JP2008076248A - Inspection system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve efficiency in inspection of panels while solving such a problem that quality undeterminable panels are accumulated in a temporary storage part up to the containable number of panels, which causes stop of a line when inspecting a large quantity of panels. <P>SOLUTION: The inspection system is constituted such that the panels are picked up and the quality of the panels is determined based on the image data. The system comprises: a plurality of conveyance lines which convey the plurality of panels, respectively; inspection devices which are provided to each of the conveyance lines, respectively and which pick up the panels and automatically determine the quality of the panels, based on the image data while transmitting the determination data and the image data; the temporary storage parts provided downstream of the inspection devices, respectively and carry out temporary storage of the panels determined to be defective; a plurality of terminal devices which re-determine the image data of the panels; a network device to which each of the inspection devices and each of the terminal devices are connected, respectively; and a control part which is connected to the network device and takes in the determination data and the image data of the panels determined to be defective or non-determinable and which distributes the determination data and the image data of the panels in the temporary storage part with large quantity of temporary storage to a terminal device with smaller processing quantity. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an inspection system for inspecting a defect of an inspection object such as a display panel.

  A typical example of a display panel as an inspection object is a liquid crystal display panel. It is known that there are various types of defects in liquid crystal display panels, such as point defects, line defects, group defects, and chromaticity defects. These defects are inspected using the light from the liquid crystal display panel by driving the liquid crystal display panel.

  As an inspection of such a liquid crystal display panel, there is an automatic inspection. In this automatic inspection, the driven liquid crystal display panel is imaged with an imaging device, and the image data is inspected by processing with a computer.

  On the other hand, there is also a manual visual inspection, but according to this visual inspection, the inspection can be performed with higher sensitivity than the automatic inspection. However, in the case of visual inspection, the inspection standard is ambiguous and the inspection efficiency is low. On the other hand, in the case of automatic inspection using an imaging device, inspection efficiency is high, but it is difficult to determine whether or not some defects are actually defects compared to visual inspection. There are many things.

  Further, in the inspection of the liquid crystal display panel, it is desirable to perform the inspection with as few inspectors as possible.

As an example of conventional technology for solving this problem, a display panel defect inspection system described in Patent Document 1 is known. In the display panel defect inspection system of Patent Document 1, it is possible to maintain and improve the throughput of the inspection process.
JP 2004-279037 A

  However, in the conventional inspection system, it is possible to grasp only the degree of re-passability determination processing amount of the pass / fail determination panel in each terminal device (see the second embodiment), and the pass / fail determination panel is accumulated in the temporary storage unit. In the process, smooth inspection of the display panel cannot be realized.

  In the conventional inspection system, the re-defectiveness determination data is transmitted from the terminal device only to the specific inspection device of the image data distribution source. In the first place, the re-defectiveness determination data is transmitted to the temporary storage unit. I can't.

  Furthermore, since the inspection device is provided with temporary storage units for non-defective panels, there are restrictions on the flow of the conveyor and space.

  Thereby, when inspecting a small number of panels, there is not much problem, but when inspecting a large number of panels, there may be cases where the number of panels that cannot be judged acceptable is accumulated in the temporary storage unit up to the limit of the number of sheets that can be stored. In this case, the line stops and there is a problem that inspection efficiency is poor.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is an inspection system that takes an image of an inspection object and determines the quality of the inspection object based on the image data, and each of the plurality of inspection objects is conveyed. A plurality of conveyance lines, and images of the inspection object provided on the respective conveyance lines, and automatically determining the quality of the inspection object based on the image data, and the determination data and the image data An inspection device to be transmitted, a temporary storage unit that is provided on the downstream side of the inspection device on each of the transport lines, temporarily stores the inspection object that is determined to be defective or cannot be determined by the inspection device, and the temporary storage unit A plurality of terminal devices that re-determine the image data of the inspection object temporarily stored in a storage unit; and the network devices to which the inspection devices and the terminal devices are respectively connected; One that has a larger amount of temporary storage at the time when the determination data and the image data of the inspection object that are connected to the network device and are determined to be defective or cannot be determined by each inspection device are taken in via the network device. And a control unit that distributes the determination data and the image data of the inspection object of the temporary storage unit to the terminal device with the smaller processing amount at that time.

  With the above configuration, the control unit takes in the determination data and image data of the inspection object determined to be defective or indeterminable by each inspection apparatus, and the temporary storage with the larger temporary storage amount at that time The inspection data of the inspection object and the image data of the part are distributed to the terminal device having the smaller processing amount at that time, and the inspection object that has been determined to be defective or indeterminate is once again determined.

  The control unit receives and temporarily stores the image data transmitted from the inspection device and determined to be defective or cannot be determined, and transmits the temporarily stored image data to the terminal devices as necessary. Image file management means having at least processing to perform, processing for managing temporary storage data including the determination data transmitted from the inspection apparatus and the number of temporary storages of inspection objects transmitted from the temporary storage units, the determination A buffer having at least processing for transmitting data and temporary storage data to the re-determination processing means, and processing for returning the inspection object of the temporary storage unit corresponding thereto to the transport line based on re-defective determination data of each terminal device Control means, processing for receiving the determination data and the temporary storage data from the buffer control means, Based on the processing amount of each terminal device being monitored, the processing for monitoring the processing amount of the terminal device, the processing for selecting the image data of the inspection target of the temporary storage unit having a large temporary storage amount based on the temporary storage data Processing for selecting the terminal device with a small amount of processing, instructing the image file management means to transmit the selected image data from the image file management means to the selected terminal device, and adding the selected image data to the selected image data It is characterized by comprising re-determination processing means having at least processing for transmitting corresponding determination data to the terminal device.

  With the above configuration, the re-determination processing unit selects image data of the inspection object of the temporary storage unit having a large temporary storage amount based on the temporary storage data from the buffer control unit, and the terminal having a small processing amount Select a device. Further, the image data and determination data corresponding to the image data are transmitted to the terminal device, and the terminal device is determined to perform pass / fail determination. Then, the buffer control means returns the inspection object corresponding to the temporary storage unit corresponding to the pass / fail judgment data after the end of the redetermination in each terminal device to the transport line, and temporarily stores it. Reduce temporary storage of departments.

  The re-determination processing means always selects a temporary storage unit having the largest temporary storage amount based on the temporary storage data at all times, regularly or irregularly, and specifies an inspection object to be processed with the highest priority. It is desirable to identify the terminal device to be re-determined by selecting the terminal device with the smallest processing amount regularly or irregularly by monitoring.

  With the above configuration, the temporary storage unit having a large temporary storage amount and the terminal device having a small processing amount are connected to each other. That is, the temporary storage unit is selected in order from the one with the larger temporary storage amount, and the terminal devices are selected in order from the one with the smaller processing amount, and are connected to each other.

  The re-determination processing means always selects a temporary storage unit whose temporary storage amount exceeds a set value based on the temporary storage data, and periodically or irregularly specifies an inspection object to be processed with the highest priority, and each It is desirable to identify a terminal device to be re-determined by regularly or irregularly selecting the terminal device whose processing amount is equal to or less than a set value by monitoring the terminal device.

  With the above configuration, the temporary storage unit in which the temporary storage amount exceeds a set value and the terminal device in which the processing amount is equal to or less than the set value are linked to each other. That is, the temporary storage unit is selected in the order in which the temporary storage amount exceeds the set value, and the terminal devices are selected in order from the one having the processing amount equal to or less than the set value, and are connected to each other.

  It is desirable that downstream of each of the transport lines is provided with inspected inspection object storage means for individually storing non-defective products, defective products, or unacceptable inspection objects that have been inspected.

  With the above configuration, the inspected inspection object storage means individually stores the inspection objects that are finally determined to be non-defective, defective, or unacceptable.

  The temporary storage unit is preferably installed between the inspection device on each of the transport lines and the inspected inspection object storage unit.

  With the above configuration, the inspection object inspected by the inspection apparatus is allowed to flow downstream without stopping by the inspection apparatus after the inspection is completed, and the inspection object requiring re-inspection is temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit. The

  It is desirable that the inspection apparatus updates the determination criteria based on determination data that the inspection object once determined to be defective or unacceptable becomes a non-defective product by re-determination by the terminal device.

  With the above configuration, every time an inspection object once determined to be defective or unacceptable becomes a non-defective product by re-determination, the determination criterion of the inspection apparatus is updated based on the determination data, and the inspection is performed with a new determination criterion. The quality of the object is judged.

  Since the image data of the inspection object of the temporary storage unit having a large temporary storage amount is re-determined by the terminal device having a small processing amount, the inspection object can be efficiently inspected. As a result, even if the amount of inspection objects to be reinspected increases due to production process and quality fluctuations, defects in inspection devices and display devices, etc. Throughput can be maintained. Furthermore, in order to distribute the visual inspection work on the terminal device to a plurality of inspectors according to the amount of the inspection object that is judged to be defective or unacceptable by the inspection device and temporarily stored, the throughput of the inspection process is increased. Can be improved.

  In addition, the re-determination processing unit selects image data of the inspection object of the temporary storage unit having a large temporary storage amount based on the temporary storage data, and selects the terminal device having a small processing amount to select the image Based on the data, the terminal device makes a re-defective determination, and then the buffer control unit returns the inspection object of the temporary storage unit to the transport line based on the re-defective determination data after the re-determination is completed. Therefore, the temporary storage amount of the temporary storage unit can be reduced, and the temporary storage amount of the temporary storage unit is prevented from reaching the limit and stopping the conveyance line.

  Since the temporary storage unit is selected in order from the one with the larger temporary storage amount, and the terminal device is selected in the order from the one with the smaller processing amount, the re-determination process can be performed efficiently.

  In addition, the temporary storage unit is selected in the order in which the temporary storage amount exceeds the set value, and the terminal device is selected in order from the processing amount below the set value. Can do.

  Finally, inspected objects that are determined to be non-defective, defective, or unclear are individually stored by the inspected inspection object storage means, so that only the defective and unclear inspection objects are inspected by the inspector. Thus, the inspection work directly inspected by the inspector can be minimized, and the efficiency of the inspection work can be improved.

  The inspection object inspected by the inspection apparatus is flowed downstream without stopping by the inspection apparatus after the inspection is completed, and the inspection object requiring re-inspection is temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit. The apparatus can be specialized only for the inspection processing of the inspection object, and the efficiency of the inspection work can be improved.

  Every time an inspection object that has been determined to be defective or unacceptable is determined to be non-defective by re-determination, the determination criteria of the inspection device is updated based on the determination data, and the inspection object is determined to be good or bad with new determination criteria. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of inspection objects determined to be unacceptable and to improve the efficiency of inspection work.

  In the inspection system, in order to increase the inspection efficiency, it is desirable that the inspection object that cannot be determined to pass or fail does not exceed the limit of the number that can be stored in the temporary storage unit. That is, in the case of processing a large amount of inspection objects (a quantity that may cause the inspection object that cannot be determined to pass or fail to exceed the limit of the storage capacity of the temporary storage unit), only the status of the processing amount of each terminal device The number of inspection items that cannot be judged pass / fail, which are stored in multiple temporary storage units, is also determined, and the number of inspection items that are temporarily stored and cannot be determined is limited to the maximum number of temporary storage units that can be stored. In order not to exceed this, it is desirable to perform management so that the pass / fail judgment is preferentially performed from the inspection objects in the temporary storage unit with a large number of inspection objects stored. This is because, when the temporary storage unit is satisfied up to the limit of the number of test objects that cannot be determined to pass or fail, when a new test object that cannot be determined to pass or fail is discovered, This is because the line cannot be stored in the temporary storage unit and the line stops.

  Moreover, in the conventional inspection system, the re-defectiveness determination data of the inspection object that cannot be determined good / failure is transmitted to the inspection device, but the non-defective / non-defective inspection object stored in the temporary storage unit has the processing power of the terminal device. Therefore, it is more preferable to transmit the re-defective determination data to the temporary storage unit as in the present invention instead of the inspection apparatus as in the conventional inspection system.

  The inspection system of the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and can improve the throughput of the inspection process. In the present embodiment, a liquid crystal display panel similar to the conventional one will be described as an example of the inspection object.

  Hereinafter, an inspection system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the inspection system 1 of the present embodiment includes a transport line 2, an inspection device 3, a temporary storage unit 4, a terminal device 5, a network device 6, a control unit 7, and an inspected panel. And a storage unit 8.

  The conveyance line 2 is a line for conveying each of the plurality of panels 9. The transport lines 2 are installed in the number corresponding to the required processing capacity. In the present embodiment, four are arranged. The conveyance line 2 is constituted by a belt conveyor or the like, and conveys the panels 9 one after another.

  The inspection apparatus 3 is an apparatus for taking an image of the panel 9 and automatically determining the quality of the panel 9 based on the image data. Further, the inspection apparatus 3 includes a transmission function (not shown) for transmitting the automatically determined determination data and the image data. The inspection device 3 is provided on each conveyance line 2 and inspects the panel 9 conveyed on the conveyance line 2.

  Specifically, the inspection apparatus 3 displays an image of the stage 9 that supports the panel 9, a prober (not shown) that sends an inspection signal to the terminals of the panel 9, and an image of the panel 9 that is lit by the inspection signal of the probe. A CCD camera 12 to be photographed and an inspection computer 13 for performing a pass / fail judgment operation based on image data photographed by the CCD camera 12 are provided. The inspection computer 13 uses the image data of the panel 9 photographed by the CCD camera 12 to determine whether the panel 9 is “non-defective”, “defective”, or “undecidable”. This determination is automatically performed based on an image processing program incorporated in the inspection apparatus 3. In other words, the inspection device 3 automatically determines whether the panel 9 is good or bad regardless of the hand. A known technique can be used for the image processing program. Further, the inspection apparatus 3 only performs pass / fail determination of the panel 9 and does not perform temporary storage processing of the panel 9. That is, in the inspection apparatus 3, the panel 9 after the photographing by the CCD camera 12 is sent to the downstream side as it is. Thereby, the panel 9 is inspected one after another.

  Each inspection device 3 transmits a transmission device (not shown) that transmits the image data of the panel 9 to an image file server 15 described later, and a transmission that transmits the inspection result (determination data) to the upper process management server 18 and the buffer control PC 16. A device (not shown) is provided.

  The temporary storage unit 4 is a device for temporarily storing the panel 9 (hereinafter, referred to as a non-defective panel) that has been determined to be defective by the inspection device 3 or cannot be determined. The temporary storage unit 4 temporarily waits until the terminal device 5 determines whether or not a defective product is judged as “defective” or “impossible to judge” in the inspection of the inspection device 3 until the terminal device 5 determines whether the defective product is acceptable. Keep it in a safe place. The temporary storage unit 4 is provided on the downstream side of the inspection device 3 on each conveyance line 2 and between the inspection device 3 and the inspected panel storage unit 8. Thereby, compared with the prior art, since the temporary storage space of the panel which cannot be determined cannot be determined is not limited in the inspection apparatus, the degree of freedom of physical distribution can be increased. Further, in order to increase the flexibility of physical distribution in the transport line 2, the temporary storage unit 4 of the undecidable panel 9 that cannot be judged good or bad is not provided in the inspection device 3, but from the inspection device 3 to the inspected panel storage unit 8. By installing it in between, the degree of freedom of logistics is raised.

  One temporary storage unit 4 is provided for each conveyor line 2 of the belt conveyor. When the number of processed panels 9 is large, two or more temporary storage units 4 may be provided on the transport line 2. As the temporary storage unit 4, for example, an inline buffer device (Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-196429) previously proposed by the present applicant is used. This inline buffer device includes a plurality of stages of storage units, and temporarily stores defective products or undecidable panels 9 in the storage unit. Each storage unit is newly provided with a sensor (not shown) for detecting the presence / absence of the panel 9 so that the presence / absence and the number of the panels 9 temporarily stored can be detected. Each sensor is connected to the network device 6, and the detection result of each sensor is transmitted to the buffer control PC 16 or the re-determination processing server 17 by a transmission device (not shown). Then, it is managed by the buffer control PC 16 or the re-determination processing server 17 as temporary storage data described later. Since the temporary storage data is finally managed by the re-determination processing server 17, when the temporary storage data is managed by the buffer control PC 16, the temporary storage data is appropriately transmitted to the re-determination processing server 17. It will be. In this embodiment, a case where temporary storage data is managed by the buffer control PC 16 will be described as an example.

  The temporary storage unit 4 temporarily stores the panel 9 determined to be “defective product” or “determination impossible” in the inspection apparatus 3, and thereafter, “good”, “defective product” or “determination impossible” from the buffer control PC 16. ”Is received, the panel 9 corresponding to the quality determination data is returned to the transport line 2. At this time, the transport line 2 transports the panel 9 to one of the three cassettes 20 of “non-defective product”, “defective product”, or “determination impossible”. Thereby, the panel 9 returned to the conveyance line 2 is stored in one of the three cassettes 20 of the inspected panel storage unit 8 according to the result of the re-defectiveness determination data.

  The terminal device 5 is a device for re-determining the image data of the panel 9 temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit 4. That is, the terminal device 5 is a device for determining whether or not the non-defective panel is “non-defective”, “defective”, and “determinable” by visual inspection again. In the present embodiment, the terminal device 5 is a computer that includes a display 5A that displays image data and a keyboard (not shown) for inputting re-defectiveness determination data. The re-defective determination of the panel 9 in the terminal device 5 is performed when the examiner visually observes the image data of the panel 9 displayed on the display 5A. The pass / fail determination data determined by the inspector through this visual inspection is input from the keyboard. Further, the terminal device 5 receives data of the panel 9 (panel identification number, panel temporary saving location, determination data from the inspection device, etc.) necessary for the re-defective determination from the re-determination processing server 17.

  The terminal devices 5 are installed in the number corresponding to the required redetermination processing capability (four in this embodiment). The terminal device 5 transmits information such as determination data of the panel 9 from the redetermination processing server 17 and a redetermination result to the buffer control PC 16 (transmits to the redetermination processing server 17). A transmission device (not shown). The inspector displays the image data of the panel 9 on the terminal device 5 and makes a determination again.

  The network device 6 is a network to which the inspection devices 3 and the terminal devices 5 are electrically connected. In addition to each inspection device 3 and each terminal device 5, an image file server 15 of a control unit 7, a buffer control PC 16, a redetermination processing server 17, a process management server 18, and the like are connected to the network device 6. Yes.

  The control unit 7 is an apparatus for performing an inspection process by connecting in an optimal combination according to the degree of congestion of the temporary storage unit 4 and the terminal device 5. Specifically, the control unit 7 is connected to the network device 6 and takes in the determination data and image data of the panel 9 that is determined to be defective or cannot be determined by each inspection device 3 via the network device 6. At that time, the determination data and the image data of the panel 9 of the temporary storage unit 4 with the larger temporary storage amount are distributed to the terminal device 5 with the smaller processing amount at that time. As the temporary storage unit 4 having a larger temporary storage amount, the temporary storage unit 4 having the largest temporary storage amount among the four temporary storage units 4 and the temporary storage unit exceeding the set value among the four temporary storage units 4 There are four. The set value is, for example, 80% of the maximum storage amount. In some cases, other numerical values may be set. In the case of the set value, the plurality of temporary storage units 4 may exceed the installation value. In this case, the panel 9 of the plurality of temporary storage units 4 is processed with priority. The terminal device 5 with the smaller processing amount monitors all of the plurality of terminal devices 5 and selects one terminal device 5 with the smallest processing amount, and the terminal device 5 with the processing amount smaller than the set value. May choose. In the case of the terminal device 5 having a processing amount smaller than the set value, a plurality of terminal devices 5 may be selected. The process of selecting the temporary storage unit 4 having the largest temporary storage amount among the four temporary storage units 4 or the temporary storage unit 4 exceeding the set value is always performed regularly or irregularly. And the terminal device 5 are combined so that the latest information is updated. For this reason, the process of selecting the temporary storage unit 4 is always performed according to the timing of the re-determination process, or is performed regularly or irregularly.

  The control unit 7 includes an image file server 15, a buffer control PC 16, a redetermination processing server 17, and a process management server 18. These may be configured by individual hardware devices respectively connected to the network device 6, or may be configured so that each function is realized by one hardware device connected to the network device 6.

  The function of each component of this control part 7 is demonstrated based on FIG. 1 and FIG. Note that the time chart of FIG. 2 shows the transmission / reception state of the image data, determination data, and re-defectiveness determination data between the components.

  The image file server 15 receives the image data transmitted from the inspection apparatus 3 and is determined to be defective or cannot be determined, and temporarily stores the image data, and each terminal stores the temporarily stored image data as necessary. The image file management means includes at least processing to be transmitted to the apparatus 5. The image file server 15 is provided for allocating image data to be subjected to pass / fail determination processing to the optimum (least processing amount) terminal device 5 according to the processing status of each terminal device 5. The image file server 15 receives the image data of the panel 9 determined as “defective product” or “undecidable” by the inspection apparatus 3 from the inspection apparatus 3 and temporarily stores it. Then, in response to an instruction from the re-determination processing server 17 for optimizing the re-defectiveness determination processing in the terminal device group, an “defective product” or “ The image data of the panel 9 determined as “undecidable” is transmitted. Note that the image data of the panel 9 determined as “good” by the inspection apparatus 3 is not transmitted to the image file server 15 but only to the process management server 18.

  The image file server 15 includes a memory with a large storage capacity, and can store a large amount of image data. The image file server 15 includes a receiving device (not shown) that receives the image file from the inspection device 3, and a transmitting device (not shown) that transmits the image file to the terminal device 5 in response to a request from the redetermination processing server 17. It has.

  The buffer control PC 16 manages the temporary storage data including the determination data transmitted from the inspection device 3 and the temporary storage number of the panel 9 transmitted from each temporary storage unit 4, and the determination data and temporary storage A process of transmitting data to the re-determination processing server 17, a process of receiving re-defectiveness determination data after completion of re-determination in each of the terminal devices 5, and the temporary storage corresponding thereto based on the re-defectiveness determination data The buffer control means includes at least processing for returning the panel 9 of the unit 4 to the transport line and processing for transmitting the re-defectiveness determination data to the process management server 18. The buffer control PC 16 is a transmission device (not shown) that transmits the determination data and the like of the panel 9 of the temporary storage unit 4 to the redetermination processing server 17, and a transmission device (not shown) that transmits the redetermination result to the upper process management server 18. Etc.). The temporary storage data is data relating to the temporary storage number of all the temporary storage units 4. Temporary storage data associates the presence / absence and number of panels 9 temporarily stored with the ID of the temporary storage unit 4 in which the panels 9 are stored, and is managed collectively for all temporary storage units 4. This temporary storage data is detected by the buffer control PC 16 constantly, regularly or irregularly, and the latest status regarding temporary storage of each temporary storage unit 4 is always transmitted to the re-determination processing server 17. Yes. The temporary storage data may be detected directly by the re-determination processing server 17. In addition, detection of temporarily stored data is performed regularly, regularly, or irregularly at the same timing so that the latest status is obtained at the time of processing.

  The buffer control PC 16 manages the number of non-defective panels stored in the temporary storage unit 4, the position in the temporary storage unit 4, determination data, and the like. The buffer control PCs 16 are installed in the number corresponding to the required processing capacity. When it is determined that the result of the image quality inspection of the panel 9 by the inspection apparatus 3 is “defective product” or “determination impossible”, the buffer control PC 16 receives the determination data from the inspection apparatus 3. Thereafter, the re-defective / non-defective determination data from the terminal device 5 is transmitted to the buffer control PC 16, and the defective storage panel temporarily stored is assigned to the non-defective / defective / non-determinable panel based on the re-defective determination data. Nine classifications are finalized. In addition, after the temporary storage unit 4 determines whether the defective / non-defective panel is non-defective / defective / determinable by the re-defective determination data, the re-defective / non-defective determination data is transmitted from the buffer control PC 16 to the process management server 18, and is rejected by the system. The determination data of the panel 9 that has been confirmed is updated or confirmed. The re-defectiveness determination data from the terminal device 5 is transmitted directly from the terminal device 5 to the buffer control PC 16, and is once transmitted to the re-determination processing server 17, and is transmitted from the re-determination processing server 17 to the buffer control PC 16. May be. The flow of the re-defectiveness determination data is appropriately set according to various conditions.

  The re-determination processing server 17 performs processing for receiving the determination data and the temporary storage data from the buffer control PC 16, processing for monitoring the processing amount of each terminal device 5, and temporary storage amount based on the temporary storage data Processing for selecting the image data on the panel 9 of the temporary storage unit 4 having a large amount, processing for selecting the terminal device 5 with a small processing amount based on the processing amount of each terminal device 5 being monitored, and the selected image data At least a process for instructing the image file server 15 to transmit the selected image data from the image file server 15 to the selected terminal device 5 and transmitting determination data corresponding to the selected image data to the terminal device 5. Re-determination processing means. The re-determination processing server 17 is a receiving device (not shown) that receives the determination data and the temporary storage data from the buffer control PC 16, and a transmission device that transmits information such as determination data of the panel 9 to the terminal device 5 (see FIG. (Not shown). The redetermination processing server 17 may include a process of temporarily receiving the pass / fail judgment data from the terminal device 5 and transmitting it to the buffer control PC 16 in consideration of the buffer control PC 16. In this case, the re-determination processing server 17 includes a receiving device (not shown) that receives the re-quality determination data from the terminal device 5 and a transmission device (not shown) that transmits the re-quality determination data to the buffer control PC 16. We will be further prepared.

  The re-determination processing server 17 manages based on the temporary storage data so that the number of non-defective panels temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit 4 does not exceed the limit of the panel storage capacity of the temporary storage unit 4.

  In addition, the redetermination processing server 17 optimizes the re-defectiveness determination processing in a terminal device group including a plurality (four) of terminal devices 5. Depending on the degree of occurrence of non-defective panels in each transport line 2, the number of non-defective panels accumulated in each temporary storage unit 4 varies from line to line. If the non-defective panel exceeds the limit of the number of sheets that can be stored in the temporary storage unit 4, no more defective non-defective panels can be stored. Therefore, it is necessary to manage the situation so that the situation does not occur. For this reason, it is necessary to prioritize the defective / non-defective panels in the temporary storage unit 4 that accommodates the largest number of unfeasible panels, and to perform the pass / fail determination process. Furthermore, the re-determination processing server 17 needs to instruct the terminal device 5 with the smallest re-pass / fail determination processing amount to perform the re-pass / fail determination processing when performing the re-defective determination. The management of this processing instruction is realized by software provided in the redetermination processing server 17. Thereby, since the re-determination processing server 17 is connected to the plurality of buffer control PCs 16 via the network device 6, the plurality of temporary storage units 4 can be collectively managed. Further, since the redetermination processing server 17 also performs batch management of the terminal devices 5, it corresponds to the work amount of the plurality of terminal devices 5 and the evacuation status (temporary storage state) of the panels 9 in the plurality of temporary storage units 4. Data of the panel 9 that needs to be re-examined can be distributed to the terminal device 5 for re-determination with an appropriate priority.

  The process management server 18 is a device for managing the state of the entire inspection system. The process management server 18 records and manages the identification number assigned to each panel 9, the current location in the inspection system, and the determination data based on the image quality inspection of the inspection apparatus 3 for all the panels 9 to be inspected.

  The inspected panel storage unit 8 is an apparatus for individually storing the panels 9 that have been inspected and whose determination results have been determined, classified into non-defective products, defective products, and indeterminate determinations. In other words, the inspected panel storage unit 8 is a device for storing the non-defective product, the defective product, and the non-determinable panel 9 separately for the non-defective product, the defective product, and the indeterminate judgment. The inspected panel storage unit 8 includes three cassettes 20 that store inspected panels. The inspected panel storage unit 8 is connected to the temporary storage unit 4 and the inspection device 3 by the transport line 2. The conveyance line 2 is branched into three on the downstream side of the temporary storage unit, and the “non-defective product”, “defective product”, and “determination impossible” panels 9 are separately conveyed to a dedicated cassette 20.

[Operation]
The inspection system 1 configured as described above operates as follows.

  Here, the operation of the entire inspection system 1 will be described while describing individual functions of each device such as the inspection device 3 and the terminal device 5 based on a flowchart.

  First, the inspection apparatus 3 will be described.

  In the inspection apparatus 3, as shown in FIG. 3, it is first determined whether or not the panel 9 is placed on the stage 11 (step S1). Wait until the panel 9 is placed on the stage 11, and when the panel 9 is placed, the CCD camera 12 photographs the panel 9 (step S2). Next, the image data of the panel 9 photographed by the CCD camera 12 is captured by the inspection computer 13 (step S3), and the panel 9 is sent to the downstream side by the transport line 2 (step S4).

  In the inspection computer 13, the captured image data is compared with a determination criterion, and the panel 9 determines whether the product is a non-defective product, a defective product, or an indeterminate judgment (step S 5). Next, it is determined whether or not the determination result is a non-defective product (step S6). If the panel 9 is non-defective, there is no need for re-determination, and the image data is transmitted to the process management server 18 (step S7). Further, determination data is also transmitted to the process management server 18 (step S8). The process management server 18 stores the image data and determination data as a result of confirmation.

  If it is determined in step S6 that the determination result is not good, that is, if it is determined that the panel 9 is defective or cannot be determined, the image data is transmitted to the image file server 15 (step S9). The image file server 15 temporarily stores this image data. Further, the determination data is transmitted to the buffer control PC 16 and the process management server 18 (step S10).

  Although there are four inspection apparatuses 3 in this embodiment, each inspection apparatus 3 performs the process independently, and individually transmits data to the image file server 15, the buffer control PC 16, and the like.

  Next, the image file server 15 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the image file server 15 first determines whether or not image data has been received from the inspection device 3 (step S21). When the image data is received, the image data is recorded together with related information such as the ID of the temporary storage unit 4 that temporarily stores the panel 9 of the image data (step S22). If no image data has been received, the process proceeds to step S23.

  In step S23, it is determined whether there is an instruction to transmit image data from the redetermination processing server 17. If there is an instruction to transmit image data, the corresponding image data recorded in the image file server 15 is transmitted to the designated terminal device 5 (step S24). If there is no instruction to send image data, the process is repeated from step S21.

  Next, the buffer control PC 16 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the buffer control PC 16 first determines whether or not determination data has been received from the inspection apparatus 3 (step S31). When determination data is received from the inspection device 3, the determination data is transmitted to the redetermination processing server 17 (step S32). If determination data is not received from the inspection apparatus 3, the process proceeds to step S33.

  In step S <b> 33, it is determined whether or not re-good / bad determination data has been received from the terminal device 5. When the re-defectiveness determination data is received, the re-defectiveness determination data is transmitted to the process management server 18 (step S34). Next, the panel 9 corresponding to the re-defectiveness determination data is returned from the temporary storage unit 4 to the transport line 2 (step S35). The panel 9 returned to the transport line 2 is sent to one of the cassettes 20 in the inspected panel storage unit 8 based on the re-defectiveness determination result.

  Next, the redetermination processing server 17 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the redetermination processing server 17 first determines whether or not determination data has been received from the inspection apparatus 3 (step S41). If determination data is not received, the process is terminated and repeated from the beginning. When the determination data is received, the determination data is temporarily stored (step S42). Further, temporary storage data is received from each temporary storage unit 4 and stored (step S43).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the temporary storage data of each temporary storage unit 4 is 80% or more of the maximum storage amount (step S44). If there is a temporary storage unit 4 having temporary storage data of 80% or more, the temporary storage unit 4 is specified (step S45). When there are a plurality of 80% or more temporary storage units 4, the temporary storage units 4 are specified. As a method for specifying the temporary storage unit 4, the temporary storage unit 4 having the largest temporary storage amount among the four may be specified. In this case, the level is leveled as the process proceeds, and all the temporary storage amounts of the four temporary storage units 4 become approximately the same. Moreover, you may use together the thing more than a setting value, and most things. In this case, if there is no more than the set value specified earlier, if there is no more than the set value, the largest number is specified, so that any temporary storage unit 4 accumulates up to the limit of the number of sheets that can be stored The line 2 can be prevented from stopping, and the four temporary storage units 4 can be leveled.

  If there is no temporary storage unit 4 having temporary storage data of 80% or more, normal processing is performed (step S46). In this normal processing, for example, four temporary storage units 4 are selected in order from the temporary storage unit 4 at one end thereof.

  Next, the terminal device 5 is specified (step S47). The processing amount of the terminal device 5 is constantly monitored by the redetermination processing server 17, and the redetermination processing server 17 knows which terminal device 5 has the smaller processing amount, and the terminal device whose processing amount is equal to or less than the set value. 5 is specified. In this case, the terminal device 5 with the smallest processing amount may be specified. Thereby, when there is one temporary storage unit 4 with a large temporary storage amount, a plurality of panels 9 of this one temporary storage unit 4 may be re-determined in parallel by a plurality of terminal devices 5 at the same time. Thereby, it is easily solved that the temporary storage amount of the temporary storage unit 4 exceeds the limit.

  Next, the determination data of the panel 9 temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit 4 specified in step S45 or S46 is transmitted to the terminal device 5 specified in step S47 (step S48).

  Next, the image file server 15 is instructed to transmit the image data of the panel 9 temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit 4 specified in step S46 to the terminal device 5 specified in step S47 (step S49).

  Next, a re-defective determination process is performed in the terminal device 5, and the result is transmitted to the buffer control PC 16 or the re-determination process server 17. When the data is transmitted to the buffer control PC 16, the buffer control PC 16 transmits the pass / fail judgment data to the process management server 18 in step S34, and the panel 9 corresponding to the pass / fail judgment data is temporarily displayed in step S35. Return from the storage unit 4 to the conveyance line 2. The panel 9 returned to the transport line 2 is sent to one of the cassettes 20 in the inspected panel storage unit 8 based on the re-defectiveness determination result.

  When it is transmitted to the re-determination processing server 17, it is determined whether or not the re-defectiveness determination data is received from the re-determination processing server 17, and when the re-defectiveness determination data is not received, the processing is repeated from step S41. When the re-defective / non-defective determination data is received, the re-defective / non-defective determination data is transmitted to the buffer control PC 16. As a result, processing by the buffer control PC 16 is performed.

  Next, the terminal device 5 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the terminal device 5 first determines whether image data and determination data have been received (step S61). Wait until image data and determination data are received, and when received, display them on the display 5A of the terminal device 5 (step S62). The inspector performs re-determination based on the image data and determination data displayed on the display 5A. By this re-determination, it is finally determined whether the panel 9 to be re-determined is “non-defective”, “defective”, or “determination is impossible”, and re-defective determination data that is the re-defective determination result is input from the keyboard.

  The terminal device 5 determines whether or not there is an input from the keyboard (step S63), and waits until re-good / bad determination data is input. When the re-defective judgment data is input, the data is transmitted to the buffer control PC 16 (step S64). Then, it repeats from said step S61. Note that, as described above, the re-defective determination data may be transmitted to the re-determination processing server 17.

  The buffer control PC 16 that has received the pass / fail judgment data transmits the pass / fail judgment data to the process management server 18 in step S34, and in step S35, temporarily stores the panel 9 corresponding to the pass / fail judgment data. Return from 4 to the transfer line 2. The panel 9 returned to the transport line 2 is sent to one of the cassettes 20 in the inspected panel storage unit 8 based on the re-defectiveness determination result.

  Next, the process management server 18 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the process management server 18 first determines whether or not image data has been received (step S71). If no image data has been received, the process proceeds to step S73. When the image data is received, the image data is recorded together with the attached information (step S72).

  Next, it is determined whether determination data has been received (step S73). If determination data has not been received, the process proceeds to step S75. When the determination data is received, the determination data is recorded together with the attached information (step S74).

  Next, it is determined whether or not re-defectiveness determination data has been received (step S75). When the re-good / bad determination data is received, the determination data is updated with the good / bad determination data (step S76). If re-good / bad determination data has not been received, the process is repeated from step S71.

  The processing in each of the above apparatuses starts from the processing in the inspection apparatus 3 as shown in the time chart of FIG. 2, and the image data is transmitted to the process management server 18 and the image file server 15, and FIGS. Is performed.

  Further, the image file server 15 performs the process of FIG. 7 in order to transmit the image data to the terminal device 5.

  On the other hand, since the determination data is transmitted from the inspection apparatus 3 to the process management server 18 and the buffer control PC 16, the processes of FIGS. 8 and 5 are performed. Further, the buffer control PC 16 performs the process of FIG. 6 to transmit the determination data to the redetermination processing server 17, and the redetermination processing server 17 performs the process of FIG. 7 to transmit to the terminal device 5.

  Next, in the terminal device 5, the process of FIG. 6 is performed in order to transmit the re-defectiveness determination data to the re-determination processing server 17. Further, the re-determination processing server 17 transmits the re-defective / non-defective determination data to the buffer control PC 16, so that the processing of FIG. 5 is performed. Then, since the quality determination data is finally transmitted to the process management server 18, the process of FIG. 8 is performed.

  Accordingly, the panel 9 is inspected smoothly without being kept in the temporary storage unit 4.

[effect]
Since the image data of the panel 9 of the temporary storage unit 4 having a large temporary storage amount is determined again by the terminal device 5 having a small processing amount, the panel 9 can be inspected efficiently. As a result, even if the amount of panel 9 to be re-inspected increases due to production process and quality fluctuations, defects in inspection devices and display devices, etc., the amount of work for visual re-inspection can be flexibly dealt with, and the inspection process throughput Can be maintained. Further, in order to distribute the visual inspection work in the terminal device 5 to a plurality of inspectors according to the amount of the panel 9 that is temporarily determined to be defective or unacceptable by the inspection device 3, the throughput of the inspection process Can be improved. The throughput of the inspection process can be maintained by flexibly responding to fluctuations in the work amount due to the re-inspection of the visual inspection, and further, the amount of the panel 9 to be re-inspected that is temporarily stored as indeterminate from the inspection apparatus 3 Accordingly, it is possible to improve the throughput of the inspection process by distributing the visual inspection work to a plurality of inspectors.

  Sometimes, if there is one temporary storage unit 4 with a large amount of temporary storage, a plurality of panels 9 of this single temporary storage unit 4 can be re-determined in parallel by a plurality of terminal devices 5 at a time. The temporary storage amount of the temporary storage unit 4 is easily eliminated and the conveyance line 2 is prevented from stopping.

  Further, the re-determination processing server 17 selects the image data of the panel 9 of the temporary storage unit 4 having a large temporary storage amount based on the temporary storage data, selects the terminal device 5 having a small processing amount, and stores the image data. Based on the re-defective determination data after the re-determination is completed, the buffer device PC 16 returns the panel 9 of the temporary storage unit 4 to the transport line 2 based on the re-defective determination data. 4 can be efficiently reduced, and the temporary storage amount of the temporary storage unit 4 can be prevented from reaching its limit and stopping the conveyance line.

  By selecting the temporary storage unit 4 in order from the one with the larger temporary storage amount and selecting the terminal device 5 in order from the one with the smaller processing amount, the re-determination process can be performed efficiently. Further, the temporary storage unit 4 is selected in the order in which the temporary storage amount exceeds the set value, and the terminal device 5 is selected again in order from the processing amount that is equal to or less than the set value. Processing can be performed.

  Finally, since the inspected panel storage unit 8 individually stores the panels 9 determined to be non-defective, defective, or unacceptable, the inspector inspects only the defective and unacceptable panels 9 The inspection work directly inspected by the inspector can be minimized, and the efficiency of the inspection work can be improved.

  The panel 9 inspected by the inspection device 3 is flowed downstream without stopping by the inspection device 3 after the inspection is completed, and the panel 9 requiring re-inspection is temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit 4. Can be specialized only in the inspection process of the panel 9, and the efficiency of the inspection work can be improved.

[Modification]
In the above-described embodiment, the liquid crystal display panel similar to the conventional one has been described as an example of the inspection object. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to anything other than the panel that needs to be processed in large quantities. . For example, the inspection system 1 of the present invention can also be used in the inspection of the total amount of parts, foods, beverages and the like made in large quantities. Thereby, there can exist an effect | action and effect similar to the said embodiment.

  Moreover, although the said inspection apparatus is set as the structure which does not change especially about the determination criterion of the inspection apparatus 3, you may change a determination criterion at any time. For example, the determination criteria of the inspection apparatus 3 may be updated based on the determination data of the panel 9 that has been determined to be defective or non-defective and the panel 9 that has been determined to be nondefective by the terminal device 5. Thereby, by determining the quality of the panel 9 based on the updated new determination criterion, it is possible to reduce the number of panels 9 determined to be unacceptable, and to increase the efficiency of the inspection work.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

It is a schematic structure figure showing an inspection system concerning the present invention. It is a time chart which shows the whole operation | movement of the test | inspection system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process in the test | inspection apparatus of the test | inspection system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process in the image file server of the inspection system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process in buffer control PC of the test | inspection system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process in the redetermination processing server of the test | inspection system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process in the terminal device of the test | inspection system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process in the process management server of the test | inspection system which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  1: inspection system, 2: transfer line, 3: inspection device, 4: temporary storage unit, 5: terminal device, 6: network device, 7: control unit, 8: inspected panel storage unit, 9: panel, 11: Stage: 12: CCD camera, 13: Computer for inspection, 15: Image file server, 16: Buffer control PC, 17: Re-determination processing server, 18: Process management server, 20: Cassette.

Claims (7)

An inspection system for taking an image of an inspection object and determining the quality of the inspection object based on the image data,
A plurality of conveyance lines for respectively conveying the plurality of inspection objects;
An inspection apparatus that is provided on each conveyance line and that images the inspection object and automatically determines the quality of the inspection object based on the image data and transmits the determination data and the image data;
A temporary storage unit for temporarily storing the inspection object that is provided on the downstream side of the inspection device on each of the transport lines and is determined to be defective or not determined by the inspection device;
A plurality of terminal devices that re-determine the image data of the inspection object temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit;
Network devices to which the inspection devices and the terminal devices are respectively connected;
One that has a larger amount of temporary storage at the time when the determination data and image data of the inspection object that is connected to the network device and determined by the inspection devices to be defective or cannot be determined are taken in via the network device An inspection system comprising: a control unit that distributes determination data and image data of the inspection object of the temporary storage unit to the terminal device having a smaller processing amount at that time. The inspection system according to claim 1,
The control unit is
At least processing for receiving and temporarily storing the image data determined to be defective or undecidable transmitted from the inspection device, and processing for transmitting the temporarily stored image data to each terminal device as necessary Image file management means;
A process for managing temporary storage data including the determination data transmitted from the inspection apparatus and the temporary storage number of the inspection object transmitted from each temporary storage unit, and the determination data and the temporary storage data to the re-determination processing means A buffer control means having at least a process of transmitting, a process of returning the inspection object of the temporary storage unit corresponding to the re-defective determination data of each terminal device to the transport line, and
A process for receiving the determination data and the temporary storage data from the buffer control means, a process for monitoring the processing amount of each terminal device, and an inspection object of a temporary storage unit having a large temporary storage amount based on the temporary storage data Processing for selecting image data, processing for selecting the terminal device having a small processing amount based on the processing amount of each terminal device being monitored, and the terminal device that has selected the selected image data from the image file management means And a re-determination processing unit having at least a process of transmitting determination data corresponding to the selected image data to the terminal device, and instructing the image file management unit to transmit to the terminal device. Inspection system. The inspection system according to claim 2,
The re-determination processing means always selects a temporary storage unit with the largest amount of temporary storage based on the temporary storage data at regular or irregular intervals to specify an inspection target to be processed with the highest priority, and for each terminal device An inspection system characterized by identifying a terminal device that selects and re-determines the terminal device with the smallest processing amount at regular or irregular intervals by monitoring. The inspection system according to claim 2,
The re-judgment processing means always selects a temporary storage unit whose temporary storage amount exceeds a set value based on the temporary storage data, regularly or irregularly, and specifies an inspection object to be processed with the highest priority. An inspection system that identifies a terminal device that is re-determined by regularly or irregularly selecting the terminal device having a processing amount equal to or less than a set value by monitoring the terminal device. The inspection system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An inspection system comprising inspection-inspected object storage means for individually storing non-defective products, defective products, or unacceptable inspection objects that have been inspected, downstream of each conveyance line. The inspection system according to claim 5,
The inspection system, wherein the temporary storage unit is installed between the inspection device on each of the transport lines and the inspected inspection object storage unit. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1,
An inspection apparatus, wherein the inspection apparatus updates a determination criterion based on determination data in which an inspection object once determined to be defective or unclear is determined to be non-defective by re-determination by the terminal device.

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