JPS6143382A - Method and device for automatic discrimination of tire - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve a discrimination efficiency of tires by setting immediately the reading position and direction of a reading means after a mark position is detected by a position detecting means and therefore decreasing the time during which a reading action is started after the detection is through with the position of a mark train. CONSTITUTION:When a tire 1 is carried by a roller conveyor 2 to a prescribed position of a position detecting station I, a position sensor 8a detects the position of a mark part 10 which is previously magnetized by a beat wire. When the action of an arrival sensor 3 is stopped, a rotary mechanism 8, an up-down shift mechanism 7 and a drive mechanism 6 are reset successively to their original positions. At the same time, the detection signals are delivered to a control means from a tire width sensor 4, an inner diameter sensor and the sensor 8a respectively. Thus the control means controls immediately the drive of a read shift means 17 of a reading station II. Thus an illuminator 15 and a reading means 16 are positioned properly and set in the optimum direction respectively.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an automatic tire discrimination system that obtains information about tie-1 by optically reading characters, symbols, etc. engraved on the sidewall of the tire. METHODS AND APPARATUS THEREOF.

In recent years, the number of types of tires has been increasing due in part to consumer needs. This type of tire identification was performed by an operator by looking at letters, numbers, etc. (hereinafter simply referred to as symbols) provided on the sidewall of the tire, tread patterns, color marks, etc. However, as the number of types of tires increases, there is a risk that the burden on workers and identification errors will increase, and recently methods for automatically identifying tires have been used.

Conventional tire identification methods can be roughly divided into: i) A convex symbol is engraved on the sidewall of the tire, the symbol is irradiated with light, and the symbol is read based on the reflected light. Discrimination method (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
63843, ii) A convex barcode is engraved on the sidewall of the tire, and the barcode is formed with different sizes and lengths, and this barcode is used with a limit switch, etc. /:J There is a method of determining the tire by mechanically reading it or reading it with a laser displacement meter.

However, in i) above, both Tie-1 and the symbol are black and have low contrast, so the reading operation is performed by shading the edges of the symbol using illumination, but the cross-sectional shape of the engraved symbol Since the S is formed in a trapezoidal or rectangular shape, there is a risk that the reading will be insufficient due to minute fluctuations in the tire, and unnecessary shadows formed on the sidewall of the tire may be read as noise. A problem occurs that worsens the /N ratio, and as a result,
This had the disadvantage that the symbol reading equipment was complicated and the cost was high. In addition, in ii) above, as the amount of information increases, the area occupied by the barcode increases, which may impair the aesthetic appearance of the tire and reduce the commercial value of the tire, resulting in a lack of practicality. there were. moreover,
In both i) and ii) above, it takes a long time to read the symbol stamped on the tire, but the cycle time of tire transport is extremely fast at 2 to 3 seconds, so multiple reading devices are installed on the transport line. It has the disadvantage that it requires installation and further increases cost.

The present invention provides an automatic 2111 method and method for tire identification that can improve the processing efficiency of tire identification and sufficiently cope with the cycle time of tire transportation, and that can also reliably read characters, numbers, etc. in symbol strings using a σ reader. The purpose of the invention is to provide such a device, and the method of the invention is characterized by reading information about the tire based on a symbol string consisting of letters, numbers, etc. provided in a concave or convex shape on the sidewall of the tire. A method for determining
a step of detecting the position of a mark section previously provided at a predetermined position having a certain relationship with the symbol string by means of a position detecting means; and a step of reading and moving a means for reading characters, numbers, etc. based on an output signal from the position detecting means. a step of immediately moving and positioning the symbol string at a readable position by means of a reading means; a step of then reading characters, numbers, etc. of the symbol string by a reading means; The automatic tire identification method includes the step of identifying the letters, numbers, etc. of the row by an identification means.The device is characterized by the step of identifying the letters, numbers, etc. in the row by an identification means. A device for reading tire information and identifying tires based on a symbol string consisting of numbers, etc., comprising: a position detection means for detecting the position of a mark section provided in advance at a predetermined position having a certain relationship with the symbol string; , a position detecting moving means for relatively moving the position detecting means and the tire, a reading means for reading letters, numbers, etc. of the symbol string, and a position detecting means for moving the reading means to a position where the symbol string can be read. The apparatus includes a reading moving means for positioning, a control means controlling the reading moving means based on an output signal from the position detecting means, and an automatic tire discrimination device based on the output signal from the reading means.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below based on the drawings.

First, an automatic tire discrimination device used to carry out the method of the present invention will be explained based on FIGS. 1 to 6.

As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic discrimination device of this embodiment includes a position detection station I that detects the position of a symbol string consisting of letters, numbers, etc. (hereinafter simply referred to as symbols) stamped on the sidewall of a tire l. and reading stations (■) for reading this symbol string are sequentially provided along the one-way transport method of the tires 1 being conveyed by the roller conveyor 2.
The structure is such that position detection and reading of symbol strings are performed separately.

A device detection station I is fixedly equipped with an arrival sensor 3 that detects whether the tire 1 has reached a predetermined position of the station, and a tire inside sensor 4 that measures the inside of the tire 1 that has reached the predetermined position. There is. Further, above the position detection station I, a guide rail 5 is arranged along the transport direction of the tire 1, and a traveling mechanism 6 that moves along the guide rail 5 is arranged. A vertical movement mechanism 7, for example, a fluid pressure cylinder, is fixed to the lower part of this traveling mechanism 6, and a rotation mechanism 8 is attached to the lower part of this vertical movement mechanism 7.
The guide rail 5, the travel mechanism 6, the vertical movement mechanism 7, and the rotation mechanism 8 constitute a position detection movement means 9. Furthermore, the rotation mechanism 8 includes an inner diameter sensor (not shown) that measures the inner diameter of the tire 1 and a position sensor 8 that detects the position of the symbol string stamped on the tire 1.
a (position detection means) is built-in. The position of the symbol string is detected by detecting the position of a mark provided on the tire 1 in advance using the position sensor 8a. Therefore, the mark portion is provided at a predetermined position having a certain relationship with the position of the symbol string. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the mark section 10 uses a part of a bead wire that has been magnetized, and the position sensor 8a for detecting this is constituted by a magnetic sensor.

Detection of the position of the mark portion 10 by the position sensor 8a is performed by moving the position sensor 8a along the inner circumference of the tire 1 using two position detection moving means 9. Note that the position sensor 8a may be configured to detect the position of the symbol string by providing a mark portion 10 with an uneven shape different from magnetization on the sidewall portion of the tire 1 and detecting this with an imaging means or the like. . In addition, mark part 1
To detect the position of 0, it is sufficient to perform relative movement between the position sensor 8a and the tire 1, so the position sensor 8a is fixed,
This may be done by a configuration in which the tire 1 is rotated in the circumferential direction.

Further, the tire width sensor 4, the running mechanism 6, and the vertical movement mechanism 7 are started to operate simultaneously by the output signal of the arrival sensor 3, and the rotation mechanism 8, the inner diameter sensor, and the position sensor 8a are activated by the vertical movement mechanism 7. The configuration is such that the operation starts when a predetermined lowered position is reached. On the other hand, when the operation of the arrival sensor 3 stops, respective detection signals are output from the tire width sensor 4, the inner (flea sensor), and the position sensor 8a.
As shown in the figure, the signals are once input to the control means 12, and the control means 12 controls the positioning operation of the reading moving means 17 of the reading station (2), which will be described later, based on each of the detection signals. Further, as the arrival sensor 3 stops operating, the rotation mechanism 8 and the vertical movement mechanism 7 of the position detection means 9
and the traveling mechanism 6 are configured to return to their original positions.

As shown in FIG. 1, the reading station H includes a reading means 16 for reading the example symbol stamped on the sidewall of the tire l, and an illumination device 15 and the reading means 16 at a position where the symbol can be read. a reading moving means 17 for positioning the tire 1 in the optimum direction by moving the tire 1;
An arrival sensor 18 is provided to detect when the station H has reached the predetermined position 2 of the station H.

The reading moving means 17 includes an arm 19 disposed along the conveying direction of the tire 1, a traveling mechanism 20 that moves on this arm 19, and a reading means I that rotates the arm 19.
Rotating mechanism that moves G in the circumferential direction of tire 1 (not shown)
and an angle control mechanism 21 for orienting the reading means 16 and the illumination device 15 in an optimal direction, and the operation of the reading moving means 17 is controlled by the control means 12. That is, the lighting device 1 is adjusted according to the size and type of the tire l based on each detection symbol output from the position detection station ■.
5, the illumination position and its direction are set, and the reading means 16
The set position and its orientation are determined.

In this embodiment, the reading means 16 is constituted by a one-dimensional image sensor (line-type solid-state image sensor), and has a field of view 22 in which the symbol string 11 stamped on the sidewall of the tire 1 can fit, as shown in FIG. doing. As shown in FIG. 3, this reading means 1G scans the symbols of the symbol string 11 by means of a scanning signal generator connected thereto. At the same time, when reading a symbol, the reading means 16 is moved along the symbol string 11 by the rotating mechanism of the reading moving means 17. Furthermore, reading means 16
A discriminating means 24 is connected to the output side of the discriminating means 24, and the discriminating means 24 is connected to an image buffer 5 which obtains a one-dimensional image signal obtained by scanning in the reading means 16 as a two-dimensional image signal, and an identification processing circuit 2G that identifies the symbol of the symbol string 11 based on the image signal of the symbol string 11. Then, the identification processing circuit 26 outputs an identification signal for the tire 1 according to the type and use of each tire, and this identification signal is used to classify the tires in a later stage. There is. Note that the reading means 16 can also be configured using an image pickup tube or a two-dimensional image sensor (area type solid-state image sensor).

Examples of symbol strings 11 provided on the sidewall portion of the tire 1 include a 10-digit symbol string 10a indicating the tire code and a 2-digit symbol string indicating the group name, as shown in FIG. 11b. These symbol strings 11a and 11b are formed using a stencil plate during the vulcanization process of the tire 1. In this embodiment, the symbol 28 of these symbol strings 11a and llb has a cross-sectional shape of
It is formed in the shape of a protrusion (triangular cross section). Note that the cross-sectional shape of symbol 28 is not limited to the above-mentioned V-shaped protrusion, but can also be formed into a ■-shaped groove, but a V-shaped groove is not preferable from the viewpoint of tire quality. This cross-sectional shape was chosen because the sidewall part, which is the background area of the tire 1, and the symbol area engraved on it are both black, so if a conventional uneven shape was used, the contrast would be unclear. This was done in order to eliminate this problem, and as a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to obtain a clear contrast between the background area and the symbol area by irradiating light.

In this case, the size D of the three-dimensional shape of symbol 28 is
), (as shown in bl, 0.4-1.0 mm or 0.4-0.8 m, m is preferable, and the height H is 0.
4 mm or more or 0.4 to 0.0 mm is suitable,
The apex angle θ is 40° to 140° or 55° to 110°
° is preferred.

In order to irradiate light onto the symbol string 11 having such a three-dimensional shape, the method shown in FIGS. 6(al) and (b) is used, for example. In FIG. A pair of illumination devices 15 are arranged so that the irradiated light is parallel to each other, and only the reflected light from the sidewall part, which is the background area, is incident on the reading means 16, while the reflected light from the slope between the symbols is excluded. By dispersing the light in the opposite direction, the background area is read as a white area and the symbol area is read as a black area.On the other hand, in FIG. By arranging a pair of illumination devices 15 at a position where the illumination devices 15 can enter the reading means 16, reflected light from the sidewall portion is diffused outward, and the background area is read as a black area and the symbol area is read as a white area. In addition, in the irradiation method shown in Fig. 6+a) and (b),
The method shown in Figure (a) is simple and practical, and is used in this embodiment.

Therefore, in the automatic discrimination device of this embodiment,
The reading means can be easily configured using a conventional general-purpose image sensor or the like, and characters, numbers, etc. in a symbol string can be reliably read.

Next, a method of automatic tire discrimination using the above-mentioned automatic discrimination device will be explained.

First, when the tire 1 reaches a predetermined position of the position detection station (2) by the roller conveyor 2, the arrival sensor 3 detects this and the roller conveyor 2 temporarily stops. The output signal from the arrival sensor 2 causes the tire width sensor 4 to operate and detect the inside of the tire, and at the same time, the travel mechanism 6 and the vertical movement mechanism 7 operate as indicated by the arrows in FIG. When the position sensor 8a reaches a predetermined lowered position due to the operation of the vertical movement mechanism 7, the first rotation mechanism 8 operates, and the inner diameter sensor and the position sensor 8a move along the inner circumference of the tire 1 accordingly. Along with this, the inner diameter of the tire is measured by the inner diameter sensor, and the position of the mark portion 10 magnetized in advance on the bead wire is detected by the position sensor 8a. When the arrival sensor 3 stops operating, the rotation mechanism 8
, the vertical movement mechanism 7 and the traveling mechanism 6 sequentially return to the light position. At the same time, respective detection signals are outputted to the control means 12 from the tie 4/1J sensor 4, inner diameter sensor, and position sensor 8a.

Further, when a detection signal is output from each sensor, the control means 12 immediately controls the reading moving means 17 of the reading station (2).

That is, the rotation mechanism of the reading moving means 17 and the traveling mechanism 2
0, the illuminating device 15 and the reading means 16 are moved to an appropriate position where the symbol string 11 can be read.
and the reading means 16 are oriented in the optimum direction. In this case, the illuminating device 5 is set in a posture such that the irradiated light is parallel to the optical axis of the reading means 16, as shown in FIG. 6(a). In this state, the system waits until the tire 1 reaches the predetermined position of the reading station (2).

Next, when the tire 1 reaches a predetermined position of the reading station H, the arrival sensor 18 detects this, and the roller conveyor 2 temporarily stops at the same time. The output signal of the arrival sensor 18 causes the reading means 16 to start a reading operation. At the same time, the arm 19 moves in the circumferential direction of the tire 1 due to the operation of the rotating mechanism, and the reading means 16 reads the symbol 2.
8 readings are performed. In this reading operation, scanning is performed using a scanning signal of a constant frequency from the scanning signal generator 23, and in the reading means 16, a one-dimensional image signal is generated which is binarized by scanning, with the background area being white and the symbol area being black. obtained as. This -dimensional image signal is input to an image buffer, and in the image sensor 25, when scanning is performed for a certain period of time by the reading means 16, it is obtained as a two-dimensional image signal, and this two-dimensional image signal is processed for identification. The department will be staffed by 26 people. In the identification processing unit 26, the symbols (letters, numbers, etc.) in the symbol string are classified by 1Δ based on the two-dimensional image signal, and a discrimination signal according to the type, use, etc. of the tire 1 is output. . Then, the tires 1 are classified at a later stage based on this discrimination signal. As described above, in this embodiment, the position detection process of the symbol string by the position detecting means and the reading process of the characters, numbers, etc. of the symbol string by the reading means are performed separately, and the position of the symbol string is detected. Since the reading process is performed immediately, the time required from the process of detecting the position of the symbol string to the process of reading and identifying the symbol string can be greatly shortened, and it is possible to reduce the time required from the process of detecting the position of the symbol string to the process of reading and identifying the symbol string. It became possible to respond adequately, and as a result,
The efficiency of tire discrimination can be greatly improved. In addition, by forming the cross-sectional shape of the letters, numbers, etc. in the symbol string into a V-shaped protrusion, the contrast between the sidewall part and the letters, numbers, etc. can be made clear, and the characters can be easily removed using conventional general-purpose equipment.・Be able to read numbers etc. adequately.

As explained above, according to the method of the present invention, after the position detection means detects the position of the symbol, the reading position and reading direction of the reading means are immediately set.
The time required from detecting the position of the symbol string to starting to take 67ε is shortened, and the cycle time in which tires are conveyed at intervals of several seconds can be sufficiently coped with, making it possible to greatly improve tire discrimination efficiency. . Further, according to the device of the present invention, it can be configured using general-purpose devices such as conventional image sensors, so the device manufacturing process becomes easy and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. By forming the cross-sectional shape of the letters, numbers, etc. provided on the sidewall portion into ■-shaped protrusions or grooves, the contrast between the symbol area such as letters, numbers, etc. and its background area is made clear. This has the advantage that characters, numbers, etc. can be read reliably.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 to FIG. 6(b) relate to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a tire showing a mark part and a symbol string on the tire; FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an identification means of the automatic tire identification device; Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the field of view shown in Figure 2, Figure 5 (al is an enlarged view of the extracted characters of the symbol string in Figure 4, and Figure 5(b) is an enlarged view of the field of view shown in Figure 5 fal). - A ′ arrow sectional view, and FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) are explanatory diagrams respectively showing the method of illuminating letters, numbers, etc. by the illumination device. 1・---m-tire, 8a--- ---Position sensor (position detection means), 9--
-1...Position detection moving means, 10-----Mark section, 11.28-----1 Symbol string and letters/numbers, etc., 1
2-...control means, 16...reading sensor (reading means), 17-
...-reading and moving means, 24--" ila separate means.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) A method for identifying a tire by reading information about the tire based on a symbol string consisting of letters, numbers, etc. provided in a concave or convex shape on the sidewall of the tire, comprising:
a step of detecting the position of a mark section previously provided at a predetermined position having a certain relationship with the symbol string by means of a position detecting means; and a step of reading and moving a means for reading characters, numbers, etc. based on an output signal from the position detecting means. immediately moving the symbol string to a position where the symbol string can be read by means of the reading means; thereafter reading the characters, numbers, etc. of the symbol string by the reading means; 1. A method for automatically identifying tires, comprising the step of: identifying characters, numbers, etc., using an identification means. 2) A device for reading tire information and identifying tires based on a symbol string consisting of letters, numbers, etc. provided in a concave or convex shape on the sidewall of the tire,
a position detecting means for detecting the position of a mark section provided in advance at a predetermined position having a certain relationship with the symbol string; a position detecting moving means for relatively moving the position detecting means and the tire; and the symbol string. a reading means for reading characters, numbers, etc., a reading moving means for moving and positioning the reading means to a readable position of the symbol string, and a reading moving means for moving the reading means to a position where the symbol string can be read; An automatic tire discrimination device comprising: a control means for controlling; and an identification means for identifying the letters, numbers, etc. based on an output signal from the reading means.