JP2001272209A - Array position detector for heating moving object - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an array position detector for a heating moving object, which contributes to a higher efficiency and higher yields preventing a line stoppage by enabling comprehensive detection of abnormality containing deviations from the center line of the movement of a conveyor, in addition to tumbling of bottles and abnormal accesses. SOLUTION: This apparatus is provided with an infrared camera 12, installed above bottles 3a and 3b to be sequentially transferred on a conveyor 1, an image detector 13 for monitoring projection images of the bottles 3a and 3b based on images from the infrared camera 12, a memory means 106 for storing average of the center positions of the plurality of projection images taken during the sampling operation, a first alarm means 109 for generating an alarm signal when the overall size of the projection images measured during the regular operation exceeds a prescribed value and a second alarm means 112 for generating an abnormality signal, when the center position of the projection images measured during the regular operation has an error exceeding a prescribed value, as compared with the average position stored by the memory means 106.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for detecting an arrangement position of a heat-generating moving body, and more particularly to a device for detecting a bottle or a glass as a heat-generating object in a conveyor or the like for sequentially transferring a bottle or a glass immediately after molding to a cooling tank. The present invention relates to an arrangement position detecting device for a heat-generating movable body for detecting an arrangement state, and for taking action such as immediately falling over or detecting abnormality of a position on a conveyor when the abnormality is found.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing, for example, an apparatus for detecting a fall of a heat generating object as an example of a conventional apparatus for detecting an arrangement position of a heat generating moving body. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a conveyor for sequentially moving bottles 3a, 3b,..., Which are heating objects immediately after molding, in the direction of arrow 2; Reference numeral 5b denotes a light-emitting device and a light-receiving device at upper positions opposed to each other, and these light-emitting devices and the light-receiving devices are for detecting the passage of the bottles 3a and 3b.

FIG. 8 is a mechanism diagram for placing a bottle on a conveyor in the apparatus for detecting a fall of a heat generating object shown in FIG. In the drawing, reference numeral 6 denotes an installation table on which a bottle immediately after molding is temporarily placed. As shown in FIG. 8B, the installation table 6 is provided with a large number of pores, and the bottom of the bottle is formed by airflow from the lower surface. While weakly cooling the bottles, the installation load of the bottles 3a and 3b is also reduced. Reference numeral 7 denotes a transfer body partitioned by outer walls 7a and 7b. The transfer body 7 is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow 8, and moves temporarily in synchronization with the speed of the conveyor 1, and the bottles 3a, 3b is sent out onto the conveyor 1. The bottle passage detection mechanism shown in FIG. 7 is provided at a position downstream of the bottle mounting mechanism shown in FIG. 8 (a), and the most downstream portion of the conveyor 1 is a cooling tank for gradually cooling bottles. Is connected to

Next, the operation will be described. Receiver 5
If both a and 5b do not receive light, the bottles 3a and 3b are passing normally. If the light receiving device 5a does not receive light and the light receiving device 5b receives light, it is determined that the falling bottle is passing. Bottle 3
If the time interval between the normal passage of the bottles 3a and 3b is measured, the arrangement interval of the bottles 3a and 3b can be detected by the product of the time interval and the conveyor speed. As described above, when the bottle is overturned or abnormally approached, the abnormal bottle is removed from the conveyor by an air jet mechanism (not shown) so as to eliminate problems such as stagnation and stoppage in a later process. Has become.

The above-mentioned optical sensor system is described in more detail in, for example, JP-A-63-229316, but the basic concept is as described above. In addition, for example, according to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-331333, in order to determine the shape, fall, missing parts, and the like of cans sequentially transferred by a conveyor, the image area, center, and center of the can photographed by a video camera are determined. A method for comparing an octagonal dimension with a preset predetermined value is shown.

[0006]

By the way, the biggest difficulty in the production process of bottles and cups as described above is that it handles a material that has not been solidified immediately after molding, and it is necessary to hold this material firmly. When the bottle cannot be placed on a conveyor that moves at high speed in a state where it cannot be performed, high-speed operation is performed to improve the efficiency while taking into account the balance with the rate of occurrence of overturning and abnormal installation of bottles. However, in the case of the conventional apparatus using the abnormality detecting means as described above, it is not possible to detect that the bottle has been placed at a position deviating from the moving center line of the conveyor line. This causes a problem that the machine may be stopped.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. In addition to a bottle falling over and an abnormal approach, an abnormality is comprehensively detected, including a deviation from a moving center line of a conveyor. It is an object of the present invention to provide a heating-moving-element array position detecting device capable of preventing a line stop beforehand and contributing to improvement in efficiency and yield.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for detecting an arrangement position of a heating movable body, comprising: an infrared camera installed above a heating movable body sequentially transferred by a conveyor; Image detecting means for monitoring the projected image of the heat-generating moving body based on an image, storage means for storing an average position of the center positions of a plurality of projected images photographed during the sample operation, and measurement during the normal operation. First alarm means for generating an alarm signal when the external dimensions of the projected image exceed a predetermined value, and the center position of the projected image measured during normal operation is compared with the average position stored by the storage means. Second alarm means for generating an abnormal signal when there is an error equal to or more than a predetermined value, so as to obtain a signal output in accordance with the abnormality of the position of the heating moving body on the conveyor or the presence or absence of overturn. is there

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the size of the external dimensions of the projected image is compared and determined based on a circumscribed rectangle including the proper projected image. Is what is done.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the arrangement of the first aspect, the size of the external dimensions of the projected image is determined based on a stored normal projected image. It is determined by the matching method.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the arrangement of the first aspect, the measurement of the center position of the projected image is calculated based on the center position of a circumscribed rectangle with respect to the projected image. Things.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the arrangement of the first aspect, the infrared camera is arranged such that the infrared movable camera is placed on a conveyor at a distance equal to or less than an allowable interval. Is located at a position where a plurality of heat-generating moving objects can be captured in one field of view, and an abnormality between the heat-generating moving objects is determined based on a detection result of image intervals of the plurality of heat-generating moving objects photographed by the infrared camera. The apparatus further includes third alarm means for alarming approach.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the arrangement for detecting the arrangement position of the heat-generating moving body, in the invention according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the infrared camera is housed in a closed casing which is forcibly cooled. It is arranged close to the moving body.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
This will be described with reference to the drawings. Embodiment 1 FIG. FIG. 1 is a mechanism layout diagram showing the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, portions corresponding to those in FIG. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.
In the figure, 9 is an air jet nozzle fixedly installed at a downstream position of the conveyor 1 and 10 is a closed housing fixedly installed just above a heating object such as bottles 3a and 3b as a moving heating moving body and containing an infrared camera 12 therein. Body, 11a, 1
1b is a connection joint of a duct provided on the outer wall of the closed casing 10 for introducing and discharging cooling air. Reference numeral 30 denotes a control box electrically connected to the infrared camera 12. The lower surface of the closed casing 10 is made of a heat-resistant transparent glass plate so that infrared rays from the bottles 3a and 3b can be transmitted. Also, the infrared camera 12 normally captures one bottle as a visual field, but when the bottle interval is abnormally close, a position such that all or a part of the two bottles can be included in the visual field. The connection has been adjusted to fit.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a specific example of the control box 30 in FIG. In the figure,
Numeral 13 denotes an infrared camera 12 housed in the closed housing 10 from the NTSC standard (National Television System Committe).
e) an image detecting device as an image detecting means for receiving the image signal according to e), digitizing and outputting chromaticity information and coordinate information corresponding to each pixel, and 14 based on digital information from the image detecting device 13 A personal computer 15 for generating a control signal drives an air blowing solenoid valve 9a for controlling the blowing and stopping of air to the air jet nozzle 9 while exchanging the control signal with the personal computer 14. To receive a setting input signal from the digital switch 16 for inputting various setting values described later.
Kens controller, 17 is a personal computer 1
A display device such as a CRT or a liquid crystal for displaying an image captured by the infrared camera 12 in accordance with the output from the device 4.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIGS. In step 100 of FIG. 3, a button switch (not shown) of the control box 30 is turned on to start the operation. In step 101, the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the circumscribed rectangle and the circumscribed rectangle of the projected image set by the digital switch 16 are set. The sequence controller 15 reads the permissible error dimension from the average value for the deviation from the center point and the moving center line of the conveyor 1 and the permissible distance between adjacent bottles, and sends it to the personal computer 14.
, The set value of the number of samples set by the digital switch 16 is
Read at 5 and send to personal computer 14. The number of samples is used to set the number of passing bottles for learning the proper bottle arrangement and the like at the start of the operation of the machine as will be described later. No settings are required.

Next, in step 103, the conveyor controller 1 is started by driving the conveyor motor (not shown) by the sequence controller 15, and the bottles are sequentially placed by the mounting mechanism shown in FIG. Movement on the conveyor 1 is started. When the bottle flowing on the conveyor 1 passes through the field of view of the infrared camera 12, the personal computer 14 determines how much the center point of the projected image of the bottle deviates from the moving center line of the conveyor 1. Is measured and the measurement result is stored (step 104).

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the method of measuring the center position. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 17 a denotes a whole image area displayed by the display device 17 by the infrared camera 12;
Is a part of the entire image area, which is an inspection area where image monitoring is constantly performed, and 19 is a center line of the entire image area 17a corresponding to the moving center line of the conveyor 1. The area 18 is the entire image area 17a for the reason described later.
It is set at the downstream position in.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a bottle 3a passing through the inspection area 18.
3 shows the center position of the circumscribed rectangle with respect to the projected image of the bottle 3a. However, the projected image of the bottle 3a does not always match the bottom surface of the bottle 3a itself. 12 heights and bottle 3
The transformed image is determined as a function of the height of a. This degree of deformation becomes larger as the infrared camera 12 is moved closer to the bottle 3a in order to obtain a clear image. The measurement of the center position of the bottle is temporarily stored in step 104 of FIG. 3 as a distance from the center line 19 of the screen with such a measurement error included.

Returning to FIG. 3, the personal computer 14
Then, in step 105, the number of times of passing through the bottle is compared with the number of samples set in step 102. If the number of times of passing through the bottle is insufficient, the process returns to step 104 again to measure and store the center position of a new bottle. I do. When the number of times the bottle has passed in step 105 matches the set number of samples, that is, when the measurement of a predetermined number of bottles has been completed, step S106
In, an average value of a large number of stored values measured and stored is calculated, and the calculated average value is stored. That is, in step 106 as a storage unit, the average position of the center positions of a plurality of projection images captured during the sample operation is stored. Then, with respect to the flow of the bottles thereafter, the inspection of the arrangement position and the abnormal alarm are automatically issued.

In the learning step before the step 106, the proper arrangement of the bottles is visually checked. If there is an abnormality, the electromagnetic valve 9a for air blowing is manually driven to remove the inappropriate bottles. Things. Furthermore, if a falling bottle or an extremely abnormal array position is found in the above learning process,
Abnormal processing such as ignoring the sample information for the bottle or restarting the learning operation is performed.

Next, in step 107, the inspection area 1
The vertical and horizontal dimensions of the circumscribed rectangle are measured as the projected image dimensions of the bottle passing through Step 8, and in Step 108, Step 107
Is compared with the proper dimension set in step 101 to determine whether or not the bottle has fallen. Actually, the dimension measurement and the determination can be performed simultaneously as shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 3c denotes a falling bottle, and reference numeral 18 denotes an inspection area. The width of the inspection area 18 is set substantially equal to the passing width of a normal bottle. For example, it can be determined that the bottle has fallen. However, since the bottle may accidentally fall down to the side, only the width dimension is set in Step 107 and Step 1 in FIG.
It is necessary to perform a measurement comparison according to 08.

If it is detected in step 108 that the bottle has fallen, that is, if the external dimensions of the projected image measured during normal operation exceed a predetermined value, the sequence control is executed.
An alarm signal (first alarm) is output to the laser 15 and, for example, a buzzer (not shown) is sounded (step 109: first alarm means).
The center position of the circumscribed rectangle with respect to the projected image of the bottle passing through is measured as an error distance from the average position stored in step 106 (step 110).

Next, the center position is compared with the allowable error set in step 101 (step 111). If the center position of the bottle is abnormal, the sequence controller 1
For example, an alarm signal (second alarm) is output to 5 and a buzzer sounds (step (112: second alarm means)). Then, the distance is measured (step 113), and the measured value of the adjacent distance is compared with the allowable adjacent distance set in step 101 (step 114). , An alarm signal (third alarm) is output and, for example, a buzzer sounds (step 115: third alarm means).

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram for the method of measuring the abnormal approach distance. In FIG. 5, immediately after it is determined that the bottle 3a passing through the inspection area 18 is not overturned and the center position is within the allowable error, If the next flowing bottle 3b exceeds the approach limit line 21 and exists in the entire image area 17a, it is determined that there is an abnormal approach. Normally, only one bottle is photographed in the entire image area 17a. In such a case, the distance measurement is not performed, and the determination result in step 114 is treated as normal.

Finally, in step 116, step 10
When an abnormal signal is output at 9, 112, and 115,
Solenoid valve 9 for air blowing by cans controller 15
In this step, a drive output is generated at a. The movement distance information of the conveyor 1 by an encoder (not shown) is input to the sequence controller 15, and an abnormal bottle passes through the air jet nozzle 9. Solenoid valve 9 for timing
a is driven. When there is an abnormal approach of the bottles, the pair of bottles is removed.

If all of the judgment results in steps 108, 111 and 114 are normal or any one of them is abnormal, the process returns to step 107 as an inspection step, and the same inspection for the next bottle is started. Will be. Although the movement distance of the bottle until the cycle of operation from step 107 to step 114 is completed is very small, in order to perform a series of operations as fast as possible, instead of constantly monitoring the entire image area 17a,
As described above, mainly the inspection area 18 is mainly monitored. As described above, in the present embodiment, it is possible to obtain a signal output in accordance with the abnormality of the position of the bottle, which is the heat generating object moving on the conveyor, on the conveyor, and the presence or absence of overturning. It is possible to detect the alignment position according to the actual situation in the event of a center position shift or a fall accident that is likely to occur in the process of mounting on a conveyor.

Embodiment 2 In the first embodiment, the various kinds of judgment information are set by the digital switch 16 which is easy for the operator to operate. Instead, the personal computer 14 sends an appropriate message. May be displayed and the setting can be made directly from a keyboard (not shown) connected to the personal computer 14. Further, in the first embodiment, the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the circumscribed rectangle with respect to the appropriate projected image are set by the digital switch 16, but this information is stored by the learning function simultaneously with the measurement of the center position in steps 104 and 105. It can be automated to do so. The dimension of the projected image is determined based on the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the circumscribed rectangle, but the pattern is determined based on the stored normal projected image.
With the matching matching method, it is possible to effectively detect the presence or absence of a position shift or a fall for a more complicated bottle shape.

Further, if the average position information of the center position of the bottle calculated and stored in the step 106 is effectively used, the conveyor 1
It is also possible to correct the bottle receiving position in the subsequent process, thereby contributing to more stable operation. In each of the above-described embodiments, the transfer of the formed bottles and cups to the conveyor is intended. However, the present invention can also be applied to various types of heat-generating moving bodies similar to the above, and has the same effects.

[0030]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the infrared camera installed above the heat-generating moving body sequentially transferred by the conveyor, and the heat-generating movement based on the image from the infrared camera. Image detecting means for monitoring the projected image of the body, storage means for storing the average position of the center positions of the plurality of projected images taken during the sample operation, and external dimensions of the projected image measured during the normal operation being predetermined. A first warning means for generating a warning signal when the value exceeds a predetermined value, and a center position of a projection image measured during normal operation has an error of a predetermined value or more compared to the average position stored by the storage means. A second alarm means for generating an abnormal signal at times, so as to obtain a signal output in accordance with the presence or absence of an abnormality or a fall of the position of the heat generating moving body on the conveyor. On conveyor It is possible to detect the alignment position according to the actual situation against the misalignment of the center position and the fall accident that are likely to occur in the loading process, thereby preventing line stoppage and contributing to efficiency improvement and yield improvement. There is an effect that can be.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the size of the external dimensions of the projected image is compared and determined with reference to a circumscribed rectangle including the proper projected image. There is an effect that the presence or absence can be reliably detected.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the size of the external dimensions of the projection image is determined by a pattern matching method based on the stored normal projection image, so that a more complicated shape can be obtained. There is an effect that the presence / absence of a position shift or a fall can be effectively detected for the object.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the center position of the projected image is measured with reference to the center position of the circumscribed rectangle with respect to the projected image. Can be detected reliably.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the heat-generating movable body is placed on a conveyor at a distance equal to or less than an allowable interval, the infrared camera can display a plurality of heat-generating movable bodies in one visual field. A third warning unit that is installed at a position that can be caught and that warns of an abnormal approach between the heat-generating moving objects based on a detection result of an image interval of the plurality of heat-generating moving objects photographed by the infrared camera. Therefore, there is an effect that the detection processing time can be reduced by always limiting the monitoring image area.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the infrared camera is housed in a forced-cooled closed housing and is disposed close to the heat-generating moving body. Although the image will be deformed, by grasping the normal state based on the average value of a large number of learning samples, there is an effect that a complicated setting operation becomes unnecessary and the sharpness of the image can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a mechanism layout diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating a specific example of a control box in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of measurement of a center position of a heat generating object according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of the approach distance measurement of the heating object according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of overturn detection of a heat generating object according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a detection conceptual diagram of a conventional device.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram of a general mechanism for mounting on a conveyor.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 conveyor, 3a, 3b, 3c bottle (heat generating object),
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Closed enclosure, 12 Infrared camera, 13 Image detection device, 14 Personal computer, 15
Sequence controller, 16 digital switch, 17 display device, 106 average position storage means,
109 first alarm means, 112 second alarm means,
115 Third alarm means.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G01B 11/24 G01B 11/24 K H F Term (Reference) 2F065 AA03 AA17 AA20 AA21 AA26 AA51 BB08 BB15 CC00 DD06 FF04 GG09 GG21 JJ03 JJ09 PP15 QQ03 QQ21 QQ23 QQ28 QQ36 QQ38 QQ42 RR05 SS02 SS09 SS13 3F027 AA01 CA03 DA03 DA32 EA01 FA04 FA12 3F081 AA19 BB05 CC08 CE11 EA09 EA10 EA15 FB09

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An infrared camera installed above a heat-generating moving body sequentially transferred by a conveyor, image detecting means for monitoring a projected image of the heat-generating moving body based on an image from the infrared camera, and a sample operation. Storage means for storing an average position of the center positions of the plurality of projection images taken during the first operation, and a first means for generating an alarm signal when an outer dimension of the projection image measured during normal operation exceeds a predetermined value. Alarm means, and second alarm means for generating an abnormal signal when the center position of the projection image measured during normal operation has an error of a predetermined value or more as compared with the average position stored by the storage means. An arrangement position detecting device for a heat-generating moving body, characterized in that a signal output is obtained in accordance with the abnormality of the position of the heat-generating moving body on a conveyor or the presence or absence of a fall. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the size of the external dimensions of the projected image is compared and determined based on a circumscribed rectangle including the proper projected image. 3. The arrangement of the heat-generating moving bodies according to claim 1, wherein the size of the external dimensions of the projection image is determined by a pattern matching method based on the stored normal projection image. Position detection device. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the measurement of the center position of the projected image is calculated based on a center position of a circumscribed rectangle with respect to the projected image. 5. The infrared camera is installed at a position where a plurality of heat-generating moving bodies can be captured in one field of view when the heat-generating moving bodies are placed on a conveyor at a distance equal to or less than an allowed interval, 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: third alarm means for alarming an abnormal approach between the heat-generating moving objects based on a detection result of an image interval of the plurality of heat-generating moving objects photographed by the infrared camera. An arrangement position detecting device for a heat generating moving body according to claim 1. 6. The heat-generating moving body according to claim 1, wherein the infrared camera is housed in a closed housing that is forcibly cooled, and is arranged close to the heat-generating moving body. Array position detector.