determination support area GWA2 disposed on the upstream side, and a determination support area GWA3 disposed on the downstream side, in order to detect the side surface CAs 1. The determination support area GWA1 detects a boundary between the white surface CAb and the black surface CAc of the side surface CAs 1 by edge detection processing in the transport direction F, and corrects the positions of the determination support areas GWA2 and GWA3 using the detected boundary as a boundary position. Then, by comparing the luminances of the determination support areas GWA2 and GWA3 after the position correction with a predetermined threshold value, it is determined whether or not the respective luminances match the conveyance object CA in the normal posture. In the illustrated example, when the determination support area GWA2 detects the black surface CAc and the determination support area GWA3 detects the white surface CAb, the conveyance object CA is determined to be a good product in a normal posture. The manner of determining the transport object CA (quality determination) is not limited to the posture, and may be the shape, size, or the like.

The second determination region GWB determines whether or not the side surface is the side surface CAs2 (the side surface of the white surface CAb in its entirety). In this case, the determination may be made when the luminance of the second determination area GWB is higher than the predetermined threshold value. Further, by determining both the first determination area GWA and the second determination area GWB, it is possible to provide redundancy to the acquired information obtained from the image data to be determined, and therefore, it is possible to avoid erroneous determination due to variations in brightness or the like of the image, and it is possible to improve the determination accuracy.

On the other hand, in the image area GPY, another search area SAR for determining whether or not to perform the reversing process for reversing the conveyed article CA and another first measurement area MR1 in which the first determination area GV1 and the second determination area GV2 for performing the conveyed article determination stage corresponding to the conveyed article determination area WDS determined in the conveyed article determination stage are provided at positions different from the search area SAE (positions on the upstream side of the search area SAE in the example of the figure) are provided, and the first measurement area MR1 is provided with the first determination area GV1 and the second determination area GV2. The first determining section GV1 and the second determining section GV2 are disposed at positions where the upper side surface of the transported object CA passes. The first determination region GV1 outputs the determination result NG when the upper side surface of the conveyed article CA is not the side surface CAs 1 including the black surface CAc, that is, when the upper side surface of the conveyed article CA is the side surfaces CAs2 to CAs4 having the white surfaces CAb as a whole (for example, when the side surfaces are brighter than a predetermined threshold), and outputs the determination result PASS when the terminal portion CAa or the side surface CAs 1 is included (for example, when the side surface CAs 1 is darker than a predetermined threshold). The second judgment region GV2 is a region narrower than the first judgment region GV1 in the transport direction F. When the edge is detected by scanning in the conveying direction F in the second determination region GV2, the boundary between the conveyed objects CA immediately before and after the conveyance is considered to be arranged, and the determination result is PASS. Only when the determination result is NG, the air flow is ejected from the inverting air ejection port OPR provided in the processing region MRS, and the upper side surface of the conveyance object CA is inverted to the other side surface. In this way, the posture of the conveyed object CA can be changed only when the upper side surface is disposed in the first determination region GV1 and the upper side surfaces are the side surfaces CAs2 to CAs 4. The reversing air outlet OPR is opened in a conveying surface 121b on one side (for example, a lower side in the drawing) of the conveying path 121.

< example of general construction 1 >

In each embodiment, the cameras CM1 and CM2 continuously perform imaging in a predetermined imaging cycle set in advance, and transmit the image data in the captured image GPX or the image area GPY to the arithmetic processing unit MPU via the image processing units GP1 and GP2 in the imaging cycle. The processing unit MPU uses the memory RAM for processing as described above to process the image data in the search areas SAE and SAR in the image data transmitted, and executes detection and determination. However, in each embodiment, instead of providing a separate trigger sensor or searching for a predetermined shape pattern of the conveyed object CA from the image data of the conveyed object CA in a predetermined area and generating an internal trigger when the shape pattern is detected, the image capturing is continuously performed in a predetermined image capturing period by introducing an external trigger indicating a predetermined image capturing period or by outputting a trigger signal of a predetermined period from the arithmetic processing unit MPU to the cameras CM1 and CM 2. Therefore, when it is desired to detect at least the portions to be detected (corresponding to the surface portions of the side surfaces CAs 1 to CAs4 other than the terminal portions CAa in the embodiments, but may be the entire appearance of the conveyance object CA) of all the conveyance objects CA conveyed through the conveyance path 121 and to perform the determination without omission, it is necessary to include the portions to be detected of all the conveyance objects CA in the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 in any of the captured images GPX and the image areas GPY.

In each of the embodiments, as part of the conveyed article identification process, the conveyed article specifying phase is performed in the search areas SAE and SAR to specify the conveyed article specifying area WDS, but in this conveyed article specifying phase, the whole of the conveyed article CA is detected in the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 when the whole of the conveyed article CA is included in this area. Therefore, in order to detect the position of the transported object CA in the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1, it is necessary to set the entire transported object CA in a state where the entire transported object CA is included in the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 in any one image data.

Therefore, when the imaging cycle is Ts [ sec ], the length of the transport object CA in the transport direction F is LDS [ mm ], and the transport speed of the transport object CA is Vs [ mm/sec ], the range LD1 in the transport direction F of the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 is set to the following expression (1) so that the images of all the transport objects CA are always included in the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 of any one image data.

LD1≥LDS+α＝LDS+Ts×Vs…(1)

For example, when the length LDS in the transport direction F of the transported object CA is 0.6[ 2 ], [ mm ], the transport speed Vs is 50[ 2 ], [ mm/sec ], and the imaging period Ts is 1[ 2 ] msec, LDS =0.6[ mm ], α =0.05[ mm ], whereby LD1 ≧ 0.65[ mm ]. When the imaging period Ts is 0.5[ 2 ], [ msec ], LDS =0.6[ 2 ], [ alpha =0.025[ 2 ], and LD 1[ 0.625 ], [ alpha ] mm.

In the case of the illustrated example, the range LD1 in the conveyance direction F of the first measurement region MR1 may be set to the following expression (2) in consideration of the conveyance target portion.

LD1≥LDR+α＝LDR+Ts×Vs…(2)

In fact, since the transport speed of the transport object CA varies from one location to another or with the passage of time, it is preferable to set the entire or a part of the transport object CA to be captured in the image data twice or more, preferably three times or more. In general, LD1 is set so that the following equations (3) and (4) are satisfied in order to capture image data n (n is a natural number) or more times.

LD1≥LDS+n×α＝LDS+n×Ts×Vs…(3)

LD1≥LDR+n×α＝LDR+n×Ts×Vs…(4)

In each embodiment, n is set to a range of 3 to 7. This is because, when n is small, the possibility of occurrence of missing of the image of the transport object CA due to the variation of the transport speed becomes high, and conversely, when n is large, the load of the image processing becomes large. In general, the natural number n is preferably in the range of 1 to 10. In each embodiment, the image processing time is usually about 150 μ sec to 300 μ sec. The imaging interval Ts is about 500[ mu sec ] to 840[ mu sec ]. Generally, the number of times of shooting by the shooting unit is preferably 1000 to 2000 times/second.

In the case of each embodiment, as described above, the trigger signal for detecting the arrival of the transport CA at the first measurement area ME1 or MR1 is not used, and therefore, the transport CA or the determination target portions CAs 1 to CAs4 thereof may not be arranged at all in the first measurement area ME1 or MR1 of a certain captured image GPX or image area GPY. Therefore, in the image measurement process in the first measurement area ME1, MR1 for performing the transported object discrimination process, the transported object determination step is performed in which at least the images of the determination target portions CAs 1 to CAs4 for detecting the transported object CA are included in the first measurement area ME1, MR1. In the transported object determining step, when the transported object is detected and determined under a predetermined condition, that is, in the above example, when the whole of the transported object CA is included in the first measuring areas ME1 and MR1, the transported object determining step is performed, and otherwise, the transported object determining step is not performed. In the case where the same conveyance object CA is detected a plurality of times in the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1, the conveyance object determination stage may be performed only once (for example, the first time), and the conveyance object determination stage may be omitted in other times.

On the other hand, in the transported object passing detection process performed in the second measurement area ME2 or MR2, the same transported object determination step as the transported object discrimination process is performed, and the transported object determination step is not performed. When the article identification area WDS is identified in the article identification step, the article passage detection step is performed, and when the article CA is not detected after the article CA is detected in the second measurement areas ME2 and MR2, it is determined that the article CA is detected to pass through the processing areas MEs and MRs and to be deviated to the downstream side, and the article passage detection signal is output. The length of the second measurement areas ME2 and MR2 in the conveyance direction may be the same as the length LDS of the conveyance object CA, but when the length is set to be equal to or longer than this length, for example, a length exceeding LDS + n × α (n = 1), the conveyance object passage detection signal may be output when the entire conveyance object CA is detected in the second measurement areas ME2 and MR2. When the conveyance object passage detection is performed when at least a part of the conveyance object CA is separated from the second measurement areas ME2 and MR2, the range LD2 in the conveyance direction F of the second measurement areas ME2 and MR2 needs to be set to a value that is separated from the processing areas MEs and MRs before the conveyance object CA is separated from the second measurement areas ME2 and MR2.

< example of general construction 2 >

The processing operation of the transport object discrimination processing in each processing area MES, MRS described above is performed by the transport object processing unit constituted by the air pressure mechanism not shown in the drawings in each embodiment. The air compression mechanism includes an air compression passage connected to the purge air port OPS and the inversion air port OPR, an air pressure source connected to the air compression passage via a valve, and a controller for controlling the valve. In the transport object discrimination process, first, the first transport object CA1 enters the search areas SAE, SAR (first measurement areas ME1, MR 1), and then, when the entire transport object CA1 enters the search areas SAE, SAR (first measurement areas ME1, MR 1), the position of the transport object determination area WDS is determined in the transport object determination stage of the transport object discrimination process. Then, a conveyance object determination stage using the determination areas is performed with reference to the position of the identified conveyance object determination area WDS. If the conveyed article CA1 is determined to be a good article in the conveyed article determination stage, the blowing of the air flow from the discharge air port OPS or the reversing air port OPR of the processing areas MES and MRS is stopped as long as the previous defective article is not disposed in the processing areas MES and MRS.

In each embodiment, the article processing means is controlled so that the article processing means stops the air flow when a determination result (good article in the example of the figure) that the processing operation in the processing areas MES and MRS is unnecessary in the article determination section is output with a state where the processing operation for the article CA in the processing areas MES and MRS is performed (a state where the air flow is blown from the removal air port OPS or the inversion air port OPR) being set as a normal state. However, the transport object processing unit may be controlled so that the air flow is not generated when the determination result of the processing operation in the unnecessary processing areas MES and MRS (good product in the example of the figure) is output in the transport object determination step, and the air flow is started to be blown when the determination result of the processing operation in the necessary processing areas MES and MRS (bad product in the example of the figure) is output.

In each embodiment, when the transport object CA1 is determined to be defective in the transport object determination step, the air flow continues to be blown from the removal air port OPS or the inversion air port OPR, or when the air flow is stopped, the air flow is generated at a predetermined timing such as when the transport object CA1 enters the processing areas MES and MRS. At this time, the air flow blown from the eliminating air jet ports OPS functions to eliminate the conveyance object CA1 from the conveyance path 121, and the air flow blown from the reversing air jet ports OPR functions to once float and rotate the conveyance object CA1 from the conveyance path 121, and then to again contact the conveyance path 121. In any of the air flows, the conveyance object CA1 moves in a direction away from the conveyance path 121 or in a direction along the width direction of the conveyance path 121, and moves upward in the detection areas MED and MRD in fig. 2 and 3 in the image data.

Then, every time an image is captured, the conveyance object specifying area WDS of the conveyance object CA1 moves slowly in the search areas SAE and SAR, and moves from the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 to the processing areas MEs and MRs. At this time, when the transport object CA1 is a good product, the air flow from the eliminating air port OPS or the reversing air port OPR toward the transport object CA1 is stopped before the transport object CA1 (transport object specifying area WDS) is transferred from the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 to the processing areas MEs and MRs. When the transport product CA1 is a good product, the transport product passes through the processing areas MES and MRS as it is, and when the transport product CA1 is a defective product, the transport product is removed from the transport path 121 by receiving the air flow as described above, or is turned upside down above the transport path 121. Then, the good product transport CA1 or the reversed transport CA1 (transport determination region WDS) is transferred from the processing regions MES and MRS to the second measurement regions ME2 and MR2. Here, the air flow may be automatically resumed after the conveyance object CA1 (conveyance object determination area WDS) is transferred from the processing areas MES and MRS to the second measurement areas ME2 and MR2, or may be resumed when the next conveyance object CA2 is determined to be defective.

During the above period, when the next conveyance object CA2 enters the search areas SAE and SAR (first measurement areas ME1 and MR 1), the conveyance object CA2 is detected in the conveyance object specifying stage and the position of the conveyance object specifying area WDS is specified when the entire conveyance object CA2 enters the search areas SAE and SAR (first measurement areas ME1 and MR 1) as in the above conveyance object CA 1. Then, the transported object determining step is followed by a transported object determining step in the same manner as described above. If the determination result is a defective product, the ejection of the air flow from the removal air port OPS or the reversing air port OPR is continued or restarted, and if the transport object CA2 enters the processing areas MES and MRS as it is, the transport object CA2 is removed or reversed from the transport path 121 by the air flow.

When a plurality of transports CA are transported in a high-density arrangement (i.e., closely attached to each other or spaced apart by less than half the length LDS), the transport CA1 enters the search areas SAE and SAR (first measurement areas ME1 and MR 1), and then, when the entire transport CA1 enters the search areas SAE and SAR (first measurement areas ME1 and MR 1), the position of the transport determination area WDS is determined in the transport determination stage. Then, a conveyed article determination stage using the determination areas is performed with reference to the position of the specified conveyed article determination area WDS. If the conveyed article CA1 is determined to be a good article in the conveyed article determination stage, the flow of air from the removal air port OPS or the reversing air port OPR is stopped as long as the previous defective article is not disposed in the processing areas MES, MRS. The above is the same as the above.

In this case, the next transport CA2 enters the first measurement area ME1, MR1 before the transport CA1 enters the processing area MES, MRS. At this time, if the range LD1 of the first measurement areas ME1, MR1 is less than 2 times the length LDs of the transported object, after the transported object CA1 enters the processing areas MEs, MRs, the whole of the next transported object CA2 enters the first measurement areas ME1, MR1, and the transported object determination area WDS is detected in the transported object determination step, and the position thereof is determined. Therefore, when the next conveyance object CA2 is detected and the determination result is output, the previous conveyance object CA1 is already located in the processing areas MES and MRS, and therefore, the air flow from the removal air outlet OPS or the reversing air outlet OPR is stopped. If the next conveyance object CA2 is defective as a result of the determination, the previous conveyance object CA1 is not yet separated from the processing areas MES and MRS, and thus the air flow cannot be recovered. The timing to restore the air flow is after the previous transport CA1 has left the processing areas MES, MRS. That is, when the conveyance object passage detection means determines that the previous conveyance object CA1 has left the processing areas MES, MRS, the air flow starts to be blown before being disposed in the processing areas MES, MRS based on the determination result of the next conveyance object CA 2. Therefore, the conveyance object CA2 is removed from the conveyance path 121 by the air flow or turned over on the conveyance path 121.

Further, when the next conveyance object CA3 enters the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 and the position of the conveyance object specifying area WDS is specified in the same manner as described above, the conveyance object determination step is performed in the same manner as described above. At this time, if the transport product CA3 is good, the air flow is stopped before the transport product CA3 enters the processing areas MES and MRS. Here, the air flow continues to be generated as long as the determination result in the transport object determination stage is not a good product, but in a state where the air flow is generated, the air flow is stopped before the transport object as the target, that is, the transport object CA whose determination result is a good product enters the processing areas MES, MRS. Therefore, the air flow may be stopped when the transport CA is determined to be good in the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 by the transport discrimination processing. In contrast, the air flow must be recovered from the state where the air flow is stopped after the conveyance object that is the cause of the air flow stop, that is, the conveyance object CA that is determined to be a good product, is separated from the processing areas MES and MRS. The timing at which the transport object CA is separated from the processing areas MES, MRS is known by the transport object passage detection processing (transport object passage detection signal), and therefore, the timing may be set so as to recover the air flow in accordance with the detection or signal.

< example of general constitution 3 >

In the image display devices DP1 and DP2 shown in fig. 1, the image data in the image area GPY can be displayed in appropriately formed image display fields, and the respective areas or regions of the search area SAE and SAR, or the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1, the second measurement areas ME2 and MR2, the processing areas MEs and MRs, and the like can be displayed by using frame lines and the like. In addition to or separately from the above, at least one of the conveyed article specifying area WDS at the conveyed article specifying stage of the conveyed article discrimination process, the judgment areas GWA and GWB used at the conveyed article judgment stage, and the judgment areas GV1 and GV2 used at the conveyed article judgment stage for controlling the inverting air outlet OPR may be displayed by a frame line or the like. In these cases, the determination result may be configured to be recognizable in a display form in which the display color, line type, and the like of each frame line and the like can be distinguished. For example, when the conveyed article determination stage is OK determination (determination mode is good), the frame line is set to the first display mode (for example, green display). In addition, when the conveyed article determination stage is NG determination (determination mode is defective), the frame line or the like is set to the second display mode (for example, red display). The display forms are not limited to the colors of the above examples, and may be linear forms such as solid lines, dotted lines, broken lines, and one-dot chain lines, and thick forms as long as they are distinguishable from each other.

In each embodiment, since the object CA to be conveyed by the vibrating conveyor 10 on the vibrating conveyor path 121 is the object of inspection, and the cameras CM1 and CM2 are provided on the non-vibrating portion (on the base), the conveyor path 121 vibrating with a predetermined amplitude in a reciprocating manner back and forth in the conveying direction F in the image data of the captured image GPX or the image area GPY is disposed at a position displaced in accordance with a change in the vibration phase at the time of capturing the image data. Therefore, in order to detect and determine the appearance of the transport CA at a fixed position with respect to the transport path 121, the positions of the search areas SAE and SAR and the measurement areas ME1, MR1, ME2, and MR2 in the image need to be moved with the same amplitude in synchronization with the vibration of the transport 120 in accordance with the imaging timing. For example, the carrier 120 is vibrated at an amplitude of 0.1mm and a vibration frequency of 300 Hz.

Therefore, in each embodiment, in order to match the position of the search area SAE or SAR or the measurement areas ME1, MR1, ME2, and MR2 with the vibration position of the transport body 120 at the time of capturing the image GPX or the image area GPY, correction may be performed with reference to the position correction marks 122a and 122b set on the transport body 120. The position correction marks 122a and 122b are not particularly limited as long as they are marks whose position can be easily and reliably detected, but by providing marks of a single color (same gradation) which can be reliably recognized as a blob (blob) in an image and whose center of gravity position can be stably detected, the position detection accuracy can be improved. The position correction mark may not be provided on purpose, but may be a part which is originally present on the conveying device and can be detected by image processing, for example, a ridge, a corner, a bolt head, an air outlet, or the like formed on the conveying body 120. However, it is preferably located at a position not shielded by the transported object CA.

In each embodiment, for the above position correction, the position of the search area SAE, SAR or each of the measurement areas ME1, MR1, ME2, MR2 with respect to the conveyance path 121 is always at the same position with respect to the conveyance path 121, regardless of the phase timing of the vibration at the time of imaging (phase t imaging). Therefore, for example, the measurement areas ME1, MR1, ME2, and MR2 are set to have a constant positional relationship with the position where the removal air for removing the defective posture of the transport object CA is blown from the removal air nozzle OPS or the position where the inversion air for correcting the posture of the transport object CA having the defective posture is blown from the inversion air nozzle OPR, and therefore, when the processing force with respect to the transport object CA, that is, the removal force or the inversion force is exerted according to the result of the transport object determination processing, the processing force can be exerted at an approximate timing at all times.

< general construction of embodiment >

In each embodiment, detection areas MED and MRD including the processing areas MES and MRS are set in the search areas SAE and SAR. Then, the position of the conveyance object CA in the direction away from the conveyance path 121 or in the direction along the width direction of the conveyance path 121 and the angular position of the conveyance object CA are detected based on the image data of the detection areas MED and MRD by the conveyance behavior detection process executed based on the operation program. In each embodiment, the detection area is set to include the processing areas MES and MRS, but in the present invention, the detection area may be set at any position as long as the transport object CA on the transport path 121 passes through the detection area. For example, the detection regions in the seventh embodiment to be described later are set at portions not including the processing regions MES and MRS. Here, the range of the detection areas MED and MRD is not particularly limited as long as the position and angular posture of the transport object CA in the above-described direction can be detected. However, in order to obtain the index indicating the behavior of one transported object CA in the above direction with high accuracy and at high speed, it is generally preferable that the range LRD in the transport direction F of the detection area and the LED are ranges that can include the entire one transported object CA to be detected, and in order to reliably capture the behavior, it is preferable that the length of the transported object CA in the transport direction F be about 2 times, for example, in a range of 1.5 times to 2.5 times. On the other hand, in order to reliably capture the behavior, the range of the detection area in the direction away from the conveyance path or the direction along the width direction of the conveyance path is preferably in the range of 2.0 to 5.0 times, more preferably in the range of 3.0 to 4.0 times, the size of the detection area in the same direction as the conveyed material.

In each of the embodiments according to the present invention, in the conveyance behavior detection process constituting the conveyance behavior detection means, the conveyance object specifying area WDS in which the conveyance object CA is specified is detected in the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1, and when the detected conveyance object specifying area WDS is transferred into the detection areas MED and MRD, the position of the conveyance object specifying area WDS in the direction away from the conveyance path 121 or in the direction along the width direction of the conveyance path 121 and the angular posture of the conveyance object specifying area WDS are determined. The position and the angular posture are indexes indicating behaviors of the conveyance object CA in directions other than the conveyance direction when the conveyance object CA floats and separates from the conveyance path 121 or moves in the width direction on the conveyance path 121. Normally, as described above, the behavior of the conveyance object CA when moving in the conveyance direction F on the conveyance path 121 is detected, and the conveyance object discrimination processing and the conveyance object passage detection processing are executed based on the behavior in the conveyance direction F. However, in each embodiment, the behavior in the direction other than the conveyance direction F is detected, and the conveyance mode is adjusted by the conveyance mode adjustment processing constituting the conveyance mode adjustment means based on the detection result. By adjusting the conveyance form in this way based on the behavior that has not been detected in the past, it is possible to improve the processing accuracy of the conveyed object processing unit (air pressure processing) with respect to the conveyed object CA, or to improve the conveyance speed or the conveyance density by expecting optimization of the conveyance form of the conveyed object CA.

In each embodiment, various data for detecting and determining the transport article CA, such as various set values of the type, size, good product posture, reference image data, the threshold value of the brightness in the transport behavior detection process, and various set values of the threshold value of the brightness in the transport article determination process, are stored in the main memory MM and are appropriately read and used in each process. The same processing is performed for setting values for specifying the imaging timings of the cameras CM1 and CM2, setting values for image acquisition conditions when the captured image GPX or the image area GPY is acquired, setting values for specifying the method of position correction of each setting area based on the vibration of the conveyance path 121, setting values for specifying the form of various setting screens or display screens, setting values for controlling the inversion position or the sorting position, for example, setting values for the blowing timing of the air flow, the pressure value, and the like.

In each embodiment, an image file in which past captured images GPX or image areas GPY stored in the main memory MM are stored in time series can be selected, read, and displayed. Also, a unit for performing various operation processes on the selected image file is also prepared. In each embodiment, the shooting directions and shooting ranges of the cameras (shooting means) CM1 and CM2 are set so as to be able to detect the behavior. However, the imaging angle and the like are preferably set to have a certain degree of freedom, and the form of the conveyance behavior detection process, the conveyance object discrimination process, and the like can be appropriately handled.

The image file stored in the main memory MM is a file in which image data of a plurality of captured images GPX or image areas GPY obtained in the operation mode is automatically recorded by the arithmetic processing unit MPU. This image file storage can be performed for all image data when there is free space in the main storage MM, but it is preferable that the latest predetermined period (for example, 1 hour) or the latest predetermined number of image files (for example, 1000) are always stored even when there is no free space in the main storage MM.

In a state where the captured image GPX or the image area GPY recorded in the past is displayed as described above, the image measurement processing including the conveyed object discrimination processing and the conveyance behavior detection processing can be executed again on the image data by an appropriate operation. As one of the control functions of the display mode, a plurality of captured images GPX or image areas GPY stored in the same file can be switched to another image data captured before and after one by an appropriate operation. In addition, it is also possible to continuously display a plurality of captured images GPX or image areas GPY within the same image file and simultaneously execute image measurement processing for the displayed image data.

< first embodiment >

Next, the configuration of the first embodiment according to the present invention will be explained. Fig. 4 (a) to (g) are explanatory views showing the states of the conveyance behavior detection processing and the conveyance form adjustment processing in the conveyance management system and the conveyance device 10 including the conveyance management system according to the first embodiment. Here, the detailed appearance of the conveyance object CA is omitted in fig. 4. In addition, the present embodiment shows an example of the transport mode adjustment processing performed based on the image data in the detection region MRD set in the search region SAR of fig. 3. Fig. 4 (a) shows a case where the time point of the conveyance object specifying area WDS is specified when the conveyance object CA1 is disposed in the first measurement region MR1. Then, after that, as shown in fig. 4 (b), the transported substance CA1 enters the detection region MRD, and further, after that, as shown in fig. 4 (c), the whole of the transported substance CA1 is disposed in the detection region MRD. In addition, in the present embodiment, between (a) to (b) and between (b) to (c) in fig. 4, a plurality of captured images GPX (image areas GPY) are obtained, respectively, but their illustration is omitted.

Next, (c) to (g) in fig. 4 respectively indicate image data corresponding to all the acquired captured images GPX (image areas GPY). That is, fig. 4 (c) shows image data obtained in a state where the entire conveyance object CA1 is disposed in the detection area MRD. Then, at this time, the air flow is already blown from the reversing air nozzle OPR to the conveyance object CA1 by the air pressure of the conveyance object processing unit, and the conveyance object CA1 starts to separate from the conveyance path 121 and slightly floats upward in the drawing. The transport CA1 has now started to rotate slightly about the axis in the transport direction F. In the next image data, as shown in (d) of fig. 4, the conveyance object CA1 further floats upward in the figure and further rotates. Then, when (e) in fig. 4 is entered, the transport object CA1 further rotates, and its height reaches the maximum. When the process proceeds to (f) in fig. 4, the conveyed article CA1 continues to rotate, but its height decreases. Further, in fig. 4 (g), the conveyed article CA1 further rotates, and the height thereof is reduced to a size of again contacting the conveyance path 121.

In the transport behavior detection process, specific position information such as the center of gravity and the center of the transport object specifying area WDS is calculated from the image data in the detection area MRD shown in fig. 4, and the height position on the image based on the position information is obtained as the index, that is, the position PCA in the direction away from the transport path 121. More specifically, for example, the image data in the detection area MRD is binarized, the image data portion of the transport object CA1 is extracted in the form of a spot, the transport object specification area WDS is specified, and the position information such as the center of gravity and the center of the transport object specification area WDS is obtained. Then, the vertical distance between the surface of the conveyance path 121 and the position information is derived as the position PCA in the direction away from the conveyance path 121. In the illustrated example, the positions PCA are calculated in (c) to (g) of fig. 4, respectively. Although the position in the direction away from the conveyance path 121 is obtained in the illustrated example, the position in the direction along the width of the conveyance path 121 is preferably obtained at a place where processing excluded from the conveyance path 121 is performed, a place where processing is distributed from the conveyance path 121 to another conveyance path, or the like.

Fig. 5 (a) to (g) show examples of image data in the detection region MRD at the imaging timings shown in fig. 4 (a) to (g), respectively, when the blowing pressure of the airflow blown from the inverting air nozzle OPR is increased or decreased. As can be seen from fig. 5, when the blowing pressure is low, the maximum value of the position PCA is low and the rotation speed of the conveyance object CA1 is slow, but as the blowing pressure increases, the maximum value and the rotation speed of the position PCA gradually increase. Therefore, when the air blowing pressure is lower than the appropriate range, the conveyed object CA1 may not be turned sufficiently, and the conveyed object CA1 may not be turned well.

Therefore, each embodiment of the present invention is configured such that: as the conveyance form adjusting means, the processing force for the conveyance object CA, that is, the intensity of the airflow blown from the inverting air nozzle OPR to the conveyance object CA can be adjusted by controlling the blowing pressure of the air pressure mechanism. The air blowing pressure is controlled by the conveyance mode adjustment processing performed by executing the operation program based on the value of the position PCA of the conveyance object CA detected as described above. In the present embodiment, as the conveyance mode adjustment processing, values of the positions PCA are obtained from image data in the detection areas MED and MRD included in the image areas GPY of the plurality of sequentially captured images GPX, and a statistical value indicating the degree of deviation of the values is calculated from the values of the positions PCA. The statistical value is not particularly limited as long as it is a statistical value representing a deviation, but is preferably, for example, a standard deviation σ or a variance σ ² Or deviation σ or variance σ from the norm ² A value having a correlation substantially equivalent to the degree of deviation.

As described above, since the value of the position PCA increases or decreases in the plurality of image data according to the behavior in the direction for each of the transported objects CA, the adjustment result of the transport mode differs depending on which value of the position PCA is used. In the present embodiment, by using the fact that a plurality of image data in the detection areas MED, MRD are assigned to each transport CA, the statistical values of a plurality of positions PCA obtained from the plurality of image data are obtained, and the magnitude of the behavior in the above-described direction of each transport CA can be objectively grasped. In particular, by obtaining the statistical value of the position PCA for a plurality of the transported objects CA, the number of the position PCA used for the statistics can be further increased, and therefore, when the transported objects CA have physical forms substantially equal to each other, the processing force applied to the transported objects CA by the transported object processing means can be grasped more accurately.

Although the above description has been made with respect to the detection area MRD corresponding to the processing area MRS, the detection area MED corresponding to the processing area MES is different in the form of the image data of the transported object CA, but the detection area MED may be configured substantially similarly as the transport form adjustment means and processed. However, in the detection area MED, the conveyance object CA determined to be defective is excluded from the conveyance path 121 in the processing area MES, and hence the exclusion is not preferable only when the processing force is insufficient. However, when the processing power is excessive, the conveyance object CA can be removed from the conveyance path 121, but the removed conveyance object CA may be damaged by excessive air pressure, and therefore, when the statistical value is increased, adjustment to decrease the statistical value is required.

In the transport mode adjustment process, the calculation period and the calculation frequency of the statistical value can be set as appropriate. In each embodiment, the calculation of the statistical value and the adjustment process of the conveyance mode corresponding to the statistical value are performed periodically, automatically, or by a predetermined operation by the operation program using a method described later. In practice, the transport object CA shown in fig. 2 and 3 is transported at a transport speed of 1000/min by the transport device 10, and the positions PCA are respectively obtained in the detection area MRD in 2044 times of the captured images GPX. In this case, when the air blow pressure is low, the statistical value (standard deviation σ) =3.834 and the rotation of the conveyance object CA is often insufficient, and the turnover is not good. When the air blow pressure is high, the statistical value (standard deviation σ) =8.154, and the conveyance object CA is often rotated excessively, and thus the turnover is not good. Therefore, by controlling the blowing pressure so that the above-described statistical value is in the range of 4.5 or more and 6.0 or less, the blowing pressure can be adjusted so as not to cause the roll-over failure. In this case, as confirmed by the adjusted measurement, the statistical value =5.628.

< second embodiment >

Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 6. In the second embodiment, the shapes other than the detection areas MED, MRD are the same as those of the first embodiment, and therefore, the description of the same parts will be omitted.

The detection areas MED, MRD of the second embodiment are configured to: the first embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the boundary line MRDa on the contact surface (bottom surface) side (lower side in the figure) of the transport CA disposed on the transport path 121 is located on the opposite side (upper side in the figure) from the same side edge portion of the transport CA. As described above, when the position PCA in the above-described direction of the conveyance object CA corresponding to the conveyance object specification area WDS is obtained only when the entire conveyance object specification area WDS is included in the detection areas MED and MRD, as in the first embodiment, the value of the position PCA of the conveyance object CA in a state of contact with the conveyance object 121 can be excluded from the conveyance behavior detection processing and the conveyance form adjustment processing, and therefore, only the behavior of the conveyance object CA processed by the conveyance object processing means is detected, and the conveyance form (processing form) is adjusted accordingly.

Here, in order to exclude not only the conveyance objects CA in contact with the conveyance path 121 from the processing objects of the conveyance object adjustment processing, but also all the conveyance objects CA that have not received the processing force of the conveyance object processing unit, that is, the conveyance objects CA that have slightly floated from the conveyance path 121 due to the vibration of the conveyance device 10, from the processing objects of the conveyance object adjustment processing, it is preferable to appropriately set the position of the boundary line MRDa to a position above the position shown in the drawing. The position of the boundary line MRDa may be manually set while observing the plurality of captured images GPX and the image area GPY, or may be automatically set by a processing program based on a distribution of positions in the direction when the transported object CA determined to be a good object in the transported object determination stage of the transported object determination process passes through the detection areas MED and MRD. In the present embodiment, the conveyance object CA in the detection area MRD shown in fig. 6 (g) immediately before coming into contact with the conveyance path 121 is excluded from the objects of the conveyance form adjustment processing. In this way, since the position PCA of the transport CA determined as a good product can be not obtained, the correlation with the air blowing pressure of the statistical value can be improved, and therefore, it is effective in accurately grasping only the behavior of the transport CA processed by the transport processing means.

< third embodiment >

Next, a third embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 7. In the third embodiment, the same configuration as that of the first embodiment or the second embodiment can be employed except that the statistical value is not substantially used, and therefore, description of the similarly configurable portions is omitted. Fig. 7 illustrates the range of the detection area MRD as in the second embodiment.

The third embodiment is the same as the first or second embodiment in that the position PCA is obtained from each of the plurality of image data in the detection areas MED, MRD, but is different from the first or second embodiment in that the statistical value is not obtained from the position PCA, but a specific detection value is obtained for each of the transported objects CA. That is, in the present embodiment, as the detection values, the difference Δ v1 between the position PCA of a certain conveyance object CA (the position of the center of gravity G1 in the illustrated example) obtained from the image data (fig. 7 c) in which the conveyance object specification region WDS is first specified in the detection regions MED and MRD and the position PCA of the conveyance object CA (the position of the center of gravity G2 in the illustrated example) obtained from the next image data (fig. 7 d) of the same conveyance object CA is calculated. By using the detection value Δ v1, the outline of the behavior of the transport object CA in the above-described direction can be grasped, and by obtaining a representative value such as an average value or a median value of the detection values Δ v1 of the plurality of transport objects CA as another statistical value, the behavior of the transport object CA in the above-described direction can be grasped more accurately.

The detection value is not limited to Δ v1, and for example, a difference Δ v2 between a maximum value of the position PCA of a certain transport CA (the center of gravity Gp shown in fig. 7 (e)) and the position PCA of the transport CA (the position of the center of gravity G1 in the example of the figure) obtained from the first image data of the same transport CA (fig. 7 (c)) may be used. In this way, by setting the difference between the positions PCA of the transport objects CA as a detection value according to a certain rule, it is possible to obtain a result more corresponding to the behavior of the transport object CA in the above-described direction.

As shown in fig. 7 (g), unlike the above-described embodiments, a value corresponding to the maximum value (the position of the center of gravity Gp) among the plurality of positions PCA, and a difference Δ v3 between the position of the center of gravity Gp and the position of the boundary line MRDa of the detection area MRD in the example of the figure may be used as the detection value for each transport object CA. Further, the statistical value shown in the first embodiment may be obtained for each transport CA, and a representative value such as an average value or a median value of the plurality of statistical values of the plurality of transport CAs may be obtained from the statistical value of each transport CA and used as the detection value.

< fourth embodiment >

Next, a fourth embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 8. In the fourth embodiment, as shown in fig. 8 (a) to (c), since the behavior of the conveyance object CA at the time of processing by the conveyance object processing means may take various states, the angular posture of the conveyance object CA with respect to the conveyance surfaces 121a and 121b is determined from the conveyance object specifying area WDS (spot) detected in the detection areas MED and MRD in addition to or instead of the position PCA. This angular posture is represented by a main axis angle θ of the conveyance object specifying area WDS shown in fig. 8 (d). Here, the main axis angle θ is derived from the major axis direction of an ellipse circumscribing the conveyance object specifying area WDS.

In the present embodiment, unlike the first to third embodiments, the transport processing unit (air pressure mechanism) is controlled such that no air flow is generated when the determination result (good product in the example of the drawing) of the processing operation in the unnecessary processing areas MES and MRS is output in the transport determination step, and the air flow is started when the determination result (defective product in the example of the drawing) of the processing operation in the necessary processing areas MES and MRS is output. In this case, the processing operation by the conveyed article processing unit (air-pressure mechanism) may be started with reference to the output time of the determination result at the conveyed article determination stage, or the timing at which the conveyed article identification area WDS (conveyed article CA) enters the processing areas MEs and MRs in the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 (the timing at which the conveyed article CA leaves the first measurement areas ME1 and MR 1) may be used as reference. That is, the processing operation of the conveyed article processing unit (air-pressure mechanism) is started with reference to the timing at which the conveyed article CA enters the processing areas MES and MRS after the output timing of the determination result (the determination timing at which the processing operation is necessary). In addition, the present embodiment may be configured in the same manner as the first to third embodiments.

In the present embodiment, if the timing of starting the blowing of the air flow from the purge air nozzle OPS or the inversion air nozzle OPR to the conveyance object CA is too early with respect to the angular posture of the conveyance object CA with respect to the conveyance surfaces 121a and 121b of the conveyance path 121, the conveyance object CA is inclined such that the front portion in the conveyance direction of the conveyance object CA is arranged above the drawing and the rear portion in the conveyance direction is arranged below the drawing, as shown in fig. 8 (a). The main axis angle θ at this time is a positive value. On the other hand, if the timing of starting the blowing of the air flow from the purge air port OPS or the reversing air port OPR to the carrier CA is too late, the carrier CA takes a posture in which the front part in the conveying direction of the carrier CA is arranged below the drawing and the rear part in the conveying direction is arranged above the drawing as shown in fig. 8 (c). The main axis angle θ at this time is a negative value. When the timing of starting the blowing of the air flow from the purge air port OPS or the reversing air port OPR to the carrier CA is appropriate, the carrier CA is disposed substantially horizontally on the conveyance path 121 as shown in fig. 8 (b), and the main axis angle θ also has a small value. If the inclined posture is increased, the article to be conveyed is affected, easily damaged, or turned over.

In the present embodiment, the drive signal DS to the valve (e.g., solenoid valve) of the air compressing mechanism (not shown) is adjusted as shown in fig. 8 (e) to (g) in accordance with the magnitude of the main shaft angle θ indicating the angular position of the conveyed object CA by the conveyance mode adjustment processing. For example, when the airflow blowing start timing is too early as shown in fig. 8 (a), the timing of the drive signal for opening the valve is advanced by a predetermined time Δ ta corresponding to the magnitude of the main shaft angle θ from the timing of the normal drive signal shown by the two-dot chain line as shown in fig. 8 (e). In addition, when the blow start timing of the air stream is too late as shown in (c) of fig. 8, the timing of the drive signal DS for opening the valve is delayed from the timing of the normal drive signal shown by the two-dot chain line by a predetermined time Δ tb corresponding to the magnitude of the main shaft angle θ as shown in (g) of fig. 8. Further, in the case where the blow start timing of the air stream is appropriate as shown in (b) of fig. 8, the timing of the drive signal DS for opening the valve is maintained as shown in (f) of fig. 8. In order to advance the timing of the drive signal DS as shown in fig. 8 (e), it is necessary to delay the start timing of the processing operation of the standard conveyed object processing unit by a predetermined time Δ t from the determination timing of whether or not the processing operation of the conveyed object processing unit is necessary, and to set the positional relationship between the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 and the processing areas MEs and MRs in advance so as to prevent an obstacle from being generated when the processing operation is delayed by the delay time Δ t. That is, in the present embodiment, the delay time Δ t is set in advance between the determination time of whether or not the processing operation is necessary and the start time of the processing operation, and the start time is adjusted by increasing or decreasing the delay time Δ t. This makes it possible to advance the timing of the drive signal DS within the range Δ ta ≦ Δ t.

In the present embodiment, since the angular posture of the transport object CA is hardly changed even when there are a plurality of pieces of image data for each transport object CA, the plurality of main axis angles θ are set as detection values, and a representative value such as an average value or a median of the detection values is obtained as a statistical value, and the value is compared with a predetermined threshold value, for example, a positive threshold value and a negative threshold value in the case of the main axis angle θ, and the processing start timing may be adjusted when there is an absolute value larger than each threshold value. Here, in the case of the angular posture, a statistical value indicating the degree of deviation is not obtained as in the first embodiment, but a representative value, which is a statistical value indicating the tendency of the angular posture, is obtained.

Actually, the conveyance operation detection processing is performed 2044 times in the conveyance device 10, and the average value of the main axis angle θ is obtained for the case where the blow start timing is too early in the detection region MRD, and the result is 14.971 degrees. When the blow start timing was too late, the same number of times of processing as described above was performed, and the average value of the main axis angle θ was-7.381 degrees. Therefore, it is appropriate to set the average value of the main axis angle θ to be 7 degrees or less and-4 degrees or more, set the positive threshold value of the main axis angle θ to be 7 degrees and the negative threshold value to be-4 degrees, and adjust the blowing start timing based on the difference between the value of the main axis angle θ and the threshold value when the positive threshold value is exceeded or when the negative threshold value is fallen below. This suppresses the inclination of the conveyed article and eliminates various problems. After the blow start timing was appropriately adjusted in this way, the average value of the main axis angle θ was obtained by the same number of times as described above, and the result was 4.193 degrees.

< fifth embodiment >

Next, a fifth embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 9. In the fifth embodiment, as in the fourth embodiment, the angular position of the conveyance object CA relative to the conveyance surfaces 121a and 121b is detected based on the image data in the detection areas MED and MRD. However, the present invention is different from the fourth embodiment in that the main axis angle θ is not obtained or the value of the main axis angle θ is not added to the statistical value. In the present embodiment, the point that the representative value of the main axis angle θ is obtained as the statistical value of the angular posture is the same as that in the fourth embodiment, but here, the statistical value is calculated excluding the conveyed material that has not been processed by the conveyed material processing means. Therefore, as in the second embodiment, the boundary MRDa between the detection areas MED and MRD is set, and the conveyance object CA in contact with the conveyance path 121 and the conveyance object CA having a height floating from the conveyance path 121 equal to or less than a predetermined value are not determined as the conveyance object determination area WDS in the detection areas MED and MRD.

< sixth embodiment >

Next, a sixth embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 10. In the sixth embodiment, a method of adjusting the blowing timing of the conveyance mode adjustment processing by the conveyance mode adjustment means is different from the fourth and fifth embodiments, and other configurations can be configured in the same manner as the fourth and fifth embodiments, and therefore, descriptions of portions that can be configured in the same manner are omitted.

In the present embodiment, unlike the first to fourth embodiments, the transport processing unit (air pressure mechanism) is controlled such that no air flow is generated when the determination result (good product in the example of the drawing) of the processing operation in the unnecessary processing areas MES and MRS is output in the transport determination step, and the air flow is started when the determination result (defective product in the example of the drawing) of the processing operation in the necessary processing areas MES and MRS is output. In this case, the processing operation by the conveyed article processing unit (air-pressure mechanism) may be started with reference to the time of necessity/unnecessity of the processing operation at which the determination result at the conveyed article determination stage is output, or the time of entry of the conveyed article identification area WDS (conveyed article CA) into the processing areas MEs and MRs (the time of departure from the inside of the first measurement areas ME1 and MR 1) in the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 after the determination time may be used as reference. That is, the processing operation of the conveyed article processing means (air pressure mechanism) is started with reference to the timing at which the judgment result is output or the timing at which the conveyed article CA enters the processing area MES or MRS.

In the present embodiment, the start time of the processing operation of the conveyed object processing means (air pressure mechanism) is not changed by the time adjustment of the drive signal as in the fifth embodiment, but the start time is finally changed by changing the measurement area itself of the conveyed object discrimination processing. For example, when the start time and the determination time are linked, the determination time can be relatively changed by moving the first measurement area ME1 or MR1 forward or backward with respect to the removal air port OPS or the inversion air port OPR in the conveyance direction F. Therefore, when the determination time is changed by the movement of the first measurement area ME1 or MR1, the start time associated therewith can be changed.

For example, when the processing operation is too early as shown in fig. 10 (a), when the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 are moved downstream in the conveyance direction F as shown in fig. 10 (b), it is detected that the position on the image data of the conveyance object specifying area WDS is moved by Δ L in the conveyance direction F with respect to the detection areas MED and MRD, and therefore the determination time is delayed in time by a time corresponding to this Δ L. Therefore, the start timing of the processing operation is also delayed accordingly, and the blowing start timing can be appropriately adjusted. When the processing operation is too late as shown in fig. 10 (c), if the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 are moved to the upstream side in the transport direction F as shown in fig. 10 (d), it is detected that the position on the image data of the transport object specifying area WDS is moved by Δ L to the opposite side in the transport direction F from the detection areas MED and MRD, and therefore the determination timing is advanced in time by a time corresponding to this Δ L. Therefore, the start timing of the processing operation is also advanced accordingly, and the blow start timing can be appropriately adjusted.

On the other hand, when the start time is the time when a part of the conveyance object specifying area WDS specified in the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 enters the processing areas MEs and MRs, the boundary position between the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 and the processing areas MEs and MRs may be moved relative to the front and back of the removal air port OPS or the inversion air port OPR in the conveyance direction F. Here, the boundary position may be moved by moving the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 forward and backward in the transport direction F in the original range. In this case, the start timing can be relatively advanced or retarded by the movement of the boundary position.

< seventh embodiment >

Next, a seventh embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 11. The present embodiment differs from the above-described embodiments in that the detection area MFD is set in an area (normal conveyance area) where the conveyance object processing unit does not perform the processing operation, unlike the detection areas MED and MRD including the processing areas MES and MRS including the air outlets OPS and OPR of the conveyance object processing unit. The detection region MFD is configured as in the detection regions MED, MRD of the second embodiment: the boundary MFDa on the contact surface (bottom surface) side (lower side in the drawing) of the conveyance object CA disposed on the conveyance path 121 is positioned on the opposite side (upper side in the drawing) from the same side edge of the conveyance object CA. This structure is also configured as follows: the conveyance object CA in contact with the conveyance path 121 is not detected in the detection area MFD, and only the conveyance object CA floating from the conveyance path 121 due to the vibration of the conveyance body 120 generated by the excitation mechanism can be detected.

Here, it is preferable that the position (height) of the boundary line MFDa is set to an appropriate value in consideration of the standard floating amount of the transport object CA during transport caused by vibration of the transport object 120 as a detection target in the present embodiment, and in addition, the behavior of the transport object CA in the direction away from the transport path 121 or in the direction along the width direction of the transport path 121 due to the vibration is grasped. For example, the position (height) of the boundary MFDa, that is, the distance between the boundary MFDa and the contact surface of the conveyance object CA with the conveyance path 121 is preferably set to a range of 1/5 to 2/3, and more preferably 1/4 to 1/2, of the dimension of the conveyance object CA in the direction away from the conveyance path 121 or in the direction along the width direction of the conveyance path 121, based on the relationship with the standard float amount.

In the present embodiment, the conveyance behavior detection means finds the position PCA in the direction away from the conveyance path 121 or in the direction along the width direction of the conveyance path 121 and the angular posture (main axis angle θ) of the conveyance object CA detected by the conveyance behavior detection processing with respect to the conveyance area 121a and 121b, with respect to the conveyance object CA floated from the conveyance path 121 and disposed in the detection area MFD as a whole. By obtaining the position PCA and the main axis angle θ, the conveyance state of the conveyance object CA can be grasped. If the position PCA is too large, the vertical movement is too large, which causes problems such as a decrease in conveying efficiency and a tendency to damage the conveyed article CA. If the above-mentioned position PCA is too small, it is considered that the conveying speed is lowered. Further, if the main axis angle θ is too large, the conveyance posture is greatly disturbed, and therefore, the conveyance efficiency is poor, or the alignment is likely to be poor due to the posture change. In order to grasp such a tendency of the conveyance state, for example, a statistical value for grasping the magnitude of numerical values such as a representative value or a statistical value for grasping the magnitude of deviation such as a standard deviation or a variance may be obtained. For example, a large deviation of the position PCA or the main axis angle θ means that the behavior of the transport object CA in a direction other than the transport direction is large or the transport object CA is not transported uniformly, and therefore, it is considered that either of them indicates an inefficient transport state.

By grasping the behavior of the transport object CA in the above-described direction, it is expected that the transport mode will be optimized based on the transport state of the transport object CA on the transport path 121. For example, when the vertical movement or inclination of the transport object CA is excessively large or variation occurs, the transport state can be optimized by changing the driving frequency or amplitude of the excitation mechanism, changing the excitation direction (angle), the excitation energy (voltage), and the like.

< construction of action program >

Next, the overall flow of the operation program according to each embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a schematic flowchart of processing executed by the arithmetic processing unit MPU of the inspection processing unit DTU in accordance with an operation program. When the operation program is started, the image capturing and image measuring processes described above are started, and the driving of the conveying device 10 (the feeder 11 and the linear feeder 12) is started by the controllers CL11 and CL 12. Then, when the debug setting corresponding to the debug operation is OFF, the image measurement processing is executed on the captured image GPX or the image area GPY, and when the final determination result of the conveyed object discrimination processing is OK determination, the image measurement processing of the next captured image GPX or the image area GPY is directly executed as long as the debug operation is not performed. For example, although the air flow is always flown from the purge air port OPS at the sorting position, if the determination result is OK (good product), the air flow of the purge air port OPS is stopped, and the air flow is resumed after all the good products pass through the processing area MES. This eliminates the defective conveyance object CA from the conveyance path 121. In addition, at the inverting position, the air flow from the inverting air nozzle OPR is always stopped, but if the determination result is NG (defective product), the air flow is blown from the inverting air nozzle OPR to invert the conveyance object CA on the conveyance path 121. In the inverting position, the configuration shown in fig. 7 may be adopted, and the airflow may be constantly flown out from the inverting air outlet OPR and stopped only when a good product is detected.

In this way, the conveyance object CA is discriminated on the conveyance path 121, and processing is performed based on the discrimination result, whereby only good products are supplied to the downstream side in an aligned state. In this case, the determination of the next captured image GPX or image area GPY can be directly performed as long as the debugging operation is not performed thereafter. Further, when the conveyance behavior detection process for the conveyance object CA is performed in parallel with the discrimination or process, and the conveyance form needs to be adjusted based on the detection result, for example, when the value of the position or the angular orientation, or a statistical value of a plurality of the positions or the angular orientations exceeds a predetermined threshold value or the like, at least a part of the exciting member of the exciting mechanism or at least a part of the processing member of the conveyance object processing means is controlled or changed based on the value or the statistical value, and finally the conveyance form of the conveyance object by the conveyance body is adjusted.

When the debugging operation is performed halfway and the debugging setting is turned ON, the program (routine) is removed, the driving of the transport apparatus 10 is stopped, and the image measurement processing is also stopped. Then, when an appropriate operation is performed in this state, the image file can be selected as described above. At this time, the image file selected for display is an image file including a plurality of captured images GPX or image areas GPY recorded in the previous operation mode. If the image file is directly selected and an appropriate operation is performed, the mode is shifted to a re-execution mode. In this mode, the image display, the discrimination, the behavior detection, and the adjustment of the conveyance mode can be executed again based on the discrimination and the processing operation already executed as described above or the image file in which the behavior is recorded. That is, when a problem occurs in the control of the transported object CA by the transport apparatus 10, in order to eliminate the problem, the image measurement process is first executed again based on the past image data, and a problem portion of the image measurement process is searched for. When the problem part is found, the setting contents (set values) of the discrimination processing, behavior detection processing, and adjustment processing are changed and adjusted accordingly, and the image measurement processing is re-executed again on the past image data to confirm the result of the adjustment and improvement work. Then, when an appropriate recovery operation is performed, the debug setting is recovered to OFF, the image measurement processing is started again, and the driving of the conveying device 10 is started again. Further, the screen of the display device is returned to the display screen of the operation mode.

In the embodiments described above, when the cameras CM1 and CM2 continuously take images at predetermined imaging intervals and image measurement processing is performed on image data in the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1, and the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 have the range LD1 preset to always include all the objects CA passing through the conveyance path 121 according to the relationship between the conveyance speed Vs of the objects and the imaging interval Ts, the objects CA disposed in the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 can be detected in any one of the taken images, and therefore, it is not necessary to generate trigger signals for detecting the positions of the objects as in the conventional technique. Further, by processing the image data of the portions CAs 1 to CAs4 to be determined included in the image, information on the portions to be determined can be extracted reliably. Therefore, when the objects CA are transported in succession, it is not necessary to consider the detection omission of each object CA, and therefore, it is not necessary to form a gap between the objects in advance, and the like. In the conveyance behavior detection process, only the image data in the detection areas MED and MRD need be processed to detect the position or angular orientation in the direction away from the conveyance path 121 or in the direction along the width direction of the conveyance path 121, and therefore, the conveyance form adjustment process can be performed at high speed and with high accuracy. In the transport object discrimination processing, only the image data in the preset first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 among the plurality of captured images continuously captured may be processed, and therefore, the image measurement processing for determining the transport object CA can be performed at high speed and with high accuracy.

Further, by disposing the first measurement areas ME1 and MR1 adjacent to the upstream side of the processing areas MEs and MRs and performing image measurement processing on the image data of the second measurement areas ME2 and MR2 disposed adjacent to the downstream side of the processing areas MEs and MRs by the transported object passing detection means, it is possible to detect that the transported object CA has passed through the processing areas MEs and MRs and has deviated to the downstream side. Therefore, when the conveyed article discrimination unit determines that the conveyed article control unit is in the passing state based on the predetermined discrimination form (for example, good article) of the conveyed article CA in the first measurement area ME1 or MR1 and a determination result that the next conveyed article is in the same predetermined discrimination form (for example, good article) is not obtained by the conveyed article discrimination unit, the conveyed article processing unit can be switched from the non-processing state to the processing state by the conveyance processing control unit when the conveyed article passage detection unit detects that the conveyed article in the same predetermined discrimination form (for example, good article) has passed through the processing area and has deviated to the downstream side. Thus, even when the object is conveyed at high speed and high density, the conveyed object can be processed (sorted) reliably at high speed.

Further, when the transport object CA having the determination result of the predetermined determination form (for example, good product) obtained only by the transport object determination means can pass through the processing areas MES and MRS, and the other transport objects CA are processed (excluded, reversed, distributed, etc.) in the processing areas MES and MRS, the transport object CA is not limited to the case where the transport object CA is determined to be a different determination form (for example, defective) from the above, and even when detection omission or a determination error occurs, the transport objects CA other than the predetermined determination form (for example, good product) are processed in the processing areas MES and MRS, and therefore, it is possible to reliably avoid a situation where the transport object CA having the different determination form (for example, defective) is supplied as it is.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the conveyance form of the conveyed object CA can be easily optimized by providing the means for detecting the index indicating the behavior of the conveyed object CA (specifically, the position or the angular orientation as the index indicating the behavior) and adjusting the conveyance form based on the detected value. Here, the adjustment of the conveyance mode may be performed automatically during conveyance as described above, or may be performed at least partially manually. The driving force (voltage, current, or the like), amplitude, frequency, driving direction, driving power, or the like of the excitation means may be controlled to change the conveying speed or other conveying modes. In short, the adjustment work of the conveying device is facilitated, and the performance of the conveying device can be prevented from being unstable due to the superiority and inferiority of the adjustment work, so that the high performance of the conveying device can be reliably exhibited. In particular, it is possible to realize high precision processing of the conveyed object CA and to avoid instability of the conveyance form due to the conveyance principle of the vibration type conveying device. In addition, when the transport density decreases or the yield of the transported article falls below a certain ratio, the controller CL11 or CL12 may be automatically instructed to stop driving the transport device 10, thereby automatically adjusting the transport mode.

The conveyance management apparatus and the conveyance apparatus according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described examples, and it is needless to say that various modifications may be added without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the conveyance object CA is excluded from the conveyance path 121 by the blowing air flow as the sorting method at the sorting position, but the method for sorting the conveyance object CA is representative, and the contents of the respective processes and the range of the respective measurement areas are not particularly limited, and various known techniques for detection and determination, for example, a mechanical exclusion means or the like can be employed. The mode of processing the transported object may be various modes such as inversion and distribution (change of the transport direction), as well as exclusion.

Claims

1. A conveyance management system for managing a conveyance mode of a conveyance object conveyed in a conveyance direction on a conveyance path provided in a conveyance body, the conveyance management system comprising:

an imaging unit that repeatedly images the conveyance object on the conveyance path; and

a conveyance behavior detection unit that detects a behavior of the conveyance object in a direction separating from the conveyance path or in a direction along the width direction of the conveyance path, the conveyance object being separated from the conveyance path or moving along the width direction of the conveyance path on the conveyance path, based on image data of the conveyance object arranged in a detection area in the captured image captured by the imaging unit; and

a conveyance form adjustment unit that adjusts a conveyance form of the conveyance object based on the behavior detected by the conveyance behavior detection unit;

the conveyance behavior detection means obtains an index indicating the behavior of the conveyance object in a direction other than the conveyance direction from the image data;

the conveyance form adjustment means derives a statistical value or a detection value indicating a movement form of the behavior from the plurality of indices obtained from the plurality of image data, and adjusts the conveyance form based on the statistical value or the detection value.

2. The conveyance management system according to claim 1,

the conveying body has a processing area on the conveying path for processing the conveyed object by applying a processing force to the conveyed object;

the conveyance behavior detection unit detects the behavior of the conveyance object in a direction other than the conveyance direction when the conveyance object receives the processing force in the processing area;

the conveyance form adjustment means controls a processing form for the conveyance object so as to adjust the conveyance form.

3. The conveyance management system according to claim 1,

the conveying body moves the conveyed object along the conveying path by using vibration generated by an excitation mechanism;

the conveyance behavior detection unit detects the behavior in a direction other than the conveyance direction when the conveyance object is conveyed on the conveyance path by the vibration;

the conveying mode adjusting means controls the excitation mode of the excitation mechanism so as to adjust the conveying mode.

4. The conveyance management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the index indicating the behavior is an index indicating the behavior of the transport object in a direction other than the transport direction, and is a position of the transport object in a direction away from the transport path or in a direction along the width direction of the transport path, or an angular posture of the transport object with respect to a transport surface of the transport path.

5. The conveyance management system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a conveyed article discrimination unit that discriminates the conveyed article from an image of the conveyed article in a first measurement area on the conveyance path; and

a conveyed object processing unit that processes the conveyed object on the basis of the discrimination result of the conveyed object discrimination unit in a processing area on the conveyance path provided at a position corresponding to the first measurement area;

the detection zone contains the treatment region.

6. The conveyance management system according to claim 1, further comprising:

the conveyance form adjustment unit controls a processing mode of the conveyed article by the conveyed article processing unit so as to adjust the conveyance form.

7. The conveyance management system according to any one of claims 2, 5, or 6,

the processing mode is at least one of the magnitude of the processing force applied to the transported object and the timing of applying the processing force when the transported object is processed.

8. The conveyance management system according to claim 1,

the conveying body moves the conveyed object along the conveying path by using the vibration generated by the vibration exciting mechanism,

9. The conveyance management system according to claim 3 or 8,

the excitation mode is at least one of an excitation frequency, an amplitude, an excitation direction, or an excitation power of the excitation mechanism.

10. The conveyance management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, 5, 6, 8,

the conveying form adjusting unit derives a statistical value according to the indexes representing the plurality of behaviors detected by the conveying behavior detecting unit, and adjusts the conveying form of the conveying body according to the statistical value;

the statistical value is a value indicating a degree of deviation of an index, and the index is an index indicating a plurality of the behaviors.

11. The conveyance management system according to any one of claims 1-3, 5, 6, 8,

the conveying form adjusting means derives a statistical value from an index indicating the plurality of behaviors detected by the conveying behavior detecting means, and adjusts the conveying form of the conveying body based on the statistical value;

the statistical value is a representative value indicating an overall tendency of an index, and the index is an index indicating a plurality of the behaviors.

12. The conveyance management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, 5, 6, 8,

the imaging unit is configured to continuously image the transported object at predetermined imaging intervals.

13. The conveyance management system of claim 12,

the detection area is set to always include all the objects passing through the conveyance path based on a plurality of captured images captured at the imaging interval and on a relationship between a conveyance speed of the objects on the conveyance path and the imaging interval.

14. The conveyance management system of claim 13,

the detection regions are set so that all of the transported material passing through the transport path is included in each of the plurality of captured images.

15. The conveyance management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, 5, 6, 8,

the conveyance form adjustment means adjusts the conveyance form based on an index indicating the behavior of the conveyance object separated by a predetermined distance or more from a contact position on the conveyance path in a direction away from the conveyance path or in a direction along the width direction of the conveyance path.

16. The conveyance management system according to claim 5 or 6,

the conveyance form adjustment means adjusts the conveyance form on the basis of an index indicating the behavior of the conveyance object processed by the conveyance object processing means, except for the conveyance object that is not processed by the conveyance object processing means.

17. The conveyance management system according to claim 5 or 6,

the conveyance object processing unit has a structure for selectively blowing an air flow toward a direction separating from the conveyance path or a direction along the width direction of the conveyance path to the conveyance object,

the conveyance form adjustment means controls the intensity of the airflow so as to adjust the conveyance form, based on an index indicating the behavior detected by the conveyance behavior detection means.

18. The conveyance management system according to claim 5 or 6,

the conveyance form adjustment means controls the blowing timing of the air flow in accordance with an index indicating the behavior detected by the conveyance behavior detection means, so as to adjust the conveyance form.

19. A conveyor device is characterized by comprising:

the delivery management system of any one of claims 1-3, 5, 6, 8; and

the conveying body is provided with the conveying path.

20. The delivery device of claim 19,

the conveying device is a vibration type conveying device further comprising an excitation mechanism for exciting the conveying body.