JPH11335961A - Fuzz inspecting device for yarn package - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuzz detecting device for a yarn package capable of stably detecting the fuzz without erroneously detecting a product part other than the fuzz as the fuzz and detecting the fuzz at a high speed without requiring a complicated image processing. SOLUTION: This fuzz detecting device for a yarn package 1 comprises a driving means 3 for rotating the yarn package 1 around the shaft as the center, a light irradiating means for irradiating a position having a gap of the fuzz length or below from an end face of the yarn package 1 during rotation by the driving means 3 with spotlike inspecting light having high directivity parallel to the end face, a detector for detecting reflected light and/or scattered light of the inspecting light due to the fuzz on the end face and a fuzz detecting means for detecting the fuzz based on a signal detected by the detector in the fuzz inspecting device capable of inspecting the fuzz produced in the end face of the cheese-shaped yarn package 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically inspecting the end face of a cheese-shaped yarn package by using optical means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, in the process of producing long synthetic fibers (synthetic fiber), the synthetic fiber is wound by a winder and sent to a post-process as a yarn package. Thereafter, the yarn package is put into a processing machine, a loom, or the like, and formed into a woven or knitted fabric.

[0003] By the way, a synthetic fiber forms a single thread by an aggregate of a large number of single yarns having a thickness of several µm, and a single yarn is cut by receiving some stress in a yarn making process or a transporting process. There is. Such a state in which the single yarn is cut is called fluff. When this fluff occurs, the processability of the yarn package and the unwinding property are impaired,
In order to reduce the productivity of the post-process, a sorting process is provided after the yarn-making process, and the yarn package in which fluff is generated is selected, and only non-fuzzy non-defective yarn packages are paid out. I have.

Conventionally, the fluff is selected mainly by a manual visual check. However, this visual inspection has the following problems. That is, the fluff itself has a diameter of several μm,
Because it is a minute thing with a length of several mm, it can not be discovered unless it is a skilled worker, and there is no margin for inspection time from the point of productivity improvement, and it is a monotonous repetitive work, For workers, this is an extremely fatigued task. Also, even for skilled workers, individual differences, physical condition,
Depending on the degree of fatigue, the result of selection may vary, and the fluff-generated product may be erroneously sent to the subsequent process.

As described above, since the visual inspection of the fluff of the yarn package is a strict work, the automation of the fluff inspection is used as a means of reducing the burden on the operator, unifying the inspection level, and improving the production efficiency. Technologies have already been proposed, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 5-124772 and 7-13.
An inspection apparatus disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 4105 is known.

[0006]

Problems to be Solved by the Invention
The inspection apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2 has the following configuration. Irradiate linear light toward the end of the yarn package,
While the yarn package is being rotated by the rotating device, the irradiated portion is imaged by the imaging camera, and the obtained image data is subjected to binarization processing and feature extraction processing. Thereafter, a substantially parallel reference line is set at an appropriate distance from the image of the illuminating unit, and a perpendicular line is drawn from the reference line to determine the distance from the first point where "0" changes to "1". The distance between two adjacent locations is compared, and if the difference exceeds a predetermined amount, it is determined that the hair is fluff. However, in this configuration, the fluff is minute as described above, and it is necessary to perform an enormous comparison operation and a judgment process in proportion to the resolution for each screen. When irradiating, the protruding layer on the end face generated by relaxation of the centrifugal force applied to the yarn package generated in the winding step, although protruding height from the end face is low, it reflects light more easily than fuzz. In some cases, it is erroneously detected as fluff.

The inspection apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-134105 also has a projection-like structure other than the fluff, similar to that disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-124772, in order to irradiate the end face of the yarn package with a light source. Layer may be erroneously detected. Therefore, the setting of the threshold value of the binarization process is also delicate,
Adjustment was extremely difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned situation, and it is intended to stably detect fluff without erroneously detecting a product portion other than fluff, and to perform high-speed processing without requiring complicated image processing. An object of the present invention is to provide a yarn package fluff detecting device capable of detecting fluff.

[0009]

The above object is achieved by the present invention described below. That is, the present invention relates to a fluff inspection device for a yarn package for inspecting fluff generated on an end face of a cheese-shaped yarn package, wherein a driving unit for rotating the yarn package around an axis, and a yarn rotating by the driving unit. Light irradiating means for irradiating a spot-like inspection light having high directivity parallel to the end face at a position having a gap equal to or less than the fluff length from the end face of the package, and reflected light and / or scattered light of the test light by the fluff on the end face And a fluff detecting means for detecting fluff based on a detection signal of the detector.

In the present invention, the gap between the end face of the yarn package and the inspection light is preferably 1 to 5 mm from the viewpoints of detection sensitivity, stability and reliability. In addition, in order to perform the detection more stably, it is preferable to include a positioning means for positioning the position of the inspection light at a position having the gap from the end face based on the end face shape data of the yarn package. Further, a configuration including an end face shape measuring means for measuring the end face shape is preferable.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of an end face shape measuring unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of the fluff detecting unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view illustrating the relationship between the cheese end surface and the laser irradiation position in the example. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a laser irradiation position as viewed from the front of the cheese end face in the example.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a yarn package. In this embodiment, the yarn package 1 is rotatably supported by a tray 2 and is conveyed to an inspection position shown in the figure by conveying means such as a belt conveyor (not shown). At the inspection position, and is rotationally driven by the driving means 3 at this inspection position.

The inspection position is provided with an end face shape measuring means shown in FIG. 1 and a fluff measuring means shown in FIG. The end face shape measuring means for measuring the end face shape of the yarn package 1 has the following configuration. That is, the shape measuring light source 1 provided in front of the end face for irradiating slit-shaped light on a radius passing through the center of the end face of the yarn package 1
5 and an end surface imaging means 4 for imaging the end surface of the yarn package 1 illuminated by the shape measuring light source 15 from the side, specifically from above in the figure, and outputting an image signal relating to the side cross section of the end surface.
And an image processing device 5 for end face detection which performs primary processing such as noise removal on the image signal and outputs image data.
And an end face shape detecting means for processing the image data stored in the control means 6 comprising a common computer and detecting a side sectional shape of the end face. In addition, as long as the end face side section can be detected, the end face imaging means 4 is applicable.
In this example, a CCD camera including a commercially available CCD element was used.

The fluff measuring means has the following configuration. That is, reference numerals 7a and 7b in FIG. 2 denote laser light sources for the outer layer portion and the central portion for emitting highly directional spot light forming a thin light beam along the end face irradiating the fluff, and the laser light sources 7a and 7b are yarns. Sliders 9a, 9b provided along the peripheral surface of the package 1 in parallel with the axis of the package 1 are provided via direction changing means 8a, 8b, so that the position and angle of the light beam with respect to the end surface can be set freely. ing. Reference numeral 10 in FIG. 2 denotes a fluff detector for detecting the reflected light and / or scattered light from the fluff, and is provided at a position where the reflected light or / and scattered light from the fluff can be detected, usually at an appropriate position in front of the end face. Then, primary processing such as noise removal is performed on the detection signal by an image processing device 11 for detecting fluff to obtain image data, and this image data is processed by a fluff processing unit stored in the control unit 6 to detect fluff. It has become. The fluff detector 10 is applicable as long as it can detect reflected light and / or scattered light from fluff.
A CCD camera was used in the same manner as the end face imaging means 4.

The control means 6 stores the measured end face shape data and the detection result of fluff, and as described later, the driving means 3, the direction changing means 8a and 8b, and the slider 9
a and 9b are controlled.

Reference numeral 12 in FIG. 2 denotes a charging device of a raising means for raising the fluff attached to the end face by static electricity.
The charging plate 13 of the charging device 12 is provided on a slider 14 disposed in front of the end face in the normal direction so as to face the end face, so that the distance from the end face can be adjusted.
The charging plate 13 is provided on a direction changing means like the laser light sources 7a and 7b so that its direction can be changed, and the direction of the charging plate 13 is set to be parallel to the irradiation direction of the laser light sources 7a and 7b. It is preferable from the viewpoints of fluff detection sensitivity and detection reliability.

The inspection according to this embodiment will be described below. First, the tray 2 is located upstream of the transfer line (not shown).
Is transported to the inspection position.
The positioning is stopped at the inspection position by a stopper not shown.

Next, the side cross-sectional shape of the end surface including the end position of the yarn package 1 is imaged by the end surface imaging means 4. At this time, slit-like light (preferably laser light) is applied to the yarn package 1 to make the binarization process easier.
Irradiation to the radius passing through the center of. The image signal from the end face imaging means 4 is input to an image processing device 5, where it performs known processing such as binarization, noise removal, thinning, and the like, and is transferred to the control means 6 as image data. The end face shape is measured by processing using an approximation method such as the least square method, and stored as end face shape data. The measurement of the end face shape may be performed as a pre-process for the fluff inspection at a position upstream of another fluff inspection position from the fluff inspection position due to the processing time.

Subsequently, the control means 6 controls the positioning of the direction changing means 8a, 8b and the sliders 9a, 9b by the stored light beam positioning means based on the end face shape data as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the position of the light beam Lb of the central portion laser light source 7b is set to be parallel to the end surface 1a of the yarn package 1 and the end surface 1a so that the entire end surface 1a can be scanned by the rotation of the yarn package 1. As shown in FIG. 4, it is positioned at a position slightly in contact with the outer periphery of the bobbin 11. At the same time, the outer layer laser light source 7a
The position of the light beam La is positioned at a position parallel to the inclined surface of the outer peripheral portion of the end face and separated from the surface by a predetermined minute distance, and the projection of the laser light source 7b onto the light beam Lb substantially coincides as shown in FIG. Control. It is to be noted that the distance between the light beams La and Lb and the end face is usually 1 to 5 mm, but is not limited to the required inspection level.

As shown in FIG. 3 in an exaggerated manner, the end face of the actual yarn package 1 is not strictly a plane but a slightly curved inclined surface in the outer layer. Therefore, as described above, the laser light source is divided into the laser light source 7b for the outer layer portion and the laser light source 7a for the inner layer portion of the yarn package 1.
By installing the table, reliable detection over the entire surface becomes possible. In addition,
By employing spot-like light (collimated light) as in this example, the laser beam irradiates the fluff in a state of high energy, so that strong reflected light and scattered light by the fluff can be obtained. Is reflected and scattered at the end face near the surface, and the fluff is optically enlarged. At this time, the fluff is raised in the direction perpendicular to the end face by the raising means, specifically, the charging plate 13. Therefore, the configuration has a high detection sensitivity as a whole. Such a state is imaged by the fluff detector 10 arranged so as to be centered on the laser beams La and Lb at a predetermined distance in front of the end face. The image signal of the output signal is subjected to primary processing of noise processing and binarization processing by the image processing device 11, and the presence or absence of fluff is determined by the fluff processing means of the control means 6. In this example, the fluff processing means detects the fluff in the image data as a bright portion generated by laser light irradiation from the configuration of the above-described detection unit, and thus counts the number of pixels of the bright portion and sets a predetermined threshold value. As a simple determination algorithm for determining a bright portion having the above number of pixels as fluff, it was confirmed that a sufficiently reliable inspection result was obtained by this. Thus, there is an advantage that fluff can be detected with a simple configuration.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, as means for irradiating fluff, a light beam obtained by irradiating a highly directional light such as a laser beam in the form of a spot is made parallel to the end face of the yarn package at a minute distance. By arranging, unlike the conventional method of capturing and detecting the image of fluff by slit light irradiation,
It detects not only the reflection and scattered light of the light whose energy is concentrated at one point by the fluff, and also the reflection and scattered light by the fluff itself, but also the reflection and the scattered light reflected on the end face. An excellent S / N ratio can be achieved, and a remarkable effect that stable detection of fluff is possible is achieved.

Further, by measuring the shape of the end face of the yarn package and thereby setting the distance between the light beam and the end face of the yarn package, it is possible to flexibly cope with any winding shape. The effect that not only the fluff inspection but also the winding shape inspection can be performed at the same time is obtained. As described above, the present invention greatly contributes to the improvement of the productivity by relieving the operator from the burdensome work in the sorting process, stabilizing the fluff inspection level, and further, by operating 24 hours by automation. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of an end surface shape measuring unit according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a fluff detecting unit according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the arrangement of laser beams as viewed from the outer layer surface of the yarn package of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the arrangement of laser beams as viewed from the front of the end surface of the yarn package of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Yarn package 2 Tray 3 Driving means 4 End face imaging means 5, 11 Image processing device 6 Control means 7a, 7b Laser light source 8a, 8b Direction changing means 9a, 9b Slider 10 Fuzz detector 13 Charging plate 15 Light source for shape measurement

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A fluff inspection device for a yarn package for inspecting fluff generated on an end face of a cheese-shaped yarn package, a driving unit for rotating the yarn package around an axis, and a yarn being rotated by the driving unit. A light irradiating means for irradiating a spot-like inspection light having a high directivity parallel to the end face to a position having a gap equal to or less than the fluff length to the end face of the package; and reflecting light and / or scattered light of the test light by the fluff on the end face A fuzz inspection apparatus for a yarn package, comprising: a detector for detecting; and a fuzz detecting means for detecting fuzz based on a detection signal of the detector. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gap is 1 to 5 mm. 3. The fluff inspection of a yarn package according to claim 1, further comprising positioning means for positioning the position of the inspection light at a position having the gap from the end surface based on the end surface shape data of the yarn package. apparatus. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an end face shape measuring means for measuring the end face shape. 5. An image processing apparatus in which the detector is an imaging camera, and the fluff detecting means binarizes an image signal from the imaging camera, and a setting value of a bright portion of the binarized image signal which is equal to or more than a set value. 4. A fluff inspection device for a yarn package according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a fluff judging means for fluffing a bright portion of the number of pixels.