JP4526961B2 - Foreign matter inspection device in a container - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a foreign matter inspection apparatus in a container that detects foreign matter in a liquid filled in the container.

Containers such as bottles and plastic bottles filled with liquids such as beverages are often continuously mass-produced in automatic production lines.
For this reason, if foreign matter or the like is mixed in the liquid in the container, it will be difficult to find it after production. Therefore, in the past, an inspection process was installed in the middle of the production line, and inspection of foreign substances mixed in the container during the inspection process It is carried out.
Also, if the container containing the liquid is transparent or translucent, and foreign matter can be visually detected from the outside of the container, an inspection rotor is conventionally installed in the middle of the transfer line. For example, Patent Documents 1 to 3 disclose an inspection apparatus that detects foreign matter mixed in a container by irradiating the container with light while the container is rotating and imaging reflected light from the foreign substance with an imaging unit. It is known.

The foreign substance inspection apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a camera and illumination at three different rotation angles of the inspection rotor, and the containers moving on the inspection rotor are rotated and stopped by different motors, respectively. A foreign object in the liquid is detected by photographing the liquid with a camera.
The foreign object detection device described in Patent Document 2 illuminates a container with a first illumination that irradiates longitudinal wave light and a second illumination that illuminates transverse wave light, and after the light transmitted through the container is spectrally separated by a half mirror, Light is received by each of the inspection sensor provided with the wave light polarization filter and the inspection sensor provided with the transverse light polarization filter, so that the foreign matter in the liquid can be detected regardless of the color of the liquid.
Furthermore, the automatic sample analyzer described in Patent Document 3 rotates a rotating table provided on the turret at high speed, rotates a container on the rotating table, irradiates the rotating container with light rays from below, The apparatus is configured to inspect the foreign matter by capturing reflected light from the foreign matter mixed in.
JP 2003-107011 A JP 2004-12219 A Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 47-10466

However, the foreign substance inspection apparatuses described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 are effective when the shape and material of the container containing the liquid are constant, but the shape of the container in response to user needs as in recent years. In addition to the diversification of materials and materials, there are many problems such as difficulty in finding foreign substances and inspection errors depending on the shape and material of the container.
In order to solve such a problem, adjustments such as changing the positions of the illumination means and the imaging means are necessary so that blind spots do not occur in the container, but in order to make the illumination means and the imaging means adjustable, it is complicated. Since an adjustment mechanism is required, the cost of foreign object inspection equipment increases, and in a production line that produces a large variety of products in small quantities, the adjustment work must be repeated each time the shape and material of the container changes, reducing productivity. There are also problems such as
The present invention has been made to remedy such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a foreign matter inspection apparatus in a container that can inspect the foreign matter in the container without requiring complicated adjustment means.

  The foreign matter inspection device in a container of the present invention is a foreign matter detection device in a container that inspects foreign matter mixed in a liquid filled in the container, and includes a plurality of pedestals that can be rotated by motors provided individually. An inspection rotor provided in the circumferential direction and rotated in a fixed direction, and installed at the inspection position of the inspection rotor and placed on the pedestal via the mounting table, or to the bottom side of the container to be inspected An illuminating means for illuminating the inside of the container from the side, an imaging means installed so as to oppose the illuminating means and the container and reflecting a light incident on the container from the illuminating means, and provided in the mounting table A reflecting means for reflecting light reflected from the bottom surface of the container or a foreign object to the imaging means side, and a motor for stopping the reflecting means at a position facing the illumination means or the imaging means at the inspection position. Rotation control While, in which the imaging means is composed of a control means for detecting a foreign object from the image captured.

With the above configuration, the container that has reached the inspection position while being rotated stops together with the mounting table at the inspection position, and at the same time, the reflecting means in the mounting table faces the illuminating means or the imaging means. Light that is illuminated or reflected from a foreign object can be efficiently incident on the imaging means.
This makes it possible to reliably detect foreign matters mixed in the liquid filled in the container and to adjust the positions of the illumination means and the imaging means even if the shape and material of the container change variously. Since no adjustment work is required, productivity can be improved especially in production lines that often produce a wide variety of products in small quantities, and it is not necessary to provide adjustment means with a complicated structure. I can plan.
In addition, since the container is illuminated from the bottom and light transmitted through the bottom is incident on the imaging means, even when the container is rotated, foreign matter that has settled on the bottom is still mixed in the liquid. Since foreign matter can be detected, the reliability of foreign matter inspection is improved.

  The foreign matter inspection apparatus in the container of the present invention is provided with a plurality of inspection positions in the circumferential direction of the inspection rotor, and an illuminating means and an image pickup means are provided facing each inspection position.

  With the above configuration, since the foreign matter that could not be detected at the first inspection position can be detected at the second inspection position, it can be reliably detected even if the foreign matter mixed in the liquid is fine, Inspection accuracy is improved.

  According to the foreign matter inspection apparatus in the container of the present invention, even if the shape and material of the container are variously changed, a complicated adjustment work such as adjusting the position of the illumination means and the imaging means is not required. Productivity can be improved on production lines that are often produced.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a foreign matter inspection apparatus, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a mounting table, and FIG.
A main body 1 of the foreign substance inspection apparatus shown in FIG. 1 has a large-diameter annular inspection rotor 3 installed in the middle of a production line (not shown) for filling a transparent container 2 with a liquid. The container 2 is continuously carried in through a carry-in rotor 5 having a smaller diameter than the carry-in line 4 connected to the carry-in line 4. The small-diameter unloading rotor 6 is unloaded to the unloading line 7.
The inspection rotor 3 is provided with a large number of pedestals 8 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and these pedestals 8 are rotated (revolved) at a constant rotational speed in the counterclockwise direction together with the inspection rotor 3. ing.

The pedestal 8 is formed of a disk, and is rotated at high speed by a motor 9 installed below each pedestal 8 as shown in FIG. 2. The container 2 is placed on each pedestal 8. A mounting table 10 to be placed is detachably installed.
As shown in FIG. 3, the mounting table 10 is formed by a cylindrical body having large-diameter portions 10a and 10b at the upper and lower portions, and a fitting portion protruding from the upper surface of the base 8 on the large-diameter portion 10b at the lower portion. 8a is fitted from below, and a concave portion 10c into which the bottom of the container 2 is fitted from above is formed on the upper large diameter portion 10a.
Reflecting means 12 is attached in the mounting table 10.
The reflection means 12 includes a reflection mirror 12a that reflects light incident from an opening 10d opened on the outer peripheral surface of the mounting table 10 upward, and a fixed table 12b that fixes the reflection mirror 12a at an angle of 45 degrees. In addition, the bottom portion of the fixed base 12 b is fixed to the upper surface of the large-diameter portion 10 a of the mounting table 10 by the fixing tool 13.

In the vicinity of the inspection rotor 3, inspection positions 14, 15 are provided at a plurality of positions, for example, two positions that cross the inspection rotor 3, and the inspection positions 14, 15 are provided on the base 8 of the inspection rotor 3. An illumination unit 16 and an imaging unit 17 are installed so as to face each other with the installation table 10 installed therebetween.
The illumination means 16 is formed of, for example, a xenon lamp, and is installed on the fixed base 1a located outside the inspection rotor 3. The illumination means 16 and the reflection means 12 provided in the mounting table 10 are illustrated in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, they are installed so as to be opposed to each other, and strobe light is emitted by a command from the control means 20 described later.
The imaging means 17 is formed by, for example, a CCD camera, is installed on the fixed base 1 a located inside the inspection rotor 3, and is reflected from foreign matter in the container 2 placed on the placement table 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the central portion of the container 2 is installed at substantially the same height so that light can be received, and an image captured in synchronization with the illumination means 16 is sent to the control means 20. Yes.
A disc-shaped rotation support member 18 that rotates integrally with the inspection rotor 3 is provided on the upper portion of the main body 1, and a container holding means 19 is provided on the rotation support member 18 for each base 8 of the inspection rotor 3. Is provided.
The container holding means 19 has a holding rod 19a that is supported by the rotation support member 18 so as to be slidable up and down, and a container on the mounting table 10 by a holding cap 19b that is rotatably provided at the lower end of the holding rod 19a. The upper part of 2 is pressed downward, so that even if the container 2 on the mounting table 10 rotates at high speed (spins), the container 2 does not jump out of the mounting table 10.

On the other hand, an angle detection means 21 for detecting each rotation is installed at the rotation center of the inspection rotor 3 so as to detect the rotation angle of the inspection rotor 3. The motor 9 for driving the base 8 includes An angle detection means 21 a such as a potentiometer is provided, and a rotation angle signal detected by these angle detection means 21 and 22 is input to the control means 20.
The control unit 20 stores in advance a motor control unit 20 a that controls the rotation of the motor 9 provided in the inspection rotor 3, and a rotation pattern corresponding to the shape, material, and the like of the container 2, and is connected to the control unit 20. The pattern information storage unit 20b for outputting rotation pattern information in accordance with the rotation pattern selection signal input from the inspection mode input means 23, and the pedestal at the loading position B from the rotation angle information (position information) of the inspection rotor 3 and the pedestal 8 8 includes an angle information storage unit 20c that stores eight reference positions, and an image processing unit 20d that processes an image captured by the imaging unit 17, and includes a rotation control of a motor 9 that rotates the base 8, and an image processing unit. The foreign matter in the liquid filled in the container 2 is detected from the image processed by 20d.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 24 denotes a slip ring.

Next, the operation of the foreign matter inspection apparatus constructed as described above will be described.
The transparent container 2 filled with liquids such as beverages and medicines by the production line is continuously conveyed by the conveying means of the production line, reaches the inspection process, and is sent to the carry-in rotor 5 by the carry-in line 4.
After the container 2 fed into the carry-in rotor 5 is placed on the placement table 10 installed on the base 8 of the inspection rotor 3 at the carry-in position B, the holding rod 19a of the container holding means 19 is lowered. At the same time as the container 2 is sandwiched between the mounting table 10 and the holding cap 19b from above and below, at the loading position B, the position of the mounting table 10 is in a certain direction, for example, the opening 10d is in the inspection positions 14 and 15. The motor 9 is rotationally controlled by the control means 20 so as to be in a position facing a certain illumination means 16, and is stored in the angle information storage section 20c with the position as a reference position.

Thereafter, along with the rotation (revolution) of the inspection rotor 3, the rotation pattern is read from the pattern information storage unit 20 b of the control means 20 in accordance with the rotation pattern selection signal input in advance from the inspection mode input means 23, and slips from the control means 20. Since a rotation signal is output to each motor 9 of the inspection rotor 3 via the ring 24, the motor 9 rotates (rotates) the container 2 on the mounting table 10 at a high speed according to the rotation pattern.
Accordingly, the container 2 reaches the first inspection position 14 in a state where the foreign matter precipitated in the liquid of the container 2 is levitated.
The container 2 that has reached the inspection position 14 is stopped at the carry-in position 24 at the reference position stored in the angle information storage unit 20c, that is, the position where the opening 10d of the mounting table 10 faces the illumination unit 16, and at the same time the control unit 20 The illumination means 16 emits strobe light in response to a command from

The light emitted from the light emitting surface 16a of the illuminating means 16 is reflected upward by the reflecting mirror 12a of the reflecting means 12, and enters the container 2 on the mounting table 10 from the bottom surface side.
At this time, if there is a foreign substance in the liquid filled in the container 2, the incident light is reflected by the foreign substance, so that the image is captured by the imaging unit 17 that operates in synchronization with the illumination unit 16. Is done.
The image picked up by the image pickup means 17 is captured by the control means 20 and subjected to image processing by the image processing unit 20d. The foreign object is detected by comparing with a normal image without the foreign object, and if a foreign object is found. If this happens, the number of the base 8 on which the container 2 is placed is stored in the control means 20.
The container 2 that has been inspected at the first inspection position 14 reaches the second inspection position 15 while being rotated again at a high speed with a predetermined rotation pattern, and is similarly inspected at the second inspection position 15. The foreign matter not found at the inspection position 14 is inspected.

After that, the container 2 that has been inspected at the second inspection position 15 reaches the unloading position C, and is unloaded to the unloading line 7 by the transfer rotor 6. However, foreign substances are detected at the first and second inspection positions 14 and 15. The containers 2 that have been discovered and whose pedestal 8 numbers are stored in the control means 20 are distributed to a discharge line (not shown) by the transfer rotor 6 and discharged to a storage location for defective products by the discharge line.
In the following, the above operation is repeated to detect foreign matter mixed in the liquid in the container 2 continuously produced by the production line, and the shape and material of the container 2 can be variously changed as in the high-mix low-volume production line. Even in this case, it is possible to detect the foreign matter mixed in the liquid in the container 2 with almost no troublesome adjustments such as the position of the illumination means 16 and the position of the imaging means 17.

FIG. 4 shows a modification of the installation positions of the illumination means 16 and the imaging means 17, and the container 2 is illuminated from the outer peripheral side by the illumination means 16 so as to face the reflection means 12 as in this modification. Needless to say, foreign matter in the liquid is imaged by the installed image pickup means 17 to detect the foreign matter.
The foreign substance inspection apparatus of the present invention is a container filled with a liquid such as an ampoule, a vial or an eye drop used in the pharmaceutical field in addition to a glass container or a plastic container filled with a liquid such as a beverage. Applicable to all transparent or translucent containers.
Further, a prism or the like may be used as the reflecting means 12 instead of a mirror.

It is a block diagram of the foreign material inspection apparatus in the container which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the mounting base vicinity provided in the foreign material inspection apparatus in the container which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the modification of the foreign material inspection apparatus in the container which becomes embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

2 container 3 inspection rotor 8 pedestal 9 motor 10 mounting table 12 reflecting means 14 inspection position 15 inspection position 16 illumination means 17 imaging means 20 control means

Claims (2)

A foreign matter detection device in a container for inspecting foreign matter mixed in a liquid filled in a container, wherein a plurality of pedestals that are rotatable by individually provided motors are provided in a circumferential direction and in a fixed direction. The inspection rotor to be rotated and a container provided on the pedestal for mounting and a reflection mirror for reflecting the irradiation light from the outside to be incident on the inside from the bottom of the container placed thereon An illuminating unit that is installed at an inspection position of the pedestal and the inspection rotor and that irradiates irradiation light from the outside to the reflection mirror; and a reflection of foreign matter from the container on the side sandwiching the illuminating unit and the container An imaging unit that is installed on the optical path of light and that captures a foreign object that reflects light incident on the container through the reflection mirror, and at the inspection position, the reflection mirror on the mounting table is Above The irradiation light from the means, so that it can be received as the irradiation light from the outside, controls the rotation of said motor to stop pedestal, said imaging means has a control means for detecting a foreign object from the image captured A foreign matter inspection device in a container. A foreign matter detection device in a container for inspecting foreign matter mixed in liquid filled in a container, wherein a plurality of pedestals that are rotatable by individually provided motors are provided in a circumferential direction, and in a fixed direction. A rotating inspection rotor and a container provided on the pedestal for mounting a container to be inspected, and a reflection mirror for receiving reflected light from the foreign matter in the container through the bottom of the container and reflecting it to the outside. An illuminating means that is installed at an inspection position of the inspection rotor and that illuminates the inside of the container from the outer peripheral side, and is on the side sandwiching the illuminating means and the container and on the optical path of the reflected light from the reflecting mirror And an imaging means for receiving and imaging the foreign matter reflecting the light incident on the container through the reflection mirror, and the reflection mirror on the mounting table at the inspection position from the bottom of the container. The difference Control means for controlling the rotation of the motor to stop the pedestal and detecting foreign matter from the image captured by the imaging means so that the imaging means can receive the reflected light through the reflecting mirror. A foreign matter inspection device in a container, comprising:

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