JP2021131306A - Inspection system and light emission controller used therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

To enable the malfunction, and the cause of it, etc., having occurred to an inspection system 100 which is used for the visual inspection of an object W to be more accurately verified.SOLUTION: A light emission controller 22 of a light emitter 21 for inspection is constituted to comprise: a command signal transmission unit 22b for transmitting a light emission command signal for the light emitter 21 and an imaging command signal for an imaging device 3, on the basis of a trigger signal, respectively; a result data reception unit 22c for receiving the light emission result data of the light emitter 21 having emitted light by the light emission command signal and receiving inspection result data based on the image data of the imaging device 3 from a determination device 4; and a verification data generation unit 22d for generating verification data linking each command signal and each result data with the trigger signal that serves as a trigger for these.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to an inspection system or the like that inspects a work by irradiating the work with light and taking an image.

Conventionally, an inspection system that automatically inspects the appearance of an object such as a product has been developed. For example, the inspection system of Patent Document 1 (described as an inspection device in the document) is a light irradiation device that irradiates an object that is conveyed one after another by the transfer device, and an image of the object. It has an imaging device that outputs the image data, and a determination device that receives the image data and automatically determines the quality of the object based on the image data.

However, in this type of inspection system, even if a malfunction such as an imaging timing shift or a light emission failure occurs, it happens to be only for one object, regardless of whether it continues for a certain period of time. When a malfunction occurs, it is difficult to even notice the malfunction. In such a case, since the captured image of the object is different from the image of the non-defective product, the object is only treated as a defective product.

However, in the inspection system of Patent Document 1, since the image data of each object can be sequentially stored in the memory, if the user verifies the stored image data one by one, the malfunction of the inspection system can be found. In some cases.

However, that cannot be done in real time, and a huge amount of work is required to verify the image data one by one after the fact. Furthermore, since the verification is performed only with the image data, it is difficult to accurately identify the location and cause of the malfunction.

JP-A-2018-105870

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and is intended to enable more reliable verification of malfunctions and their causes that have occurred in this type of inspection system.

That is, the inspection system according to the present invention is
(1) A light emitter that irradiates an object to be inspected with light and an imaging device that images the object to be inspected, triggered by a trigger signal that determines an inspection start timing.
(2) A determination device that inspects the object based on the image data output from the image pickup device and outputs the inspection result data.
(3) A synchronization controller for synchronously operating the light emitter and the imaging device, and
It is equipped with.

Then, the synchronization controller
(A) A command signal transmitting unit that transmits a light emitting command signal to the light emitter and an imaging command signal to the imaging device based on the reception timing of the trigger signal, respectively.
(B) A result data receiving unit that receives inspection result data based on the image data of the imaging device from the determination device, and
(C) A verification data is generated in which each command signal or its transmission presence / absence and the inspection result data or its reception presence / absence are linked to the trigger signal that triggers the inspection result data, and the verification data is used as a predetermined area of a memory. It is characterized in that it is provided with a verification data generation unit to be stored in.

According to such a configuration, an inspection system that may have been conventionally determined to be an appearance defect of an object and overlooked by referring to the content of one verification data, that is, each command signal and inspection result data. In addition to being able to detect malfunctions with a high probability, it is possible to accurately grasp the malfunction location. This not only facilitates troubleshooting during inspection of the object, but also contributes to debugging during system development. Furthermore, more accurate predictive maintenance will be possible.

For example, when the verification data of one object is referred to, if the light emission command signal is not generated, it can be seen that the command signal transmission unit in the light emission controller has malfunctioned. In such a case, conventionally, since the object is imaged without illumination by the light emitter, the image becomes dark, and the inspection result data by the judgment device based on the image data naturally fails. Therefore, it is only determined that the object has an appearance defect.

In particular, if an abnormal operation detection unit that detects whether or not the inspection system has operated abnormally based on the verification data is provided, it is possible to detect a malfunction of the inspection system in real time.

If a light emitting controller for controlling the light emitting mode of the light emitting device is further provided and the light emitting controller is configured to function as the synchronous controller, there is almost no need to change the conventional system configuration, for example. This inspection system can be constructed inexpensively and quickly simply by replacing the existing light emitting controller.

As a specific embodiment, a position sensor for detecting that the object has been conveyed to a predetermined position may be further provided, and the detection signal of the position sensor may be used as the trigger signal.

In order to be able to more reliably identify the location where the abnormality has occurred, the result data receiving unit further receives the light emitting result data indicating the light emitting result by the light emitter, and the verification data generating unit is said to receive the light emitting result data. It is desirable that the light emission result data or the presence / absence of reception thereof is further linked to the trigger signal that triggers the light emission result data to generate verification data.

As a more specific embodiment, a light emitting detector for detecting the amount of light of the light emitting device is further provided, and data relating to the amount of light detected by the light emitting detector is used as the light emitting result data. be able to.

In order to realize the above configuration without using a dedicated light emission detector, the image pickup device has a function as the light emission detector, and the light emission result data is based on the image data captured by the image pickup device. Is preferably configured to generate.

A connection port for the synchronization controller to connect to the light emitter, the image pickup device and the determination device (hereinafter, referred to as a device when these are not distinguished) by wire or wirelessly, and each of the devices connected to the connection port. If the connection detection unit for detecting is further provided and the connection port is configured so that at least one of the devices can be connected to a plurality of devices, the number of the devices can be changed, so that the user can change the number of the devices. You can flexibly build a system that meets your needs, and you can change the system configuration on the way. It is even more preferable if the light emission detector is included as the device to be connected to the synchronization controller.

Further, the synchronization controller includes a setting unit for setting the output timing of each command signal with respect to the reception timing of the trigger signal, and the setting unit corresponds to the number of each device detected by the connection detection unit. If the setting input screen is output, it is not necessary to configure the setting input screen according to the system configuration one by one. Therefore, for example, the coding work for that purpose can be reduced and the development time can be shortened. In addition, it will be very easy to handle for system operation operators.

Further, if the verification data generation unit generates verification data having the command signal, light emission result data, and inspection result data according to the number of each device detected by the connection detection unit, the system Since it is not necessary to create the structure of the verification data according to the configuration, the development time can be shortened as described above.

The schematic diagram which shows the inspection system in one Embodiment of this invention. The functional block diagram which shows the function of the light emitting controller in the same embodiment. A timing chart showing the generation timing of each signal or data in the same embodiment. A data structure diagram showing an example of verification data in the same embodiment. An example of configuration modification of the inspection system in the same embodiment. An example of configuration modification of the inspection system in the same embodiment.

The inspection system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to each figure.

As shown in FIG. 1, the inspection system 100 inspects the appearance of the object W (hereinafter referred to as the work W) and automatically determines the quality thereof, and the inspection system 100 is conveyed one after another by the conveying device C. The position sensor 1 that detects the position of the work W, the light irradiation device 2 that irradiates the work W detected by the position sensor 1 with light, and the work W that is irradiated with light by the light irradiation device 2 are imaged. It has an image pickup device 3 that outputs the image data, and a determination device 4 that receives the image data output by the image pickup device 3 and automatically determines the quality of the work W based on the image data.
Each part will be described.

The position sensor 1 is installed on the transport path of the work W, and when the work W is transported to the detection area determined by the installation position, the position sensor 1 detects the work W and outputs a detection signal. Here, a non-contact optical type is used as the position sensor 1, but other types such as a magnetic type may be used.

The light irradiation device 2 includes, for example, an LED light emitter 21 installed at a predetermined position on a work transfer path, and a light emission controller 22 that controls a light emission mode (light amount, light emission start timing, light emission time, etc.) of the light emitting device 21. It is prepared. Further, in this embodiment, a light emitting detector 5 is further provided which detects the light amount of the light emitting device 21 and outputs the light emitting result data regarding the light amount. More specifically, the photodetector 5 is a so-called optical sensor having a photodetector such as a photodiode or a CCD. The light emission result data is data indicating the brightness measured by the light emission detector 5.

Although not shown, the image pickup apparatus 3 has an image sensor, an optical system, a control circuit, and the like, and outputs image data of the captured work W. Imaging conditions such as imaging timing and shutter time can be set by external communication or input. Although a two-dimensional camera is used as the image pickup apparatus 3 here, a line sensor may be used.

The determination device 4 is a computer having an image processing function, performs predetermined image processing such as binarization and edge detection on the image data transmitted from the image pickup device 3, and images the image data based on the processed data. It determines the quality of the work W and outputs the inspection result data indicating the result. A machine learning function (AI) may be used for this pass / fail judgment.
Next, the light emitting controller 22 will be described in detail.

The light emitting controller 22 is mainly composed of an operational amplifier, FET, and the like, and is composed of a driver circuit that outputs a current supplied to the LED, a CPU, a memory, a communication interface, and the like, and information that controls control, communication, and setting of the driver circuit. It is equipped with a processing circuit.

However, the light emitting controller 22 in this embodiment is connected not only to the light emitting control of the light emitting device 21 described above, but also to the position sensor 1, the imaging device 3, the determination device 4, and the light emitting detector 5 so as to be able to communicate by wire or wirelessly. Therefore, they are configured to operate synchronously and also to function as a synchronous controller for monitoring these operations.

That is, in the light emitting controller 22, the CPU and its peripheral devices cooperate according to the program stored in the memory, so that the trigger signal receiving unit 22a, the command signal transmitting unit 22b, and the result data are as shown in FIG. It functions as a receiving unit 22c, a verification data generating unit 22d, an abnormal operation detecting unit 22e, a connection detecting unit 22f, a setting unit 22g, and the like.
Each part will be described in detail.

The trigger signal receiving unit 22a receives a trigger signal that determines the inspection start timing for each work W. Here, the detection signal of the work W by the position sensor 1 is received as a trigger signal.

As shown in FIG. 3, the command signal transmission unit 22d delays the command signal for synchronously operating the light emitter 21 and the image pickup device 3 by a set time from the reception timing of the trigger signal. It is transmitted to the light emitter 21 and the image pickup device 3, respectively.

Among these command signals, the one for the light emitter 21 (hereinafter, also referred to as a light emission command signal) is a pulse-shaped current supply signal output to the light emitter 21 via the driver circuit. The light emitter 21 that has received the light emission command signal emits light in a light emission mode according to its voltage, output timing, and pulse width, that is, a light amount, a light emission start timing, and a light emission time.

On the other hand, the command signal for the image pickup device 3 (hereinafter, also referred to as an image pickup command signal) is a pulse signal, and the image pickup device 3 that has received the image pickup command signal opens the shutter according to the reception timing and performs an image pickup operation. do. Other imaging parameters such as the shutter speed are preset in the imaging device 3.

The result data receiving unit 22c receives the light emission result data indicating the brightness of the light emitting device 21 emitted by the light emitting command signal from the light emitting detector 5, and the image data captured by the imaging device 3 by the command signal. Based on this, the determination device 4 receives the inspection result data determined for the work W.

The value of the light emission result data is the measured luminance value as described above, and here, it takes a value of 0 to 100. The values of the inspection result data are 2 values, 1 (good) and 0 (no). As the light emission result data, for example, the brightness measurement value may be processed into binary data indicating whether or not the value is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value.

As shown in FIG. 4, the verification data generation unit 22d captures whether or not the light emission command signal is transmitted within the predetermined time in addition to the respective result data received within the predetermined time after receiving the trigger signal. A memory is generated by generating verification data in which transmission / reception completion data indicating whether or not a command signal is transmitted, whether or not light emission result data is received, and whether or not inspection result data is received is linked to the trigger signal. It is stored in a predetermined area of.

The abnormal operation detection unit 22e detects an abnormality detection signal indicating whether or not the inspection system has abnormally operated based on the verification data. The condition for the abnormal operation detection unit 22e to determine that it is abnormal is when any of the following three requirements is satisfied, and there are other conditions.
(1) After receiving the trigger signal, the light emission command signal or the imaging command signal has not been transmitted within a predetermined time.
(2) After receiving the trigger signal, the light emission result data or the inspection result data must not be received within the specified time.
(3) The value of the light emission result data is less than a predetermined threshold value.
Then, the abnormal operation detection unit 22e associates the detection result with the corresponding verification data as abnormality detection data having a binary value of 1 (abnormal) or 0 (normal) (see FIG. 4).

The setting unit 22g sets values related to various setting items in the light emitting controller 22 and stores them in a predetermined area of the memory. As the setting items, in addition to the setting items that the light emitting controller 22 should originally have, the setting items for functioning as the synchronization controller are provided.

The former is a setting item for determining the light emitting mode of the light emitting device 21, and examples thereof include a light amount (dimming value), a light emitting start timing, and a light emitting period. According to the value of this setting item, the voltage, output timing, and pulse width (in other words, the light emitting mode of the light emitting device 21), which are the parameters of the light emitting command signal, are defined.

The latter is a setting item related to the synchronous operation of the image pickup device 3 and the light emitter 21, and each result data received from the determination device 4 and the light emission detector 5. The setting items for the synchronous operation are the respective delay times from the reception of the trigger signal to the output of the light emission command signal and the image pickup command signal. The setting items for the result data include the maximum waiting time that can be waited for receiving each result data after receiving the trigger signal, the threshold value for determining the light emission failure in the value of the light emission result data, and the like. Is.

The setting unit 22g also displays a predetermined input screen (not shown) on a display provided or connected to the light emitting controller 22. The value of each setting item described above can be input to this input screen, and the setting unit 22g reads the input data which is the value of each setting item input by the user. The input data may be transmitted from another information processing device or the like and read by the setting unit 22g.

By the way, in the present inspection system 100, the number of each of the light emitter 21, the light emission detector 5, the image pickup device 3 and the determination device 4 that can be connected to the light emission controller 22 is not limited to one, and a plurality of units can be configured. be.

An example thereof is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 shows an example in which the light emitter 21, the light emission detector 5, and the image pickup device 3 are grouped into one group, and two groups are provided so that two different work Ws can be illuminated and imaged in each group. .. FIG. 6 is an example in which two light emitting devices 21 and two light emitting motion detectors are provided so that one work W can be illuminated from different positions. In addition, in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, (1) and (2) are attached to distinguish between the two.

Then, in order to enable the number of constituent devices of the inspection system 100 to be freely changed in this way, the light emitting controller 22 is provided with a connection port 6 to which a plurality of the devices can be connected, as shown in FIG. It is provided. The connection port 6 referred to here includes not only physical terminals and connectors for wired connection but also virtual connection ports on software for wireless connection.

Further, in the command signal transmission unit 22b, a circuit is configured so that the command signal can be independently transmitted to the plurality of light emitters 21 and the plurality of image pickup devices 3, and the result data reception unit 22c also has the result data reception unit 22c. The circuit is configured so that the result data can be received independently from the plurality of light emission detectors 5 and the plurality of determination devices 4.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the inspection system 100 is provided with a connection detection unit 22f. The connection detection unit 22f detects the number of each of the light emitter 21, the light emission detector 5, the image pickup device 3, and the determination device 4 connected to the light emission controller 22, and stores them in a predetermined area of the memory.

Further, the setting unit 22g refers to the number of each device detected by the connection detection unit 22f, and displays an input screen corresponding to the number of devices. The verification data generation unit 22d also associates the number of each command signal, the light emission result data, and the inspection result data corresponding to the number of each device detected by the connection detection unit 22f with the trigger signal that is the cause thereof. To generate verification data.

According to the present embodiment configured as described above, by referring to the content of the verification data, that is, each command signal and each result data, it is possible that the work W was conventionally determined to be an appearance defect and overlooked. A certain malfunction of the inspection system 100 can be reliably detected, and the malfunction portion can be accurately grasped. Taking the verification data shown in FIG. 4 as an example, it can be seen from the third verification data that the light emitter 21 had a malfunction at this time. From the 198th and 199th verification data, it can be seen that the command signal transmission unit 22b has malfunctioned at this time. Further, in this example, since the work W is conveyed at regular intervals, the trigger signal is also generated at regular intervals, and the trigger signal generation interval is monitored. In the 305th verification data, the trigger signal is generated. Since the trigger signal could not be received at the desired timing, it can be seen whether the work W was missing or the position sensor malfunctioned.

This not only facilitates troubleshooting during inspection of the work W, but also contributes to debugging during inspection system development. Furthermore, more accurate predictive maintenance will be possible.

Further, in this embodiment, the abnormal operation detection unit 22e detects whether or not the inspection system 100 has abnormally operated based on the verification data, so that the fact is output to the display at the detection timing. If the notification is given, it is possible to automatically detect the malfunction of the inspection system 100 in real time.

Further, since the light emitting controller 22 functions as a synchronous controller, it is almost unnecessary for the user to change the conventional system configuration. For example, the inspection system 100 is inexpensive by simply replacing the existing light emitting controller. And can be built quickly.

Further, even if the number of each device is changed, the setting input screen according to the system configuration is automatically created, and the content of the verification data is automatically changed accordingly. For example, for that purpose. Coding work can be reduced and development time can be shortened. In addition, it will be very easy to handle for system operation operators. As a result, the system can be flexibly constructed according to the user's request, and the system configuration can be easily changed on the way.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
For example, the synchronization controller may be provided independently, or the image pickup device or the determination device may be responsible for the function.

If this inspection system is connected to a communication network such as the Internet, the verification data can be remotely monitored, which can contribute to inspection and maintenance and operation monitoring not only by the user but also by the supplier. In addition, the verification data collected in this way from each user can be used for improvement and development of new products.
An inspection system that does not have a light emission detector, that is, has no light emission result data may be used. In that case, the light emission result data and the presence / absence of reception thereof do not exist in the verification data.

The light emission detector may be not only an optical sensor but also a current sensor that monitors the current flowing inside the light emitter, in short, any one that can detect the brightness of the light emitter and whether it is turned on or off.

The image pickup device may be made to function as a light emission detector. In this way, there is an advantage that a dedicated light emission detector becomes unnecessary.

In that case, a light emission result data generation unit that generates light emission result data from the image data is required. As a specific method for generating light emission result data from image data by this light emission result data generation unit, it is considered that in the image data, the pixels in the region where the object is not reflected indicate the light amount of the light emitter. Therefore, it is possible to use the value of the pixel as the light emission result data. In addition, various other possibilities can be considered, such as using the average brightness of the image data as the light emission result data.

Further, the light emission result data generation unit may be provided in any of the synchronization controller, the image pickup device, and the determination device.

When the synchronization controller is provided with a light emission result data generation unit, the image data is transmitted from the imaging device to the synchronization controller, and the light emission result data is generated there. When the image pickup device or the determination device is provided with a light emission result data generation unit, the light emission result data generated there is transmitted to the synchronization controller.

Further, the image pickup apparatus may be provided with a function as a light emission detector, and a dedicated light emission detector such as an optical sensor may be separately provided. In this way, by comparing the light emission result data obtained by the imaging device with the light emission result data obtained by the light emission detector, it is possible to accurately detect an operation abnormality of light emission detection. Specifically, when the light emission result data of both are inconsistent, it can be seen that an abnormality has occurred in either the light emitter 21 or the image pickup device 3.

In addition, the present invention may be modified in various ways or a part of each embodiment may be combined as long as it does not contradict the gist thereof.

100 ... Inspection system 21 ... Light emitter 3 ... Imaging device 4 ... Judgment device 5 ... Light emission detector 22 ... Light emission controller (synchronous controller)
22b ... Command signal transmission unit 22c ... Result data reception unit 22d ... Verification data generation unit W ... Work (object)

Claims (10)

Inspecting the object based on a light emitter that irradiates the object to be inspected with light, an imaging device that images the object, and image data output from the imaging device, triggered by a trigger signal that determines the inspection start timing. However, it is equipped with a judgment device that outputs the inspection result data.
A synchronization controller for synchronously operating the light emitter and the imaging device is further provided.
The synchronization controller
A command signal transmitting unit that transmits a light emitting command signal to the light emitter and an imaging command signal to the imaging device based on the reception timing of the trigger signal, respectively.
A result data receiving unit that receives inspection result data based on the image data of the imaging device from the determination device, and
Verification that generates verification data by associating each command signal or its transmission presence / absence and the inspection result data or its reception presence / absence with the trigger signal that triggers the inspection result data, and stores the verification data in a predetermined area of a memory. An inspection system characterized by having a data generation unit. The inspection system according to claim 1, further comprising a light emitting controller for controlling a light emitting mode of the light emitting device, and the light emitting controller is configured to function as the synchronous controller. The inspection system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a position sensor for detecting that the object has been conveyed to a predetermined position, and using the detection signal of the position sensor as the trigger signal. The result data receiving unit further receives the light emitting result data indicating the light emitting result by the light emitting device.
The inspection system according to claim 1 to 3, wherein the verification data generation unit further links the light emission result data or the presence / absence of reception thereof to the trigger signal that triggers the light emission result data to generate verification data. The inspection system according to claim 4, further comprising a light emission detector for detecting the amount of light of the light emitting device, and data relating to the amount of light detected by the light emitting detector is used as the light emission result data. The inspection system according to claim 5, wherein the image pickup device has a function as the light emission detector, and the light emission result data is generated based on the image data captured by the image pickup device. A connection port for the synchronization controller to connect to the light emitter, the image pickup device and the determination device (hereinafter, referred to as a device when these are not distinguished) by wire or wirelessly, and each of the devices connected to the connection port. It also has a connection detector to detect,
The inspection system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the connection port is configured to connect a plurality of at least one of the devices. The synchronization controller includes a setting unit for setting the output timing of each command signal with respect to the reception timing of the trigger signal.
The inspection system according to claim 7, wherein the setting unit outputs a setting input screen according to the number of each device detected by the connection detection unit. The inspection system according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the verification data generation unit generates verification data having the command signal, light emission result data, and inspection result data according to the number of each device detected by the connection detection unit. .. Inspecting the object based on a light emitter that irradiates the object to be inspected with light, an imaging device that images the object, and image data output from the imaging device, triggered by a trigger signal that determines the inspection start timing. A light emitting controller that is used in an inspection system equipped with a determination device that outputs the inspection result data and controls the light emitting mode of the light emitter.
A command signal transmitting unit that generates a light emitting command signal for the light emitter and an imaging command signal for the imaging device and transmits each of the command signals based on the reception timing of the trigger signal.
A result data receiving unit that receives inspection result data based on the image data of the imaging device from the determination device, and
Verification that generates verification data by associating each command signal or its transmission presence / absence and the inspection result data or its reception presence / absence with the trigger signal that triggers the inspection result data, and stores the verification data in a predetermined area of a memory. A light emitting controller characterized by having a data generation unit.

Images