JP2000203713A - Visual inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a visual inspection device which can efficiently inspect outward appearance of six surfaces comprising upper/lower surfaces and four side surfaces of a chip part. SOLUTION: A sucking head is provided respectively in a plurality of moving units 5 rotating on its own axis by each prescribed angle associated with movement rotating around at a prescribed angle, a chip part P, while rotating it on its own axis, is moved to rotate around. After an upper surface image of the chip part on a feeder 2 is photographed by a first camera 7a, a side surface image of the chip part P conveyed to be held by each of the sucking head is photographed by second to fifth cameras 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e. A lower surface image of the chip part P is photographed by a sixth camera 7f, and a quality of the chip part P is successively decided. Release timing of the chip part P from each of the sucking head is selectively controlled in accordance with this image processing result.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an external appearance capable of efficiently inspecting the external appearance of chip components such as capacitors and inductors mounted on a printed circuit board or the like, in particular, the appearance of six surfaces including upper, lower, and side surfaces thereof. It relates to an inspection device.

[0002]

[Related Background Art] Electronic circuit components such as capacitors and inductors are miniaturized in response to demands for high-density mounting on printed circuit boards and the like, and are provided as chip components having a size of, for example, about 3 to 4 mm. You. As a method of assuring the quality of this type of chip components, inspect the appearance of those that have scratches on the surface and may have impaired function as circuit components, or that have missing electrodes, etc. from the appearance. Thus, prior to component supply, defective products are eliminated.

[0003]

In the case of inspecting the appearance of the above-described small-sized chip component over six surfaces including upper and lower surfaces and side surfaces, the problem is how to control the posture of the chip component. Becomes By the way, in the past, for example, while gripping the chip component guided in front of the camera with a handling mechanism and changing its orientation to vertical and horizontal,
Inspection of the appearance of chip components in each posture is performed sequentially. However, every time a certain surface of a chip component is imaged by the camera, it takes time and effort to change its orientation and direct another surface to the camera, and its attitude control is complicated, and the inspection efficiency is very poor. There is a problem to say.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to inspect the appearance of small-sized chip components that constitute electronic circuit components such as capacitors and inductors mounted on a printed circuit board or the like. Another object of the present invention is to provide a visual inspection device that can be simply and efficiently executed.

[0005]

In order to attain the above-mentioned object, a visual inspection apparatus according to the present invention provides an external appearance of a plurality of chip components which are successively supplied one by one over the upper and lower surfaces and four side surfaces thereof. Inspection efficiency is improved by performing inspections simultaneously in pipeline processing.In particular, a plurality of moving bodies that are provided so as to be able to rotate on a revolving orbit and rotate by a predetermined angle in conjunction with the orbital movement of a predetermined angle By providing a plurality of suction heads, each of which revolves while rotating together with each moving body, and suction-holds chip components at the lower end thereof,
The chip components are conveyed while changing the direction.

[0006] For a feeder which sequentially conveys a plurality of chip components one by one to a predetermined component suction position on the orbit of each suction head, a first image of an upper surface of the chip component on the feeder is taken. And a second to a fifth camera which respectively capture side images of the chip component held and conveyed by the suction heads.
Camera and a sixth image capturing a lower surface image of the chip component
Are sequentially arranged at predetermined orbital angles along the orbit of the suction head, and the image processing means determines whether the chip component is good or bad based on the image of each surface of the chip component captured by each of the cameras. In addition, in the component separation means, the release timing of the chip component from each of the suction heads is selectively controlled in accordance with the image processing result, thereby separating the non-defective product from the non-defective product. And

Preferably, the plurality of moving bodies are axially aligned with a rotating body provided coaxially with a sun gear and driven to rotate, and mesh with the sun gears. And realizes a plurality of planetary gears that rotate by rotating the chip components. The direction (posture) of the chip component that is suctioned and conveyed by the suction head attached to the planetary gear (moving body) and sequentially imaged by each of the cameras,
It is characterized in that it is changed easily and efficiently.

In particular, when the plurality of moving bodies are arranged at every angle that divides the orbit around the circumferential direction into n equal parts, and the plurality of moving bodies are intermittently driven by 360 / n degrees,
By providing to rotate by (90 + 360 / n) degrees, specifically, when 12 moving bodies are arranged every 30 degrees, by providing by 120 degrees every 30 degrees of revolution, it is provided to rotate by 120 degrees. It is characterized in that the four side surfaces of the chip component can be reliably inspected.

Further, as described in claim 4, the feeder is provided with an alignment mechanism for aligning the supply orientation of the chip components, so that the imaging surfaces of the chip components by the respective cameras are aligned, thereby achieving image processing. It is characterized by simplifying the quality judgment and improving the processing efficiency.

[0010]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chip component appearance inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a schematic function of a visual inspection apparatus according to this embodiment. 1 is a ball feeder for sending out a plurality of chip components P one by one, and 2 is an array of chip components P sent from a ball feeder 1. This is a straight feeder that conveys the paper. For these feeders 1 and 2,
Conventionally, various types have been proposed, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted. For example, a type in which a chip component P is conveyed along a predetermined guide while being displaced in one direction using vibration is used. Used.

The feeders 1 and 2 serve to supply the chip components P one by one to a predetermined component suction position A in the transport mechanism 3 described later. Preferably, the feeders 1 and 2 include an alignment mechanism 4 for aligning the supply orientation of the chip component P, in particular, the orientation of the chip component P up and down (front and back) and the orientation of the reference end surface. The alignment mechanism 4 will be described later.

A plurality of moving bodies 5 (5a, 5b,..., 5n) are provided so as to be able to rotate on a predetermined orbit and rotate by a predetermined angle in conjunction with the orbital movement at a predetermined angle.
The chip components P are sucked and held by a suction head 6 incorporated in each moving body 5, and the chip components P are subjected to an appearance inspection by a camera while being transported, and the chip components P are separated and discharged according to the inspection result. Function.

The moving body 5 is axially supported by a rotating body 22 provided coaxially with the sun gear 21 and driven to rotate, for example, as shown in FIG. And a plurality of planetary gears 23 provided in parallel with each other.
1 and revolves in conjunction with the revolution. Each of the suction heads 6 is incorporated in such a planetary gear 23 (moving body 5), and revolves while rotating together with the planetary gear 23 (moving body 5). Are sequentially transported while changing the direction of the chip components P held by.

The twelve planetary gears 23 (moving bodies 5) are arranged at equal angular intervals around the sun gear 21, for example, at 30 ° intervals, and revolve around the sun gear 21. In particular, by setting the ratio of the number of teeth to [1: 3], the planetary gear 23 (moving body 5) is rotated by 12 degrees every 30 degrees.
It is set so that it rotates by 0 degrees, in other words, in one revolution revolution, its rotation rotates four times. The revolution of the planetary gear 23 (moving body 5) is determined based on the component suction position A described above.
This is performed intermittently, for example, every 30 degrees, corresponding to the arrangement interval of 3 (moving body 5). As a result, the suction heads 6 mounted on the twelve planetary gears 23 (moving bodies 5) are sequentially positioned at the component suction position A, and the feeders 1, 2 are moved at the component suction position A as described above. The chip components P supplied one by one are held by suction.

At the same time, the chip component P sucked and held by the suction head 6 at the component suction position A is intermittently revolved at every 30 degrees of the planetary gear 23 (moving body 5). With the suction position A as a reference, the stop positions B, C, D,... The chip components P sucked and held by the suction heads 6 successively positioned at the five stop positions B, C, D, E, and F successive to the component suction position A, respectively, are the stop positions B, In C, D, E, and F, the camera is subjected to a visual inspection using a camera as described later. After that, the chip component P held by the suction head 6 is further transferred to the planetary gear 23.
When the (moving body 5) is sequentially positioned at the next stop position G, H, I, J, K, L according to the orbital movement every 30 degrees, the respective stop positions are determined according to the result of the visual inspection performed by the camera. G,
H, I, J, K, and L are selectively emitted from the suction head 6. Separation of the chip components P is performed by selectively releasing the chip components P from the suction head 6 at these stop positions G, H, I, J, K, and L. Each of the stop positions G, H, I, J, K, and L is provided with a component discharge chute (not shown), and the chip component P is discarded according to the appearance inspection result. The waste is separated and discharged into a total of six types: [disposal 3], [disposal 4], and [undetermined] [non-defective (OK)].

The appearance inspection of the chip components P by the camera will be described. At the position above the linear feeder 2, a top image of the chip components P supplied one by one through the linear feeder 2 is taken. One camera 7a is provided. At the stop positions B, C, D, E, and F associated with the intermittent revolving movement of the planetary gear 23 (moving body 5), a side image of the chip component P held and conveyed by the suction head 6 is provided. Second to fifth cameras 7 that respectively capture images
b, 7c, 7d, 7e and a sixth camera 7f for picking up an image of the lower surface of the chip component P are arranged in this order.

These first to sixth cameras 7a, 7b,
.. 7e are composed of, for example, a CCD camera, synchronized with the intermittent revolving movement of the planetary gear 23 (moving body 5),
The upper surface image of the chip component P on the linear feeder 2, the side surface image of the chip component P whose upper surface is suction-held by the suction head 6, and the lower surface image thereof are captured and input. In particular, the second to fifth cameras 7b, 7c,.
3 (moving body 5) rotates by 120 degrees at every 30 degrees of revolving movement.
Each of the three side images is taken. still,
The imaging of the upper surface image of the chip component P by the first camera 7a is performed prior to the suction holding of the chip component P by the suction head 6.

The first to sixth cameras 7a, 7a,
The images of the upper surface, side surfaces (four surfaces), and lower surface of the chip component P imaged by 7b,... 7e are input to the image processing unit 8a of the control unit 8 and are subjected to predetermined image processing. Then, the determination unit 8b compares the image of each surface of the chip component P, which has been captured and input as described above, with the memory 8c
The quality of the appearance is inspected by comparing and judging the standard image of the chip component P registered in the. Specifically, the quality of the chip component P is determined by examining the presence / absence of a scratch on each surface of the chip component P and the presence / absence of chipping of the electrode by this appearance inspection.

The suction control unit 8d, which controls the operation of the suction heads 6 based on the appearance inspection result of the determination unit 8b, controls the transport mechanism 3 under the control of the synchronization unit 8e.
The suction of the chip component P by the suction head 6 and the release thereof are controlled in synchronization with the operation of the rotary drive unit 9 such as a motor for driving the chip component P. That is, the suction control unit 8d basically urges the suction head 6 positioned at the component suction position A to suction the chip component P supplied to the component suction position A to the lower end thereof. Then, when the suction head 6 that has sucked the chip component P is positioned at a sorting position determined according to the result of the appearance inspection, the chip component P is released by releasing the suction holding. It is something to do.

That is, the chip components Pa, Pb, Pc,... Which are sequentially supplied one by one via the feeders 1 and 2 and are sucked and held by the suction head 6 and conveyed, as shown in FIG. First, the chip component Pa supplied first
Is imaged on the linear feeder 2 by the first camera 7a, and the upper surface is suction-held by the suction head 6 at the component supply position A. Thus, when the suction by the suction head 6 of the chip component Pa whose top surface image has been captured is completed, the moving body 5 revolves 30 degrees, and the chip component Pa is positioned at the next stop position B. At this time, after the upper surface image of the chip component Pb to be supplied next is captured by the first camera 7a on the linear feeder 2, the chip component Pb is guided to the component supply position A and the upper surface thereof is moved by the suction head 6. Adsorbed and held. At this time, a side image of the first chip component Pa sucked and held by the suction head 6 and guided to the next stop position B is captured by the second camera 7b.

Thereafter, the suction head 6 for the chip component Pb
Is completed, and when the moving body 5 revolves again by 30 degrees, the chip component Pb is positioned at the stop position B, and the first chip component Pa is positioned at the next stop position C. In this state, the next supplied chip component Pc
Of the upper surface by the first camera 7a, the suction by the suction head 6 at the component suction position A, and the stop positions B and C
In the above, the side images of the chip components Pb and Pa are respectively captured by the second and third cameras 7b and 7c. At this time, the chip component Pa becomes 120
Because it rotates by degrees, the next side that differs by 90 degrees from the side previously imaged at stop position B will be imaged.

Similarly, at the next timing, the chip components Pc, Pb, and Pa revolve to the next stop positions B, C, and D, respectively, with rotation of 120 degrees, and move to the component suction position A. Further, the next chip component Pd is supplied. Then, the imaging of the top surface image of the chip component Pd and the imaging of the side images of the chip components Pc, Pb, Pa at the positions B, C, D are respectively performed.

In this way, the chip components P are revolved by 30 degrees while being successively sucked by the suction head 6, so that the four side surfaces of the chip components P are stopped at the stop positions B, C, D and E by the second side. The fifth to fifth cameras 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e capture images of the chip component P at the stop position F, respectively. In other words, the chip component P whose top surface image has been captured on the linear feeder 2 is attracted to the suction head 6 and then revolves 30 degrees at a time to be positioned at the stop positions B, C, D, E, and F. Each time, the direction is changed by the rotation of 120 degrees, and the four side surfaces are sequentially imaged by the second to fifth cameras 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e, and thereafter, the lower surface thereof by the sixth camera 7f. An image is taken.

Thus, the chip component P is suctioned to the lower end of the suction head 6 in this manner, and the chip component P is
According to the appearance inspection apparatus that sequentially revolves while rotating by degrees and sequentially captures side images thereof and further captures a lower surface image of the chip component P, the upper surface image of the chip component P is captured on the linear feeder 2. Thus, the six surfaces can be inspected efficiently. Moreover, it is possible to collectively image each surface of the chip components P supplied one after another in a so-called pipeline manner, and to inspect the appearance of each surface. In particular, since each chip component P is rotated while revolving and moving, and the direction of the side surface to be subjected to the appearance inspection is sequentially changed, the appearance inspection can be performed easily and efficiently, and the inspection processing efficiency can be greatly improved. Can be planned.

By the way, as described above, the transport mechanism 3 which sucks and holds the chip component P and revolves while rotating the chip component P is configured as shown, for example, in FIG. As described above, the moving body 5 to which the suction head 6 is attached includes a plurality of planetary gears 23 provided around the sun gear 21 fixedly provided on the base 24 so as to mesh with the sun gear 21. Become. These planetary gears 23 are provided coaxially with the sun gear 21 through the center hole of the sun gear 21, and are provided on a rotating body 22 which is driven to rotate by an index mechanism 25 incorporated in a lower portion of the base 24. , Are mounted with their axial directions aligned. And rotating body 2
With the intermittent rotation of 2, the planetary gears 23 revolve around the sun gear 21 while rotating around the sun gear 21.
Each time it rotates 0 degrees, it rotates by 120 degrees.

The index mechanism 25 for intermittently driving the rotating body 22 has a roller cam mechanism 25a built therein, and receives an output shaft 25b of the input shaft 25b via a belt 26 or the like. 25c is rotated intermittently by 30 degrees. The input shaft 25
b, a cam mechanism 27 is mounted on the output shaft 2.
In conjunction with the intermittent rotation of 5c, a roller 28
Is moved up and down. The camshaft 29 has a role of engaging the roller 28 with a flange (described later) of the suction head 6 at the component suction position A and lowering the suction head 6 to the chip component P suction position.

In the position above the rotating body 22,
A vacuum tank 32 is provided, which is vacuum-sucked by a vacuum pipe 31 provided through the center hole of the output shaft 25c to generate a predetermined negative pressure. A valve mechanism 33 provided corresponding to each suction head 6 applies a negative pressure to the suction head 6 by connecting each suction head 6 to the vacuum tank 32 in the same manner as suction control found in a chip mounter or the like. By this, the tip component is sucked to the tip thereof, and the connection of the suction head 6 to the vacuum tank 32 is stopped by switching the valve mechanism 33, and at the same time, a positive pressure is applied to the suction head 6; And forcibly releases the chip component P sucked and held by the device.

On the other hand, the suction head 6 is attached to a planetary gear 23 supported on the rotating body 22 with its axial direction aligned, for example, as shown in FIG. That is, the planetary gear 23 is rotatably supported by the inner cylinder 4 via the radial bearing 42 inside the outer cylinder 41 mounted on the rotating body 22.
3 is integrally fixed to the lower flange 44 of the sun gear 21.
Are engaged. The suction head 6 is supported inside the inner cylinder 43 via a spline shaft 45 so as to be vertically movable. At the upper end of the suction head 6,
A cam plate 46 composed of two discs provided at a predetermined interval is provided. A compression coil spring 4 is provided between the cam plate 46 and the spline shaft 45.
The suction head 6 is biased and biased upward by the compression coil spring 47. Further, the cam plate 46 has a role of fitting the roller 28 described above therebetween and moving the suction head 6 up and down against the compression coil spring 47 as the roller 28 moves up and down.

The suction nozzle 48 mounted at the lower end of the suction head 6 is urged downward by a compression coil spring 49, and can move up and down under external force to adjust its suction position. ing. This suction nozzle 48
The suction nozzle 6 is connected to the valve mechanism 33 through a suction pipe hole 50 passing through the center of the suction head 6, and the suction nozzle is suction-held in vacuum to hold the chip component P at the tip thereof.

Thus, according to the suction head 6 rotatably supported by the rotating body 22 and vertically supported by the planetary gears 23 meshed with the sun gear 21, the suction head 6 rotates with the rotation of the rotating body 22. The planetary gear 23 orbits around the sun gear 21 while rotating together with the planetary gear 23. When it is positioned at the component suction position A described above, it is lowered by the roller 28 engaged with the cam plate 46 to move the component suction position A.
The suction nozzle 48 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the chip component P guided to the above. By sucking the suction nozzle 48 in this state, the chip component P is suction-held at the lower end of the suction head 6 (suction nozzle 48).

Thereafter, when the rotating body 22 is rotated, the cam plate 46 separates from the roller 28 after the roller 28 ascends and moves, and the suction head 6 revolves while rotating. Then, the next suction head 6 is positioned at the component mounting position A. Then, the suction head 6 holding the chip component P by suction at its lower end revolves while rotating, as described above, and is subjected to the appearance inspection of the chip component P at the aforementioned stop positions B, C, D, E, F. The chip components P are released by being controlled to be opened at the timings set at the stop positions G, H, I, J, K, and L in accordance with the results of the appearance inspection, and the separation is performed.

According to the appearance inspection apparatus constructed as described above, the upper and lower surfaces and the four side surfaces of the chip components P which are successively supplied one by one are efficiently integrated in a pipeline in an efficient manner. Can be inspected. Moreover, since the four side surfaces can be sequentially inspected while easily changing the direction of the chip component P sucked and held by the suction head 6, the inspection efficiency can be effectively improved.

The chip components P to be subjected to the appearance inspection as described above are preferably supplied to the above-described alignment mechanism 4 in the same orientation, for example, the front and back of the rectangular parallelepiped chip components P are determined. Then, the orientation of the chip component P is aligned so that the surface thereof becomes the upper surface, and the chip component P
Are desirably aligned so that are aligned in the longitudinal direction. In this case, although it depends on the type of the chip component P, the shape characteristic of the characteristic edge portion unique to the chip component P,
What is necessary is just to detect the mark attached to the specific position and align its direction. In the case where there is no distinction between the front and back sides, it is possible to align the directions only in the longitudinal direction. If the chip components P are supplied in a certain degree of orientation in this way, the directions of the chip components P sucked by the suction head 6 at the component suction position A become uniform.
The appearance inspection in the subsequent image processing, that is, the comparison processing with the standard image can be facilitated, and the image processing time can be reduced.

Further, the imaging timing of the upper surface image of the chip component P and the timing of holding the chip component P by the suction head 6 are shifted by one timing, and the imaging timing over the six surfaces of the chip component P and the suction head 6 It is also possible to execute the appearance inspection in a pipeline manner at a total of seven timings including the suction timing by the CPU. With this configuration, it is not necessary to set the time required to capture the top surface image of the chip component P and to hold the chip component P by the suction head 6 as one timing, so that the period of one timing is substantially shortened. And the inspection efficiency can be improved.

Further, here, the chip components are classified into six types according to the result of the visual inspection of the chip components P.
It is also possible to classify into two types: non-defective and defective, or to classify non-defective and defective and non-determinable.
In addition, it is of course possible to change the number of the suction heads 6 in accordance with the sorting number, and to change the arrangement interval of the suction heads 6 in accordance with the number. In addition, the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof, such as the rotation speed of the rotating body 22.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, after picking up the top images of the chip components to be supplied one by one successively, the chip components revolve while rotating the suction head holding the top surfaces of the chip components. Move and take the side view in order,
Further, since the lower surface image is captured, the appearance of each surface of the chip component can be efficiently inspected in the transport process by suction of the chip component by the suction head. In particular, since the chip component is intermittently revolved at a predetermined angle and the chip component is rotated and its side image is captured, the appearance inspection of the chip component P including all the side surfaces is executed simply and efficiently. Thus, a great effect in practical use, such as being able to perform, can be obtained.

Further, since the sun gear and the planetary gears are effectively used to revolve the chip components adsorbed on the suction head while rotating, the device itself can be simply configured and its control is simple. Some effects are obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a visual inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing operation timings of an appearance inspection in the appearance inspection apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a transport mechanism incorporated in the appearance inspection apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a support structure of a suction head by a planetary gear.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 ball feeder 2 linear feeder 3 transport mechanism 4 alignment mechanism 5 moving body 6 suction head 7a first camera 7b second camera 7c third camera 7d fourth camera 7e fifth camera 7f sixth camera 8a image Processing unit 8b Judgment unit 8c Memory (standard image) 8d Suction control unit 21 Sun gear 22 Rotating body 23 Planetary gear

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of moving bodies which are provided so as to be able to rotate on a revolving orbit and rotate by a predetermined angle in conjunction with a revolving movement of a predetermined angle, and are respectively attached to these moving bodies and integrally with each moving body. A plurality of suction heads that revolve while rotating and suction-hold and transport chip components at the lower end thereof, and a plurality of chip components are sequentially transported one by one to predetermined component suction positions on the orbit of these suction heads. A first camera that captures an upper surface image of the chip component on the feeder; and a first camera that is sequentially arranged at a predetermined revolving angle along a revolution trajectory of the suction head and held by each of the suction heads. A second to a fifth camera for capturing side images of the conveyed chip component, a sixth camera for capturing a lower surface image of the chip component, and a camera for each of the cameras. Image processing means for judging the quality of the chip component from the image of each surface of the chip component captured; and component separation for selectively controlling the timing of releasing the chip component from each of the suction heads according to the image processing result. Means for inspecting appearance. 2. A plurality of planetary gears, each of which is supported coaxially with a sun gear and axially aligned with a rotating body provided rotatably, and meshes with the sun gear to rotate. The visual inspection device according to claim 1, comprising: 3. The plurality of moving bodies are arranged at every angle that divides the orbit around the circumferential direction into n equal parts, and are revolved intermittently by 360 / n degrees to rotate by (90 + 360 / n) degrees. The visual inspection device according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The visual inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the feeder includes an alignment mechanism for aligning a supply attitude of the chip components.