JP3725774B2 - Game board inspection device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a game board inspection apparatus for inspecting a processing place and a part attachment place of a game board used in a gaming machine.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A gaming board made of plywood is used for a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine or an arrangement ball machine, and an NC router is used to machine parts mounting holes and the like for mounting various gaming parts on the board surface. FIG. 7 shows an outline of a conventional game board manufacturing process in a pachinko machine. After the veneer is processed by a router and deburred, a sampling inspection of the processed game board is performed.
[0003]
In this sampling inspection, a disk-shaped router machining measuring jig 100 as shown in FIG. 8 is used, and an inspector processes the L-shaped wall 102 provided on the edge of the board surface of the jig. The finished game board 104 is set in the direction of the arrows X and Y in the figure, and the position in the XY axis direction from the outer surface reference portions X0 and Y0 of the wall 102 to a predetermined location (part mounting holes 106 and 108). The deviation (XA, XB, YA, YB dimensions in the figure) is measured with a caliper to determine pass / fail.
[0004]
In addition, in the assembly line, the operator visually inspects for incorrect mounting and misalignment of gaming parts attached to the game board.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional sampling inspection of the processed game board, since it is not possible to measure all the processing points due to the balance with the inspection man-hours, the component mounting holes (106 to 130) are relatively displaced, If the whole is displaced in the XY axis direction, it may not be detected. In addition, since the measurement is performed manually by the inspector, there are concerns about reliability such as measurement mistakes and problems that it is difficult to improve efficiency, and there is also a risk that scratches and dirt may be attached when handling the game board.
[0006]
On the other hand, when an inspection on the assembly line reveals a component mounting position error due to a router processing error as described above on the component-mounted game board, the same defective product, that is, a component mounting position error There are cases in which a large number of game boards that have caused the problem are manufactured. For these defective products, the game parts are removed from the game board and reused. In this way, if a router processing failure of a game board is overlooked, it causes wasteful work such as removal and reattachment of the attached game parts, so that the work efficiency is remarkably lowered and the repair cost of defective products increases. There is.
[0007]
In consideration of the above-mentioned facts, the present invention is designed to ensure reliability and improve efficiency when inspecting a processed game board in which an outer shape, a part mounting hole, etc. are processed. It is an object to provide an apparatus.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention according to claim 1 transfers the processed game board in which the outer shape, the hole for attaching the parts, etc. are processed, and the direction of the processed game board to be transferred is set in the transfer direction with respect to the transfer direction. A conveyor provided with a bending portion that changes by 90 degrees, a photographing means for photographing the board surface of the processed game board transferred by the conveyor, and a board surface image photographed by the photographing means is converted into digital image data. Conversion means, comparison means for comparing digital reference data of a predetermined board image of the processed game board stored in the storage means and the digital image data, and the processed game board based on a comparison result by the comparison means anda judging means for judging acceptance of the imaging means, to scan the board of the machined game board that is disposed on the upstream side is transferred with respect to the bent portion of the conveyor in the longitudinal direction A first line sensor, and wherein the ing from the second line sensor to scan the board in the processed game board to be transported is disposed on the downstream side in the lateral direction.
[0009]
In the invention according to claim 1, in NC router or the like contour, transferred by the processed game board conveyor obtained by processing component mounting holes or recesses, etc. Then, the bent portion provided in the middle of the transfer path, the processed game The orientation of the board is changed 90 degrees with respect to the transport direction. Then , the board surface of the processed game board is scanned in the vertical direction by the first line sensor by the imaging means including the first line sensor arranged on the upstream side with respect to the bent portion and the second line sensor arranged on the downstream side. The board image (analog image signal) is scanned by the second line sensor in the horizontal direction and converted into digital image data by conversion means such as an A / D converter. The storage means such as a RAM stores digital reference data of a predetermined board image of the processed game board, and the digital reference data and the digital image data are compared with a comparison means such as a CPU so-called pattern matching or the like. Compute and compare using image processing techniques.
[0010]
The predetermined board surface image of the processed game board here refers to an image of the board surface in which the game board is processed as designed, that is, the outer shape, the part mounting holes, etc. are in a regular shape and arrangement. Such digital reference data of a predetermined board image can be formed based on, for example, a design drawing, CAD data, NC data, or the like.
[0011]
Thereby, for example, when the component mounting hole is misaligned, the difference between the digital image data and the digital reference data corresponding to the misalignment amount is obtained by the arithmetic processing. In the determination means, the pass / fail of the processed game board is determined based on the comparison result obtained as the data difference. That is, if the data difference is less than or equal to a preset threshold value, the product is accepted, and if the data difference is greater than or equal to the threshold value, the product is defective.
[0012]
This determination result is informed to an inspector or the like by an informing means such as a lamp, a buzzer, or a monitor as in the invention described in claim 2 , or in order to cope with automation of an assembly line, etc. You may make it distribute to an acceptable product or inferior goods by the distribution means.
[0013]
Thus, by inspecting the processed part of the game board with an apparatus having an image recognition function, variation in the inspection is suppressed, and since the inspection result is notified by the notification means, the pass / fail determination becomes clear. These ensure the reliability of the inspection. Furthermore, the efficiency can be improved by incorporating a conventional manual inspection into an apparatus.
[0014]
In addition, automated distribution of acceptable products and defective products leads to improved productivity through labor saving. In addition, 100% inspection and inspection of all machining points are possible, so that the outflow of defective products can be reliably prevented, and there is no setting to the measurement jig or the use of measuring instruments as in the past, so the game board There is no worry about scratching or soiling. Further, the photographing means uses a first line sensor arranged upstream with respect to the bent portion of the conveyor and a second line sensor arranged downstream, and the board surface of the processed game board is the first line sensor. Since the board surface can be photographed (scanned) in a state where the processed game board is transported without being stopped by scanning in the vertical direction with the second line sensor and in the horizontal direction with the second line sensor , for example, machining Compared with the case of using a photographing means that cannot photograph the board surface unless the finished game board is stopped, the inspection speed can be improved and the productivity can be increased.
[0015]
The invention according to claim 3 is the gaming board inspection device according to claim 1 or 2 , further comprising reading means for reading identification information provided on the processed gaming board, wherein the reading means reads the identification information. The digital reference data stored in a plurality of types in the storage means is selectively switched based on identification information.
[0016]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, for example, bar code identification information for identifying a model or the like provided on the processed game board is read by a reading means such as a bar code reader. The storage means stores a plurality of types of digital reference data corresponding to the identification information in a database, and the digital reference data is switched based on the read identification information.
[0017]
As a result, it is possible to produce mixed game boards of different models on the same line, or to support automation when inspecting multiple types of game boards with a single game board inspection device. Can reduce capital investment.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0020]
1 and 2 show a state in which the game board inspection device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention is arranged on the assembly line 12. The assembly line 12 includes a chain conveyor 14 laid on a floor surface (not shown), and a game board inspection device 10 is installed in the middle of the chain conveyor 14.
[0021]
A processed game board 104 (hereinafter simply referred to as a game board 104) produced by performing predetermined router processing and deburring on a veneer is placed on the pallet 26 with the board surface 105 facing upward, It is transported on the conveyor 14 in the direction of arrow A in the figure. Also, a bar code 28 in which information for identifying the type of the game board 104 is bar code is provided near the lower edge of the board surface 105.
[0022]
The game board inspection device 10 includes a frame 34 in which legs 32 are respectively suspended from four corners of a ceiling 30 that is rectangular. A lower end of each leg portion 32 is fixed to a side edge portion of the chain conveyor 14, and a ceiling portion 30 is disposed above the chain conveyor 14.
[0023]
A CCD camera 36 is attached to the center of the lower surface of the ceiling portion 30, and the CCD camera 36 photographs a predetermined area of the board surface 105 of the game board 104 transferred on the chain conveyor 14 with the lens 38 facing downward. It is like that.
[0024]
The CCD camera 36 is connected to an apparatus main body 60 which will be described later in detail for the game board inspection apparatus 10, and a photographed image is transmitted to the apparatus main body 60. At the time of shooting, a pair of stoppers 40 provided in the vicinity of the frame 34 protrude from the chain conveyor 14 and come into contact with the pallet 26 to stop the game board 104 at a predetermined position below the lens 38.
[0025]
On the upstream side of the chain conveyor 14 with respect to the frame 34, a barcode reader 42 connected to the apparatus main body 60 is disposed. The bar code reader 42 is attached to the upper end of a support column 44 erected on the side edge of the chain conveyor 14, reads the bar code 28 of the game board 104 that passes below, and supplies the information to the device. Transmit to the main body 60.
[0026]
A cylinder 46 is installed on the downstream side of the chain conveyor 14 with respect to the frame 34. The cylinder 46 is also connected to the apparatus main body 60, and the gaming board 104 determined as a defective product by the inspection is pushed out to the defective product shelf 48 and lined out. Further, when the cylinder 46 is driven, a pair of stoppers 50 provided on the chain conveyor 14 are operated to come into contact with the pallet 26 and temporarily stop the game board 104.
[0027]
Next, the apparatus main body of the game board inspection apparatus 10 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the game board inspection device 10.
[0028]
A board surface image (for example, a grayscale image of the board surface) of the game board 104 photographed by the CCD camera 36 is input to the A / D 64 of the image processing / control circuit unit 62 built in the apparatus main body 60 and digital image data. (Hereinafter simply referred to as image data) and output to the comparison unit 66.
[0029]
A reference data memory 68 is connected to the comparison unit 66, and the reference data memory 68 is formed from the board image CAD data of the game board 104 in a state where the component mounting holes 106 to 130 are in a regular shape and arrangement. The stored digital reference data (hereinafter simply referred to as reference data) is stored. In this reference data memory 68, reference data of processed game boards in other models is also stored in a database, and what is selectively output to the comparison unit 66 from among the plurality of types of reference data is as follows. It is determined based on the barcode information read in advance by the barcode reader 42.
[0030]
The comparison unit 66 performs arithmetic processing on the reference data of the game board 104 output from the reference data memory 68 and the image data of the board image taken by the CCD camera 36, and the pattern / Match. Here, when there is a difference between the digital data of the captured image and the reference image due to a shape defect of the component mounting hole, a positional deviation, or the like, the difference between the data is output to the determination unit 70.
[0031]
The determination unit 70 determines that the game board 104 is an acceptable product if the difference in data is equal to or less than a set threshold value in all the component mounting holes. Moreover, if it is more than a threshold value, it will determine with a defective product. Note that a determination level adjustment unit 72 is connected to the determination unit 70, and for example, it is possible to arbitrarily adjust a positional deviation standard (threshold value) of the component mounting hole machining position.
[0032]
The apparatus main body 60 is provided with a lamp 74 and a buzzer 76 connected to the determination unit 70. When the game board 104 inspected by the determination unit 70 is determined to be defective, the lamp 74 is lit or blinks. An error sound is emitted from the buzzer 76.
[0033]
When the inspection is completed and the game board 104 is transferred by the chain conveyor 14 and reaches the position of the cylinder 46, the stopper 50 protrudes from the chain conveyor 14 to stop the game board 104, and the cylinder 46 is shown in the figure. Driving in the direction of arrow B (protruding direction) pushes the game board 104 to the defective product shelf 48 (in the direction of arrow C in the figure). If the game board 104 is an acceptable product, the lamp 74, the buzzer 76, and the cylinder 46 do not operate, and the game board 104 is transferred to the next process (in the direction of arrow D in the figure).
[0034]
In addition, the gaming board inspection apparatus described above can also be applied to inspections for defective mounting position deviations of gaming parts. In the present embodiment, the game board inspection device 11 shown in FIG. 4 is installed on the downstream side of the assembly line 12.
[0035]
Here, the same components as those in the game board inspection apparatus 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted, but in the game board inspection apparatus 11, components in which various game components 20 are attached to the processed game board 104. The board surface 24 of the mounted game board 22 is photographed by the CCD camera 36, and the image processing / control circuit unit 62 of the apparatus main body 60 compares and determines whether or not the game parts 20 are attached incorrectly or misaligned. When these defective products are detected, the ramp 74 and the buzzer 76 are activated, and the game board 22 transferred to the distribution position of the assembly line 12 by the chain conveyor 14 is lined out by the cylinder 46. ing.
[0036]
FIG. 5 shows an outline of the game board manufacturing process according to the present embodiment, and all the game boards are inspected in each inspection process.
[0037]
As described above, in the gaming board inspection apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the board image of the gaming board 104 photographed by the CCD camera 36 is converted into digital image data by the A / D 64, and the digital image data and the reference data are converted. The comparison unit 66 compares the digital reference data of a predetermined board image stored in the memory 68 with the comparison unit 66 to detect a shape defect or misalignment of the component mounting holes 106 to 130, and the determination unit 70 determines pass / fail. By performing the inspection by image recognition such as, the variation in the inspection is suppressed. In addition, since the inspection result is notified by the lamp 74 and the buzzer 76, the pass / fail judgment becomes clear, thereby ensuring the reliability of the inspection. In addition, the efficiency of the inspection is improved, and the outflow of defective products is surely prevented by carrying out 100% inspection.
[0038]
Furthermore, productivity is improved by automating the distribution of acceptable products and defective products using the cylinder 46.
[0039]
In the present embodiment, the barcode 28 for identifying the model provided on the game board 104 is read by the barcode reader 42, and the reference data stored in the reference data memory 68 is handled in correspondence. By switching to one, it is possible to easily cope with mixed production of different types of game boards by the assembly line 12. Moreover, since there is no need to provide an assembly line or a game board inspection device for each model, the capital investment cost can be suppressed.
[0040]
In the present embodiment, a CCD camera (area sensor) is used for photographing the board surface of the game board, but other photographing means can also be used. FIG. 6 is an example in which a line sensor is used to capture a board image of the processed game board 104.
[0041]
In this example, as shown in the drawing, the assembly line 80 is bent at a right angle in the middle, and the orientation of the processed game board 104 transferred by the chain conveyor 82 changes by 90 degrees with respect to the transfer direction. ing. On the upstream side and the downstream side with respect to the bent portion of the assembly line 80, line sensor units 88A and 88B including three line sensors 86 arranged along a direction orthogonal to the game board transfer direction are installed.
[0042]
By the line sensor units 88A and 88B, the board surface of the processed game board 104 to be transferred is scanned in the vertical and horizontal directions (XY directions), and image processing is performed by the apparatus main body 60 of the game board inspection apparatus described above. It is the structure which inspects a process location. Thereby, the board surface can be photographed in a state where the processed game board 104 is transferred without being stopped, so that the inspection speed is improved and the productivity is increased.
[0043]
Further, instead of the line sensor, for example, only an attachment location of a part (sensor, electric tulip, attacker, display, so-called center object, etc.) that is important in games may be captured by the image sensor. As a result, the amount of data to be processed can be reduced and the inspection speed can be improved.
[0044]
Further, in the board surface shooting of the game board, the open side surface portion of the frame 34 on which the CCD camera 36 is installed may be covered with a light shielding plate or the like so as to suppress variations in image quality of captured images due to changes in external light.
[0045]
Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to pachinko machine game boards but can also be applied to inspection of game boards such as arrange ball machines.
[0046]
【The invention's effect】
Since the gaming board inspection apparatus of the present invention has the above-described configuration, it is possible to ensure reliability and improve efficiency when inspecting a processed gaming board and prevent outflow of defective processing products.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a game board assembly line in which a game board inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed.
2 is a front view of the game board assembly line in FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a game board inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which the game board inspection device according to one embodiment of the present invention is installed in the inspection process of the part-attached game board of the game board assembly line.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an outline of a game board manufacturing process using the game board inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a plan view of a modification in which a line sensor is used to capture a board image of a game board.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an outline of a game board manufacturing process in a conventional pachinko machine.
FIG. 8 is a plan view of a state in which a conventional processed game board is set on a router processing measurement jig.
[Explanation of symbols]
10, 11 Game board inspection device 28 Bar code (identification information)
36 CCD camera (photographing means)
42 Bar code reader (reading means)
46 Cylinder (sorting means)
66 Comparison part (comparison means)
68 Reference data memory (storage means)
70 determination unit (determination means)
74 Lamp (notification means)
76 Buzzer (notification means)
86 Line sensor (photographing means)
104 Processed game board 105 Board face 106-130 Hole for component attachment

Claims (3)

A processed game board in which the outer shape and the part mounting holes are processed is transferred, and a bent portion is provided in the transfer path to change the direction of the processed game board to be transferred by 90 degrees with respect to the transfer direction. A conveyor,
Photographing means for photographing the board surface of the processed game board transferred by the conveyor;
Conversion means for converting the board image photographed by the photographing means into digital image data;
Comparison means for comparing the digital image data with the digital reference data of a predetermined board surface image of the processed game board stored in the storage means;
Determination means for determining the pass / fail of the processed game board based on the comparison result by the comparison means;
Have
Processing said imaging means, a first line sensor for scanning the board surface of the machined game board to be transported is disposed upstream with respect to the bent portion of the conveyor in the longitudinal direction, which are transported arranged downstream game board inspection apparatus characterized by ing the board of already game board from the second line sensor to be scanned in the lateral direction. It has at least one of a notification means for notifying a determination result by the determination means, and a distribution means for distributing the component-attached game board to an acceptable product or a defective product based on the determination result by the determination means. The game board inspection device according to claim 1. A reading means for reading identification information provided on the processed game board is provided, and the digital reference data stored in a plurality of types in the storage means is selectively switched based on the identification information read by the reading means. The game board inspection device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the above.

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