Article inspection system

Abstract

To provide an article inspection system that is able to surely prevent a defective product from flowing out to a good product passing side while effectively restricting a decrease in product yield.SOLUTION: An article inspection system includes: an article inspection device 10 that sequentially inspects articles P on a conveyance path; a first sorting device 30 that performs pinpoint exclusion of the inspected articles P in a predetermined conveyance section Z2 according to an inspection result by the article inspection device 10, on condition that a first sorting condition is established; a second sorting device 40 that is disposed on a downstream side of the first sorting device 30 and sorts the inspected articles P in a unit of a sorting section Z3 corresponding to a predetermined conveyance distance according to an inspection result by the article inspection device 10 and establishment of a second sorting condition; and a control unit 20 that determines whether the first sorting condition is established or not according to the inspection result and conveyance states of the inspected articles P and that determines whether the second sorting condition is established or not according to whether the first sorting condition is established or not and according to whether the pinpoint exclusion by the first sorting device 30 is successful or not.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an article inspection system, and more particularly to an article inspection system having both an article inspection device that sequentially inspects articles on an article conveying path and a sorting device that can remove defective articles from the article conveying path. [Background technology]

[0002] In item inspection systems that inspect products that are sold in units of net quantity (number or mass), item inspection equipment is often used that performs a predetermined method of item inspection while transporting multiple relatively small items that make up the contents of the product in bulk or at a predetermined small transport pitch.

[0003] In this case, even if defects occur frequently enough that multiple defective products (which may be items whose size, mass, or other quality conditions, which are ranked in multiple stages, fall outside the range of a particular rank) are produced within a narrow transport section, it is necessary to reliably prevent the defective products from flowing downstream.

[0004] Therefore, conventionally, there is an item inspection system that combines an item inspection device that performs item inspection in minimum area units corresponding to the inspection area on the product conveying road surface, and a sorting device that can discharge inspected items within a specified conveying section from the product conveying road to the outside of the system every certain conveying distance (hereinafter also referred to as a specified conveying section) corresponding to a specified number of minimum areas depending on the inspection results, for example the presence or absence of defective items (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0005] Also known is a sorting device that acquires position information of foreign objects based on image data detected by an X-ray inspection machine and has a cutting means that can cut out and partially remove foreign object-containing portions from raw materials such as raw meat or hydrated grain flour, thereby increasing product yield (see, for example, Patent Document 3). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-103451 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2011-183272 A [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 5524598 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, in the conventional object inspection system described above, when discharging products according to the inspection results for each specified transport section, it was necessary to discharge some of the good products from the system when discharging defective products, resulting in a problem of reduced product yield.

[0008] On the other hand, when using a sorting device that can pinpoint and remove (remove) only the foreign body portions, a decrease in product yield can be effectively suppressed. However, if multiple defective products occur within a small inspection area, there is a concern that there will not be enough time to remove them individually, or that a sorting error will occur for some reason, causing the defective products to pass through to the side where good products are allowed to pass.

[0009] The present invention is intended to solve such previously unresolved problems, and aims to provide an item inspection system that can effectively suppress a decline in product yield while reliably preventing defective products from flowing to the side where good products pass. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the item inspection system of the present invention comprises (1) an item inspection device which sequentially inspects items transported in a predetermined conveying direction on a conveying path; a first sorting device which, on condition that a predetermined first sorting condition is satisfied, pinpoints and rejects items inspected by the item inspection device within a predetermined conveying section depending on the results of inspection by the item inspection device, provided that a predetermined first sorting condition is satisfied; a second sorting device which is arranged downstream of the first sorting device in the predetermined conveying direction and rejects items after inspection by the item inspection device in sorting section units of a predetermined conveying distance depending on the results of inspection by the item inspection device and the satisfaction of a predetermined second sorting condition; and a sorting condition determination means which determines whether the first sorting condition is satisfied depending on the results of inspection by the item inspection device and the conveying state of the inspected items, and determines whether the second sorting condition is satisfied depending on whether the first sorting condition is satisfied and whether the pinpoint rejection by the first sorting device is successful.

[0011] With this configuration, in the present invention, a first sorting device that locally rejects, i.e., pinpoint rejects, articles that have been inspected by the article inspection device within a predetermined conveying section in accordance with the inspection results, and a second sorting device that rejects inspected articles downstream of the first sorting device in units of sorting sections of a predetermined conveying distance in accordance with the inspection results and the establishment of a second sorting condition, are operated in accordance with the judgment results of a sorting condition judgment means that judges whether or not the first sorting condition is satisfied in accordance with the inspection results and the conveying state of the inspected articles, and judges whether or not the second sorting condition is satisfied in accordance with the satisfaction of the first sorting condition and the success of pinpoint rejection within the predetermined conveying section by the first sorting device. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent defective articles from flowing out to the side through which good articles pass, while effectively suppressing a decrease in the yield of products including the articles to be inspected.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, (2) the sorting condition determination means can be configured to determine that the second sorting condition is satisfied if the first sorting condition is not satisfied or if the first sorting device is unsuccessful in pinpoint exclusion.

[0013] In this case, by mainly operating the first sorting device, it is possible to effectively prevent non-defective products from being discharged from the system together with defective products, and to improve the yield of products including the inspected products. In addition, in this case, the sorting condition determination means may establish the second sorting condition and operate the second sorting device when the first sorting condition is not established, or when the pinpoint removal by the first sorting device fails or success within a predetermined time is not confirmed. Furthermore, when the size of the products or the conveying interval is relatively large and the second sorting device is mainly used because the first sorting condition is not established, the sorting condition determination means may determine that the second sorting condition is not established for a certain period of time on the condition that the first sorting condition is established (for example, the product is loose or damaged). Of course, whether the first sorting device or the second sorting device is mainly used may be variably set.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, (3) the first sorting device may include a pinpoint rejection means for rejecting, from the conveying path, specific objects among the inspected objects whose inspection results deviate from a predetermined quality condition. In this case, defective items that deviate from the predetermined quality condition can be accurately rejected from the system, thereby ensuring a required yield rate of products including the inspected objects.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, (4) the pinpoint rejection means may have a rejection head that moves in at least a direction perpendicular to the predetermined conveying direction in response to the result of inspection by the article inspection device when the result of the inspection deviates from the predetermined quality condition. In this case, by moving the rejection head through the shortest path in response to the article conveying speed and the interval and position of the articles that deviate from the predetermined quality condition, an efficient pinpoint rejection operation can be achieved.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, (5) the sorting condition determination means can be configured to determine that the second sorting condition is met on the condition that the number of articles whose inspection results by the article inspection device deviate from the predetermined quality condition is contained within a number determination region of a predetermined area equal to or greater than a set number. In this case, the number determination region of a predetermined area is set within a range in which articles that do not meet the predetermined quality condition can be reliably removed regardless of variations in the positions at which they are generated, and when the number of articles exceeds the set number at which it becomes uncertain, reliable removal can be performed by the second sorting device.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, (6) the number determination area may be set within a predetermined radius from the center located on one side of the width direction of the conveying path. In this case, a robot arm or the like can be effectively used for the first sorting device. In this case, the number determination area is set at predetermined time intervals and may partially overlap with the number determination area set immediately before and in which pinpoint rejection has been completed, and the number of items for which pinpoint rejection has been completed can be reduced.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, (7) the sorting condition determination means can be configured to determine that the second sorting condition is met on the condition that the number of articles whose results of inspection by the article inspection device deviate from the predetermined quality condition is contained in a set number or more of any of a plurality of number determination areas divided in the predetermined conveying direction to have a predetermined area equal to or smaller than the sorting section. In this case, it is possible to easily set number determination areas equally divided in the conveying direction, and the shape of the sorting area for the pinpoint rejection operation is contained in a sorting section of a predetermined conveying distance, making it possible to effectively ensure the required yield of products including the inspected articles. Effect of the Invention

[0019] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an item inspection system that can effectively suppress a decrease in yield of products including inspected items while reliably preventing defective items from being sent to the side where good items pass. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an article inspection system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic block diagram of a control system of an article inspection system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1 is an explanatory diagram including a partial cross section of a main portion of a pinpoint exclusion device in an object inspection system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the sorting operation range of the pinpoint rejection device on the conveyor of the object inspection system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the time when a first sorting condition is met. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the sorting operation range of the pinpoint exclusion device on the conveyor of the article inspection system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, showing an example when the first sorting condition is not met. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the sorting operation range of the pinpoint exclusion device on the conveyor of the article inspection system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, showing another example when the first sorting condition is not satisfied. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a schematic front view showing the configuration of an article inspection system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of an article inspection system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of a control system of an article inspection system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a schematic front view showing the configuration of an article inspection system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of an article inspection system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a control system of an article inspection system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0022] (First embodiment) 1 to 6 show an article inspection system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] First, the configuration will be described.

[0024] 1 to 3, in the article inspection system 1 according to this embodiment, articles P being conveyed on an article conveying path 11 such as a conveyor arranged in an article manufacturing line (not shown) are sequentially inspected by an article inspection device 10, while articles P determined to be defective by the article inspection device 10 are removed from the conveying path 11d downstream of the article inspection device 10 by a first sorting device 30 or a second sorting device 40. Note that the article P is manufactured as a product to be ingested by humans or animals, such as food (fresh food or processed food) or medicine, or to be worn on or touched by humans or animals, but is not limited to a specific article.

[0025] The item inspection system 1 includes an X-ray inspection machine, for example an X-ray foreign object detector, as an item inspection device 10, and is capable of inspecting the quality condition of each item P passing through a predetermined inspection section Z1 on the item conveying path 11 using a predetermined inspection method, and determining whether the item is, for example, an OK item (i.e., a non-defective item) or an NG item (i.e., a defective item) based on preset judgment conditions.

[0026] Depending on the content of the inspection, the article inspection device 10 may not only judge whether the article is good or not, but may also judge whether the article P is of a specific rank when the quality state of the article P is ranked into multiple stages. Furthermore, the article inspection device 10 may be a weighing device that measures the mass of the article P, a foreign object detection device that detects mixed foreign objects, or an appearance inspection device that detects defects in the product shape or the sealed portion of a packaging bag.

[0027] In the article inspection system 1, the inspection control unit 15 (see FIG. 2) built into the article inspection device 10, the controller of the first sorting device 30, and the drive control unit (described later) of the second sorting device 40 are connected to a control unit 20 consisting of a management PC, a PLC, etc. via a LAN using a predetermined communication method. The LAN here is, for example, composed of an Ethernet-based field bus, and enables digital communication between controllers (exchange of control information at lower layers, communication for monitoring the operating status of lower layers by upper layers and events in each device, etc.).

[0028] As shown in Figure 2, the item inspection device 10 specifically irradiates X-rays from an X-ray irradiation unit 12 to each item P to be inspected which is transported along an item transport path 11, detects the amount of transmitted X-rays at each predetermined time interval using an X-ray line sensor 13, and sequentially stores the detected values ​​in an image memory 14 as the item P passes through the inspection area, thereby enabling the inspection control unit 15 to acquire X-ray inspection image data which shows the distribution of the amount of transmitted X-rays through the item P.

[0029] The inspection control unit 15 has a processor and memory, and has various control programs built in that can use these to perform specified functions.It is composed of an image processing unit 16 that performs an image processing function based on the X-ray inspection image data from the image memory 14, a quality judgment unit 17 that performs a judgment function for the quality condition of the item P based on the image processing results by the image processing unit 16, and an operation display unit 19 such as a touch panel that can display the judgment results of the quality judgment unit 17 and input operations.

[0030] In addition, for example, when an item P being transported onto the item conveying path 11 is detected by an item detection sensor (not shown), the inspection control unit 15 sets the item P as the item to be inspected based on the detection signal, and operates the X-ray irradiation unit 12 throughout the entire conveying direction of the item P passing through a specific position (detection position of the line sensor 13) within the inspection section Z1.

[0031] The quality judgment unit 17 can judge, for example, the quality state of the item P for each predetermined inspection unit area (each of a plurality of inspection areas equally divided in any direction within a predetermined conveying distance section equal to or greater than the conveying direction length of the item P) based on the image processing result by the image processing unit 16, and judges, for example, whether or not a foreign object is mixed into each inspection unit area. Therefore, while multiple items P may be placed within an area serving as a unit for inspection and judgment depending on the size of the item P and the conveying interval, there may also be only a single item P placed within the area.

[0032] The control unit 20 is composed of a management PC and a PLC (programmable logic controller), and has various built-in control programs that can be used to perform predetermined functions. The control unit 20 may include a tablet-type information terminal that cooperates with the management PC to function as a programming tool for the PLC and a setting input switch.

[0033] In addition, the control unit 20 monitors the status of the item inspection system 1, manages the inspection results of the item inspection device 10 associated with the production plan, and performs drive control of the first sorting device 30 and the second sorting device 40, etc.

[0034] A rotary encoder (not shown) is attached to the conveyor that constitutes the article conveying path 11, and the control unit 20 acquires encoder pulses at every fixed conveying distance on the article conveying path 11, thereby being able to calculate the position in the conveying direction of the article P to be inspected, the period during which the article P enters a predetermined conveying section Z2 (for example, a number determination area E described below or a predetermined number of sorting determination sections Z2a therein) in which pinpoint removal operation by the first sorting device 30 is possible, and the conveying position during that period. The pinpoint removal operation referred to here is a localized removal operation of multiple or spread articles P that have entered the predetermined conveying section Z2 on the article conveying path 11, and is, for example, an operation of removing a single (individual) or a small number of articles P that are part of the multiple articles, or a part of the articles P spread on the article conveying path 11, from the article conveying path 11 to the outside.

[0035] The control unit 20 also acquires the inspection judgment result and position information of each inspected article P at the quality judgment unit 17 from the inspection control unit 15 of the article inspection device 10, and acquires the X-ray inspection image data together with its coordinate reference data. The control unit 20 then executes control to synchronize the operations of the article inspection device 10 and the first sorting device 30, by linking the coordinates of the article P judged as defective or the inspection unit area in the X-ray inspection image data with the change in position accompanying the transportation, for a specific transport section in which the inspected article P is transported between the inspection section Z1 by the article inspection device 10 and the specified transport section Z2 which is the pinpoint removal operation area by the first sorting device 30, so that the pinpoint removal operation position of the defective article by the first sorting device 30 coincides with the coordinates of the NG judgment area in the quality judgment unit 17 of the article inspection device 10.

[0036] The first sorting device 30 pinpoints and rejects items P that have been inspected by the item inspection device 10 in accordance with the results of inspection by the item inspection device 10, provided that a preset first sorting condition is met.For example, an ejector-type vacuum head 31 can be moved by an articulated robot arm 32 at least in the conveying path width direction (the longitudinal direction of the line sensor 13) perpendicular to the item conveying direction, here in both the item conveying direction and the conveying path width direction, and the item can be discharged into a defective item receptacle 34 outside the item conveying path 11 (hereinafter also referred to as outside the system).

[0037] 2 and 3, the ejector type vacuum head 31 includes a lifting type vacuum nozzle 31a having a downward opening at the lower end and a sideways opening at the upper end, a head body 35 supporting the vacuum nozzle 31a so that it can be lifted and lowered via a lifting drive shaft 35a, a suction duct 33 connected to the vacuum nozzle 31a, a driving fluid ejection unit 37 having an ejector function that ejects high-pressure driving fluid (here, compressed air) from around the outlet of the suction duct 33 toward the downstream side to generate negative pressure in the suction duct 33, and a discharge duct 36 connected to the outlet side of the suction duct 33 and the driving fluid ejection unit 37 and forming a diffuser passage whose internal passage cross-sectional area gradually increases toward the defective product receiver 34. The vacuum head 31 is capable of sucking defective articles P from the vacuum nozzle 31a into the suction duct 33 and ejecting them from the discharge duct 36 to the defective product receiver 34. Here, the suction duct 33 and the exhaust duct 36 are inclined and curved so that the driving fluid ejection portion 37 side is at the upper end side.

[0038] When a defective article P is sucked into the vacuum nozzle 31a and passes through its entrance, the article P is detected by a small passage detection sensor 31s, such as a reflective laser sensor, attached to the upstream end of the vacuum nozzle 31a or the suction duct 33. When a defective article P is sucked into the suction duct 33 and passes to the discharge side, the article P is detected by a passage detection sensor 36s attached to the downstream end of the suction duct 33 or near the driving fluid ejection unit 37. The driving fluid ejection unit 37 is connected to a compressed air supply source via a solenoid valve and a filter regulator (not shown).

[0039] Here, the vacuum nozzle 31a can be raised and lowered between an elevated position shown by a solid line in Figure 3 and a lowered position shown by a virtual line in Figure 3 via a lifting drive shaft 35a by a lifting drive mechanism 32f supported integrally on the second arm 32e together with the head body 35, and the height of the lowered position is set for each type of article P so that defective articles can be pinpointed and sucked up at the lowered position and removed outside the article conveying path 11 (hereinafter also referred to as outside the system).

[0040] The robot arm 32 has, for example, a first arm 32a supported at its base end on a support base 32b so as to be rotatable, and a second arm 32e supported at the tip end of the first arm 32a so as to be rotatable via a joint having a geared motor 32d. The second arm 32e integrally supports the vacuum head 31, and the robot controller 39 controls the geared motors 32c and 32d to control their respective drive angle positions to target values ​​by servo control, so that the vacuum nozzle 31a can be moved to any coordinate position within the movable range.

[0041] The second sorting device 40 is positioned downstream of the first sorting device 30 in a predetermined conveying direction, and is configured to remove the items P after inspection by the item inspection device 10 in units of sorting sections Z3 of a predetermined conveying distance, depending on the results of inspection by the item inspection device 10 and predetermined second sorting conditions.

[0042] 2, the second sorting device 40 has a vertically oscillating conveyor 41 having a sorting section Z3 in the conveying direction that is shorter than the predetermined conveying section Z2, which is the pinpoint removal section by the first sorting device 30, an up-and-down drive actuator 42 such as an air cylinder that raises the conveyor 41 at one end in the conveying direction, for example, the upstream end 41a, and a defective product receiver 43. The up-out drive actuator 42 is connected to an air supply source via a directional control valve, an air supply control valve, and a filter regulator (not shown), and the air supply / exhaust control direction to the up-out drive actuator 42 is switched by switching the directional control valve, so that the operating direction as an up-out sorter is switched and controlled.

[0043] This second sorting device 40 is designed so that when the conveyor 41 is tilted so as to rise at the upstream end 41a, the item P that has passed through a predetermined conveying section Z2 of the item conveying path 11 is dropped and discharged into a defective item receptacle 43 outside the item conveying path 11.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 20 has a test information acquisition unit 21, a selection condition determination unit 22, and a selection request output unit 23 as multiple functional units realized by a predetermined control program using a management PC or PLC.

[0045] The inspection information acquisition unit 21 can acquire the judgment results from the image processing unit 16 and the quality judgment unit 17 of the article inspection device 10, the coordinates and coordinate reference information of the article P or the inspection unit area, and the sensor information from the passage detection sensors 31s, 36s indicating the failure of the pinpoint removal operation by the first sorting device 30. The sensor information indicating the failure of the pinpoint removal operation here indicates that at least one of the passage detection sensors 31s, 36s does not detect the passage of the defective article P within a predetermined time from the sorting command (output of the pinpoint removal request Ra) to the first sorting device 30, and the pinpoint removal operation by suction has failed, or indicates that the elapsed time from the detection of the passage of the article P by the passage detection sensor 31s attached to the vacuum nozzle 31a to the detection by the passage detection sensor 36s attached to the downstream end side of the suction duct 33 exceeds a preset allowable suction time.

[0046] The sorting condition determination unit 22 is a sorting condition determination means that determines whether or not a first sorting condition is met based on the information acquired by the inspection information acquisition unit 21, depending on the results of inspection by the item inspection device 10 and the transport state of the inspected item P, and also determines whether or not a second sorting condition is met based on whether or not the first sorting condition is met and the success or failure (success or failure) of pinpoint exclusion by the first sorting device 30.

[0047] Moreover, the sorting condition determination unit 22 determines that the second sorting condition is satisfied if the first sorting condition is not satisfied or if the pinpoint rejection operation by the first sorting device 30 is unsuccessful. The first sorting condition is a condition under which all of the items P (defective items) not meeting the specified quality conditions within the specified conveying section Z2 can be rejected within a specified sorting period by the pinpoint rejection operation by the first sorting device 30, and in this case, the number of defective items P within the number determination area E as shown in Fig. 4 does not reach a preset upper limit number.

[0048] If it becomes uncertain whether the removal operation of all defective items within the number determination area E will be completed due to variations in the position or posture of defective items P within this number determination area E, failure of the pinpoint removal operation by the first sorting device 30, or delays in the pinpoint removal operation due to clogging of items in the vacuum nozzle 31a, etc., it is possible to determine that the pinpoint removal operation by the first sorting device 30 has been unsuccessful, and to have the second sorting device 40 perform reliable removal.

[0049] When the first sorting device 30 is primarily used, the sorting condition determination unit 22 can establish a second sorting condition and operate the second sorting device 40 when the first sorting condition is not established, or when the pinpoint removal operation by the first sorting device 30 fails or success within a specified period of time is uncertain.

[0050] Furthermore, when the pinpoint rejection operation occurs infrequently and the second sorting device 40 is mainly used, the sorting condition determination unit 22 can be set to determine that the second sorting condition is not satisfied for a certain period of time on the condition that the first sorting condition is satisfied and / or the pinpoint rejection operation by the first sorting device 30 is successful. For example, the sorting condition determination unit 22 may determine that the second sorting condition is not satisfied for a certain period of time on the condition that the first sorting condition is satisfied due to the item P becoming loose and falling off the product, etc.

[0051] Of course, whether the first sorting device 30 or the second sorting device 40 is primarily used may be variably set manually or by automatic mode setting according to the type of article P.

[0052] The ejector-type vacuum head 31 in the first sorting device 30 serves as a pinpoint removal means for sucking in specific items, such as defective items, among the inspected items P whose inspection results deviate from the predetermined quality conditions, and removing them from the item conveying path 11. In addition, by being supported by the robot arm 32, this vacuum head 31 operates as a removal head that moves in at least a direction perpendicular to the predetermined conveying direction, in this case both in the conveying direction v of the item conveying path 11 and in the width direction w perpendicular to this, depending on the inspection result when the result of the inspection by the item inspection device 10 deviates from the predetermined quality conditions.

[0053] The sorting condition determination unit 22 determines whether the number of items P (NG items) whose inspection results by the item inspection device 10 at a predetermined determination period deviate from predetermined quality conditions is contained within a number determination area E of a predetermined area, such as that shown in Figure 4, and determines that the second sorting condition is met if the number of items contained is equal to or greater than the set number.

[0054] The number determination area E shown in FIG. 4 uses a robot arm 32 for the first sorting device 30, and is therefore set within a predetermined radius R1 from a center O1 located on one side in the width direction w of the article conveying path 11.

[0055] This number determination area E is set as a range in which a set number of items P (defective items) that do not meet specified quality conditions can be removed within a specified time period set as a pinpoint removal period. However, if it becomes uncertain whether the removal operation of all defective items within the number determination area E will be completed due to variations in the transport position or posture of the items P, failure of the removal operation, delays due to clogging, etc., the second sorting device 40 can be used to reliably remove the items.

[0056] Furthermore, the specified radius R1 is set larger than the width of the road surface of the item conveying path 11, and is established so that at each time point when the sorting conditions are determined by the sorting condition determination section 22, the sorting determination section Z2a of the conveying path 11d downstream of the item inspection device 10 for a specified conveying distance (corresponding to the sorting section Z3 of the second sorting device 40) is always completely contained within the number determination area E for a specified number of items.

[0057] Then, on condition that a predetermined number of sorting judgment sections Z2a of a predetermined conveying distance have been established within the number judgment area E, the control unit 20 executes control to pinpoint and remove, using the first sorting device 30, any items P (NG items) that have been determined to be defective that are in a predetermined number of sorting judgment sections Z2a within the number judgment area E, and any NG items that are in a subsequent area Z2a'' within the number judgment area E, so that no items P (NG items) that have been determined to be defective are left in the preceding area Z2a' that has partially or completely extended downstream from the number judgment area E.

[0058] Furthermore, the number determination area E may overlap partially with the preceding area that was set as the number determination area at the time of the previous determination and that has been pinpoint excluded, and the number count of items P that have been pinpoint excluded can be reduced for the subsequent number determination area. Thus, if an unacceptable item that was in a subsequent area Z2a" following a predetermined number of sorting determination sections Z2a in the number determination area E is removed, the number count of unacceptable items can be reduced when that subsequent area Z2a" changes to a sorting determination section Z2a.

[0059] More specifically, the control unit 20 sets the number and order of pinpoint rejection based on the coordinates in the X-ray inspection image of the defective items P (NG items) that are in a predetermined number of sorting judgment sections Z2a in the number judgment area E and the change in position due to conveyance. The number of pinpoint rejection here is less than a set number (e.g., 5 items), and when the number of defective items P (NG items) or more is included within the range of the multiple number judgment areas Z2a illustrated as a pair in Fig. 4, the control unit 20 determines that the second sorting condition is met based on that condition.

[0060] The sorting judgment section Z2a may be set narrower so as to have an area smaller than that of the sorting section Z3. That is, the sorting condition judgment unit 22 may judge that the second sorting condition is met on the condition that the number of articles P for which the result of inspection by the article inspection device 10 deviates from the predetermined quality condition is included in a set number or more of multiple number judgment areas divided in the predetermined conveying direction to have a predetermined area equal to or smaller than the sorting section Z3.

[0061] Next, the operation will be described.

[0062] In this embodiment configured as described above, in a production line for a product including a plurality of items P, the item inspection device 10 sequentially performs item inspection using a predetermined inspection method on the items P on the item conveying path 11, and the inspected items P are pinpoint-rejected by the first sorting device 30 depending on the inspection results, or are rejected from the system in sorting section units of a predetermined conveying distance by the second sorting device 40 downstream of the first sorting device 30 depending on the inspection results and second sorting conditions.

[0063] At this time, the sorting condition determination unit 22 determines whether or not a first sorting condition is met based on the inspection results and the transport state of the inspected item P, and determines whether or not a second sorting condition is met based on whether or not the first sorting condition is met and whether or not the pinpoint exclusion operation by the first sorting device 30 is successful. Depending on the determination result, either an exclusion request Ra by pinpoint exclusion by the first sorting device 30 or an out-of-system discharge request Rb by up-out discharge for a predetermined transport distance by the second sorting device 40 is output, and the sorting conditions are switched.

[0064] Therefore, by performing pinpoint rejection operation by the first sorting device 30 as much as possible, it is possible to reduce the frequency of rejection operation by the second sorting device 40, which can reliably reject defective products but also reject some good products along with the defective products. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent defective products from flowing out to the good product passing side while effectively suppressing a decrease in the yield of products made up of multiple objects P.

[0065] 4 shows a case where the number of defective articles P in a predetermined number of number judgment areas Z2a in the number judgment area E does not reach a preset upper limit number (set number), so that the first sorting condition is met and a pinpoint removal operation is performed by the first sorting device 30. The numbers (1, 2, 3) attached to the defective articles in the number judgment area E exemplify the order of removal.

[0066] In contrast, Figure 5 shows a case where the number of defective items P within a predetermined number of quantity judgment areas Z2a within the quantity judgment area E reaches a preset number, for example five, thereby satisfying the first sorting condition and causing the first sorting device 30 to perform a pinpoint removal operation.

[0067] On the other hand, Figure 6 shows a case where the number of defective items P within a predetermined number of quantity determination areas Z2a within the quantity determination area E does not reach a preset number, for example 5, but defective items P remain in the preceding area Z2a' where pinpoint exclusion has been performed once, i.e., the time to determine the next sorting conditions has arrived with the defective items remaining.

[0068] In this case, the first sorting condition is not met because defective items P remain in the preceding area Z2a', causing the distance between defective items in the number determination area E to exceed a certain value, and the second sorting condition is met. However, as shown in the figure, the number of items is small, and only one defective item P exists in the number determination area Z2a in the number determination area E adjacent to the preceding area Z2a' (hatched area) in the number determination area E, so it is also possible to perform a pinpoint removal operation by the first sorting device 30 under this condition.

[0069] If it becomes uncertain whether the removal operation of all defective items within the number determination area E will be completed due to variations in the position or posture of defective items P within the number determination area E, failure of the pinpoint removal operation by the first sorting device 30, or delays in the pinpoint removal operation due to clogging of items in the vacuum nozzle 31a, etc., it is possible to determine that the pinpoint removal operation by the first sorting device 30 has been unsuccessful, and to have the second sorting device 40 perform reliable removal.

[0070] In this embodiment, the sorting condition determination unit 22 determines that the second sorting condition is satisfied if the first sorting condition is not satisfied or if the pinpoint rejection operation by the first sorting device 30 is unsuccessful. Therefore, by mainly operating the first sorting device 30, it is possible to effectively reduce the frequency of sorting in which non-defective products are discharged from the system together with defective products, and improve the yield of products made up of the items P to be inspected.

[0071] Furthermore, when the sorting condition determination unit 22 establishes the second sorting condition on the condition that the success of the pinpoint removal operation by the first sorting device 30 within a specified time is uncertain, the sorting condition determination process can be quickly executed while an accurate sorting condition determination can be performed.

[0072] In addition, in this embodiment, the first sorting device 30 is configured to include a vacuum head 31 (pinpoint exclusion means) that sucks up specific items P among the inspected items P whose inspection results do not meet the specified quality conditions and removes them from the conveying path 11, so that it is possible to accurately remove defective items that do not meet the specified quality conditions from the system while ensuring the required yield of products made up of multiple items P.

[0073] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the vacuum head 31 constitutes a removal head that moves at least in the conveying path width direction w in accordance with the results of inspection by the item inspection device 10 when the results of the inspection deviate from the specified quality conditions. Therefore, by moving the vacuum head 31 along the shortest path in accordance with the item conveying speed and the spacing and position of the items P that deviate from the specified quality conditions, efficient pinpoint removal operation is possible.

[0074] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the sorting condition determination unit 22 determines that the second sorting condition is met on the condition that the number of articles P whose inspection results by the article inspection device 10 deviate from the predetermined quality condition is contained within a number equal to or greater than a set number within a number determination region of a predetermined area. Therefore, the number determination region E of a predetermined area is set within a range in which articles P that do not meet the predetermined quality condition can be reliably removed regardless of variations in the positions at which they are generated, and when the number exceeds the set number at which it becomes uncertain, reliable removal can be performed by the second sorting device.

[0075] In this embodiment, the number determination area E is set within a predetermined radius R1 from the center located on one side of the conveying path width direction w. In this case, a robot arm 32 or the like can be effectively used for the first sorting device 30. The number determination area E in this case is set at predetermined time intervals, and may partially overlap with the number determination area set immediately before and in which pinpoint removal has been completed, and the number of items for which pinpoint removal has been completed can be reduced.

[0076] In this embodiment, the sorting condition determination unit 22 further determines that the second sorting condition is met on the condition that the number of articles P whose results of inspection by the article inspection device 10 deviate from the predetermined quality condition is contained in a set number or more of any of a plurality of number determination areas Z2a divided in a predetermined conveying direction v to have a predetermined area equal to or smaller than the sorting section Z3. Therefore, the number determination area Z2a divided equally in the conveying direction can be easily set, the sorting area shape for the pinpoint removal operation is contained in the sorting section Z3 for the predetermined conveying distance, and the required yield of products including the inspected articles can be effectively ensured.

[0077] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an item inspection system that can effectively suppress a decrease in the yield of products made up of the items P to be inspected while reliably preventing defective items from being sent to the side where good items pass.

[0078] Second embodiment 7 to 9 show an article inspection system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0079] In the following description, the same components as those in the embodiment already described will be designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0080] As shown in Figures 7 to 9, in the item inspection system 2 of this embodiment, multiple items P are fed in parallel onto multiple rows of aligning conveyors 52 via an input device 51 from a upstream manufacturing device not shown, and a weighing conveyor 53, which is a scale, is provided downstream of the multiple rows of aligning conveyors 52, and an item detection sensor 54 is installed to detect the entry of an item P into each weighing conveyor 53.

[0081] Each item P fed from the feeding device 51 has its widthwise (widthwise) position determined within a predetermined range by a guard 52a on the alignment conveyor 52, and then its entry timing is detected by an item detection sensor 54 at the entrance of each weighing conveyor 53.

[0082] In addition, downstream of the multiple rows of weighing conveyors 53, there are provided a first sorting device 60 which is a pinpoint rejection device, a second sorting device 40 which performs sorting for discharge outside the system in units of a sorting section Z3 of a specified conveying distance, and a conveyor 80 for transporting to a downstream boxing device or the like.

[0083] In this embodiment, the first sorting device 60, which is a pinpoint rejection device, has a robot hand 61 for gripping an object supported on the tip side of a robot arm 62, and is capable of pinpoint rejection by identifying the coordinates of each object P on a pinpoint rejection conveyor 63. The robot arm 62 has, for example, a base end of a first arm 62a rotatably supported on a support base 62b, and is rotatably driven via a geared motor (not shown), and a second arm 62c rotatably supported via a joint having a geared motor at the tip of the first arm 62a. The robot hand 61 is attached to the tip side of the second arm 62c. Such a robot for gripping a workpiece is well known, so a detailed description will be omitted here, but the robot controller 69 controls the drive position by servo control of the above-mentioned geared motor and controls the workpiece gripping of the robot hand 61, so that a pinpoint rejection operation can be performed for an object P at any coordinate position within the movable range.

[0084] Each weighing conveyor 53 has a load sensor unit 53c that detects the weight from a conveyor unit 53a equipped with a weighing platform 53b, and sequential load detection signals are output from the load sensor unit 53c depending on the number of articles P passing on the weighing conveyor 53 and the passing state.

[0085] In addition, the successive load detection signals output from the load sensor unit 53c for each row of the multiple rows of the weighing conveyor 53 are input to the weighing unit 55, and a weighing signal corresponding to the successive detected load, for example, obtained by subtracting the tare load from the load detection signal of the load sensor unit 53c in the nth row, is output from the weighing unit 55.

[0086] Then, based on the weighing signal output from each weighing conveyor 53, the quality judgment unit 56 checks whether the mass of the item P on the conveyor is within the acceptable range, judges the quality condition of the item P (good or bad), and displays the judgment result (for example, the good / bad judgment result Jn output from the nth weighing conveyor 53 and its output timing Tn) on the operation display unit 19 at a predetermined timing.

[0087] In addition, the judgment result information (Jn, Tn) from the quality judgment unit 56 is input into the inspection information acquisition unit 21, and the judgment result, for example, the pass / fail judgment result Jn output from the nth row of the weighing conveyor 53 and its output timing Tn are grasped as the judgment result and the coordinate information of the corresponding item P.

[0088] The inspection information acquisition unit 21 is also capable of acquiring feedback information from the robot controller 69 indicating that the pinpoint rejection operation by the first sorting device 60 has failed.

[0089] The sorting condition determination unit 22 is a sorting condition determination means that determines whether or not a first sorting condition is met based on the information acquired by the inspection information acquisition unit 21, depending on the results of inspection by the weighing conveyor 53 and the transport state of the inspected item P, and also determines whether or not a second sorting condition is met based on whether or not the first sorting condition is met and whether or not the pinpoint removal operation by the first sorting device 60 is successful.

[0090] The first sorting condition is the same as in the first embodiment, and is a condition under which all items P (defective items) that do not meet the specified quality conditions within the specified conveying section Z2 can be removed within a specified sorting period by the first sorting device 60.In this case, the condition is that the number of defective items P within the number judgment area for the sorting section Z3 within the specified conveying section Z2 that can be discharged outside the system by the second sorting device 40 as shown in Figure 8 does not reach a predetermined upper limit number.

[0091] Moreover, the second sorting condition is determined to be satisfied when the first sorting condition is not satisfied or the pinpoint removal operation by the first sorting device 60 is unsuccessful.

[0092] In this embodiment as well, the sorting condition determination unit 22 determines whether or not the first sorting condition is met based on the inspection results by weighing and the transport state of the inspected item P, and determines whether or not the second sorting condition is met based on whether or not the first sorting condition is met and whether or not the pinpoint exclusion operation by the first sorting device 60 is successful. Depending on the determination result, either an exclusion request Ra by pinpoint exclusion by the first sorting device 60 or an out-of-system discharge request Rb by up-out discharge for a predetermined transport distance by the second sorting device 40 is output, and the sorting conditions are switched.

[0093] Therefore, by performing pinpoint rejection operation by the first sorting device 60 as much as possible, it is possible to reduce the frequency of rejection operation by the second sorting device 40, which can reliably reject defective products but also reject some good products along with the defective products. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent defective products from flowing out to the good product passing side while effectively suppressing a decrease in the yield of products made up of multiple objects P.

[0094] Third embodiment 10 to 12 show an article inspection system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0095] As shown in Figures 10 and 11, in the item inspection system 3 of this embodiment, multiple items P are fed onto an inspection conveyor 72 via an input conveyor 71 from a upstream manufacturing device not shown, and a camera 73 for monitoring the conveying state is positioned above the inspection conveyor 72, and a magnetization means 74 using a magnet is provided at the upstream end of the inspection conveyor 72.

[0096] The item P to be inspected is, for example, food such as retort foods or confectionery, which uses aluminum foil as packaging material, and the item inspection system 3 is a so-called DC type metal detection system that forcibly magnetizes (magnetizes) metallic foreign matter that may be mixed into such foods during the manufacturing process using a magnetization means 74, and detects the magnetized foreign matter with a magnetic sensor 75, such as a pickup coil, installed in the inspection conveyor 72.

[0097] In this embodiment, the coordinates of each item P on the pinpoint rejection conveyor 63 are identified based on two-dimensional image data acquired by the camera 73, enabling the first sorting device 60 to perform pinpoint rejection.

[0098] Although details are not shown, in this embodiment, the inspection information acquisition unit 21 is also capable of acquiring feedback information from the robot controller 69 indicating that the pinpoint removal operation by the first sorting device 60 has failed.

[0099] In addition, based on the sensor signals from each magnetic sensor 75, the coordinate information of each item P identified by the camera image processing unit 76, and encoder information corresponding to the conveyor transport speed, the position of the item P on the conveyor is identified, and the quality judgment unit 56 checks whether its quality condition is within the acceptable range, i.e., whether it is a good quality item with no detected foreign matter or a bad quality item with the inclusion of foreign matter, and the judgment result is displayed on the operation display unit 19 at a predetermined timing.

[0100] In addition, the judgment result information from the quality judgment unit 56 and the coordinate information of each item P identified by the camera image processing unit 76 are input into the inspection information acquisition unit 21.

[0101] The sorting condition determination unit 22 is a sorting condition determination means that determines whether or not a first sorting condition is met based on the information acquired by the inspection information acquisition unit 21, depending on the results of inspection by the inspection conveyor 72 and the transport state of the inspected item P, and also determines whether or not a second sorting condition is met based on whether or not the first sorting condition is met and the success or failure of the pinpoint removal operation by the first sorting device 60.

[0102] In this embodiment as well, by performing pinpoint rejection operation by the first sorting device 60 as much as possible, it is possible to reduce the frequency of sorting operation by the second sorting device 40, which can reliably reject defective products but also reject some good products along with the defective products. As a result, as in the first and second embodiments described above, it is possible to reliably prevent defective products from flowing out to the good product passing side while effectively suppressing a decrease in the yield of products made up of multiple objects P.

[0103] In the above-described embodiments, the first sorting device 30 uses a vacuum head 31 capable of removing the article P by sucking it up to perform the pinpoint removal operation, and the first sorting device 60 uses a robot hand 61 capable of gripping and moving the article P to perform the pinpoint removal operation, but the method is not limited to a specific pinpoint removal method and may be a method of sucking or partially removing the article P. Also, the second sorting device 40, which discharges the article P in the sorting section Z3 for a predetermined conveying distance out of the system according to the inspection result, is an up-out discharge method, but other methods, such as a drop-down type, a shuttle type, or a chute type, may be used.

[0104] As described above, the object inspection system of the present invention has the effect of reliably preventing defective items from flowing to the side where good items pass while effectively suppressing a decrease in the yield of products including the inspected items. The present invention is useful for object inspection systems that have both an object inspection device and a sorting device, and in particular for object inspection systems in general that are capable of pinpoint rejection operation. [Explanation of symbols]

[0105] 1, 2, 3 Article Inspection System 10. Article inspection equipment 11 Goods transport route 11d. Conveyor path downstream of inspection section 12 X-ray irradiation section 13 X-ray line sensor 14 Image Memory 15 Inspection control section 16 Image processing section 17 Quality Judgment Department 19 Operation display section 20 Control section 21 Examination Information Acquisition Department 22 Selection condition determination unit (selection condition determination means) 23 Sorting request output unit 30, 60 First sorting device 31 Vacuum head (pinpoint removal means, removal head) 31a Vacuum nozzle 31s, 36s Passage detection sensor 32 Robot Arm 32a 1st Arm 32b Support stand 32c, 32d geared motor 32e Second Arm 32f Lifting drive mechanism 33 Suction duct 35 Head body 36 Exhaust duct 37 Driving fluid injection section 38 Diffuser 39 Robot Controller 40 Second sorting device 41 Conveyor 41a Upstream end 42 Up-out drive actuator 51 Feeding device 52 Alignment conveyor 52a Guard 53 Weighing Conveyor 53a Conveyor unit 53b Weighing platform 53c Load sensor section 54 Object detection sensor 55 Measuring part 56 Quality Judgment Department 60 First sorting device 61 Robot Hand 62 Robot Arm 62a 1st Arm 62b Support stand 62c 2nd Arm 63 Pinpoint Rejection Conveyor 69 Robot Controller 71 Input conveyor 72 Inspection Conveyor 73 Camera 74 Magnetization means 75 Magnetic Sensor 76 Camera image processing unit 80 Conveyor E Number judgment area Jn Pass / fail judgment result O1 center R1 Predetermined radius Tn Output Timing Z1 Inspection section Z2 Predetermined transport section (pinpoint removal operation area) Z2a Sorting judgment section (quantity judgment area) Z2a´ Leading section Z2a″ succeeding region Z3 Sorting section

Claims

1. An article inspection device (10) for sequentially inspecting articles (P) conveyed in a predetermined conveying direction on a conveying path (11); a first sorting device (30) that, on condition that a preset first sorting condition is satisfied, pinpoints and removes an item that has been inspected by the item inspection device within a predetermined conveying section (Z2) in accordance with a result of the inspection by the item inspection device; a second sorting device (40) disposed downstream of the first sorting device in the predetermined conveying direction, which removes the articles after inspection by the article inspection device in units of a sorting section (Z3) of a predetermined conveying distance in accordance with the result of the inspection by the article inspection device and the establishment of a second sorting condition set in advance; An item inspection system comprising: a sorting condition determination means (22) that determines whether or not the first sorting condition is met based on the results of inspection by the item inspection device and the transportation state of the inspected item, and that determines whether or not the second sorting condition is met based on whether or not the first sorting condition is met and whether or not pinpoint exclusion is successful by the first sorting device.

2. The item inspection system described in claim 1, characterized in that the sorting condition determination means (22) determines that the second sorting condition is met if the first sorting condition is not met or if pinpoint exclusion by the first sorting device is unsuccessful.

3. The object inspection system described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the first sorting device (30) is configured to include a pinpoint exclusion means (31) for excluding from the conveying path specific objects among the inspected objects whose inspection results deviate from specified quality conditions.

4. The object inspection system described in claim 3, characterized in that the pinpoint exclusion means (31) has an exclusion head that moves at least in a direction perpendicular to the specified conveying direction in accordance with the results of inspection by the object inspection device when the results of the inspection deviate from the specified quality conditions.

5. The item inspection system described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the sorting condition determination means (22) determines that the second sorting condition is met when the number of items whose inspection results by the item inspection device deviate from the specified quality conditions is contained within a number determination area (E) of a specified area and is equal to or greater than a set number.

6. 6. An object inspection system according to claim 5, wherein the number determination area (E) is set within a predetermined radius (R1) from a center located on one side in a width direction of the transport path.

7. The item inspection system described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the sorting condition determination means determines that the second sorting condition is met when the number of items whose inspection results by the item inspection device deviate from the specified quality conditions is included in a set number or more of any of a plurality of number determination areas (Z2a) divided in the specified conveying direction so as to have a specified area less than the sorting section.

Images