JP7152525B2 - WORK INSPECTION DEVICE AND WORK INSPECTION METHOD - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a workpiece inspection device and a workpiece inspection method.

A workpiece inspection apparatus is applied to, for example, an apparatus that supplies workpieces such as parts in a product production line. A work inspection device captures an image of a work supplied in a bulk state with a camera, and recognizes the position and orientation of the work based on the acquired image data (see Patent Literature 1). In addition, the work inspection device selects conforming products suitable for product assembly work, etc., from among a plurality of works, and removes nonconforming products, foreign substances, and the like.

JP 2015-207917 A

By the way, it is not easy to pick up the nonconforming products one by one from the workpieces that are piled up in bulk because the nonconforming products have different shapes from the conforming products. Therefore, a method of picking conforming products is conceivable, but the higher the percentage of conforming products in a plurality of works, the longer the time required for picking. A workpiece inspection apparatus and a workpiece inspection method are required to increase the number of workpieces that can be inspected per unit time.

An object of the present specification is to provide a workpiece inspection apparatus and a workpiece inspection method capable of increasing the number of workpieces that can be inspected per unit time.

The present specification provides a work supply device that supplies a plurality of works from a stocker that stores a plurality of works used in a predetermined work, and a supply area in which the work supply device supplies the works in irregular postures. When an unspecified item that cannot be identified as a conforming item suitable for a predetermined work is detected, one or more of the workpieces located in a partial area containing at least the unspecified item in the supply area is removed from the supply area. a retracting device for retracting; a collecting device for moving the conforming products left in the supply area from the supplying area to a collection container; and a sampling device that, when detected, samples the conforming product and moves it from the evacuation area to the collection container or the supply area.

The present specification includes a work supply step of supplying a plurality of works from a stocker that stores a plurality of works used in a predetermined work, and a supply area in which the works having irregular postures are supplied by the work supply step. When an unspecified item that cannot be identified as a conforming item suitable for a predetermined work is detected, one or more of the workpieces located in a partial area containing at least the unspecified item in the supply area is removed from the supply area. a withdrawal step of withdrawing; a recovery step of moving the conforming products left in the supply area from the supply area to a collection container; and a collection step of collecting the conforming product and moving it from the evacuation area to the collection container or the supply area when the conforming product is detected.

According to such a configuration, unspecified products contained in the supply area are moved to the evacuation area, so conforming products left in the supply area can be moved to the collection container. On the other hand, from the unspecified products saved in the save area, only conforming products are collected by searching again. As a result, the number of operations for picking nonconforming products and conforming products mixed with foreign substances can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to increase the number of workpieces that can be inspected per unit time.

1 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of a workpiece inspection device according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view of the workpiece inspection device of FIG. 1; It is an enlarged view showing each area in the workpiece inspection device. 4 is a flowchart showing workpiece inspection processing; It is a top view which shows typically the structure of the workpiece|work inspection apparatus in the 1st modification aspect of embodiment. It is a top view which shows typically the structure of the workpiece|work inspection apparatus in the 2nd modified aspect of embodiment.

1. Overview of Work Inspection Apparatus and Work Inspection Method Hereinafter, specific embodiments of a work inspection apparatus and a work inspection method will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the workpiece inspection apparatus is applied to a sorting apparatus for workpieces such as mechanical parts and electronic parts in a product production line, for example. After the works are supplied in bulk, the work inspection device inspects whether or not each of the works is a suitable product suitable for a predetermined work such as a product assembly work.

Based on the results of the above inspection, the workpiece inspection device sorts the supplied workpieces into conforming products and nonconforming products that do not conform to the predetermined work. Then, the workpiece inspection device collects the conforming products and discards the nonconforming products. In addition, when foreign matter is mixed in the plurality of supplied works, the work inspection device discards the foreign matter together with the nonconforming products.

2. Configuration of Work Inspection Apparatus 1 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the work inspection apparatus 1 includes a work supply device 10 that supplies a plurality of works 90 from a stocker 11 . The stocker 11 stores a plurality of works 90 used for predetermined work. In this embodiment, the stocker 11 stores a plurality of works 90 in a bulk state (a state in which discrete works 90 are collected). An openable and closable opening is provided at the bottom of the stocker 11 .

The work supply device 10 supplies the work 90 by opening and closing the opening of the stocker 11 . As a result, a plurality of works 90 are supplied in irregular postures to the supply area As on the conveyor 22 of the recovery device 20, which will be described later. The work supply device 10 can adjust the supply amount of the work 90 by, for example, the time for maintaining the open state of the opening of the stocker 11 .

The workpiece inspection device 1 includes a recovery device 20 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . The collection device 20 moves the conforming products 91 included in the plurality of works 90 from the supply area As to the collection container 21 . In this embodiment, the collection container 21 includes a conveyor 22 that conveys a plurality of works 90 from the supply area As to the collection container 21 . The conveyor 22 has a conveyor belt that rotates along a conveying path with a plurality of works 90 placed thereon. The stocker 11 of the work supply device 10 is provided above one end of the conveyor 22 . Also, the collection container 21 is provided below the other end of the conveyor 22 .

The conveyor 22 is driven by a driving device (not shown) to convey the plurality of works 90 to the collection container 22 . In this embodiment, the above-mentioned “supply area As” corresponds to an area for supporting the work 90 on the transport path of the conveyor 22 . The collecting device 20 can adjust the movement amount and movement speed of the work 90 by, for example, varying the drive state of the conveyor drive device. With the configuration described above, when a plurality of conforming products 91 remain in the supply area As after the operation of the evacuation device 30, which will be described later, the collection device 20 collects these conforming products 91 without collecting them individually. can be moved to the collection container 21 by pressing.

The workpiece inspection apparatus 1 includes a retraction device 30 as shown in FIGS. When an unspecified product 95 is detected in the supply area As, the retraction device 30 retracts one or more works 90 located in a partial area Ap containing at least the unspecified product 95 from the supply area As. Let Here, the unspecified product 95 is a product that is not recognized as a conforming product 91 when searching for a conforming product 91 in the supply area As.

The unspecified products 95 include nonconforming products 92 that are deformed and not suitable for the predetermined work, and foreign substances other than the workpiece 90. The image processing unit 81 described later searches for the conforming products 91 targeting the supply area As. Those not identified as conforming products 91 in processing are included. Further, the unidentified items 95 described above include a collection of conforming items 91 in a bulk state stacked or adjacent to each other and not individually identified as conforming items 91 in the search process.

When an unspecified product 95 is detected in the supply area As, the evacuation device 30 removes the unspecified product 95 located in the partial area Ap (nonconforming product 92, foreign matter, aggregate of conforming products 91, etc.) It is evacuated from the supply area As by the method. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the retraction device 30 includes a pusher device 31 that pushes one or more workpieces 90 positioned in the partial area Ap to the retraction area Ae and retracts them. and a support table 32 that supports the workpiece 90 .

The "retreat area Ae" described above corresponds to an area on the upper surface of the support table 32 in which the workpiece 90 can be supported. The pusher device 31 moves the pressing portion 31a in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the work 90 by the conveyor 22 (horizontal direction in FIG. 3) by a driving device (not shown). As a result, the evacuation device 30 moves the unspecified product 95 that was inside the partial area Ap to the evacuation area Ae when the pusher device 31 was driven. At this time, if the partial area Ap includes the conforming product 91 in addition to the unspecified product 95, the conforming product 91 is moved to the evacuation area Ae by the pusher device 31 in the same manner as the unspecified product 95. .

The support table 32 is installed so that the upper surface height is lower than the support surface of the conveyor 22 . One or more works 90 pushed out from the supply area As by the pusher device 31 (unspecified product 95, and the conforming product 91 if the conforming product 91 is included in the partial area Ap) are supported on the support table 32. support. The above-mentioned "partial area Ap" corresponds to an area overlapping the movable range of the pressing portion 31a of the pusher device 31 in the supply area As.

The workpiece inspection apparatus 1 includes a sampling device 40 as shown in FIGS. When the conforming product 91 is detected in the evacuation area Ae, the collecting device 40 collects the conforming product 91 and moves it from the evacuation area Ae to the collection container 21 or the supply area As. When one or more conforming products 91 are detected in the search processing for the evacuation area Ae by the image processing unit 81, the collection device 40 collects the conforming products 91 based on the detection result. In this embodiment, the collecting device 40 individually collects the conforming products 91 and moves them to the collection container 21 . Alternatively, the sampling device 40 may sort a certain number of conforming products 91 in a prescribed state and then collect them all at once.

Specifically, the sampling device 40 includes an end effector 41 and a moving device 42 . The end effector 41 is configured to pick up and hold the workpiece 90 . In this embodiment, the end effector 41 is a chuck that sandwiches and holds the workpiece 90 with a plurality of claws that can be opened and closed. In addition to the above, as the end effector 41, an adsorption nozzle that adsorbs and holds the work by supplied negative pressure air, an electromagnet that holds the work 90 by magnetic force, or the like can be adopted.

The moving device 42 moves the end effector 41 within the movable range Rm including the evacuation area Ae and the collection container 21 . In this embodiment, the moving device 42 is an articulated robot arm configured by rotatably connecting a plurality of link mechanisms and each link. The moving device 42 is provided at a position adjacent to the conveyor 22 and the support base 32 so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis. The moving device 42 is configured to be able to position the supporting end effector 41 at an arbitrary position within the movable range Rm and at an arbitrary angle.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the work inspection apparatus 1 includes a first separation device 50 provided in the supply area As and a second separation device 60 provided in the evacuation area Ae. The first separating device 50 and the second separating device 60 separate a plurality of workpieces 90 in bulk or in contact with each other. In this embodiment, the first separation device 50 employs a configuration that separates the plurality of works 90 in cooperation with the conveyor 22 of the collection device 20 . Specifically, the first separating device 50 has a height restricting portion 51 and a width restricting portion 52 .

The height restricting portion 51 is provided over the entire width of the conveyor 22 . The lower end of the height regulating portion 51 is adjusted to a height obtained by adding a predetermined allowable value to the height of the workpiece 90 from the upper surface of the conveyor 22 . As a result, when a plurality of piled works 90 are moved by the conveyor 22 and reach the height regulating portion 51, the work 90 in contact with the height regulating portion 51 drops from another work 90, and the work 90 is piled up. state is released.

The width regulating portion 52 is provided closer to the collection container 21 than the height regulating portion 51 in the conveying direction of the conveyor 22 . The width restricting portion 52 has a plurality of cylindrical members extending in the vertical direction. The intervals between the plurality of cylindrical members are adjusted so as to be the distance obtained by adding a predetermined allowable value to the maximum width of the workpiece 90 . As a result, when the plurality of works 90 adjacent to each other in the width direction of the conveyor 22 are moved by the conveyor 22 and reach the width regulating portion 52 , the works 90 in contact with the height regulating portion 51 shift in the width direction of the conveyor 22 . , the adjacent state of the workpiece 90 is released.

In this embodiment, the second separating device 60 employs a configuration that separates the plurality of works 90 without moving the unspecified products 95 or the like that have been evacuated to the evacuation area Ae from the evacuation area Ae to another area. . Specifically, the second separation device 60 has a contact body 61 and a cylinder 62 . The contact body 61 is provided below the support base 32 so as to be able to move up and down. The cylinder 62 is a drive unit that moves the contact body 61 up and down. The second separation device 60 raises the contact body 61 by driving the cylinder 62 to collide with the support base 32 . Thereby, the second separating device 60 applies vibration to the support table 32 to separate the plurality of works 90 .

The second separation device 60 adjusts the number and magnitude of vibrations of the support table 32 according to the number and types of the plurality of works 90 in the evacuation area Ae and the bulk state. Note that the first separation device 50 and the second separation device 60 can employ various configurations different from those described above. For example, the first separation device 50 and the second separation device 60 may be configured to scoop up and drop a plurality of bulk workpieces 90 . Further, the second separation device 60 may be configured such that the sampling device 40 applies vibration to the support base 32 .

The workpiece inspection apparatus 1 includes a disposal device 70 as shown in FIGS. The discarding device 70 discards the unspecified items 95 left in the evacuation area Ae into the discarding container 71 . Here, the collecting device 40 collects conforming products 91 detected from unspecified products 95 that have been evacuated from the supply area As to the evacuation area Ae. As a result, nonconforming products 92 that were unspecified products 95 or foreign substances are left in the evacuation area Ae. The disposal device 70 collectively moves the unspecified items 95 left in the evacuation area Ae to the disposal container 71 without picking them up.

In this embodiment, the disposal device 70 has a tilting device 72 that tilts the support base 32 toward the disposal container 71 . The disposal device 70 tilts the upper surface of the support base 32 to a predetermined angle or more, and slides down the nonconforming products 92 and foreign substances supported by the support base 32 into the disposal container 71 together. When the disposal device 70 tilts the support base 32, the second separation device 60 may also vibrate the support base 32 to promote disposal. In addition to the configuration described above, the disposal device 70 may employ a configuration in which, for example, a sliding member such as a brush slides on the upper surface of the support base 32 to move the nonconforming product 92 and the like to the disposal container 71. .

The work inspection apparatus 1 includes a control device 80 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . The control device 80 is mainly composed of a CPU, various memories, and control circuits. The control device 80 controls the operation of each device such as the work supply device 10 based on the values detected by various sensors provided in the work inspection device 1 and the image data acquired by the first camera 85 and the second camera 86. Control. In this embodiment, the control device 80 has an image processing section 81 and a retry processing section 82 .

The first camera 85 and the second camera 86 described above take images based on control signals and send image data to the control device 80 . The first camera 85 and the second camera 86 are provided so that their optical axes are vertically downward. The first camera 85 is downstream of the first separation device 50 in the conveying path of the conveyor 22 and is configured to be capable of imaging the upstream side of the downstream end of the partial area Ap. The second camera 86 is configured to be able to capture an image of the entire evacuation area Ae. The second camera 86 may be provided adjacent to the end effector 41 on the moving device 42 of the collection device 40 .

The image processing unit 81 executes search processing for conforming products 91 targeting the supply area As and the evacuation area Ae. Specifically, the image processing unit 81 performs search processing for the conforming product 91 on the image data acquired by imaging the supply area As with the first camera 85, thereby obtaining the unspecified product 95 in the supply area As. detection. In other words, the image processing unit 81 detects the unspecified product 95 when the above image data includes an item other than the conforming product 91 . The image processing unit 81 also recognizes the position and range of the unspecified product 95 in the supply area As.

When the image processing unit 81 detects the unspecified product 95, the control device 80 controls the operation of the conveyor 22 so that the unspecified product 95 fits within the partial area Ap. Then, the control device 80 drives the retraction device 30 in a state in which the unspecified product 95 is contained in the partial area Ap, and retracts the unspecified product 95 from the supply area As to the retraction area Ae. As a result, only conforming products 91 are left on the side of the partial area Ap in the supply area As.

Furthermore, the image processing unit 81 detects the conforming product 91 in the evacuation area Ae by performing search processing for the conforming product 91 on the image data obtained by imaging the evacuation area Ae with the second camera 86. conduct. At this time, if multiple conforming products 91 are detected, the image processing unit 81 recognizes the positions and angles of the multiple conforming products 91 in the evacuation area Ae.

When the conforming product 91 is detected by the image processing unit 81 , the control device 80 sends information including the position and angle of the conforming product 91 in the evacuation area Ae to the collecting device 40 . As a result, the control device 80 causes the collecting device 40 to collect the conforming product 91 and moves it from the evacuation area Ae to the collection container 21 . In this embodiment, the control device 80 may collect the conforming products 91 from the evacuation area Ae by the collection device 40 and move them to the collection container 21 in parallel with the movement of the conforming products 91 by the collecting device 20 . .

Due to the movement of the conforming products 91 by the collecting device 40 as described above, nonconforming products 92, unspecified products 95, and foreign substances may remain in the evacuation area Ae. Here, the unspecified products 95 left after the conforming products 91 are collected from the evacuation area Ae may include conforming products 91 in a bulk state. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the retry processing unit 82 separates the plurality of works 90 by the second separating device 60, searches for conforming products 91 in the evacuation area Ae by the image processing unit 81, and A retry process is executed with collection of conforming products 91 as a set.

Specifically, the retry processing unit 82 separates the plurality of works 90 by the second separation device 60 after all the one or more conforming products 91 detected in the evacuation area Ae are moved to the collection container 21 . After that, the retry processing unit 82 causes the second camera 86 to image the evacuation area Ae, and causes the image processing unit 81 to again execute search processing for the conforming product 91 targeting the evacuation area Ae. Then, when one or more conforming products 91 are detected, the retry processing unit 82 causes the collecting device 40 to collect the conforming products 91 and moves them to the collection container 21 .

Further, the control device 80 causes the disposal device 70 to discard the unspecified items 95 in the evacuation area Ae into the disposal container 71 after executing the retry processing by the retry processing unit 82 for a specified number of times. In other words, the control device 80 considers that only the nonconforming product 92 or the foreign matter remains in the evacuation area Ae when the retry process is executed a specified number of times, and discards them in the disposal container 71 . As a result, the evacuation area Ae becomes empty.

Note that the control device 80 causes the retry process to be executed after the one or more works 90 are saved in the save area Ae by the save device 30 as described above. At this time, since the unspecified product 95 is moved by the evacuation device 30, the separation process in the first retry process may be omitted. In addition, the control device 80 executes the retry process for a specified number of times in parallel with the collection process of moving the conforming products 91 in the supply area As to the collection container 21 . As a result, the conforming products 91 left in the supply area As can be continuously collected.

Further, when the collecting process and the retry process of the conforming product 91 are performed in parallel as described above, the search process by the image processing section 81 is also performed in parallel on the upstream side of the transport path. In this search process, the unspecified product 95 may be detected again. In this case, the control device 80 executes the saving process by the saving device 30 after the currently executing retry process is finished, and adds a new unspecified product 95 to the saving area Ae. After that, the retry processing unit 82 executes the retry processing for a specified number of times, with the next retry processing being the first time.

Note that the control device 80 can adopt various modes other than the mode of adding the unspecified item 95 to the evacuation area Ae as described above. For example, when the unspecified product 95 is detected again during the execution of the retry process, the control device 80 waits for the evacuation process by the evacuation device 30 and the recovery process by the recovery device 20 until the retry process reaches the specified number of times. You may let Then, the control device 80 may restart the evacuation process and the recovery process after the evacuation area Ae becomes empty.

The control device 80 may switch the mode of execution of the retry process according to the type and quantity of the workpieces 90, the number of times the retry process is executed out of the specified number of times, and the like. Further, the number of times of retry processing executed by the retry processing unit 82 can be changed according to the type and quantity of the work 90, the area occupied by the unspecified product 95 in the partial area Ap, and the like.

3. Work Inspection Processing Work inspection processing by the work inspection apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. First, the work supply device 10 supplies a plurality of works 90 from the stocker 11 (work supply step, S11). As a result, a plurality of works 90 are placed in an irregular posture on the upstream side of the supply area As on the conveying path of the conveyor 22 .

Next, the collecting device 20 drives the conveyor 22 to convey the plurality of works 90 (S12). As a result, an attempt is made to release the bulk state of the plurality of works 90 that have reached the first separation device 50 . Subsequently, the image processing unit 81 searches for the unspecified product 95 located downstream of the first separating device 50 in the supply area As by executing the process of searching for the conforming product 91 targeting the supply area As. (S13).

When the unspecified item 95 is detected in S13 (S14: Yes), the evacuation device 30 retracts the unspecified item 95 from the supply area As after the unspecified item 95 is conveyed so as to fit in the partial area Ap. Retreat to area Ae (retreat step, S15). At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, if the conforming product 91 is included in the partial area Ap, the conforming product 91 is retreated together with the unspecified product 95 to the retreat area Ae.

The retry processing unit 82 resets a counter that records the number of executions of retry processing (S21). In the retry process, first, the second separation device 60 executes the separation process of vibrating the support table 32 forming the evacuation area Ae (S22). This promotes separation of the work 90 such as the unspecified product 95 in the evacuation area Ae. Next, the image processing unit 81 executes search processing for conforming products 91 targeting the evacuation area Ae (S23). The image processing unit 81 recognizes the position and angle of the detected conforming product 91 .

Subsequently, when conforming products 91 that can be collected remain in the evacuation area Ae (S24: Yes), the collection device 40 moves the In addition to collecting the conforming product 91, a collecting process is executed to move the conforming product 91 to the collecting container 21 (collecting step, S25). Note that the collecting device 40 may move the conforming product 91 collected in the evacuation area Ae not to the collection container 21 but to an area where the supply area As and the movable range Rm overlap. The sampling device 40 repeats the sampling process (S25) by the number of conforming products 91 detected in S23.

When there is no conforming product 91 that can be collected in the evacuation area Ae by the collecting process of the conforming product 91 by the collecting device 40 (S24: No), the control device 80 proceeds to S26. When the counter is less than the prescribed number of times and one or more works 90 remain in the evacuation area Ae (S26: Yes), the retry processing unit 82 increments the counter (S27), and performs retry processing (S22-S25). ) again. As a result, the unspecified products 95 in the evacuation area Ae are gradually sorted into conforming products 91, nonconforming products 92, and foreign substances. Also, the work 90 certified as the conforming product 91 is moved to the collection container 21 by the collecting process (S25).

When the retry processing is executed by the retry processing unit 82 for a specified number of times and the counter reaches the specified number of times, or when the number of works 90 in the evacuation area Ae is 0 (S26: No), the discarding device 70 The nonconforming products 92 and foreign substances left in the area Ae are disposed of in the disposal container 71 (S28). All the unspecified products 95 evacuated to the evacuation area Ae are conforming products 91, and by repeating the retry process (S22-S25), all the workpieces 90 in the evacuation area Ae are moved to the collection container 21, and When Ae becomes empty, the disposal process (S28) may be omitted.

By the way, after executing the evacuation step (S15) as described above, or when the unspecified product 95 is not detected in S13 (S14: No), the collection device 20 collects the plurality of items left in the supply area As. The conforming products 91 are collectively moved to the collection container 21 (collection step, S31). It should be noted that the recovery step (S31) is executed in parallel with the retry processing (S22-S25) when it is being executed. In the collection step (S31), the plurality of conforming products 91 in the supply area As are moved to the collection container 21 one after another by the conveyor 22 being driven.

Note that the series of work inspection processes described above are continuously executed. That is, after the work supply step (S11) is performed, for example, when the conveyor 22 conveys a plurality of works 90 by a predetermined amount or more, the work supply step (S11) of the next work inspection process is performed. As a result, on the transport path of the conveyor 22, the work supply process, the evacuation process, the collection process, and the collection process are executed in parallel.

Further, when the unspecified product 95 is newly detected in the supply area As during the execution of the retry process over the specified number of times (S14: Yes), the sampling of the conforming product 91 detected in the evacuation area Ae is finished. (S24: No), the save step (S15) may be executed by interruption. Then, the retry processing unit 82 resets the counter (S21), and restarts the retry processing (S22-S25) together with the added unspecified product 95. FIG.

4. Effect of Configuration of the Embodiment Picking up the works 90 using the end effector 41 reduces the number of works 90 that can be moved per unit time compared to other moving methods (for example, transportation by the conveyor 22). Therefore, if only the conforming products 91 are sampled from the supply area As and the rest are evacuated or discarded, the larger the proportion of conforming products 91, the longer the time required for work inspection processing. On the other hand, it is not easy to collect non-conforming products 92 other than conforming products 91 and foreign substances because their shapes and orientations are unknown.

On the other hand, according to the configuration of the work inspection apparatus 1, the unspecified product 95 included in the supply area As is moved to the evacuation area Ae in the work inspection process (S15). As a result, the conforming products 91 left in the supply area As can be collectively moved to the collection container 21 . On the other hand, from the unspecified products 95 that have been evacuated to the evacuation area Ae, only conforming products 91 are collected by the search process again (S25).

Although conforming products 91 can also be evacuated by the withdrawal step (S15), the quantity of conforming products 91 that can be included in unspecified products 95 is less than the quantity of conforming products 91 detected in supply area As. . Therefore, in the workpiece inspection process, the number of operations for picking up the conforming products 91 can be reduced as compared with the configuration in which all the conforming products 91 are collected from the supply area As. As a result, it is possible to increase the number of workpieces 90 that can be inspected per unit time. The above configuration is particularly useful because the higher the ratio of the conforming products 91 included in the plurality of workpieces 90, the more the number of operations for picking up the conforming products 91 can be reduced.

5. Modification of Embodiment 5-1. Regarding the Collection Device 20 In the embodiment, the collection device 20 is configured to include a conveyor that conveys the plurality of works 90 to the collection container 21 . On the other hand, the recovery device 20 may be configured without the conveyor 22 as long as the work 90 can be moved from the supply area As to the recovery container 21 . For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the collection device 120 is configured to include a tilt table 125 that supports a plurality of supplied works 90, and a driving unit 126 that tilts the tilt table 125 toward the collection container 21 side. good too.

In the collecting step (S31), the collecting device 120 tilts the tilting table 125 toward the collecting container 21 to move the conforming products 91 left in the supply area As, which is the upper surface of the tilting table 125, to the collecting container 21. Let In addition, the collection device 20 may be configured to include a support base that supports the plurality of supplied works 90 and a pusher device that pushes the conforming products 91 supported by the support base toward the collection container 21 side. .

Further, the collection device 20 may be configured to include a tilting table in which the support surface for supporting the plurality of supplied works 90 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the collection container 21, and a vibrating device that applies vibration to the tilting table. good. In addition, in the configuration where the collection devices 20 and 120 do not include the conveyor 22 as described above, the evacuation device 130 partitions the supply area As into a plurality of partial areas Ap, and each of the partial areas Ap The unspecified product 95 may be evacuated to the evacuation area Ae by a plurality of pusher devices 31 corresponding to .

5-2. Retreat Device 30 In the embodiment, the retract device 30 is configured to include the pusher device 31 . On the other hand, the evacuation device 30 can employ various modes as long as the work 90 such as the unspecified product 95 located in the partial area Ap can be evacuated to the evacuation area Ae. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the retracting device 230 may include a branching device 235 that branches the conveyor 22 and retracts one or more works 90 from the partial area Ap to the retracting area Ae.

The branching device 235 switches the conveying path of the conveyor 22 by rotating the movable partition plate 235a. By moving the partition plate 235a across the conveyor 22 and conveying it by the conveyor 22, the work 90 such as the unspecified product 95 located in the partial area Ap is retracted to the retraction area Ae. With such a configuration, the work 90 in the partial area Ap can be retracted without stopping the conveyor 22 . In addition, since the friction generated between the conveyor 22 and the work 90 can be reduced in the evacuation process, the load applied to the conforming products 91 included in the unspecified products 95 can be reduced.

In addition to the above configuration, the evacuation device 30 may be configured to include a tilting table capable of switching the tilting direction between evacuation and recovery, and a vibrating device for applying vibration to the tilting table. In either configuration, the same effect as the embodiment can be obtained.

5-3. Regarding the First Separation Device 50 and the Second Separation Device 60 In the embodiment, the work inspection device 1 is configured to include the first separation device 50 provided in the supply area As and the second separation device 60 provided in the evacuation area Ae. did. These separation devices can adopt various modes according to the modes of the recovery device 20 and the evacuation device 30 in addition to the modes illustrated in the embodiments.

Moreover, the workpiece inspection apparatus 1 may have a configuration in which at least one of the first separation device 50 and the second separation device 60 is omitted. However, in order to reduce the quantity of the unspecified products 95 in the supply area As, a configuration including the first separation device 50 is preferable. In addition, in order to reliably detect conforming products 91 in the evacuation area Ae and to reduce the number of conforming products 91 discarded by performing retry processing a plurality of times, a configuration including the second separating device 60 is preferable. be.

5-4. Detecting unspecified product 95 and conforming product 91 In the embodiment, the workpiece inspection apparatus 1 executes search processing for the conforming product 91 targeting the supply area As and the evacuation area Ae by the image processing unit 81, and as a result It is configured to detect specific products 95 and conforming products 91 . On the other hand, the work inspection device 1 may detect the unspecified product 95 and the conforming product 91 by using various sensors such as a photoelectric sensor in addition to image processing.

5-5. About Retry Processing In the embodiment, the work inspection apparatus 1 is configured such that the retry processing unit 82 executes the retry processing a specified number of times when one or more works 90 remain in the evacuation area Ae. On the other hand, the workpiece inspection device 1 may omit the execution of the retry process. For example, since the bulk state of the unspecified product 95 is released by the retraction operation by the retraction devices 30 and 130 , it may be possible to recognize whether the product 91 is conforming without using the second separation device 60 . In such a case, the work inspection apparatus 1 may omit the retry process and discard the remaining nonconforming products 92 and foreign matter after picking up the detected conforming products 91 .

1: Work inspection device 10: Work supply device 11: Stocker 20, 120: Collection device 21: Collection container 22: Conveyor 30, 130, 230: Retraction device 31: Pusher device 32: Support stand , 235: branching device, 40: sampling device, 41: end effector, 42: transfer device, 50: first separation device, 60: second separation device, 70: disposal device, 71: waste container, 80: control device, 81: Image processing unit 82: Retry processing unit 90: Work 91: Conforming product 92: Non-conforming product 95: Unspecified product As: Supply area Ap: Partial area Ae: Retreat area Rm: Movable range

Claims (9)

a workpiece supply device for supplying a plurality of workpieces from a stocker storing a plurality of workpieces used for a predetermined work;
When an unspecified product that cannot be identified as a conforming product suitable for the predetermined work is detected in the supply area where the workpieces in irregular postures are supplied by the workpiece supply device, at least the unspecified product in the supply area is detected. a retraction device for retracting one or more of the workpieces located in the partial area containing the specific product from the supply area;
a collection device for moving the conforming products left in the supply area from the supply area to a collection container;
a collecting device that, when the conforming product is detected in the evacuation area where one or more of the works are evacuated by the evacuation device, collects the conforming product and moves the conforming product from the evacuation area to the collection container or the supply area; ,
a separation device provided in the evacuation area for separating the plurality of stacked or contacted works;
a control device that executes a retry process in which the separation of the plurality of workpieces by the separation device and the collection of the conforming product by the collection device are set as a set;
Work inspection device. 2. The work inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said collection device includes a conveyor for conveying a plurality of said works from said supply area to said collection container. 3. The workpiece inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said evacuation device comprises a branching device for branching said conveyor and withdrawing one or more said workpieces from said partial area to said evacuation area. 3. The workpiece inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said retraction device includes a pusher device for pressing said one or more workpieces positioned in said partial area to said retraction area and retracting said workpiece. The collection device is
an end effector capable of picking up and holding the workpiece;
a moving device that moves the end effector in a movable range that includes the evacuation area and the collection container;
5. The workpiece inspection device according to claim 1, wherein said sampling device collects said conforming products detected in said evacuation area and moves them to said collection container. The work inspection device detects and retracts the unspecified product in the supply area by executing the search process for the conforming product on the image data obtained by imaging the supply area and the retraction area. The work inspection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising an image processing unit that detects the conforming product in the area. The work inspection device further includes a disposal device for disposing of the unspecified item left in the evacuation area in a disposal container,
7. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein after executing the retry process for a specified number of times, the disposal device discards the unspecified items in the evacuation area into the disposal container. Work inspection device. The recovery device moves the conforming products remaining in the supply area to the recovery container after the unspecified product is evacuated from the supply area by the evacuation device;
8. The collecting device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the collection device collects the conforming products from the evacuation area and moves the conforming products to the collection container in parallel with the movement of the conforming products by the collecting device. Work inspection device. a workpiece supply step of supplying a plurality of workpieces from a stocker storing a plurality of workpieces used for a predetermined work;
If an unspecified product that cannot be specified as a conforming product suitable for the predetermined work is detected in the supply area to which the workpieces having irregular postures are supplied in the workpiece supply step, at least the unspecified product in the supply area is detected. a retraction step of retracting the one or more workpieces located in the partial area containing the specific product from the supply area;
a collection step of moving the conforming product left in the supply area from the supply area to a collection container;
a collecting step of, when the conforming product is detected in the evacuation area where one or more of the works have been evacuated by the evacuation step, collecting the conforming product and moving the conforming product from the evacuation area to the collection container or the supply area; ,
a separation step of separating a plurality of the workpieces deposited or in contact with each other in the evacuation area;
a control step of executing a retry process as a set of separating the plurality of workpieces by the separating step and picking the conforming products by the picking step;
A workpiece inspection method comprising:

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