Inspection device

Abstract

The present invention provides an inspection device that can inspect the appearance properties of the end face of the inspected object with high precision by not displaying the contact marks of the end face of the inspected object in the captured image. The inspection device of the present invention comprises: a conveying mechanism for conveying the conveyed object (W); a first lighting mechanism for illuminating the inspected surface of the inspected object; and a camera for photographing the inspected surface. The first lighting mechanism comprises a light emitter for illuminating the inspected surface, and a support body for supporting the light emitter, the support body supporting the light emitter closest to the conveying path at a position farther away from the inspection position than another group of light emitters. A space is formed between the distant light emitter and the other group of light emitters so that the inspected surface can be observed from the back side on the opposite side to the inspection position, and the camera photographs the inspected surface through the space. The 1 / 2 beam angle of the distant light emitter is within the range of 30° to 80°, and the 1 / 2 beam angle of the other group of light emitters is within the range of 10° to 25°.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an inspection device capable of inspecting the appearance characteristics of the end surface of a tiny inspection object such as an electronic component with high accuracy. Background Art

[0002] As one of the devices for inspecting the appearance of electronic parts, etc., there is conventionally known an inspection device as disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-288527) described later. The inspection device includes a device for moving a printed substrate placed on a table in the XY direction, a lighting device having a plurality of LEDs arranged in a dome shape to illuminate an inspected portion on the printed substrate, and a camera for photographing the inspected portion on the printed substrate through a hole formed on the top of the lighting device.

[0003] According to the inspection device, the inspection part on the printed circuit board is illuminated by the lighting device, and the image of the inspection part is captured by the camera. And by analyzing the image data captured in this way, the appearance quality of the inspection part is determined.

[0004] Conventionally, such inspection devices have maintained a basic structure including a device for moving the inspected object, a device for illuminating the inspected object, and a device for capturing images of the inspected object, but have adopted a designed and varied form depending on the shape of the inspected object or the inspected portion.

[0005] For example, when inspecting the end face of a hexahedral electronic component (such as a capacitor, etc.), the following configuration is adopted: the electronic component is appropriately transported in a specified transport direction using a transport mechanism, the front end face of the electronic component is illuminated from the front in the transport direction using a lighting mechanism at an inspection position set at a specified position in the middle of the transport, and the front end face of the electronic component is appropriately photographed from the oblique front using a camera.

[0006] In this case, the lighting mechanism is a lighting device in which the LED (light emitting diode) is arranged in a dome shape by dividing it in a vertical plane perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveying mechanism, so as to illuminate the front end surface of the electronic component at the front side in the conveying direction.

[0007] Furthermore, the lighting mechanism has a through hole formed in a portion where no LED is arranged, and the camera photographs the front end surface of the electronic component through the through hole.

[0008] In addition, when inspecting the appearance of the front end of an electronic component, in order to inspect it with high precision, it is preferred to arrange the camera in such a way that the angle (elevation angle) between the conveying direction and the optical axis of the camera is as small as possible, and to photograph the front end of the electronic component from the front as much as possible. By photographing the front end from the front, the image data obtained can be maximized, thereby performing a more precise analysis.

[0009] In addition, the lighting mechanism is preferably provided with an LED at a position where its illumination optical axis is as close to a right angle as possible with respect to the front end surface of the electronic component, in other words, at a position as close as possible to the conveying path of the conveying mechanism. In this way, by providing the LED at a position close to the conveying path, more reflected light can be captured from the front end surface to the camera provided in such a way that the elevation angle of the shooting optical axis is as small as possible, thereby making the image shot by the camera clearer. Thus, by obtaining a clear image in this way, the accuracy of the analysis based on the image can be improved.

[0010] In recent years, the miniaturization of electronic components has been accelerating. Electronic components with a cross-section of 3 mm×2 mm have been miniaturized to have a cross-section of 0.4 mm×0.2 mm. In order to cope with this miniaturization, the configuration of the camera and LED as described above is also preferred.

[0011] However, there is a problem as follows: if the elevation angle of the camera's shooting optical axis is set as small as possible and the LED is arranged as close as possible to the transport path of the transport mechanism, the camera's shooting optical axis and the LED will be in a positional relationship that interferes with each other, making it impossible to provide a through hole in the lighting mechanism for photographing electronic components. In other words, electronic components cannot be photographed.

[0012] Therefore, in view of such problems, the inventors of the present application have proposed an inspection device as disclosed in Patent Document 2 described later.

[0013] The inspection device transports an object to be inspected, such as an electronic component, in a set transport direction, and uses at least the front end face or the rear end face of the object to be inspected in the transport direction as an inspected surface for inspection. The inspection device at least comprises: a transport mechanism having a transport path along the transport direction, for transporting the object to be inspected on the transport path in the transport direction; a lighting mechanism, which is arranged on the same side as the object to be inspected with the transport path as a boundary, and illuminates the inspected surface of the object to be inspected transported by the transport mechanism at a preset inspection position on the transport path; and a camera, which is also arranged on the same side as the object to be inspected, and photographs the inspected surface of the object to be inspected at the inspection position.

[0014] Furthermore, the lighting mechanism comprises a plurality of light emitters for illuminating the inspected surface of the inspected object, and a supporting body for supporting the plurality of light emitters, the supporting body being constructed in such a manner as to support the light emitter closest to the conveying path at least at a position farther away from the inspection position than another group of light emitters, and having a space between the distant light emitters and the other group of light emitters for observing the inspected surface of the inspected object from the back side on the opposite side to the inspection position; the camera is arranged on the back side of the supporting body and is constructed in such a manner as to photograph the inspected surface of the inspected object through the space of the supporting body.

[0015] According to the inspection device, the inspected object is transported on its transport path by the transport mechanism, and its inspected surface is illuminated by the lighting mechanism at the inspection position on the transport path. In this state, the inspected surface is photographed by the camera.

[0016] Furthermore, the lighting mechanism at least arranges the light emitter closest to the transport path at a position farther away from the inspection position than another group of light emitters. Therefore, a suitable interval can be set between the light emitter closest to the transport path and the other group of light emitters while making the light emitter closest to the transport path as close as possible to the transport path of the transport mechanism, thereby enabling a space to be set in this portion for photographing the inspected surface of the inspected object.

[0017] Furthermore, by adopting such a configuration, the camera can be arranged so that the angle (elevation angle) between its shooting optical axis and the conveying path is as small as possible, that is, arranged as close to the conveying path as possible, and the camera arranged in this way can photograph the inspected surface of the inspected object from the front as much as possible. As a result, the image of the inspected surface photographed by the camera can be made larger, and as a result, the appearance of the inspected surface can be inspected with high precision.

[0018] In addition, as described above, since the light emitter closest to the transport path can be arranged as close as possible to the transport path, more reflected light can be captured from the inspected surface to the camera, thereby making the image captured by the camera clearer. In this way, by obtaining a clear image of the inspected surface, the appearance of the inspected surface can be inspected with high precision.

[0019] [Background Technology Literature]

[0020] [Patent Document]

[0021] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-288527

[0022] [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-160016 Summary of the invention

[0023] [Problems to be solved by the invention]

[0024] However, although the test disclosed in Patent Document 2 achieves the excellent effects described above, further improvements are required in the following aspects.

[0025] That is, in the field of electronic parts such as capacitors, a form is adopted in which a probe for inspection is brought into contact with the end face of an electrode part in order to inspect its electrical characteristics, but a contact mark of the probe is generated on the end face of the electrode part due to the contact of the probe. Due to the contact of the probe, the contact mark appears flatter than other parts, and it is not an abnormality in appearance itself, but it will cause the following problem: if the contact mark appears in an image captured by a camera, it will be difficult to distinguish abnormalities such as notches or scratches, and therefore these abnormalities cannot be detected with high accuracy. Therefore, based on this background, it is required to find a way to prevent the contact mark of the probe, etc. from being displayed in the captured image.

[0026] The present invention was completed under the above background, and an object of the present invention is to provide an inspection device capable of inspecting the external appearance of an end surface of an object to be inspected with high accuracy by preventing contact marks of a probe or the like formed on the end surface of the object to be inspected from being displayed in a captured image.

[0027] [Technical means to solve the problem]

[0028] The inspection device of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problem conveys the object to be inspected in a set conveying direction, and uses at least the front end face or the rear end face of the object to be inspected in the conveying direction as the inspected face for inspection.

[0029] The inspection device at least comprises: a conveying mechanism having a conveying path along the conveying direction, for conveying the inspected object on the conveying path in the conveying direction; an illumination mechanism, arranged on the same side as the inspected object with the conveying path as a boundary, for illuminating the inspected surface of the inspected object conveyed by the conveying mechanism at a pre-set inspection position on the conveying path; and a camera, similarly arranged on the same side as the inspected object, for photographing the inspected surface of the inspected object located at the inspection position;

[0030] The lighting mechanism comprises a plurality of light emitters for illuminating the inspection surface of the inspection object, and a support body for supporting the plurality of light emitters;

[0031] The support body is configured to support the light emitter closest to the transport path at least at a position farther from the inspection position than another group of light emitters, and to provide a space between the farther light emitter (hereinafter referred to as the "first light emitter" in this item) and another group of light emitters (hereinafter referred to as the "second light emitter" in this item) for observing the inspection surface of the inspection object from the back side on the side opposite to the inspection position;

[0032] The camera is arranged on the back side of the support body and is configured to photograph the inspected surface of the inspected object through the space of the support body;

[0033] The 1 / 2 beam angle of the first light emitter has an angle within the range of 30° to 80°;

[0034] The 1 / 2 beam angle of the second light emitter has an angle within a range of 10° to 25°.

[0035] According to the inspection device, the inspected object is transported on its transport path by the transport mechanism, and its inspected surface is illuminated by the lighting mechanism at the inspection position on the transport path. In this state, the inspected surface is photographed by the camera.

[0036] Furthermore, in the lighting mechanism, at least the first light emitter is arranged at a position farther away from the inspection position than the second light emitter. Therefore, while the first light emitter is brought as close as possible to the transport path of the transport mechanism, a suitable interval can be set between the first light emitter and the second light emitter, thereby enabling a space for photographing the inspected surface of the inspected object to be provided in this portion.

[0037] Furthermore, by adopting such a configuration, the camera can be arranged in such a way that the angle (elevation angle) between its photographing optical axis and the transport path becomes as small as possible, that is, the camera can be arranged as close to the transport path as possible, and the inspected surface of the inspected object can be photographed from the front as much as possible by using the camera arranged in this way. As a result, the image of the inspected surface photographed by the camera can be made into a larger image, and as a result, the appearance characteristics of the inspected surface can be inspected with high precision.

[0038] In addition, as described above, since the first light emitter can be arranged as close to the conveying path as possible, more reflected light can be captured from the inspected surface to the camera, thereby making the image captured by the camera clearer. In this way, by obtaining a clear image of the inspected surface, the appearance of the inspected surface can be inspected with high precision.

[0039] Furthermore, the 1 / 2 beam angle of the first light emitter of the inspection device has an angle within the range of 30° to 80°, and the 1 / 2 beam angle of the second light emitter has an angle within the range of 10° to 25°. That is, the second light emitter is a light emitter that emits light with relatively high directivity, and the first light emitter is a light emitter that emits light with relatively no directivity. In addition, the 1 / 2 beam angle means the inner angle of the irradiation direction of light with a luminosity of 1 / 2 of the maximum luminosity, centered on the optical axis with the maximum luminosity emitted by the light emitter.

[0040] According to the inspection device having such a configuration, the second light emitter located at a position far from the conveying path obliquely irradiates the inspected surface with light having a relatively high directivity, so when there are irregularities such as notches or scratches on the inspected surface, the reflected light corresponding to the irregularities will not enter the camera. Therefore, a dark portion corresponding to the irregularities is formed in the image captured by the camera, and the dark portion is detected by subsequent image processing, thereby enabling detection of defects such as notches or scratches.

[0041] On the other hand, when there is a flat contact mark formed by the contact of the probe or the like on the inspected surface, since the light irradiated from the second light emitter has a high directivity, the light irradiated on the contact mark is substantially specularly reflected and does not enter the camera, so that a dark portion corresponding to the contact mark is formed in the image captured by the camera. As described above, since the contact mark is not defective, it is necessary to identify the contact mark relative to the defective concave and convex portion, but in the captured image, both the contact mark and the concave and convex portion become dark portions, so they cannot be identified.

[0042] Therefore, by irradiating the inspected surface with relatively non-directional light from the light emitter disposed close to the transport path, the reflected light from the mirror surface of the contact mark can be guided to the camera, thereby preventing the portion corresponding to the contact mark from becoming a dark portion. On the other hand, the light irradiated from the first light emitter to the concave-convex portion is diffusely reflected in the concave-convex portion, so most of it will not be incident on the camera, and the concave-convex portion will still be a dark portion. In this way, by irradiating the inspected surface with relatively non-directional light from the first light emitter disposed close to the transport path, a photographed image in which only the concave-convex portion becomes a dark portion can be obtained, so that only the concave-convex portion can be detected as defective.

[0043] In addition, the light emitter can be representatively an LED, but is not limited to an LED as long as it can illuminate with a sufficient amount of light required for inspecting the inspection surface.

[0044] As described above, according to the inspection device of the present invention having the above configuration, the appearance properties of the inspection object can be inspected with high accuracy, and only the concave-convex portions corresponding to defective notches or flaws can be detected without detecting normal contact marks.

[0045] In addition, in order to more clearly detect only the concave and convex parts corresponding to defective notches or scratches in the image taken by the camera without detecting normal contact marks, it is preferred to set the intensity (illuminance) of the first light emitter to 2 to 10 times the intensity (illuminance) of the second light emitter.

[0046] Furthermore, in the inspection device, the camera is preferably arranged such that its photographing optical axis is located in a plane orthogonal to the transport path and intersects the transport path at an angle in the range of 10° to 35°, and the first light emitter of the lighting mechanism is preferably arranged such that its lighting optical axis intersects the transport path at an angle in the range of 3° to 15°.

[0047] By setting the photographing optical axis of the camera and the illumination optical axis of the illumination mechanism to angles within the above range, the image of the inspection object photographed by the camera can be made more appropriate, thereby enabling the inspection surface of the inspection object to be inspected with high accuracy.

[0048] Furthermore, in the inspection device, the lighting mechanism is preferably configured to be able to individually adjust the light of the first light emitter and the second light emitter.

[0049] By being able to adjust the intensity (illuminance) of the first light emitter and the second light emitter separately, the brightness of the image of the inspected object captured by the camera can be made uniform throughout its entire area. That is, because the first light emitter is farther away from the inspection position than the second light emitter, the brightness of the inspected surface in the portion illuminated by the first light emitter is lower than the brightness of the portion illuminated by the second light emitter, but by increasing the intensity of the first light emitter, the brightness of the entire inspected surface area can be made roughly uniform. In addition, there are cases where the brightness of the inspected surface is uneven due to differences in the shape of the inspected surface, but the brightness of the entire inspected surface area can be made roughly uniform by adjusting the intensity of the light emitter according to the shape of the inspected surface.

[0050] [Effects of the Invention]

[0051] As described above, according to the inspection device of the present invention, the appearance characteristics of the inspection object can be inspected with high accuracy, and only the concave-convex parts corresponding to the defective notches or scratches can be detected without detecting normal contact marks. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] Figure 1 It is a front view showing an inspection device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 An enlarged view of the first and second lighting mechanisms is shown in cross section.

[0054] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 The arrow in the figure shows the side view in the direction of BB.

[0055] Figure 4 yes Figure 2 The arrow in the figure shows the side view in the CC direction.

[0056] Figure 5 (a) is a top view of the object under inspection, and (b) is a side view in the direction of arrow D.

[0057] Figure 6 (a) and (b) are explanatory diagrams for explaining the 1 / 2 beam angle of the LED in this embodiment.

[0058] Figure 7 This is an explanatory diagram for explaining the effects of the inspection device according to this embodiment.

[0059] Figure 8 It is a front view showing an inspection device according to a modified example of the present embodiment.

[0060] List of reference numerals: 1-inspection device; 2-conveying mechanism; 3-rotating table; 4-camera; 5-first lighting mechanism; 6-first support body; 12-LED; 13-second support body; 17-LED; 25-second lighting mechanism; 26-support body; 30-LED; 31-LED. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] Hereinafter, the specific implementation of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a front view showing an inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 It is a magnified representation Figure 1 In addition, Figure 3 yes Figure 2 The arrow in the figure shows the side view from the BB direction. Figure 4 yes Figure 2 The arrow in the figure shows the side view in the CC direction.

[0062] like Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the inspection device 1 of this example comprises: a conveying mechanism 2, which conveys the inspected object W in the direction A indicated by the arrow as the conveying direction; a first lighting mechanism 5 and a second lighting mechanism 25, which illuminate the front end surface (the end surface on the front side of the conveying direction) Wa of the inspected object W conveyed by the conveying mechanism 2 at the inspection position P; and a camera 4, which photographs the front end surface Wa of the inspected object W located at the inspection position P.

[0063] In addition, in this example, Figure 5 The hexahedral electronic component shown is used as the inspection object W, and its front end surface Wa is used as the inspection surface.

[0064] [Transportation Agency]

[0065] The conveying mechanism 2 includes a circular plate-shaped rotating table 3 composed of a transparent or translucent glass plate, and a driving motor (not shown) that rotates the rotating table 3 horizontally in the direction A indicated by the arrow, and the inspection object W supplied to the rotating table 3 with the front end Wa facing the conveying direction is conveyed in the conveying direction by the rotation of the rotating table 3. In addition, of course, the conveying path of the inspection object W conveyed by the rotating table 3 is an arc-shaped path.

[0066] [Camera]

[0067] The camera 4 is a camera for capturing a two-dimensional image of the front end surface Wa of the inspected object W, and is arranged so that its shooting optical axis is located in a vertical plane containing the tangent of the transport path at the inspection position P, and the angle formed with the upper surface of the rotating table 3, i.e., the transport path, is in the range of 10° to 35°.

[0068] [No. 1 Lighting Agency]

[0069] like Figure 2 to Figure 4 As shown, the first lighting mechanism 5 is composed of a first support body 6, a second support body 13 fixed to the end surface 9 on the downstream side of the conveying direction of the first support body 6, a plurality of LEDs 12 supported by the first support body 6, and a plurality of LEDs 17 supported by the second support body 13. The first lighting mechanism 5 is arranged at a position further downstream in the conveying direction than the inspection position P and above the turntable 3.

[0070] The first support 6 includes a concave surface 10 formed from the end surface 7 on the upstream side in the conveying direction to the lower surface 8, and the plurality of LEDs 12 are fixedly mounted on the concave surface 10. Figure 4As shown, these LEDs 12 are arranged on the concave surface 10 in three arc rows that are approximately concentric circles. In this example, 17 LEDs 12 are arranged on the outermost arc row, 13 LEDs 12 are arranged on the arc rows closer to the center, and 9 LEDs 12 are arranged on the arc row on the most central side.

[0071] In addition, a groove 11 opening to the end face 9 and the concave curved surface 10 is formed on the lower surface 8 of the first support body 6, and the second support body 13 is fixed to the end face 9 in a manner of leaving the upper side of the opening on the end face 9 side and blocking the opening.

[0072] On the other hand, on the end surface 14 on the upstream side of the conveying direction of the second support body 13, a plurality of (six in this example) LEDs 17 are arranged in a horizontal row. The LEDs 17 are located closer to the conveying path of the turntable 3 than the LEDs 12, and are arranged at a position farther away from the inspection position P in the conveying direction than the LEDs 12.

[0073] In addition, an opening is formed on the end face 9 of the first support body 6 using the upper surface of the second support body 13 and the inner surface of the groove 11, and the front end face Wa of the inspection object W can be photographed through the opening using the camera 4 with the shooting optical axis angle set to the angle.

[0074] In this way, the LED 17 arranged at a position close to the conveying path of the rotating table 3 is arranged at a position farther away from the inspection position P in the conveying direction than the other group of LEDs 12, so that a gap can be set between LED 17 and LED 12, thereby forming a space for photographing the front end surface Wa of the inspected object W between the groove 11 formed in the first support body 6 and the upper surface of the second support body 13.

[0075] Furthermore, a gap through which the inspection object W transported by the turntable 3 can pass is formed on the lower surface 15 of the second support 13 which corresponds to the transport path of the turntable 3 .

[0076] In addition, the 1 / 2 beam angle of the LED 12 has an angle in the range of 10° to 25°, and the 1 / 2 beam angle of the LED has an angle in the range of 30° to 80°. That is, LED 12 emits light with relatively high directivity, and LED 17 emits light with relatively no directivity. In addition, the 1 / 2 beam angle means the inner angle of the irradiation direction of light with a luminance of 1 / 2 of the maximum luminance, centered on the optical axis with the maximum luminance emitted by the self-luminous device.

[0077] The definition of 1 / 2 beam angle is shown in Figure 6 . Figure 6 (a) The LED 12 is shown in the figure. With the optical axis 12a of the LED 12 having the maximum luminous intensity as the center, the internal angle θa of the irradiation direction of the light 12b, 12b having a luminous intensity of 1 / 2 of the maximum luminous intensity is the 1 / 2 beam angle of the LED 12. Similarly, Figure 6 (b) The situation of LED 17 is illustrated. With the optical axis 17a of LED 17 having the maximum luminous intensity as the center, the internal angle θb of the irradiation direction of light 17b, 17b having a luminous intensity of 1 / 2 of the maximum luminous intensity is the 1 / 2 beam angle of LED 17.

[0078] Furthermore, the LED 17 is disposed so that its optical axis 17 a intersects the transport path at an angle within a range of 3° to 15°.

[0079] Furthermore, among the LEDs 12, a group (LED group G1) arranged in the outermost arc row, a group (LED group G2) arranged in another arc row, and a group (LED group G3) of LEDs 17 can adjust the light emission intensity individually.

[0080] [Second Lighting Agency]

[0081] The second lighting mechanism 25 is composed of a support body 26 and a plurality of LEDs 30 and 31 supported by the support body 26 , and is disposed directly below the first lighting mechanism 5 with the rotating table 3 interposed therebetween.

[0082] The support body 26 has a concave curved surface 29 formed from an end surface 27 on the upstream side of the conveying direction to an upper surface 28, and the plurality of LEDs 30 and 31 are fixed on the concave curved surface 29. Figure 4 As shown, the LEDs 30 are arranged on the concave curved surface 29 in three substantially concentric arc rows. In this example, 17 LEDs 30 are arranged on the outermost arc row, 13 LEDs 30 are arranged on the arc row closer to the center, and 9 LEDs 30 are arranged on the arc row on the most central side. In addition, two LEDs 31 are arranged closer to the center than the LEDs 30 on the arc row on the most central side.

[0083] Furthermore, among the LEDs 30 , a group (LED group G4 ) arranged in the outermost arc row and a group (LED group G5 ) arranged in another arc row and the LEDs 31 can each independently adjust the light emission intensity.

[0084] According to the inspection device 1 of this example having the above structure, a plurality of inspection objects W are supplied in sequence at predetermined intervals to a rotating table 3 driven and rotated by the driving motor (not shown) with their front end faces Wa facing the conveying direction, and the supplied inspection objects W are conveyed by the rotating table 3 in a manner passing through the inspection position P.

[0085] The inspection object W that has reached the inspection position P is illuminated by the light irradiated from the LEDs 12 and 17 of the first illumination mechanism 5, and is illuminated by the light irradiated from the LEDs 30 and 31 of the second illumination mechanism 25 and transmitted through the rotating table 3. In this way, the front end surface Wa is illuminated by the first and second illumination mechanisms 5 and 25 arranged vertically, so that the front end surface Wa as the inspection surface is uniformly illuminated with a high illumination.

[0086] Then, the camera 4 captures the front end surface Wa of the inspection object W uniformly illuminated in this manner, and a determination device (not shown) analyzes the captured image data to determine whether the appearance properties of the front end surface Wa are good or bad.

[0087] In the inspection device 1 of this example, since the LED 17 of the first illumination means 5 is arranged so that its illumination optical axis intersects the transport path at an angle ranging from 3° to 15°, the front end surface Wa of the inspection object W can be illuminated substantially from the front.

[0088] Furthermore, since the LED 17 of the first lighting mechanism 5 is disposed at a position farther from the inspection position P than the LED 12, an appropriate interval can be set between the LED 17 and the LED 12, so that a space for photographing the front end surface Wa of the inspection object W can be formed in this portion. Furthermore, by forming such a space, the camera 4 can be arranged in such a manner that the angle (elevation angle) between its photographing optical axis and the transport path is in the range of 10° to 35°, so that it can be arranged as close to the transport path as possible.

[0089] Thus, according to the camera 4 arranged in this way, the front end face Wa of the inspected object W can be photographed from its front side as much as possible, so that the image of the front end face Wa photographed by the camera 4 can be made larger, resulting in that the appearance properties of the front end face Wa can be inspected with high precision.

[0090] Furthermore, as described above, since the LED 17 is used to illuminate the front end surface Wa of the inspection object W from the substantially front side, more reflected light can be captured from the front end surface Wa to the camera 4, thereby making the image captured by the camera 4 clearer. Thus, by obtaining a clear image of the front end surface Wa, the appearance of the front end surface Wa can be inspected with higher accuracy.

[0091] Furthermore, according to the inspection device 1, an LED having a 1 / 2 beam angle in the range of 10° to 25° is used as the LED 12 located away from the conveying path, and light with relatively high directivity is obliquely irradiated from the LED 12 to the front end surface Wa of the inspection object W. Therefore, when there are unevenness such as a notch or a scratch on the front end surface Wa as the inspection surface, the reflected light corresponding to the unevenness will not be incident on the camera 4, so that a dark portion corresponding to the unevenness is formed on the image captured by the camera 4. Then, the dark portion is detected by subsequent image processing, thereby detecting defects such as notches or scratches.

[0092] In addition, there is a case where a flat contact mark is formed by contacting the front end surface Wa as the inspected surface with a probe or the like used when inspecting electrical characteristics, but when the front end surface Wa is illuminated only by the LED 12 that emits light with relatively high directivity, the light irradiated on the contact mark is substantially specularly reflected and therefore does not reach the camera 4, so that a dark portion corresponding to the contact mark is formed in the image captured by the camera 4, similarly to the concave and convex portion. As described above, since the contact mark is not defective, it is necessary to identify the contact mark relative to the concave and convex portion that is defective, but in the captured image, both the contact mark and the concave and convex portion become dark portions, so they cannot be identified.

[0093] Incidentally, in the inspection device 1 of this example, the LED 12 that emits light with relatively high directivity is used instead of the LED 17 of the first lighting mechanism 5 to illuminate the front end surface Wa of the inspection object W, and the image obtained by photographing the front end surface Wa by the camera 4 is shown in FIG. Figure 7 (a). Figure 7 In (a), the dark areas at the left edge and the lower edge are defective areas, and the dark area at the upper right is a contact mark. Figure 7 (a) It can be seen that when the front end surface Wa of the inspection object W is illuminated only by the LED 12 that emits light with relatively high directivity, both the defective portion and the contact mark portion become dark portions, and thus they cannot be identified.

[0094] Therefore, in the inspection device 1 of this example, an LED having a 1 / 2 beam angle in the range of 30° to 80° is used as the LED 17 arranged close to the conveying path, and relatively non-directional light is irradiated from the LED 17 to the front end surface Wa of the object to be inspected W. By irradiating the front end surface Wa of the object to be inspected W with relatively non-directional light in this way, the reflected light from the mirror reflection of the contact mark can be guided to the camera 4, thereby preventing the portion corresponding to the contact mark from becoming a dark portion. In this way, by illuminating the front end surface Wa of the object to be inspected W using both the LED 12 that irradiates relatively highly directional light and the LED 17 that irradiates relatively non-directional light, a captured image in which only the concave and convex portion becomes a dark portion can be obtained, so that only the concave and convex portion can be detected as defective.

[0095] Incidentally, the first lighting device 5 of the inspection device 1 of this example is used to Figure 7 The front end surface Wa of the inspection object W is the same as the inspection object W in (a), and the image obtained by photographing the front end surface Wa by the camera 4 is shown in FIG. Figure 7 (b) In the Figure 7 In the image (b), Figure 7 The contact mark on the upper right part of the image (a) disappears, and only the dark part of the left edge corresponding to the defective part and the dark part of the lower edge are displayed. In this way, according to the inspection device 1 of this example, a photographed image in which only the concave-convex part becomes a dark part can be obtained, so that only the concave-convex part can be detected as defective.

[0096] Furthermore, in the first lighting mechanism 5 and the second lighting mechanism 25 of this example, the LED groups G1, G2, G3, G4, and G5 can be dimmed respectively, so that the front end surface Wa can be uniformly illuminated by appropriately dimming the LED groups G1, G2, G3, G4, and G5. In addition, the front end surface Wa can also be dimmed according to the shape of the front end surface Wa as the inspected surface. In the case where the brightness of the inspected surface is uneven due to the shape of the inspected surface, the brightness of the entire inspected surface area can be made roughly uniform by adjusting the intensity of each LED group G1, G2, G3, G4, and G5 according to the shape of the inspected surface.

[0097] As described above, according to the inspection device 1 of this example, the appearance properties of the front end surface Wa of the inspection object W can be inspected with high accuracy.

[0098] The above describes the specific embodiments of the present invention, but the specific forms that the present invention can adopt are not limited to these. For example, in the above example, the front end surface Wa of the object to be inspected in the conveying direction is inspected, but it can also be like Figure 8As shown in FIG. 1 , the rear end face Wb of the object to be inspected W is inspected. The inspection device 50 is obtained by reversing the conveying device 1 in the front and rear directions of the conveying direction with the inspection position P as the center. Figure 8 In the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those of the inspection device 1 , and the configuration and function of each component are the same as those of the inspection device 1 , so the description thereof is omitted.

Claims

1. An inspection device, which transports an object to be inspected in a set transport direction, and uses at least the front end surface or the rear end surface of the object to be inspected in the transport direction as an inspection surface for inspection, The inspection device at least comprises: a conveying mechanism having a conveying path along the conveying direction, for conveying the inspected object on the conveying path in the conveying direction; an illumination mechanism, arranged on the same side as the inspected object with the conveying path as a boundary, for illuminating the inspected surface of the inspected object conveyed by the conveying mechanism at a pre-set inspection position on the conveying path; and a camera, similarly arranged on the same side as the inspected object, for photographing the inspected surface of the inspected object located at the inspection position; The lighting mechanism includes a plurality of light emitters for illuminating the inspection surface of the inspection object, and a support body for supporting the plurality of light emitters. The plurality of light emitters and the camera are configured to satisfy the following conditions (1) and (2), and the light emitted by the plurality of light emitters satisfies the following condition (3); (1) The support body is configured to support the light emitter closest to the transport path at a position at least farther from the inspection position than another group of light emitters, and to provide a space between the farther light emitter and the other group of light emitters for observing the inspection surface of the inspection object from the back side opposite to the inspection position, (2) The camera is arranged on the back side of the support body and is configured to capture the inspected surface of the inspected object using the space of the support body; the inspection device is characterized in that: (3) the 1 / 2 beam angle of the remote light emitter has an angle in the range of 30° to 80°, The 1 / 2 beam angle of the other group of light emitters has an angle within the range of 10° to 25°. 2 . The inspection device according to claim 1 , wherein the remote light emitters have an intensity 2 to 10 times that of the other group of light emitters.

3. The inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the camera is arranged so that its imaging optical axis is located in a plane orthogonal to the transport path and intersects the transport path at an angle ranging from 10° to 35°, and The remote light emitter of the lighting mechanism is disposed so that its illumination optical axis intersects the transport path at an angle in the range of 3° to 15°.

4. The inspection device according to claim 2, wherein the camera is arranged so that its imaging optical axis is located in a plane orthogonal to the transport path and intersects the transport path at an angle ranging from 10° to 35°, and The remote light emitter of the lighting mechanism is disposed so that its illumination optical axis intersects the transport path at an angle in the range of 3° to 15°. 5 . The inspection device according to claim 1 , wherein the lighting mechanism is configured to dim the remote light emitters and the other group of light emitters separately.

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