WO2016121681A1

WO2016121681A1 - Inspection device

Info

Publication number: WO2016121681A1
Application number: PCT/JP2016/051993
Authority: WO
Inventors: 和見坂野; 勝蘭李; 創太土屋; 裕行木部; 邦光豊島
Original assignee: 株式会社エヌテック; 株式会社ヤクルト本社; 東邦商事株式会社
Priority date: 2015-01-26
Filing date: 2016-01-25
Publication date: 2016-08-04
Also published as: JP6772071B2; TW201629474A; TWI676798B; JPWO2016121681A1

Abstract

Provided is a cup inspection device (11) comprising: an illumination unit (22) for illuminating a cup (12); a camera (23) capable of imaging the cup (12) from a first direction; and mirrors (24) for reflecting the cup (12) from a second direction intersecting the first direction. The mirrors (24) are arranged at locations within an imaging area that can be imaged by the camera (23), and at which illumination of the cup (12) by the illumination unit (22) is unimpeded. The camera (23) simultaneously images the cup (12) and the reflected images of the cup (12) in the mirrors (24) as a single image.

Description

Inspection device

The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus for inspecting an inspection object such as a cup, for example.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an inspection apparatus as shown in Patent Document 1 is known as an apparatus for inspecting the appearance of, for example, a cup of food or beverage. In such an inspection apparatus, the inner surface of the cup is imaged while rotating the cup by a single line sensor camera, and the defect of the cup is inspected by comparing the captured image with, for example, a reference image.

In addition, in this inspection apparatus, a flange photographing mirror is arranged so that the side surface of the flange of the cup that becomes a blind spot from the line sensor camera is reflected, and an image of the side surface of the flange reflected on the flange photographing mirror is captured by the line sensor camera is doing.

JP 2002-214154 A

By the way, in the inspection apparatus as described above, since the light source for illuminating the cup is not arranged, there is a problem that the image picked up by the line sensor camera becomes dark and the inspection accuracy of the cup is lowered.

In this inspection apparatus, even if the light source for illuminating the cup is arranged above the cup, the flange photographing mirror is composed of two flat mirrors combined in an L shape. Therefore, the illumination light from the light source is blocked by the flange shooting mirror, and the portion of the side surface of the cup flange that is shielded by the flange shooting mirror is insufficiently illuminated. As a result, there is a problem that the image captured by the line sensor camera of the image of the side surface of the flange reflected on the flange photographing mirror becomes dark, and the inspection accuracy of the side surface of the flange decreases.

The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems existing in the prior art. An object of the invention is to provide an inspection apparatus capable of accurately inspecting an inspection object from a plurality of directions at a time.

Hereinafter, means for solving the above-described problems and the effects thereof will be described.
An inspection apparatus that solves the above problem includes an illumination unit that illuminates an inspection object, an imaging unit that can image the inspection object from a first direction, and a second direction that intersects the inspection object with the first direction. The mirror is disposed in an imaging region that can be imaged by the imaging unit, and is disposed at a position that does not interfere with illumination of the inspection object by the illumination unit. The object and the image of the inspection object reflected on the mirror are captured as one image at a time.

According to this configuration, since the illumination of the inspection object by the illumination unit is not hindered by the mirror, the inspection object is sufficiently illuminated by the illumination unit. For this reason, the imaging unit can capture the inspection object and the image of the inspection object reflected in the mirror as a single image in a bright state at once (together). Therefore, it is possible to accurately inspect the inspection object from a plurality of directions at a time.

In the inspection apparatus, it is preferable that the illumination unit has an annular shape and is arranged so as to surround the imaging unit when viewed from the first direction.
According to this configuration, the inspection object imaged by the imaging unit can be effectively illuminated by the illumination unit.

In the inspection apparatus, it is preferable that the mirror is arranged so as to surround the inspection object as viewed from the first direction.
According to this configuration, it is possible to indirectly image all portions of the inspection target that cannot be directly imaged by the imaging unit via the mirror by the imaging unit.

In the inspection apparatus, it is preferable that the mirror is arranged at a position closer to the imaging unit than the inspection object in the first direction.
According to this configuration, for example, when imaging is performed while moving a plurality of inspection objects continuously, it is possible to prevent the movement of the inspection object from being hindered by the mirror.

In the inspection apparatus, it is preferable that the illumination unit includes a light source and a reflection surface that reflects light from the light source and irradiates the inspection object.
According to this configuration, since the inspection object is indirectly illuminated by the light from the light source, for example, when the inspection object is made of a material that easily reflects light, the image captured by the imaging unit is halated. Can be prevented from occurring.

According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately inspect an inspection object from a plurality of directions at once.

The cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows schematic structure of the cup test | inspection apparatus of one Embodiment. The cross-sectional schematic diagram of a cup. The schematic diagram which shows the defect image of the cup imaged with the camera.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the inspection device is embodied as a cup inspection device that inspects a cup will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, a cup inspection device 11 as an example of an inspection device moves a plurality of cups 12 as an example of an inspection object from an upstream side (right side in FIG. 1) to a downstream side (left side in FIG. 1). Are disposed immediately above the belt conveyor 13 that sequentially conveys the belt. The cup 12 has a bottomed cylindrical shape with an upper end opened, and is conveyed by the belt conveyor 13 in a state where the opening side faces the upper side which is the cup inspection device 11 side.

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

Since the cup 12 contains food such as yogurt and jelly, and beverages such as juice, it is necessary to inspect the inner bottom surface, the inner side surface, and the top surface of the flange portion 15 for foreign matter or dirt. . The cup 12 is manufactured by integrally forming the main body portion 14, the flange portion 15, and the film 16. For this reason, when the cup 12 is molded, the ink 17 on which the film 16 is printed may ooze out and harden between the lower surface of the flange portion 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion 14. Therefore, this hardened ink 17 also needs to be inspected.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cup inspection device 11 includes a control unit 20 that comprehensively controls the operating state of the cup inspection device 11 and an optical sensor 21 that detects the cup 12 conveyed by the belt conveyor 13. Yes. Furthermore, the cup inspection apparatus 11 is an example of an imaging unit that illuminates the cup 12 detected by the optical sensor 21 from above, and an imaging unit that images the cup 12 illuminated by the illumination unit 22 from directly above. One camera 23 and a plurality (four in this embodiment) of mirrors 24 that reflect between the inner peripheral surface of the cup 12 and the lower surface of the flange portion 15 are provided.

The camera 23 is an area sensor camera, and is arranged so that the cup 12 can be imaged from a first direction which is a vertically downward direction. The illumination unit 22 has an annular shape in which the upper end portion of the dome-shaped one is cut to reduce the thickness, and is arranged so as to surround the camera 23 when viewed from the first direction. That is, the camera 23 is inserted from the upper side of the illuminating unit 22 into the central part of the illuminating unit 22, and is arranged such that the lower end is positioned slightly above the opening 29 at the lower end of the illuminating unit 22.

An annular flange 25 is provided at the lower end of the annular peripheral wall of the illumination unit 22 so as to follow the peripheral wall. The flange portion 25 slightly protrudes from the peripheral wall of the illumination portion 22 on both radial sides. An annular groove 26 is formed on the upper surface of a portion of the collar portion 25 located inside the peripheral wall of the illumination portion 22.

In the groove 26, a plurality of light sources 27 are arranged at equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the groove 26. The light source 27 is composed of, for example, a light emitting diode, and is disposed over the entire groove 26. The inner peripheral surface of the illuminating unit 22 is a concave curved reflecting surface 28 along the inner surface of the dome shape. The reflecting surface 28 is an opening at the lower end of the illuminating unit 22 that diffuses diffused light from the light source 27. The cup 12 is irradiated through the part 29.

Each mirror 24 has a rectangular plate shape and is arranged closer to the camera 23 than the cup 12 in the first direction. That is, each mirror 24 is disposed between the cup 12 and the illumination unit 22. The four mirrors 24 surround the cup 12 when viewed from the first direction, and are arranged at substantially equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the cup 12. In this case, the four mirrors 24 are arranged in a position where the illumination of the cup 12 by the illumination unit 22 is not hindered in the imaging region R (see FIG. 3) that can be captured by the camera 23. That is, the four mirrors 24 are arranged so as not to overlap the cup 12 in the first direction.

The four mirrors 24 project the entire circumference of the cup 12 between the inner peripheral surface of the cup 12 and the lower surface of the flange portion 15 from the second direction, which is a lateral direction intersecting the first direction, and the images of those mirrors. The angles are adjusted so that the captured image can be captured by the camera 23. Therefore, the camera 23 can capture the cup 12 and the images of the cups 12 reflected on the four mirrors 24 as one image at a time (together).

The illumination unit 22, the camera 23, and the four mirrors 24 are supported by a frame (not shown) that is raised and lowered by a lifting mechanism (not shown), and the height is arbitrarily changed by raising and lowering the frame. Can be done. In addition, although the optical sensor 21 in this embodiment is arrange | positioned in the position adjacent to the illumination part 22 in the upstream of the cup 12, the shutter speed of the camera 23, the conveyance speed of the cup 12 by the belt conveyor 13, and The location is appropriately changed based on the performance of the optical sensor 21 and the like.

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

The control unit 20 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. Then, the control unit 20 executes the cup inspection program stored in the ROM to construct the image processing unit 32, the determination unit 33, and the display control unit 34, and a part of the RAM is configured as the storage unit 35. is doing. The storage unit 35 stores a predetermined value N, which will be described later, for determining whether or not the cup 12 is inspected.

The image processing unit 32 binarizes or shades the image data captured by the camera 23 to form black and white image data. In this black and white image data, a region where there is no abnormality in the cup 12 is white, while a portion of the cup 12 where foreign matter such as ink or dirt is attached is black. Based on the black and white image data formed by the image processing unit 32, the determination unit 33 is a predetermined value in which black pixels are set in advance in an area where the cup 12 including the image of the cup 12 reflected on each mirror 24 exists. It is determined whether or not N or more are present.

The display control unit 34 determines that the black pixels are solidified by a determination unit 33 in a region where the cup 12 including the image of the cup 12 reflected on each mirror 24 is present at a predetermined value N or more. In this case, the character “NG” indicating that the cup 12 is defective is displayed on the display unit 31. On the other hand, the display control unit 34 determines that the black pixels do not exist in a region where the cup 12 including the image of the cup 12 reflected on each mirror 24 by the determination unit 33 is more than a predetermined value N. When the determination is made, the characters “OK” indicating that the cup 12 is non-defective are displayed on the display unit 31.

Next, an operation when the cup inspection apparatus 11 inspects the cup 12 will be described.
Now, the cup 12 conveyed by the belt conveyor 13 is detected by the optical sensor 21. The cup 12 detected by the optical sensor 21 is picked up by the camera 23 while being illuminated by the illuminating unit 22 when transported to just below the camera 23. At this time, since the illumination of the cup 12 by the illumination unit 22 is not hindered by each mirror 24, the camera 23 is reflected on the cup 12 and each mirror 24 in a state where the cup 12 is sufficiently illuminated by the illumination unit 22. An image is taken once (together) as one image. For this reason, a bright image is picked up at a time by the camera 23.

In this camera 23, as shown in FIG. 3, not only the inner bottom surface and inner surface of the cup 12 and the upper surface of the flange portion 15, but also the lower surface of the flange portion 15 and the main body portion 14 which are normally blind spots of the camera 23. A region between the inner peripheral surface of the image is also imaged through each mirror 24. In this case, when there is a lump of ink 17 between the lower surface of the flange portion 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion 14 of the cup 12, as shown in FIG. A lump of ink 17 is reflected on the mirror 24 to be projected.

In FIG. 3, the image of the actual cup 12 includes a part of the lump of ink 17, but the image of the actual cup 12 does not include the lump of ink 17 and is reflected in the mirror 24. In some cases, only the image of the image of the cup 12 includes a lump of the ink 17. In any case, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the cup 12 is inspected based on the image captured by the camera 23, and the determination result is displayed on the display unit 31.

According to the embodiment detailed above, the following effects are exhibited.
(1) In the cup inspection apparatus 11, each mirror 24 is disposed in an imaging region R that can be imaged by the camera 23 and at a position that does not interfere with the illumination of the cup 12 by the illumination unit 22. The image of the cup 12 shown in 24 is taken as one image at a time. For this reason, since the cup 12 is sufficiently illuminated by the illumination unit 22, a bright image can be taken at a time by the camera 23. Therefore, the cup 12 can be accurately inspected from a plurality of directions at a time. In addition, since the cup 12 and the image of the cup 12 reflected on each mirror 24 are captured as one image at a time, a quick inspection can be performed.

(2) In the cup inspection apparatus 11, the illumination unit 22 has an annular shape and is arranged so as to surround the camera 23 when viewed from the first direction. For this reason, the cup 12 imaged by the camera 23 can be effectively illuminated by the illumination unit 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. For this reason, the area between the lower surface of the flange portion 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion 14 of the cup 12 that cannot be directly imaged by the camera 23 can be indirectly imaged by the camera 23 via the four mirrors 24. .

(4) In the cup inspection apparatus 11, each mirror 24 is disposed at a position closer to the camera 23 than the cup 12 in the first direction. For this reason, when a plurality of cups 12 are continuously conveyed by the belt conveyor 13 and these cups 12 are sequentially imaged by the camera 23, it is possible to prevent the conveyance of each cup 12 by the mirrors 24. it can.

(5) In the cup inspection apparatus 11, the illumination unit 22 includes a light source 27 and a reflection surface 28 that reflects the light from the light source 27 and irradiates the cup 12. For this reason, since the cup 12 can be indirectly illuminated by the light from the light source 27, an image of the cup 12 captured by the camera 23 even if the cup 12 is made of a synthetic resin that is relatively easy to reflect light. The occurrence of halation can be suppressed.

(Example of change)
In addition, the said embodiment can also be changed and actualized as follows.
In the cup inspection apparatus 11, the illumination unit 22 may directly illuminate the cup 12 with the light source 27. In this case, the light source 27 may be a light bulb or a fluorescent lamp.

The illumination unit 22 does not necessarily have an annular shape, and does not necessarily have to be disposed so as to surround the camera 23 when viewed from the first direction.
In the cup inspection device 11, the illumination unit 22 may be a ring illumination device.

In the cup inspection apparatus 11, each mirror 24 does not necessarily have to be arranged at a position closer to the camera 23 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 conveyance of the cup 12. Further, when each mirror 24 is disposed at a position that prevents the cup 12 from being transported, it is necessary to move each mirror 24 to a position that does not prevent the cup 12 from being transported after photographing the cup 12.

In the cup inspection device 11, the four mirrors 24 do not necessarily have to be arranged so as to surround the cup 12 when viewed from the first direction.
-In cup inspection device 11, the number of mirrors 24 may be one or more, and may be changed arbitrarily. Further, when the entire region between the lower surface of the flange portion 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion 14 in the cup 12 is reflected on the mirror 24, an annular mirror 24 is adopted if there is only one mirror 24, If there are two mirrors 24, a semi-annular mirror 24 may be used, and if there are three or more mirrors 24, a flat mirror 24 may be used.

The cup inspection device 11 may include an angle changing mechanism that can change the angle of each mirror 24.
-Cup inspection device 11 may be constituted so that the height of illumination part 22, the height of camera 23, and the height of mirror 24 can be changed individually.

The cup inspection device 11 may include an exclusion mechanism that excludes the cup 12 that is determined to be rejected (defective product) on the belt conveyor 13.
-The inspection apparatus may inspect articles other than the cup 12.

In the cup inspection apparatus 11 of the above embodiment, the image processing unit 32, the determination unit 33, and the display control unit 34 are realized by software constructed by the CPU executing a program, but these are realized by hardware such as an IC. It may be configured. Further, these may be realized by cooperation of software and hardware.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Cup inspection apparatus as an example of inspection apparatus, 12 ... Cup as an example of inspection object, 22 ... Illumination part, 23 ... Camera as an example of imaging part, 24 ... Mirror, 27 ... Light source, 28 ... Reflecting surface , R: imaging region.

Claims

An illumination unit for illuminating the inspection object;
An imaging unit capable of imaging the inspection object from a first direction;
A mirror that reflects the inspection object from a second direction intersecting the first direction;
With
The mirror is disposed in an imaging region that can be imaged by the imaging unit and at a position that does not interfere with illumination of the inspection object by the illumination unit,
The said imaging part images the said test target object and the image of the said test target object reflected on the said mirror at once as one image, The inspection apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.
2. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the illumination unit has an annular shape and is disposed so as to surround the imaging unit when viewed from the first direction.
3. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mirror is disposed so as to surround the inspection object as viewed from the first direction.
The inspection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the mirror is arranged at a position closer to the imaging unit than the inspection object in the first direction.
The illumination unit includes a light source and a reflection surface that reflects the light from the light source and irradiates the inspection object. The inspection device described.