WO2012035608A1

WO2012035608A1 - Cigarette inspection device

Info

Publication number: WO2012035608A1
Application number: PCT/JP2010/065791
Authority: WO
Inventors: 奥山哲也
Original assignee: 日本たばこ産業株式会社
Priority date: 2010-09-14
Filing date: 2010-09-14
Publication date: 2012-03-22

Abstract

Irradiate a linear light, which extends along a cigarette-arrangement direction, from a direction which creates a prescribed angle of elevation relative to the axial direction of the cigarettes and which is orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the cigarettes in a cigarette bundle. Then, find the length and deviation amount from a reference line of the irradiation line of the light, formed on the filter surface of the bundle of cigarettes, and when a plurality of straight lines which deviate in the direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the cigarettes are present, and said deviation amount exceeds a permitted protrusion amount, cigarette protrusion is detected.

Description

Cigarette inspection device

The present invention relates to a cigarette inspection apparatus capable of reliably detecting defects in the arrangement of cigarettes with a filter in the axial direction in a bundle of cigarettes composed of a plurality of cigarettes with a filter arranged side by side.

The cigarette with a filter is collected by a predetermined number (for example, 20) and packaged by a packaging machine as disclosed in Patent Document 1, and commercialized as a cigarette pack. By the way, the packaging machine disclosed in Patent Document 1 winds a packaging material around the outer periphery of a cigarette bundle made up of a plurality of cigarettes with a filter that are aligned side by side and stacked in multiple stages. After that, the both ends of the packaging material which are opened are sealed by folding inward, whereby the cigarette bundle is packaged.

Japanese Patent No. 3,437,753

By the way, if there is a cigarette having an axial displacement in the bundle of cigarettes supplied to the packaging machine described above, that is, if there is a cigarette protruding from the filter end surface of another cigarette, the packaging by the packaging machine will be hindered. May occur. Specifically, after wrapping a packaging material around the outer periphery of a bundle of cigarettes, when both ends of the packaging material are folded inward and sealed, if there is a cigarette that protrudes beyond the standard filter end face, There is a risk that the cigarette may be crushed and sealed, the shape of the seal becomes distorted, and the sealing itself is hindered. Therefore, it is important to exclude (exclude) cigarette bundles that are not aligned in the axial direction from the object of packaging, thereby maintaining the quality of manufacture as a cigarette pack.

In order to detect cigarettes included in a cigarette bundle that are irregular in the axial direction, specifically, cigarettes that protrude beyond the standard filter end face, for example, the filter end face of the cigarette bundle from a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the cigarette What is necessary is just to determine optically the presence or absence of the unevenness | corrugation in. However, it is difficult to incorporate such an optical device, specifically, a camera or an optical sensor that images the end face of the filter from the lateral direction of the cigarette in a limited space in the packaging machine described above. Moreover, since the end of the packaging material wound around the cigarette bundle, that is, the sealing region at the end of the packaging material protrudes from the end surface of the cigarette bundle, this interferes with imaging of the end surface of the cigarette from the lateral direction of the cigarette. There is a problem that you can't.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and its purpose is to provide a cigarette that is not aligned in the axial direction in a bundle of cigarettes aligned side by side in the axial direction, particularly a standard filter end face. An object of the present invention is to provide a cigarette inspection apparatus that can reliably detect the presence or absence of a cigarette that has protruded in the axial direction from the axial direction of the cigarette.

The present invention is a cigarette inspection device that inspects for the presence or absence of cigarettes that are irregular in the axial direction in a bundle of cigarettes with filters that are aligned side by side in the axial direction,
A line light source that irradiates linear light extending along the cigarette arrangement direction from a direction perpendicular to the cigarette arrangement direction in the cigarette bundle and forming a predetermined elevation angle with respect to the cigarette axial direction;
A camera that images the filter surface of the bundle of cigarettes irradiated with the linear light from the axial direction of the cigarette;
Determination means for analyzing the linear light irradiation line formed on the filter surface of the cigarette bundle from the image captured by the camera and determining the alignment state of the cigarette from the cigarette bundle; It is characterized by having.

Preferably, the determination unit detects whether or not there are a plurality of light irradiation lines shifted in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the cigarettes are arranged, and if a plurality of light irradiation lines are detected, the shift is detected. It is characterized by determining the cigarette pop-out exceeding the allowable pop-out amount from the amount.
Further, when the bundle of cigarettes with filters has multistage filter cigarettes arranged side by side with the axial direction aligned, the line light sources are respectively provided corresponding to the cigarettes of each stage, and the determination means Is preferably configured so that the determination process is executed for each stage in which cigarettes with filters are arranged side by side with the axial direction aligned.

For example, the line light source is a laser light source that is provided so as to overlap the camera and emits a laser beam that spreads in a fan shape in one direction. Note that the laser beam spreading into a fan shape may be one obtained by scanning a laser beam with a fan shape, or a laser beam having a predetermined divergence angle narrowed down to a flat shape (fan shape) via a rod lens. May be.
The determination means preferably further includes means for determining the number of side-by-side cigarettes with a filter from the length of the light irradiation line.

According to the cigarette inspection apparatus having the above-described configuration, the filter surface in the cigarette bundle is orthogonal to the direction of cigarette arrangement in the cigarette bundle and is at a predetermined elevation angle with respect to the axial direction of the cigarette. Linear light extending along the cigarette arrangement direction is irradiated. Then, the light irradiated to the filter end faces of the cigarette bundle forms one linear irradiation line when the filter end faces of the plurality of cigarettes are aligned at a predetermined position without unevenness. However, when there are irregularities between the filter end faces of a plurality of cigarettes and the filter end face of a cigarette is displaced in the axial direction from a specified specified position, specifically when a certain cigarette protrudes Since the position of the light irradiated on the filter end face of the cigarette is displaced in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the cigarettes depending on the elevation angle, a plurality of light irradiation lines are formed.

Therefore, the determination unit analyzes the linear light irradiation line formed on the filter end surface of the cigarette bundle from the image of the filter end surface imaged by the camera, and in particular in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the cigarettes. Since it is detected whether or not there are a plurality of light irradiation lines that are shifted, it is possible to easily determine the alignment state of the cigarettes. Specifically, when a plurality of light irradiation lines are detected, the deviation of the cigarette is judged to jump out of the allowable jump-out amount, so that each cigarette can be accurately projected from the filter end face of the cigarette bundle. Can be determined.

In particular, according to the cigarette inspection apparatus according to the present invention, the cigarettes that are not aligned in the axial direction in the bundle of cigarettes arranged side by side in the axial direction can be easily and reliably optically from the axial direction of the cigarettes. Can be detected.

The figure which shows schematic structure of the packaging machine for cigarette packs in which the cigarette inspection apparatus which concerns on this invention is assembled | attached. The figure which shows the optical system of the cigarette test | inspection apparatus based on this invention for optically detecting the mode of the bundle of cigarettes with a filter supplied to the packaging machine for cigarette packs, and the filter end surface. The figure which shows the arrangement | positioning relationship between the line light source and camera which comprise the optical system shown in FIG. The schematic block diagram of the cigarette inspection apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the irradiation line of the light formed in the said filter end surface when the filter end surface of the bundle of cigarettes has gathered. The figure which shows the irradiation line of the light formed in the said filter end surface when the filter end surface of a certain cigarette protrudes from the regular filter end surface in the bundle of cigarettes. The figure which shows the process concept of the pop-out determination of a cigarette in the cigarette inspection apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, the details of the cigarette inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
This cigarette inspection device, for example, wraps a filter end face of a cigarette that is supplied side by side with a predetermined number of filter-attached cigarettes and is packaged with the predetermined packaging material in the packaging machine. The image of the filter end face is inspected by analyzing the inspection image taken including the filter end face. Specifically, the cigarette inspection apparatus is configured such that a cigarette is displaced in the axial direction in a bundle of cigarettes in which a plurality of cigarettes are aligned side by side in the axial direction, in other words, the cigarette is protruded from the reference filter end face. The presence or absence is inspected.

Here, a cigarette inspection apparatus incorporated in a packaging machine will be described as an example, but a cigarette with a filter continuously manufactured from a winding machine via a chip mounter is bundled into a predetermined number and sent to the next process. It is also possible to incorporate this cigarette inspection device into the production line.

Now, the cigarette wrapping machine in which the cigarette inspection apparatus according to the present invention is incorporated is, for example, the one introduced in detail in Patent Document 1 described above. As shown in FIG. 1, this packaging machine schematically includes a molding turret 1 for processing a predetermined packaging material (for example, an aluminum vapor-deposited sheet and a paper sheet) into a bottomed rectangular tube shape, and is coaxial with the molding turret 1. A bundle of a plurality of cigarettes (for example, 20 pieces) arranged side by side in advance is housed in a bottomed rectangular tube-shaped packaging material provided side by side and molded by the molding turret 1, and the packaging material And a sealing turret 2 for sealing the packaging material.

Incidentally, the bundle of cigarettes is an aligner 4 in which the cigarettes with filters supplied to the hopper 3 with the orientation of the filters aligned are aligned in the axial direction and aligned with 7, 6, and 7 side by side. And is stored in the transport pocket 5 and transported to the molding turret 1 by the chain conveyor 6. Then, the cigarette bundle C is pushed out of the conveying pocket 5 by a plunger (not shown) and stored in the bottomed rectangular tubular packaging material P formed by the molding turret 1, and in this state, the cigarette The bundle C is transferred together with the bottomed rectangular tube-shaped packaging material P into a mandrel 7 as shown in FIG.

The sealing turret 2 folds the mandrel 7 around by rotation so that the open end of the bottomed rectangular tubular packaging material P containing the cigarette bundle C is folded inward. And the cigarette bundle C is packaged. The cigarette pack in which the cigarette bundle C is packaged is guided from the sealing turret 2 to the drying turret 9 through the transfer turret 8, and after being dried by the drying turret 9, it is sent out as a product.

Reference numerals

1a and 1b in FIG. 1 are provided along an orbital path of the molding turret 1 and include an inner packaging material Pa made of an aluminum vapor deposited sheet or the like on a packaging mandrel of the molding turret 1 and a paper sheet. It is the packaging material supply apparatus which supplies each outer packaging material Pb which becomes. The inner packaging material Pa and the outer packaging material Pb are overlapped with each other and wound around the packaging mandrel to form the aforementioned bottomed rectangular tube-shaped packaging material P.

Now, with respect to the cigarette wrapping machine configured as described above, the camera 10 for imaging the filter end surface of the cigarette bundle C of the cigarette inspection device according to the present invention is configured to rotate around the sealing turret 2. Located on the side of the track. In particular, the camera 10 is a so-called ultra-small wide-angle camera, in which the mandrel 7 is provided slightly downstream from the position where the cigarette bundle C is received together with the packaging material P, and an open end of the packaging material P is provided. The filter end face of the cigarette bundle C is imaged before being folded inside, that is, before sealing with the packaging material P.

Specifically, the camera 10 captures the lateral direction of the camera body 11 through an optical system 12 such as a prism mounted on the front surface of the camera body 11 as shown in FIG. It consists of a thin depth. In particular, as the camera body 11, a so-called wide-angle lens having a lens diameter of about 12 mm, for example, that can collectively image all the filter end faces from a position close to the filter end faces of the cigarette bundle C is used.

Also, three

line light sources

13a, 13b, and 13c are provided above and below the camera body 11 so as to overlap the camera body 11. 2 and 3, the

line light sources

13a, 13b, and 13c are orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the cigarettes of each stage in the cigarette bundle C and have a predetermined elevation angle θ with respect to the axial direction of the cigarettes. For example, a laser light source that emits a laser beam that spreads in a fan shape in one direction and irradiates linear light that extends along the arrangement direction of the cigarettes at each stage is formed. In FIG. 3, P indicates a packaging material wound around the cigarette bundle C.

Incidentally, as each of the

line light sources

13a, 13b, 13c, for example, a linear beam extending along the arrangement direction of the cigarettes by fan-scanning a laser beam emitted from a semiconductor laser element (not shown) in one direction. What emits light is used. Alternatively, as each of the

line light sources

13a, 13b, and 13c, a laser beam having a predetermined divergence angle emitted from a semiconductor laser element using a rod lens (not shown) provided in parallel with the cigarette arrangement direction is used. It is also possible to use a configuration that irradiates with a flat (fan-shaped) aperture.

Particularly, these

line light sources

13a, 13b, and 13c are provided so as to individually irradiate linear light with respect to the above-described arrangement of cigarettes. In this example, linear light is emitted from the line light source 13a to the upper cigarette array, from the line light source 13b to the middle cigarette array, and from the line light source 13c to the lower cigarette array. It is like that.

The

line light sources

13a, 13b, and 13c are installed close to the side portion of the sealing turret 2 together with the camera 10. The

line light sources

13a, 13b, and 13c are driven to emit light (turn on) in conjunction with the circulation of the mandrel 7 by the sealing turret 2 described above. Specifically, each time the cigarette bundle C is guided to a predetermined inspection position by the camera 10, the

line light sources

13a, 13b, and 13c are driven, whereby the filter end face of the cigarette bundle C has the linear shape described above. Light is irradiated. Then, the camera 10 is driven in synchronization with the light irradiation, and the entire filter end face in the cigarette bundle C is imaged collectively.

Next, a cigarette inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention configured by including the above-described camera 10 and line

light sources

13a, 13b, and 13c will be described.
FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration of a cigarette inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The cigarette inspection apparatus includes an inspection image memory 14 that stores an inspection image of the filter end surface of the cigarette bundle C captured by the camera 10 described above, and an inspection image (cigarette bundle) stored in the inspection image memory 14. The image processing apparatus 20 is provided for analyzing a light irradiation line formed on the C filter end face. The image processing apparatus 20 is composed of, for example, a microprocessor that analyzes the inspection image according to a preset program.

Incidentally, the inspection images of the cigarette bundle C imaged by the camera 10 were respectively formed by three linear lights irradiated to the filter end surface of the cigarette bundle C by the

line light sources

13a, 13b, and 13c. It becomes a bright image area composed of light irradiation lines. On the other hand, the filter end face of each cigarette, the gap between cigarettes, and the side part of the cigarette that is not irradiated with the linear light form a dark image region.

When the filter end faces of the cigarette bundle C are aligned, that is, when all of the plurality of cigarettes forming the cigarette bundle C are arranged side by side and are not displaced in the axial direction, the cigarette bundle C The light irradiation lines formed by the three lights irradiated to the filter end faces are linear lines A1 and A2, as shown in FIG. A2 and A3.

However, when a certain cigarette in the cigarette bundle C is displaced in the axial direction, for example, the rightmost cigarette in the upper stage protrudes from a predetermined filter end face, an irradiation line of light formed on the end face of the cigarette as shown in FIG. The position of A4 is shifted in a direction orthogonal to the cigarette arrangement direction. That is, since the light irradiated to the cigarette array is irradiated from the direction perpendicular to the cigarette array direction and at a predetermined elevation angle θ with respect to the cigarette axial direction as described above, the end face of the cigarette is Due to the deviation in the axial direction, the formation position of the light irradiation line A4 is arranged more than the position of the light irradiation line A1 formed on the end face of the other cigarette (reference filter end face position). Deviation occurs in a direction perpendicular to the direction.

Incidentally, the amount of deviation Δ of the light irradiation line A4 from the light irradiation line A1 is the light irradiation angle (elevation angle) when the amount of protrusion of the filter end surface of the cigarette from the reference filter end surface position is B. Is [Δ = Btan θ], and the light irradiation angle θ is constant, and is proportional to the amount B of the cigarette protruding in the axial direction.

In addition, in the example shown in FIG. 6, since the light is irradiated obliquely from below the upper row of cigarettes, the light irradiation line A4 is shifted downward with respect to the optical image A1. In this respect, since the middle and upper cigarette rows are irradiated with light from obliquely above the cigarette rows as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. In the case of projecting in the axial direction, the light irradiation line is shifted upward, without needing to be described again.

The image processing apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 4 analyzes (analyzes) such an inspection image (light irradiation line) and, as described above, a cigarette bundle C arranged side by side in the axial direction. It plays a role of determining the presence or absence of cigarettes that are irregular in the axial direction, particularly the cigarettes that protrude in the axial direction from the standard filter end face. In particular, in this embodiment, the image processing apparatus 20 uses a cigarette bundle C that is stacked in three stages by aligning the axial direction of a plurality of cigarettes side by side and aligning them with 7, 6, and 7, respectively. Three search areas S1, S2, and S3 are set for the inspection image in order to detect the cigarette pop-out individually for the upper, middle, and lower cigarettes, and for each of these search areas S1, S2, and S3. Cigarette pop-out detection processing is performed.

The image processing apparatus 20 will now be described in more detail. The image processing apparatus 20 designates three search areas S1, S2, and S3 in order for the inspection image stored in the inspection image memory 14, and specifies them. A search area setting unit 21 that selectively reads out images included in the search area S1 (S2, S3) from the inspection image memory 14 is provided. Then, the above-described light irradiation line is detected for each search area image read from the inspection image memory 14, thereby executing analysis on the light irradiation line.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the line detection unit 22 determines the brightness of each search area S in the inspection image for each pixel (segment) having a preset size, and selects a high brightness pixel. Detected as the light irradiation site. The line detection unit 22 detects a series of high-luminance pixels (segments) obtained as shown in FIG. 7 as the light irradiation line A formed by the linear light irradiation described above. The line length measuring unit 23 detects the light irradiation line A thus detected as, for example, the length of the light irradiation line A as a continuous number of high-luminance pixels (segments). Then, the line length determination unit 24 determines whether or not the length of the light irradiation line A corresponds to the arrangement width of seven or six cigarettes.

Incidentally, when the filter diameter per cigarette corresponds to the length of 10 to 11 segments of the light irradiation line A, the line length determination unit 24 determines that the length of the irradiation line A is 70 to 77 segments. Then, it is determined that the seven cigarettes are arranged side by side without causing any deviation in the axial direction. When the length of the irradiation line A is 60 to 66 segments, it is determined that the six cigarettes are arranged side by side without causing any deviation in the axial direction (the state shown in FIG. 5).

However, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, for example, when a plurality of light irradiation lines are detected in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction in the arrangement of cigarettes at each stage, it is natural that The length of the irradiation line A becomes short, and it becomes less than 70 to 77 segments or 60 to 66 segments corresponding to the standard width of cigarettes. Therefore, the line length measuring unit 23, when a plurality of light irradiation lines having a short length is detected in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the cigarettes, there is a cigarette in which the deviation occurs in the axial direction. Judge as. The length of the irradiation line A even when a plurality of light irradiation lines A are detected on one line due to a break in the middle without causing a shift in a direction perpendicular to the direction of cigarette arrangement. Becomes shorter.

On the other hand, the reference line setting unit 25 pays attention to the longest irradiation line among the light irradiation lines A detected as described above, and sets the reference line X so as to overlap the irradiation line A as shown in FIG. . Then, the deviation amount detection unit 26 obtains deviation amounts Δ of the plurality of light irradiation lines A from the reference line X using the reference line X as a reference position. This deviation amount Δ corresponds to the amount of deviation of the cigarette in the axial direction as described above. And the deviation | shift amount determination part 27 is the tolerance | permissible_range whether the deviation | shift amount does not interfere with the cigarette by the sealing, when the bundle C of cigarettes is packaged with the packaging material P It is determined whether it is in.

When only one light irradiation line A is detected, the reference line X is set so as to overlap the light irradiation line A, and the deviation amount of the irradiation line A is set to [0]. Detected. Needless to say, even when there are a plurality of irradiation lines A while causing breaks on the reference line X, the deviation amounts of these irradiation lines A are respectively detected as [0].

Accordingly, the defect determination unit 28 determines the reference line X of the plurality of light irradiation lines A determined by the shift amount determination unit 27 for each of the upper, middle, and lower search regions in the cigarette bundle C as described above. And the determination result of the length of the irradiation line A of light determined by the above-described line length determination unit 24 are comprehensively determined. And the defect determination part 28 determines whether the cigarette bundle C accommodated in the mandrel 7 mentioned above and used for the packaging by the packaging material P contains the cigarette which produced the shift | offset | difference to the axial direction. Then, the defect determination unit 28 issues a command to exclude the cigarette bundle C determined to be misaligned from the packaging machine as there is a risk of hindering the sealing.

As described above, the length of the linear light irradiation line A formed on the filter surface of the cigarettes arranged in each stage and obliquely applied to the cigarette bundle C and the reference of the light irradiation line A are as follows. According to the cigarette inspection apparatus that determines the amount of deviation Δ from the line X, the presence or absence of a cigarette that has a deviation in the axial direction in the cigarette bundle C can be easily and reliably detected. In particular, the presence of a cigarette that protrudes from a standard filter end face in a bundle C of cigarettes by simply detecting a light irradiation line A formed by linear light irradiation and determining its formation state. Can be reliably detected, and the image processing load is small.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. Here, the example of the inspection of the cigarette bundle C in which the plurality of cigarettes are aligned side by side and aligned in a row with 7, 6, and 7 cigarettes is described as an example. The inspection can be similarly performed on the bundle C of ten cigarettes that are aligned and stacked in two stages or the bundle C of five cigarettes of only one stage.

In addition, here, an example in which the cigarette inspection device is incorporated into a packaging machine has been shown, but as described above, it can be incorporated into a production line for a cigarette with a filter as appropriate. Further, when two light irradiation lines are detected on the above-mentioned reference line X with a break for one cigarette, for example, it is assumed that the filter of the cigarette at the break portion is missing, and the alignment other than the above-described jumping is performed. Abnormality can also be determined. In addition, the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10

Camera

13a, 13b, 13c Line light source 14 Inspection image memory 20 Image processing apparatus 22 Line detection part 23 Line length measurement part 24 Line length determination part 25 Reference line setting part 26 Deviation amount detection part 27 Deviation amount determination part 28 Defect determination part

Claims

A cigarette inspection device that inspects for the presence or absence of cigarettes that are uneven in the axial direction in a bundle of cigarettes with filters that are aligned side by side in the axial direction,
A line light source that irradiates linear light extending along the cigarette arrangement direction from a direction perpendicular to the cigarette arrangement direction in the cigarette bundle and forming a predetermined elevation angle with respect to the cigarette axial direction;
A camera that images the filter surface of the bundle of cigarettes irradiated with the linear light from the axial direction of the cigarette;
Determination means for analyzing an irradiation line of the light formed on the filter surface of the cigarette bundle from an image captured by the camera and determining an alignment state of the cigarette from the cigarette bundle. Cigarette inspection device characterized by this.
The determination means detects whether or not there are a plurality of light irradiation lines that are shifted in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the cigarettes are arranged. If a plurality of light irradiation lines are detected, the amount of shift is detected. The cigarette inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the cigarette intrusion is determined and detected.
The bundle of cigarettes with filters has multiple stages of cigarettes with filters arranged side by side with the axial direction aligned, and the line light source is provided corresponding to each of the cigarettes of each stage,
The cigarette inspection apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the determination means executes determination processing for each stage in which cigarettes with filters are arranged side by side with the axial direction aligned.
2. The cigarette inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the line light source is a laser light source that is provided so as to overlap the camera and emits a laser beam that expands in a fan shape in one direction.
3. The cigarette inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit further includes a second unit that determines the number of side-by-side cigarettes with a filter from the length of the light irradiation line.