JP2015207917A - Image processing apparatus for parts feeder, and parts feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus for a parts feeder capable of accelerating the conveyance of a workpiece by accurately and easily providing an imaging device of a camera at an appropriate position.SOLUTION: An image processing apparatus 8 for a parts feeder is applied to a parts feeder 100 including the camera for imaging a workpiece W that is conveyed along a conveyance path 10. As the camera, an area camera 2 is adopted which includes a plurality of imaging devices arrayed in a direction of conveyance of the workpiece and a direction orthogonal thereto and acquires image data by the imaging devices. The image processing apparatus 8 for the parts feeder includes: setting means 30 for setting only partial imaging devices which form a line orthogonally with the direction of conveyance among the plurality of imaging devices included in the area camera 2, available for imaging; image fetching means 31 for immediately fetching the acquired image data from the area camera 2 when utilizing only the partial imaging device for imaging; and attitude discrimination means 33 for performing propriety discrimination processing on the workpiece W on the basis of the image data fetched by the image fetching means 31.

Description

  The present invention discriminates the appearance or posture of a workpiece based on image data obtained by using only some of the image sensors provided in the area camera, and sets the positions of some of the image sensors easily and accurately. The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus for parts feeder and a parts feeder that can increase the transfer speed of image data acquired by an area camera.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a parts feeder that can transport a workpiece, such as an electronic component, along a transport path to a predetermined supply destination (for example, Patent Document 1). The parts feeder disclosed in Patent Document 1 discriminates the posture of the workpiece based on the image data obtained by imaging the workpiece, and excludes the workpiece having an inappropriate posture (incorrect posture) from the conveyance path by the removing means. It is configured.

  The principle of the parts feeder 200 that performs posture determination processing based on image data as in Patent Document 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 8. The work W that has reached the imaging position P1 is imaged by the area camera 202 as imaging means. The obtained image data is captured by the control device 204 via the image capturing unit 204a, and then preprocessing such as binarization processing is performed by the preprocessing unit 204b. Thereafter, the posture determination unit 204c determines the posture of the workpiece W based on the preprocessed image data, and the workpiece W having an inappropriate posture is excluded by the removal unit 5 based on the determination result. The area camera 202 has a plurality of image sensors arranged in a mesh pattern, and acquires two-dimensional image data having a relatively large number of pixels. Further, the imaging timing of the area camera 202 is usually configured to input an external trigger to perform imaging when the laser sensor 203 detects that the workpiece W has reached a predetermined position on the conveyance path 10. is there.

JP 2013-39981 A

  By the way, in the parts feeder 200 having the above-described configuration, as shown in FIG. 9, when imaging is performed by the area camera 202 at time t11, image data capture starts via the image capture unit 204a at time t12, and time t13. Then, preprocessing of image data such as binarization is started by the preprocessing means 204b. After that, when the preprocessing is completed, it is considered that the posture determination unit 204c determines the workpiece posture based on the preprocessed image data at time t14.

  However, since the parts feeder 200 captures data having a large number of pixels obtained by using almost all of the image pickup elements of the area camera 202, the capture time (transfer time) becomes long, and one workpiece is processed. Therefore, there is a problem that the time from the start of imaging to posture determination becomes long. Since the posture of the workpiece W imaged at the imaging position P1 needs to be determined before reaching the rejection position P2 where the exclusion processing is performed, if the time required for the posture determination is long, the conveyance speed of the workpiece W is limited. This makes it difficult to transport the workpiece W at high speed, leading to a reduction in processing efficiency. In order to shorten the time until posture determination, it is possible to improve the performance of the control device 204 (CPU) to shorten the time required for preprocessing and posture determination processing, but as shown in FIG. The capture time is sufficiently longer than the time required for the pre-processing and the posture determination process, and even if the performance of the control device 204 is improved, the time is not sufficiently shortened.

  In order to solve such a problem, it is conceivable to use a line camera instead of the area camera 202. The line camera uses only one row of image sensors for imaging, and since the imaging range is narrow, it is considered that the obtained image data has a small number of pixels and can shorten the transfer time. However, it is difficult for the line camera to determine which part of the image data obtained for the one-dimensional line shooting is taken, and in order to accurately set an appropriate location at a position where the image can be taken, Therefore, it is necessary to take an image with an ultra-high speed camera or use a dummy work for positioning, which is troublesome.

  An object of the present invention is to effectively solve such problems, and it is possible to accurately and easily provide an image sensor of a camera at an appropriate position, and to improve the transfer speed of image data acquired by the camera. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus for parts feeder and a parts feeder that can increase the speed of workpiece conveyance.

  The present invention takes the following measures in view of the above problems.

  That is, the image processing apparatus for parts feeder according to the present invention is an image processing apparatus for parts feeder that is applied to a parts feeder that includes a camera that captures a workpiece conveyed along a conveyance path. It has a plurality of image sensors arranged in the workpiece conveyance direction and a direction orthogonal thereto, and adopts an area camera that acquires image data by these image sensors, and among the plurality of image sensors that the area camera has, Setting means for setting only a part of the image sensors that form a row orthogonal to the transport direction to be usable for imaging, and when using only the part of the image sensors for imaging, the acquired image data An image capturing unit that immediately captures from an area camera, and a work that performs a work pass / fail determination process based on image data captured by the image capturing unit. Characterized in that it comprises between the quality decision means.

  Here, the determination of the quality of the work means that it is determined whether or not the appearance and posture of the work are predetermined.

  By making only a part of the image sensors available through the setting means, the number of pixels of the image data acquired by the area camera in one image capture is reduced, and the capture speed (transfer speed) by the image capture means is improved. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the time from imaging to pass / fail judgment processing for one work and to speed up the work transfer. On the other hand, by using almost all of the image sensors that the area camera has, a wider range can be shown in the image data than in the line camera. The image sensor can be easily and accurately set at an appropriate position. The use of almost all image sensors includes the case of using all image sensors.

  As a specific configuration, the parts feeder is excluded from the conveyance path by applying an urging force from the urging force applying unit to the workpiece that has reached the workpiece processing position set on the conveyance path or on the conveyance path. A work processing means for correcting the posture, and configured to operate the work processing means according to the determination result of the quality determination means of the work, and when using almost all of the image sensor for imaging, The imaging range of the area camera is set to a position including the urging force applying unit, and the setting means can select and set the position of the part of the imaging elements on the image data in which the imaging range appears. To do.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to select the positions of the part of the image pickup devices with reference to the biasing force applying unit by the setting unit while viewing the image data in which the biasing force applying unit appears. The alignment time of the image sensor can be greatly shortened.

  On the other hand, in another specific configuration, the parts feeder is excluded from the conveyance path by applying a biasing force to the workpiece that has reached the workpiece processing position set on the conveyance path, or posture correction on the conveyance path. A work processing unit that performs the processing, and the setting unit includes a first image sensor group that forms a row orthogonal to the transport direction from among a plurality of image sensors, and the transport direction relative to the first image sensor group. A second imaging element group that forms a row orthogonal to the transport direction on the downstream side, and the quality determination unit of the workpiece is determined based on image data acquired by the first imaging element group And a quality determination process based on the image data acquired by the second image sensor group, and the work processing means is activated according to the determination result of the quality determination means of the work. It is configured so that.

  With such a configuration, after the first pass / fail determination process based on the image data acquired by the first image sensor group, the second pass / fail determination process based on the image data acquired by the second image sensor group is performed. It can be carried out. For this reason, by configuring the work processing means to operate according to the determination result of the work quality determination means, a work having an appropriate appearance and posture as compared with the case where the quality determination processing is performed only once. Can be sent to the destination more stably.

  On the other hand, in still another specific configuration, the parts feeder is excluded from the conveying path by applying an urging force to the workpiece that has reached the workpiece processing position set on the conveying path, or is positioned on the conveying path. A workpiece processing means for correcting, and a workpiece having a predetermined feature point formed in a specific part, and the setting means is orthogonal to the transport direction from among a plurality of image sensors. A first imaging element group that forms a row, and a second imaging element group that forms a row perpendicular to the transport direction on the downstream side in the transport direction from the first image sensor group. When the front end in the transport direction or the rear end in the transport direction is within the imaging range of the second image sensor group, the feature points formed on the workpiece are adjusted so that they appear within the imaging range of the first image sensor group. The image capturing unit further includes a preprocessing unit capable of detecting a front end or a rear end in the transport direction of the workpiece and the feature point based on the image data captured by the image capturing unit, and the image acquired by the second image sensor group. When the front end in the transport direction or the rear end in the transport direction of the workpiece is detected based on the data, the feature point is detected based on the image data of the first imaging element group acquired simultaneously with the image data, and the feature point The work processing means is configured to operate on a work for which no detection has been detected.

  With this configuration, the second image sensor group functions as a synchronous sensor that detects the front end or the rear end in the transport direction of the workpiece, and the front end or the rear end in the transport direction of the workpiece is detected. Then, the feature point is detected, and if the feature point is detected, the appearance or posture of the workpiece is determined to be a predetermined one. If the feature point is not detected, it is determined that the appearance or posture of the workpiece is not a predetermined one. The processing means can be activated. For this reason, it is possible to easily and accurately determine whether a workpiece having a predetermined feature point formed on a specific portion in a short processing time, and it is possible to reliably eliminate inappropriate workpieces. On the other hand, by using almost all of the image sensors included in the area camera, the positions of the first image sensor group and the second image sensor group can be easily and accurately set to appropriate positions.

  In particular, in the above-described specific configuration, imaging by the part of the imaging elements set by the setting unit is continuously performed, and the workpiece is determined based on the image data immediately captured by the image capturing unit. It is preferable that the work quality determination means further includes a possible pre-processing means, and the work quality determination means performs a work quality determination process based on the image data determined by the pre-processing means as having appeared. It is.

  As described above, all the workpieces that have been conveyed can be imaged by continuously performing imaging with the part of the imaging elements. Also, by performing the pass / fail determination process based on the image data determined that the work has appeared, it is possible to perform a useless process without performing the pass / fail determination process based on the image data in which the work does not appear. To be prevented. Therefore, there is no need to provide a separate sensor or the like for grasping the position of the workpiece, and it is possible to reliably perform pass / fail judgment processing for all the workpieces being conveyed while suppressing an increase in cost and an increase in processing. it can.

  A parts feeder according to the present invention uses the above-described parts feeder image processing apparatus, and includes a parts feeder main body having a conveyance path through which a workpiece is conveyed, and a plurality of arrangements arranged in the conveyance direction of the workpiece and a direction orthogonal thereto. An area camera that images the workpiece conveyed along the conveyance path and acquires image data, and a workpiece that passes through a workpiece processing position set in the conveyance path. Processing means for removing from the road or correcting the posture on the conveyance path; and command output means for outputting a command for operating the work processing means when the work quality determination means is determined not to have a predetermined appearance or posture. It is characterized by providing.

  Therefore, it is possible to shorten the time from imaging to pass / fail judgment processing for one workpiece and speed up the conveyance of the workpiece, and by using almost all of the imaging elements of the area camera, the part The image sensor can be easily and accurately set at an appropriate position.

  As described above, according to the present invention described above, by using almost all of the image sensors provided in the area camera, the part of the image sensors can be set at a simple and accurate position, and this part of the image sensor is captured. By using only the elements for imaging, it is possible to provide an image processing device for parts feeder and a part feeder that can increase the speed of capturing by the image capturing means and speed up the transfer of the workpiece.

The side view which shows the parts feeder which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. The cross-sectional view which shows a part of the parts feeder. The side view which shows a part of the parts feeder. The timing chart for demonstrating operation | movement of the parts feeder. The plane sectional view showing a part of parts feeder concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. The plane sectional view showing a part of parts feeder concerning a 3rd embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart which shows the process of the parts feeder. The side view which shows the parts feeder based on the structure of the conventional parts feeder. The timing chart for demonstrating operation | movement of the parts feeder shown in FIG.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the parts feeder 100 which is 1st Embodiment of this invention conveys the several workpiece | work W which is a conveyed product toward the supply destination which is not shown in figure along the conveyance path 10 with which the parts feeder main body 1 is provided. To do.

  The parts feeder main body 1 is configured to include the conveyance path 10 and the driving unit 11, and conveys a plurality of workpieces W on the conveyance path 10 by vibrating the conveyance path 10 by the driving unit 11.

An area camera 2 is provided above the conveyance path 10, and the area camera 2 has a plurality of high-sensitivity images arranged in the conveyance direction of the workpiece W (extending direction of the conveyance path 10) and the direction orthogonal thereto. It has an element (CMOS sensor (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor)) and performs imaging of a work W conveyed on the conveyance path 10. The area camera 2 uses only an area mode in which all the image sensors included in the area camera 2 are used for imaging and a part of the image sensors (one row in the present embodiment) arranged orthogonal to the transport direction for imaging. Switching to the line mode is possible, and an image sensor group, which is a part of the image sensors used in the line mode, is set by the setting means 30 constituting the control device 3. Imaging range (imaging line) E _L of the area camera 2 line mode, the imaging position (imaging point) shown in FIG. 2 P1, and the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the part and the workpiece W in the conveying direction of the workpiece W The whole is imaged.

In the present embodiment, the area mode is set when the installation position of the area camera 2 is confirmed and adjusted, and the line mode is set when the posture of the workpiece W to be conveyed is determined. For this reason, the position of the image sensor group used for imaging in the line mode is important in taking the timing to eliminate the workpiece W having an inappropriate posture, and is set to an appropriate position as follows. First imaging range of the area camera 2 at the time of area mode (imaging area) E _E, is disposed at a position including an air jet nozzle 50 of the work processing system 5 described later. Also, compressed air is ejected from the imaging position (imaging point) P1 and the air ejection nozzle 50 from the requirements described in Equation (2) described later, such as the length of the workpiece W, the time required for image processing, and the conveyance speed of the workpiece W. A distance L (see FIG. 2) from the exclusion position P2 is calculated by the control device 3, and the position of the image sensor group is set by the setting means 30 based on the image data acquired by the area camera 2. In addition, the conveyance speed of the workpiece | work W at this time shall be a setting value. As described above, in the present embodiment, the position of the imaging element group can be selected from the plurality of imaging elements, but a configuration in which the position of the imaging element group is fixed may be employed.

  Since the image data acquired by the area camera 2 in the line mode has a smaller number of pixels and a smaller data amount than the image data acquired in the area mode, the image data is immediately captured into the control device 3 via the image capturing means 31. be able to. The area camera 2 in the line mode operates so as to continuously capture images at regular intervals before the workpiece W reaches the imaging position P1, and the workpiece W conveyed toward the downstream side passes through the imaging position P1. A plurality of images are taken in between, and a plurality of image data in which different positions of the workpiece W appear from the front end Wa to the rear end Wb of the workpiece W are acquired. The acquired image data is transferred to a control device (controller) 3 to be described later every time an image is taken.

  The control device 3 shown in FIG. 1 is composed of a normal microcomputer unit having a CPU, a memory, an interface, etc. (not shown). An appropriate program is stored in the memory, and the CPU sequentially stores the program. In cooperation with peripheral hardware resources, it plays the role of setting means 30, image capturing means 31, pre-processing means 32, attitude determination means 33, speed calculation means 35, command output means 34, and timing control means 36. .

  The image capturing means 31 captures image data acquired by the area camera 2 into the control device 3 and immediately captures image data every time the area camera 2 captures an image in the line mode. The preprocessing unit 32 includes a binarization processing unit 32a, an end detection unit 32b, and a composite image data generation unit 32c. When image data is captured via the image capture unit 31, the binarization processing unit 32a immediately performs predetermined preprocessing such as binarization processing for each image data. Moreover, the edge part detection part 32b discriminate | determines the front end Wa and the rear end Wb of the workpiece | work W through appropriate image processing based on image data. For example, in the image data, the portion where the workpiece W appears and the portion where the workpiece other than the workpiece W appears (specifically, the conveyance path 10) have different colors and the like, so the front end Wa or the rear end Wb of the workpiece W is different. In the image data obtained by capturing the image, portions having different color densities appear in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the workpiece W. The end detection unit 32b detects (image discrimination) the front end Wa and the rear end Wb of the workpiece W that appear in the image data from the difference in color density (luminance). Alternatively, the end detection unit 32b may be configured to detect the front end Wa and the rear end Wb by determining the R shape at the corner of the workpiece W based on the image data. Further, the composite image data generation unit 32c connects the image data from the front end Wa of the work W to the image data from the rear end Wb of the work W in the order of imaging, so that substantially the entire work W appears. Composite image data is generated as two-dimensional image data.

  The posture determination means 33 as a work quality determination means performs a posture determination process as a quality determination process for determining the posture of the work W (image determination) by pattern matching, for example, based on such composite image data. In addition, as a workpiece | work of an improper attitude | position, the thing where the front and back are reversed or the direction of the front-back direction is reverse is mentioned, for example. As described above, the image capturing means 31, the preprocessing means 32, and the posture determination means 33 constitute the part feeder image processing apparatus 8 of the present invention for determining the posture of the workpiece W.

The speed calculation means 35 performs speed calculation processing for calculating the conveyance speed of the workpiece W using the composite image data used for posture determination as described above. Specifically, the speed calculation means 35 is based on the following formula (1). A conveyance speed Vw (m / s) of the workpiece W is calculated.
Vw = Lw1 / S · A (1)

  Here, S is the scan rate of the area camera 2, that is, the imaging interval (sec) of the area camera 2, and A is an image of the entire area of the single workpiece W, that is, the front end Wa to the rear end Wb of the workpiece W. The number of times (number of times) the image is taken to do this, and Lw1 is the length (m) in the conveyance direction of the workpiece W (see FIG. 3). The speed calculation means 35 regards the required imaging time, which is the product of the imaging interval S of the area camera 2 and the imaging frequency A, as the time required for the work W to pass the imaging position P1, and the imaging required time and the work W The conveyance speed Vw of the workpiece W is calculated based on the conveyance direction length Lw1. The conveyance direction length Lw1 of the workpiece W is preset for the actual workpiece W. In addition, the conveyance direction length Lw1 of the workpiece W and the imaging interval S of the area camera 2 are input via the input unit 41. The speed calculation means 35 includes an imaging number acquisition unit 35a, and the imaging number acquisition unit 35a calculates the imaging number A from the number of pixels of image data and the number of pixels of composite image data obtained by one imaging.

  The transport speed Vw of the workpiece W calculated in this way is used for timing control for eliminating the workpiece W in the illegal posture described below, and is displayed on the display means 40 shown in FIG. Moreover, you may use the conveyance speed Vw of the workpiece | work W calculated in this way as a judgment material whether the workpiece | work W is conveyed or it has stopped.

  When the command output unit 34 determines that the posture determination unit 33 has an inappropriate posture (incorrect posture), the command output unit 34 sets the work processing position set in the conveyance path 10 to the removal unit 5 as the work processing unit shown in FIG. A command for causing the work W at the removal position P2 to be removed from the transfer path 10 (exclusion operation) is output. The exclusion means 5 applies an urging force that injects compressed air toward an exclusion position P2 that is set at the downstream side in the conveyance direction of at least the conveyance direction length Lw1 (see FIG. 3) of the workpiece W with reference to the imaging position P1. An air injection nozzle 50 is provided as a part, and a biasing force is applied to the work W by the compressed air injected from the air injection nozzle 50 to remove the work W from the conveyance path 10. The air injection nozzle 50 is formed by, for example, a hole provided in the side wall 10a of the conveyance path 10, and compressed air is injected by inputting an energization command as the command. A target position Pw (see FIG. 3) on which the urging force is applied is set in advance on the workpiece W. In this embodiment, the center in the conveyance direction of the side surface of the workpiece W facing the air injection nozzle 50 is set as the target position Pw. doing. By applying an urging force to the target position Pw, it is possible to prevent the workpiece W to be excluded from moving while being horizontally rotated when being excluded from the transport path 10. In the exclusion process according to the present invention, the work W is dropped from the conveyance path 10 onto a workpiece receiving portion or the like below the conveyance path 10, or any one of the conveyance paths 10 branched from the exclusion position P2. And the like.

The timing control unit 36 controls the timing at which the command output unit 34 outputs an energization command to the injection nozzle 50 based on the work speed Vw calculated by the speed calculation unit 35. Specifically, based on the following equation (2), a waiting time tα (sec) from when the posture determination unit 33 determines that the posture is incorrect to when the command output unit 34 outputs the energization command (FIG. 4). Reference) and the timing at which the command output means 34 outputs an energization command to the air injection nozzle 50 based on this standby time tα, even when the conveyance speed Vw of the workpiece W changes from the set value. An urging force can be applied to the target position Pw.
tα = {(L−Lw2) / Vw} −tp−td (2)

Here, Vw is the conveying speed of the workpiece W to be conveyed on the conveying path 10 (m / s) (see FIG. 3), L is the distance from the imaging range E _L of the imaging element group to eliminate the position P2 (m (See FIG. 3), Lw2 is the distance (m) from the rear end Wb of the workpiece W to the target position Pw (see FIG. 3), and tp is the posture from the completion of the capture by the image capture means 31. This is the image processing time (sec) (see FIG. 4) required until the posture determination by the determination means 33 is completed. The image processing time tp is a fixed value or a set value when the time required for the preprocessing, the posture determination processing, and the speed calculation processing is always constant. On the other hand, when the image processing time tp is configured to change in accordance with the increase or decrease in the number of pixels of the composite image data caused by the change in the conveyance speed Vw, the image processing time tp is counted in the control device 3. Do. td is a mechanical transmission time (sec) (see FIG. 4) until the exclusion means 5 that has received the energization command applies an urging force to the workpiece W through the exclusion process. is there. The distance L, the transmission time td, etc. are input via the input means 41.

  The operation of the parts feeder 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to the timing chart shown in FIG. In the following, the operation from the time when the area camera 2 is set to the line mode and one work W having an inappropriate posture is imaged by the area camera 2 until the work is removed by the removing means 5 is described.

  When the workpiece W transported on the transport path 10 is imaged at time t01, the image data acquired thereby is immediately captured (transferred) via the image capturing means 31, and binary for the image data. The binarization processing unit 32a performs preprocessing such as binarization. Further, the end detection unit 32b detects the front end Wa and the rear end Wb of the work W, and the front end Wa of the work W is detected based on the image data acquired at time t01. Even after imaging at time t01, imaging is sequentially performed at predetermined intervals, and image data capturing and preprocessing are immediately performed each time. Then, when the end detection unit 32b recognizes the rear end Wb of the work W based on the image data acquired by imaging at time t02, the composite image data generation unit 32c starts generating composite image data at time t03. At the same time, posture determination processing by the posture determination means 33 and speed calculation processing by the speed calculation means 35 are performed based on the composite image data. The processing up to time t03 is performed by hardware (for example, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA)), and the processing after time t03 is performed by software by executing a program stored in the memory. Thereafter, the timing control unit 36 controls the command output unit 34 so that the energization command is output at time t05 when the standby time tα has elapsed from time t04. As a result, compressed air is injected from the air injection nozzle 50 of the exclusion means 5, and the urging force of air actually acts on the workpiece W at time t06 when the transmission time td has elapsed from time t05. If the workpiece W that has been subjected to the posture determination process has an appropriate posture and is determined to be in a predetermined posture by the posture determination processing, a process for removing the workpiece W from the conveyance path 10 (The output of the energization command and the injection from the air injection nozzle 50) are not performed.

  In this way, the workpiece W having an inappropriate posture is excluded, and only the workpiece W having an appropriate posture is supplied to the supply destination.

  As described above, the image processing apparatus 8 for parts feeder according to the first embodiment is applied to the parts feeder 100 including a camera that images the workpiece W conveyed along the conveyance path 10. The area camera 2 has a plurality of imaging elements arranged in the conveyance direction of the workpiece W and a direction orthogonal thereto, and the image data is acquired by these imaging elements. Of the elements, the setting means 30 that sets only a part of the imaging elements that are orthogonal to the transport direction to be usable for imaging, and acquired when only the part of the imaging elements is used for imaging. Image capturing means 31 that immediately captures the image data from the area camera 2, and a quality determination process for the workpiece W based on the image data captured by the image capturing means 31. An attitude determining means 33 is a quality decision means of the workpiece for performing the posture-specific treatment as, which is constituted to include.

  Here, the determination of the quality of the work W indicates that it is determined whether or not the appearance and posture of the work W are predetermined.

  By making only a part of the image sensors available by the setting means 30, the number of pixels of the image data acquired by the area camera 2 in one imaging is reduced, and the capture speed (transfer speed) by the image capture means 31 is reduced. ) Can be improved, it is possible to shorten the time from imaging to posture determination processing for one workpiece W and to speed up the transfer of the workpiece W. On the other hand, by using all the imaging elements of the area camera 2, a wider range can be shown in the image data than in the line camera, and a part of the imaging can be performed by using a member or the like appearing in the image data as a reference. An image sensor group as an element can be easily and accurately set at an appropriate position.

That is, in this embodiment, the parts feeder 100 applies compressed air as an urging force from the air injection nozzle 50 as an urging force applying unit to the workpiece W that has reached the removal position P2 as the workpiece processing position set on the conveyance path 10. Exclusion means 5 is provided as work processing means that is ejected from the conveyance path 10 by jetting, and is configured to operate the exclusion means 5 according to the determination result of the attitude determination means 33, and all the image sensors are arranged. when using the imaging, the imaging range E _E area camera 2, is set at a position including an air jet nozzle 50, the position of the imaging element group by setting means 30 on the image data which the imaging range E _E appeared It is configured so that it can be selected and set.

  The position of the image pickup element group with respect to the air injection nozzle 50 is important in order to eliminate the workpiece W having an inappropriate posture, but the image is taken with reference to the air injection nozzle 50 while viewing the image data on which the air injection nozzle 50 appears. By selecting the position of the element group, the alignment time can be greatly shortened. Specifically, the distance L between the imaging position P1 and the exclusion position P2 is obtained using the requirements described in the above formula (2), such as the conveyance speed of the workpiece W that is set in advance as a set value, and the area camera in the area mode By setting the position of the image sensor group at a position away from the exclusion position P2 by the distance L on the image data acquired in 2, the image sensor group can be provided accurately and easily at an appropriate position. If the transport speed of the workpiece W changes midway, the command output means 34 uses the transport speed Vw of the workpiece W obtained by the above formula (1) and the command output means 34 according to the above formula (2). Can be obtained, and the timing at which the compressed air is injected can be adjusted.

  Further, the image processing device further includes pre-processing means 32 that can continuously perform imaging by the imaging element group set by the setting means 30 and can determine the workpiece W based on the image data immediately captured by the image capturing means 31. The posture determination means 33 is configured to perform the posture determination processing of the workpiece W based on the image data determined by the preprocessing means 32 that the workpiece W has appeared.

Here, in order to perform posture determination processing on all the workpieces W that are being transported, it is necessary to reliably image all the workpieces W that are being transported. To achieve this, for example, using a sensor While the workpiece W is considered possible to timing to reach the imaging range E _L, the cost for devices such as the sensor is additionally required is a problem that rises. On the other hand, in this embodiment, all the workpiece | work W conveyed has been imaged reliably by making it image-capture continuously by a one part image pick-up element. Further, by performing the posture determination processing based on the image data determined that the workpiece W has appeared, the posture determination processing is not performed based on the image data in which the workpiece W does not appear, and is wasted. Processing is prevented. Therefore, the posture determination process can be performed on all the workpieces W conveyed while suppressing an increase in cost and an increase in processing without separately providing a device such as a sensor.

Second Embodiment
Hereinafter, the parts feeder 110 which is 2nd Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using FIG. Since the parts feeder 110 of the present embodiment is the same as the parts feeder 100 of the first embodiment except for the configuration described later, the description of the same configuration as the parts feeder 100 is omitted.

In the parts feeder 100 of the first embodiment, only one row of image sensor groups is provided in the line mode. However, the parts feeder 110 of this embodiment forms a row orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the workpiece W in the line mode. A first imaging element group and a second imaging element group forming a row orthogonal to the conveyance direction are set on the downstream side in the conveyance direction from the first imaging element group, and the imaging range of the first imaging element group is set. (first imaging line) E L ₁ or the imaging range of the second imaging element group (second imaging line) workpiece W is located in the E L ₂ is configured to be imaged. In the present embodiment, the exclusion unit 5 has two air injection nozzles 50a and 50b, and one of the air injection nozzles 50a includes the imaging range E _L 1 of the first image sensor group and the second image sensor group. While being provided at a position between the imaging range E _L 2, the other air injection nozzle 50 b is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction from the imaging range E _L 2 of the second imaging element group. Further, the posture determination means 33 (see FIG. 1) performs posture determination processing based on the image data acquired by the first imaging element group. As a result, the posture determination unit 33 (see FIG. 1) The air ejection nozzle 50a is used to perform the exclusion process, and the posture determination process is performed again based on the image data acquired by the second imaging element group for the workpiece W that is not excluded by the one air ejection nozzle 50a. It is configured. The workpiece W that has been determined to be an inappropriate posture in the second posture determination processing is subjected to the exclusion process using the other air injection nozzle 50b, and the workpiece W that has been determined to be the correct posture in the second posture determination processing is The sheet is transported to a transport destination (not shown) without being excluded. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  As described above, the image processing apparatus for parts feeder according to the second embodiment excludes the workpiece W from the conveyance path 10 by ejecting the compressed air to the workpiece W that has reached the exclusion positions P2 and P2 set on the conveyance path 10. The setting unit 30 is applied to the parts feeder 100 including the exclusion unit 5, and the setting unit 30 includes a first imaging element group that forms a row orthogonal to the transport direction from among a plurality of imaging elements, and the first imaging. A second imaging element group that forms a row perpendicular to the transport direction on the downstream side of the transport direction with respect to the element group, and the posture determination means 33 (see FIG. 1) A posture determination process is performed based on the acquired image data, a posture determination process is performed based on the image data acquired by the second imaging element group, and the exclusion unit 5 is operated according to the determination result of the posture determination unit 33. It is those that you have configured so that.

  Here, when only one line camera is used to acquire image data used for the discrimination process, an imaging error occurs due to a jump of the workpiece W from the conveyance path 10 due to vibrations, and the achievement rate (accurate attitude is accurate). And the probability that only the workpiece W having an appropriate posture can be sent to the conveyance destination may be reduced. In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable to install two line cameras and perform the posture discrimination processing twice. However, increasing the number of installed line cameras leads to an increase in cost.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, after the first posture determination process based on the image data acquired by the first imaging element group, the workpiece W that has not been excluded by one of the air injection nozzles 50a is described above. A second posture determination process based on the image data acquired by the second imaging element group can be performed. Therefore, by configuring the exclusion means 5 to operate according to such a determination result, only the workpiece W determined to be a predetermined posture is more stable than when the posture determination process is performed only once. Thus, the achievement rate can be improved while suppressing an increase in cost.

<Third Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the parts feeder 120 which is 3rd Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using FIG. Since the parts feeder 120 of the present embodiment is the same as the parts feeder 100 of the first embodiment except for the configuration described later, the description of the same configuration as the parts feeder 100 is omitted.

The parts feeder 120 according to the third embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 6 easily discriminates not only whether or not a specific surface of the workpiece W faces a predetermined direction, but also the workpiece W that needs to be aligned in the front-rear direction. because are of use a diode characteristic point in the conveying direction behind the upper surface W _U as in the work W for example specific surfaces (mark) Wm is formed.

In the present embodiment, similarly to the second embodiment, the first image sensor group and the second image sensor group are set in the line mode, and these are configured to continuously perform imaging at the same timing. The distance between the imaging range (first imaging line) E _L 1 of the first imaging element group and the imaging range (second imaging line) E _L 2 of the second imaging element group is the feature point Wm from the front end Wa of the workpiece W. The distance between the imaging range E _L 1 of the first imaging element group and the imaging range E _L 2 of the second imaging element group and the imaging range E _L 2 of the second imaging element group An air injection nozzle 50 is provided at a close position. In the present embodiment, when the workpiece W reaches the imaging range E _L2 of the second imaging element group and the front end Wa of the workpiece W is detected by the end detection unit 32b, the second imaging captured at the same time. When the feature point Wm of the workpiece W is detected based on the image data based on the element group, it is determined that the workpiece W is in an appropriate posture, and otherwise, it is determined as an inappropriate posture. The configuration other than the above is the same as that of the first embodiment.

  The processing for one workpiece W will be described more specifically using the flowchart shown in FIG. Image data simultaneously acquired by the first image sensor group and the second image sensor group is captured by the control device 3 via the image capture means 31 (step S1), pre-processed by the pre-processing means 32, and the second image sensor Based on the image data acquired by the group, it is determined whether or not the front end Wa of the workpiece W is detected by the end detection unit 32b (step 2). When the front end Wa of the workpiece W is not detected (step S2: NO), the process returns to step S1. When the front end Wa of the workpiece W is detected (step S2: YES), it is determined whether or not the feature point Mw of the workpiece W is detected by the preprocessing unit 32 based on the image data acquired by the first imaging element group ( Step 3). When the feature point Mw is detected (step S3: YES), the posture determination unit 33 determines that the posture of the workpiece W is appropriate, does not perform the exclusion process, and ends this flowchart. When the feature point Wm of the workpiece W is not detected (step S2: NO), the posture determination unit 33 determines that the posture of the workpiece W is inappropriate and the timing at which the air injection nozzle 50 of the removal unit 5 injects compressed air is determined. Calculate (step S4). This timing is based on the image data acquired by the first image sensor group or the second image sensor group, and the timing control means 36 sets the waiting time Tα based on the transport speed Vw of the workpiece W, as in the first embodiment. This is done by calculating. When the standby time Tα elapses, the command output means 34 outputs an energization command (step S5), the work W determined to be an inappropriate posture by the removal means 5 is removed (step S6), and this flowchart is ended.

As described above, the image processing apparatus for parts feeder according to the third embodiment ejects compressed air from the conveyance path 10 by injecting compressed air to the workpiece W that has reached the workpiece processing positions P2 and P2 set on the conveyance path 10. is intended to be applied to the parts feeder 120 provided with removing means 5 for eliminating Examples workpiece W, using what is top W _U portion to a predetermined feature point Wm of the specific plane is formed, setting means 30 Is a first imaging element group that forms a row orthogonal to the conveyance direction from among a plurality of imaging elements, and a row that is orthogonal to the conveyance direction on the downstream side of the first imaging element group in the conveyance direction. And when the front end of the workpiece W in the transport direction is within the imaging range E _L2 of the second imaging device group, the feature point Mw formed on the workpiece W is the above-described second imaging device group. First Is adjusted to appear on the image element group of the imaging range E _{L 1,} the image capturing means 31 based on the image data captured workpiece W detectable pre-processing means 32 to the front end Wa and feature points Wm in the transport direction of the And when the front end Wa of the workpiece W is detected based on the image data acquired by the second image sensor group, the feature is based on the image data of the first image sensor group acquired simultaneously with the image data. The point Wm is detected, and the exclusion means 5 is configured to operate on the workpiece W from which the feature point Wm has not been detected.

Work top W _U feature point Wm in the conveying direction backward or forward in is formed is susceptible to even attitude determination in the configuration of the first and second embodiments, in the configuration of the first and second embodiments Processing becomes complicated. Therefore, the second image sensor group is caused to function as a synchronous sensor that detects the front end Wa of the workpiece W. When the front end Wa of the workpiece W is detected, the feature point Wm is detected, and if the feature point is detected. By determining that the posture of the workpiece W is appropriate and determining that the posture of the workpiece W is not appropriate if it is not detected, it is possible to easily determine the posture in a short processing time. Further, the first image sensor group and the second image sensor group can be easily provided at appropriate positions by setting by the setting means 30 while viewing the image data acquired in the area mode, for example.

  Although it is conceivable to use two line cameras as a configuration for imaging two locations of one workpiece W, the workpiece W used in this embodiment has a size of about 6 mm on one side. It is difficult to arrange two line cameras at a position where a narrow range can be imaged.

  The parts feeder 100, 110, 120 of the present invention uses the part feeder image processing apparatus 8, and includes a parts feeder main body 1 having a conveyance path 10 through which the workpiece W is conveyed, and the conveyance direction of the workpiece W. And an area camera 2 that has a plurality of image sensors arranged in a direction orthogonal thereto, captures the workpiece W transported along the transport path 10 and acquires image data, and is set in the transport path 10 When it is determined that the removal means 5 for removing the workpiece W passing the workpiece processing position P2 from the conveyance path 10 and the posture determination means 33 are not of a predetermined posture, the removal means 5 is operated. Command output means 34 for outputting a command. Such parts feeders 100, 110, and 120 can set an image sensor group at an appropriate position easily and accurately by using almost all image sensors included in the area camera 2, and the image sensor group. By making only this available for imaging, the transfer speed of the image data can be improved and the transfer of the workpiece W can be speeded up.

  As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, the specific structure of each part is not limited only to embodiment mentioned above.

  For example, in the first to third embodiments, the exclusion process for removing the workpiece W determined to be in an inappropriate posture from the conveyance path 10 is performed, but instead of the exclusion unit 5 as the workpiece processing unit. The posture correction means may be provided to correct the posture of the workpiece W determined to be an inappropriate posture at the correction position set on the conveyance path 10. The posture correction means includes an air injection nozzle that injects compressed air toward the workpiece W through a hole provided in the posture correction position of the conveyance path 10, and injects compressed air from the air injection nozzle to the correction position. The posture is corrected by reversing or rotating a certain work W. Note that the posture correcting means is not limited to this configuration as long as it can correct the posture of the workpiece W. The posture correction means is configured to inject compressed air from the air injection nozzle when an energization command is output from the command output means.

  In the present embodiment, the parts feeder image processing apparatus 8 is used to determine the posture of the workpiece W. However, the appearance of the workpiece W, such as the shape and color of the workpiece W, silk characters on the workpiece W, and the like are inspected. May be used for The image processing apparatus for parts feeder in this case is configured to include a unit for inspecting the appearance of the workpiece W as appropriate, instead of the posture determination unit 33 for determining the posture of the workpiece W.

  In the first to third embodiments, the preprocessing unit 32 performs preprocessing such as immediate binarization processing every time image data is captured by the image capturing unit 31. It may be configured to perform binarization processing and image combination as preprocessing for all image data on which the workpiece W appears after the capture is completed.

  Further, in the first and second embodiments, the imaging number acquisition unit 42a uses the number of pixels of the composite image data to calculate the imaging number A applied to the above formula (1). Instead of the above, a total value of the number of pixels in a plurality of image data from the image data in which the front end Wa of the work W appears to the image data in which the rear end Wb of the work W appears may be used. Moreover, the structure which directly counts the frequency | count which the area camera 2 images in order to acquire the imaging frequency A may be sufficient.

  Furthermore, in the first and second embodiments, the image data acquired by the area camera 2 is combined, but the determination may be made without combining. Further, the quality determination may be performed based on only the image data obtained by one imaging for each work W. In addition, a sensor that detects that the workpiece W has arrived may be separately provided so that the workpiece W arrives and images are taken when the workpiece W arrives.

In the second embodiment, when the work W determined based on the image data acquired by the first image sensor group is inappropriate, the second W is used to check whether the work W is excluded by the one air injection nozzle 50a. An image sensor group may be used. In this case, based on the distance between the first imaging element group and the second imaging element group, the workpiece W passes through the imaging range E _L 1 of the first imaging element group and then the imaging range of the second imaging element group. When the time to reach E _L 2 is obtained in advance, and the work W determined to be inappropriate based on the image data acquired by the first image sensor group is acquired by the second image sensor group, the other The workpiece W is removed by the air injection nozzle 50b.

  In the second embodiment, the second posture determination process is performed on all the workpieces W that are not excluded by the one air injection nozzle 50a. In order to suppress the increase in the process, Only when the work W is determined to be an appropriate posture by the posture determination processing based on the image data acquired by the first image sensor group, the second image sensor group performs imaging, and based on the image data. A second posture determination process may be performed.

Further, in the second embodiment, the two air injection nozzles 50a and 50b are provided, but the air injection nozzle is provided only on the downstream side in the transport direction from the imaging range E _L2 of the second imaging element group. May be. In this case, the posture determination processing is performed twice for all the workpieces W that have been conveyed, and the exclusion processing is performed on the workpiece W that has been determined to be inappropriate by at least one of the posture determination processing. Like that.

  In the third embodiment, the front end Wa of the workpiece W is detected based on the image data acquired by the first imaging element group. However, the rear end of the workpiece W is detected based on the image data acquired by the first imaging element group. You may comprise so that Wb may be detected. Note that the configuration for detecting the front end Wa of the workpiece W is a timing from when imaging of one workpiece W is started until the posture determination of the workpiece W is performed, compared to the configuration for detecting the rear end Wb of the workpiece W. If the workpiece W is inappropriate, the removal operation can be performed promptly.

  Furthermore, the image pickup device group is not limited to one in which the image pickup devices are arranged in one row, and two or more rows of image pickup devices adjacent to each other along the workpiece W conveying direction are arranged within the range in which the effect of the present invention is exhibited. It may be a thing.

  Other configurations can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

2 ... Area camera 5 ... Work processing means (exclusion means)
8 ... Image processing apparatus for parts feeder 10 ... Conveyance path 30 ... Setting means 31 ... Image capturing means 32 ... Pre-processing means 33 ... Work quality judgment means (posture judgment means) )
34 ... Command output means 50 ... Energizing force applying part (air injection nozzle)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Parts feeder E _L 1 ... Imaging range E _L of the first imaging element group 2 ... Imaging range Wa of the second imaging element group Wa ... Front end W of the workpiece W ... Work Wm ... Feature point Wu ... Specific surface (upper surface)
P2 Workpiece processing position (exclusion position)

Claims (6)

An image processing apparatus for parts feeder applied to a parts feeder equipped with a camera that images a workpiece conveyed along a conveyance path,
As the camera, it has a plurality of image sensors arranged in the direction of conveyance of the workpiece and a direction orthogonal thereto, and adopts an area camera that acquires image data by these image sensors,
Of the plurality of image sensors that the area camera has, setting means for setting only a part of the image sensors that form a row orthogonal to the transport direction to be usable for imaging,
When using only the part of the image sensors for imaging, an image capturing unit that immediately captures the acquired image data from the area camera;
An image processing apparatus for parts feeder, comprising: a work quality determination unit that performs a work quality determination process based on the image data captured by the image capturing unit. The parts feeder is provided with a work processing means for removing from the transport path or correcting the posture on the transport path by applying a biasing force from a biasing force imparting unit to a work that has reached a work processing position set on the transport path. Has
The work processing means is configured to operate according to the determination result of the work quality determination means, and
When almost all of the imaging elements are used for imaging, the imaging range of the area camera is set to a position including the urging force applying unit, and the part is set by the setting means on the image data in which the imaging range appears. The image processing apparatus for parts feeder according to claim 1, wherein the position of the imaging element can be selected and set. The parts feeder comprises a work processing means for removing from the transport path or correcting the posture on the transport path by applying a biasing force to the work that has reached the work processing position set on the transport path,
The setting means includes a first imaging element group forming a row orthogonal to the conveyance direction, and a plurality of imaging elements orthogonal to the conveyance direction on the downstream side of the first imaging element group in the conveyance direction. And a second image sensor group forming a row,
The quality determination unit of the workpiece performs a quality determination process based on the image data acquired by the first image sensor group, and performs a quality determination process based on the image data acquired by the second image sensor group,
The image processing apparatus for parts feeder according to claim 1, wherein the work processing means is operated in accordance with a determination result of the work quality determination means. The parts feeder comprises a work processing means for removing from the transport path or correcting the posture on the transport path by applying a biasing force to the work that has reached the work processing position set on the transport path,
As the workpiece, a workpiece having a predetermined feature point formed on a part of a specific surface is used.
The setting means includes a first imaging element group forming a row orthogonal to the conveyance direction, and a plurality of imaging elements orthogonal to the conveyance direction on the downstream side of the first imaging element group in the conveyance direction. And a second image sensor group forming a row,
When the front end in the transport direction or the rear end in the transport direction of the workpiece is within the imaging range of the second imaging element group, the feature point formed on the workpiece appears in the imaging range of the first imaging element group. Adjusted,
Further comprising preprocessing means capable of detecting the front end in the transport direction of the workpiece or the rear end in the transport direction based on the image data captured by the image capturing means, and the feature point,
When the front end in the transport direction or the rear end in the transport direction of the workpiece is detected based on the image data acquired by the second image sensor group, the image data of the first image sensor group acquired simultaneously with the image data is used. Detect feature points,
The image processing apparatus for parts feeder according to claim 1, wherein the workpiece processing means is operated for a workpiece for which the feature point has not been detected. Causing the imaging by the part of the imaging elements set by the setting means to be continuously performed;
A pre-processing unit capable of discriminating the workpiece based on the image data immediately captured by the image capturing unit;
The part feeder image processing according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the work quality determination means performs a work quality determination process based on image data determined by the preprocessing means that the work has appeared. apparatus. Using the image processing apparatus for parts feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A parts feeder main body having a conveyance path through which the workpiece is conveyed;
An area camera that has a plurality of imaging elements arranged in a conveyance direction of the workpiece and a direction orthogonal thereto, images the workpiece conveyed along the conveyance path, and acquires image data;
Work processing means for removing the work from the transport path or correcting the posture on the transport path with respect to the work passing through the work processing position set on the transport path,
A part feeder comprising: command output means for outputting a command for operating the work processing means when the work quality determination means is determined not to have a predetermined appearance or posture.

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