JPH11311505A - Method and apparatus for detection of very small object - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a method and an apparatus in which very small spheres or the like as objects to be inspected in large quantities can be inspected continuously, by a method wherein the very small spheres are sucked to the holes formed in the outer circumferential face of a rotating cylindrical body, defective objects which are inspected and sorted by an image inspection device are discharged and removed and nondefective objects are collected. SOLUTION: Objects A to be inspected such as very small spheres or the like are fed by a feed feeder 16 in a feed device 6 so as to be sucked to the holes 4 in a rotating cylindrical body 3. Then, the objects (A) to be inspected, which are sucked to the holes 4 are transmission-illuminated by an illumination device inside the rotating cylindrical body 3, an image is processed by an image inspection device 7, the outward- appearance shape, the defect such as the flaw or the like, the circularity and the like of the objects A to be inspected are inspected on the basis of the image, and defective objects and nondefective objects are sorted. Then, the defective objects A' are discharged by a discharge device 9, the remaining nondefective objects A are conveyed further while they are sucked by the rotating cylindrical body 3 and discharged by a collection device 10 so as to be collected, and they are filled into a required container or the like so as to be packaged.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inspection method and an inspection apparatus for inspecting and selecting the appearance shape, defect, roundness and the like of a minute object such as a microsphere.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method for inspecting the appearance shape, defect, roundness, etc. of a minute object such as a large number of minute spheres, mechanical sorting is performed based on a difference in weight, a difference in outer diameter, a difference in rolling speed, and the like. There is a way. In addition, as a highly accurate method, there is a method in which objects are visually inspected one by one using a microscope or the like and selected.

[0003]

However, such a conventional mechanical sorting method does not have sufficient high-precision separation and sorting accuracy, and cannot detect defects such as scratches on the appearance. In addition, a method of visually inspecting and selecting one by one with a microscope as a high-precision method requires time and labor, and is an inspection selection method with low inspection efficiency, and is not suitable for inspection of a large number of microscopic objects such as microspheres. .

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for inspecting a minute object capable of continuously inspecting a large number of objects such as microspheres in order to solve such a conventional problem. Is to do.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a method for inspecting a minute object, comprising the steps of: forming a hole on a peripheral surface of a rotating rotary cylinder; The method is characterized in that a minute object is adsorbed, the inspection object is inspected by an image inspection device to select defective products, the selected defective products are discharged and removed, and non-defective inspection objects are collected.

Further, the inspection method of the present invention is characterized in that the inspection object is transmitted and illuminated by an illumination device and a defective inspection object is selected through image processing by an image inspection device.

Further, the method for inspecting a minute object according to the present invention is characterized in that the defective object to be inspected which has been selected is sucked by a discharge device and discharged and removed.

Further, the inspection apparatus for a minute object according to the present invention has a horizontal fixed support member, a hole rotatably supported around the fixed support member, and a hole for adsorbing the minute object of the object to be inspected on the outer peripheral surface. A rotating cylinder provided in alignment, a supply device provided below the rotating cylinder to supply an object to be inspected, an image inspection device provided on a side of the rotating cylinder, It has a discharge device provided above the cylindrical body for discharging and removing a defective test object, and a collection device for collecting the inspected non-defective test object.

[0009] In the inspection apparatus of the present invention, the rotating cylindrical body may include:
It is characterized in that the outer peripheral surface has a hollow structure made of a transparent or translucent material, and an illumination device is provided inside facing the image inspection device.

[0010] Further, the inspection apparatus for a micro object according to the present invention is characterized in that the holes are arranged in a plurality of rows at equal intervals on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylindrical body.

Furthermore, the inspection apparatus for a minute object according to the present invention is characterized in that the fixed support member is hollow, and various members can be introduced.

According to the method and apparatus for inspecting a minute object such as a microsphere of the present invention, the object to be inspected such as a microsphere is processed in a large amount at a high speed by a rotating cylindrical body and inspected accurately. It is possible to perform high-speed and high-precision sorting processing, and it is also possible to automatically perform continuous sorting processing, and to expect economic effects. It is possible to obtain an inspection method and an inspection apparatus for a small object that can be formed in a simple configuration with few failures.

[0013] Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [Embodiment] FIGS. 1 to 3 of the drawings show an example of an inspection apparatus for carrying out a method for inspecting a minute object such as a microsphere of the present invention. As described above, the inspection apparatus 1 for a minute object such as a microsphere according to the present invention includes a horizontal fixed support member 2, a rotating cylinder 3 rotatably supported around the fixed support member 2, and a rotating cylinder 3 A supply device 6 provided below the object 3 to supply an inspection object A to be inspected; an image inspection device 7 provided on the side of the rotating cylinder 3; 3
And a discharge device 9 provided above the rotary cylinder 3 for discharging and removing a defective test object A '.
And a recovery device 10 provided on the other side of the rotary cylinder 3 for recovering the inspected non-defective product A to be inspected.

In the inspection apparatus 1 for a minute object according to the present invention,
The fixed support member 2 is made of a hollow tubular member such as a pipe, is fixedly supported in the horizontal direction, and can introduce a vacuum suction pipe or a vacuum break pipe connected to an appropriate vacuum source such as a vacuum pump. It is provided so that a lighting power cable and the like for the lighting device 8 can be introduced.

The rotary cylindrical body 3 is formed by molding from a transparent or translucent resin or glass or the like, or is cut out from a suitable transparent or translucent cylindrical material, and a cylindrical wall member 11. A hollow structure is formed from side plates 12 attached to both side surfaces of the cylindrical wall member 11, respectively, and is rotatably supported by the fixed support member 2 by a bearing 5 such as a plane bearing. A belt pulley 13 is provided, and is driven to rotate by an appropriate prime mover such as a motor.

Further, on the outer peripheral surface of the rotary cylindrical body 3, that is, the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical wall member 11, a large number of fine holes 4 are arranged in a plurality of rows at equal intervals in the vertical and horizontal directions over the entire circumference. It is provided through the cylindrical wall member 11. Although the holes 4 are provided in four rows in the illustrated embodiment, they can be arranged in any number of rows as needed, and the distance between the holes 4 can be set to any required value. They can be provided at intervals. The hole 4 is formed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical wall member 11 of the rotating cylindrical body 3, that is, the rotating cylindrical body 3.
The hole 4a can be formed into a trapezoidal cross-sectional shape by counterboring the hole 4a, as shown in FIG. 4, or as shown in FIG. . As described above, when the hole 4a of the hole 4 is formed in a trapezoidal cross-sectional shape, when the minute spherical inspection object A is sucked, the suction is performed with a relatively large suction area for the minute inspection object A. Since it is possible, adsorption is easy and reliable, which is more preferable. Needless to say, the shape and size of the hole 4 and the hole 4a, the distance between the adjacent holes 4, the number of rows of the holes 4, and the like are determined by the size of the sphere as the inspection object A to be inspected and the inspection apparatus 1 Can be determined as appropriate depending on the processing capacity and the like.

The holes 4 penetrate through the cylindrical wall member 11 forming the outer peripheral surface of the rotary cylindrical body 3 having a hollow structure, communicate with the inside, and vacuum suction introduced from the hollow fixed support member 2. It is connected to a vacuum source such as a vacuum pump through a pipe, and enables the object A to be inspected to be vacuum-sucked in the hole 4. Further, a first vacuum break part 14 and a second vacuum break 15
The first vacuum breaker 14 releases the vacuum state and sucks the inspection object A into the hole 4 of the rotating cylindrical body 3. The test object A 'is sucked by the discharge device 9 and discharged and removed.

The supply device 6 comprises a gutter-shaped supply feeder 16 having a groove 17 formed therein, and the test objects A which are put into a hopper (not shown) provided at one end of the supply feeder 16 are sequentially supplied to the supply feeder 16. Is fed to the rotary cylinder 3 along the axis, and is sucked and adsorbed by the hole 4 of the rotary cylinder 3 at the tip end of the supply feeder 16, and is conveyed by the rotating rotary cylinder 3.

The image inspection device 7 is provided on one side of the rotary cylinder 3 and performs image processing on the inspection object A adsorbed in the hole 4 of the rotary cylinder 3 for inspection, for example, by charge coupling. A device (CCD) camera is used, and the inspection object A at the position is sequentially imaged by the CCD camera, which is the image inspection device 7, and is being moved to the discharging device 9 for discharging the next defective inspection object. In addition, the quality of the inspection object A is determined by the image processing performed by the CCD camera to determine whether the inspection object A is good or defective. Further, the image inspection device 7 is C
Of course, other similar devices can be used in addition to a CD camera.

In order to perform image processing by the image inspection device 7, an illuminating device 8 is provided inside the rotary cylinder 3 so as to face the image inspecting device 7, and an appropriate light source is used as the illuminating device 8. Have been. The power supply cable and the like of the lighting device 8 are guided through the hollow fixed support member 2 and connected to an external power supply. Alternatively, the lighting device 8
In order to reduce the size of the illuminating device 8, an external light source is used via the fixed support member 2 using an optical fiber cable.
Can also direct light to

The discharge device 9 is provided above the rotary cylindrical body 3 and is configured to discharge and remove the defective test object A 'which has been subjected to image processing and selected by the image inspection device 7 by vacuum suction. I have. Further, a first vacuum break portion 14 is fixedly provided in the rotary cylindrical body 3 so as to face the discharge device 9. The first vacuum break section 14 is a section defined to break the vacuum action in the rotating cylindrical body 3, that is, to act to release the vacuum action. By performing the discharging operation by suction by the device 9, the defective inspection object A ′ located at the first vacuum break portion 14 is discharged and removed to the outside by the discharging device 9.

Therefore, the defective inspection object A 'which is inspected by the image inspection apparatus 7 and is determined to be defective is obtained by simultaneously operating the discharge device 9 and the first break portion 14 in the discharge device 9. The inspection object A can be discharged and removed as a defective inspection object A 'through the discharge device 9, and the inspection object A can be sorted into a non-defective product and a defective product.

A second vacuum breaker 15 for collecting non-defective test objects A that have passed the inspection is provided by a collecting device 10.
The first vacuum break portion 14
It is fixed and provided in the same manner as described above. The second vacuum break portion 15 is formed as a fixed structure that is substantially closely attached to the inside of the rotary cylindrical body 3, and the vacuum action is released so that the test object A is not subjected to a vacuum. A non-defective inspection object A that has been inspected and sorted is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylindrical body 3 and a collection device 10 such as a collection tray.
And collected, packed in required containers and packed.

According to the inspection method and the inspection apparatus for an object to be inspected such as a minute object such as a microsphere of the present invention, the object A to be inspected such as a microsphere is a hopper (not shown). ) Is supplied below the rotary cylinder 3 by the supply feeder 16 of the supply device 6 and aligned at the tip of the supply feeder 16 so that the holes 4 in the rotary cylinder 3 are aligned.
Is adsorbed. Since the holes 4 are arranged at predetermined intervals on the outer peripheral surface of the rotary cylinder 3, the test object A is
The balls are picked up at equal intervals from the supply feeder 16 without being attached to each other and connected.

Next, the test object A adsorbed in the hole 4 on the outer peripheral surface of the rotary cylinder 3 is transmitted and illuminated by the illumination device 8 provided inside the rotary cylinder 3 to perform image inspection using a CCD camera or the like. The image is imaged by the device 7 and image-processed. The image-processed image is inspected for the external shape, defects such as scratches, roundness and the like, and the inspected object A is determined to be defective and non-defective. Be sorted out.

The test object A, which is classified into a defective product and a good product,
A ′ is a test object A ′ which is a defective sphere by simultaneously operating the discharge device 9 in the first vacuum break unit 14, and includes a certain range of spheres before, after, left and right, including several non-defective products, The discharge device 9 sucks and discharges.
The first vacuum break section 14 is capable of discharging the pressurized air instantaneously within a limited range to perform a predetermined discharge of the defective test object A ', and does not affect the entire vacuum suction. I have to.

The defective test object A 'is discharged by the discharge device 9, and the remaining non-defective test object A is replaced with the rotating cylindrical body 3'.
Is transported to the non-defective product collecting side, and the vacuum action is released in the second vacuum breaker 15 so as not to apply a vacuum to the test object A. The test object A is separated from the rotating cylindrical body 3 and discharged to and collected by a collection device 10 such as a collection tray, and packed into a required container or the like and packaged.

When the supply of the inspection object and the collection of the non-defective products after the sorting are performed from opposite sides, the rotating cylindrical body 3 is rotated in the opposite direction (counterclockwise) to the rotating direction in FIG. The configuration is such that the positions of the image inspection device 7 and the collection device 10 are opposite.

As described above, according to the present invention, the object to be inspected, such as a microsphere, can be processed in a large amount at a high speed by a rotating cylindrical body and inspected with high accuracy. In addition to being able to perform processing, it is possible to automatically and continuously perform sorting processing, which can be expected to have an economical effect. A device can be obtained.

[0031]

According to the method for inspecting a minute object according to the first aspect of the present invention, the minute object of the object to be inspected is sucked by the holes provided on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylindrical body, and the object to be inspected is imaged. Inspection by inspection equipment to select defective products, discharge and removal of the selected defective products, and collection of non-defective products to be inspected. The sorting process can be performed at high speed and with high accuracy.

In the method for inspecting a minute object according to the second aspect of the present invention, the object to be inspected is transmitted and illuminated by an illumination device, and a defective object to be inspected is selected through image processing by an image inspection device. In addition, the test object can be clearly and accurately selected.

Further, according to the method for inspecting a minute object according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the selected defective inspection object is suctioned and discharged by the discharging device, the defective product can be accurately and accurately selected. Can be.

Further, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for inspecting a minute object, comprising: a horizontal fixed support member; a rotatable support member around the fixed support member; A rotating cylinder provided with aligned holes for sucking the sample, a supply device provided below the rotating cylinder to supply an object to be inspected, and an image inspection device provided on a side of the rotating cylinder. Device, a discharge device provided above the rotary cylinder for discharging and removing a defective test object, and a recovery device for recovering the inspected non-defective test object. A large amount of high-speed processing can be performed with a rotating cylinder that rotates the test object, and inspection can be performed with high accuracy.High-speed, high-precision sorting processing can be performed, and continuous automatic sorting processing can be performed. Can expect economic effect, Less sliding parts or the like in the inspection apparatus, it is possible to obtain an inspection apparatus of a fault-free simple structure.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the inspection apparatus for a minute object, the rotary cylinder has a hollow structure whose outer peripheral surface is made of a transparent or translucent material, and faces the image inspection apparatus. Since the illumination device is provided inside, the inspection object can be clearly sorted.

In the inspection apparatus for a minute object according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, since the holes are arranged in a plurality of rows at equal intervals on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylindrical body, the minute object as the object to be inspected is removed. It can be sorted in large quantities.

Further, in the inspection apparatus for minute objects according to the present invention, the fixed support member is hollow and various members can be introduced, so that the vacuum suction pipe and the lighting cable are not obstructed at all. It can be suitably introduced into the rotating cylinder without being performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing an example of an inspection apparatus for performing a method for inspecting a minute object according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the micro object inspection apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a rotating cylinder of the apparatus for inspecting a minute object according to the present invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional partial view showing a part of the rotary cylinder of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inspection device 2 Fixed support member 3 Rotating cylinder 4 Hole 5 Bearing 6 Supply device 7 Image inspection device 8 Illumination device 9 Discharge device 10 Recovery device 11 Circular wall member 12 Side plate 13 Pulley 14 First vacuum break part 15 Second vacuum break Part 16 Supply feeder A Inspection object

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A fine object of an object to be inspected is adsorbed by a hole provided on an outer peripheral surface of a rotating rotary cylinder, and the object to be inspected is inspected by an image inspection apparatus to select defective products. A method for inspecting minute objects, comprising discharging and removing non-defective products and collecting non-defective test objects. 2. The method for inspecting a minute object according to claim 1, wherein the inspection object is transmitted and illuminated by an illumination device, and a defective inspection object is selected through image processing by an image inspection device. 3. The inspection method for a minute object according to claim 1, wherein the selected defective inspection object is suctioned and discharged and removed by a discharging device. 4. A horizontal fixed support member, and a rotary cylinder body rotatably supported around the fixed support member and provided with aligned holes on its outer peripheral surface for adsorbing a minute object of a test object,
A supply device provided below the rotary cylinder to supply an object to be inspected, an image inspection device provided on a side of the rotary cylinder, and a defective device provided above the rotary cylinder. An inspection apparatus for a minute object, comprising: a discharge device that discharges and removes an inspection object; and a collection device that collects an inspected non-defective inspection object. 5. The rotating cylindrical body has a hollow structure whose outer peripheral surface is made of a transparent or translucent material, and a lighting device is provided inside the rotating cylindrical body so as to face the image inspection device. The inspection apparatus for a minute object according to claim 4. 6. The apparatus for inspecting a minute object according to claim 4, wherein the holes are arranged in a plurality of rows at equal intervals on an outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylindrical body. 7. The inspection apparatus for a micro object according to claim 4, wherein the fixed support member is hollow, and various members can be introduced.