JP2008170298A - Visual inspecting device and visual inspection method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten a visual inspection time of an inspection object, and to reduce a memory capacity for preserving images. <P>SOLUTION: This visual inspection device 101 for determining acceptance of an appearance of the inspection object is characterized by having a plurality of cameras 160a, 160b for imaging the inspection object 50 or 60; an inspection processing part 230 for determining acceptance of the appearance of the inspection object based on an image of the inspection object; and an image synthesis/non-synthesis part 220 provided between the plurality of cameras and the inspection processing part, for performing either of a synthetic image output mode and a non-synthetic image output mode. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an appearance inspection apparatus and an appearance inspection method for inspecting the appearance of an inspection target such as a substrate.

  Conventionally, an appearance inspection apparatus that inspects an appearance of an object to be inspected has, for example, a configuration including a plurality of cameras, an image processing unit, and an inspection processing unit (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The plurality of cameras are components for capturing an image to be inspected (hereinafter referred to as “captured image”). Each of the plurality of cameras is configured as, for example, a line sensor camera including a lens and a line sensor. The plurality of cameras are arranged in a line along the imaging line so that the field of view of each camera slightly overlaps the field of view of the adjacent camera. The lens of each camera forms an image of light reflected on the surface of the object to be inspected (hereinafter referred to as “reflected light”) on the line sensor along the imaging line. And the line sensor of each camera photoelectrically converts the reflected light imaged by the lens, and acquires an imaging signal. Thus, each camera scans the surface of the inspection target and images the inspection target. At this time, each camera so that a part of the captured image captured by itself overlaps with a part of the captured image captured by the adjacent camera, that is, an unnecessary part other than the inspection target is captured. An object to be inspected is imaged.

  The image processing unit is a component for creating a single combined image by combining a plurality of captured images captured by a plurality of cameras. The image processing unit includes a CPU and a RAM. The image processing unit performs a predetermined correction process on a plurality of captured images to be inspected, for example, a captured image captured by an adjacent camera with respect to one of the plurality of captured images. A corrected image is created by deleting the overlapping pixels, and this corrected image is synthesized with a captured image taken by an adjacent camera, thereby creating a single synthesized image.

  The inspection processing unit is a component for determining pass / fail of the appearance of the inspection target based on the composite image. The inspection processing unit includes a CPU and a RAM. The inspection processing unit refers to a predetermined acceptance / rejection criterion for the composite image created by the image processing unit, and determines whether or not the inspection target in the composite image satisfies the acceptance / rejection criterion. judge. Accordingly, the inspection processing unit determines whether the appearance of the inspection target is acceptable.

  As described above, the conventional appearance inspection apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 creates a composite image in order to determine whether the appearance of an inspection target is acceptable.

At this time, the conventional visual inspection apparatus always captures the inspection target with a plurality of cameras so that unnecessary portions other than the inspection target are always captured in each captured image regardless of the size of the inspection target. Furthermore, the image processing unit overlaps one captured image captured by a certain camera with one captured image captured by a camera adjacent to this camera (hereinafter referred to as “adjacent captured image”). The corrected image is created by deleting the pixel of the portion to be processed, and this corrected image is synthesized with the adjacent captured image, thereby creating one synthesized image.
JP 2004-226128 A

  However, in the above-described conventional visual inspection apparatus, a plurality of cameras captures the inspection target so that unnecessary portions other than the inspection target are always captured in each captured image regardless of the size of the inspection target. For this reason, there has been a problem that it takes time to correct the captured image and to synthesize the corrected image and the captured image.

  Further, the above-described conventional appearance inspection apparatus has a problem that it is necessary to secure a memory capacity for storing a plurality of captured images, correction images, and composite images captured by a plurality of cameras.

  Further, in the above-described conventional visual inspection apparatus, each captured image includes an unnecessary part other than the object to be inspected, and therefore a wasteful memory capacity for storing the captured image in excess of the unnecessary part image. There was a problem that it was necessary to ensure.

  An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, based on a captured image captured by a single camera without creating a composite image according to the size of the inspection target. An object of the present invention is to provide an appearance inspection apparatus capable of inspecting the appearance of the above.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an appearance inspection apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of cameras, an inspection processing unit, and an image composition / non-synthesis unit.

  The plurality of cameras are components for imaging the inspection target.

  The inspection processing unit is a component for determining pass / fail of the appearance of the inspection target based on the captured image of the inspection target captured by the camera.

  The image synthesizing / non-synthesizing unit synthesizes a plurality of captured images captured by a plurality of cameras to create one synthesized image, and outputs a mode for outputting the synthesized image to the inspection processing unit. The non-synthetic image output mode is a mode in which a single captured image captured by a single camera is output to the inspection processing unit as a composite image output mode without creating such a composite image. A configuration for acquiring a plurality of captured images of an inspection target from a plurality of cameras and performing one of a composite image output mode and a non-synthetic image output mode according to the size of the inspection target Is an element.

  According to such an appearance inspection apparatus, either the composite image output mode or the non-composite image output mode can be selected and executed according to the size of the inspection target.

  In this appearance inspection apparatus, it is preferable that the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit performs a composite image output mode to output a composite image of the inspection target when the size of the inspection target is larger than the field of view of a single camera. When the image is output to the inspection processing unit and the size of the inspection target is equal to or smaller than the field of view of a single camera, the non-composite image output mode may be performed to output the captured image of the inspection target to the inspection processing unit. According to such an appearance inspection apparatus, it is possible to select and execute the non-synthesized image output mode when the size of the inspection target is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the camera.

  Further, in this appearance inspection apparatus, preferably, a plurality of inspection processing units are provided corresponding to a plurality of cameras, and the image composition / non-synthesis unit has a size of an inspection target equal to or smaller than the field of view of a single camera. In this case, each captured image captured by each camera is output to each inspection processing unit corresponding to each camera, and each of the plurality of inspection processing units is output by the corresponding camera. Based on the captured image of the object to be inspected, it is preferable to determine whether the appearance of the object to be inspected is acceptable in parallel with other inspection processing units. According to such an appearance inspection device, when the size of the inspection target is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the camera, each inspection processing unit performs other processing based on each captured image of the inspection target captured by a plurality of cameras. In parallel with the inspection processing unit, it is possible to determine whether or not the appearance of the inspection target is acceptable.

  In addition, the visual inspection apparatus preferably further includes a table for transporting the inspection target to the imaging position of the camera, and the table is an inspection target size measurement sensor for measuring the size of the inspection target. And the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit performs either one of the composite image output mode and the non-synthesized image output mode according to the size of the inspection target measured by the inspection target size measurement sensor of the table. It is good to do. According to such an appearance inspection apparatus, one of the composite image output mode and the non-composite image output mode is selected and executed according to the size of the inspection target measured by the inspection target size measurement sensor of the table. can do.

  The appearance inspection method according to the present invention includes an imaging step, an image processing step, and an inspection processing step.

  In the imaging step, a plurality of cameras image the inspection target.

  In the image processing step, the image synthesizing / non-synthesizing unit generates a single synthesized image by synthesizing a plurality of images to be inspected captured by a plurality of cameras, and sends the synthesized image to the inspection processing unit. The output mode is a composite image output mode, and the mode in which a single captured image captured by a single camera is output to the inspection processing unit without creating a composite image is a non-composite image output mode. In this case, the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit acquires a plurality of captured images of the inspected object from a plurality of cameras, and outputs a composite image output mode and a non-synthesized image output mode according to the size of the inspected object. Do either one.

  In the inspection processing step, the inspection processing unit determines pass / fail of the appearance of the inspection target based on the image of the inspection target output from the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit. According to such an appearance inspection method, either the composite image output mode or the non-composite image output mode can be selected and executed according to the size of the inspection target.

  In this appearance inspection method, preferably, in the image processing step, the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit performs the composite image output mode when the size of the object to be inspected is larger than the field of view of a single camera. When the composite image of the target is output to the inspection processing unit, and the size of the inspection target is equal to or smaller than the field of view of a single camera, the non-composite image output mode is performed and the captured image of the inspection target is output to the inspection processing unit. It is good to output. According to such an appearance inspection method, when the size of the object to be inspected is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the camera, the non-synthetic image output mode can be selected and executed.

  In this appearance inspection method, preferably, a plurality of inspection processing units are provided corresponding to a plurality of cameras, and the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit has a single size to be inspected in the image processing step. In the case of less than the field of view of each camera, each captured image captured by each camera is output to each inspection processing unit corresponding to each camera, and a plurality of inspection processing steps are performed. Each of the inspection processing units may determine pass / fail of the appearance of the inspection target in parallel with the other inspection processing units based on the captured image of the inspection target captured by the corresponding camera. According to such an appearance inspection method, when the size of the object to be inspected is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the camera, each inspection processing unit performs other processing based on each captured image of the object to be inspected captured by a plurality of cameras. In parallel with the inspection processing unit, it is possible to determine whether or not the appearance of the inspection target is acceptable.

  In addition, the visual inspection method preferably further includes a table for conveying the inspection target to the imaging position of the camera, and the table includes an inspection target size measurement sensor for measuring the size of the inspection target. In the image processing step, the image compositing / non-synthesizing unit selects either the composite image output mode or the non-synthesized image output mode according to the size of the inspection target measured by the inspection target size measurement sensor of the table. One way is good. According to such an appearance inspection method, one of the composite image output mode and the non-synthesized image output mode is selected and executed according to the size of the inspection target measured by the inspection target size measurement sensor of the table. can do.

  According to the appearance inspection apparatus and the appearance inspection method according to the present invention, one of the composite image output mode and the non-composite image output mode is selected and executed according to the size of the inspection target.

  Therefore, according to this apparatus and method, for example, when the size of the object to be inspected is equal to or smaller than the field of view of a single camera, the composite image of the object to be inspected can be obtained by selecting and executing the non-composite image output mode. Whether or not the appearance of the inspection target is acceptable is determined based on a captured image of the inspection target captured by a single camera without creating the image.

  Therefore, according to this apparatus and method, for example, when the size of the object to be inspected is equal to or smaller than the field of view of a single camera, correction processing of each captured image and synthesis processing of each correction image can be eliminated. Compared to the conventional technique, the inspection time can be shortened by the time required for the correction process of the captured image and the synthesis process of the corrected image and the captured image.

  Further, according to this apparatus and method, for example, when the size of the object to be inspected is equal to or smaller than the field of view of a single camera, only one captured image may be stored in the memory. In addition, the captured image stored in the memory does not have to include an unnecessary portion other than the inspection target, that is, an overlapping portion with the captured image captured by the adjacent camera.

  Therefore, according to this apparatus and method, it is not necessary to secure a memory capacity for storing a plurality of captured images, correction images, and composite images captured by a plurality of cameras, as in the related art. There is no need to secure a useless memory capacity for storing the captured image, as in the prior art, by an amount corresponding to an unnecessary portion of the image.

  Therefore, according to this apparatus and method, for example, when the size of the object to be inspected is equal to or smaller than the field of view of a single camera, it is possible to reduce the memory capacity for storing the image.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Each drawing merely schematically shows the shape, size, and arrangement relationship of each component to the extent that the present invention can be understood. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated example. Moreover, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the common component and the same component, and those overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

[Embodiment 1]
<Configuration of appearance inspection device>
Hereinafter, a schematic configuration of an appearance inspection apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the appearance inspection apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  The appearance inspection apparatus 101 is an apparatus for inspecting the appearance of an object to be inspected according to the first embodiment.

  The appearance inspection apparatus 101 includes a table 110, illumination 150, a plurality of cameras (first and second cameras 160a and 160b in the example shown in FIG. 1), a calculation unit 200, an input / output unit 260, a storage unit 270, and the like. ing.

  The table 110 is a component for conveying the inspection target. The table 110 moves the inspection object in the field of view of the camera by moving in the horizontal direction on the conveyance path with the inspection object placed on the table 110. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 1, the table 110 moves the inspection target 50 in the field of view 162 a of the first camera 160 a by moving in the transport direction indicated by the arrow 10 with the small inspection target 50 placed thereon. Carry in. Alternatively, the table 110 moves in the transport direction indicated by the arrow 10 with the large inspection target 60 placed thereon, thereby moving the inspection target 60 to the visual field 162a of the first camera 160a and the visual field of the second camera 160b. It is conveyed into 162b.

  The illumination 150 is a component for illuminating light on an object to be inspected placed on the table 110. The illumination 150 is disposed above the table 110.

  The first camera 160 a is a component for imaging the inspection target placed on the table 110. Normally, the first camera 160a is fixed at a position separated from the placement surface by a certain distance on the optical axis with its optical axis orthogonal to the placement surface of the table 110. The first camera 160a is configured by, for example, photoelectric conversion, that is, a line sensor that converts light received from the outside into an electric signal. In this embodiment, the field of view 162a of the first camera 160a is set to the width W162a. Information on the width W162a is stored in the storage unit 270 so as to be readable. A first camera (hereinafter also referred to as a “first line sensor camera”) 160a picks up an image of a portion of the object to be inspected placed on the table 110 and located in the visual field 162a. A signal of an image (hereinafter referred to as “captured image”) is output to a first image capture unit 210a described later.

  Similar to the first camera 160 a, the second camera 160 b is a component for imaging the inspection target placed on the table 110, and the first camera 160 a with respect to the placement surface of the table 110. Are fixed at the same distance. The second camera 160b is configured by, for example, a line sensor, similarly to the first camera 160a. In this embodiment, the field of view 162b of the second camera 160b is set to a width W162b. The width W162b of the visual field 162b of the second camera 160b is usually the same width as the width W162a of the visual field 162a of the first camera 160a. Information regarding the width W162b is stored in the storage unit 270 so as to be readable. The second camera 160b is arranged in a row with the first camera 160a. Specifically, the second camera 160b is adjacent to the first camera 160a so that the field of view 162b of the second camera 160b is collinear with the field of view 162a of the first camera 160a and slightly overlaps the field of view 162a of the first camera 160a. Are arranged. A second camera (hereinafter also referred to as a “second line sensor camera”) 160b picks up an image of a portion of the object to be inspected placed on the table 110 and located in the field of view 162b. A signal of the captured image is output to a second image capture unit 210b described later.

  In the example shown in FIG. 1, the number of cameras is two. However, the number of cameras may be three or more. In this case, the cameras may be arranged in a line. Specifically, the cameras may be arranged such that the fields of view of the cameras are arranged on the same line and the fields of view of adjacent cameras are slightly overlapped. As a result, the appearance inspection apparatus 101 can inspect the appearance of the inspection object wider than the inspection object 60 shown in FIG. 1 with three or more cameras.

  The calculation unit 200 is a component that performs various calculations. The arithmetic unit 200 is constituted by a CPU. The calculation unit 200 includes a plurality of image capture units (first and second image capture units 210a and 210b in the example shown in FIG. 1), an image synthesis / non-synthesis unit 220, an inspection processing unit 230, a mechanism control unit 240, and the whole. Functional means such as the control unit 250 are provided.

  The first image capture unit 210a is a component for generating image data representing one captured image based on signals sequentially output from the first camera 160a. The first image capture unit 210a outputs a single captured image generated as image data to the image composition / non-synthesis unit 220, which is an image processing unit.

  Similar to the first image capture unit 210a, the second image capture unit 210b is a component for generating image data representing one captured image based on signals sequentially output from the second camera 160b. . The second image capture unit 210b outputs a single captured image generated as image data to the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit 220 that is an image processing unit.

  The image synthesis / non-synthesis unit 220 is a component for performing one of the synthesized image output mode and the non-synthesized image output mode according to the size of the inspection target. The “composite image output mode” is a combination of a plurality of images to be inspected captured by a plurality of cameras (first and second cameras 160a and 160b in the example shown in FIG. 1). This means a mode in which a single composite image is created and this composite image is output to the inspection processing unit 230. The “non-composite image output mode” refers to a single captured image captured by a single camera (first camera 160a in the example shown in FIG. 1) without creating a composite image. Is output to the inspection processing unit 230. The image synthesizing / non-synthesizing unit 220 acquires a plurality of captured images to be inspected from a plurality of cameras (in the example shown in FIG. 1, two images to be inspected from the first camera 160a and the second camera 160b). When the mode is the composite image output mode, correction processing such as deletion of overlapping portions is performed on a plurality of images to be inspected captured by a plurality of cameras. Then, a plurality of captured images are combined to create a single combined image, and this combined image is output to the inspection processing unit 230. On the other hand, the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit 220 acquires a plurality of captured images to be inspected from a plurality of cameras, and does not create a synthesized image when the mode is the non-synthesized image output mode. One captured image captured by one camera (in the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the captured image captured by the first camera 160a) is output to the inspection processing unit 230.

  The image composition / non-composition unit 220 also functions as an image processing unit that performs, for example, detection processing of an inspection target on a captured image or correction processing of a captured image. As the “correction process”, for example, in the composite image output mode, an image to be inspected included in the image data output from the first image capture unit 210a, that is, a captured image captured by the first camera 160a. (Hereinafter, also referred to as “image captured by the first camera 160a”) and the image to be inspected included in the image data output from the second image capture unit 210b, that is, the image to be inspected. Processing for deleting a portion overlapping with an image to be inspected, which appears in a captured image captured by the second camera 160b (hereinafter also referred to as “captured image of the second camera 160b”) from one image data Etc.

  The inspection processing unit 230 is a component for determining pass / fail of the appearance of the inspection target based on the image of the inspection target output from the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit 220. When the mode is the composite image output mode, the inspection processing unit 230 acquires a single composite image to be inspected from the image composition / non-composition unit 220. In this case, the inspection processing unit 230 determines pass / fail of the appearance of the inspection target based on the single composite image of the inspection target. On the other hand, the inspection processing unit 230 acquires a single captured image to be inspected from the image composition / non-synthesis unit 220 when the mode is the non-synthesis image output mode. In this case, the inspection processing unit 230 determines pass / fail of the appearance of the inspection target based on one captured image of the inspection target. Note that the inspection processing unit 230 operates to positively notify the external device 600 of a defective portion when the defective portion exists in the inspection target, in addition to determining whether the appearance of the inspection target is acceptable. May be.

  The mechanism control unit 240 is a component for controlling the operation of each component of the mechanism system, that is, the operation of the table 110, the actuator 120, the motor 130, the illumination 150, and the like. The mechanism control unit 240 controls the conveyance of the inspection target placed on the table 110 via the actuator 120 by driving or stopping the motor 130. The mechanism control unit 240 controls the illuminance of the inspection target by turning on or off the illumination 150.

  The overall control unit 250 operates the components of the image processing system, that is, the operations of the first and second image capture units 210a and 210b, the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit 220, the inspection processing unit 230, and the like, and the mechanism system That is, it is a component for controlling the operation of each of these components, that is, the operations of the table 110, the actuator 120, the motor 130, the illumination 150, and the mechanism control unit 240. In this embodiment, the overall control unit 250 adds information to be inspected to be inspected, which is input and stored in the storage unit 270 from the external device 500, which will be described later, via the input / output unit 260, which will be described later. Based on this, the size of the object to be inspected is recognized, and the operation mode of the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit 220 is set to the non-synthesized image output mode or the synthesized image output mode according to this size. For example, when the size of the object to be inspected is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the camera 160a, the overall control unit 250 outputs an image data non-synthesis output processing instruction to the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit 220. The operation mode of the composition unit 220 is set to the non-composite image output mode. On the other hand, when the size of the object to be inspected is larger than the field of view of the camera, the overall control unit 250 outputs an image data synthesis output processing instruction to the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit 220, thereby image synthesis / non-synthesis. The operation mode of the unit 220 is set to the composite image output mode.

  The input / output unit 260 inputs various types of information from the external device 500 for data input into the appearance inspection apparatus 101 and outputs various types of information from the external inspection apparatus 101 to the external device 600 for data output. It is a component. The input / output unit 260 includes, for example, operation keys for an operator of the appearance inspection apparatus 101 to input various information and instructions.

  The input / output unit 260 inputs, for example, information on the inspection target (hereinafter simply referred to as “inspection target information”) from the external device 500 into the appearance inspection apparatus 101. This “inspection object information” includes, for example, information such as the size of the inspection object and the color of each area of the inspection object. Information such as the size of the object to be inspected and the color of each region of the object to be inspected included in the information on the object to be inspected is used as an acceptance / rejection determination standard for the appearance inspection of the object to be inspected. Hereinafter, information such as the size of the inspection object and the color of each area of the inspection object included in the inspection object information is referred to as “pass / fail judgment reference data”. Further, the input / output unit 260 outputs, for example, information related to the result of the appearance inspection of the inspection target (hereinafter simply referred to as “inspection result information”) from the appearance inspection apparatus 101 to the external device 600.

  The external device 500 is an input device. Examples of the external device 500 include various storage media 505 such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk, CD-ROM, and USB memory, and various storage devices 510 such as a hard disk device and a computer. The external device 600 is an output device. Examples of the external device 600 include various storage media 605 such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk, CD-ROM, and USB memory, various storage devices 610 such as a hard disk device and a computer, a printer 612, a display 614, and the like. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the external device 500 and the external device 600 are shown as separate ones, but they may be the same. For example, if the display 614 of the external device 600 is configured as a touch panel, it can also function as the external device 500 for input.

  The storage unit 270 is a component that stores various programs and information. The storage unit 270 is configured by a RAM.

  The storage unit 270 is, for example, a program (hereinafter, referred to as “appearance inspection program”) used for appearance inspection of an object to be inspected, or information about the width of the field of view of each camera (in this embodiment, the first camera 160a). The information regarding the width W162a of the visual field 162a and the information regarding the width W162b of the visual field 162b of the second camera 160b) are stored in a readable manner in advance. Note that the “information regarding the field of view of the camera” means, for example, the value of the number of pixels corresponding to the width of the field of view of the camera measured in a state where the camera and the table face each other. Hereinafter, “information regarding the width of the visual field of the camera” is simply referred to as “visual field width information”. The width represented by the field-of-view width information is a reference value for determining whether or not the size of the object to be inspected is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the camera in the determination in S120 described later. Further, the storage unit 270 stores information to be inspected and other data input from the external device 500 into the appearance inspection apparatus 101 via the input / output unit 260 in a freely readable manner. In this embodiment, the “inspection target information” includes information on the size of the inspection target and the color of each area.

  The operation of each component of the image processing system and each component of the mechanism system of the appearance inspection apparatus 101 is performed based on an appearance inspection program stored in the storage unit 270 in advance. That is, the first and second image capture units 210a and 210b of the image processing system, the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit 220, the inspection processing unit 230, and the mechanism control unit 240 of the mechanical system are respectively stored in the storage unit during the visual inspection. Referring to the appearance inspection program stored in advance in 270, the appearance inspection of the inspection object is performed. Hereinafter, description of this point is omitted.

  In addition, each component of the image processing system of the appearance inspection apparatus 101 illustrated in FIG. 1 is shown as if data is directly output from the previous component to the subsequent component. Via the storage unit 270, data is output from the preceding component to the subsequent component. Therefore, the inspection target information input from the input / output unit 260 into the appearance inspection apparatus 101, the captured images captured by the first and second cameras 160a and 160b, and the first and second image capture units 210a and 210b are generated. The image data, the composite image or captured image output from the image composition / non-composition unit 220 to the inspection processing unit 230, the inspection result information created by the inspection processing unit 230, and the like can be read out to the storage unit 270 once. After being stored, it is output to a required component for subsequent processing. Hereinafter, since this point is a conventional means in computer processing, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

<Operation of appearance inspection device>
Hereinafter, the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  In the following description, as shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that either the small inspection object 50 or the large inspection object 60 is already placed on the table 110 of the appearance inspection apparatus 101. . Further, it is assumed that inspected object information including information regarding the size of the inspected object and the color of each region is already stored in the storage unit 270.

  At the start of the appearance inspection, for example, the operator of the external device 500 operates the external device 500 and inputs information specifying the inspection target (hereinafter referred to as “inspection target specifying information”) to the external device 500. To do. As the inspection target designation information, for example, if the inspection target is a substrate, a substrate code attached to each type of substrate is generally used. Thereafter, the operator operates the external device 500 and further inputs a command for instructing the execution of the visual inspection (hereinafter referred to as “visual inspection execution command”) to the external device 500. When the operator inputs the inspection target designation information and the visual inspection execution instruction, the external device 500 sends the inspection target designation information and the visual inspection execution instruction to the visual inspection apparatus 101 in response to the input. Output. The appearance inspection apparatus 101 starts the appearance inspection of the inspection target in response to the input of inspection target designation information and the execution instruction of the appearance inspection from the external device 500 via the input / output unit 260. To do.

  Alternatively, at the start of the appearance inspection, for example, the operator of the appearance inspection apparatus 101 operates the operation keys provided in the input / output unit 260 provided in the appearance inspection apparatus 101 to check the inspection target designation information and the appearance. An inspection execution command is input to the appearance inspection apparatus 101. The appearance inspection apparatus 101 starts the appearance inspection of the inspection target in response to the input of the inspection target designation information and the execution instruction of the appearance inspection by the operator.

  When the appearance inspection is started, the overall control unit 250 of the appearance inspection apparatus 101 performs recognition processing of the inspection target information in response to this (S110).

  In this recognition processing, the overall control unit 250 first reads out the inspection target information for reference or reference stored in advance in the storage unit 270. At this time, the overall control unit 250 reads information on the inspection target specified by the inspection target specifying information input by the operator of the external device 500 or the operator of the visual inspection apparatus 101 at the start of the visual inspection. Here, for example, when a board code is input as the inspection target designation information, the overall control unit 250 reads the inspection target information corresponding to the board code.

  Then, the overall control unit 250 decodes the read inspected object information and recognizes information such as the size of the inspected object and the color of each area of the inspected object included in the inspected object information. Note that the information on the “size of the inspection target” recognized at this time is used in S120 described later, that is, the step of “determining whether or not the size of the recognized inspection target is equal to or smaller than the camera field of view”. Further, the information on the “size of the object to be inspected” and “the color of each area of the object to be inspected” recognized at this time is used in S220 described later, that is, the “appearance inspection process” process.

  First, after S110, the overall control unit 250 determines whether or not the recognized size of the inspection target is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the camera (S120). In this determination, the overall control unit 250 reads and recognizes the above-described visual field width information (in this embodiment, information related to the width W162a of the visual field 162a of the first camera 160a) from the storage unit 270 as a reference value for determination. The size of the object to be inspected is compared with the width W162a represented by the read visual field width information. Here, the thickness of the object to be inspected is not taken into consideration, but the value of the field-of-view information serving as a reference value for determination may be corrected in consideration of the thickness of the object to be inspected. As a result of comparing the sizes, the overall control unit 250 determines that the recognized size of the object to be inspected is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the camera when the recognized size of the inspected object is equal to or smaller than the width W162a represented by the read visual field width information. judge. On the other hand, when the recognized size of the inspection target is larger than the width W162a represented by the read visual field width information, the overall control unit 250 determines that the recognized size of the inspection target is not less than the visual field of the camera. In this way, the overall control unit 250 determines whether or not the size of the inspection target is equal to or smaller than the visual field of the camera.

  In this determination, if it is determined that “the size of the object to be inspected is less than the field of view of the camera”, that is, “Yes” (hereinafter referred to as “Yes”), the image composition of the appearance inspection apparatus 101 is performed. / The non-synthesis unit 220 operates in the non-synthesis image output mode. Also, in this determination, if it is determined that “the size of the object to be inspected is not less than the field of view of the camera”, that is, “No” (hereinafter referred to as “No”), the image composition / The non-synthesizing unit 220 operates in the synthesized image output mode. In this embodiment, the size of the small inspected object 50 is smaller than the field of view of the camera, and the size of the large inspected object 60 is larger than the field of view of the camera. Therefore, the overall control unit 250 of the appearance inspection apparatus 101 determines “Yes” when the inspection target is the small inspection target 50, and when the inspection target is the large inspection target 60. “No” is determined.

  If it is determined as “Yes” in the determination in S120, the overall control unit 250 performs non-composite image output mode setting processing (S130a). In this non-synthesized image output mode setting process, the overall control unit 250 sets the operation mode as the non-synthesized image output mode for the image composition / non-synthesis unit 220.

  After S130a, the overall control unit 250 performs an illumination lighting process (S140a), and further performs a conveyance process for the inspection target (S150a). In the illumination lighting process, the overall control unit 250 controls the mechanism control unit 240 so that the illumination 150 is turned on. Further, in the conveyance process of the inspection target, the overall control unit 250 controls the mechanism control unit 240 so as to drive the motor 130 and the actuator 120. In response to control by the overall control unit 250, the mechanism control unit 240 drives the motor 130 and the actuator 120 to move the table 110 connected to the actuator 120 in the direction of arrow 10. As a result, the inspection target placed on the table 110 is transported and passes over the visual field 162a of the first camera 160a and the visual field 162b of the second camera 160b. Note that, at the time of the operation of S150a, the overall control unit 250 moves the first and second cameras 160a and 160b before at least the table 110 passes over the field of view 162a of the first camera 160a and the field of view 162b of the second camera 160b. It is activated in advance.

  Almost at the same time as S150a, the first and second cameras 160a and 160b perform imaging processing (S160a). In this imaging process, the first camera 160a continuously images the table 110 and the inspection target 50 on the visual field 162a when the table 110 passes over the visual field 162a of the first camera 160a. Then, the first camera 160a sequentially outputs the imaging signal acquired by this imaging process to the first image capture unit 210a. In this imaging process, the second camera 160b continuously images the table 110 and the inspection target 50 on the visual field 162b when the table 110 passes over the visual field 162b of the second camera 160b. Then, the second camera 160b sequentially outputs the imaging signal acquired by this imaging process to the second image capture unit 210b.

  After S160a, the first and second image capture units 210a and 210b perform image data generation processing in response to the imaging signals sequentially input from the first camera 160a or the second camera 160b, respectively. (S170a).

  In this image data generation process, the first image capture unit 210a generates image data representing one captured image based on the imaging signals sequentially output from the first camera 160a and stored in the storage unit 270. The image data generated by the first image capture unit 210a is a single captured image in which the table 110 and the inspection target 50 captured by the first camera 160a are shown. The first image capture unit 210a stores the generated image data, that is, one captured image including the table 110 and the inspection target 50 captured by the first camera 160a in the storage unit 270, and this captured image. In response to the generation, the image composition / non-composition unit 220 reads the captured image from the storage unit 270.

  In this image data generation process, the second image capture unit 210b generates image data representing one captured image based on the imaging signals sequentially output from the second camera 160b and stored in the storage unit 270. To do. The image data generated by the second image capture unit 210b is a single captured image in which the table 110 and the inspection target 50 captured by the second camera 160b are captured. The second image capture unit 210b stores the generated image data, that is, one captured image including the table 110 and the inspection target 50 captured by the second camera 160b in the storage unit 270, and this captured image. In response to the generation, the image composition / non-composition unit 220 reads the captured image from the storage unit 270.

  After S170a, the image composition / non-synthesis unit 220 captures an image captured from the first image capture unit 210a, that is, an image captured by the first camera 160a, and an image captured from the second image capture unit 210b, that is, a second image. When an image captured by the camera 160b is input, an inspection target detection process is performed in response to the input (S180a). In the inspection target detection process, the image composition / non-synthesis unit 220 detects the inspection target from the captured image of the first camera 160a and the captured image of the second camera 160b. The detection of the inspection target is performed by using the fact that the luminance value of the inspection target is different from the luminance value of the table 110 that is the background of the inspection target, and the luminance value changes to a predetermined reference value or more. This is done by detecting the area. This reference value is stored in the storage unit 270 in a readable manner in advance for each inspection target, for example, for each substrate.

  The operation of the appearance inspection apparatus 101 varies depending on which captured image the object to be inspected detected in S180a is detected. Therefore, after S180a, the image composition / non-synthesis unit 220 determines whether or not the inspection target exists in the captured image of the first camera 160a (S190a).

  If it is determined in S190a that "the inspection target exists in the captured image of the first camera 160a", that is, "Yes" (hereinafter referred to as "Yes"), the image composition / non-synthesis unit 220 performs non-composite image output processing by the first camera 160a (S210b). In the non-synthesized image output processing by the first camera 160a, the image composition / non-synthesis unit 220 performs the synthesis process on the captured image of the first camera 160a, that is, the captured image from the first image capture unit 210a. The data is output to the inspection processing unit 230. Hereinafter, the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus 101 proceeds to S220.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S190a that “the inspection object does not exist in the captured image of the first camera 160a”, that is, “No” (hereinafter referred to as “No”), the image composition / non-combination is performed. The synthesizing unit 220 performs a non-synthesized image output process by the second camera 160b (S210c). In the non-synthesized image output processing by the second camera 160b, the image composition / non-synthesis unit 220 performs the synthesis process on the captured image of the second camera 160b, that is, the captured image from the second image capture unit 210b. The data is output to the inspection processing unit 230. Hereinafter, the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus 101 proceeds to S220.

  In addition, when it determines with "No" by determination of above-mentioned S120, the external appearance inspection apparatus 101 performs operation | movement of the following S130d-S210d. The operations of S140d to S180d in S130d to S210d are the same as the operations in the case where “Yes” is determined in the determination of S120 described above, that is, the operations similar to the operations of S140a to S180a described above.

  That is, when it is determined “No” in the above-described determination in S120, the overall control unit 250 performs a composite image output mode setting process (S130d). In this composite image output mode setting process, the overall control unit 250 sets the operation mode as the composite image output mode for the image composition / non-composition unit 220.

  After S130d, the overall control unit 250 performs an illumination lighting process as in S140a (S140d), and further performs a conveyance process for the inspection target as in S150a (S150d). At the time of the operation of S150d, the overall control unit 250 passes the first and second cameras 160a and 160b before at least the table 110 passes over the field of view 162a of the first camera 160a and the field of view 162b of the second camera 160b. It is activated in advance.

  Almost at the same time as S150d, the first and second cameras 160a and 160b perform imaging processing in the same manner as S160a (S160d). In this imaging process, the first camera 160a sequentially outputs signals acquired by the imaging process to the first image capture unit 210a. Further, the second camera 160b sequentially outputs a signal acquired by the imaging process to the second image capture unit 210b.

  After S160d, the first and second image capture units 210a and 210b receive the signals acquired by the imaging process from the first camera 160a or the second camera 160b in sequence, respectively, and in response to this, S170a Similarly to the above, image data generation processing is performed (S170d).

  In this image data generation process, the first image capture unit 210a stores the generated image data, that is, the table 110 captured by the first camera 160a and the captured image of the inspection target 60 in the storage unit 270, and this imaging In response to the generation of the image, the image composition / non-synthesis unit 220 reads the captured image from the storage unit 270.

  In this image data generation process, the second image capture unit 210b stores the generated image data, that is, the table 110 captured by the second camera 160b and the captured image of the inspection target 60 in the storage unit 270. In response to the generation of the captured image, the image composition / non-synthesis unit 220 reads the captured image from the storage unit 270.

  After S170d, when the captured image from the first image capture unit 210a and the captured image from the second image capture unit 210b are input, the image composition / non-synthesis unit 220 responds to the same as in S180a. Inspected object detection processing is performed (S180d).

  After S180d, the image composition / non-synthesis part 220 performs a composite image output process (S210d). In this composite image output process, first, the image composition / non-composition unit 220 considers a region where the visual fields of the first and second cameras 160a and 160b overlap, and captures one image captured by the first camera 160a. An image, that is, one captured image from the first image capture unit 210a and one captured image captured by the second camera 160b, that is, one captured image from the second image capture unit 210b. Correction processing for deleting the overlapping portion from one captured image is performed.

  Specifically, this correction processing is performed as follows.

  First, the image synthesizing / non-synthesizing unit 220 detects a location serving as a detection reference from one captured image captured by the first camera 160a. As this “location serving as a reference for detection”, for example, if the object to be inspected is a substrate, an alignment mark, a pad, or the like is preferable.

  Similarly, the image synthesizing / non-synthesizing unit 220 detects a location serving as a detection reference from one captured image captured by the second camera 160b.

  Next, the image synthesizing / non-synthesizing unit 220 picks up an image captured by the second camera 160b and a location serving as a detection reference detected from one captured image captured by the first camera 160a. One captured image captured by the first camera 160a and one captured image captured by the second camera 160b are overlaid so that the detection reference location detected from the images matches. At the same time, an overlapping portion of both the captured images is detected from the superimposed captured images.

  Next, the image composition / non-composition unit 220 deletes both overlapping portions from one captured image, for example, the captured image of the second camera 160b.

  In this way, correction processing is performed.

  After the correction process, the image composition / non-composition unit 220 captures one captured image captured by the first camera 160a and the second camera 160b, and an overlapping portion is deleted by the correction process. A single composite image is created by combining the captured images.

  Then, the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit 220 outputs the created single synthesized image to the inspection processing unit 230. Hereinafter, the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus 101 proceeds to S220.

  After S210b, S210c, or S210d, when an image is input from the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit 220, the inspection processing unit 230 performs an appearance inspection process on the inspection target in response to the input (S220).

  In this appearance inspection process, first, the inspection processing unit 230 extracts an image of a portion to be inspected from the images input from the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit 220. It should be noted that the extraction of the image of the part to be inspected may be performed by the image composition / non-synthesis unit 220 in S180a or S180d.

  Next, in this appearance inspection process, the inspection processing unit 230 uses the information such as the size of the inspection target recognized in S110 and the color of each region of the inspection target as pass / fail judgment reference data, and the image composition / non-composition unit 220. On the basis of this pass / fail judgment reference data, the pass / fail of the appearance of the test subject is inspected with respect to the image of the part to be inspected extracted from the above.

  In this inspection, the inspection processing unit 230 first determines the size of the inspection target and the inspection target in the image of the inspection target portion based on the image of the inspection target portion extracted from the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit 220. In addition, the size of the inspected object in the image of the inspected part and the color of each area of the inspected object coincide with those of the pass / fail criterion data within a predetermined error range. It is determined whether or not to do. Thereby, the inspection processing unit 230 inspects the pass / fail of the appearance of the inspection target.

  After S220, when inspecting the appearance of the inspection target, the inspection processing unit 230 performs storage / output processing of inspection result information in response to the inspection (S230). In the inspection result information storage / output process, the inspection processing unit 230 creates inspection information based on the determination result in the appearance inspection process of S220, stores the created inspection result information in the storage unit 270, and The created inspection result information is output to the external device 600 via the control unit 250 and the input / output unit 260. The external device 600 stores the inspection result information output from the appearance inspection apparatus 101 in the storage medium 605 or the storage apparatus 610, prints it on the printer 612, or displays it on the display 614.

  As described above, the appearance inspection apparatus 101 according to this embodiment selects and executes either the non-composite image output mode or the composite image output mode according to the size of the inspection target.

  That is, in the appearance inspection apparatus 101, when the size of the object to be inspected is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the camera, the image composition / non-composition unit 220 displays the captured image of the first camera 160a or the captured image of the second camera 160b. The result is output to the inspection processing unit 230 without performing the synthesis process. On the other hand, in the appearance inspection apparatus 101, when the size of the object to be inspected is larger than the field of view of the camera, the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit 220 combines the captured image of the first camera 160a and the captured image of the second camera 160b. One composite image is generated by processing, and the generated composite image is output to the inspection processing unit 230.

  Therefore, according to this appearance inspection apparatus 101, for example, when the size of the object to be inspected is equal to or smaller than the field of view of a single camera, it is possible to eliminate the correction process of the captured image and the combined process of the corrected image and the captured image. Therefore, the inspection time can be shortened by the time required for the correction processing of the captured image and the synthesis processing of the corrected image and the captured image as compared with the conventional case.

  Further, according to the appearance inspection apparatus 101, for example, when the size of the object to be inspected is equal to or smaller than the field of view of a single camera, the image stored in the memory, that is, the storage unit 270 is only one captured image. . In addition, the captured image stored in the memory does not have to include an unnecessary portion other than the inspection target, that is, an overlapping portion with the captured image captured by the adjacent camera.

  Therefore, according to the appearance inspection apparatus 101, it is not necessary to secure a memory capacity for storing a plurality of captured images, correction images, and composite images captured by a plurality of cameras, as in the related art. Thus, unlike the prior art, it is not necessary to secure a useless memory capacity for storing the captured image in excess of the unnecessary portion of the image.

  Therefore, according to the appearance inspection apparatus 101, for example, when the size of the object to be inspected is equal to or smaller than the field of view of a single camera, it is possible to reduce the memory capacity for storing the image.

[Embodiment 2]
In the first embodiment, only one inspection processing unit 230 is provided. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, a plurality of inspection processing units 230 are provided corresponding to a plurality of cameras.

<Configuration of appearance inspection device>
Hereinafter, a schematic configuration of the appearance inspection apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the appearance inspection apparatus according to the second embodiment.

  The appearance inspection apparatus 102 according to this embodiment includes a plurality of inspection processing units 230 according to the number of cameras. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the appearance inspection apparatus 102 includes two inspection processing units 230 a and 230 b because the number of cameras is two. Hereinafter, the inspection processing unit 230a is referred to as a “first inspection processing unit 230a”, and the inspection processing unit 230b is referred to as a “second inspection processing unit 230b”.

  The image synthesizing / non-synthesizing unit 220 of the appearance inspection apparatus 102 performs a first inspection on a captured image captured by the first camera 160a when the size of the inspection target is equal to or smaller than the field of view of a single camera. While outputting to the process part 230a, the captured image of the to-be-inspected object imaged with the 2nd camera 160b is output to the 2nd inspection process part 230b. The first inspection processing unit 230a determines pass / fail of the appearance of the inspection target based on the captured image of the inspection target captured by the first camera 160a, and the second inspection processing unit 230b includes the second inspection processing unit 230b. The pass / fail of the appearance of the inspection target is determined based on the captured image of the inspection target captured by the camera 160b. At this time, each of the first inspection processing unit 230a and the second inspection processing unit 230b determines whether the appearance of the inspection target is acceptable in parallel.

  Thereby, in the appearance inspection apparatus 102, when the size of the inspection target is equal to or smaller than the visual field of the camera, the first inspection processing unit 230a is based on the captured image of the inspection target captured by the first camera 160a. Further, the second inspection processing unit 230b can determine whether or not the appearance of the inspection target is acceptable in parallel based on the captured image of the inspection target captured by the second camera 160b.

  The appearance inspection apparatus 102 has the same components as those of the appearance inspection apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment except that the appearance inspection apparatus 102 includes two inspection processing units 230a and 230b. Hereinafter, description of components common to the appearance inspection apparatus 101 of the first embodiment will be omitted.

<Operation of appearance inspection device>
Hereinafter, the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus according to the second embodiment.

  In the following description, as shown in FIG. 3, in the table 110 of the appearance inspection apparatus 102, a small inspected object 50a whose size is smaller than or equal to the field of view of the camera is arranged on the field of view 162a of the first camera 160a. Furthermore, it is assumed that a small inspected object 60a whose size is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the camera is arranged on the field of view 162b of the second camera 160b.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment will be described mainly with respect to operations different from those of the appearance inspection apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment, and the same as the appearance inspection apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment. This operation (see FIG. 2) will be briefly described assuming that the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment is replaced with the appearance inspection apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in S110, S120, and S130a to S190a, the appearance inspection apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment operates in the same manner as the appearance inspection apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment (see FIG. 2). .

  However, in this embodiment, when it is determined “Yes” in the determination of S190a, the image composition / non-synthesis unit 220 of the appearance inspection apparatus 102 further captures the image of the second camera 160b to be inspected. It is determined whether or not the image is also present (S200a).

  On the other hand, when it is determined as “No” in the determination of S190a, the image composition / non-synthesis part 220 performs a non-synthesized image output process by the second camera 160b (S210c). In the non-synthesized image output processing by the second camera 160b, the image composition / non-synthesis unit 220 outputs the captured image of the second camera 160b to the second inspection processing unit 230b without performing synthesis processing. Hereinafter, the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus 102 proceeds to S220.

  If it is determined in S200a that “the inspection object also exists in the captured image of the second camera 160b”, that is, “Yes” (hereinafter referred to as “Yes”), image synthesis / non-synthesis The unit 220 performs the non-synthesized image output process by the first camera 160a and the non-synthesized image output process by the second camera 160b in parallel (S210a). In the non-synthesized image output process by the first camera 160a and the non-synthesized image output process by the second camera 160b, the image composition / non-synthesizer 220 performs the first process without synthesizing the captured image of the first camera 160a. While outputting to the test | inspection process part 230a, the captured image of the 2nd camera 160b is output to the 2nd test | inspection process part 230b, without performing a synthesis process. Hereinafter, the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus 102 proceeds to S220.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S200a that “the inspection target does not exist in the captured image of the second camera 160b”, that is, “No” (hereinafter referred to as “No”), the image composition / The non-synthesis unit 220 performs non-synthesis image output processing by the first camera 160a (S210b). In the non-synthesized image output processing by the first camera 160a, the image composition / non-synthesis unit 220 outputs the captured image of the first camera 160a to the first inspection processing unit 230a without performing synthesis processing. Hereinafter, the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus 102 proceeds to S220.

  If it is determined as “No” in the above-described determination of S120, as shown in FIG. 4, in S130d to 210d, the appearance inspection apparatus 102 of the second embodiment is the appearance of the first embodiment. It operates similarly to the inspection apparatus 101 (see FIG. 2). Note that in the operation of S210d, that is, in the composite image output process, the image composition / non-composition unit 220 generates a single composite image by combining the captured image of the first camera 160a and the captured image of the second camera 160b. Then, the generated composite image is output to a predetermined one of the first and second inspection processing units 230a and 230b. In this embodiment, the image composition / non-composition unit 220 will be described as outputting a composite image to the first inspection processing unit 230a. Hereinafter, the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus 102 proceeds to S220.

  In this embodiment, after S210a, S210b, S210c, or S210d, the inspection processing unit 230 of the appearance inspection apparatus 102 receives an image from the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit 220 and responds thereto. Then, an appearance inspection process is performed on the inspection target (S220). In this appearance inspection process, when the operation is after S210a, the first inspection processing unit 230a inspects the appearance of the inspection target 50a based on the captured image of the first camera 160a, and the second The inspection processing unit 230b inspects the appearance of the inspection target 60a based on the captured image of the second camera 160b. Further, when the operation is after S210b, the first inspection processing unit 230a inspects the appearance of the inspection target 50a based on the captured image of the first camera 160a. When the operation is after S210c, the second inspection processing unit 230b inspects the appearance of the inspection target 60a based on the captured image of the second camera 160b. In addition, when the operation is after S210d, the first inspection processing unit 230a inspects the appearance of the inspection target based on the composite image.

  After S220, as shown in FIG. 4, in S230, the appearance inspection apparatus 102 of the second embodiment operates in the same manner as the appearance inspection apparatus 101 of the first embodiment (see FIG. 2).

  As described above, in the appearance inspection apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment, when the size of the object to be inspected is equal to or smaller than the field of view of a single camera, the first inspection processing unit 230a captures an image with the first camera 160a. Based on the respective captured images of the inspected objects, and the second inspection processing unit 230b in parallel based on the respective captured images of the inspected images captured by the second camera 160b It is possible to determine whether or not the external appearance is acceptable. Therefore, the appearance inspection apparatus 102 can inspect a plurality of objects to be inspected at the same time by a single imaging processing operation. Therefore, in addition to the effects of the appearance inspection apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment, the appearance inspection apparatus 102 can shorten the processing time of the appearance inspection as compared with the appearance inspection apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment. Has an effect.

[Embodiment 3]
In Embodiments 1 and 2, the overall control unit 250 determines the above-described determination of S120 based on the inspected object information stored in advance in the storage unit 270, that is, the size of the inspected object is smaller than the field of view of the camera. It is determined whether or not. For this reason, in the first and second embodiments, when the size information of the inspection target is not included in the inspection target information, the overall control unit 250 cannot perform the determination of S120 described above.

  On the other hand, in the third embodiment, the overall control unit 250 determines that the size of the inspection target is a camera based on the signal output from the sensor for detecting the inspection target incorporated in the table 110. It is determined whether or not the field of view is below. Thus, in the third embodiment, the overall control unit 250 determines whether the size of the inspection target is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the camera even when the inspection target size information is not included in the inspection target information. It is possible to make a determination.

<Configuration of appearance inspection device>
Hereinafter, the schematic configuration of the appearance inspection apparatus according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the appearance inspection apparatus according to the third embodiment.

  The appearance inspection apparatus 103 according to this embodiment includes a plurality of inspection processing units 230 according to the number of cameras. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the appearance inspection apparatus 103 includes a sensor 112 (hereinafter referred to as “inspected object detection sensor”) 112 for detecting an inspected object in the table 110.

  The inspection target detection sensor 112 of the appearance inspection apparatus 103 includes, for example, a plurality of illuminance detection sensors, and in the region of the table 110 where the visual field 162a of the first camera 160a and the visual field 162b of the second camera 160b overlap. They are arranged along the transport direction 10. The inspection target detection sensor 112 is electrically connected to the overall control unit 250, and a signal indicating an on state (hereinafter referred to as an “on signal”) or a signal indicating an off state according to its own operating state. (Hereinafter referred to as “off signal”) is output to the overall control unit 250.

  The inspection target detection sensor 112 receives light from the illumination 150 and turns on when the inspection target is not covered thereon, and outputs an on signal to the overall control unit 250. , The light from the illumination 150 is cut off and the device is turned off, and an off signal is output to the overall control unit 250.

  Therefore, when the size of the inspection target is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the camera, the inspection target detection sensor 112 is turned on in response to light from the illumination 150, and outputs an on signal to the overall control unit 250. When the size of the object to be inspected is larger than the field of view of the camera, the light from the illumination 150 is cut off and the device is turned off, and an off signal is output to the overall control unit 250.

  Therefore, the overall control unit 250 of the appearance inspection apparatus 103 determines whether the size of the inspection target is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the single camera based on the ON signal or the OFF signal output from the inspection target detection sensor 112. Can be recognized. As a result, the overall control unit 250 of the appearance inspection apparatus 103 determines whether the size of the inspection target is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the camera based on the on signal or the off signal output from the inspection target detection sensor 112. ,It can be carried out. As a result, the overall control unit 250 of the appearance inspection apparatus 103 is configured even if the inspected object information input from the external device 500 does not include the inspected object size information. As in the second embodiment, the operation mode of the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit 220 can be set to the non-synthesized image output mode or the synthesized image output mode.

  The appearance inspection apparatus 103 has the same components as those of the appearance inspection apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment, except that the inspection target detection sensor 112 is included. Hereinafter, description of components common to the appearance inspection apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment will be omitted.

<Operation of appearance inspection device>
Hereinafter, the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus according to the third embodiment.

  In the following description, as shown in FIG. 5, in the table 110 of the appearance inspection apparatus 103, as in the second embodiment, a small inspected object 50a whose size is smaller than the field of view of the camera is the first camera. It is assumed that a small inspection object 60a whose size is smaller than the field of view of the camera is disposed on the field of view 162b of the second camera 160b.

  Hereinafter, with respect to the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus 103 according to the third embodiment, operations different from those of the appearance inspection apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment will be mainly described, and the same as the appearance inspection apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment. This operation (see FIG. 4) will be briefly described as the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment described above is replaced with the appearance inspection apparatus 103 according to the third embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the appearance inspection apparatus 103 of the third embodiment, when the operation starts, in response to this, the overall control unit 250 performs the recognition process of the operating state of the inspection target detection sensor 112. It performs (S112). In this operation state recognition process, the inspection target detection sensor 112 detects the light from the illumination 150 when the inspection target is not covered thereon, that is, when the size of the inspection target is less than the field of view of the camera. Is turned on and outputs an on signal to the overall controller 250. Further, in this operation state recognition process, the inspection target detection sensor 112 detects that the inspection target detection sensor 112 has received light from the illumination 150 when the inspection target is covered thereon, that is, when the size of the inspection target is larger than the field of view of the camera. The light is cut off and the device is turned off, and an off signal is output to the overall control unit 250. The overall control unit 250 recognizes the operation state of the inspection target detection sensor 112 based on the ON signal or the OFF signal output from the inspection target detection sensor 112. Accordingly, the overall control unit 250 recognizes whether the size of the inspection target is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the single camera based on the ON signal or the OFF signal output from the inspection target detection sensor 112. Can do.

  After S112, the overall control unit 250 determines whether or not the inspection target detection sensor 112 is on (S122). In this determination, if it is determined that “the inspection target detection sensor 112 is in the on state”, that is, “Yes” (hereinafter referred to as “Yes”), the image composition / The non-synthesizing unit 220 operates in the non-synthesized image output mode. On the other hand, in this determination, “the inspection target detection sensor 112 is not in an on state”, that is, “No” (hereinafter referred to as “No”). When the determination is made, the image composition / non-composition unit 220 of the appearance inspection apparatus 103 operates in the composite image output mode. In this embodiment, the overall control unit 250 of the appearance inspection apparatus 103 determines “Yes” when the object to be inspected is less than the field of view of a single camera, and the camera to be inspected is a single camera. If it is larger than the field of view, it is determined as “No”.

  If it is determined as “Yes” in the determination in S122, the overall control unit 250 performs a non-composite image output mode setting process (S130a). On the other hand, when it is determined as “No” in the determination in S122, the overall control unit 250 performs the setting process of the composite image output mode (S130d).

  Hereinafter, the appearance inspection apparatus 103 according to the third embodiment operates in the same manner as the appearance inspection apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment (see FIG. 4).

  As described above, the overall control unit 250 of the appearance inspection apparatus 103 according to the third embodiment determines whether or not the size of the object to be inspected is equal to or smaller than the field of view of a single camera. The determination can be made based on the signal output from the target detection sensor 112. Therefore, in addition to the effects of the appearance inspection apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment, the appearance inspection apparatus 103 temporarily includes the size information of the inspection object in the inspection object information input from the external device 500. Even if it is not, the effect that the operation mode of the image composition / non-composition unit 220 can be set to the non-composite image output mode or the composite image output mode as in the first embodiment and the second embodiment. Have

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  For example, the appearance inspection apparatus according to any one of the first to third embodiments automatically sets the inspection target by providing a loader that automatically supplies the inspection target and an unloader that automatically removes the inspection target. Can be inspected automatically.

  Furthermore, the appearance inspection apparatus according to any one of the first to third embodiments can inspect not only the front surface but also the back surface of the inspection object by providing a mechanism for inverting the inspection object in the vicinity of the table 110. It becomes possible.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the external appearance inspection apparatus which concerns on Example 1 of Embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of the appearance inspection apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the external appearance inspection apparatus which concerns on Example 2 of Embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation of the appearance inspection apparatus according to the second embodiment. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the external appearance inspection apparatus which concerns on Example 3 of Embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation of the appearance inspection apparatus according to the third embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Conveyance direction 50 ... Small inspection object 60 ... Large inspection object 101,102,103 ... Appearance inspection apparatus 110 ... Table 112 ... Inspection object detection sensor 120 ... Actuator 130 ... Motor 150 ... Illumination 160a, 160b ... First and second cameras (first and second line sensor cameras)
162a, 162b: Field of view of first camera and field of view of second camera W162a, W162b: Width of field of view of first camera and width of field of view of second camera 200: Calculation unit (CPU)
210a, 210b ... 1st and 2nd image capture part 220 ... Image composition / non-composition part (image processing part)
230 ... Inspection processing unit 240 ... Mechanism control unit 250 ... Overall control unit 260 ... Input / output unit 270 ... Storage unit (RAM)
500, 600 ... External device 505, 605 ... Storage medium 510, 610 ... Storage device 612 ... Printer 614 ... Display

Claims (8)

In the appearance inspection apparatus that determines the pass / fail of the appearance of the inspection target,
A plurality of cameras for imaging the inspection object;
An inspection processing unit for determining pass / fail of the appearance of the inspection target based on the captured image of the inspection target;
A composite image output mode is a mode in which a plurality of captured images captured by the plurality of cameras are combined to create a single composite image, and the composite image is output to the inspection processing unit. In a case where a mode in which one imaged image to be inspected imaged by the single camera is output to the inspection processing unit without creating the composite image is set as a non-composite image output mode, Image synthesis / acquisition for acquiring a plurality of captured images of the inspected object from the camera and performing either the composite image output mode or the non-composite image output mode according to the size of the inspected object An appearance inspection apparatus characterized by comprising a non-synthesis part. The appearance inspection apparatus according to claim 1,
The image composition / non-synthesis part is:
When the size of the object to be inspected is larger than the field of view of the single camera, the composite image output mode is performed, and the composite image of the object to be inspected is output to the inspection processing unit; and
When the size of the inspection target is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the single camera, the non-synthesized image output mode is performed, and the captured image of the inspection target is output to the inspection processing unit. Appearance inspection device. The appearance inspection apparatus according to claim 2,
A plurality of the inspection processing units are provided corresponding to the plurality of the cameras,
The image synthesis / non-synthesis unit, when the size of the inspection target is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the single camera, captures each captured image of the inspection target captured by each of the cameras. Output to each of the inspection processing units corresponding to the camera, and
The plurality of inspection processing units respectively determine pass / fail of the appearance of the inspection target in parallel with the other inspection processing units based on the captured image of the inspection target captured by the corresponding camera. A visual inspection device characterized by: The appearance inspection apparatus according to claim 1,
Furthermore, it has a table for transporting the inspection object to the imaging position of the camera,
The table includes an inspection object size measurement sensor for measuring the size of the inspection object;
The image synthesizing / non-synthesizing unit performs one of the synthesized image output mode and the non-synthesized image output mode according to the size of the inspection target measured by the inspection target size measurement sensor of the table. An appearance inspection apparatus characterized by performing. Using multiple cameras, image composition / non-synthesis part and inspection processing part,
An imaging step in which a plurality of the cameras image the inspection object;
A composite image output mode is a mode in which a plurality of captured images captured by the plurality of cameras are combined to create a single composite image, and the composite image is output to the inspection processing unit. In the case where the mode for outputting one captured image captured by the single camera to the inspection processing unit without creating the composite image is set as the non-composite image output mode, the image A combining / non-synthesizing unit acquires a plurality of captured images of the inspection target from a plurality of the cameras, and depending on the size of the inspection target, either the composite image output mode or the non-synthetic image output mode An image processing step for either
The inspection processing unit includes an inspection processing step for determining pass / fail of the appearance of the inspection target based on the image of the inspection target output from the image synthesis / non-synthesis unit. Inspection method. The appearance inspection method according to claim 5,
In the image processing step, the image composition / non-synthesis unit is
If the size of the object to be inspected is larger than the field of view of the single camera, perform the composite image output mode, and output the composite image of the object to be inspected to the inspection processing unit; and
When the size of the inspection target is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the single camera, the non-synthesized image output mode is performed, and the captured image of the inspection target is output to the inspection processing unit. Appearance inspection method. The appearance inspection method according to claim 6,
A plurality of the inspection processing units are provided corresponding to the plurality of the cameras,
In the image processing step, the image combining / non-synthesizing unit, when the size of the object to be inspected is equal to or smaller than the field of view of the single camera, each of the inspected objects captured by each of the cameras. Output captured images to the respective inspection processing units corresponding to the respective cameras; and
In the inspection processing step, each of the plurality of inspection processing units is in parallel with the other inspection processing units based on the captured image of the inspection target captured by the corresponding camera. An appearance inspection method characterized by determining whether the appearance of the product is acceptable or not. The appearance inspection method according to claim 5,
Furthermore, it has a table that conveys the inspection object to the imaging position of the camera,
The table includes an inspection object size measurement sensor for measuring the size of the inspection object;
In the image processing step, the image synthesizing / non-synthesizing unit is configured to output the synthesized image output mode and the non-synthesized image output according to the size of the inspected object measured by the inspected object size measurement sensor of the table. An appearance inspection method characterized by performing one of the modes.

Images