Power supply device for inspection lighting and program used therewith

Abstract

To provide a power supply for illumination in inspection, reducing a user burden when parameters of a plurality types of control items are set for a plurality of channels and enabling more user-friendly setting input than before.SOLUTION: There is provided, a power supply for illumination in inspection which includes: a basic setting region display part 11 displaying, on a display, a basic setting region BR that receives input of a parameter of each of a plurality types of control items including at least one type of emission time, emission delay time, and an output voltage; an individual setting region display part 12 displaying, on the display, one or more individual setting regions IR including a channel identifier, and each parameter of the plurality types of control items that is set for a channel corresponding to the identifier; and a setting reflecting part 4 receiving channel designation input designating at least one channel and reflecting. in one or more individual setting regions IR corresponding to the channel designation input, each parameter of the plurality types of control items that is received in the basic setting region BR.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a power supply device for inspection lighting that is connected to a plurality of inspection lighting devices used, for example, for visual inspection of workpieces, and supplies power to each of the inspection lighting devices in an individual manner. [Background technology]

[0002] When performing visual inspection of a workpiece, multiple inspection illuminators may be used to illuminate the workpiece from various directions with different light irradiation modes. The inspection illumination system described in Patent Document 1 includes two inspection illuminators to alternately irradiate the workpiece with light from different directions, and an inspection illumination power supply that is connected to an individual channel and supplies power to each inspection illuminator from each channel in an individual mode. A user sets parameters for each inspection illuminator with respect to multiple types of control items such as light emission time, for example, for this inspection illumination power supply, to realize a desired illumination mode.

[0003] Depending on the type of inspection, more inspection illuminators than those mentioned above may be used, and all of them are connected to a single inspection lighting power supply. For example, some inspection lighting power supplies have eight channels, and can supply power to each channel in an individual manner.

[0004] Incidentally, when setting parameters for multiple types of control items related to power supply to each inspection illuminator, an input screen such as that shown in FIG. 7 is used via a personal computer or the like connected to the inspection illuminator power supply. In this input screen, the channel number of the channel to be set is selected from multiple radio buttons, and parameters for multiple types of control items such as dimming value setting, light emission mode, ON / OFF setting, etc. are selected. In other words, when setting eight channels, the user must repeat inputting 8×3=24 times in total by switching the channel to be set using the radio buttons. For this reason, setting parameters for multiple types of control items for many channels is a very cumbersome task. In particular, when it is desired to supply power so that most of the multiple channels have the same lighting state depending on the inspection content, the user must repeatedly enter the same setting contents, which makes the setting work very cumbersome. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-129715 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems described above, and has an object to provide a power supply device for inspection lighting that reduces the burden on the user when setting parameters for multiple types of control items for multiple channels, and enables easier setting input than conventional methods. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In other words, the power supply device for inspection lighting according to the present invention is a multi-channel power supply device for inspection lighting in which a plurality of inspection illuminators are each connected to an individual channel and are configured to be able to supply power to each channel in an individual manner, and is characterized in that it comprises a basic setting area display unit that displays on a display a basic setting area that accepts input of parameters for each of a plurality of types of control items including at least one of light emission time, light emission delay time, and output voltage, an individual setting area display unit that displays one or more individual setting areas on the display including a channel identifier and each parameter of the plurality of types of control items that are set for the channel corresponding to the identifier, and a setting reflection unit that accepts a channel designation input that designates at least one of the channels and reflects each parameter of the plurality of types of control items accepted in the basic setting area in the individual setting area of ​​the one or more channels corresponding to the channel designation input.

[0008] In this way, for example, if a user wants to operate multiple inspection illuminators in the same illumination mode, the user only needs to input the parameters of each control item that is to be set in common in the basic setting area, and input the channel designation input that designates the channel to which the inspection illuminator to which the user wants to reflect the settings is connected, eliminating the need to repeat the same setting content for each channel as in the past. This significantly reduces the effort required to set multiple types of control items for multiple channels, making the system easier to use than in the past.

[0009] In order to make it easier to compare the parameters of each control item set in the basic setting area with the parameters of each control item set for each channel, to make it easier for the user to select which channel the parameters accepted in the basic setting area should be reflected in, and to make it easier to check whether appropriate parameters are set for the required channels, it is sufficient that the channel setting input is made in the basic setting area and the multiple individual setting areas form a single input screen.

[0010] For example, in order to reduce the effort required for the user to set similar but not identical values ​​as parameters for each control item of each channel, the individual setting area may be configured to accept direct input for each parameter of the multiple types of control items. In this case, the user can input a representative value such as an average value as a parameter in the basic setting area, have the parameter commonly reflected in each individual setting area, and then individually modify the individual setting area for each channel number, thereby reducing the effort required for input.

[0011] In order to make it easier to check whether each parameter accepted in the basic setting area has been erroneously reflected to an unintended channel, or whether the parameters have been reflected to the required channels, the individual setting area may further include a notification portion indicating that each parameter of the multiple types of control items accepted in the basic setting area by the setting reflection unit has been reflected.

[0012] To make it easier for the user to select the channel that he or she intends to use to reflect the parameters accepted in the basic setting area, the channel designation input may be the selection of a channel number or the selection of an individual setting area corresponding to the channel.

[0013] In order for each inspection illuminator to be controlled by parameters reflected or input into the individual setting area to realize the desired lighting condition, the system may further include an individual setting memory unit that stores individual setting data linked to a channel identifier and each parameter related to the multiple types of control items based on each parameter of the multiple types of control items accepted in the individual setting area, and a power control unit that controls the power output from each channel in an individual manner based on the individual setting data stored in the individual setting memory unit.

[0014] For example, in order to achieve the same effects as the inspection power supply system of the present invention by updating a program in an existing inspection lighting power supply system, it is sufficient to use a program used in a multi-channel inspection lighting power supply device in which multiple inspection illuminators are each connected to an individual channel and are configured to supply power to each channel in an individual manner, the program causing a computer to perform the following functions: a basic setting area display unit that displays on a display a basic setting area that accepts input of parameters for each of multiple types of control items including at least one of light emission time, light emission delay time, and output voltage; an individual setting area display unit that displays one or more individual setting areas on the display including a channel identifier and each parameter of the multiple types of control items that are set for the channel corresponding to the identifier; and a setting reflection unit that accepts a channel designation input that designates at least one of the channels and reflects each parameter of the multiple types of control items accepted in the basic setting area in the individual setting area of ​​the one or more channels corresponding to the channel designation input.

[0015] The above-mentioned program may be distributed electronically, or may be recorded on a program recording medium such as a CD, DVD, or flash memory. Effect of the Invention

[0016] In this way, with the power supply device for inspection lighting according to the present invention, the user can input the parameters he / she wants to set commonly to each channel in the basic setting area, and can reflect the same settings to multiple channels simply by selecting the channel to which he / she wants to reflect the input parameters. Therefore, since it is no longer necessary to set parameters one by one for all types of control items for each channel as in the past, the labor required for setting can be significantly reduced, making it easy to use. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1]1 is a schematic diagram showing a power supply device for inspection lighting according to an embodiment of the present invention, and an inspection lighting system using the same; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a power supply device for inspection lighting in the embodiment. [Diagram 3] 13 is a schematic diagram showing an input screen of the power supply device for inspection lighting in the embodiment, showing a state before parameters accepted in the basic setting area are reflected in the individual setting area. FIG. [Figure 4] 13 is a schematic diagram showing the input screen of the power supply device for inspection lighting in the embodiment, showing a state after parameters accepted in the basic setting area are reflected in the individual setting area. FIG. [Diagram 5] 13 is a schematic diagram showing an input screen of a power supply device for inspection lighting in another embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a state before parameters accepted in the basic setting area are reflected in the individual setting area. FIG. [Figure 6] 13 is a schematic diagram showing an input screen of a power supply device for inspection lighting in another embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a state after parameters accepted in the basic setting area are reflected in the individual setting area. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an input screen of a conventional power supply device for inspection lighting. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] A power supply device 100 for inspection lighting according to one embodiment of the present invention and an inspection lighting system 200 using the same will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0019] The inspection lighting system 200 of this embodiment is used, for example, for visual inspection of a workpiece W, and is configured to irradiate light onto one workpiece W from four directions in different ways, and capture an image of the workpiece W using reflected or scattered light from the workpiece W with a camera C installed directly above the workpiece W.

[0020] That is, the inspection lighting system 200 of this embodiment comprises four inspection illuminators L1, L2, L3, and L4, and a multi-channel inspection lighting power supply unit 100 in which the four inspection illuminators L1, L2, L3, and L4 are each connected to an individual channel and can be powered in an individual manner.

[0021] The inspection illuminators L1, L2, L3, and L4 are equipped with, for example, LEDs, and their brightness, light emission time, and light emission timing are controlled by the power supplied from the inspection lighting power supply device 100. In this embodiment, the inspection illuminators L1, L2, L3, and L4 are of the same type, but the inspection illuminators L1, L2, L3, and L4 may be of different types. The number of the inspection illuminators L1, L2, L3, and L4 is not limited to four, and two or more inspection illuminators may be connected to the inspection lighting power supply device 100.

[0022] The inspection lighting power supply device 100 comprises a power supply main body PS in which each of the inspection illuminators L1, L2, L3, and L4 is connected to each channel by a power supply cord, and a computer COM that is connected to the power supply main body PS and is used to set each parameter of the control items of the power output from each channel.

[0023] The power supply PS is provided with a power supply unit that outputs power from each channel individually according to the parameters of each control item set for each channel. The power supply unit includes, for example, an AC / DC converter that converts commercial voltage into DC voltage to be supplied to the inspection illuminators L1, L2, L3, and L4 consisting of LEDs.

[0024] The computer COM is equipped with various input devices 5 such as a mouse and keyboard, memory, a CPU, a display, etc., and is configured to execute a program used for the power supply for inspection lighting stored in the memory, and to function as at least an input screen display unit 1, a basic setting memory unit 2, an individual setting memory unit 3, and a setting reflection unit 4 through the cooperation of various devices.

[0025] The input screen display unit 1 displays on the display an input screen SC for setting parameters of multiple types of control items for each channel, for example, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. The input screen SC includes at least two types of areas, including a basic setting area BR that accepts input of parameters of multiple types of control items from the user, and multiple individual setting areas IR that display the parameters of each control item set for each channel. In other words, the basic setting area BR and the multiple individual setting areas IR are displayed on one screen on the display to configure the input screen SC.

[0026] Here, the basic setting area BR is an area in which input from the user is accepted for parameters of a plurality of types of control items including at least one of the light emission time, the light emission delay time, and the output voltage. In this embodiment, the basic setting area BR is provided with input fields F in which the user inputs parameters of the dimming value, the light emission time, and the light emission delay time, which are control items that can be set for each channel.

[0027] On the other hand, the individual setting area IR is an area that displays the parameters of each control item currently set for the channel. In this embodiment, four individual areas corresponding to the channel numbers of the four channels are provided in the input screen SC. Focusing on one individual setting area IR, the individual setting area IR is provided with a channel number that is a channel identifier indicating the corresponding channel, and a plurality of display fields that display the currently set parameters for the dimming value, the light emission time, and the light emission delay time. In this embodiment, the display fields are configured as input fields F that not only display the currently set parameters, but also allow the user to change each parameter individually for each channel by input from the input device 5.

[0028] In addition, the user can perform a predetermined reflection operation to reflect the values ​​accepted in the basic setting area BR for the parameters displayed in each field of the individual setting area IR. The individual setting area IR further includes a notification portion N indicating that the parameters accepted in the basic setting area BR have been reflected by the reflection operation. The notification portion N is an icon that simplifies the connector to which the inspection illuminators L1, L2, L3, and L4 are connected, and when the parameters are successfully reflected, the display state of the icon changes from a non-illuminated state to a lit state as shown in Figures 3 and 4. Note that the display state of the notification portion N is not limited to this, and it may be any display state that indicates which individual setting area IR each parameter accepted in the basic setting area BR has been reflected by the reflection operation.

[0029] In this embodiment, the input screen display unit 1 is equipped with a basic setting area display unit 11 that accepts various inputs from the user and reflects the input contents in a basic setting area BR and displays them on the display, and an individual setting area display unit 12 that displays individual setting areas IR corresponding to each channel on the display.

[0030] The basic setting area display unit 11 accepts input of each parameter from the input device 5 and reflects the accepted value in the basic setting area BR. For example, the user can select one of the input fields F in the basic setting area BR with a cursor operated with a mouse, and input a parameter to be set as a corresponding control item in the selected input field F using a keyboard or the like. The user can also increase or decrease the value in the corresponding input field F by clicking an increase / decrease key provided adjacent to the input field F with the mouse. The parameters accepted in the input field F are stored in the basic setting storage unit 2 as basic setting information that pairs each control item with the parameter input thereto.

[0031] The individual setting area display unit 12 reflects and displays the parameters of each control item in each individual setting area IR based on the individual setting information of each channel stored in the individual setting storage unit 3. Here, the individual setting information is, for example, information in which a channel number, a control item, and a parameter are paired. Also, the individual setting area display unit 12 updates the parameters input by the user to each input field F of the individual setting area IR as new individual setting information and stores it in the individual setting storage unit 3. When no parameter is set for a control item and zero, which is a default value, is stored as a parameter in the individual setting storage unit 3 as individual setting information, the individual setting area display unit 12 displays zero for each control item as shown in FIG. 3.

[0032] The individual setting area display unit 12 is also configured to accept direct input from the user for the parameters of each control item. That is, the user can select one of the input fields F in the individual setting area IR with a cursor operated with a mouse, and input the parameter to be set as the corresponding control item into the selected input field F using a keyboard or the like. The user can also increase or decrease the value in the corresponding input field F by clicking the increase / decrease keys provided adjacent to the input field F with the mouse.

[0033] The setting reflecting unit 4 receives a channel designation input for designating at least one channel, and reflects each parameter of a plurality of types of control items received in the basic setting area BR in the individual setting area IR of one or more channels corresponding to the channel designation input. In this embodiment, the channel designation input is an operation in which the user drags and drops a reflection symbol G displayed on the basic setting area BR to the individual setting area IR corresponding to the channel to be designated, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. In this embodiment, the reflection symbol G is a gear icon, but is not limited to this. When the setting reflecting unit 4 receives a channel designation input from the user, it copies the basic setting information stored in the basic setting storage unit 2 to the individual setting information of the corresponding channel stored in the individual setting storage unit 3.

[0034] As a result, the individual setting information for the specified channel number is changed, and the individual setting area display unit 12 changes and displays the parameters of each control item in the individual setting area IR corresponding to the channel number specified by the user.

[0035] Further, based on the individual setting information for each channel stored in the individual setting storage unit 3, the power supply unit outputs, from each channel, power according to the parameters of each control item set for each channel.

[0036] With the inspection lighting power supply device 100 configured in this manner, the user can input parameters for multiple types of control items into the basic setting area BR, and then simply drag and drop the setting reflection symbol G into each individual setting area IR to copy each parameter entered into the basic setting area BR to each individual setting area IR.

[0037] Therefore, since it is not necessary to repeatedly input the parameters of each control item for each channel one by one as in the conventional method, for example, when the same parameters are to be set for a plurality of inspection illuminators L1, L2, L3, and L4, the number of times of inputting the settings can be reduced and the settings can be easily set by simply dragging and dropping as shown in Figures 3 and 4. Even when it is desired to set only some different parameters for each of the inspection illuminators L1, L2, L3, and L4, the basic settings can be copied by dragging and dropping from the basic setting area BR to the individual setting area IR, and then the input of each parameter in the individual setting area IR can be modified by directly inputting the parameters into the input field F, thereby reducing the input work. For these reasons, the inspection lighting power supply device 100 of this embodiment can improve the usability of the input screen SC for setting the parameters of each control item for a plurality of channels compared to the conventional method.

[0038] In addition, in this embodiment, since multiple individual setting areas IR are displayed side by side on the input screen SC, the user can easily compare and check what parameters are currently set for each control item in each channel. Therefore, it is easy to set appropriate values ​​as parameters for each control item for each inspection illuminator L1, L2, L3, and L4, and it is easy to prevent problems such as incorrect parameters being set and preventing the appearance inspection from being performed properly.

[0039] Furthermore, when the gear icon, which is the reflection symbol G, is dragged and dropped to reflect the parameters accepted in the basic setting area BR to the specified individual setting area IR, the display state of the notification portion N of the individual setting area IR changes, so the user can recognize at a glance which channel the parameters accepted in the basic setting area BR have been reflected in. This makes it easy to prevent multiple copies to the same channel, or to avoid dragging and dropping to channels on which you do not want the parameters accepted in the basic setting area BR to be reflected.

[0040] Other embodiments will now be described.

[0041] The channel designation input for reflecting each parameter accepted in the basic setting area in the individual setting area is not limited to dragging and dropping a reflection symbol onto the individual setting area to be designated as shown in Figures 3 and 4. For example, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, a selection field for selecting a channel number and a setting button for confirming the reflection operation for the selected channel number may be provided in the basic setting area. Also, the setting reflection unit may be configured to reflect the parameters of each control item accepted in the basic setting area into the individual area of ​​the designated channel number when the setting button is pressed with a channel number selected by the user.

[0042] Even with this, it is no longer necessary to directly input parameters for multiple types of control items for multiple channels one by one, as in the above embodiment, and the effort required for setting parameters can be reduced compared to the conventional art.

[0043] The control items displayed in the basic setting area are not limited to the dimming value, light emission time, and light emission delay time described in the above embodiment. For example, parameters related to the output voltage may also be accepted. The basic setting area may accept input of parameters for multiple types of control items including at least one of the light emission time, light emission delay time, and output voltage. In addition, multiple types of control items are sufficient, so two or more types of control items are sufficient. It goes without saying that the greater the number of types of control items, the more significant the effect of the present invention in reducing the amount of setting input work.

[0044] Furthermore, the parameters of the control items are not limited to numerical values, and may be, for example, parameters that switch between ON and OFF. The control items may be, for example, various control items used to control an inspection illuminator using an LED, such as a light emission mode for switching between strobe light emission and constant light emission, or a control mode for switching between constant current control and PWM control.

[0045] In particular, when there are a large number of channels and it is difficult to display all of the individual setting areas on one screen due to issues such as user visibility, a page switching function may be used to display a portion of each of the multiple individual setting areas on the display. In other words, the input screen may be one in which the basic setting area and at least one individual setting area are displayed on one screen.

[0046] The fields corresponding to the control items in the individual setting area may be configured not to accept input from the user, so that the individual setting information can be updated only via the basic setting area. The channel identifier is not limited to the channel number, and may be anything that allows the correspondence with each channel to be understood. For example, the connectors of each channel may be assigned a unique color, and the corresponding color may be assigned to each individual setting area as a channel identifier.

[0047] In the above embodiment, the functions related to the input screen are realized by a computer connected to the power supply main body, but the functions of the input screen display unit, basic setting storage unit, individual setting storage unit, setting reflection unit, etc. may be realized by the computing power of a computer installed in the power supply main body. In other words, the power supply device for inspection lighting is not limited to one equipped with a power supply main body and a computer provided separately from the power supply main body, but may be composed of only the power supply main body. In addition, although a mouse and a keyboard are given as specific examples of the input device, for example, a touch panel display may be used as the input device.

[0048] In addition, various modifications of the embodiments and combinations of parts of each embodiment may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 200···Inspection lighting system 100 Power supply for inspection lighting 1 Input screen display section 11...Basic setting area display area 12...Individual setting area display area 2...Basic settings storage section 3. Individual setting storage section 4...Setting reflection section SC Input screen BR...Basic setting area IR Individual setting area G ··· Reflection symbol F Input field

Claims

1. A multi-channel inspection lighting power supply device configured such that a plurality of inspection illuminators are connected to individual channels and power can be supplied to each channel in an individual manner, a basic setting area display unit that displays on a display a basic setting area for receiving input of parameters from a user for each of a plurality of control items including at least one of a light emission time, a light emission delay time, and an output voltage; an individual setting area display unit that displays on the display one or more individual setting areas including a channel identifier and each parameter of the plurality of types of control items that are set for the channel corresponding to the identifier; a setting reflection unit that accepts a user's selection operation on the identifier corresponding to any channel or the individual setting area as a channel designation input that designates at least one of the channels, and reflects each parameter of the multiple types of control items accepted from the user by the basic setting area in the individual setting area of ​​one or more channels corresponding to the channel designation input from the user.

2. 2. The power supply device for inspection lighting according to claim 1, wherein the basic setting area and the plurality of individual setting areas form one input screen.

3. 3. The power supply device for inspection lighting according to claim 1, wherein the individual setting area is configured to accept direct input of parameters for each of the plurality of types of control items.

4. A power supply device for inspection lighting as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the individual setting area further includes a notification portion indicating that each parameter of the multiple types of control items accepted in the basic setting area by the setting reflection unit has been reflected.

5. 5. The power supply device for inspection lighting according to claim 1, wherein the channel identifier is a channel number.

6. an individual setting storage unit that stores individual setting data in which a channel identifier and each parameter related to the plurality of types of control items are associated with each other based on each parameter of the plurality of types of control items received in the individual setting area; The power supply device for inspection lighting as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a power control unit that controls the power output from each channel in an individual manner based on the individual setting data stored in the individual setting memory unit.

7. A program for use in a multi-channel inspection lighting power supply device configured such that a plurality of inspection illuminators are connected to individual channels and power can be supplied to each channel in an individual manner, comprising: a basic setting area display unit that displays on a display a basic setting area for receiving input of parameters from a user for each of a plurality of control items including at least one of a light emission time, a light emission delay time, and an output voltage; an individual setting area display unit that displays on the display one or more individual setting areas including a channel identifier and each parameter of the plurality of types of control items that are set for the channel corresponding to the identifier; A program used in a power supply device for inspection lighting that causes a computer to function as a setting reflection unit that accepts an identifier corresponding to any channel or a user selection operation on the individual setting area as a channel designation input that designates at least one channel, and reflects each parameter of the multiple types of control items accepted by the basic setting area from the user in the individual setting area of ​​one or more channels corresponding to the channel designation input from the user.

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