KR102261331B1 - Apparatus and method for ispecting manufactures - Google Patents

Abstract

A product inspection apparatus and method are provided. Product inspection apparatus according to the present disclosure, a hopper for loading products, a step feeder for sequentially transferring the products loaded in the hopper, and a pushing unit for aligning the products transferred by the step feeder according to the standard of the product includes
Through the above configurations, the entire process of the product inspection apparatus can be automated, so that the work quality of the process is consistently maintained, and the maintenance cost required for the operation of the process can be reduced.

Description

PRODUCT INSPECTION APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ISPECTING MANUFACTURES

The present disclosure relates to a product inspection apparatus and method. In detail, it relates to a product inspection apparatus capable of performing from product supply to product inspection, post-inspection processing, and shipment, and a control method thereof.

As the industry becomes more advanced and the rate of change of technology accelerates, a wider variety of products are being produced than in the past. In general, when a certain product is produced, the manufacturing process is generally produced through a multi-step manufacturing process unless it is a very simple product. In this case, after passing through one manufacturing process, an inspection step is performed to check whether the process is performed correctly at each step.

In the conventional inspection step, a manual inspection in which the operator visually checks the dimensions or appearance of defects and distinguishes defective products from acceptable products has been common. However, this manual inspection method had a problem in that there was a large deviation in the work result depending on the skill level of the operator, and the defective product was erroneously judged as an acceptable product due to the operator's mistake, and there were frequent quality issues in which the defective product was shipped.

In addition, according to the manual inspection, the fatigue of the operator during long-time work increased rapidly, and there was a problem in that a lot of labor costs were generated as a lot of manpower was put into the inspection.

On the other hand, there have been some attempts to automate the inspection process before, but the conventional automation system has a problem in which the product is caught in the alignment part in the step of aligning the product for inspection, and thus the entire process is frequently stopped. , although individual processes could be automated due to differences in working time between each process, it was very difficult to automate the entire process.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-1720008 (2017.03.21)

The technical problem to be solved through some embodiments of the present disclosure is to automate the entire process through an organic coupling relationship between each process to maintain consistent work quality and to provide a product inspection apparatus and method that can reduce maintenance costs will be.

Another technical problem to be solved through some embodiments of the present disclosure is to prevent the process from being interrupted in advance and improve the processing speed and efficiency of the entire process by providing an alignment means that can prevent product jamming. It is to provide a product inspection apparatus and method.

Another technical problem to be solved through some embodiments of the present disclosure is to provide a product inspection apparatus and method capable of responding to products of various specifications through a single equipment by providing an alignment means adjusted according to the specifications of the products will be.

The technical problems of the present disclosure are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

Product inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure for solving the above-described problems, a hopper for loading products, a step feeder for sequentially transferring the products loaded on the hopper, and the product transferred by the step feeder and a pushing unit that aligns them in a line according to the specifications of the product.

In one embodiment, the pushing unit may include blocking to push the products stacked in multiple rows in a first direction to remove products after a second row among the products stacked in the multiple rows. .

In one embodiment, the blocking may be removed by pushing a product of a second layer or more among the products stacked in multiple layers in a second direction.

As an embodiment, the first direction and the second direction may be the same direction.

In an embodiment, the blocking may be spaced apart from the surface area of the step feeder by a predetermined distance to move relative to the step feeder when the product of the second layer or more is pushed in the second direction.

In one embodiment, the step feeder and the pushing unit 222 may adjust the relative positions of the step feeder and the blocking so that the blocking is located at a point corresponding to the width and height of the product.

In one embodiment, the inspection unit for inspecting the appearance and dimensions of the products and the pushing unit may further include a conveyor for providing the products aligned in a line to the inspection unit.

In an embodiment, the apparatus may further include a discharging unit for discharging products that have been inspected by the inspection unit, and the inspection unit may provide the inspected product to the discharging unit through different paths according to the inspection result.

As an embodiment, the inspection unit may include a plurality of scan units that simultaneously measure the appearance and dimensions of different products.

As an embodiment, a control unit for adjusting the process speed of the hopper, the step feeder, or the pushing unit according to a first process part different from the hopper, the step feeder, and the pushing unit and the work queue of the first process part is further included may include

In an embodiment, the controller may compare the work queue of the first process unit with a reference value to adjust the process speed of the hopper, the step feeder, or the pushing unit.

A product inspection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure for solving the above-described problems includes supplying a product to be inspected, aligning the supplied product in a line, and inspecting the appearance and dimensions of the aligned product and classifying and discharging the products arranged in a line according to the test result.

As an embodiment, the step of aligning the line may include moving the product in the first position to the second position by a step feeder, horizontally aligning the product in the second position by a pushing unit, and to the pushing unit. It may include vertically aligning the product in the second position by

As an embodiment, the step of discharging separately the products arranged in a row includes the steps of inspecting whether there is a heterogeneously mixed product among the products arranged in a row, and classifying and discharging the heterogeneously mixed product out of the specification according to the inspection result The step of inspecting whether there is a heterogeneous product includes the step of moving a self-moving inspection robot to a position set by the central server and inspecting whether the products arranged in a line are mixed with each other. can do.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises the step of inspecting whether the discharged product is defective, wherein the inspecting whether the defective product includes: determining whether the discharged product is defective; a barcode of the product for which the defective product is determined It may include the step of checking information and checking the process or equipment in which the discharged product was produced based on the checked barcode information.

In an embodiment, the step of inspecting whether the product is defective may further include notifying the process or equipment in which the discharged product is produced to be stopped.

A product inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure for solving the above-described problems, a memory storing one or more instructions, and a product in a first position by executing the stored one or more instructions to a second position moving, horizontally aligning the product moved to the second position by a pushing unit, and vertically aligning the product moved to the second position by the pushing unit.

According to the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure, since the entire process can be automated through an organic coupling relationship between each process, the work quality of the process can be consistently maintained, and the labor cost required to operate the process is reduced, so the overall maintenance cost can be reduced.

In addition, it is possible to prevent the jamming of the product when moving the product to the inspection unit through the in-line alignment means of the alignment unit, so it can prevent the process from being interrupted due to misalignment of the product in advance and improve the processing speed and efficiency of the entire process. can

In addition, since the alignment dimension can be adjusted according to the product specifications, products of various specifications can be inspected using a single equipment.

1 is a perspective view showing an overall appearance of a product inspection apparatus, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view exemplarily showing the configuration of the supply unit 100 and the alignment unit 200 shown in FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view exemplarily showing the configuration of the in-line alignment unit 220 shown in FIG. 2 .
4A and 4B are cross-sectional views exemplarily showing the detailed configuration and operation method of the step feeder 221 and the pushing unit 222 shown in FIG. 3 .
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a method of variably adjusting the dimensions of the line alignment by the step feeder 221 and the pushing unit 222 of FIG. 4 according to the standard of the target product.
6 is a partial perspective view in which the upper plate and side partition walls of the inspection unit 300 are removed to exemplarily show the configuration of the inspection unit 300 shown in FIG. 1 .
7 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating a detailed configuration and operation method of the scan unit 310 illustrated in FIG. 6 .
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the external appearance and structural features of the jig 313 of FIG. 7 .
FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view exemplarily showing the configuration of the discharge unit 400 shown in FIG. 1 .
10 is a flowchart illustrating a product inspection method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
11 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail a method of arranging products in a line, which is described in step S120 of FIG. 10 .
12 is a flowchart illustrating a product inspection method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
13 is a hardware configuration diagram illustrating an exemplary computing device capable of implementing a product inspection apparatus according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Advantages and features of the present disclosure, and methods for achieving them, will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the technical spirit of the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments and may be implemented in various different forms, and only the following embodiments complete the technical spirit of the present disclosure, and in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs It is provided to fully inform those of ordinary skill in the scope of the present disclosure, and the technical spirit of the present disclosure is only defined by the scope of the claims.

In adding reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same components are given the same reference numerals as much as possible even though they are indicated on different drawings. In addition, in describing the present disclosure, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present disclosure, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein may be used with the meaning commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. In addition, terms defined in a commonly used dictionary are not to be interpreted ideally or excessively unless clearly defined in particular. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing the embodiments and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular also includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise in the phrase.

In addition, in describing the components of the present disclosure, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), etc. may be used. These terms are only for distinguishing the components from other components, and the essence, order, or order of the components are not limited by the terms. When a component is described as being “connected”, “coupled” or “connected” to another component, the component may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but another component is between each component. It should be understood that elements may be “connected,” “coupled,” or “connected.”

As used herein, "comprises" and/or "comprising" refers to the presence of one or more other components, steps, operations and/or elements mentioned. or addition is not excluded.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view showing an overall appearance of a product inspection apparatus, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Referring to FIG. 1 , a product inspection apparatus 1000 including a product supply process, a product sorting process, a product inspection process, and a product discharging process as individual processes for product inspection is illustrated.

The product inspection apparatus 1000 includes a supply unit 100 , an alignment unit 200 , an inspection unit 300 , and a discharge unit 400 , and each configuration includes a product supply process, a product alignment process, a product inspection process, and a product discharge process. are performed separately.

The product inspection apparatus 1000 is an automated system in which each process from supply of a product to sorting, inspection and discharge is organically coupled and controlled with each other. Although the conventional inspection apparatus partially automates some processes, it is very difficult to automate the entire process due to a difference in working time between individual processes or a problem in the product alignment process that connects the processes. The product inspection apparatus 1000 is an apparatus that automates the entire process by solving these problems, and lowers the product defect rate, increases inspection efficiency, and reduces overall operating costs compared to the conventional inspection apparatus.

Hereinafter, a detailed configuration and operation of the product inspection apparatus 1000 will be described in more detail.

The supply unit 100 supplies the product received from the outside to the alignment unit 200 . The supply unit 100 may supply the product in a pallet unit, and may include a dumping unit capable of automatically dumping the product. As an embodiment, the supply unit 100 may include a sensor that automatically detects the approach of a forklift and generates a control signal for receiving a product. In this case, the sensor may be a distance sensor that detects a distance to the target object.

The alignment unit 200 aligns the products provided from the supply unit 100 and sequentially provides them to the inspection unit 300 . The alignment unit 200 divides and transports the products provided by the supply unit 100 , aligns them, and sequentially provides the products to the inspection unit 300 according to the working speed of the inspection unit 300 . As an embodiment, the aligning unit 200 may include a collecting unit for collecting misaligned products or mixed heterogeneous products.

The inspection unit 300 measures the appearance and dimensions of products sequentially provided through the alignment unit 200 and inspects whether the product is defective or defective. The inspection unit 300 includes a scanning unit that measures the appearance and dimensions of the product. The inspection unit 300 may include a plurality of scanning units in order to speed up the processing speed of the inspection process, and may be configured to simultaneously inspect several products. The inspection unit 300 may provide a product determined to be good and a product determined to be defective according to the inspection result to the discharge unit 400 through different paths.

The discharge unit 400 performs post-inspection processing such as applying rust preventive oil to the product provided from the inspection unit 300 , and discharges the product for shipment. The discharge unit 400 may discharge the good products provided from the inspection unit 300 to the first pallet through a first chute, and discharge the defective products provided from the inspection unit 300 to the second pallet through the second chute. . In this case, the post-inspection treatment by the discharge unit 400 may be performed only on the discharged good product. As an embodiment, the discharge unit 400 may discharge the good product to a plurality of pallets in order to distribute the pallet on which the good product is loaded. In this case, the first chute may include a first sub-chute for guiding the non-defective product to the first pallet and a second sub-suit for guiding the non-defective product to the third pallet.

The product inspection apparatus 1000 receives a product through the supply unit 100 , the alignment unit 200 , the inspection unit 300 and the discharge unit 400 , aligns them, inspects, and automates a series of discharging processes do. To this end, the product inspection apparatus 1000 applies an improved product alignment method and an improved control method in consideration of a difference in working time between each process. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 13 , a detailed technical configuration including an improved product alignment method and an improved control method of the product inspection apparatus 1000 will be described.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view exemplarily showing the configuration of the supply unit 100 and the alignment unit 200 shown in FIG. 1 . Referring to FIG. 2 , the supply unit 100 includes a dumping unit capable of supplying products in units of pallets. Alignment unit 200 is a hopper (hopper, 210) for accommodating the product provided by the supply unit 100, the line alignment unit 220 for aligning and providing the product accommodated in the hopper 210, the alignment is not correct It includes a mixing inspection unit 230 for inspecting defective or mixed products, a conveyor 240 for providing products aligned in a line to the inspection unit, and a recovery chute 250 for recovering misaligned products or mixed products.

As an embodiment, when the product is dumped by the supply unit 100 , the hopper 210 may include an impact mitigating means for alleviating the impact applied to the product. In this case, the impact mitigating means may include a rubber plate or polycarbonate.

As an embodiment, the mixing inspection unit 230 may include a vision camera and a ring light for measuring the product on the conveyor 240 .

As an embodiment, when the inspection unit 300 includes a plurality of scan units, the conveyor 240 may include a plurality of conveyors for guiding products toward different scan units. In this case, the sorting unit 200 may include an allocating unit (not shown) for allocating products sequentially supplied from the in-line sorting unit 220 to a plurality of conveyors in a round-robin manner.

In one embodiment, the recovery chute 250 includes a first recovery chute for recovering misaligned products to the hopper 210 and a second recovery chute for discharging heterogeneous products to another pallet (not shown) different from the hopper 210 . may include. In this case, the first recovery chute may include an inclined conveyor and a direction change chute.

As an embodiment, the discharging of the heterogeneous mixed product may be performed using a self-moving inspection robot. For example, when the central server instructs the self-moving inspection robot to move to a predetermined position, for example, a position on the conveyor path where the product is discharged from the aligner 220 for heterogeneous mixing inspection, the inspection robot is By moving to a designated location, it is possible to inspect whether the discharged product is a mixed product. In addition, the product determined by the inspection robot to be heterogeneously mixed may be classified as an out-of-spec product and discharged to the second collection chute. For example, the inspection robot may transmit a control signal to the alignment unit 200 or the inspection robot may directly pick up and move the heterogeneous product so that the heterogeneous product is moved to the path toward the second recovery chute. On the other hand, here, the position to which the inspection robot moves for the heterogeneous mixing inspection has been exemplified as on the conveyor path through which the product is discharged from the alignment unit 220 , but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the inspection robot may move to a designated location near the supply unit 100 that initially supplies the product, and perform the heterogeneous mixture inspection at or before the stage in which the heterogeneous product is supplied to the alignment unit 200. .

According to the configuration of the supply unit 100 and the alignment unit 200 as described above, a large amount of products supplied from the outside are supplied to the hopper 210 through the supply unit 100, and the products accommodated in the hopper 210 are aligned in a line. They are arranged in a line through the unit 220 and sequentially provided to the inspection unit 300 . As will be described later in more detail in FIG. 3 , since the product is provided to the inspection unit 300 without jamming by the aligning unit 220 , each process can be organically and smoothly connected without interruption of the entire process.

On the other hand, as described above, the aligning unit 200 can provide multiple products to the inspection unit 300 through a plurality of conveyors at the same time, so it is possible to provide products with optimal efficiency according to the inspection unit 300 work speed. .

In addition, since misaligned and heterogeneous products are checked and recovered to the hopper 210 or discharged to the outside, errors and defects due to misalignment and heterogeneous mixing can be prevented in advance.

Hereinafter, a detailed method for aligning products without being caught by the in-line alignment unit 220 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 .

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view exemplarily showing the configuration of the in-line alignment unit 220 shown in FIG. 2 . Referring to Figure 3, the in-line aligning unit 220 is a step feeder (221) for transferring the products accommodated in the hopper 210 step by step (step feeder, 221) and a pushing unit for aligning the products transferred by the step feeder 221 ( 222).

The step feeder 221 sequentially transfers the products accommodated in the hopper 210 toward the pushing unit 222 in part. The pushing unit 222 pushes the conveyed products by the step feeder 221 to induce aligning, and the products not in the aligning position are removed by dropping them to the outside, thereby aligning the conveyed products. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B, descriptions related to in-line alignment are continued.

4A and 4B are cross-sectional views exemplarily illustrating the detailed configuration and operation method of the step feeder 221 and the pushing unit 222 shown in FIG. 3 .

The step feeder 221 moves the products in each step toward the pushing unit 222 as the process progresses. For example, the plurality of products 10 and 20 are currently loaded in the first step 221a of the step feeder 221 . The products 10 and 20 loaded in the first step 221a are aligned in a line by the pushing unit 222 , and the aligned products are discharged to the inspection unit 300 .

After the product of the first step 221a is discharged to the inspection unit 300, the step feeder 221 operates up and down, and the first step 221a moves downward, and the second step 221b located below ) is raised to the position of the first step (221a). In this way, the step feeder 221 functions to move the product loaded in each step toward the pushing unit as the process progresses. The product of each step is sequentially moved from the first position (eg, 221b) to the second position (eg, 221a) by the operation of the step feeder 221 .

As an embodiment, the step feeder 221 operates up and down by a hydraulic cylinder, and a pressure adjusting device (not shown) for locally controlling the main pressure of the hydraulic cylinder and transmitting it to the step feeder 221 is provided with the step feeder ( 221) or in a hydraulic cylinder.

As an embodiment, the main pressure of the inlet cylinder is 80 bar and the adjustment pressure transmitted to the step feeder 221 by adjusting it may be 20 to 40 bar.

The pushing unit 222 aligns the products loaded on the top end (eg, the first step, 221a) of the step feeder 221 in a line. The aligning may include horizontally aligning and vertical aligning.

The step of vertically aligning is a step of removing products after the second row so that products loaded in multiple rows are loaded in only one row, as shown in FIG. 4B . In (a) of Fig. 4b, products 10, 20, and 30 are loaded in different rows. At this time, the pushing unit 222 moves the blocking 222a in the direction of the arrow so that the product 30 in the second row is pushed off by the blocking 222a. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4B (b), only the products 10 and 20 in the first column remain and the products 30 in the second column are removed. Through this vertical alignment, the products provided through the step feeder 221 are vertically aligned so that they are loaded in only one row.

The horizontal aligning step leaves only the products 10 of the first layer (ie, the bottom layer) of the stacked products 10 and 20, as shown in FIG. 4A , but the products 20 on the second layer or higher. ) is removed. Referring to FIG. 4A , the pushing unit 222 moves the blocking 222a in the arrow direction 1 so that the product 20 in the second layer or more is pushed off by the blocking 222a. At this time, the blocking 222a is spaced apart by a distance equal to or greater than the height of the product 10 and the surface area of the first step 221a, and the product 10 of the lower layer is controlled not to be pushed out by the movement of the blocking 222a. Through this horizontal alignment, the products provided through the step feeder 221 are horizontally aligned so that they are stacked in only one layer.

After going through the vertical alignment step and the horizontal alignment step, the products of the first step 222a are aligned in a row where only the product 10 in the first row of the bottom layer remains.

Meanwhile, although the case where the vertical alignment step of FIG. 4B is performed first and the horizontal alignment step of FIG. 4A is performed later is exemplified here, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. That is, an embodiment in which the horizontal alignment step of FIG. 4A is performed first and the vertical alignment step of FIG. 4B is performed later is also possible.

In addition, although the case where the blocking 222a moves to remove the product of the first step 222a has been exemplified here, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. That is, an embodiment in which the blocking 222a is fixed and the step feeder 221 or the first step 222a moves in reverse (ie, in the opposite direction of the arrows shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B ) to remove the product is also possible Do. Furthermore, in the horizontal alignment step, the blocking 222a moves, and in the vertical alignment step, the step feeder 221 or the first step 222a moves to remove the product, or an embodiment complementary thereto is also possible. That is, it is sufficient that the blocking 222a and the step feeder 221 move relative to each other, and it is not necessary that either the blocking 222a or the step feeder 221 moves.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a method of variably adjusting the dimensions of the line alignment by the step feeder 221 and the pushing unit 222 of FIG. 4 according to the standard of the target product. The embodiment of FIG. 5 is useful for aligning products of various specifications with the same equipment.

The step feeder 221 and the pushing unit 222 according to the standard of the product 10, such that the blocking (222a) is located at a point corresponding to the width and height of the product 10, the first step (221a) and blocking Adjust the relative position of (222a).

For example, it is assumed that the width of the product 10 is 10 mm and the height of the product 10 is 3 mm. In this case, the step feeder 221 and the pushing unit 222 are separated from the blocking 222a by a distance W corresponding to 10 mm from the end of the first step 221a, and from the surface of the first step 221a The relative positions of the first step 221a and the blocking 222a may be adjusted to be spaced apart by a height H corresponding to 3 mm. At this time, the distance W and the separation height H may be adjusted to be larger by a predetermined length (eg, 1 mm) than the width 10 mm and height 3 mm of the product 10, respectively, in consideration of the error.

According to the configuration as described above, the relative position of the blocking (222a) is adjusted to align the product 10 in a line by optimizing to the standard (eg, width 10mm, height 3mm) of the product 10 . In addition, since optimization is possible only by adjusting the relative position between the blocking 222a and the first step 221a for products of different standards, it is possible to easily respond to products of various standards using the same equipment.

6 is a partial perspective view in which the upper plate and side partition walls of the inspection unit 300 are removed to exemplarily show the configuration of the inspection unit 300 shown in FIG. 1 . Referring to FIG. 6 , the inspection unit 300 includes scan units 310 and 320 that inspect the appearance and dimensions of products provided through the alignment unit 200 . The inspection unit 300 may include a plurality of scanning units 310 and 320 having the same configuration to simultaneously inspect a plurality of products.

As an embodiment, when the inspection unit 300 includes a plurality of scan units 310 and 320 , as described above, the plurality of scan units 310 and 320 through a plurality of conveyors of the alignment unit 200 are used. Products may be provided, and each of the scan units 310 and 320 may be matched with a different conveyor among a plurality of conveyors.

After the inspection is performed on the product by the inspection unit 300 , the product is provided to the discharge unit 400 . In this case, the product determined to be good and the product determined to be defective may be provided to the discharge unit 400 through different paths.

7 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating a detailed configuration and operation method of the scan unit 310 illustrated in FIG. 6 . Referring to FIG. 7 , the scan unit 310 is disposed on the side of the product to be inspected 10 and is disposed above the first camera 311 for performing a horizontal scan of the product and the product to be inspected 10 . and a second camera 312 that performs a vertical scan for .

Meanwhile, the product 10 may be loaded on a jig 313 coupled to the turntable for inspection of the scan unit 310 . The specific structure and shape of the jig 313 will be described later with reference to FIG. 8 .

As an embodiment, the inspection unit 300 may further include a third camera in addition to the first camera 311 and the second camera 312 . In this case, the third camera may be a different type of camera for examining an item different from the first camera 311 or the second camera 312 . For example, if the first camera 311 and the second camera 312 are laser cameras for inspecting the appearance of the product 10 , the third camera may be a vision camera for inspecting the dimensions of the product 10 . have.

As an embodiment, the first camera 311 and the second camera 312 of the inspection unit 300 may inspect various types of defects. For example, the first camera 311 and the second camera 312 of the inspection unit 300 have various types of defects, such as 'defect', 'shape', 'imprint', 'scale' or 'trimming'. can be inspected.

As an embodiment, when the defect type inspected by the first camera 311 and the second camera 312 is 'imprint (imprint)', the defect may be determined according to the depth, length or width of the detected dent. have. In this case, the depth, length, or width of the dent, which is a criterion for determining whether a defect is present, may be set and adjusted by an inspection program associated with the first camera 311 and the second camera 312 . For example, the inspection standard may be set in the inspection program to determine the defect when the depth of the dent is 0.6 mm or more, the length is 2 mm or more, or the width is 5 mm ^{2 or more.}

Meanwhile, whether the dent is defective may be determined by combining two or more of the depth, length, or width of the dent. For example, the inspection standards may be set to judge the product as defective even if the depth of the dent is 0.6mm or more, the length is 2mm or more, or the width is 5mm ^{2 or more, and the depth of the dent is 0.6} Inspection standards may be set to judge the product as defective only when the product is more than mm or more than 2mm in length and 5mm ² or more in width, and only when the depth of the dent is 0.6mm or more, the length is 2mm or more and the width is 5mm ² or more Inspection standards may be set to judge the product as defective.

However, this is an exemplary description of the criterion for determining whether the inspection unit 300 is defective, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. That is, various criteria and combinations thereof other than those exemplified above may be applied according to the type of inspection and the product.

After the inspection by the cameras 311 and 312 is completed, the inspection unit 300 determines whether the product 10 is good or defective according to the result. For example, if it is confirmed that the external appearance and dimensions of the product 10 satisfy the specifications within the error range as a result of measurement by the cameras 311 and 312 , the product 10 is determined as a good product. On the other hand, when it is confirmed that the external appearance and dimensions of the product 10 are out of the error range as a result of measurement by the cameras 311 and 312 , the product 10 is determined to be defective.

As described above, the product determined as a good product as a result of the determination of the inspection unit 300 is provided to the discharge unit 400 through the first path, and the product determined to be defective is discharged through the discharge unit ( 400) may be provided.

As an embodiment, the product inspection apparatus 1000 according to the present disclosure checks the barcode information of the product determined to be defective by the inspection unit 300 and transmits it to the central server to check the process in which the defect occurred in the central server. can do. Specifically, when the inspection unit 300 determines that a certain product is defective, the product inspection apparatus 1000 checks barcode information of the corresponding product, and transmits the checked barcode information to a central server (not shown). In this case, the central server may be a Manufacturing Executing System (MES) server. The MES server checks the process or equipment in which the product was produced based on the transmitted barcode information, and checks whether the identified process or equipment has malfunctions or abnormalities such as mold defects, an operator or control operator handling the process or equipment Notify the device. Thereafter, the operator or the control device receiving the notification temporarily stops the process or equipment and checks whether there is an abnormality, and if there is an abnormality, corrects the abnormality, and if there is no abnormality, the process or equipment is restarted. In this case, the operator or the control device may transmit the inspection result to the MES server for managing the inspection history of the process or equipment.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the external appearance and structural features of the jig 313 of FIG. 7 . Referring to FIG. 8 , a cross-sectional view of the jig 313 cut from the side is shown.

In the jig 313, the upper surface A on which the product is loaded may be formed in a stepwise manner so that products of various sizes can be loaded. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8 , the upper surface A includes a first surface 313a corresponding to a product having a first diameter and a second surface 313b corresponding to a product having a second diameter, and The first surface 313a and the second surface 313b are formed in a stepped structure to be positioned at different heights.

According to the above configuration, products having different diameters can be loaded with one jig 313 .

FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view exemplarily showing the configuration of the discharge unit 400 shown in FIG. 1 . Referring to FIG. 9 , the discharge unit 400 includes a rust preventive oil spray unit 410 for spraying rust preventive oil for the product for which the inspection is completed, and a discharge chute 420 for transferring the product to the pallets 430 and 440 .

When the inspection of the product in the inspection unit 300 is completed, the product is moved to the discharge unit 400, passes through the rust preventive oil spraying unit 410, and the rust preventive oil is applied to the surface, and the pallets 430 and 440 through the discharge chute 420. ) is loaded into

As an embodiment, the discharge unit 400 may receive a good product and a defective product through different paths according to the determination result of the inspection unit 300 . In this case, the rust preventive oil spraying unit 410 may be configured to be disposed on the path on which the good product moves and spray the rust preventive oil only for the good product.

As an embodiment, the discharge unit 400 divides the product into a plurality of pallets 430 and 440 for loading, the discharge chute 420 is a plurality of sub-chute for guiding the product to different pallets 430 and 440 . It may be configured in a form including In this case, the discharge chute 420 may alternately load the discharged product on a plurality of pallets 430 and 440 , and after loading the product on any one of the pallets 430 , the product is placed on the pallet 430 over a certain period. When this is loaded, the product may be divided and loaded on a plurality of pallets 430 and 440 in a manner of loading the product on another pallet 440 .

According to the embodiments of the present disclosure and the product inspection apparatus according thereto, described above, since the entire product inspection process is automated through an organic coupling relationship between each process, it is easy to maintain work quality through automation, and process operation As labor costs are reduced, the overall maintenance cost can be reduced.

In addition, when the products are delivered to the inspection unit, the products are aligned and moved in a row, so it is possible to prevent the jamming of the products during movement, thereby preventing process interruptions due to misalignment and improving the processing speed and efficiency of the entire process. have.

In addition, since the dimensions to be aligned are adjusted according to the product specifications, products of various specifications can be aligned and inspected using a single device.

Hereinafter, a product inspection method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12 . When the performing subject is not specified or unclear in the described method, it is assumed that the performing subject is the above-described product inspection apparatus 1000 .

10 is a flowchart illustrating a product inspection method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 10 , the product inspection method includes four steps of steps S110 to S140.

In step S110 , the product inspection apparatus 1000 supplies the product received from the outside to the alignment unit 200 . The product inspection apparatus 1000 may supply a product in a pallet unit, and may include a dumping unit capable of automatically dumping the product. As an embodiment, the product inspection apparatus 1000 may automatically detect an approach of a forklift or the like through a sensor, and may perform an operation to receive a product from the forklift or the like.

In step S120 , the product inspection apparatus 1000 aligns the products supplied through the alignment unit 200 in a line. The product inspection apparatus 1000 divides and transports the products loaded through the alignment unit 200 and aligns them in a line, and sequentially provides the aligned products to the inspection unit 300 according to the working speed of the inspection unit 300 . As an embodiment, the product inspection apparatus 1000 may include a recovery unit for collecting misaligned products or mixed heterogeneous products.

In step S130 , the product inspection apparatus 1000 measures the appearance and dimensions of the product through the inspection unit 300 to inspect whether the product is defective or defective. The product inspection apparatus 1000 may include a scan unit that measures the appearance and dimensions of the product. The product inspection apparatus 1000 may include a plurality of scan units in order to speed up the processing speed of the inspection process, and may inspect several products at the same time. The product inspection apparatus 1000 provides the inspected product to the discharge unit 400 for shipment, and at this time, the product determined to be good and the product determined to be defective according to the inspection result are discharged to the discharge unit 400 through different paths. ) can be provided.

In step S140 , the product inspection apparatus 1000 performs post-inspection processing, such as applying rust preventive oil to the inspected product, and discharges the product for shipment. As an embodiment, the product inspection apparatus 1000 may discharge good products and defective products to different pallets. For example, the product inspection apparatus 1000 discharges a good product provided from the inspection unit 300 to a first pallet through a first chute, and discharges a defective product provided from the inspection unit 300 to a second pallet through a second chute. can be discharged with In this case, the post-inspection treatment by the discharge unit 400 may be performed only on the discharged good product. As an embodiment, the discharge unit 400 may discharge the good product to a plurality of pallets in order to distribute the pallet on which the good product is loaded. In this case, the first chute may include a first sub-chute for guiding the non-defective product to the first pallet and a second sub-suit for guiding the non-defective product to the third pallet.

11 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail a method of arranging products in a line, which is described in step S120 of FIG. 10 . Referring to FIG. 11 , step S120 includes steps S121 to S123.

In step S121 , at least some of the products loaded on the hopper 210 are loaded on the step feeder 221 . Then, the product loaded by the step feeder 221 is moved from the first position (eg, the second step) to the second position (eg, the first step).

In step S122, the product moved to the second position by the pushing unit 222 is horizontally aligned. The horizontal alignment is an alignment step of removing the product 20 on the upper layer while leaving only the product 10 on the lower layer among the stacked products 10 and 20, as described above with reference to FIG. 4A . The pushing unit 222 moves the blocking 222a in the direction of the arrow 1 so that the product 20 in the upper layer is pushed off by the blocking 222a. At this time, the blocking 222a is spaced apart by a distance equal to or greater than the height of the product 10 and the surface area of the first step 221a, and the product 10 of the lower layer is controlled not to be pushed out by the movement of the blocking 222a. Through this horizontal alignment, the products provided through the step feeder 221 are horizontally aligned so that they are stacked in only one layer.

In step S123, the product is vertically aligned by the pushing unit. The vertical alignment is an alignment step of removing products after the second row so that products loaded in multiple rows are loaded in only one row, as described above with reference to FIG. 4B . The pushing unit 222 moves the blocking 222a in the direction of the arrow so that the products 30 in the second row are pushed off by the blocking 222a, thereby causing the products 10, 20 in the first row Only the remaining products 30 in the second row are removed. Through this process, the products provided through the step feeder 221 are vertically aligned so that they are loaded in only one row.

In the embodiment of FIG. 11 , the product inspection apparatus 1000 may include a controller (not shown) for controlling each step of FIG. 11 .

According to the method as described above, the product loaded on the hopper 210 is moved to the position of line alignment using the step feeder 221 , and the product is moved by horizontal alignment and vertical alignment by the pushing unit 222 . This is sorted in a row. The products aligned in this way are provided to the inspection unit 300 through the conveyor, and since they are aligned in a row, pinching does not occur in the product inspection apparatus 1000 during the conveyor movement process.

12 is a flowchart illustrating a product inspection method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 12 , the product inspection method according to the embodiment of FIG. 12 includes steps S210 to S230 .

The embodiment of FIG. 12 is an embodiment of a method for compensating for a difference in working time between individual processes and allowing the individual processes to operate organically.

In step S210 , the product inspection apparatus 1000 checks a work queue of the first process unit through the sensor unit. In this case, the first process unit to be checked may be the alignment unit 200 , the inspection unit 300 , or the discharge unit 400 . Here, the checking of the job queue means checking the current working status of the first process unit, and checking how many products are waiting for work in the first process unit (ie, how many waiting jobs).

In step S220 , the product inspection apparatus 1000 compares the result of previously checking the work queue with a reference value. Here, the reference value is a threshold value set based on the work queue of the first process unit. As an embodiment, when the job queue of the first process unit is greater than the reference value, it may mean that the amount of work currently on standby is greater than the processing capacity of the first process unit. As an embodiment, when the work queue of the first process unit is smaller than the reference value, it may mean that the currently waiting amount of work can be smoothly processed with the processing capacity of the first process unit.

In operation S230 , the product inspection apparatus 1000 adjusts the process speed of the second processing unit according to a result of comparing the work queue and the reference value. Here, the second process unit is a process before the first process unit, and may be the supply unit 100 , the alignment unit 200 , or the inspection unit 300 . As an embodiment, when the work queue is greater than the reference value, the product inspection apparatus 1000 determines that the amount of work on standby is greater than the processing capacity of the first process unit, and reduces the process speed of the second process unit to the first process unit. Reduce the feed rate of the incoming product. As an embodiment, when the work queue is smaller than the reference value, the product inspection apparatus 1000 determines that the amount of work on standby is not large compared to the processing capacity of the first process unit, and maintains or increases the process speed of the second process unit. 1 Maintain or increase the supply rate of products flowing into the process section.

In the embodiment of FIG. 12 , the product inspection apparatus 1000 may include a controller (not shown) for performing and controlling each step of FIG. 12 .

According to the above method, the process speed of the second process unit, which is the previous step, is adjusted according to the work queue of the first process unit, so that an appropriate standby operation can be maintained in the first process unit. Through this, it is possible to prevent in advance that an excessive product compared to the processing capacity is introduced into the first process unit, thereby stopping the process or causing errors and failures.

Finally, an exemplary computing device 2000 capable of implementing the device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 13 .

13 is a hardware configuration diagram illustrating a computing device.

13, the computing device 2000 includes one or more processors 2100, a memory 2200 for loading a computer program executed by the processor 2100, a bus 2500, a communication interface ( 2400) and a storage 2300 for storing the computer program 2310 may be included. However, only components related to the embodiment of the present disclosure are illustrated in FIG. 13 . Accordingly, those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains can see that other general-purpose components other than those shown in FIG. 13 may be further included.

The processor 2100 controls the overall operation of each component of the computing device 2000 . The processor 3100 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a micro processor unit (MPU), a micro controller unit (MCU), a graphic processing unit (GPU), or any type of processor well known in the art of the present disclosure. can be In addition, the processor 2100 may perform an operation on at least one application or program for executing the method/operation according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. The computing device 2000 may include one or more processors.

The memory 2200 stores various data, commands, and/or information. The memory 2200 may load one or more programs 2310 from the storage 2300 to execute methods/operations according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The memory 2200 may be implemented as a volatile memory such as RAM, but the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The bus 2500 provides a communication function between components of the computing device 2000 . The bus 2500 may be implemented as various types of buses, such as an address bus, a data bus, and a control bus.

The communication interface 2400 supports wired/wireless Internet communication of the computing device 2000 . Also, the communication interface 2400 may support various communication methods other than Internet communication. To this end, the communication interface 2400 may be configured to include a communication module well known in the technical field of the present disclosure. In some cases, the communication interface 2400 may be omitted.

The storage 2300 may non-temporarily store the one or more computer programs 2310, various data (e.g. a learning dataset), a machine learning model, and the like. The storage 2300 is a non-volatile memory such as a read only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk, a removable disk, or well in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. It may be configured to include any known computer-readable recording medium.

The computer program 2310 may include one or more instructions that, when loaded into the memory 2200 , cause the processor 2100 to perform methods/operations according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. That is, the processor 2100 may perform the methods/operations according to various embodiments of the present disclosure by executing the one or more instructions.

For example, the computer program 2310 performs an operation of supplying a product to be inspected, an operation of aligning the supplied products, an operation of inspecting the appearance and dimensions of the product, and an operation of classifying and discharging the product according to the inspection result. It may include instructions to be executed.

In addition, the computer program 2310 is an instruction to perform an operation of checking the work queue of the first process unit through the sensor unit, an operation of comparing the confirmation result with a reference value, and an operation of adjusting the process speed of the second processing unit according to the comparison result may include In this case, an apparatus for providing a product inspection method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented through the computing device 2000 .

So far, various embodiments of the present disclosure and effects according to the embodiments have been described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 13 . Effects according to the technical spirit of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

The technical idea of the present disclosure described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 13 may be implemented as computer-readable codes on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable recording medium may be, for example, a removable recording medium (CD, DVD, Blu-ray disk, USB storage device, removable hard disk) or a fixed recording medium (ROM, RAM, computer-equipped hard disk). can The computer program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium may be transmitted to another computing device through a network such as the Internet and installed in the other computing device, thereby being used in the other computing device.

In the above, even if all the components constituting the embodiment of the present disclosure are described as being combined or operated in combination, the technical spirit of the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to this embodiment. That is, within the scope of the object of the present disclosure, all of the components may operate by selectively combining one or more.

Although acts are shown in a particular order in the drawings, it should not be understood that the acts must be performed in the specific order or sequential order shown, or that all depicted acts must be performed to obtain a desired result. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of the various components in the embodiments described above should not be construed as necessarily requiring such separation, and the program components and systems described may generally be integrated together into a single software product or packaged into multiple software products. It should be understood that there is

Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains can practice the present disclosure in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features. can understand that there is Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The protection scope of the present disclosure should be construed by the following claims, and all technical ideas within an equivalent range should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the technical ideas defined by the present disclosure.

1000: product inspection device 100: supply unit
200: alignment unit 300: inspection unit
400: discharge unit 210: hopper
220: in-line alignment unit 230: mixing inspection unit
240: conveyor 250: recovery chute
221: step feeder 222: pushing unit
221a: first step 221b: second step
222a: blocking 10, 20, 30: product
310, 320: scan unit 311, 312: camera
313: jig 410: anti-rust oil injection unit
420: discharge chute 430, 440: pallet
2000: computing device 2100: process
2200: memory 2300: storage
2400: communication interface 2500: bus
2210, 2310: computer program

Claims (17)

hoppers for loading products;
a step feeder for sequentially transferring the products loaded in the hopper; and
A pushing unit for aligning the products conveyed by the step feeder in a line according to the standard of the product,
The pushing unit,
blocking the products stacked in the plurality of rows by pushing them in a first direction to remove products after the second row among the products stacked in the plurality of rows;
The blocking is
Remove the products after the second row by pushing the products in the first direction in a state where the separation distance from the step feeder is less than the height of the products,
A product inspection device that pushes and removes a product of a second layer or more among the products stacked in multiple layers in a state where the separation distance from the step feeder exceeds the height of the product in the second direction. According to claim 1,
The step feeder,
A product inspection device for transferring the products loaded in the hopper step by step from a first position to a second position. delete According to claim 1,
The first direction and the second direction are the same direction, product inspection apparatus. According to claim 1,
The blocking is
When the product of the second layer or more is pushed in the second direction, it is spaced apart from the surface area of the step feeder by a predetermined distance and moves relative to the step feeder. According to claim 1,
The step feeder and the pushing unit adjust the relative positions of the step feeder and the blocking so that the blocking is located at a point corresponding to the width and height of the product, the product inspection device. According to claim 1,
an inspection unit for inspecting the appearance and dimensions of the products; and
Further comprising a conveyor for providing the products aligned in a line by the pushing unit to the inspection unit, product inspection device. 8. The method of claim 7,
Further comprising a discharge unit for discharging products that have been inspected by the inspection unit,
The inspection unit,
A product inspection apparatus for providing the inspected product to the discharge unit through different paths according to the inspection result. 8. The method of claim 7,
The inspection unit,
A product inspection device comprising a plurality of scanning units for simultaneously measuring the appearance and dimensions of different products. According to claim 1,
a first process unit different from the hopper, the step feeder, and the pushing unit; and
Further comprising a control unit for controlling the process speed of the hopper, the step feeder, or the pushing unit according to the work queue of the first process unit, product inspection apparatus. 11. The method of claim 10,
The control unit is
Comparing the work queue of the first process unit with a reference value to adjust the process speed of the hopper, the step feeder, or the pushing unit, product inspection apparatus. supplying the product to be inspected;
aligning the supplied products in a line;
inspecting the appearance and dimensions of the aligned products; and
Comprising the step of discharging the products sorted in line according to the inspection result,
The step of sorting in a line is,
moving the product from the first position to the second position by the step feeder;
horizontally aligning the product in the second position by blocking included in the pushing unit; and
vertically aligning the product in the second position by the blocking;
The horizontal alignment step is,
In a state where the separation distance between the blocking and the step feeder is less than the height of the product, the products loaded in several rows are pushed in the first direction by the blocking, so that after the second row of the products loaded in the multiple rows removing the product from the second location;
The vertical alignment step is,
In a state where the separation distance between the blocking and the step feeder exceeds the height of the product, the second or more layers of the products stacked in multiple layers are pushed in the second direction by the blocking, so that the second and removing the second layer or more product from the location. delete 13. The method of claim 12,
The step of discharging the sorted products separately is,
examining whether there are heterogeneous mixed products among the products arranged in a row; and
Classifying and discharging the heterogeneously mixed product out of the standard according to the inspection result,
The step of inspecting whether there is a heterogeneously mixed product,
A self-moving inspection robot that moves to a location set by a central server and inspects whether the products arranged in a row are mixed with different kinds,
How to inspect the product. 13. The method of claim 12,
Further comprising the step of inspecting whether the discharged product is defective,
The step of checking whether the defect is,
determining a defect of the discharged product;
checking barcode information of the defective product; and
Including the step of confirming the process or equipment in which the discharged product was produced based on the checked barcode information,
How to inspect the product. 16. The method of claim 15,
The step of checking whether the defect is,
further comprising notifying to stop the process or equipment from which the discharged product was produced,
How to inspect the product. a memory storing one or more instructions; and
moving the product in the first position to the second position by executing the stored one or more instructions, horizontally aligning the product moved to the second position by a pushing unit, and moving the product moved to the second position to the second position. vertically aligned by a pushing unit, comprising a processor and
The processor is
Using a step feeder to move the product from the first position to the second position, and in a state where the separation distance between the blocking included in the pushing unit and the step feeder is less than the height of the product, the products loaded in several rows The products after the second row among the products loaded in the plurality of rows by pushing in the first direction using the blocking are removed from the second position, and the separation distance between the blocking and the step feeder is the height of the products In a state exceeding the above, the second or more layers of the products stacked in multiple layers are pushed in the second direction using the blocking to remove them from the second position.

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