JP2019078665A - Inspection device for thermoplastic adhesive product and device for producing thermoplastic adhesive including inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an inspection device used for a thermoplastic adhesive product, which can perform inspection efficiently and with excellent accuracy, and also to provide a device for producing the thermoplastic adhesive product including the inspection device.SOLUTION: Disclosed is an inspection device 10 for detecting foreign matter of a long-sized and string-like thermoplastic adhesive product 11. This inspection device includes: an illumination part 12 for illuminating light to the thermoplastic adhesive product; an imaging part 13a for imaging the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product; and an analysis part 14 for determining whether or not the thermoplastic adhesive product has the foreign matter using the imaging data acquired by the imaging part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus for a thermoplastic adhesive product and an apparatus for producing a thermoplastic adhesive including the inspection apparatus.

  Thermoplastic adhesives which are used in the form of a liquid by heating and melting are conventionally produced in many cases in the form of blocks (also referred to as "block-like", "pellet-like" or "pillow-like"). (Patent Document 1). Such block-shaped thermoplastic adhesive products may be contaminated with dust in the manufacturing environment in the manufacturing process and foreign substances such as burnt generated during the manufacturing process. Contamination with such a thermoplastic adhesive product is inspected before product shipment in order to deteriorate performance and impair the appearance. Specifically, (1) the dried thermoplastic adhesive product is placed on a belt conveyor and conveyed, (2) the thermoplastic adhesive product is irradiated with light in the middle thereof, and (3) human eyes See the thermoplastic adhesive products in, identify foreign substances in them, and (4) manually sort the products that meet the criteria.

JP-A-11-348912 (Publication date: December 21, 1999)

  The thermoplastic adhesive product in block form described in Patent Document 1 has a lot of dead spots when viewed from one direction due to its shape (that is, the shape of the block), so that it is a common product. It is difficult to automatically inspect by inspection equipment used for foreign substance contamination inspection. Accordingly, the inspection of the conventional block-shaped thermoplastic adhesive product as described in Patent Document 1 is carried out exclusively by hand, and thus there are various problems as described below: (1) Inspection (2) inspection errors occur due to the oversight of foreign matter; and (3) inspection standards differ from person to person. That is, the inspection device used for the conventional thermoplastic adhesive product is a device for performing inspection manually, and there is room for improvement from the viewpoint of efficiency and accuracy of inspection.

  One embodiment of the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is a novel inspection device used for a thermoplastic adhesive product which enables efficient and highly accurate inspection. It is to provide. Another object according to one embodiment of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for producing a thermoplastic adhesive product including the inspection device.

  As a result of intensive investigations to solve the above problems, the present inventors efficiently and accurately inspect an inspection apparatus provided with a specific illumination unit, an imaging unit, and an analysis unit. It has been found that it is possible to complete the present invention.

That is, one embodiment of the present invention is configured as follows.
[1] An inspection apparatus for detecting foreign matter of a long and string-like thermoplastic adhesive product, wherein the illumination unit irradiates light to the thermoplastic adhesive product, and the thermoplastic adhesive An imaging unit configured to image the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the product; and an analysis unit configured to determine whether the thermoplastic adhesive product has a foreign object by using the imaging data acquired by the imaging unit. An inspection apparatus comprising:
[2] The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inspection apparatus further comprises a roller unit.
[3] The inspection apparatus according to [1] or [2], wherein the thermoplastic adhesive product is transparent or translucent.
[4] The thermoplastic adhesive product according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the inside diameter of the cross-sectional shape in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is 5 to 300 mm. Inspection device.
[5] An apparatus for producing a thermoplastic adhesive product, comprising the inspection apparatus according to any one of [1] to [4].

  According to one embodiment of the present invention, an inspection device used for a thermoplastic adhesive product capable of efficient and highly accurate inspection, and a manufacturing apparatus of a thermoplastic adhesive product including the inspection device Can be provided.

(A) is the schematic which looked at an example of the inspection apparatus 10 which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention from the horizontal direction, (b) is a part of AA arrow sectional drawing in (a). It is a figure which shows, (c) is a BB arrow sectional view in (b), and (d) is an example of image pick-up data acquired by image pick-up device 13a with which image pick-up part 13 in inspection device 10 is provided. FIG. FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing a modified example of the arrangement of the illumination unit 12 and the imaging unit 13 in the inspection device 10. (A) is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the shape of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11, (b) is ZZ sectional drawing in (a). (A) is the schematic which looked at an example of the inspection apparatus 20 which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention from the horizontal direction, (b) is a part of AA arrow directional cross-sectional view in (a). It is a figure which shows and (c) is a figure which shows an example of the imaging data acquired by each of three imaging devices (23a, 23b, and 23c) in the inspection apparatus 20. FIG. FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing an example of the arrangement of the back illumination 12 b and the imaging unit 23 in the inspection device 20. It is a schematic diagram showing an example of a manufacturing device 100 of a thermoplastic adhesive product concerning Embodiment 3 of the present invention from a horizontal direction when showing internal structure.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention is described below, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention is not limited to the configurations described below, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. Therefore, embodiments and examples obtained by appropriately combining the technical means respectively disclosed in different embodiments and examples are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Also, all of the academic literature and patent literature described in the present specification are incorporated herein by reference. Moreover, unless otherwise specified in the present specification, “A to B” representing a numerical range intends “A or more and B or less”.

  Moreover, in the present specification, each embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate, and in these drawings, in order to clearly describe each component (each member), the scale of the dimensions of each component is It does not necessarily reflect the actual dimensions.

Embodiment 1
Hereinafter, the inspection device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The inspection device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a device for determining whether the long and string-like thermoplastic adhesive product 11 has the foreign matter 17 or not.

(Thermoplastic adhesive product 11)
The thermoplastic adhesive product 11 targeted by the inspection apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a thermoplastic adhesive product that solves the problem of the conventional block-shaped thermoplastic adhesive product described above.

  The thermoplastic adhesive product 11 will be described with reference to FIG. (A) of FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an example of the shape of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11, and (b) of FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line ZZ in (a) of FIG.

  As shown in (a) of FIG. 3, the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is formed of, for example, a core 11 b made of a thermoplastic adhesive and a non-adhesive material 11 c, and one end 11 d and the other end 11 e, And a three-dimensional structure having an intermediate portion 11f.

  (B) of FIG. 3 shows the shape (2) of the cross section (cut surface) of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 when the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is cut along the ZZ plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the middle part 11f. Dimensional shape) is shown. The cross section is composed of the core portion 11 b and the non-adhesive material 11 c. Here, the diameter of the inscribed circle of the cross-sectional shape of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 (in other words, the circle inscribed in the outer periphery of the non-adhesive material 11c) is taken as the inner diameter 11a of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11. For the inner diameter 11a, for example, as in the case of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 shown in FIG. 3B, when the cross section is circular, the diameter of the circle is "inner diameter 11a", and the cross section is the same. In the case of an elliptical shape, the minor axis of the elliptical shape is the "inner diameter 11a".

  The thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is characterized by being long and string-like. The long and string-like thermoplastic adhesive product 11 has the following features (1) and (2), for example, as compared to a sheet-like thermoplastic adhesive product. Consider the case where the long and string-like thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the sheet-like thermoplastic adhesive product consist of the same amount of thermoplastic adhesive, respectively. In this case, the long and string-like thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is usually (1) thicker than the sheet-like thermoplastic adhesive product, and (2) adjacent when wound. It has a feature that the surface area in which the fitting middle portions are in contact with each other is smaller than that of the sheet-like thermoplastic adhesive product. Thereby, the long and string-like thermoplastic adhesive product 11 has the following advantages in the production of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 as compared to the sheet-like thermoplastic adhesive product: (1) recovery (2) coating with a non-adhesive material to be described later can be uniformly performed, and (3) cooling is performed after extrusion of a long cord-like thermoplastic adhesive by an extruder in a manufacturing apparatus described later It is easy to maintain the shape of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 until the solidified thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is recovered or taken up by a winder.

  In the present specification, “long and cord-like” has one end, the other end, and a middle, and the length of the middle is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the middle. Longer than the inner diameter of the cross section. Accordingly, the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is characterized in that the length of the middle portion 11 f is longer than the inner diameter 11 a. The shape of the cross section is not particularly limited, but is preferably substantially circular or elliptical since it can be easily recovered and the coating described later can be uniformly performed. It is preferable also from a viewpoint that winding becomes easy that the said cross section is substantially circular or substantially elliptical.

  The inner diameter 11a of the above-mentioned cross section is preferably 5 mm to 300 mm, because the production speed can be increased and the time required for cooling the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 in the manufacturing process can be shortened. Is preferably, 5 mm to 50 mm is more preferable, and 5 mm to 15 mm is particularly preferable. Moreover, if it is the said structure, even if it is a case where the thermoplastic adhesive product which has slight transparency has a foreign substance inside, the said foreign substance using the inspection apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention Can be determined efficiently and with high accuracy. Here, "slight transparency" as used herein means that the total light transmittance in the visible region of the thermoplastic adhesive product is 20% or more and less than 30%. Details of the total light transmittance will be described later.

  The thermoplastic adhesive forming the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is a thermoplastic resin containing an additive such as a tackifying resin and / or a wax as required, and a conventionally known thermoplastic adhesive Agents can be used. The thermoplastic resin is not particularly limited. For example, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, ethylene-acrylic acid ester copolymer, atactic polypropylene and amorphous poly- mer which become liquid at a temperature of 50 to 200 ° C can be used. (Alpha-olefin) etc. are mentioned. These thermoplastic resins may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  Examples of the tackifying resin include natural resins commercially available under the trade names of gum rosin, wood rosin and tall oil rosin; modified rosins such as polymerized rosin and partially hydrogenated rosin; (1) glycerin ester rosin, glycerin ester rosin Derivatives of rosin and derivatives of modified rosin such as partially hydrogenated products, fully hydrogenated products or polymers, and (2) partially hydrogenated products or completely hydrogenated products of pentaerythritol ester, pentaerythritol ester or Derivatives of rosin such as polymers and derivatives of modified rosins; polyterpene resins such as polymers of α-pinene, polymers of β-pinene and polymers of dipentene; terpene-phenol copolymers and α-pinene-phenol co Terpene-modified products such as polymers; aliphatic petroleum resins; alicyclic petroleum resins; Pentadiene resins; aromatic petroleum resins; phenolic resins; alkylphenol - acetylene resin; a styrene resin; xylene resin; coumarone-indene resins, vinyl toluene and α- methyl styrene copolymer critical condition, and the like.

  Examples of the waxes include carnauba wax, montan wax, paraffin wax and microcrystalline wax. In particular, waxes in which at least one of the waxes is a paraffin wax or a Fischer-Tropsch wax containing 85% by weight or more of an n-paraffin component are preferably used.

  The above-mentioned thermoplastic adhesive may contain additives, such as an antioxidant, a ultraviolet absorber, a filler, and / or a coloring agent, as needed.

  Representative synthetic rubber-based thermoplastic adhesives include, for example, synthetic rubbers, tackifiers, olefin resins and additives (80% by weight to 95% by weight in total) and lubricating oil base oil (5% by weight) A thermoplastic adhesive having a total of 100% by weight of 20% by weight) can be mentioned.

  Although the manufacturing method of the said thermoplastic adhesive is not specifically limited, For example, heat kneading of each said material is carried out using apparatuses, such as a melting tank, a roll, a Banbury mixer, a kneader, an extruder, etc. And mixing methods. Of course, a commercially available product may be used as the above device.

  In FIG. 3, a thermoplastic adhesive is used to form the core 11b, and a part or all of the surface of the core 11b is covered with the non-adhesive material 11c. The shape is explained. However, the shape shown in FIG. 3 is merely an example, and the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 may not have the non-adhesive material 11 c.

  The non-stick material 11c is used to form a protective coating on the core 11b. On the other hand, in the following cases, even if the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 does not have the non-adhesive material 11c, there is a problem in continuously supplying the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 to the heating and melting tank etc. There is no. For example, in the production of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11, when the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 not having the non-adhesive material 11c is recovered, separation is possible even if adjacent intermediate portions 11f are in contact with each other. , Etc.

  Therefore, the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 may not necessarily have the non-adhesive material 11c. In addition, when the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 does not have the non-adhesive material 11c, the said internal diameter 11a in (b) of FIG. 3 says the diameter of the circle inscribed in the outer periphery of the core part 11b.

  In the thermoplastic adhesive product 11, as shown in FIG. 3, the thermoplastic adhesive forms the core 11b, and a part or all of the surface of the core 11b is made of the non-adhesive material 11c. In the case of being coated, it has the following advantages. That is, even if the core portion 11 b is a highly adhesive thermoplastic adhesive, when the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is recovered, wound, bent, etc., adjacent intermediate portions 11 f are It is an advantage that they do not adhere to each other even if they come in contact with each other. Therefore, the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is suitable when using a tacky thermoplastic adhesive.

  The non-adhesive material 11c is used to coat a part or all of the surface of the core portion 11b made of the thermoplastic adhesive to form a protective coating for the thermoplastic adhesive, and the thermoplastic adhesive It may be chemically neutral to the agent. The protective coating can also be chemically compatible with the thermoplastic adhesive. The protective coating is non-tacky to substances present outside the protective coating, but reacts with the thermoplastic adhesive at the boundary layer between the protective coating and the thermoplastic adhesive (core 11b) It can also be composed of materials.

  In any of these cases, the protective coating preferably does not need to be separated from the thermoplastic adhesive and preferably can be treated with the thermoplastic adhesive during subsequent use of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11. For example, the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 melts the non-adhesive material 11c by being introduced into the heating and melting tank while a part or all of the surface of the core portion 11b is covered with the non-adhesive material 11c. Preferably it can be

  The above-mentioned "part of the surface of the core portion 11b is covered with the non-adhesive material 11c" means that the entire surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is not necessarily covered, for example, in the following cases. It means that you may. That is, it is a case where the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 can hold the shape which is long and string-like, and the core portions 11 b do not adhere to each other.

  On the other hand, when a highly adhesive thermoplastic adhesive is used, the surface area of the core portion 11b is such that the surface area of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 in the longitudinal direction is covered with the non-adhesive material 11c. The higher the better. As a result, when the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is recovered, wound, bent, or the like, it is possible to more reliably prevent the core portions 11 b from adhering to each other. Therefore, the ratio is preferably 80% or more, more preferably 90% or more, still more preferably 95% or more, and particularly preferably 100%.

  On the other hand, among the surfaces of the core portion 11b, one end and the other end of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 are, for example, when the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is recovered, wound or bent. In general, the possibility of contact with the longitudinal surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is low. Therefore, the one end and the other end may or may not be covered by the non-adhesive material 11c.

  When the non-adhesive material 11c is used, the amount used is preferably 0.5 wt% to 5 wt%, and 1 wt% to 1.5 wt% of the weight of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11. It is more preferable that Moreover, it is preferable that it is 0.5 volume%-5 volume% with respect to the volume of a thermoplastic adhesive (core part 11b), and the said usage amount is more than 1 volume%-1.5 volume%. preferable.

  As the representative non-adhesive material 11c, for example, as a material, an olefin copolymer (64 wt% to 74 wt%) and an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (23 wt% to 33 wt%) Non-tacky materials having an additive (7% by weight or less) in a total amount of 100% by weight can be mentioned.

  When manufacturing the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 using the non-adhesive material 11c, when manufacturing the above-mentioned thermoplastic adhesive, the raw material of the non-adhesive material is used together with the raw material of the thermoplastic adhesive. It may be used.

  The method of producing the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is, for example, the following method. The thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is an extruder, which is an elongated, string-like thermoplastic adhesive (optionally comprising the non-adhesive material 11c) comprising the above-mentioned thermoplastic adhesive and optionally the non-adhesive material 11c. Extrude from the discharge hole provided in the mold (also referred to as extrusion process), cool the long material extruded in the extrusion process (also referred to as cooling process), and recover the long material cooled in the cooling process Can be manufactured. Moreover, it is preferable that the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is manufactured using the thermoplastic adhesive product 100 which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention mentioned later.

  The thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is also preferably coilable. In other words, the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 preferably has sufficient length and flexibility to be wound.

  On the other hand, since the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 may be wound, it need not necessarily be wound. For example, about 20 kg-1 t of the string-like thermoplastic adhesive product 11 may be packed in a container, without winding. Even in such a form, it is possible to continuously deliver the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and to charge it into the heating and melting tank.

  The length of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 (specifically, the length of the middle portion 11f) is preferably 1 m or more, more preferably 10 m or more, and particularly preferably 100 m or more. As a result, the amount of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 finally obtained which can be automatically introduced into the heating and melting tank can be increased, and the working efficiency can also be enhanced.

  The upper limit of the length of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is not limited at all, and the longer, the better. It is technically possible to lengthen the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 without setting an upper limit. The upper limit value is preferably, for example, 100 m to 1000 m, in view of ease of winding and handling in practical use. However, as described above, the present invention is not limited to this.

The thermoplastic adhesive product 11 has a storage modulus of 5.0 × 10 ⁶ Pa or less from the viewpoint of imparting sufficient flexibility to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and facilitating recovery and / or winding. The elongation at break is preferably 200% or more, the storage elastic modulus is 1.0 × 10 ⁶ Pa or less, the elongation at break is more preferably 400% or more, and the storage elastic modulus is 7.0 × is the ¹⁰ 4 Pa or less, and particularly preferably elongation at break is 2,000% or more.

  By appropriately adjusting the composition of the thermoplastic resin, the additive and the like constituting the thermoplastic adhesive, it is possible to realize the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 having the properties (storage elastic modulus and elongation at break). Also, a thermoplastic adhesive product 11 with similar properties can be prepared using a commercially available thermoplastic adhesive with suitable storage modulus and elongation at break.

  The storage elastic modulus is a storage elastic modulus calculated based on dynamic viscoelasticity measured under the following conditions. That is, using an elastic modulus measuring apparatus (ARES rheometer manufactured by TA Instruments), using a flat plate of 8φ, measuring the dynamic viscoelasticity under the condition of 5 ° C. with a frequency of 1 Hz, based on the dynamic viscoelasticity The storage elastic modulus was calculated by the above-mentioned device.

  Elongation at break is defined in JIS K6251 (2010), and can be measured by a method according to JIS K6251 (2010). The elongation at break can be measured, for example, using a tensile test measurement apparatus (Autograph AGS-X 500N manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation) under the conditions of a tensile speed of 100 mm / min, a test piece length of 20 mm and 23 ° C.

  Further, the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 preferably has a viscosity of 1000 mPa · S to 100,000 mPa · S at 130 ° C. The above 130 ° C. is the temperature of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11. The viscosity can be measured using a conventionally known viscometer.

  The thermoplastic adhesive product 11 preferably has a weight of 10 kg or more. In conventional thermoplastic adhesive products, the input of the thermoplastic adhesive product into the heated melting tank has been performed manually. Therefore, it is not practical to feed the thermoplastic adhesive product at 10 kg or more at one time. On the other hand, since the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 has the above-mentioned shape, it can be continuously and automatically introduced into the heating and melting tank with a weight far exceeding the weight conventionally input by hand.

  In addition, the upper limit value of the said weight is not specifically limited, It can be set as the weight according to the length of the said thermoplastic adhesive product 11.

  The thermoplastic adhesive product 11 may also be a wound body that is wound. In the case where the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 has the above-described preferred embodiment, the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 has a length and flexibility sufficient to be wound, to form a wound body. Can.

  The thermoplastic adhesive product 11 does not have a cut portion such as a pillow-like, granular (pellet-like) or block-like (block-like) thermoplastic adhesive product except at both ends. Therefore, the user of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 can continuously deliver the recovered thermoplastic adhesive product 11 (for example, rewinding the rolled thermoplastic adhesive product 11). It is. Accordingly, the user can continuously and automatically feed the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 into the heating and melting tank and the like in the production line.

  Use of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11, for example, in a paper and wood factory where a large amount of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is used, reduction of personnel input and process number of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11, etc. The work efficiency can be significantly improved. In addition, since the use of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 can avoid the line stoppage trouble due to the decrease in the remaining amount of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 in the heating and melting tank, the process control labor is saved, and the efficiency and safety are improved. It can contribute to manufacturing.

  Although FIG. 1 shows the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 having the foreign matter 17, it is preferable that the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 does not contain the foreign matter 17.

  The thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is preferably transparent or translucent. In this case, by using the inspection device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, it can be easily determined whether the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 has the foreign matter 17 or not.

  As used herein, "transparent" means that the total light transmittance in the visible region is 80% to 100%, and "semi-transparent" means that the total light transmittance in the visible region is 20. It is intended to be greater than or equal to% and less than 80%. The total light transmittance in the visible region can be measured by a known method, for example, can be measured by a method based on JIS K7361-1.

  In other words, using the inspection device 10 has the advantage of easily determining whether or not the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 has the foreign matter 17, so that the entire area of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 in the visible range can be obtained. The light transmittance is preferably closer to 100%. Accordingly, it is particularly preferred that the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 be transparent. When the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is translucent, the total light transmittance in the visible region of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is preferably 30% or more and less than 80%, and 45% or more and less than 80% Is more preferably 60% or more and less than 80%.

[Inspection device 10]
As shown to (a) of FIG. 1, the inspection apparatus 10 is provided with circular illumination (illumination part) 12, the imaging part 13, the analysis part 14, and the roller part 15. As shown in FIG. The circular illumination 12 and the imaging unit 13 are disposed on substantially the same plane (on the plane of the line AA in FIG. 1A, in other words, on the YZ plane).

  Further, the YZ plane in which the circular illumination 12 and the imaging unit 13 are arranged is perpendicular to the X direction. The X direction is a horizontal direction and a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction (which is also the transport direction) of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 during imaging by the imaging unit 13. In FIG. 1, the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is conveyed from the left to the right.

  In the present specification, two or more specific members are “arranged on substantially the same plane” if the centers in the perpendicular direction of the above plane on the members are arranged on substantially the same plane Intended to be

  The analysis unit 14 is connected to the imaging device 13 a included in the imaging unit 13 by a cable 16 and configured to be able to receive imaging data acquired by the imaging device 13 a via the cable 16. The roller unit 15 is disposed forward and backward of the circular illumination 12 and the imaging unit 13 with respect to the transport direction of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11. The roller unit 15 is in a state in which the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is floated in the air while the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 passes through substantially the same plane (YZ plane) on which the circular illumination 12 and the imaging unit 13 are disposed, And, it can be transported along the X direction.

  The inspection apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a roller unit 15 as a member for transporting the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 in the air. However, in one embodiment of the present invention, the inspection device 10 does not necessarily have to be transported with the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 floating in the air. Therefore, the inspection apparatus 10 which is not provided with the roller unit 15 is also included in the scope of the present invention. However, as described later, the inspection apparatus 10 preferably includes the roller unit 15.

(Lighting unit (round light) 12)
The illumination unit 12 is configured of an illumination device, and in FIG. 1, circular illumination in which a plurality of illumination fixtures (for example, a light bulb, LED illumination, etc.) are arranged in a circle is used as the illumination device. (See, for example, (c) in FIG. 1). In (c) of FIG. 1, a plurality of lighting fixtures are disposed on the side of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 in the hatched portion of the lighting unit 12.

  The illumination device constituting the illumination unit 12 is not particularly limited as long as the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 can be irradiated with light. Examples of the illumination device according to an embodiment of the present invention include circular illumination, back illumination, and rod-like illumination, and these illumination devices are preferably illumination devices configured of a plurality of LED illuminations. In addition, with circular illumination, it is intended a lighting device in which a plurality of lighting fixtures are arranged in a circle, and in back lighting, a plurality of lighting fixtures are arranged in a plane, and light is mainly emitted from behind the object. The term “rod-shaped illumination” is intended to mean a lighting device in which a plurality of lighting devices are arranged in a substantially straight line. In another embodiment of the present invention, the illumination unit may be built in the imaging device.

  The illumination unit 12 can illuminate the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 while imaging is performed by the imaging unit 13 by including the illumination device. As a result, while the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is imaged by the imaging unit 13, the lighting unit 12 (1) the foreign matter 17 in the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the other area (that is, the thermoplastic adhesive product 11) It is possible to provide appropriate contrast (brightness / darkness) between itself and (2) between the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the other areas (background, mirror 13b, etc.).

  The way of irradiating light to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 by the lighting unit 12 is not particularly limited as long as it is possible to give the above-mentioned (1) and (2) an appropriate contrast. That is, the lighting unit 12 may be configured to irradiate light from the front to the surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 facing the imaging device 13a (configuration A), and the light is irradiated from the back It may be present (configuration B), or may be configured to emit light obliquely or laterally (configuration C). Also, these configurations may be used in combination. In the present specification, "the surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 facing the imaging device 13a" also means the surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 to be imaged by the imaging device 13a; ", Also called. Further, in FIG. 1, the imaging plane is an XZ plane.

  The way of irradiating light to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 by the lighting unit 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

  Examples of the configuration A include a method of irradiating light onto the imaging surface from the same side as the imaging device 13a with respect to the imaging surface on the same straight line as the imaging device 13a in the Y direction. , And the configuration shown in FIG. Specifically, the center of the imaging surface, the center of the lens provided in the imaging device 13a, and the center of the circular illumination (illumination unit) 12 are in substantially the same straight line in the Y direction, and the circular illumination (illumination unit) 12 Are disposed between the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the imaging device 13a.

  Furthermore, in the configuration of FIG. 1, the light emitted from the circular illumination 12 can be reflected by the two mirrors 13 b included in the imaging unit 13. As a result, the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 can be irradiated with light not only on the side facing the circular illumination 12 but also on the side not facing the circular illumination 12 (opposite side). The side not facing the circular illumination 12 is also the side not facing the imaging device 13a in the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 (also referred to as "the blind spot of the imaging device 13a").

  The above configuration makes it possible to irradiate the interior of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 with light when the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is transparent or translucent, and the foreign matter 17 and the other area in the interior. It is possible to give good contrast between the two.

  As said structure B, as shown to (a)-(d) of FIG. 2, the structure using the back illumination 12b is mentioned. In (a) and (b) of FIG. 2, both of the circular illumination 12 a and the back illumination 12 b are used as the illumination unit 12, and the configuration A and the configuration B are combined.

  In the configurations of (a) and (b) of FIG. 2, the circular illumination 12 a is disposed between the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the imaging device 13 a and on substantially the same plane (on the YZ plane). Further, the back illumination 12b is on the opposite side (approximately 180 degrees away) of the imaging device 13a in the Y direction with respect to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the mirror 13b, and on substantially the same plane (on the YZ plane) ) Is placed.

  In the configurations of (a) and (b) of FIG. 2, the circular illumination 12 a can emit light from the front to the imaging surface, and part of the light emitted from the circular illumination 12 a is two sheets. Since the light is reflected by the mirror 13b of the light source, light can be emitted also to the blind spot of the imaging device 13a. On the other hand, the back illumination 12b can emit light directly to the blind spot of the imaging device 13a. "The blind spot of the imaging device 13a" to which light is emitted by the back illumination 12b is also a "surface that the mirror 13b presents to the imaging device 13a" described later, and is also referred to as a "mirror surface".

  Accordingly, in the configurations of (a) and (b) of FIG. 2, light can be emitted to the imaging surface and the mirror surface which is a blind spot of the imaging device 13 a. Therefore, when the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is transparent or translucent, it is possible to give a better contrast between the foreign matter 17 and the other area inside the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 .

  Here, the back light 12b also illuminates the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 from the opposite side of the imaging surface. Therefore, regardless of the transparency of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11, it is possible to provide an appropriate contrast (brightness / dark difference) between the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the other area. Thus, it is possible to identify the shape of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the foreign substances 17 on the surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11. That is, in the configurations of (a) and (b) of FIG. 2, it is also possible to determine an abnormality in the shape of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11.

  In the configurations of (c) and (d) of FIG. 2, only the back illumination 12 b is used as the illumination unit 12, and the configuration B is independently used. In the configurations of (c) and (d) of FIG. 2, the back light 12 b is disposed on the opposite side of the imaging device 13 a with respect to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the mirror 13 b.

  In the configurations of (c) and (d) of FIG. 2, the back light 12 b can emit light to the blind spot (mirror surface) of the imaging device 13 a in the thermoplastic adhesive product 11.

  Thus, on the mirror surface, when the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is transparent or translucent, it gives a better contrast between the foreign matter 17 and the other areas inside the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 It is possible. Also, by irradiating the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 from the opposite side of the imaging surface, regardless of the transparency of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11, it is suitable between the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the other area. It is possible to give a good contrast (brightness difference). Thus, it is possible to identify the shape of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the foreign matter 17 on the surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11.

  As said structure C, as shown to (e) and (f) of FIG. 2, the structure using the rod-shaped illumination 12c is mentioned. In the configurations of (e) and (f) of FIG. 2, the rod-like illumination 12 c is shifted in the transport direction of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 from the plane (YZ plane) in which the imaging device 13 a and the mirror 13 b are disposed together. It is arranged. In addition, the rod-like illumination 12c is disposed so that the irradiation surface (the surface on which the lighting apparatus is disposed) is directed to the imaging surface, and the light is emitted obliquely to the imaging surface.

  In the configurations of (e) and (f) of FIG. 2, when the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is not transparent or translucent, it is possible to configure so as not to generate specularly reflected light causing halation. In this case, the imaging device 13a captures diffuse reflection light. Therefore, in the configurations of (e) and (f) of FIG. 2, it is possible to give an appropriate contrast (brightness and contrast) between the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the other area. Thus, it is possible to identify the shape of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the foreign matter 17 on the surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11.

  In any of the configurations shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (a) to (d), when the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is transparent or translucent, foreign matter 17 inside the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 It is possible to give better contrast between the and other areas. Thus, the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is such that if the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is transparent or translucent and the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 may have foreign matter 17 therein. It can be adopted suitably.

  In the configuration (a) to (d) of FIG. 2 using the back illumination 12b, the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the surface thereof (the imaging surface) of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 directly imaged by the imaging device 13a It is also possible to give an appropriate contrast (brightness / darkness difference) between regions other than the above. Therefore, the configuration of FIG. 2 using the back light 12 b can be suitably adopted even if the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is not transparent or translucent, and the shape of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 The foreign matter 17 on the surface of can be suitably adopted for identification.

  Further, the configurations of (e) and (f) of FIG. 2 can be suitably adopted when the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is not transparent or translucent, and the shape of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the thermoplastic adhesive product The foreign matter 17 on the surface of 11 can be suitably adopted for identification.

  The distance from the lighting unit 12 to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is preferably 20 mm to 100 mm, more preferably 30 mm to 80 mm, still more preferably 40 mm to 60 mm, and particularly preferably 50 mm. preferable. Here, in the present specification, “the distance from the lighting unit 12 to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11” refers to the distance from the outer surface of the luminaire provided in the lighting device constituting the lighting unit 12 to the surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product. Intended for the shortest distance.

  The illumination unit 12 optionally includes a reflecting plate for reflecting light, a diffusion plate for diffusing light, a polarization plate for passing only light polarized or polarized in a specific direction, or any illumination device (circular illumination 12a), or Any combination of these may be provided. In the case where the lighting unit 12 includes a reflection plate, when imaging the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 by the imaging unit 13, it becomes easier to adjust the amount and angle of light irradiated to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11. When the illumination unit 12 includes a diffusion plate, diffusion shaping of light to be applied to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 (homogenization of illumination by reduction of uneven brightness, etc.) is performed to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11. Irradiation unevenness can be eliminated. This has advantages such as multi-shadow reduction. In the case where the illumination unit 12 includes a polarizing plate, it is possible to remove the hot spots of light to be irradiated to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and to irradiate homogeneous light. The illumination unit 12 includes a reflection plate, a diffusion plate, a polarizing plate, or any combination of these, so that the shadows and contrast of the imaging data acquired by the imaging unit 13 can be detected. It is easy to make it suitable for the judgment of Therefore, the effect that inspection with higher accuracy is possible occurs.

  The illumination unit 12 may be configured to emit light to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 at least while the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is imaged by the imaging unit 13 (specifically, the imaging device 13a). When the illumination unit 12 is configured to cooperate with the timing of imaging of the imaging unit 13 according to a predetermined program (1), or (2) the operator can emit light by a predetermined operation And may be configured to be capable of stopping the light irradiation.

(Imaging unit 13)
In FIG. 1, the imaging unit 13 includes one imaging device 13 a and two mirrors 13 b for acquiring imaging data. The imaging device 13a and the two mirrors 13b are disposed on substantially the same plane (YZ plane). Furthermore, as illustrated in (b) and (c) of FIG. 1, the two mirrors 13 b are opposite to the imaging device 13 a in the Y direction (approximately 180 degrees away from the thermoplastic adhesive product 11). And are arranged to face each other on substantially the same plane (YZ plane).

  In FIG. 1, the imaging device 13a simultaneously images the imaging surface and the surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 projected on the two mirrors 13b. Here, "the surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 projected to the two mirrors 13b" is the above-described "surface that the mirror 13b presents to the imaging device 13a". More specifically, it is the surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 that does not face the imaging device 13a, and is also referred to as the "mirror image" as described above.

  In FIG. 1, since the imaging device 13 a can image both the imaging surface and the mirror surface, the imaging unit 13 images the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11. As an imaging data which imaging device 13a acquires, an image illustrated in (d) of Drawing 1 can be mentioned, for example.

  In other words, specifically, the imaging device 13a and the two mirrors 13b are illustrated in FIG. 1D so that the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 can be imaged. It is arranged so that an image like that can be acquired. In (b) and (c) of FIG. 1, the two mirrors 13b are arranged face to face so as to form an angle of about 90 °. However, as long as the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 can be imaged, the method of arranging the imaging device 13a and the two mirrors 13b is not particularly limited, and can be appropriately set by those skilled in the art. obtain.

  The imaging device 13a includes an imaging element such as a CMOS sensor and a CCD sensor, a lens, and the like. In FIG. 1, the imaging device 13a has an area sensor (obtains imaging data in a plane (two-dimensional)) as an imaging element, but captures an image as a line sensor (acquiring imaging data in a line (one-dimensional)) Elements may be used. The number of pixels of the imaging device of the imaging device 13a is preferably 2,000 to 10,000 when the imaging device is a line sensor, and 300,000 to 20 when the imaging device is an area sensor. It is preferable that it is, 000,000 pixels. The imaging data acquired by the imaging device 13a may be color or monochrome.

  The imaging conditions (number of pixels of imaging, timing (interval) of imaging, exposure time and the like) of the imaging device 13a may be appropriately set depending on the transport speed of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 described later and the type of the imaging device. The thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is long and string-like and is conveyed continuously. Therefore, it is preferable that imaging conditions be adjusted so that imaging device 13a can be imaged over the longitudinal direction of thermoplastic adhesive product 11.

  The timing of imaging of the imaging device 13a will be described by taking, as an example, the case where the transport speed of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is 100 m / min. In this case, it is preferable that the number of times of imaging is 3,400 to 17,000 times per second when the imaging element is a line sensor. In addition, even when the imaging device is an area sensor, the imaging device is a line sensor so that the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 can be imaged without blurring (blurring) of the imaged image. The same number of imaging times is required.

  An imaging element that is a line sensor (one-dimensional) is equivalent to an imaging element that is an area sensor even when it has lower performance (such as the number of pixels) compared to an imaging element that is an area sensor (two-dimensional) It is possible to have the capability (resolution etc.) of Therefore, when the imaging device 13a is an imaging device 13a having an imaging element that is a line sensor, it is possible to obtain the imaging device 13a more inexpensively.

  When the imaging device 13a is an imaging device 13a having an imaging element which is an area sensor, it is possible to acquire imaging data having an overlap in the longitudinal direction of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11. That is, it becomes possible to image the foreign material 17 irradiated with light from directions (angles) slightly different in the longitudinal direction of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 multiple times with respect to the same foreign material 17. Therefore, the analysis unit 14 can determine whether or not the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 has the foreign matter 17 from a plurality of imaging data obtained by imaging the same foreign matter 17. It can be highly accurate.

  As described above, the imaging unit 13 (specifically, the lens included in the imaging device 13a of the imaging unit 13) may optionally include a polarizing plate. When the imaging unit 13 includes a polarizing plate, it has the same effect as the lighting unit 12 includes a polarizing plate, and suppresses direct light or specular reflection of specular reflection from the thermoplastic adhesive product 11. It is possible. The polarizing plate may be provided in either the illumination unit 12 or the imaging unit 13, and may be provided in both the illumination unit 12 and the imaging unit 13. Whether the illumination unit 12 and / or the imaging unit 13 have a polarizing plate is determined such that the shading and contrast of the imaging data acquired by the imaging unit 13 are suitable for the determination of the presence or absence of the foreign material 17 in the analysis unit 14 It may be selected appropriately for the purpose.

  The imaging device 13a is configured (1) to image the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 under a predetermined imaging condition according to a predetermined program, or (2) an operator performs an arbitrary operation by a predetermined operation. The case where it is comprised so that it can capture under imaging conditions can be considered.

  The imaging device 13 a includes a communication unit, and is configured to be able to transmit imaging data captured by the imaging device 13 a to the analysis unit 14. In FIG. 1, imaging data is transmitted from the imaging device 13 a to the analysis unit 14 by the cable 16. The communication unit will be described in detail in the section of (analysis unit 14).

  A well-known mirror can be used as the mirror 13b. Although the mirror 13 b whose mirror surface is horizontal is used in FIG. 1, a mirror whose mirror surface is curved may be used.

  In the imaging unit 13 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, by providing two mirrors 13 b, it is possible to image the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product using one imaging device 13 a . Therefore, it is possible to keep down the cost in introducing the inspection apparatus 10 and the operation cost low.

(Analyzer 14)
The analysis unit 14 uses the imaging data acquired by the imaging unit 13 (specifically, the imaging device 13a) to determine whether the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 has the foreign matter 17. For this reason, the analysis unit 14 may have the following configurations, but is not limited thereto: CPU (central processing unit), ROM, RAM, communication unit, storage unit, storage device, input device, and display device. Here, the CPU, the ROM, the RAM, the communication unit, and the storage device can function in cooperation with each other.

  The CPU is a central processing unit, and controls other configurations based on a basic program or an analysis program. The ROM stores a basic program and the like, and the RAM is provided as a work area when the CPU performs predetermined processing.

  As each said structure which the analysis part 14 or the analysis part 14 can equip, a conventionally well-known thing can be used.

  The method for determining the presence or absence of the foreign material 17 in the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 using imaging data, which is carried out in the analysis unit 14, is not particularly limited, and for example, the following method may be mentioned: Subjecting the imaging data acquired by the unit 13 to pre-processing; (B) the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 for removing the foreign matter 17 based on the brightness, light and dark, density and hue of the pre-processed imaging data Make a judgment on whether or not you have one.

  Examples of the pre-processing in the above (A) include grayscale processing of imaging data, and contrast enhancement processing that emphasizes a difference in luminance in imaging data. Note that the grayscale processing is processing for converting the color imaging data obtained by the imaging unit 13 into data represented by light and shade from white to black. However, when the imaging data obtained by the imaging unit 13 is not color but monochrome, gray scale processing is not required. In addition, the contrast enhancement process is a process of extracting a portion of a luminance value having a large feature amount (a portion within a predetermined range of luminance values) from imaging data.

  The pre-processing further includes (1) a process of extracting data to be a determination target area of the foreign material 17 in the imaging data, (2) unnecessary data (for example, data outside the determination target area (unnecessary background And the like) and (3) a process of adjusting the angle of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 in the imaging data may be included.

  The analysis part 14 can raise the precision of judgment of the presence or absence of the foreign material 17 of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 more by including pre-processing as mentioned above.

  In the determination of the presence or absence of the foreign material 17 in the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 based on the brightness in the above (B), for example, comparing the brightness of two adjacent pixels in the imaging data, It is to judge the presence or absence of the foreign material 17 based on it. At this time, if the difference in luminance is less than a predetermined value, it is determined that the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 does not have the foreign substance 17, and if the difference in luminance is a certain value abnormality, the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is It is determined that the foreign object 17 is present.

  Here, the predetermined value of the difference in luminance, which is an index of judgment, may be appropriately set in accordance with the aspect of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 to be inspected. For example, it may be set arbitrarily by the operator each time, or may be set as a predetermined reference value according to a predetermined program or the like.

  After the above (A), binarization processing may be performed to binarize the preprocessed imaging data with a threshold based on luminance and convert the imaging data into two gradations of the first color and the second color. In the binarization process, for example, a portion with high luminance in the preprocessed imaging data is expressed in white, and imaging data in which a portion with low luminance in the preprocessed imaging data is expressed in black is generated. In this case, the first color is white and the second color is black. The imaging data represented by the two gradations of the first color (white) and the second color (black) further has the first color black and the second color by reversing the imaging data contrast (white and black) The imaging data may be white.

  Here, the threshold based on the brightness in the binarization processing is, for example, a threshold at which the central value within the range of the predetermined brightness value in the contrast enhancement processing is selected according to a predetermined program or the like when the operator arbitrarily selects The case where it is considered that etc. is considered.

  When the binarization process is performed, the determination of the presence or absence of the foreign material 17 in the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is performed based on the distribution of the first color and the second color in the imaging data.

  The analysis unit 14 may be configured to be able to control the illumination unit 12 and the imaging unit 13 in addition to the determination of the presence or absence of the foreign material 17 in the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 using the imaging data. Examples of the control include turning on and off of the circular illumination (illumination unit) 12 and control of the imaging timing and the exposure time of the imaging device 13a, but not limited thereto. The arrangement of the illumination unit 12 and the imaging unit 13 may be controlled by the analysis unit 14.

  In the inspection device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the preprocessing in (A) and the binarization processing that can be optionally performed are implemented in the imaging unit 13 (specifically, the imaging device 13a). It is also good. That is, the imaging device 13a performs pre-processing and optionally binary processing and the like, and analyzes the imaging data subjected to these processes from the imaging device 13a via the communication unit (cable 16). It may be configured to be able to transmit to the unit 14. In this case, the analysis unit 14 may determine the presence or absence of the foreign material 17 in the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 based on the received imaging data subjected to the preprocessing and optionally the binarization processing. it can.

  The result of the determination of the presence or absence of the foreign material 17 in the implemented thermoplastic adhesive product 11 in the analysis unit 14 may be shown on the display device provided in the analysis unit 14. The display device displays, for example, an image or a video indicating whether or not the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 contains the foreign matter 17 so that a person can visually understand it.

(Roller part 15)
The roller unit 15 is configured by a feed roller 15 a, a dancer roller 15 b, and a carry-out roller 15 c. The feed roller 15a is composed of two rollers facing each other, and conveys the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 by rotating the two rollers inward and in the longitudinal direction of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11. (In other words, send it out). The feed roller 15 a is disposed forward and rearward of the illumination unit 12 and the imaging unit 13 with respect to the transport direction of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11.

  The transport speed of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is preferably 30 to 250 m / min, from the viewpoint of easily imaging the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 by the cooperation of the illumination unit 12 and the imaging unit 13, 50 It is more preferable that it is -200 m / min, and it is further more preferable that it is 70-150 m / min. However, the transport speed of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is not particularly limited as long as it can be imaged by the imaging unit 13.

  The dancer roller 15b is a roller consisting of two axes, and one axis (a first axis) is fixed, while the other axis (a second axis) is a circle with the first axis as a fulcrum. It is movable in the circumferential direction. The thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is supported by the second of the two axes of the dancer roller 15b. The dancer roller 15b has a tension suitable for the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 conveyed by moving the second shaft supporting the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 circumferentially with the first shaft as a supporting point. It is possible to The dancer roller 15b is configured to be able to sense the tension applied to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 to be conveyed, and the second shaft is moved so as to obtain a preset tension, and the thermoplastic adhesive Adjust the tension on product 11.

  The discharge roller 15 c supports and discharges the thermoplastic adhesive product 11.

  In FIG. 1, although it comprises three feed rollers 15a, two dancer rollers 15b, and one discharge roller 15c, the configuration of the roller unit 15 is not limited to this, and the type and number of rollers used are And may be set appropriately.

  In the inspection apparatus 10, the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 imaged by the imaging unit 13 is held by the roller unit 15 in a floating state in the air. More specifically, the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is in a state of being floated in the air by the roller unit 15 while being irradiated with light by the illumination unit 12 and being imaged by the imaging unit 13. Thus, the imaging unit 13 can more easily image the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11.

  In order to image the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11, the spatial position of the conveyed thermoplastic adhesive product 11 with respect to the illumination unit 12 and the imaging unit 13 is important. Even if the arrangement of the illumination unit 12 and the imaging unit 13 is appropriate, if the transported thermoplastic adhesive product 11 does not pass through an appropriate spatial position with respect to the illumination unit 12 and the imaging unit 13, the imaging unit The entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 can not be imaged by 13.

  The roller unit 15 can pass the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 through the appropriate spatial position relative to the lighting unit 12 and the imaging unit 13 by applying a predetermined tension to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 being transported. It is configured to be possible. The rotational speed of each roller provided in the roller unit 15, the second axial position of the dancer roller 15b, and the like are preferably centrally managed and controlled, and may be controlled by means such as a computer.

  The thermoplastic adhesive product 11 after being inspected by the inspection device 10 can be recovered by a recovery device or the like. For example, as described later, when the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is taken up (recovered) using a winder, in order to apply a predetermined tension to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 to be conveyed, The roller unit 15 and the winding machine may work in cooperation. In this case, for example, by changing the winding speed of the winding machine, it is possible to cooperate with the roller unit 15 to easily apply a predetermined tension to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 to be conveyed. Become.

  The inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may not have the roller unit as long as the imaging unit can image the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product. That is, the inspection apparatus according to the other embodiment of the present invention may not have the roller unit 15 in FIG. 1 and may be in a mode in which the thermoplastic product is conveyed by a belt conveyor or the like. In this case, the imaging unit of the illumination unit and the imaging unit may be disposed below the belt conveyor, and the mirror of the imaging unit may be disposed above the thermoplastic adhesive product. Conversely, the mirror of the imaging unit may be disposed below the belt conveyor, and the imaging devices of the illumination unit and the imaging unit may be disposed above the thermoplastic adhesive product.

  As said belt conveyor, it is preferable to use belt conveyors, such as a mesh type or a bar type. According to the above configuration, even in the configuration in which the belt conveyor is disposed between the imaging device or mirror of the imaging unit and the thermoplastic adhesive product, from the gap (between the meshes or between the bars) of the belt conveyor, It is possible to image the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product by the imaging unit. It is preferable to use a belt conveyor made of a transparent material as the above-mentioned belt conveyor. According to the above configuration, even if the belt conveyor is disposed between the imaging device or the mirror of the imaging unit and the thermoplastic adhesive product, the imaging unit performs the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product It becomes possible to image.

(Cable 16)
The cable 16 is connected to the communication unit of the imaging device 13a and the analysis unit 14, and transmits imaging data acquired by the imaging device 13a to the analysis unit 14 from the imaging device 13a. The communication unit has the configuration described in the paragraph of (analysis unit 14), and thus the cable 16 may be a USB cable, a LAN cable or the like.

  In another embodiment of the present invention, as long as the imaging data can be transmitted from the imaging unit (imaging device) to the analysis unit, the inspection device may not have a cable. In the case where the inspection device does not have a cable, for example, the imaging data is transferred from the imaging unit (imaging device) to the analysis unit by means such as wireless LAN (WiFi (registered trademark) etc.) and Bluetooth (registered trademark) There are cases where it is sent.

(Foreign body 17)
The foreign matter 17 may be, for example, a degraded thermoplastic adhesive, contamination of different products, impurities contained in raw materials, and broken parts of a device present in the production process. In FIG. 1, foreign matter 17 is present inside the thermoplastic adhesive product 11. However, the position of the foreign matter 17 in the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is not limited to this. For example, even if the foreign matter 17 adheres to the surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11, the foreign matter is detected by the inspection device 10. 17 can be detected.

  When the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is transparent or translucent in order to have the above-described configuration, the inspection apparatus 10 detects the foreign matter 17 contained in the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and heats it. It can be determined that the plastic adhesive product 11 has foreign bodies 17. Therefore, the inspection device 10 can be suitably used when the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is transparent or translucent.

[How to Use Inspection Device 10]
A method of using the inspection device 10, in other words, a method of inspecting the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 using the inspection device 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is conveyed by the roller unit 15. In particular, while passing through the vicinity of the illumination unit 12 and the imaging unit 13, the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is applied with a predetermined tension, and is conveyed in a state where the appropriate position is maintained with respect to the illumination unit 12 and the imaging unit 13 Be done.

  The imaging unit 13 performs imaging on the transported thermoplastic adhesive product 11 under appropriate imaging conditions. At this time, the circular illumination (illumination unit) 12 emits light to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 while the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is imaged by the imaging unit 13 (specifically, the imaging device 13a). .

  The imaging data acquired by the imaging unit 13 (specifically, the imaging device 13a) is analyzed from the imaging device 13a via the cable 16 connecting the communication unit of the imaging device 13a and the communication unit of the analysis unit 14 It is sent to the unit 14.

  The analysis unit 14 performs (1) predetermined preprocessing on the transmitted imaging data under control of the CPU based on a program stored in the ROM, and (2) the luminance of the processed imaging data. Based on the determination, it is determined whether the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 has the foreign matter 17 or not.

  The result of the above determination performed by the analysis unit 14 is shown on a display device provided in the analysis unit 14. Based on the result, in the inspection device 10, it is determined to continue the conveyance of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 or to stop the conveyance. When the transport of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is stopped, a portion of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 including the foreign matter 17 is removed, and after the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 before and after that is joined, the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is again thermoplastic. The transport of the adhesive product 11 is resumed.

Second Embodiment
Hereinafter, the inspection device 20 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

  In the second embodiment, the same reference numerals are appended to components having the same functions as the components in the above-described first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  (A) of FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an example of the inspection apparatus 20 according to the second embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the horizontal direction, and (b) of FIG. 4 is an A- in (a) of FIG. FIG. 4C is a view showing a part of a cross sectional view taken along the line A of FIG. 4. FIG. 4C shows an example of imaging data acquired by each of the three imaging devices (23a, 23b and 23c) in the inspection device 20. FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an example of the arrangement of the back illumination 12 b and the imaging unit 23 in the inspection device 20.

  Further, in FIGS. 4 and 5, a direction that is horizontal and parallel to the longitudinal conveyance direction (also the conveyance direction) of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 during imaging by the imaging unit 23 is taken as the X direction, and the X direction The direction perpendicular to and perpendicular to the Y direction is the Y direction, and the direction perpendicular to both the X direction and the Y direction is the Z direction.

[Inspection device 20]
As shown in FIG. 4, the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the imaging unit 23 includes a first imaging device 23 a, a second imaging device 23 b, and a third imaging device 23 c. It is that you are. In addition, in (a) of FIG. 4, since the 3rd imaging device 23c becomes a blind spot of the 2nd imaging device 23b, it is not shown. In the present specification, the first imaging device 23a, the second imaging device 23b, and the third imaging device 23c are collectively referred to as "three imaging devices (23a, 23b, and 23c)".

[Imaging unit 23]
The three imaging devices (23a, 23b, and 23c) included in the imaging unit 23 are on substantially the same plane (on the A-A plane in FIG. 4A, in other words, on the YZ plane). ) Is placed. The plane on which the imaging unit 23 is disposed is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 during imaging by the imaging unit 23 (which is the X direction in (a) of FIG. 4 and also the transport direction). . Furthermore, as illustrated in (b) of FIG. 4, the three imaging devices are arranged at equal intervals on the same circumference on the YZ plane, and are specifically shifted by 120 °. It is arranged.

  FIG. 4B shows the imaging range of each of the three imaging devices (23a, 23b and 23c). Ra indicates the imaging range of the first imaging device 23a, Rb indicates the imaging range of the second imaging device 23b, and Rc indicates the imaging range of the third imaging device 23c. As can be seen from the imaging range of the imaging device shown in (b) of FIG. 4, the range which can not be imaged by the first imaging device 23 a (that is, the blind spot of the first imaging device 23 a) is the second imaging device 23 b. And can be imaged by the third imaging device 23c.

  In the inspection apparatus 20, the imaging unit 13 can capture the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 by providing three imaging devices (23a, 23b, and 23c). As imaging data acquired by three imaging devices (23a, 23b and 23c), for example, an image as illustrated in (c) of FIG. 4 is assumed. In the image in FIG. 4C, the area other than the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is removed from the imaging data acquired by each of the three imaging devices (23a, 23b, and 23c).

  Although the inspection device 20 shown in FIG. 4 includes the three imaging devices (23a, 23b and 23c), as long as the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 can be imaged, the imaging device 20 Is not limited to three, and may be four or more. In another embodiment of the present invention, the imaging unit includes two imaging devices. Even when the imaging unit includes two imaging devices, when the two imaging devices are disposed to face the thermoplastic adhesive product 11, the entire outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is It becomes possible to image a circle. In order to acquire imaging data having good contrast suitable for the determination of the presence or absence of the foreign material 17 in the analysis unit 14, the imaging unit preferably includes three or more imaging devices. That is, it is preferable to provide the imaging part 23 which has three or more imaging devices like the inspection apparatus 20 which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

  In the configuration of FIG. 4, the circular illumination 12 is disposed between the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and each of the three imaging devices (23a, 23b, and 23c). In this configuration, the circular illumination 12 is a plane (imaging planes a, b, and c) imaged by the first imaging device 23a, the second imaging device 23b, and the third imaging device 23c in the thermoplastic adhesive product 11. c) can be irradiated with light. Therefore, in the configuration of FIG. 4, when the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is transparent or translucent, it is possible to irradiate light to the inside of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11, and the foreign matter 17 and the foreign matter 17 in the inside thereof. It is possible to give a good contrast between the other areas.

  Further, as in the illumination unit 12 and the imaging unit 13 in the first embodiment of the present invention, the circular illumination (illumination unit) 12 and the imaging unit 23 in the second embodiment are disposed on substantially the same plane (YZ plane). ing.

  In the second embodiment of the present invention, back illumination 12 b may be used instead of circular illumination 12. FIG. 5 illustrates a configuration using the back illumination 12 b as the illumination unit 12. In the configuration of FIG. 5, the back illumination 12b is opposite to the first imaging device 23a, opposite to the second imaging device 23b, and opposite to the third imaging device 23c with respect to the thermoplastic adhesive product 11. The sides are arranged respectively.

  Further, in FIG. 5, the back illumination 12 b and the imaging unit 23 are disposed on substantially the same plane (on the YZ plane).

  In the configuration of FIG. 5, the back light 12 b irradiates the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 with light from the opposite side of each of the imaging surfaces a, b and c. By this, (1) when the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is transparent or translucent, to give a better contrast between the foreign matter 17 and the other area inside the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 Is possible. Also, (2) regardless of the transparency of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11, it is possible to provide an appropriate contrast between the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the other area. Thus, it is possible to identify the shape of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 and the foreign substances 17 on the surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11.

  The other configurations (imaging element, timing of imaging) in each of the three imaging devices (23a, 23b, and 23c) apply the various configurations described for the imaging device 13a of the above (imaging unit 13). Can.

  The inspection device 20 according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes three imaging devices (23a, 23b, and 23c) as the imaging unit 23. The imaging unit 23 can provide imaging data that enables the analyzing unit 14 to more accurately determine whether the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 has the foreign matter 17 or not.

[Modification]
The inspection apparatus 10 or 20 according to Embodiment 1 or 2 of the present invention includes one set of the illumination unit 12 and one set of the imaging unit 13. However, the inspection device according to another embodiment of the present invention may include a plurality of sets of illumination units and imaging units. When the inspection apparatus includes a plurality of sets of illumination units and imaging units, the sets may differ in the type and arrangement of the illumination devices, and the configuration and arrangement of the imaging units 13 may be different.

  The inspection apparatus 10 or 20 according to Embodiment 1 or 2 of the present invention also enables imaging of the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 by one set of imaging units 13. However, in another embodiment of the present invention, as long as the inspection apparatus has an imaging unit capable of imaging the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product, the number of sets of imaging units is not limited. Thus, for example, having a set of two or more imaging units, one imaging unit imaging one side of the thermoplastic adhesive product and the other imaging unit imaging the other side of the thermoplastic adhesive product Thereby, the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product may be configured to be capable of imaging.

  As described above, the type and arrangement of the lighting device can be appropriately set depending on the transparency of the thermoplastic adhesive product and the position of foreign matter in the thermoplastic adhesive product. Therefore, in the case where the inspection apparatus includes a plurality of sets of illumination units and imaging units, it is possible to inspect thermoplastic adhesive products in various states.

Third Embodiment
The inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention described above can be preferably applied to the process of inspection of a thermoplastic adhesive product. Therefore, by incorporating the inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention into a thermoplastic adhesive product manufacturing apparatus, a preferable embodiment of the thermoplastic adhesive product manufacturing apparatus can be configured. Therefore, a manufacturing apparatus of a thermoplastic adhesive product provided with an inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention is also included in the scope of the present invention.

  With reference to FIG. 6, the manufacturing apparatus 100 of the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention is demonstrated.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing an example of the apparatus for producing a thermoplastic adhesive product according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention as viewed from the horizontal direction. The manufacturing apparatus 100 includes an extruder 101, a cooling facility 102, an inspection device 10, and a winder 107. The extruder 101, the cooling equipment 102, the inspection device 10, and the winder 107 are connected in this order. Here, each configuration may be directly connected or may be connected by a transport facility such as piping or a belt conveyor. However, as described later, it is preferable that the extruder 101 and the cooling facility 102 be directly connected.

  In FIG. 6, the arrow from the cooling facility 102 to the winder 107 schematically represents the conveying direction of the long, string-like thermoplastic adhesive. Here, among the "long and string-like thermoplastic adhesives", those solidified by cooling are referred to as "thermoplastic adhesive products" in the present specification. Accordingly, the thermoplastic adhesive product is an example of a long and cord-like thermoplastic adhesive, and specifically, a long and cord-like thermoplastic adhesive after cooling equipment 102 is intended. This thermoplastic adhesive product is also the thermoplastic adhesive product 11 described in Embodiments 1 and 2.

  Moreover, in FIG. 6, although the manufacturing apparatus 100 is equipped with the inspection apparatus 10 which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention, the manufacturing apparatus 100 is replaced with the inspection apparatus 10, or in addition to the inspection apparatus 10 You may provide the inspection apparatus 20 which concerns on Embodiment 2 of invention.

  In the present specification, "solidified" means that the central portion of the long, string-like thermoplastic adhesive extruded from the extruder 101 is at a temperature lower than the softening point of the thermoplastic adhesive product. Say As used herein, “the central portion of a long and cord-like thermoplastic adhesive” means a central portion of a cross section when the long and cord-like thermoplastic adhesive is cut in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. It is. The temperature of the central portion of the long and string-like thermoplastic adhesive is, for example, 40 ° C. to 50 ° C., which is lower than the softening point of the long and string-like thermoplastic adhesive.

  The long and string-like thermoplastic adhesive extruded from the extruder 101 is discharged to the cooling facility 102. The long and string-like thermoplastic adhesive (in other words, a thermoplastic adhesive product) cooled by the cooling facility 102 is inspected by the inspection device 10 and then wound up by the winding machine 107. The details of each configuration will be described below.

(Extruder 101)
The extruder 101 extrudes a long and string-like thermoplastic adhesive (hereinafter also referred to as "long string-like thermoplastic adhesive"). The extruder 101 is not particularly limited as long as it can extrude the long string-like thermoplastic adhesive. For example, the extruder 101 can be configured to have a cylinder, a screw provided in the cylinder, and a discharge hole for releasing the long string-like thermoplastic adhesive from the cylinder. Thus, the extruder 101 can knead the thermoplastic adhesive introduced into the cylinder with a screw and push it out of the discharge hole.

  Here, as described in the above-mentioned [Embodiment 1], the long cord-like thermoplastic adhesive may contain not only the thermoplastic adhesive but, optionally, a non-adhesive material.

  The number of screws may be one, two, or more. That is, the extruder 101 may be a single-screw extruder, a twin-screw extruder, or a multi-screw extruder.

  The hole diameter of the discharge hole is, for example, preferably 5 mm to 300 mm, more preferably 5 mm to 100 mm, still more preferably 5 mm to 50 mm, and particularly preferably 5 mm to 15 mm. If the hole diameter of the discharge hole is in the above range, the long cord-like thermoplastic adhesive can be extruded efficiently.

  The extruder 101 is preferably a co-extruder. That is, the extruder 101 is preferably provided with a co-extrusion die as the discharge hole. Thereby, the extruder 101 can co-extrude, for example, a thermoplastic adhesive and a non-adhesive material described later. In this case, it is possible to easily produce a thermoplastic adhesive product in which the thermoplastic adhesive forms the core and a part or all of the surface of the core is coated with the non-tacky material.

  Also, the extruder 101 may be equipped with a hopper for introducing a raw material of a thermoplastic adhesive and / or a non-stick material.

  The molding speed of the extruder 101 is, for example, preferably 10 kg / h to 1000 kg / h, more preferably 10 kg / h to 500 kg / h, still more preferably 30 kg / h to 400 kg / h And 40 kg / h to 200 kg / h. If the forming speed is in the above-mentioned range, the long cord-like thermoplastic adhesive can be formed efficiently.

  The extruder 101 is set so that the temperature of the thermoplastic adhesive just before extrusion is 100 ° C. to 200 ° C. from the viewpoint of being able to form the long string-like thermoplastic adhesive more efficiently. Is preferably set to 110 ° C. to 180 ° C., and more preferably set to 120 ° C. to 150 ° C.

  The “temperature of the thermoplastic adhesive just before extrusion” can be measured, for example, by the following method. A thermometer is installed in the middle of the pipe immediately before the discharge hole, and the temperature of the thermoplastic adhesive just before extrusion flowing through the pipe is measured by the thermometer. As a method of setting the temperature of the thermoplastic adhesive just before extrusion to the above range, for example, the following methods can be mentioned: (1) while extruding the above-mentioned thermoplastic adhesive under various conditions, (2) A test is performed to measure “the temperature of the thermoplastic adhesive product just before extrusion” by the method described above, and (3) based on the result, the extruder is adjusted so that the temperature of the thermoplastic adhesive just before extrusion falls within the above range. It is a method of setting 101.

(Cooling equipment 102)
The cooling facility 102 cools the long string thermoplastic adhesive extruded from the extruder 101. The long string of thermoplastic adhesive extruded from the extruder 101 is solidified by being discharged to a cooling facility 102. Thereby, the long string-like thermoplastic adhesive becomes a thermoplastic adhesive product, and can be easily wound up by a winding machine 107 described later.

  It is preferable that the discharge hole of the extruder 101 and the cooling equipment 102 be directly connected. Thereby, the extruded long cord-like thermoplastic adhesive can be cooled immediately. For this reason, it can prevent that the shape of a long string-like thermoplastic adhesive collapses.

  The shape of the cooling equipment 102 is not limited, and may be a tank or a flow path. From the viewpoint of efficiently transporting the long cord-like thermoplastic adhesive while preventing the shape of the long cord-like thermoplastic adhesive from collapsing, the cooling facility is preferably a flow passage. That is, it is preferable that the length in the cooling facility 102 in the direction parallel to the conveyance direction of the long string-like thermoplastic adhesive is longer than the inner diameter of the cross section perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the long string-like thermoplastic adhesive . Such a cooling facility 102 is also referred to as a "cooling path". According to the configuration in which the cooling facility 102 is used as the cooling path, the long string-like thermoplastic adhesive can be easily derived to the winder 107 described later. Also, the shape of the cooling passage is not particularly limited, and may be linear, U-shaped, S-shaped or spiral.

  The cooling equipment 102 is not particularly limited as long as it can cool and solidify the long string-like thermoplastic adhesive. For example, the cooling facility 102 may contain a refrigerant, may have a shower that ejects the refrigerant, or may have a fan for air cooling. Among them, the cooling facility 102 preferably contains a refrigerant. Thereby, the long string-like thermoplastic adhesive can be released into the refrigerant, and therefore, it is possible to uniformly cool the entire long string-like thermoplastic adhesive by the refrigerant.

  Examples of the refrigerant include water. The refrigerant is preferably water, from the viewpoint of being chemically neutral to the long string-like thermoplastic adhesive made of a thermoplastic adhesive and easy to handle. Further, in consideration of the above, it is particularly preferable that the cooling facility 102 be a water tank or a water channel in which water is stored.

  The temperature of the refrigerant may be a temperature below the temperature of the long string-like thermoplastic adhesive immediately after extrusion, but is preferably a temperature above the melting point of the refrigerant, and more preferably 1 to 20 ° C. 3 to 15 ° C. is more preferable, and 5 to 10 ° C. is particularly preferable. If the temperature of the refrigerant exceeds the melting point of the refrigerant, freezing of the refrigerant itself can be prevented. Moreover, if the temperature of a refrigerant | coolant is the said range, a long string-like thermoplastic adhesive can be cooled efficiently. The temperature of the long cord-like thermoplastic adhesive just after the extrusion is substantially the same as the temperature of the long cord-like thermoplastic adhesive just before the extrusion described above. Therefore, the temperature of the refrigerant can be set with reference to the temperature of the long string-like thermoplastic adhesive just before the extrusion.

  6, the cooling installation 102 provided with the entrance 103, the 1st water channel 104, the 2nd water channel 105, and the 3rd water channel 106 is illustrated. That is, the cooling facility 102 is configured as an S-shaped water channel. The first water channel 104, the second water channel 105 and the third water channel 106 are filled with water. The arrow directed to the winder 107 in FIG. 6 passes through the first water channel 104 to the second water channel 105 and turns back inside the second water channel 105 to the winder 107. Note that, if necessary, the third water channel 106 may be used, or only the first water channel 104 may be used.

(Inspection device 10)
The inspection device 10 is disposed between the cooling facility 102 and the winder 107. The inspection apparatus 10 includes an illumination unit 12 including circular illumination, an imaging unit 13 including an imaging device 13a and a mirror 13b, an analysis unit 14, and a roller unit 15. The imaging device 13a and the analysis unit 14 are connected by a cable 16. ing. These configurations are as described in the first and second embodiments, and the description is omitted here.

  The inspection apparatus 10 determines whether the long string-like thermoplastic adhesive that has been cooled and solidified in the cooling facility 102, that is, the thermoplastic adhesive product has foreign matter. In the inspection process using the inspection apparatus 10, in the vicinity of the inspection apparatus 10, the thermoplastic adhesive product is floated in the air while applying a certain amount of tension by the roller unit 15 or the like (ie without using a support such as a conveyor) Preferably). In this case, the imaging unit can more easily image the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product.

  In the inspection method in the inspection device 10, the inspection is performed without interrupting the transport of the thermoplastic adhesive product. When no foreign matter is detected in the inspection apparatus 10, the thermoplastic adhesive product is conveyed to a winding machine 107 described later without interruption of its conveyance.

  On the other hand, when a foreign object is detected in the inspection device 10, the conveyance of the thermoplastic adhesive product to the inspection device 10, the conveyance from the inspection device 10 to the winding machine 107, and the winding by the winding machine 107 Stop will be performed. Thereafter, after a portion of the thermoplastic adhesive product containing foreign matter is removed and the thermoplastic adhesive products before and after that are joined together, the thermoplastic adhesive product is conveyed again to the winder 107 described later.

  At this time, it is preferable that the extrusion of the long cord-like thermoplastic adhesive by the extruder 101 and the cooling of the extruded long cord-like thermoplastic adhesive by the cooling facility 102 are not stopped. Therefore, it is preferable that the thermoplastic adhesive product stay in the cooling facility 102 while the transport of the thermoplastic adhesive product to the inspection apparatus 10 is stopped for the removal of foreign matter, and the cooling facility 102 is a heat unit. Preferably, the plastic adhesive product can be retained. The retention of the thermoplastic adhesive product in the cooling facility 102 can be achieved, for example, by temporarily increasing the transport speed of the inspection device 10 and the winder 107 within the inspection and winding range after removing foreign matter. It can be eliminated.

  As described above, when the extruder 101 and the cooling equipment 102 are not stopped when foreign matter is detected in the inspection apparatus 10, continuous and stable operation of the extruder 101 becomes possible, and loss of material is caused. Have the advantage of being able to

(Winding machine 107)
The winder 107 winds up the thermoplastic adhesive product inspected by the inspection device 10. The winding machine may be automatic or manual. The thermoplastic adhesive product is cooled and solidified so that it can be easily wound by a winder.

  As used herein, a wound thermoplastic adhesive product, ie, a wound thermoplastic adhesive product, is also referred to as a "rolled product" or "rolled body". The thermoplastic adhesive product 11 is long and string-like. If the thermoplastic adhesive product has sufficient length and flexibility to be wound, it can be wound by winding.

  The winder 107 preferably comprises one or more cores, bobbins or drums. In FIG. 6, the winding machine 107 provided with the bobbin 108 is illustrated. As such a winding machine 107, a simple traverse length-measuring bobbin winding machine TMS60-TC150-B manufactured by Yutaka Mfg. Co., Ltd. and a twin-screw rotary replaceable bobbin winding machine, and a drum supply TM4012D and a drum roller manufactured by Tokyo Ideal Co., Ltd. TM2560D etc. are mentioned. In addition, when the core, the bobbin 108, or two or more drums are provided, the thermoplastic adhesive product can be rewound while being rewound. Moreover, it is preferable that the winding machine 107 winds up while measuring the material to be wound. This makes it possible to obtain a wound body obtained by winding a thermoplastic adhesive product of a certain length.

  The winding tension of the winding machine 107 is preferably 1 to 100 N, more preferably 1 to 80 N, still more preferably 20 to 70 N, and particularly preferably 35 to 64 N. In addition, what is necessary is just to change a winding tension suitably according to the winding diameter etc. of a thing to be wound. For example, the winding tension may be measured when the winding diameter of the wound product is 200 to 500 mm.

  The winding speed of the winding machine 107 is preferably 1 to 200 RPM, more preferably 1 to 90 RPM, still more preferably 5 to 50 RPM, and particularly preferably 10 to 30 RPM. When the take-up tension and / or take-up rotational speed is in the above-mentioned range, the thermoplastic adhesive product can be prevented from being damaged and can be taken up efficiently.

(Other configuration)
The manufacturing apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention may have a configuration other than the extruder 101, the cooling facility 102, the inspection device 10, and the winding machine 107. The following configuration may be directly connected to the introduction hole or discharge hole of the extruder 101, the cooling equipment 102, the inspection device 10 and the winding machine 107, or the equipment for conveyance such as a belt conveyor. It may be connected via.

  For example, a tank for supplying a raw material of the thermoplastic adhesive may be connected to the hopper of the extruder 101. Furthermore, a melting tank, a Banbury mixer, and / or a kneader may be connected to the tank and / or the hopper.

  Moreover, the manufacturing apparatus 100 may be equipped with a drying installation. For example, a drying facility for drying the thermoplastic adhesive product discharged from the cooling facility 102 may be disposed between the cooling facility 102 and the inspection device 10. This improves the accuracy of the inspection of the thermoplastic adhesive product and also enables easy winding. The drying equipment is not particularly limited as long as it can dry the thermoplastic adhesive product, and may be equipped with, for example, a blower.

  The blowing pressure is preferably 1 to 20 kPa, more preferably 3 to 15 kPa, and still more preferably 5 to 10 kPa. If the pressure of the blowing is in the above-mentioned range, the thermoplastic adhesive product can be efficiently dried without breaking the shape of the product.

  The air flow rate is preferably 5 to 20 NL / min, more preferably 3 to 15 NL / min, and still more preferably 5 to 10 NL / min. If the air flow rate is in the above range, the thermoplastic adhesive product can be efficiently dried without breaking the shape of the product.

  The blowing temperature is preferably 5 to 30 ° C., more preferably 10 to 25 ° C., and still more preferably 15 to 25 ° C. If the blowing temperature is in the above-mentioned range, the thermoplastic adhesive product can be efficiently dried without degenerating.

  The manufacturing apparatus 100 preferably does not have a cutting mechanism for cutting the thermoplastic adhesive product before being wound up. Since the manufacturing apparatus 100 is for obtaining the above-mentioned thermoplastic adhesive product, it is not necessary to provide a cutting mechanism for manufacturing a pillow-like thermoplastic adhesive product. This can improve the production rate as compared to cutting the thermoplastic adhesive product one by one. Although the cutting mechanism is provided, a manufacturing apparatus which stops the operation of the cutting mechanism may be substituted.

  The cutting mechanism may, for example, be a cutter or a knife. However, the cutting mechanism may not necessarily have a sharp blade as long as it can cut the thermoplastic adhesive product, and may have, for example, a plate-like, rod-like or string-like configuration.

  In addition, in the manufacturing apparatus 100, only the winding machine 107 may be provided with a cutting mechanism. Thereby, the thermoplastic adhesive product (wound body) after being wound up can be cut into certain units. In other words, in the manufacturing apparatus 100, it is preferable that the configuration other than the winding machine 107 is not provided with the cutting mechanism.

[Summary]
The present invention is summarized as follows.

An inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is
An inspection apparatus for detecting foreign matter of a long and string-like thermoplastic adhesive product,
An illumination unit for emitting light to the thermoplastic adhesive product;
An imaging unit for imaging the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product;
And an analysis unit that determines whether or not the thermoplastic adhesive product has a foreign substance using the imaging data acquired by the imaging unit.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide an inspection device used for a thermoplastic adhesive product which is completely automated, efficient, and capable of inspection with high accuracy. More specifically, it has the following advantages (1) and (2). (1) If the thermoplastic adhesive product is transparent or translucent, efficiently determine with high accuracy whether the thermoplastic adhesive product has foreign matter inside. Is possible. (2) Regardless of the transparency of the thermoplastic adhesive product, whether the shape of the thermoplastic adhesive product is abnormal or not, and whether there is foreign matter on the surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product efficiently and accurately It is possible to judge.

  The inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a roller unit.

  According to the above configuration, the thermoplastic adhesive product can be floated in the air while light is emitted by the illumination unit and imaged by the imaging unit. Therefore, the imaging unit can more easily image the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product. It also allows the thermoplastic adhesive product to pass through the appropriate spatial position relative to the lighting and imaging units. This makes it possible to determine with high accuracy whether the thermoplastic adhesive product has foreign matter.

  In the inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the thermoplastic adhesive product may be transparent or translucent.

  If it is said structure, even if it is a case where a thermoplastic adhesive product has a foreign substance inside, using the inspection apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, the said foreign substance is efficiently made high. It is possible to judge with accuracy.

  In the inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the thermoplastic adhesive product may have an inner diameter of 5 to 300 mm in the shape of a cross section in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

  According to the above configuration, even if the thermoplastic adhesive product having slight transparency has foreign matter inside, the foreign matter is measured using the inspection device according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is possible to judge efficiently and with high accuracy. Moreover, according to the above configuration, it is also possible to accelerate the production rate of the thermoplastic adhesive product and shorten the time required for cooling the thermoplastic adhesive product in the manufacturing process.

  Moreover, one Embodiment of this invention is a manufacturing apparatus of a thermoplastic adhesive product provided with the inspection apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of said invention.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to efficiently provide a thermoplastic adhesive product having no foreign matter.

  The present invention can be suitably used in the field of producing thermoplastic adhesive products and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 inspection apparatus 11 thermoplastic adhesive product 11a inside diameter 11b core part 11c non-adhesive material 11d one end 11e other end 11f middle part 12 circular illumination (illumination part)
12a circular illumination 12b back illumination 12c rod illumination 13 imaging unit 13a imaging device 13b mirror 14 analysis unit 15 roller unit 15a feed roller 15b dancer roller 15c unloading roller 16 cable 17 foreign object 20 inspection device 23 imaging unit 23a first imaging device 23b Second imaging device 23c Third imaging device 100 Manufacturing device 101 Extruder 102 Cooling equipment 103 Entrance 104 First water channel 105 Second water channel 106 Third water channel 107 Winding machine 108 Bobbin

Claims (5)

An inspection apparatus for detecting foreign matter of a long and string-like thermoplastic adhesive product,
An illumination unit for emitting light to the thermoplastic adhesive product;
An imaging unit for imaging the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the thermoplastic adhesive product;
An analysis unit that determines whether or not the thermoplastic adhesive product has a foreign substance using the imaging data acquired by the imaging unit;
An inspection apparatus comprising:   The inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the inspection device further comprises a roller unit.   An inspection device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the thermoplastic adhesive product is transparent or translucent.   The inspection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the thermoplastic adhesive product has an inner diameter of 5 to 300 mm in the shape of a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.   The manufacturing apparatus of a thermoplastic adhesive product provided with the inspection apparatus of any one of Claims 1-4.

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