JP7491831B2 - Apparatus and method for determining insertion amount - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an insertion amount determination device and method for determining the joining state of a pipe joint, and a reference image generation method for determining the joining state.

Patent Document 1 discloses a pipe inspection device for inspecting pipe joints. The pipe inspection device includes an annular member that is arranged in a ring shape to surround the periphery of the pipe and has an open end that is partially open, and an inspection device attached to the annular member. The inspection device is, for example, an imaging device, and is capable of simultaneously capturing images of the entire outer circumference of the pipe. A sealing member provided with a marker member is used at the pipe joint. The marker member is made of a colored member that is different in color from the other parts of the sealing member. If the color of the colored member is recognized in the image captured by the imaging device, it can be determined that the joint condition is improper.

JP 2016-50770 A

However, the pipe inspection device in Patent Document 1 is designed to determine the condition of the sealing material at the pipe joint. In other words, this pipe inspection device cannot determine whether the insertion amount of the insertion port into the receiving port is appropriate.

One aspect of the present invention aims to realize an insertion amount determination device that can generate a determination image that allows easy determination of whether the insertion amount of the insertion port into the receiving port is appropriate.

In order to solve the above problem, an insertion amount determination device according to one aspect of the present invention is a device for determining the joining state of a joint portion formed by inserting a plug formed at an end of a first pipe into a socket formed at an end of a second pipe, the first pipe having an index line on its surface that serves as an index for determining whether the insertion amount of the plug of the first pipe into the socket of the second pipe is appropriate, and the device includes a joint image capture unit that captures a joint image of the joint portion where the plug of the first pipe is inserted into the socket of the second pipe, and a joint image capture unit that captures the contours of the first pipe and the second pipe from the joint image. from the contour extraction unit, a bending angle calculation unit that calculates the bending angle in a predetermined direction between the first pipe and the second pipe at the joint portion based on the contour, a reference image acquisition unit that acquires a reference image prepared according to the bending angle in order to determine whether the insertion amount of the first pipe's insertion port into the second pipe's receiving port is appropriate according to the bending angle, and a judgment image generation unit that generates a judgment image for determining whether the insertion amount of the first pipe's insertion port into the second pipe's receiving port is appropriate by superimposing the reference image on the joint image.

According to the above configuration, the judgment image generating unit generates a judgment image in which a reference image corresponding to the bending angle of the joint portion between the first pipe and the second pipe is superimposed on the joint image. When the insertion amount of the insertion port into the receiving port is appropriate, the reference image is superimposed on an image of an index line on the surface of the first pipe. Therefore, the insertion amount determining device can generate a judgment image that can easily determine whether the insertion amount of the insertion port into the receiving port is appropriate.

The insertion amount determination device according to one aspect of the present invention may further include an index line extraction unit that extracts an image of the index line from the determination image, and an insertion amount determination unit that determines that the insertion amount is appropriate if the reference image is superimposed on the extracted image of the index line.

According to the above configuration, the insertion amount determination unit determines whether the insertion amount of the insertion port into the receiving port is appropriate based on the image of the index line extracted by the index line extraction unit and the reference image. Therefore, the appropriateness of the insertion amount can be determined automatically without relying on the operator's visual inspection.

The insertion amount determination device according to one aspect of the present invention may further include a determination image output unit that outputs the determination image to a display device.

According to the above configuration, the operator can visually determine whether the insertion amount of the insertion port into the receiving port is appropriate based on the determination image output to the display device by the determination image output unit.

In addition, in the insertion amount determination device according to one aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that a plurality of the reference images are prepared according to the bending angle in a first direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the second pipe, and the reference image acquisition unit selects and acquires the reference image according to the bending angle in the first direction in the joint image from the plurality of the reference images.

According to the above configuration, the reference image acquisition unit selects and acquires an appropriate reference image according to the bending angle at the joint portion in the first direction. Therefore, the judgment image generation unit can generate the judgment image using the appropriate reference image acquired by the reference image acquisition unit. In addition, even if the bending angle is outside the appropriate range, the reference image will not be superimposed on the index line, so it is possible to determine whether the bending angle is appropriate.

In addition, in the insertion amount determination device according to one aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that a plurality of the reference images are prepared according to the bending angle in each of the first direction and the second direction perpendicular to both the axial direction of the second tube and the first direction.

According to the above configuration, the reference image acquisition unit selects and acquires a more appropriate reference image according to the bending angle at the joint portion in both the first direction and the second direction. Therefore, the judgment image generation unit can generate a judgment image using the more appropriate reference image acquired by the reference image acquisition unit.

In addition, in the insertion amount determination device according to one aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that a plurality of the reference images are prepared according to the nominal diameter of the first pipe, and the reference image acquisition unit selects and acquires the reference image according to the nominal diameter of the first pipe in the joint image from the plurality of the reference images.

According to the above configuration, the reference image acquisition unit selects and acquires an appropriate reference image according to the nominal diameter of the first pipe, i.e., the width of the first pipe in the joint image. Therefore, the judgment image generation unit can generate a judgment image using the appropriate reference image acquired by the reference image acquisition unit.

In addition, in the insertion amount determination device according to one aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the reference image is an image that is superimposed on the outline portion of at least one side of the first pipe in the joint image.

According to the above configuration, the determination image generating unit can generate a determination image that can determine whether the insertion amount is appropriate based on whether the reference image is superimposed on the image of the index line in the contour portion of at least one side of the image of the first tube.

In addition, according to one aspect of the present invention, a method for determining a joining state of a joint portion formed by inserting a spigot formed on an end of a first pipe into a receiving port of a second pipe, the first pipe having an index line on its surface that serves as an index for determining whether the insertion amount of the spigot of the first pipe into the receiving port of the second pipe is appropriate, the method comprising the steps of: capturing an image of a joint portion where the spigot of the first pipe is inserted into the receiving port of the second pipe; and extracting the contours of the first pipe and the second pipe from the joint image. a bending angle calculation step of calculating a bending angle in a predetermined direction between the first pipe and the second pipe at the joint portion based on the contour; a reference image acquisition step of acquiring a reference image prepared according to the bending angle in order to determine whether the insertion amount of the first pipe's insertion port into the second pipe's receiving port is appropriate according to the bending angle; and a judgment image generation step of generating a judgment image for determining whether the insertion amount of the first pipe's insertion port into the second pipe's receiving port is appropriate by superimposing the reference image on the joint image.

The above configuration provides the same effects as the insertion amount determination device described above.

In addition, a reference image generating method according to one aspect of the present invention is a reference image generating method for generating a reference image for judging the joining state of a joint portion formed by inserting a plug formed on an end of a first pipe into a receiving port of a second pipe, the first pipe having an index line on its surface that serves as an index for judging whether the insertion amount of the plug of the first pipe into the receiving port of the second pipe is appropriate, the method including: a model generating step for generating a three-dimensional model of the joint portion in which the plug of the first pipe is inserted to an appropriate degree into the receiving port of the second pipe; a model image generating step for generating a model image which is an image obtained when the three-dimensional model is photographed from a predetermined direction; and a reference image generating step for generating a reference image which is an image superimposed on the image of the index line when the insertion amount of the plug into the receiving port is appropriate, based on the position of an image of the index line in the model image.

According to the above configuration, by generating a reference image using a three-dimensional model of the joint portion, it is possible to easily generate a reference image for each condition, such as the bending angle and nominal diameter.

The insertion amount determination device according to each aspect of the present invention may be realized by a computer. In this case, the control program for the insertion amount determination device, which causes the computer to operate as each unit (software element) of the insertion amount determination device, and the computer-readable recording medium on which the control program is recorded, also fall within the scope of the present invention.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to realize an insertion amount determination device that can generate a determination image that allows easy determination of whether the insertion amount of the insertion port into the receiving port is appropriate.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an image of a pipe joint portion. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of an insertion amount determining device according to a first embodiment; 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating extraction of the contour of a first tube by a contour extraction unit. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating extraction of the contour of a second tube by a contour extraction unit. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which a first tube is bent toward the front side of the page relative to a second tube; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which a first tube is bent toward the back of the page relative to a second tube; FIG. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating examples of determination images in which the insertion amount is determined to be appropriate. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a determination image in which an insertion amount is determined to be inappropriate. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of a determination image in which the insertion amount is determined to be inappropriate. 4 is a flowchart showing a process in the arithmetic device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of an insertion amount determining device according to a second embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for generating a reference image. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a three-dimensional model of a joint portion. 13A and 13B are diagrams for explaining changes in a bending angle in a three-dimensional model of a joint portion.

[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

Figure 1 shows an example of a joint image of a pipe joint. Figure 1 shows a joint image of a joint between a first pipe P1 and a second pipe P2. The joint is formed by inserting a spigot formed at the end of the first pipe P1 into a socket formed at the end of the second pipe P2. There are no particular restrictions on the material of the first pipe P1 and the second pipe P2, and they may be metal or resin.

The first pipe P1 has an index line LP1 on its surface. The index line LP1 serves as an index for determining the insertion amount of the insertion port of the first pipe P1 into the receiving port of the second pipe P2 and whether the bending angle is appropriate. The index line LP1 is a solid line or a dashed line. When the index line LP1 is a dashed line, it is often drawn so that the index line LP1 is visible on at least one of both ends in the radial direction of the image of the first pipe P1 regardless of the circumferential position from which the first pipe P1 is imaged, but there are exceptions. In the following description, the insertion amount of the insertion port of the first pipe P1 into the receiving port of the second pipe P2 may be simply referred to as the insertion amount.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main parts of the insertion amount determination device 1 according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 2, the insertion amount determination device 1 includes a calculation device 10, a camera 20, a storage device 30, and a display device 40.

The calculation device 10 executes a process for determining whether the amount of insertion of the pipe is appropriate. The calculation device 10 includes a joint image capture unit 11, a contour extraction unit 12, a bending angle calculation unit 13, a reference image acquisition unit 14, a judgment image generation unit 15, an index line extraction unit 16, and an insertion amount determination unit 17.

The joint image capturing unit 11 uses the camera 20 to capture a joint image of the joint portion where the insertion port of the first pipe P1 is inserted into the receiving port P2 of the second pipe. An example of a joint image is as shown in FIG. 1. The contour extraction unit 12 extracts the contours of the first pipe P1 and the second pipe P2 in the image captured by the joint image capturing unit 11.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing the extraction of the contour of the first pipe P1 by the contour extraction unit 12. In Figure 3, an example of a joint image is indicated by the reference numeral 3100. In a saturation image obtained by HSV (Hue Saturation Value) conversion of the joint image, there is a large difference in saturation between the images of the first pipe P1 and the second pipe P2 and the background image of soil. The contour extraction unit 12 generates an image indicated by the reference numeral 3200 in Figure 3 by removing areas of high saturation, i.e., the areas of the images of the first pipe P1 and the second pipe P2, from the saturation image.

The contour extraction unit 12 further generates an image in which unnecessary background has been removed, leaving only an image of the background near the first pipe P1, as indicated by reference numeral 3300 in FIG. 3. The contour extraction unit 12 further generates an image in which only the region R1 of the first pipe P1 has been extracted, as indicated by reference numeral 3400 in FIG. 3. The contour extraction unit 12 extracts the contour of the region R1 as the contour of the first pipe P1.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing the extraction of the contour of the second tube P2 by the contour extraction unit 12. As with the extraction of the contour of the first tube P1, the contour extraction unit 12 generates an image in which the image regions of the first tube P1 and the second tube P2 are removed from the saturation image, as indicated by reference numeral 4100 in Figure 4. The contour extraction unit 12 then generates an image in which unnecessary background is removed and only the image of the background near the second tube P2 is left, as indicated by reference numeral 4200 in Figure 4. Furthermore, the contour extraction unit 12 generates an image in which only the region R2 of the second tube P1 is extracted, as indicated by reference numeral 4300 in Figure 4. The contour extraction unit 12 extracts the contour of the region R2 as the contour of the second tube P2.

The bend angle calculation unit 13 calculates the bend angle in a predetermined direction between the first pipe P1 and the second pipe P2 at the joint portion based on the contours of the first pipe P1 and the second pipe P2 extracted by the contour extraction unit 12. In this embodiment, the bend angle calculation unit 13 calculates the bend angle between the first pipe P1 and the second pipe P2 in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the second pipe P2 (first direction).

Figure 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the first pipe P1 is bent toward the front side of the paper with respect to the second pipe P2. Figure 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the first pipe P1 is bent toward the back side of the paper with respect to the second pipe P2. With reference to Figures 5 and 6, a method in which the bending angle calculation unit 13 calculates the bending angle between the first pipe P1 and the second pipe P2 in the first direction will be described. In the following description, the first direction corresponds to a direction perpendicular to the paper.

The bending angle calculation unit 13 derives the center lines of the first pipe P1 and the second pipe P2 based on the contours of the first pipe P1 and the second pipe P2 extracted by the contour extraction unit 12. Next, the bending angle calculation unit 13 calculates the angle θ0 formed by the center lines of the first pipe P1 and the second pipe P2. The bending angle calculation unit 13 also calculates the angles θ1 and θ2 (θ1≦θ2) formed by each of the two side surfaces of the first pipe P1 and the end surface of the second pipe P2. The bending angle calculation unit 13 also calculates the angles θ3 and θ4 formed by the center line of the first pipe P1 and each of the contour lines of the two side surfaces of the first pipe P1. Furthermore, the bending angle calculation unit 13 calculates the above-mentioned bending angle by referring to a table prepared in advance that indicates the correspondence between the angles θ0 to θ4 and the bending angle in the first direction.

The reference image acquisition unit 14 acquires a reference image CI (see FIG. 7, etc.) prepared according to the bending angle in order to determine whether the insertion amount according to the bending angle calculated by the bending angle calculation unit 13 is appropriate. In this embodiment, the reference image CI is a pair of markers arranged in positions symmetrical to each other with respect to the axis of the second pipe P2, and corresponds to the position of the image of the index line LP1 when the insertion amount is appropriate. When the insertion amount and bending angle at the joint part are appropriate, the reference image CI is superimposed on the image of the index line LP1. In this embodiment, the reference image CI is superimposed on the outline portion of at least one side of the first pipe P1 in the joint image.

In this embodiment, multiple reference images CI are prepared according to the bending angle between the first tube P1 and the second tube P2 in the first direction described above. Specifically, the reference images CI are prepared for each 1° of the bending angle in the range of -4° to +4°. However, the reference images CI prepared in the insertion amount determination device 1 are not limited to this, and may be prepared for each bending angle other than 1° in a range other than -4° to +4°.

It is also preferable that multiple reference images CI are prepared according to the bending angles in the first direction and the second direction perpendicular to both the axial direction of the second pipe P2 and the first direction. It is also more preferable that multiple reference images CI are prepared according to the nominal diameter of the first pipe P1.

The judgment image generating unit 15 generates a judgment image for judging whether the insertion amount is appropriate by superimposing the reference image CI acquired by the reference image acquiring unit 14 on the joint image. In the judgment image, if the above-mentioned insertion amount is appropriate, the reference image CI is superimposed on the image of the index line LP1. Therefore, the appropriateness of the insertion amount can be easily judged depending on whether the reference image CI is superimposed on the image of the index line LP1.

The reference image acquisition unit 14 selects and acquires a reference image CI corresponding to the bending angle in the first direction in the joint image from the multiple reference images CI prepared as described above. Therefore, the judgment image generation unit 15 can generate a judgment image using an appropriate reference image CI corresponding to the bending angle. In this case, in addition to when the insertion amount is not appropriate, the reference image CI will not be superimposed on the image of the index line LP1 even when the bending angle is outside the appropriate range, so that the appropriateness of the bending angle can also be determined. In addition, as described above, when the reference images CI are prepared according to the bending angles in each of the first and second directions and/or the nominal diameter of the first pipe, the judgment image generation unit 15 can generate a judgment image using a more appropriate reference image CI.

As described above, the reference image CI is superimposed on the outline of at least one side of the first pipe P1 in the joint image. Therefore, the judgment image generating unit 15 can generate a judgment image that can determine whether the insertion amount is appropriate based on whether the reference image CI is superimposed on the image of the index line LP1 in the outline of at least one side of the image of the first pipe P1.

The index line extraction unit 16 extracts an image of the index line LP1 from the image for determination. The index line extraction unit 16 extracts the image of the index line LP1, for example, by extracting an area of the color of the index line LP1 from the joint image. In addition, if the image of the extracted index line LP1 is incomplete, for example, because there is a part that is interrupted in the middle, the image may be approximated by an ellipse to reproduce the complete image of the index line LP1. The insertion amount determination unit 17 determines whether the insertion amount is appropriate. If the reference image CI is superimposed on the image of the index line LP1 extracted by the index line extraction unit 16, the insertion amount determination unit 17 determines whether the insertion amount is appropriate. In other words, the insertion amount determination unit 17 determines whether the insertion amount is appropriate based on the image of the index line LP1 extracted by the index line extraction unit 16 and the reference image CI. Therefore, the insertion amount determination device 1 can automatically determine whether the insertion amount is appropriate without relying on the operator's visual inspection.

Figure 7 shows an example of a determination image for which the insertion amount is determined to be appropriate. In the example shown in Figure 7, the reference image CI is superimposed on the image of the index line LP1 at the contour portion of the first tube P1. Therefore, the insertion amount determination unit 17 determines that the insertion amount is appropriate.

Figure 8 shows an example of a determination image for which it is determined that the insertion amount is inappropriate. In the example shown in Figure 8, the reference image CI is not superimposed on the image of the index line LP1 at the contour portion of the first tube P1. Therefore, the insertion amount determination unit 17 determines that the insertion amount is inappropriate.

Figure 9 is a diagram showing another example of a determination image for which the insertion amount is determined to be inappropriate. In the example shown in Figure 9, the index line LP1 is a dashed line instead of a solid line. Therefore, in the example shown in Figure 9, the index line LP1 appears only on one side of the first tube P1. In the example shown in Figure 9, the reference image CI is not superimposed on the image of the index line LP1. Therefore, the insertion amount determination unit 17 determines that the insertion amount is inappropriate.

In addition, in the judgment image, even if the insertion amount is appropriate, if the bending angle is not appropriate, the reference image CI is not superimposed on the image of the index line LP1. Therefore, with the insertion amount judgment device 1, it is possible to judge that not only the insertion amount but also the bending angle is inappropriate. In other words, the insertion amount judgment device 1 is a device that can be used to judge the suitability of the joining state at the joint part, not limited to the suitability of the insertion amount.

If the index line LP1 does not appear on either side of the first pipe P1 in the joint image, the image of the index line LP1 may be approximated by an ellipse to reproduce the complete image of the index line LP1, as described above. In this case, the insertion amount determination unit 17 determines that the insertion amount is appropriate if the reference image CI is superimposed on the reproduced image of the complete index line LP1. In addition, the position of the reference image CI is not limited to being superimposed on the outline of the side of the first pipe P1, and may be superimposed on, for example, the center part in the width direction of the first pipe P1.

As described above, the camera 20 is an imaging device for the joint image capturing unit 11 to capture an image of the joint portion. The storage device 30 stores information necessary for processing by the calculation device 10. For example, the storage device 30 stores the above-mentioned multiple reference images CI. The display device 40 displays an image for presenting information to the worker under the control of the calculation device 10. For example, the insertion amount determination unit 17 causes the display device 40 to display an image showing the determination result as to whether the insertion amount is appropriate.

(Processing in arithmetic device 10)
10 is a flowchart showing the processing in the calculation device 10. The processing in the calculation device 10 is as follows. The joint image capturing unit 11 captures a joint image (S11, joint image capturing step). The contour extraction unit 12 extracts the contours of the first pipe P1 and the second pipe P2 from the joint image (S12, contour extraction step). The bending angle calculation unit 13 calculates the bending angle based on the contours of the first pipe P1 and the second pipe P2 (S13, bending angle calculation step). The reference image acquisition unit 14 acquires a reference image CI according to the bending angle (S14, reference image acquisition step). The judgment image generation unit 15 generates a judgment image by superimposing the reference image CI on the joint image (S15, judgment image generation step).

Furthermore, the index line extraction unit 16 extracts an image of the index line LP1 from the judgment image (S16). The insertion amount determination unit 17 determines whether or not the reference image CI is superimposed on the image of the index line LP1 (S17). If the reference image CI is superimposed on the image of the index line LP1 (YES in S17), the insertion amount determination unit 17 determines that the insertion amount is appropriate (S18). If the reference image CI is not superimposed on the image of the index line LP1 (NO in S17), the insertion amount determination unit 17 determines that the insertion amount is inappropriate (S19).

By the above process, the insertion amount determination device 1 generates an image for determination. Furthermore, the insertion amount determination device 1 determines whether the insertion amount is appropriate based on the image for determination. Therefore, the insertion amount determination device 1 can easily determine whether the insertion amount is appropriate. After step S19, the process may be executed again from step S11, taking into account the possibility of an erroneous determination. Also, the connection between the first pipe P1 and the second pipe P2 at the joint portion may be temporarily released and then rejoined.

[Embodiment 2]
Other embodiments of the present invention will be described below. For ease of explanation, the same reference numerals are given to members having the same functions as those described in the above embodiment, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

Figure 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main parts of the insertion amount determination device 1A according to the second embodiment. As shown in Figure 11, the insertion amount determination device 1A differs from the insertion amount determination device 1 in that it includes a calculation device 10A instead of the calculation device 10. The calculation device 10A differs from the calculation device 10 in that it does not include the index line extraction unit 16 and the insertion amount determination unit 17, but includes a determination image output unit 18.

The judgment image output unit 18 outputs the judgment image generated by the judgment image generation unit 15 to the display device 40. Therefore, in the insertion amount judgment device 1A, the operator can visually judge whether the insertion amount is appropriate or not based on the judgment image displayed on the display device 40.

The processing in the calculation device 10A is similar to the processing in the calculation device 10 (see FIG. 10) with respect to steps S11 to S15. After step S15, in the calculation device 10A, the judgment image output unit 18 outputs the judgment image to the display device 40. The calculation device 10A does not execute steps S16 to S19.

However, in the insertion amount determination device 1A, the calculation device 10A may further include a determination image output unit 18 in addition to the index line extraction unit 16 and the insertion amount determination unit 17. In this case, in the insertion amount determination device 1A, the insertion amount determination unit 17 determines whether the insertion amount is appropriate, and the determination image output unit 18 outputs a determination image to the display device 40. In other words, the calculation device 10A executes steps S16 to S19 and then outputs a determination image to the display device 40. This allows the operator to check whether the determination made by the insertion amount determination unit 17 is appropriate.

In addition, when the calculation device 10A includes the index line extraction unit 16, the insertion amount determination unit 17, and the determination image output unit 18, the determination image output unit 18 may change the display mode of the reference image CI in the determination image depending on the result of the determination by the insertion amount determination unit 17. For example, the determination image output unit 18 changes the color of the reference image CI depending on the result of the determination by the insertion amount determination unit 17. In this case, the operator can easily recognize the result of the determination by the insertion amount determination unit 17 from the color of the reference image CI.

[Embodiment 3]
A method for generating the reference image CI in the above-described embodiment will be described below.

Figure 12 is a flowchart showing the reference image generating method. In the following description, for convenience, each step is assumed to be performed by a "reference image generating device." As shown in Figure 12, the reference image generating device generates a three-dimensional model of a joint portion in which the insertion port of the first pipe P1 is inserted into the receiving port of the second pipe P2 to an appropriate degree (S21, model generating step). The reference image generating device creates a three-dimensional model using, for example, CAD (Computer-Aided Design). The reference image generating device generates a model image, which is an image obtained when the three-dimensional model is photographed from a predetermined direction (S22, model image generating step). The reference image generating device generates a reference image, which is an image that is superimposed on the image of the index line LP1 when the insertion amount of the insertion port of the first pipe P1 into the receiving port of the second pipe P2 is appropriate, based on the position of the image of the index line LP1 in the model image (S23, reference image generating step).

Figure 13 is a diagram for explaining a three-dimensional model of the joint part. In Figure 13, a top view of the model of the joint part when the insertion amount is appropriate and minimum is indicated by reference numeral 1301, and a side view of the model is indicated by reference numeral 1302. Furthermore, a top view of the model of the joint part when the insertion amount is appropriate and maximum is indicated by reference numeral 1303, and a side view of the model is indicated by reference numeral 1304.

The first tube P1 has a second index line LP2 on its surface in addition to the index line LP1. The second index line LP2 is a line for judging whether the insertion amount is appropriate or not based on the positional relationship with the end face P21 of the second tube P2. As shown by reference numbers 1301 and 1302 in FIG. 13, the insertion amount is appropriate and minimum when the second index line LP2 is in contact with the end face P21 only at one point and the second tube P2 does not overlap with other areas of the second index line LP2. As shown by reference numbers 1303 and 1304 in FIG. 13, the insertion amount is appropriate and maximum when the second index line LP2 is in contact with the end face P21 only at one point and the second tube P2 overlaps with other areas of the second index line LP2.

In the model generation step, the reference image generation device generates a three-dimensional model of the joint portion in the two states described above. In the model image generation step, an image is generated when the imaging range RPIC shown by reference numbers 1301 and 1303 is imaged from the imaging position POS shown by reference numbers 1302 and 1304 in FIG. 13. The imaging position POS is a position that is equal to the position of the end face P21 in the axial direction of the second pipe P2 and is separated by a predetermined distance from the central axis of the second pipe P2 in the radial direction. The predetermined distance is, for example, 200 mm, but is not limited to this.

Figure 14 is a diagram for explaining the change in the bending angle in the three-dimensional model of the joint part. As described above, multiple reference images CI are prepared according to the bending angle in the joint part. Therefore, in the model image generation step, the reference image generation device needs to generate multiple model images in which the bending angle of the three-dimensional model is changed in order to generate multiple reference images.

In this embodiment, the reference image generating device changes the bending angle of the three-dimensional model by rotating the first pipe P1 relative to the second pipe P2 around a predetermined rotation center P22. The rotation center P22 exists on the central axis of the second pipe P2. The position of the rotation center P22 in the axial direction of the second pipe P22 is equal to the position in the axial direction of a valve (not shown) disposed inside the second pipe P2. The valve is a sealing member for sealing the joint portion. In the joint portion, the first pipe P1 and the second pipe P2 abut against each other via the valve.

The reference image generating device generates a three-dimensional model for each bending angle in a state where the insertion amount is appropriate and minimal, and in a state where the insertion amount is appropriate and maximal. The reference image generating device generates a reference image CI so that it overlaps with the index line LP1 in both a state where the insertion amount is appropriate and minimal, and a state where the insertion amount is appropriate and maximal.

As described above, the reference image generating device generates a three-dimensional model of the joint portion and generates the reference image CI using the three-dimensional model. Therefore, the reference image generating device can easily generate a reference image CI for each condition, such as the bending angle at the joint portion and the nominal diameter of the first pipe P1.

[Software implementation example]
The control blocks of the insertion amount determination device 1, 1A (particularly the joint image capturing unit 11, the contour extraction unit 12, the bend angle calculation unit 13, the reference image acquisition unit 14, the determination image generation unit 15, the index line extraction unit 16, the insertion amount determination unit 17, and the determination image output unit 18) may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or may be realized by software.

In the latter case, the insertion amount determination device 1, 1A includes a computer that executes the instructions of a program, which is software that realizes each function. This computer includes, for example, one or more processors, and a computer-readable recording medium that stores the program. The object of the present invention is achieved by the processor reading the program from the recording medium and executing it in the computer. The processor can be, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The recording medium can be a "non-transient tangible medium", such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), tape, disk, card, semiconductor memory, programmable logic circuit, etc. The device may also include a RAM (Random Access Memory) that expands the program. The program may be supplied to the computer via any transmission medium (such as a communication network or broadcast waves) that can transmit the program. One aspect of the present invention can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

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

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1, 1A Insertion amount determination device 11 Joint image capturing section 12 Contour extraction section 13 Bending angle calculation section 14 Reference image acquisition section 15 Determination image generation section 16 Index line extraction section 17 Insertion amount determination section 18 Determination image output section

Claims (8)

A device for determining a joining condition of a joint portion configured by inserting a plug formed on an end of a first pipe into a socket formed on an end of a second pipe, comprising:
the first tube has an index line on a surface thereof serving as an index for determining whether or not the insertion amount of the insertion opening of the first tube is appropriate for the insertion opening of the second tube;
a joint image capturing unit configured to capture a joint image of a joint portion where the insertion port of the first pipe is inserted into the receiving port of the second pipe;
a contour extraction unit that extracts contours of the first pipe and the second pipe from the joint image;
a bend angle calculation unit that calculates a bend angle in a predetermined direction between the first pipe and the second pipe at the joint portion based on the contour;
a reference image acquisition unit that acquires a reference image prepared according to a bending angle in order to determine whether an insertion amount of the spigot of the first pipe into the socket of the second pipe is appropriate according to the bending angle;
and a judgment image generating unit that generates a judgment image for determining whether the insertion amount of the insertion port of the first pipe into the receiving port of the second pipe is appropriate by superimposing the reference image on the joint image. an index line extraction unit that extracts an image of the index line from the determination image;
2. The insertion amount determining device according to claim 1, further comprising an insertion amount determining unit that determines that the insertion amount is appropriate when the reference image is superimposed on the extracted image of the index line. The device for determining the insertion amount according to claim 1 or 2 further comprises a determination image output unit that outputs the determination image to a display device. a plurality of reference images are prepared according to the bending angle in a first direction perpendicular to an axial direction of the second pipe,
The insertion amount determination device according to claim 1 , wherein the reference image acquisition unit selects and acquires the reference image from the plurality of reference images according to the bending angle in the first direction in the joint image. The insertion amount determination device according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of reference images are prepared according to the bending angle in each of the first direction and the second direction perpendicular to both the axial direction of the second tube and the first direction. A plurality of reference images are prepared according to the nominal diameter of the first pipe,
The insertion amount determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the reference image acquisition unit selects and acquires the reference image from the plurality of reference images according to the nominal diameter of the first pipe in the joint image. The insertion amount determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the reference image is an image that is superimposed on the contour portion of at least one side of the first pipe in the joint image. A method for determining a joining condition of a joint portion, the method being configured by inserting a spigot formed on an end of a first pipe into a socket of a second pipe, the method comprising the steps of:
the first tube has an index line on a surface thereof serving as an index for determining whether or not the insertion amount of the insertion opening of the first tube is appropriate relative to the receiving opening of the second tube;
a joint image capturing step of capturing an image of a joint portion where the insertion port of the first pipe is inserted into the receiving port of the second pipe;
a contour extraction step of extracting contours of the first pipe and the second pipe from the joint image;
a bending angle calculation step of calculating a bending angle in a predetermined direction between the first pipe and the second pipe at the joint portion based on the contour;
a reference image acquiring step of acquiring a reference image prepared according to a bending angle in order to determine whether an insertion amount of the insertion port of the first pipe into the receiving port of the second pipe is appropriate according to the bending angle;
and generating an image for judgment by superimposing the reference image on the joint image to generate an image for judgment for judging whether the insertion amount of the insertion port of the first pipe into the receiving port of the second pipe is appropriate.

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