JP5415709B2 - Polarizing film sorting system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a polarizing film in which a plurality of polarizing films provided with a mark indicating a defective portion are divided into a polarizing film provided with a mark indicating a defective portion and a polarizing film not provided with the mark. The present invention relates to a sorting system and a sorting method.

  The polarizing film is usually manufactured in a strip-like state having a constant width, and various treatments are performed in this state, and the film is wound on a roll to form a raw film (full width polarizing film). Thereafter, the original film is usually unwound from a roll, and a plurality of single-wafer films (polarized films cut into a plurality of products) having a predetermined shape are cut out from the unwound original film according to product specifications.

  Then, a defect detection device detects a defect in the state of the polarizing film in a belt-like state, and a felt pen or an ink jet is used so that the defective part can be easily identified in a later process with respect to the position near the defective part of the detected polarizing film A technique for applying a mark by means of, for example, has been put into practical use (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

According to this technique, when there is a defective portion in a single-wafer film cut out from the original film, even if it is a defective portion that is difficult to identify with the naked eye, a mark is given in the vicinity of the defective portion. Its presence can be easily identified, and a defective sheet film can be easily removed from the product as a defective product.
JP 2001-305070 A (published October 31, 2001)

  However, in the above-described conventional technique, in the process after the defect inspection, the original film is unwound from the roll, the unwound original film is cut into a plurality of sheet films of a predetermined shape, and then the sheet including the mark It was necessary to discriminate the film with the naked eye and manually remove the sheet-fed film including the mark.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and its purpose is to automatically sort a sheet-fed film with a mark and a sheet-fed film without a mark without human hands. It is an object of the present invention to provide a polarizing film sorting system and sorting method.

  A polarizing film sorting system according to the present invention is a sorting system that sorts a plurality of polarizing films provided with marks in part, in order to solve the above-described problems, and images the plurality of polarizing films. An image pickup means for detecting a mark present on the polarizing film based on an image picked up by the image pickup means, and outputting a mark detection signal indicating the position of the mark; and the mark detection signal Based on the determination means for determining whether or not each of the polarizing films is provided with a mark, and based on the result of determination by the determination means, the plurality of polarizing films are divided into a polarizing film and a mark provided with the mark. And a sorting means for sorting into polarizing films to which is not applied.

  According to said structure, the sheet | seat film with which the mark was provided, and the sheet | seat film without the mark provided can be sorted automatically without a manpower.

  In the sorting system according to the present invention, the plurality of polarizing films are obtained by inspecting the polarizing film and providing a mark in the vicinity of the defective portion, and then cutting the polarizing film into a plurality of polarizing films. And the imaging means performs imaging in a state where the plurality of polarizing films are conveyed while being spaced apart from each other, and detects a gap position between the polarizing films, and indicates a gap position. Film gap detection means for outputting a detection signal is further provided, and the determination means determines whether or not each polarizing film is provided with a mark based on the mark detection signal and the film gap detection signal. It is preferable to determine.

  According to the said structure, the continuous sort which excludes the polarizing film containing the mark which shows a defect part from the several polarizing film conveyed in a row at intervals can be performed automatically.

  In the sorting system according to the present invention, if the determination unit is adjacent to the pulse corresponding to the mark in the mark detection signal and the pulse corresponding to the gap in the film gap detection signal on the time axis, the gap is determined. It is preferable to determine that a mark is given to the two polarizing films sandwiching.

  According to the said structure, even if it is a case where a mark is partly divided | segmented at the time of cutting, it can determine with a mark in both polarizing films. Therefore, for example, even when the mark is divided at the edge, the polarizing film including the small divided mark can be determined as the polarizing film provided with the mark indicating the defective portion, and the defective portion It can prevent that the polarizing film containing is sorted into the non-defective product side.

  In the sorting system according to the present invention, the determination unit extends the pulse in the mark detection signal back and forth in the time axis direction, and the expanded pulse includes the entire pulse corresponding to the gap in the film gap detection signal. If it overlaps, it is preferable to determine that a mark is given to the two polarizing films that sandwich the gap.

  According to the above configuration, a pulse having a small pulse width caused by a foreign matter or the like attached to the edge of the polarizing film is present at a position adjacent to the pulse corresponding to the gap in the film gap detection signal on the time axis. Moreover, it can prevent misjudging that the mark is provided to the two polarizing films which pinch | interpose the gap.

  A polarizing film sorting method according to the present invention is a sorting method for sorting a plurality of polarizing films provided with marks in part in order to solve the above-described problem, and images the plurality of polarizing films. Detecting a mark present on the polarizing film based on the captured image, obtaining a mark detection signal indicating the position of the mark, and marking each polarizing film based on the mark detection signal. A step of determining whether or not it is provided, and a step of classifying the plurality of polarizing films into a polarizing film to which a mark is provided and a polarizing film to which a mark is not provided based on the result of the determination. It is characterized by including.

  According to said method, the sheet | seat film with which the mark was provided, and the sheet | seat film without the mark provided can be sorted automatically without a manpower.

  As described above, the present invention has an effect that a sheet film provided with a mark and a sheet film not provided with a mark can be automatically sorted without human hands.

[Embodiment 1]
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 as follows. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a polarizing film sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  This sorting system detects the mark given to the polarizing film and sorts the polarizing film according to the detection result. As shown in FIG. 1, the roll 2, the transport rollers 4 and 5, Encoder 6, light source 7, CCD (charge-coupled device) camera 8 as imaging means, image processing device 9 as film gap detection means and mark detection means, and PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) 10 as determination means And a sorting device 11 as sorting means.

  In this sorting system, a polarizing film provided with a mark is provided as a raw film 1 which is a full width polarizing film. The polarizing film is not particularly limited as long as it is translucent, and may be a single-layer film consisting only of a polarizer film layer, or a laminate formed by laminating a polarizer film layer and other layers. It may be a film. The constituent material of the polarizer film layer is not particularly limited. For example, the polarizer film layer is obtained by adsorbing and orienting a dichroic dye on a polyvinyl alcohol resin. The other layer is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, a protective film layer, a release film layer, and a retardation film layer. The size of the raw film 1 can be, for example, 1500 mm wide and 1000 m long.

  In the original film 1, defects such as scratches, unevenness, adhering foreign matter, dirt, bubbles, etc. are detected by an inspection by a defect detection device (not shown) in the previous stage, and the original film ( In order to indicate the position of the defect of the full width polarizing film), it is assumed that a mark is provided in the vicinity of the defective portion in the raw film 1 and wound around the roll 2 and stored.

  The mark given to the raw film 1 is not particularly limited as long as it can be captured by the CCD camera 8. The method of applying the mark to the original film 1 is not particularly limited, and can be performed by various known methods. For example, a felt pen (for example, “magic” is applied to the position near the defect portion of the polarizing film. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-2001, which gives a colored mark (black mark, chromatic color mark, etc.) automatically using a marking device such as a marking device using a registered trademark) pen) or an inkjet marking device. No. 305070, a method for manually applying a colored mark to a position near a defective portion of a polarizing film using a felt pen, a marking device using a fluorescent pen for a position near a defective portion of a polarizing film Or a method of manually applying a fluorescent mark, a polarizing film with respect to the position near the defective portion of the polarizing film And a method of applying marking device or manually as a mark the wound to a position near the surface of the defect portion. When the mark is applied to the original film 1, the entire surface of the original film 1 is divided into a plurality of rectangular areas in a grid pattern, and if there is a defect in each rectangular area, the defect A mark may be given in the vicinity of.

  The shape and position of the mark applied to the original film 1 are not particularly limited. For example, the polarizing film has a defect portion described in JP-A-2001-305070. Two linear marks provided at positions near the predetermined range on both sides in the width direction are preferable. When the mark given to the raw film 1 is a linear mark, the longitudinal direction may be any direction. The size of the mark is not particularly limited, but can be, for example, 2 cm in length and 2 mm in width.

  The original film 1 is unwound from the roll 2 and conveyed to a film cutting device (not shown) disposed between the roll 2 and the conveying rollers 4 and 5, and a plurality of rectangular pieces of a predetermined size are formed by the film cutting device (not shown). The sheet is cut into pieces of sheet film 3.

  A plurality of sheet films 3 obtained by cutting are arranged at intervals from each other and conveyed to the sorting device 11 by the conveying rollers 4 and 5 and a conveying conveyor (not shown). The gap between adjacent sheet films 3 is not particularly limited, but may be 5 mm, for example. Although the conveyance speed of the sheet | seat film 3 is not specifically limited, For example, it can be 200 mm / s (12 m / min). When the gap between the sheet films 3 is 5 mm and the conveyance speed of the sheet film 3 is 200 mm / s, the gap (gap) between the sheet films 3 passes through one point imaged by the CCD camera 8. The time required for this is 0.025 seconds.

  When the mark given to the raw film 1 is a visible mark such as a colored mark or a scratch, a light source that emits visible light, such as a white light or a fluorescent light, may be used. Moreover, when the mark given to the raw film 1 is a fluorescent mark, an ultraviolet lamp or the like may be used as the light source 7.

  In a state where the sheet film 3 is being conveyed, the sheet film 3 is irradiated with light from a light source 7 disposed between the conveying rollers 4 and 5 and below the sheet film 3. The transmission image is picked up by the CCD camera 8 arranged above the sheet film 3 and converted into an image signal, which is output from the CCD camera 8 to the image processing device 9.

  The CCD camera 8 is not particularly limited. For example, the resolution is 250 μm / pixel, and imaging in the X direction (a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the sheet film 3 and parallel to the sheet film 3). The size is 6000 pixels (field size in X direction: 1500 mm), camera clock is 40 MHz, scan rate is 10,000 pulses, scan speed is 4000 scans / second, and capture time is 0.008 seconds. A line sensor in which the shooting size in the Y direction (capture direction of the sheet film 3) per capture is 32 pixels, that is, 1.6 mm can be obtained. Instead of the CCD camera 8, a camera using an image sensor other than the CCD may be used. The form of the image signal output from the CCD camera 8 is not particularly limited, but can be, for example, a 256 gradation digital image signal.

  The image processing device 9 converts the image signal output from the CCD camera 8 into a mark detection signal CH0 / CH1 and a film gap detection signal CH2 which are binary signals of three channels by performing image processing. The image processing device 9 is realized by, for example, a personal computer in which image processing software is installed.

  Based on the image signal output from the CCD camera 8, the image processing device 9 detects a mark present on the left sheet film 3 when viewed from the reverse direction of the transport direction (as viewed from the sorting device 11), A mark detection signal CH0 indicating the position of the mark is output. The mark detection signal CH0 is a binary signal that is turned on (high) during mark detection on the sheet film 3 in the left column. Therefore, a pulse corresponding to the mark on the sheet film 3 in the left column is generated. Contains. In the mark detection signal CH0, for example, the gradation value of the image signal of the portion corresponding to the sheet film 3 in the left column output from the CCD camera 8 is a threshold value (for example, the gradation value of the image signal is 0 to 255). In the case of a digital signal, the signal is high when 64) or less, and is low when the gradation value of the image signal output from the CCD camera 8 exceeds the threshold value.

  Based on the image signal output from the CCD camera 8, the image processing device 9 detects a mark present on the right sheet film 3 when viewed from the opposite direction of the conveyance direction (as viewed from the sorting device 11), A mark detection signal CH1 representing the mark position is output. The mark detection signal CH1 is a binary signal that is turned on (high) during mark detection on the sheet film 3 in the right column. Therefore, a pulse corresponding to the mark on the sheet film 3 in the right column is generated. Contains. In the mark detection signal CH1, for example, the gradation value of the image signal corresponding to the sheet film 3 in the right column output from the CCD camera 8 is a threshold value (for example, the gradation value of the image signal is 0 to 255). In the case of a digital signal, the signal is high when 64) or less, and is low when the gradation value of the image signal output from the CCD camera 8 exceeds the threshold value.

  The image processing device 9 detects the position of the gap (gap, film gap) between the sheet films 3 based on the image signal output from the CCD camera 8, and outputs a film gap detection signal indicating the position of the gap. . The mark detection signal CH <b> 2 is a binary signal that is turned on (high) during the gap detection between the sheet films 3, and thus includes a pulse corresponding to the gap between the sheet films 3. In the mark detection signal CH2, for example, the gradation value of the image signal of the portion corresponding to the sheet film 3 in the right column output from the CCD camera 8 is a threshold value (for example, the gradation value of the image signal is 0 to 255). In the case of a digital signal, the signal is high when 214) or higher, and is low when the gradation value of the image signal output from the CCD camera 8 is below the threshold value. Examples of the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1 and the film gap detection signal CH2 are shown in FIG.

  The image processing device 9 outputs a process input / output (PIO) signal including the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1 and the film gap detection signal CH2 to the PLC 10. The update period of the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1 and the film gap detection signal CH2 output from the image processing device 9 can be set to 8 ms, for example, when the CCD camera 8 is the line sensor of the above example.

  The PLC 10 determines whether or not a mark is applied to each sheet-fed film 3 based on the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1 and the film gap detection signal CH2 obtained from the image processing device 9. That is, the PLC 10 determines whether each sheet corresponds to a pulse corresponding to a mark in the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1 between pulses corresponding to a film gap (and a portion having no outer film) in the film gap detection signal CH2. It is determined whether or not a mark is given to the film 3. Further, the PLC 10 determines whether or not the sheet film 3 to which the mark is attached is at the position of the sorting device 11 based on the speed signal indicating the conveyance speed of the sheet film 3 output from the encoder 6 to the PLC 10. The sorting device 11 is controlled according to the determination result.

  The sorting device 11 sorts a plurality of sheet films 3 into a sheet film 3 with a mark and a sheet film 3 without a mark, based on the determination result by the PLC 10, and a mark is given. The single sheet film 3 is excluded from the product (non-defective product) as a defective product, and the single sheet film 3 to which no mark is given is defined as a product.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the sheet film to which the mark is given and the sheet film to which the mark is not given can be automatically sorted without manpower.

[Embodiment 2]
The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those shown in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  When the mark given to the raw film 1 is divided unevenly at the time of cutting, and as a result, the mark exists across the two sheet films 3, as shown in FIG. The pulse corresponding to the smaller mark among the marked marks (pulse indicated by the broken line) disappears, and the pulse corresponding to the larger mark among the divided marks (the solid line to the right of the pulse indicated by the broken line) Only the pulse shown) may be present. In this case, in the method according to the first embodiment in which it is determined that a mark is present on the sheet film 3 corresponding to the pulse of the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1, the smaller one of the divided marks is given. As for the sheet film 3, it cannot be detected that the mark is given to the sheet film 3, and the sheet film 3 to which the smaller mark is given may be erroneously determined as a non-defective product. Therefore, the single wafer film 3 including the defective portion is sorted into a non-defective product, and the single wafer film 3 including the defective portion may flow out to the non-defective product side.

  Therefore, the invention according to the second embodiment has the sheet film 3 provided with the smaller mark even when the mark is divided unevenly at the time of cutting and the smaller mark is difficult to detect. It is an object to provide a sorting method that can be surely excluded as a defective product.

  The sorting system according to the present embodiment is different from the sorting system according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 only in a method in which the PLC 10 determines whether or not a mark is determined on each sheet-fed film 3.

  In the sorting system according to the present embodiment, in order to achieve the above object, when there is a mark at the end of the sheet film 3 facing the gap between the sheet films 3, the PLC 10 is at the end. It is determined that the mark is also given to the other sheet films 3 adjacent to each other with the gap therebetween, and it is determined that the mark is given to both the sheet films 3. That is, if the pulse corresponding to the mark in the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1 and the pulse corresponding to the gap in the film gap detection signal CH2 are adjacent on the time axis, the PLC 10 has two sheets that sandwich the gap. It is determined that a mark is given to the film 3.

  Thereby, even when the mark is divided unevenly at the time of cutting, for example, when the mark is cut at the edge of the mark, it can be determined that there is a mark on both the sheet films 3. Therefore, even in the case as described above, it is possible to determine that the sheet film 3 including the small divided mark is the sheet film 3 provided with the mark indicating the defective portion, and including the defective portion. The mistake that the leaf film 3 flows out to the good product side can be prevented.

  As a method for realizing the above-described determination method of the PLC 10, the PLC 10 expands the pulses in the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1 back and forth in the time axis direction, and expands the pulses in the time axis direction. Compare CH1 'with the film gap detection signal CH2, and the entire pulse corresponding to the gap in the film gap detection signal CH2 may overlap with the pulses of the mark detection signals CH0' and CH1 'extended before and after in the time axis direction. For example, it is preferable to use a method of determining that a mark is provided on both of the two sheet films 3 that sandwich the gap. That is, the PLC 10 corresponds to the pulse before expansion if the entire pulse corresponding to the gap in the film gap detection signal CH2 overlaps with the pulse of the mark detection signal CH0 ′ / CH1 ′ expanded in the time axis direction. It is preferable to determine that the mark is given to the sheet film 3 to be performed and to determine that the sheet film 3 adjacent to the sheet film 3 with a gap is also marked.

  As another method for realizing the determination method of the PLC 10, the PLC 10 includes a pulse at a position adjacent to the pulse corresponding to the gap in the film gap detection signal CH 2 on the time axis in the mark detection signals CH 0 and CH 1. For example, a method of determining that a mark is given to two sheet films 3 that unconditionally sandwich the gap is conceivable. However, in such a method, a pulse with a small pulse width caused by a foreign matter or the like attached to the edge of the sheet film 3 exists at a position adjacent to the pulse corresponding to the gap in the film gap detection signal CH2 on the time axis. In such a case, there is a risk of erroneous determination that a mark is given to the two sheet films 3 that sandwich the gap.

  On the other hand, according to the method of extending the pulses in the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1 described above in the time axis direction, a pulse having a small pulse width caused by a foreign substance attached to the end of the sheet film 3 is film. Even if it exists in the position adjacent to the pulse corresponding to the gap in the gap detection signal CH2 on the time axis, it is erroneously determined that the mark is given to the two sheet films 3 sandwiching the gap. There is nothing. Therefore, in the above method, the mark can be detected by identifying it from a peripheral defect such as a foreign substance attached to the end of the sheet film 3.

  In addition, especially when the single wafer film 3 has a multilayer structure composed of a plurality of film layers sandwiching an adhesive (glue) layer, the adhesive protrudes from the end and foreign matter adheres to the adhesive. As a result, it is often possible that foreign matter adheres to the edge of the sheet film 3.

  Various known methods can be adopted as a method for extending the pulses of the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1 back and forth in the time axis direction. For example, the following method may be used. That is, first, the pulse in the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1 is extended backward in the time axis direction by delaying the falling of the pulse in the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1 by the amount that the pulse is extended backward in the time axis direction. . In order to delay the falling of the pulse in the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1, for example, a circuit that holds the amplitude voltage for a time longer than the pulse width may be used. In addition, it is impossible to extend the pulses in the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1 forward (in the past) in the time axis direction by a direct method using only the signal processing of the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1, but the pulses are timed. Indirectly, the film gap detection signal CH2 is delayed by an amount that extends forward in the axial direction, and the trailing edge of the pulse in the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1 is further delayed by an amount that extends the pulse forward in the time axis direction. Is feasible. The width for extending the pulses in the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1 back and forth in the time axis direction is the minimum mark length detectable by the CCD camera 8 and the image processing device 9, and the marking (marking) on the original film 1 It may be determined based on the position accuracy.

(Mark detection algorithm)
In the signal processing by the image processing apparatus 9 in the methods of the first and second embodiments, for example, the following mark detection algorithm can be employed.

First, from the image signal output from the CCD camera 8, the X coordinate is within the range where the sheet film 3 exists, from the value nXStart where the X coordinate is expected to be the left end in the range where the sheet film 3 exists. A range up to a value nXEnd that is expected to be the right end is extracted, and an image signal in the range is divided into n parts by a dividing line along the Y direction. At this time, the division number n is nColumn (2 in FIG. 1) of the number of sheet films 3 arranged in the X direction, and nLine is the number of division lines dividing each sheet film 3.
n = nColumn × (nLine + 1)
It becomes. nLine can be set to 3, for example. A profile in the Y direction can be obtained by obtaining a gradation value for each dividing line. Among these, the number of dividing lines passing through the sheet film 3 is nColumn × nLine (book). An average profile (in-film average profile) of this nColumn × nLine (book) profile is obtained and stored in the array, and a change in gradation value (average) due to a change in the Y coordinate is obtained. Then, regarding the image signal of each divided portion, the range of the Y coordinate in which the gradation value (average) is lower than a threshold value nThresholdLight (for example, 214) is defined as a Y-direction film range (ROI). As described above, the Y-direction film range can be obtained.

  When a Y coordinate range in which the gradation value (average) is greater than or equal to a threshold value nThresholdLight (for example, 214) is found for the image signal of each divided portion, the flag indicating film gap discovery is set to 1, and the gradation value When the range of the Y coordinate whose (average) is greater than or equal to the threshold value nThresholdLight (for example, 214) is not found, the flag indicating the film gap discovery is set to 0.

Next, the temporary center in the X direction of each sheet film 3 (the approximate center in the X direction of each sheet film 3) nXCenter [k] is expressed by the following equation:
nXCenter [k] = nXStart + ((nXEnd−nXStart) / nColumn / 2) × (2 × k + 1)
(K is an integer satisfying 0 ≦ k ≦ nColumn-1)
Ask for. Further, with respect to the image signal output from the CCD camera 8, an average of the gradation values (horizontal average profile) between a plurality of pixels having the same X coordinate is obtained, and the change of the gradation value (average) due to the change of the X coordinate. Ask for. Then, based on the change of the gradation value (average) due to the change of the X coordinate, the edge of each sheet film 3 is searched from the temporary center of each sheet film 3 in the X direction to each of the + X direction and the −X direction. Thus, the coordinates of the −X direction side edge and the + X direction side edge of each sheet film 3 are obtained. As described above, the X-direction film range can be obtained.

  After this, after checking whether the Y-direction film range and the X-direction film range obtained as necessary are appropriate, based on the change of the gradation value (average) due to the change of the X coordinate in the X-direction film range. Then, the sheet film 3 on which the mark is present is detected. When detecting which sheet film 3 the mark is in based on the change of the gradation value (average) due to the change of the X coordinate in the X direction film range, the change of the X coordinate in the X direction film range is detected. Smoothes the change in the gradation value (average) due to, and calculates the increment of the gradation value (smoothed gradation value) every time the X coordinate increases by one, and the increment is the X coordinate in the X direction film range. It may be detected in which sheet film 3 the mark is present based on how it changes due to the change.

  In the above-described embodiment, as a method of capturing an image of the sheet film 3, a method of irradiating the sheet film 3 with light from the light source 7 and capturing the transmission image with the CCD camera 8 is employed. However, a method of irradiating the sheet film 3 with light from the light source 7 and capturing the reflected image with the CCD camera 8 may be adopted. This method can be applied not only to the translucent single-wafer film 3, but also to the non-translucent single-wafer film 3.

  In the embodiment described above, the mark given to the original film 1 can be detected by the transmission image of the sheet film 3 imaged by the CCD camera 8. 3, the mark given to the original film 1 may be one that can be detected by the reflected image of the sheet film 3 captured by the CCD camera 8.

  In the above-described embodiment, the image processing device 9 outputs the film gap detection signal CH2 to the PLC 10, and the PLC 10 determines that each sheet film 3 is based on the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1 and the film gap detection signal CH2. It was determined whether or not the mark was included. However, instead of the image processing device 9 outputting the film gap detection signal CH2, the film cutting device outputs a cutting timing signal indicating the cutting timing to the PLC 10, and the PLC 10 outputs the mark detection signals CH0 and CH1 and the cutting timing signal. Based on this, it may be determined whether each sheet-fed film 3 includes a mark.

  Moreover, in embodiment mentioned above, after inspecting original film 1 and giving a mark to the position near a defective part, original film 1 is cut into a plurality of fragments, and a plurality of obtained fragments (sheet-fed film) 3) were transported side by side with an interval between them, and imaging by the CCD camera 8 was performed under this transport state. However, imaging with the CCD camera 8 may be performed in a state where a plurality of single-wafer films 3 are fixed one by one. Further, the mark may be a mark indicating that the inspection has been passed, instead of being provided near the defective portion. Further, the film inspection may be performed after cutting, not before cutting.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY Since the polarizing film can be automatically sorted without relying on human hands, the present invention can be used for manufacturing a polarizing film and various products using the polarizing film.

It is a schematic diagram which shows schematic structure of the polarizing film classification system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a signal waveform diagram which shows the example of the film gap detection signal and mark detection signal which are output from the image processing apparatus of the said sorting system. It is a signal waveform diagram showing an example of a signal formed by extending a film gap detection signal, a mark detection signal, and a mark detection signal output from the image processing apparatus of the sorting system in the time axis direction.

Explanation of symbols

1 Raw film (polarizing film)
Three-sheet film (polarizing film)
8 CCD camera (imaging means)
9 Image processing device (film gap detection means, mark detection means)
10 PLC (determination means)
11 Sorting device (sorting means)

Claims (2)

A sorting system for sorting a plurality of polarizing films provided with a mark in part,
Imaging means for capturing images of the plurality of polarizing films;
Mark detection means for detecting a mark present on the polarizing film based on an image picked up by the image pickup means and outputting a mark detection signal indicating the position of the mark;
Based on the mark detection signal, determining means for determining whether or not each polarizing film is provided with a mark,
Based on the result of determination by the determination means, the plurality of polarizing films, comprising a sorting means for sorting the polarizing film with a mark and the polarizing film without a mark,
The plurality of polarizing films are obtained by inspecting the polarizing film and providing a mark in the vicinity of the defective portion, and then cutting the polarizing film into a plurality of pieces,
The imaging means performs imaging in a state in which the plurality of polarizing films are transported side by side with an interval between them,
Film gap detection means for detecting the position of the gap between the polarizing films and outputting a film gap detection signal representing the position of the gap is further provided,
The determination means determines whether or not each polarizing film is provided with a mark based on the mark detection signal and the film gap detection signal, and a pulse corresponding to the mark in the mark detection signal; If the pulse corresponding to the gap in the film gap detection signal is adjacent on the time axis, it is determined that a mark is given to the two polarizing films sandwiching the gap. The determination means extends the pulse in the mark detection signal back and forth in the time axis direction, and if the entire pulse corresponding to the gap in the film gap detection signal overlaps the expanded pulse, the gap is set. The sorting system according to claim 1, wherein it is determined that a mark is given to the two polarizing films to be sandwiched.

Images