JP2010133771A - Spinneret inspection apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus which is capable of detecting a foreign substance in a number of discharge holes at a time by simultaneously inspecting the plurality of discharge holes perforated in a spinneret rather than detecting in every hole the presence of a foreign substance remaining in the hole, and is capable of inspecting a foreign substance in a hole in a shorter time and securely, without requiring plenty of time, by satisfying the necessity of introducing no effect of oscillation in a plant etc. on inspection accuracy in such an inspection apparatus as being able to inspect with improved accuracy. <P>SOLUTION: By scanning a spinneret using a scan camera, a plurality of image data groups with high resolution is acquired. From composite image data produced by composing these image data groups, the presence of a foreign substance in the hole is detected using image processing at a time for each of a plenty of discharge holes perforated in a spinneret. In order not to introduce abnormality into discharge hole image by oscillation, an apparatus for inspecting a foreign substance in holes of a spinneret is equipped with a function of oscillation detection, wherein oscillation detection using an oscillation meter is performed and oscillation is detected by area value determination when there is any abnormality in the photographed image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically inspecting the presence of foreign matter in a polymer discharge hole formed in a spinneret for spinning synthetic fibers.

  In general, a synthetic fiber is produced by spinning a spinning solution from a discharge hole formed in a spinneret. However, if the discharge hole drilled in the spinneret is dirty or if impurities adhere to the hole, good discharge of the spinning solution is hindered, causing not only single yarn breakage but also spinning itself. A failure that can not be done occurs. For this reason, abnormalities in the discharge holes, which are the lifeline of the spinning technology, are inspected, and if there are abnormalities, the inside of the discharge holes is cleaned for each hole using a drill or air.

  However, although the number of discharge holes to be drilled in the base depends on the shape, it is usually large from several tens to several thousand and the hole diameter is as small as 1 mm or less. However, it is necessary to inspect the dirt carefully with the naked eye. When dirt or foreign matter is found in the hole, the dirt or foreign matter is removed using a needle-like jig or air.

  Needless to say, such a base inspection requires enormous manpower and time for inspection and hole cleaning, and since it is a visual inspection, a long-time inspection is difficult because the eyes are tired. Therefore, there has been a tendency that the cleaning of the hole is neglected, and a human error occurs in the hole inspection and the hole cleaning.

  Therefore, an attempt to perform a base inspection by an automatic inspection apparatus without relying on a manpower is proposed in Patent Document 1 or the like. In this prior art, in order to detect foreign matter remaining in the hole after the base is once cleaned with a cleaning solution, light is irradiated from below the base for each hole, and the area value of the light passing through the discharge hole is obtained. It is intended to determine the presence or absence of foreign matter in the hole. That is, if the foreign matter remains in the hole, the light projected by the remaining foreign matter is blocked, and therefore, the principle of reducing the area value of transmitted light to be detected is used.

  However, as described above, since the number of discharge hole groups drilled in the spinneret is very large, from several tens to several thousand, even if an automatic inspection using a computer is performed, a large amount of inspection is required for each hole. Therefore, a technique capable of inspecting in a short time is required. In addition, when performing automatic inspection using a computer, such an inspection device is often placed in a factory and is automatically affected by the influence of vibrations derived from the equipment in the factory or the desk work of the worker. Inspection is not performed accurately.

  This is because, as described above, the hole diameter of the discharge hole drilled in the spinneret is as small as 1 mm or less. Therefore, in order to inspect the residual foreign matter in the hole, the enlargement lens is used to penetrate the discharge hole. This is because it is necessary to expand light. Needless to say, when a minute vibration is transmitted to the spinneret inspection device, the spinneret also vibrates, and as shown in FIG. 2, the inspection light passing through the discharge hole is greatly shaken. As a result, the magnifying lens Inspection of foreign matter in the hole due to is not performed normally.

JP-A-7-243831 JP 2006-267000 A

  In view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the object of the present invention is that the spinneret inspection device is affected by external vibration, and the image of the discharge hole photographed by the magnifying lens for image processing is blurred. In addition to avoiding the situation in which inspection of foreign matter in the hole cannot be performed normally, the foreign matter remaining in the discharge hole group drilled in the spinneret is not performed for each hole, but a large number of discharge hole groups are formed. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus capable of simultaneously inspecting residual foreign matter in these discharge hole groups as a target.

  Here, as means for solving the above-mentioned problems, “a spinneret having a large number of discharge holes, illumination provided on one side of the spinneret, and the other side of the spinneret” A scanning camera provided opposite to the illumination, and a magnifying lens attached to the scanning camera and magnifying the image of the inspection light projected from the illumination and passed through the ejection hole to a predetermined magnification, Positioning drive means for accurately positioning control to a position where the scan camera scans and captures image data, and the spinneret, the illumination, the scan camera, and the positioning drive means are supported while being placed thereon. In-hole foreign matter existing in the plurality of discharge holes by processing a group of image data including at least a support base and a perforation region of a discharge hole formed by a spinneret by the scan camera A reference gravitational acceleration value that includes an image processing device that detects at a time and vibration detection means provided on the support base, and at least vibration acceleration detected by the vibration detection means during imaging of the image data is preset. If it is larger, the spinneret inspection apparatus is characterized in that the foreign matter detection processing in the discharge holes by the image processing device is stopped and the image processing is performed from the beginning.

  At this time, the image processing apparatus divides the perforated region of the discharge hole group into a plurality of regions, and scans and moves the line scan camera at least once or a plurality of times with respect to the divided spinneret regions. It is preferable to provide a processing means for photographing each image at a predetermined position and obtaining each image as composite image data because inspection of foreign matter in the hole can be performed efficiently.

  According to the present invention described above, it is not necessary to inspect a large number of discharge hole groups perforated in the base for each hole, and foreign matter in a hole is detected for a large number of discharge hole groups at a time by image data processing. Therefore, the inspection of foreign matter in the discharge holes can be performed quickly and in a short time. Of course, there is a remarkable effect that the inspection of the foreign matter in the hole can be automatically performed without depending on the naked eye of the inspector.

Hereinafter, an inspection apparatus for foreign matter in a hole that can be suitably used in the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
In the present invention, the perforated area of the base Ca is divided into a plurality of areas, and the line scan camera 3 is scanned and moved at least once or a plurality of times with respect to these areas to take an image at a predetermined position. One major feature is to obtain composite image data required for simultaneously inspecting a plurality of discharge holes H for a plurality of discharge holes H. Hereinafter, this point will be described first.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral Ca is a spinneret, and a plurality of circular discharge hole groups H are formed in the spinneret Ca as shown. In the present invention, these discharge hole groups It is intended to inspect residual foreign matter in H. In order to achieve this object, in the in-hole foreign matter inspection apparatus 1 according to the present invention, for each discharge hole H drilled in the spinneret Ca (also simply referred to as “base Ca”), The illumination 9 is irradiated from below. However, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the illumination 9 is opposed to a line scan camera 3 (described later) in the vertical direction with a spinneret Ca having a discharge hole H as an inspection target interposed therebetween. Is provided.

  Accordingly, the light emitted from the illumination 9 provided below becomes the passing light that has passed through each discharge hole H of the base Ca, and this passing light is optically magnified by the magnifying lens 4, and the magnified image is directed upward. The image is taken from the front by the line scan camera 3 provided. In this way, if the base Ca is moved in conjunction with the line scan camera 3, the passing light from each discharge hole H is imaged, and the obtained imaging data is subjected to image processing, the residual in the discharge hole H Can be automatically inspected for foreign matter.

  However, in order to inspect the foreign matter in the discharge hole having a minute hole diameter, an extremely narrow area called the discharge hole region is targeted, and thus the passing light that has passed through each discharge hole H is enlarged by the magnifying lens 4. There is a fate of having to use images. Therefore, it can be said that it is extremely susceptible to disturbances caused by minute vibrations and the like, and it is required to eliminate these disturbances in order to accurately inspect the foreign matter in the hole. In particular, when an inspection is automatically performed without human intervention, there is no room for human judgment to intervene as before, and this is more important.

  As described above, a large number of discharge holes H are formed in the base Ca, and it is necessary to inspect the in-hole foreign matter for all of the formed discharge holes H. However, the in-hole foreign matter in all the discharge holes H cannot be inspected only by the combination of the line scan camera 3 and the illumination 9 provided opposite thereto. This is because the line scan camera 3 provided with the magnifying lens 4 can only capture images of a limited perforated area because the range of capturing images is limited. As a matter of course, the magnification of the image of the magnifying lens 4 should be a value that can identify foreign matter adhering to the ejection hole H.

  Therefore, the inspection apparatus 1 for foreign matter in a hole according to the present invention (in the following description, it may be simply abbreviated as “inspection apparatus 1”) can cover imaging of all perforated areas of the base Ca. And a mechanism for moving the base Ca. That is, the inspection apparatus 1 of the present invention includes a base mounting base 10 on which the base Ca is placed, and irradiates the inspection light toward the base Ca from the illumination 9 disposed below the base mounting base 10. ing.

  In addition, slide members 5 and 6 that can slide independently in two axial directions of the X-axis and the Y-axis that are three-dimensionally crossed with each other are attached to the base mounting base 10. Accordingly, the base mounting base 10 on which the base Ca is placed is driven to be slidable (slidable) in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction by the two linear servo motors that drive the slide members 5 and 6. It is the composition which becomes. That is, the base Ca can be moved two-dimensionally along the scanning direction of the line scan camera 3 by the slide members 5 and 6 that can slide independently of each other in the two axial directions of the X axis and the Y axis. Yes.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, a line scan camera is employed. However, it is not essential that the scan camera is a line scan camera. As long as the gist of the present invention is satisfied, other embodiments are used. It goes without saying that can be adopted. However, in this embodiment, a large number of pixels of the line scan camera are arranged in a linear direction (for example, the X-axis direction), that is, in a one-dimensional direction, and a direction (for example, a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the pixels) The base Ca is moved at a constant speed in the Y-axis direction with respect to the X-axis direction, and images are continuously taken at a predetermined cycle. Then, synthesized image data for image processing is obtained by synthesizing the captured image group with a planar image.

  Here, the drive control of the slide members 5 and 6 is performed by a servo controller 9 connected to each servo motor for driving them. That is, the servo controller 9 applies the number of drive pulses corresponding to the required slide amount to the servo motors that drive the slide members 5 and 6, and slides the slide members 5 and 6 by the required amount. To be controlled. Accordingly, in accordance with the scanning period of the line scan camera 3, the base Ca is controlled to move to a target position at an arbitrary control speed.

  The line scan camera 3, the slide members 5 and 6, the illumination 9, the base mounting base 10, etc. are mounted and fixed on the support base 2 as illustrated in FIG. Therefore, if vibration occurs, it propagates to the line scan camera 3, the slide members 5 and 6, the illumination 9, and the base mounting base 10 through the support base 2, so in the present invention, the vibration detection that detects the generated vibration. It is important that the means 11 is provided on the support 2.

  At this time, the lighting 9 attached to the support base 2 will be further described. The lighting 9 has a long life, hardly generates heat, and needs to irradiate the entire imaging range of the line scan camera 3. In view of the above, it is preferable to use LED flat illumination (planar LED illumination) using a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) capable of uniformly irradiating a wide area with high luminance.

  This is because, by using the flat LED illumination 9, for example, even if the hole diameter is a group of discharge holes H of 1 mm or less formed in the spinneret Ca having a thickness of several centimeters, irradiation is performed in a planar shape. This is because the inspection light easily passes through all the ejection holes H group located in the formed region. In addition, as a line scan camera 3 that captures the passing light from such a flat LED illumination 9, in the example of the present invention, a single focus optical magnifying lens 4 is mounted, and noise reduction can be expected. A so-called “megapixel” line scan camera 3 composed of many pixels was used.

  In this manner, in the embodiment according to the inspection apparatus 1 of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 1, the base Ca placed on the base mounting base 10 installed on the slide members 5, 6 is replaced with the line scan camera 3. It is possible to move in the scanning direction by a necessary distance at a speed according to the imaging cycle of the line scan camera 3. And by this, the inspection light emitted from the illumination 9 is received by the line scan camera 3 through the discharge hole H group drilled in the base Ca, and is obtained in the perforated region of the base Ca by obtaining composite image data Inspection of foreign matter in the discharge hole H becomes possible.

  Of course, the inspection light imaged to obtain composite image data in this way does not limit the imaging range to the individual ejection holes H, but passes through a plurality of target ejection holes H. is there. Therefore, by performing image processing at once on the composite image data composed of the image obtained by capturing the inspection light imaged in this way, a group of ejection holes is used instead of inspection by sequential image processing for each hole as in the prior art. It is possible to inspect for the presence or absence of foreign matter in the hole.

  As described above, in the present invention, the perforation region of the discharge hole group H of the base Ca is divided into a plurality of regions, and the line scan camera 3 is scanned and moved at least once or a plurality of times with respect to these regions. By taking an image at a predetermined position, it is a great feature to obtain composite image data necessary for simultaneously inspecting a plurality of discharge holes H for a plurality of discharge holes H. is there.

  Therefore, in order to achieve the goal of obtaining such composite image data that can be processed, it can be moved along the X and Y axes by two servo motors optimally controlled by the servo controller 9. Therefore, it is required to accurately position and move the slide members 5 and 6 set to the predetermined positions. Therefore, the movement amount (slide amount) of the slide members 5 and 6 is calculated in advance based on the design size of the drilling area of the base Ca, and is stored in the computer 8 as a program. It is necessary to keep.

  In this way, based on information stored in the computer 8 (such as the amount of movement of the slide members 5 and 6), each servo motor is driven via the servo controller 9 to accurately place the slide members 5 and 6. Positioning control can be performed, and a predetermined number of image data can be obtained at a predetermined position.

  At the same time, the appropriate slide speeds of the slide members 5 and 6 are calculated in accordance with the scanning cycle of the line scan camera 3 and stored in the computer 8, and based on this stored information (slide speed, etc.) The servo controller 9 also controls the moving speed of the slide members 5 and 6. Therefore, the computer 8, the servo controller 9, the slide members 5 and 6 and the like constitute “positioning driving means” that performs positioning control accurately at a position where the scan camera 3 is scanned and image data is captured.

  That is, the number of pulses input to the X-axis and Y-axis servomotors that drive the slide members 5 and 6 is calculated as described above and stored in the computer 8. Then, based on the information stored in the computer 8, the number of pulses is input to each servo motor as a command value at a necessary timing, and the base Ca is set at a target speed according to the scanning cycle of the line scan camera 3. After moving to a target position and obtaining necessary image data groups, these image data groups can be combined to obtain combined image data.

  In this way, when an image data group consisting of inspection light that has passed through a large number of circular discharge holes H as inspection targets is obtained by scanning with the line scan camera 3, these image data groups are stored in the image processing device 8. By executing the capturing process and performing the composite image creation process, composite image data can be obtained. Then, the presence determination of the foreign matter adhering to the inner wall surfaces of the numerous discharge holes H formed in the base Ca can be performed from the composite image data by one image processing.

  As described above, the image processing apparatus of the present invention divides the perforated region of the ejection hole group H into a plurality of regions, and the line scan camera 3 at least once or a plurality of times with respect to the divided base Ca region. The image processing apparatus includes a processing unit that scans and moves each image to capture each image at a predetermined position and obtain each image as composite image data.

  In the present invention, the process of detecting and curing the residual foreign matter in the ejection holes from the composite image obtained as described above can be performed by a known method. For example, a description will be given of an example of an embodiment of confirmation of the discharge hole position by a known light and dark process. First, the composite image data is determined to be “bright” and “dark” with reference to a predetermined light and dark gradation. Then, for example, “1” is allocated to all the pixels determined to be “bright”, and “0” is allocated to all the pixels determined to be “dark”, for example, to perform binarization processing.

  This is because the inspection light that has passed through each discharge hole H is binarized as described above, and in the area where each discharge hole H exists, the number of pixels determined to be “bright” and “dark” are determined. If the number of pixels determined to be “dark” is larger than that obtained in a normal state where no foreign matter exists in the discharge hole H, it is recognized that there is foreign matter in the hole. Because it can be done. That is, if there is a foreign substance in the hole, the light is blocked by the foreign substance in the hole in the discharge hole H, so that this pixel is determined to be [dark].

  According to the image processing method according to the present invention described above and the individual image data obtained for each discharge hole H as in the prior art, the discharge holes H are inspected one by one for each hole. Compared with the method for detecting internal foreign matter, the inspection apparatus 1 of the present invention can inspect foreign matter in a large number of discharge holes H at a time from a small amount of composite image data, so it can be performed in a shorter time and more efficiently. The detection process of foreign matter in the hole can be performed.

  However, the foreign matter in the hole adheres to any position along the length direction (depth direction) of the discharge hole H. That is, foreign matter may adhere to a position immediately after the polymer flows into the discharge hole H, or may adhere to a position immediately before the polymer flows out of the discharge hole H. In consideration of such points, the image data captured by the line scan camera 3 is composed of a plurality of image data groups that are focused along the length direction (depth direction) of the discharge hole H, respectively, as composite image data. It is preferable to use one. For this purpose, it is desirable to provide a function that allows the focal length of the line scan camera 3 to be adjusted at a plurality of locations. The operation of the line scan camera 3 on the entire surface of the base Ca is performed whenever the focal length of the line scan camera 3 is changed. It is desirable to do.

  Further, the inspection apparatus of the present invention is based on a combination of the camera 3 and the electric sliders 5 and 6, and the apparatus may be affected by vibration. In other words, if there is a disturbance in the image of the discharge hole H due to the influence of vibration, the inspection light passing through the discharge hole H vibrates the line scan camera 3 or the slider to the left and right due to this vibration, and images taken every 1 pixel. When the image is taken by the line scan camera 3 to be combined, an image in which the discharge hole image is shaken left and right as shown in FIG. 2 is obtained. Therefore, this area value is calculated and compared with the reference area value obtained in advance through experiments, etc., and if it is larger than the reference area value, it is considered that the inspection will be affected by vibrations. ”To the worker.

  Therefore, when the influence causes a vibration that cannot be ignored for image processing, a captured image as shown in FIG. 2 is obtained, which hinders detection of foreign matter in the hole. Therefore, if the vibration value is output from the vibration detection means (vibrometer) 11 to the computer 8 in units of gravitational acceleration, and the vibration acceleration value becomes larger than the reference gravity acceleration value determined in advance through experiments or the like, the vibration is detected. Causes abnormalities in the captured image. For this reason, the inspection process is stopped halfway, the inspection process is once reset, and the inspection is started again from the beginning.

  Furthermore, the inspection apparatus of the present invention targets a very small hole having a diameter of about 0.1 to 1.0 mm as a discharge hole, and is affected by vibration when the discharge hole is enlarged for image processing. As a method for detecting vibrations of the inspection apparatus, an output signal is transmitted from the vibration detection means 11 to the image processing computer 8 at an arbitrary sampling time, and the value of the signal causes an abnormality in the detection system of the inspection apparatus. When it exceeds, it is desirable to stop the inspection program and start the inspection program again from the beginning.

  At this time, as a matter of course, it is considered that there is no adverse effect on the image processing if all the image data necessary for the processing is taken into the inspection apparatus that performs the image processing. This is the case when vibration occurs during image data capture. Therefore, in such a case, it is necessary to stop the image processing, reset the image processing procedure so far, and start the inspection again from the beginning.

  As described above, when the residual inspection for foreign matter in a hole is completed for a large number of ejection holes H included in one composite image data, the residual inspection for the foreign matter in the hole is performed from the next composite image data. In addition, the image processing apparatus 8 reads out the next necessary image data (for example, image data having a different focal depth of the magnifying lens as described above), and performs image processing. Then, the in-hole foreign matter inspection in all the discharge holes H of all the image data of the spinneret Ca is finished.

  In the above description, in order to inspect the foreign matter in the hole, the image data group obtained by scanning the scan camera 3 over the entire perforated area of the base Ca is combined into one composite image data. Explained. However, in the present invention, there is no reason to limit to one composite image data. Instead of using only one composite image data, composite image data obtained by dividing the composite image data into a plurality of pieces may be used. good. In this case, it is extremely effective to use the divided composite image data particularly when the amount of data of one composite image data is enormous.

  As described above, the data after the image processing and the presence / absence of foreign matter in the hole is inspected is stored in the storage device based on the position information of each discharge hole, and the inspection is related after the inspection. It is also possible for the operator to check visually. At that time, as a matter of course, the operator should remove the foreign matter neatly from the discharge hole by using a needle-shaped jig etc. while using a magnifying glass etc. while visually checking. You can also. In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily perform a foreign matter residual inspection in the discharge hole formed in the spinneret used at the time of synthetic fiber production, leading to labor saving or labor cost reduction.

It is a block diagram of the spinneret inspection apparatus of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the influence of the image data by vibration.

Explanation of symbols

1: Inspection device for foreign matter in hole 2: Support stand 3: Line scan camera 4: Magnifying lens 5, 6: Slide member 7: Servo controller 8: Computer 9: Illumination 10: Cap mount 11: Vibration detection means Ca: Spinning Base H: Discharge hole

Claims (2)

  A spinneret provided with a number of discharge holes, illumination provided on one side of the spinneret, and a scan camera provided opposite to the illumination on the other side of the spinneret, A magnifying lens that is attached to the scan camera and that is projected from the illumination and passes through the ejection hole and that magnifies an image of the inspection light to a predetermined magnification, and a position for scanning the scan camera to capture image data Positioning drive means for accurately positioning control, a support base for supporting the spinneret, the illumination, the scan camera, and the positioning drive means while being placed thereon, and a spinneret drilled by the scan camera An image processing apparatus that processes an image data group including at least a perforation region of the discharge holes and detects foreign substances in the holes present in the plurality of discharge holes at a time, and on the support base The image processing apparatus includes a vibration detection unit that detects at least the vibration acceleration detected by the vibration detection unit during photographing of the image data and is larger than a preset reference gravitational acceleration value. The spinneret inspection apparatus is characterized in that the processing for detecting foreign matter in a hole is stopped and image processing is performed from the beginning.   The image processing apparatus divides a perforation region of the discharge hole group into a plurality of regions, scans and moves the line scan camera at least once or a plurality of times to the divided spinneret regions, and moves the predetermined region. 2. The spinneret inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising processing means for capturing each image at a position and obtaining each image as composite image data.