JP5635280B2 - Glass bottle inspection equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention provides an inspection apparatus main body for inspecting the state of the glass bottle, a downstream conveyor for conveying the glass bottle inspected by the inspection apparatus main body in a predetermined direction, and the glass bottle determined to be defective by the inspection apparatus main body. The present invention relates to a glass bottle inspection device including a discharger that is removed from a downstream conveyor.

  Conventionally, a device for automatically inspecting the state of a transparent or translucent container such as a glass bottle or a plastic bottle is well known. For example, in the inspection apparatus shown in the following Patent Document 1, the mouth portion of an empty container of a blow-molded PET bottle is imaged by illuminating it with a halogen lamp, and the state of the mouth portion is optically inspected, and then the pet A cap is attached to the mouth of the bottle, and the quality of the attached state of the cap is optically inspected. Each of these steps is sequentially performed on the PET bottles transported on the belt conveyor, and the PET bolt determined to be defective by the inspection of the mouth or the inspection of the cap mounting state is performed by an ejector equipped with an air cylinder. It is discharged from the belt conveyor.

JP 2000-158527 A

  The inspection apparatus having the same configuration as that of Patent Document 1 can also be applied to inspection of glass bottles. However, in the inspection apparatus of the same document, since a device equipped with an air cylinder is used as a discharge machine for discharging defective products, glass bottles that are heavier than PET bottles are not necessarily discharged accurately. There is a problem that is not limited.

  That is, since the glass bottle is heavier than the PET bottle, if the pushing force by the air cylinder is weak, the amount of movement of the glass bottle may be insufficient and may remain on the conveyor. On the other hand, if the pushing force by the air cylinder is too strong, the glass bottle falls over and breaks, and there is a problem in terms of safety. Of course, such a situation does not occur if the pushing force by the air cylinder is appropriately adjusted. However, in the air cylinder using the pressure of compressed air as a power source, there is a limit to precisely adjusting the pushing force.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the above situations, and it aims at providing the inspection apparatus of the glass bottle which can discharge | emit the glass bottle determined to be defective appropriately and reliably. .

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an inspection apparatus main body for inspecting the state of a glass bottle, a downstream conveyor for conveying the glass bottle inspected by the inspection apparatus main body in a predetermined direction, a downstream conveyor, A glass bottle comprising a discharge conveyor adjacent in the width direction, a discharge machine that moves the glass bottle determined to be defective by the inspection apparatus main body from the downstream conveyor to the discharge conveyor, and a control unit that controls the discharge machine. The ejector is a linear servo actuator including a linear motor and a drive shaft that advances and retreats in the axial direction under the thrust of the linear motor, and is advanced and retracted by being attached to the tip of the drive shaft. and abutment portion to be driven, detecting the axial position of the drive shaft and a linear sensor, the control unit is a glass bottle it is determined that the failure the discharge By driving the linear motor at a predetermined timing passing through the side of the machine, the abutting portion is advanced and abutted against the glass bottle, and the abutting portion is the most in accordance with the abutting operation. The position and speed of the abutting portion are feedback-controlled based on the detected value of the linear sensor so that the glass bottle moves to the discharge conveyor that is separated from the most advanced position when the vehicle moves forward. (Claim 1).

  According to the present invention, as a device for discharging a glass bottle determined to be defective, a discharge device that drives the abutting portion back and forth by a linear servo actuator is provided, so that it corresponds to the weight, shape, etc. of the glass bottle. The abutting portion can be abutted against the glass bottle at an optimum speed, and the glass bottle can be reliably discharged from the downstream conveyor.

  In addition, after the abutting part is abutted against the glass bottle, it is pulled back quickly, so that even if the speed of the glass bottle transported by the conveyor is somewhat high, the subsequent glass bottle interferes with the abutting part and hinders conveyance. Thus, the inspection efficiency of the glass bottle can be more effectively improved while sufficiently ensuring the reliability of the apparatus.

In particular, in the present invention, since the glass bottle is moved to the discharge conveyor separated from the most advanced position of the abutting part by abutting the abutting part against the glass bottle determined to be defective, the abutting part However, according to the above configuration in which the abutting portion is driven forward and backward by a linear servo actuator, the position of the abutting portion is adjusted in accordance with a target value adjusted in advance. By accurately controlling the speed and the speed, the glass bottle can be reliably moved to the discharge conveyor in an appropriate posture without causing the glass bottle to fall over or lack of movement amount.

In the present invention, preferably, the abutment portion of the ejector is provided on a base member to which the drive shaft of the actuator is fixed and a surface on the non-drive side of the base member, and is made of a softer material than the base member. And the buffer member is abutted against the glass bottle ( claim 2 ).

  In this way, when the surface on the non-driving side of the abutting part is constituted by a relatively soft cushioning member, the abutting part is abutted against the glass bottle vigorously in order to push the glass bottle up to the discharge conveyor. However, the glass bottle does not break, and there is an advantage that the glass bottle can be discharged from the downstream conveyor more safely.

  As described above, according to the glass bottle inspection apparatus of the present invention, the glass bottle determined to be defective can be discharged properly and reliably.

It is a top view showing roughly the whole composition of the inspection device of the glass bottle concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of a glass bottle. It is a front view which shows the structure of a throat inspection part roughly. It is a top view which shows the structure of a throat inspection part roughly. It is a front view which shows the structure of a heel bottom test | inspection part schematically. It is sectional drawing along the VI-VI line of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of an inspection apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the state which the crack has generate | occur | produced in the mouth part of the glass bottle. It is a figure for demonstrating the condition when imaging the mouth opening part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the captured image of the mouth part shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of an ejector, (a) has shown the state by which the butting | butting part was abutted against the glass bottle, (b) has shown the state of the subsequent glass bottle.

(1) Overall Configuration FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing the overall configuration of a glass bottle inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The inspection apparatus shown in this figure includes an inspection apparatus main body 1 for examining the presence of defects in the glass bottle B by imaging the glass bottle B to be inspected, and an upstream conveyor that supplies the glass bottle B to the inspection apparatus main body 1. 2, the downstream conveyor 3 that conveys the glass bottle B inspected by the inspection apparatus main body 1 in a predetermined direction, the discharge conveyor 4 branched from the downstream conveyor 3, and the inspection apparatus main body 1 is determined to be defective (has a defect). And a discharging machine 5 for discharging the glass bottle B from the downstream conveyor 3 to the discharging conveyor 4.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the glass bottle B is made of a glass cylindrical body having an upper end opened and a lower end closed, and is used for filling liquids such as sake, beverages, and seasonings, for example. Is done. However, such liquid contents are filled after the inspection by the inspection apparatus of this embodiment. That is, the inspection by the inspection apparatus of the present embodiment is performed on the glass bottle B in a state where the contents are not yet filled.

  Further, a cap (not shown) is attached to the upper end portion of the glass bottle B in a later step. Below, the upper end part of the glass bottle B to which the cap is attached is referred to as the bottle opening part B1, and the bottom part on the opposite side is referred to as the bottle bottom part B2. In the illustrated glass bottle B, a screw-type cap is attached to the mouth opening B1. For this reason, a spiral projection R (see FIG. 8) for screwing a screw-type cap is formed in the mouth opening B1.

(1-1) Inspection Device Main Body As shown in FIG. 1, the inspection device main body 1 includes a pair of inspection conveyors 10 that sandwich and convey the glass bottle B carried from the upstream conveyor 2 from the left and right, The mouth inspection part 15 and the bottom inspection part 20 for inspecting the state of the mouth part B1 and the bottom part B2 of the glass part B, for example, by imaging the glass part B in the middle of the conveyance by the inspection conveyor 10, And a cover member 25 that surrounds these parts and darkens the inside.

  Each of the pair of inspection conveyors 10 includes a plurality of rollers 11 and a belt-like conveyor belt 12 spanned between the rollers 11. One of the rollers 11 is centered by a driving source (not shown). By being driven to rotate around, the conveyor belt 12 is driven to circulate in the direction of the solid arrow in the figure. Each roller 11 has a central axis (rotation center) in a vertical direction, and the conveyor belt 12 spanned by each roller 11 is circulated and driven in a posture in which the transport surface is in a vertical direction.

  The interval between the conveyor belts 12 in the pair of inspection conveyors 10 is set to be approximately the same as the width (diameter) of the glass bottles B so that the glass bottles B are sandwiched and held between the conveyor belts 12. It has become. Then, the glass bottles B are conveyed in the direction of the white arrow in the figure by driving the conveyor belts 12 at the same circulation speed while the glass bottles B are sandwiched between the conveyor belts 12. It has become.

  3 and 4 are diagrams schematically showing the configuration of the mouth opening inspection unit 15, FIG. 3 is a front view, and FIG. 4 is a plan view. As shown in these drawings, the mouth opening inspection unit 15 irradiates the glass bottle B held by the inspection conveyor 10 with infrared light from above, and emits infrared light from the light source 16. There is a mouth recognition camera 17 that images the mouth portion B1 of the received glass mouth B from above.

  The light source 16 is composed of, for example, a plurality of infrared LEDs arranged in a ring shape in plan view, and infrared light of a specific wavelength band is emitted from the infrared LEDs toward the mouth B1 of the glass bottle B. The Specifically, the infrared light emitted from the light source 16 is composed of near infrared rays in which the peak wavelength with the highest light intensity is set to a value relatively close to the visible light region (wavelength range of approximately 380 to 750 nm), In this embodiment, the peak wavelength is set to a value within the range of 800 to 900 nm.

  The mouth recognition camera 17 has a light receiving portion 17a for receiving infrared light irradiated from the light source 16 and reflected by the mouth portion B1, and the light receiving portion 17a has a main sensitivity in the visible light region. It is constituted by a normal CCD image sensor or CMOS image sensor having a distribution. As described above, the peak wavelength of infrared light emitted from the light source 16 is 800 to 900 nm, which is outside the visible light region (380 to 750 nm), but the wavelength range of 800 to 900 nm is in the visible light region. Since it is relatively close, the infrared light reflected by the mouth opening B1 can be received without any problem even if the above-described normal image sensor is used.

  That is, a wavelength range of 800 to 900 nm is sufficient for a normal image sensor having a main sensitivity distribution in the visible light region, not a special image sensor specialized for receiving infrared light. Generally, it has a high sensitivity. Therefore, even if the shed recognition camera 17 provided with the light receiving unit 17a made of such an image sensor is used, the image data of the shed B1 can be obtained without any problem.

  The image data of the lip portion B1 acquired by the lip recognition camera 17 is transmitted to a control unit 70 (FIG. 7) described later. And the presence or absence of the defect of the mouth opening B1 is determined through a predetermined calculation process based on the transmitted image data.

  FIG. 5 is a front view schematically showing the configuration of the bottom inspecting unit 20. As shown in this figure, the bottom inspection unit 20 includes a light source 21 that irradiates infrared light from below to a glass bottle B held on the inspection conveyor 10 and a bottle disposed above the inspection conveyor 10. The bottom recognition camera 22 is provided, and the infrared light irradiated from the light source 21 and transmitted through the glass bottle B is received by the bottom recognition camera 22, whereby image data of the bottom part B2 of the glass bottle B is obtained. It is supposed to be acquired. The image data on the bottom B2 is transmitted to the control unit 70, which will be described later, in the same manner as the image data on the bottom B1, and is used to determine whether the bottom B2 is acceptable.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the inspection apparatus main body 1 configured as described above includes a basket passing sensor 60 that detects that the glass bottle B has passed, and a conveyance speed sensor that detects the conveyance speed of the inspection conveyor 10. 62 is provided.

  The culm passage sensor 60 is disposed on the upstream side of the culm inspection unit 15 in the conveyance path (between the pair of inspection conveyors 10) of the glass culm B. The eyelid passing sensor 60 is formed of a so-called reflection type laser sensor, and includes a light projecting unit that irradiates a laser beam having a predetermined wavelength and a light receiving unit disposed on the same side as the light projecting unit. Then, when the glass bottle B passes through the installation section of the bottle passage sensor 60 in the transport process by the inspection conveyor 10, the laser light emitted from the light projecting section is reflected by the glass bottle B, and the reflected light is reflected. By receiving light at the light receiving portion, it is detected that the glass bottle B has passed.

  The conveyance speed sensor 62 is composed of a rotary encoder that generates a pulse at every predetermined rotation angle, and is attached to one of the plurality of rollers 11 provided in the inspection conveyor 10. Based on the encoder information of the roller 11 by the transport speed sensor 62, the circulation speed of the conveyor belt 12 (that is, the transport speed of the inspection conveyor 10) is detected.

(1-2) Upstream / Downstream Conveyor and Discharge Conveyor FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. As shown in the figure, each of the downstream conveyor 3 and the discharge conveyor 4 has conveyor belts 30 and 40 that are circulated and driven in a posture in which the transport surface is horizontally oriented. According to the circulation drive, the glass bottles B placed on the respective upper surfaces are individually conveyed in the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 6 (the direction of the white arrow in FIG. 1). Each conveyor belt 30 and 40 is driven by being driven by a roller (not shown) like the inspection conveyor 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the downstream conveyor 3 and the discharge conveyor 4 are adjacent to each other in the upstream in the width direction and are partitioned by a partition plate 35. The partition plate 35 has an opening 35a at a portion facing the discharger 5, and the glass bottle B pushed out by the discharger 5 can move from the downstream conveyor 3 to the discharge conveyor 4 through the opening 35a. It is like that.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the downstream conveyor 3 is provided with a culvert passage sensor 61 and a conveyance speed sensor 63 in the same manner as the inspection conveyor 10. That is, the passage of the glass bottle B conveyed by the downstream conveyor 3 is detected by the bottle passing sensor 61, and the conveyance speed of the downstream conveyor 3 is detected by the conveyance speed sensor 63. ing.

  In addition, although the detailed illustration is abbreviate | omitted about the upstream conveyor 2, it has the structure similar to the said downstream conveyor 3 and the discharge | emission conveyor 4, and it conveys in the state which mounted the glass bowl B on the upper surface.

(1-3) Ejector As shown in FIG. 6, the ejector 5 includes a linear servo actuator 50 and an abutting portion 56 that is driven forward and backward by the actuator 50.

  The actuator 50 includes a linear motor 51, a cylinder rod 52 (corresponding to a drive shaft according to the present invention) that moves forward and backward under the thrust of the linear motor 51, and a cylinder case 53 that holds the cylinder rod 52. The abutting portion 56 is attached to the tip of the cylinder rod 52, so that the abutting portion 56 is supported so as to be movable forward and backward.

  The linear motor 51 includes a mover 54 made of a permanent magnet built in a cylinder rod 52 and a stator 55 made of an electromagnet (coil) provided on the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder case 53. 55 is supplied with a current from a power supply device (not shown). When a magnetic flux is generated around the stator 55 in accordance with the current supply to the stator 55, the mover 54 is made relative to the stator 55 by the interaction between the magnetic flux and the magnetic flux generated by the mover 54. A moving thrust is generated, and the movable element 54 and the cylinder rod 52 are driven in the axial direction by the thrust.

  The cylinder case 53 is provided with a linear sensor 64 (FIG. 7) that magnetically or electrically reads the axial position of the cylinder rod 52. The value detected by the linear sensor 64 is transmitted to a control unit 70 described later as information for controlling (feedback control) the position and speed of the cylinder rod 52 as intended.

  The abutting portion 56 is made of a member that is long in the vertical direction, and its lower portion is fixed to the tip of the cylinder rod 52 so that it can be moved forward and backward in the vicinity of the conveyance path of the downstream conveyor 3. Yes. A guide rod 58 is connected to the upper portion of the abutting portion 56, and the guide rod 58 is supported so as to be able to move forward and backward while being inserted through the bearing portion 59.

  The abutting portion 56 includes a base member 56a made of a resin material and a softer material (for example, aliphatic hydrocarbon polymer, alicyclic hydrocarbon polymer, polyethyl acrylate, polymethacrylic acid). Acrylic polymers such as methyl, vinyl polymers such as polyvinyl isobutyl ether and poly N-vinyl pyrrolidone, styrene polymers such as polystyrene and poly-4-hydroxystyrene, polybutylene succinate, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene naphthalate, And a buffer member 56b made of polyethylene oxide, polyether such as polypropylene oxide, polyamide, polyurethane, polyurea, etc.) is overlapped in the thickness direction. The cylinder rod 52 and the guide rod 58 are connected to one surface of the base member 56a, and the buffer member 56b is connected to the other surface (surface opposite to the driving side) of the base member 56a on the opposite side. It is attached.

  The discharge machine 5 configured as described above operates when there is a glass bottle B determined to be defective by the inspection apparatus body 1. Specifically, the glass bottle B that is determined to be defective by any one of the mouth opening inspection unit 15 and the bottom inspection unit 20 of the inspection apparatus main body 1 is discharged from the discharger 5 in the process of being conveyed by the downstream conveyor 3. When the actuator passes through the side, the actuator 50 drives the abutting portion 56 in accordance with this, and the buffer member 56b is abutted against the glass bottle B, so that the glass bottle B passes through the opening 35a to the downstream conveyor. 3 to the discharge conveyor 4 (see FIG. 11).

  The glass bottle B moved to the discharge conveyor 4 is transported to the downstream side by the discharge conveyor 4 and is sequentially accumulated at the downstream end of the conveyor.

(2) Control System FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a control system of the inspection apparatus of the present embodiment. The control unit 70 shown in this figure is a device for comprehensively controlling each part of the inspection apparatus, and is composed of a well-known CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like.

  Various sensor values are input to the control unit 70. That is, the control unit 70 is electrically connected to the heel passage sensors 60 and 61, the conveyance speed sensors 62 and 63, and the linear sensor 64, and information detected by these sensors 60 to 64 is an electric signal. Are sequentially input to the control unit 70. And based on the input value etc., the said control unit 70 is various conveyors (upstream side conveyor 2, downstream side conveyor 3 ...), the spout inspection part 15, the bottom inspection part 20, discharge machine 5, etc. Control the operation of each part.

  The more specific functions of the control unit 70 will be described. The control unit 70 includes, as main functional elements, a conveyor control unit 71, an imaging control unit 72, a pass / fail judgment unit 73, a discharge control unit 74, and A data storage unit 75 is included.

  The conveyor control unit 71 drives the upstream conveyor 2, the downstream conveyor 3, the discharge conveyor 4, and the inspection conveyor 10, and controls the conveying operation of the glass bottle B by each of these conveyors.

  The imaging control unit 72 controls imaging operations in the mouth opening inspection unit 15 and the bottom inspection unit 20. That is, the imaging controller 72 operates the light source 16 and the mouth recognition camera 17 of the mouth opening inspection unit 15 to image the mouth opening B1 at a predetermined timing when the glass bottle B passes through the mouth opening inspection unit 15. At the same time, the light source 21 and the bottom recognition camera 22 of the bottom inspection unit 20 are operated to image the bottom B2 at a predetermined timing when the glass reed B passes the bottom inspection unit 20.

  The timing at which the glass bottle B passes through the bottle opening inspection unit 15 or the bottle bottom inspection unit 20 is calculated based on detection values by the bottle passage sensor 60 and the conveyance speed sensor 62. Specifically, on the upstream side of the throat inspection unit 15, when the jar passage sensor 60 detects that the glass jar B has passed, the inspection conveyor 10 specified from the detection value of the conveyance speed sensor 62. Based on the transport speed, it is calculated how much time has passed until the glass bottle B passes through the imaging point in the mouth opening inspection section 15 or the bottom inspection section 20. Then, in accordance with the calculated timing, the image of the throat portion B1 or the heel bottom portion B2 of the glass jar B is performed.

  The pass / fail determination unit 73 corresponds to a determination unit according to the present invention. Based on the image data captured by the port inspection unit 15 and the port bottom inspection unit 20, the port opening B1 and the port bottom portion It is determined whether or not a defect exists in B2. Although details will be described in item (3) described later, the pass / fail judgment unit 73 specifies the brightest imaged area from the image data of the mouth opening B1 imaged by the mouth opening inspection section 15, and The darkest imaged region is identified from the image data of the heel bottom B2 imaged by the bottom inspection unit 20, and the quality of the throat B1 and the heel bottom B2 is determined based on the brightness of each region.

  The discharge controller 74 controls the discharge operation of the glass bottle B by the discharger 5. That is, the discharge control unit 74 drives the linear motor 51 of the discharger 5 at a predetermined timing when the glass bottle B determined to be defective by the pass / fail determination unit 73 passes the side of the discharger 5 and pushes it. By quickly moving the abutting portion 56 forward, the glass bottle B determined to be defective is pushed out from the downstream conveyor 3 and moved to the discharge conveyor 4.

  The timing at which the glass bottle B determined to be defective passes through the side of the discharger 5 is calculated based on the detection values of the bottle passage sensor 61 and the conveyance speed sensor 63. Specifically, when the passage of the glass bottle B, in which either the bottle opening B1 or the bottle bottom B2 is determined to be defective by the pass / fail judgment unit 73, is detected by the bottle passage sensor 61, the conveyance speed sensor 63 Based on the conveyance speed of the downstream conveyor 3 specified from the detection value, it is calculated how much time has passed to determine whether the glass bottle B determined to be defective passes through the side of the discharger 5. Then, the linear motor 51 of the discharger 5 is driven at the passage timing of the glass bottle B calculated in this way, and the glass bottle B is pushed out by the protruding portion 56. In addition, about the operation | movement at the time of pushing through this glass bottle B, it demonstrates in detail by the item (4) mentioned later.

  The data storage unit 75 stores data necessary for the conveyor control unit 71, the imaging control unit 72, and the discharge control unit 74 to control the units, threshold data for pass / fail determination performed by the pass / fail determination unit 73, and the like. To do. Among these, for example, the threshold data for pass / fail judgment is appropriately rewritten by the user according to the required quality level.

(3) Inspection Logic Next, the logic (inspection logic) used when the quality determination unit 73 of the control unit 70 determines the quality of the glass bottle B will be described more specifically. Here, the inspection logic in the case of determining the quality of the mouth opening B1 based on the image captured by the mouth opening inspection section 15 will be mainly described.

  FIG. 8 shows a state in which a crack (crack) C has occurred in the mouth part B1 of the glass bottle B over a predetermined depth range from the upper surface thereof, and FIG. The situation when the part B1 is imaged by the mouth opening inspection part 15 is shown. As shown in FIG. 9, when infrared light is irradiated from the light source 16 thereabove toward the throat B1 in a situation where the crack C is generated in the throat B1, the irradiated infrared light is emitted. Is reflected by the crack C, changes its direction upward, and is taken into the light receiving portion 17a of the mouth opening recognition camera 17. On the other hand, when there is no defect such as a crack C, most of the infrared light passes through the glass bottle B and does not reflect upward, so the amount of infrared light taken into the mouth recognition camera 17 is small. become.

  From the above, when the mouth opening B1 is imaged by the mouth opening inspection unit 15, a portion where a defect such as the crack C is generated is picked up as a bright portion, and a portion without a defect is picked up as a dark portion. FIG. 10 shows an example of an image obtained when the lip portion B1 is imaged. A white area indicates a bright area and a black area indicates a dark area. According to this figure, it can be seen that the region S where the crack C is generated is imaged as a bright portion, and most other regions are imaged as dark portions.

  Based on the image information as shown in FIG. 10, the pass / fail judgment unit 73 specifies the brightest imaged area (that is, high brightness) in the image, and the brightness of the area is higher than a predetermined threshold value. When it is high, it is determined that the mouth opening B1 is defective. More specifically, the image of the mouth opening B1 is finely divided in the circumferential direction and the radial direction, and the average brightness in each obtained divided region (hereinafter referred to as a cell) is calculated based on, for example, gray scale gradation. To do. Then, the brightness of the brightest cell is specified from the calculated brightness of each cell, and when the brightness is higher than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the mouth portion B1 has a defect.

  In the example of FIG. 10, the bright part region S caused by the crack C is considerably large, and the other bright parts are very fine. For this reason, the brightness of the cell including the region S is calculated to be significantly higher than the brightness of other cells, and as a result, the brightness of the cell is specified as the highest value. Then, when it is determined that the brightness is greater than the threshold value, it is determined that there is a defect in the mouth portion B1. Note that the inner and outer peripheral lines of the mouth opening B1 are also imaged as bright parts, but are not counted as bright parts because they are not caused by defects.

  The lightness threshold is appropriately set by the user in accordance with the type of glass bottle B, the size of the defect to be detected, and the like. In order to set an appropriate threshold value, for example, it is preferable to take an image of the mouth part B1 of many non-defective glass bottles B, extract the brightness of the brightest cells from the obtained sample images, and create the distribution thereof. . Then, by determining how far the average value or standard deviation of the created brightness distribution should be set as a threshold value, the mouth opening B1 can be inspected with appropriate accuracy required by the user. .

  Here, in this embodiment, the peak wavelength of the infrared light emitted from the light source is set to a value in the range of 800 to 900 nm so that an important defect such as a crack C can be clearly imaged. It is to do. That is, a defect such as a crack C is an important defect that cannot easily be overlooked because it tends to cause cracks (defects) in the opening B1 when, for example, a cap is attached to the opening B1 in a later process. It is. However, for example, when light having a wavelength shorter than 800 to 900 nm (for example, visible light or ultraviolet light) is irradiated, light is irregularly reflected due to minute unevenness and surface scratches that do not cause a problem in use, and crack C may not be distinguished and recognized. There is. On the other hand, when light having a wavelength longer than 800 to 900 nm is used, the reflectance at the crack C becomes small, and there is a possibility that the crack C cannot be imaged as a clear bright part. From this point, in this embodiment, the value of the peak wavelength is set within the range of 800 to 900 nm.

  Next, the case where the pass / fail determination of the bottom B2 is performed will be briefly described. When inspecting the bottom part B2 by the bottom inspection part 20, as shown in FIG. 5, the infrared light is irradiated from the light source 21 below the bottom part B2, and the opposite side (above the mouth part B1). ) The bottom B2 is imaged by the bottom recognition camera 22. For this reason, if there is a foreign object, dirt, or the like in the heel bottom B2, that part is imaged as a dark part. Therefore, when inspecting the heel bottom B2, contrary to the inspection of the ostium B1, the darkest imaged area (that is, the lightness is low) is specified, and the lightness of the area is greater than a predetermined threshold value. Whether or not the bottom B2 is good is determined according to whether or not it is low.

(4) Discharge Operation Next, an operation when the discharge control unit 74 of the control unit 70 controls the discharge machine 5 will be described. When the quality determining unit 73 determines that either the mouth B1 or the bottom B2 of the glass bottle B is defective, the discharge controller 74 first passes the glass bottle B through the side of the discharger 5. The timing is determined by calculation (the contents are as described in (2) above). Then, in accordance with the calculated timing, the discharge controller 74 drives the actuator 50 so that the butting portion 56 of the discharging machine 5 is butted against the glass bottle B.

  Specifically, first, a drive current in a direction of protruding the cylinder rod 52 forward (downstream conveyor 3 side) is supplied to the linear motor 51 of the actuator 50. Thereby, as shown to Fig.11 (a), the abutting part 56 advances, and the buffer member 56b is abutted on the surrounding wall of the glass bowl B. FIG. The speed of the abutting portion 56 at this time is set to a value that is large to some extent so that the glass bottle B can be pushed away.

  That is, when the speed of the abutting portion 56 is set to the above value, the glass bottle B has a position where the abutting portion 56 has advanced most (the most advanced position), as shown in FIG. It travels farther away and moves quickly from the downstream conveyor 3 to the discharge conveyor 4 adjacent thereto.

  Immediately after the glass bottle B is pushed away, the linear motor 51 of the actuator 50 is supplied with a drive current in a direction for moving the cylinder rod 52 backward, whereby the backward movement of the butting portion 56 is started. As a result, the abutting portion 56 is quickly pulled back to the initial position shown in FIG. 6, and the subsequent glass bottle B is prevented from interfering with the abutting portion 56.

  During the operation of the ejector 5 as described above, the detection value by the linear sensor 64 is sequentially fed back to the discharge control unit 74 in order to accurately control the position and speed of the abutting unit 56. In other words, in order to drive the abutting portion 56 forward and backward quickly and accurately eject the glass bottle B to the discharge conveyor 4, it is necessary to accurately control the position and speed of the abutting portion 56. Therefore, the discharge control unit 74 performs feedback control based on the detection value of the linear sensor 64 so that the position and speed of the abutting unit 56 are controlled according to the target, thereby accurately feeding the glass bottle B to the discharge conveyor 4. And discharge.

(5) Operational effects and the like As described above, in the inspection apparatus for the glass bottle B of the present embodiment, the state of the glass bottle B supplied from the upstream conveyor 2 is inspected by the inspection apparatus body 1 and inspected. While the bowl B is transported to the downstream side by the downstream conveyor 3, the glass bowl B whose inspection result is defective in the transport process is discharged from the downstream conveyor 3 to the discharge conveyor 4 by the discharger 5. It has become so. According to such a configuration, operations such as inspection, conveyance, and sorting (good / bad sorting) of the glass bottle B can be automatically performed in a series of flows, and the inspection efficiency of the glass bottle B is effective. Can be improved.

  In particular, in the above-described embodiment, the ejector 5 includes the linear servo actuator 50 capable of feedback control based on the sensor value (detected value by the linear sensor 64), and the abutting portion 56 that is driven forward and backward by the actuator 50. The glass bottle B is discharged from the downstream conveyor 3 when the abutting portion 56 is brought into contact with the glass bottle B determined to be defective by the inspection apparatus body 1. There is an advantage that the glass bottle B determined to be defective can be discharged properly and reliably.

  That is, since the abutting portion 56 is driven forward and backward by the linear servo actuator 50, the abutting portion 56 can be abutted against the glass rod B at an optimum speed according to the weight, shape, etc. of the glass rod B, The glass bottle B can be reliably discharged from the downstream conveyor 3.

  In addition, after the abutting portion 56 is abutted against the glass bowl B, the subsequent glass bowl B interferes with the abutting section 56 even if the conveying speed of the glass bowl B by the conveyor is somewhat high by pulling it back quickly. Thus, the conveyance efficiency is not hindered, and the inspection efficiency of the glass bottle can be more effectively improved while sufficiently ensuring the reliability of the apparatus.

  Here, in the said embodiment, by pushing forward the abutting part 56 vigorously, the glass bottle B is pushed farther than the most advanced position (refer FIG.11 (b)), and it is width with respect to the said downstream conveyor 3. The glass bottle B is moved to the discharge conveyor 4 adjacent in the direction. For this reason, in order to perform the discharging operation as described above appropriately and reliably, it is required to more accurately control the position and speed of the abutting portion 56. For example, if the butting speed of the butting portion 56 is too fast, the glass bottle B may fall on the discharge conveyor 4, and conversely if the butting speed of the butting section 56 is too slow, the glass bottle There is a risk that the amount of movement of B will be insufficient and the glass bottle B will remain on the downstream conveyor 3.

  Even in a situation where such a problem is concerned, according to the above-described configuration in which the abutting portion 56 is driven to advance and retract by the linear servo actuator 50, the abutting portion 56 can be adjusted in accordance with a previously adjusted target value or the like. By accurately controlling the position and speed, the glass bottle B can be reliably moved to the discharge conveyor 4 in an appropriate posture without causing the glass bottle B to fall over or the amount of movement is insufficient.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, the said abutting part 56 is a resin-made base member 56a with which the cylinder rod 52 of the actuator 50 is connected, and the surface on the non-driving side of this base member 56a (closer to the downstream conveyor 3). A buffer member 56b made of a softer material than the base member 56a, and the buffer member 56b is abutted against the glass bottle B. In this way, when the surface of the abutting portion 56 on the side opposite to the driving side is configured by a relatively soft cushioning member 56b, the abutting portion 56 is used to push the glass bottle B up to the discharge conveyor 4. Even if it strikes the glass bottle B vigorously, there is an advantage that the glass bottle B is not broken and the glass bottle B can be discharged from the downstream conveyor 3 more safely.

  In the above-described embodiment, in the inspection apparatus main body 1, the state of the throat B 1 of the glass jar B is inspected by the throat inspection unit 15, and the state of the heel bottom B 2 is inspected by the heel bottom inspection unit 20. However, the inspection content in the inspection apparatus main body 1 is not limited to this, and may be an inspection of only one of the throat portion B1 and the heel bottom portion B2, or may be an inspection of other parts. Good.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the number of the mouth test | inspection part 15 which test | inspects the mouth part B1 was made into one, in order to be able to respond | correspond to the glass bottle of various sizes and shapes, a plurality of mouth test parts 15 may be provided. For example, a plurality of mouth inspection parts 15 having different shapes and brightness of the light source 16 or the type of the camera 17 are slidably provided, and the mouth inspection part used depending on the type of the glass eye B to be inspected. It is good to switch 15 suitably. This also applies to the bottom inspecting part 20 that inspects the bottom part B2, and a plurality of bottom inspecting parts 20 may be slidably arranged side by side.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inspection apparatus main body 2 Upstream conveyor 3 Downstream conveyor 4 Discharge conveyor 5 Discharge machine 50 Actuator 52 Cylinder rod (drive shaft)
56 abutting portion 56a base member 56b buffer member 64 linear sensor B glass bottle B1 bottle opening

Claims (2)

An inspection apparatus body for inspecting the state of the glass bottle, a downstream conveyor for conveying the glass bottle inspected by the inspection apparatus body in a predetermined direction, a discharge conveyor adjacent to the downstream conveyor in the width direction, and the inspection apparatus body A glass bottle inspection apparatus comprising: a discharge machine that moves the glass bottle determined to be defective from the downstream conveyor to the discharge conveyor; and a control unit that controls the discharge machine ,
The ejector includes a linear servo actuator including a linear motor and a drive shaft that advances and retreats in the axial direction under the thrust of the linear motor, and an abutting portion that is attached to the tip of the drive shaft and driven to advance and retreat. A linear sensor for detecting the axial position of the drive shaft ,
The control unit drives the linear motor at a predetermined timing when the glass bottle determined to be defective passes through the side of the discharger, thereby abutting the glass bottle with the abutting portion. At the same time, according to the abutting operation, the position and speed of the abutting portion are set so that the glass bottle moves to the discharge conveyor that is separated from the most advanced position when the abutting portion is most advanced. An inspection apparatus for glass bottles, wherein feedback control is performed based on a detection value of a linear sensor . The glass bottle inspection apparatus according to claim 1 ,
The abutting portion of the ejector includes a base member to which the drive shaft of the actuator is fixed, and a buffer member that is provided on a surface on the non-driving side of the base member and is made of a softer material than the base member. The glass bottle inspection apparatus, wherein the buffer member is abutted against the glass bottle.