JP2005246147A - Article discriminating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article discriminating apparatus which can suitably cope with the situation when classification of an article cannot be discriminated. <P>SOLUTION: A tray 1a on which a plurality of articles are arranged without being vertically stacked is imaged with a camera 4 from an upper part to generate an image. A position and classification of the article are discriminated by a computer 8 on the basis of the image. The position of the article the classification of which cannot be discriminated is displayed on a display panel 6 and an operator performs manual input with a bar code reader 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an article determination apparatus, and more particularly to an article determination apparatus that can suitably cope with a case where the type of an article cannot be determined.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known an “article quantity inspection device” that images a plurality of articles arranged without being stacked one above the other from above, determines the type of the article based on the obtained image, and counts the quantity (for example, , See Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 278751

In the conventional “article quantity inspection apparatus”, the type of the article is determined from the color of the article viewed from above and the area of the color.
However, there is a problem that cannot be dealt with when an article that does not match the color and area registered in advance is mixed.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an article determination device that can appropriately cope with a case where the type of an article cannot be determined.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a camera that captures a plurality of articles arranged in a container or a frame without overlapping vertically and generates an image, and position detection that detects the position of the article based on the image. An article determination apparatus comprising: means; a type determination unit that determines the type of the article based on the image; and an unknown article position notification unit that notifies a position of the article for which the type could not be determined. provide.
In the above configuration, the “container” refers to a container, a cage, a case, a pallet, a tray, or the like in which articles can be visually recognized from above. In addition, the “frame” refers to a container in which the bottom of the container is omitted.
In the above configuration, the “type” refers to the distinction between the appearance and contents, the distinction between good products and defective products, and the like.
In the article determination apparatus according to the first aspect, when an article whose type could not be determined is mixed, the position of the article whose type could not be determined is notified. I can find it.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides the article determination apparatus having the above configuration, wherein coordinates are attached to the container or the frame, and the unknown article position notification means notifies the coordinates of the article whose type cannot be determined. An article determination apparatus characterized by the above is provided.
In the article determination apparatus according to the second aspect, since the position of the article whose type could not be determined is notified by the coordinates attached to the container or the frame, the article can be easily found in the container or the frame.

In a third aspect, the present invention relates to a camera that captures an image from a position where a plurality of articles arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally can be seen and generates an image, and a position detection unit that detects the position of the article based on the image. And an article determination device for determining the type of the article, and an unknown article position notification means for notifying the position of the article for which the classification could not be determined.
In the above-described configuration, the “type determining unit” may be a unit that determines the type of an article based on an image obtained by the camera, but is not limited thereto, and the camera is different from the camera from a different angle. Means for determining the type of the article based on the captured image, means for determining the type of the article by applying light to the article and transmitting or reflecting the light may be used.
In the article determination apparatus according to the third aspect, when an article whose type could not be determined is mixed, the position of the article whose type could not be determined is notified, so that the article can be easily found.

In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides an article determination apparatus characterized in that in the article determination apparatus configured as described above, a type input unit is provided for inputting the type of an article whose type could not be determined.
In the article determination apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the type of the article at the notified position can be input by a method different from the type determination unit.

In a fifth aspect, the present invention provides an article determination apparatus characterized in that, in the article determination apparatus configured as described above, the type input means is a barcode reader.
In the article determination apparatus according to the fifth aspect, the type of the article at the informed position can be input by reading a barcode attached to the article.

  According to the article determination device of the present invention, it is possible to suitably cope with a case where the type of article cannot be determined.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited thereby.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an article determination apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment.
The article determination apparatus 100 is configured to convey the trays 1a and 1b in which a plurality of articles a to d and x are arranged without being stacked one above the other, and to stop the tray at a “standby position” on the conveyance apparatus 2. A stopper 2a, a stopper 2b for stopping the tray at the "imaging position" on the transport device 2, a stopper 2c for stopping the tray at the "manual input position" on the transport device 2, and the transport device 2 and the stoppers 2a to 2 A control device 3 for driving 2c, a camera 4 for picking up an image of the tray stopped at the image pickup position from above, and a barcode reader 5 for reading the barcode attached to the articles a to d, x A display panel 6 such as a liquid crystal display for displaying a message to the operator, a printer 7 for printing the type and quantity of articles placed on the tray for which the determination has been completed, and a computer When, it is provided with such an input device 9 keyboard, and such display device 10 CRT of.

FIG. 2 is a view of the transport device 2 as viewed from above.
The tray 1a is at the shooting position and is within the imaging range 4a of the camera 4. On the tray 1a, a circular / large-sized article a, a circular / small-sized article b, a square / small-sized article c, a rectangular / large-sized article d and a triangle / large-sized article x are viewed from above. They are arranged without overlapping.
The tray 1b is in the standby position. On the tray 1b, articles a to d are arranged without being stacked one above the other.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the tray 1a.
On the tray 1a, x coordinates “A, B, C, D” and y coordinates “1, 2, 3, 4” are printed. And 16 coordinate positions of a combination of x coordinate and y coordinate are sectioned, and a maximum of 16 articles can be placed.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing article determination processing by the computer 7.
In step P1, the stoppers 2a and 2b are raised.

In step P2, the image of the camera 4 is captured.
In step P3, it is determined whether or not there is a tray at the imaging position from the image. If there is no tray, the process proceeds to step P4. If there is a tray (1a), the process proceeds to step P5.

  In step P4, the stopper 2a is lowered so that the tray flows from the standby position to the imaging position. Then, the process returns to Step P2.

  In step P5, the stopper 2a is raised so that the next tray (1b) stops at the standby position (as shown in FIG. 2).

In step P6, images of a plurality of articles on the tray are individually cut based on the images, and the position of each article is detected. Then, the image of the article whose position is detected and the image information of the articles a, b, c, d stored in advance (the shape and size of the upper surface of the articles a, b, c, d) are collated. The type is determined and the quantity of the same type of article is counted. The position of the article whose type could not be determined is taken out.
For example, in the tray 1a shown in FIG. 2, since the articles a to d have the corresponding image information, the type can be determined and the quantity can be counted, but the article x cannot be determined because there is no corresponding image information. The coordinates (C, 2) are taken out.

In step P7, the stopper 2c is raised so that the tray stops at the manual input position.
In step P8, the stopper 2b is lowered so that the tray (1a) flows from the imaging position to the manual input position (as shown in FIG. 5).

  In Step P9, it is checked whether there is an article whose type cannot be determined. If there is an article, the process proceeds to Step P10, and if not, the process proceeds to Step P12.

In step P10, as shown in FIG. 6, the position (C, 2) of the article (x) whose type could not be determined is displayed on the display panel 6 and the type should be manually input using the barcode reader 5. Is displayed on the display panel 6.
Looking at this display, the operator takes out the article (x) at the displayed position and reads the barcode attached thereto with the barcode reader 5.

  In step P11, the process waits until the bar code is read by the bar code reader 5. If read, the type and quantity of the article (x) are updated based on the result, and the process proceeds to step P12.

In step P12, a message to the effect that classification of all articles on the tray (1a) and quantity counting have been completed is displayed on the display panel 6.
In Step P13, the types and quantities of all the articles on the tray (1a) are launched from the printer 7.

In Step P14, the stopper 2b is raised so that the next tray (1b) stops at the imaging position.
In Step P15, the stopper 2c is lowered so that the tray (1a) flows to the next stage (as shown in FIG. 7).
Then, the process returns to Step P2.

  When the printout is output, the operator may cut out the printout and take out the tray (1a) from the carry-out device 2.

  According to the article determination apparatus 100 of the first embodiment, when the article (x) whose type could not be determined is mixed, the position of the article (x) whose type could not be determined is notified. x) can be easily found, and the type of the article (x) can be manually input.

  In the first embodiment, the type is determined from the shape and size of the image of the article, but the type may be determined from the color and area of the image of the article.

  A speaker may be added to output a message by voice.

  A plurality of spotlights corresponding to each section where the article is placed are provided at the manual input position, and only the spotlight corresponding to the section of the article (x) whose type cannot be determined is turned on, and the type cannot be determined. The position of the article (x) whose type could not be determined may be notified by spot irradiation of the article (x).

  A proximity wireless tag is attached to an article instead of a barcode, and a wireless tag reader is used instead of the barcode reader 5, and an article whose type cannot be determined by an image is read by the wireless tag reader. Good.

  The type of article may be determined based on an image captured from a different angle by a camera provided separately from the camera 4 of the first embodiment.

  The articles may be arranged in a line in the transport direction, the measurement light may be applied from the side, and the type of the article may be determined based on the light transmitted through the article or the light reflected by the article.

  It can be used for goods in / out management.

1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an article determination device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a top view which shows a conveying apparatus. It is a top view which shows a tray. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a computer. It is a top view which shows the movement of the tray from an imaging position to a manual input position. It is an illustration figure of the message displayed when the articles | goods whose classification cannot be determined are mixed. It is a top view which shows the movement of the tray from a manual input position to the next stage.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a, 1b Tray 2 Conveyance apparatus 2a, 2b, 2c Stopper 3 Control apparatus 4 Camera 4a Imaging range 5 Bar code reader 6 Display panel 7 Printer 8 Computer 9 Input apparatus 10 Display apparatus 100 Article determination apparatus a-d, x article

Claims (5)

  A camera that picks up a plurality of articles arranged in a container or a frame without overlapping vertically and generates an image, a position detection unit that detects the position of the article based on the image, and the article based on the image An article determination apparatus comprising: a class determination unit that determines the type of the article; and an unknown article position notification unit that reports the position of the article for which the classification could not be determined.   The article determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein coordinates are attached to the container or the frame, and the unknown article position notification means notifies the coordinates of an article whose type cannot be determined. apparatus.   A camera that captures an image from a position where a plurality of articles arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally can be seen, generates an image, position detection means that detects the position of the article based on the image, and type determination that determines the type of the article An article determination apparatus comprising: means; and unknown article position notification means for reporting the position of an article whose type could not be determined.   4. The article determination apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a type input unit for inputting a type of an article whose type could not be determined.   5. The article determination apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the type input means is a barcode reader.

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