JP2011069771A - Lighting system of resin cap - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lighting system of a resin cap which can increase quantity of the inspection processing, and illuminating uniformly without illumination irregularities, the outside surface on the camera side of caps on two pairing support bases. <P>SOLUTION: This system includes: a ring type RGB illumination 21 arranged horizontally over two pairing resin caps 1 ; a first shielding plate 22 arranged just under the ring type RGB illumination 21, and arranged to cover approximately a half of the ring type RGB illumination 21 on the separated side from an imaging apparatus 30; and a second shielding plate 23 arranged vertically just under the ring type RGB illumination 21, and extending an approximately orthogonal direction to a conveyance direction of the resin caps 1 from the outer fringe toward the center part of the ring type RGB illumination 21. The ring type RGB illumination 21 is arranged so that the center of the ring type RGB illumination 21 is deflected from the middle point of a line segment connecting each axial center 1a, 1a of the two pairing caps 1 to the imaging apparatus 30 side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a lighting device for a resin cap, and more particularly to a lighting device for illuminating a resin cap when the appearance of the resin cap is inspected by imaging.

  Conventionally, PET bottles (PET bottles), which are lightweight plastic bottles, are frequently used for filling soft drinks and the like. The mouth of the plastic bottle is sealed with a resin cap. The resin cap is manufactured by resin molding, and the resin cap is not limited to white, and various colors such as blue and red are used. In addition, characters and patterns are printed on the cap. For this reason, the resin cap is not deformed after production, whether or not dirt has occurred during printing, whether or not foreign matter is attached, whether or not there is an abnormality in the wing (called a short wing), and missing parts on the side of the cap (bridge) It is necessary to perform an appearance inspection such as cutting.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a container inspection apparatus that performs an appearance inspection by imaging a container such as a plastic bottle is known. In this container inspection apparatus, the container is rotated by holding the container by the main rotor and revolving along a predetermined circular orbit, and the outer appearance of the container by the illumination device and the image pickup device arranged along the conveyance system path of the container The image is taken for inspection.

  However, if the appearance inspection of the cap is performed using the same main rotor as the container inspection apparatus, the main rotor is continuously rotated (revolved) by the rotary mechanism, so it is necessary to stop the cap and take an image. There is a problem that some inspections cannot be performed.

  That is, a cap used for a soft drink or the like is provided with a mechanism indicating that the cap has been opened, and the cap is composed of a cap body with a screw and a ring on the lower side thereof. It can be seen that the cap body and the ring are connected by several thin seams (called bridges), and when the cap is opened for the first time, this bridge is broken and the cap is opened by separating the body and the ring. Since there is a case where the bridge is disconnected without being connected at the time of manufacturing the cap, it is necessary to detect this bridge disconnection by visual inspection. Bridge breakage can be detected by stopping the revolution of the cap at the inspection position and imaging while rotating the cap, so that the inspection cannot be performed using the rotary main rotor that rotates continuously.

  For this reason, the present inventors have tried to apply a rotary index conveying method (rotational index conveying method) in which a cap is held and conveyed intermittently along a predetermined circular orbit. However, this rotary index conveyance method (rotational index conveyance method) is used to intermittently convey a large number of support bases that support the cap along a circular path, that is, to transport a large number of support bases along the circular path. The inspection process is stopped at the inspection position, and after the inspection, a large number of support bases are transferred again and again along the circular path, so the inertial force is large and high-speed conveyance is impossible, so the number of inspection processes cannot be increased. There is a problem.

  Therefore, the present inventors have conducted intensive research on a system that can increase the number of inspection processes despite the fact that high-speed conveyance is difficult because the rotary index conveyance system (rotational index conveyance system) is adopted. As a result, the present inventors have found a method in which the number of support bases that support and rotate the cap is doubled, and the two support bases are intermittently conveyed as a pair. However, when the number of support bases is doubled as described above, the two support bases forming a pair must be arranged at close positions. In this case, when performing an appearance inspection of the outer surface of the cap for inspecting the outer surface of the cap for dirt or foreign matter, if one ring-type illumination is provided for each cap, the outer surface of the cap is illuminated uniformly. However, the two caps were close and it was difficult to provide two ring lights. For this reason, one ring-type illumination is provided for the two caps, but there is a problem in that the outer surface of the cap cannot be illuminated uniformly and uneven illumination occurs.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and can employ a rotary index conveyance method (rotational index conveyance method) to increase the number of inspection processes despite the fact that high-speed conveyance is difficult. An object of the present invention is to provide a resin cap illumination device that can uniformly illuminate the camera-side outer surface of the caps on the two support bases that make a pair.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the first aspect of the resin cap lighting device of the present invention is to intermittently convey the resin cap along a circular path and to dispose the resin cap at the inspection station at the stop position. In an illumination device installed in an inspection station of an inspection machine that inspects a resin cap with an imaging device that images from the side, a ring-type RGB illumination disposed horizontally above two paired resin caps; A first light-shielding plate disposed immediately below the ring-type RGB illumination, and disposed on a side away from the imaging device so as to cover substantially half of the ring-type RGB illumination, and directly below the ring-type RGB illumination A second light-shielding plate that is vertically arranged and extends from the outer periphery of the ring-type RGB illumination toward the center of the ring-type RGB illumination in a direction substantially perpendicular to the resin cap conveyance direction. The ring-type RGB illumination is arranged so that the center of the ring-type RGB illumination is biased toward the imaging device from the midpoint of the line segment connecting the axes of the two caps that form the pair. To do.

  The present invention employs a rotary index transfer method (rotational index transfer method), so that the number of support bases to be rotated while supporting a cap is increased in order to increase the number of inspection processes despite the fact that high-speed transfer is difficult. Is doubled, and the two support tables are intermittently conveyed as a pair. However, when the number of support bases is doubled as described above, the two support bases forming a pair must be arranged at close positions. In this case, when performing an appearance inspection of the outer surface of the cap for inspecting the outer surface of the cap for dirt or foreign matter, if one ring-type illumination is provided for each cap, the outer surface of the cap is illuminated uniformly. However, the two caps were close and it was difficult to provide two ring lights. Therefore, in the illumination device of the present invention, the ring type RGB illumination is arranged above the two caps on the two support bases that make a pair. However, when one ring-type illumination is provided for two caps, there is a problem that the outer surface of the cap cannot be illuminated uniformly, resulting in uneven illumination.

Therefore, in the present invention, the ring type RGB illumination is arranged so that the center of the ring type RGB illumination is biased toward the imaging device from the midpoint of the line segment connecting the axes of the two caps that make the pair. In the outer surface of the cylindrical cap, the light that is closest to the ring-type RGB illumination and the light is difficult to go around also from the part that is separated from the cap in the ring-type RGB illumination, The amount of light hitting a portion of the outer surface of the cap close to the illumination is increased to improve illumination unevenness.
Further, in the present invention, the ring type RGB illumination only needs to illuminate the outer surface of the cap on the imaging device side, so the first half of the lower surface of the ring type RGB illumination is covered directly below the ring type RGB illumination. A light shielding plate is arranged.
Further, in the present invention, the second light-shielding light is arranged vertically immediately below the ring-type RGB illumination and extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction of the resin cap from the outer peripheral edge of the ring-type RGB illumination toward the center. It has a board. The second light shielding plate can divide a substantially semicircular illumination area of the ring-type RGB illumination into two, and one of the two arcs of a quarter arc-shaped illumination area close to one of the caps. The other cap-shaped illumination area close to the other cap is dedicated to the illumination of the other cap. As a result, the area near the imaging device on the outer surface of the cap is illuminated only from one of the ¼ arc-shaped illumination areas, and the intensity of illumination in this area can be reduced, thereby improving illumination unevenness. Can do.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the two resin caps that are disposed obliquely below the pair of resin caps and that are disposed on the imaging device side and that make incident light from the ring type RGB illumination form the pair It is characterized by comprising a reflector that reflects toward the resin cap.
According to the present invention, the light from the ring-type RGB illumination is reflected by the reflector on the portion of the outer surface of the cylindrical cap that is closest to the ring-type RGB illumination and the light is difficult to go around. And the amount of light at the portion closest to the ring-type RGB illumination on the outer surface of the cap is increased to improve illumination unevenness.

In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the ring-type RGB illumination includes illumination in which red LEDs, green LEDs, and blue LEDs are arranged in a ring shape.
According to the present invention, the lighting is adjusted to a color scheme that can enhance the contrast so that a defect is conspicuous according to the color of the resin cap by appropriately combining turning on / off of the red LED, the green LED, and the blue LED. Can shine.

In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the reflecting plate is formed of a substantially rectangular plate-like body horizontally disposed diagonally below two paired resin caps, and the width of the portion adjacent to the resin cap is The width of the small part spaced apart from the resin cap is set large.
According to the present invention, the light from the ring-type RGB illumination is reflected at a portion where the width of the reflector is small, and the reflected light is incident on the lower side of the outer surface of the cap adjacent to the reflector, so that the width of the reflector is The light from the ring-type RGB illumination is reflected at a large portion, and the reflected light is incident on the upper and lower portions of the portion separated from the reflector.

The first aspect of the resin cap appearance inspection machine according to the present invention is a rotary indexing system that intermittently conveys a plurality of support units that support two support bases that support two resin caps that make a pair. An illumination device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, and an imaging device installed in correspondence with two resin caps forming a pair on the two support bases. It is characterized by that.
In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the imaging device is a monochrome CCD camera.

The present invention has the following effects.
(1) The number of support bases that support the cap and rotate the cap at the stop position is doubled despite the fact that high-speed transport is difficult because the rotary index transport method (rotational indexing transport method) is adopted. In addition, since the method of intermittently conveying the two support tables as a pair is adopted, the number of cap inspection processing per unit time can be dramatically increased.
(2) When the number of support bases that support and rotate the cap is doubled, the two support bases that make a pair must be placed in close proximity, but the outer surface of the cap is dirty. In order to inspect the appearance of the outer surface of the cap for inspecting the presence or absence of foreign matter, etc., one ring-type illumination is provided for the two caps that make a pair, and a light-shielding plate, etc. is placed at a suitable location, The uneven illumination on the side surface can be eliminated, and the outer surface of the cap can be illuminated uniformly.
(3) Using ring-type RGB illumination in which red, green, and blue LEDs are arranged in a ring shape, depending on the color of the resin cap by appropriately combining turning on and off of the red, green, and blue LEDs Thus, the illumination can be dimmed in such a color scheme that the contrast can be emphasized so that the defects are conspicuous, and various color stains attached to the outer surface of various color caps can be detected.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of a resin cap appearance inspection machine. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the rotary indexing device. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part of the rotary indexing device. FIG. 4 is a front view of the inspection station S1. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the inspection station S1. . 6A and 6B are diagrams showing the positional relationship between the ring-type RGB illumination and the two caps that make a pair, FIG. 6A is a plan view, and FIG. 6B is the VI of FIG. 6A. FIG. In FIG. 7, the ring type RGB illumination is arranged so that the center O of the ring type RGB illumination is offset (biased) from the midpoint of the line segment connecting the axis centers of the two caps to the camera side (right side in FIG. 7). It is a figure which shows a structure, Fig.7 (a) is a top view, FIG.7 (b) is a VII-VII sectional view taken on the line of Fig.7 (a). FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an arrangement in which a second light-shielding plate is added to the arrangement in FIG. 7, FIG. 8 (a) is a plan view, and FIG. 8 (b) is a VIIIA in FIG. 8 (a). FIG. 8C is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIIIB-VIIIB of FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an arrangement in which a reflector is added to the arrangement in FIG. 8, FIG. 9 (a) is a plan view, and FIG. 9 (b) is an IX-IX line in FIG. 9 (a). It is sectional drawing. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an image when brown stains attached to the outer surface of the white cap are detected. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an image when black stains attached to the outer surface of the red cap are detected. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an image when black stains attached to the outer surface of the blue cap are detected. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an image when black stains attached to the outer surface of the gray cap are detected. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an image when blue stains attached to the outer surface of the yellow-green cap are detected.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a lighting device for a resin cap according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 14, the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of a resin cap appearance inspection machine. As shown in FIG. 1, a resin cap appearance inspection machine is configured to form a fixed interval between a chute 2 for carrying a resin cap 1 and a cap 1 received from the chute 2 and adjacent caps 1. The star wheel 3 for inspection, the star wheel 4 for receiving the cap 1 from the star wheel 3 for forming a fixed interval and carrying the cap 1 into the inspection section in a predetermined manner, and the cap 1 from the star wheel 4 for inspection receiving the cap 1 A rotary indexing device (rotary index system) 5 that intermittently conveys along a circular track is provided. Further, the resin cap appearance inspection machine includes an inspection star wheel 6 that receives the cap 1 from the rotary indexing device (rotary index system) 5 and carries the cap 1 into a predetermined inspection unit, and an inspection star wheel 6. A discharging star wheel 7 for receiving the cap 1 and discharging the inspected cap 1 into a non-defective product and a defective product is provided. A conveyor 8 is installed adjacent to the discharge star wheel 7 and a defective product storage unit 9 is installed.

  In the appearance inspection machine for resin caps configured as shown in FIG. 1, the cap 1 is continuously supplied to the star wheel 3 for forming a fixed interval by a chute 2, and after the fixed interval is formed here, for inspection It is delivered to the star wheel 4. After a short tab inspection and a print inspection are performed on the inspection star wheel 4, the cap 1 is transferred to a rotary indexing device (rotary index system) 5. In the rotary indexing device (rotary index system) 5, after various inspections (described later) of the cap are performed, the cap 1 is transferred to the inspection star wheel 6. After the flare flash inspection and the inner surface inspection are performed on the inspection star wheel 6, the cap 1 is transferred to the discharge star wheel 7. Then, the non-defective product is transferred to the conveyor 8 by the discharging star wheel 7 and sent to the next process by the conveyor 8, and the defective product is sent to the defective product storage unit 9 and stocked.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the rotary indexing device 5 includes a substantially disc-shaped turret plate 10, and a plurality of support units 11 arranged at predetermined intervals on the turret plate 10 are supported. The plurality of support units 11 are intermittently conveyed along a circular track by a cam mechanism or the like (not shown) installed on the turret plate 10.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the rotary indexing device 5 and the inspection station arranged along the circular path of the rotary indexing device 5. As shown in FIG. 2, seven inspection stations S <b> 1 to S <b> 7 are arranged along the circular path of the rotary indexing device 5. Among the seven inspection stations S1 to S7, five inspection stations S1, S3, S4, S5, and S6 are provided with illumination devices and imaging devices (described later). Various inspections such as plug inspection, inner surface inspection, and outer shape inspection are performed. The inspection stations S2 and S7 are spare stations when further inspection is necessary. Each support unit 11 is intermittently conveyed by the rotary indexing device 5 and stopped at the seven inspection stations S1 to S7.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part of the rotary indexing device 5. As shown in FIG. 3, each support unit 11 is provided with two support tables 12 that form a pair. Each support base 12 has a vacuum suction hole 12h, which is connected to a vacuum source (not shown) via a rotary joint 13, a tube 14 and the like, and the top surface of the cap 1 by vacuum suction. Is supposed to hold. That is, the cap 1 is held by vacuum suction by the support base 12 with the top face down and the opening facing up. In addition, in FIG. 3, the cap attracted | sucked to the support stand 12 is abbreviate | omitting illustration.
As shown in FIG. 3, the support base 12 has a groove 12a in the lower part, and a rotating belt (not shown) is fitted into the groove 12a. And the support stand 12 rotates by driving | running | working of a rotating belt, and the cap 1 supported by the support stand 12 is rotated 360 degrees or more in inspection station S1-S7.

  As described above, each support unit 11 of the rotary indexing device 5 is provided with two support bases 12. Usually, in the inspection station, one illumination device and two imaging devices (described later) are installed for the two caps 1 held on the two support bases 12. Therefore, at each inspection station, two caps 1 can be inspected at the same time, and the inspection processing quantity of caps 1 can be dramatically increased.

Next, the configuration of the illumination device and the imaging device installed in the inspection station S1 in the visual inspection machine for the resin cap shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a front view of the inspection station S1, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of the inspection station S1. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the caps 1 are held on the two support bases 12, respectively. Each cap 1 is held by vacuum suction by the support base 12 with the top face down and the opening facing up. One lighting device 20 common to the two caps 1 is installed above and to the sides of the two caps 1 on the support base 12. In addition, two imaging devices 30 and 30 are installed on the side of the two caps 1 on the support base 12 so as to correspond to each of the two caps 1.

  The illuminating device 20 includes a ring-type RGB illumination 21 that is horizontally disposed above the two caps 1 that make a pair and a half of the lower surface of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 that is disposed directly below the ring-type RGB illumination 21. A first light-shielding plate 22 made of a rectangular plate that is installed so as to cover the ring-shaped RGB illumination 21, and extends in the vertical direction from directly below the ring-type RGB illumination 21. 2nd light-shielding plate 23 which consists of a rectangular plate-shaped body extended toward the center part of 21 and the diagonal light source of ring type RGB illumination 21, and incident light from ring type RGB illumination is applied to two caps 1 It is comprised from the reflecting plates 24 and 24 which consist of a substantially rectangular plate-shaped body reflected toward it. The ring-type RGB illumination 21 is offset (biased) by a distance L from the midpoint of the line segment connecting the centers Oa, 1a of the two caps 1 with the center O of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 to the imaging device 30 side. Are arranged. The ring type RGB illumination 21 is configured by arranging red LEDs, green LEDs, and blue LEDs in a ring shape on a conical surface S inclined at a predetermined inclination angle (θ) with respect to a horizontal plane. For example, the ring-type RGB illumination 21 includes a red LED row in which red LEDs are arranged in a row on the circumference, a green LED row in which green LEDs are arranged in a row on the circumference, and a blue LED on the circumference. The blue LED rows arranged in one row are concentrically arranged on a conical surface, and this arrangement is repeated.

  Further, the two imaging devices 30 and 30 are arranged corresponding to the two caps 1, and images the outer surface of the cap 1 from the side of the cap 1. The imaging device 30 is composed of a monochrome CCD camera, and the optical axis 30 x of the imaging device 30 extends to the center portion of the outer surface of the cap 1. The support base 12 can be repeatedly rotated and stopped. While the support base 12 is stopped, the imaging device 30 takes an image of the outer surface of the cap 1 by a predetermined angle. For example, when it is set to capture approximately 60 ° of the outer surface of the cap 1 in one image, the cap 1 stops 6 to 7 times while the cap 1 makes one rotation. During the stop, 6 to 7 images of the cap 1 are taken.

  The resin cap appearance inspection machine according to the present invention employs a rotary index transfer method (rotational index transfer method), so that the high-speed transfer is difficult. In this method, the number of support bases 12 to be supported and rotated is doubled, and the two support bases 12 are intermittently conveyed as a pair. However, when the number of the support bases 12 is doubled as described above, the two support bases 12 forming a pair must be arranged at close positions. In this case, when performing an appearance inspection of the outer surface of the cap for inspecting the outer surface of the cap for dirt or foreign matter, if one ring-type illumination is provided for each cap, the outer surface of the cap is illuminated uniformly. However, the two caps were close and it was difficult to provide two ring lights. Therefore, in the illumination device 20 of the present invention, the ring-type RGB illumination 21 is disposed above the two caps 1 on the two support bases 12 that form a pair. However, when one ring-type illumination is provided for two caps, there is a problem that the outer surface of the cap cannot be illuminated uniformly, resulting in uneven illumination.

  In the present invention, although the single ring type RGB illumination 21 is used, in order to uniformly illuminate the outer surfaces of the two caps 1 without uneven illumination, various contrivances are applied to the illumination device. The ring-type RGB illumination 21 may be a commercially available one that can be selected according to inner and outer diameters, inclination angles, the number of LEDs, and the like.

  The process leading to the inventive idea will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an arrangement relationship between the two caps 1 that make a pair with the ring-type RGB illumination 21. 6A is a plan view, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 6A. In FIG. 6, the center O of the ring type RGB illumination 21 is the X axis passing through the middle of the two caps 1 on the two support bases 12 and the Y passing through the axes 1 a and 1 a of the two caps 1. Located at the intersection with the axis. That is, the center O of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 is located at the midpoint of the line segment connecting the axis centers 1 a and 1 a of the two caps 1. Since the ring-type RGB illumination 21 only needs to illuminate the outer surface of the cap 1 on the camera side, the ring-type RGB illumination 21 is formed from a rectangular plate-like body so as to cover approximately half of the lower surface of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 immediately below the ring-type RGB illumination 21. The first light shielding plate 22 is arranged.

  In the arrangement shown in FIG. 6, when attention is paid to the lower cap 1 shown in FIG. 6A, the ring-type RGB illumination 21 illuminates the area A1 on the outer surface of the cap 1 and the vicinity thereof. Light hits and weak light hits the area A2 on the outer surface of the cap 1 and the vicinity thereof. This is in the vicinity of the upper cap 1 as well as the light from the region B1 of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 adjacent to the lower cap 1 in FIG. The light from the region B2 of the ring type RGB illumination 21 is incident and the reflected light from the adjacent cap 1 is incident, whereas the region A2 of the cap 1 and the vicinity thereof are located on the lower side in FIG. This is because only light from the region B3 of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 adjacent to the cap 1 enters.

  The above points will be further described with reference to FIG. In addition, the illumination which hits the cap 1 from the upper part of the ring type RGB illumination 21 is called upper illumination, and the illumination which hits the cap 1 from the lower part of the ring type RGB illumination 21 is called lower illumination. In the area A1 of the cap 1 and in the vicinity thereof, the illumination of the area B2 of the ring type RGB illumination 21 close to the upper cap 1 (illumination beyond the mountain (upper illumination)) + the ring type RGB illumination adjacent to the lower cap 1 21 area B1 illumination (lower illumination) + reflected light from the adjacent cap is incident, so that the illumination is strong. On the other hand, since only the illumination (lower illumination) of the area B3 of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 adjacent to the lower cap 1 is incident on the area A2 of the cap 1 and the vicinity thereof, the intensity is weak. “1”.

  As described above, when the ring type RGB illumination 21 is arranged so that the center O of the ring type RGB illumination 21 is located at the midpoint of the line segment connecting the axis centers 1a and 1a of the two caps to be inspected. The region A2 on the outer surface of the cap 1 and the illumination in the vicinity thereof are extremely weak compared to other regions, and there is a problem that illumination unevenness occurs.

  FIG. 7 shows a ring type so that the center O of the ring type RGB illumination 21 is offset (biased) from the midpoint of the line segment connecting the axis 1a, 1a of the two caps 1 to the camera side (right side in FIG. 7). It is a figure which shows the structure which has arrange | positioned RGB illumination. 7A is a plan view, and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 7A. In FIG. 7, the center O of the ring type RGB illumination 21 is offset (biased) from the midpoint of the line segment connecting the axis centers 1 a and 1 a of the two caps 1 to the camera side. Since the ring-type RGB illumination 21 only needs to illuminate the outer surface of the cap 1 on the camera side, the ring-type RGB illumination 21 is formed from a rectangular plate-like body so as to cover approximately half of the lower surface of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 immediately below the ring-type RGB illumination 21. The configuration in which the first light shielding plate 22 is arranged is the same as in FIG.

  In the arrangement shown in FIG. 7, when attention is paid to the lower cap 1 in FIG. 7A, illumination with the ring-type RGB illumination 21 causes the region A1 on the outer surface of the cap 1 and its vicinity to remain strong. Although the light hits, the intensity of the light is weaker than in the case of FIG. The light hitting the area A2 on the outer surface of the cap 1 and the vicinity thereof is still weaker than the other areas, but the intensity of the light is slightly higher than in the case of FIG. In FIG. 7A, in the area A1 of the cap 1 and in the vicinity thereof, the light from the area B1 of the ring type RGB illumination 21 adjacent to the lower cap 1 and the ring type RGB illumination 21 adjacent to the upper cap 1 are located. In contrast, the light from the region B2 of the ring type RGB illumination 21 adjacent to the lower cap 1 enters the region A2 of the cap 1 and the vicinity thereof.

  The above points will be further described with reference to FIG. In the region A1 of the cap 1 and in the vicinity thereof, the illumination of the region B2 of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 close to the upper cap 1 (illumination beyond the mountain (upper illumination)) + the ring-type RGB illumination close to the lower cap 1 Since the illumination in the area B1 (lower illumination) 21 is incident, the illumination is still strong and becomes “4” if the intensity is expressed in five levels. On the other hand, since only the region B3 (lower illumination) of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 adjacent to the lower cap 1 is incident on the region A2 of the cap 1 and the vicinity thereof, the illumination is still weak. Since the type RGB illumination 21 is biased toward the camera side, light also travels from areas other than the area B3 of the ring type RGB illumination 21 in and around the area A2 of the cap 1, so that the amount of light hits the area A2 of the cap 1 and the vicinity thereof. Increases slightly, and the intensity becomes “2”. Therefore, the problem of uneven illumination still exists while being somewhat improved.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement configuration in which a second light shielding plate 23 is added to the arrangement configuration of FIG. 7. 8A is a plan view, FIG. 8B is a sectional view taken along the line VIIIA-VIIIA in FIG. 8A, and FIG. 8C is a sectional view taken along the line VIIIB-VIIIB in FIG. is there. In the arrangement shown in FIG. 8, a rectangular plate shape that extends in the vertical direction from directly below the ring-type RGB illumination 21 and extends slightly outside the outer peripheral edge of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 toward the center of the ring-type RGB illumination 21. A second light shielding plate 23 made of a body is provided. The center O of the ring type RGB illumination 21 is offset (biased) from the midpoint of the line segment connecting the axes 1 a and 1 a of the two caps 1 to the camera side, and the ring type RGB illumination 21 is directly below the ring type RGB illumination 21. The configuration in which the first light-shielding plate 22 made of a rectangular plate-like body is arranged so as to cover approximately half of the lower surface of the same as in FIG.

  In the arrangement shown in FIG. 8, when attention is paid to the lower cap 1 in FIG. 8 (a), by illuminating with the ring-type RGB illumination 21, one of the light hitting the area A1 on the outer surface of the cap 1 and the vicinity thereof. The part is blocked by the second light shielding plate 23. That is, the light from the region B2 of the ring type RGB illumination 21 is blocked by the second light shielding plate 23, and therefore does not enter the region A1 of the cap 1 and the vicinity thereof. The light falling on the area A2 on the outer surface of the cap 1 and the vicinity thereof is the same as in the case of FIG. In FIG. 8A, the light from the region B1 of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 adjacent to the lower cap 1 enters the region A1 of the cap 1 and the vicinity thereof, and enters the region A2 of the cap 1 and the vicinity thereof. The light from the region B3 of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 adjacent to the lower cap 1 enters.

  The above points will be further described with reference to FIGS. 8B and 8C. The illumination in the region B2 of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 adjacent to the upper cap 1 (illumination beyond the mountain (upper illumination)) is blocked by the second light shielding plate 23 and does not enter the region A1 of the cap 1 and the vicinity thereof. Since light from the region B1 of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 adjacent to the lower cap 1 enters the region A1 of the cap 1 and the vicinity thereof, the intensity is expressed as “3” in five levels. On the other hand, only the light from the region B3 (lower illumination) of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 adjacent to the lower cap 1 enters the region A2 of the cap 1 and the vicinity thereof, as in the case of FIG. Therefore, the strength is “2”. Therefore, the problem of uneven illumination has been improved to the extent that there is no problem in shooting.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an arrangement configuration in which a reflector 24 is added to the arrangement configuration of FIG. 9A is a plan view, and FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IX-IX in FIG. 9A. In the arrangement configuration shown in FIG. 9, a reflecting plate 24 made of a substantially rectangular plate-like body is provided horizontally diagonally below the two caps 1 that make a pair. The reflecting plate 24 has a small width W1 on the side close to the area A1 of the cap 1 and a large width W2 on the side close to the area A2 of the cap 1. In FIG. 9A, the front side of the reflection plate 24 is formed in a substantially L shape with the second light shielding plate 23 as a boundary, and the back side of the reflection plate 24 is formed in an inverted L shape. The center O of the ring type RGB illumination 21 is offset (biased) from the midpoint of the line segment connecting the axes 1 a and 1 a of the two caps 1 to the camera side, and the ring type RGB illumination 21 is directly below the ring type RGB illumination 21. A first light-shielding plate 22 made of a rectangular plate is disposed so as to cover approximately half of the lower surface of the LED, and extends in a vertical direction from directly below the ring-type RGB illumination 21 and slightly outside the outer periphery of the ring-type RGB illumination 21. The configuration in which the second light shielding plate 23 made of a rectangular plate extending toward the center of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 is arranged is the same as in FIG. In FIG. 9, the reflector 24 is a single rectangular plate, but the reflector 24 may be divided into two as shown in FIG. Further, a light-shielding plate (shown in black in FIG. 9) is arranged on a single rectangular plate-like body to form the two parts of the substantially L shape and the inverted L shape.

  In the arrangement shown in FIG. 9, when focusing on the lower cap 1 in FIG. 9A, the reflector 24 reflects the light from the ring-type RGB illumination 21 at the portion having the width W1 to cap the reflected light. The light is incident on the first region A1 and the lower side in the vicinity thereof. Thereby, the area A1 of the cap 1 and the lower side in the vicinity thereof become slightly brighter, and the illumination on the lower side and the upper side has substantially the same intensity. The reflecting plate 24 reflects light from the ring-type RGB illumination 21 at a portion having the width W2, and makes the reflected light enter the region A2 of the cap 1 and the upper and lower portions in the vicinity thereof. Thereby, the intensity | strength of the illumination of the upper and lower parts in area | region A2 of the cap 1 and its vicinity improves.

  The above points will be further described with reference to FIG. The area A1 of the cap 1 and the vicinity thereof are slightly darker on the lower side than the upper side in the arrangement configuration of FIG. 8, but by installing the reflecting plate 24, the reflected light from the width W1 portion of the reflecting plate 24 is reflected. This uneven illumination is improved. On the other hand, light from the region B3 (lower illumination) of the ring-type RGB illumination 21 adjacent to the lower cap 1 enters the region A2 of the cap 1 and the upper and lower portions in the vicinity thereof, and further the reflector 24 Since the light reflected by is incident, the intensity is “3”. Therefore, the problem of uneven illumination is solved.

Next, images obtained by photographing the caps 1 of various colors using the illumination device 20 and the imaging device 30 configured as shown in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIGS.
Conventionally, the resin cap has been mainly white, but recently, not only white but various colors such as blue and red are used. For this reason, there is a case where a feature as a defect cannot be obtained on an image by a combination of a conventionally used halogen illumination and a monochrome CCD camera. Therefore, in the present invention, the ring type RGB illumination 21 in which red LEDs, green LEDs, and blue LEDs are arranged in a ring shape is used. The light can be adjusted to a desired color tone by appropriately combining turning on / off of the red LED, the green LED, and the blue LED. In other words, according to the color of the resin cap, the illumination can be dimmed so that the contrast can be emphasized so that defects are conspicuous, and the outer surface of various color caps can be inspected.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an image when brown stains attached to the outer surface of the white cap are detected. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an image obtained by photographing only the blue LED in the ring-type RGB illumination 21 and photographing the cap 1 by the imaging device 30, and the upper image is the image itself taken by the imaging device 30, and the lower side This image is an inspection image in which an inspection region (five inspection regions in the illustrated example) is set on the image photographed by the imaging device 30, and a logic signal is placed on a defective portion (brown stain) and displayed as an overlay. As shown in FIG. 10, both the upper and lower images have an image in which a defective portion (brown stain) can be clearly identified.
As shown in FIG. 4, the imaging device 30 is disposed upward with respect to the cap 1 that is a subject so as to look up from below. That is, since the camera angle is set to a low angle, as shown in FIG. 10, a lit LED is photographed on the left side portion of the image obtained by the imaging device 30. FIG. 10 shows a state where only the blue LED row is lit.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an image when black stains attached to the outer surface of the red cap are detected. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an image obtained by lighting the red LED and the blue LED in the ring type RGB illumination 21 and photographing the cap 1 by the imaging device 30, and the upper image is an image itself photographed by the imaging device 30, The lower image is an inspection image in which an inspection area (five inspection areas in the illustrated example) is set on the image captured by the imaging device 30, and a logic signal is placed on a defective portion (black dirt) and displayed as an overlay. . As shown in FIG. 11, both the upper and lower images have images in which a defective portion (black dirt) can be clearly identified.
As shown in FIG. 11, a lit LED is photographed on the left side of the image obtained by the imaging device 30. FIG. 11 shows a state where the red LED row and the blue LED row are lit.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an image when black stains attached to the outer surface of the blue cap are detected. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an image obtained by lighting the red LED and the blue LED in the ring type RGB illumination 21 and photographing the cap 1 with the imaging device 30, and the upper image is the image itself photographed with the imaging device 30, The lower image is an inspection image in which an inspection area (five inspection areas in the illustrated example) is set on the image captured by the imaging device 30, and a logic signal is placed on a defective portion (black dirt) and displayed as an overlay. . As shown in FIG. 12, both the upper and lower images have an image in which a defective portion (black dirt) can be clearly identified.
As shown in FIG. 12, a lit LED is photographed on the left side of the image obtained by the imaging device 30. FIG. 12 shows a state in which the red LED row and the blue LED row are lit.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an image when black stains attached to the outer surface of the gray cap are detected. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an image obtained by lighting the red LED, the green LED, and the blue LED in the ring type RGB illumination 21 and photographing the cap 1 by the imaging device 30, and the upper image is the image itself taken by the imaging device 30. The lower image is for inspection in which an inspection area (five inspection areas in the illustrated example) is set on the image taken by the imaging device 30, and a logic signal is placed on a defective portion (black dirt) and displayed as an overlay. It is an image. As shown in FIG. 13, both the upper and lower images have images in which a defective portion (black dirt) can be clearly identified.
As shown in FIG. 13, a lit LED is photographed on the left side of the image obtained by the imaging device 30. FIG. 13 shows a state in which the red LED row, the green LED row, and the blue LED row are lit.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an image when blue stains attached to the outer surface of the yellow-green cap are detected. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an image obtained by lighting the green LED and the blue LED in the ring type RGB illumination 21 and photographing the cap 1 by the imaging device 30, and the upper image is an image itself photographed by the imaging device 30, The lower image is an inspection image in which an inspection area (five inspection areas in the illustrated example) is set on the image taken by the imaging device 30, and a logic signal is placed on a defective portion (blue dirt) and displayed as an overlay. . As shown in FIG. 14, an image in which a defective portion (blue stain) can be clearly identified is obtained for both the upper and lower images.
As shown in FIG. 14, a lit LED is photographed on the left side of the image obtained by the imaging device 30. FIG. 14 shows a state in which the green LED row and the blue LED row are lit.

  As described above, in the present invention, the ring type RGB illumination 21 in which the red LED, the green LED, and the blue LED are arranged in a ring shape is used, and the ON / OFF of the red LED, the green LED, and the blue LED is appropriately combined. The light can be adjusted to a desired color tone. That is, according to the color of the resin cap, the illumination can be dimmed so that the contrast can be emphasized so that the defect stands out, and various color stains attached to the outer surface of various color caps can be detected. Is possible.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described so far, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that the present invention may be implemented in various different forms within the scope of the technical idea.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Resin cap 1a Axle center 2 Chute 3 Star wheel for fixed interval formation 4 Star wheel for inspection 5 Rotary indexing device (rotary index system)
6 Star wheel for inspection 7 Star wheel for discharge 8 Conveyor 9 Storage unit for defective products 10 Turret plate 11 Support unit 12 Support base 12a Groove 12h Hole 13 Rotary joint 14 Tube 15 Rotating belt 16 Pulley 20 Illumination device 21 Ring type RGB illumination 22 First light shielding plate 23 Second light shielding plate 24 Reflecting plate 30 Imaging device 30x Optical axis S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7 Inspection station

Claims (6)

Illumination installed at the inspection station of the inspection machine that inspects the resin cap with the imaging device that conveys the resin cap intermittently along the circular path and images the resin cap from the side at the inspection station at the stop position In the device
A ring type RGB illumination horizontally disposed above two paired resin caps;
A first light-shielding plate disposed immediately below the ring-type RGB illumination and disposed on a side away from the imaging device so as to cover substantially half of the ring-type RGB illumination;
A second light-shielding plate that is vertically disposed immediately below the ring-type RGB illumination and extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to the transport direction of the resin cap from the outer peripheral edge of the ring-type RGB illumination toward the center,
The ring-type RGB illumination is arranged such that the center of the ring-type RGB illumination is biased toward the image pickup apparatus from the midpoint of the line segment connecting the axis centers of the two caps forming the pair. Resin cap lighting device.   The two resin caps that make a pair are arranged obliquely below the two caps, and are arranged on the imaging device side, and the light incident from the ring-type RGB illumination is directed toward the two resin caps that make the pair. The lighting device for a resin cap according to claim 1, further comprising a reflecting plate for reflection.   The said ring-type RGB illumination consists of illumination which arranged red LED, green LED, and blue LED in the ring shape, The illuminating device of the resin cap of Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The reflecting plate is formed of a substantially rectangular plate-like body horizontally disposed diagonally below the two resin caps that make a pair, and the width of the portion adjacent to the resin cap is small and separated from the resin cap. The lighting device for a resin cap according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a width of the portion is set to be large. A rotary indexing device that intermittently conveys a plurality of support units that support two support bases that support two paired resin caps;
The lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An appearance inspection machine for a resin cap, comprising: an imaging device installed corresponding to the two resin caps forming a pair on the two support bases.   6. The resin cap appearance inspection machine according to claim 5, wherein the imaging device is a monochrome CCD camera.

Images