KR102464858B1 - Spacer supplying method for camera lense - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of supplying a spacer for a camera lens, comprising the steps of supplying a plurality of spacers to a pickup area, photographing the pickup area to obtain a pickup area image, and detecting a pickupable spacer among a plurality of spacers from the pickup area image and generating a position of the pick-up spacer as position information, and picking up the pick-up spacer based on the position information and transferring the pick-up spacer to an assembly line.

Description

SPACER SUPPLYING METHOD FOR CAMERA LENSE

The present invention relates to a method of supplying a spacer for a camera lens, and more particularly, to a method of supplying a spacer for a camera lens capable of picking up spacers one by one by detecting non-overlapping spacers based on a pickup area image.

Recently, as elements are integrated, an imaging device mounted on an electronic device such as a portable terminal has been reduced in size and manufactured to have a thin thickness. As the imaging device, a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD type image sensor or a CMOS image sensor is used. Image pickup devices are becoming high-pixel, high-resolution and high-performance, and lenses for forming object images on the imaging devices are formed of resins suitable for mass production in order to further reduce cost.

In general, an optical system composed of a plurality of glass lenses and plastic lenses is mainly used as an imaging lens. In this way, in an optical system of a composite structure in which a plurality of lenses form one module, the space between the lens substrates is sealed to prevent foreign substances such as dust from entering the space between the lens substrates, and to maintain an air gap between the lenses. For this purpose, optical components such as spacers are required. The spacer is formed in a hollow shape through which a central hole is formed in the center, and has a very thin thickness, such as a film. These spacers are loaded on a separate feeder, transported by a pickup device to the assembly line, and mounted on the camera lens.

1 is a view showing a conventional spacer supply device for a camera lens.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the conventional spacer supply apparatus 1 for a camera lens includes a feeder 10 , a mounting base 20 , a sensor 30 , and a nozzle 40 . The feeder 10 mounts a plurality of spacers 2 , and feeds the plurality of spacers 2 along a spiral transport track connected from the bottom to the top, and supplies the spacers 2 to the mounting table 20 . Here, the feeder 10 can be continuously supplied to the seating table 20 by gradually moving the spacer 2 loaded on the floor upward through vibration.

The seat 20 is installed at the outlet provided at the top of the feeder 10 and includes a pocket area 22 formed in an area adjacent to the outlet. The pocket region 22 is formed in the form of a groove, and may be formed in the same size as the spacer 2 or larger. The spacer 2 may be dropped into the pocket area 22 and received therein.

The sensor 30 is installed in the pocket area 22 , and recognizes whether the spacer 2 is accommodated in the pocket area 22 . Here, the sensor 30 may include a proximity sensor. The nozzle 40 picks up the spacer 2 accommodated in the pocket area 22 in a vacuum manner and transfers it to the assembly line. Here, the assembly line may be a process line for assembling the camera lens.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the spacer supply device for a camera lens shown in FIG. 1 .

In Fig. 2, first, the operation of the feeder 10 is started (step S10). Then, the spacer 2 moves along the transport track of the feeder 10 , is supplied to the seat 20 , and falls into the pocket area 22 to be accommodated (step S11 ). Then, the sensor 30 recognizes the spacer 2 in the pocket area 22 (step S12).

Then, the operation of the feeder 10 is stopped (step S13), and the nozzle 40 picks up the spacer 2 accommodated in the pocket area 22 in a vacuum manner (step S14) and transfers it to the assembly line (step S14) (step S14). S15).

That is, when the spacer 2 accommodated in the pocket area 22 is recognized through the sensor 30 , the feeder 10 stops the operation, and the spacer 2 is picked up through the nozzle 40 . However, even if the operation of the feeder 10 is stopped, the spacer 2 transferred in the next order may fall into the pocket area 22 due to the aftershock.

Since the spacer 2 is in the form of a thin film, two or more spacers 2 accommodated in the pocket area 22 may adhere to each other due to static electricity. Then, as shown in FIG. 3 , the two or more spacers 2a and 2b may be picked up by the nozzle 40 in a state of being attached and transferred to the assembly line, and eventually assembly failure may occur.

In addition, when the pocket area 22 is formed to be larger than the spacer 2 in consideration of the tolerance, the center of the nozzle 40 and the center of the spacer 2 are misaligned when the nozzle 40 picks up the spacer 2 . It can be picked up as Then, as shown in FIG. 4 , a part A of the spacer 2 is assembled to the camera lens in a crumpled state, and assembly failure may occur.

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide a method of supplying a spacer for a camera lens capable of picking up spacers one by one by detecting non-overlapping spacers based on a pickup area image captured by a vision camera.

In embodiments, a method of supplying a spacer for a camera lens may include supplying a plurality of spacers to a pickup area; acquiring a pickup area image by photographing the pickup area; detecting a pickupable spacer among the plurality of spacers from the pickup area image; generating a position of the pick-up spacer as position information; and picking up the pick-up spacer based on the location information and transferring it to an assembly line.

Here, the step of detecting the pick-up spacer includes comparing the pre-stored contour pattern with the pick-up area image.

Here, the contour pattern has a shape corresponding to the contour of the spacer.

Here, acquiring the pickup area image includes photographing the pickup area with a vision camera.

Here, the spacer is formed of a film having a predetermined thickness, and is formed in a circular shape with a hollow formed therein.

The disclosed technology may have the following effects. However, this does not mean that a specific embodiment should include all of the following effects or only the following effects, so the scope of the disclosed technology should not be construed as being limited thereby.

The method of supplying a spacer for a camera lens according to an embodiment of the present invention detects the spacers that do not overlap based on the pickup area image taken by the vision camera and enables the spacers to be picked up one by one, so that a separate pocket area and a sensor need to be provided. It is possible to prevent assembly defects in which two or more spacers are assembled in an overlapping state.

In addition, in the method of supplying a spacer for a camera lens according to an embodiment of the present invention, the process time can be reduced by arranging a plurality of pickup areas and continuously re-detecting spacers that are not freely overlapped in the pickup area.

1 is a view showing a conventional spacer supply device for a camera lens.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the spacer supply device for a camera lens shown in FIG. 1 .
3 and 4 are views for explaining the assembly failure of the spacer.
5 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a spacer supply apparatus for a camera lens according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a diagram exemplarily showing the configuration of the transfer unit, the image acquisition unit, and the pickup unit shown in FIG. 5 .
7A and 7B are views illustrating the straight-line feeder shown in FIG. 5 .
8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of supplying a spacer for a camera lens according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9A and 9B are views illustrating a pickup area image.

Since the description of the present invention is merely an embodiment for structural or functional description, the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiment described in the text. That is, since the embodiment is capable of various changes and may have various forms, it should be understood that the scope of the present invention includes equivalents capable of realizing the technical idea. In addition, since the object or effect presented in the present invention does not mean that a specific embodiment should include all of them or only such effects, it should not be understood that the scope of the present invention is limited thereby.

On the other hand, the meaning of the terms described in the present application should be understood as follows.

Terms such as “first” and “second” are for distinguishing one component from another, and the scope of rights should not be limited by these terms. For example, a first component may be termed a second component, and similarly, a second component may also be termed a first component.

When a component is referred to as being “connected” to another component, it may be directly connected to the other component, but it should be understood that other components may exist in between. On the other hand, when it is mentioned that a certain element is "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that the other element does not exist in the middle. On the other hand, other expressions describing the relationship between elements, that is, "between" and "between" or "neighboring to" and "directly adjacent to", etc., should be interpreted similarly.

The singular expression is to be understood to include the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, and terms such as "comprises" or "have" refer to the embodied feature, number, step, action, component, part or these It is intended to indicate that a combination exists, and it should be understood that it does not preclude the possibility of the existence or addition of one or more other features or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

The present invention can be embodied as computer-readable codes on a computer-readable recording medium, and the computer-readable recording medium includes all types of recording devices in which data readable by a computer system is stored. . Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage device, and the like. In addition, the computer-readable recording medium may be distributed in a network-connected computer system, and the computer-readable code may be stored and executed in a distributed manner.

All terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs, unless otherwise defined. Terms defined in the dictionary should be interpreted as being consistent with the meaning of the context of the related art, and cannot be interpreted as having an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present application.

5 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a spacer supply apparatus for a camera lens according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the spacer supply device 3 for a camera lens according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a transfer unit 100 , an image acquisition unit 200 , a pickup unit 300 , and a control unit 400 . have. The transfer unit 100 is controlled by the controller 400 to supply a plurality of spacers to the pickup area. The transfer unit 100 may adsorb and fix the spacer supplied to the pickup area on the pickup area. The spacer according to an embodiment of the present invention may be formed of a film having a predetermined thickness, and may have a hollow circular shape.

Here, the transfer unit 100 may include a circular feeder 110 , a linear feeder 120 , and an adsorption unit 130 . The circular feeder 110 is equipped with a plurality of spacers, and is controlled by the controller 400 to supply the plurality of spacers to the linear feeder 120 . The circular feeder 110 may supply a plurality of spacers to the linear feeder 120 by moving the plurality of spacers by vibration.

The linear feeder 120 is a seating platform on which the spacer is seated, and provides a pickup area for picking up the spacer, and linearly aligns the spacer supplied from the circular feeder 110 to transfer the spacer to the pickup area. Here, a plurality of linear feeders 120 may be disposed at a plurality of positions. That is, the pickup area according to an embodiment of the present invention may be plural, and may be set to a predetermined size on the linear feeder 120 .

The adsorption unit 130 is controlled by the control unit 400 , and may suction and fix the spacer supplied to the linear feeder 120 by sucking the internal air of the linear feeder 120 . Here, the adsorption unit 130 may suck the internal air of the linear feeder 120 by a vacuum suction method including a vacuum pump.

The image acquisition unit 200 may acquire a pickup area image by photographing the pickup area, and transmit the acquired pickup area image to the controller 400 . Here, the image acquisition unit 200 may include a photographing unit 210 and a lighting unit 220 . The photographing unit 210 may acquire a pickup area image by photographing a preset pickup area, and transmit it to the controller 400 . Here, the photographing unit 210 may include a vision camera.

The lighting unit 220 may supply lighting for identifying the spacer to the pickup area. Here, the lighting unit 220 may include a plurality of light emitting devices (LEDs).

The pickup unit 300 is controlled by the controller 400 to pick up a spacer selected as a pick-upable spacer from among a plurality of spacers entering the pickup area, and transfer the selected spacer to the assembly line. Here, the pickup unit 300 may include a nozzle 310 and a nozzle driver 320 . The nozzle 310 is controlled by the nozzle driver 320 to move to the position of the pick-up spacer, picks up the spacer, and transfers it to the assembly line. The nozzle 310 may pick up the spacer by an adsorption method by vacuum.

The nozzle driver 320 is controlled by the controller 400 to control the movement path of the nozzle 310 . The nozzle driving unit 320 moves the nozzle 310 to the position of the pick-up spacer according to the position information received from the control unit 400, and when the nozzle 310 picks up the spacer, the nozzle 310 is moved to the assembly line. can

The controller 400 controls the transfer unit 100 and the pickup unit 300 using the pickup area image acquired from the image acquisition unit 200 and the pre-stored contour pattern. Here, the contour pattern may be a concentric circle pattern corresponding to the contour of the spacer. The control unit 400 acquires a pickup area image through the image acquisition unit 200 , and compares the pickup area image with a contour pattern to detect a pick-up spacer.

Specifically, the controller 400 may detect a spacer having an outline that matches the outline pattern from the pickup area image as a pick-up spacer. That is, the control unit 400 may detect a spacer located on the uppermost layer in a non-overlapping state and having a contour of a concentric circle pattern as a pick-up spacer. Accordingly, it is possible to freely detect one spacer located in the uppermost layer while a plurality of spacers are supplied to the pickup area without needing to accommodate the spacers one by one in a separate pocket area.

When the control unit 400 detects a spacer that can be picked up from the pickup area image, it stops the supply of vibration to stop the transport operation of the circular feeder 110 , and operates the adsorption unit 130 to remove the plurality of spacers supplied to the pickup area. The lower surface is adsorbed on the upper surface of the linear feeder 120 . In this state, the control unit 400 re-acquires the pickup area image and re-detects the pick-up spacer.

That is, the control unit 400 sets the operation of the circular feeder 110 to a stopped state in consideration of the situation in which the spacer moves and may overlap with other spacers due to the excitation generated when the operation of the circular feeder 110 is stopped. Re-detect the pick-up spacer. For this reason, the control unit 400 can finally detect only the spacer located on the uppermost layer in a non-overlapping state as a pick-up spacer.

In addition, even if there is another spacer overlapped at the same position as the pick-up spacer, since the lower surface of the other spacer overlapped with the pick-up spacer is fixed by the suction unit 130, the pick-up unit 300 can pick up only one spacer. .

When the pick-up spacer is re-detected, the control unit 400 generates the position of the corresponding spacer as location information and transmits it to the pick-up unit 300 . The location information may include X and Y coordinates. Here, the control unit 400 generates the position of the pick-up spacer as location information until the pick-up spacer is not detected, and operates the circular feeder 110 when the pick-up spacer is not detected, and the adsorption unit 130 . operation can be stopped.

That is, the control unit 400 may continuously detect the pick-up spacer while the operation of the circular feeder 110 is stopped and move it to the assembly line. Accordingly, a plurality of spacers can be freely picked up one by one in a pick-up area continuously without having to stop the circular feeder 110 every time the spacers are picked up, so that the processing time can be shortened. In addition, when there are a plurality of pickup areas, the number of spacers that can be picked up while the circular feeder 110 is stopped increases, thereby increasing process efficiency.

6 is a view illustrating the configuration of the transfer unit, the image acquisition unit, and the pickup unit shown in FIG. 5 by way of example, and FIGS. 7A and 7B are views illustrating the straight-line feeder shown in FIG. 5 .

Referring to FIG. 6 , the transfer unit 100 may include a circular feeder 110 , a linear feeder 120 , and an adsorption unit 130 . The circular feeder 110 mounts a plurality of spacers 4 therein, aligns the plurality of spacers 4 along the transport track 112 and transports them to the discharge end located on the uppermost layer. Here, the circular feeder 110 may be formed in the form of a bowl, and the transport track 112 may be formed in a spiral shape of an upward slope from the bottom to the top along the inner wall surface of the circular feeder 110 . .

A vibrator 114 that is controlled by the controller 400 to generate a vibration force may be installed inside the circular feeder 110, and the spacer 4 is gradually moved by the vibration generated by the vibrator 114. can

The linear feeder 120 is coupled to the discharge end of the circular feeder 110 , and the spacers 4 supplied from the circular feeder 110 are linearly aligned and supplied. Although only one linear feeder 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, an embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto, and a plurality of discharge ends of the circular feeder 110 are configured, and are coupled to each discharge end. A plurality of linear feeders 120 may be configured. As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B , the straight feeder 120 is formed in a straight bar shape having an internal space of a certain size, and may include a plurality of adsorption holes 122 formed on the upper surface. Here, the plurality of adsorption holes 122 may be disposed to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval.

In addition, the linear feeder 120 may include sidewalls 124 formed on both sides adjacent to the discharge end of the circular feeder 110 . The spacer 4 transferred to the discharge end of the circular feeder 110 by the side wall 124 may be linearly aligned and supplied to the straight feeder 120 . Here, the spacer that is not picked up among the plurality of spacers 4 supplied to the linear feeder 120 falls to a separate collection box 126 , and the spacers 4 collected in the collection box 126 are transferred to the circular feeder 110 . It can be re-mounted and reused.

The adsorption unit 130 is connected to the internal space of the linear feeder 120 through the intake pipe 132 , and is controlled by the control unit 400 to suck the internal air of the linear feeder 120 . When the adsorption unit 130 instantaneously sucks the internal air of the linear feeder 120 by vacuum, the lower surface of the spacer 4 in contact with the adsorption hole 122 may be adsorbed and fixed to the upper surface of the linear feeder 120 . . Here, the intake pipe 132 may be formed in the form of a tube, and the adsorption unit 130 may include a vacuum pump.

The image acquisition unit 200 may include a photographing unit 210 and a lighting unit 220 . The photographing unit 210 may include a vision camera, and may be installed to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval on the upper portion of the linear feeder 120 . The lighting unit 220 may be installed between the linear feeder 120 and the photographing unit 210 . The lighting unit 220 may be formed in a semicircular shape to supply light capable of identifying the spacer 4 supplied to the linear feeder 120 .

The pickup unit 300 may include a nozzle 310 and a nozzle driver 320 . The nozzle 310 may pick up the spacer 4 by a vacuum suction method. Here, the nozzle 310 may include a suction hole 312 on the bottom surface, and may be picked up by sucking the spacer 4 through the suction hole 312 .

The nozzle driver 320 may be coupled to the nozzle 310 and may be controlled by the controller 400 to control a movement path of the nozzle 310 . The nozzle driving unit 320 places the nozzle 310 on the pick-up spacer 4 according to the position information received from the control unit 400, and when the nozzle 310 picks up the spacer 4 at the corresponding position, the assembly line can be moved to The nozzle driver 320 may include an X-axis motor operating in a left and right direction with respect to the ground and a Z-axis motor operating in a vertical direction.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of supplying a spacer for a camera lens according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 9A and 9B are views illustrating a pickup area image.

In Fig. 8, first, a plurality of spacers 4 are mounted on the circular feeder 110, and the circular feeder 110 is operated (step S100). The circular feeder 110 moves the spacer 4 along the conveying track 112 by vibration to feed the straight feeder 120 . The spacers 4 supplied to the linear feeder 120 are aligned linearly and enter the pickup area (step S110).

Then, the image acquisition unit 200 acquires an image of the pickup area by photographing the pickup area. The control unit 400 determines whether the pick-up spacer 4 is detected from the pickup area image (step S120). Specifically, the control unit 400 compares the pickup area image with the pre-stored contour pattern, and as a result of the comparison, if there is a spacer 4 having a contour matching the pre-stored contour pattern in the pickup area image, it is used as a pick-up spacer 4 can be detected.

As a result of the determination, if the pick-up spacer 4 is not detected, the process returns to step S100, and when the pick-up spacer 4 is detected, the control unit 400 stops the circular feeder 110, and the adsorption unit 130 is removed. operation (step S130). At this time, as shown in FIG. 9A , the position of the spacer 4 entering the pickup area B may be changed due to the excitation of the circular feeder 110 . For example, the spacer 4a detected in step S120 may be overlapped by another spacer 4b.

Therefore, the control unit 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention re-acquires the pickup area image through the image acquisition unit 200 in a state where the circular feeder 110 is stopped, and can be picked up from the re-acquired pickup area image It is judged again whether the spacer 4 is detected (step S140).

As a result of the determination, when the pickupable spacer 4 is detected again, the controller 400 generates the location of the corresponding spacer 4 as location information and transmits it to the pickup unit 300 . The pickup unit 300 picks up the detected spacer 4 by moving according to the location information (step S150). At this time, even if there is another spacer 4 overlapped under the detected spacer 4 , the other spacer 4 is adsorbed and fixed by the adsorption unit 130 so that only the detected spacer 4 can be picked up. Then, the pickup unit 300 transfers the picked-up spacer 4 to the assembly line and combines it with the camera lens (step S160).

Then, the control unit 400 returns to step S140 to determine again whether the pick-up spacer 4 is detected. That is, the control unit 400 proceeds with the pick-up process until the pick-up spacer 4 is not detected while the circular feeder 110 is stopped. For example, as shown in FIG. 9B , when the first spacer 4a is detected in step S140 , the first spacer 4a is picked up, and then, when the pick-up second spacer 4b is re-detected, a circular shape The second spacer 4b is picked up while the feeder 110 is stopped. Here, reference numeral C denotes an outline pattern.

Similarly, after picking up the second spacer 4b, if the pickupable third spacer 4c is detected again, the third spacer 4c is picked up. Then, when the pickupable fourth and fifth spacers 4d and 4e are detected, they are sequentially picked up. Then, if the pick-up spacer is not detected, the process returns to step S100 to operate the circular feeder 110 . That is, the process time can be shortened by continuously detecting the pick-up spacer 4 in a state in which the circular feeder 110 is stopped without having to stop the circular feeder 110 whenever the pickup process is performed.

Although the above has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art can variously modify and change the present invention within the scope without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below. You will understand that it can be done.

100: transfer unit
200: image acquisition unit
300: pickup unit
400: control unit

Claims (5)

supplying a plurality of spacers to the pickup area;
acquiring a pickup area image by photographing the pickup area;
detecting a pickupable spacer among the plurality of spacers from the pickup area image;
generating a position of the pick-up spacer as position information; and
Picking up the pick-up spacer based on the location information and transferring it to an assembly line,
The step of detecting the pick-up spacer is
A method of supplying a spacer for a camera lens comprising the step of comparing the pre-stored contour pattern with the pickup area image. delete According to claim 1, wherein the contour pattern is
A method of supplying a spacer for a camera lens in a shape corresponding to the outline of the spacer. According to claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining the image pickup area
A method of supplying a spacer for a camera lens, comprising the step of photographing the pickup area with a vision camera. According to claim 1,
The spacer is formed of a film of a certain thickness, the spacer supply method for a camera lens formed in the form of a hollow is formed in a circle.

Images