JPH03166889A - Image pickup data storage device by visual field - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently fetch a pickup data by properly combining two visual field division setting means and using the result. CONSTITUTION:A means comparing an output from a coordinate measuring circuit 6 with setting values Z1, Z2 and forming an area signal is provided with a means comparing an output from a number measuring circuit 10 with setting values Z3, Z4 to form an area signal. When a check object is located at a reference coordinate of an image pickup element or a reference position of a visual field split range, an area signal is obtained via a comparator circuits CP1, CP2 and when the check object is deviated from the reference position, the area signal is obtained via a comparator circuits CP3, CP4. Thus, the pickup data is properly fetched without waste by combining the area signals properly such as the start point of the visual field taken as a change point position and the end point taken as the readout coordinate position.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention divides the imaging (field of view) region of a one-dimensional imaging device into a plurality of regions, and generates a region signal based on the imaging signal from the one-dimensional imaging device. An imaging data storage device for each field of view that separately forms and stores each changing point coordinate value of the imaging signal as imaging data for each field of view, and in particular, an imaging data storage device for each field of view that has an improved method for setting the imaging field of view. Regarding.

[Conventional technology]

One-dimensional imaging devices such as recent image sensors are
The imaging (field of view) area can be divided into multiple areas, and different measurements can be performed for each field of view, such as the width of the pattern on the object on the left in the first field of view and the number of patterns on the object on the right in the second field of view. , which has been highly functionalized as if there were a plurality of imaging devices, and is widely used as an article inspection device for inspecting articles moving on a conveyor such as a factory production line as shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, 11 represents an image sensor, 12 represents an object to be inspected, and 13 represents a conveyor.

Figure 5 shows the composition of a conventional system that processes data by dividing the field of view, where 1 is a lens, 2 is an image sensor, 3 is a scanning circuit, 4 is a binarization circuit, and 5 is an edge circuit. , 6 is a coordinate measuring circuit, 7 is a data processing device including a microcomputer, 8 is an output circuit, 9 (9A to 9N)
is an imaging data storage circuit provided according to the number of divided fields of view. In addition, Fig. 6 is a detailed composition diagram showing a part of Fig. 5 in detail, and Fig. 7 is a time chart for explaining the operation in Fig. 5. Below, the operation will be explained with reference to these figures. explain.

Reflected light from the inspection object 12 in FIG. 4 is converted into an electrical signal by the image sensor 2 via the lens 1.

The image sensor 2 has a light-receiving surface divided into a predetermined number of sections, for example, a COD (Charge Coupled Device).
e) is an optical sensor array as shown in FIG.

The scanning circuit 3 receives a predetermined clock signal (see waveform b in Fig. 7).
is supplied to the image sensor 2, edge circuit 5, and coordinate measuring circuit 6 to read the image signal (see waveform e in FIG. 7), and to activate each circuit and initialize each circuit at each image signal readout cycle. A synchronizing signal (see waveform a in FIG. 7) is generated. The read image signal e is converted into a binary signal (see waveform f in FIG. 7) in which the waveform-shaped gradation information is encoded into "1" and "0" by the binarization circuit 4 (see waveform f in FIG. 7). The edge circuit 5 generates an edge signal (see waveform g in FIG. 7) indicating a point of change.

Meanwhile, in synchronization with the readout of the imaging signal, the coordinate measuring circuit 6
outputs the readout coordinates of the image sensor 2 (see waveform h in FIG. 7) while being updated sequentially.

These signals g and h, together with the synchronizing signal a of the scanning circuit 3, are transmitted to the imaging data storage circuit 9 (9A to
9N) is manually operated.

Each of the imaging data storage circuits 9A to 9N includes a number counting circuit 91,
It consists of an imaging data storage circuit 92, a comparison circuit 93, a coordinate division storage circuit 94, etc., and the start and end values of the field of view are set in advance in the coordinate division storage circuit 94. The comparison circuit 93 constantly compares the readout coordinate value h with the readout coordinate value h, and the coordinate value of the change point of the imaging signal is stored in the imaging data storage circuit 92 according to the comparison result.

Note that the coordinate division storage circuit 94 in which the starting edge value and ending edge value of the visual field in FIG. 5 are preset has two registers Rl and R2 as shown in FIG. The register R2 is provided with data areas for a field of view end (coordinate) value Z2 and a setting presence/absence code C2. Therefore, register Rl. If the values of the R2 setting presence/absence codes Cl and C2 are "Yes", and the value of the coordinate measuring circuit 6 is greater than the starting end (coordinate) value z1 of the register R1, the comparator C
While the PI outputs an output, if the value of the coordinate measuring circuit 6 is smaller than the terminal (coordinate) value Z2 of the register R2, the comparator C
If P2 is configured to output an output, an area signal (gate signal: see waveform i in FIG. 7) for the number counting circuit 91 and the image data storage circuit 92 can be obtained from the gate G.

The coordinate value h of the change point of the imaging signal is stored in the imaging data storage circuit 92 each time the edge signal g is generated by this gate signal i, and the storage address (7th waveform j) is updated. As a result, a group of coordinate values for each change point of the imaging signal within the preset starting and ending range of a certain field of view is stored in the imaging data storage circuit 92 as data.

When the scanning circuit 3 finishes reading out a predetermined number of contents from the image pickup device 2, it notifies the microcomputer 7 of a scanning end signal (see waveform C in FIG. 7). Thereafter, the microcomputer 7 reads data from each imaging data storage circuit, performs measurement, calculation, and
Depending on the output conditions, for example, the difference between two adjacent pieces of data is multiplied by a predetermined value to convert it to the width of the object, and the result of the comparison between this and the pass/fail criteria is outputted to the outside via the output circuit 8. Execute processing. When all the processing is completed, the scanning circuit 3 is initialized (see waveform d in FIG. 7) to encourage re-accumulation of the imaging data, and the same processing as above is repeated.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in this method of making the reference position of the visual field division range and the reference coordinate position of the image sensor correspond in absolute value, the inspection object 12 shown in FIG. If it shifts in that direction, the imaging signal will also shift in one of the directions shown by the arrows in waveform e in Figure 7, and as this shift increases, the range of the starting and ending points of the set field of view is fixed, so the imaging signal will shift in either direction as shown by the arrow in waveform e in Figure 7. The imaging signal will be lost. This not only results in the output of erroneous test results, but also requires separate measures to prevent this (positioning devices, etc.), resulting in problems such as increased production costs and restrictions on the locations where it can be applied. There is.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to enable imaging data to be stored correctly even when the object to be inspected deviates from the reference coordinate position of the image sensor or the reference position of the field-of-view division range.

[Means to solve the problem]

The field of view (imaging) region of a one-dimensional imaging device that images the inspection object is divided into a plurality of regions, a first region signal is individually formed based on the imaging signal from this one-dimensional imaging device, and the first region signal is In a field-specific imaging data storage device that divides and stores each changing point coordinate value as imaging data for each field of view, a signal generating means is provided for generating a second area signal based on a changing point of the imaging signal, The first and second area signals are combined to form a new area signal, and based on the new area signal, imaging data within a predetermined range is divided and stored for each field of view. Further, a control code indicating whether the first and second area signals are valid or invalid is stored, and this control code is selected to generate the new area signal.

[Effect]

In addition to the conventional system that forms area signals corresponding to the absolute coordinate position of the image sensor, by adding a means to form area signals corresponding to arbitrary change point positions of the imaging signal, it is possible to Even if an object shifts to the left or right with respect to the direction of movement, it is possible to correctly capture imaged data, and by using two area signal forms or means in combination, it is possible to efficiently capture imaged data. do.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a detailed diagram showing a part thereof in detail, and FIG. 3 is a time chart for explaining the operation of FIG. 1.

That is, as is clear from FIG. 1, this embodiment
The present invention is characterized in that a number counting circuit 10 and a number division storage circuit 95 are added, and the comparison circuit is changed as shown by the reference numeral 931 in FIG. 2, and the rest is the same as the conventional example shown in FIG.

Therefore, in the following, only the points that are different from the conventional example will be mainly explained.

The number counting circuit 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 measures an edge signal (see waveform g in FIG. 3) indicating a change point of the image signal, and compares the output (see waveform n in FIG. 3) with the edge signal (see waveform g in FIG. 3). 93
The signal is input to comparators CP3 and CP4 in CP1. The number division storage circuit 95 has two registers R3. R4, and one side contains the visual field start value Z3 and its setting presence/absence code C3, which is based on the change point of the imaging signal, taking into account the deviation of the inspection object from the reference position, and the other side contains the visual field starting point value Z3 and its setting presence/absence code C3. Each has an area for storing the terminal value Z4 and its setting presence/absence code C4. Therefore, as in the conventional example, register R3.
If the values of the setting presence/absence codes C3 and C4 of R4 are "Yes", and the value of the number counting circuit 10 is larger than the start end (coordinate) value Z3 of the register R3, the comparator CP3 outputs an output, while the number counting circuit 10 outputs an output. The value of circuit 10 is at the end of register R4 (
If the comparator CP4 is configured to output an output when the coordinate) value Z4 is smaller than the coordinate value Z4, the area signal (gate signal: waveform shown in FIG. m) can be obtained.

That is, the output from the coordinate measuring circuit 6 is set to 21.2.
2 to form an area signal (see reference numeral i in Figure 7), the output from the number counting circuit IO is compared with set values Z3 and Z4 to form an area signal (see reference numeral m in Figure 3). )
When the object to be inspected is at the reference coordinate position of the image sensor or the reference position of the field of view division range, it is transmitted through the comparators CPi and CP2, and when the object to be inspected is deviated from these reference positions. In this case, the deviation can be dealt with by obtaining area signals via comparators CP3 and CP4, and in this case, the control code CI-C4 determines which of the comparators CPI to CP4 is selected. That's why. Note that the comparators CPI and CP3 that determine the starting end or the comparators CP2 and CP4 that determine the ending end are not selected at the same time. In other words, the gate circuit Gl in FIG. 2 is shown in a simplified manner, and actually the comparator CP
An OR gate that takes OR logic between I and CP3, and a comparator C
It consists of an OR gate that performs an OR logic between P2 and CP4, and an AND gate that performs an AND of the outputs of these two OR gates.

By doing this, not only can the imaging data be correctly captured even if the inspection object deviates from the reference position, but also, for example, the end of the field of view can be set as the change point position of the imaging signal, and the end of the field of view can be used as the point of change of the imaging signal. By appropriately combining the readout coordinate positions, etc., it is possible to accurately capture the imaging signal without waste.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to this invention, in addition to the conventional means for setting the field of view area corresponding to the absolute coordinate position of the image sensor, means for setting the field of view division position corresponding to the position of an arbitrary change point of the imaging signal is added. Therefore, even if the object to be inspected shifts to the left or right with respect to its moving direction, it is possible not only to correctly capture the imaged data, but also to properly capture the imaged data by using an appropriate combination of the two field of view division setting means. This has the advantage that it is possible to efficiently incorporate. As a result, there is no risk of outputting incorrect test results.
Ancillary equipment such as an object positioning device is not required, and there are no restrictions on where it can be applied.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a detailed configuration diagram showing a part thereof, FIG. 3 is a time chart for explaining the operation of FIG. A schematic diagram showing the general configuration of an article inspection device, FIG. 5 is an overall configuration diagram showing a conventional example, FIG. 6 is a detailed configuration diagram showing a part thereof, and FIG. 7 explains the operation of FIG. 5. This is a time chart for Description of symbols 1...Lens, 2...Image sensor, 3...Scanning circuit, 4...Binarization circuit, 5...Edge circuit, 6...
Coordinate measurement circuit, 7... Microcomputer (data processing device) 8... Output circuit, 9 (9A to 9N, 9A1
~9AN)...imaging data storage circuit, 10.91...
・Piece counting circuit, 11... Image sensor, 12...
- Inspection object, l3... Conveyor, 92... Imaging data storage circuit, 93, 931... Comparison circuit, 94...
・Coordinate division storage circuit, 95...Number division storage circuit, C
P1-CP4...Comparator, R1-R4...Register, G, Gl...Gate. Figure 1 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure J Figure 7

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) The field of view (imaging) region of a one-dimensional imaging device that images the object to be inspected is divided into a plurality of regions, and the first region signal is individually divided based on the imaging signal from this one-dimensional imaging device. In the field-by-field imaging data storage device that divides and stores each changing point coordinate value of the imaging signal as imaging data for each field of view, a second area signal based on the changing point of the imaging signal is provided. A signal generating means is provided to generate a signal, synthesize the first and second area signals to form a new area signal, and generate imaging data within a predetermined range for each field of view based on the new area signal. A visual field-specific imaging data storage device characterized by dividing and storing data. 2) A control code indicating whether the first and second area signals are valid or invalid is stored, and this control code is selected to generate the new area signal.
The field-of-view imaging data storage device described in .