KR20150015377A - Parts feeder and image processing apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an image processing apparatus for a parts feeder and a parts feeder, which can perform introduction of image data running parallel with a photographing operation and sufficiently reduce time from starting to photograph a work till finishing determining whether the work is in a poor condition. The image processing apparatus (8) for the parts feeder according to the present invention is applied to the parts feeder (100) having a camera which photographs the work (3) carried along a carriage path (10), and adopts a line camera (2) as the camera which has a plurality of imaging elements arranged vertically to the carriage direction of the work (3), sequentially photographs the work (3) passing a photographing position (P1) set on the carriage path (10) to take data on a plurality of images for every one work (3), and is configured to have: an image introduction unit (40) immediately introducing the image data acquired by the photographing operation if the photographing is performed by the line camera (2); a preprocessing unit (41) mutually connecting the image data introduced in the image introducing unit (40) in a photographing sequence to generate synthesized image data expressing the approximate whole of the single works (3); and a posture determination unit (44) performing a posture determination process of determining the posture of the work (3) based on the synthesized image data generated by the preprocessing unit (41).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a component feeder for a component feeder,

The present invention distinguishes the appearance or attitude of a work based on image data acquired by a camera, and determines the appearance or posture of the work after a start of image pickup of a work for a plurality of works carried in close proximity in a short time To an image processing apparatus for a component feeder and a component feeder.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a component feeder capable of transporting a work, which is an object to be transported, such as an electronic part, to a predetermined supply source along a transport path (for example, Patent Document 1). The component feeder disclosed in Patent Document 1 first picks up a plurality of workpieces, which are transported at predetermined intervals, by image pickup means to pick up image data. Then, the posture of the work is determined based on the image data, and the work in the improper posture (unstable posture) is excluded from the conveying path by the exclusion means.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-197349

9, the image data obtained by the area camera 202 as the image pickup means is supplied to the image introducing means 204a, And then preprocessing such as binarization processing is performed by the preprocessing means 204b. Thereafter, the posture determination means 204c determines the posture of the workpiece 3 based on the image data after the preprocessing, and the workpiece 3 in the improper posture is determined by the rejection means 5 based on the determination result . The area camera 202 is a device in which a plurality of image pickup elements are arranged in a mesh shape and acquires two-dimensional image data having a relatively large number of pixels. In this case, it is general to use a laser sensor 203 to determine the position of the work 3. In the part feeder 200, the work 3 is placed at a predetermined position on the transport path 3 by the laser sensor 203 When it is detected that the camera has been reached, an external trigger is inputted to the area camera 202 to perform imaging. In addition, the interval between the work pieces 3 is generally adjusted by the interval adjusting means 16 to a predetermined width.

However, in the component feeder 200 having the above-described configuration, it is necessary to acquire image data for each workpiece 3, so that the laser sensor 203 can detect the workpiece 3 one by one , And a plurality of workpieces are transported at predetermined intervals. However, when a plurality of workpieces are transported at intervals, the number of workpieces to be transported per unit time is reduced, and there is a problem that the ability to discharge workpieces to the supply point is reduced.

In order to solve such a problem, as shown in Fig. 10, a plurality of workpieces 3 are transported in close contact with each other in the transport direction, and the area camera 202 continuously captures images, 202 can recognize the posture of the workpiece 3 by recognizing one piece of the workpiece 3 in the acquired image data. In this case, as shown in Fig. 11, when the area camera 202 performs the imaging at time t11, the introduction of the image data acquired by the area camera 202 is started at time t12 through the image introduction unit 254a And preprocessing such as binarization is started by the preprocessing means 254b at time t13 with respect to the introduced image data. The preprocessing means 254b discriminates the end portion of the workpiece 3 indicated by the image data and recognizes one piece of the workpiece 3 in the image data. Thereafter, at the time t14, the posture judging means 254c It is conceivable to determine the posture of the work based on the image data after the pre-processing.

However, in the component feeder 250 using the area camera 202 as described above, when the image pickup area is wide, since the number of pixels of the image data acquired by one image pickup is large and the data amount is large, (Time required for transferring the image data becomes longer), and further, a long time is required until the posture of the work 3 is determined after the imaging is performed. When the imaging area is narrow, the number of pixels of the image data acquired by one imaging is small and the amount of data is small. However, in the continuous imaging system in which the shutter timing is not synchronized, The image data which can not be used for discrimination is also introduced, so that a long time is similarly required. Since the work 3 needs to be determined before reaching the rejection position where the exclusion process is performed by the exclusion means 5, if the time required for the posture determination is long, There is a drawback that the conveying speed must be reduced and the work 3 can not be conveyed at a high speed. As described above, it is said that the component feeders 200 and 250 having the above-described configuration are provided with a device capable of determining the posture in a short time after the start of image pick-up with respect to the plurality of workpieces 3 conveyed in a close state it's difficult.

On the other hand, in order to shorten the time until the posture is determined after the image pickup is started, the performance of the control device 254 (CPU) is improved so that the preprocessing by the preprocessing means 254b and the preprocessing by the posture determination means 254b It is also conceivable to shorten the time required for the posture determination process. However, as shown in Fig. 11, the ratio of the transfer time required for the introduction of the image data to the time when the posture is judged after the image pickup is carried out is the same as that required for the preprocessing and the posture discrimination processing Even if the performance of the control device 254 is improved, the time from the start of image capture until the determination of the posture can not be sufficiently shortened. Further, if the performance of the control device 254 is improved, there is a drawback that it leads to an increase in cost.

An object of the present invention is to effectively solve such a problem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, an image processing method, And to provide a component feeder image feeder and component feeder which can sufficiently shorten the time required for the component feeder.

The present invention takes the following measures in view of the above problems.

That is, the image processing apparatus for a component feeder of the present invention is applied to a component feeder equipped with a camera for picking up a workpiece conveyed along a conveying path, wherein the plurality of A line camera having an image pickup element is employed and the work passing through the image pickup position set on the conveying path is sequentially picked up by the line camera to acquire a plurality of image data for each work, An image introducing means for immediately introducing the image data acquired by the imaging by the camera, and a preprocessing means for connecting the image data introduced by the image introducing means to each other in the order of imaging so as to generate composite image data, Means for determining a defect of the work based on the composite image data generated by the preprocessing means; It is characterized in that it comprises a failure determining means of the work.

Here, the fault discrimination of the work means discrimination of whether or not the appearance and attitude of the work are predetermined or not. In addition, the line camera is a part of the work in the conveying direction in the imaging range, and the image data acquired in one imaging operation has a small number of pixels and a small data amount. With such a configuration using the line camera, whenever the line camera performs imaging, the image data acquired by the line camera is immediately introduced through the image introducing means. Thereby, image data introduction processing is performed in parallel with the imaging operation by the line camera, and before the image pickup of almost all of one work is finished, that is, before the image of the rear end of the work is captured, The introduction is completed for all or most of the image data. Therefore, since the image data of approximately one piece of work can be introduced in a short time after the image pickup on the front end side of the work is started, the start timing of the processing by the following pre- It is possible to sufficiently shorten the time until the failure discrimination process of the work is completed.

In the case where the preprocessing means performs binarization processing for binarizing the image data introduced by the image introducing means in addition to the generation of the synthesized image data before the generation of the synthesized image data, In order to further shorten the time until the end of the discrimination process, it is preferable that the image data is immediately subjected to binarization processing when the image data is introduced by the image introducing means.

Further, in order to stably generate composite image data in which substantially all of one work is displayed even when the conveying speed of the workpiece changes, the preprocessing means may also be configured to further cause the pre- The image data in which the front end portion and the rear end portion of the workpiece are distinguishable in the image data introduced by the introducing means and the image data in which the front end portion of the workpiece is displayed and the image data in which the rear end portion of the workpiece is displayed, .

In addition, in order to allow versatility in parameters and the like, and to enable defect discrimination processing for workpieces of various configurations, it is preferable that the defect discrimination processing by the defect discrimination means of the work is performed using software.

Even when the conveying speed of the work is fast, the work which is not a predetermined appearance or posture is excluded or conveyed from the conveying path by the work processing means even if the time until the failure discrimination processing of the work is finished after the image pick- In order to realize a component feeder capable of correcting the posture on the workpiece and increasing the number of workpieces processed per unit time, it is necessary to use the component feeder image processing apparatus and to feed the component feeder body A line camera which has a plurality of image pickup elements arranged orthogonal to the conveying direction of the work and sequentially picks up the work passing through the image pickup position set on the conveying path and acquires a plurality of pieces of image data per one work , The work is passed from the conveying path to the work passing through the work processing position set in the conveying path, And a command output means for outputting a command for causing the work processing means to perform the processing when it is determined that the failure discrimination means of the work is not of a predetermined appearance or posture Is preferable.

According to the present invention described above, the image data acquired by the image pickup is introduced in parallel with the image pickup operation by the line camera, so that the time from the start of image pickup of the work to the end of the defect determination processing of the work It is possible to provide an image processing apparatus for a component feeder and a component feeder which can shorten the length of the component feeder.

1 is a side view showing a parts feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a plan view showing the measuring means provided in the same part feeder.
3 is an explanatory view for explaining a timing control process performed by the same part feeder.
4 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the same part feeder.
5 is a side view showing a modification of the present invention.
6 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the modification of the present invention.
7 is a side view showing a modification of the present invention.
8 is a side view showing a modification of the present invention.
9 is a side view showing a component feeder based on the configuration of a conventional component feeder.
10 is a side view showing a component feeder for solving the problem of the component feeder shown in Fig.
11 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the component feeder shown in Fig.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1, a component feeder 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a feeder (not shown) for conveying a plurality of workpieces 3 along a conveying path 10 of a component feeder main body 1 And the work 3 is transported from the left side to the right side in Fig. 1 in a close state.

The component feeder main body 1 includes the conveying path 10 and the driving means 11 and vibrates the conveying path 10 by the driving means 11 to thereby oscillate a plurality of And carries the work 3. The work 3 is conveyed such that the longitudinal direction or the short direction thereof is parallel to the conveying direction of the work 3.

The line camera 2 is provided above the image pickup position (photographing point) P1 set on the conveying route 10. The line camera 2 has a plurality of high sensitivity imaging elements arranged in one line perpendicular to the conveying direction of the work 3 (the extending direction of the conveying route 10) The image of the workpiece 3 is picked up. The imaging range (imaging area) of the line camera 2 is a range for imaging a part of the work 3 in the longitudinal direction in the carrying direction of the work 3 when the longitudinal direction of the work 3 is parallel to the carrying direction, In the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the work 3 is set to a range for capturing the entire short direction of the work 3 and when the short direction of the work 3 is parallel to the conveying direction, Is set to a range for picking up a part of the work 3 in the short direction and a direction for picking up the entire lengthwise direction of the work 3 in the direction orthogonal to the carrying direction of the work 3. [

The position at which the line camera 2 is installed is important in taking the timing to exclude the work 3 in an improper posture. In order to install the line camera 2 at a desired position with high accuracy, (A line camera major) 10a shown in Fig. 2 is provided. The measuring means 10a is provided with a first graduation 10ab extending in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the work 3 and a second graduation 10ac as a binary dot display every predetermined distance, The first graduation 10ab is adjusted to an exclusion position (exclusion operating point) P2 to be described later and the image data obtained by the line camera 2 is projected from the vicinity of the exclusion position P2 toward the downward direction of the line camera 2 The imaging position P1 can be set to a desired distance from the exclusion position P2 by confirming the second graduation 10ac to be extended.

The image data acquired by the line camera 2 shown in Fig. 1 has a smaller number of pixels and a smaller data amount than the area camera in which a plurality of image pickup elements are arranged in a mesh shape so that the entire work 3 is taken as an imaging range have. The line camera 2 is operated so that the work 3 continuously captures images at predetermined intervals before reaching the image pickup position P1 and the work 3 transported toward the downstream side is moved to the image pickup position P1, And the rear end portion 3b (the work end on the upstream side in the transport direction, that is, the end portion on the downstream side in the transport direction, 3) in which the work 3 is located at a different position. The acquired image data is transferred to a control device (controller) 4, which will be described later, each time imaging is performed once.

Further, the line camera 2 is usually used in the case of taking an image of a constant conveying speed of the object to be picked up or synchronizing with the speed or position of the object to be picked up by using an encoder or the like even if the conveying speed is not constant And is conveyed by the vibration of the conveying path 10, so that it is generally difficult to use in a component feeder in which the conveying speed of the work 3 which is the object to be imaged is unlikely to stabilize. In this embodiment, The inconvenience of use of the line camera 2 due to the conveying speed deviation is eliminated by grasping the front end 3a and the rear end 3b. This will be described later.

The control device 4 shown in Fig. 1 is constituted by a normal microcomputer unit having a CPU, a memory, an interface and the like (not shown), and a suitable program is stored in the memory. Processing means 41, posture judging means 44, speed calculating means 42, command outputting means 45, timing control means 42, And serves as means 46.

The image introducing means 40 immediately introduces the image data acquired by the line camera 2 into the control device 4 every time imaging is performed. The preprocessing means 41 includes a binarization processing section 41a as binarization processing means, an end detection section 41b as an end detection means, and a composite image data generation section 41c as composite image data generation means, When introduced through the introducing means 40, the binarization processing section 41a immediately performs predetermined preprocessing such as binarization processing for each image data. The end detecting section 41b discriminates the front end portion 3a and the rear end portion 3b (see FIG. 3) of the work 3 in the image data through appropriate image processing. For example, in the image data, the color tone and the like are different in the part where the work 3 appears and the part other than the work 3 (specifically, the conveying path 10) The image data obtained by picking up the front end 3a or the rear end 3b of the work 3 has a slight difference in the distance between the work 3 and the work 3, A portion having a different color density appears in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the recording medium 3. The end detecting unit 41b detects (discriminates the image) the front end 3a and the rear end 3b of the work 3 shown in the image data from the difference in color concentration or the like. Alternatively, the end detecting portion 41b may be configured to detect the front end 3a and the rear end 3b by discriminating the R shape at the corner of the work 3 in the image data. The composite image data generation section 41c links the image data in which the front end portion 3a of the workpiece 3 appears to the image data in which the rear end portion 3b of the workpiece 3 appears, , And synthesized image data is generated as two-dimensional image data in which substantially all of one work 3 appears.

The posture determining means 44 as a workpiece failure discriminating means performs an posture discriminating process as a failure discriminating process for discriminating the posture of the workpiece 3 (image discrimination) based on such composite image data. For example, the posture of the workpiece 3 is determined by previously storing the image data of the workpiece 3 in an appropriate posture in the above-mentioned memory, and comparing the synthesized image data and the image data stored in the memory by pattern matching. The postures other than the predetermined postures include, for example, those in which the front and back sides are reversed or the back and forth directions are reversed. The image introducing means 40, the preprocessing means 41 and the posture determining means 44 constitute the image forming apparatus 8 for a parts feeder of the present invention for discriminating the posture of the work 3. The present embodiment is configured to detect the front end portion 3a and the rear end portion 3b of the work 3 in the image data as described above and hence even if the conveying speed of the work 3 is changed, ) From the image data in which the front end 3a of the work 3 is displayed to the image data in which the rear end 3b of the work 3 appears are arranged in the order of image picking up so that the composite image data, For this reason, it is possible to determine the posture of the work 3 by using the line camera 2 which is not generally used in the conventional component feeder.

The speed calculating means 42 performs a speed calculating process for calculating the conveying speed of the work 3 by using the composite image data used in the determination of the attitude as described above. More specifically, (M / s) of the conveying belt 3 is calculated.

Vw = Lw1 / S 占 ... (One)

Here, S is the scan rate of the line camera 2, that is, the imaging interval (sec) of the line camera 2, and A is the line camera 2's roughly entirety of the work 3, (Number of times) required for imaging from the front end side to the rear end side of the work 3, and Lw1 is the length in m of the work 3 in the carrying direction. The speed calculating means 42 calculates the time required for the work 3 to pass through the image pickup position P1 as the time required for image pick-up, which is the product of the image pickup interval S of the line camera 2 and the image pickup count A And calculates the conveying speed of the work 3 on the basis of the imaging time and the conveying direction length Lw1 of the work 3. The length Lw1 in the transport direction of the work 3 is set in advance for the work 3 of the actual work. The length Lw1 in the conveying direction of the work 3 and the imaging interval S of the line camera 2 are input through the input means 48. [ The number-of-times-of-images acquisition section 42a is a section that acquires the number of pixels of image data obtained by one imaging and the number of pixels of composite image data The number of times of imaging (A) is calculated.

The image introducing means 40, the preprocessing means 41 and the speed calculating means 42 constitute the speed detecting device 7 for a part feeder of the present invention which detects the conveying speed of the work 3. The conveying speed of the work 3 calculated by the speed detecting device 7 for the part feeder is not limited to that used for the timing control for excluding the work 3 in the unjust posture described below, Is displayed on the display means (47). The conveying speed of the work 3 thus calculated may be used as a judging material for judging whether the work 3 is conveyed or stopped.

When the attitude determination means 44 determines that the attitude determination means 44 determines that the attitude determination means 44 determines that the attitude determination means 44 determines the attitude to be inappropriate, (Exclusion operation) for excluding the work 3 in the exclusion position P2 as the position from the transport path 10 is outputted. The exclusion means 5 has an air injection nozzle 50 as a pressing force applying means for injecting compressed air toward an evacuation position P2 set on the downstream side of the image pickup position P1 in the conveying direction of the work 3 , A pressing force is applied to the work (3) by the compressed air injected from the air injection nozzle (50) to exclude the work (3) from the conveying path (10). The air injection nozzle 50 is supplied with the energization command as the above command, whereby the compressed air is injected. A target position Pw (see Fig. 3) for applying this pressing force is set on the work 3 in advance. In the present embodiment, the center of the work 3 in the conveying direction, which faces the exclusion means 5, (Pw). By applying the pressing force to the target position Pw, it is possible to suppress the movement of the work 3, which is the object to be removed, while being horizontally rotated when being removed from the conveying path 10. The exclusion treatment in the present invention may also include a treatment for dropping the work 3 from the upper side of the conveying route 10 to the work receiving portion below the conveying route 10, And a process of assigning to one of the conveying passages 10 that are separated from the conveying path 10 and the like.

The timing control means 46 controls the timing at which the command output means 45 outputs the energizing command to the injection nozzle 50 based on the conveying speed of the work 3 calculated by the speed calculating means 42. [ Specifically, based on the following expression (2), the waiting time t? (Sec) from when the posture judging means 44 judges the posture to be false to the time when the command outputting means 45 outputs the energizing command, (Refer to Fig. 4), and based on this waiting time t?, The command outputting means 45 controls the timing of outputting the energizing command to the air jetting nozzle 50 so that the conveying speed of the work 3 So that a pressing force can be applied to the target position Pw even when the setting value is changed.

t? = {(L-Lw2) / Vw} -tp-td ... (2)

Here, Vw is the conveying speed m / s of the work 3 conveyed on the conveying path 10 (see Fig. 3), L is the distance m from the image capturing position P1 to the exclusion position P2 3), Lw2 is the distance m from the rear end 3b of the work 3 to the target position Pw (see Fig. 3), tp is the distance from the rear end 3b of the work 3 to the target position Pw (See Fig. 4) required from the completion of the introduction to the completion of the posture discrimination by the posture judging means 44 (see Fig. 4). The image processing time tp is a fixed value or a set value when the time taken for the preprocessing, attitude determination processing, and speed calculation processing is always constant. On the other hand, when the image processing time tp is configured to change in accordance with the increase or decrease of the number of pixels of the composite image data caused by the change of the conveying speed, the image processing time tp is counted in the control device 4 . td is a mechanical transfer time (sec) (see Fig. 4) until the exclusion means 5 subjected to the energization command exerts a pressing force on the work 3 through the exclusion process, . The distance L, the transmission time td, and the like are input through the input means 48. In the present embodiment, the distance L from the imaging position P1 to the excavation position P2 is obtained by using the measuring means, but it may be obtained by measurement.

The operation of the component feeder 100 having the above configuration will be described with reference to a timing chart shown in Fig. In the following description, the operation until one workpiece 3 in an improper posture is imaged by the line camera 2 and then excluded by the eliminating means 5 is described.

When the workpiece 3 carried on the conveying path 10 is picked up at time t01, the image data acquired thereby is immediately introduced (transferred) through the image introducing means 40, The end detecting section 41b detects the front end portion 3a and the rear end portion 3b of the work 3 and with respect to the image data obtained at the time t01, The front end 3a of the workpiece 3 is detected. After the imaging at the time t01, the sequential imaging is performed at a predetermined interval, and the introduction and preprocessing of the image data are performed immediately thereafter. The rear end portion 3b of the work 3 is recognized by the end detecting section 41b in the image data acquired by the synthesized image data generating section 41c at the time t03, Based on this composite image data The attitude determination process by the attitude determination means 44 and the velocity calculation process by the velocity calculation means 42. The processing up to the time t03 is performed by hardware (for example, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) The timing control means 46 calculates the waiting time t alpha and the timing control means 46 calculates the waiting time t [alpha] The command output means 45 is controlled so that the energization command is outputted at the time t05 when the waiting time t? Elapsed from the time t04. Then, the compressed air is injected from the air injection nozzle 50 of the eliminating means 5 And the pressing force by the air actually acts on the workpiece 3 at the time t06 when the delivery time td elapses from the time t05. In addition, if the workpiece 3 subjected to the posture discrimination process is in an appropriate posture, To process When it is determined that the predetermined position is, the workpiece (3) a process for excluding from the conveying path 10 (injection from the conducting command output, and air injection nozzle 50 in) is not performed. Although the explanation has been made of the operation of one work 3 for ease of understanding in this explanatory note, in reality, the work 3 is continuously conveyed in a close state, so that the image pickup, introduction of image data, On the other hand, the processing after the time t03 is performed once after the image data of one work 3 is acquired (intermittent operation).

In this way, the workpiece 3 whose posture is inappropriate is excluded, and only the workpiece 3 in an appropriate posture is supplied to the supply source.

As described above, the component feeder image processing apparatus 8 of the present embodiment is applied to the component feeder 100 equipped with the camera for picking up the workpiece 3 conveyed along the conveying route 10, A line camera having a plurality of image pickup elements arranged orthogonal to the conveying direction of the work 3 is employed and the line camera is used to detect the position of the work 3 passing through the image pickup position P1 set on the conveying route 10 (3) are sequentially picked up to acquire a plurality of pieces of image data for one work (3), and the image introducing means (4) for taking in the image data acquired by the imaging by the line camera Preprocessing means (41) for connecting the image data introduced by the image introducing means (40) to each other in the order of imaging in order to generate composite image data showing substantially all of the workpiece (3) The synthesis (41) Based on the data it is configured to have a bad posture recognizing process recognizing process for performing the work defective determination means serving as position determining means as in (44).

Here, the image pickup range of the line camera 2 is a part of the work 3 in the transport direction, and the image data acquired in one image pickup has a small number of pixels and a small data amount. Each time the line camera 2 captures an image, the image data acquired by the line camera 2 is immediately introduced through the image introducing means 40 in that the line camera 2 is used. Therefore, when the front end side of the work 3 is picked up by the line camera 2, the image data introduction process is performed in parallel with the subsequent picking up operation, The introduction is completed for all or most of the image data acquired before the end of the work 3, that is, before the image of the rear end 3b of the work 3 is captured. Therefore, substantially all the image data of one workpiece 3 can be introduced in a short time after the image pickup on the front end side of the workpiece 3 is started. Therefore, in the subsequent preprocessing means 41 and the posture judging means 44 It is possible to shorten the start time of the processing by the work 3 and shorten the time from the start of image pick-up of the work 3 to the determination of the posture of the work 3, .

The preprocessing means 41 performs binarization processing for binarizing the image data introduced by the image introducing means 40 prior to the generation of the composite image data. It is possible to perform the binarization processing on the image data immediately after the introduction of the image data by using the image data of the entire or most of the image data acquired before the picking up of the rear end side of the work 3. [ The binarization processing can be completed, and the time required until the posture of the work 3 is determined after the imaging is started can be further shortened.

Particularly, the preprocessing means 41 is also capable of discriminating the front end portion 3a and the rear end portion 3b of the work 3 in the image data introduced by the image introducing means 40, The composite image data is generated by connecting the image data in which the front end portion 3a has appeared from the image data in which the rear end portion 3b of the workpiece 3 appears to the image data in the imaging order, It is possible to stably generate composite image data in which substantially all of one workpiece 3 is displayed even when the speed changes, and the accuracy of discrimination by the posture judging means 44 can be increased.

Further, it is preferable that the attitude determination process by the attitude determination means 44 is performed by using software, and the versatility of the parameters and the like in the attitude determination process is provided, . ≪ / RTI >

A component feeder main body 1 having a conveying path 10 on which a workpiece 3 is conveyed using an image processing apparatus 8 for a component feeder configured as described above, A line camera (3) which has a plurality of orthogonally arranged imaging elements and successively picks up a work (3) passing through an imaging position (P1) set on the carrying path (10) And a work process for carrying out an exclusion process for excluding the work 3 from the conveying path 10 to the work 3 passing through the exclusion position P2 as the work processing position set in the carrying path 10 (5) for outputting an energization command as an instruction for causing the exclusion means (5) to perform an exclusion process when it is determined that the posture determination means (44) is in the wrong posture other than the predetermined posture (45), it is possible to prevent the work (3) Even if the conveying speed of the work 3 is fast, the work 3 in the improper posture is conveyed to the conveying path 10 (Fig. 1) by the exclusion means 5 even if the time until the posture of the work 3 is determined after the image is started, And can increase the number of treatments of the work 3 per unit time.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the specific configuration of each section is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, in the present embodiment, the exclusion process for exclusion on the conveying path 10 is performed for the work 3 determined to have an improper attitude. However, as shown in Fig. 5, the exclusion means 5, The attitude correction means 6 may be provided to calibrate the attitude of the work 3 determined to be improper attitude from the calibration position P3 set on the conveying route 10. [ The posture correcting means 6 has an air injection nozzle 60 for injecting compressed air toward a work 3 through a hole (not shown) provided at a posture correcting position P3 of the carrying path 10, The posture is corrected by injecting compressed air from the injection nozzle 60 and inverting or rotating the workpiece 3 at the calibration position P3. The posture correcting means 6 is not limited to this configuration as long as it can calibrate the posture of the work. The posture correcting means 6 is configured to inject compressed air from the air injection nozzle 60 when the energization command is outputted from the command output means 45. The timing at which the energization command is output is the image processing device 8 and the speed detection device 7 for the component feeder.

In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 8 for part feeder is used for discriminating the posture of the work 3, (3). ≪ / RTI > The component feeder image processing apparatus in this case appropriately has a means for inspecting the appearance of the work 3 instead of the posture judging means 44 for judging the posture of the work 3. [

In the present embodiment, the preprocessing means 41 performs preprocessing such as binarization processing immediately every time the image data is introduced by the image introducing means 40. However, as shown in Fig. 6, at the time t02a to 1 After the introduction of the pieces of work 3 is completed, binarization processing as a preprocess and image combination may be performed on all image data in which the work 3 appears. Thereafter, at the time t03a, the preprocessing is ended and the posture discrimination processing and the speed calculation processing are started to finish these processing at time t04a, the energization command is output from the command output means 45 at time t05a, (3) by virtue of the air pressure. In this case, the time from the time t01 at which the image pickup of one workpiece 3 is started to the time t03a at which the preprocessing is finished is shorter than the time t03a at which the image pickup is started, image data is introduced and pre- Is longer than the time from the time t01 (see Fig. 4) for starting the imaging of the work pieces 3 to the time t03 (see Fig. 4) for ending the preprocessing. Such a configuration has a high degree of versatility and flexibility because it does not require a means and an apparatus for immediately performing the preprocessing, and the time from the start of the preprocessing to the excavation of the workpiece 3 is relatively long, 3 is relatively slow in the conveying speed of the component feeder. Such a configuration is advantageous in the case where it is not necessary to detect the front end 3a and the rear end 3b of the work 3 in advance by the preprocessing since the conveying speed of the work 3 does not largely change from the set value And the image taken from the front end portion 3a of the workpiece to the rear end portion 3b of the workpiece 3 by the line camera 2 is estimated by the number of times of imaging by the line camera 2 Processing can be performed.

7, the control device 154 includes drive control means 43 (see FIG. 7) for controlling the drive means 11 based on the conveying speed of the work 3 calculated by the speed calculating means 42 May be provided. The drive control means 43 performs feedback control of the conveying speed of the work 3 by comparing the calculated conveying speed of the work 3 with the set value and adjusting the amplitude and frequency of the driving means 11. With the component feeder 151 having such a configuration, even if the conveying speed of the work 3 changes, it can be adjusted to a set value, and the conveying speed of the work can be stabilized.

In the present embodiment, the number-of-times-of-images acquisition means 42a uses the number of pixels of the composite image data to calculate the number of times of imaging (A) to be applied to the formula (1) The sum of the number of pixels in the plurality of image data from the image data in which the front end 3a of the workpiece 3 appears to the image data in which the rear end 3b of the workpiece 3 appears may be used. Alternatively, the number of times the line camera 2 picks up images may be directly counted in order to obtain the number of times of image pick-up A (A). More specifically, as shown in Fig. 8, the control device 161 is provided with a counter means 162 for counting the number of times of imaging by the line camera 2, and the imaging number acquiring means 142a ) Counts the count value of the counter means (162) corresponding to the image data in which the front end portion (3a) of the work (3) is detected and the count value of the work (3) based on the detection result of the end portion detection means The count value of the counter means 162 corresponding to the image data in which the rear end portion 3b of the image data has been detected is acquired and the number of times of image pick-up A is acquired from these count values. Even the component feeder 160 having such a configuration can exhibit the same effect as the component feeder 100 described above.

In the present embodiment, the conveying path 3 is conveyed in a state in which a plurality of works 3 are close to each other. However, the conveying path 3 may be conveyed at a predetermined interval. Although the line camera 2 is one in which the image pickup elements are arranged in one row, the image pickup elements may be arranged in two or more rows within the range in which the effects of the present invention are exerted.

Other configurations are also possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1: Component feeder main body
2: line camera
3: Work
3a: the front end of the work
3b: rear end of the work
5: Work processing means (excluding means)
8: Image processing device for parts feeder
10:
40: image introduction means
41: preprocessing means
44: Workpiece failure discriminating means (posture discriminating means)
45: command output means
100: Component feeder
P1: imaging position
P2: Work processing position (excluded position)

Claims (5)

The present invention is applied to a component feeder having a camera for picking up a workpiece conveyed along a conveyance path,
Wherein the camera employs a line camera having a plurality of imaging elements arranged orthogonal to a conveying direction of the workpiece and successively picks up the work passing through the imaging position set on the conveying path by the line camera, A plurality of image data is acquired for each work,
Image introducing means for immediately introducing the image data acquired by the imaging by the line camera,
Preprocessing means for connecting the image data introduced by the image introducing means to each other in the order of imaging to generate composite image data in which substantially all of the single workpiece is displayed,
And defect judging means for judging the defect of the work based on the composite image data generated by the preprocessing means. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the preprocessing means performs binarization processing for binarizing the image data introduced by the image introducing means before generation of the composite image data, And when the introduction of the data is performed, the binarization processing is immediately performed on the image data. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the preprocessing means is further capable of discriminating the front end portion and the rear end portion of the work in the image data introduced by the image introducing means, And the image data in which the rear end portion is displayed are connected to each other in the order of imaging in order to generate the composite image data. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the defect discrimination processing by the defect discrimination means of the work is performed by using software. An image processing apparatus for a component feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A component feeder body having a conveying path through which a workpiece is conveyed,
A line camera having a plurality of image pickup elements arranged orthogonal to a conveying direction of the workpiece and sequentially picking up the workpieces passing through the image pickup position set on the conveyance path to acquire a plurality of image data for each work;
A work processing means for performing a processing for correcting the posture of the work passing through the work processing position set on the conveying path from the conveying path on the excavating or conveying path,
And command outputting means for outputting a command for causing the work processing means to perform the processing when it is determined that the failure discriminating means of the work is not of a predetermined appearance or posture.

Images