JP2915785B2 - Defect detection method of heat seal part of transparent tube and bag - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for detecting a defect in a heat-sealed portion of a transparent tube applied to a bag or a transparent tube which is heat-sealed after filling an enclosure such as food and medicine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An end of a tube for filling an enclosure such as food or medicine in paste form, which is opposite to a cap, is filled with the enclosure and then heat-sealed to seal the enclosure in the tube. . By the way, in this sealing portion, an encapsulant may enter, moisture may adhere, or air may enter, resulting in poor sealing.

[0003] As a conventional method for detecting a defective portion of a sealed portion of a tube filled with a filling material, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-27644 discloses a method.
There is an invention described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4 (JP-A-4), the details of which are described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 5 shows an apparatus to which a conventional method is applied. A laser light source 110 for irradiating a linear laser beam B to a hermetically sealed portion 103 of a tubular container 101 from above, A photodetector 111 for detecting the amount of light transmitted through the seal portion 103 on the extension line
And a judging device 112 for judging pass / fail of the seal portion 103 by comparing the output signal of the photodetector 111 with a reference signal.

A light shielding plate 113 is provided between the container 101 and the photodetector 111, and the light shielding plate 11 through which the beam B passes is provided.
A small hole 114 is drilled in the portion 3. Although not shown, appropriate driving means for sequentially moving the plurality of containers 101 is provided so that the seal portion 103 moves between the light source 110 and the light shielding plate 113 in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. ing. Further, a control device 115 for discharging the defective container based on the determination result of the determination device 112 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 6A, when the seal of the container 101 is good, the layers 10 above and below the seal portion 103 are formed.
Since the beams 3a and 103b are in close contact with each other, the irradiated beam B is transmitted almost as it is.

As a result, the amount of light incident on the photodetector 111 through the hole 114 of the light-shielding plate 113 is large, and when the beam B sweeps the seal portion 103, the photodetector 111
Is as shown in FIG. 7 (a). In addition,
C shown in the figure is a reference signal, which is set to a value slightly smaller than the output signal D of the photodetector 111 when the seal is good.

As shown in FIG. 6 (b), when the seal is defective, the upper and lower layers 103a and 103b of the seal portion 103 are separated from each other, and a content enters or a cavity is formed between them.

When the laser beam B is applied to such a defective sealing portion, the light transmitted through the upper layer 103a is refracted and scattered at the exit, and the light entering the lower layer 103b is also reflected. Since reflection, refraction, and scattering occur, the beam transmitted through the defective seal becomes light scattered over a wide range.

For this reason, the amount of light incident on the photodetector 111 through the hole 114 of the light shielding plate 113 is small. Then, the output signal of the photodetector 111 when the beam B sweeps the defective seal portion 103 becomes like E shown in FIG. 7B, and the signal F of the defective seal portion becomes smaller than the reference signal C.

If the output signal of the photodetector 111 becomes smaller than C as shown in FIG. 7B while the beam B sweeps the seal portion 103, the judgment device 112 has a bad seal. And outputs a failure signal to the control device 115. When the control device 115 receives the defective signal, it outputs a defective container discharge signal to the driving means of the container 101, thereby discharging the defective container from the transport line.

[0012]

In general, a serial number or the like is often engraved on a seal portion of a container. Therefore, the quality of the seal can be determined without error by irradiating a laser beam on the seal surface. The width is narrow, and the width of the sealing part is the
There is a lot of variation because each workstation is different until stamping and trimming by cutter.

In addition, the container is tilted due to vibration during transportation until the container reaches the irradiation position of the laser beam, whereby the location of the container irradiated with the laser beam is likely to change.

In the conventional method, the width of the seal portion, which can determine the quality of the seal of the container as described above, is narrow and has many variations. In this case, there is a risk that the laser beam irradiates the stamp or the filling position with the laser beam and discharges a non-defective product as a defective product.

Further, in order to prevent this malfunction, a special device for keeping the position of the sealing portion of the container at the time of beam irradiation is required. Furthermore, it was not applicable to a container having a polypuddle because it was always determined to be defective.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for detecting a defect in a heat-sealed portion of a transparent tube, which can reliably detect the quality of a seal without using a special device.

[0017]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

(1) In the method for detecting a defective portion of a heat-sealed portion of a transparent tube or a bag according to the present invention, the other end of the heat-sealed portion of a transparent tube or a bag having a seal boundary having a trimmed edge formed by trimming an end portion with a cutter. The surface is irradiated with light, and the CCD camera provided on one surface side receives the light transmitted through the heat seal portion and outputs an image signal,
In the defect detection method of detecting a defect of the heat seal portion by a controller that has input the image signal, after setting an inspection region having a constant width parallel to a trimming edge of the heat seal portion, a trimming edge is set in the inspection region. Set two or more parallel inspection lines, judge the quality of the seal for each inspection line, and if any one of the inspection lines is judged to be good, judge the transparent tube or bag to be good. It is characterized by.

(2) According to the present invention, in the method for detecting a defect in a heat-sealed portion of a transparent tube and a bag according to the above-mentioned invention (1), the judgment of the defective seal for each inspection line is received by a CCD camera. The method is characterized in that the number of pixels having a light intensity level equal to or less than a certain value is continuously counted on the inspection line, and when this exceeds a preset value, it is determined to be defective and is performed. I have.

(3) The present invention relates to the method for detecting a defect in a heat-sealed portion of a transparent tube and a bag according to the invention (1), wherein the light received by the CCD camera after passing through the transparent tube and the bag is equal to or less than a certain level. In the case of a transparent tube or a bag having a certain number of poly reservoirs that become luminous in the heat-sealed part, the determination of the sealing failure on the inspection line is set after setting the number of pixels equal to or less than the number corresponding to the poly reservoir width in advance. The number of consecutive pixels exceeding the value of the number of pixels obtained is counted on one inspection line, and when the counted number is different from a certain number of the poly pool, the inspection result is obtained for the inspection line. Is determined to be defective, and when the inspection results for all the inspection lines are defective, the heating seal portion is determined to be defective.

(4) The present invention provides the method for detecting a defective portion of a heat-sealed portion of a transparent tube and a bag according to the invention (1), wherein the number of pixels of the inspection line according to the invention (2) is equal to or lower than a certain luminous intensity level. The method of determining a seal failure by counting the number of pixels and the method of determining a seal failure by counting a set of consecutive pixels having a luminous intensity level or less in an inspection line according to the invention (3) are used in combination. And

(5) The present invention provides a method for detecting a defect in a heat-sealed portion of a transparent tube and a bag according to the above-mentioned invention (3). It is characterized in that a colored portion is provided to determine a seal failure.

[0022]

In the above invention (1), the light applied to the other surface of the transparent tube and the heated seal portion of the bag passes through the heated seal portion and is received by the CCD camera. An image of the part is photographed, converted into an image signal, and output to the controller.

The controller which has received the image signal,
An area having a fixed width parallel to the trimming edge of the heat seal is set as an inspection area, and two or more inspection lines parallel to the trimming edge are set in this inspection area, and the inspection result of any one of the inspection lines is good. In this case, the transparent tube and the bag are judged to be good.

The inspection line is set at a position where the work stations from filling the transparent tube and the bag with the filling material to heating, sealing, engraving, and trimming with the cutter are different, and the width of the seal is varied. This is a part that is not affected by the inclination of the transparent tube, etc., and can be used to accurately judge the sealing failure due to the inclusions, etc. In addition, if one inspection result of the inspection line is good, it is determined to be a good product. A non-defective product is not determined as a defective product, and an accurate determination of a defective seal can be performed.

In the above invention (2), the judgment of the sealing failure in the above invention (1) is based on the number of pixels on which the luminous intensity level of the light received by the CCD camera is less than a certain value on the inspection line. To count whether there is, and if this exceeds a preset value as a defect,
It is possible to quantify the defective seal, and it is possible to eliminate the possibility that a non-defective product is determined as a defective product due to minute dust or light fluctuation.

In the above invention (3), the judgment of the sealing failure in the above invention (1) is made based on the number of pixels which have detected light of a certain luminous intensity level or less as in the above invention (2). Is set to a value equal to or less than the number of continuous pixels, and it is counted whether a set of the number of continuous pixels exceeding this value sticks on one inspection line, and the counted number is equal to the number of the poly pools. When different
The inspection result of the inspection line is determined to be defective, and when the inspection results of all the inspection lines are defective, the heat seal portion is determined to be defective.

The method of the present invention can be applied to the case where the transparent tube and the bag have a poly pool.
Even in such a case, highly accurate determination of a seal failure can be made.

In the invention (4), the inventions (2) and (3) are used in combination and applied to the invention (1), and the invention is applied to a transparent tube and a bag having a polypuddle. The determination with higher accuracy can be performed as compared with the case where only the method (3) is used.

In the above invention (5), a colored portion is provided in the sealing portion of the transparent tube and the bag to determine whether or not the sealing is defective. This also makes the method of the above invention (3) applicable.

[0030]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An apparatus applied to a failure detection method according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

The apparatus according to the present embodiment shown in FIG.
The CCD camera 6 disposed so as to face one sealing surface 3 of the transparent tube 2 conveyed by the conveying device 13 and is opposed to the other sealing surface 3 of the transparent tube via the diffusion plate 5. Light source 4 arranged as described above, a detecting device 15 provided in the transport device 13 for the transparent tube 2 for detecting the transparent tube 2, and whether the detecting device 15 and the CCD camera 6 are connected and whether the seal of the transparent tube 2 is good or not And a controller 10 for removing defective tubes.

The controller 10 which has received the image signal from the CCD camera 6 captures the trimming edge 7 of the heat sealing surface 3 of the transparent tube 2 shown in FIG. 2 and uses this as a reference line to measure the length A ₁ from the trimming edge 7. , A ₂ indicate the inspection area F between the separated lines (shown by hatching in FIG. 2A).
Is set in advance, and a fixed width B (B = A ₁ −A) of the inspection area F is set.
₂ ) Two inspection lines D ₁ and D ₂ separated from the trimming edge 7 by L ₁ and L _{2 at a} narrower interval C (C <B) are set in the inspection area F.

Normally, the center (L ₁ + L ₂ ) / 2 in the width direction of a plurality of inspection lines is set to the center (A ₁ ) in the width direction of the inspection area F.
+ A ₂ ) / 2. In the case of the present embodiment, the inspection area F is between the seal boundary line 8 and the date stamp 9, but it goes without saying that the inspection area F may be appropriately changed depending on the type of material or product to be filled.

In this embodiment, the heat sealing surface 3 has, for example, five convex portions, which are the same as those of the material of the transparent tube 2, which are made of poly-pools 11. The amount of transmitted light is reduced, and that portion of the image received by the CCD camera 6 becomes a dark image. Also,
The number of pixels of the poly pool 11 in the direction of the trimming edge line 7 is set to 5 pixels.

Next, a method for detecting a defect in the heat seal portion using the above-described apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. After filling the filling, the transfer device 1 goes through the heat sealing process, the engraving process, and the trimming process to the heat seal portion inspection process.
The transparent tube 2 carried by 3 is set so that the heat sealing surface 3 comes on the light source 4.

At this time, the CCD camera 6 receives light from the light source 4 passing through the diffusion plate 5 and the heat sealing surface 3.
The controller 10 receiving the light and inputting an image signal from the CCD camera 6 captures the trimming edge 7 of the transparent tube 2 and sets an inspection area F using this as a reference line as shown in FIG. The inspection lines D ₁ and D ₂ are set so that the center line and the virtual line between the inspection lines D ₁ and D ₂ match.

Inspection line D₁, D_TwoIs set,
The controller 10 uses this inspection line D ₁, D_TwoAbove received light amount
Is the number of pixels below the specified level.
If this is greater than the preset value,
Judge as good.

In this embodiment, considering the number of four pixels in the direction of the trimming edge 7 of the poly pool 11 and the tolerance thereof, 6
A case where the number of consecutive pixels is equal to or more than the number of pixels is regarded as a defect, and the air pool portion 12 having a number of pixels of 6 or more, entrapment of foreign matter and foreign matter, etc. in a portion other than the poly pool of the heating seal portion 3, and a bowl exceeding the allowable value of the seal portion. If there is a tune, or if there are two or more pixels whose light receiving amount is below a predetermined level before and after the poly puddle 11, it is determined to be defective.

Next, another determination method different from the above will be described. In this determination method, the number of consecutive pixels that is equal to or less than the number of consecutive pixels corresponding to the poly pool 11 (or less than four pixels in the present embodiment) is set in advance in consideration of the cause of the defect (two pixels in the present embodiment). ) Is counted on each inspection line D ₁ , D ₂ ,
When the count value is different from the number (5 in this embodiment) that should be on the inspection line of the poly pool 11,
Judge as bad.

Accordingly, if there is a defect such as a foreign substance having a size of two or more pixels, an enclosure, an air reservoir, or the like between the poly reservoirs 11, if the curving and engraving positions of the seal portion are defective, the poly It is determined that the pool is defective, for example, when the prescribed amount is lost for some reason.

In this determination method, in the normal case, the inspection is performed on the inspection lines D ₁ and D _{2 as} described above, and if there is no defective portion in the inspection area F, it is determined as a non-defective product, and the transparent tube 2 is determined as a non-defective product. Is determined.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 3 (c), shift inspection area F by the variation of the seal width, etc., if the inspection line D ₁ is out of the examination region F, the test line D ₂ inspection region F
The inspection line D ₂ is inspected. If there is no defective portion, the inspection line D ₂ is determined to be non-defective, and the inspection line D ₁
, The transparent tube 2 is determined to be non-defective even if it is determined to be defective due to deviation from the inspection area F.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3D, the inspection area F is shifted due to the variation of the seal width or the like as described above.
If inspection line D ₂ is out of the inspection area, inspection line D ₁ because that remains in the inspection region F, and judged to be good if there is defective portion inspects the inspection lines D _1, the inspection in the inspection line D ₂ The transparent tube 2 is determined to be non-defective even if it is determined to be defective by slipping out of the region F.

As shown in FIG.
If it is larger than the valve volume, the seal boundary will bend.
Inspection area F, which can be determined
D ₁, D_TwoIs in the inspection area F,
Since defective products can be judged, good products can be judged as defective products.
And less.

In addition, variations in each step such as a heat sealing process, a stamping process, and a trimming process after filling the transparent tube 2 with the filling material, and variations in the inspection area due to the inclination of the transparent tube due to vibration during conveyance between the processes. In order to perform an accurate inspection in response to variations in trimming edge accuracy and curvature of the seal portion, two inspection lines D ₁ and D
₂ , the width of the interval C is reduced, and the inspection lines D ₁ , D ₂
Inspection accuracy can be improved by setting the number of not only two but more than two.

When the above two methods for judging defects are used together, it goes without saying that the judgment accuracy can be further improved.

[0047]

According to the method for detecting a defective portion of the heat seal portion of the transparent tube and the bag according to the present invention, an image of the heat seal portion of the transparent tube and the bag photographed by the CCD camera is provided with an inspection area having a constant width parallel to the trimming edge. A plurality of inspection lines parallel to the trimming edge are set in this area, and a seal failure is determined for each line. If one inspection line is good, it is determined to be a good product. The present invention realizes a method capable of properly detecting a seal failure by eliminating the influence of a variation in a portion or a variation in mounting of a transparent tube or the like. In addition, the determination of the seal failure is performed by counting the number of pixels that receive light having a light intensity level or lower, thereby quantifying the determination,
It is possible to increase the accuracy, and furthermore, it is possible to cope with the case where there is a poly pool in the heat seal portion by counting the set of the number of pixels.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a transparent tube according to the one embodiment,
(A) is a front view, (b) is a cross-sectional view, and (c) is a bottom view.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams of an inspection area and an inspection line according to the embodiment; FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a relationship between a normal trimming edge and an inspection area; FIG. (C) is an explanatory diagram when the inspection area moves away from the trimming edge, and (d) is an explanatory diagram when the inspection area approaches the trimming edge.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram when the transparent tube according to the embodiment is bent.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of an apparatus according to a conventional method.

6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams of laser beam irradiation according to the conventional method, wherein FIG. 6A shows a case where the seal is good, and FIG. 6B shows a case where the seal is bad.

7A and 7B are explanatory diagrams of an output signal of a photodetector according to the conventional method, wherein FIG. 7A shows a case where the seal is good and FIG. 7B shows a case where the seal is bad.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cutter 2 Transparent tube 3 Seal surface 4 Light source 5 Diffusion plate 6 CCD camera 7 Trimming edge 8 Seal boundary 9 Engraving 10 Controller 11 Poly pool 12 Air pool part 13 Transport device 14 Detecting device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takeshi Nakai 1-5-7 Mikitei Sakaecho, Higashiosaka-shi, Osaka House Foods Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-62-163950 (JP, A) JP-A-55-116541 (JP, A) JP-A-61-130861 (JP, A) JP 1955-112550 (JP, A) Japanese Utility Model Hei 1-137463 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G01N 21/84-21/90 B65B 57/02 B65D 33 / 22 B65B 51/10

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A light source irradiates the other surface of a heat-sealed portion of a transparent tube or a bag having a seal boundary line having an edge portion trimmed with a cutter to form a trimming edge,
A defect in which the light transmitted through the heat seal portion is received by a charge-coupled device camera provided on one surface side and an image signal is output, and a controller that inputs the image signal detects a defect in the heat seal portion. In the detection method, after setting an inspection area of a fixed width parallel to the trimming edge of the heated seal portion, two or more inspection lines parallel to the trimming edge are set in the inspection area, and sealing is performed for each inspection line. A method of detecting a defect in a heat-sealed portion of a transparent tube or a bag, wherein if one of the inspection lines is determined to be good, the transparent tube or the bag is determined to be good. 2. The method for detecting a defect in a heat-sealed portion of a transparent tube and a bag according to claim 1, wherein the judgment of the defect of the seal for each inspection line is based on the light intensity level of the light received by the charge-coupled device camera. A transparent tube and a bag characterized by counting how many consecutive pixels on a test line have a number of pixels equal to or less than a certain value, and determining that the number of pixels is less than a preset value as a defect. Method of detecting the failure of the heat seal part 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the light received by the camera after passing through the transparent tube and the bag has a luminous intensity below a certain level. In the case of a transparent tube or a bag having a fixed number in the heat sealing portion, the judgment of the sealing failure in the inspection line is performed by setting a pixel number equal to or less than the number corresponding to the poly pool width in advance, and then setting the pixel number value. The number of consecutive pixels exceeding the number of pixels on one inspection line is counted, and when the counted number is different from a certain number of the poly pool, the inspection result is determined to be defective for the inspection line. And heating the transparent tube and bag when the inspection result of all the inspection lines is defective. A method for detecting defects in the seal. 4. The method for detecting a defect in a heat-sealed portion of a transparent tube and a bag according to claim 1, wherein the number of pixels at a certain luminous intensity level or less in the inspection line is counted to determine a defective seal. 4. A method for judging a defective seal by counting a set of the number of pixels below a certain luminous intensity level in a continuous inspection line according to claim 3. Failure detection method. 5. A method for detecting a defective portion of a heat-sealed portion of a transparent tube and a bag according to claim 3, wherein a colored portion is provided as a substitute for the poly-pool when no poly-pool exists or is unclear. A method for detecting a defect in a heat-sealed portion of a transparent tube and a bag, the method comprising: