Automatic grading method and device for second-hand terminal

Abstract

The present invention contributes to significantly improving the accuracy of appearance inspection of commercialized second-hand terminals by using a brand new inspection method, and to automatically classifying regenerated terminals on the basis of high-accuracy inspection data obtained by the new inspection method. A terminal (T) is moved in a plane, illumination light (3b) is irradiated to the front side or the back side of the moved terminal (T) from the rear oblique upper side of the terminal (T) toward the front side, an illumination part of the terminal (T) is imaged by a camera (3c) facing the rear side from the front oblique upper side of the terminal (T), and the image of the imaged data of the imaged terminal (T) is captured by a camera (3c) facing the rear side from the front oblique upper side of the terminal (T). A plurality of types of reference level data classified by levels and stored in a database of a server (8) are referenced, the level (level) of the reference level data to which the imaging data is determined to belong is determined as the level of the imaging data, and the determination result is output.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the following method and a device used for the method, which method is: in the process of regenerating and commercializing second-hand portable terminals such as smart phones (hereinafter referred to as second-hand terminals or terminals), based on the photographic data of the appearance inspection of each terminal being performed, AI (artificial intelligence) is used to automatically classify them as new products (hereinafter also referred to as grading or classification). Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, terminals purchased as second-hand items have been recycled and commercialized, and technologies that are considered useful for the commercialization of second-hand terminals have been proposed in Patent Documents 1 to 3. However, none of the proposed documents mentions automatic classification of second-hand terminals.

[0003] By the way, the outline of the commercialization process of second-hand terminals that has been carried out mainly by manual labor is shown in Figure 5 to explain.

[0004] For second-hand terminals that are commercialized, in order to participate in the commercialization process, terminals that are judged to be uncommercializable are removed from the terminals that have undergone "warehousing", and the remaining terminals are placed in "acceptance". For all terminals placed in "acceptance", residual data is erased in the subsequent "erasing process" and the terminals are transferred to the inspection process of "functional inspection" and "appearance inspection".

[0005] Furthermore, the "functional inspection" and the "appearance inspection" are inspection steps for grading (classifying) the terminals based on the inspection results so that the terminals become recycled commodities to be graded in the subsequent "classification" step.

[0006] In addition, the terminals classified according to the grading results and / or other criteria are kept on the "inventory shelves" waiting for orders from purchasers. When orders are placed from multiple purchasers (orderers), each terminal is "packaged" individually according to the order content for each orderer, and "shipped" through the process of "sealing" each package.

[0007] exist Figure 5 In the conventional commercialization process shown, each process is connected by a belt conveyor BC, and an operation table, a temporary storage shelf, tools, etc. are provided at the base of each process, and at least one operator in charge performs each process.

[0008] As mentioned above, the commercialization process of used terminals in the past is a manual operation performed by operators in almost all processes. Therefore, there is a difficulty that the operation efficiency, operation results or operation accuracy are easily deviated due to the difference in experience and ability of each operator. In particular, in the grading based on appearance inspection, although there is a general benchmark, it is based on the subjective judgment of the operator's experience and intuition. Therefore, not only does the judgment operation take time, but the grade after judgment also varies.

[0009] In view of the above-mentioned problems, the inventors of the present invention have previously proposed an invention capable of automatically executing an inspection process including an appearance inspection without manual intervention as Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-203406.

[0010] The proposed invention is a technology that can automatically perform functional inspections and appearance inspections of terminals without manual intervention, and is also a technology that automatically determines grading based on inspection data. Therefore, it can roughly eliminate the problem of previous grading that relies on manual labor, but there are still problems that remain.

[0011] Prior art literature

[0012] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-539909

[0013] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent No. 5820464

[0014] Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent No. 4171453 Summary of the invention

[0015] Technical issues to be solved by the invention

[0016] One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a method for visual inspection of second-hand terminals to be commercialized, which can significantly improve the inspection accuracy by adopting a new shooting method, and automatically perform terminal grading based on high-precision shooting data reproduced by the new shooting method through AI.

[0017] The quality of the appearance of a second-hand terminal can be judged by checking whether there are scratches (scratches, concave or convex scratches, etc.) on the front (liquid crystal display surface), back, outer peripheral surface, and outer corners of the terminal shell (frame), and if there are scratches, their extent (deep or shallow, high or low, etc.). However, most second-hand terminals look beautiful at first glance but have tiny scratches (abrasions). Therefore, it is hoped to develop technology that can clearly and distinctly capture even tiny scratches.

[0018] Therefore, one of the problems of the present invention is to obtain clear imaging data even for minute scratches.

[0019] Technical solutions to solve problems

[0020] The structure of the present invention capable of solving the above-mentioned problems is characterized in that a terminal is moved in a plane, and an outer surface (front or back) of the moving terminal is irradiated with illumination light from obliquely above the rear of the terminal toward the front in the moving direction of the terminal, and the illuminated part of the terminal is photographed multiple times by a camera (hereinafter also referred to as a digital camera or digital camera) pointing from obliquely above the front of the terminal toward the rear in the moving direction, and for the scar data of the terminal formed by processing the photographed data, the server refers to a plurality of benchmark grade data classified by grades and stored in a database, and the grade (rank) of the benchmark grade data to which the scar data belongs is judged as the grade of the terminal, and the judgment result is output.

[0021] The present invention has the following form: when the moved terminal is moved by a conveyor belt with the front side or the back side facing upward, the illumination light is irradiated and the camera is photographed by a digital camera. Then, the terminal is reversed and moved with the back side or the front side facing upward, and the same illumination light is irradiated and the camera is photographed by a digital camera as above, thereby obtaining photographic data on both sides of the terminal.

[0022] As an example of a specific shooting method, a conveyor is configured to travel in a horizontal posture in a single direction, and a light source for illumination and a camera for shooting are arranged in a dark box-like space in front of the conveyor in the traveling direction, forming a shooting data forming unit (hereinafter referred to as the first shooting data forming unit) on the front side (or back side) of the terminal.

[0023] On the front side in the running direction of the conveyor, an imaging data forming section (hereinafter referred to as a second imaging data forming section) on the back side (or front side) of the terminal is arranged with the same structure as the first imaging data forming section.

[0024] In the above-mentioned conveyor, a reversing mechanism for reversing the terminal placed on and transported by the conveyor is provided between the first imaging data forming section and the second imaging data forming section.

[0025] As an example, the reversing mechanism is composed of a gripper (clip) with lifting and rotating functions using a motor as a driving source, which grasps the terminal in a horizontal position and rises, rotates the held terminal 180 degrees at the top dead center, and then releases the held terminal on the conveyor after it descends. The gripper includes a suction cup type that uses air and a mechanical structure gripper.

[0026] The light source and the digital camera of the illumination light constituting the first shooting data forming unit and the second shooting data forming unit of the present invention may also have an adjustment function that can arbitrarily change the position and tilt angle thereof in the vertical direction. The adjustment and setting of the position and angle are automatically adjusted or set based on the size and thickness data of the terminal obtained by shooting the terminal that starts to move with another digital camera.

[0027] The mechanism for automatically adjusting the position and angle is roughly the same as that of the light source and the digital camera. As an example, a motor is used as a driving source, and is composed of a linear motion mechanism that causes the object (light source or camera) to move up and down in a linear manner through a rack, a pinion mechanism, and a feed screw mechanism, and a rotation mechanism that changes the set angle of the object (light source and camera). The control unit of the motor performs rotation control based on a control signal provided by the control unit of the server, thereby driving and controlling the linear motion and the rotation motion.

[0028] In the above description, the front and back image data of the terminal are formed in a time series manner in the first image data forming unit and the second image data forming unit arranged in series on a conveyor. In the present invention, sometimes a structure is set to be able to simultaneously form and obtain the first image data and the second image data. This point is described below.

[0029] As an example of a configuration for simultaneously generating and acquiring the first imaging data and the second imaging data, there is the following.

[0030] First, two conveyors for conveying terminals are prepared, and the two conveyors are arranged as a first conveyor and a second conveyor separated in the running direction by a gap smaller than the length of one terminal.

[0031] Next, an upper dark box-like space and a lower dark box-like space are formed above and below the two conveyors, respectively, sandwiching a gap between the first conveyor and the second conveyor.

[0032] The upper dark box-like space and the lower dark box-like space are provided with a light source for illumination and a digital camera for photographing in the manner described above, so that the upper dark box-like space is constituted as a first photographing data forming unit and the lower dark box-like space is constituted as a second photographing data forming unit.

[0033] With the above configuration, the first and second imaging data forming units disposed vertically sandwiching the gap between the first and second conveyors can simultaneously form and acquire the first and second imaging data. In this configuration, a terminal reversing mechanism is not required.

[0034] The above mechanism capable of simultaneously generating and acquiring the first imaging data and the second imaging data can be further developed into a structure capable of acquiring imaging data of the side surface of the terminal by using a structure of a reflector. This point will be described below.

[0035] On the left and right sides of the conveyor travel direction set in the gap between the first conveyor and the second conveyor along the travel direction, a reflector or a half-reflector is arranged facing the left and right sides of the moved terminal and is inclined at about 45 degrees relative to the horizontal plane (conveyor travel surface). The side image of the terminal is reflected in the reflector, and the side of the terminal reflected in the reflector is photographed by the digital camera of the first shooting data forming unit, thereby obtaining shooting data of the left and right sides of the terminal (hereinafter referred to as the third shooting data).

[0036] Effects of the Invention

[0037] In the present invention, a moving terminal is irradiated with illumination light that tilts the optical axis, and the illuminated and moving terminal is photographed multiple times by a digital camera, which is processed to obtain photographic data. With respect to the obtained photographic data, the level of the terminal that caused the obtained photographic data is determined by referring to a plurality of benchmark level data of different levels stored in a database, and the determination data is output. Therefore, the level related to the terminal's scratches can be automatically determined by AI based on the determination data. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] Figure 1 This is a schematic side view for explaining the basic structure of a captured data forming unit of a terminal in the automatic classification system of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 2 is Figure 1 A schematic side view of a photographing data forming unit having a terminal information forming unit provided in front of the photographing data forming unit for obtaining data related to the size and thickness of the terminal.

[0040] Figure 3 This is a schematic side view of a photographic data forming unit configured to simultaneously form and acquire photographic data of the front and back sides of a terminal.

[0041] Figure 4 is used for Figure 4 A schematic front cross-sectional view illustrating a structural example in which a photographing data forming unit uses a reflector to photograph the side of a terminal.

[0042] Figure 5 This is a process diagram for explaining the process of commercializing second-hand terminals by manual labor in the past. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] Reference Figure 1 to Figure 4 An example of a system capable of executing the automatic classification method of the present invention will be described.

[0044] exist Figure 1 In the figure, 1 is a conveyor belt conveyor (hereinafter referred to as conveyor 1) carrying terminal T and running at a speed of about 4m / min. The conveyor 1 is mounted on frames 2A and 2B in the front and rear of the running direction (the length direction of the conveyor 1). By the way, Figure 1 The conveyor 1 is formed by a flexible conveying belt having a length of about 2 m and a width of about 300 to 450 mm, but the conveyor 1 is not limited to the structure formed by the conveyor belt having the above-mentioned values ​​and the frames 2A and 2B supporting the conveyor belt.

[0045] In addition, in this specification, with respect to the traveling direction of the conveyor 1, the front side is referred to as the rear (or rear), the side it is facing is referred to as the front (or front), the upper side in the vertical direction orthogonal to the upper surface of the conveyor 1 is referred to as the upper side (or up), and the lower side is referred to as the lower side (or down).

[0046] 3 is a first shooting data forming section formed on the front side (rear) in the running direction of the conveyor 1, and 4 is a second shooting data forming section formed on the facing side (front) in the running direction of the conveyor 1 and having the same structure as the first shooting data forming section.

[0047] The first imaging data forming section 3 and the second imaging data forming section 4 have the same structure, and therefore, the first imaging data forming section 3 will be described below, but the second imaging data forming section 4 differs from the first imaging data forming section 3 only in the reference numerals of the same components.

[0048] The first shooting data forming unit 3 is composed of a lighting device 3b and a digital camera 3c (hereinafter also referred to as a digital camera 3c), and the lighting device 3b and the digital camera 3c are supported by two front and rear longitudinal frames 2A, 2A on the front side (rear) of the conveyor 1, and are arranged in a dark box-like area 3a (hereinafter also referred to as a dark box area 3a) at an angle above the front and rear relative to the terminal T placed on the conveyor 1.

[0049] Specifically, the lighting device 3b is arranged relative to the terminal T in the dark box area 3a in a posture that can illuminate the illumination light obtained by the illumination light source (hereinafter also referred to as light source) arranged in a planar shape such as LED from the rear and above. On the other hand, the digital camera 3c is arranged in a posture that the objective lens is directed toward the terminal T from the front and above of the illuminated terminal T.

[0050] In addition, the configuration posture of the lighting device 3b and the digital camera 3c corresponds to the difference in the size and thickness of the terminal T in the vertical direction based on the type of the terminal T (different models, manufacturers, etc.), so although not shown in the figure, there is a device with a structure that can achieve displacement and positioning in the vertical direction and change and positioning of the inclination angle of the irradiation optical axis and / or the optical axis of the camera optical system. This will be described later.

[0051] The second shooting data forming unit 4 has the same structure as the above-mentioned first shooting data forming unit 3, and includes a dark box area 4a of the frames 2B and 2B arranged in the front and a lighting device 4b and a digital camera 4c arranged inside the dark box area 4a in the same manner as the lighting device 3b and the digital camera 3c.

[0052] exist Figure 1 In the device of the present invention, regarding the conveyor 1, a reversing mechanism 5 for reversing the terminal T on the conveyor is arranged between the rear frame 2A and the front frame 2B.

[0053] The reversing mechanism 5 performs the following operations: the terminal T on the conveyor 1 is held by a suction cup and raised, the terminal is placed on a temporary placement table at the top dead center and released, the placed terminal T is rotated 180 degrees, the terminal T is held again by a suction cup and lowered, and the held terminal T is placed on the conveyor 1. The reversing mechanism 5 is composed of a terminal holder 5a, an elevator 5b having the holder 5a, a temporary placement table 5c on which the raised terminal is temporarily placed and reversed, and a driving mechanism such as a motor.

[0054] As an example, the terminal holder 5a is preferably a suction cup type, but it can also be a mechanical structure that uses a gripping unit that opens and closes by air or electromagnetic to grip and release the terminal T. The elevator 5b that lifts and lowers the terminal holder 5a is composed of a linear motion mechanism such as a cylinder mechanism, a feed screw mechanism, or a rack and pinion mechanism. In addition, the terminal holder 5a and the elevator 5b are controlled by the third control unit 63 of the control unit server 6.

[0055] The driving of the first shooting data forming unit 4 and the second shooting data forming unit 4 is controlled by the first control unit 61 and the second control unit 62 of the control unit server 6, and the shooting data (first shooting data and second shooting data) obtained by processing multiple shots of the front and back of the terminal T obtained by the two digital cameras 3c and 4c are sent to the control unit server 6.

[0056] That is, the control unit server 6 includes: a first control unit 61, which controls the driving of the lighting device 3b and the digital camera 3c of the first shooting data forming unit 3 for shooting the front side (scars) of the terminal T; and a second control unit 62, which controls the driving of the lighting device 4b and the digital camera 4c of the second shooting data forming unit 4 for shooting the back side (scars) of the terminal T.

[0057] Furthermore, the first control unit 61 and the second control unit 62 have the following functions.

[0058] That is, when the terminal T is transported from the input side to the discharge side through the first imaging data forming section 3 and the second imaging data forming section 4 on the conveyor 1, when the terminal detection sensor (not shown) of the frame 2A disposed in front of the first imaging data forming section 3 captures the moving terminal T, a trigger signal t1 is output to the first control section 61. Next, when the terminal detection sensor (not shown) of the frame 2B disposed in front of the second imaging data forming section 4 captures the moving terminal T, a trigger signal t2 is output to the second control section 62.

[0059] When the trigger signal t1 is input, the first control unit 61 drives the lighting device 3b and the digital camera 3c of the first photographic data forming unit 3. When the moving terminal T leaves the viewing angle of the digital camera 3c, the terminal detection sensor (not shown) provided in the front frame 2A detects the moving terminal T and provides the first control unit 61 with an end signal e1, thereby stopping the operation of the lighting device 3b and the digital camera 3c.

[0060] The terminal T that has finished shooting by the first shooting data forming unit 3 is conveyed while maintaining the state unchanged, and is detected by the terminal detection sensor provided in the front frame 2A. This detection is the same as the end signal e1, but is sent to the third control unit 63 as a trigger signal t3. In the third control unit 63 that receives the trigger signal t3, the reversing mechanism 5 is driven and controlled to reverse the terminal T. When the reversed terminal T enters the second shooting data forming unit 4, the terminal detection sensor (not shown) provided in the frame 2B on the front side of the second shooting data forming unit 4 generates a trigger signal t2. When the terminal detection sensor (not shown) provided in the front frame 2B detects the moving terminal T, an end signal e2 is generated and provided to the second control unit 62. The effects of the trigger signal t2 and the end signal e2 on the second control unit 62 are the same as those of the first control unit 61 described above.

[0061] In the first control unit 61 and the second control unit 62, the shooting data obtained by the two shooting data forming units 3 and 4 are analyzed and processed to form the data required for automatic grading judgment of the scratches on the front and back of the terminal T (hereinafter referred to as "scar data" for the sake of convenience).

[0062] In the first shooting data forming unit 3 and the second shooting data forming unit 4, the shooting data of the front side of the terminal T and the shooting data of the back side of the terminal T captured by the respective digital cameras 3c and 4c are processed by the first control unit 61 and the second control unit 2, respectively, and are stored in the databases 7A and 7B as scar data related to the front side and scar data related to the back side of the terminal T associated with the terminal T.

[0063] Regarding the scars on the front side and the back side of the terminal T, the scar data after processing the photographic data of the front and back of the terminal T maintained in the databases 7A and 7B are sent to the grading server 8 for grading (classifying) these scar data, and the grading processing is performed by AI in the server 8.

[0064] An example of the processing method of classification by AI in the classification server 8 is as follows.

[0065] The grading server 8 performs grading processing on the flaw data related to the flaws on the front and back of the terminal T by using AI, and determines the grade of the terminal T.

[0066] Therefore, the following determination is first performed: referring to the reference data related to "cracks", the scratch data on the front and back sides of the terminal T are classified into "cracks" and "no cracks". Then, the terminal T determined to have cracks is determined to be at level D, and the terminal T determined to have no cracks is determined to be at any level of A, B, or C with reference to a plurality of reference data pre-generated based on the degree (size and amount) of scratches (including dents). In this example, level A is set to no scratches or extremely small scratches.

[0067] For the above determination, data that will serve as the determination criteria for the A to D levels are prepared as reference level data for AI learning in the database 8a. In addition, large damages above the crack of the terminal T are visually graded as D- by the person in charge of inspection. Incidentally, the image data of the crack can be obtained with a probability of approximately 100% by adjusting the lighting 3b, 4b and the cameras 3c, 4c of the first image data forming unit 3 and the second image data forming unit 4.

[0068] In the present invention, the number of levels and the content of data used as a reference for determining each level for learning can be arbitrarily set, and the above-mentioned embodiment is just an example.

[0069] As described above, the scar data after processing the photographic data of the front and back of the terminal T from the databases 7A and 7B of the control server 6 is sent to the calculation processing unit 8b of the grading server 8. In the calculation processing unit 8b, the grade (level) of the terminal T is determined by successively referring to the multiple reference grade data generated by AI in the database 8a for the sent scar data. The determination signal is output from the output unit 8c as the graded data (grading data). The output determination signal is displayed on the display unit 8d as the grade (level) of the terminal T. Figure 1 2 schematically shows an example in which three levels, A, B, and C, are displayed as the levels of the terminal T on the display unit 8d.

[0070] The processed flaw data of the photographic data of the terminal T, which has been subjected to computational processing and graded, can be added to the reference grade data of the same grade in the database 8a. When the flaw data of each grade formed and determined from the actual photographic data is added to the reference grade data, the amount of data of each grade increases and the determination accuracy improves.

[0071] In the above description, the control server 6 and the classification server 8 are described as separate servers, but a configuration may be adopted in which the roles and functions of the two servers 6 and 8 are assumed by one server computer.

[0072] Next, Figure 2 Another example of the device of the present invention is described.

[0073] The grading process based on the appearance inspection of used terminals includes appearance inspection of a single model and grading based on the results, and appearance inspection of terminals T of different models coexisting and grading based on the results.

[0074] pass Figure 1 The embodiments of the device of the present invention described above are mainly directed to the appearance inspection of a single model and the classification based on the inspection results. Figure 2 The following shows an overview of an apparatus for performing appearance inspection and grading when different models coexist.

[0075] In addition, even if Figure 1 The device can be applied to different models as long as it is of the same size. Figure 2 The device is not affected by the size of the terminal T.

[0076] exist Figure 2 In the device, the first shooting data forming unit 3, the second shooting data forming unit 4, and the reversing mechanism 5 are Figure 1The same structure as the device of FIG. 1, but the length of the conveyor 1 is longer and the third camera is specially provided. Figure 1 The differences of the device.

[0077] First, the conveyor 1 is used so that its length in the running direction is greater than the rear side. Figure 1 The device is a device that is longer than the conveyor 1. And, the structure is as follows: a third digital camera 9 (also called digital camera 9) is specially arranged in the extended portion on the rear side, and the third digital camera 9 takes pictures of the size (length and width in the conveying direction) and thickness (height in the up and down direction orthogonal to the running surface of the conveyor 1) of the terminal T placed on the conveyor 1.

[0078] A specially provided digital camera 9 is arranged on a frame (not shown) supporting the conveyor 1, and photographs the terminal T moving substantially directly below the camera 9, and transmits the photographing data to the fourth control unit 64 of the control unit server 6. The fourth control unit 64 obtains the size and thickness of the terminal T based on the photographing data, and outputs signals for adjusting the position of the lighting device and the camera in the height direction and the inclination angle of the optical axis of the lighting device and the camera based on the obtained size data and thickness data to the first control unit 61 and the second control unit 62. The adjustment of the position and the inclination angle is controlled by the first control unit 61 and the second control unit 62.

[0079] The position and tilt angle adjusted and set as described above are released and restored to the original position and angle when the terminal T leaves the second shooting data forming unit 4 (out of the viewing angle of the digital camera 4c). Figure 2 Of course, it is also possible to treat and process a single model. In the case of a single model, the system of the digital camera 9 is turned off.

[0080] Figure 3 This is a side view showing an outline of a third embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention in which the first imaging data forming unit 3 and the second imaging data forming unit 4 are arranged in series with the gap Gs sandwiched between two conveyors 1A and 1B from above and below.

[0081] exist Figure 3 The conveyors 1A and 1B arranged in series with a gap Gs are mounted on frames 2A and 2B for support, and are arranged so that the terminal T is placed on the upper surface and from Figure 3 Walk from left to right.

[0082] The gap Gs formed between the two conveyors 1A and 1B is set to a width (in the running direction) that corresponds to the substantially full length of the terminal T. In addition, as an example, a rail-shaped support member (not shown) that supports the side edges (left and right side edges in the running direction) of the terminal T from below is provided so that the terminal T transported by the conveyor 1A can be transferred from the conveyor 1A to the conveyor 1B without falling from the gap Gs.

[0083] With respect to the conveyors 1A and 1B disposed with the gap Gs open, a first imaging data forming unit 3 and a second imaging data forming unit 4 utilizing a dark box-like space are disposed above and below the gap Gs and supported by frames 2A and 2B.

[0084] Similar to the previous embodiment, the first shooting data forming unit 3 and the second shooting data forming unit 4 are provided with lighting devices 3b and 4b for irradiating the front and back of the terminal T with lighting light and digital cameras 3c and 4c for photographing the illuminated surfaces.

[0085] exist Figure 3 In, through Figure 1 and Figure 2 The first imaging data forming unit 3 and the second imaging data forming unit 4 described above differ in that the two imaging data forming units 3 and 4 are arranged one above the other with the gap Gs formed by the two conveyors 1A and 1B interposed therebetween. Figure 4 As shown in the figure, two reflectors 10 and 11 are arranged at symmetrical inclination angles at the lower left and right sides of the gap Gs. Figure 3 In the embodiment, the reflecting mirrors 10 and 11 are arranged in the second imaging data forming unit 4 .

[0086] By arranging the reflectors 10 and 11, the digital camera 3c can be positioned by shaking the head to take a picture of the side image of the terminal T reflected on the reflectors 10 and 11 (see FIG. Figure 4 ).

[0087] That is, in Figure 3 In the example of FIG. 1 , the digital camera 3 c of the first photographic data forming unit 3 can acquire photographic data of three surfaces: the front surface of the terminal T and the left and right side surfaces of the terminal T.

[0088] The two reflective mirrors 10 and 11 are disposed in the second imaging data forming section 4 , but in the present invention, they may be disposed on one side of the first imaging data forming section 3 in a symmetrical orientation with respect to the conveyors 1A and 1B.

[0089] In this case, the digital camera 4c of the second image data generating unit 4 images both side surfaces of the terminal T. The image capture of both side surfaces of the terminal T is performed as a subsequent process after the image capture of the front and back surfaces of the terminal T is completed.

[0090] As described above, the device of the third embodiment of the present invention can simultaneously photograph the flaws on the surface and back of the terminal T, and can also photograph the flaws on the side of the terminal T by configuring the structure of the reflectors 10 and 11. Therefore, it is effective in improving the accuracy of appearance inspection.

[0091] Industrial Applicability

[0092] The present invention is as described above, by constructing a unit for checking the scratch status of the front and back of a second-hand terminal to irradiate the moving terminal with illumination light with an inclined optical axis, taking multiple photos of the illuminated terminal with a digital camera (digital camera), and processing the photos to obtain shooting data, and with respect to the obtained shooting data, referring to a variety of model data stored in a database, determining the terminal level that caused the obtained shooting data, and being able to automatically perform grading related to the scratches on the terminal.

[0093] Furthermore, since the graded flaw data can be added to the stored reference grade data, the graded determination accuracy can be further improved.

[0094] Description of symbols

[0095] 1 Conveyor

[0096] 2A, 2B Framework

[0097] 3. First imaging data generating unit

[0098] 3a Dark Box Area

[0099] 3b Lighting

[0100] 3c Digital Camera (Digital Camera)

[0101] 4. Second imaging data generating unit

[0102] 4a Dark Box Area

[0103] 4b Lighting

[0104] 4c Digital Camera (Digital Camera)

[0105] 5 Reversal mechanism

[0106] 6 Server

[0107] 61 1st Control Unit

[0108] 62 Second Control Unit

[0109] 63 3rd Control Unit

[0110] 7A, 7B Database

[0111] 8 Tier Servers

[0112] 8a Database

[0113] 8b Calculation processing unit

[0114] 8c Output

[0115] 8d Display

Claims

1. A method for grading second-hand terminals, characterized in that: The terminal is moved in a plane, and illumination light is irradiated from the upper rear side toward the front side of the moving terminal on the front or back side of the terminal, and the illuminated part of the terminal is photographed by a camera directed from the upper front side toward the rear side of the terminal, and photographing data of the terminal formed by processing the photographing is referred to a plurality of benchmark level data classified by levels and stored in a database of a server, and the level of the benchmark level data to which the photographing data belongs, that is, the level is judged to be the level of the photographing data, and a judgment result is output.

2. The classification method according to claim 1, When the terminal being moved is moved by a conveyor belt with the front or back facing upward, the illumination light is irradiated and the camera is used to take the picture. Then, the terminal is reversed and moved with the back or front facing upward, and another illumination light is irradiated and the camera is used to take the picture. Thus, photographic data on the front and back of the terminal are obtained.

3. A device for acquiring photographic data, used in the classification method according to claim 2, A conveyor is configured to travel in a horizontal posture in a single direction, and a lighting device, i.e., a light source and a camera for shooting are arranged in a dark box-like space on the front side in the traveling direction of the conveyor, forming a forming unit for shooting data of the front or back of the terminal as the first shooting data forming unit, and a light source and a camera of the same structure as the first shooting data forming unit are arranged on the front side in the traveling direction of the conveyor, forming a forming unit for shooting data of the back or front of the terminal as the second shooting data forming unit.

4. The device for acquiring photographic data according to claim 3, In the conveyor according to claim 3, a reversing mechanism for reversing the terminal placed on and transported by the conveyor is provided between the first imaging data forming section and the second imaging data forming section.

5. The device for acquiring photographic data according to claim 4, The reversing mechanism described in claim 4 is composed of a gripper having a lifting and rotating function of grabbing a terminal in a horizontal posture that moves and rotating the grabbed terminal 180 degrees relative to a horizontal plane using a motor as a driving source.

6. The device for acquiring photographic data according to claim 3 or 4, Each of the light source and the camera of the illumination light constituting the first imaging data forming section and the second imaging data forming section has an adjustment function capable of arbitrarily changing the position and the tilt angle in the vertical direction.

7. The device for acquiring photographic data according to claim 6, The mechanism for adjusting and setting the position and angle of the light source and camera in claim 6 is configured to use another camera set at the starting position of movement to photograph the terminal that starts to move by being carried by the conveyor, and to perform adjustments and settings based on the size and thickness data of the terminal obtained from the photographed data.

8. The device for acquiring photographic data according to claim 7, The mechanism for adjusting and setting the position and angle of the light source and camera in claim 6 uses a motor as a driving source and is composed of a linear motion mechanism and a rotation mechanism. The linear motion mechanism positions the light source and camera by lifting and lowering the light source and camera through a rack, pinion mechanism, feed screw mechanism or cylinder mechanism, and the rotation mechanism positions the light source and camera by changing the set angle of the light source and camera.

9. The device for acquiring photographic data according to claim 3, Instead of a conveyor at a conveying terminal, two conveyors are provided as a first conveyor and a second conveyor which are connected in series with a gap smaller than the length of the terminal in the traveling direction. A first shooting data forming unit is arranged above the gap sandwiching the gap between the first conveyor and the second conveyor, and a second shooting data forming unit is arranged below the gap. When the terminal passes through the gap, the first shooting data forming unit and the second shooting data forming unit are operated simultaneously to obtain the first shooting data and the second shooting data at the same time.

10. The device for acquiring photographic data according to claim 9, The shooting data acquisition device described in claim 9 for simultaneously acquiring the first shooting data and the second shooting data is configured as follows: a reflector having an inclination angle of approximately 45 degrees relative to a horizontal plane is arranged on the left and right sides of a gap set between the first conveyor and the second conveyor toward the left and right sides of a terminal to be moved, so that the side of the moving terminal is reflected on the reflector, and the image of the side of the terminal reflected on the reflector is photographed by a camera of the first shooting data forming unit to acquire shooting data of the left and right sides of the terminal.

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