Foreign matter inspection system

Abstract

To provide a foreign matter inspection system capable of inspecting the presence or absence of a foreign matter in a container in a short time at a low cost.SOLUTION: Disclosed is a foreign matter inspection system comprising: a container moving / rotating device 1 which rotates a container installed at an installation / removal position while moving the container so as to place the container at a predetermined inspection position; a camera 300 which captures a movie of the container placed at the inspection position; and an inspection device 100 which controls the operation of the camera 300 and inspects the presence or absence of a foreign matter in a bottle Bn using the movie of the bottle Bn captured by the camera 300. In the container moving / rotating device 1, a container is installed in an erect state at an installation / removal position, the container in the erect state is moved vertically and upward to an upper rotation position to rotate the container from the erect state to an inverted state, and the container in the inverted state is moved vertically and downward to the inspection position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a foreign matter inspection system, for example, to a foreign matter inspection system that inspects the presence or absence of foreign matter mixed into a liquid such as a beverage poured into a container such as a bottle. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Various types of devices have been proposed for detecting foreign matter that has been mixed into a liquid filled in a container such as a bottle.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a foreign matter detection system (foreign matter inspection system) for detecting foreign matter mixed into liquid in a container such as a bottle. The foreign object detection system described in Patent Document 1 comprises a base, a first frame mounted on the base so as to be rotatable around a first axis, a second frame mounted on the first frame so as to be rotatable around a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, a first rotation mechanism that rotates the first frame relative to the base around the first axis, a second rotation mechanism that rotates the second frame relative to the first frame around the second axis, a container holding mechanism that holds a container containing liquid in the second frame, an imaging device that photographs the container, and a control unit that controls the first rotation mechanism, the second rotation mechanism, and the imaging device. In addition, in the above-mentioned foreign object detection system, the control unit is configured to execute a process of driving a first rotation mechanism to rotate a first frame around a first axis, a process of driving a second rotation mechanism to rotate a second frame around a second axis, a process of causing the photographing device to photograph the container, and a process of detecting foreign objects mixed in the liquid using the image photographed by the photographing device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6767524 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the foreign object detection system described in Patent Document 1 mentioned above has a complex configuration in which two rotating shafts (a first shaft and a second shaft) are provided for rotating a container such as a bottle containing a liquid, and this poses the problem of high costs for the entire device. Furthermore, the foreign object detection system described in Patent Document 1 has the problem that the movement of the container to the inspection location and the stirring of the liquid inside the container are performed separately, which takes a long time for the inspection and makes it difficult to perform the inspection efficiently.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a foreign body inspection system that inspects for the presence or absence of foreign bodies in a container into which liquid has been poured, and that is capable of inspecting for foreign bodies in a short period of time, at low cost. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention, which has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, is a foreign body inspection system that inspects the presence or absence of foreign bodies inside a container into which a liquid has been poured, comprising a container moving and rotating device that installs the container at a predetermined installation / removal position, and moves and rotates the installed container while holding it to place the container at a predetermined inspection position, a camera that takes a video of the container placed at the inspection position by the container moving and rotating device, and an inspection device that controls the operation of the camera, acquires the video of the container taken by the camera, and uses the acquired video to inspect the presence or absence of foreign bodies in the liquid in the container, wherein the container moving and rotating device is configured to install the container in an upright state at the predetermined installation / removal position, raise the container in the upright state vertically and upward to move it to an upper / rotation position, rotate the container so that it becomes inverted from the upright state at the upper / rotation position, and further lower the container in the inverted state vertically to move it to the inspection position.

[0008] In the present invention, the container held in an upright position at the installation / removal position is raised vertically upward and moved to the upper / rotation position, at which point the bottle is inverted from the upright state to an inverted state, and the inverted container is then lowered vertically and moved to the inspection position. That is, in the present invention, the container is rotated from an upright state to an inverted state, and then moved vertically downward, thereby effectively stirring the liquid inside the container, and if a foreign object is mixed in the liquid, the foreign object can be made to fall toward the top of the inverted container. At this time, air (air bubbles) in the liquid rise toward the bottom of the inverted container. Therefore, the camera that takes a video of the container placed at the inspection position can take a high-precision image of the foreign object floating or falling in the liquid. Furthermore, unlike the foreign object detection system described in Patent Document 1, which employs a complex configuration in which two rotation shafts (a first shaft and a second shaft) are provided for rotating a container containing a liquid, the present invention can reduce costs compared to the system described in Patent Document 1. Furthermore, since the present invention does not perform complex operations that control two rotation shafts, as in the foreign object detection system described in Patent Document 1, inspection can be performed in a shorter time than the invention described in Patent Document 1.

[0009] In addition, in the present invention, a stirring operation is performed in which the container placed at the installation / removal position of the container moving and rotating device is rotated to stir the liquid inside the container while the container is moving to the inspection position of the container moving and rotating device. In other words, in the foreign body inspection system of the present invention, the movement of the container from the installation / removal position to the inspection position and the stirring operation are performed as a series of operations, so that the inspection cycle time can be shortened compared to that of Patent Document 1.

[0010] The container moving and rotating device further comprises a container support frame for holding the containers, a pair of support legs for supporting the container support frame so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, and a vertical movement and rotation mechanism for moving the container support frame vertically and up and down along the pair of support legs and rotating the container support frame 180 degrees at the upper rotation position, the vertical movement and rotation mechanism reciprocatingly moving the container support frame in the vertical direction between a home position, which is the position of the lower ends of the support legs, and the upper rotation position, the container support frame being sandwiched between the support legs and a front side The containers can be placed in both the front and rear areas across the support legs, and when the container is placed in the home position, the front side across the support legs becomes the inspection position, and the rear side across the support legs becomes the specified installation and removal position for placing the container to be inspected in the container support frame and removing the container that has been inspected, and it is desirable that when the container support frame is rotated in the upper rotation position, it is flipped upside down and its front and rear positions based on the support legs are swapped.

[0011] According to the above configuration, when inspection of a bottle placed in the front side area, sandwiched between the support legs of the container support frame, is completed, the next bottle for inspection can be placed in the rear side area, sandwiched between the support legs of the container support frame. Therefore, the container support frame holding the inspected bottle and the next bottle for inspection is raised vertically upward and moved to the upper rotation position, at which point the container support frame is turned upside down and lowered vertically downward to the home position, thereby allowing the inspected bottle to be moved from the inspection position to the installation / removal position and the next bottle to be inspected to be moved from the installation / removal position to the inspection position simultaneously. Therefore, according to the foreign matter inspection system of the present invention, the inspection cycle time can be shortened, and efficient inspection can be performed.

[0012] Furthermore, it is desirable that the vertical movement and rotation mechanism is provided on a pair of the support legs, the container support frame is formed in a roughly frame-like shape having a pair of upper and lower clamping plates that clamp and hold both the upper and lower ends of the container, a first side plate provided at one end of the upper and lower clamping plates, and a second side plate provided at the other end of the upper and lower clamping plates, and that a shaft portion is fixed to approximately the center of the outside of each of the first side plate and the second side plate, and that the shaft portion is supported by the vertical movement and rotation mechanism provided on the pair of support legs so that it can slide freely in the vertical direction and rotate.

[0013] Furthermore, the pair of upper and lower clamping plates are formed in a rectangular shape when viewed from above, each with a long hole-shaped slit in the center, an illumination device is fixed to a lower position of the pair of support legs, and when the container support frame holding the container descends from the upper rotation position to the home position, the illumination device fixed to the support legs is inserted through the slit of the upper and lower clamping plates, and when the container support frame is arranged at the home position, the illumination device is arranged behind the container arranged at the inspection position and held by the container support frame, and the illumination device emits light to irradiate the container, and it is desirable that the inspection device stores a foreign object passing estimated time at which a foreign object is estimated to pass through each part of the inverted container arranged at the inspection position, and controls the illumination device to vary the intensity of the light irradiated by the illumination device using the foreign object passing estimated time during inspection while the camera is taking video of the container.

[0014] The above configuration was adopted for the following reasons. According to the configuration of the foreign matter inspection system of the present invention, for example, if the container is a bottle, when the container is placed in an inverted state at the inspection position in the home position, foreign matter with a heavy specific gravity that is mixed in the liquid inside the container will fall over time from the bottle's bottom → body → shoulder → neck in that order. In addition, there are some parts of a container that are prone to halation when irradiated with strong light, and some parts that are difficult for light to penetrate. For example, if the container is a bottle, the body of the bottle is a part that is prone to halation when irradiated with strong light, and the shoulder and neck of the bottle are parts that are difficult for light to penetrate. Therefore, when a foreign object passes through the body of an inverted bottle, if the lighting device irradiates the bottle with strong light, halation occurs at the body of the bottle, and the camera may not be able to capture a video of a quality that allows the foreign object to be detected.Also, when a foreign object passes through the shoulder or neck of an inverted bottle, even if the lighting device irradiates the bottle with weak light, sufficient light does not penetrate the shoulder or neck, and the camera may not be able to capture a video of a quality that allows the foreign object to be detected.

[0015] Therefore, in the present invention, the inspection device stores the estimated foreign object passing time, which is the time it is estimated for a foreign object to pass through each part of the container after the container is placed in the home position in an inverted state, and the inspection device controls the lighting device so that the intensity of the light emitted can be varied using the estimated foreign object passing time during inspection while the camera is taking video of the bottle. According to this configuration, for example, when the container is a bottle, the inspection device controls the lighting device to irradiate weak light of a first intensity during a time period when it is estimated that a foreign object in the liquid is passing through the body of the bottle. As a result, it is possible to prevent halation caused by the light from the lighting device when a foreign object is passing through the body. In addition, the inspection device controls the lighting device to irradiate light of a second intensity stronger than the first intensity during a time period when it is estimated that a foreign object in the liquid is passing through the shoulder or neck. As a result, when a foreign object is passing through the shoulder or neck, strong light that penetrates the shoulder or neck can be irradiated. That is, according to the above configuration, it is possible to improve the accuracy of inspection for foreign matter in the liquid inside the container.

[0016] In addition, the pair of upper and lower clamping plates are formed in a rectangular shape when viewed in a plane, each having a long hole-shaped slit in its center, and a lighting device is fixed to a lower position of the pair of support legs, and when the container support frame holding the container descends from the upper rotation position to the home position, the lighting device fixed to the support legs is inserted through the slit of the upper and lower clamping plates, and when the container support frame is positioned at the home position, the lighting device is positioned behind the container held by the container support frame and positioned at the inspection position, and the lighting device emits light to irradiate the light onto the container, and it is desirable that the lighting device irradiates light of different intensity for each illumination area to which the light is irradiated. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] According to the present invention, a foreign body inspection system that inspects whether or not a foreign body is present in a container into which liquid has been poured, and that is capable of inspecting for foreign bodies in a short period of time, can be provided at low cost.

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a foreign matter inspection system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] This is a schematic diagram of a container moving and rotating device having a container support frame that holds containers, constituting an embodiment of a foreign object inspection system of the present invention, viewed from the front, where (a) is a schematic diagram showing the container moving and rotating device in a state where the container support frame is positioned at a home position, which is a position on the lower end side, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing the container moving and rotating device in a state where the container support frame is positioned at an upper rotation position, which is a position on the upper end side. [Diagram 3] 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams for explaining the upper and lower clamping plates that constitute the container support frame that holds containers in the foreign object inspection system of an embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a schematic diagram showing the container clamping surface of the lower upper and lower clamping plates in Figure 2, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing the container clamping surface of the upper upper and lower clamping plates in Figure 2. [Figure 4]1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of a foreign body inspection system according to an embodiment of the present invention when performing a first inspection for foreign bodies in a liquid inside a bottle, in which (a) shows the state in which the container support frame holding the bottle is positioned at the home position at the lower end, (b) shows the state in which the container support frame is moving vertically upward from the home position toward the upper / rotation position at the upper end, (c) shows the state in which the container support frame has moved to the upper / rotation position, (d) and (e) show the state in which the container support frame is rotating at the upper / rotation position, (f) shows the state in which the container support frame has completed its rotation at the upper / rotation position, (g) shows the state in which the container support frame is moving vertically downward from the upper / rotation position toward the home position, and (h) shows the state in which the container support frame has moved vertically downward from the upper / rotation position and is positioned at the home position. [Diagram 5] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the foreign body inspection system of an embodiment of the present invention when performing a second inspection for foreign bodies in the liquid inside a bottle, where (a) shows the state in which the container support frame holding the bottle is positioned at the home position at the lower end, (b) shows the state in which the container support frame is moving vertically upward from the home position toward the upper / rotation position at the upper end, (c) shows the state in which the container support frame has moved to the upper / rotation position, (d) and (e) show the state in which the container support frame is rotating at the upper / rotation position, (f) shows the state in which the container support frame has completed rotation at the upper / rotation position, (g) shows the state in which the container support frame is moving vertically downward from the upper / rotation position toward the home position, and (h) shows the state in which the container support frame has moved vertically downward from the upper / rotation position and is positioned at the home position. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THEINVENTION

[0019] Hereinafter, a foreign matter inspection system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of the foreign matter inspection system of this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a container moving and rotating device having a container support frame for holding a container constituting the foreign matter inspection system of this embodiment, as viewed from the front, where (a) is a schematic diagram showing the container moving and rotating device in a state where the container support frame is disposed at a home position, which is a position on the lower end side, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing the container moving and rotating device in a state where the container support frame is disposed at an upper rotation position, which is a position on the upper end side. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining upper and lower clamping plates constituting the container support frame for holding a container of the foreign matter inspection system of this embodiment, where (a) is a schematic diagram showing the container clamping surface of the lower upper and lower clamping plates in Fig. 2, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing the container clamping surface of the upper upper and lower clamping plates in Fig. 2. In addition, FIG. 1 shows the container moving and rotating device as viewed from the side.

[0020] <Configuration of foreign body inspection system> The foreign matter inspection system W of this embodiment inspects the presence or absence of foreign matter inside a container such as a bottle Bn (n is a natural number) into which liquid has been poured. The liquid poured into containers such as bottles Bn may be, for example, alcoholic beverages (shochu, sake, wine, etc.), seasonings, beverages such as tea and juice, etc., and containers such as bottles Bn are formed from transparent or translucent materials. In the description of this embodiment, the container is a bottle Bn, but the container may be something other than the bottle Bn (for example, a dedicated container such as a plastic container).

[0021] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the foreign matter inspection system W of this embodiment includes a container moving and rotating device 1 in which a bottle Bn is installed at an installation / removal position, and which holds the installed bottle Bn and moves and rotates it to place the bottle Bn at a predetermined inspection position, a camera 300 that takes a video of the bottle Bn placed at the above-mentioned inspection position by the container moving and rotating device 1, a control device 200 that controls the operation of the container moving and rotating device 1, and an inspection device 100 that controls the operation of the camera 300, acquires the video of the bottle Bn captured by the camera 300, and uses the acquired video to inspect the presence or absence of foreign matter in the liquid poured into the bottle Bn. In addition, the container moving and rotating device 1 is configured so that the bottle Bn is placed in an upright position at a predetermined installation and removal position, the upright bottle Bn is raised vertically upward and moved to an upper rotation position, the bottle Bn is rotated at the upper rotation position from the upright state to an inverted state, and the inverted bottle Bn is then lowered vertically and moved to an inspection position.

[0022] In this embodiment, the upright state refers to a state in which the mouth of a container such as a bottle Bn is facing upward, the bottom of the container such as a bottle Bn is facing downward, and the central axis of the container such as a bottle Bn is facing vertically. In addition, the inverted state refers to a state in which the mouth of a container such as a bottle Bn faces downward, the bottom of the container such as a bottle Bn faces upward, and the central axis of the container such as a bottle Bn faces vertically.

[0023] As shown in Figure 2, the above-mentioned container moving and rotating device 1 has a container support frame 10 that holds the bottle Bn, a pair of support legs 2, 2 that support the container support frame 10 so that it can slide freely in the up-down direction (vertical direction), and a vertical movement and rotation mechanism that moves the container support frame 10 in the vertical / up-down direction (X direction shown in Figures 1 and 2) along the pair of support legs 2, 2 and rotates the container support frame 10 180 degrees at an upper rotation position above the support legs 2, 2.

[0024] In addition, the container support frame 10 is formed in a frame shape having a pair of upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12 that clamp and hold both the upper and lower ends of the bottle Bn, a side plate (first side plate) 13 provided at one end (the left end in the figure) of the upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12, and a side plate (second side plate) 14 provided at the other end (the right end in the figure) of the upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12. As shown in FIG. 3, the upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12 for clamping the bottle Bn are formed in a rectangular shape in a plan view, and have elongated slits 11s, 12s formed in the center thereof.

[0025] In addition, the upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12 are arranged so that two bottles B1, B1 can be placed in the first area 11a, 12a on one side across the slits 11s, 12s, and two bottles B2, B2 can be placed in the second area 11b, 12b on the other side across the slits 11s, 12s. Furthermore, the first regions 11a, 12a of the upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12 of the container support frame 10 can be positioned on the front side of the container moving and rotating device 1 (the side photographed by the camera 300) or on the rear side (the installation and removal side) of the container moving and rotating device 1 by rotation of the vertical movement and rotation mechanism. In addition, the second regions 11b, 12b of the upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12 of the container support frame 10 are positioned on the front side of the container moving and rotating device 1 (the side photographed by the camera 300) or on the rear side (the installation and removal side) of the container moving and rotating device 1 by rotation of the vertical movement and rotation mechanism.

[0026] Furthermore, shafts 5, 5 are fixed to approximately the center of the outer sides of the side plates 13, 14 of the container support frame 10 (see FIG. 2), and the shafts 5, 5 are supported so as to be slidable (freely slidable) in the up-down direction (vertical direction) by a vertical movement / rotation mechanism provided on the pair of support legs 2, 2. This allows the vertical movement / rotation mechanism to move the container support frame 10 along the up-down direction (X direction) of the support legs 2, 2.

[0027] Furthermore, the vertical movement and rotation mechanism holds the shafts 5, 5 that have been moved to the upper rotation position at the upper ends of the support legs 2, 2, and rotates them (180 degrees) to invert the container support frame 10 upside down. By rotating the container support frame 10, the positions of the upper and lower clamping plates 11 and the upper and lower clamping plates 12 are swapped. For example, the upper and lower clamping plates 11 that were located on the lower side are now located in the upper position, and the upper and lower clamping plates 12 that were located on the upper side are now located in the lower position.

[0028] The vertical movement and rotation mechanism is electrically connected to the control device 200, receives a control signal (operation command signal) sent from the control device 200, and operates in accordance with the received control signal. Specifically, the vertical movement / rotation mechanism moves the container support frame 10, which is positioned at the lower end position of the support legs 2, 2 (for ease of explanation, referred to as the "home position") as shown in Figure 2(a), vertically upward, and raises it to the upper / rotated position at the upper ends of the support legs 2, 2 as shown in Figure 2(b). In addition, the vertical movement / rotation mechanism rotates the axis 5 of the container support frame 10, which is positioned at the upper rotation position shown in Figure 2(b), 180 degrees (see Figure 1), thereby inverting the container support frame 10 upside down, and moves the container support frame 10, which is positioned at the upper rotation position shown in Figure 2(b), vertically downward, lowering it to the home position shown in Figure 2(a).

[0029] The upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12 of the container support frame 10 arranged in the home position are arranged so that one side (the front side (camera 300 side)) of the support legs 2, 2 is the inspection position where the bottle Bn is photographed by the camera 300, and the other side (rear side) is the installation / removal position for installing the bottle Bn to be inspected on the container support frame 10 and removing the inspected bottle Bn (see Figure 1).

[0030] In this embodiment, the vertical movement and rotation mechanism is a well-known technique, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted. For example, the vertical movement and rotation mechanism is composed of an electric linear actuator that holds the shaft 5 of the container support frame 10 and moves it vertically, and a servo motor that rotates the held shaft 5.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 2, a surface-emitting LED lighting device (hereinafter simply referred to as "lighting device") 3 is fixed to a lower position of the support legs 2, 2 of the container moving and rotating device 1 by an installation member (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2(a), when the container support frame 10 holding the bottles B1, B1 slides downward, the lighting device 3 fixed to the support legs 2, 2 passes through the slits 11s, 12s of the upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12. Then, when the container support frame 10 is positioned at the home position, which is the position at the lower end of the support legs 2, 2, the lighting device 3 is positioned behind the bottle Bn (bottles B1, B1 in the example of Figure 2) which is held by the container support frame 10 and positioned at the inspection position on the front side, and the lighting device 3 emits light to irradiate the bottle Bn.

[0032] In addition, the lighting device 3 is electrically connected to the inspection device 100, and when it receives a control signal (light emission instruction signal) transmitted from the inspection device 100, it emits light and irradiates the light onto the bottle Bn held in the container support frame 10. The lighting device 3 may be, for example, a rectangular box-shaped main body with an opening on the front, an LED board having LED light sources provided on both the left and right sides of the main body, and a translucent panel covering the opening on the front. The panel is provided with a lens for surface-emitting light from the LED light source.

[0033] The camera 300 is positioned a predetermined distance from the front of the container moving and rotating device 1 so as to be able to photograph the bottle Bn held by the container support frame 10, which is positioned in the home position at the lower end side of the support leg 2 of the container moving and rotating device 1, from the front side. The camera 300 is rotated at an upper rotation position on the upper ends of the support legs 2, 2 by the vertical movement / rotation mechanism, and is adapted to photograph the bottle Bn held in the container support frame 10 which has been lowered from the upper ends of the support legs 2 to a home position on the lower ends by the vertical movement / rotation mechanism.

[0034] Furthermore, the camera 300 is electrically connected to the inspection device 100, and transmits and receives various types of information to and from the inspection device 100. The camera 300 captures a video of the bottle Bn held by the container support frame 10 in response to a control signal (image capture instruction signal) from the inspection device 100, and transmits the captured video of the bottle Bn to the inspection device 100. The camera 300 uses a known technology and will not be described in detail, but may be, for example, a CCD camera.

[0035] In addition, the control device 200 controls the operation of the container moving and rotating device 1. Specifically, when the container support frame 10 of the container moving and rotation device 1 holding the bottle Bn is positioned at the home position and the bottle Bn is placed in an upright state at the installation and removal position of the container support frame 10, the control device 200 sends a control signal (operation command signal) to the vertical movement and rotation mechanism of the container moving and rotation device 1 to instruct vertical movement and rotation operations, thereby operating the vertical movement and rotation mechanism to move the container support frame 10 from the home position to the upper and rotated position along the support legs 2, rotate the shaft portion 5 of the container support frame 10 180 degrees at the upper and rotated position to invert the container support frame 10 upside down and put the bottle Bn in an inverted state, and move the container support frame 10 from the upper and rotated position to the home position along the support legs 2. With this operation, the bottle Bn, which is held in the container support frame 10 in an upright state at the installation / removal position, moves vertically and upward to the upper / rotation position, where it is turned upside down and inverted, thereby stirring the liquid inside, and then moves vertically and downward to be placed in an inverted state at the inspection position.

[0036] The control device 200 is configured, for example, by a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller).

[0037] In addition, the inspection device 100 controls the operation of the camera 300 and the lighting device 3, and acquires video of the bottle Bn captured by the camera 300, and uses the acquired video to determine whether or not a foreign object has been mixed into the liquid poured into the captured bottle Bn.

[0038] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the inspection device 100 includes a display unit 110 consisting of an LCD display, an organic EL display, or the like, an operation unit 120 consisting of a keyboard, a mouse, or the like, a control unit 130 that controls the operation of the camera 300, and a foreign object detection unit 140 that uses a video of the bottle Bn captured by the camera 300 to determine whether or not a foreign object has been mixed into the liquid being poured into the bottle Bn.

[0039] The display unit 110 displays a video of the bottle Bn acquired by the foreign object detection unit 140 from the camera 300, displays a video that has been subjected to image processing on the acquired video, and displays information indicating the result of the judgment made by the foreign object detection unit 140. The operation unit 120 receives various commands from an operator, such as a command to start inspection by the foreign matter inspection system. The control unit 130 controls the operations of the "camera 300" and the "lighting device 3".

[0040] Furthermore, the control unit 130 transmits a control signal (light emission instruction signal) to the lighting device 3 installed on the support legs 2, 2 of the container moving and rotating device 1, causing the lighting device 3 to emit light. Specifically, when the vertical movement / rotation mechanism of the container moving / rotating device 1 operates and the two bottles Bn (inverted bottles Bn) held by the container support frame 10 inverted at the upper rotation position are lowered to be placed at the home position, the control unit 130 transmits a control signal (light emission instruction signal) to the lighting device 3 to cause the lighting device 3 to emit light. As a result, the two inverted bottles Bn are irradiated with light from the lighting device 3 from behind. In addition, when the container support frame 10 is lowered and placed at the home position, the vertical movement / rotation mechanism of the container moving and rotating device 1 sends a signal to the control unit 130 of the inspection device 100 indicating that it has been placed at the home position.

[0041] Furthermore, after causing the illumination device 3 to emit light, the control unit 130 then transmits a control signal (shooting instruction signal) to the camera 300, causing the camera 300 to shoot a moving image. The camera 300 is positioned so as to capture the two bottles Bn (inverted bottles Bn) that have inverted at the upper / rotated position and descended vertically downward, and the camera 300 captures a video of the two bottles Bn (inverted bottles Bn) illuminated with the light of the LED lighting device 3. Moreover, the camera 300 transmits a video of the captured bottle Bn to the inspection device 100.

[0042] The foreign matter detection unit 140 receives the video of the bottle Bn transmitted by the camera 300, and uses the received video to determine whether or not a foreign matter has been mixed into the liquid in the bottle Bn. Furthermore, the foreign matter detection unit 140 generates information indicating the determination result (determination result information indicating whether or not a foreign matter has been detected for each of the two bottles Bn) and displays the determination result information on the display unit 110.

[0043] The hardware configuration of the inspection device 100 is not particularly limited, but for example, the inspection device 100 can be configured by an information processing device (computer) equipped with a CPU, memory (main storage device, auxiliary storage device), a communication interface, an I / O interface, etc. In this case, the auxiliary storage device stores a program (computer program) for realizing the functions of the control unit 130 and the foreign object detection unit 140. The functions of the control unit 130 and the foreign object detection unit 140 are realized by the CPU loading the program stored in the auxiliary storage device into the main storage device and executing it.

[0044] {Operation of the foreign body inspection system to detect foreign bodies in liquids in bottles} Next, the operation of the foreign substance inspection process of the foreign substance inspection system of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, Figure 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the foreign matter inspection system of this embodiment when performing a first inspection for foreign matter mixed into the liquid inside the bottle, and Figure 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the foreign matter inspection system of this embodiment when performing a second inspection for foreign matter mixed into the liquid inside the bottle.

[0045] First, the process of the first foreign matter inspection of bottle B performed by the foreign matter inspection system of this embodiment will be described. When an operator operates the operation unit 120 of the inspection device 100 to input a command to start foreign body inspection, the container support frame 10 of the container moving and rotating device 1 is placed at the home position and enters a waiting state for the installation of bottle B1, which is to be the subject of the first foreign body inspection.

[0046] 4(a), an operator (or an industrial robot, etc.) clamps two bottles B1 in an upright position between first regions 11a, 12a of upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12 at the installation / removal position on the rear side of the container support frame 10 of the container moving and rotating device 1, and fixes the two bottles B1 by the container support frame 10. In addition, the vertical movement / rotation mechanism of the container moving and rotating device 1 transmits a bottle installation completion signal to the control device 200. The industrial robot that places the bottle B1 on the container support frame 10 of the container moving and rotating device 1 is a well-known robot having a robot arm, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0047] When the control device 200 receives the bottle placement completion signal, it transmits a control signal (operation command signal) to the vertical movement / rotation mechanism of the container moving and rotating device 1 to instruct the vertical movement operation and rotation operation. When the vertical movement / rotation mechanism of the container moving / rotating device 1 receives the above-mentioned control signal (operation command signal), it moves the container support frame 10 from the home position along the support legs 2 to the upper / rotated position, and at the upper / rotated position, rotates the shaft portion 5 of the container support frame 10 180 degrees to invert the container support frame 10 upside down and put the bottle B1 in an inverted position, and moves the container support frame 10 from the upper / rotated position to the home position along the support legs 2.

[0048] Specifically, when the vertical movement / rotation mechanism of the container moving / rotating device 1 receives the above-mentioned control signal (operation command signal), it first initiates a vertical upward lifting operation, and moves the container support frame 10 vertically upward from the home position to the upper rotation position, as shown in Figure 4(a) → Figure 4(b) → Figure 4(c). As a result, the bottle B1 (two bottles B1) to be inspected, which is held in an upright position in the first areas 11a, 12a of the upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12 of the container support frame 10, rises vertically and upward from the home position to the upper and rotated position while being held in an upright position and positioned on the installation and removal side (rear side).

[0049] In addition, the vertical movement / rotation mechanism of the container moving / rotating device 1 moves the container support frame 10 vertically upward to the upper rotation position, and then, as shown in Figure 4(c) → Figure 4(d) → Figure 4(e) → Figure 4(f), at the upper rotation position, rotates the shaft portion 5 of the container support frame 10 by 180 degrees to invert the container support frame 10 upside down. As a result, the bottles B1 (two bottles B1) to be inspected, which were held upright in the first regions 11a, 12a of the upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12 of the container support frame 10, are rotated 180 degrees together with the container support frame 10, turned upside down, and their front and rear positions based on the support legs 2 are swapped, so that they are now inverted and positioned on the photographing side (front side). Note that the rotation of the bottles B1 together with the container support frame 10 stirs the liquid inside the bottles B1.

[0050] In addition, when the vertical movement / rotation mechanism of the container moving / rotating device 1 rotates the shaft portion 5 of the container support frame 10 by 180 degrees, it begins a downward descending motion, and moves the container support frame 10 vertically downward from the upper rotating position to the home position, as shown in Figure 4(f) → Figure 4(g) → Figure 4(h). As a result, the two bottles B1 supported by the container support frame 10 are lowered from the upper rotation position to the inspection position in an upside-down state with the top and bottom turned upside down. In addition, when the container support frame 10 is lowered and placed at the home position, the vertical movement / rotation mechanism of the container moving and rotating device 1 sends a signal to the control unit 130 of the inspection device 100 indicating that it has been placed at the home position.

[0051] In this manner, in this embodiment, the bottle B1 held in an upright state at the installation / removal position is raised vertically upward and moved to the upper / rotation position, where the bottle B1 is inverted from the upright state to an inverted state, and then the inverted bottle B1 is lowered vertically and moved to the inspection position.

[0052] In addition, when the control unit 130 of the inspection device 100 receives a signal indicating that the container has been placed at the home position sent from the vertical movement / rotation mechanism of the container moving and rotating device 1, it sends a control signal (light emission instruction signal) to the lighting device 3, causing the lighting device 3 to emit light. As a result, when the bottles B1 (two bottles B1) supported in an inverted state by the container support frame 10 descending from the upper rotating position are placed in front of the lighting device 3, the light from the lighting device 3 is irradiated from behind the two bottles B1.

[0053] Furthermore, when the control unit 130 causes the illumination device 3 to emit light, it transmits a control signal (shooting instruction signal) to the camera 300, causing the camera 300 to shoot a moving image (FIG. 4(h)). The camera 300 then captures a video of bottle B1 (two bottles B1) supported in an inverted position on the container support frame 10 and illuminated with light from the lighting device 3, and transmits the captured video of bottle B1 to the foreign object detection section 140 of the inspection device 100.

[0054] Furthermore, the foreign matter detection unit 140 of the inspection device 100 acquires a video of the bottle B1 captured by the camera 300, and uses the video to determine whether or not a foreign matter has been mixed into the liquid in the bottle B1. Specifically, the foreign object detection unit 140 judges whether or not there is something in each bottle B1 that moves differently from an air bubble, such as floating in the liquid or falling downward, in a video of two inverted bottles B1 that have been photographed. When the foreign object detection unit 140 detects something that moves differently from an air bubble in the liquid for each bottle B1, it judges that a foreign object has been mixed in the liquid in the bottle B1, and when it does not detect anything that moves differently from an air bubble, it judges that no foreign object has been mixed in the liquid in the bottle B1.

[0055] In addition, the foreign object detection unit 140 generates judgment result information for each of the two bottles B1 indicating the judgment result as to whether or not a foreign object is mixed into the liquid inside, and transmits the generated judgment result information to the display unit 110, causing the display unit 110 to display the judgment result information.

[0056] In this way, the foreign matter inspection system of this embodiment is configured to perform a stirring operation to stir the liquid inside the bottle B1 while the bottle B1, which is placed at the installation / removal position of the container moving and rotating device 1, is moving to the inspection position of the container moving and rotating device 1. That is, the foreign matter inspection system of this embodiment performs the movement of the bottle B1 from the installation / removal position to the inspection position and the stirring operation as a series of operations, and therefore can shorten the inspection cycle time compared to the conventional technology.

[0057] In addition, the foreign matter inspection system of this embodiment rotates the bottle B1 from an upright position to an inverted position, and then moves it vertically downward, thereby effectively stirring the liquid inside the bottle B1, and if a foreign matter is mixed in the liquid, it can drop the foreign matter toward the top of the inverted bottle B1. At this time, air (air bubbles) in the liquid will rise toward the bottom of the inverted bottle B1.

[0058] Also, when the foreign body inspection of bottle B1 is completed, the worker (or industrial robot) places two bottles B2, which will be the next objects to be inspected, on the rear side (the installation and removal side) of the container support frame 10 of the container moving and rotating device 1, as shown in Figure 4(h).

[0059] Specifically, as in Fig. 4(a), an operator (or an industrial robot, etc.) clamps two bottles B2 in an upright position between the second regions 11b, 12b of the upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12 at the installation / removal position on the rear side of the container support frame 10 of the container moving and rotating device 1, and fixes the two bottles B2 to the container support frame 10. At this time, a bottle installation completion signal is transmitted from the container moving and rotating device 1 to the control device 200. The control device 200 also receives the bottle installation completion signal.

[0060] When the control device 200 receives the bottle placement completion signal, it transmits a control signal (operation command signal) to the vertical movement / rotation mechanism of the container moving and rotating device 1 to instruct the vertical movement operation and rotation operation, as in the first inspection. When the vertical movement / rotation mechanism of the container moving / rotating device 1 receives the above-mentioned control signal (operation command signal), it moves the container support frame 10 from the home position along the support legs 2 to the upper / rotated position, and at the upper / rotated position, rotates the shaft portion 5 of the container support frame 10 by 180 degrees to invert the container support frame 10 upside down and place the bottle Bn in an inverted position, and moves the container support frame 10 from the upper / rotated position to the home position along the support legs 2.

[0061] Specifically, when the vertical movement / rotation mechanism of the container moving / rotating device 1 receives the above-mentioned control signal (operation command signal), it starts a vertical upward movement, and moves the container support frame 10 vertically from the home position to the upper rotation position as shown in "Fig. 5(a) → Fig. 5(b) → Fig. 5(c)". In Fig. 5, the bottle B1 is an inspected bottle. As a result, the inspected bottle B1 (two bottles B1), which is clamped and held in the first areas 11a, 12a of the upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12 of the container support frame 10, is raised vertically upward from the home position to an upper rotated position while being in an inverted state and positioned on the shooting side (front side). In addition, the bottle B2 (two bottles B2) to be inspected, which is clamped and held in the second areas 11b, 12b of the upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12 of the container support frame 10, is raised vertically and upward from the home position to the upper rotation position while being upright and positioned on the installation and removal side (rear side).

[0062] In addition, the vertical movement / rotation mechanism of the container moving / rotating device 1 moves the container support frame 10 vertically upward to the upper rotation position, and then, as shown in Figure 5(c) → Figure 5(d) → Figure 5(e) → Figure 5(f), at the upper rotation position, rotates the shaft portion 5 of the container support frame 10 180 degrees to invert the container support frame 10 upside down.

[0063] As a result, the inspected bottles B1 (two bottles B1), which were held in an inverted position in the first areas 11a, 12a of the upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12 of the container support frame 10, are flipped upside down and their front and back positions relative to the support legs 2 are swapped, so that they are now in an upright position and positioned on the installation and removal side (rear side). In addition, the bottle B2 (two bottles B2) to be inspected, which was held in an upright position in the second areas 11b, 12b of the upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12 of the container support frame 10, is inverted upside down and its front and back positions relative to the support leg 2 are swapped, so that it is now in an inverted position and positioned on the shooting side (front side). In other words, as the vertical movement / rotation mechanism rotates, the inspected bottle B1 moves from the front side (photographing side) to the rear side (installation / removal side) of the container moving / rotation device 1 and is flipped upside down from an inverted state to an upright state, and the bottle B2 to be inspected moves from the rear side (installation / removal side) to the front side (photographing side) of the container moving / rotation device 1 and is flipped upside down from an upright state to an inverted state.

[0064] In addition, when the vertical movement / rotation mechanism of the container moving / rotating device 1 rotates the shaft portion 5 of the container support frame 10 180 degrees, it begins a vertical downward descending motion, and moves the container support frame 10 vertically from the upper rotating position to the home position, as shown in Figure 5(f) → Figure 5(g) → Figure 5(h).

[0065] As a result, the inspected bottle B1 (two bottles B1) clamped and held in the first regions 11a, 12a of the upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12 of the container support frame 10 is moved vertically downward while being upright and positioned on the installation / removal side (rear side) and positioned at the installation / removal position. In addition, the bottle B2 (two bottles B2) to be inspected, which is clamped and held by the second areas 11b, 12b of the upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12 of the container support frame 10, is moved vertically downward while being in an inverted state and positioned on the shooting side (front side) to be positioned at the inspection position.

[0066] As described above, when the container support frame 10 descends and is placed at the home position, the vertical movement / rotation mechanism of the container moving and rotating device 1 transmits a signal to the control unit 130 of the inspection device 100 indicating that it has been placed at the home position. Then, when the control unit 130 of the inspection device 100 receives the signal indicating that it has been placed at the home position, it transmits a control signal (light emission instruction signal) to the lighting device 3, causing the lighting device 3 to emit light. As a result, the bottles B2 (two bottles B2) supported in an inverted state by the container support frame 10 descending from the upper rotating position are placed in front of the LED lighting device 3, and the two bottles B2 are irradiated with light from the lighting device 3 from behind.

[0067] Furthermore, when the control unit 130 causes the illumination device 3 to emit light, it transmits a control signal (shooting instruction signal) to the camera 300, causing the camera 300 to shoot a moving image (FIG. 5(h)). The camera 300 captures video of bottles B2 (two bottles B2) supported in an inverted position on the container support frame 10 and illuminated with light from the lighting device 3, and transmits the captured video of bottles B2 to the foreign object detection section 140 of the inspection device 100.

[0068] In addition, similar to the inspection of bottle B1 described above, the foreign object detection unit 140 of the inspection device 100 acquires a video of bottle B2 captured by the camera 300, and uses the video to determine whether or not a foreign object has been mixed into the liquid in bottle B2. In addition, the foreign object detection unit 140 generates judgment result information for each of the two bottles B2 indicating the judgment result as to whether or not a foreign object is mixed into the liquid inside, and transmits the generated judgment result information to the display unit 110, causing the display unit 110 to display the judgment result information.

[0069] Also, when the foreign body inspection of bottle B2 is completed, the worker (or industrial robot) removes the inspected bottle B1, which has been placed at the installation / removal position on the rear side of the container support frame 10 of the container moving and rotating device 1, from the container support frame 10, as shown in Figure 5 (h), and places the two bottles B3 to be inspected next at the installation / removal position on the rear side of the container support frame 10.

[0070] Specifically, an operator (or an industrial robot, etc.) removes the inspected bottle B1 from the installation / removal position on the rear side of the container support frame 10 of the container moving and rotating device 1, and then clamps two bottles B3 in an upright position between the second areas 11b, 12b of the upper and lower clamping plates 11, 12 at the installation / removal position on the rear side of the container support frame 10 of the container moving and rotating device 1, and fixes the two bottles B3 by the container support frame 10. In addition, the inspection process of the bottle B3 to be inspected, which is performed after placing the bottle B3 on the container support frame 10 of the container moving and rotation device 1, and the process for removing the inspected bottle B2 are the same as those for the bottle B2 and bottle B1 shown in Figure 5.

[0071] In this way, the foreign object inspection system of the present embodiment raises the container support frame 10 holding the inspected bottle B1 and the bottle B2 for the next inspection in the vertical and upward directions and moves it to the upper rotation position, inverts the container support frame 10 at the upper rotation position, and lowers it in the vertical and downward directions to move it to the position of the home position. According to this configuration, according to the present embodiment, the movement of the inspected bottle B1 from the inspection position to the installation / removal position and the movement of the bottle B2 for the next inspection from the installation / removal position to the inspection position are performed simultaneously. Therefore, according to the foreign object inspection system of the present embodiment, the inspection cycle time can be shortened, and efficient inspection can be performed. In addition, since the inspected bottle B1 is in an upright state when it is arranged at the installation / removal position, the removal work from the container support frame 10 can be easily performed.

[0072] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist thereof.

[0073] For example, a function may be provided in the control unit 130 of the inspection device 100 of the above-described embodiment to control the intensity of the light irradiated by the lighting device 3 so that the intensity of the irradiated light can be varied during the inspection in which the camera 300 is taking a video of the bottle Bn. In this case, the control unit 130 sets (stores in the memory of the inspection device 100) the foreign object passage estimation time estimated that a foreign object passes through each part (location) of the bottle Bn in the inverted state. As this foreign object passage estimation time, for example, the time period exceeding t1 hours after the bottle Bn is arranged at the inspection position of the home position in the inverted state is set as the time period during which a foreign object passes through the body of the bottle Bn, and the time period of t1 to t2 (t1 < t2) after the bottle Bn is arranged at the inspection position of the home position in the inverted state is set as the time period during which a foreign object passes through the "shoulder, neck" of the bottle Bn. Then, the control unit 130 refers to the stored estimated foreign object passing time and controls the lighting device 3 to emit weak light of the first intensity during the period from when the bottle Bn is placed in the inverted state at the inspection position in the home position until t1 hours have elapsed. In addition, the control unit 130 refers to the stored estimated foreign object passing time and controls the lighting device 3 to irradiate strong light of a second intensity greater than the first intensity during the time period from t1 to t2 after the bottle Bn is placed in an inverted state at the inspection position in the home position.

[0074] According to the above configuration, weak light of the first intensity can be emitted during the time period when it is estimated that a foreign object is passing through the body of the bottle Bn. As a result, it is possible to prevent halation caused by the light from the lighting device 3 when a foreign object is passing through the body, and it is possible to increase the likelihood that the camera 300 will be able to capture video of a quality sufficient to detect the foreign object. Furthermore, according to the above configuration, during the time period when it is estimated that a foreign object is passing through the shoulder or neck of the bottle Bn, light of a second intensity stronger than the first intensity can be irradiated, and as a result, when a foreign object is passing through the shoulder or neck, strong light that penetrates the shoulder or neck can be irradiated, thereby increasing the possibility that a video of a quality sufficient for the camera 300 to detect the foreign object can be captured. In other words, according to the above configuration, the accuracy of inspection for foreign objects in the liquid inside the bottle Bn can be improved.

[0075] The lighting device 3 may be configured to irradiate different intensities of light for each lighting area. For example, the lighting device 3 may be configured to irradiate an upper lighting area with weak light of a first intensity and a lower lighting area with strong light of a second intensity that is stronger than the first intensity. With this configuration, weak light can be irradiated onto the body of the inverted bottle Bn, and strong light can be irradiated onto the shoulder or neck of the inverted bottle Bn. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] Bn…Bottle W…Foreign object inspection system 1...Container moving and rotating device 2…Support leg 3...LED lighting device 5…Shaft 10...Container support frame 11, 12...Upper and lower clamping plates 11a, 12a...first area 11b, 12b…Second area 11s, 12s...slit 13...Side plate (first side plate) 14...Side plate (second side plate) 100...Inspection equipment 110...Display section 120...Operation unit 130...Control unit 140…Foreign object detection unit 200...Control device 300…Camera

Claims

1. A foreign body inspection system for inspecting the presence or absence of foreign bodies inside a container into which a liquid has been poured, comprising: a container moving and rotating device that places the container at a predetermined placement / removal position, and moves and rotates the placed container while holding the placed container to place the container at a predetermined inspection position; a camera that captures a video of the container placed at the inspection position by the container moving and rotating device; an inspection device that controls the operation of the camera, acquires a video of the container captured by the camera, and inspects the liquid in the container for the presence or absence of foreign matter using the acquired video; The container moving and rotating device is configured to place the container in an upright position at the specified installation / removal position, raise the container in the upright position vertically upward and move it to an upper / rotated position, rotate the container at the upper / rotated position so that the container changes from the upright state to an inverted state, and further lower the inverted container vertically to move it to the inspection position.

2. The container moving and rotating device is A container support frame for holding the container; A pair of support legs that support the container support frame so as to be slidable in the vertical direction; a vertical movement / rotation mechanism for moving the container support frame vertically / up and down along the pair of support legs and rotating the container support frame 180 degrees at the upper rotation position, the vertical movement / rotation mechanism is configured to vertically reciprocate the container support frame between a home position, which is a position on the lower end side of the support legs, and the upper / rotation position, the container support frame is configured so that the containers can be placed in a front side area across the support legs and a rear side area across the support legs, and when the container support frame is placed in the home position, the front side across the support legs is the inspection position, and the rear side across the support legs is the predetermined installation / removal position for placing the container to be inspected on the container support frame and removing the inspected container, 2. The foreign body inspection system according to claim 1, wherein when the container support frame rotates at the upper rotation position, the container support frame is inverted upside down and its front and rear positions relative to the support legs are swapped.

3. The vertical movement and rotation mechanism is provided on the pair of support legs, the container support frame is formed in a generally frame-like shape and includes a pair of upper and lower clamping plates for clamping and holding both upper and lower ends of the container, a first side plate provided at one end of the upper and lower clamping plates, and a second side plate provided at the other end of the upper and lower clamping plates; 3. The foreign body inspection system according to claim 2, characterized in that a shaft portion is fixed to approximately the center of the outer side of the first side plate and the second side plate, and the shaft portion is supported by the vertical movement / rotation mechanism provided on the pair of support legs so that the shaft portion can slide freely in the vertical direction and can rotate.

4. The pair of upper and lower clamping plates are formed in a rectangular shape in a plan view, and each has a long hole-shaped slit provided in the center thereof, A lighting device is fixed to a lower position of the pair of support legs, When the container support frame holding the container is lowered from the upper rotation position to the home position, the lighting device fixed to the support leg is inserted through a slit of the upper and lower clamping plates, When the container support frame is placed at the home position, the lighting device is placed behind the container held by the container support frame and placed at the inspection position, and the lighting device emits light to irradiate the container with light, The foreign body inspection system according to claim 2, characterized in that the inspection device stores a foreign body passing estimation time that is estimated to be when a foreign body passes through each part of the inverted container placed at the inspection position, and controls the lighting device to vary the intensity of light emitted by the lighting device using the foreign body passing estimation time during inspection while the camera is taking video of the container.

5. The pair of upper and lower clamping plates are formed in a rectangular shape in a plan view, and each has a long hole-shaped slit provided in the center thereof, A lighting device is fixed to a lower position of the pair of support legs, When the container support frame holding the container is lowered from the upper rotation position to the home position, the lighting device fixed to the support leg is inserted through a slit of the upper and lower clamping plates, When the container support frame is placed at the home position, the lighting device is placed behind the container held by the container support frame and placed at the inspection position, and the lighting device emits light to irradiate the container with light, 3. The foreign body inspection system according to claim 2, wherein the illumination device is adapted to irradiate light with different intensities for each illumination area.

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