JPH11337499A - Product inspecting method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize continuous automatic inspection due to image processing in low cost with high accuracy by constituting an inspection stage by using a glass turntable in order to perform the continuous and automatic inspection of a part or the like. SOLUTION: Works 6 are placed on a turntable 5 constituted of a light permeable material at least partially at a predetermined interval and the position of them of the radius and advance direction of the works 6 placed on the turntable is set according to preliminarily prescribed inspection timing and the contour of each work is inspected by the light source 12 and image inspection device 4 arranged across the turntable to extract an inferior work.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for inspecting a product, which are particularly suitable for automating a quality inspection process for parts and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when continuously inspecting a large number of small and thin parts such as rubber seals used for bearing parts by applying image processing or laser technology, it is not necessary to position the parts one by one. Can not be raised.

Conventionally, individual handling is performed by chucking each one individually, so that the processing tact becomes a bottleneck, and when a defective product is mixed, it causes a trouble, resulting in a high cost. It had the disadvantage of being forced. In addition, since it has to be transported by a conveyor, it is difficult to perform a transmitted light inspection by image processing, and it is difficult to perform positioning because of a work shake, so that an accurate inspection cannot be performed as a result.

[0004]

As described above, when continuously inspecting a large number of small and thin parts such as rubber seals, it is necessary to chuck one by one and handle individually. Inspection efficiency is low,
In addition, because of low reliability, limited to the above-mentioned rubber seal, give up automatic inspection by image processing and laser technology,
At present, manual visual inspection has been performed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and realizes continuous automatic inspection by image processing by forming an inspection stage using a glass turntable in order to perform continuous automatic inspection of parts and the like. It is another object of the present invention to provide a product inspection method and apparatus that can realize high-precision inspection at low cost.

[0006]

According to a product inspection method of the present invention, a work is placed at a predetermined interval on a turntable at least partially formed of a light transmitting material, and the work is turned according to a predetermined inspection timing. It is characterized in that a work placed on a table is positioned in a radius and a traveling direction, and a contour inspection of the work is performed by a light source and an image inspection device arranged with a turntable interposed therebetween to extract a defective work.

A product inspection apparatus according to the present invention comprises a work supply unit for sequentially supplying aligned works to a turntable, and a work to be supplied placed at a predetermined interval according to a speed difference between the work supply unit and at least a part of the work supply unit. A turntable portion made of a transparent material, a first positioning portion for positioning all the works mounted on the turntable in the radial direction of the turntable, and generating a work inspection timing and turning the work according to the inspection timing A second positioning portion for positioning the table in the traveling direction, and a light source;
A work discharge unit for extracting a defective work by performing a contour inspection of the work by transmitted light with a device for inspecting a work image disposed at a position opposed to the turntable unit, and discharging the work. The generation of the inspection timing is performed by controlling the tracking of the work by counting the pulses of the encoder triggered by the point at which the passage of the work is detected by a sensor arranged near the turntable, and sandwiching the work in the radial direction of the turntable. The thickness of the work is determined by a laser micrometer disposed in the measurement section based on a variation width of a measured value in a measurement section obtained by tracking.

As a result, continuous automatic inspection by image processing can be realized even for small and thin parts such as a rubber seal, and high-precision product inspection at low cost becomes possible.

[0009]

FIG. 1 is a view showing an embodiment of a product inspection apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a component supply shooter. Thin workpieces 6 such as rubber sheets, which are, for example, bearing components, are arranged in a row in the component supply shooter 1 and are sequentially supplied to the turntable 5 one by one. At least a part of the turntable 5 is made of a light transmitting material such as glass, and a work 6 is placed on this part. In the figure, the hatched portions are made of glass. Or later,
The portion on which the work 6 is placed is referred to as a glass turntable, and the description will be continued. 2 is a timing sensor. The timing sensor 2 is disposed above the turntable 5 and serves as a trigger for detecting passage of the work 6 and controlling tracking of the work.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a laser micrometer. The laser micrometer 3 is arranged in the radial direction with the work placed on the glass material of the turntable 5 interposed therebetween, and the thickness of the work is detected here. 4 is CC for image inspection
D camera. The image inspection CCD camera 4 inspects the outline of the work 6 by a combination with a strobe light 12 arranged at a position facing the glass turntable. Reference numeral 7 denotes a defective product discharge unit. The defective product discharge unit 7 is a portion that is determined to be defective and is discharged when the dimensions and the like differ from a regular product as a result of the contour inspection.
Reference numerals 8 and 9 denote encoders, which perform positioning of the workpiece 6 in the traveling direction, discharge control of defective products, generation of inspection timing, and the like in cooperation with a processing device (not shown). Details will be described later. Reference numeral 10 denotes a motor for driving the turntable 5, and reference numeral 11 denotes a radial positioning portion of the work 6 placed on the glass turntable 5.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are actual machine drawings of the turntable 6, the radial positioning unit 11 and the defective product discharging unit 7 shown in FIG. 1, respectively. It is attached as a supplement to FIG.

Hereinafter, a specific operation of the product inspection method and apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the workpieces are aligned by the component supply shooter 1 and supplied to the glass turntable 5 in a state where the workpieces are aligned in a line. The work is separated at a predetermined interval by the speed difference between the component supply shooter 1 and the glass turntable 5 and is mounted on the glass turntable 5. next,
The workpiece 6 is positioned in the radial direction by the radial direction positioning unit 11.

Tracking of the work 6 is performed by counting the pulses of the encoders 8 and 9 from the timing when the work 6 passes under the timing sensor 2. Tracking is processed by the following two systems of encoders and sequencers depending on the processing contents. One is a low-resolution encoder 8 of, for example, 500 P / R and a Mitsubishi A2
This is a processing system including a set of main sequencers such as A. Here, the result of each determination is read, and discharge control of defective products is performed. The other is, for example, a processing system including a set of a high-resolution encoder 9 of 7200 P / R and a sub-sequencer such as a Keyence KZ300, which creates a laser measurement section and creates an image input timing described later. It is. The latter system constitutes a positioning part in the depth direction, and can make the inspection timing with high accuracy within ± 0.2 mm with respect to the traveling direction. If a plurality of count circuits are provided by the software of the sequencer, simultaneous tracking can be performed by the number of count circuits.

When the work 6 reaches the laser micrometer 3, the thickness measurement of the work 6 by the laser micrometer 3 is continued during a measurement section made by tracking controlled by the system of the high resolution encoder 9.
Even if the turntable 5 is made using FL5A, which is a general commercially available flat glass, if the outer diameter is about Φ500 mm, the vertical swing width of the turntable 5 can be kept within ± 30 μm and the measured value changes within the measurement section. Width (pea
If the thickness of the work 6 is determined by (k to peak), the deflection of the turntable 5 has almost no effect.

A work 6 is placed under the CCD camera 4 for image inspection.
Arrives at the center of the field of view and issues a trigger for image input to an image processing device (not shown). At this time, the image inspection CC
Strobe lighting 1 arranged at a position facing D camera 4
A contour inspection is performed on the glass turntable 6 with the light emitted by the light source 2 through the glass turntable 6. Here, the size comparison with the regular work 6 and the like are performed, and the defective product is controlled by the transfer unit 7 to discharge the defective product, and the remaining non-defective product is swept out to a not-shown non-defective product chute.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention, a workpiece is
At least a part is placed at a predetermined interval on a turntable composed of a light transmitting material, and the radius and the traveling direction of the work placed on the turntable are determined according to a predetermined inspection timing, and the turntable is placed. It is characterized in that the contour inspection of the work is performed by the light source and the image inspection device arranged in between to detect the defective work, and thus even small and thin parts such as a rubber seal can be continuously processed by the image processing. Automatic inspection can be realized, and high-accuracy product inspection can be performed at low cost. In addition, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) Since it is not necessary to hold the work, the work can be stably conveyed, and trouble during conveyance is reduced.

(2) The transmitted light inspection in a completely free state without a support can be continuously performed.

(3) Depending on the friction between the work and the glass turntable, the transfer speed can be easily increased.

(4) A highly accurate timing control can be realized by the tracking circuit.

(5) Coaxial illumination can be used without hindrance to image processing even if some scratches are made.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a design diagram showing details in the vicinity of a glass turntable in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a design diagram showing details of a radial positioning unit and a defective product discharging unit in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Supply sheet, 2 ... Timing sensor, 3 ... Laser micrometer, 4 ... CCD camera for image inspection, 5 ... Turn table, 6 ... Work, 7 ... Defective product discharge part, 8 ... Low resolution encoder (moving direction positioning part) ), 9: high-resolution encoder, 10: motor, 11: radial positioning unit, 12: strobe lighting,

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI // G05B 19/19 G05D 3/10 A G05D 3/10 G06F 15/62 400

Claims (3)

[Claims] A work is placed at a predetermined interval on a turntable at least partially composed of a light transmitting material, and the radius and the traveling direction of the work placed on the turntable according to a predetermined inspection timing. A product inspection method comprising: performing a positioning of a workpiece; and performing a contour inspection of the workpiece with a light source and an image inspection device arranged with a turntable interposed therebetween to extract a defective workpiece. 2. A work supply unit for sequentially supplying the aligned works to the turntable, and at least a part of the work to be supplied is placed at a predetermined interval according to a difference in speed between the work supply unit and the work supply unit. A turntable portion, and a first positioning portion for positioning all the work placed on the turntable in the radial direction of the turntable,
A second step of generating a workpiece inspection timing and positioning the turntable in the traveling direction according to the inspection timing;
A workpiece discharging device that has a positioning unit and a light source, and performs a contour inspection of the workpiece by transmitted light with a device for inspecting a workpiece image disposed at a position opposed to the turntable unit, and extracts and discharges a defective workpiece. A product inspection device comprising: 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the inspection timing is generated by counting pulses of an encoder with a point of time when passage of the work is detected by a sensor disposed near the turntable as a trigger, thereby controlling tracking of the work.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the work is determined by a laser micrometer arranged in a radial direction of the turntable with the work interposed therebetween, based on a variation width of a measured value in a measurement section obtained by tracking. 2
Product inspection device as described.