JP6209074B2 - Inspection device and inspection method for inspection object - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus and an inspection method capable of inspecting the appearance of an object to be inspected from one end side and the other end side during conveyance.

  For example, for rubber products such as rubber stoppers and gaskets for medical devices and pharmaceuticals, from the viewpoint of safety and hygiene, it is necessary to inspect the entire surface for defects in appearance such as scratches, adhesion of foreign substances, and deformation on the surface. is there. As an apparatus for inspecting such an appearance defect, an inspection apparatus described in Patent Document 1 below is known.

  The inspection apparatus includes first and second transfer tables that are rotatably supported around a vertical axis. Each of the first and second transport tables has a suction port on the outer peripheral surface, the first transport table sucks and holds the bottom surface of the object to be inspected (rubber plug), and the second transport table holds the inspected object. Adsorb and hold the bottom. The exposed portion on the upper surface side of the object to be inspected whose bottom surface is held by the first transport table is visually inspected by the first inspection unit, and the bottom surface of the object to be inspected whose upper surface is held by the second transport table. The exposed portion is inspected by the second inspection unit. Thereby, the entire surface of the inspection object is inspected.

  In addition, the object to be inspected is transferred from the first conveyance table to the second conveyance table by the second conveyance of the upper surface of the object to be inspected held by the first conveyance table at a position where the first and second conveyance tables are close to each other. This is done by adsorbing the table.

  However, in the case of delivery by suction from both sides, when the timing at which the suction of the first transport table is cut is shifted, delivery cannot be performed correctly, and the delivery becomes unstable, for example, causing the object to be inspected to fall. Also, it is necessary to have flat surfaces that can be adsorbed on the bottom and top surfaces, respectively. For example, if the top surface of a syringe has a cone shape (see Fig. 9 (A)), it cannot be adsorbed on the top surface. There will be significant restrictions on possible inspected objects.

  In addition, in the said inspection apparatus, providing the guide part which guides a to-be-inspected object in a 2nd conveyance table is proposed for fall prevention. However, in this case, since the object to be inspected is limited to a shape having a groove-like upper gap into which the guide portion is inserted, versatility is further reduced. Moreover, in order to insert the object to be inspected into the guide portion, it is necessary to convey the object to be inspected while accurately regulating the direction of the object to be inspected, resulting in complicated conveyance.

International Publication WO03 / 072469

  Therefore, the invention provides an inspection apparatus and an inspection method for an inspected object that can stably deliver the inspected object between transfer tables and can increase the versatility by widening the limit of the inspected object to be inspected. It is an issue.

The first invention of the present application is an inspection apparatus comprising: a transport unit that transports while holding an object to be inspected; and an inspection unit that inspects an appearance of the object to be inspected held by the transport unit during transport,
The conveying means is
One end that is formed in a disk shape that is rotatably supported around horizontal axes that are parallel to each other, and that is arranged in a row at an outer periphery and spaced in the circumferential direction, and that detachably holds one end of the object to be inspected. By providing a part-side holding part, first and second transport tables for transporting the object to be inspected while exposing the other end side; and
A third conveyance table that receives the object to be inspected conveyed by the first conveyance table and sequentially transfers the received object to be inspected to the second conveyance table;
In addition, the third transport table has a disk shape that is rotatably supported around the vertical axis, and is arranged in a line at the outer periphery at intervals in the circumferential direction, and the other end side of the object to be inspected. By providing the other end side holding portion that is detachably held, the object to be inspected is conveyed from the first conveyance table to the second conveyance table while exposing one end side thereof, and
The inspection means includes
The other end side inspection means for inspecting the exposed portion on the other end side of the object to be inspected conveyed by the first conveyance table and / or the second conveyance table;
One end side inspection means for inspecting an exposed portion on one end side of the object to be inspected conveyed by the third conveyance table.

  In the inspection apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the one end side holding portion includes a suction tool that sucks and holds one end portion of the object to be inspected.

  In the inspection apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the other end side holding portion includes a fitting recess that holds and holds the lower surface of the other end side of the object to be inspected.

  In the inspection apparatus according to the present invention, when the other end side holding portion transfers the object to be inspected to the second transfer table, the object to be inspected held in the fitting recess is transferred to the second transfer table. It is preferable to provide an extrusion tool that extrudes to the side.

  In the inspection apparatus according to the present invention, the width center line of the first transfer table and the width center line of the second transfer table are displaced in the horizontal axis direction and are perpendicular to the third transfer table. The axis is preferably located in the center between the width center lines.

The second invention of the present application is an inspection method for inspecting the appearance of an object to be inspected during transportation using the inspection apparatus according to the first invention,
The other end side inspection step of inspecting the exposed portion on the other end side of the object to be inspected conveyed by the first and / or second conveyance table;
And a first end side inspection step for inspecting an exposed portion on one end side of the object to be inspected conveyed by the third conveying table, wherein the entire circumference of the object to be inspected is inspected.

  Since the present invention is configured as described above, it is possible to stably deliver the object to be inspected between the transfer tables as described in the section “DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION” below, and to perform inspection. It becomes possible to increase the versatility by expanding the restriction of the object to be inspected.

It is a top view which shows one Example of the test | inspection apparatus of this invention. It is the side view. It is a perspective view which shows the 1st-3rd conveyance table. It is a top view which shows the 1st-3rd conveyance table. It is a side view which shows the 1st-3rd conveyance table. (A), (B) is the top view and sectional drawing which show delivery of the to-be-inspected object between the 1st, 3rd conveyance tables. (A), (B) is the top view and sectional drawing which show delivery of the to-be-inspected object between the 2nd, 3rd conveyance tables. (A)-(C) are sectional drawings which show the state of the seating of a to-be-inspected object. (A) is sectional drawing which shows an example of a to-be-inspected object, (B) is sectional drawing which shows another example.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inspection apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has an appearance of a conveying unit 3 that conveys the object to be inspected 2 and an object to be inspected 2 that is held by the conveying unit 3 during the conveyance. And inspecting means 4 for inspecting.

  In this example, as shown in FIG. 9A, the case where the device under test 2 is a gasket 2A of a syringe is shown. The gasket 2A has a substantially cylindrical shape, and a screw hole 2A1 that is screwed into a pusher of the syringe is opened at one end surface in the direction of the axis 2i. The other end surface is formed with a cone surface 2A2 that matches the shape of the tip of the inner hole of the syringe barrel, and a circumferential rib 2A3 is provided on the outer circumferential surface so as to seal between the inner surface of the syringe barrel. In this application, the edge part of the to-be-inspected object 2 containing the said one end surface is called the one end part E1, and the edge part containing the other end surface is called the other end part E2.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inspection apparatus 1 is connected to a supply device 5 that supplies the object 2 to be conveyed 3. As the supply device 5, a well-known structure is suitably employed without any particular restriction. In this example, the supply device 5 includes a hopper 5A, a bowl feeder 5B, and a linear feeder 5C. The hopper 5A stores the object to be inspected 2 and sequentially puts an appropriate amount thereof into the bowl feeder 5B. The bowl feeder 5 </ b> B has a spiral track, and applies vibration to advance the inspected object 2 while aligning its direction and aligning it along the track. Further, the rectilinear feeder 5C moves the test object 2 from the bowl feeder 5B straight while aligning in a row. In this example, the object to be inspected 2 is sent in a state where the other end portion E2 side is directed downward (a state where the cone surface 2A2 faces downward), and is conveyed to the conveying means 3 at the loading position T at the foremost end. Delivered. At the carry-in position T, a push-up pin (not shown) that pushes up the object to be inspected 2 toward a first transfer table 6 described later is arranged so as to be able to appear and retract.

  Next, the conveying means 3 is arranged between the disk-shaped first and second conveying tables 6 and 7 that are rotatably supported around horizontal axes 6i and 7i that are parallel to each other, and are vertically arranged therebetween. And a disc-shaped third transfer table 8 rotatably supported around an axis 8i. The horizontal axis 6i, 7i is arranged at the same height position, and the horizontal axis 6i is located on a vertical line passing through the loading position T.

  The first and second transfer tables 6 and 7 have the same configuration in this example, and each has a disc-shaped base 11 supported by a horizontal support shaft 10 and an outer periphery thereof spaced apart in the circumferential direction. And a plurality of one end side holding portions 12 arranged in a row at intervals. One end of the support shaft 10 is connected to a motor M fixed to the frame F, for example, and the other end of the support shaft 10 is pivotally supported to a side plate 13 fixed to the frame F, for example.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the one end side holding portion 12 detachably holds the one end E1 side of the device under test 2. The one end side holding portion 12 of the present example includes a suction tool 13 that sucks and holds one end face of the device under test 2. The suction tool 13 includes a pedestal 13A that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the base 11, and a suction port 13B that opens on the outer surface. Thereby, the 1st, 2nd conveyance tables 6 and 7 can convey the to-be-inspected object 2, exposing the other end part E2 side, surfaces other than an end surface in this example.

  The third transfer table 8 receives the inspection object 2 conveyed by the first conveyance table 6 at the position P1, and delivers the received inspection object 2 to the second conveyance table 7 at the position P2. The third transfer table 8 includes a disk-like base 15 supported by a vertical support shaft 14 and a plurality of other end side holding portions 16 arranged on the outer periphery thereof in a row at intervals in the circumferential direction. With. The lower end of the support shaft 14 is connected to a motor M (shown in FIG. 2) fixed to the frame F, for example.

  The other end side holding portion 16 detachably holds the other end E2 side of the device under test 2. The other end side holding portion 16 of the present example includes a fitting recess 17 having an upper opening for seating and holding the lower surface 2S on the other end E2 side of the device under test 2. Thereby, the to-be-inspected object 2 is conveyed from the 1st conveyance table 6 to the 2nd conveyance table 7, exposing the one end part E1 side and the one end surface and upper surface in this example.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the other end side holding portion 16 of this example has a pedestal 18 that is attached to the upper surface of the base body 15, and the fitting concave portion 17 is recessed on the upper surface. Has been established. As shown in FIG. 8A, the fitting recess 17 has a bottom surface 17S having substantially the same shape as the bottom surface 2S on the other end E2 side of the device under test 2, and the bottom surface 2S is seated and fitted. The other end E2 side of the device under test 2 is held. The lower surface 2S means a surface of the outer surface of the inspection object 2 that faces downward in the horizontal state Y in which the axis 2i of the inspection object 2 is horizontal. The fitting recess 17 only needs to receive a part of the lower surface 2S. For example, as shown in FIG. 8B, the depth H is ½ of the height (diameter D) of the device under test 2. For example, as shown in FIG. 8C, the depth H may be larger than ½ of the height (diameter D) of the object 2 to be inspected.

  The other end side holding portion 16 of the present example is provided with the lower surface 2S of the device under test 2 on the bottom surface 17S for the purpose of surely preventing the displacement of the device under test 2 in the fitting recess 17. A suction port 17H (shown in FIG. 6B) for suction is opened.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, when the test object 2 is transferred from the first transport table 6 to the third transport table 8, the position P <b> 1 at which the one end side holding portion 12 is at the same height as the horizontal axis 7 i. That is, it is performed at a position where the inspection object 2 is in the horizontal state Y. At this position P1, the object 2 to be inspected that is attracted to the suction tool 13 (one end side holding portion 12) and conveyed downward from above is fitted into the fitting recess 17 (the other end side holding portion 16) of the upper opening. ) Can be received within. Further, since the one end side holding portion 12 passes downward after being received, the inspection object 2 can be delivered stably and reliably with the suction by the suction tool 13 turned on.

  In this example, as shown in FIG. 4, the width center line 6w of the first transfer table 6 and the width center line 7w of the second transfer table 7 are displaced in the horizontal axis direction, and the third The vertical axis 8i of the transfer table 8 is located at the center between the width center lines 6w and 7w. As described above, since the vertical axis 8i is displaced from the width center line 6w, the object to be inspected 2 is obliquely peeled off from the suction surface of the one-end-side holding portion 12 at the time of delivery. It moves to. Therefore, the device under test 2 can be easily removed from the suction surface, and delivery can be performed more smoothly.

  As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the inspection object 2 is transferred from the third conveyance table 8 to the second conveyance table 7 at a position P <b> 2 where the inspection object 2 is in the horizontal state Y. It is done at. At this position P2, since the fitting recess 17 forms an upper opening, the object to be inspected 2 seated in the fitting recess 17 can be received by suction of the one end side holding portion 12 that moves upward from below. it can. In the present example, the other end side holding portion 16 includes a pusher 20 in order to reliably perform the suction. The pusher 20 pushes the object 2 to be inspected held in the fitting recess 17 toward the second transport table 7 and presses one end surface of the object 2 to the suction port 13B of the suction tool 13.

  Next, the inspection means 4 includes the other end side inspection means 4A and the one end side inspection means 4B. The other end side inspection means 4A is the inspection object 2 to be conveyed by the first conveyance table 6 and / or the second conveyance table 7 (in this example, the first conveyance table 6 and the second conveyance table 7). The exposed portion on the other end E2 side is inspected. The one end side inspection means 4B inspects the exposed portion on the one end E1 side of the inspection object 2 conveyed by the third conveyance table 8. Thereby, the whole surface of the inspection object 2 can be inspected.

  In this example, the other end side inspecting means 4A and the one end side inspecting means 4B are an image taking means (not shown) for taking an image of the inspected object 2, and an image for judging a defect by processing the taken image. And processing means (not shown). As this photographing means and image processing means, a conventionally known one can be suitably employed.

  Reference numeral 21 in FIG. 2 denotes a defective product carry-out shooter that collects the inspected object 2 determined to be defective, and reference numeral 22 denotes a non-defective product carry-out shooter that collects the inspected object 2 determined to be good.

  In this way, the transport means 3 interposes the third transport table 8 rotatable around the vertical axis between the first and second transport tables 6 and 7 rotatable around the horizontal axis. Therefore, there is no need to transfer by suction from both ends as in the prior art. Therefore, the instability of delivery can be improved. Moreover, since it is not necessary to make the both end surfaces of the to-be-inspected object 2 the plane which can be attracted | sucked, the restriction | limiting of the shape of the to-be-inspected object 2 used as inspection object spreads, and versatility can be improved. In addition, as to-be-inspected object 2, as shown in FIG.9 (B), the plane which can adsorb | suck both end surfaces may be sufficient.

  Next, in the inspection method using the inspection apparatus 1, the other end for inspecting the exposed portion on the other end E2 side of the inspection object 2 conveyed by the first conveyance table 6 and / or the second conveyance table 7. A part side inspection step, and an end part side inspection step of inspecting an exposed part on the one end part E1 side of the inspection object 2 conveyed by the third conveyance table 8. As a result, the entire surface of the object to be inspected 2 is inspected to detect appearance defects such as scratches, adhesion of foreign matters, etc. on the surface and deformation.

  As mentioned above, although especially preferable embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited to embodiment of illustration, It can deform | transform and implement in a various aspect.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inspection apparatus 2 Inspected object 2S Lower surface 3 Conveying means 4 Inspection means 4A Other end side inspection means 4B One end side inspection means 6 First conveyance table 6i Horizontal axis 6w Center line 7 Second conveyance table 7i Horizontal axis Center 7w Width center line 8 Third transfer table 8i Vertical axis 12 One end side holding portion 13 Suction tool 16 Other end side holding portion 17 Fitting recess 20 Extruding tool

Claims (6)

An inspection apparatus comprising: a conveying unit that conveys while holding an object to be inspected; and an inspection unit that visually inspects the object to be inspected held by the conveying unit in the middle of conveyance,
The conveying means is
One end that is formed in a disk shape that is rotatably supported around horizontal axes that are parallel to each other, and that is arranged in a row at an outer periphery and spaced in the circumferential direction, and that detachably holds one end of the object to be inspected. By providing a part-side holding part, first and second transport tables for transporting the object to be inspected while exposing the other end side; and
A third conveyance table that receives the object to be inspected conveyed by the first conveyance table and sequentially transfers the received object to be inspected to the second conveyance table;
In addition, the third transport table has a disk shape that is rotatably supported around the vertical axis, and is arranged in a line at the outer periphery at intervals in the circumferential direction, and the other end side of the object to be inspected. By providing the other end side holding portion that is detachably held, the object to be inspected is conveyed from the first conveyance table to the second conveyance table while exposing one end side thereof, and
The inspection means includes
The other end side inspection means for inspecting the exposed portion on the other end side of the object to be inspected conveyed by the first conveyance table and / or the second conveyance table;
An inspection apparatus comprising: one end side inspection means for inspecting an exposed portion on one end side of the object to be inspected conveyed by the third conveyance table.   The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one end side holding portion includes a suction tool that sucks and holds one end portion of the object to be inspected.   The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the other end side holding portion includes a fitting recess that seats and holds the lower surface of the other end side of the object to be inspected.   The other end side holding portion includes an extruding tool that pushes the object to be inspected held in the fitting recess to the second transport table when the object to be inspected is transferred to the second transport table. The inspection apparatus according to claim 3.   The width center line of the first transfer table and the width center line of the second transfer table are displaced in the horizontal axis direction, and the vertical axis of the third transfer table is between the width center lines. The inspection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the inspection apparatus is located in the center. Using the inspection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, an inspection method for inspecting an appearance of an object to be inspected during conveyance,
The other end side inspection step of inspecting the exposed portion on the other end side of the object to be inspected conveyed by the first and / or second conveyance table;
An inspection method comprising inspecting the entire surface of the object to be inspected, comprising: one end side inspection step for inspecting an exposed portion on one end side of the object to be inspected conveyed by the third conveying table.

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