JPH1019534A - Inspection and classification device for spherical parts - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a spherical part inspection and classification device wherein shape judgement is performed quantitatively without selection error. CONSTITUTION: A pearl P in a hopper 32 is supplied to a supply conveyer 36 by a lift conveyer 34. The pearl P on ring belts 64a and 64b of the supply conveyer 36 is, while held in a division jig 40, moved to an inspection position B, and imaged with a CCD camera unit 44. Then, the imaged picture data is analyzed with a picture processing device, for ranking judgement of the pearl P. Then, a distribution chute 56a of a distribution device 56 moves to a position corresponding to a judged rank, with an compressed air jetted from an air nozzle 48, so the pearl P on the division jig 40 is thrown into a recovery duct 50, and through the distribution device 56, recovered in a housing box corresponding to a rank.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for inspecting and classifying spherical parts, for example, an apparatus for inspecting and classifying spherical parts by inspecting the degree of deformation of pearls.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Spherical parts, such as natural pearls, have different economic values depending on their shapes. Must be sorted by rank. Conventionally, methods for inspecting pearls include visual inspection, shoot-type inspection, and the like. FIG.
Fig. 21 shows an instrument used for visually inspecting the shape of a pearl, and Fig. 21 shows a cross section taken along line AA in Fig. 20.

In a visual inspection, an inspection pallet 10
Each of the pearls 14 is put into the plurality of hemispherical recesses 12 formed in the above-mentioned step, and the inspection pallet 10 itself is shaken. Then, the degree of deformation of each pearl 14 is determined by observing the rolling condition of the pearl 14 at that time. FIG. 22 shows an instrument used for a chute-type inspection.

In this inspection tool 16, the pearl 14 is rolled from a slide 20 having an inclined surface 18, and the shape is determined from the rolling state. That is, if it is not a true sphere,
The pearl 14 does not roll straight, but rolls, for example, in a trajectory indicated by an arrow in FIG. Therefore, slide 2
The shape determination is performed by checking which classification box 22 has been entered among the classification boxes 22 provided in front of 0.

[0005]

However, in the visual inspection, the results of the inspection vary depending on the operator performing the inspection, and a quantitative determination cannot be made. Further, in the chute-type inspection, since not all surfaces of the pearl are in contact with the inclined surface 20 or the like and roll, the sorting error is likely to occur. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an inspection and classification device for a spherical part capable of performing a shape determination quantitatively without a sorting error.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the transfer means for transferring the spherical parts one by one, a holding mechanism for holding the spherical parts transferred by the transfer means, and a driving mechanism for the holding mechanism Holding mechanism driving means for moving the spherical component to a predetermined inspection position, imaging means for imaging the spherical component moved to the inspection position by the holding mechanism driving means, and spherical component imaged by the imaging means Determining means for determining the degree of deformation of the spherical component from the image information of the spherical part; and distributing means for distributing the spherical part to storage locations corresponding to the degree of deformation determined by the determining means, provided in the inspection / classification apparatus for a spherical part. Thus, the above-mentioned object is achieved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the inspection and classification apparatus for a spherical part according to the first aspect, the holding mechanism has a substantially cylindrical positioning member having an inner diameter smaller than a diameter of the spherical part, and the positioning member. And a column-shaped suction rod having a suction port formed on the upper end surface and slidably inserted in the suction port, wherein the holding mechanism driving means moves the positioning member and the suction rod in the longitudinal direction thereof. At the same time, the object is achieved by rotating the suction rod about an axis.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus for inspecting and classifying a spherical part according to the first aspect, the determining means includes a maximum moment and a minimum moment of inertia of the spherical part, and a maximum distance and a minimum distance from the center of gravity. The above object is achieved by determining the degree of deformation of the spherical component from the above.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inspection and classification apparatus for spherical parts.
The transfer means transfers the spherical parts one by one, and the holding mechanism holds the spherical parts transferred by the transfer means. Then, the holding mechanism driving unit drives the holding mechanism to move the spherical component to a predetermined inspection position, and the imaging unit captures an image of the spherical component moved to the inspection position. The determination means is
The degree of deformation of the spherical component is determined from image information of the spherical component captured by the imaging unit. Then, the distributing means distributes the spherical parts to storage locations according to the degree of deformation determined by the determining means.

In the inspection and classification apparatus for a spherical part, the positioning member is moved in the longitudinal direction by the holding mechanism driving means to support the spherical part on the end face and position the spherical part with respect to the suction rod. Then, air is sucked through the suction port of the suction rod, and the suction rod is moved by the holding mechanism driving means, whereby the spherical component is suction-held by the suction rod and moved to the inspection position.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the judging means determines the degree of deformation of the spherical component from a maximum moment and a minimum moment of inertia of the spherical component and a maximum distance and a minimum distance from the center of gravity. judge.

[0012]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus for inspecting and classifying spherical parts according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIGS. 1 and 2 show an overview of the inspection and classification device 30 for a spherical part according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is a front view and FIG. 2 is a top view.

The inspection and classification device 30 for spherical parts according to the present embodiment.
Inspects the shape of natural pearls and classifies them according to each grade. A hopper 32 in which pearls are stored, a lift conveyor 34 for unloading the pearls stored in the hopper 32, and an unloading by the lift conveyor 34 And two supply conveyors 36 and 37 (FIG. 2) for transferring the pearls one by one.

The inspection / classification device 30 for spherical parts moves the pearls on the supply conveyors 36, 37 to predetermined inspection positions B, C by driving the rod-shaped dividing jigs 40, 40 shown in FIG. Work separation / separation device 42 and two Cs for imaging pearls moved to inspection positions B and C, respectively.
CD camera units 44 and 45 (see FIG. 2) are provided. In FIG. 1, only the dividing jig 40 provided on the supply conveyor 36 side is shown, and the supply conveyor 37 is provided.
The illustration of the split jig 40 on the side is omitted. FIG.
As shown in the figure, two CCD camera units 44 and 45
An anti-reflection plate 58 is provided at an intermediate position between the two.

In the inspection and classification device 30 for spherical parts according to the present embodiment, the shape of the pearl is inspected by performing predetermined processing described later based on the image information of the pearl captured by the CCD camera units 44 and 45. It has become. The images captured by the CCD camera units 44 and 45 are displayed on a monitor 46.

The spherical component inspection and classification device 30 includes an air nozzle 48 for blowing air to the pearl after imaging, a collection duct 50 into which the pearl blown off by the air nozzle is input, and a pearl input to the recovery duct 50. Distribution device 56 for distributing and storing in respective storage boxes 52, 53, 54
And

As shown in FIG. 1, the supply conveyors 36, 3
A casing 60 is disposed outside and outside of the casing 7 so as to surround the sides and the lower part (not shown in FIG. 2), and the pearls dropped from the supply conveyors 36 and 37 become inclined surfaces. The casing 60 rolls on the bottom surface 60a of the casing 60 and returns to the hopper 32 side. As shown in FIG. 2, an operation panel 61 on which input keys and the like for an operator to perform various operations are arranged beside the hopper 32.
Are arranged.

Next, the inspection and classification device 30 for the spherical parts described above
Will be described in detail. FIG. 3 shows a main part of the inspection and classification device 30 for a spherical part. In this figure, for convenience of explanation, the shape and size of each part are shown slightly different from those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the pearl P is shown larger than other parts. I have. In FIG. 3, the vertical direction is the Z-axis direction, and the X-axis and the Y-axis are set in the horizontal direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of transport plates 34b are mounted on a belt 34a of the lift conveyor 34, and the pearls P in the hopper 32 are transported upward by the transport plates 34b. Has become. The lift conveyor 34 is housed in a conveyor casing 62 as shown in FIG. 1, and pearls P conveyed by the lift conveyor 34 are supplied onto supply conveyors 36 and 37 at an upper portion of the conveyor casing 62. A chute portion 62a is formed.

The supply conveyor 3 is provided in the chute section 62a.
6, 37, and two supply ports 62c, 62d large enough to discharge the pearls P one by one, as shown in FIG.
The pearl P conveyed to the upper end portion of the supply port 4
From d, they roll down one by one onto the supply conveyors 36 and 37, respectively.

In the inspection and classification device 30 for spherical parts of the present embodiment, the pearl P supplied to the supply conveyor 36 side
The same processing (inspection) is performed on the pearl P supplied to the supply conveyor 37, and the configuration of the supply conveyor 36 and the supply conveyor 37 are the same. It will be described as a representative.

The supply conveyor 36 has a circular cross section 2
Two round belts 64a, 64b and these round belts 64
It mainly comprises pulleys 66 and 67 around which a and 64b are wound, and a motor (not shown) for driving the pulleys 66 and 67 to rotate. FIG. 4 shows the positional relationship between the round belts 64a and 64b and the pearl P.

As shown in this figure, the pearl P is supplied onto the round belts 64a and 64b so that the center O of the pearl P coincides with the center position of the round belts 64a and 64b shown by the dashed line in the figure. Has become. Round belt 64a, 6
The pearl P supplied on the 4b is transported by driving the pulleys 66 and 67 by a motor (not shown). The pearl P is transported in the + X direction in FIG.

At the downstream end of the supply conveyor 36,
The dividing jig 40 is provided between the round belt 64a and the round belt 64b. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the dividing jig 40. As shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 0 includes a columnar suction rod 70 and a substantially cylindrical centering cylinder member 72 having a cylindrical hole 72a having the same diameter as the suction rod 70. The diameter of the cylindrical hole 72a is pearl P
Is formed smaller than the diameter of.

The suction rod 70 is slidable and rotatable up and down within the cylindrical hole 72a, and moves to, for example, a position shown by a dashed line in FIG. The vertical movement and the rotational movement of the suction rod 70 are performed by a motor (not shown) of the work separating / separating device 42 shown in FIG. The suction rod 70 has a suction hole 70a having a small diameter on the central axis a. The suction hole 70a is connected to a pump (not shown), and air is sucked through the suction hole 70a. The suction rod 7
The surface of 0 is non-reflective black.

On the other hand, the upper end surface of the centering cylinder member 72 has a taper 72b which is inclined so that the inner diameter side becomes lower. As shown in FIG. 5, a part of the outer peripheral surface is linearly cut out on the upper outer periphery of the centering cylinder member 72, and two notch planes 72c, 72c parallel to each other are formed. I have. These notched planes 7
The width of the centering cylinder member 72 in the normal direction (Y-axis direction) of 2c and 72c is substantially equal to the diameter of the suction rod 70. The dividing jig 40 has a width that can be arranged between the round belts 64a and 64b as shown in FIG. 3 by the notched planes 72c and 72c of the centering tubular member 72.

The centering cylinder member 72 is moved up and down integrally with the suction rod 70 by a driving device (not shown) provided in the work separating / separating device 42. The split jig 40 is moved by the above-described movement of the suction rod 70 and the centering tubular member 72 to form the round belts 36a and 36b.
The upper pearl P is moved to the inspection position B shown in FIG.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C show the operation of the dividing jig 40 for moving the pearl P to the inspection position B. In this figure, the illustration of the round belt 64b is omitted, and the dividing jig 40 is shown in cross section. As shown in FIG. 6A, a stopper member 76 is provided on the pearl P transfer path at the downstream end of the supply conveyor 36, and the transferred pearl P is attached to the stopper member 76. The contact is restricted from moving in the + X direction. The pearl P is formed by the stopper member 7
6 and is positioned in the X-axis direction with respect to the dividing jig 40.

As shown in FIG. 6A, a light emitting element 78a for detecting the presence or absence of a pearl P in contact with the stopper member 76 is provided above and below the round belt 64b (64a).
And the light-receiving sensor 78b are arranged to face each other in the direction indicated by the dashed line. The presence or absence of the pearl P is determined by detecting whether or not the light emitted from the light emitting element 78a is received by the light emitting element 78a. In addition, a contact-type switch that switches by contact of the pearl P is provided on the end surface of the stopper member 76.
The presence or absence of the pearl P may be detected by the OFF operation.

The movement of the pearl P to the inspection position B is performed as follows. Usually, the dividing jig 40 is as shown in FIG.
When the pearl P contacts the stopper member 76 as shown in FIG.
When the pearl P is detected by 8a and the light receiving sensor 78b, the pearl P is raised to the position shown in FIG. At this time pearl P
Is lifted by contact with the taper 72b of the centering cylinder member 72, and at the same time, these two taper 7
2b, it is sandwiched in the X-axis direction and is centered on the suction rod 70.

Next, air is sucked from the suction holes 70a of the suction rods 70, and only the suction rods 70 rise while the height of the centering cylinder member 72 remains unchanged. As the suction rod 70 rises, the upper end surface thereof comes into contact with the lowermost surface of the pearl P, and the pearl P is sucked and held by the suction rod 70 by air suction through the suction hole 70a, and the inspection position B shown in FIG. To rise.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pearl P is positioned in front of the CCD camera unit 44 by the above movement by the dividing jig 40. FIG. 7 shows a positional relationship between the pearl P positioned at the inspection position B and the CCD camera unit 44.

The CCD camera unit 44 includes a lens 44
a, a ring-shaped illumination device 44b (see FIG. 3) attached to the outer periphery of the lens 44a, and a CCD camera body 44c. The pearl P positioned at the inspection position B is located on the center line Q of the lens 44a, and the ring-shaped illumination device 44b uniformly illuminates the surface of the pearl P at the inspection position B. I have. The CCD camera body 44c is configured to image the pearl P from a plurality of directions by rotating the suction rod 70 about the axis K.

As shown in FIG. 3, the air nozzle 48 located on the side of the inspection position B ejects the compressed air supplied from a compressor (not shown) in the + X direction, thereby causing the pearl P to enter the collection duct 50. 50a. The input port 50a of the collection duct 50 has a large width in the Y-axis direction, so that not only the supply conveyor 36 side but also the pearl P imaged and inspected similarly on the supply conveyor 37 side is input. ing.

A distribution chute 56a of a distribution device 56 is provided below a discharge port 50b from which the pearl P introduced into the collection duct 50 is discharged. Distribution chute 56a
Is rotated by a chute rotation motor 56b shown in FIG. 1, and takes a position shown by a dotted line in FIG. 3, for example.

As shown in FIG. 2, below the distribution chute 56a, the storage box 5 is connected by a hose (not shown).
Pearl recovery ports 80, 81, 82 connected to 2, 53, 54 (see FIG. 1) are provided. Distribution chute 5
6a moves the pearl P supplied from the collection duct 50 into any of the storage boxes 52, 53, 54 by moving above any of the pearl collection ports 80, 81, 82. I have. The storage boxes 52, 53, 54
Stores pearls P for each grade. For example, the storage box 52 stores the pearl P of the highest grade, that is, the rank 1 with the smallest deformation, the storage box 53 of rank 2 of the second grade, and the storage box 54 of rank 3 of the third grade. The pearl P is stored. The storage box is
As shown by the dashed line in FIG. 1, the number of ranks can be increased according to the number of ranks to be selected.

Next, the control system of the inspection and classification device 30 for spherical parts of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 shows a part of a control system of the inspection and classification device 30 for a spherical part. The inspection and classification device 30 for a spherical part includes a system controller 90 for controlling each of the above-mentioned driving parts.
Although not shown, the system controller 90 includes a CPU (central processing unit) for performing various processes, a RAM (random access memory) as a working memory, and a ROM in which a program for starting up the system and the like are stored.
(Read only memory).

The system controller 90 is connected to the work separating and dividing device 42 (see FIG. 1), and controls the driving of the dividing jig 40. That is, by controlling a driving device (not shown) such as a motor for rotating the suction rod 70 or moving the suction bar 70 up and down, and a driving device (not shown) for moving the centering cylinder member 72 up and down, the dividing jig 40 is controlled. Perform a predetermined operation.

The system controller 90 includes a lift conveyor driving section 92 for driving the lift conveyor 34.
And the supply conveyor driving unit 9 for driving the supply conveyor 36
4 is connected. The system controller 90 controls the lift conveyor drive unit 92 and the supply conveyor drive unit 9
By controlling No. 4, the transport state of the pearl P is controlled.

Further, the system controller 90 sends the pearl P to the downstream end of the supply conveyors 36 and 37 (FIG. 6A).
Work presence / absence detector 9 for detecting whether or not
6, an air nozzle 48 for the supply conveyor 36 and a solenoid valve 98 for an air nozzle for switching off and supply of compressed air ejected from an air nozzle (not shown) on the supply conveyor 37 side, and an operation panel 61 shown in FIG. Have been.

The work presence / absence detector 96 is connected to the supply conveyor 3.
Light-emitting element 78a and light-receiving sensor 78b provided on the sixth side
(See FIG. 6 (A)) and a light emitting element and a light receiving sensor (not shown) similarly provided on the supply conveyor 37 side. 90.

The system controller 90 is connected to the image processing apparatus 100. Image processing device 100
Are connected to the CCD camera units 44 and 45, respectively, and are configured to measure the degree of deformation of the pearl P by analyzing images captured by these. The image processing apparatus 100 compares the measured degree of deformation of the pearl P with a predetermined boundary value stored in a memory (not shown),
The rank of the pearl P is determined. The determination result in the image processing apparatus 100 is transmitted to the system controller 90.
Supplied to

On the other hand, when the operator sets a predetermined mode via the operation panel 61, the system controller 90 performs the teaching operation of the boundary value necessary for the rank determination in addition to the inspection mode for performing the rank determination described above. To execute a boundary value setting mode which is automatically set. That is, as will be described in detail later, the system controller 90 processes the test pearls whose grades are known in advance in the same manner as in the inspection, so that the boundary value serving as a criterion at the time of rank determination is automatically set. It has become.

The system controller 90 is connected to the distribution device 56, and moves the distribution chute 56a according to the rank determined by the image processing device 100. That is, the chute rotation motor 5
6b to control the pearl collection port 80, 81, 82 for storing the pearl P of the determined rank,
The distribution chute 56a is moved.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described. In the present embodiment, the same processing is performed on the side of the supply conveyor 36 and the side of the supply conveyor 37. Therefore, the processing on the side of the supply conveyor 36 will be described below. First, processing in the inspection mode will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 9 shows the flow of the entire operation of the inspection and classification device 30 for spherical parts in the inspection mode. The system controller 90 supplies a predetermined control signal to the lift conveyor driving unit 92 and the supply conveyor driving unit 94 to thereby control the lift conveyor 34 and the supply conveyor 3.
6 and 37 are driven (step 1). As a result, the pearl P is unloaded from the hopper 32 and transported to a position where the pearl P comes into contact with the stopper member 76 on the supply conveyor 36 as shown in FIG.

When the pearl P contacts the stopper member 76 and this is detected by the work presence detector 96 (step 2;
Y), the system controller 90 executes the work positioning process to position the pearl P at the predetermined inspection position B (Step 3). Then, by executing the work imaging process, the pearl P at the inspection position B is imaged (step 4), and the image information obtained is analyzed by the image processing apparatus 100, and the rank determination of the pearl P is performed based on the analysis result. (Step 5).

Next, the system controller 90 discharges the inspected pearls P to the storage boxes 52, 53, 54 corresponding to the determined rank by executing the work classification discharge processing (step 6). Then, the operator or the like operates the operation panel 6.
If the operation stop of the apparatus is not instructed via 1 or the like (step 7; N), the process proceeds to step 2 and the pearl P transferred to the position where it comes into contact with the stopper member 76 is inspected.

In this embodiment, the image processing apparatus 100
And the number of distribution chutes 56a is one, so that steps 4 to
The process of step 6 is alternately performed on the supply conveyor 36 side and the supply conveyor 37 side under the control of the system controller 90. Next, each subroutine in the main routine shown in FIG. 9 will be described.

FIG. 10 shows the flow of the work positioning process in the main routine of FIG. First,
The system controller 90 controls the work separation / separation device 42
By controlling a driving device (not shown), the dividing jig 40
The whole is moved from the position shown in FIG. 6A to the position shown in FIG. 6B (step 8). Then, an electromagnetic valve (not shown) disposed between the suction hole 70a of the suction rod 70 and a pump (not shown) for performing air suction is opened to start air suction from the suction hole 70a (step). 9).
Next, the system controller 90 moves only the suction bar 70 to the height shown in FIG. 6C by the work separating / splitting device 42 (step 10), and returns to the main routine of FIG.

FIG. 11 shows the flow of the work imaging process in the main routine of FIG. Split jig 4
0, the pearl P is positioned at the inspection position B, and the system controller 90 sends the pearl P to the image processing apparatus 100.
And the CCD camera unit 44 images the pearl P (step 11). The image processing apparatus 100 stores the captured image data in a memory (not shown) (step 12).

FIG. 12 shows an example of an image picked up by the CCD camera unit 44 at this time.
(A) is an image of a pearl P having a low degree of deformation,
(B) shows an image when a pearl P having a large degree of deformation is imaged. The image captured by the CCD camera unit 44 is stored in a memory (not shown) as binarized image data as shown in FIG. 12 in the image processing apparatus 100 based on the contrast between the pearl P and the anti-reflection plate 58 behind the pearl P. Is stored.

Next, the system controller 90 causes the work separation / separation device 42 to move the suction rod 70 to, for example, 4
Rotate 5 ° (step 13). Thereby, the pearl P
The other surface can be imaged from the CCD camera unit 44. And the number of times of imaging for one pearl P is a predetermined number of times,
For example, it is determined whether it is the third time (step 1).
4) If it is not the predetermined number of times (Step 14; N), the process goes to Step 11 to image the pearl P whose angle is changed. For example, the pearl P is imaged from directions rotated by 0 °, 45 °, and 90 °, and the image processing apparatus 100 stores image data of each angle in a memory (not shown). Note that the imaging may be performed four times every 30 ° or 10 or more times every 10 ° as necessary.

When the image is taken a predetermined number of times (Step 14; Y),
The system controller 90 returns to the main routine of FIG. FIG. 13 shows the flow of the rank determination process in the main routine of FIG.

First, the image processing apparatus 100 measures the degree of deformation of the pearl P by analyzing the captured image data of the pearl P. That is, image data binarized and stored in a memory (not shown) is read (step 15), and the area centroid G is obtained from the image data (step 16).

Then, based on the captured image data, the center of gravity G
The maximum and minimum moments of inertia Jmax and the minimum moment of inertia Jmin are defined as the maximum and minimum moments of inertia when an arbitrary axis U passing through the axis of rotation is defined as a pearl P by a thin disk-shaped rigid body having a uniform thickness. Assumed and determined respectively.

FIG. 14 shows the maximum and minimum moments of inertia J.
This figure shows the positional relationship of each point in the image of the pearl P when max and Jmin are obtained. As shown in this figure, the moment of inertia J represents the mass of each minute portion on the pearl P and the distance to the axis U as m ₁ , r ₁ , m ₂ , and r, respectively.
_2, ... m _i, if you r _i, ... and, for example, J = .SIGMA.m _i
It is calculated by r _i ² .

Since the shape of a pearl having a large degree of deformation can be said to be substantially circular, the maximum moment of inertia Jmax and the minimum moment of inertia Jmin may be approximately determined by the following method. That is, as shown in FIG. 15, the image processing apparatus 100 first obtains a point on the pearl P farthest from the center of gravity G obtained in step 16 (hereinafter, referred to as “far point F”). Then, the X-axis is taken on a straight line passing through the far point F and the center of gravity G, and the Y-axis is taken on a straight line passing through the center of gravity G perpendicular to the X-axis. Moment Jmi
As n, the moment of inertia when the Y axis is the rotation axis is calculated as the maximum moment of inertia Jmax.

When the maximum and minimum moments of inertia Jmax and Jmin are calculated by the above method, the image processing apparatus 100 calculates the ratio Jmax / Jmin and stores it in a memory (not shown) (step 17). Subsequently, the image processing apparatus 100 obtains a distance Lmax from the center of gravity G to the far point F and a distance Lmin from the center of gravity G to the closest point (hereinafter, referred to as “near point N”) (see FIG. 15). The difference (Lmax-Lmin) is calculated (step 18) and stored in a memory (not shown).

In the workpiece imaging process described above, since the pearl P is rotated and imaged a plurality of times, image data for each angle is stored in a memory (not shown) of the image processing apparatus 100. Therefore, the image processing apparatus 100 determines whether or not the above calculation processing (steps 16 to 18) has been performed for all the image data at each angle (step 19).

If the calculation process for the number of times of imaging has not been performed (step 19; N), the process proceeds to step 15 and the calculation process is performed for image data of another angle.
When the calculation process for the number of times of imaging is completed (step 1
9; Y), the average value of the calculated moment ratio Jmax / Jmin and the difference between the distances (Lmax-Lmin) is determined (step 20). For example, 0 °, 45 °, 90 °, etc.
When the pearl P is imaged from three directions, the difference between the average value of the moment ratios Jmax / Jmin for three times and the distance (Lma
x−Lmin).

Then, it is determined whether each calculated average value is equal to or less than a first boundary value stored in a memory (not shown) of the image processing apparatus 100 (step 21). However, since the calculated average value is two of the average value of the moment ratio Jmax / Jmin and the average value of the difference between the distances (Lmax-Lmin), the first boundary value is equal to the first boundary value for the moment ratio. And the first boundary value for difference. Therefore, the image processing apparatus 100 determines that the average value of the moment ratio Jmax / Jmin is equal to or smaller than the first boundary value for the moment ratio and the distance difference (Lma
It is determined whether or not the average value of (x−Lmin) is equal to or less than the first distance difference boundary value.

When the value is equal to or less than the first boundary value (step 2
1; Y), the image processing apparatus 100 determines that the captured pearl P is ranked 1 (step 22). Meanwhile, the first
If it is determined that it is larger than the boundary value (step 21;
N), it is determined whether each average value is equal to or less than a second boundary value (step 23).

When each average value is equal to or smaller than the second boundary value (step 23; Y), it is determined that the rank is 2 (step 24). When it is larger than the second boundary value (step 23; N). , Rank 3 (step 25). When the rank determination of the imaged pearl P is completed, the image processing device 1
00 supplies the determination result to the system controller 90 and returns to the main routine.

FIG. 16 shows the flow of the work classification discharge process in the main routine of FIG. When the rank determination of the pearl P is completed in the image processing device 100, the system controller 90 controls the chute rotation motor 56b to move the distribution chute 56a to a position corresponding to the determined rank (step 26). Then, the work separation / separation device 42 is instructed to stop the suction of the air from the suction rod 70 in the split jig 40, and the air suction of the pearl P is stopped (step 27). At the same time,
The system controller 90 includes a solenoid valve 98 for an air nozzle.
Is opened, and compressed air is ejected from the air nozzle 48 (step 28). The ejected air causes the suction rod 70
The upper pearl P is blown into the collection duct 50 through the input port 50a, and is distributed from the discharge port 50b to the distribution chute 56a.
For example, if the pearl P of rank 1 is in the storage box 52, the pearl P of rank 2 is in the storage box 53,
If the pearl P is rank 3, it is put into the storage box 54.

Then, the dividing jig 40 is returned to the position (original position) shown in FIG. 6A by the work separating and dividing device 42 (step 29), and the process returns to the main routine. The inspection and classification device 30 for spherical parts according to the present embodiment is configured to automatically set the first and second boundary values in the rank determination process in FIG. 13 by teaching, for example.

Next, the processing in the boundary value setting mode will be described. FIG. 17 shows a flow of a process for automatically setting a boundary value. First, for example, a worker stores pearls of which the grade is previously determined by a conventional visual inspection or the like (see FIG. 20) in the hopper 32 as test pearls, and sets a rank to be set according to the grade. Input to the operation panel 61.

When the rank is input to the operation panel 61 (Step 30; Y), the system controller 90 drives the lift conveyor 34 and the supply conveyors 36 and 37 (Step 31), and the pearl stored in the hopper 32 is operated. P
The inspection process for is started.

That is, similarly to the processing shown in FIG. 9, when the pearl in the hopper 32 is transported to the position shown in FIG. 6 (Step 32; Y), the processing shown in Steps 8 to 10 in FIG. A similar work positioning process is performed (step 33). Then, a work imaging process is performed in the same manner as the processes shown in steps 11 to 14 of FIG. 11 (step 34),
Further, a process for measuring the degree of deformation of the pearl from the captured image data is performed (step 35). In this deformation degree measurement processing, for example, the same processing as in steps 15 to 20 in FIG. 13 is performed to calculate the average value of the moment ratio Jmax / Jmin and the distance difference (Lmax-Lmin).

The system controller 90 stores the calculated degree of deformation as data of the degree of deformation of the rank input in step 30 in a memory (not shown). Next, the system controller 90 moves the distribution chute 56a to a position corresponding to the rank input in step 30,
The processing shown in steps 27 to 29 in FIG. 16 is performed (step 36), and the imaged pearl is stored in the storage box 5 corresponding to the rank.
2, 53, 54.

Unless the pearl stored in the hopper 32 runs out or there is no stop instruction such as an instruction to stop the processing (Step 37; N), the processing of Steps 32 to 37 is repeated. The pearls in the hopper 32 are inspected one after another. When the stop of the process is instructed (Step 37; Y), the system controller 90 monitors whether or not another rank is input to the operation panel 61 (Step 38). Then, the operator supplies the pearl of another grade that has been found in advance to the hopper 32, and inputs the rank to be set next to the operation panel 61 (step 38;
Y) The system controller 90 proceeds to step 30 and similarly performs the processing of steps 30 to 38 on the pearls of different grades newly stored in the hopper 32.

If the processing is performed on the pearls of several ranks and the rank is not input in step 38 (step 38; N), the pearl deformation degree for each rank obtained in step 35 , The system controller 90 sets the boundary value of each rank (step 3
9).

FIG. 18 shows an example of the difference between the moment ratio Jmax / Jmin and the distance (Lmax-Lmin) obtained when a pearl having a grade of 1 to 5 is inspected. In addition,
The distance difference (Lmax-Lmin) is indicated by the number of pixels. In the example shown in this figure, the pearls of grades 1 to 5 are sequentially inspected, and in step 30, the pearl of the highest grade is ranked 1 by the operator, and the pearl of the second grade is ranked 2 by the worker. Data is shown when pearls of the third and subsequent grades are entered as rank 3.

That is, when the operator supplies a pearl of grade 1 to the hopper 32 and inputs rank 1 to the operation panel 61, the system controller 90 proceeds to step 3
The difference between the moment ratio Jmax / Jmin and the distance (Lmax-Lmin) (indicated by ● in the figure) obtained in the process of No. 5 is stored in a memory (not shown) as the data of the degree of deformation of rank 1.

Then, when the worker stores the pearl of grade 2 in the hopper 32 and inputs the rank 2 to the operation panel 61, the system controller 90 sets the moment ratio Jmax / of the pearl of grade 2 indicated by a circle in the figure. Jmin and the difference between the distances (Lmax-Lmin) are stored in a memory (not shown) as rank 2 deformation degree data.

Subsequently, when the worker stores pearls of grade 3 or more in the hopper 32 and inputs rank 3, the system controller 90 causes the moment ratio Jmax of pearls of grades indicated by ×, ▲, and Δ in the figure. / Jmin and distance difference (Lma
x−Lmin) is stored as rank 3 deformation degree data.

The system controller 90 determines in step 3
9, from the data of the degree of deformation for each rank,
A first boundary value and a second boundary value are set. That is, FIG.
In the example, the moment ratio 1.04 is changed to the first moment ratio.
A boundary value is set, and five pixels of the distance difference are set as a first boundary value for the distance difference. Also, the moment ratio 1.10 is changed to the moment ratio second moment.
The boundary value is automatically set as the distance difference 7 pixel as the distance difference second boundary value.

As described above, the spherical component inspection and classification device 30 of this embodiment can arbitrarily set the boundary value of the rank to be selected. Can be. In addition, since the boundary value is automatically set by teaching, the operator can set the boundary value by a simple operation.

Further, in this embodiment, the centering tubular member 72 of the dividing jig 40 is formed with a tapered portion 72b which is lower at the center as shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), the pearl P can be reliably positioned with respect to the suction rod 70. Therefore, the diameter of the suction hole 70a of the suction rod 70 can be reduced, and the shape of the pearl P can be accurately imaged without the pearl P fitting into the suction hole 70a.

That is, as shown in FIG. 19A, the pearl P is accurately positioned on the suction hole 70a of the suction rod 70 by the taper 72b of the centering cylinder member 72. The pearl P can be sufficiently sucked by the suction hole 70a having a very small diameter without providing the suction hole 70a 'having a large diameter like the suction rod 70' shown. Therefore, as shown by the hatched portion S in FIG. 19B, the pearl P does not fit into the suction hole 70a ', and the pearl P
Can be imaged by the CCD camera units 44 and 45.

In the above embodiment, the images picked up by the CCD camera units 44 and 45 are
Since the shape of the pearl P is inspected by analyzing
The shape of the pearl can be quantitatively determined, and sorting errors can be prevented. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the round belts 64a and 64b, the dividing jig 40, and the like are structured as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, so that the pearl P is securely moved to the inspection position B without restricting the outer shape. Can be transported. That is, the pearl P is not caught on something during the transportation due to the irregular shape, the degree of deformation, or the difference in size. Therefore, the cause of the equipment stop is minimized,
High reliability and long-term continuous operation.

The centering cylinder member 72 of the dividing jig 40 has a flat surface 72c, 72c formed by notching the outer peripheral surface at the upper part thereof, but is a cylindrical centering cylinder member having no notch. You may. However, in this case, by reducing the diameter of the entire dividing jig 40, the dividing jig 40 is formed to have a width that can be arranged between the round belts 64a, 64b and the like. In this case, the suction rod 70 and the centering cylinder member 72 may be integrally rotated when the pearl P is imaged.

Further, the centering cylinder member 72 may be a two-part member having flat surfaces 72c, 72c formed over the entire length, and the upper end surface may not be tapered 72b. In the above embodiment, two rows of supply conveyors 36 and 37 are provided, but pearls may be transferred by only one row of conveyors, or three or more pearls by three or more rows of supply conveyors. May be inspected at the same time.

The collection duct 50 and the image processing device 10
0 is one, but two may be provided corresponding to the processing on the supply conveyor 36 side and the supply conveyor 37 side. In the above embodiment, the pearl P is stopped at a predetermined angular position at the time of imaging (step 11) in the workpiece imaging process of FIG. 11, but the pearl P may be imaged without stopping the rotation.

For example, a still image of the pearl P from a plurality of angles may be obtained by flashing the illuminating device 44b at predetermined intervals while continuously rotating the pearl P. Further, the CCD camera units 44 and 45
Pearl P rotating by shutter operation at
May be obtained at every predetermined angle. In this case, a trigger signal is supplied from the system controller 90 or the like to the CCD camera units 44 and 45 at a predetermined timing in accordance with the rotation angle of the pearl P, and the shutter is released in accordance with the trigger signal, so that each predetermined angle is provided. Try to get an image. Alternatively, the CCD camera unit 44,
The image may be continuously captured by a shutter operation according to an internal trigger in 45.

As described above, by imaging the pearl P while rotating it without stopping, the imaging time can be reduced. In the above embodiment, the moment ratio Jmax
Although the shape of the pearl P is determined by comparing the average value of / Jmin and the average value of the difference between the distances (Lmax-Lmin) with a predetermined boundary value, other methods may be used.

For example, the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the moment ratio Jmax / Jmin for a predetermined number of times (for example, three times) is calculated, and the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the distance difference (Lmax-Lmin) is similarly calculated. The difference may be calculated, and the rank may be determined by comparing each calculated value with a predetermined boundary value.

The moment of inertia J for the number of times of imaging is
The average value of max and the average value of the moment of inertia Jmin are calculated to determine the ratio of the average values. Similarly, the difference between the average value of the distance Lmax and the average value of the distance Lmin for the number of times of imaging is calculated.
The rank may be determined by comparing the calculated average value ratio and the average value difference with predetermined boundary values.

Further, the area of the imaged pearl and the length of the circumference are determined.
Based on this, the rank may be determined. For example, farthest from the center of gravity
To the point (far point F) as a radius
Area compared to actual area obtained from image data
To measure the degree of deformation of the pearl, and from the measured data
Rank determination may be performed. That is, farthest from the center of gravity
The distance to the point is R₁, The distance to the closest point is R_TwoWhen
And then R_Two× 2 = d, the expression S₁= Πd^Two/ 4
Area S₁Is calculated. And binarized image data
From the actual total area S_TwoAnd extract S_Two/ S₁,Ah
Or S _Two-S₁Is calculated. When pearl P is not a perfect circle
Has S_Two/ S₁Is greater than 1 or S_Two−
S₁Is greater than 0, so rank based on these values
Make a decision.

Similarly, the rank may be determined by determining the degree of deformation of the pearl by obtaining the length of the circumference using R ₂ as the radius and comparing it with the actual circumference obtained from the image. . That is, R ₂ × 2 = d, and the circumferential length L ₁ is calculated from the equation L ₁ = πd. Then, the actual circumference length L ₂ is extracted from the binarized image data, and L ₂ / L ₁ ,
Alternatively, the degree of deformation is calculated by calculating L ₂ −L ₁ . In the above embodiment, the inspection / classification device 30 for spherical parts inspects pearls, but may inspect other spherical parts other than pearls.

[0091]

According to the apparatus for inspecting and classifying spherical parts of the present invention, the shape can be quantitatively determined without selecting errors.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an overview of a device for inspecting and classifying spherical parts according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same device.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a main part of the apparatus.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between a round belt and a pearl in the apparatus.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing a dividing jig in the apparatus.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation of the dividing jig.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between a pearl at an inspection position and a CCD camera unit.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a part of a control system of the inspection and classification device for spherical parts.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a flow of an overall operation of the apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of a work positioning process.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a work imaging process.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a pearl image captured by a CCD camera unit.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a rank determination process.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between points in a captured image.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between points in a captured image.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a flow of a work classification discharge process.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a boundary value setting process.

FIG. 18 shows the difference between the pearl moment ratio Jmax / Jmin measured in the boundary value setting process and the distance (Lmax−Lmin).
FIG.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between a suction rod and a pearl.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing a conventional inspection instrument.

FIG. 21 is a view showing a cross section taken along line AA in FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing another conventional inspection instrument.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 30 Inspection / sorting device for spherical parts 32 Hopper 34 Lift conveyor 36, 37 Supply conveyor 40 Division jig 42 Work separation / division device 44, 45 CCD camera unit 48 Air nozzle 50 Collection duct 56 Distribution device 58 Non-reflective plate 60 Casing 62 Conveyor casing 64a , 64b Round belt 66, 67 Pulley 70 Suction rod 70a Suction hole 72 Centering cylinder member 72a Cylindrical hole 72b Taper 72c Flat surface 76 Stopper member 90 System controller 92 Lift conveyor drive unit 94 Supply conveyor drive unit 96 Work presence detector 98 For air nozzle Solenoid valve 100 Image processing device

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kazunori Ishii 4-3-1 Yashiki, Narashino-shi, Chiba Seiko Seiki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasuo Sunagawa 4-3-1 Yashiki, Narashino-shi, Chiba Say Inside of Ko Seiki Co., Ltd. (72) Mitsuo Yoshikawa 4-3-1 Yashiki, Narashino-shi, Chiba Seiko Seiki Co., Ltd. (72) Atsuko Yamada 4-3-1 Yashiki, Narashino-shi, Chiba Seiko Seiki Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A transfer means for transferring spherical parts one by one, a holding mechanism for holding the spherical parts transferred by the transfer means, and a driving mechanism for moving the spherical parts to a predetermined inspection position. Holding mechanism driving means, imaging means for imaging the spherical part moved to the inspection position by the holding mechanism driving means, and determining the degree of deformation of the spherical part from image information of the spherical part imaged by the imaging means And a distributing means for distributing the spherical parts to storage locations according to the degree of deformation determined by the determining means. The holding mechanism has a substantially cylindrical positioning member having an inner diameter smaller than the diameter of the spherical component, and a suction port which is slidably inserted into the positioning member and through which air is sucked is provided on an upper end surface. The holding mechanism driving means moves the positioning member and the suction rod in the longitudinal direction, respectively, and rotates the suction rod around an axis. Item 2. An inspection and classification device for spherical parts according to Item 1. 3. The spherical component according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit determines a degree of deformation of the spherical component from a maximum moment and a minimum moment of inertia of the spherical component, and a maximum distance and a minimum distance from a center of gravity. Inspection and classification device for the described spherical parts.