Cured state evaluation method and cured state evaluation device

Abstract

To provide a cured state evaluation method and a cured state evaluation device capable of evaluating a cured state of a cured resin more accurately than before.SOLUTION: A cured state of a cured resin is evaluated based on an image of the cured resin obtained when the cured resin is made to contain a prescribed fluorescent substance and is irradiated with prescribed illumination light.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for evaluating a cured state. [Background technology]

[0002] The following Patent Document 1 discloses a state estimation method for ultraviolet curing resin that can be applied to many ultraviolet curing resins. In this state estimation method, when a CPU issues an irradiation command to a fluorescence detection head unit, the fluorescence detection head unit irradiates the target ultraviolet curing resin with detection ultraviolet light, and the CPU obtains from the fluorescence detection head unit the fluorescence intensity of the fluorescence emitted by a photopolymerization initiator contained in the ultraviolet curing resin, and reads out a predetermined number of past fluorescence intensity data from a storage unit and performs an averaging process to calculate the fluorescence intensity at that time, and estimates the curing state of the ultraviolet curing resin based on this fluorescence intensity. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-248244 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the above-mentioned background art estimates the curing state of the ultraviolet curing resin by detecting the intensity of the fluorescence emitted by the photopolymerization initiator contained in the ultraviolet curing resin, but it can only measure at a pinpoint and cannot evaluate the curing state of the ultraviolet curing resin over a wide range. Therefore, it is difficult to accurately evaluate the curing state of the cured resin.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has an object to provide a cure state evaluation method and a cure state evaluation device that are capable of evaluating the cure state of a cured resin more accurately than conventional methods. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention adopts, as a first solution relating to a method for evaluating a cured state, a means in which a predetermined fluorescent substance is contained in a cured resin, and the cured state of the cured resin is evaluated based on an image of the cured resin obtained when a predetermined illumination light is irradiated onto the cured resin.

[0007] The present invention employs, as a second solving means for the method for evaluating a cured state, a means for detecting the fluorescent brightness of the fluorescence emitted by the fluorescent substance by performing image processing on the image in the above-mentioned first solving means, and evaluating the cured state based on the fluorescent brightness.

[0008] In the present invention, as a third solution relating to the method for evaluating the cured state, a solution is adopted in which, in the above-mentioned first or second solution, the fluorescent substance has a pyran compound as a main component, and the illumination light is black light.

[0009] In the present invention, as a fourth solution relating to the curing state evaluation method, in any of the above first to third solutions, a means is adopted in which the cured resin is placed in a darkroom, the illumination light is irradiated, and the image is obtained as an evaluation image.

[0010] The present invention employs, as a fifth solving means related to the method for evaluating a cured state, any one of the first to fourth solving means, in which the cured resin is an ultraviolet curable resin.

[0011] The present invention employs a sixth solution relating to the method for evaluating a cured state, in which, in any one of the first to fifth solutions described above, the cured resin is ejected onto a substrate and cured to become a liquid gasket.

[0012] In the present invention, the solution relating to the cured state evaluation device is provided by including a darkroom that contains a cured resin containing a predetermined fluorescent substance, an illumination device that is provided within the darkroom and that irradiates the cured resin with a predetermined illumination light, an imaging device that captures an image of the cured resin in an illumination state with the illumination light, an image processing device that applies image processing to an image signal input from the imaging device to detect the fluorescent brightness of the fluorescence emitted by the fluorescent substance, and a determination device that determines the cured state of the cured resin based on the fluorescent brightness input from the image processing device. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method and device for evaluating a cured state that are capable of evaluating the cured state of a cured resin more accurately than ever before. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a gasket manufacturing apparatus including a cure state evaluation device A according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a method for evaluating a cured state according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing changes in fluorescent luminance in one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The curing state evaluation device A according to this embodiment is a component of a gasket manufacturing device as shown in Fig. 1. This gasket manufacturing device includes a conveying device 1, a dispenser 2, an ultraviolet irradiator 3, a darkroom 4, a lighting device 5, a camera 6, and a computer 7.

[0016] Such a gasket manufacturing apparatus uses ultraviolet curing resin G as a raw material and manufactures a liquid gasket W by curing the ultraviolet curing resin G. Among the components of the gasket manufacturing apparatus, the darkroom 4, the lighting device 5, the camera 6, and the computer 7 constitute the cured state evaluation device A according to this embodiment. In other words, the cured state evaluation device A according to this embodiment is an inspection device that is provided in the middle of the manufacturing process of the liquid gasket W.

[0017] The conveying device 1 is a long device that sequentially conveys the base material B in the direction of the arrow, and is, for example, a belt conveyor or a roller conveyor. That is, the conveying device 1 conveys the base material B, which is sequentially supplied at a constant timing from a supply device (not shown) to the left end (upstream end) of the conveying device 1 in Fig. 1, toward the right end (downstream end), and the base material B is placed on the upper surface (mounting surface) at regular intervals.

[0018] Here, the base material B is a metal part having an upper surface b1 (flat surface) and a lower surface b2 (flat surface) that face each other in parallel. As shown in the figure, the base material B is placed on the mounting surface (upper surface) of the conveying device 1 with the lower surface b2 abutting against the mounting surface. Such a base material B is an object to be sealed by the liquid gasket W.

[0019] The dispenser 2 is provided at a midpoint of the transport device 1, that is, on the most upstream side of the transport path of the base material B. The dispenser 2 is a device that dispenses a predetermined amount of ultraviolet curing resin G in a predetermined shape onto the upper surface b1 of the base material B. That is, the dispenser 2 dispenses a fixed amount of ultraviolet curing resin G (liquid raw material) onto the upper surface b1 of the base material B in the shape of the liquid gasket W, that is, in a ring shape.

[0020] Here, the ultraviolet curing resin G in this embodiment is a CIPG sealing material that is well known as a raw material for liquid gaskets W. This ultraviolet curing resin G is a curable resin that hardens when irradiated with ultraviolet light, and contains silica (10 to 20%), a photopolymerization initiator (1 to 10%), an acrylate oligomer, and an acrylate monomer (75 to 85%) as its components. Such an ultraviolet curing resin G is, for example, product number TB3081J manufactured by ThreeBond Co., Ltd.

[0021] The ultraviolet curing resin G also contains a specific fluorescent material R. The fluorescent material R has a specific absorption wavelength band and emission wavelength band, and emits light in the emission wavelength band when irradiated with excitation light in the absorption wavelength band. Such fluorescent material R is contained in the ultraviolet curing resin G at a few percent, and is, for example, product number EM-016 manufactured by Yamada Chemical Co., Ltd., which contains a pyran compound as its main component.

[0022] Product No. EM-016 has an absorption wavelength band peak of 379 nm and an emission wavelength band peak of 444 nm. That is, this product No. EM-016 is a phosphor R whose emission wavelength band is a wavelength band corresponding to blue in the visible light wavelength band. In addition, in product No. EM-016, the light intensity (absorbance) of the absorption wavelength band and the light intensity (luminance) of the emission wavelength band are approximately equal.

[0023] The ultraviolet irradiator 3 is provided downstream of the dispenser 2 in the conveying direction of the base material B. The ultraviolet irradiator 3 irradiates the ultraviolet curing resin G (liquid raw material) on the base material B with ultraviolet rays of a predetermined wavelength band, thereby curing the ultraviolet curing resin G (liquid raw material). That is, the ultraviolet curing resin G (liquid raw material) on the base material B is irradiated with ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet irradiator 3, and is cured to become a liquid gasket W (solid).

[0024] The dark chamber 4 is provided downstream of the ultraviolet irradiator 3 in the conveying direction of the base material B. The dark chamber 4 is a hollow body having a predetermined internal volume, and by accommodating the base material B and the liquid gasket W (solid) conveyed by the conveying device 1, the base material B and the liquid gasket W (solid) are kept in a state isolated from external light. In other words, by being accommodated in the dark chamber 4, the base material B and the liquid gasket W (solid) are not irradiated with visible light from the surroundings.

[0025] The lighting device 5 is provided in the darkroom 4 and irradiates the liquid gasket W with illumination light L of a predetermined wavelength band. The wavelength band of this illumination light L is set to the absorption wavelength band of the fluorescent material R contained in the liquid gasket W. In other words, the liquid gasket W containing the fluorescent material R emits light when irradiated with the illumination light L from the lighting device 5 in the darkroom 4. Such illumination light L is, for example, a black light with a wavelength band of 315 to 400 nm.

[0026] The camera 6 is provided in the darkroom 4 in the same manner as the lighting device 5, and captures an image (gasket image) of the liquid gasket W in a state where it is irradiated with illumination light L by the lighting device 5 as an evaluation image. This camera 6 outputs an image signal (gasket image signal) indicative of the gasket image (evaluation image) to the computer 7. The gasket image signal is a color image indicative of the state of the liquid gasket W emitting light due to the fluorescent material R, and is an image signal that accurately indicates light (visible light) in the emission wavelength band of the fluorescent material R. It should be noted that such a camera 6 corresponds to the imaging device of the present invention.

[0027] Here, the amount of fluorescent light (fluorescent brightness) of the fluorescent material R in the liquid gasket W changes depending on the degree of hardening of the raw material, ultraviolet curable resin G (liquid). As will be described in detail later, the amount of fluorescent light (fluorescent brightness) of the fluorescent material R tends to decrease as the hardening of the ultraviolet curable resin G (liquid raw material) progresses. Therefore, the amount of fluorescent light (fluorescent brightness) of the fluorescent material R is a physical quantity that serves as an index of the hardening degree of the ultraviolet curable resin G (liquid raw material).

[0028] The computer 7 performs a predetermined image processing on the gasket image signal input from the camera 6, thereby detecting the luminous intensity of the fluorescent material R in the liquid gasket W, i.e., the fluorescent luminance of the liquid gasket W. That is, the computer 7 performs image processing on the gasket image signal to extract light in the luminous wavelength band of the fluorescent material R as light to be evaluated, and detects the light intensity of the light to be evaluated.

[0029] Further, the computer 7 judges the degree of cure of the ultraviolet curing resin G, which is the raw material of the liquid gasket W, based on the light intensity of the light to be evaluated. The computer 7 pre-stores, for example, an evaluation table that indicates the relationship between the light intensity of the light to be evaluated and the degree of cure of the ultraviolet curing resin G, and judges the degree of cure of the ultraviolet curing resin G in the liquid gasket W by searching the evaluation table based on the light intensity of the light to be evaluated obtained by image processing. Such a computer 7 corresponds to the image processing device and judgment device in the present invention.

[0030] The curing state evaluation device A of this embodiment is equipped with a darkroom 4, a lighting device 5, a camera 6 (imaging device), and a computer 7 (image processing device and judgment device), and evaluates the curing degree of the ultraviolet curing resin G (cured resin) based on an image of the ultraviolet curing resin G (cured resin) obtained when a predetermined illumination light L is irradiated onto the ultraviolet curing resin G (cured resin) by containing a predetermined fluorescent substance R in the ultraviolet curing resin G (cured resin).

[0031] Next, the operation of the gasket manufacturing apparatus in this embodiment, in particular the operation of the cured state evaluation device A in this embodiment, will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 2. The operation of the cured state evaluation device A corresponds to the cured state evaluation method in this embodiment using the cured state evaluation device A.

[0032] In this gasket manufacturing apparatus, the conveying device 1 is operated to convey the base material B, the base material B and the ultraviolet curing resin G (liquid raw material), and the base material B and the liquid gasket W (solid) from the left end (upstream end) to the right end (downstream end) as indicated by the arrows. That is, the base material B, which is input from the outside to the upstream end, is conveyed from the upstream end to below the dispenser 2, and the ultraviolet curing resin G (liquid raw material) containing the fluorescent material R is discharged onto the upper surface b1 (step S1).

[0033] Then, the base material B with the ultraviolet curing resin G (liquid) discharged onto the upper surface b1 is transported below the ultraviolet irradiator 3 together with the ultraviolet curing resin G (liquid raw material) containing the fluorescent material R, and is irradiated with ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet irradiator 3 (step S2). The ultraviolet curing resin G (liquid) containing the fluorescent material R is solidified by the irradiation of the ultraviolet rays, and becomes a liquid gasket W (solid).

[0034] Then, the liquid gasket W (solid) containing the fluorescent substance R is transported together with the substrate B to the darkroom 4 by the transport device 1. The cured state evaluation device A according to this embodiment detects that the liquid gasket W (solid) containing the fluorescent substance R has been accommodated in the darkroom 4 together with the substrate B, for example by acquiring operation information from the transport device 1 (step S3).

[0035] As a result, in the cured state evaluation device A, the lighting device 5 irradiates the liquid gasket W (solid) with illumination light L (black light) (step S4). The fluorescent material R contained in the liquid gasket W (solid) emits light by absorbing the illumination light L (black light). The wavelength band of this emission corresponds to the blue wavelength band of visible light as described above.

[0036] Then, the camera 6 of the cured state evaluation device A captures a color image of the liquid gasket W (solid) in a state in which the fluorescent material R emits light, i.e., in a state in which the liquid gasket W is irradiated with the illumination light L, as a gasket image (evaluation image) (step S5). This gasket image (evaluation image) is provided from the camera 6 to the computer 7 as a gasket image signal, and the computer 7 performs image processing to detect the luminescence intensity of the fluorescent material R, i.e., the fluorescence luminance of the liquid gasket W (step S6).

[0037] Then, the computer 7 determines the degree of cure of the ultraviolet curing resin G (liquid raw material) in the liquid gasket W based on the fluorescence luminance of the liquid gasket W. For example, the computer 7 determines the degree of cure of the ultraviolet curing resin G (liquid raw material) by searching a pre-stored evaluation table using the fluorescence luminance of the liquid gasket W (step S7).

[0038] 3 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the fluorescent brightness and the degree of hardening shown in the evaluation table. As shown in this characteristic diagram, the liquid gasket W has a property that the average brightness value of the fluorescent brightness decreases as the ultraviolet curing resin G (liquid raw material) hardens and increases in hardness. This property occurs because the fluorescent material R deteriorates as the hardness of the ultraviolet curing resin G (liquid raw material) increases.

[0039] In the gasket manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment, the liquid gasket W whose degree of cure exceeds a predetermined threshold value by the curing state evaluation apparatus A according to this embodiment is determined to be a non-defective product, and the liquid gasket W whose degree of cure does not reach the predetermined threshold value is subjected to a post-processing operation, for example, by irradiating the liquid gasket W with ultraviolet light again to increase the degree of cure.

[0040] According to this embodiment, a predetermined fluorescent substance R is contained in the ultraviolet curable resin G (cured resin), and the degree of curing of the ultraviolet curable resin G (cured resin) is evaluated based on an image of the ultraviolet curable resin G (cured resin) obtained when the ultraviolet curable resin G (cured resin) is irradiated with a predetermined illumination light L, so that it is possible to evaluate the curing state of the ultraviolet curable resin G (cured resin) more accurately than conventional methods.

[0041] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the following modifications are possible. (1) In the above embodiment, the cured state of the ultraviolet curable resin G was evaluated, but the present invention is not limited to this. In addition to the ultraviolet curable resin G that is cured by ultraviolet rays, thermosetting resins that are cured by the action of heat are also well known. The present invention is also applicable to curable resins that are cured by actions other than ultraviolet rays, such as the thermosetting resin.

[0042] (2) In the above embodiment, the ultraviolet curing resin G is exemplified as product number TB3081J manufactured by ThreeBond Co., Ltd., and the fluorescent material R is exemplified as product number EM-016 manufactured by Yamada Chemical Co., Ltd., which contains a pyran compound as its main component, but the present invention is not limited thereto. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] A. Curing state evaluation device B Base material G UV curing resin L illumination light R Fluorescent material W Liquid gasket 1. Transport device 2 Dispenser 3 Ultraviolet irradiator 4 Darkroom 5. Lighting equipment 6. Camera 7. Computers

Claims

1. A method for evaluating a cured state, comprising the steps of: adding a predetermined fluorescent substance to a cured resin; and evaluating the cured state of the cured resin based on an image of the cured resin obtained when a predetermined illumination light is irradiated onto the cured resin.

2. 2. The method for evaluating a cured state according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of: detecting a fluorescent luminance of the fluorescence emitted by the fluorescent substance by subjecting the image to image processing; and evaluating the cured state based on the fluorescent luminance.

3. 3. The method for evaluating a cured state according to claim 1, wherein the fluorescent substance contains a pyran compound as a main component, and the illumination light is a black light.

4. 3. The method for evaluating a cured state according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of: placing the cured resin in a dark room, irradiating the cured resin with the illumination light, and acquiring the image as an evaluation image.

5. 3. The method for evaluating a cured state according to claim 1, wherein the cured resin is an ultraviolet cured resin.

6. 3. The method for evaluating a cured state according to claim 1, wherein the cured resin is discharged onto a substrate and cured to become a liquid gasket.

7. a darkroom containing a cured resin containing a predetermined fluorescent material; an illumination device provided in the darkroom for irradiating the cured resin with a predetermined illumination light; an imaging device that captures an image of the cured resin in a state where the cured resin is irradiated with the illumination light; an image processing device that performs image processing on the image signal input from the imaging device to detect the fluorescent brightness of the fluorescence emitted by the fluorescent substance; a determination device that determines a curing state of the cured resin based on the fluorescent luminance input from the image processing device; A curing state evaluation device comprising:

Images