KR101611822B1 - Visual inspection apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an appearance inspection apparatus. The appearance inspection apparatus comprises: a transfer part which transfers a product; a photographing part which photographs the product transferred by the transfer part; a moving part which moves the photographing part; and a controller which moves the photographing part by controlling the moving part to prevent a change in the photographed image generated when the product to be photographed is inclined, detecting defects in the appearance of the product by analyzing the image outputted from the photographing part, thereby automatically and accurately detecting defects for the appearance of the product.

Description

{Visual inspection apparatus}

The present invention relates to a visual inspection apparatus, and more particularly, to a visual inspection apparatus which comprises a transporting unit for transporting a product, a photographing unit for photographing the product transported by the transporting unit, a moving unit for moving the photographing unit, And a controller for controlling the moving unit to move the photographing unit and analyzing the image output from the photographing unit to detect a defect in the appearance of the product, so as to automatically detect a defect in the appearance of the product Which is to say that it can be used as a visual inspection device.

As the economy develops and the income level increases, not only the functions but also the design are important. Especially, if there is an electric appliance installed in the house, if the appearance of the electric appliance is defective, the design value is seriously undermined. Accordingly, the manufacturer of household appliances inspects the appearance of the product prior to shipment to check for defects such as stains and sticking. In the past, the worker inspected the product by the naked eye and detected the defect. However, the above-mentioned inspection method has a problem that the accuracy of the defect detection is changed according to the capability of the worker, An automatic visual inspection apparatus and method for detecting a defect by comparing the obtained image with a predetermined image and using the difference is widely used.

(Patent Literature)

Open Patent Publication No. 10-2007-0115064 (published on Dec. 05, 2007) "Optical inspection method"

However, in order to perform the conventional automatic visual inspection, the product must be moved to the photographing area. In the photographing area, the product often tilts and is not positioned in an upright position. When the product is positioned in an inclined state, the distance between the product and the camera is shortened in one part and elongated in the other part, thereby changing the image to be photographed, unlike the case where the product is straight upright. In other words, the fluctuation of the photographed image is not formed by the defect but varies depending on the inclination of the product, so that the defect of the correct appearance can not be detected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems,

An object of the present invention is to provide an appearance inspection apparatus capable of automatically and accurately detecting defects in the appearance of a product.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an appearance inspection apparatus that can prevent a change in an image taken by a product from being tilted by moving a photographing unit according to a tilt of a product positioned in a photographing area.

Further, according to the present invention, since a boundary of a product is determined by specifying a pixel, subdividing a specified pixel to set a subpixel and calculating a slope of a pixel value of an adjacent subpixel, The object of the present invention is to provide a visual inspection apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is implemented by the following embodiments.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for inspecting an appearance according to the present invention includes: a photographing unit for photographing a product; A moving unit for moving the photographing unit; And a controller for controlling the moving unit to move the photographing unit according to a tilt of the product, in order to prevent a change in the photographed image caused by a tilted product to be photographed.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in the visual inspection apparatus according to the present invention, the controller controls the moving unit in consideration of the inclination of a product placed in the photographing area to move the photographing unit, And a moving photographing unit for keeping the distance between the product and the photographing unit constant.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the visual inspection apparatus according to the present invention, the moving unit includes a vertical moving unit for moving the photographing unit up and down, and a horizontal moving unit for horizontally moving the photographing unit such that an interval between the photographing unit and the product is adjusted A horizontal moving part, wherein the moving photographing part is located at one side of the moving part, moves up and down together with the photographing part to sense a distance between the sensor and the product, and a control part And a controller for controlling the horizontal moving part according to the degree of inclination of the product, so that the distance between the photographing part and the product during the movement of the photographing part to the lower side or the upper side, And a tilt reflection movement module for keeping the tilt reflection movement module constant.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in the visual inspection apparatus according to the present invention, the tilt reflection movement module operates the up-and-down movement module and the sensor so that the distance between the product and the sensor at one upper- The distance between the product and the sensor at the point is measured and the slope of the product is calculated using the distance of the sensor and the distance between the measured product and the sensor, The distance between the sensor and the product is calculated and compared with the distance between the sensor and the product held when the product stands up to keep the distance between the photographing part and the product constant, And a slope calculation module for calculating the distance to horizontally move the photographing part and controlling the horizontal movement part .

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in the visual inspection apparatus according to the present invention, the tilt reflection movement module operates the up-down movement module and the sensor to measure the distance between the sensor and the product in real time, The distance between the image sensing unit and the product to be horizontally moved so that the distance between the image sensing unit and the product is kept constant while the image sensing unit is moving downward or upward, And the real-time reflection module controls the horizontal movement unit.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, in the visual inspection apparatus according to the present invention, the upper and lower easiness portions support an upward and downward movement of the upper and lower movable portions, the upper and lower easiness portions guide the movement of the upper and lower copper plates, The upper copper plate includes a guide portion protruding from the rear surface and inserted into the guide groove of the support frame, and a guide portion protruded from the guide portion to guide the upper and lower copper plates, And a drive shaft connection portion which is positioned in the support frame and surrounds the drive shaft and has a screw shaft corresponding to a screw thread of the drive shaft on the inner surface thereof, wherein the support frame includes guide grooves formed on both sides in a vertical direction, The coaxial drive unit includes a drive motor in which an output shaft is coupled to one end of a rotary shaft, A rotation shaft connected to the motor and the drive shaft, the rotation shaft including a rotation shaft gear formed on the outer surface and transmitting the driving force of the drive motor to the drive shaft, and a drive shaft connected to the rotation shaft and the upper and lower drive plates, And a drive shaft having a worm gear formed on an outer surface thereof and engaged with the rotary shaft gear by being coupled to one end of the drive shaft.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in the visual inspection apparatus according to the present invention, the controller further includes a defect detection unit for detecting a defect in the appearance of the product by analyzing an image of the appearance of the product, Wherein the defect detecting unit comprises: a boundary estimating module for estimating a position of a boundary of the product by analyzing an image obtained by photographing and outputting the appearance of the product; and a boundary detecting unit for detecting a boundary of the product, And a defect detection module for detecting a defect in the appearance of the product by analyzing an image of a part of the product partitioned by the defect.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in the visual inspection apparatus according to the present invention, the boundary estimating module specifies a pixel recognized as a defect or a boundary in the image output from the photographing unit, Pixels are determined and the inclination of the pixel values of adjacent sub-pixels is calculated. If the inclination is not less than a certain range, the defect detection module determines that the product is a boundary portion of the product, And determining that there is a defect when the value of a specific pixel is smaller than or greater than a certain range from the average value.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for inspecting a visual inspection according to the present invention, comprising a transfer unit for transferring a product such that the product is inserted into the housing, And a position adjuster for accurately positioning the product moving through the conveyor in the photographing area inside the housing, wherein the position adjuster blocks the one side of the product moving along the roller of the conveyor And a front and rear adjusting unit for pressing the front and rear surfaces of the product in a state where the product is stopped while one side of the product is blocked by the movement adjusting unit to fix the product in the photographing area. do.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in the apparatus for inspecting the appearance of the present invention, the movement regulating unit moves up and down between the rollers, interrupts the product moving along the rollers during the ascending and descending, And a lifting and lowering driving unit for moving up and down the lifting and lowering plate. The pair of front and rear adjusting units are disposed on the upper surface of the roller at regular intervals in the front and rear direction, A pressure plate which presses the front and rear surfaces of the product whose one side is in contact with the ascending and descending steel plate by adjusting the interval and an interval adjusting driving unit which adjusts the interval between the pair of pressure plates by moving the pressure plate in the forward and backward directions, A connecting portion protruding from the lower side and positioned between the rollers, And a driving shaft connecting part protruding from the lower surface of the supporting part to surround the driving shaft and having a screw thread corresponding to a screw thread of the driving shaft on the inner surface thereof, wherein the gap adjusting driving part provides a driving force, A first screw thread and a second screw thread which are respectively connected to the drive motor and the pressure plate and transmit the driving force of the drive motor to the pressure plate, And a driving shaft gear engaged with the driving motor gear. The first screw thread is engaged with a driving shaft connecting part of a pair of pressing plates, and the second screw thread is engaged with a driving shaft connecting part of the remaining pressing plate. .

The present invention can obtain the following effects by the above-described embodiment, the constitution described below, the combination, and the use relationship.

The present invention has the effect of automatically detecting defects in the appearance of the product.

Further, according to the present invention, since the photographing unit is moved according to the inclination of the product located in the photographing area, the product is photographed, so that the change of the photographing image caused by the inclination of the product can be prevented.

Further, according to the present invention, since a boundary of a product is determined by specifying a pixel, subdividing a specified pixel to set a subpixel and calculating a slope of a pixel value of an adjacent subpixel, It is effective.

1 is a front view of a visual inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a side view of a visual inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a plan view of a visual inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a partial cutaway perspective view of an apparatus for inspecting an appearance according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 5 and 6 are reference views for explaining the operation of the conveyance unit of FIG. 1;
FIG. 7 is a reference diagram for explaining an operation process of the movement adjusting unit of FIG. 5;
8 is a reference diagram for explaining an operation process of the front-rear adjusting unit of Fig.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view for explaining the pressure plate of FIG. 8;
Figs. 10 and 11 are reference views for explaining the up-and-down moving section of Fig.
12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of Fig.
13 is an enlarged view of a portion A in Fig.
FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the controller of FIG. 1; FIG.
15 is a reference diagram for explaining the operation principle of the tilt reflection movement module of Fig.
16 is a reference diagram for explaining a process of detecting a defect in the appearance by using the visual inspection apparatus of FIG.
17 is a flowchart showing a process of detecting a defect in the appearance by using the visual inspection apparatus of FIG.

Hereinafter, a visual inspection apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be noted that the same elements among the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals whenever possible. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail. Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein are synonymous with the generic meaning of the term as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs, and if it conflicts with the meaning of the term used herein As defined herein.

FIG. 1 is a front view of an appearance inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of an appearance inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the visual inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 5 and 6 are reference views for explaining the operation of the conveyance unit of FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is a cross- FIG. 8 is a reference view for explaining an operation process of the front and rear adjusting unit of FIG. 5, FIG. 9 is a perspective view for explaining the pressure plate of FIG. 8, and FIGS. 10 and 11 Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in Fig. 11, Fig. 13 is an enlarged view of a portion A in Fig. 4, and Fig. 14 is an enlarged view of the details Fig. 15 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the tilt-based FIG. 16 is a reference view for explaining a process of detecting defects in the appearance using the appearance inspection apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. 17 is a view for explaining the operation of the appearance inspection apparatus of FIG. 1, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a process of detecting defects in an appearance by using a defect inspection method.

1 to 17, the visual inspection apparatus includes a housing 1 for forming an outer shape, and a housing 2 for inserting the product into the housing 1 (3) for photographing a product placed inside the housing (1) and transported by the transporting unit (2), and an image pickup unit (4) for moving the photographing unit (3) so as to prevent the change of the photographing image caused by the inclination of the photographed product, 3) and analyzing the image output from the photographing unit 3 to detect defects in the appearance of the product. The visual inspection apparatus can detect defects in appearance of various products, but is preferably used for inspection of household appliances such as air conditioners and washing machines.

The housing (1) is configured to form an external shape of the visual inspection apparatus, and accommodates a photographing unit (3), a moving unit (4) and the like to be described later. The housing 1 has a predetermined shape, but preferably has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The housing 1 has an inlet 11 through which the product can be introduced, and a discharge port A door 13 is formed on one side (front side) of the housing 1 to manually inspect a product located inside the housing 1 through the opening of the door 13 .

The transfer unit 2 is controlled by the controller 5 to transfer the product so that the product is inserted into the housing 1 and the exterior is taken and then taken out. A position adjusting unit 23, and the like.

The receiving part 21 forms an outer shape of the conveying part 2 and accommodates the conveyor 22 and the position adjusting part 23. On the upper surface of the receiving part 21, 221).

The conveyor 22 is configured to convey the product placed on the upper surface of the conveyor 22 and includes a roller 221 positioned on the upper surface of the receiving portion 21 and a roller 221 located inside the receiving portion 21, And a roller driving unit (not shown) for providing a driving force for rotating the motor.

The position adjusting unit 23 is configured to accurately position the product moving through the conveyor 22 in the photographing area inside the housing 1 and includes a movement adjusting unit 24, ) And the like.

The movement regulating unit 24 includes a lifting plate 25 and a lifting and lowering driving unit 26. The lifting and lowering plate 26 and the lifting and lowering driving unit 26 stop the movement of the product when one side of the product moves along the roller 221.

The lifting plate 25 is moved up and down between the rollers 221 to block the product moving along the rollers 221 during the lifting and lowering of the rollers 221 when the lifting and lowering plate 25 descends, And a drive shaft connecting portion 251 surrounding the drive shaft 262 to be described later and having a screw thread (not shown) corresponding to the screw thread 262a of the drive shaft 262 formed on the inner surface thereof.

The above-mentioned lifting and lowering driving unit 26 is located in the accommodating portion 21 to raise and lower the lifting plate 25, and various means capable of lifting the lifting plate 25 can be used. For example, the up / down steel plate 25 can be moved up and down using the drive motor 261 and the drive shaft 262.

The driving motor 261 is configured to provide a driving force to operate the up-and-down driving unit 26, and a general motor or the like can be utilized. A drive motor gear 261a is connected to the output shaft of the drive motor 261. [

The drive shaft 262 is connected to the drive motor 261 and the lift plate 25 so as to transmit the drive force of the drive motor 261 to the lift plate 25. The drive shaft 262 is provided with a screw 262a, And a drive shaft gear 262b coupled to one end of the drive shaft 262 and engaged with the drive motor gear 261a. The drive motor gear 261a and the drive shaft gear 262b may be of general gears and a structure for supporting the lifting plate 25 and the lifting and lowering driving portion 26 is provided in the accommodating portion 21, And thus the detailed description thereof will be omitted. When the output shaft of the drive motor 261 is rotated in one direction by the operation of the drive motor 261, the drive motor gear 261a and the drive shaft gear 262b The drive shaft connecting portion 251 that is engaged with the screw thread 262a of the drive shaft 262 rises along the screw thread 262a as the drive shaft 262 rotates As the lifting plate 25 is lifted up, one side of the product moving along the roller 221 comes into contact with the lifting plate 25 and stops moving. When the driving motor 261 is operated to rotate the output shaft of the driving motor 261 in the other direction (direction opposite to the one direction) in the above state, the up-down steel plate 25 is lowered to the lower side of the roller 221 .

The front and rear adjusting unit 27 is configured such that one side of the product is obstructed by the movement adjusting unit 24 to press the front and rear sides of the product in a state where the product is stationary, A pressure plate 28, a gap adjusting driver 29, and the like.

A pair of the pressure plates 28 are arranged on the upper surface of the roller 221 at regular intervals in the front and rear direction and the gap between the pair of pressure plates 28 is adjusted by the operation of the gap adjustment driving unit 29, And presses the front and rear surfaces of the product whose side faces the up-and-down steel plate (25). The pressing plate 28 includes a connecting portion 281 protruded from the lower side and positioned between the rollers 221 and a supporting portion 282 coupled to the distal end of the connecting portion 281 to support the driving shaft connecting portion 283 of the lower surface, And a driving shaft connecting portion 283 protruding from the lower surface of the supporting portion 282 and surrounding the driving shaft 292 and having a screw thread 283a corresponding to the screw thread of the driving shaft 292 on the inner surface thereof.

The interval adjusting drive unit 29 is located in the receiving unit 21 and moves the pressure plate 28 in the forward and backward directions to adjust the interval between the pair of pressure plates 28. For example, And a drive shaft 292. The driving motor 291 is configured to provide a driving force for operating the interval adjusting driving unit 29, and a general motor or the like may be utilized. The output shaft of the drive motor 291 is connected to a drive motor gear 291a.

The drive shaft 292 is connected to the drive motor 291 and the pressure plate 28 to transmit a driving force of the drive motor 291 to the pressure plate 28. The drive shaft 292 is connected to the pressure plate 28, A first screw thread 292a and a second screw thread 292b. The first screw thread 292a is engaged with the drive shaft connecting portion 283 of one of the pair of pressure plates 28 and the second screw thread 292b is engaged with the drive shaft connecting portion 28 ' The drive shaft 292 includes a drive shaft gear 292c coupled to the drive motor gear 291a at one end of the drive shaft 292. The drive shaft gear 292c meshes with the drive motor gear 291a. The operation of the front and rear regulating unit 27 having the above-described structure will be described. In the operation process of the front and rear regulating unit 27, When the output shaft of the drive motor 291 rotates in one direction, the drive motor gear 291a and the drive shaft gear 292c sequentially rotate so that the drive shaft 292 rotates, and the drive shaft 292 rotates The first screw thread 292a of the drive shaft 292, The connecting protrusion 283 moves to the rear side and the connecting protrusion 283 engaged with the second screw thread 292b moves forward to reduce the distance between the pressing plates 28. Thus, The drive motor 291 is operated to rotate the output shaft of the drive motor 291 in the other direction so that the pair of pressure plates 28 are rotated in the opposite direction, The gap is widened so that the product is not pressed by the pressure plate 28.

The photographing unit 3 is located inside the housing 1 and moves up and down by the moving unit 4 to take an image of the outer surface of the product placed in the photographing area by the transferring unit 2 and output the photographed image (31) which is controlled by the controller (5) in the configuration and emits light toward the product, and a camera (32) which photographs an image produced by reflection of the light emitted from the illumination (31) . Although various types of cameras can be used as the camera, a line scan camera is preferably used. The movement of the photographing unit 3 is controlled according to the inclination of the product in the process of photographing the appearance of the product while the photographing unit 3 moves up and down, as will be described in detail below.

The moving unit 4 is controlled by the controller 5 to move the photographing unit 3 and includes a vertical moving unit 41 and a horizontal moving unit 42.

The upper and lower moving parts 41 are configured to move the photographing part 3 up and down. The upper and lower moving parts 41 and 42 include a supporting frame 43 and an upper and lower driving part 44.

The upper copper plate 42 is configured to support the photographing unit 3 (supporting the horizontal movement unit 45 on which the photographing unit 3 is placed) and move up and down. A drive shaft 443 protruding from the guide portion 421 and positioned in the support frame 43 to surround a drive shaft 443 to be described later, And a driving shaft connecting portion 422 in which a screw thread 422a corresponding to a screw thread 443a of the driving shaft 422a is formed.

The support frame 43 supports the upper and lower copper plates 42 and guides the movement of the upper and lower copper plates 42. The upper and lower copper plates 42 and 44 are coupled to each other. The support frame 43 includes guide grooves 431 formed on both sides in the up and down direction.

The upper and lower copper coils 42 are moved upward and downward by using a driving motor 441, a rotating shaft 442 and a driving shaft 443, for example. .

The driving motor 441 is configured to provide a driving force for operating the up-down co-driving unit 44, and a general motor or the like may be utilized. The output shaft of the driving motor 441 is inserted into one end of the rotation shaft 442.

The rotating shaft 442 is connected to the driving motor 441 and the driving shaft 443 to transmit the driving force of the driving motor 441 to the driving shaft 443. The rotating shaft 442, ).

The drive shaft 443 is connected to the rotation shaft 442 and the upper and lower copper plates 42 to transmit the driving force of the drive motor 441 to the upper copper plate 42. A screw 443a And a worm gear 443b coupled to one end of the driving shaft 443 and engaged with the rotation shaft gear 442a. There is a structure for supporting the upper and lower coaxial driving portions 44 inside the support frame 43, but this is not related to the gist of the present invention, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted. When the output shaft of the driving motor 441 is rotated in one direction by the operation of the driving motor 441, the rotating shaft 442, the rotating shaft gear 442a, and the worm gear 442, The drive shaft connecting portion 422 engaged with the screw thread 443a of the drive shaft 443 as the drive shaft 443 rotates is rotated along the screw thread 443a So that the upper copper plate 42 rises and the photographing portion 3 supported by the upper copper plate 42 moves upward. When the output shaft of the driving motor 441 is rotated in the other direction (the direction opposite to the one direction) by operating the driving motor 441 in the above state, the upper copper plate 42 is lowered so that the photographing unit 3 And moves to the lower side.

The horizontal moving part 45 horizontally moves the photographing part 3 so that the distance between the photographing part 3 and the outer surface of the product is adjusted. The horizontal moving frame 46, the support frame 47, A horizontal movement driving unit 48, and the like.

The horizontal movement frame 46 includes a guide portion 461 protruding from the lower side and inserted into the guide groove 471 of the support frame 47, A drive shaft connecting portion 462 which is protruded from the guide portion 461 and is located in the support frame 47 and encircles a drive shaft 482 to be described later and has a screw thread corresponding to the screw thread 482a of the drive shaft 482, ).

The support frame 47 supports the horizontal movement frame 46 and guides movement of the support frame 47. The horizontal movement frame 46 and the horizontal movement drive unit 48 are coupled to each other. A sensor 531, which will be described later, is disposed on one side of the support frame 47. The support frame 47 includes guide grooves 471 formed in both sides thereof in the horizontal direction.

The horizontal movement driving unit 48 horizontally moves the horizontal movement frame 46 and can horizontally move the horizontal movement frame 46 using a driving motor 481 and a driving shaft 482 .

The driving motor 481 is configured to provide a driving force for operating the horizontal movement driving unit 48, and a general motor or the like can be utilized. A driving motor gear (not shown) is coupled to an output shaft of the driving motor 481.

The driving shaft 482 is connected to the driving motor 481 and the horizontal moving frame 46 to transmit the driving force of the driving motor 482 to the horizontal moving frame 46, And a driving shaft gear (not shown) engaging with the driving motor gear is coupled to one end of the driving shaft 482.

The support frame 47 supports the horizontal movement driving unit 48, which is not related to the gist of the present invention, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted. When the output shaft of the drive motor 481 is rotated in one direction by the operation of the drive motor 481, the drive motor gear and the drive shaft gear rotate in order, The drive shaft connecting portion 462 engaged with the screw thread 482a of the drive shaft 482 moves toward the product along the screw thread 482a as the drive shaft 482 rotates, The photographing unit 3 supported by the horizontal moving frame 46 moves horizontally toward the product. When the output shaft of the drive motor 481 is rotated in the other direction (direction opposite to the one direction) by operating the drive motor 481 in the above state, the horizontal movement frame 46 moves to the opposite side of the product, (3) horizontally moves away from the product.

The controller 5 controls the moving unit 4 to move the photographing unit 3 in accordance with the inclination of the product placed in the photographing area so as to prevent a change in the photographing image caused by a tilted product, Receiving unit 51, a transfer operating unit 52, a moving photographing unit 53, a defect detecting unit 54, a control unit (not shown), and a control unit (not shown) for detecting defects in the appearance of the product by analyzing the image output from the photographing unit 3. [ 55) and the like.

The transceiving unit 51 transmits information about the operation of the visual inspection apparatus to the transferring unit 2, the photographing unit 3 and the moving unit 4 and outputs the information output from the sensor 531 and the photographing unit 3 .

The conveying operation unit 52 is configured to control the conveying unit 2 to position the product in the photographing area and includes a conveying module 521, a conveying stop module 522, a back and forth pressing module 523, 524).

The conveying module 521 controls the movement of the product on the conveying unit 2 and controls the operation of the roller driving unit of the conveyor 22. [

The conveying stop module 522 controls the movement adjusting portion 24 while the product is moving under the control of the conveying module 2 so that the ascending and descending plate 25 ascends, To be in contact with one side of the frame.

The forward and backward pressing module 523 operates the forward and backward adjusting parts 27 in a state where one side of the product is in contact with the up and down steel plate 25 by operating the feed stop module 522, So as to press the front and rear surfaces. Under the control of the feed stop module 522, one side of the product is in contact with the ascending and descending plate 25 and the front and rear surfaces of the product are pressed against the pressure plate 28 under the control of the back and forth pressing module 523 , The product is positioned in the photographing area.

When the exterior photographing is completed by the photographing unit 3 in a state where the product is properly positioned under the control of the conveying stop module 522 and the back and forth pressing module 523, The control unit 27 controls the movement adjusting unit 24 so that the gap between the pressure plates 28 is increased and the up and down steel plate 25 is lowered so that the product of which the appearance is photographed is discharged from the housing 1.

The moving photographing unit 53 moves the photographing unit 3 in consideration of the inclination of the product placed in the photographing area under the control of the transport operation unit 52 to prevent the change of the photographing image caused by the inclination of the product A sensor 531, a vertical movement module 532, a tilt reflection movement module 533, a photographing module 530, a photographing module 530, (534), and the like.

The sensor 531 is located on one side of the moving unit 4 and moves up and down together with the photographing unit 3 to sense the distance between the sensor 531 and the product. For example, a laser sensor may be used that emits a laser to a target object and calculates the distance in consideration of the time the laser reflected from the target object reaches the sensor again.

The vertical movement module 532 controls the vertical movement unit 41 to move the photographing unit 3 and the sensor 531 upward and downward when the product is positioned in the photographing area under the control of the transport operation unit 52. [ .

The tilt reflection movement module 533 examines the output of the sensor 531 and controls the horizontal movement unit 45 according to the degree of inclination of the product so that the photographing unit 3 moves downward or upward And the interval between the photographing unit 3 and the product is kept constant during a while, and includes a tilt calculating module 533a and / or a real-time reflecting module 533b.

The inclination calculation module 533a operates the up-and-down movement module 532 and the sensor 531 to detect the inclination of the product 100 at one point P1 on the upper side of the product 100 as shown in FIG. 100 between the sensor 531 and the sensor 531 and the distance a2 between the product 100 and the sensor 531 at the other point P2 on the lower side, (A2-a1) of the product 100 is calculated using the moving distance b, distances a1 and a2 between the product 100 and the sensor 531, and the calculated slope (For example, a3) between the sensor 531 and the product 100 at a specific point (for example, P3), and the sensor 531 and the product 100, which are maintained when the product 100 is upright, The photographing unit 3 is arranged such that the distance between the photographing unit 3 and the product 100 is kept constant while the photographing unit 3 moves downward or upward as compared with the distance c between the photographing unit 3 and the product 100. [ Calculate the distance to move horizontally So as to control the horizontal movement unit 45. For example, the distance c between the sensor 531 and the product 100 maintained when the product 100 stands up is 10 cm, and between the sensor 531 and the product 100 at a certain point (e.g., P3) (For example, P3) is 5 cm, the horizontal moving part 45 is controlled so that the photographing part 3 moves 5 cm in the direction opposite to the product 100, The horizontal moving unit 45 is controlled so that the photographing unit 3 moves 5 cm in the direction of the product 100 when the distance between the product 531 and the product 100 (e.g., a3) is 15 cm.

The real-time reflection module 533b operates the up-and-down movement module 532 and the sensor 531 so that the distance a1 between the sensor 531 and the product 100 as shown in (b) of FIG. (C) between the sensor (531) and the product (100), which are held when the product (100) stands upright, while the photographing unit (3) The horizontal moving unit 45 is controlled by calculating the distance that the photographing unit 3 should move horizontally so that the interval between the unit 3 and the product 100 is kept constant. The control by the real-time reflection module 533b can increase the accuracy by measuring the gap between the sensor and the product in real time by a sensor moving upward or downward, and the control by the tilt calculating module 533a Since the distance between the sensor and the product is measured at the upper and lower two points, the control time can be shortened.

The photographing module 534 is operated by the vertical movement module 532 and the tilt reflection movement module 532 so that the distance between the photographing part 3 and the product during the movement of the photographing part 3 to the lower side or the upper side The photographing unit 3 is operated in a state where the photographing unit 3 is kept constant.

The defect detecting unit 54 is configured to detect defects in the appearance of the product by analyzing the image captured and output by the photographing unit 3 under the control of the moving photographing unit 53, A module 541, a defect detection module 542, and the like.

The boundary portion calculation module 541 is configured to calculate the position of the boundary portion of the product by analyzing the image captured and output by the photographing portion 3 by the photographing portion 3, Means a part that distinguishes one part from another part of a product, as well as a frame that distinguishes one side of the product from another side. The boundary estimating module 541 may calculate the position of the boundary of the product by various methods, but it is preferable that the boundary estimating module 541 specifies a pixel whose value differs by more than a certain range in the image output from the photographing unit 3 (A pixel in which a defect or a boundary portion is located is remarkably changed in pixel value), the specified pixel is subdivided to set a plurality of subpixels and the slope of the pixel value (luminance value) of the adjacent subpixel is calculated, It is possible to accurately determine the position of the boundary of the product by determining the boundary of the product rather than the defect of the product.

The defect detection module 542 analyzes the image of the part of the product partitioned by the specific boundary part after the position of the boundary part is calculated by the boundary estimation module 541 to detect defects in the product appearance. The defects detected by the defect detection module 542 can detect defects of the product by various methods. However, the average of the values of the pixels constituting the image of the specific part of the product, If the value of the pixel is smaller or larger than the average value, or if the value of the pixel constituting the image of the specific part of the product partitioned by the specific boundary is smaller or larger than a predetermined range, . The controller (55) controls the operation of the controller (5).

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 17, a method of inspecting the appearance using an appearance inspecting apparatus having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 17. The appearance inspecting method includes a conveying step S1, a moving photographing step S2, , A discharge step S4, and the like.

The transporting step S1 is a step of causing the transporting operation part 52 to control the transporting part 2 to position the product in the photographing area and includes a product moving step S11 and a product position adjusting step S12 .

The product moving step S11 is a step in which the conveying module 521 of the conveying operation part 52 controls the conveyor 22 to move the product on the conveyor 22. [

In the product position adjustment step S12, while the product is moved by the product moving step S11, the transport operation unit 52 controls the position adjustment unit 23 to move the product moving along the conveyor 22 (S121), a back-and-forth pressing step (S122), and the like.

In the transport stopping step S121, while the product is moved by the product moving step S11, the transport stopping module 522 controls the movement adjusting part 24 so that the ascending / descending steel plate 25 ascends, Thereby bringing the elevated steel plate 25 into contact with one side of the product.

The forward and backward pressing step S122 is a step in which the front and rear pressing module 523 actuates the front and rear adjusting part 27 in a state where one side of the product is in contact with the up and down steel plate 25 by the feeding stop step S121, So that the pressure plate 28 presses the front and rear surfaces of the product. 6, one side of the product is in contact with the ascending and descending plate 25 by the stop of the conveying (S121), and the front and rear surfaces of the product are pressed by the pressing plate 28 so that the product is positioned in the photographing area.

In the moving photographing step S2, in order to prevent a change in the photographing image caused by the inclination of the product, the moving photographing unit 53 moves the photographing unit S2 in consideration of the inclination of the product, (S21), a distance calculation step (S22), a photographing step (S22), and a photographing step (S22) Step S23, and the like.

The sensing step S21 is a step in which the inclination reflecting movement module 533 operates the up-down movement module 532 and the sensor 531 in a state where the product is positioned in the photographing area by the conveying step S1, 531 measure the distance between the product 100 and the sensor 531 and output it. In the sensing step S22, the inclination calculation module 533a operates the up-and-down movement module 532 and the sensor 531 so that the sensor 531 senses the product at the upper one point P1 of the product 100 (A1) between the sensor 100 and the sensor 531 and the distance a2 between the product 100 and the sensor 531 at the other point P2 on the lower side and outputs the measured distance The real time reflecting module 533b operates the up-and-down moving module 532 and the sensor 531 so that the sensor 531 measures the distance between the sensor 531 and the product 100 in real time And a real-time sensing step (S212) for outputting.

The distance calculation step S22 is a step in which the tilt reflection movement module 533 examines the result output from the sensing step S21 and controls the horizontal movement part 45 according to the degree of inclination of the product, So that the distance between the photographing unit 3 and the product is kept constant while the camera 3 is moved to the lower side or the upper side and includes a slope consideration step S221 or a sensing value considering step S222 do.

The inclination consideration calculation step S221 may be performed by the inclination calculation module 533a using the result output from the sequential sensing step S211 and the vertical movement distance b of the sensor 531 Calculates a distance (e.g., a3) between the sensor 531 and the product 100 at a specific point (for example, P3) using the calculated slope, calculates the slope b / (a2- The photographing unit 3 and the photographing unit 3 can be operated while the photographing unit 3 moves downward or upward as compared with the distance c between the sensor 531 and the product 100 held when the product 100 stands upright. And controlling the horizontal movement unit 45 by calculating the distance that the photographing unit 3 should move horizontally so that the distance between the products 100 is kept constant.

The sensed value consideration calculation step S222 is a step in which the real time reflection module 533b calculates the sensed value considering the result outputted in the real time sensing step S212 and the difference between the sensor output 531 held by the product 100 when the product 100 stands up and the product 100 The photographing unit 3 is moved horizontally so that the distance between the photographing unit 3 and the product 100 is kept constant while the photographing unit 3 moves downward or upward, And the horizontal movement unit 45 is controlled by calculating a distance to be moved.

The photographing step S23 is a state in which the interval between the photographing unit 3 and the product 100 is kept constant while the photographing unit 3 is moved downward or upward by the distance calculating step S22 And the photographing module 534 operates the photographing section 3 so that the appearance of the product is photographed. 16 (a), even if the photographing unit 3 ascends and descends, the interval of the interval a between the photographing unit 3 and the product 100 is kept constant, Since the distance between the product 100 and the photographing unit 3 varies as the product moves up and down when the product is tilted, the present invention can reduce the inclination of the product as shown in FIG. 16 (b) The interval between the photographing unit 3 and the product 100 is kept constant while the photographing unit 3 is moved downward or upward by horizontally moving the photographing unit 3 in consideration of the distance between the photographing unit 3 and the product 100. [

In the defect detection step S3, the defect detection unit 54 detects a defect in the appearance of the product by analyzing the image output from the moving photographing step S2. The boundary detection step S31, (S32) and the like.

The boundary estimating step S31 is a step of estimating the position of the boundary of the product by analyzing the image output by the boundary estimating module 541 in the moving photographing step S2, It is preferable to specify a pixel in which the value of the pixel differs by more than a predetermined range in the image output from the moving photographing step S2 (the pixel having a defect, a boundary portion, or the like, (Luminance value) of adjacent subpixels is calculated by subdividing a specified pixel into a plurality of subpixels, and when the slope is equal to or more than a certain range, it is determined not to be a defect of the product but to a boundary of the product It is possible to accurately determine the position of the boundary portion of the wafer.

In the defect determination step S32, the defect detection module 542 analyzes the image of the part of the product partitioned by the specific boundary part after the position of the boundary part is calculated in the boundary estimation step S31, The defects can be detected by a variety of methods, but it is possible to detect defects of a product by obtaining an average of the values of pixels constituting an image of a specific part of a product partitioned by a specific boundary, It is judged that there is a defect when the value of the pixel constituting the image of the specific part of the product partitioned by the specific boundary is smaller or larger than a predetermined range by a predetermined range or less do.

The discharging step S4 is a step in which the discharging module 524 controls the position adjusting part 23 to open the gap between the pressure plates 28 and descend the lifting plate 25, Is discharged from the housing (1).

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, Should be interpreted as falling within the scope of.

1: housing 2: conveying part 3: photographing part 4: moving part
5: controller 11: inlet 12: outlet 13: door
21: accommodating portion 22: conveyor 23: position adjusting portion 31: illumination
32: Camera 41: Upper and lower easel 42: Horizontal moving part 51: Transmitting /
52: transfer operation part 53: moving photographing part 54: defect detection part 55:

Claims (10)

A photographing unit for photographing a product; A moving unit for moving the photographing unit; And a controller for controlling the moving unit to move the photographing unit according to a tilt of the product, in order to prevent a change in the photographed image caused by a tilted product,
Wherein the moving unit includes a vertical moving unit for vertically moving the photographing unit and a horizontal moving unit for horizontally moving the photographing unit such that an interval between the photographing unit and the product is adjusted,
The upper and lower parts include an upper and lower copper plates for supporting the photographing part, a support frame for guiding movement of the upper and lower copper plates, a support frame for coupling the upper copper plate and the upper and lower copper parts, and an upper and lower copper part for moving the upper copper plate upward and downward In addition,
The upper copper plate has a guide portion protruding from a rear surface of the upper copper plate and inserted into a guide groove of the support frame, a guide portion protruding from the guide portion, positioned in the support frame and surrounding the drive shaft, And a drive shaft connecting portion,
Wherein the support frame includes guide grooves formed on both sides of the support frame in a vertical direction,
Wherein the upper and lower coaxial drive sections each include a driving motor having an output shaft coupled to one end of a rotating shaft, a rotating shaft connected to the driving motor and the driving shaft to transmit driving force of the driving motor to the driving shaft, And a drive shaft connected to the rotary shaft and the upper and lower copper plates, for transmitting the driving force of the drive motor to the upper and lower copper plates, a screw thread formed on the outer surface thereof, and a worm gear having one end engaged with the rotary shaft gear. . 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller
And a moving photographing unit for moving the photographing unit by controlling the moving unit in consideration of a tilt of the product located in the photographing area so that the interval between the product and the photographing unit is kept constant while the photographing unit is moving upward or downward Appearance inspection device. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the moving photographing unit
A vertical movement module that is located at one side of the moving unit and moves up and down together with the photographing unit to detect a distance to the product and a vertical moving module that controls the vertical moving unit to move the photographing unit and the sensor up and down; And a tilt reflection movement module that controls the horizontal movement part according to the degree of inclination of the product so that the interval between the photographing part and the product is kept constant while the photographing part moves to the lower side or the upper side . 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the tilt reflector module
The vertical movement module and the sensor are operated to measure the distance between the product and the sensor at one point on the upper side of the product and the distance between the product and the sensor at another point below the lower side, Calculating the slope of the product using the distance between the sensors, calculating the distance between the sensor and the product at a specific point using the calculated slope, comparing the distance between the sensor and the product held when the product is upright And a slope calculation module for calculating the distance to horizontally move the photographing part so that the distance between the photographing part and the product is kept constant while the photographing part moves to the lower side or the upper side Appearance inspection device characterized by. 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the tilt reflector module
The vertical movement module and the sensor are operated to measure the distance between the sensor and the product in real time and compare the measured result with the distance between the sensor and the product held when the product stands up, And a real-time reflection module for controlling the horizontal movement unit by calculating a distance to horizontally move the photographing unit so that the interval between the photographing unit and the product is kept constant while moving. delete 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the controller further includes a defect detector for detecting a defect in the appearance of the product by analyzing an image taken by photographing the appearance of the product,
The defect detecting unit may include a boundary estimating module for estimating a position of a boundary of the product by analyzing an image captured by the photographing unit and outputting the image, And a defect detection module for detecting defects in the appearance of the product by analyzing an image of a part of the product to be inspected. 8. The method of claim 7,
The boundary estimation module specifies a pixel having a difference in pixel value by a predetermined range or more in the image output from the photographing unit, sets a plurality of subpixels by subdividing the specified pixel, and calculates a slope of the pixel value of the adjacent subpixel If the slope is above a certain range, it is judged to be a product boundary rather than a product defect.
Wherein the defect detection module determines an average of values of pixels constituting an image of a specific part of a product partitioned by a specific boundary and then determines that there is a defect when the value of a specific pixel is smaller or larger than a certain range, Appearance inspection device. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the visual inspection apparatus further comprises a transfer unit for transferring the product so that the product is inserted into the housing,
Wherein the conveying unit includes a conveyor for conveying a product positioned on an upper surface thereof and a position adjusting unit for allowing a product moving through the conveyor to be precisely positioned in a photographing area inside the housing,
The position adjusting unit includes a movement adjusting unit that interrupts one side of the product moving along the roller of the conveyor, and a pressing member that presses the front and rear sides of the product while the product is stopped by one side of the product being blocked by the movement adjusting unit And a front and rear adjusting unit for positively positioning the product in an image capturing area. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the movement regulating unit comprises a vertical plate interposed between the rollers so as to intercept a product moving along the roller at the time of ascending and descending and a roller below the roller at the time of descending and a vertical lifting and descending unit ascending and descending the vertical plate,
The pair of front and rear adjusting portions are disposed on the upper surface of the roller at a predetermined distance in the forward and backward directions. The gap between the pair of pressing plates is adjusted by the operation of the gap adjusting driving portion, whereby the front and rear surfaces of the product, And a gap adjustment driving unit for adjusting the gap between the pair of pressure plates by moving the pressure plate in the forward and backward directions,
The supporting plate includes a supporting portion that protrudes from the lower side and is positioned between the rollers, a supporting portion that supports the driving shaft connecting portion of the lower surface coupled to a distal end of the connecting portion, and a pressing portion that protrudes from the lower surface of the supporting portion to surround the driving shaft, And a drive shaft connection portion in which a corresponding thread is formed,
Wherein the gap adjusting driving unit is connected to the driving motor and the pressure plate so as to transmit the driving force of the driving motor to the pressure plate, And a drive shaft gear engaged with the drive motor gear, the drive shaft gear being engaged with a first screw thread and a second screw thread,
Wherein a driving shaft connecting portion of a pair of pressing plates of the pair of pressing plates is engaged with the first thread line and a driving shaft connecting portion of the remaining pressing plates is engaged with the second screw line.

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