JP2010008252A - Surface shape inspection device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a surface shape inspection device and a surface shape inspection method for extensively inspecting the surface shape of an inspection object at one time. <P>SOLUTION: This surface shape inspection device includes an uneven shape amplifying member 1 for amplifying unevenness of the surface of the inspection object 5, a transparent plate 2 keeping an under surface of the amplifying member 1 in contact with the surface of the inspection object 5 so as to cause it to abut thereon, a rotational mechanism 7 for relatively moving an inspection object portion of the surface of the inspection object 5 with respect to the amplifying member 1, and a camera 3 and a computer 4 for optically detecting the unevenness of the surface of the inspection object 5 amplified by the amplifying member 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for inspecting the shape of the surface of an object to be inspected.

  When outputting a printed matter using an electrophotographic copying machine, the printed matter is often not output normally even if there are only a few defects on a roller member inside the machine.

  For this reason, it is important to detect these very minute defects.

  In general, such a defect inspection is performed by an inspector visually observing or touching the member surface. However, these defects are so small that long training is required before they can be found.

  Even if a defect can be found, there is a problem that the burden on the inspector who performs the work is large and the inspection result is influenced by the physical condition of the examiner.

  For this reason, in order to solve the above problems, an automatic inspection method using a machine has been researched and developed. For example, in the “surface inspection apparatus” disclosed in Patent Document 1 as an example of an inspection method using an optical system, a defect is detected by imaging the surface of an inspection object and processing the image data.

  However, the height and depth of the defect cannot be measured only by imaging with one imaging device. As a factor of a defect that affects the output image, a height or a depth other than the size is also important, and it is necessary to detect a defect that is uneven even if it is small. If an attempt is made to measure the height and depth of a defect, the apparatus becomes large. Moreover, although the height of a defect part can be measured with a laser displacement meter etc., inspection time will take very long.

  As another example, in the “part positioning method and method” disclosed in Patent Document 2, in order to detect irregularities on the roller surface, warpage of the layer forming member, etc., carbon paper or The pressure distribution is obtained by bringing a pressure sensitive sheet such as pressure paper into contact.

  However, since this method only presses the roller surface against the pressure-sensitive sheet, there is a possibility that very minute irregularities cannot be detected.

Further, as a method for amplifying and detecting an uneven shape on the surface of an object, there is an “unevenness amplification member and an unevenness detection method using an unevenness amplification member” disclosed in Patent Document 3. In Patent Document 3, in order to amplify minute unevenness on the surface of an object, an unevenness amplifying member having a sheet-like detection unit that deforms along the surface of the object and a plurality of protrusions perpendicular to the sheet-like detection unit is provided. The surface is pressed with a finger or the like, and the amplified uneven change is detected as a tactile change.
Japanese Patent No. 3054243 (FIG. 1) JP-A-8-234558 (FIG. 1) JP-A-2005-195342 (FIGS. 2 and 7)

  However, the method disclosed in Patent Document 3 has a problem that only a part of the unevenness can be detected at a time.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a surface shape inspection apparatus and a surface shape inspection method capable of inspecting a wide range of object surface shapes at once.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a concavo-convex shape amplifying means for amplifying the concavo-convex shape on the surface of the object to be inspected, and a lower surface of the concavo-convex shape amplifying means so A contact means for contacting, a moving means for moving a portion to be inspected on the surface of the inspection object relative to the uneven shape amplifying means, and unevenness on the surface of the inspection object amplified by the uneven shape amplifying means. The present invention provides a surface shape inspection apparatus having a detection means for optical detection.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, the object to be inspected is a columnar or cylindrical shape, and the concavo-convex shape amplifying means has a sheet-like member that can be bent and deformed along the surface of the object to be inspected as a lower surface. The abutting means is a two-layer plate of a transparent rigid body and an elastic body, and the moving means are It is a mechanism for supporting and rotating the object to be inspected, and the detecting means is preferably a camera for photographing the surface of the object to be inspected and a computer for analyzing an image photographed by the camera. Alternatively, the object to be inspected is plate-shaped, and the uneven shape amplifying means has a sheet-like member that can be bent and deformed along the surface of the object to be inspected, arranged on the sheet-like member at equal intervals, Is composed of a plurality of protrusions oriented in a direction perpendicular to the sheet surface, and the contact means is a two-layered plate of a transparent rigid body and an elastic body, and the moving means moves the object to be inspected to the uneven shape amplifying means. It is a mechanism that translates with respect to the sheet surface, and the detection means is preferably a camera that captures the surface of the object to be inspected and a computer that analyzes an image captured by the camera.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides, as a second aspect, a surface shape inspection method using the above surface shape inspection apparatus, wherein the bottom surface of the uneven shape amplification means is formed into the shape of the surface of the object to be inspected. Move the inspection target part while photographing with the camera the position of the tip part of the plurality of protrusions deformed according to the surface shape of the object to be inspected, process the image obtained at that time, The present invention provides a surface shape inspection method characterized by obtaining the uneven distribution of the entire surface of the object to be inspected from the position of the tip portion.

  In the second aspect of the present invention, the inclination of the surface of the object to be inspected within the imaging range of the camera is detected based on the positions of the tips of the plurality of protrusions, and the unevenness of the surface of the object to be inspected based on the information It is preferable to detect the surface shape including the depth or height. In addition to this, it is more possible to detect the inclination of the surface of the inspection object within the imaging range of the camera based on the change in the distance between the tip of any of the plurality of protrusions and the tip of the other plurality of protrusions. preferable.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the surface shape inspection apparatus and surface shape inspection method which can test | inspect the wide range of to-be-inspected object surface shape at once can be provided.

[First Embodiment]
A first embodiment in which the present invention is suitably implemented will be described. In FIG. 1, the structure of the surface shape inspection apparatus which concerns on this embodiment is shown. The surface shape inspection apparatus includes a concavo-convex shape amplifying member 1, a transparent plate 2 including a transparent elastic body 21 and a transparent rigid body 22, a camera 3, and a computer 4. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the concavo-convex shape amplifying member 1 is pressed against a columnar or cylindrical inspection object 5 rotated by a rotating mechanism 7 and the positions of the tips of a plurality of protrusions are observed with a camera. . The concavo-convex shape amplifying member 1 includes a sheet-like object 11 that can be bent and deformed along the surface shape of the object to be inspected, and a plurality of protrusions 12 arranged at equal intervals in a direction perpendicular to the sheet-like object. The concavo-convex amplification member 1 is pressed against the surface of the rotating cylindrical or columnar inspection object 5 by the transparent plate 2. At this time, the positions of the tip portions of the plurality of protrusions 12 deformed are photographed by the camera 3 and processed by the computer 4 so that the shape including the unevenness distribution and the height and depth of the entire surface of the inspection object 5 is obtained. Inspect.

  In FIG. 1, when the distance from the center of the object to be inspected 5 to the lower surface of the concavo-convex shape amplifying member 1 is 1, it is arranged so that l ≦ rd. Here, r is the radius of the inspection object 5, and d is the maximum depth of the surface recess of the inspection object 5.

  In a portion where the surface of the object to be inspected 5 is not uneven, as shown in FIG. 2, a state in which the tip portions of the plurality of protrusions 12 are aligned at equal intervals vertically and horizontally is photographed by the camera 3. On the other hand, in the convex portion, as shown in FIG. 3, the position of the tip end portion is spread outward. Moreover, in a recessed part, as shown in FIG. 4, it will be in the state which the front-end | tip part gathered inside.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, since the relationship of hsin θ = k is established in the unevenness of the surface of the inspection object 5, the inclination there is obtained from θ = arcsin (k / h), and these inclinations are integrated. Thus, the shape of the entire surface of the inspection object 5 including the height and depth of the uneven portion can be obtained.

In this manner, the uneven shape amplifying member 1 is pressed along the shape of the surface of the inspection object 5, and the wide area of the amplified uneven shape on the surface of the inspection object 5 is widened at once by the visual sensor. Since the inspection is performed, the entire surface of the inspection object 5 can be inspected in a short time.
Further, since the concavo-convex shape amplifying member 1 is inspected while following the shape of the inspection object 5, it can be applied to the surface shape inspection of a columnar or cylindrical object whose diameter is not constant. Since the inspection is performed while the inspection object 5 is rotated, a wide inspection space is not required and a space-saving device configuration can be achieved.
Moreover, since the uneven | corrugated shape of the surface of the to-be-inspected object 5 can be test | inspected only by observing the position of the front-end | tip part of the some protrusion 12, the shape of the surface of the to-be-inspected object 5 can be test | inspected efficiently with a simple structure.
Furthermore, the position of the front-end | tip part of several protrusion 12 is detected, and the shape containing the height and depth of the surface of the to-be-inspected object 5 can be calculated with a simple calculation formula.

  The surface shape inspection apparatus according to this embodiment can be suitably applied as an apparatus for inspecting surface defects such as rollers in an electrophotographic copying machine.

[Second Embodiment]
A second embodiment in which the present invention is suitably implemented will be described. FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the surface shape inspection apparatus according to this embodiment. Similar to the first embodiment, the surface shape inspection apparatus includes a concavo-convex shape amplifying member 1, a transparent plate 2 made of a transparent elastic body 21 and a transparent rigid body 22, a camera 3, and a computer 4. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the concavo-convex shape amplifying member 1 is pressed against the plate-like inspection object 6 translated by the translation mechanism 8 and the positions of the tips of the plurality of protrusions are observed by the camera. The concavo-convex shape amplifying member 1 includes a sheet-like object 11 that can be bent and deformed along the surface shape of the inspection object 6 and a plurality of protrusions 12 that are arranged at equal intervals in a direction perpendicular to the sheet-like object. . The concavo-convex shape amplifying member 1 is pressed against the surface of the plate-like inspection object 6 that is moving in translation by the transparent plate 2. At this time, the positions of the tip portions of the plurality of projections 12 deformed are photographed by the camera 3 and processed by the computer 4, so that the shape including the unevenness distribution and the height and depth of the entire surface of the inspection object 6 is obtained. Inspect.

  The method for detecting the presence or absence of unevenness and the method for detecting the shape of the entire surface of the inspection object are the same as those in the first embodiment.

Thus, the uneven shape amplifying member 1 is pressed along the shape of the surface of the object to be inspected, and the wide area of the amplified uneven shape on the surface of the object to be inspected 6 is inspected at once by the visual sensor. Therefore, the entire surface of the inspection object 6 can be inspected in a short time.
Moreover, since the uneven | corrugated shape amplification member 1 inspects along the shape of the to-be-inspected object 6, it can utilize for the surface shape test | inspection of the plate-shaped object whose thickness is not constant. Further, since the inspection object 6 is inspected while being moved, the present invention can be applied to the case where inspection is performed while the inspection object 6 is being transported.
Moreover, since the uneven | corrugated shape of the surface of the to-be-inspected object 6 can be test | inspected only by observing the position of the front-end | tip part of the some protrusion 12, the shape of the surface of the to-be-inspected object 6 can be test | inspected efficiently with a simple structure.
Furthermore, the position of the front-end | tip part of the some protrusion 12 is detected, and the shape containing the height and depth of the surface of the to-be-inspected object 6 can be calculated with a simple calculation formula.

  Each of the above embodiments is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these and can be variously modified.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the surface shape inspection apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment which implemented this invention suitably. It is a figure which shows an example of the image image | photographed with a camera, when an uneven | corrugated shaped amplification member is pressed on the part without the unevenness | corrugation of the to-be-inspected object surface. It is a figure which shows an example of the image image | photographed with a camera, when the uneven | corrugated shaped amplification member is pressed on the convex part of the to-be-inspected surface. It is a figure which shows an example of the image image | photographed with a camera, when the uneven | corrugated shaped amplification member is pressed against the recessed part of the to-be-inspected surface. It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship between the position of the protrusion front-end | tip in the uneven | corrugated | grooved part of the to-be-inspected object surface, and the inclination of the to-be-inspected object surface. It is a figure which shows the structure of the surface shape inspection apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment which implemented this invention suitably.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Concave-shaped amplification member 2 Transparent plate 3 Camera 4 Computer 5, 6 Inspected object 7 Rotating mechanism 8 Translation mechanism 11 Sheet-like object 12 Protrusion 21 Transparent elastic body 22 Transparent rigid body

Claims (6)

An uneven shape amplifying means for amplifying unevenness on the surface of the object to be inspected,
A contact means for contacting the lower surface of the concavo-convex shape amplifying means along the surface of the object to be inspected;
Moving means for moving the inspection target portion of the surface of the inspection object relative to the uneven shape amplification means;
A surface shape inspection apparatus comprising: detection means for optically detecting unevenness on the surface of the inspection object amplified by the uneven shape amplification means. The inspection object is a column or a cylinder,
The concavo-convex shape amplifying means has a sheet-like member that can be bent and deformed along the surface of the object to be inspected, and is arranged on the sheet-like member at equal intervals, each oriented in a direction perpendicular to the sheet surface. Consisting of multiple protrusions,
The abutting means is a two-layer plate of a transparent rigid body and an elastic body,
The moving means is a mechanism for supporting and rotating the inspection object,
The surface shape inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit is a camera that captures a surface of the inspection object and a computer that analyzes an image captured by the camera. The inspection object is plate-shaped,
The concavo-convex shape amplifying means has a sheet-like member that can be bent and deformed along the surface of the object to be inspected, and is arranged on the sheet-like member at equal intervals, each oriented in a direction perpendicular to the sheet surface. Consisting of multiple protrusions,
The abutting means is a two-layer plate of a transparent rigid body and an elastic body,
The moving means is a mechanism for translating the object to be inspected with respect to the sheet surface of the concavo-convex shape amplifying means,
The surface shape inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit is a camera that captures a surface of the inspection object and a computer that analyzes an image captured by the camera. A surface shape inspection method using the surface shape inspection apparatus according to claim 2,
The inspection target portion while photographing the positions of the tip portions of the plurality of projections deformed in accordance with the shape of the surface of the inspection object along the lower surface of the uneven shape amplification means with the camera A surface shape inspection method, wherein an image obtained at that time is processed, and the uneven distribution of the entire surface of the object to be inspected is determined from the positions of the tips of the plurality of protrusions.   The inclination of the surface of the inspection object within the imaging range of the camera is detected based on the positions of the tip portions of the plurality of protrusions, and the depth or height of the unevenness on the surface of the inspection object based on the information. The surface shape inspection method according to claim 4, wherein a surface shape including the surface shape is detected.   Inclination within the imaging range of the camera on the surface of the inspection object is detected based on a change in the distance between the tip of any of the plurality of protrusions and the tip of the other plurality of protrusions. The surface shape inspection method according to claim 5.

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