JP2009156790A - Displacement sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a displacement sensor for measuring a plurality of measuring objects. <P>SOLUTION: A controller 10 stores measured data of a sampling trigger accumulation number part to a first storing circuit 13 and counts up data addresses at each time when a trigger occurs. The measured data are stored into the first storing circuit 13 at each time of trigger occurrence. Measurement of heights of the plurality of the measuring objects is enabled. The data addresses correspond to the number of times of occurrence of trigger. Thus, the number of times of the occurrence of the trigger, i.e., the number of the measuring objects is counted from the data addresses. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a displacement sensor.

Conventionally, a displacement sensor using laser light has been used for measuring the length and height of an object. The displacement sensor irradiates the measurement object with the laser light from the light projecting unit, receives the reflected light by the two-dimensional sensor, and based on the light receiving position of the reflected light in the two-dimensional sensor, from the sensor head to the measurement object. The distance is measured (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). Then, by moving the displacement sensor and the measurement object relative to each other in the direction intersecting the optical axis of the laser beam by the movement mechanism, and measuring the distance at each movement position, the length and surface shape of the measurement object Can be measured.
JP 2001-50711 A

  However, with the above displacement sensor, it is difficult to measure the height of a plurality of measurement objects and the height of the measurement objects. Although the displacement sensor can change the sampling cycle, there is a problem that it cannot cope with the case where the intervals of a plurality of measurement objects are different.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a displacement sensor capable of measuring a plurality of measurement objects.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is directed to a light projecting means for irradiating a measurement object with light, and to receive reflected light from the measurement object, and a light receiving position of the reflected light is the measurement light. Light receiving means corresponding to the distance to the object, measuring means for measuring the distance from the light receiving position of the light receiving means to the measurement object and outputting measurement data, and the measurement in the area specified by the data address Data storage means for storing data; setting storage means for storing the data address; and storing the measurement data in an area of the data storage means designated by the data address each time a trigger occurs, and the setting storage means Data storage means for counting up the data addresses stored in the data storage. According to this configuration, every time a trigger occurs, measurement data is stored in the data storage means, and a data address indicating an area for storing the measurement data is counted up. By storing the measurement data in the data storage unit every time the trigger is generated, it is possible to measure the heights of a plurality of measurement objects. The data address corresponds to the number of trigger occurrences. Therefore, it is possible to count the number of trigger occurrences, that is, the number of objects to be measured, based on the data address.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the displacement sensor according to the first aspect, the setting storage unit stores the number of measurement data stored in the data storage unit each time the trigger occurs, and the data storage unit Causes the data storage means to store the measurement data corresponding to the accumulated number every time the trigger occurs. According to this configuration, it is possible to measure the height of a plurality of measurement objects by limiting the number of measurement data in one measurement object.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the displacement sensor according to the second aspect, the data storage means calculates the number of occurrences of the trigger based on the data address and the stored number. According to this configuration, the number of measurement objects can be easily confirmed.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the displacement sensor according to any one of the first to third aspects, the setting storage means delays the start of accumulation of the measurement data from the generation of the trigger. Is stored, and the data storage means starts storing the measurement data after the delay time has elapsed since the trigger was generated. According to this configuration, when the measurement data at the occurrence of the trigger does not indicate the height of the measurement object, such as a measurement object whose periphery is chamfered, for example, the delay time depends on the shape of the measurement object. By setting, it becomes possible to easily measure the height of the measurement object.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the displacement sensor according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the setting storage unit stores the measurement data in the data storage unit. Is stored, and the data storage means stops storing the measurement data when the data address reaches the data storage number. According to this configuration, measurement data is accumulated in response to the occurrence of a trigger until the data address reaches the number of data accumulation, so that continuous measurement is possible. In addition, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems such as the latest measurement data being overwritten on the past measurement data and the measurement data being lost.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a displacement sensor capable of measuring a plurality of measurement objects can be provided.

Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the controller 10 of the displacement sensor is provided with a plurality of cable connection terminals 10a to 10d, and a cable C1a of the sensor head 20a as a light projecting means and a light receiving means is connected to the cable connection terminal 10a. ing. The sensor head 20a is arranged above the measurement table B by a fixture (not shown), and irradiates the workpiece W as the measurement object placed on the measurement table B with the control of the controller 10 to receive the laser beam. A signal corresponding to the reflected light is output.

  A console 30 as a display screen is connected to the cable connection terminal 10c of the controller 10 via a cable C2. The console 30 has an input circuit and a display screen that can be displayed in a dot matrix such as an LCD, and can display characters and line drawings. Further, the console 30 is smaller than the personal computer, and can be brought into a place where the personal computer cannot be carried. The controller 10 outputs display data to the console 30 based on the signal input from the sensor head 20a, and the console 30 displays a numerical value of the received light amount and a waveform of the received light amount based on the display data.

Next, the electrical configurations of the controller 10 and the sensor head 20a will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the controller 10 includes a CPU 11 as data storage means and measurement means, and a head communication circuit 12 is connected to the CPU 11. The head communication circuit 12 is connected to the cable connection terminals 10a and 10b. A sensor head 20a is connected to the cable connection terminal 10a. Moreover, the sensor head 20b shown with a broken line can be connected to the cable connection terminal 10b via the cable C1b. That is, two sensor heads 20 a and 20 b can be connected to the controller 10, and the CPU 11 can communicate with each sensor head 20 a and 20 b via the head communication circuit 12. The CPU 11 outputs a control signal to the head communication circuit 12, and the head communication circuit 12 transmits a control signal to each of the sensor heads 20a and 20b. The CPU 11 inputs received light amount data received from the sensor heads 20 a and 20 b by the head communication circuit 12.

  The CPU 11 includes a first storage circuit 13 (displayed as memory 1) and a second storage circuit 14 (displayed as data storage means and setting storage means corresponding to the sensor heads connected to the cable connection terminals 10a and 10b, respectively. Memory 2 and display) are connected. The CPU 11 stores received light amount data received from the sensor head 20 a via the head communication circuit 12, set values related to the sensor head 20 a, and the like in the first storage circuit 13. Further, the CPU 11 stores the received light amount data received from the sensor head 20 b via the head communication circuit 12, the set value related to the sensor head 20 b, and the like in the second storage circuit 14.

  Further, a console communication circuit 15 and a personal computer communication circuit 16 are connected to the CPU 11. The console communication circuit 15 is connected to a cable connection terminal 10c, and a console (CS) 30 is connected to the cable connection terminal 10c. The CPU 11 communicates with the console 30 via the console communication circuit 15. The personal computer communication circuit 16 is connected to a cable connection terminal 10d, and a personal computer (PC) 40 indicated by a broken line is connected to the cable connection terminal 10d via a cable C3.

  The sensor head 20 a includes a communication circuit 21 for communicating with the controller 10, and the communication circuit 21 is connected to the CPU 22. The CPU 22 inputs a control signal received by the communication circuit 21, and controls the sensor head 20a based on the control signal. The CPU 22 is connected to a display circuit 23 and a laser diode (LD) 24 as light projecting means. The display circuit 23 is composed of an LED or the like provided so as to be visible from the outside of the sensor head 20a. The CPU 22 outputs a signal to the display circuit 23 and causes the display circuit 23 to display an operation state. The CPU 22 controls the laser diode 24 to irradiate the workpiece W with laser light.

  Reflected light from the workpiece W or the like enters an image sensor (IS) 25. The image sensor 25 is, for example, a two-dimensional CCD, and outputs a light reception signal having a voltage corresponding to the amount of light received at each pixel to an analog / digital (A / D) converter 26. The A / D converter 26 analog-digital converts the received light signal into received light amount data, and outputs the received light amount data (pixel data for each pixel) to the CPU 22. The CPU 22 outputs the received light amount data to the communication circuit 21, and the communication circuit 21 transmits the received light amount data to the controller 10.

  As described above, the CPU 11 of the controller 10 stores the received light amount data received from the sensor head 20 a via the head communication circuit 12 in the first storage circuit 13. Then, the CPU 11 measures the height of the workpiece W at the measurement point based on the received light amount data stored in the first storage circuit 13.

  More specifically, the laser light emitted from the sensor head 20a is reflected by a reflecting surface (for example, the surface of the workpiece W), the reflected light is incident on the image sensor 25, and the light receiving position for receiving the reflected light is the sensor head. It changes according to the distance from 20a to the reflecting surface. The CPU 11 of the controller 10 detects the peak value in the received light amount data stored in the first storage circuit 13 and outputs the received light amount data of the peak value to the pixel position (peak position) and the reference position (for example, the image sensor 25). The difference (number of pixels) is calculated. The distance from the sensor head 20a to the reflecting surface (the height from the reflecting surface to the sensor head 20a) at the position where the reflected light is incident on the reference position is stored in the first storage circuit 13 in advance. The first storage circuit 13 stores the amount of change in the distance (height) of one pixel of the image sensor 25 according to the type of the sensor head 20a. Based on the measurement result and the value stored in the first storage circuit 13, the CPU 11 measures the height from the reflective surface at that time to the sensor head 20a.

  In response to the request signal from the console 30, the controller 10 transmits the detected peak value, the variation amount of the reflection surface, the received light amount data stored in the storage circuits 13 and 14, the detection condition, and the like to the console 30. Further, the controller 10 performs various settings based on the setting data output from the console 30 and stores each setting value in the storage circuits 13 and 14.

The setting data includes a setting value in the sample trigger mode.
The sample trigger mode is an operation mode in which a predetermined number of measurement data is stored in the internal memory every time a trigger set in the trigger condition is generated. The setting in this operation mode includes a trigger condition, a trigger delay, a sample trigger accumulation number, and a data address. An example of the trigger condition set in FIG. 6 is shown.

  The trigger condition is a timing setting for specializing measurement data. The sensor head 20a outputs a signal corresponding to the light receiving position to the controller 10 every time specified by the set sampling frequency. Each time the controller 10 inputs a signal from the sensor head 20a, the controller 10 calculates a distance (measurement data) from the light receiving position to the measurement object based on the signal, and the measurement data is stored in the first storage circuit 13 in advance. Compare with stored threshold. In the present embodiment, two threshold values are stored in the first storage circuit 13. These two threshold values are set to different values. In the present embodiment, the threshold value with the larger value is called the first threshold value, and the threshold value with the smaller value is called the second threshold value. The controller 10 determines that the measurement data is HI when the value of the measurement data is greater than the first threshold, determines that the measurement data is LO when the measurement data is less than the second threshold, and the measurement data is the first. When it is between the threshold value of 1 and the second threshold value, it is determined as GO.

  The above trigger conditions are set as HI / LO / HI / LO / HI / GO / LO / GO / GO. . For example, when “when it becomes GO” is set as the trigger condition, the controller 10 determines that the measurement data next to the measurement data determined as HI or LO is GO, and that time is the trigger generation.

  The trigger delay is a setting of a time from the generation of a trigger to the start of accumulation of measurement data, that is, a delay time for delaying the start of accumulation of measurement data from the generation of the trigger. The sample trigger accumulation number is the number of data accumulated in the first storage circuit 13 every time a trigger occurs. The data address is an address for accumulating measurement data. This data address is a relative address from the reference address in the first memory circuit 13 or an absolute address of the first memory circuit 13.

  After determining the occurrence of the trigger, the controller 10 stores the measurement data after the value set in the trigger delay in the area specified by the data address of the first storage circuit 13 and counts up the data address. To do. Further, the controller 10 stores the stored measurement data in the first storage circuit 13 for the number of sample trigger accumulations. That is, every time a trigger occurs, the controller 10 stores measurement data for the number of sample triggers accumulated in the first storage circuit 13 and counts up the data address.

  In the first memory circuit 13, the area for storing measurement data is finite. If the number of measurement data stored for one trigger is large, the number of workpieces W for storing the measurement data in the first storage circuit 13 decreases. Therefore, by appropriately setting the sample trigger accumulation number, it becomes possible to store a lot of measurement data of the height of the workpiece W in the finite first storage circuit 13.

  Therefore, by appropriately setting the trigger delay, the height of the workpiece W, the shape of the upper surface of the workpiece W, and the like can be accurately measured. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the first threshold value L1 and the second threshold value L2 are set for the protrusion W0 of the workpiece W. These threshold values L1 and L2 are set according to the allowable range of the height of the protrusion W0. That is, in FIG. 3, the protrusion W0 that is lower than the first threshold value L1 and higher than the second threshold value L2 is detected. That is, in this case, the protrusion W0 is the measurement object.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the measurement data based on the signal from the sensor head 20a becomes higher than the second threshold value L2, the controller 10 determines that “when it becomes GO” and generates the trigger T at that time. And And after generation | occurrence | production of this trigger T, measurement data S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, ... based on the signal from the sensor head 20a are output. For example, when “4” is set in the trigger delay, the controller 10 stores the fourth measurement data S4 input after the trigger T in the first storage circuit 13 and counts up the data address. . The trigger delay can be set to “0”. In this case, the controller 10 stores the measurement data when the trigger T is generated in the first storage circuit 13.

  Further, the controller 10 stores the measurement data of the sample trigger accumulation number in the first storage circuit 13. As an example, when the sample trigger accumulation number is “1”, the controller 10 stores the measurement data S4 in the first storage circuit 13. As another example, when the sample trigger accumulation number is “2”, the controller 10 stores the measurement data S4 and the next measurement data S5 in the first storage circuit 13.

  The above operation is performed every time a trigger occurs. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality (six in FIG. 4) of protrusions W0 to W5 are formed on the upper surface of the workpiece W. The head 20a is moved along the arrangement positions of the protrusions W0 to W5 (in the direction of arrow M in FIG. 4). Then, the trigger T shown in FIG. 3 is generated for each of the protrusions W0 to W5. The controller 10 illustrated in FIG. 2 stores, in the first storage circuit 13, measurement data corresponding to the above setting among measurement data based on signals output from the sensor head 20a every time the trigger T occurs.

  Thus, by storing the measurement data in response to the trigger T generated for each of the plurality of protrusions W0 to W5, the height of each of the plurality of protrusions W0 to W5 can be measured. In addition, based on the measurement data of the protrusions W0 to W5, it is possible to calculate the average height of the protrusions W0 to W5 and detect the highest protrusion and the lowest protrusion. By calculating the average value, the height of the measurement object can be measured without being affected by changes in measurement data due to noise or the like.

  The controller 10 has a trigger counter reading function. The trigger counter reading function is a function in which the controller 10 outputs the trigger occurrence count to the requesting console 30 as a trigger counter in response to a request signal from the console 30 in the sample trigger mode. The data address corresponds to the number of measurement data stored in the first storage circuit 13, and the measurement data for the number of sample trigger accumulations is stored in the first storage circuit 13 for one trigger occurrence. Accordingly, the controller 10 calculates the number of trigger occurrences by dividing the data address (in the case of an absolute address, the difference between the data address and the reference address) by the sample trigger accumulation number. Then, the controller 10 outputs the trigger occurrence count to the console 30 as a trigger counter in response to the request signal from the console 30. Therefore, the console 30 can read the number of trigger occurrences, that is, the number of protrusions W0 to W5 from the controller 10.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the controller 10 in the sample trigger mode.
That is, in step S1, the controller 10 determines whether or not a trigger is generated. If a trigger is generated, the controller 10 proceeds to step S2. That is, step S1 is in a trigger waiting state, and when a trigger occurs, the process proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, the controller 10 determines whether or not a trigger delay has elapsed from the occurrence of the trigger. If it has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S3.
In step S3, the controller 10 stores the measurement data corresponding to the number of accumulated sample triggers in the first storage circuit 13, and counts up the data address (adds a predetermined number, plus 1 when the predetermined number is 1).

  In step S4, the controller 10 determines whether or not the count of data addresses has reached the number of data stored. The data accumulation number is the number of measurement data that can be stored in the first storage circuit 13 and is set according to the capacity of the first storage circuit 13. If the data address has not reached the data accumulation number, the controller 10 proceeds to step S1 and continues the sample trigger mode. On the other hand, when the data address reaches the data accumulation number, the controller 10 ends the accumulation of the measurement data.

  When the data address reaches the data accumulation number, the measurement data accumulation is terminated, and the measurement data is accumulated in response to the trigger until the data address reaches the data accumulation number. Therefore, continuous measurement is possible. . In addition, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems such as the latest measurement data being overwritten on the past measurement data and the measurement data being lost.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Each time a trigger occurs, the controller 10 stores measurement data for the number of sample trigger accumulations in the first storage circuit 13 and counts up the data address. By storing the measurement data in the first storage circuit 13 every time a trigger is generated, the height of a plurality of measurement objects can be measured. The data address corresponds to the number of trigger occurrences. Therefore, it is possible to count the number of trigger occurrences, that is, the number of objects to be measured, based on the data address.

  (2) In the first storage circuit 13, the area for storing measurement data is finite. If the number of measurement data stored for one trigger is large, the number of workpieces W for storing the measurement data in the first storage circuit 13 decreases. Therefore, by appropriately setting the sample trigger accumulation number, it becomes possible to store a lot of measurement data of the height of the workpiece W in the finite first storage circuit 13.

  (3) The controller 10 calculates the number of trigger occurrences by dividing the data address (in the case of an absolute address, the difference between the data address and the reference address) by the sample trigger accumulation number. Then, the controller 10 outputs the trigger occurrence count to the console 30 as a trigger counter in response to the request signal from the console 30. Accordingly, the console 30 can read the number of trigger occurrences, that is, the number of the protrusions W0 to W5 from the controller 10, so that the number of measurement objects can be easily confirmed.

  (4) After determining the occurrence of the trigger, the controller 10 stores the measurement data after the value set in the trigger delay in the area specified by the data address of the first storage circuit 13. For example, when the measurement data at the occurrence of the trigger does not indicate the height of the measurement object, such as a measurement object whose periphery is chamfered, by setting the delay time according to the shape of the measurement object, It becomes possible to easily measure the height of the measurement object. Therefore, by appropriately setting the trigger delay, the height of the workpiece W, the shape of the upper surface of the workpiece W, and the like can be accurately measured.

  (5) When the data address reaches the data accumulation number, the controller 10 ends the accumulation of the measurement data. When the data address reaches the data accumulation number, the measurement data accumulation is terminated, and the measurement data is accumulated in response to the trigger until the data address reaches the data accumulation number. Therefore, continuous measurement is possible. . In addition, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems such as the latest measurement data being overwritten on the past measurement data and the measurement data being lost.

In addition, you may implement each said embodiment in the following aspects.
In the above embodiment, the trigger generation is determined based on the comparison result between the measurement data and the threshold value. However, the trigger may be generated based on other data. For example, the trigger may be generated based on the amount of received light. In this case, the trigger is not generated when the amount of received light is low and is not suitable for measurement, or when the amount of received light is too large to be suitable for measurement. By setting as described above, it is possible to perform measurement at an appropriate amount of received light. Further, a trigger may be generated by a change in a signal supplied from the outside of the controller 10.

In the above embodiment, the number of samples is set as the trigger delay, but time may be set.
In the above embodiment, the case of measuring the protrusions W0 to W5 formed on the workpiece W has been described. However, a plurality of workpieces conveyed by a conveyance unit such as a conveyance line may be measured.

The schematic block diagram which shows the displacement sensor of this embodiment. The block diagram which shows the electric constitution of a displacement sensor. Explanatory drawing of a trigger delay. Explanatory drawing of sample trigger accumulation | storage. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of sample trigger mode. Explanatory drawing of sampling trigger conditions.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Controller, 13, 14 ... Memory circuit, 20a ... Sensor head, T ... Trigger, S1-S5 ... Measurement data.

Claims (5)

A light projecting means for irradiating the measurement object with light;
The reflected light from the measurement object is received, and the light receiving position of the reflected light corresponds to the distance to the measurement object;
Measuring means for measuring the distance from the light receiving position of the light receiving means to the measurement object and outputting measurement data; and
Data storage means for storing the measurement data in an area specified by a data address;
Setting storage means for storing the data address;
Data storage means for storing the measurement data in the area of the data storage means designated by the data address each time a trigger is generated, and counting up the data address stored in the setting storage means;
A displacement sensor comprising: The setting storage means stores the accumulated number of measurement data to be stored in the data storage means every time the trigger occurs,
The data storage means stores the measurement data for the number of accumulations in the data storage means for each occurrence of the trigger.
The displacement sensor according to claim 1. The data storage means calculates the number of occurrences of the trigger based on the data address and the storage number;
The displacement sensor according to claim 2. The setting storage means stores a delay time for delaying the start of accumulation of the measurement data from the generation of the trigger,
The data storage means starts storing the measurement data after the delay time has elapsed from the trigger occurrence.
The displacement sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The setting storage means stores the number of data accumulations that can store the measurement data in the data storage means,
The data storage means stops storing the measurement data when the data address reaches the data storage number;
The displacement sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein:

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