JP2007333591A - Inspection lighting system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inspection lighting system capable of simultaneously attaining space saving and promotion of efficiency of light. <P>SOLUTION: The inspection lighting system is equipped with a light guide 31 for receiving the light from a light source, to emit the same from its leading end and a columnar member 32 for receiving the light from the light guide 31 to irradiate the side surface of an inspection target 1. The columnar member 32 is equipped with an inclined surface 32A, cut from the direction crossing the axis of the columnar member 32, in order to emit the light incident on the columnar member 32 from the side surface of the columnar member 32 and is arranged at a position that approaches the inspection target 1 from the upper or lower direction orthogonal to the feed direction of the inspection target 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  In order to inspect the appearance side of a small inspection object (small article) such as a medicine such as a tablet or a capsule, a confectionery such as a bag, a washer, a button battery, a semiconductor, or the like, the side surface of the inspection object The present invention relates to an inspection illumination device for irradiating light.

When inspecting the side surface of the tablet as described above, a rotating drum having a rubber ring formed with a tablet holding groove capable of holding each tablet one by one is provided on the outer periphery, and the upper rotating drum is used. Irradiate light to half of the side surfaces of the tablet, capture the image with an imaging device, inspect the half side surface, deliver the tablet from the upper rotating drum to the lower rotating drum, The side surface is irradiated with light, the image is captured by an imaging device, and the remaining half side surface is inspected (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In addition, a belt conveyor for placing and transporting tablets on a belt conveyor on a flat belt, and a tablet transported on the belt conveyor are arranged at a predetermined interval in the transport width direction in order to align and guide the tablets. A through-groove-shaped passage formed by providing a wall, and a skew portion is provided at the end of the passage in the conveyance direction, and the surface side of the tablet is inspected at the beginning in the conveyance direction of the passage, and the conveyance direction of the passage The tablet is inverted at the skewed portion of the terminal portion, and the back side of the tablet is inspected (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2001-74664 A (see FIGS. 1 and 2) JP 10-35862 A (see FIG. 2)

In the configuration of Patent Document 1, not only the processing cost of the rotating drum itself is very high, but also the rubber ring or the like has to be replaced every time the size of the tablet is changed. there were. Further, when two rotating drums having a large diameter are arranged in the vertical direction, there is a disadvantage that the entire apparatus is enlarged in the vertical direction.
Moreover, although the structure of the said patent document 2 can test | inspect both the front and back of a tablet, there existed a problem which cannot test | inspect the side of a tablet.

  In view of the above-described situation, an object of the present invention is to provide an inspection illumination device capable of simultaneously saving space and improving light efficiency.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the inspection illumination device of the present invention receives a light guide that receives light from a light source and emits it from the tip, and an inspection object that is conveyed by receiving light from the light guide. A columnar member for irradiating light on the side surface of the columnar member, and the columnar member intersects with the axis of the columnar member so as to emit light that has entered the columnar member from the side surface of the columnar member. An inclined surface cut from a direction is provided, and the columnar member is arranged at a position close to the inspection object from above or below perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the inspection object.
Just by placing a columnar member with an inclined surface at a position close to the inspection object from above or below perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the inspection object, light from the light source is received by the columnar member through the light guide. Then, the received light can be reflected from the inclined surface of the columnar member and emitted from the side surface of the columnar member. The shape of the columnar member includes a columnar shape, an elliptical columnar shape, a rectangular parallelepiped shape, a cubic shape, and the like, and only the emission side surface of the columnar member can be formed into a flat surface, a convex surface, a concave surface, or the like.

  In order to condense the light reflected from the inclined surface and emitted from the side surface of the columnar member, the columnar member is provided with a curved surface protruding toward the inspection object side, whereby the emission surface of the columnar member (curved) The object to be inspected can be illuminated with light obtained by condensing the emitted light on the surface.

  The light source is composed of a single light source, and is configured to receive light from the light source by the light guide provided with a plurality of light sources. The same number of the columnar members as the plurality of light guides are provided. Of these, at least a columnar member located at a position outside the conveyance width of the inspection object may be arranged so that the side surface on the light emission side thereof faces the side surface of the inspection object to be conveyed.

  Of the plurality of columnar members, the irradiation side tip of the auxiliary columnar member positioned within the conveyance width of the inspection object is above or below the inspection object so as not to contact the inspection object to be conveyed. And the inclination angle of the inclined surface of the auxiliary columnar member with respect to the horizontal plane may be set larger than the inclination angle of the inclined surface of the columnar member positioned at a location outside the conveyance width of the inspection object. .

  You may arrange | position the mirror for reflecting the image of the side surface of the test object irradiated by the said columnar member, and taking in to an imaging means between these columnar members.

  A plurality of transport paths for transporting the inspection object may be provided, and the columnar members may be disposed on both sides of the transport path across the transport paths.

  You may connect the said light guide and the said columnar member in the state which the emission end surface of this light guide and the incident end surface of this columnar member contact.

  The columnar member may be formed in a columnar shape or an elliptical columnar shape.

  The inclined surface of the columnar member arranged at a position close to the inspection object from above is configured as a tapered surface located on the upper side toward the inspection object, and is disposed at a position close to the inspection object from below. You may comprise the inclined surface of the said columnar member in the taper surface located below as it goes to the test object.

  The inspection illumination device is arranged only by securing a space for arranging the columnar member with the inclined surface at a position close to the inspection object from above or below perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the inspection object. For example, compared to a configuration in which a prism for changing the direction of light emitted from the emission-side tip of a columnar member not provided with an inclined surface is arranged directly below the columnar member to constitute an inspection illumination device Thus, not only can the space be saved, but also the number of parts can be reduced, and an inspection illumination device that is advantageous in terms of cost can be provided.

  In order to condense the light reflected from the inclined surface and emitted from the side surface of the columnar member, the columnar member is provided with a curved surface protruding toward the inspection object side, whereby the emission surface of the columnar member (curved) Surface) can illuminate the inspection object with the light collected from the emitted light, and can not only irradiate the inspection object with strong light, but also change the distance of the columnar member to the inspection object. The light intensity can be adjusted.

  When the light source is a single light source and the light guide provided with a plurality of light sources receives light, and the same number of columnar members as the plurality of light guides are provided, Since the light from one light source is dispersed and a part of the light is received and irradiated onto the inspection target by the columnar member, the prism is provided as described above, and the prism that is a relay member from the columnar member When the direction of light irradiation is changed via the light, the light intensity is reduced due to light loss during light delivery, and light is directly applied to the inspection object from the columnar member of the present invention that does not include the prism. Irradiation has an advantage of securing strong light. Further, among these plurality of columnar members, at least a columnar member located at a position outside the conveyance width of the inspection object is arranged so that the side surface on the light emission side thereof faces the side surface of the inspection object to be conveyed. In this case, it is possible to effectively reduce the light intensity by effectively using the light emitted from the columnar member. In addition, although the intensity | strength of light can be raised by arrange | positioning the condensing lens for condensing the light from the said prism, the increase in a number of parts will be caused.

  Miniaturization of the entire apparatus by arranging a mirror for reflecting the image of the side surface of the inspection object irradiated by the columnar member and taking it into the imaging means by utilizing the gaps between the columnar members. Can be achieved.

  In the case where a plurality of transport paths for transporting the inspection object are provided and the columnar members are disposed on both sides of the transport path across all the transport paths, the layout space is particularly reduced. Only a space where the columnar member can be inserted from above or below can be used, and the installation of the inspection illumination device can be realized even when a plurality of conveyance paths are provided.

  By connecting the light guide and the columnar member in a state where the exit end surface of the light guide and the incident end surface of the columnar member are in contact with each other, the light is transferred well without requiring a transfer member or the like. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced and the apparatus can be further downsized.

  By forming the columnar member in a columnar shape or an elliptical columnar shape, processing becomes easier than in the configuration in which only the portion constituting the exit surface is formed in the curved portion, which is advantageous in terms of manufacturing.

In FIG. 2, a hopper 2 as a storage unit for storing a circular flat tablet 1 (see FIG. 5) which is an example of an inspection object having a pair of upper and lower flat surfaces, and a flat tablet 1 from the hopper 2 1 shows an aligning / conveying device having aligning means 3 for aligning the two. The inspection object is an aligning / conveying apparatus for aligning small objects (small articles) such as candy such as bags, washers, button batteries, semiconductors, etc. in addition to pharmaceuticals such as flat tablets 1 and capsules. May be.
Further, FIG. 1 shows an inspection illumination device according to the present invention for receiving a flat tablet 1 after being aligned by the aligning and conveying device, taking an image of a side surface of the flat tablet 1 and performing an appearance inspection. 1 shows an alignment inspection system provided. This system is covered with a casing having an openable / closable door (not shown).
Here, an inspection illumination device is provided after the alignment conveyance device, but the alignment conveyance device may be omitted and only the inspection illumination device may be used alone. In FIG. 1, the left and right sides of the paper surface are defined as the left-right direction, the direction penetrating the paper surface vertically is defined as the front-rear direction, and the upper and lower sides of the paper surface are defined as the vertical direction.

  More specifically, the aligning / conveying device receives the flat tablet 1 discharged through the lower end opening of the hopper 2 and discharges it to the shooter 4 in a left-downward inclined posture disposed on the left side in FIG. And the flat tablet 1 discharged from the lower end of the shooter 4 and the flat tablet 1 collected by the collecting means 8 to be described later are supplied and supplied through the shooter 6 in a downwardly inclined posture for moving to the right. The second supply part 7 as a delivery part for delivering the flattened tablet 1 to the aligning means 3 cannot be aligned by the aligning means 3 but is positioned below the aligning means 3 to align the flat tablet 1 A recovery means 8 is provided for recovering the flat tablet 1 falling from the end of the means 3 and returning it to the second supply unit 7 via the shooter 6. Here, the flat tablet 1 collected by the collecting means 8 is returned to the second supply section 6 via the shooter 6, but it may be returned to the first supply section 5 or the hopper 2 or the aligning means. 3 may be directly returned to the upstream side.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the alignment means 3 is a belt conveyor 9 which is an example of a conveying means for conveying an object to a linear conveying path, and the flat tablet 1 conveyed by the belt conveyor 9. In order to align the flat tablets 1 in four rows along the corresponding contact surface 10A by contacting the contact surface 10A formed obliquely across the transport path K, the four sheets provided at predetermined intervals are also provided. And a guide member 10. The guide member 10 may be one, two, or five or more, but it is preferable to provide a plurality of guide members 10 in order to increase the efficiency of alignment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the belt conveyor 9 is wound around a driving pulley 9C arranged at the conveyance end, a driven pulley 9B arranged at the conveyance start end, a tension pulley 9D, and these pulleys 9B, 9C, 9D. It is composed of an endless belt 9A made of rubber (which may be made of cloth, synthetic resin or metal), but may be a chain-driven belt conveyor or other general-purpose transport device There may be. It should be noted that the lower end surface of the guide member 10 is positioned slightly above the object so that it does not contact or contact the belt 9A so that it does not contact the surface of the belt 9A strongly and drive the belt 9A. (With a certain amount of clearance). A guide plate 11 is provided on the end side of the guide member 10 in the conveying direction so as to face the position where the flat tablets 1 can sequentially enter in a row and is arranged in parallel with the guide member 10. The material of the guide plate 11 may be the same as or different from that of the guide member 10.

The recovery means 8 is positioned below the transport means 9, receives (collects) the flat tablet 1 dropped from the end of the transport means 9, and conveys it to the transport start end side of the transport means 9. The conveyor 8 is configured so that the rear rising inclined portion 8A is located higher toward the end of the conveying means 9, and the front rising inclined portion 8B rising toward the shooter 6 from the lower end of the rear rising inclined portion 8A. It consists of the shape of a side view. It should be noted that the inclination angles of the rear rising inclination portion 8A and the front rising inclination portion 8B can be freely set and changed.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, rubber (cloth, synthetic resin, or metal) is provided between a pair of side walls 12 and 12 provided on the rear rising slope portion 8A and the front rising slope portion 8B. The endless belt 13 may be stretched, and a number of receiving plates 13A having the same width as the belt width on the surface of the endless belt 13 and having a set height in the vertical direction may be rotated by the belt. Stands with a set interval in the direction. Instead of the conveyor, a vibration feeder (also referred to as a vibration conveyor) may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a tilting guide 13 </ b> G having a right-angled triangle in plan view is provided at the conveyance direction start end portion of the guide surface of each guide member 10. This tilting guide 13G is installed between the lower surface thereof and the upper surface of the belt 9A so as to have a gap allowing the passage of one flat tablet 1A in a lying posture where the flat surface contacts the upper surface of the belt 9A. The flat tablet 1A in a standing posture where the flat surface is positioned perpendicular to the upper surface of the belt 9A not only prevents two or more sheets from being conveyed while being in contact with the contact surface 10A of the guide member 10. Is brought into contact with the inclined surface 13T of the tilting guide 13G, so that the posture can be immediately changed to a sleeping posture in which the flat surface is in contact with the upper surface of the belt 9A, but the tilting guide 13G is omitted. You can also.

  At the start end of the aligning means 3, there are provided a rotary openable / closable aligning shutter 15 and a supply amount adjusting shutter 14 capable of changing the size of the opening supplied to each guide member 10. When the flat tablet 1 or 1A is supplied, the alignment shutter 15 can be opened, and when it is not supplied, the alignment shutter 15 can be closed. The supply amount from the second supply unit 7 can be adjusted based on detection information from the supply amount detection sensor 16.

  The inspection illumination device will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, a first transport unit 17 that receives and transports the four rows of flat tablets aligned by the align transport device in a straight line, and the first transport. Three first illumination units 18, 19, and 20 above the unit 17, a second transport unit 21 that receives the flat tablets from the end of the first transport unit 17 and transports them in a straight line, and the second transport unit Although the two second illuminating units 22, 23, and 24 are provided below 21, there may be other configurations. Then, the flat tablet inspected by the illumination unit outputs the inspection result to the selection unit 25 and is dropped into the uninspected product recovery container 28 via the shooters 26 and 27, or is displayed in the defective product recovery container 29. It is made to drop through a shooter not shown, or dropped into a non-defective product collection container not shown. The second illumination units 22, 23, and 24 are attached with the first illumination units 18, 19, and 20 turned upside down, and the configuration itself is the same. Further, the second transport unit 21 is attached upside down with respect to the first transport unit 17, and the configuration itself is the same. By providing a mechanism for changing the posture of the tablet to an inverted posture in which the upper and lower surfaces thereof are opposite, the second transport unit 21 and the second illumination units 22, 23, and 24 are replaced with the first transport unit 17 and the first transport unit. It can be attached in the same posture as that of the one illumination unit 18, 19, 20.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the first transport unit 17 transports the flat tablet 1 by being driven by a rectangular transport rail 17A and a driving device (not shown) attached to the transport rail 17A. However, it may be constituted by a belt conveyor composed of flat belts.
On the upper surface of the transport rail 17A, there are formed ridges 17C projecting upward and extending in the transport width direction at four locations in the transport width direction, and V-shaped extending in the transport direction at the tops of these ridges 17C. A pair of groove portions 17D, 17D is formed. Round belts 17B and 17B are engaged with the pair of grooves 17D and 17D, respectively. A long suction slit 17S is formed between the grooves 17D and 17D in the transport direction for sucking air so that the transported flat tablet 1 can be transported while being sucked. A plurality of suction ports 17K for sucking air are formed at the bottom of the pair of grooves 17D and 17D so that the round belts 17B and 17B moving through the grooves 17D and 17D do not float upward. Suction is performed to the grooves 17D and 17D.

  Of the first illumination units 18, 19, and 20, the first illumination unit 18 located on the start end side in the transport direction has a portion on which the foreign substance or dirt is not attached or is missing on the upper surface of the flat tablet. The first illuminating unit 19 located in the middle is an illuminating unit for confirming whether or not the one engraved on the upper surface of the flat tablet is normal, on the end side in the transport direction The 1st illumination part 20 located is an illumination part for confirming whether the front half of the side surface of a flat tablet has a damage | wound, a stain | pollution | contamination, or a missing part. Of the second illuminators 22, 23, and 24, the second illuminator 22 located on the conveyance direction start end side has a portion where foreign matter, dirt, or the like is not attached to or is missing from the lower surface of the flat tablet. The second illuminating unit 23 located in the middle is an illuminating unit for confirming that what is engraved on the lower surface of the flat tablet is normal, and is on the end side in the transport direction The second illuminating unit 24 located in the illuminating unit 24 is an illuminating unit for confirming whether there are scratches, dirt, etc. in the rear half of the side surface of the flat tablet or whether there is a missing part. It is not limited to.

  The first illumination unit 20 that irradiates the side surface of the flat tablet will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 8, a pair of upper and lower halogen lamps 30 and 30 as a light source, and light from each halogen lamp 30 are used. A light guide 31 composed of ten optical fibers that receive light and exit from the tip, and a light guide 31 for irradiating light onto the side of the flat tablet 1 that receives light from the light guide 31 and is conveyed. The same number of columnar members 32 are provided. Four mirrors 34, 35, 36, and 37 for reflecting the image of the side surface of the flat tablet 1 irradiated by the columnar member 32 and taking it into a CCD camera 33 as an imaging means are provided to the columnar members 32 and 32. Arranged in between. 4 is an illumination unit including the columnar member 32 and mirrors 34, 35, 36, and 37. The illumination unit 38 is reflected by the mirrors 34, 35, 36, and 37 at an upper position of the illumination unit 38 and moves upward. The folded mirror 39 for changing in the horizontal direction so that the transferred image can be taken into the pair of upper and lower CCD cameras 33, 33 arranged on the right side in FIG. It is arranged in an inclined posture. Here, the light from a single (one) halogen lamp 30 is distributed and supplied to 10 optical fibers, thereby reducing the number of parts and reducing the size of the entire device and facilitating assembly. However, the number of light sources and the number of optical fibers (light guides) may be the same, depending on the case. You can also In FIG. 4, the first substrate 40 to which the halogen lamps 30 and 30 are attached, the second substrate 41 to which the CCD cameras 33 and 33 and the folding mirror 39 are attached, and the illumination unit 38 are integrated, and the integrated unit is horizontal. The support rod 42 protruding in the direction is attached and configured to be incorporated into the alignment inspection system via the support rod 42 so that the attachment can be easily performed. Good. The second illuminating unit 24 is provided with an auxiliary columnar member 32W, which will be described later, on the rear side in order to irradiate the rear half of the side surface of the flat tablet and the point disposed below the conveying means. Since only the point which is arrange | positioned in the said 1st illumination part 20 differs, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 14B, the columnar member 32 intersects the axis X of the columnar member 32 so as to emit light that has entered the columnar member 32 from the side surface of the columnar member 32. An inclined surface 32A cut from a direction, and a curved surface 32B projecting into the flat tablet 1 to collect the light reflected from the inclined surface 32A and emitted from the side surface of the columnar member 32, and The columnar member 32 is disposed at a position close to the flat tablet 1 from above, which is perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the flat tablet 1. When the angle of the inclined surface 32A, that is, the angle formed by the horizontal plane and the inclined surface 32A (32K in FIG. 14B) exceeds the critical angle, total reflection occurs at the inclined surface 32A at the exit end of the columnar member 3. . This varies depending on the material of the columnar member 32. In this case, the critical angle is in the range of 41 degrees to 42 degrees, and if the angle is larger than that, the total reflection is performed on the inclined surface 32A. The irradiation range can be increased as the angle 32K is increased. Specifically, the columnar member 32 has a diameter of 8 mm, a length of 50 mm, and an inclined surface 32A having an angle of 50 degrees, but other members may be used.

  The five columnar members 32 of the ten columnar members 32 connected to the ten optical fibers 31 are irradiated with one column of the flat tablets 1 out of the four columns in which the flat tablets 1 are conveyed. Has been placed. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 5, 14 (a), and 14 (b), two of the four columnar members 32 positioned on the starting end side in the conveyance direction of the flat tablet 1 are replaced with the flat tablet 1. The flat tablet 1 at the transfer position shown in FIG. 14A is positioned at a position where it can be irradiated obliquely from the front, and the remaining two are outside the transfer width of the flat tablet 1. The flat tablet 1 in which the flat tablet 1 at the transport position shown in FIG. 14A is positioned at a position where it can be irradiated from right next to the transport width direction, and the side surface 32B on the light emission side of each columnar member 32 is transported. It arrange | positions so that it may become the up-and-down position facing a side surface. Then, in the plan view of all the side surfaces of the flat tablet 1 by the two columnar members 32 at the position where the flat tablet 1 at the transport position shown in FIG. The position of the columnar member 32 in the horizontal direction with respect to the flat tablet 1 is set (irradiation of the columnar member 32) so that the horizontal range 32S (only the upper range is shown in the drawing) can be illuminated. The angle is determined by the size of the diameter of the columnar member 32), and the light irradiation range 32U in the vertical direction of the side surface of the flat tablet 1 is set to be wider than the height from the upper end to the lower end of the flat tablet 1. And the columnar member 32 in the position which can irradiate the said flat tablet 1 from right side in the conveyance width direction on both sides which are the darkened part of the irradiation range 32S irradiated by each of the said two columnar members 32, and the below-mentioned The flat tablet 1 to be conveyed can be irradiated by the auxiliary columnar member 32W in a position where it can be irradiated from the front. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 14 (a), two columnar members 32 positioned substantially along the conveying direction of the flat tablet 1 positioned on the upper side of the drawing and an auxiliary columnar member positioned at the center in the vertical direction of the drawing. With a total of three columnar members of 32 W, the side surface in the range of 1/4 that is half of the side surface of the front half of the flat tablet 1 is irradiated, and the side surface in the range of 1/4 in the remaining front side is Irradiation is performed by a total of three columnar members: two columnar members 32 positioned substantially along the two conveying directions of the flat tablet 1 and an auxiliary columnar member 32W positioned in the vertical center of the figure. However, the irradiation range and position of the columnar member 32 and the number thereof may not be shown in the figure.

  The remaining columnar member 32 (32W) is arranged as an auxiliary columnar member that irradiates the flat tablet 1 from the front side with respect to the flat tablet 1 on the side surface (front surface) of the central portion in the conveyance width direction on the starting end side in the conveyance direction. As described above, the flat tablet 1 is irradiated from the front of the flat tablet 1 by irradiating the darkened portion located between the two 32 and 32 in the range 32S irradiated by the two columnar members 32 and 32 as described above. The front half of the image can be projected well. Since the auxiliary columnar member 32W is positioned within the conveyance width of the flat tablet 1, the irradiation side tip 32H of the auxiliary columnar member 32W is flattened so as not to contact the flat tablet 1 being conveyed. It is located above the upper surface of the tablet 1. And as shown in FIG. 15, the inclination-angle 32K with respect to the horizontal surface of the inclined surface 32A of the said auxiliary | assistant columnar member 32W makes the horizontal surface of the inclined surface 32A of the columnar member 32 located in the location which remove | deviates the conveyance width of the said flat tablet 1. By setting the inclination angle to be larger than 32K, the irradiation range 32V shown in FIG. 14B is expanded to the irradiation range 32V shown in FIG. 15, so that the entire range from the upper end to the lower end of the flat tablet 1 is increased. It can be irradiated. In FIG. 15, by changing the inclination angle 32K of the auxiliary columnar member 32, the irradiation range 32V is expanded to irradiate the entire range from the upper end to the lower end of the flat tablet 1. By tilting the angle in the longitudinal direction of the member 32, that is, by tilting the angle so that the upper end of the columnar member 32 approaches the flat tablet 1, the lower end of the flat tablet 1 is shifted from the upper end to the lower end while maintaining the same irradiation angle as the other columnar members 32. It may be possible to irradiate the entire range up to.

  The four mirrors 34, 35, 36, and 37 for reflecting the image of the side surface of the flat tablet 1 irradiated by the columnar member 32 and taking it into the CCD camera 33 are columnar members positioned before and after the conveying direction. These mirrors 34, 35, 36, and 37 are arranged between the front half of the flat tablet 1 that is transported to the two transport paths as shown in FIGS. 16 (a) and 16 (b). Four sets of mirrors 34, 35, 36, and 37 are unitized in order to divide and reflect the side image in half. In other words, the plate-like and rectangular support members 43 are arranged in the vertical direction in which the thickness direction is the horizontal direction, and triangular prism-shaped first members are arranged at two positions on the left and right sides of the one surface (the rear surface of the flat tablet 1 in FIG. 6). The three mirrors 36 are attached with the tops thereof facing rearward in the transport direction of the flat tablet 1, and the plate-like and rectangular fourth mirrors 37 are directed upward on the left and right sides of the third mirrors 36, 36. And it attaches with the inclination attitude | position located upwards, so that the side far from the 3rd mirror 36 is. A support block 44 having a triangular shape in plan view is attached to both left and right ends of the support member 43 at the rear of the transport direction of the flat tablet 1 with screws fixed with the tops of the triangles facing each other inward. In addition, a plate-like rectangular first mirror 34 and second mirror 35 are attached to each other in a square shape in front view inclined at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the horizontal direction. Also, a hexagonal support block 45 in plan view is attached to the front left and right center of the support member 43, and a plate-like rectangular first mirror 34 and second mirror 35 are provided on the left and right sides of the support block 45, respectively. Are attached in the shape of a square in front view inclined at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the horizontal direction.

A case where a set of the four mirrors 34, 35, 36 and 37 reflects a half image of the side surface of the front half of the flat tablet 1 will be described based on the principle diagram. As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, when the reflected light from the side surface of the flat tablet 1 hits the first mirror 34, it is reflected at the same 45 degree angle as the incident angle, and the reflected light is reflected upward. The As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the reflected light hits the second mirror 35 positioned above, and is reflected at an angle of 45 degrees that is the same as the incident angle, and the reflected light is reflected horizontally. As shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the reflected light hits one of the reflecting surfaces of the third mirror 36, is reflected at the same angle as the incident angle, and is reflected in the transport width direction. , Hits the fourth mirror 37 and is reflected at an angle of 45 degrees which is the same as the incident angle, and the reflected light is reflected upward. The reflected light is further reflected by the folding mirror 39 and is incident on the CCD camera 33 so that an image can be displayed.
FIG. 13 schematically shows the state in which the letter F printed on the side surface of the flat tablet 1 is reflected in an easily understandable manner. Further, FIG. 8 shows a state in which the reflected light changes in a plane. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, four images from four fourth mirrors 37 are arranged as shown in FIG. 9 by arranging four mirrors 34 to 37 in a straight line in the conveyance width direction. Can be picked up by one CCD camera 33 and the configuration can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. However, two images can be picked up by one CCD camera 33. You may comprise so that it may be possible, and you may comprise by providing one CCD camera 33 with respect to one image. In FIG. 9, the folding mirror 39 shown in FIG. 4 is omitted for easy understanding.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the light guide 31 and the columnar member 32 are brought into a state where the exit end surface 31A of the light guide 31 and the incident end surface 32T of the columnar member 32 are in contact with each other, and a cylindrical member 46 is attached to them. By fitting the screws 47 into the upper and lower screw holes 46A and 46A formed in the cylindrical member 46 until the tip of the screws 47 contacts the outer surface of the light guide 31 or the columnar member 32, the both 31 and 32 are connected. However, it may be connected by other methods.

  Of the side surface of the columnar member 32, a portion excluding the side surface (curved surface) 32 </ b> B constituting the light emission surface is configured as a reflection surface by plating, so that the light moving in the columnar member 32 is columnar member 32. It may be configured and implemented so as not to leak to the outside.

  The columnar member 32 may be a rectangular parallelepiped or a cube in addition to a columnar shape. Also, as shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, the angle of light collection can be changed as compared with a cylindrical one by forming an elliptic cylinder. In FIGS. 17A and 17B, the side surface with the smaller area is the side surface 32B constituting the light emitting surface, but the side surface with the larger area may be the light emitting surface. Further, as shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B and FIGS. 19A and 19B, the shape of only the light exit surface may be changed. That is, in FIGS. 18A and 18B, a curved surface 32B that protrudes forward toward the center is formed at the lower end of one of the two side surfaces having the larger area among the four side surfaces of the rectangular columnar member 32. The light that exits the curved surface 32B is collected. 19 (a) and 19 (b), a curved surface 32B that is recessed rearward toward the center is provided at the lower end of one of the two side surfaces having the larger area of the four side surfaces of the rectangular columnar member 32. Thus, the light exiting the curved surface 32B is diffused.

It is a front view which shows the outline of an alignment inspection system. It is a perspective view of an alignment conveyance apparatus. It is a schematic plan view of the alignment means. It is a front view of the illumination device for a test | inspection. It is a front view which shows a light guide and a conveyance part. It is a top view which shows a light guide and a conveyance part. It is a bottom view of a columnar member. It is a schematic plan view which shows the positional relationship of four mirrors and a flat tablet. It is the schematic which shows the relationship between a 4th mirror and a CCD camera. The relationship between a 1st mirror and a flat tablet is shown, (a) is the top view, (b) is the side view. The relationship between a 2nd mirror and a flat tablet is shown, (a) is the top view, (b) is the side view. The relationship between a 3rd mirror and a 4th mirror, and a flat tablet is shown, (a) is the top view, (b) is the side view. It is a perspective view which shows the relationship between a 1st-4th mirror and a flat tablet. The light irradiation range of the columnar member with respect to a flat tablet is shown, (a) is the top view, (b) is the side view. It is a side view which shows another columnar member from which a light irradiation range differs. The member which unitized four sets of mirrors is shown, (a) is the perspective view, (b) is the front view. The 2nd columnar member is shown, (a) is the top view, (b) is the side view. The 3rd columnar member is shown, (a) is the top view, (b) is the side view. The 4th columnar member is shown, (a) is the top view, (b) is the side view.

Explanation of symbols

1 flat tablet (object)
2 Hopper (reservoir)
3 Alignment means 4 Shuta 5 First supply section 6 Shuta 7 Second supply section 8 Collection means (conveyor)
9 Belt conveyor (conveying means)
9A Endless belt 9B to 9D pulley 10 Guide member 10A Abutting surface 10B Curved surface 11 Guide plate 12 Side wall 13 Endless belt 13A Receiving plate 13G Tilt guide 13T Inclined surface 14 Supply amount adjustment shutter 15 Alignment shutter 16 Supply amount detection sensor 17 1 transport unit 18 to 20 1st illumination unit 21 2nd transport unit 22 to 24 2nd illumination unit 25 sorting units 26 and 27 shooter 28 uninspected product collection container 29 defective product container 30 halogen lamp 31 light guide (optical fiber)
32 Columnar member 33 CCD camera (imaging means)
34 to 37 Mirror 38 Illumination unit 39 Folding mirrors 40 and 41 Substrate 42 Support rod 43 Support members 44 and 45 Support block 46 Cylindrical member 47 Screw K Transport path

Claims (9)

A light guide that receives light from the light source and emits it from the tip; and a columnar member that irradiates the side surface of the inspection object that is conveyed by receiving light from the light guide,
The columnar member is provided with an inclined surface cut from a direction intersecting the axis of the columnar member so as to emit light that has entered the columnar member from a side surface of the columnar member, and the columnar member is An inspection illumination device, wherein the inspection illumination device is arranged at a position close to the inspection object from above or below perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the inspection object.   The inspection member according to claim 1, wherein the columnar member is provided with a curved surface that protrudes toward the inspection object in order to collect light reflected from the inclined surface and emitted from the side surface of the columnar member. Lighting device.   The light source is composed of a single light source, and is configured to receive light from the light source by the light guide provided with a plurality of light sources. The same number of the columnar members as the plurality of light guides are provided. 3. A columnar member positioned at least at a location outside the conveyance width of the inspection object is arranged so that the side surface on the light emission side thereof faces the side surface of the inspection object to be conveyed. The illumination device for inspection as described in 2.   Of the plurality of columnar members, the irradiation side tip of the auxiliary columnar member positioned within the conveyance width of the inspection object is above or below the inspection object so as not to contact the inspection object to be conveyed. And the inclination angle of the inclined surface of the auxiliary columnar member with respect to the horizontal plane is set to be larger than the inclination angle of the inclined surface of the columnar member positioned at a location outside the conveyance width of the inspection object. Item 4. The illumination device for inspection according to Item 3.   The illumination for inspection according to claim 3 or 4, wherein a mirror for reflecting an image of a side surface of the inspection object irradiated by the columnar member and taking it into the imaging means is disposed between the plurality of columnar members. apparatus.   The inspection illumination according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein a plurality of transport paths for transporting the inspection object are provided, and the columnar members are arranged on both sides of the transport path across the transport paths. apparatus.   The illumination device for inspection according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the light guide and the columnar member are connected in a state where an emission end surface of the light guide and an incident end surface of the columnar member are in contact with each other.   The inspection illumination device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the columnar member is formed in a columnar shape or an elliptical columnar shape.   The inclined surface of the columnar member arranged at a position close to the inspection object from above is configured as a tapered surface located on the upper side toward the inspection object, and is disposed at a position close to the inspection object from below. The illumination device for inspection according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the inclined surface of the columnar member is configured as a tapered surface that is positioned downward toward the inspection object.

Images