JP2015114174A - Particle mass inspection method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a powder granule material mass inspection device capable of detecting the mass of the powder granule material at right timing during the continuous scattering to a scattering object that constitutes the product.SOLUTION: In a manufacturing process of a product, a powder granule material mass inspection method includes: an imaging processing process for imaging a powder granule material freely falling toward a scattering object so as to be stored as image data; a concentration determination processing process of the image data; a binarization processing process for binarizing the image data on the basis of a predetermined threshold value when a concentration is equal to or higher than a constant reference concentration; a mass calculation processing process for calculating a mass value of the powder granule material inside binarized image data on the basis of a calibration curve, and a mass determination processing process for determining a total mass of the powder granule material freely falling for a predetermined time, whereas in the processing process under a presence of the calibration curve, an inspection is performed for each image data which is divided into one product unit of the scattering object continuously conveyed, and the inspection is continuously performed while overlapping an image region to be an inspection object by shifting a dividing position.

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for inspecting the masses of various types of powder particles dispersed in a continuous production process of products.

Conventionally, several proposals have been made regarding the inspection apparatus for granular materials in accordance with the inspection purpose.
For example, Patent Document 1 describes an apparatus for measuring the particle size distribution of a powder sample of 100 μm or less. This apparatus is intended to know the particle size distribution by allowing a sample to fall freely and picking up an image with a transmission image pickup means. The sample after spraying is collected in the sample collection box. In addition, this apparatus has a vibration feeder and a cylindrical sample drop guiding means for preventing the sample from adhering to the belt conveyor and floating during the fall.
Patent Document 2 describes a method of measuring the mass and the like of a high-temperature granular material aggregate (particle size of about 1 to 10 mm) such as reduced iron pellets on a conveyor using an infrared or near-infrared CCD camera. . In this method, the camera captures the difference in image density due to the temperature difference, obtains the area of the aggregate, and converts it to mass using a calibration curve. Thereby, the growth state of the deposit (beco) on the inner wall of the rotary kiln that is the source of the particulate matter aggregate is grasped.

Patent Document 3 describes an inspection apparatus that includes a plurality of line fibers and an imaging unit along a length direction of a continuously conveyed long object, and a unit that combines image information detected by the imaging unit. ing.
Patent Document 4 describes a method of spraying powder particles on a substrate that is continuously transported, in which the powder particles are cut out by a screw feeder, dispersed by a vibration transport unit, and sprayed. Moreover, the method of detecting the width direction dispersion | distribution state of a granular material in the spraying exit of the said vibration conveyance part is described.

JP 2001-74638 A JP 2002-5637 A JP 05-118997 A JP 2013-139337 A

None of the inspection apparatuses and inspection methods described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are intended to inspect the granular material contained in the product in the continuous production process of the product. Moreover, in the inspection apparatus of patent document 3, the sprayed granular material is not made into an imaging target, but the sprayed state of a granular material is not detected.
In the case where the granular material is included in the product by spraying in the continuous production process of the product, uniform spraying of the granular material is important from the viewpoint of product quality and stability of performance. For example, in a heating element using oxidation heat, an electrolyte such as sodium chloride needs to be contained in a specified mass as a granular material from the viewpoint of heat generation characteristics. For this reason, it is desired to timely detect whether various powder particles are dispersed on the object to be dispersed in the range of the specified mass during the production. In this respect, even if the dispersion method described in Patent Document 4 can detect the dispersion state in the width direction, it does not inspect the predetermined area of the object to be dispersed, that is, the mass of the granular material for each product.
Thus, in the continuous manufacturing process of a product, the technique which grasps | ascertains accurately the mass of the granular material sprayed on a spreading | diffusion target object from a spraying condition is not yet known.

  The present invention relates to a powder mass inspection method capable of timely detecting the mass of powder particles sprayed on a spray object constituting a product during spraying.

The present invention is an inspection method for inspecting the mass of powder particles to be applied to the application object constituting the product during application,
In an initial stage of inspection, an imaging process step of illuminating a region to be imaged with an illuminating unit, imaging a free-falling powder and storing it as image data, and a density determination processing step of detecting and determining the density in the image data A binarization process for generating binarized image data by binarizing the image data based on a predetermined threshold when the density is equal to or higher than a certain reference density, and the binarized image Pixel and mass based on the pixel of the granular material obtained by accumulating data at a predetermined time and the mass of the granular material measured at a predetermined time by a mass measuring device below the dropping trajectory of the granular material A calibration curve creating / storing step for creating and storing a calibration curve that shows a correspondence relationship with a linear function and storing the calibration curve,
In the presence of the calibration curve, an imaging processing step of illuminating a region to be imaged with an illuminating unit in the manufacturing process of the product, capturing powder particles that fall freely toward the object to be dispersed, and storing the image as image data And a density determination processing step for detecting and determining the density in the image data, and when the density is equal to or higher than a certain reference density, the image data is binarized based on a predetermined threshold value and binarized. Based on the calibration curve, the binarization processing step for generating image data and the pixel of the granular material obtained from each binarized image data that has been binarized are included in the binarization image data. A mass calculation processing step for calculating a mass value of the granular material, and a mass determination processing step for making a determination on the total mass of the granular material that freely falls in a predetermined time based on the calculation result in the mass calculation processing step. And
In the processing step in the presence of the calibration curve, inspection is performed for each piece of image data divided into one product unit of the scattering object to be continuously conveyed, and the image area to be inspected is overlapped by shifting the division position. It is intended to provide a method for inspecting the mass of a granular material that is continuously inspected.

  According to the granular material mass inspection method of the present invention, it is possible to timely detect the mass of the granular material that is continuously applied to the application object constituting the product during the application.

It is the block diagram which showed the outline | summary of one Embodiment of the preferable apparatus used for the granular material mass inspection method of this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the outline | summary of another aspect of one Embodiment of the preferable apparatus used for the granular material mass inspection method of this invention. It is the flowchart figure which showed preferable one Embodiment of the granular material mass inspection method of this invention, (A) is an inspection initial stage process (calibration curve creation process) A1, (B) is the inspection process after calibration curve creation. B1. In the granular material mass inspection method of this embodiment, it is a perspective view which shows the principal part of the granular material spreading | diffusion apparatus used. In the granular material mass inspection method of this embodiment, it is a schematic block diagram which shows a mode that a granular material mass inspection apparatus is arrange | positioned with respect to a granular material dispersion | spreading apparatus, and a calibration curve creation process of an initial stage of an inspection is performed. It is a drawing substitute photograph which shows the image which imaged the granular material in free fall. 6 is a drawing-substituting photograph that partially enlarges the captured image of FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a drawing-substituting photograph corresponding to FIG. 6 that partially enlarges an image obtained by binarizing the captured image of FIG. 5. It is an image density histogram figure which shows the area | region of the pixel density detected as black in the binarization process in this embodiment. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the binarization threshold value used as one of the judgment materials at the time of determining a binarization threshold value in the binarization process in this embodiment, and a pixel. It is a figure which shows the image which set the binarization threshold value to each of (A) 200, (B) 220, and (C) 240, and was binarized and shown in the graph in FIG. It is the figure which showed typically the dispersion pattern of the granular material in the imaged image in the inspection process after the calibration curve creation of the granular material mass inspection method of this embodiment, and (A) shows the granular material. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode that it disperse | distributes equally, (B) is a schematic diagram which shows a mode that a granular material is disperse | distributed in a state with coarse and dense, (C) is with respect to the captured image of (B). FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which inspection is continuously performed while overlapping image areas to be inspected by shifting the division position of one product unit of a scattering object, and (D) is an inspection object in (C). It is explanatory drawing which divided and showed the image area | region. (A) is a drawing-substituting photograph showing an image corresponding to one product unit of powder particles during free fall, and (B) is a drawing-substituting photograph showing an image obtained by binarizing the image of (A). . It is explanatory drawing which showed typically the image of the image transition in case the test | inspection process performed shifting the division position of FIG. In the granular material mass inspection method of the present embodiment, the granular material mass inspection device of FIG. 1-1 is arranged with respect to the spraying device of FIG. It is a schematic block diagram which shows a mode that the mass determination process of a body is performed. In the binarization process, it is a figure which shows the change of the image extraction by a density | concentration change, (A) shows the relationship between a density | concentration and the number of pixels, (B) is two after performing the density correction filter process by the density | concentration 47. An image obtained by the binarization process, and (C) is an image obtained by performing the binarization process after the density correction filter process is performed at 148. It is a chart figure of the pulse transmitted at the inspection process after the calibration curve creation in the granular material mass inspection method of this embodiment. It is the flowchart figure which showed another aspect of inspection process B1 after calibration curve preparation as preferable one Embodiment of the granular material mass inspection method of this invention. FIG. 6 is a drawing-substituting photograph corresponding to FIG. 5, showing an aspect of two divisions in the width direction uniformity determination processing.

The granular material granular mass inspection method of the present invention will be described below on the basis of a preferred embodiment thereof.
First, an embodiment of a preferable apparatus used in the granular material mass inspection method of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

  1-1 is an imaging processing unit 10, an illumination unit 20, a concentration determination processing unit 30, a binarization processing unit 40, and a calibration curve creation. Unit 50, calibration curve storage area unit 60, mass calculation unit 70, mass determination processing unit 80, and mass measurement unit 59. Of these components 10 to 80, a portion excluding an illumination unit 20 and an imaging unit 11 (to be described later) included in the imaging processing unit 10 is collectively referred to as an image processing control unit 110. The image processing control unit 110 may be composed of an assembly of devices divided for each component, or may be composed of one device. Examples of the image processing control unit 110 include a computer in which image processing software or the like is installed, a device constructed based on an image controller, and the like.

The inspection apparatus 100 having this configuration has three functions of a calibration curve creation function A, a mass determination function B, and a concentration determination function C.
The calibration curve creation function A is a function for creating a calibration curve between the pixel indicating the powder and its mass based on the captured image data of the powder that falls freely. The calibration curve is created at the initial stage of the inspection every time the spraying condition such as the cutout amount of the powder particle spraying device is set. The “inspection initial stage” refers to a preparatory stage prior to production of a product, and refers to a stage prior to operating the entire product manufacturing line. This calibration curve creation function A is the cooperation of the imaging processing unit 10, the illumination unit 20, the concentration determination processing unit 30, the binarization processing unit 40, the calibration curve creation unit 50, the calibration curve storage area unit 60, and the mass measurement unit 59. It is demonstrated by.
The mass determination function B is a function for performing mass determination by calculating the mass of the powder particles dispersed in the actual product production line based on the calibration curve. This is the cooperation of the imaging processing unit 10, the illumination unit 20, the concentration determination processing unit 30, the binarization processing unit 40, the calibration curve storage region unit 60, the mass calculation unit 70, and the mass determination processing unit 80 after the calibration curve is created. It is demonstrated by.
The density determination function C is a function for determining the density (brightness) of image data, which is a premise of the calibration curve creation function A and the mass determination function B. This is exhibited by the cooperation of the imaging processing unit 10, the illumination unit 20, and the density determination processing unit 30.

  The inspection apparatus 100 having a combination of the three functions can timely and suitably inspect the mass of the powder particles that are continuously sprayed on the spray object constituting the product during spraying. Hereinafter, each component of the inspection apparatus 100 will be described in detail.

The imaging processing unit 10 includes an imaging unit 11, a storage unit 12, and an imaging control unit 13. Thereby, the granular material which falls freely toward a spreading | diffusion target object can be imaged, and it can preserve | save as captured image data 10W.
As the image pickup means 11, various means that can pick up a free-falling granular material as a still image can be employed without any particular limitation. For example, a CCD area camera or a line scan camera). In particular, in order to facilitate image processing, it is preferable to use an imaging device having an imaging element, and it is more preferable to use a line scan camera. In particular, in the granular mass inspection method to be described later, since the inspection is continuously performed while shifting the image area to be inspected, the amount of stored data is reduced, the processing speed is improved, and the mass abnormality is timely. From the viewpoint of determination, it is preferable to use a line scan camera.
The imaging device may be a charge coupled device (CCD) or a CMOS sensor. The image sensor is not necessarily a color image sensor, for example, an image sensor capable of expressing gradations in 256 gray scales is preferable, and an image sensor capable of expressing gradations in higher gradations is more preferable. Further, gradation expression may be enhanced by using a plurality of pixels as one pixel in two or four pixels or more of the image sensor.
The storage unit 12 stores the captured image data 10W continuously captured by the imaging unit 11 in time series together with the imaging sampling number 10C and the imaging sampling time 10T. By counting the number of samplings, it is confirmed whether each image is captured. The imaging control unit 13 performs control related to imaging processing, such as imaging speed by the imaging unit 11, control of imaging start and stop, control of writing the captured image data 10W to the storage unit 12, and control of reading from the storage unit 12. What is necessary is just to set the said imaging speed suitably according to the fall speed etc. of the granular material which falls freely. In this specification, among the captured image data 10W, the calibration curve creation may be distinguished as 11W, and the mass calculation and mass determination may be distinguished as 12W. The captured image data 10W (11W, 12W) is a line image for each line when a line scan camera is used as the imaging unit 11. The line images are continuously captured and accumulated in the storage unit 12 at a predetermined line scan rate (μs unit).

  The illuminating unit 20 has a function of illuminating a region imaged by the imaging processing unit 10, that is, a predetermined region on the trajectory on which the powder particles freely fall. As the illumination unit 20, a unit that can provide sufficient brightness for imaging by the imaging processing unit 10 can be employed without any particular limitation. In the present embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1A, the transmission illumination method is arranged to face the imaging processing unit 10. The illumination unit 20 is preferably connected to the image processing control unit 110 (for example, the imaging control unit 13) and controls the illumination intensity. Thereby, when the illumination intensity decreases and the detected density decreases, the illumination intensity can be increased. Conversely, when the illumination intensity increases and the detected density increases, the illumination intensity can be decreased. Specifically, for example, when the density value detected by the density determination processing unit is 1.1 times or less of the minimum reference density 30Q, the imaging control unit 13 increases the illumination intensity and detects the detected density. The value is changed to be between 1.25 and 2 times the minimum reference concentration 30Q. Thus, by changing the illumination intensity, it is possible to control so as to obtain a desired brightness. In addition, the imaging unit 10 and the illumination unit 20 are provided with a mechanism capable of adjusting the angle and arrangement so that they face each other. Further, the illumination method may be a reflective illumination method instead of the transmission illumination method of the present embodiment. Further, the illumination unit 20 may not be connected to another configuration of the inspection apparatus 100, and may be connected to the image processing control unit 110 such as the imaging processing unit 10 or the illuminance determination processing unit 30.

The density determination processing unit 30 is connected to the imaging processing unit 10 and forms the core of the density determination function C.
The density determination processing unit 30 defines a detection area 30P in an area where the powder and granular materials are not reflected in the captured image data 10W stored in the storage unit 12, and detects the density (brightness) of the detection area 30P. Further, in the density determination processing unit 30, a minimum reference density 30Q that is suitable for the binarization processing in the binarization processing unit 40 is set. Thereby, the density determination processing unit 30 performs the illumination abnormality determination when the detected density is less than the set constant brightness (minimum reference density 30Q). In this case, the density determination processing unit 30 sends to the imaging control unit 13 an illumination failure signal 30X for stopping all of the inspection processes by the inspection apparatus 100. On the other hand, when the target image data has a certain brightness or higher, no signal is transmitted.
Such illumination abnormality determination is performed at a stage prior to proceeding to the binarization process, and is determination as to whether the image data is appropriate for the binarization process. The illumination abnormality determination is to detect a failure of the illumination unit 20 or illumination deterioration, or a decrease in the amount of light received by the camera element due to a shift in the positional relationship between the imaging unit 11 and the illumination unit 20. When an illumination abnormality determination occurs, the inspection is stopped without performing the inspection.

The binarization processing unit 40 is connected to the imaging processing unit 10, performs binarization processing on the captured image data 10 </ b> W stored in the storage unit 12, and generates binarized image data 40 </ b> W. As described above, this binarization processing is performed unless the illumination failure signal 30X is transmitted. Specifically, a binarization threshold 40Q is set in advance, and a pixel portion having a lower image density (gradation) is set to “black” (lower gradation value: for example, 256 gradations, 0 gradations). ) To indicate the area of the granular material. On the other hand, a pixel portion having an image density (gradation) higher than the binarization threshold value 40Q is converted to “white” (upper gradation value: for example, 255 gradations if 256 gradations), and the granular material The background area other than is shown. In this way, binary image data 40W having two gradations is generated. The generated binarized image data 40W is written and stored in the storage unit 12 of the imaging processing unit 10 together with the imaging sampling time 10T included in the corresponding captured image data 10W. The binarization threshold value 40Q can be arbitrarily set as appropriate, and can be set to a numerical value capable of accurately grasping the pixel (imaging area) of the imaged granular material. In this specification, among the binarized image data 40W, the calibration curve creation may be distinguished as 41W, and the mass calculation and mass determination may be distinguished as 42W.
In the binarization processing unit 40, it is preferable from the viewpoint of improving the accuracy of the binarization processing to have a function of density correction filter processing described later.

The calibration curve creation unit 50 is connected to the imaging processing unit 10 and forms the core of the calibration curve creation function A that is exhibited at the initial stage of inspection (the stage before the production line operates).
The calibration curve creation unit 50 creates a calibration curve 50F indicating the correspondence between the pixel V of the granular material and the mass G as a linear function. The “powder body pixel V” is the number of pixels that are “black” in the binarized image data 40W. When creating the calibration curve 50F, the pixel V of the linear function is based on the accumulated powder pixel 41V obtained from the binarized image data 41W accumulated in the imaging processing unit 10 at a predetermined time. On the other hand, the mass G of the linear function is based on the mass 50G of the granular material measured by the mass measuring unit 59 below the dropping trajectory of the granular material to be imaged at the predetermined time. The mass measurement unit 59 is connected to the inspection apparatus 100 and sends the acquired mass value to the calibration curve creation unit 50 after a predetermined time has elapsed. Further, the mass measuring unit 59 is not connected to the inspection apparatus 100, but receives, for example, a granular material on a receiving tray or the like below the dropping trajectory of the granular material, and measures the granular material on the receiving tray with a scale. A value may be input to the calibration curve creation unit 50. Simultaneously with the mass measurement, the particulate pixel 41V accumulated based on the binarized image data 41W is accumulated in the calibration curve creation unit 50. After elapse of a predetermined time, the calibration curve creation unit 50 calculates the weight (mass G / pixel V) from the pixel 41V and the mass 50G of the obtained granular material. The weight is held in the calibration curve storage area unit 60 as a constant of a linear function whose calibration curve is 50F. The “predetermined time” in the calibration curve creation unit 50 can be arbitrarily set as appropriate. When the measured mass is small in the time matched to the conveyance speed per product in the application object, the weight (mass G / pixel V) can be calculated by setting a longer time. For example, if the mass value is small and cannot be measured for each product (every 0.2 seconds), it can be set appropriately for up to 60 seconds.
The calibration curve storage area unit 60 is connected to the calibration curve creation unit 50 and stores the created calibration curve 50F.

The mass calculation unit 70 is connected to the imaging processing unit 10 and the calibration curve storage area unit 60 and, together with the mass determination processing unit 80, forms the core of the mass determination function B during operation of the production line after the calibration curve is created.
The mass calculation unit 70 calculates a total mass value 77G based on the calibration curve 50F from the powder particles 42V accumulated based on the binarized image data 42W that is imaged and binarized after the calibration curve 50F is created. . Specifically, for a predetermined time during which a portion corresponding to one product of the object to be sprayed is conveyed (that is, for a time during which the portion corresponding to one product of the object to be sprayed passes through the spray position of the granular material). A total mass 77G per product unit is calculated by multiplying the accumulated particle pixel 42V by the weight (mass G / pixel V) of the calibration curve 50F stored in the calibration curve storage area 60. . The “predetermined time” in the mass calculation unit 70 can be arbitrarily set as appropriate, and is preferably set in accordance with the speed of the application object to be conveyed. When the said dispersion | distribution target object is elongate strip | belt shape, it is the time which sprays a granular material with respect to the area | region area equivalent to 1 product of the distribution target object in movement. In the case where the spray object is already divided into product units and is intermittently conveyed, it is a time for spraying the granular material on the area of the spray object being moved at intervals. For example, 60/300 = 200 ms (milliseconds) for a product conveyance speed of 300 / min, and 60/400 = 150 ms (milliseconds) for a speed of 400 / min.

The mass determination processing unit 80 is connected to the mass calculation unit 70 and, together with the mass calculation unit 70, forms the core of the mass determination function B after the calibration curve is created.
In the mass determination processing unit 80, a specified mass 80Q of the particles to be dispersed is set. This “specified internal mass 80Q” corresponds to an allowable range of the mass of the granular material to be contained in one product unit.
The mass determination processing unit 80 receives the data of the total mass 77G of the above-described powder and granule from the mass calculation unit 70, and determines whether or not the total mass 77G is the prescribed mass 80Q. Based on the determination, if the total mass 77G is outside the range of the specified internal mass 80Q, a mass defect signal 80X is transmitted. On the other hand, when the total mass 77G is within the range of the specified internal mass 80Q, a mass acceptable product signal 80Y is transmitted. For example, when the specified internal mass 80Q is determined to be within the range of the upper and lower limit values ± 10% of Fg (grams) per product, the product outside the range is determined as NG. For example, if the specified mass 80Q is 0.188 g per product and the upper and lower limit values are ± 10%, the upper limit value is 0.206 g and the lower limit value is 0.169 g. Judgment.

The mass determination processing unit 80 is configured to transmit the mass defect signal 80X and the mass non-defective signal 80Y to be transmitted to another device connected to the granular material mass inspection device 100. In that case, it is preferable that information (for example, imaging sampling time 10T etc.) for specifying the target product (non-defective product / defective product) is included in the mass defect signal 80X and the mass acceptable product signal 80Y. As a result, the receiving device can exhibit a function for dealing with a product having a mass defect.
Thus, the granular material mass inspection apparatus 100 can timely detect the total mass of the granular material continuously sprayed to the spraying target object constituting the product from the spraying state of the granular material. .

  The mass calculation unit 70 and the mass determination processing unit 80 execute the inspection process for each image data divided into one product unit of the scattering object to be continuously conveyed. In addition, the inspection process is continuously executed while shifting the segment positions and overlapping the image areas to be inspected. Thereby, when there exists a density in time series about the distribution amount of a granular material, this can be grasped | ascertained more correctly and the determination of the quality of the said mass can be performed more accurately. This will be described in detail in the granular mass inspection method described later.

Furthermore, the granular material mass inspection apparatus 100 may be an embodiment having a uniformity determination processing unit 90 as shown in FIG. The uniformity determination processing unit 90 is connected to the imaging processing unit 10. The uniformity determination processing unit 90 divides the captured image data 12W stored in the imaging processing unit 10 into two window regions on the left and right in the width direction as shown in FIG. 18, and binarizes corresponding to this. Processing for determining the uniformity of the granular material is performed from the image data 42W. That is, the dispersibility of the granular material in the width direction is determined. The said width direction is a direction orthogonal to the falling direction of a granular material, and is a spreading | diffusion width | variety of a granular material.
Specifically, the determination process is as follows. An image 42V_LF of the binarized image data 42W_LF binarized in the left measurement window and a binarized image data 42W_RT of the binarized image data 42W_RT binarized in the right measurement window A ratio (dispersion ratio R) with the image 42V_RT is calculated. Whether the dispersion ratio R is within the specified range determines the uniform state of the sprayed state of the particles. Based on the determination, when the dispersion ratio R is out of the specified range, the uniformity defect signal 90X is transmitted. On the other hand, when the dispersion ratio R is within the specified range, the uniformity non-defective signal 90Y is transmitted. For example, when the specified dispersion ratio is determined to be the upper and lower limit value ± 10% of H per product, a value outside that range is determined as NG. For example, if the upper limit value is ± 10% at 1.0 per product, the upper limit value is 1.1 and the lower limit value is 0.9.

  Next, one preferable embodiment of the granular material mass inspection method of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, the inspection apparatus shown in FIG. 1-1 or FIG. 1-2 is used as a preferable inspection apparatus of the present inspection method. Moreover, the granular material dispersion | spreading apparatus of test object uses the dispersion | distribution apparatus of the granular material of sodium chloride as an electrolyte contained in a heat generating body shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the granular material mass inspection method of the present embodiment includes an inspection initial step A1 and an inspection step B1 after creating a calibration curve. The inspection initial step A1 is a series of processing steps performed using the calibration curve creation function A of the inspection apparatus 100. The inspection process B1 after the calibration curve is created is a series of processing steps performed using the mass determination function B of the inspection apparatus 100 in the presence of the calibration curve. Further, each of the inspection initial process A1 and the inspection process B1 after the calibration curve is created uses the concentration determination function C of the inspection apparatus 100. About this granular material mass inspection method, the outline | summary of the heat generating body which is a test object product is demonstrated first, and also it demonstrates in detail after describing the spraying apparatus used for heat generating body manufacture with reference to FIG.

First, the heat generating body here is provided with a layer of a heat generating composition including an oxidizable metal that causes an oxidation reaction, a powder of sodium chloride as an electrolyte, and water on at least one side of the base sheet. The mass content of sodium chloride powder is one of the important factors that influence the heat generation characteristics of the heat generator.
The method of manufacturing the heating element includes a step of spraying an electrolyte (sodium chloride) powder as the powder on a long base sheet, an electrolyte-free non-oxidizing metal particle, and And a step of applying a paint containing water. The spraying step of the granular material and the coating step of the paint can be performed in this order, reverse order, or simultaneously. In this embodiment, the process of spraying the said granular material is performed after the process of applying the said coating material. That is, in this embodiment, what the said coating material was apply | coated to the said base material sheet turns into a spray object of a granular material.

FIG. 3 shows a granular material spraying device 300 (hereinafter also simply referred to as a spraying device 300) to be inspected. As described above, the spraying device 300 is a spraying device for sodium chloride powder 202 as an electrolyte contained in the heating element, and executes the powder spraying step 210. The spraying device 300 sprays highly cohesive sodium chloride with a constant particle size, so that the hopper 301, the screw feeder 302, the cylindrical discharge port 303, and the powder particles are temporarily stored in the horizontal direction. The trough 304 to be conveyed has a vibrating body 305 that vibrates the trough 304 in a cantilevered state on one end side of the trough 304. The trough 304 and the vibrating body 305 are collectively referred to as a vibration feeder 306.
In the powder particle distribution device 300, the powder particles 202 in the hopper 301 are quantitatively carried out while being divided into small portions by the screw feeder 302. The discharged granular material 202 is received at the position where the electromagnetic feeder 305 of the trough 304 is disposed, and moves to the end portion 304 </ b> A side of the trough 304 while being suitably dispersed by the vibration of the electromagnetic feeder 305. The granular material 202 falls freely from the end portion 304A and is continuously sprayed onto the spray object 206 transported by a transport conveyor (not shown). As described above, the spray object 206 is obtained by applying the paint 205 containing non-oxidizing metal particles and water on the base sheet 201. By the combination of the screw feeder 302 and the vibration feeder 306, the elimination of aggregation proceeds, and the powdered material 202 is dispersed in a dispersed state.
When the spraying device 300 is used, the average particle size of the powder particles during spraying is generally about 440 to 500 μm and relatively uniform. This uniform particle size is preferable both for the heat generation characteristics of the heating element as a product and for the accuracy of inspection.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the particle mass inspection apparatus 100 is opposed to the powder particle scattering apparatus 300, and the imaging unit 11 and the illumination unit 20 face each other with the fall orbit space of the particle 202 interposed therebetween. So that it is arranged.

Here, the inspection initial step A1 in the granular material mass inspection method of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the schematic configuration diagram of the apparatus in FIG. 4 and the flowchart in FIG.
The inspection initial process A1 is executed in the initial stage of inspection every time setting of the spraying conditions such as the cutting amount of the spraying device 300 for the granular material 202 is performed. Therefore, the inspection initial process A1 may be performed on the heating element manufacturing line or on any line other than the manufacturing line as long as an appropriate calibration curve suitable for the setting conditions of the spraying device 300 is obtained.
First, in a state where the devices are arranged as shown in FIG. As the mass measuring unit 59, any mass measuring unit that can measure the mass of the received granular material in time series can be used without any particular limitation. For example, the thing which installed only the granular material tray or the calibration dish in the load cell is mentioned.
Next, the inspection apparatus 100 is turned on and operated. When the illumination unit 20 is not linked to the inspection apparatus 100, the illumination unit 20 is also turned on. Next, the imaging processing unit 10 inputs imaging speed, “predetermined time” for creating a calibration curve, and other various conditions. The density determination processing unit 30 sets the detection area 30P and the minimum reference density 30Q, and the binarization processing unit 40 sets the binarization threshold 40Q. Next, the spraying device 300 is turned on, and the cutout amount of the granular material 202 is determined by setting the rotation rate of the screw feeder 302 and the like. After that, the spraying device 300 is operated, the start of imaging is input to the inspection device 100, and imaging processing is executed (imaging processing step A11). By this imaging processing step A11, as described above, the captured image data 11W is stored in the storage unit 12 in time series together with the imaging sampling time 10T.

Next, the density determination processing step C <b> 11 is performed at a timing set in the density determination processing unit 30. That is, the density of the captured image data 11W is detected, and the density is compared with the minimum reference density 30Q. When the detected density is equal to or less than the set constant brightness (minimum reference density 30Q), the illumination abnormality determination C12 is performed. In this case, the density determination processing unit 30 sends to the imaging control unit 13 an illumination failure signal 30X for stopping all of the inspection processes by the inspection apparatus 100. Thereby, the whole inspection apparatus 100 stops. After the stop, the illumination unit 30 is adjusted and the calibration curve creation step A1 is executed again.
On the other hand, if the target image data has a certain brightness or more, no signal is transmitted and the process proceeds to the next binarization process A12. For example, in the case of the captured image data 11 </ b> W in FIG. 5, the contrast between the granular material 202 and the background is clear. With this captured image data 11W, as shown in FIG. 6, it is possible to clearly confirm even a single particle or a plurality of powder particles 202. Thereby, the binarization process is made appropriate.

  The above-described concentration determination processing step C11 is performed in order to accurately capture minute powder particles that freely fall without interruption. Therefore, the minimum reference concentration 30Q of the concentration is determined by the particle size of the granular material 202 to be inspected. Therefore, although not uniformly determined, the minimum reference concentration 30Q can be determined as the concentration 50, for example, in the above-described granular material having an average particle size of about 440 to 500 μm.

Next, in the binarization processing unit 40, the binarization processing step A12 of the captured image data 11W stored in the storage unit 12 of the imaging processing unit 10 is performed to generate binarized image data 41W.
In the binarization processing step A12, it is preferable to perform density correction filter processing. As a result, the density effect on the binarization process can be kept very small. This gradation correction filter processing is to perform a difference calculation between an input image and an internally processed image created from the input image, thereby removing background gradation changes and suppressing the effects of illumination unevenness and illumination deterioration. Filter processing. As a result, it is possible to reduce the brightness unevenness of the captured image data 12W and extract only the pixel portion of the desired granular material, and appropriate binarization processing is possible even when the density is in a wide range.
The contents of the binarization processing are as described above, and conversion into 0 gradation and 1 gradation with the binarization threshold 40Q as a boundary. For example, FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged view corresponding to FIG. 6, in which binarized image data 41W is generated from the captured image data 11W of FIG. In FIG. 7, the black portion indicates the granular material 202. The size and arrangement of the black portions are consistent with the size and arrangement of the sodium chloride powder 202 shown in the captured image data 11W of FIG. 6, and appropriate binarization processing is performed. From this binarized image data 41W, the number of pixels of the granular material can be grasped. The binarized image data 41W is stored in the storage unit 12 of the imaging processing unit 10 for the next calibration curve creation process.

  The binarization threshold value 40Q is determined by the particle size of the granular material 202 and the variation in the particle size, that is, the variation in the gradation of the granular material 202 portion in the captured image data (see FIG. 8). Therefore, although not uniformly determined, for example, in the above-described granular material having an average particle size of about 440 to 500 μm, it is preferable to set in a stable region of 200 to 240 gradations as shown in FIGS. It is more preferable to set the gradation.

Next, the calibration curve creation step A13 is performed in the calibration curve creation unit 50. Here, as described above, the calibration curve 50F represented by a linear function with the weight (mass G / pixel V) obtained from the pixel V and the mass G of the granular material as a constant is created. This is based on the powder 41V accumulated based on the binarized image data 41W and the mass 50G measured by the mass measuring unit 59 during the “predetermined time” for creating the calibration curve. Made. Thereby, a calibration curve corresponding to the spraying condition of the spraying device 300 is obtained.
The calibration curve 50F is stored in the calibration curve storage area 60 (calibration curve storage step A14), and the calibration curve creation step A1 in the granular material mass inspection method of the present embodiment ends.

Next, the inspection process B1 after creating the calibration curve of this embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, the inspection is performed for each image data divided into one product unit of the scattering object to be continuously conveyed, and the inspection is continuously performed while shifting the divided position and overlapping the image areas to be inspected. It is characterized by that. According to this method, even when the density of the powder particles is distributed in time series, the distribution of the density can be finely inspected by shifting the section position.
This point will be described with reference to FIGS. 11A to 11D, FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 as specific examples. 11 (A) to 11 (D) and FIG. 12 are schematic views of a granular material, a line image captured by a line scan camera with respect to a free-falling granular material, from above (Z1) to below (Z2). Are shown in chronological order. That is, the vertical axis Z of each figure shows the imaged time axis, and the arrangement of the powder particles 202 along the time axis shows the change of the sprayed state of the powder particles in time series from Z1 to Z2. Moreover, the arrangement of the granular material 202 along the vertical axis Z (Z1 to Z2) indicates the order of landing of the granular material on the object to be dispersed, and the powder is directed from the downstream to the upstream in the conveying direction of the object to be dispersed. The relative relationship of the spray position of a granular material is shown. Further, in FIGS. 11A to 11D, captured image data divided into one product unit of the scattering object to be inspected is indicated by a division frame 202A. The length T1 of the vertical axis of the sorting frame 202A corresponds to a region of one product unit along the conveying direction of the scattering object. Whether the entire granular material 202 is within the specified mass within the range of the length T1 will be determined in a process described later.
As shown in FIG. 11A, in the case of a uniform sprayed state along the vertical axis Z, the mass determination process can be accurately performed by dividing at a constant pitch. However, when the dense part 202B and the sparse part 202C of the granular material 202 are mixed as shown in FIG. 11 (B), the determination of good / bad mass differs depending on the way of division, and the defective part is overlooked. It can also be. In particular, in the case of spraying by the vibration feeder 306 shown in FIG. 11, a plurality of density is seen in the one-segment frame 202A depending on the vibration period. For example, as shown in the captured image data in FIG. 12A and the binarized image data in FIG. 12B, the period of the vibration feeder 306 is 0.01379 seconds during the imaging time of the line image of the one-segment frame. In addition, the dense portions 202B of the 15 granular materials can be confirmed.

  In this embodiment, in order to accurately grasp the mass of the granular material 202, the inspection process is performed by shifting the pitch of the division frame 202A as shown in FIG. In the specific example of FIG. 11C, the division frame is shifted by a half pitch. That is, a new one-segment frame 202A including the next region is defined while setting a new segment position (segment start position) 202E in the middle of the one-segment frame 202A and providing an overlapping region 202D. As a result, the inspection is performed twice with different division frames on the overlapping region 202D. The setting of the division frame 202A shown in FIG. 11C is determined in seven division frames when shown separately as shown in FIG. 11D, and the mass is determined to be good (OK) / bad (NG). Judgment is made. The determination is different while having the overlapping region 202D between the left and right division frames, and the defective portion can be detected with higher accuracy. The division position 202E is not limited to the case where one division position 202E is provided in the middle shifted by a half pitch with respect to one division frame as shown in FIG.

Such an inspection process may be performed on the long image shown in FIG. 11, but may be performed as follows while suppressing the amount of stored data, such as limiting the stored image to one division frame. This is preferable from the viewpoint of a small amount of stored data, an improvement in processing speed, and a timely determination of mass abnormality. As the image processing, as shown in FIG. 13, a new segment position 202E is set by shifting the segment position for the captured image data of the number of lines corresponding to one segment frame stored in the storage unit 12, The line image 202F before the new division position 202E is deleted. Next, a new line image 202G is further added to the remaining line image of the overlapping region 202D, and image data of a new division frame 202A divided into units of one product to be scattered is generated. In this way, the inspection process is performed in time series while leaving the overlapping area 202D. A line scan camera is preferably used for this image processing method.
Details of the inspection process B1 after the calibration curve is created by the image processing as shown in FIG. 13 will be described below with reference to the schematic configuration diagram of the apparatus of FIG. 14 and the flowchart of FIG. In this case, a line scan camera is used as the imaging means 11.

  After the calibration curve 50F is created, the inspection process B1 after the calibration curve is created is performed in a state where the mass measuring unit 59 is removed and the entire product production line is operated. First, the inspection apparatus 100 is turned on, and the specified internal mass 80Q, which is a reference for mass determination, and a “predetermined time” for mass calculation are input. Next, the power supply of the spraying device 300 is turned on, and the settings such as the rotation rate of the screw feeder 302 are set to the state when the calibration curve 50F is created. Thereafter, the entire production line is operated, and inspection by the inspection apparatus 100 is started. In the production line, the granular material spraying device 300 operates, and the granular material 202 is continuously sprayed on the spray object 206 transported by the transport belt 307.

Next, in the granular material mass inspection apparatus 100, an imaging process B11 is performed. Specifically, in the imaging process step B11, first, all line images in the storage unit 12 are deleted (step S1). Next, the line scan camera captures a line image at the cycle of the line trigger generated by the imaging control unit 13 (step S2). This imaging is performed until a line image corresponding to one product of the scattering object to be inspected is accumulated (step S3). The “line image corresponding to one product” is a line imaged by a line scan camera within a time period in which powder particles are sprayed on an area corresponding to one product of the spray target to be divided in the transport direction. It is an image. This corresponds to the image of the above-described division frame 202A. The line trigger is determined by the falling speed of the free-falling powder and the resolution (distance) of the line scan camera. The falling speed depends on the scan detection position by the line scan camera. For example, assuming that the scan position is 40 mm below the trough tip and the line scan has a width direction of 130 mm and 2048 pixels, the drop velocity V is 0.885 m / s and the resolution is 0.0637 mm. In this case, the line trigger period is 72 μs (= resolution / falling speed V = 0.0637 / 0.885).
When a line image corresponding to one product of the scattering object is accumulated, captured image data corresponding to one product of the scattering object is generated based on the line image (step S4).

  Next, the density determination processing step C11 and the binarization processing step B12 are performed in the same manner as the inspection initial step A1. Also in the inspection process B1 after the calibration curve is created, it is preferable that the density correction filter process is performed in the binarization process B12. Thereby, the density effect on the binarization process is suppressed to a very small level. Therefore, the minimum reference concentration 30Q of the concentration can be suppressed to a considerably lower level than the calibration curve creation step A1. That is, there is a low possibility that the inspection is stopped due to an abnormality in illumination, and the pixel of the granular material 202 can be accurately grasped by an appropriate binarization process. Thereby, during operation of the continuous production line of the product, it is possible to further timely inspect the application amount of the granular material 202 to be continuously applied. It also leads to longer life of lighting.

This point will be described with reference to a specific example of FIG. As shown in the graph of FIG. 15A, when the density correction filter process is performed, a stable number of pixels can be detected if the density is 47 or more. In the dark state of density 47 in FIG. 15B, the powder 202 is hardly recognized in the original image (captured image data 12W). However, by performing the density correction filter process, the granular material 202 can be accurately recognized by the binarized image data 42W. This is substantially the same as the recognition of the granular material of the binarized image data 42W in a bright state with the density 148 in FIG. That is, the binarization process is stably performed at a high level by suppressing the influence of illumination by the density correction filter process. The said density | concentration 47 is the state which uses the illumination volume of illumination as 50, is 20% or less output as a standard lighting fixture level, and is a numerical value of a low level. As described above, when the density correction filter process is performed, a binarization process appropriately corresponding to a considerably low density can be performed.
Thereby, the fine granular material 202 with an average particle diameter of about 440 to 500 μm that is continuously dispersed during operation of the production line can be accurately captured. And mass can be detected accurately in a timely manner without stopping the production line.

  In the specific example of FIG. 15, when the illumination unit 20 is connected to the image processing control unit 110 and the illumination intensity is controlled, the binarization process is made more stable by adjusting the illumination intensity as follows. Imaging can be performed. That is, when the minimum reference density value 30Q is set to 47, when the detected density value is 47 × 1.1 = 51 or less, the detected density value is in the range of 58 to 94 (1. The illumination volume can be increased or decreased from 50 so that the illumination intensity can be optimized so as to fall within the range of 25 times to 2 times.

  Next, the mass calculation processing step B <b> 13 is performed by the mass calculation unit 70. As described above, during the “predetermined time” for mass calculation, the total mass 77G (that is, one product unit) is calculated based on the calibration curve 50F from the pixel 42V of the granular material accumulated based on the binarized image 42W. The total mass per hit (77G) is calculated.

  Next, the mass determination processing step B14 is performed in the mass determination processing unit 80. Thereby, if the total mass 77G is outside the range of the specified internal mass 80Q, the mass abnormality determination is performed, and the mass defect signal 80X is transmitted. On the other hand, if the total mass 77G is within the range of the specified internal mass 80Q, a mass acceptable product signal 80Y is transmitted. The mass defect signal 80X and the non-defective product signal 80Y preferably include information (such as an imaging sampling time 10T) that identifies a target product (non-defective product / defective product). In addition, the distance from the imaging position to the scattering object 206, the conveyance speed of the scattering object 206, and the time from imaging to signal transmission may be taken into account as information for specifying the target product (good product / defective product). preferable.

Next, it is determined whether or not the next inspection is performed (step B17). During operation of the production line, the execution of inspection is determined, and the process returns to the imaging process step B11. At that time, as shown in FIG. 13, for the captured image data of one division frame stored in the storage unit 12, the division position is shifted to set a new division position 202E, and the new division position 202E before the new division position 202E is set. The line image 202F is erased (step S5). Next, a new line image 202G is further added to the remaining line image of the overlapping region 202D, and captured image data of a new division frame 202A divided into one product unit of the scattering object is generated (steps S2 to S4). . In this way, inspection is performed for each piece of image data divided into one product unit of the scattering object to be continuously conveyed, and inspection is continuously performed while shifting the divided position and overlapping image areas to be inspected. Executed.
Each process in the above “inspection process B1 after creating a calibration curve” is repeatedly performed during the operation of the production line, and the granular mass inspection of the present embodiment is completed by the operation of stopping the inspection.

  The inspection process performed by shifting the segment position while leaving the overlapping area 202D is performed by transmitting a plurality of pulses of the inspection period within one pulse (one segment frame) and one pulse as shown in FIG. it can. That is, a new division position 202A and a new division frame 202A are generated in accordance with the pulse of the inspection cycle. In addition, in accordance with this inspection cycle, a plurality of mass abnormality determinations are made within one pitch, and a mass defect signal 80X or a mass good product signal 80Y is transmitted. This control is preferably performed by the image processing control unit 110 and by the imaging control unit 13.

Moreover, in the granular material mass inspection method of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17, even if the uniformity determination processing step D11 is performed on the binarized image data 42W used in the above-described mass calculation processing step B13. Good. As described above, this is a uniformity inspection in the width direction of the granular material performed by the uniformity determination processing unit 90 in the granular material inspection apparatus illustrated in FIG. This uniformity determination processing step D1 forms part of the inspection step B1 after the calibration curve is created, and is performed in parallel with the mass calculation processing step B13 and the mass determination processing B14 described above. In addition, this 2 division may be made | formed by the process in mass calculation processing process B13 mentioned above.
In this process, as described above, the dispersion ratio R of the powder particles in the left measurement window and the right measurement window (see FIG. 18) is obtained, and if the dispersion ratio R is outside the specified range, uniformity abnormality determination is performed. A defect signal 90X is transmitted. On the other hand, if the dispersion ratio R is within the specified range, a uniform non-defective product signal 90Y is transmitted. The above inspection process is repeatedly performed during the operation of the production line, and the granular mass inspection of the present embodiment is completed by the operation of stopping the inspection.

  This mass defect signal 80X or non-defective product signal 80Y, or in addition to this, the uniformity defect signal 90X or the good uniformity signal 90Y is received by the control device 400 connected to the inspection apparatus 100 in this embodiment (FIG. 14). Based on the received signal, the control device 400 issues an instruction to the flight conveyor 500 that is a discharge device. Specifically, the discharge signal 400X based on the mass defect signal 80X is issued. Alternatively, the discharge signal 400X based on the uniformity defect signal 90X is output together with the mass defect signal 80X. The flight conveyor 500 having received this specifies the target product based on the discharge signal 400X and discharges it from the production line. That is, the defective product discharge processing step is executed by the control device 400 and the flight conveyor 500 which is a discharge device.

In the present embodiment, based on the captured image data 12W of the granular material 202 being dispersed, a defective product (product to be discharged) is identified from what has been processed on the downstream side thereafter to become a plurality of heating elements (products). doing. This means that the spray object 206 obtains sodium chloride and has the exothermic composition 203, and then changes to a finished heating element 208 in the subsequent process, from which a defective product (discharge target product) is specified. To do.
The above change will be described with reference to FIG. 14. In the present embodiment, after the spreading step 210 for the long spreading object 206, another substrate sheet 207 covering step 230, multiple division step 240, and re-pitch step. After 250, the heating element 208 is divided into a plurality of parts. The divided heating element 208 reaches the flight conveyor 500. The control unit 400 connected to the flight conveyor 500 calculates a reception signal for the partition frame corresponding to the partition position of the heating element 208 and performs a process according to the transmission signal. When the reception signal corresponding to each heating element 208 is the mass defect signal 80X or the uniformity defect signal 90X, the control unit 400 issues an instruction to the flight conveyor 500 based on this and discharges the corresponding heating element 208.
When there are a plurality of inspection cycles between pulses corresponding to one product, that is, when a plurality of inspections are performed per product (in FIG. 16, seven inspections are performed), this corresponds to one product. If no NG signal is generated between pulses, no discharge occurs.

  This invention discloses the following granular material mass inspection apparatuses and granular material mass inspection methods further regarding embodiment mentioned above.

<1> An inspection method for inspecting the mass of the powder particles to be applied to the application object constituting the product during the application,
In an initial stage of inspection, an imaging process step of illuminating a region to be imaged with an illuminating unit, imaging a free-falling powder and storing it as image data, and a density determination processing step of detecting and determining the density in the image data A binarization process for generating binarized image data by binarizing the image data based on a predetermined threshold when the density is equal to or higher than a certain reference density, and the binarized image Pixel and mass based on the pixel of the granular material obtained by accumulating data at a predetermined time and the mass of the granular material measured at a predetermined time by a mass measuring device below the dropping trajectory of the granular material A calibration curve creating / storing step for creating and storing a calibration curve that shows a correspondence relationship with a linear function and storing the calibration curve,
In the presence of the calibration curve, an imaging processing step of illuminating a region to be imaged with an illuminating unit in the manufacturing process of the product, capturing powder particles that fall freely toward the object to be dispersed, and storing the image as image data And a density determination processing step for detecting and determining the density in the image data, and when the density is equal to or higher than a certain reference density, the image data is binarized based on a predetermined threshold value and binarized. Based on the calibration curve, the binarization processing step for generating image data and the pixel of the granular material obtained from each binarized image data that has been binarized are included in the binarization image data. A mass calculation processing step for calculating a mass value of the granular material, and a mass determination processing step for making a determination on the total mass of the granular material that freely falls in a predetermined time based on the calculation result in the mass calculation processing step. And
In the processing step in the presence of the calibration curve, inspection is performed for each piece of image data divided into one product unit of the scattering object to be continuously conveyed, and the image area to be inspected is overlapped by shifting the division position. Particle mass inspection method that inspects continuously while letting it go.

<2> The granular mass inspection method according to <1>, wherein in the binarization processing step, the binarization processing is performed after density correction filter processing for reducing brightness unevenness of the captured image data. .
<3> The granular mass inspection method according to <1> or <2>, wherein the inspection cycle is performed a plurality of times in the processing step in the presence of the calibration curve.
<4> The granular material mass inspection method according to any one of <1> to <3>, wherein the granular material is imaged using a line scan camera in the imaging processing step.
<5> When a new segment position is set by shifting the segment position, the line image before the new segment position is deleted, and a new line image is added to the remaining line image to The granular material mass inspection method according to any one of <1> to <4>, wherein image data divided into one product unit is generated.

<6> The granular mass inspection according to any one of <1> to <5>, wherein the calibration curve is created in an initial stage of inspection every time the spraying condition of the powder spraying device is set. Method.
<7> The granular material mass inspection method according to any one of <1> to <6>, wherein in the imaging processing step, the imaging speed is set in accordance with a falling speed of the free-falling granular material.
<8> The granular material mass inspection method according to any one of <1> to <7>, wherein the illumination unit is a transmission illumination arranged to face an imaging processing unit used in the imaging processing step.
<9> In the imaging processing step, an imaging processing unit having an imaging unit, a storage unit, and an imaging control unit is used. The illumination unit is connected to the imaging control unit, and the detected illuminance decreases and the detected density decreases. When the intensity of the illumination is increased and the illuminance of the illumination is increased and the detected concentration is increased, the intensity of the illumination can be decreased. The powder according to any one of <1> to <8> Body mass inspection method.
<10> When creating the calibration curve, the pixels in the linear function are based on the accumulated powder particles of the binarized image data generated and accumulated in the imaging processing unit at a predetermined time. <1> The granular material mass inspection method according to any one of to <9>.
<11> When creating the calibration curve, the mass in the linear function is based on the mass measured by the mass measuring unit below the drop trajectory of the granular material to be imaged at a predetermined time. 10> The granular material mass inspection method according to any one of 10>.
<12> The granular material mass inspection method according to any one of <1> to <11>, wherein an average particle diameter of the granular material at the time of spraying is 440 μm or more and 500 μm or less.

<13> Said <1>-<12> which has the uniformity determination process process which test | inspects the uniformity of the width direction of the granular material which falls freely toward the said spreading | diffusion object based on the said binarized image data. The granular material mass inspection method according to any one of the above.
<14> In the mass determination processing step, when a mass abnormality is determined, a mass failure signal is transmitted, and based on the failure signal, a spray object that has received powder particles for a predetermined time corresponding to the signal is obtained. The granular material mass inspection method according to any one of the above items <1> to <13>, which includes a defective product discharging step that is specified and discharged from the manufacturing process.
<15> In addition to the defective product discharge of <14>, in the uniformity determination processing step of <13>, when a uniformity abnormality determination in the width direction is made, a uniformity failure signal is transmitted, and based on the failure signal And the granular material mass inspection method which has the inferior goods discharge process which specifies the dispersion | distribution target object which received the granular material of the predetermined time corresponding to this signal, and discharges it from a manufacturing process.

<16> A step of continuously conveying a long base sheet, and spraying an electrolyte powder as the powder on the base sheet; and an oxidizable metal not including the electrolyte And a step of applying the paint containing particles and water in this order, in reverse order, or simultaneously, and discharging the defective product of <14> or <15> when the electrolyte as the granular material is dispersed. The manufacturing method of the heat generating body which has.
<17> The method for producing a heating element according to <16>, wherein the electrolyte is sodium chloride.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Imaging processing part 11 Imaging means 12 Storage part 13 Imaging control part 20 Illumination part 30 Density determination processing part 40 Binarization processing part 50 Calibration curve creation part 60 Calibration curve storage area part 70 Mass calculation part 80 Mass determination processing part 59 Mass Measuring unit 90 Uniformity determination processing unit 100 Granule mass inspection device 110 Image processing control unit 202 Powder (sodium chloride)
206 Object to be sprayed 300 Powder material spraying device

Claims (9)

It is an inspection method for inspecting the mass of powder particles to be applied to the application object constituting the product during application,
In an initial stage of inspection, an imaging process step of illuminating a region to be imaged with an illuminating unit, imaging a free-falling powder and storing it as image data, and a density determination processing step of detecting and determining the density in the image data A binarization process for generating binarized image data by binarizing the image data based on a predetermined threshold when the density is equal to or higher than a certain reference density, and the binarized image Pixel and mass based on the pixel of the granular material obtained by accumulating data at a predetermined time and the mass of the granular material measured at a predetermined time by a mass measuring device below the dropping trajectory of the granular material A calibration curve creating / storing step for creating and storing a calibration curve that shows a correspondence relationship with a linear function and storing the calibration curve,
In the presence of the calibration curve, an imaging processing step of illuminating a region to be imaged with an illuminating unit in the manufacturing process of the product, capturing powder particles that fall freely toward the object to be dispersed, and storing the image as image data And a density determination processing step for detecting and determining the density in the image data, and when the density is equal to or higher than a certain reference density, the image data is binarized based on a predetermined threshold value and binarized. Based on the calibration curve, the binarization processing step for generating image data and the pixel of the granular material obtained from each binarized image data that has been binarized are included in the binarization image data. A mass calculation processing step for calculating a mass value of the granular material, and a mass determination processing step for making a determination on the total mass of the granular material that freely falls in a predetermined time based on the calculation result in the mass calculation processing step. And
In the processing step in the presence of the calibration curve, inspection is performed for each piece of image data divided into one product unit of the scattering object to be continuously conveyed, and the image area to be inspected is overlapped by shifting the division position. Particle mass inspection method that inspects continuously while letting it go.   The granular material mass inspection method according to claim 1, wherein in the binarization processing step, the binarization processing is performed after density correction filter processing for reducing brightness unevenness of the captured image data.   The granular material mass inspection method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inspection cycle is performed a plurality of times in the processing step in the presence of the calibration curve.   The granular material mass inspection method according to claim 1, wherein a line image of the granular material is captured using a line scan camera in the imaging processing step.   When a new division position is set by shifting the division position, the line image before the new division position is erased, and a new line image is added to the remaining line image to make one product unit of the scatter object. The granular material mass inspection method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the image data divided into two is generated.   In any 1 item | term of the Claims 1-5 which have the uniformity determination process process which test | inspects the uniformity of the width direction of the granular material which falls freely toward the said spreading | diffusion object based on the said binarized image data. The granular material mass inspection method described.   In the mass determination processing step, when a mass abnormality is determined, a mass defect signal is transmitted, and based on the defect signal, a sprayed object that has received particles for a predetermined time corresponding to the signal is identified and manufactured. The granular material mass inspection method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a defective product discharging step for discharging from the step.   In addition to the defective product discharge of claim 7, in the uniformity determination processing step of claim 6, when a uniformity abnormality determination in the width direction is made, a uniformity failure signal is transmitted, and based on the failure signal, A granular material mass inspection method including a defective product discharging step of identifying an object to be sprayed that has received a corresponding granular material for a predetermined time and discharging it from a manufacturing process.   A step of continuously conveying a long base sheet, and spraying an electrolyte powder as the powder on the base sheet; and an oxidizable metal particle not containing the electrolyte and The process of applying the paint containing water is performed in this order, in the reverse order, or simultaneously, and the process of inspecting claim 7 or 8 at the time of spraying the electrolyte as the granular material, and having a process of discharging defective products Body manufacturing method.