JP2002096353A - Inspection device for resin molded article - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inspection device capable of efficiently inspecting a two-material resin molded article with high reliability. SOLUTION: Inspection is adapted to a protective cap 1 molded by successively injecting a first resin and a second resin comprising an elastomer in the cavity of a mold from gates to fill the cavity. A first detection means 21 detects the presence of the dent in the seal material comprising the second resin by image processing and a second detection means 22 detects the presence of the stain in the seal material by imaging processing. A third detection means 23 detects the presence of the vertical burr of the seal material by image processing. A fourth detection means 24 detects the presence of the filling insufficiency at the position separated from the gate for the first resin in the cap main body comprising the first resin by image processing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a resin molded product inspection apparatus.

[0002]

FIGS. 2 to 4 show an example of a resin molded product. This resin molded product is a protective cap 1 for an ink tank of a printer, and is a two-material resin molded product of a first resin made of plastomer and a second resin made of an elastomer. The first resin is colored in a predetermined color such as orange and is opaque, and the second resin is
Is transparent or translucent (milky white). Hereinafter, the portion made of the first resin is referred to as a cap body 2. Also,
The portion made of the second resin is a sealing material 3 that closes an ink outlet of an ink tank body (not shown).

The cap body 2 has a substantially box shape with an open lower surface, and projections 4 and 5 are formed on the opening sides of both longitudinal side walls, respectively.
Locking claws 6 are respectively formed on the inner surfaces of the pair, i.e., surfaces facing each other. These locking claws 6 are for attaching the protective cap 1 to the ink tank body. Note that one of the protruding pieces 4 is elongated and serves as a knob 7. A through hole 8 is formed in the upper surface of the cap body 2 so that the locking claw 6 is not formed into an undercut shape when the cap body 2 is formed. Is formed at a position closer to. Then, the substantially rectangular flat sealing material 3 is joined to the upper surface in the cap main body 2 to close the opening hole 9. At the time of use, the knob 7 is pinched with a finger to release the locking by the locking claw 6, and the protective cap 1 is removed from the ink tank body.

[0004] The protective cap 1 is injection molded from a thermoplastic resin. Although a mold for molding is not shown, at the time of molding, first, a primary cavity having the shape of the cap body 2 is formed in the mold, and a primary gate from the primary gate is formed in the primary cavity. Inject and fill 1 resin. Next, a secondary cavity having the shape of the sealing material 3 is formed in a mold, and a second resin, which is a secondary resin, is injected and filled into the secondary cavity from a secondary gate. By such two-material molding (two-color molding), the protective cap 1 in which the cap body 2 and the sealing material 3 are integrated with each other.
Is molded. In the drawing, 11 is the trace of the primary gate, 12
Is the trace of the secondary gate. The secondary gate mark 12 is located at a position corresponding to the opening 8. That is, this opening hole 8
Is necessary for convenience of molding.

In such a protective cap 1, there is a possibility that various molding defects occur. The protective cap 1
In the case of the above, the molding defects particularly problematic are as follows.
First, at a position on the back side of the secondary gate in the sealing material 3,
A dent 13 as shown by a chain line in FIG. 3 may occur. The reason is that the temperature immediately below the gate becomes high during molding. When the molded protective cap 1 is taken out of the mold while the temperature of the sealing material 3 at the position on the back side of the secondary gate is high, the resin 3 shrinks with cooling, and the dent 3 is formed. And
Such a depression 3 causes ink leakage in the ink tank. In addition, due to burning of the second resin (a phenomenon in which the resin burns black) in an injection molding machine or the like, the sealing material 3
In some cases, black spot-like staining called contamination may occur. 14 shown in FIG. 1 is an example of the contamination. In addition, vertical burrs 15 as shown by a chain line in FIG. Further, since it is necessary to separate the primary gate and the secondary gate to some extent in manufacturing the mold, the primary gate is located at a position closer to the protruding piece 4 side in the cap body 2, so that the primary cavity is
Insufficient filling may occur on the opposite protruding piece 5.

Conventionally, such an inspection of molding defects has been performed visually by an operator. However, such manual inspection is time-consuming, time-consuming and inefficient, and may lead to wrong decisions, and is not reliable.

An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a resin molded product inspection apparatus capable of efficiently performing a highly reliable inspection of a resin molded product.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a first resin and a second resin comprising an elastomer are sequentially injected into a cavity in a mold from a gate. An inspection device for a two-material resin molded product molded by filling, wherein first detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a dent in a portion made of the second resin, and an inspection device for a portion made of the second resin A second detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of contamination, a third detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of burrs in the portion made of the second resin, and a first portion made of the first resin, And a fourth detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of insufficient filling at a position distant from the resin gate.

That is, the first detecting means detects the presence or absence of a dent in the portion made of the second resin, and the second detecting means detects the presence or absence of contamination in the portion made of the second resin. The third detecting means detects the presence or absence of burrs in the portion made of the second resin, and the fourth detecting means detects the portion made of the first resin at a position distant from the gate for the first resin. To detect the presence or absence of insufficient filling.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the resin molded product inspection apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, each of the detecting means includes a photographing means for photographing a predetermined position of the resin molded article, and a processing means for processing the photographed image. Image processing means.

That is, in each detecting means, the photographing means photographs a predetermined position of the resin molded article, and the image processing means processes the photographed image, thereby detecting the presence or absence of a dent in the portion made of the second resin. Detecting the presence or absence of contamination in the portion made of the second resin, detecting the presence or absence of burrs in the portion made of the second resin, and detecting the gate made of the first resin for the first resin. The presence or absence of insufficient filling at a position distant from the camera is detected.

[0012]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a resin molded product inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The resin molded product to be inspected is the protective cap 1 described above and shown in FIGS. Therefore, the description is omitted. As shown in FIG. 1, the present inspection apparatus performs transporting means 20 for sequentially transporting the plurality of protective caps 1 intermittently, and performs various detections described below on the protective caps 1 transported by the transporting means 20. First detecting means 2 to be performed
1, a second detecting means 22, a third detecting means 23 and a fourth detecting means 24 are provided. As will be described in detail later, the first detecting means 21 detects the presence or absence of the dent 13 on the back side of the secondary gate in the sealing material 3 made of the second resin, and further detects the amount thereof. In addition, the second detecting means 22 includes the sealing material 3
Is to detect the presence or absence of the contamination 14 which is the contamination in the above. The first detecting means 21 and the second detecting means 22 share constituent elements. The third detecting means 23 detects the presence or absence of the vertical burr 15 in the sealing material 3. Further, the fourth detecting means 24 detects whether or not the protrusion 5 of the cap body 2 made of the first resin is insufficiently filled. The protruding piece 5 is located farthest from the primary gate for the first resin during molding.

Each of the detecting means 21, 22, 23, and 24 basically includes a camera 31, 32, such as a CCD camera, as a photographing means for photographing a predetermined position of the protective cap 1, which is an object to be inspected.
33, and image processing means 36, 37, 38, and 39 for processing images captured by the cameras 31, 32, and 33 to perform the detection. These image processing means 36, 37, 3
8 and 39 can actually be constituted by a common computer. Although not shown, each detecting means 2
1, 22, 23 and 24 temporarily receive the protection cap 1 conveyed by the conveyance means 20 and move the protection cap 1 to a predetermined position and direction with respect to the cameras 31, 32 and 33 as necessary. There are also provided a protective cap position adjusting means for positioning, and an illuminating means for irradiating predetermined positions of the protective cap 1 with light. Further, each detecting means 21, 22, 23, 24
Also has sorting means 41, 42, 43 for sorting out and removing the protective cap 1 determined to be defective as a result of the inspection.

The camera 31 of the first detecting means 21
Is for photographing the sealing material 3 from the front. The first resin forming the cap body 2 is colored and opaque, such as orange, and the second resin forming the sealing material 3 is translucent milky white.
The density varies depending on the thickness of the sealing material 3. Also,
The presence of the depression 13 causes uneven density due to differences in light attenuation and shadows. Utilizing this, the first detecting means 21
Is to detect the presence or absence of the dent 13 on the back side of the secondary gate in the sealing material 3, and further detect the amount thereof.

The camera 31 is shared by the first detecting means 21 and the second detecting means 22. Since the sealing material 3 is milky white and the contamination 14 is a black dot,
The presence or absence of the contamination 14 can be detected based on the presence or absence of a high-density portion in the captured image.

The camera 32 of the third detecting means 23 also photographs the sealing material 3. Based on the sealing material 3 and the background image, the presence or absence of the vertical burr 15 protruding from the sealing material 3 can be detected.

The camera 33 of the fourth detecting means 24 is for photographing the vicinity of the projecting piece 5 of the cap body 2. If the projections 5 have irregularities due to insufficient filling, the photographed images will have uneven density due to differences in light attenuation and shadows. Utilizing this, the fourth detecting means 24
Is for detecting the presence or absence of insufficient filling of the protruding piece 5 of the cap body 2.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. The formed protective cap 1 is supplied to the present inspection device, and is sequentially sent to the cameras 31, 32, and 33 of the detecting units 21, 22, 23, and 24 by the transporting unit 20, and these cameras 31, 32, and 33 are sequentially sent.
Photographed sequentially by 33.

First detecting means 21 and second detecting means 21
The camera 31 captures an image of the sealing material 3. The image processing means 36 analyzes the density distribution of the photographed image and detects the amount of the depression 13 on the back side of the secondary gate in the sealing material 3.
If the amount of the depression is equal to or less than a predetermined value (threshold value), it is determined to be a non-defective product, otherwise, it is determined to be a defective product. The threshold for this determination may be adjustable. Further, the image processing means 37 analyzes the density distribution of the photographed image, and detects whether or not the contamination 14 having a size equal to or more than a predetermined size exists in the sealing material 3. If there is no contamination 14, it is regarded as a non-defective product, otherwise, it is regarded as a defective product. The threshold for this determination, that is, how large the contamination 14 is allowed may be adjustable.

The sealing member 3 is photographed also by the camera 32 of the third detecting means 23. The image processing means 38 analyzes the density distribution of the photographed image and detects the presence or absence of the vertical burrs 15 on the sealing material 3. More specifically, the area of the vertical burr 15 in the image is obtained, and if this area is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value (threshold), it is determined to be a non-defective product; otherwise, it is determined to be a defective product. The threshold for this determination may be adjustable.

The camera 33 of the fourth detecting means 24 photographs the vicinity of the projecting piece 5 of the cap body 2. Image processing means 39
Detects the unevenness by analyzing the density distribution of the photographed image, and thereby detects the presence or absence of insufficient filling. For example, if the concentration is within a predetermined range, it is determined as a non-defective product; otherwise, it is determined as a defective product. The threshold for this determination may be adjustable.

In each of the detecting means 21, 22, 23, and 24, the protective cap 1 determined to be defective is sorted out by the selecting means 41,
Excluded by 42, 43 and sorted out as good.

As described above, by using the present inspection apparatus, highly reliable inspection can be efficiently performed. That is, non-defective products and defective products can be automatically and reliably selected. Further, since the inspection is performed by image processing, a reliable inspection can be performed without adversely affecting the protective cap 1 itself.

The inspection device may be provided for each molding machine for molding the protection cap 1, but the protection cap 1 molded by a plurality of molding machines may be inspected by a common inspection device. Thus, costs can be reduced.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example,
An inspection item other than the four inspection items may be added. In the above embodiment, the first detecting means 21 for detecting the presence or absence of the depression 13 and the second detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the contamination 14 are used.
Although components such as the camera 31 are shared with the detection means 22 of
A camera may be provided separately for the first detecting means and the second detecting means. Further, each detecting means may be provided with a plurality of cameras instead of one.

[0026]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a two-material resin molded by sequentially injecting a first resin and a second resin composed of an elastomer from a gate into a cavity in a mold and filling the cavity. An inspection apparatus for a molded article, wherein first detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a dent in the portion made of the second resin, and second detection for detecting the presence or absence of contamination in the portion made of the second resin Means, third detection means for detecting the presence or absence of burrs in the portion made of the second resin, and filling at a portion made of the first resin and away from the gate for the first resin Since the apparatus is provided with the fourth detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the shortage, highly reliable inspection of the resin molded product can be automatically and efficiently performed.

According to the resin molded product inspection apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, each of the detecting means includes a photographing means for photographing a predetermined position of the resin molded product, Since it is composed of the image processing means for processing the photographed image, a reliable inspection can be performed without adversely affecting the resin molded product.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a resin molded product inspection device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a lower perspective view of a protective cap which is a resin molded product to be inspected.

FIG. 3 is an upper perspective view of the same.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Protective cap (two-material resin molded article) 2 Cap main body (part consisting of 1st resin) 3 Sealing material (part consisting of 2nd resin) 13 Depression 14 Contamination (dirt) 15 Vertical burr 21 1 detecting means 22 second detecting means 23 third detecting means 24 fourth detecting means 31 camera (photographing means) 32 camera (photographing means) 33 camera (photographing means) 36 image processing means 37 image processing means 38 image Processing means 39 Image processing means

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Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A second resin comprising an elastomer and a first resin.
A two-material resin molded product which is formed by sequentially injecting and filling a resin in a cavity from a gate into a cavity, and detecting the presence or absence of a dent in the portion made of the second resin. A first detector, a second detector for detecting the presence or absence of contamination in the portion made of the second resin, and a third detector for detecting the presence or absence of burrs in the portion made of the second resin. And a fourth detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of insufficient filling at a position distant from the gate for the first resin, the portion being made of the first resin. Inspection equipment. 2. The resin molding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the detection means includes an imaging means for photographing a predetermined position of the resin molded article, and an image processing means for processing the photographed image. Inspection equipment.