Rail appearance and dimension inspection system

Abstract

This application relates to the field of rail inspection technology and provides a rail appearance and dimension inspection system, including a vision inspection module. The vision inspection module is rigidly connected to the ground, thereby preventing vibrations generated during rail transport from being transmitted to the vision inspection module. It is used to perform appearance and dimension inspections on the ends of the rail when it is stationary, and on the middle section of the rail during transport, obtaining three-dimensional image data of the rail. The ends include the end faces at both ends of the rail and the outer surfaces of the ends, with the ends and middle section forming the complete outer surface of the rail. A support and guide module is used to control the transport direction of the rail. The support and guide module is separately set from the rail measurement component, further preventing vibrations generated during rail transport from being transmitted to the vision inspection module, avoiding interference from the aforementioned vibrations during measurement, and improving the inspection accuracy of the rail appearance and dimension inspection system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the field of track inspection technology, and in particular relates to a rail appearance and dimension inspection system. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, surface defect detection is an essential and crucial step in manufacturing, widely applied in numerous industrial sectors such as aerospace, ceramics, automotive parts manufacturing, metals, and electronic components. For example, during the transportation of steel rails, various defects frequently appear on the rail surface due to collisions during transport and factors related to rail production quality. These defects severely affect the quality and performance indicators of welded joints. Therefore, surface defect detection of steel rails is of paramount importance.

[0003] However, existing rail appearance and dimensional inspection devices have low detection accuracy when detecting defects, making it difficult to meet actual needs. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a rail appearance and dimension inspection system, which can solve the problem that the existing technology has low inspection accuracy and cannot meet practical needs.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a rail appearance and dimension inspection system, including:

[0006] A visual inspection module, rigidly connected to the ground, is used to perform appearance and dimensional inspections on the ends of the rail when it is stationary, and on the middle section of the rail during transport, to obtain three-dimensional image data of the rail. The ends and middle section of the rail constitute the complete outer surface of the rail. The ends include the end faces at both ends of the rail and the outer surfaces of the ends. The three-dimensional image data includes the three-dimensional contour of the rail, the appearance and dimensional inspection results of the ends, and the appearance and dimensional inspection results of the middle section.

[0007] A support and guidance module is used to control the transmission direction of the rail; the support and guidance module and the vision inspection module are set separately.

[0008] Optionally, the vision inspection module includes a rail measurement component, an electrical control box, a servo component, and a ground rail slide, wherein the rail measurement component, the electrical control box, and the servo component are integrated into the ground rail slide;

[0009] The rail measuring component is used to perform visual inspection and dimensional inspection on the ends of the rail when the rail is stationary, and to perform visual inspection and dimensional inspection on the middle section of the rail when the rail is in transit.

[0010] The electrical control box is used to send control commands to the servo component, the rail measuring component, and the ground rail slide, respectively.

[0011] The servo component is used to control the movement of the vision detection module on the ground track slide under the control command.

[0012] Optionally, the support guidance module includes an encoder;

[0013] The encoder is used to encode the amount of movement of the rail during the transmission process and send the encoded displacement signal to the rail measurement component.

[0014] The rail measuring component is also used to determine a first speed of the rail based on the displacement signal, and to determine a first scanning speed of the rail measuring component based on the first speed, and to perform appearance inspection and size inspection on the middle section of the rail at the first scanning speed.

[0015] Optionally, the encoder is also used to encode the amount of movement of the visual detection module when the visual detection module moves, and send the encoded movement signal to the rail measuring component.

[0016] The rail measuring component is also used to determine the second speed of the vision inspection module based on the movement signal, and to determine the second scanning speed of the rail measuring component based on the second speed, and to perform appearance inspection and size inspection on the end of the rail at the second scanning speed.

[0017] Optionally, the rail measuring component is further configured to determine the supplementary lighting intensity based on the first speed, and to perform appearance and dimensional inspections on the middle section of the rail under the supplementary lighting intensity.

[0018] Optionally, the rail measuring assembly is mounted on an integral welded steel frame.

[0019] Optionally, the rail measuring assembly includes a first measuring unit and a second measuring unit;

[0020] The first measuring unit is used to perform appearance inspection and size inspection on the end of the rail when the rail is stationary, and to perform appearance inspection and size inspection on the periphery of the rail when the rail is in the process of transmission.

[0021] The second measuring unit is used to perform appearance and size inspection on the bottom of the rail during the transmission process; the periphery and bottom of the rail constitute the middle section of the rail.

[0022] Optionally, the support guidance module further includes: a front-end support guidance component, a middle support guidance component, and a back-end support guidance component;

[0023] The front-end support guide component, the middle support guide component, and the rear-end support guide component are all used to support the rail during the transmission process and control the rail to be at the same height.

[0024] Optionally, both the front-end support guide assembly and the rear-end support guide assembly include a clamping mechanism for clamping the rail;

[0025] The intermediate support guide assembly includes an angle guide limiting mechanism, which is used to control the transmission direction and the range of motion of the rail.

[0026] Optionally, the rail appearance and dimension inspection system may further include: a vibration detection module;

[0027] The vibration detection module is used to collect the vibration amplitude of the rail during the transmission process and send the vibration amplitude to the rail measurement component.

[0028] The rail measuring component is also used to determine the deformation ratio based on the vibration amplitude, determine the processing method of the point cloud data and / or image data corresponding to the middle section based on the deformation ratio, and process the point cloud data and / or image data according to the processing method to obtain the appearance inspection result and size inspection result corresponding to the middle section.

[0029] The beneficial effects of the embodiments in this application compared with the prior art are:

[0030] This application provides a rail appearance and dimension inspection system, including a vision inspection module and a support and guide module. The vision inspection module is rigidly connected to the ground, thereby preventing vibrations generated during rail transport from being transmitted to the vision inspection module. It is used to perform appearance and dimension inspections on the ends of the rail when it is stationary, and on the middle section of the rail during transport, obtaining three-dimensional image data of the rail. The ends include the end faces at both ends of the rail and the outer surfaces of the ends, with the ends and middle section forming the complete outer surface of the rail. The three-dimensional image data includes the three-dimensional contour of the rail, the appearance and dimension inspection results of the ends, and the appearance and dimension inspection results of the middle section. The support and guide module is used to control the transport direction of the rail. The support and guide module is separately set from the rail measurement component, further preventing vibrations generated during rail transport from being transmitted to the vision inspection module, thus avoiding interference from the aforementioned vibrations during measurement. Therefore, this system improves the measurement accuracy of the vision inspection module and also improves the detection precision of the rail appearance and dimension inspection system. Attached Figure Description

[0031] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0032] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a rail appearance and dimension inspection system provided in one embodiment of this application;

[0033] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a rail appearance and dimension inspection system provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0034] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a rail appearance and dimension inspection system provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0035] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of the rail appearance and dimension inspection system provided in one embodiment of this application;

[0036] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of a rail appearance and dimension inspection system provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0037] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of the rail appearance and dimension inspection system provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0038] Figure 7This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a rail appearance and dimension inspection system provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a rail appearance and dimension inspection system provided in another embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0040] In the following description, specific details such as particular system architectures and techniques are set forth for illustrative purposes and not for limitation, in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of this application. However, those skilled in the art will understand that this application may also be implemented in other embodiments without these specific details. In other instances, detailed descriptions of well-known systems, apparatuses, circuits, and methods have been omitted so as not to obscure the description of this application with unnecessary detail.

[0041] It should be understood that, when used in this application specification and the appended claims, the term "comprising" indicates the presence of the described features, integrals, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integrals, steps, operations, elements, components and / or a collection thereof.

[0042] It should also be understood that the term “and / or” as used in this application specification and the appended claims means any combination of one or more of the associated listed items and all possible combinations, and includes such combinations.

[0043] As used in this application specification and the appended claims, the term "if" may be interpreted, depending on the context, as "when," "once," "in response to determination," or "in response to detection." Similarly, the phrase "if determined" or "if detected [the described condition or event]" may be interpreted, depending on the context, as meaning "once determined," "in response to determination," "once detected [the described condition or event]," or "in response to detection [the described condition or event]."

[0044] Furthermore, in the description of this application and the appended claims, the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., are used only to distinguish descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0045] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" as described in this specification mean that one or more embodiments of this application include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment. Therefore, the phrases "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," "in still other embodiments," etc., appearing in different parts of this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more, but not all, embodiments," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0046] Currently, surface defect detection is an essential and crucial step in manufacturing, widely applied in numerous industrial sectors such as aerospace, ceramics, automotive parts manufacturing, metals, and electronic components. For example, during the transportation of steel rails, various defects frequently appear on the rail surface due to collisions during transport and factors related to rail production quality. These defects severely affect the quality and performance indicators of welded joints. Therefore, surface defect detection of steel rails is of paramount importance.

[0047] However, existing rail appearance and dimensional inspection devices have low detection accuracy when detecting defects, making them difficult to meet practical needs. Therefore, this application proposes a rail appearance and dimensional inspection system to improve the inspection accuracy of rails.

[0048] Please see Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the rail appearance dimension inspection system provided in one embodiment of this application. For ease of explanation, only the parts relevant to this embodiment are shown, and are described in detail below:

[0049] like Figure 1 As shown, the rail appearance and dimension inspection system 1 includes: a vision inspection module 10 and a support and guide module 20. Wherein:

[0050] The visual inspection module 10, rigidly connected to the ground, is used to perform appearance and size inspection on the ends of the rail when the rail is stationary, and to perform appearance and size inspection on the middle section of the rail when the rail is in transit, to obtain three-dimensional image data of the rail; the ends and middle section of the rail constitute the complete outer surface of the rail; the three-dimensional image data includes the three-dimensional contour of the rail, the appearance and size inspection results of the ends, and the appearance and size inspection results of the middle section.

[0051] The support and guide module 20 is used to control the transmission direction of the rail; the support and guide module and the vision detection module are set separately.

[0052] It should be noted that the visual inspection module 10 and the support and guidance module 20 are not connected.

[0053] In practical applications, the visual inspection module 10 may include at least one camera.

[0054] It should be noted that, in order to improve the measurement accuracy of the rails, the aforementioned camera can be a high-speed, high-resolution camera, and the processing speed of the camera can reach the first speed range, the supported acquisition frequency can reach the first frequency range, and the image acquisition resolution can be greater than or equal to the first size. Specifically, the first speed range can be [150, +∞], the first frequency range can be [8, +∞], and the first size can be [0.08, +∞].

[0055] In this embodiment, to achieve omnidirectional inspection of the rail, the rail appearance and dimension inspection system 1 includes, but is not limited to, an end inspection mode and a mid-section inspection mode. Specifically, the end inspection mode refers to the mode of performing appearance and dimension inspection on the outer surfaces and end faces of both ends of the rail. The mid-section inspection mode specifically refers to the mode of performing appearance and dimension inspection on the outer surface of the middle section of the rail.

[0056] The length of the outer surface of the end can be determined according to actual needs, and there is no limitation here. For example, the length of the outer surface of the end can be 2.5 to 3 meters.

[0057] It should be noted that since the ends of the rails are usually welded to the ends of other rails, the end geometry has a significant impact on the welding process with the ends of other rails, which seriously affects the quality and performance of the welded joint. In addition, the end geometry of the rails can be obtained more accurately when the rails are stationary. Therefore, the rail appearance dimension inspection system 1 can determine that the rails are in end inspection mode when the rails are stationary.

[0058] In order to improve the inspection rate of the middle section outer surface of the rail, the rail appearance dimension inspection system 1 can determine that the rail is in the middle section inspection mode while the rail is in the process of being transported.

[0059] Based on this, when the rail is stationary, it indicates that the rail is in end detection mode. Therefore, the vision inspection module 10 can perform appearance inspection and size inspection on the ends of both ends of the rail to obtain the appearance inspection results and size inspection results of the ends of both ends of the rail.

[0060] In one embodiment of this application, in order to improve the detection accuracy at both ends of the rail, the scanning frequency of the vision inspection module 10 for performing appearance and dimensional inspections on the outer surface and end face of the rail in a stationary state can be determined as a first frequency. The first frequency can be determined according to actual needs and is not limited here.

[0061] Based on this, in this embodiment, when the rail is stationary, the visual inspection module 10 can perform appearance inspection and size inspection on the outer surface and end face of both ends of the rail based on the first frequency.

[0062] It should be noted that since the rails are stationary at this time, the first frequency can be set to a relatively small value.

[0063] It should be noted that the visual and dimensional inspection of the ends of the rail includes visual inspection of the outer surface of the ends of the rail and inspection of the geometric dimensions of the ends of the rail.

[0064] The appearance inspection results of the end include, but are not limited to, the appearance information of the outer surface of the end and the appearance information of the end face. The size inspection results of the end include, but are not limited to, the geometric dimensions of the end and the geometric dimensions of the end face.

[0065] It should be noted that the end geometry encompasses the shape and dimensions of the rail end, including but not limited to length, width, thickness, and any specific measurements related to the end shape (such as end twist, straightness, etc.).

[0066] The geometric dimensions of the end face mainly involve various measurements and specifications related to the end face, including but not limited to the end face slope (including vertical and horizontal directions), rail head width, rail height, rail base width, rail web width, rail base edge thickness, rail top flatness, and rail crown fullness.

[0067] In some possible embodiments, since the visual inspection module 10 measures the end of the rail to obtain point cloud data, and point cloud data refers to a set of vectors in a three-dimensional coordinate system, the visual inspection module 10 can determine the end geometry based on the three-dimensional coordinates in the measured point cloud data.

[0068] In this embodiment of the application, when the rail is in the process of transmission, it is said that the rail is in the middle section detection mode, that is, the middle section of the rail needs to be inspected for appearance and size. Therefore, the vision inspection module 10 can inspect the outer surface of the middle section of the rail for appearance and size to obtain the appearance inspection results and size inspection results of the outer surface of the middle section of the rail.

[0069] In practical applications, because the rails move at very high speeds during transmission, in one embodiment of this application, to improve the detection accuracy at both ends of the rails, the scanning frequency of the visual inspection module 10 for performing appearance and dimensional inspections on the outer surface of the middle section of the rail during transmission can be determined as a second frequency. The second frequency can be determined according to actual needs and is not limited here.

[0070] It should be noted that the second frequency is greater than the first frequency.

[0071] Based on this, in this embodiment, when the rail is in the process of being transported, the visual inspection module 10 can perform appearance inspection and size inspection on the outer surface of the middle section of the rail based on the second frequency.

[0072] It should be noted that, because the rail is moving too fast at this time, the second frequency needs to be set to a larger value in order to improve the measurement accuracy.

[0073] It should be noted that the visual inspection module 10 remains stationary while the rail is in transit.

[0074] The rails can be transported at a speed of 0.8 m / s or 1 m / s, with a maximum transport speed of 2 m / s.

[0075] In some possible embodiments, visual inspection and dimensional inspection of the outer surface of the middle section of the rail includes visual information inspection of the outer surface of the middle section of the rail and inspection of the geometric dimensions of the middle section of the rail.

[0076] Therefore, in this embodiment, the appearance inspection results of the outer surface of the middle section of the rail include, but are not limited to, the appearance information of the outer surface of the middle section, and the size inspection results of the outer surface of the middle section of the rail include, but are not limited to, the geometric dimensions of the middle section.

[0077] It should be noted that the geometric dimensions of the middle section include, but are not limited to, the length, width, and height of the middle section of the rail.

[0078] In this embodiment, the visual inspection module 10 performs appearance and size inspection on the ends of the rail when it is stationary, and performs appearance and size inspection on the middle section (i.e., the outer surface of the middle section) of the rail during transport, thereby obtaining three-dimensional image data of the rail. The three-dimensional image data includes the overall three-dimensional contour of the rail, the appearance and size inspection results of the ends, and the appearance and size inspection results of the middle section.

[0079] In one embodiment of this application, in order to achieve omnidirectional detection of the rail end, when the rail is stationary, the vision detection module 10 can move from its initial position to the end detection area to successfully collect relevant data of the rail end. The relevant data of the end includes point cloud data of the end.

[0080] Based on this, please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a rail appearance and dimension inspection system provided in another embodiment of this application. Figure 2 As shown, the vision inspection module 10 may specifically include: a rail measurement component 11, an electrical control box 12, a servo component 13, and a ground rail slide 14. Wherein:

[0081] The rail measuring assembly 11 is used to perform visual inspection and dimensional inspection on the ends of the rail when the rail is stationary, and to perform visual inspection and dimensional inspection on the middle section of the rail when the rail is in transit.

[0082] The electrical control box 12 is used to send control commands to the servo component 13, the rail measuring component 11 and the ground rail slide 14 respectively.

[0083] Servo component 13 is used to control the movement of vision inspection module 10 on ground track slide 14 under the control command.

[0084] At the same time, the rail measuring assembly 11 and the ground rail slide 14 also move under the aforementioned control commands.

[0085] It should be noted that the rail measuring component 11, the electrical control box 12, and the servo component 13 can be integrated into the ground rail slide 14 to eliminate signal interference errors caused by excessive distance between the control part (such as the electrical control box and the servo component) and the vision detection part (such as the rail measuring component).

[0086] In this embodiment, the electrical control box 12 is used to receive rail inspection commands sent by the operating console 30 in the rail appearance and dimension inspection system 1. Subsequently, when the electrical control box 12 detects that the rail is stationary, it indicates that the rail end needs to be inspected. Therefore, the electrical control box 12 can send control commands to the servo component 13. These control commands instruct the vision inspection module 10 to move to the end inspection area.

[0087] In some possible embodiments, in order to improve the efficiency of processing the data collected by the rail measuring component 11, the control panel 30 may include two high-performance industrial control computers.

[0088] In other possible embodiments, the console 30 may employ a distributed design and utilize high-performance, high-speed interfaces and network ports to separate operation from device operation.

[0089] In this embodiment, the servo component 13 can control the visual inspection module 10 to move on the ground rail slide based on control commands, so that the visual inspection module 10 moves to the end detection area, so that the rail measurement component 11 can detect the end of the rail.

[0090] In practical applications, the rail measurement assembly 11 may include multiple 3D laser cameras.

[0091] In some possible embodiments, in order to ensure that the rail measuring component 11 does not vibrate when the vision inspection module 10 moves, thereby improving the detection accuracy of the rail, the rail measuring component 11 may be mounted on an integral welded steel frame in the vision inspection module 10.

[0092] In another embodiment of this application, in order to achieve all-round inspection of the rail and improve the inspection accuracy and precision of the rail, the rail measuring component 11 may specifically include: a first measuring unit and a second measuring unit.

[0093] The first measuring unit is used to perform appearance inspection and size inspection on the end of the rail when the rail is stationary, and to perform appearance inspection and size inspection on the periphery of the rail when the rail is in the process of transmission.

[0094] The second measuring unit is used to perform appearance and size inspection on the bottom of the rail during the transmission process; the periphery and bottom of the rail constitute the middle section of the rail.

[0095] In this embodiment, the periphery of the rail includes the upper side, left side, and right side of the rail.

[0096] To achieve comprehensive inspection of the circumference of the rail, the first measurement unit may include multiple 3D laser measuring instruments.

[0097] Since the second measuring unit is used to perform visual and dimensional inspections on the bottom of the rail, it may consist of only one 3D laser measuring instrument.

[0098] In this embodiment, during the appearance and dimensional inspection of the rail, the support guide module 20 can control the transmission direction of the rail and support the rail, so that the rail can move along the set direction, thereby ensuring that the transmission direction of the rail will not deviate during the entire appearance and dimensional inspection process, and that it will always be on the same plane, reducing the vertical vibration of the rail.

[0099] In some possible embodiments, the support guide module 20 is provided with guide wheels, so the support guide module 20 can be guided by the transmission direction of the overhead rails.

[0100] It should be noted that the support and guidance module 20 and the vision inspection module 10 are set separately to avoid the vibration generated by the rail during the transmission process being transmitted to the vision inspection module 10, which would prevent the vision inspection module 10 from accurately inspecting the rail.

[0101] In this embodiment, the rail appearance and dimension inspection system 1, through the combination of the vision inspection module 10 and the support and guide module 20, can solve problems such as rail offset, sagging, vibration, and shaking that occur during rail transmission. At the same time, the separate arrangement of the vision inspection module 10 and the support and guide module 20 precisely avoids mutual interference between them.

[0102] In this embodiment, the rail appearance and dimension inspection system 1 combines a vision inspection module 10 and a support and guide module 20. The vision inspection module 10 can perform appearance and dimension inspection on the ends of the rail when it is stationary, and on the middle section (i.e., the outer surface of the middle section) of the rail during high-speed transmission, thereby obtaining three-dimensional image data of the rail. Based on this, the system can ensure that the rail can be inspected in real time at high speeds (e.g., 1.2 m / s), performing appearance and dimension inspection on the entire length of the rail. Furthermore, the support and guide module 20 avoids problems such as rail offset, sagging, vibration, and shaking during transmission, enabling the system to achieve an inspection accuracy of 0.1 mm and display the three-dimensional outline of the entire rail.

[0103] As can be seen from the above, the rail appearance and dimension inspection system provided in this application includes a vision inspection module and a support and guide module. The vision inspection module is rigidly connected to the ground, thereby preventing vibrations generated during rail transport from being transmitted to the vision inspection module. It is used to perform appearance and dimension inspection on the ends of the rail when the rail is stationary, and to perform appearance and dimension inspection on the middle section of the rail during transport. The ends include the end faces at both ends of the rail and the outer surfaces of the ends at both ends, and the ends and middle sections of the rail constitute the complete outer surface of the rail. The support and guide module is used to control the transport direction of the rail. The support and guide module is separately set from the rail measurement component, thereby further preventing vibrations generated during rail transport from being transmitted to the vision inspection module, and thus avoiding interference of the aforementioned vibrations on the vision inspection module during measurement. Therefore, this system improves the measurement accuracy of the vision inspection module and also improves the detection accuracy of the rail appearance and dimension inspection system.

[0104] Please see Figure 3 , Figure 3 This is a structural schematic diagram of a rail appearance and dimension inspection system provided in another embodiment of this application. Please refer to it as well. Figure 4 , Figure 4This is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of the rail appearance and dimension inspection system provided in one embodiment of this application.

[0105] In this embodiment, since the rails are typically quite long, prolonged suspension can easily cause them to sway, thus affecting the rail appearance and dimensional inspection system's ability to detect them. Therefore, to improve the accuracy of rail inspection, such as... Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the support guidance module 20 may specifically include: a front-end support guidance component 21, a middle support guidance component 22, and a back-end support guidance component 23. Wherein:

[0106] The front-end support guide assembly 21, the middle support guide assembly 22, and the rear-end support guide assembly 23 are all used to support the rail during the transmission process and control the rail to be at the same height.

[0107] In this embodiment, the front-end support and guide component 21 can be located in the rail transmission entrance area, so that the rail can be transmitted along a set direction under the support and control of the front-end support and guide component 21.

[0108] The rear support guide component 23 can be located in the rail transmission outlet area, so that the rail can complete the overall appearance inspection and dimensional inspection of the rail under the support and control of the rear support guide component 23.

[0109] The intermediate support guide component 22 can be located between the front support guide component 21 and the rear support guide component 23 so that the rail will not sway during the middle stage of the transmission process when it is far away from the front support guide component 21 and has not reached the rear support guide component 23.

[0110] Understandably, the intermediate support guide component 22 can reduce the cantilever length of the rail, thereby preventing the rail from sagging automatically and thus avoiding the detection error caused by the visual inspection module 20 due to the rail sagging automatically.

[0111] For example, please continue reading Figure 4 The rail appearance and size inspection system can transmit the rail through the transmission port of the front support guide component 21 and the transmission port of the rear support guide component 23.

[0112] In one embodiment of this application, in order to further ensure that the rails remain on the same plane during transmission and reduce vertical vibration of the rails, the front-end support guide assembly 21, the middle support guide assembly 22 and the rear-end support guide assembly 23 all include height adjustment devices.

[0113] In this embodiment, the height adjustment device of the front support guide component 21 is used to adjust the height of the front support guide component 21, the height adjustment device of the middle support guide component 22 is used to adjust the height of the middle support guide component 22, and the height adjustment device of the rear support guide component 23 is used to adjust the height of the rear support guide component 23.

[0114] In another embodiment of this application, in order to prevent the rail from swaying left and right during transmission, both the front-end support guide component 21 and the rear-end support guide component 22 include a clamping mechanism.

[0115] In this embodiment, the clamping mechanisms described above are used to clamp the rails to limit the left and right swing amplitude of the rails, thereby reducing the detection error of the vision detection module 20 caused by the left and right swing of the rails.

[0116] For example, please refer to Figure 5 , Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of a rail appearance and dimension inspection system provided in another embodiment of this application. For example... Figure 5 As shown, the arrows represent the clamping mechanisms included in the front-end support guide component 21 and the rear-end support guide component 22, respectively.

[0117] In another embodiment of this application, in order to reduce the impact force generated when the rail moves forward, thereby reducing the vibration of the rail during transmission, the intermediate support guide assembly 22 may include an angle guide limiting mechanism.

[0118] The angle guide limit mechanism is used to control the transmission direction and movement range of the rail.

[0119] For example, please refer to Figure 6 , Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of the rail appearance and dimension inspection system provided in another embodiment of this application. For example... Figure 6 As shown, the arrow indicates the angle guide limiting mechanism included in the intermediate support guide component 22.

[0120] As can be seen from the above, the rail appearance dimension inspection system provided in this embodiment can ensure that the rail is always on the same plane during transmission through the front-end support guide component, the middle support guide component and the rear-end support guide component, thereby reducing the vibration of the rail during transmission and improving the inspection accuracy of the rail.

[0121] Please see Figure 7 , Figure 7 This is a structural schematic diagram of a rail appearance and dimension inspection system provided in another embodiment of this application. Figure 7 As shown, in this embodiment, the rail appearance dimension detection system 1 may further include an encoder group 40. Wherein:

[0122] The encoder group 40 is located in the rail transmission inlet area and the rail transmission outlet area. It is used to encode the amount of movement of the rail collected during the rail transmission process and send the encoded displacement signal to the rail measurement component.

[0123] The rail measuring component 11 is also used to determine a first speed of the rail based on the displacement signal, and to determine a first scanning speed of the rail measuring component based on the first speed, and to perform appearance inspection and dimensional inspection on the middle section of the rail at the first scanning speed.

[0124] In this embodiment, the encoder group 40 may include a first encoder and a second encoder. The first encoder may be located in the rail transport inlet area, and the second encoder may be located in the rail transport outlet area.

[0125] In practical applications, an encoder is a precision measuring device that can accurately convert physical quantities such as the position, speed, and angle of mechanical motion into digital or electrical signals.

[0126] In this embodiment, the encoder group 40 can encode the collected movement of the rail while the rail is in the process of transmission, and send the encoded displacement signal to the rail measurement component 11.

[0127] Subsequently, the rail measuring component 11 can calculate the first speed of the rail during transmission based on the received displacement signal, and determine the first scanning speed of the rail measuring component 11 based on the first speed, so that the first scanning speed of the rail measuring component 11 is synchronized with the first speed of the rail, so that the rail measuring component 11 can perform appearance inspection and size inspection on the middle section of the rail at the first scanning speed, thereby achieving accurate inspection of the middle section of the rail.

[0128] It should be noted that the first speed and the first scan speed are positively correlated; that is, the greater the first speed, the greater the first scan speed, and the smaller the first speed, the smaller the first scan speed.

[0129] In some possible embodiments, in order to ensure that the rail measuring component 11 can still accurately detect the rail in a dynamic environment, the rail measuring component 11 can also determine the supplementary light intensity according to the first speed to enhance the brightness of the rail measuring component 11, so that the rail measuring component 11 can perform appearance inspection and size inspection of the middle section of the rail under the supplementary light intensity.

[0130] It should be noted that the first velocity and the supplementary light intensity are positively correlated; that is, the greater the first velocity, the greater the supplementary light intensity; and the smaller the first velocity, the smaller the supplementary light intensity.

[0131] In some other possible embodiments, after receiving the displacement signal sent by the encoder group, the rail measuring component 11 can determine the amount of rail movement based on the displacement signal. Then, after detecting that the amount of rail movement has reached a set threshold, the rail measuring component 11 indicates that it is time to measure the middle section of the rail. Therefore, the rail measuring component 11 can photograph the middle section of the rail to achieve appearance and dimensional inspection of the outer surface of the middle section of the rail.

[0132] In one embodiment of this application, when the rail measuring component 11 needs to detect the end of the rail, since the rail is stationary and the rail measuring component 11 is in motion, in order to improve the detection accuracy of the rail measuring component 11, the encoder group 30 is also used to encode the amount of movement of the visual detection module 10 when the visual detection module 10 moves, and send the encoded movement signal to the rail measuring component 11.

[0133] Subsequently, the rail measuring component 11 can determine the second speed of the visual inspection module 10, i.e., its own movement, based on the received movement signal, and determine its own second scanning speed based on the second speed, so that the second scanning speed of the rail measuring component 11 is synchronized with its own second movement speed, so that the rail measuring component 11 can perform appearance inspection and size inspection on the end of the rail at the second scanning speed, thereby achieving accurate inspection of the end of the rail.

[0134] It should be noted that the second speed is positively correlated with the second scan speed; that is, the greater the second speed, the greater the second scan speed, and vice versa.

[0135] In some possible embodiments, after receiving a movement signal from the encoder group, the rail measuring component 11 can determine the movement amount of the vision detection module 10, i.e., its own movement, based on the movement signal. Then, when the rail measuring component 11 detects that its own movement amount has reached a set threshold, it indicates that it is time to measure the end of the rail. Therefore, the rail measuring component 11 can photograph the end of the rail to achieve appearance and dimensional inspection of the outer surface of the rail end, as well as appearance and dimensional inspection of the rail end face.

[0136] As can be seen from the above, the rail appearance dimension inspection system provided in this embodiment can determine the scanning speed of the rail measuring component by the speed of the rail movement, so that the rail speed is synchronized with the scanning speed, thereby improving the measurement accuracy of the rail measuring component.

[0137] Please see Figure 8 , Figure 8 This is a structural schematic diagram of a rail appearance and dimension inspection system provided in another embodiment of this application. Figure 8As shown, in this embodiment, the rail appearance dimension detection system 1 may further include a vibration detection module 50. Wherein:

[0138] The vibration detection module 50 is used to collect the vibration amplitude of the rail during the transmission process and send the vibration amplitude to the rail measurement component 11.

[0139] The rail measuring component 11 is also used to determine the deformation ratio based on the vibration amplitude, determine the processing method of the point cloud data and / or image data corresponding to the collected middle section based on the deformation ratio, and process the point cloud data and / or image data according to the processing method to obtain the appearance inspection results and size inspection results corresponding to the middle section.

[0140] In practical applications, the vibration detection module 50 can be a vibration sensor.

[0141] In this embodiment, since the rail is prone to vibration during transmission, the point cloud data and / or image data corresponding to the middle section measured by the rail measuring component will be deformed. Therefore, in order to reduce the impact of rail vibration on the measured point cloud data and / or image data, the rail measuring component 11 can determine the deformation ratio based on the vibration amplitude detected in real time, and determine the processing method of the collected point cloud data and / or image data corresponding to the middle section based on the deformation ratio, and process the point cloud data and / or image data according to the processing method to obtain the appearance inspection results and size inspection results corresponding to the middle section.

[0142] The above processing methods include, but are not limited to: stretching and compression.

[0143] In this embodiment, the correspondence between different vibration amplitudes and different deformation ratios can be set according to actual needs, and no restrictions are imposed here.

[0144] As can be seen from the above, the rail appearance dimension detection system provided in this embodiment can avoid the problem of point cloud and / or image deformation caused by the vibration of the rail during transmission, thereby improving the measurement accuracy and measurement precision of the rail measurement component.

[0145] In one embodiment of this application, the rail appearance inspection system 1 further includes a speed measurement module. The speed measurement module is connected to the visual inspection module 10.

[0146] Specifically, the speed measurement module is used to acquire the transmission speed of the rail during the transmission process and send the transmission speed to the vision inspection module 10.

[0147] The visual inspection module 10 is also used to determine the deformation ratio based on the transmission speed, determine the processing method of the point cloud data and / or image data of the acquired middle section outer surface based on the deformation ratio, and process the point cloud data and / or image data according to the processing method to obtain the appearance inspection result of the middle section outer surface.

[0148] In practical applications, the speed of the rail during transmission may be uneven and extremely high. Furthermore, in high-speed scenarios, the point cloud data and / or image data of the middle section outer surface measured by the vision inspection module 10 will be distorted, and the deformation ratio of the vision inspection module 10 will vary at different speeds. Therefore, to ensure accurate detection of minute defects in the rail in uneven high-speed scenarios, and to determine whether the defects exceed acceptable limits using the dimensions of length, width, and height, in this embodiment, the speed measurement module can detect the rail's transmission speed in real time during transmission and send this speed to the vision inspection module 10 in real time.

[0149] Subsequently, the visual inspection module 10 can determine the deformation ratio of the visual inspection module 10 in real time based on the real-time acquired transmission speed, and determine the processing method of the acquired point cloud data and / or image data of the middle section outer surface in real time based on the real-time determined deformation ratio. The real-time acquired point cloud data and / or image data are then processed according to the real-time determined processing method to obtain accurate appearance inspection results for the middle section outer surface. Here, the processing method refers to the method of scaling the point cloud data and / or image data.

[0150] The above processing methods include, but are not limited to: stretching and compression.

[0151] In this embodiment, the correspondence between different transmission speeds and different deformation ratios can be set according to actual needs, and no restrictions are imposed here.

[0152] As can be seen from the above, the rail appearance inspection system provided in this embodiment can avoid the problem of point cloud and / or image distortion caused by rapid rail transmission, thereby improving the measurement accuracy and measurement precision of each appearance measurement module.

[0153] In another embodiment of this application, the rail appearance inspection system 1 further includes a base. The base is used to support the visual inspection module 10, the support and guidance module 20, and the rail.

[0154] In this embodiment, the system can compress and limit the rail using the aforementioned base and support guide module 20, thereby reducing rail vibration. Simultaneously, combined with... Figure 8In a corresponding embodiment, the system includes a vibration detection module 50, which enables the visual detection module 10 to compensate for the deformation caused by rail vibration, thereby further improving the detection accuracy of the system.

[0155] It should be understood that the sequence number of each step in the above embodiments does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0156] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of each embodiment have different focuses. For parts that are not described in detail or recorded in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0157] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit them. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and should all be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A rail appearance and dimension inspection system, characterized in that, include: A visual inspection module, rigidly connected to the ground, is used to perform appearance and dimensional inspections on the ends of the rail when it is stationary, and on the middle section of the rail during transport, to obtain three-dimensional image data of the rail. The ends and middle section of the rail constitute the complete outer surface of the rail. The ends include the end faces at both ends of the rail and the outer surfaces of the ends. The three-dimensional image data includes the three-dimensional contour of the rail, the appearance and dimensional inspection results of the ends, and the appearance and dimensional inspection results of the middle section. A support and guidance module is used to control the transmission direction of the rail; the support and guidance module and the vision detection module are separately configured. The vision inspection module includes a rail measurement component, an electrical control box, a servo component, and a ground rail slide table. The rail measurement component, the electrical control box, and the servo component are integrated into the ground rail slide table. The rail measuring component is used to perform visual inspection and dimensional inspection on the ends of the rail when the rail is stationary, and to perform visual inspection and dimensional inspection on the middle section of the rail when the rail is in transit. The electrical control box is used to send control commands to the servo component, the rail measuring component, and the ground rail slide, respectively. The servo component is used to control the movement of the rail measuring component on the ground rail slide under the control command; The rail appearance and dimension inspection system also includes an encoder assembly; The encoder group is located in the rail transmission inlet area and the rail transmission outlet area. It is used to encode the amount of movement of the rail during the rail transmission process and send the encoded displacement signal to the rail measurement component. The rail measuring component is also used to determine a first speed of the rail based on the displacement signal, and to determine a first scanning speed of the rail measuring component based on the first speed, and to perform appearance inspection and size inspection on the middle section of the rail at the first scanning speed; The encoder group is also used to encode the amount of movement of the rail measuring component when the rail measuring component moves, and send the encoded movement signal to the rail measuring component. The rail measuring component is also used to determine a second speed of the rail measuring component based on the movement signal, and to determine a second scanning speed of the rail measuring component based on the second speed, and to perform appearance inspection and size inspection on the end of the rail at the second scanning speed; The rail appearance and dimension inspection system also includes: a vibration detection module; The vibration detection module is used to collect the vibration amplitude of the rail during the transmission process and send the vibration amplitude to the rail measurement component. The rail measuring component is also used to determine the deformation ratio based on the vibration amplitude, determine the processing method of the point cloud data and / or image data corresponding to the middle section based on the deformation ratio, and process the point cloud data and / or image data according to the processing method to obtain the appearance inspection result and size inspection result corresponding to the middle section.

2. The rail appearance and dimension inspection system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The rail measuring component is also used to determine the supplementary light intensity based on the first speed, and to perform appearance and dimensional inspections on the middle section of the rail under the supplementary light intensity.

3. The rail appearance and dimension inspection system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The rail measuring assembly is mounted on an integrated welded steel frame.

4. The rail appearance and dimension inspection system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The rail measuring assembly includes a first measuring unit and a second measuring unit; The first measuring unit is used to perform appearance inspection and size inspection on the end of the rail when the rail is stationary, and to perform appearance inspection and size inspection on the periphery of the rail when the rail is in the process of transmission. The second measuring unit is used to perform appearance and size inspection on the bottom of the rail during the transmission process; the periphery and bottom of the rail constitute the middle section of the rail.

5. The rail appearance and dimension inspection system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The support guidance module further includes: a front-end support guidance component, a middle support guidance component, and a back-end support guidance component; The front-end support and guide component, the middle support and guide component, and the rear-end support and guide component are all used to support the rail during the transmission process and control the rail to be at the same height.

6. The rail appearance and dimension inspection system as described in claim 5, characterized in that, Both the front-end support guide assembly and the rear-end support guide assembly include a clamping mechanism, which is used to clamp the rail; The intermediate support guide assembly includes an angle guide limiting mechanism, which is used to control the transmission direction and the range of motion of the rail.

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