JP2019155625A - Imaging method of molded article and imaging apparatus of molded article - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide the imaging method of the molded article that can inspect a plurality of types of molding defects with high accuracy.SOLUTION: The imaging method of the molded article according to the present invention comprises: a positioning step of positioning an imaging position of imaging means 21 with respect to a test object 3 that has been conveyed, and an imaging step of imaging the test object 3 by the imaging means 21 at the imaging position. The positioning step in the present invention comprises positioning the imaging means at the imaging position corresponding to the molding defects specified in advance for the test object 3. And the positioning step and the imaging step in the present invention are repeated a number of times corresponding to a plurality of types of molding defects.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging method and an imaging apparatus for a molded product suitable for inspecting defects of a molded product obtained by injection molding, die casting, or the like.

For example, a molded product molded by an injection molding machine is inspected for molding defects after molding.
As a timing for the inspection, there is a method of inspecting a post-process after molding, specifically, in the middle of conveying a molded product, or a method of inspecting immediately after opening a mold. In addition, the contents of the inspection include a method in which an inspector visually inspects based on some inspection standard set for each molding defect, or a photographed image data or image processing data obtained by photographing a molded product. There is a way to compare with the data.

  There are various forms of molding defects. Examples of the molded product by injection molding include silver streak, deformation, weld line, sink, depression, and flow mark. Examples of molded products by die-casting include sinkholes, notches, galling, seizures, heat check flaws, and dents. A plurality of types of molding defects having different forms may occur in different parts of one molded product.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus for inspecting a plurality of types of molding defects occurring in a two-material resin molded product. The inspection apparatus of Patent Document 1 includes a first detection unit that detects the presence or absence of a dent, a second detection unit that detects the presence or absence of contamination, a third detection unit that detects the presence or absence of burrs, Fourth detection means for detecting presence or absence is provided. In the inspection apparatus of Patent Document 1, the first detection means to the fourth detection means whose positions are fixed are arranged at intervals in the direction in which the two-material resin molded product to be inspected is conveyed by the conveyance means. Has been. And in the process in which the said molded article is conveyed, the presence or absence of a dent, the presence or absence of a fouling, the presence or absence of a burr | flash, and the presence or absence of insufficient filling are test | inspected in this order. According to the inspection apparatus of patent document 1, it is supposed that a highly accurate inspection can be efficiently performed for a plurality of types of molding defects.

JP 2002-096353 A

  Since the position which arises for every kind of shaping | molding defect can specify the patent document 1, each of a 1st detection means-a 4th detection means image | photographs the position where the said shaping | molding defect arises. However, according to the study by the present inventors, it has been experienced that the imaging means whose position is fixed as in Patent Document 1 cannot detect molding defects depending on the position and type of molding defects.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an imaging method and an imaging apparatus for a molded product that can inspect a plurality of types of molding defects with high accuracy.

The present inventors have studied to detect molding defects of different types with high accuracy, and have found the following.
Conditions that can be detected vary depending on the type of molding failure. For example, the molding defect A and the molding defect B do not have the same imaging means that can be detected, typically the camera position (imaging position). That is, in order to inspect a plurality of types of molding defects with high accuracy, it is necessary to change the conditions for imaging the inspection object, particularly the imaging position with respect to the inspection object, according to the type of molding defect.

The present invention made there is a method for photographing a molded product obtained by solidifying a molten material with a mold by a photographing means, and a positioning step for positioning the photographing position of the photographing means with respect to the conveyed molded product, And a photographing step of photographing the molded product by photographing means at the photographing position. This positioning is accompanied by movement of the photographing means.
In the positioning step in the present invention, the photographing means is positioned at the photographing position corresponding to the molding defect specified in advance for the molded product. In addition, the positioning step and the photographing step in the present invention are characterized by being repeated a number of times corresponding to a plurality of types of molding defects.

  In the method for photographing a molded product according to the present invention, it is determined whether or not the position of the conveyed molded product has caused a positional deviation exceeding a reference with respect to the conveyance reference position, and it is determined that the positional deviation has occurred. In each positioning step, the photographing position can be corrected in consideration of the positional deviation.

In the photographing step of the present invention, preferably, the molded product is irradiated with illumination light having specifications corresponding to a plurality of types of molding defects.
In this case, illumination means for irradiating illumination light having specifications corresponding to each of a plurality of types of molding defects is provided. In the positioning step, the illuminating means can be moved following the photographing means and positioned at the illumination position, or can be moved independently of the photographing means and positioned at the illumination position.

  In the method for photographing a molded product according to the present invention, it is determined whether or not the position of the conveyed molded product has caused a positional deviation exceeding a reference with respect to the conveyance reference position, and it is determined that the positional deviation has occurred. And in each positioning process, it is preferable to correct | amend the illumination position of an illumination means in consideration of position shift.

In the molded article imaging method of the present invention, it is preferable that the repeated positioning process and imaging process are performed in a state where the conveyed molded article is stopped.
The molded product at this time is stopped on the traveling conveyance path, or the molded product taken out from the mold is stopped while being held.

The present invention provides the following apparatus capable of executing the above-described imaging method.
The present invention is an apparatus for photographing with a photographing means a molded product obtained by solidifying a molten material with a mold, and has photographing means and first moving means capable of moving the photographing means to an arbitrary position. An imaging unit and a control unit that stores imaging position information corresponding to a plurality of types of molding defects and controls the operation of the moving unit based on the imaging position information. The control unit according to the present invention determines an imaging position of the imaging unit with respect to the conveyed molded product based on the imaging position information, and then performs an operation of controlling the imaging unit to take an image at the imaging position. It repeats corresponding to a plurality of types of molding defects specified in advance for a product.

  The control unit in the present invention determines whether or not the position of the conveyed molded product has caused a positional deviation exceeding the reference with respect to the conveyance reference position, and when it is determined that the positional deviation has occurred, When positioning is performed, it is possible to correct the photographing position of the photographing means in consideration of the positional deviation.

  In the photographing apparatus according to the present invention, an illumination unit for irradiating the molded product with illumination light can be provided, and is this illumination unit supported by the first moving unit together with the photographing unit to move following the photographing unit? Alternatively, it can be moved independently of the photographing means by being supported by the second moving means independent of the first moving means.

  According to the present invention, since the inspection object is photographed by the photographing means positioned at the position corresponding to each of a plurality of types of molding defects, a highly accurate inspection can be realized corresponding to the plurality of types of molding defects.

It is a figure showing a schematic structure of an inspection device concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the function of the control part in the inspection apparatus of FIG. It is a table | surface which shows an example of the data regarding the test | inspection memorize | stored in the data storage part of the control part of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the inspection method which the inspection apparatus of FIG. 1 performs. 1 shows the movement of the position of the photographing means in the inspection apparatus of FIG. 1, (a) shows the position of the molded product and the photographing position when inspecting the molding defect A, and (b) when inspecting the molding defect B. (C) shows the photographing position when the molding defect C is inspected. It is a flowchart which shows another procedure of the inspection method which the inspection apparatus of FIG. 1 performs. A photographing example of “deformation” as a molding failure is shown, (a) is a non-defective image, and (b) is a molding failure image. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the inspection apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The modification of the element of this embodiment is shown, (a) shows the modification of an illumination means, (b) shows the modification of an imaging | photography means, (c) has shown the modification of a conveyance means.

Hereinafter, an inspection apparatus and an inspection method according to the present invention will be described based on embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[First Embodiment]
As shown in FIG. 1, the inspection apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment includes a conveyance unit 10 that conveys an inspection object 3, an imaging unit 20 that photographs the inspection object 3 conveyed by the conveyance unit 10, Is provided. In addition, the inspection apparatus 1 controls the operations of the display unit 30 that displays that the control unit 40 has determined that the molding is defective, the transport unit 10, the imaging unit 20, and the display unit 30. And a control unit 40 that determines whether or not the molding is defective by using the image data of the inspection object 3.

The inspection object 3 in the present embodiment is a molded product produced by injection molding or die casting, and these molded products are common in that the molten material is solidified with a mold. Further, these molded products are common in that specific types of molding defects are likely to occur at specific sites.
The inspection apparatus 1 can inspect with high accuracy even if a plurality of types of molding defects occur in different parts of one inspection object 3. Hereinafter, the configuration of the inspection apparatus 1 will be described in order.

[Conveyor 10]
As shown in FIG. 1, the transport unit 10 includes a first conveyor 11 that transports an inspection object 3, which is a molded product obtained by injection molding or die casting, from the upstream side to the downstream side, and a first conveyor 11. And a second conveyor 13 that is provided along with and conveys the inspection object 3 that has been determined to be defective. The white arrow in FIG. 1 indicates the direction of conveyance. The 1st conveyor 11 and the 2nd conveyor 13 convey the test target object 3, for example by drive | working with an electric motor. In addition, the inspection object 3 in which the molding defect has occurred can be discharged from the first conveyor 11 without providing the second conveyor 13.

The first conveyor 11 is controlled by the control unit 40 by repeatedly running and stopping. Procedure as Specifically, first conveyor 11 when taking an image of the inspection object 3 by the travel stops T ₁ predetermined inspection time to travel the inspection time T ₁ is passed by T ₂ predetermined transfer time Repeat intermittent conveyance.
In addition, the first conveyor 11 is controlled by the control unit 40 so that the traveling of the inspection object 3 stops in a predetermined inspection area _Ad . That is, the inspection time T ₁ is passed, the next inspection object 3 is stopped from traveling by the transport time T ₂ required to reach the inspection area A _d. The inspection time T ₁ and the conveyance time T ₂ may be set for each type of the inspection object 3 or may be set in common for different types of inspection objects 3. In any case, the period for photographing one inspection object 3 is specified by inspection time T ₁ + conveyance time T ₂ .

Similarly to the first conveyor 11, the second conveyor 13 is controlled by the control unit 40 by repeatedly running and stopping. Specifically, when the inspection object 3 is determined to be defective in the first conveyor 11, only a predetermined transfer time T ₃ necessary for transferring the inspection object 3 from the first conveyor 11 to the second conveyor 13 is obtained. traveling stops, resumes running the transport time T ₃ has elapsed, then the inspection object 3 continues to travel until it is determined to be defective molding.
The inspection object 3 can be transferred from the first conveyor 11 to the second conveyor 13 by an operator of the inspection apparatus 1 or by a transfer robot (not shown). Further, the first moving means 25 (FIG. 1) of the photographing unit 20 described later is provided with a gripping means capable of gripping a molded product, such as a robot hand or an air suction pad, so that the inspection object 3 determined to be defective in molding is provided. The function of the transfer robot that causes the transfer from the first conveyor 11 to the second conveyor 13 may also be used.

[Shooting unit 20]
As shown in FIG. 1, the imaging unit 20 includes an imaging unit 21 that images the inspection object 3 placed on the first conveyor 11, and an illumination unit 23 that applies illumination light to the inspection object 3 captured by the imaging unit 21. And comprising. The photographing unit 20 also includes first moving means 25 that moves and positions the photographing means 21 and the illumination means 23.

The photographing means 21 is composed of, for example, a digital camera that converts an image into a digital signal using a solid-state image sensor (Image Sensor). As the image sensor, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) can be used.
The imaging means 21 images the inspection object 3 in order to inspect whether the inspection object 3 has a molding defect. Imaging means 21, before taking a test object 3 for inspection, an inspection object 3 in order to determine whether or not the inspection object 3 are misaligned from the predetermined inspection area A _d Take a picture.

The imaging unit 21 images the inspection object 3 based on an instruction from the control unit 40. The photographed image of the inspection object 3 is sent to the control unit 40 as a digital signal.
When the conveyance of the inspection object 3 is stopped, the imaging unit 21 first images the inspection object 3 to determine the displacement of the inspection object 3. Next, the imaging means 21 images the inspection object 3 a plurality of times, in the present embodiment, three times for the inspection object 3 for molding defect inspection. The three shootings are performed by sequentially moving the shooting position of the shooting unit 21. That is, in the present embodiment, the photographing unit 21 is also positioned three times. Imaging for inspection is performed while the inspection object 3 is stopped. However, when the inspection object 3 is misaligned, the image is taken after correcting the position of the imaging means 21. Is called. In addition, the movement for positioning the photographing unit 21 is performed by the operation of the first moving unit 25 based on an instruction from the control unit 40.

Next, the illumination unit 23 is supported by the first moving unit 25 in a state adjacent to the imaging unit 21, and can irradiate the inspection target 3 imaged by the imaging unit 21 and a necessary area around it. . Even if the position of the photographing means 21 is changed by the operation of the first moving means 25, the illuminating means 23 moves following the photographing means 21 and is positioned at the photographing position. it can.
The illumination means 23 is not limited as long as the purpose of irradiating illumination light to a necessary area can be achieved, but the LED (Light Emitting) has low power consumption and can change the specifications of the illumination light, that is, color adjustment and light adjustment. A diode (light emitting diode) can be used. There is a full-color LED illumination for toning, and there is a power controller for 256-level LED lighting for dimming. There is also an LED illumination means that can irradiate illumination light to a necessary area coaxially with the optical axis of the camera. In addition, it is known that concentric or parallel striped pattern illumination is effective for detecting deformation (unintended irregularities, curvature, etc.) on the surface of a molded product. A device having these toning, dimming, and coaxial functions can be used in this embodiment.

  According to the study by the present inventors, even a molding defect that cannot be detected with white light has been found to be detected with another color, for example, blue light. In addition, even with illumination light having the same color tone and luminance, it has been found that the detection result of molding defects is different if the position of the illumination means 23 with respect to the inspection object 3 is different.

  Next, the 1st moving means 25 consists of a vertical articulated robot, and can move the imaging | photography means 21 and the illumination means 23 supported by the front-end | tip part to arbitrary positions. The first moving unit 25 moves and positions the photographing unit 21 and the illuminating unit 23 to a position necessary for misalignment determination and a position necessary for molding defect inspection based on an instruction from the control unit 40. The first moving unit 25 corrects the photographing position of the photographing unit 21 based on an instruction from the control unit 40 when the inspection object 3 is displaced. This correction means that the imaging means 21 is moved to an appropriate imaging position for inspection in accordance with the positional deviation with respect to the inspection object 3 causing the positional deviation.

The display unit 30 displays the determination result based on an instruction from the control unit 40 when the control unit 40 determines that a molding defect has occurred in the inspection object 3.
The display unit 30 includes a display 31 and a warning lamp 33. The display 31 displays that a molding defect has occurred in the inspection object 3 as character information and image information, and the warning lamp 33 displays that a molding defect has occurred in the inspection object 3 as sound and light.

[Control unit 40]
Next, the control unit 40 will be described.
The control unit 40 controls the operations of the first conveyor 11 and the second conveyor 13 of the transport unit 10, the operations of the imaging unit 21, the illumination unit 23 and the first moving unit 25 of the imaging unit 20, and the operation of the display unit 30. In order to perform these controls, the control unit 40 has the following configuration.
The control unit 40 includes a computer device, and as shown in FIG. 2, a data storage unit 41 that stores data necessary for the processing of the control unit 40, data stored in the data storage unit 41, and the imaging unit 20. And an arithmetic processing unit 43 that uses the image data of the inspection object 3 photographed in step 1 to determine misalignment and whether or not the molding is defective. The control unit 40 also instructs the image processing unit 45 to process the image data of the inspection object 3 imaged by the imaging unit 20, and the processing and operation instructions to the transport unit 10, the imaging unit 20, and the display unit 30. Unit 47. The control unit 40 executes the inspection of the inspection object 3 by the data storage unit 41, the arithmetic processing unit 43, the image processing unit 45, and the instruction unit 47 cooperating with each other. Here, in order to clarify the function of the control unit 40, the data storage unit 41, the arithmetic processing unit 43, the image processing unit 45, and the instruction unit 47 are divided. It does not indicate that they are divided in this way.

Data storage unit 41, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), in order to perform the photographing for examination, whether the inspection object 3 is stopped at the inspection area A _d of the first conveyor 11, that is It stores conveyance reference position data for determining whether or not a positional deviation exceeding the reference has occurred.
The conveyance reference position data is determined for each type of molded product as shown in FIG. Here, as an example, it is assumed that three types of molded products, that is, the molded product α, the molded product β, and the molded product γ are inspected by the inspection apparatus 1. Of course, only one type of molded product may be inspected by the inspection device 1, or four or more types of molded products may be inspected by the inspection device 1. Usually, when inspecting the molded product α, the plurality of molded products α are sequentially conveyed and inspected. When the inspection of the molded product α is completed, for example, a plurality of molded products β are sequentially conveyed and inspected.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the transport reference position data corresponds to each of the molded product α, the molded product β, and the molded product γ in the width direction y orthogonal to the position in the transport direction x and the transport direction x. Defined by position. For example, for the molded product α, if the position in the conveyance direction x is αx and the position in the width direction y is αy, the inspection object 3 has not been displaced and has been conveyed to an appropriate position. means. On the other hand, when the reference position data protrudes from the transport reference position data and exceeds the reference, a positional deviation that needs to be corrected has occurred. Αx is defined as a distance from the starting point SP (FIG. 1) in the transport direction x, for example, and this distance is defined as a range such as x1 to x2. The same applies to βx and γx.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the data storage unit 41 stores imaging conditions, illumination conditions, and determination criteria in association with the molded product α, the molded product β, and the molded product γ, respectively. Further, the data storage unit 41 stores imaging conditions, illumination conditions, and determination criteria in association with molding defects A, molding defects B, and molding defects C to be inspected.

  The photographing conditions include two conditions of “distance D” and “angle θ”, that is, a condition for specifying the relative positional relationship between the photographing means 21 and each molded product (each molding defect occurrence position). As shown in FIG. 5, the “distance D” is defined by the distance D on the straight line from the imaging means 21 to the inspection object 3, and the “angle” is the first conveyor 11 where the optical axis indicated by the broken line of the imaging means 21 is That is, it is defined by an angle θ made with respect to the horizontal plane.

The illumination condition has four conditions of “distance”, “angle”, “color”, and “luminance”. “Distance” is defined as a distance D on the straight line from the illumination means 23 to the inspection object 3. The “angle” is defined by an angle θ formed by the optical axis of the illumination unit 23 with respect to the first conveyor 11, that is, the horizontal plane. When the photographing unit 21 and the illuminating unit 23 are adjacently supported by the first moving unit 25 as in the present embodiment, the “distance” and “angle” in the photographing condition are set to “distance” and “ It can be replaced by “angle”.
The “color” is defined by a color in the visible light region such as white or blue. “Luminance” is the luminance of light emitted by the illumination unit 23 and is defined by a unit of luminance (cd / m ² ) as an example.

  As an example, the determination criterion can be defined by a feature amount extracted from each image data of the molding defect A to the molding defect C. As the feature amount, for example, Haar-like feature, HOG (Histograms of Oriented Gradients) can be used. Haar-like is defined by the difference between the average values of the luminance values of the rectangular areas. HOG is a histogram of the luminance gradient direction of a local region (cell). These feature amounts are also defined as numerical ranges consisting of upper and lower limits rather than specific values.

  The arithmetic processing unit 43 performs a process for determining whether or not the inspection object 3 that has been transported is displaced, and a process for determining whether or not a molding defect has occurred in the inspection object 3. Hereinafter, the process for determining whether or not the position is shifted is referred to as a first determination process, and the process for determining whether or not a molding defect has occurred is referred to as a second determination process. The arithmetic processing unit 43 performs processing for generating instruction information corresponding to operations necessary for the transport unit 10, the imaging unit 20, and the display unit 30 to inspect the inspection object 3. Hereinafter, this process is referred to as a generation process.

The arithmetic processing unit 43 acquires the current position data generated by the image processing unit 45 based on the image data photographed for the positional deviation determination and performs the first determination processing from the data storage unit 41. Obtain transport reference position data.
The arithmetic processing unit 43 collates the acquired current position data with the conveyance reference position data, and if the actual position of the inspection object 3 specified by the current position data is within the range of the conveyance reference position data, there is a positional deviation. It is determined that it has not occurred. If the actual position of the inspection object 3 specified by the current position data exceeds the range of the conveyance reference position data, it is determined that a positional deviation has occurred.

When the arithmetic processing unit 43 determines that the positional deviation has occurred, the arithmetic processing unit 43 moves the photographing unit 21 and the illuminating unit 23 by a distance corresponding to the difference between the current position data and the conveyance reference position data so that the positional deviation is eliminated. Let The correction of the displacement due to this movement is performed by instructing the first moving means 25 to move by an amount corresponding to the difference via the instruction unit 47.
If there is no displacement, the photographing means 21 and the illumination means 23 do not move for correction. Note that the photographing unit 21 can perform photographing for determining the displacement at the photographing position in the first defect inspection. If there is no displacement in this determination, the photographing means 21 is positioned at the photographing position at that time.

The arithmetic processing unit 43 acquires the inspection data generated by the image processing unit 45 based on the image data photographed by the photographing unit 21 and performs the second judgment processing, and obtains the judgment reference data from the data storage unit 41. get.
The arithmetic processing unit 43 collates the acquired inspection data with the determination reference data, and determines that there is no molding defect in the inspection object 3 if the inspection data is within the range of the determination reference data. If the inspection data exceeds the range of the determination reference data, the arithmetic processing unit 43 determines that there is a molding defect in the inspection object 3.
When the arithmetic processing unit 43 determines that the molding is defective, the arithmetic processing unit 43 causes the display 31 of the display unit 30 to display a visual message such as a character informing that the molding defect has occurred via the instruction unit 47. Similarly, the arithmetic processing unit 43 blinks the warning lamp 33 and emits a warning sound. Further, the inspection result can be fed back to the molding machine.

  The arithmetic processing unit 43 acquires the imaging condition and the illumination condition corresponding to any of the corresponding molded product α to molded product γ from the image processing unit 45 for performing the generation process. The arithmetic processing unit 43 generates control information for operating the first conveyor 11, the second conveyor 13, the imaging unit 21, the illumination unit 23, and the first moving unit 25 based on the acquired imaging conditions and illumination conditions. . The arithmetic processing unit 43 controls the operations of the first conveyor 11 to the first moving means 25 based on the generated control information.

[Operation of Inspection Apparatus 1]
Next, the operation of the inspection apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Control of this operation is performed by the control unit 40.
Inspection apparatus 1, if the inspection object being conveyed by the first conveyor 11 3 reaches the examination region Ad predetermined, the first conveyor 11 by inspection time _{T 1} stops (Fig. 4 S101, S103 ).

When the first conveyor 11 is stopped, the inspection apparatus 1 determines whether or not the inspection object 3 is misaligned with respect to the inspection region _Ad by the above-described procedure (S105 in FIG. 4).
When the inspection apparatus 1 determines that the positional deviation has occurred, the inspection apparatus 1 corrects the positional deviation of the photographing means 21 and the illumination means 23 (FIG. 4, S105 (N), S106).
On the other hand, if the inspection apparatus 1 determines that no positional deviation has occurred, it moves the photographing means 21 and the illumination means 23 to a position corresponding to the molding defect A (FIG. 4, S105 (Y), S107). It should be noted that this movement can be omitted when the photographing means 21 is placed in advance at the photographing position corresponding to the molding defect A at the time of the positional deviation determination. On the other hand, if it is determined that the positional deviation has occurred, the positional deviation correction is performed for the photographing unit 21 and the illuminating unit 23, and then the photographing unit 21 and the illuminating unit 23 are moved to positions corresponding to the molding defect A ( FIG. 4 S106, S107).

After the imaging unit 21 and the illumination unit 23 are moved to a position corresponding to the molding defect A and positioned, the inspection apparatus 1 photographs the inspection object 3 while irradiating illumination light from the illumination unit 23 to form the molding defect A. It is determined whether or not the above has occurred (S109 in FIG. 4).
If it is determined that the molding defect A has not occurred, the inspection apparatus 1 proceeds to the next inspection procedure for the molding defect B (FIG. 4, S109 (Y), S111, S113). Specifically, after the photographing unit 21 and the illumination unit 23 are moved to the position corresponding to the molding defect B and positioned, the inspection object 3 is photographed while irradiating the illumination light from the illumination unit 23, and the molding defect B It is determined whether or not the error has occurred.
If it is determined that the molding defect B has not occurred, the process proceeds to the next inspection procedure for the molding defect C (FIG. 4, S113 (Y), S115, S117).
If even made similar determination for molding defect C, and for conveying the next inspection object 3 to the inspection area A _d, first conveyor 11 is run by the transport time T ₂ (Fig. 4 S117 (Y) , S119, S101). Thereafter, the next inspection object 3 is inspected in the same procedure.

If the inspection apparatus 1 determines that it is a rejected product in which the molding defect A has occurred, the determined inspection object 3 is discharged from the first conveyor 11 to the second conveyor 13 (FIG. 4, S109 (N)). , S110). The second conveyor 13 is discharged manually or by a discharge robot (not shown).
After the preceding inspection object 3 is discharged, the first conveyor 11 is driven to transport the next inspection object 3 to the inspection area Ad (FIG. 4, S110, S119, S101). Thereafter, the next inspection object 3 is inspected by the procedure described above.

  The position of the imaging unit 21 is changed as shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C as the examination progresses. In FIG. 5, the illumination means 23 is not shown. In FIG. 5A, the photographing unit 21 is positioned at a position where the photographing unit 21 determines the displacement. This position is defined by the distance D and the angle θ. When the position is shifted, the photographing means 21 is moved to a position indicated by a broken line. Here, the position for determining misalignment is set to be the same as the position for inspecting the molding defect A, and the inspection for the molding defect A is also performed at the same position as in FIG. May be different.

Next, when the inspection of the molding defect A is completed, the imaging means 21 moves to a position corresponding to the molding defect B shown in FIG. The inspection object 3 remains stopped at the previous position. The same applies to the inspection of the next molding defect C.
Next, when the inspection of the molding defect B is completed, the imaging means 21 moves to a position corresponding to the inspection of the molding defect C shown in FIG. The inspection object 3 remains stopped at the previous position.
As described above, the inspection apparatus 1 photographs the inspection object 3 after moving the imaging means 21 to a position corresponding to the type of molding failure while the inspection object 3 is stopped. The imaging method performed by the inspection apparatus 1 repeats the positioning process and the imaging process for the number of times corresponding to the type of molding failure.

In the first embodiment, the determination is made at the time when the molding defect is confirmed in the process of the molding defect A to the molding defect C (FIG. 4, S109 (N), S113 (N), S117 (N)). The inspection object 3 thus obtained is discharged from the first conveyor 11 to the second conveyor 13 (S110 in FIG. 4). This form is suitable for determining only the presence or absence of molding defects.
On the other hand, even when molding defects are confirmed in the process of molding defects A to C, as shown in FIG. 6, all molding defects are inspected (S109 ′, S113 ′, S117 ′ in FIG. 6). Finally, the presence or absence of molding defects A to C can also be confirmed (S121 in FIG. 6). When even one type of molding failure is confirmed (S121 (Y) in FIG. 6), the inspection object 3 is discharged from the first conveyor 11 to the second conveyor 13 (S110 in FIG. 6) and confirmed molding. The type of defect may be displayed on the display unit 30 (S123 in FIG. 6). This form is suitable when molding defects occur, when it is desired to grasp the type of molding defects, for example, when the molding conditions are changed and fed back to the molding machine so as to suppress or eliminate the generated molding defects. is there. In FIG. 6, the same processes and determinations as in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals such as S101 as in FIG.

[Effect of the inspection apparatus 1]
Next, effects produced by the inspection apparatus 1 will be described.
The inspection apparatus 1 can image the inspection object 3 by the imaging means 21 positioned at a position corresponding to the type of molding defect such as molding defect A to molding defect C. Therefore, according to the inspection apparatus 1, different types of molding defects can be detected with high accuracy.

  In particular, the inspection apparatus 1 can improve the accuracy of the inspection because the position of the illumination means 23 that irradiates the necessary area including the inspection object 3 with the imaging means 21 is also changed. Furthermore, since the illumination means 23 can irradiate illumination light having a color and brightness corresponding to the type of molding failure, the inspection accuracy can be further improved. In addition, when it is possible to irradiate a necessary area including the inspection object 3, it is not always necessary to support the illumination unit 23 on the first moving unit 25 in a state adjacent to the imaging unit 21. The illumination means 23 may be fixedly arranged above a predetermined inspection area. In that case, it is preferable that the illumination means 23 is arranged so that the range and angle of the illumination light can be adjusted manually or automatically.

  Here, FIG. 7 shows an example in which a molded product actually obtained by injection molding is photographed. (A) is an image in which molding defects are not generated, and (b) is “ It is an image in which “deformation” has occurred. As can be seen from a comparison between FIGS. 7A and 7B, the portion where “deformation” has occurred is darkened, and therefore “deformation” can be detected by image processing.

  Moreover, the inspection apparatus 1 determines whether or not the inspection object 3 has been transported to an appropriate position before determining the molding failure, and if the inspection object 3 is deviated from the position beyond the reference, The photographing means 21 is corrected to an appropriate position. Thus, according to the inspection apparatus 1, even if the inspection object 3 is transported with a positional shift, it can be inspected with high accuracy.

  Further, the inspection apparatus 1 covers the movement of the photographing means 21 and the illumination means 23 for positioning the inspection object 3 with one first moving means 25. Therefore, the cost of the inspection apparatus 1 can be reduced, and the area occupied by the inspection apparatus 1 can be reduced.

  Furthermore, the inspection apparatus 1 stops the inspection object 3 and performs imaging. Thereby, the inspection apparatus 1 can reduce the load of a plurality of times of photographing with respect to one inspection object 3 and can reduce the load of the first moving means 25 for positioning the photographing means 21 and the illumination means 23.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, the inspection apparatus 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The inspection apparatus 2 has a feature with respect to the inspection apparatus 1 in that the illumination unit 23 is provided independently of the imaging unit 21, but the basic configuration is the same as the inspection apparatus 1 except for this characteristic part. To do. Therefore, in the following, while the inspection apparatus 2 will be described focusing on the characteristic part, the same elements as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG.

Also in the inspection apparatus 2, the imaging unit 20 includes an imaging unit 21 and an illumination unit 23. However, in the inspection apparatus 2, the imaging means 21 is supported by the first moving means 25, and the illumination means 23 is supported by the second moving means 26. The imaging means 21 and the illumination means 23 are moved independently. Are possible and each is positioned independently.
Corresponding to the independent movement of the photographing means 21 and the illuminating means 23, photographing conditions and illumination conditions stored in the data storage unit 41 are different positions for the photographing means 21 and the illuminating means 23, that is, “distance”, “angle”. Can be set.

According to the inspection apparatus 2, the illumination unit 22 can be positioned and positioned at an appropriate illumination position corresponding to the molding defect A to the molding defect C regardless of the position of the imaging unit 21. As a result, the inspection apparatus 2 can realize inspection with higher accuracy.
However, there is a molding defect that can realize highly accurate inspection even when the photographing unit 21 and the illumination unit 23 are at the same position. Therefore, either the inspection apparatus 1 or the inspection apparatus 2 may be adopted in consideration of an increase in cost due to having the photographing unit 21 and the illumination unit 23 independently and the accuracy of the inspection.
In addition, although the vertical articulated robot was mentioned as one form of the 1st moving means 25 of the test | inspection apparatus 1, the 1st moving means 25 does not necessarily need to be a vertical articulated robot. Although not shown in the figure, a portal frame is installed in the vicinity of a predetermined inspection area or the like, and the distance or angle between the imaging means 21 and the inspection object 3 is set on a movable part where the frame can be moved. The form which arrange | positions the imaging | photography means 21 via the mechanism which can be adjusted may be sufficient. The same applies to the second moving means 26 of the inspection apparatus 2. Even if the second moving means 26 for instructing the illumination means 23 is a vertical articulated robot, the portal frame as described above is used as a base. It may be in the form.

In addition to the above, as long as the gist of the present invention is not deviated, the configuration described in the above embodiment can be selected or changed to another configuration as appropriate.
For example, in the embodiment described above, the illuminating unit 23 capable of toning and dimming is used, but the illuminating unit of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, illumination means 23A, 23B, and 23C that emit illumination light having different colors and brightness can be used.

Moreover, although embodiment described above makes object the color of visible light region as the imaging | photography means 21, the imaging | photography means of this invention can use imaging | photography means other than this. For example, as shown in FIG. 9B, photographing means 21A, 21B, and 21C having different functions can be used.
Examples of photographing means having different functions include an infrared camera and a near-infrared camera. An infrared camera detects and visualizes infrared radiant energy emitted from an object. In addition, the near-infrared camera makes use of the property that near-infrared light is most easily absorbed by an object, and visualizes differences in light reflection and absorption characteristics due to differences in materials of the inspection object 3.

  Moreover, although embodiment described above has illustrated the conveyor apparatus as the conveyance part 10, the conveyance part in this invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 9C, the inspection object 3 is grasped and taken out from the mold, and the inspection object 3 is grasped and inspected while being held by the transfer device 15 to be transferred to the subsequent process. You can also.

Furthermore, although embodiment described above is image | photographed by stopping the test target object 3, this invention can also image | photograph and test | inspect the test | inspection object 3 which travels or moves. Thereby, time to image | photograph and test | inspect many test objects 3 can be shortened.
Moreover, although embodiment described above demonstrated comparing the feature-value when inspecting a shaping | molding defect, it compares with the test | inspection image which image | photographed the pattern image used as a reference | standard, and test | inspects a molding defect. You can also.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 Inspection apparatus 3 Inspection object 10 Conveyance part 11 1st conveyor 13 2nd conveyor 20 Imaging | photography part 21 Imaging | photography means 23 Illumination means 25 1st movement means 26 2nd movement means 30 Display part 31 Display 33 Warning lamp 40 Control Unit 41 data storage unit 43 arithmetic processing unit 45 image processing unit 47 instruction unit

Claims (10)

A method of photographing a molded product obtained by solidifying a molten material with a mold by photographing means,
A positioning step of positioning a photographing position of the photographing means with respect to the molded product that has been conveyed;
A photographing step of photographing the molded article by the photographing means at the photographing position;
The positioning step includes
Positioning the imaging means at the imaging position corresponding to a molding defect specified in advance for the molded article;
The positioning step and the photographing step are
Repeated a number of times corresponding to a plurality of types of molding defects,
A method of photographing a molded product characterized by the above. It is determined whether the position of the molded product that has been conveyed has caused a positional deviation exceeding the reference with respect to the conveyance reference position,
When it is determined that the positional deviation has occurred, in each positioning step, the photographing position is corrected in consideration of the positional deviation.
The method for photographing a molded product according to claim 1. In the shooting process,
The illumination product is irradiated with the illumination light having specifications corresponding to a plurality of types of molding defects.
A method for photographing a molded article according to claim 1 or 2. Illuminating means for irradiating the illumination light with specifications corresponding to each of a plurality of types of molding defects,
In the positioning step,
The illumination means moves following the imaging means and is positioned at the illumination position, or moves independently of the imaging means and is positioned at the illumination position.
The method for photographing a molded product according to claim 3. It is determined whether the position of the molded product that has been conveyed has caused a positional deviation exceeding the reference with respect to the conveyance reference position,
When it is determined that the positional deviation has occurred, the illumination position of the illuminating unit is corrected in consideration of the positional deviation in each positioning step.
The method for photographing a molded product according to claim 4. The positioning step and the photographing step repeated are:
Performed in a state in which the molded product that has been conveyed is stopped,
The imaging | photography method of the molded article as described in any one of Claims 1-5. The molded article is
Either stopped on the traveling transport path, or
The molded product taken out from the mold is stopped while being held,
A method for photographing a molded product according to claim 6. An apparatus for photographing with a photographing means a molded product obtained by solidifying a molten material with a mold,
An imaging unit comprising: the imaging unit; and a first moving unit capable of moving the imaging unit to an arbitrary position;
Storing the shooting position information corresponding to a plurality of types of molding defects, and a control unit for controlling the operation of the moving means based on the shooting position information,
The controller is
Based on the photographing position information, an operation of determining the photographing position of the photographing means with respect to the conveyed molded product and then controlling the photographing means to photograph the molded product at the photographing position is performed as the molding. Repeated corresponding to multiple types of molding defects specified in advance for the product,
An apparatus for photographing a molded product characterized by the above. The controller is
It is determined whether the position of the molded product that has been conveyed has caused a positional deviation exceeding the reference with respect to the conveyance reference position,
When it is determined that the positional deviation has occurred, when the positioning is performed, the photographing position of the photographing unit is corrected in consideration of the positional deviation.
An apparatus for photographing a molded product according to claim 8. Comprising illumination means for illuminating the molded article with illumination light;
The illumination means includes
The first moving means is moved along with the photographing means by being supported together with the photographing means, or
Moving independently of the photographing means by being supported by the second moving means independent of the first moving means;
An imaging device for a molded article according to claim 8 or 9.

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