JP2008045884A - Article inspection apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article inspection apparatus which allows an operator to easily observe articles and their inspection results at the same time and to easily observe the inspection results even when the articles are conveyed at high speed. <P>SOLUTION: A weight inspection apparatus 1 has a band-shaped display screen 3 extending along a weighing conveyor 5. In synchronization with the movement of the articles 11 being conveyed on the weighing conveyor 5, information on the inspection results of the articles 11 moves on the display screen 3 in the same direction as the articles 11. The operator can visually identify the articles 11 and the display screen 3 in nearly the same field of view and can thereby easily observe the articles 11 being conveyed on the weighing conveyor 5 and the inspection results moving on the display screen 3 at the same time. Even when the articles 11 are conveyed at high speed, the time during which the inspection results of the articles 11 are displayed on the display screen 3 is lengthened, thereby allowing the operator to easily recognize the displayed inspection results. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an article inspection apparatus, and more particularly to a weight inspection apparatus that inspects the weight of an article conveyed on a conveyor.

  2. Description of the Related Art A weight inspection apparatus that measures the weight of an article that is intermittently transported on a transport conveyor with a measuring instrument and displays the measurement result on a display screen has been put into practical use (for example, see Patent Document 1 below).

Japanese Patent No. 2706636

  However, in the conventional weight inspection apparatus of this type, the display screen and the transport conveyor are installed relatively apart from each other, and the amount of movement of the operator's line of sight increases. It is difficult to observe simultaneously the article to be conveyed and the inspection result displayed on the display screen.

  In addition, when an article is conveyed at a high speed, the time for displaying the inspection result of each article on the display screen is shortened, and the operator may not be able to recognize the displayed inspection result.

  In addition, it is necessary to obtain the weighing value of the article after the weighing signal of the weighing unit is stabilized, but if the time until stabilization is short, it is possible to increase the inspection speed per unit time by increasing the speed of the conveyor. . However, in the conventional weight inspection apparatus, since the operator cannot recognize the time required until the weighing signal is stabilized on the display screen, it is difficult for the operator to determine whether or not the inspection capability is sufficient.

  In addition, when a plurality of articles are mistakenly placed on the conveyor, an error determination (two-piece error determination) is made, but only a “two-piece error” is displayed on the display screen. , It is difficult for the operator to specify the article that caused the error due to two pieces. That is, it is difficult for the operator to specify whether the article that caused the problem is the previous article or the rear article with respect to the current article.

  In addition, in an inspection device structured like a remote control tower, the positional relationship between the transfer conveyor and the display screen is limited by the left and right direction of the machine. Limited.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is easy for an operator to observe the article and the inspection result at the same time, and to easily observe the inspection result even when the article is conveyed at high speed, and the inspection capability. It is an object of the present invention to obtain an inspection apparatus that can grasp whether there is a margin, can identify an article that causes an error due to two pieces, and has a high degree of freedom in line layout at the time of design or the like.

  An article inspection apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention extends along a conveyor that conveys an article, an inspection unit that performs a predetermined inspection on the article conveyed on the conveyor, and the conveyor A display unit having a belt-shaped display screen, and a control unit that displays information on the inspection result by the inspection unit on the display screen, the control unit moving the article conveyed on the conveyor In synchronization with the display, the display is controlled so that the information on the article moves on the display screen in the same direction as the article.

  The article inspection apparatus according to the second invention is the article inspection apparatus according to the first invention, in particular, the inspection section is a weighing section for measuring the weight of the article, and the information is a weighing signal of the weighing section. Includes additional information indicating whether or not is unstable or stable.

  The article inspection apparatus according to a third aspect of the invention is the article inspection apparatus according to the first or second aspect of the invention, in particular, the inspection section is a weighing section that measures the weight of the article, and the information is the conveyor Additional information for explicitly specifying the plurality of articles when the plurality of articles is placed thereon is included.

  The article inspection apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the article inspection apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects of the invention, and in particular, further includes a detachable transparent cover that covers the upper side of the conveyor. It is attached to the side of the transparent cover.

  In the article inspection apparatus according to any one of the first to third inventions, the article inspection apparatus according to the fifth invention is present in the vicinity of the transparent cover that covers the upper side of the transport conveyor and the article inspection apparatus. A human sensor for detecting a person, the display screen is attached to an upper surface of the transparent cover, and the control unit displays the information on the display screen based on a detection signal of the human sensor. It is characterized by controlling the display direction when displaying.

  According to the article inspection apparatus according to the first invention, the display unit has a strip-shaped display screen extending along the transport conveyor. Then, in synchronization with the movement of the article conveyed on the conveyor, information related to the inspection result of the article moves on the display screen in the same direction as the article. Therefore, it is easy for the operator to simultaneously observe the article conveyed on the conveyor and the inspection result moving on the display screen. Even when the article is transported at a high speed, it takes a long time for the inspection result of the article to be displayed on the display screen, so that the operator can easily recognize the displayed inspection result.

  According to the article inspection apparatus according to the second invention, the information related to the inspection result of the article includes additional information indicating whether the weighing signal of the weighing unit is unstable or stable. Since the additional information is displayed while moving on the display screen in synchronization with the movement of the article, the operator can easily recognize the required time until the weighing signal is stabilized on the display screen. It becomes easy for the operator to determine whether there is a margin.

  According to the article inspection apparatus according to the third invention, the information related to the inspection result of the article includes additional information for explicitly specifying the plurality of articles when the plurality of articles are placed on the conveyor. included. By displaying the additional information while moving on the display screen in synchronization with the movement of the article, the operator can easily specify a plurality of articles that have caused two errors.

  According to the article inspection apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention, the display screen is attached to the side surface of the removable transparent cover that covers the upper side of the conveyor. Therefore, since the positional relationship between the transfer conveyor and the display screen can be changed simply by reversing the direction of the cover, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom of the line layout at the time of design or design change.

  According to the article inspection apparatus according to the fifth invention, since the display screen is attached to the upper surface of the transparent cover, even if the operator is located on the left or right side with respect to the article transport path, the work is performed. The person can visually recognize the display content on the display screen without reversing the direction of the cover. Moreover, since the display direction when displaying information on the display screen is automatically controlled based on the detection signal of the human sensor, the visibility of the display information by the operator can be improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the element which attached | subjected the same code | symbol in different drawing shall show the same or corresponding element.

  1 and 2 are plan views schematically showing the configuration of the weight inspection apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the coordinate system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the Y direction is a direction in which the article 11 is conveyed, the Z direction is a vertical direction, and the X direction is a direction perpendicular to both the Y direction and the Z direction. That is, FIG. 1 corresponds to a view of the weight inspection apparatus 1 viewed from the X direction, and FIG. 2 corresponds to a view of the weight inspection device 1 viewed from the Y direction.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an article inspection apparatus 1 includes a transport conveyor (hereinafter referred to as “weighing conveyor”) 5 that transports an article 11, a detachable transparent cover 2 that covers the weighing conveyor 5, and a transparent A display screen 3 attached to the side surface of the cover 2, a sensor 4 such as a photoelectric switch disposed at the upstream end of the weighing conveyor 5, a weighing unit 7 such as a load cell disposed below the weighing conveyor 5, And a control unit 8 disposed inside the lower housing 6. The weighing conveyor 5 extends along the Y direction, and the display screen 3 has a shape extending in a band shape along the Y direction.

  A transport conveyor 9 for taking the articles 11 into the weighing conveyor 5 is disposed in the previous stage of the weighing conveyor 5. In addition, a conveyor 10 is arranged at the subsequent stage of the weighing conveyor 5, and the non-defective article 11 and the defective article 11 are sorted on the conveyor 10 according to the result of the weighing inspection by the article inspection apparatus 1. Are arbitrarily connected (not shown).

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the weight inspection apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. Each output of the sensor 4 and the measuring unit 7 is connected to an input of the control unit 8. The display unit 32 includes a drive unit 31 and a display screen 3. The output of the control unit 8 is connected to the input of the drive unit 31, and the output of the drive unit 31 is connected to the input of the display screen 3.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, when the article 11 is taken into the weighing conveyor 5 from the transport conveyor 9, the sensor 4 detects the article 11 and outputs a detection signal S <b> 1. The detection signal S1 is input to the control unit 8. The control unit 8 receives the detection signal S1 and causes the weighing unit 7 to start the weighing operation of the article 11. The weighing unit 7 outputs a weighing signal S2 related to the weighing value of the article 11, and the weighing signal S2 is input to the control unit 8. The control unit 8 generates a signal S3 related to the result of the weighing inspection of the article 11 based on the weighing signal S2. The signal S3 is input from the control unit 8 to the drive unit 31 of the display unit 32. The drive unit 31 generates display data S4 based on the signal S3, and the display screen 3 is driven using the display data S4, whereby information related to the result of the weighing inspection of the article 11 is displayed on the display screen 3. .

  Hereinafter, the display contents of the display screen 3 will be specifically described.

  4 and 5 are schematic diagrams illustrating a first example of the display content of the display screen 3. 4 shows the display contents immediately after the article 11 is taken into the weighing conveyor 5, and FIG. 5 shows the display contents when the article 11 moves to the right after a lapse of time from the time of FIG. Show.

  With reference to FIG. 4, information 17 relating to the result of the weighing inspection of the article 11 is displayed on the display screen 3 at a location corresponding to the position of the article 11 on the weighing conveyor 5 at that time. The control unit 8 shown in FIG. 3 calculates the position of the article 11 on the weighing conveyor 5 at each time point based on the timing when the detection signal S1 is input from the sensor 4 and the current speed of the weighing conveyor 5. To do. Then, the display operation in the display unit 32 is controlled so that the information 17 is displayed at a location on the display screen 3 corresponding to the position.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the information 17 includes information 16 related to the measurement value of the article 11 and additional information 15 indicating that the measurement signal S <b> 2 of the measurement unit 7 is unstable. The weighing value of the article 11 by the weighing unit 7 vibrates relatively large immediately after the article 11 is taken into the weighing conveyor 5, and the amplitude of the vibration decreases with time. The control unit 8 determines that the measurement signal S2 of the measurement unit 7 is stable when the amplitude becomes smaller than a predetermined threshold value. As shown in FIG. 4, when the additional information 15 is displayed before the information 16 regarding the measurement value, it means that the measurement value is greatly oscillated and is still unstable.

  Referring to FIG. 5, when the article 11 moves to the right after a lapse of time from the time of FIG. 4, the display position of the information 16 on the display screen 3 also changes in synchronization with the movement of the article 11. That is, the control unit 8 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 synchronizes with the movement of the article 11 conveyed on the weighing conveyor 5, and information 16 regarding the measurement value of the article 11 is displayed on the display screen 3 in the same direction as the article 11. The display on the display unit 32 is controlled so as to move to.

  At the time of FIG. 5, the weighing signal S2 of the weighing unit 7 is stable, and the additional information 15 shown in FIG. 4 is not displayed. That is, the fact that the additional information 15 is not displayed means that the weighing signal S2 is stable. Further, the measurement value after the measurement signal S2 is stabilized is determined as the measurement value related to the article 11. The control unit 8 compares the determined value with a preset upper limit value and lower limit value of the article 11. If the determined value is equal to or lower than the upper limit value and equal to or higher than the lower limit value, it is determined that the article 11 is a non-defective product (a right quantity product), and the measurement value information 16 is displayed on the display screen 3 in blue, for example. On the other hand, when the determined value is larger than the upper limit value, it is determined that the article 11 is a defective product (excess product), and the information 16 is displayed on the display screen 3 in, for example, yellow. If it is less than the value, it is determined that the article 11 is a defective product (lightweight product), and the information 16 is displayed on the display screen 3 in red, for example.

  As described above, the additional information 15 indicating the stability / instability of the weighing signal S2 is displayed while moving on the display screen 3 in synchronization with the movement of the article 11, so that the time required until the weighing signal S2 is stabilized. Can be easily recognized on the display screen 3, so that the operator can easily determine whether or not the inspection capability of the weight inspection apparatus 1 is sufficient. More preferably, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the weight inspection apparatus 1 is placed at a predetermined position on the display screen 3 (a position corresponding to the right end limit position on the weighing conveyor 5 that can be measured by the weighing unit 7). A limit line 18 for indicating the margin of inspection capability is displayed. The longer the distance between the limit line 18 and the display position of the information 16 at the time when the weighing signal S2 is stable and the display of the additional information 15 disappears, the more the operator can afford the inspection capability of the weight inspection apparatus 1 It is possible to easily recognize that the degree is large (that is, there is room to increase the speed of the weighing conveyor 5).

  6 and 7 are schematic diagrams illustrating a second example of the display content of the display screen 3. 6 shows the display contents immediately after the article 11 is taken into the weighing conveyor 5, and FIG. 7 shows the display contents at the time when the article 11 moves to the right after a lapse of time from the time of FIG. Show.

  Referring to FIG. 6, information 22 related to the result of the weighing inspection of the article 11 is displayed at a location on the display screen 3 corresponding to the position of the article 11 on the weighing conveyor 5 at that time. The information 22 is obtained by expressing the measurement value of the article 11 as a bar graph instead of a number. By displaying using a bar graph, even if the weighing conveyor 5 is driven at a high speed, the operator can easily check the inspection result. At the time of FIG. 6, the weighing signal S2 of the weighing unit 7 is unstable, and in this case, the information 22 is displayed in white, for example. When the article 11 moves to the right after a lapse of time from the time in FIG. 6, the display position of the information 22 on the display screen 3 also changes to the right in synchronization with the movement of the article 11.

  Referring to FIG. 7, the weighing signal S <b> 2 of the weighing unit 7 is stable at this time, and the measured value after the weighing signal S <b> 2 is stabilized is determined as the measured value related to the article 11. Further, the display screen 3 displays an upper limit line 20 that represents the upper limit value of the weight of the article 11 and a lower limit line 21 that represents the lower limit value. If the determined value of the weight of the article 11 is not more than the upper limit value and not less than the lower limit value, the information 23 as a bar graph of the height corresponding to the determined value is displayed in blue, for example. When the determined value is larger than the upper limit value, a bar graph higher than the upper limit line 20 is displayed in yellow, for example, and when the determined value is lower than the lower limit value, a bar graph lower than the lower limit line 21 is displayed in red, for example.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a third example of the display content of the display screen 3. 1 and 3, when the detection signal S <b> 1 is continuously input from the sensor 4 for a short time, the control unit 8 performs the weighing based on the time difference of the input timing and the current speed of the weighing conveyor 5. It is possible to detect that a plurality of articles 11 are simultaneously placed on the conveyor 5 (that is, a two-piece placement error). In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, the information 28 indicating that a two-loading error has occurred and the plurality of articles 11 that caused the two-loading error are explicitly specified by arrows or the like. Additional information 27 is displayed on the display screen 3. Similarly to the above, each position of the plurality of articles 11 causing the two-loading error can be calculated by the control unit 8 based on the input timing of the detection signal S1 and the speed of the weighing conveyor 5. The display positions of the information 28 and the additional information 27 move in the same direction as the article 11 on the display screen 3 in synchronization with the movement of the article 11. As described above, the additional information 27 is displayed while moving on the display screen 3 in synchronization with the movement of the article 11, so that the operator can easily display the plurality of articles 11 that caused the two-piece error. Can be specified.

  Thus, according to the weight inspection apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the display unit 32 has the strip-shaped display screen 3 extending along the weighing conveyor 5. Then, in synchronization with the movement of the article 11 conveyed on the weighing conveyor 5, information 15 to 17, 22, 23, 27, 28 regarding the inspection result of the article 11 is displayed on the display screen 3 in the same direction as the article 11. Moving. As shown in FIG. 2, since the operator can visually recognize the article 11 and the display screen 3 in substantially the same field of view, the inspection is performed on the article 11 being conveyed on the weighing conveyor 5 and on the display screen 3. It is easy to observe the results simultaneously. Even when the article 11 is transported at a high speed, it takes a long time for the inspection result of the article 11 to be displayed on the display screen 3, so that the operator can easily recognize the displayed inspection result. Can do.

  The display screen 3 is attached to the side surface of the removable transparent cover 2 that covers the top of the weighing conveyor 5. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the positional relationship between the weighing conveyor 5 and the display screen 3 can be changed to the opposite of the state shown in FIG. Therefore, it becomes possible to increase the degree of freedom of line layout at the time of design or design change.

  FIG. 10 is a perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a weight inspection apparatus according to a modification of the embodiment of the present invention. The display screen 3 is attached to the upper surface, not the side surface of the transparent cover 2. Further, human sensors 40 and 41 for detecting a person (operator) existing in the vicinity of the weight inspection apparatus are attached to the left and right side surfaces of the transparent cover 2. However, the human sensors 40 and 41 may be attached to the apparatus main body instead of the transparent cover 2.

  FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of display contents on the display screen 3 illustrated in FIG. 10. FIG. 11A shows an example in which the worker is located on the right side of the article transport path, and FIG. 11B shows an example in which the worker is located on the left side. Referring to FIG. 11A, when human sensor 40 detects an operator located on the right side of the transport path, a detection signal from human sensor 40 is input to control unit 8 shown in FIGS. The control unit 8 controls the display direction of the information 17 so that the right side of the transport path is below the letters and numbers. On the other hand, referring to FIG. 11B, when the human sensor 41 detects an operator located on the left side of the transport path, a detection signal of the human sensor 41 is input to the control unit 8, and the control unit 8 The display direction of the information 17 is controlled so that the left side of the transport path is below the letters and numbers.

  According to the weight inspection apparatus according to the modification of the present embodiment, since the display screen 3 is attached to the upper surface of the transparent cover 2, the operator is positioned on the left or right side with respect to the article conveyance path. Even if it exists, the operator can visually recognize the display content of the display screen 3 without inverting the direction of the transparent cover 2. Moreover, since the display direction when displaying the information 17 on the display screen 3 is automatically controlled based on the detection signals of the human sensors 40 and 41, the visibility of the display information 17 by the operator is improved. Can do.

  Although the article inspection apparatus according to the present invention has been described above by taking the weight inspection apparatus as an example, the article inspection apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the weight inspection apparatus, and the article is conveyed by a conveyor such as a metal detection apparatus, an X-ray foreign object detection apparatus, or a seal checker. However, the present invention can be applied to any article inspection apparatus as long as the inspection apparatus is configured to perform inspection while displaying the inspection result on the display screen.

It is a top view which shows typically the structure of the weight inspection apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows typically the structure of the weight inspection apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the weight inspection apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the 1st example about the display content of a display screen. It is a schematic diagram which shows the 1st example about the display content of a display screen. It is a schematic diagram which shows the 2nd example about the display content of a display screen. It is a schematic diagram which shows the 2nd example about the display content of a display screen. It is a schematic diagram which shows the 2nd example about the display content of a display screen. It is a top view which shows typically the structure of the weight inspection apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows typically the structure of the weight inspection apparatus which concerns on the modification of embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the display content of the display screen shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Weight inspection apparatus 2 Transparent cover 3 Display screen 5 Conveyor 7 Measurement part 8 Control part 15,27 Additional information 16, 17, 22, 23, 28 Information 32 Display part 40, 41 Human sensor

Claims (5)

A transport conveyor for transporting articles;
An inspection unit that performs a predetermined inspection on the article conveyed on the conveyor;
A display unit having a strip-shaped display screen extending along the transport conveyor;
A control unit that displays on the display screen information related to the inspection result by the inspection unit,
The control unit controls the display so that the information on the article moves in the same direction as the article on the display screen in synchronization with the movement of the article conveyed on the conveyor. apparatus. The inspection unit is a weighing unit that measures the weight of the article,
2. The article inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information includes additional information indicating whether a weighing signal of the weighing unit is unstable or stable. The inspection unit is a weighing unit that measures the weight of the article,
3. The article inspection according to claim 1, wherein the information includes additional information for explicitly specifying the plurality of articles when the plurality of articles are placed on the conveyor. apparatus. A detachable transparent cover that covers the upper side of the conveyor;
The said display screen is an article inspection apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-3 attached to the side surface of the said transparent cover. A transparent cover covering above the conveyor,
Further comprising a human sensor for detecting a person present in the vicinity of the article inspection device,
The display screen is attached to the upper surface of the transparent cover,
The article inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls a display direction when displaying the information on the display screen based on a detection signal of the human sensor. .

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