JP2001201457A - Method and apparatus for inspecting precipitated foreign body inside of pet bottle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an inspection apparatus, by which a precipitated foreign body mixed inside a PET bottle having a characteristic bottom shape is inspected with high accuracy and which prevents in advance the generation of an injury due to the mixture of the foreign body. SOLUTION: The PET bottoe 1 is placed on an optical filter 121, which diffuses incident light. The filter face of the optical filter is irradiated with an illumination light in the vertical direction by an illumination means 20. The bottom region of the PET bottle is imaged by an imaging means 21 from the lower part of the optical filter 21. On the basis of image information obtained from the imaging means, obtained by receiving the illumination light through the optical filter the existence of the precipitated foreign body is inspected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for inspecting a container made of a translucent member in which beverages such as soft drinks and juices are enclosed as an object to be inspected for foreign substances mixed in the container. PET bottle (polyethylenetereph) in which the bottom of the container is formed in a unique shape
The present invention relates to a method for inspecting precipitated foreign matter in a thalate bottle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the application of the HACCP method to the Food Sanitation Law and the enforcement of the PL (Product Liability: Product Liability) method, the manufacture / processing of products such as food and medicine, and the preservation / distribution of products have been promoted. It is becoming obligatory to prevent the occurrence of harm caused by microbial contamination or other contaminants that may occur at any stage until the final consumer ingests the product, and to further enhance the security of the product.

[0003] The HACCP method is called Hazard An.
alysis Critical Control Po
An abbreviation of int System, which is an internationally highly valued US hazard analysis and
It is an important control point method. The HACCP system is a scientific hygiene management system designed to ensure the safety of products throughout the entire manufacturing process. Focuses on process precautions. The HACCP system consists of two parts, Hazard Analysis (HA) and Critical Control Point (CCP), which occur at every stage from food production / processing, product storage / distribution to final consumption by the end consumer. Investigate / analyze harms such as microbial contamination that may cause harm, set important control points for harm prevention, set management standards, and check management records to confirm that measures are being taken appropriately within the limits. Always monitor, and for any other harm,
General hygiene management standards (PP: Pre-requisite)
By managing the program, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of harm in the manufacturing process without overlooking it and to further enhance the safety of the product.

Conventionally, liquid products (drinks, liquids, etc.)
In a manufacturing / processing plant that produces, microbial contamination is prevented by performing sterilization treatment such as heat treatment on a production line, or foreign matter is prevented by removing foreign matter using a cyclone separator or the like. After filling in containers such as cans and bottles, final inspections are carried out by utilizing the light transmission and reflection properties. For example, when a transparent container enclosing a liquid such as a liquid agent or a beverage is the test object,
The object to be inspected is imaged with a CCD camera, and the digitized image data is processed by an image processing device to check for the presence of foreign matter mixed in the liquid inside the container and for the presence of flaws in the container. Is automatically determined.

[0005]

As shown in FIGS. 9 (A) and 9 (B), a conventional foreign matter inspection system for bottles has a simple bottom shape such as a flat surface or a convex curved surface. In general, containers with various shapes are used as test objects.
The precipitated foreign matter can be recognized from the image on the bottom surface. However, as shown in FIG. 10, in the case of a PET bottle having a peculiar shape at the bottom, diffuse reflection occurs, and as a result, a foreign substance does not form a clear image, which may cause detection omission.

As an apparatus for inspecting such a PET bottle for precipitated foreign substances, for example, when a PET bottle flowing on a transport conveyor is transferred to a grip belt transport from both sides, a single camera is used for the PET bottle. Has been proposed to take an image of the bottom of a PET bottle and perform image processing. However, the effect of irregular reflection from the bottom of the PET bottle is large, and there is a limit to the inspection accuracy with a single camera, so expectations for practical use are high. There was a problem that performance could not be obtained.

Further, since the bottom shape of the plastic bottle appears as a pattern on the image, the method of detecting foreign matter from the amount of change in color of the liquid with respect to the reference color may recognize the pattern portion as foreign matter. . For this reason, a PET bottle cannot be inspected by a foreign object inspection system for general bottles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable a high-precision inspection of precipitated foreign substances in a PET bottle having a unique bottom shape. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for inspecting a deposited foreign substance in a PET bottle, which can prevent the occurrence of harm due to the entry of a foreign substance. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for inspecting deposited foreign matter in a PET bottle, which can inspect all products on a production line at high speed and in real time.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for inspecting the presence or absence of foreign substances settled in a plastic bottle on a production line by using the plastic bottle filled with a beverage as an object to be inspected. The object of the present invention is to place the PET bottle on an optical filter that diffuses incident light, and irradiate illumination light in a direction perpendicular to the filter surface of the optical filter with illumination means. Achieved by imaging the bottom region of the plastic bottle from below the optical filter with an imaging unit, and inspecting the presence or absence of the precipitated foreign matter based on image information from the imaging unit obtained by receiving light through the optical filter. Is done.

In addition, the inspection stage is provided with inspection transport means for sequentially mounting and transporting the PET bottles in an upright posture on each of the mounting tables provided on the circumference of the rotatably driven star wheel board. Each mounting table is formed of a hard glass filter using the optical filter, and a light emitting unit of the illumination unit and a light receiving unit of the imaging unit are arranged below the hard glass filter, and are carried into the inspection stage, Continuously inspecting the PET bottles being conveyed at the same rotation speed as the star wheel disc; dividing the central portion of the bottom portion of the PET bottle and each peripheral portion with a plurality of cameras and taking an image; The images captured by the plurality of inspection cameras are combined and rotated to be superimposed with the master image of the plastic bottle, and the bottom shape of the plastic bottle is determined from the superimposed image. It is examined for the precipitation foreign substance on the basis of the image excluding the edge portions that form; as the optical filter, by grinding the one surface of the glass with sandblasting,
Each is more effectively achieved by using matte filters.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration example of a main part of a precipitated foreign matter inspection system according to the present invention. The object to be inspected in this system is a transparent container in which the bottom of the container is formed in a unique shape,
The present system is particularly suitably applied to a PET bottle in which a beverage is sealed on a production line, and a PET bottle inspection system for inspecting the presence or absence of a precipitated foreign substance mixed therein. Hereinafter, a case will be described as an example in which a cylindrical PET bottle is used as an object to be inspected and foreign substances precipitated in the liquid are inspected.

In FIG. 1, a plastic bottle in which beverages such as soft drinks and juices are sealed on a production line moves on a conveyor 2 which moves linearly by rotation of a screw (worm gear) 11, and an arrow A in FIG. It is continuously conveyed at predetermined intervals from the direction. The inspection stage 110 for foreign substance inspection includes a loading / unloading star wheel board (in this example, a radius R = 300 in this example) connected to the transport conveyor 2.
mm) 13, 14 and a large-diameter star wheel board 12 for inspection (radius R = 400 mm in this example) 12 are provided. Each of the PET bottles flowing to the inspection stage 110 is transported by these transporting means 10 to R1, R in FIG.
2 and R3. Then, during the transportation at a high speed (the transportation speed in this example is 1200 lines / minute) along the route of R2, the inspection for the precipitated foreign matter is performed in real time.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the system rack 130 in FIG. In the housing of the system rack 130, a monitor device 131 for displaying an image captured by an imaging camera and the like, an inspection device main body 132, a control device (built-in control unit) 133 for controlling the entire inspection system, and the like are accommodated respectively. The imaging means for the inspection of precipitated foreign matter is arranged below the inspection star wheel board, and in this example, five imaging cameras are used for one plastic bottle. The control device 133 takes an image of the area at the center of the bottom of the plastic bottle with the camera for central part inspection, and examines the area of the central peripheral part (in this example, one area is 1/4 yen) with four peripheral parts. The image is taken by the camera for inspection, and the central inspection unit 132a and the peripheral inspection unit 132b
Each of the image data is processed according to (1) to (4), and the precipitated foreign matter inside the PET bottle is inspected based on the image data after the combination. The inspection status at that time is shown in the center monitor 131a and the peripheral monitor 131b in FIG.
(1) to (4), live video and video after image processing are displayed in real time (or read from the recording medium)
You can check it.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the configuration of the transport system of the inspection stage 110 in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a part of the inspection stage 110 showing an example of the arrangement of optical mechanisms and the like. It is shown in a partial sectional side view. On the circumference of the inspection star wheel board 12 in the center, the mounting table 1
2a are provided at predetermined intervals. This mounting table 12a
Is formed so as to engage with the shape of the bottom portion of the PET bottle 1, and in this example, is formed in a circular shape. The PET bottles 1 carried into the inspection stage 110 are sequentially placed on the mounting table 12a, and are supported on both sides of the side surface by the support members 15, and are transported in the upright posture along the annular path R2.

In the present invention, the mounting table 12a of the PET bottle 1 is hard glass filter (optical for cutting irregular reflection) so that the bottom of each PET bottle 1 during high-speed conveyance can be inspected continuously and with high precision from below. By forming a table (121) made of a hard transparent member having a filter,
Each mounting table 12a is configured to also serve as an inspection window and a filter. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, below the predetermined position corresponding to the mounting table 12a of the inspection star wheel board 12, the light emitting unit of the illuminating unit 20 and the light receiving unit of the imaging unit 21 are hardened as the mounting table 12a. The inspection camera of the imaging means 21 is arranged so that the light emitting axis and the light receiving axis are arranged so as to be coaxial with the glass filter 121 and the bottom of the plastic bottle 1 is passed through the hard glass filter 121 from below. (CCD camera or the like), and the bottom surface of the PET bottle 1 being conveyed at high speed at the same rotation speed as the star wheel board 12 is continuously inspected.

The illuminating means 20 for irradiating the illuminating light comprises, for example, a light source (eg, a halogen light source), an optical fiber, or the like, and its light emitting portion is formed in a ring shape so as to surround the light receiving portion of the imaging means 21. . Then, the illumination light from the light emitting unit of the illumination means 20 is uniformly irradiated in the vertical direction on the entire bottom surface of the plastic bottle 1. Normal,
The inner surface of the bottle cap of the PET bottle 1 is coated with silicon. Therefore, if the light emitting axis of the illuminating means 20 and the light receiving axis of the imaging means 21 are set to the same axis to irradiate the illumination light in the vertical direction to the bottom region of the plastic bottle 1 as described above, Acts as a mirror surface, and the light reflected by the surface enters the light receiving portion of the imaging means 21, and as a result, the attenuation of the amount of light passing through the liquid is reduced. Further, in this example, as shown in FIG. 4, an illuminating means 20 having a ring-shaped light formed so as to surround the bottle cap is also arranged on the head side of the PET bottle 1, and the bottom of the PET bottle 1 is provided. The illumination light is emitted from both the side and the head side.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing an example of the configuration of the hard glass filter 121. The hard glass filter 121 serving as the mounting table 12a is, for example, a two-layer hard glass having the strength to support the weight of a PET bottle. (A hard transparent member) 121a and an optical filter 121b provided between the hard glass members.
(Two layers in which the optical filter 121b is layered below 21a)
It consists of a laminated body. The optical filter 121b is a filter that diffuses the incident light. In the present invention, the optical filter 121b is formed by grinding one side of soda-lime glass with sand blast and using a frosted frosted glass so that the optical filter 121b can be used at the bottom of the PET bottle. The diffused light is diffused to avoid the influence of diffused light. That is, the optical filter 121b that diffuses light incident at an angle (a filter that transmits light with high linearity to the incident surface transmits more) is used, and light that is incident perpendicular to the surface of the optical filter 121b is transmitted. The light obliquely incident is diffused and cut, thereby avoiding the formation of an image of a light and dark pattern due to irregular reflection, so that only foreign matter is selectively formed on the optical system of the image pickup means 21. .

The fact that the above-described ground glass optical filter 121b is effective in avoiding the influence of irregularly reflected light has been found from experiments using various optical materials. By using the optical filter 121b as a mounting table, it is possible to detect fine foreign matter that cannot be detected by a normal filter. The soda lime glass used as the optical filter 121b is preferably ground by sandblasting with a grid of 50 to 200 grids.

FIG. 6A shows a hard glass filter 121.
6 shows a raw image GA of the bottom of the plastic bottle (an image at the lower right portion divided into quarters) GA when no is used, and FIG. 6B shows the processed image GB. The portion indicated by reference numeral 3 in FIG. 6 (A) is a foreign substance, and the other portions of the bottom surface region where the brightness is conspicuous are mainly caused by reflection or refraction at the curved portion of the bottom of the plastic bottle. is there. When processing such an image GA, FIG.
The image GB is as shown in (B), and it is difficult to distinguish between the dark part and the foreign matter caused by the shape of the bottom of the plastic bottle.

On the other hand, the hard glass filter 1 according to the present invention
In the case where 21 is used as a mounting table, as shown in a raw image GA ′ in FIG. 7A, there is no prominent shaded portion other than the foreign matter 3, and after the image processing, the processed image in FIG. G
As shown in B ′, only foreign matter (white granular portion at the center) appears in the bottom area, and it can be seen that even fine foreign matter can be detected. As described above, by using the optical filter 121b that diffuses the incident light, the influence of the irregularly reflected light can be effectively avoided.

In the system configuration described above, an example of the operation will be described, and image processing according to the present invention will be described.

Each of the PET bottles 1 flowing on the conveyor 2 is carried into the inspection stage 110 by the carrying mechanism of the carrying star wheel board 13 and guided to the testing star wheel board 13 along the path of R1. Then, they are sequentially mounted on the mounting table 12a of the star wheel board 13 for inspection. The plastic bottle 1 mounted on the mounting table 12a is transported along an annular route R2. In the control device 133, the illumination means 20 irradiates the illumination light in the vertical direction from both sides of the head and the bottom of the plastic bottle 1 to the bottom surface through the hard glass filter 121 which is the mounting table 12a. In synchronization with the rotation speed of the board 13, an image of the central portion and each peripheral portion of the bottom surface region of the PET bottle 1 is taken by the image pickup means 21 (five image pickup cameras in this example).
The central inspection unit 132a and the peripheral inspection unit 132b
, Each of the image data is processed, and the precipitated foreign matter inside the PET bottle is inspected based on the combined image data.

Here, a method for detecting precipitated foreign matter based on image processing will be described with reference to FIG.

FIGS. 8A to 8D show a procedure of image processing on the peripheral portion of the bottom surface of the plastic bottle. In this embodiment, the camera used for the bottom of the plastic bottle is divided into a central part and a peripheral part, and the peripheral part is divided by four cameras in units of 1/4 yen to capture an image. .
In the peripheral portion inspection section 132b, first, a ４ image of the bottom surface of the PET bottle is shown in FIG.
Each of the extracted images G is extracted as shown in FIG.
1, G2, G3, and G4 are combined to form an image of the entire bottom surface as shown in FIG. Then, using the image after synthesis as the work image WG, the outer edge of the bottom portion is detected, and the center coordinates of the lower portion are calculated based on the coordinates of the outer edge, and as shown in FIG. The work image WG is moved with respect to the master image MG to superimpose the images, and further, the rotation process is performed around the center coordinates to superimpose the pattern portions.

The master image MG is a sample image of the PET bottle stored in advance, and in the case of a PET bottle with a stamp on the bottom, the PET bottle is superimposed by a rotation process until a position where the stamp matches. Then, in the designated image area of the image after the superimposition, for example, as shown in FIG.
The presence / absence of a foreign substance is inspected in the image area within the elliptical edge frame M-EG of the middle master image by using the pixel data of the work image WG to detect a change in luminance or the like. That is, the inspection is performed on the image data of the work image WG excluding the edge portion so that the edge portion (outline of the pattern such as a petal) formed in the bottom shape of the PET bottle is not regarded as a foreign substance.

On the other hand, the central inspection unit 132a superimposes the image of the central area on the bottom surface picked up by the camera 21 for central inspection with the master image in the same manner as in the above-described superimposition processing of the peripheral image. The presence or absence of a foreign substance present in the central portion is inspected based on the image excluding the edge portion formed by the bottom shape of (1). The area at the bottom center is, for example, a rectangular or circular area, and inspection is performed on a designated area at the bottom center. The central part is inspected with an independent camera because the central part of the bottom of the plastic bottle and its peripheral part are often shaped so that foreign substances can easily settle out, and the central part is imaged with a dedicated imaging camera. This is to improve the inspection accuracy by performing the inspection. In addition,
Each of the designated areas of the peripheral part and the central part is set according to the shape of the PET bottle to be inspected, and at least a concave area where foreign matter is likely to settle is set.

In the control unit 133, the central part inspection unit 132
a and the PET bottle 1 determined to be non-defective by the inspection by the peripheral inspection unit 132b with no contaminating foreign matter,
It is conveyed in the direction of R3 by the unloading star wheel board 14 and returned on the conveyer 2 to proceed to the next step.
On the other hand, when a foreign object is detected, the controller 133 sends an exclusion command to the eliminator 120. The eliminator 120 is provided with an elimination mechanism that strikes out with a brush or an elimination mechanism that uses a cylinder provided with an elastic member at the end of a piston to fly off the cylinder. The defective part is eliminated by momentarily protruding the side part of the sheet and putting it out onto the elimination conveyor 120A in FIG.
At that time, it is necessary to accurately hit the center of the side of the PET bottle, but if you try to remove after a certain period of time until it is transported to the exclusion point, it may not be possible due to the change in line speed etc. There is. Therefore,
In this example, in order to avoid shifting of the rejection timing due to an error in the line speed, for example, it is detected that a defective product has reached the rejection position using an encoder, and the operation timing of the rejection mechanism is controlled. .

The results of the inspection (non-defective / defective information, defective product data, etc.) are, for example, FA (not shown).
(Factory Automation) The data is transmitted to the server system, linked to the manufacturing information, converted into a database, and recorded in real time. The centralized monitoring / management computer or terminal connected via a network such as a LAN or the Internet or the like can immediately analyze various inspection conditions and elucidate the cause of contamination.

In the above-described embodiment, a plastic bottle has been described as an example, but a container formed of a translucent member such as a polymer material or glass and having a bottom formed in a complicated uneven shape. Then, the present invention can be suitably applied. Further, the shape of the container is not limited to a substantially cylindrical shape, and the present invention can be applied to a container having a rectangular shape or the like. In addition, one camera is used for inspection of the central part of the bottom of the plastic bottle, the bottom area of the peripheral part of the bottom of the plastic bottle is divided into quarters, and each of the four cameras is used to capture an image. However, the number of divisions and the number of cameras are not limited to these numerical values.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, a PET bottle is placed on an optical filter for diffusing and removing light incident at an angle, and light is projected from the bottom of the filter. To receive the reflected light
By cutting off the diffuse reflection at the bottom of the PET bottle, only foreign matter can be captured as an image. Therefore, irregular reflection can be cut without being affected by the peculiar shape of the bottom of the PET bottle, and only the precipitated foreign matter can be determined as an image and inspected with high accuracy. In addition, while holding the optical mechanism described above, a mounting table made of a hard glass filter that also serves as an inspection window and the above-mentioned filter is provided around the circumference of the star wheel board as a handling form that can be used on-line. It can be used on a high-speed line by rotating at the same speed as the star wheel disk. Therefore, even at a high line speed, the above optical mechanism can be guaranteed, and the PET bottles being conveyed at a high speed can be continuously inspected.

Further, after the camera used for the bottom of the plastic bottle is divided into a central portion and a peripheral portion, the peripheral portion is divided into one.
Capture images divided by n cameras in units of / n circles, combine the input images, and superimpose the entire image on the master image to capture changes in the designated image area Thereby, highly accurate image discrimination becomes possible. That is, since an area effect is generated with respect to the limit accuracy by one camera, an n-fold detection accuracy can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration example of a main part of a precipitated foreign matter inspection system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view schematically showing a configuration example of a system rack in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a configuration example of a transport system of the inspection stage according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing an example of an arrangement configuration of an optical mechanism and the like of an inspection stage according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a configuration example of a hard glass filter according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of a raw image and a processed image of the bottom of a plastic bottle when the hard glass filter according to the present invention is not used.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a raw image and a processed image of the bottom of a plastic bottle when the hard glass filter according to the present invention is used.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method for detecting precipitated foreign matter based on image processing according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing an example of a bottom shape of general bottles.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing an example of the bottom shape of the plastic bottle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 PET bottle 1a Container bottom part 2 Conveyor 3 Foreign matter 10 Inspection conveyance means 11 Screw 12 Inspection star wheel board 12a Mounting table 121 Hard glass filter 121a Hard glass layer 121b Filter layer 13 Carry-in star wheel board 14 Carry-out star wheel board DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 Support member 20 Illumination means 21 Imaging means 110 Inspection stage 120 Elimination machine 120A Evacuation conveyor 130 System rack 131 Monitoring device 131a Central monitor 131b Peripheral monitor 132 Inspection device main body 132a Central inspection unit 132b Peripheral inspection unit 133 Control device

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] April 19, 2000 (2004.1.
9)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Name of invention

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Patent application title: Method for Inspection of Foreign Objects Settled in PET Bottle and
The device

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Claims]

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0001

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method beverages such as soft drinks and juice containers made of encapsulated light-transmitting member as an object to be inspected, inspecting the mixed foreign substance in the container 及
And a device therefor , in particular, a PET bottle having a unique shape at the bottom of the container.
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for inspecting sedimentary foreign substances for detecting precipitated foreign substances in terephthalate bottles.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0008

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable a high-precision inspection of precipitated foreign substances in a PET bottle having a unique bottom shape. , pET bottle precipitate particle inspection method can prevent harm caused by contamination in advance and
It is to provide a device . Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for inspecting precipitated foreign substances in a PET bottle, which can inspect all products on a production line at high speed and in real time.

[Procedure amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0009

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for inspecting the presence of precipitated foreign substances in a PET bottle, wherein the PET bottle in which a beverage is enclosed is used as an object to be inspected on a production line, and a method of inspecting the same. relates apparatus, the object of the present invention, for the invention of a method, the pET bottle is placed on the optical filter diffuses an incident light, illumination in a direction perpendicular to the filter surface of the optical filter While irradiating light by the illumination means, the bottom area of the PET bottle is imaged from below the optical filter by the imaging means, and the sedimentation is performed based on image information from the imaging means obtained by receiving light through the optical filter. It is achieved by checking for the presence of foreign matter.

[Procedure amendment 6]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0010

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Further , the inspection stage is provided with inspection transport means for sequentially mounting and transporting the PET bottles in an upright posture on each of the mounting tables provided around the circumference of the rotatably driven star wheel board. Each mounting table is formed of a hard glass filter using the optical filter, and a light emitting unit of the illumination unit and a light receiving unit of the imaging unit are arranged below the hard glass filter, and are carried into the inspection stage, Continuously inspecting the PET bottles being conveyed at the same rotation speed as the star wheel disc; dividing the central portion of the bottom portion of the PET bottle and each peripheral portion with a plurality of cameras and taking an image; The images captured by the plurality of inspection cameras are combined and rotated to be superimposed with the master image of the plastic bottle, and the bottom shape of the plastic bottle is obtained from the superimposed image. Inspecting the presence or absence of the precipitated foreign matter based on an image excluding the edge portion formed by the above; using, as the optical filter, a filter obtained by grinding one side of glass with sand blast and performing a matting process; Achieved effectively. Also the device
With regard to the invention of (1), it is described in any one of claims 1 to 4.
This is achieved by realizing the method described above.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Naoki Saito Asahi Biru Azumabashi Building 8F Asahi Beverage Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2G051 AA28 AB15 AC21 BA20 CA04 CA07 CB01 DA02 DA13 ED12 ED23

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A method for inspecting the presence of precipitated foreign matter in a PET bottle using the PET bottle in which a beverage is enclosed on a production line as an object to be inspected, the method comprising: Placing the PET bottle on the filter, and irradiating illumination light in a direction perpendicular to the filter surface of the optical filter by the illumination means,
The bottom region of the PET bottle is imaged from below the optical filter by an imaging unit, and the presence or absence of the precipitated foreign matter is inspected based on image information from the imaging unit obtained by receiving light through the optical filter. Method for detecting foreign substances settled in PET bottles. 2. An inspection stage, wherein said inspection stage is provided with inspection transport means for sequentially mounting and transporting said PET bottles in an upright posture on respective mounting tables provided on a circumference of a rotatably driven star wheel board. Each mounting table is formed of a hard glass filter using the optical filter, and a light emitting unit of the illumination unit and a light receiving unit of the imaging unit are arranged below the hard glass filter, and are carried into the inspection stage, The method of claim 1, wherein the PET bottle being conveyed at the same rotation speed as the star wheel board is continuously inspected. 3. A plurality of cameras divide a central portion of the bottom portion of the PET bottle and each peripheral portion into images, and take images of the PET bottles. The images taken by the plurality of inspection cameras are combined and rotated to process the PET. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising superimposing the bottle with a master image, and inspecting the presence or absence of the precipitated foreign matter based on an image obtained by excluding an edge formed by a bottom shape of the plastic bottle from the superimposed image. Or the method for inspecting deposited foreign matter in a plastic bottle according to 2. 4. The inspection for precipitated foreign matter in a PET bottle according to claim 1, wherein a filter obtained by grinding one side of glass by sandblasting and performing a matting process is used as the optical filter. Method.