WO2023109466A1 - Automatic focusing apparatus, panel detection device and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An automatic focusing apparatus (200), a panel detection device, an automatic focusing method, and a panel detection method. The automatic focusing apparatus (200) comprises a distance measuring unit (210), an image acquisition unit (220), a driving unit (230), and a control unit (240) connected to the distance measuring unit (210) and the driving unit (230), wherein the driving unit (230) is connected to the image acquisition unit (220) and the distance measuring unit (210). The distance measuring unit (210) is configured to measure a distance between the image acquisition unit (220) and a target object, and when the distance is within a preset distance range, the distance measuring unit (210) sends a predetermined signal to the control unit (240), otherwise, the distance measuring unit (210) does not send the predetermined signal. The control unit (240) is configured to control the driving unit (230) on the basis of the predetermined signal to drive the image acquisition unit (220) and the distance measuring unit (210) to move together, so that the target object is imaged at the focus of the image acquisition unit (220). Therefore, blurred photographing of a region of interest of the target object caused by responding by the distance measuring unit (210) due to the impact of the presence of recesses, foreign matter and the like of the target object can be avoided. Hence, the imaging quality of a region of interest of the target object is ensured, and the imaging quality is remarkably improved.

Description

Autofocus device, panel inspection device and method thereof

The present invention claims the priority of a Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on December 16, 2021, with the application number 202111545227.0 and the application name "autofocus device, panel detection equipment and method thereof", the entire content of which Incorporated herein by reference.

technical field

The present invention relates to the field of electronic imaging, and more specifically relates to an autofocus device, a panel inspection device, an autofocus method and a panel inspection method.

Background technique

With the development of science and technology, digital images have been applied to more and more application scenarios. In some application scenarios, a moving image acquisition unit is used to collect image data of different parts of the target object to generate an image of the target object. Different parts of the target object targeted by the image capture operation may have different distances from the image capture unit for various reasons. Usually, the distance measuring unit is used to continuously control the relative distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object to keep constant, thereby ensuring the clarity of the image. However, in some application scenarios, such direct and strict control based on distance will result in unclear images of desired imaging parts.

In order to improve image quality, a new autofocus solution is urgently needed to solve the above image quality problems.

Contents of the invention

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems. The present invention provides an automatic focusing device, comprising: a distance measuring unit, an image acquisition unit, a drive unit and a control unit, wherein the control unit is connected to the distance measurement unit and the drive unit, and the drive unit is connected to the image acquisition unit and the distance measurement unit. The distance measuring unit is used to detect the distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object. When the distance is within the preset distance range, the distance measuring unit sends a predetermined signal to the control unit, otherwise, no predetermined signal is sent. The control unit is used for controlling the driving unit to drive the image acquisition unit and the distance measuring unit to move together based on a predetermined signal, so that the target object is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit.

Exemplarily, the ranging unit in the autofocus device includes a ranging component and a processor.

The ranging component is used to detect the distance and send the distance to the processor.

The processor is configured to determine whether the distance is within a preset distance range, and to send a predetermined signal to the control unit if the distance is within the preset distance range, so that the control unit controls the drive unit to drive the image acquisition unit and the measuring device based on the predetermined signal. The distance unit moves together.

Exemplarily, the control unit controls the drive unit to drive the image acquisition unit and the distance measurement unit to move together based on a predetermined signal, specifically by performing the following operations.

For the situation where the predetermined signal indicates that the distance is greater than the preset distance value, the control drive unit drives the image acquisition unit and the distance measuring unit to move towards the target object until the distance between the target object is equal to the preset distance value, wherein the preset distance value is the target object The distance between the target object and the image acquisition unit when imaging at the focal point of the image acquisition unit.

For the case where the predetermined signal indicates that the distance is less than the preset distance value, the control drive unit drives the image acquisition unit and the distance measuring unit to move away from the target object until the distance between the target object and the target object is equal to the preset distance value.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a panel inspection device, including an inspection platform assembly and a visual inspection assembly.

The detection platform component is used to carry the panel to be detected.

The visual inspection component includes the above-mentioned auto-focus device to collect an image of the panel to be inspected when the panel to be inspected is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit, wherein the target object is the panel to be inspected.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an automatic focusing method is also provided. Realized by using an auto-focus device, the auto-focus device includes a distance measuring unit, an image acquisition unit, a drive unit and a control unit, and the auto-focus method includes:

The distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object is detected by the distance measuring unit.

When the distance is within the preset distance range, the ranging unit sends a predetermined signal to the control unit, otherwise, no predetermined signal is sent.

The control unit is used to control the driving unit to drive the image acquisition unit and the distance measuring unit to move together based on a predetermined signal, so that the target object is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit.

Exemplarily, before using the ranging unit to detect the distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object, the autofocus method further includes:

In response to a user's positioning operation, the image acquisition unit is set at a position where the target object is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit.

Exemplarily, before using the ranging unit to detect the distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object, the autofocus method further includes:

In response to the user's speed setting operation, the speed at which the drive unit drives the image acquisition unit and the distance measurement unit to move is set.

Exemplarily, before using the ranging unit to detect the distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object, the autofocus method further includes:

In response to a user's distance setting operation, a preset distance range is set.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a panel inspection method, which includes: collecting an image of the panel to be inspected, and detecting the panel to be inspected according to the image, wherein, during the process of collecting the image of the panel to be inspected, performing the above The autofocus method is used to make the panel to be inspected be imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit and use the image acquisition unit to acquire an image, wherein the panel to be inspected is the target object.

Exemplarily, the above panel detection method also includes:

Before collecting the image of the panel to be inspected, the above-mentioned auto-focus method is executed, so that the panel to be inspected is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit.

Therefore, according to the above technical solution, since the ranging device is when the distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object is within the preset distance range, the ranging unit sends a predetermined signal to the control unit, otherwise, the predetermined signal is not sent , so it is possible to avoid the distance measuring unit from responding due to the impact of the target object being affected by dents, foreign objects, etc., so that the photographing of the region of interest of the target object is blurred. Therefore, the technical solution ensures the imaging quality of the ROI of the target object, and significantly improves user experience.

The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present invention. In order to better understand the technical means of the present invention, it can be implemented according to the contents of the description, and in order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and understandable , the specific embodiments of the present invention are enumerated below.

Description of drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing the embodiments of the present invention in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, and constitute a part of the specification, and are used together with the embodiments of the present invention to explain the present invention, and do not constitute limitations to the present invention. In the drawings, the same reference numerals generally represent the same components or steps.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a panel testing device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of an autofocus device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of image acquisition of a target object according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 shows a schematic block diagram of a ranging unit of an autofocus device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic flowchart of an autofocus method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 6 shows a schematic flowchart of a panel detection method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, exemplary embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Apparently, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, rather than all embodiments of the present invention, and it should be understood that the present invention is not limited by the exemplary embodiments described here. Based on the embodiments of the present invention described in the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

As mentioned above, in some application scenarios, when the image acquisition unit is taking pictures of the target object, using the ranging unit to keep the relative distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object constant will cause image quality problems. Ranging cells typically measure the distance between points. If the target object has a sudden change in shape at the measured point, the distance measured by the distance measuring unit will change accordingly. In this case, if the distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object is adjusted according to the distance, the imaging quality of the target object will be affected. For example, in the field of panel inspection, usually firstly, a mobile image acquisition unit on the panel inspection device is used to collect images of the panels to be inspected, and then the quality of the panels is inspected through the images. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a panel testing device. As shown in Figure 1, when the image acquisition of the panel 101 to be inspected is performed, the image acquisition unit 120 on the panel inspection device moves continuously at a constant speed along the direction shown by the X axis, and during the movement, different parts of the panel 101 to be inspected are collected image data to generate an image of the panel. The panels are usually straight. For the case where the warping of the panel and uneven adsorption occur continuously, the image acquisition unit 120 can be positioned by using the distance measuring unit on the panel inspection device to track the direction of the panel. However, if the panel inspection equipment adjusts the distance between the image acquisition unit 120 and the panel 101 to be inspected in response to sudden changes such as a panel sag or foreign objects therein, many imaging areas in the panel image will be blurred . Furthermore, the accuracy of the panel inspection will inevitably be reduced, and even the panel inspection cannot be successfully completed. This is not expected by the user.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an automatic focusing device is provided. The autofocus device can be used in various scenarios, such as the aforementioned panel inspection equipment, to improve the quality of images collected in these application scenarios. Optionally, the autofocus device is more suitable for a straight target object to be photographed. Desirably, during the process of image acquisition, the distance between the image acquisition unit in the autofocus device and the target object remains constant. It is understood that this distance may vary due to deformation of the target object or other factors. In order to collect a clear image under any change in the distance, an autofocus device according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of an autofocus device 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2 , the autofocus device 200 includes a distance measuring unit 210 , an image acquisition unit 220 , a driving unit 230 and a control unit 240 . The control unit 240 is connected to the ranging unit 210 and the driving unit 230 . The drive unit 230 is connected to the image acquisition unit 220 .

The image acquisition unit 220 is used for continuously acquiring image data of the target object. Basic parameters such as shooting pixels, exposure time, imaging color, sensitivity, white balance, and color temperature of the image acquisition unit can be determined by those skilled in the art according to the actual use environment, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present invention. It can be understood that the image acquisition unit 220 may include a lens, and when the target object is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit 220 , that is, at the focal point of the lens, the image acquired by the image acquisition unit is the clearest. Optionally, the image acquisition unit 220 may further include a light source to illuminate the target object to be photographed to improve the imaging quality.

The driving unit 230 is connected with the distance measuring unit 210, the image acquisition unit 220 and the control unit 240, and is used to drive the distance measurement unit 210 and the image acquisition unit 220 to move under the control of the control unit 240, so as to adjust the distance between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target. distance between objects. In addition, the driving unit 230 also drives the ranging unit 210 so that the ranging unit 210 can always accurately detect the distance between the image capturing unit 220 and the target object. Thus, under the control of the control unit 240 , the target object is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit 220 . Exemplarily, the driving unit 230 may include a motor, and the image acquisition unit 220 may be connected to a pivot shaft of the motor. The motor can rotate under the control of the control unit 240 to adjust the position of the image acquisition unit 220 through its pivot axis, so that the image acquisition unit 220 can change its position correspondingly with the change of the target object, thereby keeping the distance between the two constant. Change.

The ranging unit 210 can detect the distance between the image capturing unit 220 and the target object in real time during the process of capturing the image of the target object. It can be understood that, during the operation of the autofocus device, the distance measuring unit 210 and the image acquisition unit 220 may maintain a fixed positional relationship. Thus, the distance between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object can be calculated according to the distance between itself and the target object detected by the ranging unit 210 . For example, it is assumed that the field of view of the image acquisition unit 220 is located directly above it, that is, the imaging direction of the image acquisition unit 220 is a vertical upward direction. Both the ranging unit 210 and the image acquisition unit 220 may be disposed on the same horizontal plane, while the target object is disposed on another horizontal plane within the field of view of the image acquisition unit 220 . Thus, in the vertical direction, both the distance measuring unit 210 and the image capturing unit 220 have the same distance from the target object. Furthermore, the distance detected by the ranging unit 210 can be regarded as the distance between the image capturing unit 220 and the target object. Alternatively, there is a relative distance Δd between the ranging unit 210 and the image acquisition unit 220 in the vertical direction, and the target object is set on a horizontal plane within the field of view of the image acquisition unit 220 . Thus, in the vertical direction, the ranging unit 210 is farther away from the target object than the image capturing unit 220 , and the difference between the distances between the two and the target object is the distance Δd. Furthermore, Δd may be subtracted from the distance detected by the ranging unit 210 to obtain the distance between the image capturing unit 220 and the target object.

A preset distance range may be set for the ranging unit 210 . When the distance between the image acquisition unit 210 and the target object detected by the distance measuring unit 210 in real time is within a preset distance range, the distance measuring unit sends a predetermined signal to the control unit 240 , otherwise, no predetermined signal is sent. Exemplarily, FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of image acquisition of a target object according to an embodiment of the present invention. For simplicity, in FIG. 3 , a curve represents the side profile of the target object. Suppose the preset distance range is [m1,m2]. The starting point of the distance measuring unit 210 is position 0, and the distance measuring unit 210 continues to move to the right during the image capturing process. When the ranging unit 210 moves to position 1, the distance d1 between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object detected by the ranging unit 210 is within the preset distance range [m1, m2], that is, m1<d1<m2, Thus, when the ranging unit 210 moves to the position 1 o'clock, it sends a predetermined signal. When the distance measuring unit 210 moves to position 2, the distance d2>m2 between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object detected by the distance measuring unit 210, that is, outside the preset distance range, thus, when the distance measuring unit When 210 moves to position 2 o'clock, it does not send a predetermined signal. Similarly, when the ranging unit 210 moves to position 3 and position 4, the detected distances d3 and d4 between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object are both within the preset distance range [m1, m2], That is, m1<d3, d4<m2, thus, when the ranging unit 210 moves to position 3 o'clock and position 4 o'clock, it also sends a predetermined signal.

The predetermined signal transmitted by the ranging unit 210 may include information on the detected distance between the image capturing unit 220 and the target object. Alternatively, the ranging unit 210 may determine whether the currently detected distance between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object is smaller than the distance between the target object and the image acquisition unit 220 when the target object is imaged at the focus of the image acquisition unit 220 . The predetermined signal may also include information on the result of the judgment.

Exemplarily, the ranging unit 210 may be implemented by using a triangular ranging sensor.

The control unit 240 is used for controlling the driving unit 230 to drive the image acquisition unit 220 and the distance measuring unit 210 to move together based on a predetermined signal, so that the target object is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit 220 . , it can be understood that when the target object is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit 220, the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 220 is the clearest. The control unit 240 can drive the image acquisition unit 220 through the drive unit 230 based on a predetermined signal, thereby adjusting the distance between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object, that is, the object distance of the image acquisition unit, so that the target object is always imaged in the image acquisition unit. At the focus of unit 220. It can be understood that the image acquisition unit 220 and the distance measuring unit 210 can be controlled to move synchronously, thereby ensuring that the distance measurement unit 210 can always accurately detect the distance between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object. When the control unit 240 does not receive a predetermined signal from the drive unit 230, it controls the drive unit 230 to remain still, so that the image acquisition unit 220 and the distance measurement unit 210 have no displacement relative to the target object in the imaging direction of the image acquisition unit 220 .

Referring again to FIG. 3 , it is assumed that when the ranging unit 210 is located at position 0, the target object is just imaged at the focal point of the image capturing unit 220 , and the distance between the target object and the image capturing unit 220 is d0. When the distance measuring unit 210 moves from position 0 to position 1, due to the upward bending of the target object, the distance d1 between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object is less than d0, at this time the control unit 240 can send based on the distance measuring unit 210 The predetermined signal controls the driving unit 230 to drive the image acquisition unit 220 and the ranging unit 210 to move away from the target object synchronously. When the distance measuring unit 210 moves to position 2, the distance measuring unit 210 does not send a predetermined signal. Then the drive unit 230 does not drive the image acquisition unit 220 and the distance measuring unit 210 to move in the imaging direction of the image acquisition unit 220, thus, the image acquisition unit 220 and the distance measurement unit 210 are aligned with the target object in the imaging direction of the image acquisition unit 220 The distance between them remains constant. At this time, although the imaging effect may be slightly poor for the protrusion of the target object; however, for the normal area around the protrusion, the imaging effect is clear. It can be understood that in some application scenarios, what the user expects to know is the normal area of the target object, and does not pay much attention to the abnormal area therein. If according to the technical solution of the prior art, the distance between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object is always adjusted according to the distance measured by the ranging unit, the protrusion may be clearly imaged, but the user's interest area may be blurred. In a word, in this solution, the range of motion of the image acquisition unit 220 is limited to the above-mentioned preset distance range, thus, the above-mentioned solution ensures that the region of interest of the user is clearly imaged.

According to the above technical solution, the ranging unit 210 detects the distance between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object, and the control unit 240 receives a predetermined signal sent by the ranging unit under certain conditions and controls the driving unit 230 to drive the image acquisition unit 220, so that the target The object is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit 220 . Therefore, it can be avoided that the distance measuring unit 210 responds due to the influence of a dent, a foreign object, etc. on the target object, so that the photographing of the region of interest of the target object is blurred. Therefore, the technical solution ensures the imaging quality of the ROI of the target object, and significantly improves user experience.

Preferably, FIG. 4 shows a schematic block diagram of the ranging unit 210 of the autofocus device in an embodiment of the present invention. The ranging unit 210 may include a ranging component 211 and a processor 212 .

The ranging component 211 is used to detect the distance between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object. It can be understood that the ranging component 211 may include a transmitting unit and a receiving unit. The sending part sends the ranging signal to the target object. The ranging signal is reflected by the target object and received by the receiving unit. Exemplarily, according to the difference between the time when the ranging signal is sent and the time when it is received, the distance between the target object and the ranging component 211 can be determined, and then the distance between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object can be determined. Preferably, the sending part and the receiving part may be a laser emitting part and a laser receiving part. The accuracy of laser ranging is high, and the error is small, which can improve the accuracy of ranging. After the distance measuring component 211 determines the distance between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object, it may send it to the processor 212 .

The processor 212 is configured to determine whether the distance between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object detected by the ranging component 211 is within a preset distance range, and to send a predetermined signal to the control if the distance is within the preset distance range unit 240, so that the control unit 240 controls the driving unit 230 to drive the image acquisition unit 220 and the distance measuring unit 210 to move synchronously based on a predetermined signal. It can be understood that the processor 212 continuously and in real time judges whether the current distance between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object is within a preset distance range according to the signal from the ranging component. If the judgment result indicates that it is within the preset distance range, a predetermined signal is generated and sent to the control unit 240 . At this time, the control unit 240 controls the driving unit 230 to drive the image acquisition unit 220 and the distance measuring unit 210 to move based on the predetermined signal. If the judging result indicates that it is not within the preset distance range, the processor 212 does not send a predetermined signal.

The processor 212 can be constructed using electronic components such as comparators, registers, and digital logic circuits, or can be constructed by using single-chip microcomputers, microprocessors, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays, etc. (FPGA), programmable logic array (PLA), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and other processor chips and their peripheral circuits.

In the above technical solution, the distance measuring unit 210 is implemented by a distance measuring component 211 and a processor 212, which ensures that the distance measuring unit 210 can send a predetermined signal accurately and timely, thereby ensuring the imaging quality.

Exemplarily, when the autofocus device is working, the control unit 240 controls the driving unit 230 to drive the image acquisition unit 220 to move together with the distance measuring unit based on a predetermined signal, specifically by performing the following operations.

When the predetermined signal indicates that the distance between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object is greater than the preset distance value, the control drive unit 230 drives the image acquisition unit 220 to move toward the target object until the distance between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object is equal to the preset distance value. The aforementioned preset distance value is the distance between the target object and the image acquisition unit when the target object is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit 220 .

When the predetermined signal indicates that the distance between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object is less than the preset distance value, the control drive unit 230 drives the image acquisition unit 220 to move away from the target object until the distance between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object is equal to the preset distance value.

It can be understood that when the distance between the image collection unit 220 and the target object is equal to the preset distance value, the image of the target object collected by the image collection unit 220 is the clearest.

Referring to FIG. 2 again, FIG. 2 shows the movement trajectory of the image acquisition unit 220 when the auto-focus device takes pictures of the target object. As shown by the dotted line in Fig. 2, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the image acquisition unit 220 moves along with the deformation of the target object, and the distance between the image acquisition unit 220 and the target object generally remains constant. Only at the protrusion of the target object, the image acquisition unit 220 does not move in the vertical direction relative to the target object.

In the above solution, the control unit 240 controls the drive unit 230 to drive the image acquisition unit 220 to move with the deformation of the target object according to the preset signal, so as to keep the distance from the target object equal to the preset distance value, except when there is a sudden deformation corresponding to the target object. s position. Therefore, at the cost of sacrificing the imaging quality of the unconcerned deformation regions, the clarity of all regions of interest of the target object in the image is guaranteed, and user experience is improved.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a panel testing device, which includes a testing platform component and a visual testing component. The panel inspection device is used for imaging the panel to be inspected, and inspecting the quality of the panel based on the image of the panel to be inspected. Exemplarily, the panel to be inspected may be a panel based on chip on glass technology (Chip On Glass, COG for short), or a panel based on chip on flexible substrate technology (Ic on film, COF for short), or Panels based on FPC On Glass (FOG for short) technology.

The detection platform component is used to carry the panel to be detected. The detection platform assembly may be provided with adsorption holes. There is an adsorption force at the adsorption hole to firmly adsorb the panel to be detected on the detection platform assembly, so as to prevent the detection of the visual detection assembly from being affected by the position change of the detection panel relative to the detection platform assembly during the moving process.

The visual inspection component includes the above-mentioned auto-focus device to collect an image of the panel to be inspected when the panel to be inspected is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit of the auto-focus device. It can be understood that in the panel inspection device, the target object of imaging is the panel to be inspected. Optionally, the distance measuring unit in the autofocus device can be realized by using a laser distance measuring sensor, and the image acquisition unit can be realized by using a differential interference contrast microscope (DIC).

Exemplarily, before starting to detect the panel to be inspected, for example, when the panel inspection equipment is installed and debugged, the autofocus device in the panel inspection equipment can be adjusted so that the distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object is the above-mentioned preset distance value , that is, the height of the lens of the image acquisition unit is at a position where the panel to be inspected can be photographed clearly, for example, 10 mm away from the panel. The distance measuring component of the distance measuring unit of the autofocus device and the image acquisition unit can maintain a relatively fixed positional relationship in the direction of the field of view of the image acquisition unit, so that the distance measurement unit can accurately detect the distance between the image acquisition unit and the panel to be detected. distance. Referring to the panel inspection device in FIG. 2 again, the direction of the field of view of the image acquisition unit is vertically upward. During the panel inspection process, the visual inspection component of the panel inspection equipment moves along the X-axis at a specific speed, and collects images of the panel to be inspected during the movement for panel inspection. In addition, during the process of image acquisition by the vision detection component, the movement of the distance measurement unit and the image acquisition unit is controlled according to the distance measurement result of the distance measurement unit. When the distance measurement result shows that the distance between the image acquisition unit and the panel to be detected is within the aforementioned preset distance range, such as [9.9, 10.1], control the distance measurement unit and the image acquisition unit to adjust up and down in the vertical direction to realize automatic focus. For example, the distance measurement result indicates that the distance between the image acquisition unit and the panel to be inspected is 10.05mm, then the distance measurement unit and the image acquisition unit are driven to move upward by 0.05mm, so that the image acquisition unit is kept 10mm away from the panel to be inspected. When the distance measurement result indicates that the distance between the image acquisition unit and the panel to be detected is outside the aforementioned preset distance range, keep the vertical positions of the distance measurement unit and the image acquisition unit unchanged. Therefore, in this case, the distance measuring unit and the image acquisition unit no longer adjust up and down following the sudden deformation of the panel to be detected.

The above-mentioned panel inspection equipment can always obtain a clear image of the region of interest of the panel to be inspected, which ensures the accuracy of panel inspection.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, an automatic focusing method is also provided. Fig. 5 shows a schematic flowchart of an autofocus method 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The auto-focus method 500 is realized by using an auto-focus device, and the auto-focus device includes a distance measuring unit, an image acquisition unit, a driving unit and a control unit.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the autofocus method 500 may include the following steps.

Step S510, using the distance measuring unit to detect the distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object.

Step S520, when the distance detected in step S510 is within the preset distance range, the ranging unit sends a predetermined signal to the control unit, otherwise, no predetermined signal is sent.

Step S530, using the control unit to control the driving unit based on a predetermined signal to drive the image acquisition unit and the distance measuring unit to move together, so that the target object is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit.

Exemplarily, before using the ranging unit to detect the distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object, the autofocus method 500 may further include the following operations.

Exemplarily, for example, when the user initially operates the autofocus device, the preset distance range is set in response to the user's distance setting operation. The preset distance range determines the range within which the image acquisition unit can be automatically adjusted. The preset distance range is an important basis for the automatic focusing device to be able to collect clear images. If the local mutation of the target object causes the distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object to exceed the preset distance range, the local mutation can be ignored to reduce the image clarity caused by foreign objects or pits on the target object during image acquisition The degree is reduced, so that the imaging results are more ideal. If the preset distance range is too large, it will be difficult to play the role of filtering the local mutation of the target object, which will affect the imaging quality; if it is too small, the image acquisition unit will not be able to follow the normal deformation of the target object, which will also affect the imaging. quality.

In the above automatic focusing method, the aforementioned preset distance range can be set in response to a user's operation. Therefore, the user can reasonably set the preset distance range according to the application scenario, thereby ensuring the imaging quality of the image acquisition unit.

Exemplarily, for example, when the user initially operates the autofocus device, in response to the user's positioning operation, the image acquisition unit is set at a position where the target object is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit. Before using the image acquisition unit to acquire the image of the target object, the user can manually adjust the position of the image acquisition unit, and set the image acquisition unit at the position where the target object can be imaged at its focus, so as to improve the image acquisition unit’s first acquisition of the target. The clarity of the image of the object. Optionally, the image acquisition unit may be connected with a connecting piece such as a sliding platform. The user can adjust the position of the image acquisition unit by rotating the knob on the slide table. It can be understood that the distance measuring unit can be fixed on the sliding table together with the image acquisition unit, so as to move synchronously with the image acquisition unit.

In the above automatic focusing method, the image acquisition unit can be set at an ideal position in response to the user's operation, which ensures that the subsequent image acquisition operation of the image acquisition unit can be carried out smoothly and the quality of the acquired image can be ensured. This also avoids the system crash caused by the distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object not being within the preset distance range in the initial state.

Exemplarily, for example, when the user initially operates the autofocus device, in response to the user's speed setting operation, the speed at which the driving unit drives the image acquisition unit and the distance measuring unit to move is set. The moving speed of the image acquisition unit and the ranging unit not only affects the difficulty of controlling them, but also affects the quality of image acquisition. It can be understood that if the movement speed is too fast, it will be more difficult to control it due to the huge inertia effect, in other words, the more difficult it is to control it to stay in the desired position accurately. As a result, there may be a problem that the image is clear for a while and unclear for a while, that is, the image quality is not stable. If the movement speed is too slow, the image acquisition unit may not be in place when the image acquisition of the current position is performed, and it is difficult to acquire a clear image. Therefore, in this step, the user can set the speed at which the drive unit drives the image acquisition unit and the distance measurement unit to move according to the actual application scenario. Optionally, the control unit of the autofocus device may be connected with a display for displaying a user interface. Operable controls may be displayed on the user interface, such as a text input box, a drop-down selection box, and the like. Users can use these operable controls to set the speed of the movement of the image acquisition unit and the distance measurement unit.

In the above autofocus method, the speed of the image acquisition unit can be set in response to the user's operation. It not only ensures the control accuracy and response speed of the image acquisition unit, but also ensures that the image acquisition operation of the image acquisition unit can obtain a clearer image.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a panel inspection method is provided. FIG. 6 shows a schematic flowchart of a panel detection method 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6 , the panel inspection method 600 may include the following steps.

Step S610, collecting an image of the panel to be inspected. In the process of collecting the image of the panel to be inspected, the aforementioned auto-focus method can be implemented, so that the panel to be inspected is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit and the image of the panel to be inspected is collected by the image acquisition unit. It can be understood that the panel to be inspected is the target object to be imaged by the image acquisition unit.

Step S620, detecting the panel to be detected according to the image collected in step S610.

In the above-mentioned panel inspection method, the aforementioned auto-focus method is executed while collecting images of the panel to be inspected. It is ensured that the image of the panel to be inspected is clear.

Exemplarily, before collecting the image of the panel to be inspected, the aforementioned auto-focus method is also performed once, so that the panel to be inspected is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit. This ensures that the subsequent image acquisition operation of the image acquisition unit can be carried out smoothly and the quality of the acquired image is ensured. This also avoids the failure of the panel inspection equipment to collect clear images due to the fact that the distance between the image acquisition unit and the panel to be inspected is not within the preset distance range in the initial state.

Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand the specific implementation schemes and beneficial technical effects of the above-mentioned panel inspection device, auto-focus method, and panel inspection method by reading the above-mentioned related descriptions about the auto-focus device. For the sake of brevity, details are not repeated here.

Although example embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the above-described example embodiments are exemplary only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention thereto. Various changes and modifications can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as claimed in the appended claims.

Those skilled in the art can appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed by hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. A skilled person may use a different autofocus device for each specific application to implement the described functions, but such implementation should not be considered as exceeding the scope of the present invention.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed device and autofocus device can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or May be integrated into another device, or some features may be omitted, or not implemented.

In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known autofocus devices, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

Similarly, it should be understood that in the description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention, in order to streamline the disclosure and to facilitate an understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects, various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure , or in its description. This invention, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the corresponding claims reflect, the inventive point lies in that the corresponding technical problem may be solved by using less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the Detailed Description are hereby expressly incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that all features disclosed in this specification (including accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) and any autofocus device or device so disclosed may be used in any combination, unless the features are mutually exclusive All processes or units are combined. Each feature disclosed in this specification (including accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise.

Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that although some embodiments described herein include some features included in other embodiments but not others, combinations of features from different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention. and form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any one of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

The various component embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in hardware, or in software modules running on one or more processors, or in a combination thereof. Those skilled in the art should understand that a microprocessor or a digital signal processor (DSP) can be used in practice to implement some or all functions of some modules in the autofocus device and the panel inspection device according to the embodiments of the present invention. The present invention can also be implemented as a device program (for example, a computer program and a computer program product) for executing a part or all of the autofocus device described herein. Such a program for realizing the present invention may be stored on a computer-readable medium, or may be in the form of one or more signals. Such a signal may be downloaded from an Internet site, or provided on a carrier signal, or provided in any other form.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in a claim. The word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The invention can be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements, and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In a unit claim enumerating several means, several of these means can be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The use of the words first, second, and third, etc. does not indicate any order. These words can be interpreted as names.

The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention or a description of the specific embodiment, and the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person familiar with the technical field can easily Any changes or substitutions that come to mind should be covered within the protection scope of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (10)

1. An automatic focusing device, characterized in that it includes: a distance measuring unit, an image acquisition unit, a driving unit and a control unit, wherein the control unit is connected to the distance measuring unit and the driving unit, and the driving unit is connected to the The image acquisition unit and the distance measuring unit;

   The ranging unit is used to detect the distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object, and when the distance is within a preset distance range, the ranging unit sends a predetermined signal to the control unit, otherwise, no sending said predetermined signal;

   The control unit is configured to control the drive unit to drive the image acquisition unit and the distance measuring unit to move together based on the predetermined signal, so that the target object is imaged at a focal point of the image acquisition unit.
2. The automatic focusing device according to claim 1, wherein the ranging unit comprises a ranging component and a processor,

   The ranging component is configured to detect the distance and send the distance to the processor;

   The processor is configured to determine whether the distance is within the preset distance range, and send the predetermined signal to the control unit if the distance is within the preset distance range, so that The control unit controls the driving unit to drive the image acquisition unit and the distance measuring unit to move together based on the predetermined signal.
3. The autofocus device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit controls the drive unit to drive the image acquisition unit and the distance measuring unit to move together based on the predetermined signal, specifically by performing the following operations:

   For the case where the predetermined signal indicates that the distance is greater than a preset distance value, the driving unit is controlled to drive the image acquisition unit and the distance measuring unit to move toward the target object to a distance from the target object equal to the preset distance value, wherein the preset distance value is the distance between the target object and the image acquisition unit when the target object is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit;

   For the case where the predetermined signal indicates that the distance is less than the preset distance value, the driving unit is controlled to drive the image acquisition unit and the distance measuring unit to move away from the target object to between the target object The distance is equal to the preset distance value.
4. A panel detection device, characterized in that it includes a detection platform component and a visual detection component,

   The detection platform assembly is used to carry the panel to be detected;

   The visual inspection component includes the autofocus device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, to collect an image of the panel to be inspected when the panel to be inspected is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit, wherein The target object is the panel to be detected.
5. An autofocus method, characterized in that it is realized by an autofocus device, the autofocus device includes a distance measuring unit, an image acquisition unit, a drive unit and a control unit, and the autofocus method includes:

   using the ranging unit to detect the distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object;

   When the distance is within a preset distance range, the ranging unit sends a predetermined signal to the control unit, otherwise, the predetermined signal is not sent;

   Utilizing the control unit to control the driving unit based on the predetermined signal to drive the image acquisition unit and the distance measuring unit to move together, so that the target object is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit.
6. The automatic focusing method according to claim 5, wherein, before the distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object is detected by the distance measuring unit, the automatic focusing method further comprises:

   In response to a user's positioning operation, the image acquisition unit is set at a position where the target object is imaged at a focal point of the image acquisition unit.
7. The automatic focusing method according to claim 5, wherein, before the distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object is detected by the distance measuring unit, the automatic focusing method further comprises:

   In response to the user's speed setting operation, the speed at which the driving unit drives the image acquisition unit and the distance measuring unit to move is set.
8. The automatic focusing method according to claim 5, wherein, before the distance between the image acquisition unit and the target object is detected by the distance measuring unit, the automatic focusing method further comprises:

   The preset distance range is set in response to a user's distance setting operation.
9. A panel detection method, characterized in that, comprising:

   Collect the image of the panel to be detected;

   Detecting the panel to be detected according to the image;

   Wherein, in the process of acquiring the image of the panel to be inspected, the autofocus method according to any one of claims 5 to 8 is executed, so that the panel to be inspected is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit and The image is captured by the image capture unit, wherein the panel to be detected is the target object.
10. The panel detection method according to claim 9, further comprising:

    Before collecting the image of the panel to be inspected, the autofocus method according to any one of claims 5 to 8 is also executed, so that the panel to be inspected is imaged at the focal point of the image acquisition unit.

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