Appearance inspection device

Abstract

To provide an appearance inspection device capable of semi-automatically performing a high-level appearance inspection of a product, a semi-finished product, and a work-in-process product.SOLUTION: An appearance inspection of products is performed in parallel by a first imaging line A and a second imaging line B. In the first imaging line A, products are imaged from one side, and in the second imaging line B, products are imaged from the other side. Captured images are stored in storage means, the appearance of products is determined on the basis of the images stored in the storage means, and the products are sorted into acceptable products and unacceptable products. The Determination of acceptable products and unacceptable products is performed by AI.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for inspecting the appearance of elements that constitute a motor, such as a stator core. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, automation of the inspection process has become widespread when visually inspecting the components of products, but visual inspection continues to be carried out in some fields (see Non-Patent Document 1 below). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] Manufacturing Process: Until the Product is Made (10) Visual Inspection Internet [Searched on May 9, 2024]<https: / / www.miyaki-denki.com / manufacturing-process / >

[0004] As shown in the above-mentioned Non-Patent Document 1, in the manufacturing process of a motor, the appearance of the motor is visually inspected to check for abnormalities such as scratches or dirt on the appearance, and for problems with the molding dimensions. Non-Patent Document 1 shows a visual inspection process for a stator with a winding wound thereon via an insulator, but this type of inspection can be performed in any process, such as on the stator core alone. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] As such, when visually inspecting the appearance of work-in-progress products during the manufacturing process, it is naturally difficult to standardize the quality of the inspection because it depends on the ability of the inspector. Furthermore, even for experienced inspectors, visual inspection takes a certain amount of time, and the number of inspectors required to inspect a large number of products must increase.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention aims to disclose an appearance inspection device that can automatically perform appearance inspections of finished products such as motor stator cores, semi-finished products, and work-in-progress products, thereby shortening inspection time, reducing the number of inspectors required, and standardizing inspection quality. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The invention described in claim 1 is an appearance inspection device characterized by comprising a first photographing table on which an object to be inspected for appearance is set, a first photographing line having a first photographing room in which the object to be inspected for appearance set on the first photographing table is photographed from one side, a second photographing table on which the object to be inspected for appearance is set in an inverted upside-down position after being photographed on the first photographing line, and a second photographing line having a second photographing room in which the object to be inspected for appearance set on the second photographing table is photographed from the other side, and the presence or absence of scratches or dirt on the appearance of the object to be inspected for appearance is confirmed from the images of the object to be inspected photographed on the first photographing line and the second photographing line.

[0008] The invention described in claim 2 is an appearance inspection device described in claim 1, characterized in that it stores images of the object to be inspected and uses artificial intelligence to check whether or not there are any scratches or stains on the appearance of the object to be inspected from the images.

[0009] The invention described in claim 3 is an appearance inspection device described in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it is configured with a robot arm that clamps an object to be inspected and moves it by inverting its up-down position from the first imaging table on the first imaging line to the second imaging table on the second imaging line.

[0010] The invention described in claim 4 is an appearance inspection device described in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it is configured with a pass conveyor on which appearance inspection objects that have been judged to be pass products after checking for the presence or absence of scratches or dirt on their appearance are placed and moved, and a fail conveyor on which appearance inspection objects that have been judged to be fail products are placed and moved, and a robot arm that clamps the appearance inspection objects after the judgment and moves them from the second photographing table of the second photographing line to the pass conveyor or the fail conveyor.

[0011] The invention described in claim 5 is an appearance inspection device described in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it is configured with a conveyor or slider that moves the first imaging table between a start position and an initial position via the first imaging chamber.

[0012] The invention of claim 6 is the appearance inspection device of claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it is configured with a conveyor or slider that moves the second imaging table back and forth between the initial position and the second imaging chamber. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the invention of claim 1, the visual inspection of products can be semi-automated, which reduces the number of inspectors and shortens the inspection time.

[0014] According to the invention of claim 2, the appearance inspection of the product is confirmed by artificial intelligence, so that the quality of the inspection can be made uniform at a high level.

[0015] According to the invention described in claim 3, it is possible to automate the movement of the object to be inspected from the first imaging table on the first imaging line to the second imaging table on the second imaging line, and it is also possible to easily and reliably invert the vertical position of the object to be inspected during the movement.

[0016] According to the invention described in claim 4, after the visual inspection is completed, the visual inspection object can be automatically sorted into a pass conveyor or a fail conveyor, and the sorted visual inspection object can be transported to the outside by one of these conveyors.

[0017] According to the invention of claim 5, the photographing of the object to be visually inspected in the first photographing room can be carried out efficiently and continuously.

[0018] According to the invention of claim 6, the photographing of the object to be visually inspected in the second photographing room can be carried out efficiently and continuously. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a visual inspection device according to the present invention; [Figure 2] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for inspecting the appearance of an Nth object to be inspected. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for inspecting the appearance of an (N+1)th object to be inspected. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 3. As shown in Figure 1, the appearance inspection device of the present invention is generally composed of a first photographing line A, a second photographing line B, a pass conveyor C, and a fail conveyor D.

[0021] The first photographing line A is equipped with a first photographing table 1 on which the product to be inspected visually (which may be a semi-finished product or a work in progress; in this embodiment, a stator core, which is a component of a motor, is used as an example) is set, and a first photographing room 2 in which the stator core set on the first photographing table 1 is photographed.

[0022] The first imaging room 2 has openable and closable doors (shutters) at the entrance and exit. Multiple cameras are installed in the first imaging room 2 to photograph the exterior of the stator core, and the photographed images are stored in a storage device such as a hard disk (HD) of a PC (personal computer) (not shown).

[0023] In addition, the first photographing line A has a position (starting position) where the stator core is set on the first photographing table 1 and a position (initial position) to which the stator core is moved after its appearance has been photographed in the first photographing room 2.

[0024] The stator core set on the first radiography table 1 is moved from the starting position to the first radiography chamber 2, and from the first radiography chamber 2 to the initial position by a conveyor or slider. If a conveyor is used, the movement is automatic, and if a slider is used, it can be moved with little manual effort.

[0025] The second photography line B is equipped with a second photography stand 3 on which the stator core is set after being photographed on the first photography line A, and a second photography room 4 in which the stator core set on the second photography stand 3 is photographed. The second photography room 4 is equipped with openable and closable doors (shutters) at the entrance and exit. Multiple cameras are installed inside the second photography room 4 to photograph the exterior of the stator core, and the photographed images are stored in a storage device such as a hard disk (HD) of a PC (personal computer).

[0026] The second imaging line B is provided with a position (initial position) where the stator core is set on the second imaging table 3. The stator core set on the second imaging table 3 is moved between the initial position and the second imaging chamber 4 by a conveyor or slider. In the case of a conveyor, the movement is automatic, while in the case of a slider, the movement is made possible by manual effort with little force.

[0027] The images taken by the first imaging line A and the second imaging line B and stored in the aforementioned storage means are checked by AI for the presence or absence of scratches or dirt, and the products are distinguished as pass or fail. For example, by taking images of multiple stator core samples in advance and having the AI ​​learn about the presence and absence of scratches or dirt, it is possible to set criteria for distinguishing pass or fail products.

[0028] The pass conveyor C and the reject conveyor D are conveyors on which the passed and rejected stator cores that have undergone visual inspection are placed and automatically carried away.

[0029] Next, the operation of the above-mentioned appearance inspection device will be described. First, an inspector turns on the power of the appearance inspection device shown in Fig. 1, and activates the first photographing line A and the second photographing line B (step S1 in Fig. 2).

[0030] Next, the first imaging stage 1 is moved to the start position of the first imaging line A (step S2). Then, the first (Nth) stator core is set on the first imaging stage 1 (step S3).

[0031] In this state, when the start button 5 (see Figure 1) for the first imaging line A is pressed (step S4), the stator core on the first imaging table 1 moves into the first imaging room 2 (step S5), and the entrance door to the first imaging room 2, which is in the open state, is closed (step S6).

[0032] Once the entrance door is closed, a camera in the first imaging room 2 captures an image of the exterior of the first (Nth) stator core from the top to the side (hereinafter referred to as one side) (step S7), and the captured image is saved in storage means (a PC's hard disk) as information about one side of the first (Nth) stator core. Once imaging is complete, the exit door of the first imaging room 2 is opened (step S8), and the first (Nth) stator core is moved to its initial position on the first imaging line A (step S9).

[0033] The first (Nth) stator core that has been moved to its initial position is clamped by a robot arm or the like, turned upside down, and then moved to its initial position on the second photographing line B (step S10). At the same time, the first photographing stand 1 on the first photographing line A moves to its start position (S11). This completes the initial flow. The first (Nth) stator core waits in the state of steps S10 and S11.

[0034] Next, the flow from the second time onwards will be described. In the second flow, the second (N+1)th stator core is set on the first imaging stage 1 located at the start position of the first imaging line A (step S21 in FIG. 3).

[0035] In this state, when the start button 5 (see FIG. 1) for the first imaging line A is pressed (step S22), the second (N+1) stator core moves into the first imaging chamber 2 for the first imaging line A (step S23).

[0036] When the second (N+1) stator core enters the first imaging chamber 2 of the first imaging line A, the entrance door of the first imaging chamber 2 is closed (step S24). At the same time, the first (N) stator core, which has been set on the second imaging table 3 of the second imaging line B and is waiting in its initial position, moves into the second imaging chamber 4 (step S25), and the entrance door of the second imaging chamber 4, which is in an open state, is closed (step S26).

[0037] In the first imaging room 2, one side of the second (N+1) stator core is photographed (step S27), and in the second imaging room 4, the upper side (hereinafter referred to as the other side) of the first (N) stator core after it has been turned upside down is photographed, and the images are saved in storage means (PC hard disk) (step S28). Now that photography of one side (upper side) and the other side (lower side) of the first (N) stator core has been completed, the images are checked using AI from the image data saved in the storage means, and the appearance of the first (N) stator core is inspected for scratches or stains. If there are no scratches or stains, the product is judged to be acceptable, and if there are scratches or stains, the product is judged to be unacceptable (step S29).

[0038] The image after the determination is stored in a storage means such as an external HD as the appearance image data of the first (Nth) stator core (step S30). The image stored in the storage means such as an external HD on the PC may or may not be deleted.

[0039] Thereafter, the exit door of the first imaging room is opened (step S31), and the second (N+1) stator core is moved to the initial position of the first imaging line A (step S32). Also, the exit door of the second imaging room is opened (step S33), and the first (N) stator core is moved to the initial position of the second imaging line A (step S34).

[0040] The second (N+1) stator core that has been moved to the initial position on the first photographing line A is then turned upside down by a robot arm or the like, and moved to the initial position on the second photographing line B (step S35) and waits there. The first photographing stand 1 on the first photographing line A moves to the start position (step S36) and waits there.

[0041] The first (Nth) stator core that has been moved to the initial position of the second photographing line B is moved to a pass conveyor or a fail conveyor (step S37) by a robot arm or the like based on the judgment result by the AI ​​described above (step S29), and carried out. This completes the visual inspection of the first (Nth) stator core.

[0042] From then on, by going through step S37, one side (upper side) of the second, third, fourth, etc. stator core is photographed using the first photographing line A, and the other side (lower side) of the stator core is photographed using the second photographing line B, and the appearance inspection of the stator core is repeatedly performed by checking for scratches and dirt using AI based on the images from both sides.

[0043] As explained above, the visual inspection device of the present invention allows visual inspection of products (finished products, semi-finished products, work-in-progress products) to be carried out simultaneously in parallel using the first photographing line A and the second photographing line B. In addition, since the majority of the visual inspection of products can be automated, it is possible to reduce the number of inspectors required and shorten the inspection time. Furthermore, unlike visual inspection methods performed by inspectors, it is possible to achieve a high level of uniformity in the quality of the inspection without relying on the inspector's level of skill. [Industrial Applicability]

[0044] The present invention is applicable to the visual inspection of various products, semi-finished products, and work-in-progress products. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 1. First camera stand 2. First Photography Studio 3 Second camera stand 4. Second Photography Studio 5 Start button A 1st imaging line B 2nd imaging line C Pass conveyor D Reject conveyor

Claims

1. An appearance inspection device comprising: a first photographing table on which an object to be inspected for appearance is set; a first photographing line having a first photographing chamber for photographing the object to be inspected for appearance set on the first photographing table from one side; a second photographing line on which the object to be inspected for appearance is set in an inverted upside-down position after being photographed on the first photographing line; a second photographing line having a second photographing chamber for photographing the object to be inspected for appearance set on the second photographing table from the other side; and an appearance inspection device for checking the presence or absence of scratches or dirt on the object to be inspected for appearance from images of the object to be inspected for appearance photographed on the first photographing line and the second photographing line.

2. 2. The visual inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image of the object to be inspected is stored, and the presence or absence of scratches or stains on the appearance of the object to be inspected is confirmed from the image by artificial intelligence.

3. 3. The visual inspection device according to claim 1, further comprising a robot arm that holds the visual inspection object and moves it by inverting its up-down position from a first photographing table on the first photographing line to a second photographing table on the second photographing line.

4. 3. The visual inspection device according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it is equipped with a pass conveyor on which visual inspection objects that have been judged to be passable products after checking for the presence or absence of external scratches or dirt are placed and moved, and a fail conveyor on which visual inspection objects that have been judged to be failable products are placed and moved, and a robot arm that clamps the visual inspection objects after the judgment and moves them from the second photographing table of the second photographing line to the pass conveyor or the fail conveyor.

5. 3. The appearance inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a conveyor or slider for moving said first imaging table between a start position and an initial position via said first imaging chamber.

6. 3. The appearance inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a conveyor or slider for reciprocating the second imaging table between an initial position and the second imaging chamber.

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