TWI676798B - Inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a cup inspection device (11), comprising: an illuminating unit (22) for illuminating the cup (12); and a camera (23) for imaging the cup (12) from a first direction ; And a mirror (24), which can reflect the cup (12) from a second direction crossing the first direction. The mirror (24) is arranged at a position within the imaging area where the camera (23) can take an image and does not prevent the lighting unit (22) from illuminating the cup (12). The camera (23) captures the images of the cup (12) and the cup (12) reflected on the mirror (24) as one image at a time.

Description

Inspection device

The present invention relates to an inspection device for inspecting an inspection object such as a cup.

Conventionally, as an apparatus for inspecting the external appearance of, for example, a cup or the like of food or beverage, an inspection device such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. Such an inspection device uses a line sensor camera to take pictures of the inner side of the cup while rotating the cup, and compares the captured image with, for example, a reference image to inspect the cup. defect.

In addition, a flange photography mirror is arranged in the inspection device so as to reflect the side surface of the flange of the cup which is a dead angle when viewed from the line sensor camera, and to reflect the side surface of the flange of the flange photography mirror. The image is captured with a line sensor camera. [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-214154.

[Technical problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the above-mentioned inspection device, since a light source for illuminating the cup is not provided, there is a problem that the image captured by the line sensor camera is darkened, and the inspection accuracy of the cup is lowered.

In addition, in this inspection device, even if a light source for illuminating a cup is arranged above the cup, the flange photography mirror is formed by combining two flat mirrors into an L shape. The illumination light of the light source is blocked by the flange photography mirror, and the part of the side surface of the flange of the cup which is blocked by the flange photography mirror is insufficiently illuminated. As a result, a problem arises that the image of the side of the flange reflected on the flange photography mirror by the line sensor camera becomes dark, and the inspection accuracy of the side of the flange is low. problem.

The present invention has been completed by focusing on such problems existing in the prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide an inspection device capable of inspecting an inspection target from a plurality of directions at once with high accuracy.

[Technical solution to solve the problem]

The means for solving the above problems and their effects are described below.

An inspection device that solves the above problems includes an illumination unit that illuminates the inspection object, an imaging unit that can image the inspection object from a first direction, and a mirror that can separate the inspection object from The second direction intersecting the first direction reflects that the mirror is disposed in a position where the imaging area can be imaged by the imaging unit and does not prevent the illumination unit from illuminating the inspection object; the imaging unit performs the inspection The object and the image of the inspection object reflected in the mirror are captured as one image at a time.

With this configuration, since the illumination of the inspection object by the illumination unit is not hindered by the mirror, the inspection object can be sufficiently illuminated by the illumination unit. Therefore, with the imaging unit, the image of the inspection object and the inspection object reflected on the mirror can be imaged as one image at a time (together) in a bright state. Therefore, the inspection target can be inspected with accuracy from a plurality of directions at one time.

In the inspection device, it is preferable that the illumination unit is formed in a ring shape and is disposed so as to surround the imaging unit when viewed from the first direction.

With this configuration, it is possible to efficiently illuminate the inspection target imaged by the imaging section by the illumination section.

In the inspection apparatus, it is preferable that the mirror is arranged so as to surround the inspection object when viewed from the first direction.

With this configuration, all the places in the inspection target that cannot be imaged directly by the imaging unit can be indirectly imaged by the imaging unit through the mirror.

In the inspection apparatus, it is preferable that the mirror is disposed closer to the imaging unit side than the inspection target in the first direction.

With this configuration, for example, when a plurality of inspection objects are continuously moved while imaging is performed, it is possible to prevent the movement of the inspection objects by the mirror.

In the inspection device, preferably, the illumination unit includes a light source and a reflecting surface for reflecting light from the light source and irradiating the inspection object.

With this configuration, since the inspection object is indirectly illuminated by light from a light source, for example, when the inspection object is made of a material that easily reflects light, halo can be prevented from occurring in the image captured by the imaging unit.

In the following, an embodiment of a cup inspection device that is implemented as an inspection device for inspecting a cup is described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a cup inspection device 11 as an example of an inspection device is disposed directly above a conveyor 13 that passes a plurality of cups 12 as an example of an inspection object from the upstream side (in FIG. 1). (Right side) to downstream side (left side in Figure 1). The cup 12 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape with an open upper end, and is conveyed by the belt conveyor 13 in a state where the open side faces the cup inspection device 11 side, that is, the upper side.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cup 12 includes a white body portion 14 made of synthetic resin, which is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape with an open upper end, and a ring-shaped flange portion 15 provided on the upper end of the body portion 14. And a cylindrical film 16 provided to cover the outer peripheral surface of the body portion 14. A pattern or the like is printed on the film 16. The peripheral wall of the body portion 14 has a vertebral shape so that the diameter of the bottom side of the body portion 14 is smaller than the diameter of the opening side. Further, the flange portion 15 protrudes slightly from the main body portion 14 on both sides in the radial direction.

Since food such as yoghurt or jelly, or beverages such as fruit juice are contained in the cup 12, it is necessary to check whether there is a foreign object or an upper surface of the inner bottom surface, the inner side surface, and the flange portion 15. Dirt and so on. The cup 12 is manufactured by integrally molding the body portion 14, the flange portion 15, and the film 16. Therefore, when the cup 12 is formed, the ink 17 for printing the film 16 may ooze between the lower surface of the flange portion 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion 14 and become agglomerated. Therefore, it is necessary to list the blocked ink 17 as an inspection target.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cup inspection device 11 includes a control unit 20 that collectively controls the operation state of the cup inspection device 11, and a light sensor 21 that detects that the Carrying cups 12. In addition, the cup inspection device 11 includes: a lighting unit 22 that illuminates the cup 12 detected by the light sensor 21 from the upper side; and a camera 23 that serves as a borrower. An example of an imaging unit in which the cup 12 which is illuminated by the lighting unit 22 captures an image from directly above; and a plural number which reflects between the inner peripheral surface of the cup 12 and the lower surface of the flange portion 15 (this embodiment For 4) 24 mirrors.

The camera 23 is an area sensor camera, and is configured to capture images of the cup 12 from a vertical downward direction, that is, a first direction. The illuminating portion 22 is formed in a circular shape in which an upper end portion of a dome-shaped person is cut away to reduce the thickness, and is arranged to surround the camera 23 when viewed from the first direction. That is, the camera 23 is disposed so as to be inserted from the upper side of the illuminating unit 22 into the central portion of the illuminating unit 22, and the lower end is located at an upper side than the opening portion 29 at the lower end of the illuminating unit 22.

A ring-shaped crotch portion 25 is provided at a lower end portion of the ring-shaped peripheral wall of the lighting portion 22 so as to follow the peripheral wall. The crotch portion 25 protrudes from the peripheral wall of the lighting portion 22 on both sides in the radial direction. An annular groove 26 is formed on the upper surface of a portion of the crotch portion 25 that is located inside the peripheral wall of the lighting portion 22.

A plurality of light sources 27 are arranged in the trench 26 so as to be equally spaced along the circumferential direction of the trench 26. The light source 27 is made of, for example, a light-emitting diode, and is arranged throughout the groove 26. The inner peripheral surface of the illuminating portion 22 becomes a concave curved surface reflecting surface 28 along the dome-shaped inner surface. The reflecting surface 28 passes diffused light diffused by the light from the light source 27 through the lower end of the illuminating portion 22. The opening portion 29 is irradiated on the cup 12.

Each mirror 24 is formed in a rectangular plate shape, and is arranged closer to the camera 23 side than the cup 12 in the first direction. That is, each mirror 24 is disposed between the cup 12 and the lighting unit 22. The four mirrors 24 are arranged so as to surround the cup 12 when viewed from the first direction, and are arranged at almost regular intervals along the circumferential direction of the cup 12. In this case, the four mirrors 24 are located in positions where the camera 23 can capture an imageable imaging region R (see FIG. 3) and do not interfere with the lighting of the cup 12 by the lighting unit 22. That is, the four mirrors 24 are arranged so as not to overlap the cup 12 in the first direction.

The four mirrors 24 reflect the inner peripheral surface of the cup 12 and the lower surface of the flange portion 15 from the horizontal direction that crosses the first direction, that is, the second direction throughout the entire circumference of the cup 12 and The respective angles are adjusted so that the images they project can be captured by the camera 23. Therefore, the camera 23 can image the cup 12 and the image of the cup 12 reflected by each of the four mirrors 24 as one image at a time (together).

The lighting unit 22, the camera 23, and the four mirrors 24 are supported by a frame (not shown) for raising and lowering by an elevating mechanism (not shown), and the height can be arbitrarily changed by raising and lowering the frame. In addition, the light sensor 21 in this embodiment is disposed at a position adjacent to the upstream side of the cup 12 with respect to the lighting portion 22, but is performed based on the shutter speed of the camera 23 and the belt conveyor 13. The transportation speed of the cup 12 and the performance of the light sensor 21 may be changed as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 20 is electrically connected to each of the light sensor 21, the camera 23, and the display unit 31. The display unit 31 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display or the like. The control unit 20 receives a signal transmitted from the light sensor 21 and controls the imaging operation of the camera 23 based on the received signal.

The control unit 20 is configured to include a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. In addition, the control unit 20 constructs the image processing unit 32, the determination unit 33, and the display control unit 34 by executing a cup inspection program stored in the ROM, and configures a part of the RAM as the memory unit 35. The memory unit 35 memorizes a predetermined value N which will be described later to determine whether the cup 12 is good or bad.

The image processing unit 32 converts image data captured by the camera 23 into two-dimensional image data or converts the image data to form monochrome image data. The black-and-white image data becomes white in a region where there is no abnormality in the cup 12, and on the other hand, a portion of the cup 12 where foreign matter or dirt such as ink adheres becomes black. The determination unit 33 determines whether or not the black pixels in the area where the cup 12 is included, including the image of the cup 12 reflected on each mirror 24, based on the black and white image data formed by the image processing unit 32. Blocks exist above the set predetermined 値 N.

The display control unit 34 determines that the black pixels in the area where the cups 12 exist including the image of the cups 12 reflected by the respective mirrors 24 determined by the determination unit 33 are equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold N On the other hand, when the block exists, the display unit 31 displays a character "NG" indicating that the cup 12 is a defective product. On the other hand, the display control unit 34 determines that the black pixels in the area where the cups 12 exist including the image of the cups 12 reflected in the respective mirrors 24 by the determination unit 33 are not predetermined predetermined settings. When the block size is equal to or greater than N, the display unit 31 displays a text "OK" indicating that the cup 12 is a good product.

Next, an operation when the cup 12 is inspected by the cup inspection device 11 will be described.

The cups 12 carried by the belt conveyor 13 are detected by the light sensor 21. When the cup 12 detected by the light sensor 21 is carried directly below the camera 23, the camera 23 captures an image in a state of being illuminated by the illumination unit 22. At this time, since the lighting of the cups 12 by the lighting unit 22 is not hindered by the mirrors 24, the camera 23 reflects the cups 12 and The image of the cup 12 of the mirror 24 is captured as a single image (together). Therefore, a bright image can be taken by the camera 23 at a time.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, in this camera 23, not only the inner bottom surface, the inner side surface, and the upper surface of the flange portion 15 of the cup 12, but also the lower portion of the flange portion 15 that is a dead corner of the camera 23 is usually used. The area between the front surface and the inner peripheral surface of the body portion 14 is imaged through each mirror 24. In this case, when the agglomeration of the ink 17 exists between the lower surface of the flange portion 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion 14 in the cup 12, as shown in FIG. Agglomeration of the ink 17 is reflected on the mirror 24 in the block area.

In FIG. 3, although the image of the actual cup 12 includes a part of the cake of the ink 17, the image of the actual cup 12 may not include the cake of the ink 17 at all, and only The image of the image of the cup 12 of the mirror 24 contains the cake of the ink 17. In either case, the control unit 20 determines whether the inspection of the cup 12 is good or not based on the image captured by the camera 23, and the determination result is displayed on the display unit 31.

According to the embodiment described in detail above, the following effects can be exhibited.

(1) In the cup inspection device 11, each mirror 24 is disposed in a position where the camera 23 can capture an image, and does not prevent the illumination unit 22 from illuminating the cup 12. The images of the cups 12 and the cups 12 reflected in the respective mirrors 24 are captured as one portrait at a time. Therefore, since the cup 12 is sufficiently illuminated by the illumination section 22, a bright image can be taken by the camera 23 at one time. Therefore, the cup 12 can be inspected with accuracy from a plurality of directions at one time. In addition, since the image of the cup 12 and the cup 12 reflected on each mirror 24 are taken as one image at a time, the inspection can be performed quickly.

(2) In the cup inspection apparatus 11, the illumination portion 22 is formed in a ring shape, and is arranged to surround the camera 23 when viewed from the first direction. Therefore, the cup 12 which is imaged by the camera 23 can be effectively illuminated by the illumination section 22.

(3) In the cup inspection apparatus 11, the four mirrors 24 are arranged so as to surround the cup 12 when viewed from the first direction. Therefore, the area between the lower surface of the flange portion 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion 14 in the cup 12 that cannot be imaged directly by the camera 23 can be indirectly imaged by the camera 23 through the four mirrors 24.

(4) In the cup inspection device 11, each mirror 24 is disposed closer to the camera 23 side than the cup 12 in the first direction. Therefore, when the plurality of cups 12 are continuously conveyed by the belt conveyor 13 while the cups 12 are sequentially imaged by the camera 23, the mirrors 24 can be prevented from obstructing the cups 12. Moving.

(5) In the cup inspection device 11, the illuminating unit 22 includes a light source 27 and a reflection surface 28 that reflects light from the light source 27 and irradiates the cup 12. Therefore, since the cup 12 can be indirectly illuminated by the light from the light source 27, even if the cup 12 is made of a synthetic resin that reflects light relatively easily, the cup 12 can be suppressed from being carried by the camera 23. A halo appears on the captured image.

(Change example)

In addition, the above-mentioned embodiment can be modified and embodied as follows.

・ The cup inspection device 11 and the illuminating unit 22 may be directly illuminated by the light source 27 to the cup 12. In this case, the light source 27 may be a light bulb or a fluorescent lamp.

The lighting unit 22 does not necessarily need to be annular, and does not necessarily need to be arranged so as to surround the camera 23 when viewed from the first direction.

・ The cup inspection device 11 and the lighting unit 22 may be circular lighting devices.

・ In the cup inspection device 11, each mirror 24 does not necessarily need to be arranged closer to the camera 23 side than the cup 12 in the first direction. In this case, it is preferable to arrange each mirror 24 at a position that does not hinder the transportation of the cup 12. When the mirrors 24 are arranged at positions that prevent the transport of the cups 12, after the cups 12 are photographed, the mirrors 24 need to be moved to positions that do not hinder the transport of the cups 12.

・ The cup inspection device 11 and the four mirrors 24 do not necessarily need to surround the cup 12 when viewed from the first direction.

・ In the cup inspection device 11, the number of the mirrors 24 may be one or plural, and may be arbitrarily changed. When the entire area between the lower surface of the flange portion 15 in the cup 12 and the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion 14 is to be reflected on the mirror 24, if a single mirror 24 is used, a circular mirror is used. 24. If there are two mirrors 24, a semi-circular mirror 24 is used. If there are three mirrors 24, a flat mirror 24 can be used.

・ The cup inspection device 11 may be provided with an angle changing mechanism capable of changing the angle of each mirror 24.

・ The cup inspection apparatus 11 may be comprised so that the height of the illumination part 22, the height of the camera 23, and the height of the mirror 24 may be changed individually.

-The cup inspection device 11 may be provided with an exclusion mechanism that excludes the cups 12 judged as defective (defective) on the belt conveyor 13.

・ The inspection device may be used for inspecting items other than the cup 12.

・ The cup inspection device 11 according to the above-mentioned embodiment is implemented by software configured by the image processing unit 32, the determination unit 33, and the display control unit 34 by executing a program by the CPU, but these are implemented by hardware such as an IC You can make it up. In addition, a configuration in which these are realized by co-operation of software and hardware may be used.

11‧‧‧ Cup inspection device as an example of the inspection device

12‧‧‧ Cup as an example of the inspection object

22‧‧‧Lighting Department

23‧‧‧ Camera as an example of the imaging section

24‧‧‧Mirror

27‧‧‧light source

28‧‧‧Reflective surface

R‧‧‧ camera area

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a cup inspection device according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a cup; FIG. 3 is a view showing a defect of a cup imaged by a camera Portrait pattern illustration.

Claims (5)

An inspection device comprising: an illumination unit that illuminates an inspection object from a first direction; an imaging unit that can imaging the inspection object from a first direction; and a mirror that can inspect the inspection The object is reflected from a second direction intersecting the first direction, and the mirror is disposed in a position where the imaging portion can be imaged by the imaging unit and does not prevent the illumination unit from illuminating the inspection object; the mirror It is disposed between the inspection object and the illumination unit in the first direction, and the imaging unit captures one image of the inspection object and the inspection object reflected on the mirror as one image at a time. The inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the illumination unit is formed in a ring shape and is arranged so as to surround the imaging unit as viewed from the first direction. The inspection device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the mirror is arranged so as to surround the inspection object as viewed from the first direction. The inspection device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the mirror is disposed closer to the imaging unit side than the inspection target in the first direction. The inspection device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the lighting unit includes a light source and a reflecting surface for reflecting light from the light source and irradiating the inspection object.