JP7425008B2 - Article removal device and article inspection system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an article removal device and an article inspection system, and more particularly to an air blow type article removal device and an article inspection system.

Using the wind pressure of compressed air jets (hereinafter simply referred to as air injection pressure), products with poor inspection results can be removed from the production line, or products destined for a specific destination can be removed from the product transport line. Air-blow-type article removal devices and article inspection systems that sort and discharge articles to specific delivery lines have been widely used.

In this type of article removal device and article inspection system, air jet pressure cannot be effectively applied to the article to be excluded depending on the shape of the article, transport posture, etc., and accurate removal operation may become difficult.

Therefore, conventional methods have been developed to improve the accuracy of article removal by air injection by estimating the center of gravity of the article while taking into account changes in conveyance interval and orientation due to misalignment of the article on the conveyor. (For example, see Patent Document 1).

In addition, the timing of air injection and the timing of weight measurement are set so that the influence time range in which air injection pressure can affect weight measurement does not overlap with the timing of measurement by the weight measurement unit. There is a device designed to suppress the influence of air injection (for example, see Patent Document 2).

Furthermore, in recent years, the timing of air supply to multiple air nozzles is controlled so that air is injected sequentially from multiple air nozzles adjacent to each other in the conveyance direction. There are methods to ensure exclusion (for example, see Patent Document 3).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-179969 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-136249 JP2018-95327A

However, in the conventional article removal device and article inspection system as described above, compressed air supplied from an air source is controlled to a predetermined pressure by a regulator (generally reduced pressure adjustment), and a solenoid valve downstream of the regulator is opened. Accordingly, compressed air is injected from the air nozzle during a period when the object to be excluded being transported passes through a predetermined air blow section on the conveyor.

Therefore, for example, when the air supply flow from the air source to other pneumatically operated equipment is high, if the period of air blow removal operation becomes longer or the operation frequency becomes higher, the primary side pressure of the regulator will decrease. The flow rate of compressed air passing through the regulator decreases before the air pressure is reached, and even if the control pressure (secondary side adjustment pressure) by the regulator is at the required pressure level on the display, the compressed air supplied to the air nozzle side will be reduced. In some cases, a sufficient flow rate could not be secured, and the ejection force (mass that can be ejected) by the air blow of the air nozzle was reduced.
In particular, this occurs when a large amount of compressed air is temporarily supplied to air tanks installed in other pneumatically operated equipment when the equipment is started up. In this way, even if the air control pressure level has reached the required level, if the flow rate is insufficient during actual air blowing, the objects to be excluded will not be removed correctly due to the decrease in air pressure power, and will be carried to the subsequent stage. This causes the inconvenience of leakage.

On the other hand, increasing the compressor capacity of the air source increases the power consumption of the compressor, etc., and increases the pressure resistance of each element, which increases equipment management costs and increases production costs. There was a problem with this.

The present invention has been made to solve such conventional problems, and is an article removal method that prevents insufficient flow rate of compressed air during article removal by air blowing without increasing costs, and enables reliable removal operation. The purpose is to provide equipment and article inspection systems.

(1) In order to achieve the above object, the article removal device according to the present invention is installed in an article conveyance line, and controls compressed air supplied from an air source to a predetermined pressure by a regulator, and operates an air nozzle according to the opening and closing of a solenoid valve. An article removal device that removes articles to be excluded from the article conveyance line by blowing air from the air nozzle, wherein when the solenoid valve is controlled to open or close at a preset timing by a control unit, the air A flow rate that detects the flow rate of compressed air supplied from the source side to the solenoid valve side through the regulator, determines whether or not it has reached a preset lower limit flow rate according to the timing, and outputs the determination result. It is characterized by comprising a monitoring means.

With this configuration, in the present invention, when the opening/closing of the solenoid valve is controlled, the air (compressed air) from the air source is controlled to a predetermined pressure by the regulator, and the air source to the regulator is controlled by the opening/closing operation of the solenoid valve. It is determined whether the flow rate supplied from the flow rate is equal to or higher than a preset lower limit flow rate. Therefore, when ejecting compressed air from an air nozzle to remove objects to be excluded from an article conveyance line, it is important to check whether or not the flow rate is sufficient to accurately remove the objects to be excluded with the pneumatic power corresponding to the required ejection force. This can be determined, and by outputting the determination result, it is possible to grasp the flow shortage.

Note that the flow rate monitoring means referred to herein may be one that can determine whether the lower limit flow rate has been reached, such as one that detects the displacement of a pressure-receiving component that responds to the differential pressure across the regulator, but a vortex flowmeter may also be used. , a thermal mass flowmeter, a Coriolis flowmeter, or an air power meter may be used.

(2) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control unit controls opening and closing of the solenoid valve at startup, and the flow rate monitoring means determines whether the flow rate has reached the lower limit flow rate. , the configuration may be such that an error signal is output when it is determined that the threshold has not been reached.

In this case, it is possible to determine the supply amount of compressed air supplied from the air source when the control unit is started up, and if this supply amount is insufficient, an error signal is output, and this error signal is sent to the control panel of the article conveyance line, etc. It is possible to notify abnormalities by displaying an error message or outputting an alarm sound, and check whether the flow rate supplied from the air source is equal to or higher than a preset lower limit flow rate, rather than after the object to be excluded has been transported. It is possible to determine in advance whether or not the air source or air piping is present, preventive checks can be carried out on the air source and air piping, and abnormal stoppages after the article transport line is in operation can be avoided.

(3) The article inspection system according to the present invention includes an inspection section that inspects articles in an article conveyance line and outputs an inspection result signal, and an electromagnetic a sorting section that controls the opening and closing of a valve to supply air to an air nozzle located downstream of the inspection section, and removes objects to be excluded from the article conveyance line by blowing air from the air nozzle based on a sorting control signal; an article inspection system comprising: a control unit that outputs the sorting control signal; when the sorting unit receives the sorting control signal, the sorting unit supplies air from the air source side through the regulator to the solenoid valve side; The present invention is characterized by having a flow rate monitoring means for detecting the flow rate of compressed air, determining whether the flow rate has reached a preset lower limit flow rate, and outputting a determination result.

With this configuration, in the present invention, when the sorting section receives the sorting control signal output from the control section, it is determined whether the flow rate supplied from the air source is equal to or higher than the preset lower limit flow rate.
Therefore, when air is blown from the air nozzle to remove objects to be excluded, it is possible to determine whether or not a flow rate that can accurately remove objects to be excluded is ejected with pneumatic power corresponding to the required ejection force. When it is determined that the supply flow rate of compressed air supplied from Measures will be taken to prevent items subject to exclusion from flowing into subsequent processes.

(4) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the configuration may further include abnormality notification means for outputting an error display and/or an alarm sound when the flow rate of the compressed air does not reach the lower limit flow rate. can.

With this configuration, the manager of the article conveyance line can accurately grasp that the supply flow rate of compressed air supplied from the air source is insufficient from among various abnormal signals notified from the article conveyance line. You can quickly perform maintenance such as checking the air source and air piping.

(5) Further, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control section outputs the sorting control signal when the inspection section starts operating, and the sorting section receives the sorting control signal and It may be configured such that the flow rate of compressed air supplied to the air nozzle is detected by the flow rate monitoring means by opening and closing a valve.

With this configuration, the supply amount of compressed air supplied from the air source is determined when the inspection section starts operating, and upon receiving this determination result or notification of an abnormality by error display or alarm sound output, the supply flow rate from the air source is determined. It can be determined whether or not the flow rate is above a preset lower limit flow rate, and based on the inspection results of the inspection department, maintenance such as checking the air source and air piping can be performed preventively before the items to be excluded are actually removed. Abnormal stoppage of the inspection system after operation can be prevented.

(6) Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the present invention further includes a conveying means for conveying the articles in the production line in a predetermined direction, and the sorting section is arranged such that the flow rate of the compressed air does not reach the lower limit flow rate. In some cases, the configuration may be such that the transportation of the article by the transportation means is stopped.

With this configuration, the amount of compressed air supplied from the air source when the article conveyance line and the article inspection system are in operation and an article to be excluded is removed according to the inspection result of the inspection section of the article inspection system. If it is determined that there is a shortage of the exclusion target article, the article inspection system can control the conveyance means to stop at the timing when the exclusion target article is being conveyed. In other words, if there is an article on this conveyance means, it can be easily determined that the article could not be correctly excluded even though it was a target article for exclusion. On the other hand, if there are no articles on this conveyance means, it is possible to know that the articles were correctly removed even if the supply of compressed air is insufficient, and the article inspection system can be restarted without the need for unnecessary confirmation work. can.

According to the present invention, even if the supply flow rate of compressed air from an air source fluctuates, it can be determined whether the supply amount of compressed air is insufficient when removing articles by air blowing without causing an increase in costs. It is possible to carry out removal operations, and also to take appropriate action when it is determined that the supply of compressed air is insufficient, thereby preventing long shutdowns caused by unnecessary maintenance. It is possible to provide an article removal device and an article inspection system that can perform the following.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an article inspection system including an article removal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This is a graph showing a comparison of the air blow characteristics of an air jet sorter in an article inspection system according to an embodiment of the present invention at a plurality of different supply flow rates, where the vertical axis is the supply flow rate and the horizontal axis is the air controlled by the regulator. The pressure is shown respectively. This is a graph showing a comparison of the air blow characteristics of an air jet sorter in an article inspection system according to an embodiment of the present invention at a plurality of different supply flow rates. , respectively. It is a timing chart explaining the processing function of a flow rate monitoring means in an article inspection system concerning one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an article inspection system including an article removal device according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of an article inspection system including an article removal device according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 to 4 show an article inspection system equipped with an article removal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the configuration of the article inspection system 1 and the basic operations of each part will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 1, the article inspection system 1 of this embodiment includes an inspection machine 10 and an air jet sorter 20 (sorting section) that is an air blow type article removal device.

The inspection machine 10 moves a workpiece W, which is an article to be inspected, in a predetermined transport direction (X direction in FIG. 1).
The apparatus includes a transport section 11 for transporting articles, an inspection section 12 (article inspection section) for carrying out predetermined inspection of articles, and a control section 13 for controlling them.

The conveyance unit 11 is, for example, a belt conveyor type in which an endless conveyor belt is wound around a plurality of rollers, and has a conveyor conveyance path 11a that can convey articles in the X direction.

The inspection unit 12 performs, for example, an X-ray inspection, and includes an X-ray generator and an X-ray detector for the inspection, and a signal processing unit that processes detected signals to detect foreign objects. There is. However, the inspection section 12 may perform other inspections, such as metal inspection, mass measurement, shape inspection, etc., or may perform at least one of a plurality of such inspections.

The control unit 13 is a transport control means 13 that controls, for example, the transport speed and transport interval of the work W by the transport unit 11, and outputs a transport control signal Cb corresponding to the air jet sorter 20.
a, an inspection control means 13b for controlling the output of the X-ray generator and controlling the X-ray line detection cycle and inspection period of the X-ray detector according to the transport speed of the workpiece W, and an article produced by both means. An arithmetic control means 13c that calculates various control values to control inspection and article transportation, and outputs control signals according to article detection information and inspection results from an article detection sensor (not shown) to the air jet sorter 20 at a predetermined timing. It includes a sorting control means 13d to perform the operations, and a touch panel type operation/display means 13e capable of inputting various operations, setting, and displaying on the screen.

Specifically, the inspection machine 10 detects the current workpiece by the article detection sensor when a foreign object is detected in the workpiece W by X-ray inspection of the workpiece W being inspected, for example, according to the inspection result in the inspection unit 12. A sorting control signal Rj that instructs the sorting and ejection of the work W in which foreign matter has been detected is generated and output to the air jet sorter 20 within a predetermined sorting delay time from the time when the article W is detected to be carried in. There is.

On the other hand, the air jet sorting machine 20 includes a conveyor section 21 having a conveyor conveyance path 21a located downstream of the conveyor conveyance path 11a of the inspection machine 10, and a conveyor conveyance path 21a (sorting conveyance path).
an air nozzle 22 disposed on the side, a solenoid valve 23 that opens and closes the air supply path on the upstream side of the air nozzle 22, and a pressure of compressed air supplied to the air nozzle 22 on the upstream side of the solenoid valve 23, that is, air pressure. a filter regulator 24 (regulator) that controls the pressure to a predetermined pressure;
It is equipped with an air pipe 25 connected to an air source such as an air compressor (not shown) on the upstream side of the filter regulator 24, and the compressed air supplied from the air source through the air pipe 25 is adjusted to a predetermined pressure by the filter regulator 24. , the air nozzle 22 is opened and closed by the solenoid valve 23.
It is designed to be supplied to

Further, on the upstream side of the filter regulator 24 of the air jet sorter 20, a flow meter 26 is installed in the air piping 25 to detect the flow rate of compressed air supplied from the air source side through the air piping 25, that is, the air supply flow rate Qs. connected, and the sorting control signal Rj from the inspection machine 10
It outputs a signal (opening/closing control signal) to open and close the solenoid valve 23 according to the flow rate meter 26.
A control unit 30 is provided to which each detection signal is input.

Note that changes in the compressed air supplied from the air source can be monitored using a pressure gauge, but this pressure gauge cannot detect the drop in air pressure caused by the instantaneous drop in flow rate due to air blowing. Since this is difficult (transient changes in flow rate during air blowing cannot be detected by air pressure), a flow meter 26 is used here to monitor the flow rate.

Based on the detection signal of the flow meter 26 when the solenoid valve 23 is closed, the control unit 30 supplies compressed air to the control unit 13 of the inspection machine when the air supply flow rate Qs decreases to a predetermined flow rate or less. outputs an abnormal signal indicating that a pressure drop is estimated to have occurred.

Normally, the control unit 30 of the air jet sorter 20 receives power supply from the inspection machine 10 side, and when the inspection machine 10 is activated, it exchanges signals with the control unit 13 of the inspection machine 10 and cooperates. However, the inspection machine 10 and the air jet sorting machine 20 do not need to be provided as separate units, and can be used as an integrated unit with multiple functions. Although it may be provided on the inspection machine 10 side to achieve miniaturization, in this embodiment, the function of controlling the inspection machine 10 is executed by the control section 13, and the function of controlling the air jet sorting machine 20 is executed by the control unit. 30.

The conveyance unit 21 has a drive source (not shown) such as a motor whose operation start and stop is controlled by the control unit 30, and is a belt conveyor type in which an endless conveyor belt is wound around a plurality of rollers. A conveyor transport path 21a that can transport articles is on the right side in FIG.
have. This conveying section 21 is, of course, not limited to the belt conveyor type.

The air nozzle 22 is widely used as a flat type with a substantially rectangular cross section located downstream of the inspection section 12 of the inspection machine 10, and air controlled to a predetermined pressure Pj by a filter regulator 24 is supplied via a solenoid valve 23. When the sorting section Zj is a predetermined conveying section of the sorting conveyance section 21,
By injecting an air jet inside, the work W in the sorting section Zj is discharged from above the conveyor transport path 21a to the side (downward in FIG. 1) by the required air flow rate and the wind pressure of the pneumatic power generated by the air pressure. It is designed to cause it to blow away or slip.

When the solenoid valve 23 is opened in response to an input of an opening/closing control signal from the control unit 30, it can allow compressed air supplied from the air source and controlled to a predetermined pressure by the filter regulator 24 to flow into the air nozzle 22. On the other hand, when the valve is closed due to no input of the opening/closing control signal from the control unit 30, compressed air supplied from the air source and controlled to a predetermined pressure by the filter regulator 24 can be shut off from the air nozzle 22. ing. Note that the opening/closing control signal referred to here is preferably an on/off signal that controls opening/closing of the electromagnetic valve by switching the applied voltage between a high level and a low level.

The air piping 25 is connected to an air source such as an air compressor (not shown), and is also commonly connected to a plurality of other devices A and B, each of which has a pneumatic operating part (not shown), and is connected to compressed air from the air source. can be supplied to each device A, B and the article inspection system 1 of this embodiment. Compressed air is supplied from the air source so that a sufficient supply amount can be obtained even if the compressed air is consumed in the normally assumed operations of each device A, B and the article inspection system 1 of this embodiment. has been done.

The article discharge performance (discharge mass according to pneumatic power) of the air jet sorter 20, which is configured with a pneumatic circuit downstream of the air piping 25, is generally determined according to the supply pressure and flow rate of air. The pressure Ps is set to, for example, 0.4 to 0.9 [MPaG]. In addition, the supply flow rate Qs is a flow rate value (ANR) converted to the atmosphere under standard conditions (20°C, 1 atm, humidity 65%), and is, for example, 400 [L/min], which is a general reference flow level for pneumatic parts.
to 500 [L/min] (ANR).

The flow meter 26 measures the flow rate of air flowing to the air nozzle 22 side through the filter regulator 24, and here, the supply flow rate Qs is measured near the branch point of the air piping 25 to the article inspection system 1 side.
It can function as a flow rate monitoring means capable of determining whether or not the lower limit flow rate Qt (see FIG. 2) set in advance has been reached. This flow rate monitoring means may be one that detects that the flow rate has fallen below the lower limit Qt due to the displacement of a movable pressure-receiving component such as a diaphragm that responds to the differential pressure across the filter regulator 24, or may be arranged on the upstream side of the filter regulator 24. A flowmeter such as a vortex flowmeter, a thermal mass flowmeter, a Coriolis flowmeter, or an air power meter may be used. Here, the preset lower limit flow rate Qt means that the initial air flow rate Qt may occur due to malfunction of the air compressor that is the air source, leakage or clogging of the air piping 25, excessive use of air in other devices, etc. This is the air flow rate when the supply flow rate Qs decreases by a predetermined ratio, for example, about 20% or more, with respect to the set value of the supply flow rate Qs.
s5 (for example, 500 L/min [ANR]), the lower limit flow rate Qt is set to qs4 (for example, 400 L/min [ANR]).

When the control unit 30 receives a sorting control signal Rj corresponding to the inspection result of the inspection section 12 from the control section 13 of the inspection machine 10, the control unit 30 performs ON/OFF control using a dedicated control board, a programmable controller, etc. based on the sorting control signal Rj. It is configured to open and close the solenoid valve 23 using OFF control.

When controlling the opening and closing of the solenoid valve 23 in response to the sorting control signal Rj output from the control section 13 of the inspection machine 10, the control unit 30 controls the control unit 30 according to the conveying distance and conveying speed to the sorting section Zj after the inspection. A signal for opening and closing the solenoid valve 23 is output at a predetermined timing and air blow time.

Further, the control unit 30 functions as a flow monitoring means together with the flow meter 26, and the solenoid valve 2
3, the flow rate Qs of air supplied from the air source to the filter regulator 24 is detected, and it is determined whether the flow rate has reached a preset lower limit flow rate Qt, and the flow rate is adjusted. The determination result Kn is output to the control section 13 of the inspection machine 10. Specifically, when the supply flow rate Qs is set to 500 [L/min] as described above, the lower limit flow rate Qt can be set to 400 [L/min].

The air supply flow rate Qs is 0 [L/min] when air is not blown by the air jet sorter 20 (air is not flowing), and may change depending on the opening/closing time ratio of the solenoid valve 23, etc. , because it is necessary to monitor the decrease in the air supply flow rate Qs (decrease in the supply air pressure energy), the air supply flow rate Qs here is the actual supply flow rate value [L/mi
n].

Next, the monitoring operation of the compressed air supply flow rate Qs executed in the control unit 13 of the article inspection system 1 and the control unit 30 of the air jet sorter 20 will be described.

This supply flow rate Qs is mainly monitored in three confirmation modes, as shown in FIG.

(1) Confirmation mode at startup (when power is turned on) (M1)
When this system is started by turning on the power (t1 in the figure), an operation button for selecting whether or not to confirm the supply amount of compressed air is displayed on the touch panel of the operation/display means 13e. When the user selects and operates the operation button, the flow rate check mode is entered.
A sorting control signal Rj is output from the control unit 13 so that the air blowing operation is performed for a preset operating time Tp1.

The control unit 30 receives the sorting control signal Rj output from the control section, controls the opening and closing of the solenoid valve 23, executes the air blow operation, detects the flow rate during the air blow operation with the flow meter 26, and records the measured value. Check the flow rate by importing.

The operating time Tp1 at this time is set so that the air blowing operation is long enough for the flow meter 26 to output a measured value with high accuracy.

The control unit 13 outputs the selection control signal Rj to the control unit 30 a predetermined number of times (for example, two or three times) at predetermined intervals corresponding to the time interval required for the flow meter 26 to accurately detect the flow rate. Accordingly, the control unit 30 detects each supply flow rate Qs and checks the flow rate by comparing it with the lower limit flow rate Qt. The flow rate determination result Kn is output as a signal to the control unit 13 as a flow rate determination result Kn having a predetermined voltage level (high level/low level).

The operation/display means 13e of the control unit 13 displays the result of the flow rate check in a predetermined display format at a predetermined position on the touch panel based on the input flow rate determination result Kn.

In addition, the flow rate check may not only be performed using each measured value for each air blow and compared with the lower limit flow rate Qt, but also the average value of each measured value may be used to improve accuracy, or additionally, each measured value may be compared with the lower limit flow rate Qt. Calculate the variation, divide each measured value into the first half and the second half, calculate the fluctuation range from the difference between the average values of the first half and the second half, and output and display the flow rate judgment result Kn including these values as a signal. You can do it like this.

(2) Stopped confirmation mode (M2)
The basic operation of checking the flow rate of compressed air in the stoppage confirmation mode (M2) is the same as that in the start-up confirmation mode (M1), so the explanation will focus on the differences. The same applies to subsequent embodiments.

After the power is turned on, this system enters a test standby state after the startup processing of each part is performed. The stop confirmation mode (M2) refers to checking the flow rate of compressed air during such an inspection standby state, that is, while the operation is stopped.
The air flow rate check function can be executed at any timing (t2 in FIG. 4) by the user's operation input, such as when adjusting the control pressure of the air flow rate check function. It is started by

The inspection machine 10 is operated during operation stop when the user inputs a confirmation request operation (t2, t in the same figure).
3 or t7), a continuous air blow operation (operated by the pseudo-selection control signal) is performed for a pre-specified operation time Tp2 or Tp3 according to the input, and the flow rate during the air blow operation is detected by the flow meter 26, The flow rate is checked by importing the measured value into the control unit 30.

This flow rate check can be performed at any timing (t
2), and is started by executing the air flow rate check function from the operation menu of the operation/display means 13e.

First, the user selects flow rate check from the operation menu on the touch panel of the operation/display means 13e.

The control unit 13 outputs a sorting control signal Rj to the control unit 30 to perform an air blow operation for a preset operating time Tp2, and the control unit 30 takes in the measured value of the supply flow rate Qs and sets it to the lower limit flow rate Qt. Contrast.

Here, a case where the supply flow rate Qs does not reach the preset lower limit flow rate Qt will be described.

When the control unit 30 determines that the supply flow rate Qs detected by the flow meter 26 is less than the lower limit flow rate Qt, the control unit 30 outputs a flow rate determination result Kn representing the flow rate determination result to the control unit 13.

The control unit 13 receives a flow rate error signal as the flow rate determination result Kn from the control unit 30,
The operation/display unit 13e displays an error message (e.g., "operation prohibited") at a predetermined position on the touch panel to visually notify the user that the flow rate is insufficient, and also sends an error signal to the control panel of the article conveyance line. An operation button for outputting may also be displayed. Furthermore, an error signal may be directly output from the control unit 30 to the control panel of the article conveyance line so that the article conveyance line can be stopped promptly.

Then, when the article conveyance line is stopped and the air source and air piping 25 are checked,
The operation/display means 13e is operated again (t3 in the figure), the error message is reset once, and the flow rate check is started. The example shown in FIG. 4 shows a case where the second flow rate check is normal. Note that the air blow operation time Tp3 may be set for rechecking in the stop confirmation mode, or may be set as the operation time Tp applied to the startup confirmation mode (M1).
1 may be used, or Tp2 may be used again.

(3) Confirmation mode at start of operation (M3)
Prior to the start of operation involving article inspection (t4 in FIG. 4), a prespecified operation time Tp
The flow rate is checked by performing a continuous air blow operation for 4 hours, detecting the flow rate during the air blow operation using the flow meter 26, and importing the measured value into the control unit 30.

Specifically, when the user performs an operation start operation using the touch panel of the operation/display means 13e of the control unit 13, the sorting control means 13d starts operation according to the parameters set according to the type (product type) of the article to be inspected. The flow rate is checked by outputting a selection control signal Rj to open the solenoid valve 23 for a predetermined air blowing time.

If the flow rate determination result Kn indicates that the compressed air supply flow rate Qs has reached the lower limit flow rate Qt, the control unit 13 ends the operation start confirmation mode (M3), and the conveyance control means 13a controls the conveyance unit 11 of the inspection machine 10. operate the conveyor. The control unit 13 outputs an operation start signal to the control unit 30 of the air jet sorter 20 to control the sorting and conveying unit 21 of the air jet sorter 20.

In addition, in the confirmation mode at the start of operation (M3), when actually discharging defective products, specifically when the conveyance speed of the articles is high or the conveyance interval is short, the air blow time for eliminating the target articles is shortened. In many cases, the flow meter 26 may not respond sufficiently, making it impossible to measure the flow rate accurately and the flow rate value may become unstable. Therefore, to check the flow rate, repeat the air blow operation a predetermined number of times at predetermined intervals to check the supply during this time. The average value of the flow rate Qs may be used, or when the set air blow time is smaller than a predetermined value, the air blow time for checking the flow rate may be applied.

As described above, in each confirmation mode M1, M2, or M3, if the supply flow rate Qs from the air source side has reached the lower limit flow rate Qt (if it is greater than the lower limit flow rate), the control unit 13 of the inspection machine 10 , a sorting and discharging signal Rj that instructs sorting and discharging by air blow according to the input signal of the flow rate determination result Kn of OK (if the flow rate check in FIG. 4 is normal) from the control unit 30 and the inspection result of the inspection section 12. Selectively generate. When the air jet sorting machine 20, which is an article removal device, is requested to sort and discharge by the sorting control signal Rj, the air jet sorting machine 20, when sorting and discharging is requested by the sorting control signal Rj, selects the sorting section Zj on the conveyor conveyance path 21a downstream of the conveyor conveyance path 11a of the inspection machine 10. The workpieces W to be sorted can be sorted and discharged in the Y direction (downward in FIG. 1) away from the conveyor transport path 11a by air blowing.

Then, the control unit 30 determines that the supply flow rate Qs measured by the flowmeter 26 is the lower limit flow rate Q
If it is determined that t has not been reached, the judgment is NG (if there is an abnormality in the flow rate check in Figure 4)
The flow rate determination result Kn is output as an error signal.

Specifically, it is determined that the supply flow rate Qs measured by the flow meter 26 indicates that the air compressor that is the air source is malfunctioning, the air piping 25 is leaking or clogged, or there is excessive use of air in other devices. If the flow rate has decreased to such an extent that the flow rate has decreased, the control unit 30 sends an alarm output corresponding to the flow rate determination result Kn of NG to the control unit 13 of the inspection machine 10 using analog voltage, pulse voltage, and serial flow rate value. Execute in the form of communication commands, etc. Upon receiving this alarm output, the control unit 13 of the inspection machine 10 prompts the user to stop the line or perform maintenance work by displaying an error or a warning using the operation/display means 13e. There is. In addition to this, it is of course possible to output a warning sound or other warning from some output device (not shown) connected to the control unit 30.

That is, when the supply flow rate Qs of air supplied from the air source side to the filter regulator 24 has not reached the lower limit flow rate Qt (when it is less than the lower limit flow rate), the control unit 13 of the inspection machine 10:
According to the input signal of the flow rate determination result Kn of NG from the control unit 30 and the inspection result of the inspection unit 12, a command signal Ct for stopping the article conveyance by the conveyance unit 21 is output to the air jet sorter 20, and the own machine The conveyance of the article by the conveyance section 11 and the inspection of the article by the inspection section 12 are stopped (operation prohibited state in FIG. 4).

Furthermore, the air blowing operation is performed at predetermined intervals and a predetermined number of times, and not only the supply flow rate Qs(1) measured for the first air blowing operation but also the supply flow rate Qs(2) measured for the second and subsequent air blowing operations, It may be determined whether each of Qs(3), . . . has reached the lower limit flow rate Qt.

As described above, in the article inspection system 1 of the present embodiment, the air supplied from the air source is controlled by the filter regulator 24, and the solenoid valve 23 is opened and closed according to the inspection results of the inspection machine 10 to selectively send the air to the air nozzle 22. The air jet sorting machine 20 is equipped with an air jet sorting machine 20 which feeds the articles and sorts and discharges articles to be excluded by blowing air from an air nozzle 22.

Furthermore, the air jet sorter 20 is incorporated in the conveyor transport paths 11a and 21a, which are the goods transport lines of the goods inspection system 1, and the air jet sorter 20 is installed in the conveyor transport paths 11a and 21a, which are the goods transport lines of the goods inspection system 1. Air nozzle 22 according to opening/closing control
The workpiece W to be rejected is selectively discharged by the wind pressure load caused by the air jet jet from the air nozzle 22.

Furthermore, this air jet sorter 20 includes a flow meter 26 that detects the supply flow rate Qs of compressed air supplied from the air source side to the filter regulator 24 and the solenoid valve 23 side, and a flow meter 26 that detects the supply flow rate Qs of the compressed air supplied from the air source side to the filter regulator 24 and solenoid valve 23 side, and a lower limit of the supply flow rate Qs that is set in advance. A flow rate monitoring means is constituted by a control unit 30 that determines whether or not the flow rate Qt has been reached and outputs the determination result to the control section 13 side of the inspection machine 10.

By using this flow rate monitoring means, in the article inspection system 1, the air jet sorter 20 performs article inspection to determine whether the work W can be stably discharged by the air supply flow rate Qs under air pressure control by the filter regulator 24. This can be determined immediately before the system 1 starts operating or when the user requests confirmation.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the air supply flow rate Qs does not reach the lower limit flow rate Qt, the function of the abnormality notification means that outputs an error display and/or an alarm sound based on the flow rate determination result Kn is implemented in the inspection device. The control program of the control unit 13 of No. 10 has this.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the air jet sorting machine 20 opens the solenoid valve 23 to supply air controlled to a predetermined pressure to the air nozzle 22 when the inspection machine 10 starts up in the confirmation mode, and also supplies air controlled to a predetermined pressure to the air nozzle 22 through the filter regulator 24. Supply flow rate Qs of air supplied to the solenoid valve 23 side
is detected by the flow meter 26, and when the air supply flow rate Qs does not reach the lower limit flow rate Qt, the workpiece W is transferred by the transport units 11 and 21 (transport means) based on the flow rate determination result Kn of NG from the control unit 30. It is designed to stop the transportation of

Next, the operation of the article inspection system 1 will be explained.

In the article inspection system 1 of the present embodiment configured as described above, the articles of the workpieces W are determined according to the inspection results of the inspection section 12 of the inspection machine 10 for the workpieces W that are sequentially brought in through the article conveyance line. Within a predetermined period of time from the time of detection of carry-in, workpieces W that have been rejected for inspection due to detection of foreign matter or the like are sorted and discharged by the air jet sorter 20 based on the corresponding sorting control signal Rj.

In such an article inspection system 1, the control unit 13 is set as a parameter to determine whether to perform the startup confirmation mode M1, the stoppage confirmation mode M2, or the start-of-operation confirmation mode M3. In the mode, each time the control unit 30 controls the opening and closing of the solenoid valve 23, the air from the air source is controlled to a predetermined pressure by the filter regulator 24, and the air is supplied from the air source to the filter regulator 24. The air supply flow rate Qs is measured by the flow meter 26, and the supply flow rate Qs is an allowable lower limit flow rate Qt.
It is determined whether or not the value is greater than or equal to the value.

For example, FIG. 4 shows the operation timing of the flow rate check executed in each confirmation mode.

If the start-up confirmation mode M1 at power-on t1 is set to "enabled", the control unit 13 of the inspection machine 10 can select whether to execute the compressed air supply amount confirmation after the start-up process is completed. Display a message screen on the touch panel of the operation/display means 13e, and click "Execute".
When is selected and set, a continuous test air blow is performed for a prespecified operation time Tp1, and the supply flow rate Qs during the air blow is detected by the flow meter 26 to check the flow rate.

On the other hand, if "Do not execute" is selected, the displayed message screen is closed and the startup confirmation mode M1 is not executed.

Also, if the stop confirmation mode (M2) is set to "enabled" while the operation is stopped,
A system for checking the supply amount of compressed air from when the conveyance section 11 of the inspection machine 10 is controlled from the operating state to the stopped state by the conveyance control means 13a of the control section 13 until the next operation start operation is performed. An icon (not shown) is displayed at a predetermined position on the touch panel of the operation/display means 13e. When this icon is selected by the user, the stop confirmation mode (M2) is entered, and an operation button for instructing to start confirmation of the supply amount of compressed air is displayed.

When a user inputs an operation, a continuous air blow operation is performed for an operation time Tp2 at the time t2 of the operation input, and the flow meter 26 detects the supply flow rate Qs during the air blow operation. If the supplied air flow rate is still below the lower limit flow rate Qt, it is determined that the flow rate is NG and an operation button for re-checking is displayed along with a message.
The flow rate is checked at timing t3 when a button is operated to instruct rechecking. If it is determined to be normal, it is then possible to move on to operation, but if it is determined to be abnormal, a message screen indicating that the flow rate check has become abnormal will be displayed again, and the operation will be prohibited with transportation and inspection stopped. This prompts inspection and prevents the start of operation in a state where the air supply flow rate Qs is insufficient, that is, in an abnormal state.

This operation prohibited state is maintained until the flow rate check is performed again and the result is normal.

Next, the operation when the operation start confirmation mode (M3) is set to "valid" will be explained.

When there is a request to start an operation involving article inspection, the control unit 13 sets the operation start confirmation mode (M3 ), the air blowing operation is performed continuously for a predetermined operating time Tp4 under the same conditions as when detecting defective products, which are set as the operating conditions of the inspection device 10, and the supply flow rate Qs during the air blowing operation is detected by the flow meter 26. and check the flow rate. If the result of this flow rate check is normal, the start of operation is permitted (t4).

Furthermore, even if none of the confirmation modes is set to "enabled", operation may be stopped due to maintenance of the air source or air piping 25, change in type of work W to be inspected, production lot change, or other reasons. During this period, the compressed air consumption of other equipment sharing the air piping 25 may temporarily increase, or the air blow time setting of the air jet sorter 20 may be changed. The operation and
An operation menu for executing a flow rate check in each confirmation mode (for example, M2 or M3) is set from the touch panel of the display means 13e, and when an operation is input, t5 is displayed at the time of the operation input.
Then, the corresponding confirmation mode is entered, and a continuous air blow operation is performed for the operating time Tp5, and when an abnormality is determined, the transport and inspection are stopped and the operation is prohibited, and if it is determined to be normal, then the operation can be started.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the power is turned on (startup) of the inspection machine 10 or before the inspection machine 10 starts or restarts the operation accompanied by the inspection of the article, the work W of the article to be excluded is removed by air blowing from the air nozzle 22. It is now possible to timely determine whether or not the supply flow rate Qs is sufficient for the required pneumatic power before removing it from the article conveyance line, or when necessary, to respond to the required ejection force during air blowing during subsequent operation. This means that it can be determined whether or not the object to be excluded can be accurately removed using the pneumatic power generated.

Normally, when the solenoid valve 23 is closed, the control pressure (secondary side set pressure) of the filter regulator 24 is set to one of the air pressures within the range shown on the horizontal axis side of the graph in FIG. 2, for example, the primary side pressure. When the solenoid valve 23 is opened after setting the secondary side pressure on the high pressure side relatively close to , the regulator control pressure becomes slightly smaller than the set pressure depending on the flow rate characteristics of the filter regulator 24, is a necessary and sufficient value that is more than the lower limit flow rate, for example, the flow rate Q1 shown in Fig. 2 (Qt or more and Q
s or less). In this case, the air pressure P on the secondary side of the filter regulator 24
A required regulator control pressure of J4 (for example, 0.4 MPa) or more and a required control pressure air flow rate can be obtained. Therefore, by air blowing from the air nozzle 22, it is possible to generate a wind pressure that can reliably select and discharge a workpiece W having a required discharge mass, for example, a mass wt4 (for example, 400 [g]) shown in FIG. 3.

On the other hand, when the supply air flow rate decreases below the lower limit flow rate, for example, when it becomes a low flow rate Q2 clearly below the lower limit flow rate Qt shown in Fig. 2, the filter Even if the set pressure of the regulator 24 is set to a high pressure side of Pj4 or more, the above-mentioned required control pressure air flow rate cannot be obtained, and the air blow from the air nozzle 22 makes it possible to reliably sort and discharge the work W of the required discharge mass. For example, the mass wt shown in Fig. 3 cannot be generated.
3 (for example, 300 [g]), the article removal performance decreases to about 3 (for example, 300 [g]).

In contrast, in the present embodiment, the control unit 30 enters the confirmation mode M1, M2, or M3 when a predetermined condition is satisfied, such as when the article inspection system 1 is started by turning on the power, and controls the solenoid valve at a preset timing. Flow meter 2 which controls the opening and closing of 23 and is a flow monitoring means.
6 and the control unit 30, it is determined whether the flow rate of the supplied air has reached the lower limit flow rate, and if the flow rate has not reached the lower limit flow rate, an error display or a warning display is executed. Therefore, such an error display or warning display can prompt the user to stop the line or perform maintenance work, and if the exclusion target item is being conveyed, the conveyor conveyance of the exclusion target item can be stopped. .

Therefore, in this embodiment, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, such as when the article inspection system 1 is activated, it is possible to reliably determine whether or not the workpiece W to be excluded can be accurately removed with the pneumatic power corresponding to the required ejection force. Therefore, even though the air control level has reached the required level, it is possible to effectively avoid the situation where the flow rate is insufficient during actual air blowing due to insufficient air supply flow rate, and the workpiece W to be excluded is not removed correctly. This makes it possible to reliably prevent problems such as leakage to subsequent stages.

In addition, in this embodiment, production costs are reduced because the power consumption of an air compressor etc. does not increase due to excessively increasing the supply pressure from the air source, and the pressure load of each element in the pneumatic circuit does not increase. This will also solve the problem of causing an increase in

In this way, in the article inspection system 1 of the present embodiment, when the opening and closing of the solenoid valve 23 is controlled to eliminate an article to be excluded, the air source is The air from the filter regulator 24 is controlled to a predetermined pressure Pj, and the control unit 30 determines whether the flow rate Qs supplied to the filter regulator 24 is equal to or higher than the lower limit flow rate Qt. Therefore, the air nozzle 2
Prior to injecting the air blow from step 2, it is possible to determine in advance whether or not the object to be excluded can be accurately removed with the pneumatic power corresponding to the required ejection force (ejection mass), and by outputting the judgment result. This will allow you to understand if the flow is insufficient.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the air supply flow rate Qs does not reach the lower limit flow rate Qt, an error signal is output to the outside to the control unit 13 of the inspection machine 10 and the control unit 30 of the air jet sorter 20, By adding the function of the abnormality notification means that outputs an error display and/or an alarm sound, the abnormality notification means can be configured simply.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the transport units 11 and 21 transport the articles in the production line in a predetermined direction.
When the air supply flow rate Qs does not reach the lower limit flow rate Qt, the conveyance of the workpiece W by the conveyance units 11 and 21 is stopped, so that it is possible to more reliably prevent defective products from entering the non-defective product delivery side. .

As described above, in this embodiment, even if the pneumatic power supply state such as the air supply flow rate Qs from the air source fluctuates, the air pressure is adjusted before starting or restarting the operation that involves removing articles by air blowing. Since the air supply flow rate Qs to the filter regulator 24 to be controlled is confirmed, the article can be discharged by air blowing under the required air supply condition, thereby providing an article removal device and article inspection system that can perform a reliable removal operation. can do.

In the embodiment described above, the supply state of pneumatic power from the air source was checked using the air supply flow rate Qs, but as in another embodiment shown in FIG. A pressure gauge 27 that directly detects the supply pressure Ps of air supplied to the regulator 24 is installed between the filter regulator 24 and the solenoid valve 23 (to measure the secondary pressure) or between the flow meter 26 and the filter regulator 24 ( (measuring the primary side pressure). In this case, the control unit 30 controls the inspection machine 10 based on the detection signals from the flow meter 26 and the pressure gauge 27.
Since a signal (opening/closing control signal) for opening and closing the solenoid valve 23 is output in accordance with the sorting control signal Rj from the Based on this, the pneumatic power of the supplied air can be grasped more accurately, and the opening and closing of the solenoid valve 23 can be controlled more accurately.

Specifically, the pressure gauge 27 monitors the pressure Ps of compressed air supplied from the air source side,
The detection signal is output to the control unit 30. This detection signal may be an analog signal having a voltage level corresponding to the detected pressure Ps, or may be a digital signal having a voltage level indicating that the pressure has fallen below the lower limit set in the pressure gauge 27. In addition, since it is difficult for the pressure gauge 27 to detect the drop in air pressure caused by the instantaneous drop in flow rate due to air blowing (transient changes in flow rate during air blowing cannot be detected by air pressure), it is not suitable for monitoring flow rate during air blowing. A flow meter 26 is used. Based on the detection signal of the pressure gauge 27, the control unit 30 informs the control unit 13 of the inspection machine that a drop in air pressure has occurred when the pressure of the supplied air drops below a predetermined pressure. Outputs an error signal representing .

In this embodiment, the flowmeter 26 measures the supply flow rate Qs when the solenoid valve 23 is controlled to open and close, but the pressure gauge 27 measures the pressure Ps even when the solenoid valve 23 is not controlled to open and close. The pressure Ps of the supplied air can be monitored during operation (while the inspection unit 12 and air jet sorter 20 are operating), and when a pressure drop is detected, the operation is stopped with an error signal and the flow rate is checked in confirmation mode. can be carried out. The other configurations of this embodiment are exactly the same as the one embodiment.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a solenoid valve 23 is provided downstream of the filter regulator 24.
Although the configuration is such that the air nozzle 22 is disposed through the air nozzle 22, an air tank 28 capable of accumulating pressure may be provided between the filter regulator 24 and the solenoid valve 23, as in yet another embodiment shown in FIG. In this case, when the solenoid valve 23 is closed, pressure is accumulated in the air tank 28 by the check function of the filter regulator 24, and the air blow can be stabilized and strengthened when the solenoid valve 23 is opened. In the event of an occurrence, effective work time can be secured for line stoppages and maintenance, allowing for more accurate responses. The other configuration of this embodiment is completely similar to the other embodiment shown in FIG.

In addition, as a modification of the above-described embodiment, in addition to the three confirmation modes for monitoring the supply flow rate Qs, an in-operation confirmation mode (M4) for confirmation during operation is implemented, so that the supply flow rate Qs can be checked even during operation. During a period when discharge is not necessary (for example, when the previous and subsequent processes are temporarily stopped and the work W is not transported or when there is a gap between the works), similarly to the above-mentioned stop confirmation mode M2,
The air flow rate check function may be executed from the operation menu of the operation/display means 13e.

Note that execution of each of the above-mentioned confirmation modes is not limited to operation input from the operation/display means 13e.
External input from the inspection machine 10 is possible, and the case where the request source is another external device is included.

As explained above, even if the supply flow rate of compressed air from the air source fluctuates, the article removal device and article inspection system of the present invention can maintain the supply amount of compressed air during article removal by air blow without increasing costs. By determining whether there is a shortage of compressed air, it is possible to perform a reliable removal operation, and even when it is determined that the supply of compressed air is insufficient, it is possible to take appropriate action and avoid unnecessary maintenance. Therefore, it is possible to provide an article removal device and an article inspection system that can prevent long-term stoppages caused by the operation.
The present invention is useful in general for air blow type article removal devices and article inspection systems that use the wind force of compressed air jets.

1 Article inspection system 10 Inspection machine 11 Conveyance section (inspection conveyance section)
11a Conveyor conveyance path 12 Inspection department (article inspection department)
13 Control section 13a Transport control means 13b Inspection control means 13c Arithmetic control means 13d Sorting control means 13e Operation/display means 20 Air jet sorting machine (sorting section)
21 Transport section (sorting transport section)
21a Conveyor conveyance path (sorting conveyance path)
22 Air nozzle 23 Solenoid valve 24 Filter regulator 25 Air piping 26 Flow meter 27 Pressure gauge 28 Air tank 30 Control unit M1 Start-up confirmation mode (power-on confirmation mode, confirmation mode)
M2 Stop confirmation mode (confirmation mode)
M3 Confirmation mode at start of operation Pj1, Pj2, Pj3, Pj4, Pj5, Pj6 Air pressure (regulator control pressure)
Q1 Flow rate (necessary and sufficient flow rate)
Q2 Low flow rate Qs Flow rate (air supply flow rate from the air source side)
qs1, qs2, qs3, qs4, qs5, qs6 Flow rate Qt Lower limit flow rate t1 When power is turned on t2, t3, t7 When request operation is input (when confirmation request operation is input during stop)
t4 At the start of operation t5, t6 At the time of request operation input (at the time of operation start or confirmation request operation input during stop)
Tp1, Tp2, Tp4, Tp5 Operating time (air blow time)
W Work (product to be inspected, article, good product, defective product)
X Conveying direction Y Air blowing direction Zj Sorting section

Claims (6)

Built into the article conveyance line, compressed air supplied from an air source through air piping is controlled to a predetermined pressure by a regulator and supplied to an air nozzle in accordance with the opening and closing of a solenoid valve, and the article to be excluded is removed by air blow from the air nozzle. An article removal device for removing articles from an article conveyance line, wherein when the solenoid valve is controlled to open or close at a preset timing by a control unit, the solenoid valve is branched from the air piping and passes through the regulator to open or close the solenoid valve. The flow rate of compressed air supplied to the valve side is detected between the branch of the air piping and the solenoid valve, and it is determined whether the flow rate has reached a preset lower limit flow rate according to the timing. An article removal device characterized by comprising flow rate monitoring means for making a determination and outputting a determination result. The control unit controls opening and closing of the solenoid valve at startup,
2. The article removal device according to claim 1, wherein the flow rate monitoring means determines whether or not the flow rate has reached the lower limit flow rate, and outputs an error signal when determining that the flow rate has not reached the lower limit flow rate. an inspection section that inspects the articles on the article conveyance line and outputs an inspection result signal;
The compressed air supplied from the air source through the air piping is controlled to a predetermined pressure by a regulator, and the solenoid valve is controlled to open and close to supply it to the air nozzle located on the downstream side of the inspection section, and from the air nozzle based on the sorting control signal. a sorting unit for removing objects to be excluded from the article conveyance line by air blowing;
An article inspection system comprising: a control unit that outputs the sorting control signal;
The sorting section is
When receiving the sorting control signal, the flow rate of compressed air that branches from the air piping and is supplied to the solenoid valve whose opening/closing is controlled through the regulator is controlled between the branch of the air piping and the solenoid valve. An article inspection system characterized by having a flow rate monitoring means for detecting between the flow rate and determining whether or not the flow rate has reached a preset lower limit flow rate, and outputting the determination result to the control section. . 4. The article inspection system according to claim 3, further comprising abnormality notification means for outputting an error display and/or an alarm sound when the flow rate of the compressed air does not reach the lower limit flow rate. The control unit outputs the sorting control signal under the condition that the solenoid valve is controlled when the inspection unit detects a defective product when the inspection unit starts operating;
5. The sorting section receives the sorting control signal, opens and closes the solenoid valve, and detects the flow rate of the compressed air supplied to the air nozzle using the flow rate monitoring means. goods inspection system. further comprising a conveyance means for conveying the article in the article conveyance line in a predetermined direction,
The article inspection according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the sorting section stops conveyance of the article by the conveyance means when the flow rate of the compressed air does not reach the lower limit flow rate. system.

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