Drop-type inspection device

Abstract

To provide a fall type inspection device that can check the entire surface of a test object for suitability of its appearance at once.SOLUTION: A device comprises a hollow and capsule-shaped light diffusion body 21 placed in the middle of the falling of a test object K, a floodlight device 45 having floodlights 46 to 49 placed around the light diffusion body 21, cameras 36 to 41 placed around the light diffusion body 21 to capture images of the entire surface of test object K, and a determination part 35 that analyzes the captured images to determine suitability of the test object K in its appearance. The light diffusion body 21 has a transmission diffusion part 22 that transmits and diffuses light from the outside, while the other inner surfaces are formed on a reflective surface that reflects light. In the light diffusion body 21, a passage port through which the test object K passes and an imaging port for taking images are formed, each of the floodlights 46-49 illuminates the light diffusion body 21 from the transmission diffusion part 22, and each of the cameras 36-41 take images of the test object K through the imaging port.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a drop type inspection device that allows an object to fall naturally and inspects the object while it is falling. [Background technology]

[0002] An example of the above-mentioned drop type inspection device is the foreign object detection device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 9-305745 (Patent Document 1 below). This foreign object detection device is composed of a hopper that stores a large number of medicine capsules to be inspected, a chute that sequentially sends the medicine capsules downward from the hopper at predetermined intervals, a judgment mechanism that takes images of the medicine capsules falling from the chute through a guide tube and judges whether they are irregular, and a discharge mechanism that removes the medicine capsules from the falling path based on the judgment result of the judgment mechanism.

[0003] The judgment mechanism consists of a CCD camera mounted on the housing and corresponding to each guide tube, an illumination plate for capturing images using the CCD camera, and an image processing device that processes the image of the captured drug capsule shape to determine whether it is irregular.

[0004] The CCD cameras are paired and positioned at an angle of approximately 90° to each other toward the guide tube. Triggered by a photoelectric sensor located near the guide tube, the CCD cameras capture images of the drug capsules exposed at the upper and lower divided sections of the guide tube from two directions.

[0005] The illumination plate is installed to stand upright from the housing at the upper and lower divided portions of the guide tube, and illuminates the drug capsules exposed to the outside. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-305745 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] Generally, inspection items for the appearance of an object to be inspected include not only whether the outline shape of the object is correct, but also whether there are scratches or dents on the surface, whether there are foreign matter attached to the surface, and so on.

[0008] However, the above-mentioned foreign object detection device can inspect the outline of the pharmaceutical capsule, which is the object to be inspected, but has the problem that it cannot inspect for abnormalities on the surface of the pharmaceutical capsule.

[0009] That is, in the above-mentioned foreign body inspection device, the illumination plate that illuminates the pharmaceutical capsule is located on the back side of the pharmaceutical capsule relative to the CCD camera, so the surface imaged by the CCD camera cannot be sufficiently illuminated. For this reason, in conventional foreign body inspection devices, although the CCD camera can capture an image that emphasizes the silhouette (contour shape) of the pharmaceutical capsule, it cannot capture an image that emphasizes the surface condition of the pharmaceutical capsule. Therefore, conventional foreign body inspection devices cannot inspect the surface of the object being inspected for abnormalities.

[0010] Furthermore, the above-mentioned foreign body inspection device is configured to allow the object to fall naturally and inspect the object as it falls, making it possible to inspect the entire surface of the object at once.However, in the above-mentioned foreign body inspection device, the CCD camera is only positioned on one side of the drug capsule, and with this configuration, it is not possible to inspect the entire peripheral surface of the drug capsule, nor the top and bottom surfaces.

[0011] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a drop type inspection device that can inspect the entire surface of an object to be inspected at once to determine whether the appearance is appropriate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides: An apparatus for allowing an object to fall naturally and inspecting the object while it is falling, a cutting device that allows the test objects to fall naturally in a separated state one by one; a hollow, capsule-shaped light diffuser disposed midway between the falling object and integrally formed with the object; a light projecting device having a plurality of light projectors arranged around the light diffuser; a plurality of cameras that are also arranged around the light diffuser and are arranged to capture an image of the entire surface of the object to be inspected; a determination unit that analyzes the image captured by the camera and determines whether the appearance of the object to be inspected is good or bad, The light diffuser has, at least in a part thereof, a transmission diffusion section that transmits and diffuses external light, and the inner curved surface of the other part is formed as a reflection surface that reflects light, and further, a passage opening through which the object to be inspected passes is formed in the upper and lower parts thereof, and an imaging opening for imaging is formed at a position where the passage opening intersects with each optical axis connecting an imaging position set inside the light diffuser and each of the cameras, each of the light projectors is configured to irradiate illumination light from the transmission diffusion section into the light diffuser; Each of the cameras is associated with a drop-type inspection device configured to capture an image of the object to be inspected through the imaging port.

[0013] In this inspection device, the test objects are cut out by the cut-out device and fall naturally in a separated state one by one. The naturally falling test objects pass through the light diffuser through a passage opening provided in the light diffuser and then fall further downward.

[0014] The light diffuser is illuminated from the transmission diffusion section to the interior thereof by a plurality of light projectors arranged around the periphery thereof, and the light projected from the projectors is diffused as it passes through the transmission diffusion section, and the light incident on the light diffuser is reflected by the reflective surface, so that an imaging position set within the light diffuser is illuminated from all directions by this illumination light. Thus, an inspection object passing through the light diffuser is illuminated on its entire surface at the imaging position.

[0015] The object to be inspected is then illuminated at the imaging position, and images of the entire surface of the object are captured by the multiple cameras through imaging openings formed in the light diffuser. The images of the entire surface of the object to be inspected thus captured are then analyzed by the determining unit, and the quality of the appearance of the object to be inspected is determined.

[0016] In this way, with this drop type inspection device, the entire surface of the object to be inspected can be inspected at once to determine whether or not the appearance is appropriate, thereby enabling efficient inspection.

[0017] The test object is not particularly limited, but examples include medicines such as tablets and capsules, small confectioneries such as candy, button batteries, and the like.

[0018] In the drop type inspection device of the above aspect (first aspect), a horizontal plane including the imaging position set in the light diffuser and a vertical plane including a fall path of the test object and perpendicular to the horizontal plane as a reference plane; the transmission diffusion section is provided on one side of the vertical surface, Of the space partitioned by the horizontal and vertical planes, the space above the horizontal plane on which the transmissive diffusion section is provided is defined as the first corner area in the orthographic projection method, and the floodlight and the camera are provided in the first corner area and the fourth corner area, respectively, and a camera is provided in the second corner area and the third corner area, respectively (second aspect).

[0019] In the second aspect, a first projector, a second projector, and a first camera are disposed in the first corner area, a second camera and a third camera are disposed in the second corner area; a fourth camera and a fifth camera are disposed in the third corner area; a third projector, a fourth projector, and a sixth camera are disposed in the fourth corner area; the light diffuser has the imaging openings formed in correspondence with the first camera, the second camera, the third camera, the fourth camera, the fifth camera, and the sixth camera, The first, second, third and fourth light projectors may each be configured to irradiate illumination light toward the imaging position (third aspect).

[0020] In the third aspect, the first projector in the first corner area is disposed on one side of a third plane that includes the imaging position and is perpendicular to the horizontal and vertical planes, the second projector is disposed on the other side, and the first camera is disposed on the one side; the second camera of the second corner area is disposed on the one side, and the third camera is disposed on the other side; the fourth camera of the third corner area is disposed on the one side, and the fifth camera is disposed on the other side; The third floodlight in the fourth corner area can be arranged on the one side, the fourth floodlight can be arranged on the other side, and the sixth camera can be arranged on the other side (fourth aspect).

[0021] In the fourth aspect, the first, second, third, and fourth projectors each have an optical axis directed toward the imaging position that is angled within a range of 44.5° to 45.5° with respect to the horizontal plane and an angle within a range of 36.5° to 37.5° with respect to the third plane, the first camera and the sixth camera each have an optical axis directed toward the imaging position that has an angle within a range of 29.5° to 30.5° with respect to the horizontal plane and an angle within a range of 4.5° to 5.5° with respect to the third plane; It is preferable that the optical axes of the second, third, fourth and fifth cameras directed toward the imaging positions each have an angle within the range of 39.5° to 40.5° with respect to the horizontal plane, and an angle within the range of 49.5° to 50.5° with respect to the third plane. [Effects of the Invention]

[0022] As described above, the drop type inspection device according to the present invention can inspect the entire surface of an object to be inspected at once to determine whether the appearance is appropriate, thereby enabling efficient inspection. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a drop type inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a front view showing the drop type inspection device shown in FIG. [Figure 3] 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an inspection mode of a drop type inspection device according to the present embodiment. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a cutting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 5 is a side view showing the cutting device according to the present embodiment, taken in the direction of an arrow A in FIG. 4. FIG. [Figure 6] 3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the cutting-out operation of the cutting-out device according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of a camera, a projector, and a light diffuser according to the present embodiment. [Figure 8] 1 is a perspective view showing a light diffuser according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the light diffuser according to the present embodiment, taken along the direction of the arrow BB in FIG. 8. FIG. [Figure 10] 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the light diffuser according to the present embodiment, taken along the CC direction in FIG. 8. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a light diffuser according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing the light diffuser according to the embodiment. [Figure 13] 9 is a side view showing the first member of the light diffuser according to the present embodiment, taken in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 8. FIG. [Figure 14] 9 is a side view showing the second material of the light diffuser according to the present embodiment, taken in the direction of arrow E in FIG. 8. FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of cameras according to the present embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of cameras according to the present embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of cameras according to the present embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of projectors according to the present embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of projectors according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0025] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the drop type inspection device 1 of this example is composed of a hopper 2 supported by a frame structure, a vibrating feeder 3, a cutting unit 4, an optical inspection unit 20, and a sorting unit 50. In Figures 1 and 2, the outer wall covers are shown removed in order to illustrate the internal structure. In addition, in this example, a spherical capsule is used as an example of the object to be inspected K, but naturally, the object to be inspected is not limited to such a spherical capsule.

[0026] The hopper 2 is configured to receive a large number of test objects K and supply a predetermined amount of test objects K from its bottom opening to the vibrating feeder 3. The vibrating feeder 3 feeds the test objects K supplied from the hopper 3 by vibration and sends them to the cutting unit 4 shown in FIG.

[0027] The cutting section 4 is composed of an alignment plate 5 arranged at a downward incline, a cover plate 6 provided on the upper surface of the alignment plate 5, a guide plate 10 connected to the alignment plate 5 and arranged vertically, a cover plate 11 attached to this guide plate 10, and a first cylinder 12 and a second cylinder 13 attached to the guide plate 10.

[0028] The alignment plate 5 has an alignment groove 5a that is fan-shaped, widening upward and tapering downward, and an alignment groove 5b that extends from the alignment groove 5a, and the upper end of the alignment groove 5a, which widens upward, is connected to the vibrating feeder 3. The alignment groove 5a has a depth that allows an object K to pass through, and the alignment groove 5b, which is connected to the tapered end of the alignment groove 5a, has a width and depth that allows one object K to pass through, and a roller 7 that rotates in the direction of arrow d by a motor 8 is provided at the connection between the alignment grooves 5a and 5b. Thus, the objects K sent from the vibrating feeder 3 to the alignment groove 5a roll downward toward the alignment groove 5b due to the inclination of the alignment groove 5a, and flow into the alignment groove 5b in a state where they are aligned in a row at the connection with the alignment groove 5b.

[0029] The rollers 7 have the role of releasing clogging caused by meshing of the test objects K when the test objects K move from the alignment groove 5a into the alignment groove 5b. This allows the test objects K to move from the alignment groove 5a into the alignment groove 5b without clogging.

[0030] The guide plate 10 has a guide groove 10a having a width and depth that allows the object K to pass through, and the upper end of the guide groove 10a is connected to the lower end of the alignment groove 5b and the lower end is open. Thus, the object K that has moved from the alignment groove 5b of the alignment plate 5 falls freely within the guide groove 10a that is closed by the cover plate 11, and reaches the portion where the first cylinder 12 and the second cylinder 13 are provided.

[0031] 6, the first cylinder 12 is disposed so that its rod 12a moves forward and backward relative to the guide groove 10a, and the second cylinder 13 provided below it is similarly disposed so that its rod 13a moves forward and backward relative to the guide groove 10a. When the rods 12a and 13a are advanced into the guide groove 10a, the distance between them is set to a distance that allows one object to be inspected K to be placed therein.

[0032] Thus, one inspection object K is extracted by the operation of the first cylinder 12 and the second cylinder 13. This extraction operation will be explained with reference to FIG. 6. In FIG. 6(a), the rod 12a of the first cylinder 12 is retracted, and the rod 13a of the second cylinder 13 is advanced into the guide groove 10a. In this state, the inspection object K in the guide groove 10a is supported by the rod 13a. Next, as shown in FIG. 6(b), when the rod 12a of the first cylinder 12 is advanced into the guide groove 10a, one inspection object K is positioned between the rod 13a and the rod 12a, and the inspection object K above this is supported by the rod 12a.

[0033] Next, as shown in Fig. 6(c), when the rod 13a of the second cylinder 13 is retracted, the inspection object K supported by the rod 13a falls downward from the lower end opening of the guide groove 10a. After one inspection object K has been cut out in this manner, the rod 13a of the second cylinder 13 is advanced into the guide groove 10a, and then the rod 12a of the first cylinder 12 is retracted from the guide groove 10a to return to the state shown in Fig. 6(a).

[0034] As shown in Figure 7, the optical inspection unit 20 is configured to include a light diffuser 21 arranged in the falling path of the inspection object K cut out from the cutting unit 4 along which it falls naturally, a light projecting device 45 having a first light projector 46, a second light projector 47, a third light projector 48 and a fourth light projector 49 arranged around the light diffuser 21, a first camera 36, ​​a second camera 37, a third camera 38, a fourth camera 39, a fifth camera 40 and a sixth camera 41 also arranged around the light diffuser 21 and positioned to capture the entire surface of the inspection object K, and a judgment unit 35 that analyzes the images captured by these cameras 36 to 41 and judges whether the appearance of the inspection object K is good or bad.

[0035] As shown in FIGS. 8 to 14, the light diffuser 21 is a hollow, capsule-shaped member integrally formed with a first member 22 and a second member 23 that are connected to each other without any gaps. The first member 22 has the ability to transmit and diffuse light from the outside, and the second member 23 has an internal curved surface that is formed as a reflective surface that reflects light. In this example, the vertical cross section of the first member 22 is semi-elliptical, and the vertical cross section of the second member 23 is semi-circular, but the vertical cross section of the first member 22 may also be semi-circular. In this example, the first member 22 and the second member 23 are arranged so that their central axes are horizontal.

[0036] As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the light diffuser 21 has passage openings 24, 25 formed at its upper and lower parts, respectively, through which the object to be inspected K passes, and imaging openings 26 to 31 for imaging are formed at positions where the optical axes connecting the imaging position P (see Figure 3) set inside the light diffuser 21 and the first camera 36, ​​second camera 37, third camera 38, fourth camera 39, fifth camera 40 and sixth camera 41 intersect (see Figures 8 to 14).

[0037] 3 and 9, detection openings 32, 33 are formed on the side of the first member 22 at an appropriate distance above the imaging position P, and a light emitter 34a is disposed outside the detection opening 33, emitting detection light (laser light) so that the detection light passes through the detection openings 32, 33, and a light receiver 34b is disposed outside the detection opening 32, 32, receiving the detection light emitted from the light emitter 34a. The light emitter 34a and the light receiver 34b constitute one detection sensor 34.

[0038] As shown in Figure 7, the first camera 36, ​​second camera 37, third camera 38, fourth camera 39, fifth camera 40, and sixth camera 41, as well as the first floodlight 46, second floodlight 47, third floodlight 48, and fourth floodlight 49 are each arranged as shown, with a horizontal plane (first plane) Ha including the imaging position P set within the light diffuser 21, a vertical plane (second plane) Va including the fall path of the inspected object K and the imaging position P and perpendicular to the first plane Ha and the central axis of the light diffuser 21, and a vertical plane (third plane) Vb perpendicular to the first plane Ha and the second plane Va as reference planes.

[0039] 7, within a first corner region R1 in an orthographic projection method based on the first plane Ha and the second plane Va, the first projector 46 and the first camera 36 are disposed in a region R1b on the far side of the boundary defined by the third plane Vb, and the second projector 47 is disposed in a region R1a on the far side. Furthermore, within a second corner region R2, the second camera 37 is disposed in a region R2b on the far side of the boundary defined by the third plane Vb, and the third camera 38 is disposed in a region R2a on the far side.

[0040] Furthermore, within the third corner region R3, the fourth camera 39 is disposed in a region R3b on the far side of the boundary of the third surface Vb, and the fifth camera 40 is disposed in a region R3a on the front side. Furthermore, within the fourth corner region R4, the third floodlight 48 is disposed in a region R4b on the far side of the boundary of the third surface Vb, and the third floodlight 49 and the sixth camera 41 are disposed in a region R4a on the front side.

[0041] The first camera 36, ​​second camera 37, third camera 38, fourth camera 39, fifth camera 40, and sixth camera 41 are configured to transmit the captured images to the determination unit 35. The determination unit 35 is configured to receive a detection signal from the detection sensor 34 when the detection sensor 34 detects the falling object K, and after receiving the detection signal, captures the images captured by the first camera 36, ​​second camera 37, third camera 38, fourth camera 39, fifth camera 40, and sixth camera 41. The positional relationship between the detection position of the detection sensor 34 and the image capturing position P is such that, based on the relationship between the falling speed of the object K and the image capturing processing time of the determination unit 35 after receiving the detection signal, images of the object K at the image capturing position P are captured by the cameras 36 to 41 to the determination unit 35 (see FIG. 3).

[0042] The judgment unit 35 then analyzes the images received from the cameras 36 to 41, judges whether the appearance of the inspection object K is good or bad, and transmits the judgment result to the selection unit 50. The judgment unit 35 is composed of a computer including a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc. Inspection items in the judgment unit 35 include, but are not limited to, whether the outline shape of the inspection object K is appropriate, whether there are scratches or dents on the surface, and whether there are foreign matter attached to the surface.

[0043] The first camera 36, ​​second camera 37, third camera 38, fourth camera 39, fifth camera 40 and sixth camera 41 each have their imaging optical axes directed toward the imaging position P, and as shown in Figure 15, the angles formed between the imaging optical axes of the first camera 36 and sixth camera 41 and the first plane Ha are each set to be within the range of 29.5° to 30.5°, and as shown in Figure 16, the angles formed between the imaging optical axes of the first camera 36 and sixth camera 41 and the third plane Vb are each set to be within the range of 4.5° to 5.5°.

[0044] Also, as shown in Figure 16, the angles formed by the imaging optical axes of the second camera 37, third camera 38, fourth camera 39 and fifth camera 40 and the first plane Ha are set to be within the range of 39.5° to 40.5°, and as shown in Figure 17, the angles formed by the imaging optical axes of the second camera 37, third camera 38, fourth camera 39 and fifth camera 40 and the third plane Vb are set to be within the range of 49.5° to 50.5°.

[0045] The first camera 36 captures an image of the object K through the imaging port 26, the second camera 37 through the imaging port 27, the third camera 38 through the imaging port 28, the fourth camera 39 through the imaging port 29, the fifth camera 40 through the imaging port 30, and the sixth camera 41 through the imaging port 31. Thus, by arranging the first camera 36, ​​the second camera 37, the third camera 38, the fourth camera 39, the fifth camera 40, and the sixth camera 41 in this manner, it is possible to capture an image of the entire surface of the object K.

[0046] The first light projector 46, the second light projector 47, the third light projector 48, and the fourth light projector 49 are each connected to a light source via an optical transmission path such as an optical fiber, and irradiate light transmitted from the light source toward the imaging position P. Thus, in this example, the first light projector 46, the second light projector 47, the third light projector 48, the fourth light projector 49, the optical transmission path, and the light source constitute a light projecting device 45.

[0047] 18, the angles formed between the optical axes of the first projector 46, the second projector 47, the third projector 48, and the fourth projector 49 and the first plane Ha are set to be within a range of 44.5° to 45.5°. Also, as shown in Fig. 19, the angles formed between the optical axes of the first projector 46, the second projector 47, the third projector 48, and the fourth projector 49 and the third plane Vb are set to be within a range of 36.5° to 37.5°.

[0048] The light irradiated from the first light source 46, the second light source 47, the third light source 48, and the fourth light source 49 arranged in this manner passes through the first member 22 having a transmitting and diffusing function, is diffused in the process, and enters the light diffuser 21. The incident light is reflected by the reflective surface of the second member, and this light illuminates the entire surface of the object to be inspected K located at the imaging position P.

[0049] As shown in Figure 3, the sorting unit 50 is composed of a detection sensor 52 arranged below the light diffuser 21, a guide tube 53 arranged below this detection sensor 52, a guide tube 58 arranged an appropriate distance below this guide tube 53, a separation plate 60 that separates the falling test objects into three areas, air nozzles 54 and 56 arranged between the guide tubes 53 and 58, an opening / closing cylinder 57 that opens and closes the entrance to the guide tube 58, a detection sensor 55 arranged in the area below the air nozzle 54, a detection sensor 59 that detects the test objects K falling inside the guide tube 58, and a sorting control unit 51 that operates the air nozzles 54 and 56 and the opening / closing cylinder 57 based on the judgment result of the judgment unit 35.

[0050] The detection sensor 52 is composed of a light emitter 52a that emits detection light and a light receiver 52b that receives the detection light, and these light emitter 52a and light receiver 52b are arranged on either side of the falling path of the object K to be inspected, and detect the object K to be inspected falling from the passage opening 25 of the light diffuser 21.

[0051] The separation plate 60 divides the container into a defective product area 61a on the left side of the figure, a reserved product area 61b on the right side of the figure, and a non-defective product area 61c on the lower side of the figure, and the guide pipe 58 leads to the non-defective product area 61c.

[0052] Thus, according to the sorting unit 50, the inspection objects K inspected by the optical inspection unit 20 are separated into good products, defective products, and reserved products as follows under the control of the sorting control unit 51. Note that reserved products are products that cannot be distinguished as either good products or defective products, such as uninspected products.

[0053] When the judgment result transmitted from the judgment unit 35 of the optical inspection unit 20 indicates a defective product, the sorting control unit 51, after receiving the detection signal from the detection sensor 52 and a predetermined time later, ejects air from the air nozzle 54 to blow away the falling inspection object K and store it in the defective product area 61a. Whether the defective product has been blown away from the falling path can be detected by the detection sensor 55 provided below it.

[0054] Furthermore, if the judgment result is that the item is a reserved item, the sorting control unit 51, after receiving a detection signal from the detection sensor 52, drives the opening / closing cylinder 57 to close the entrance of the guide tube 58, and after a predetermined time has passed, ejects air from the air nozzle 56 to blow away the falling inspection item K and store it in the reserved item area 61b.

[0055] If the judgment result is that the product is non-defective, the sorting control unit 51 passes the inspection object K through the guide pipe 58 and stores it in the non-defective product area 61c without driving the air nozzles 54, 56 and the opening / closing cylinder 57. At this time, the detection sensor 59 detects whether the inspection object K has passed through the guide pipe 58.

[0056] According to the drop type inspection device 1 of this example having the above configuration, the objects to be inspected K stored in the hopper 2 are supplied to the cutting section 4 via the vibrating feeder 3, and after being aligned in a row by this cutting section 4, they are cut out one by one from the lower end opening of the guide plate 10 and dropped downward.

[0057] Then, the inspection object K cut out from the cut-out section 4 passes through the light diffuser 21 provided below the guide plate 10 from a passage opening 24 of the light diffuser 21, and falls downward from a passage opening 25 thereof.

[0058] Then, when the object K to be inspected reaches the imaging position P as it falls through the light diffuser 21, an image of its entire surface is captured by the first camera 36, ​​the second camera 37, the third camera 38, the fourth camera 39, the fifth camera 40, and the sixth camera 41. Based on the captured image, the judgment unit 35 judges whether the appearance of the object K to be inspected is good or bad, and the judgment result is sent to the sorting control unit 51 of the sorting unit 50.

[0059] Then, based on the judgment result received from the judgment unit 35, the sorting control unit 51 drives the air nozzles 54, 56 and the open / close cylinder 57 to separate the judged inspection objects K into non-defective, retained, and defective products.

[0060] In this way, according to the drop type inspection device 1 of this example, the first camera 36, ​​the second camera 37, the third camera 38, the fourth camera 39, the fifth camera 40, and the sixth camera 41 are configured to capture images of the entire surface of the object to be inspected K without any blind spots, so that the entire surface of the object to be inspected K can be inspected without any blind spots.

[0061] Furthermore, according to the drop type inspection device 1 of this embodiment, the entire surface of the inspection object K is imaged at one imaging position P, so that efficient inspection can be performed.

[0062] Furthermore, according to the drop type inspection device 1 of this example, the light diffuser 21 is composed of a first member 22 having a transmitting and diffusing effect and a second member 23 whose inner surface is a reflective surface, and light irradiated from four directions by the first light projector 46, the second light projector 47, the third light projector 48, and the fourth light projector 49 is diffused by passing through the first member 22 and then incident on the interior, and the incident light is reflected by the inner surface of the second member 23. Therefore, the entire surface of the inspection object K at the imaging position P can be illuminated with uniformly high illuminance, and a clear image of the entire surface of the inspection object K can be obtained. Thus, by obtaining such a clear image, a high-precision appearance inspection of the inspection object K can be performed.

[0063] Although one specific embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the aspects that the present invention can adopt are not limited to the above example, and other aspects can be adopted within the scope that can achieve the object of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 1 Drop-type inspection device 2 Hopper 3. Vibration feeder 4 Cutout 20 Optical Inspection Department 21 Light diffuser 22 First member 23 Second member 24,25 Passage gate 26~31 Imaging port 32,33 Detection port 34 Detection sensor 35 Judgment section 36 Camera 1 37 Second Camera 38 Third Camera 39 Fourth Camera 40 5th Camera 41 Camera No. 6 45 Light source 46 First floodlight 47 Second floodlight 48 Third floodlight 49 4th floodlight 50 Sorting Department 51 Sorting control section 52 Detection sensor 53 Guide tube 54 Air nozzle 55 Detection sensor 56 Air nozzle 57 Opening and closing cylinder 58 Guide tube 59 Detection sensor 60 Separation plate

Claims

1. An apparatus for allowing an object to fall naturally and inspecting the object while it is falling, a cutting device that allows the test objects to fall naturally in a separated state one by one; a hollow, capsule-shaped light diffuser disposed midway between the falling object and integrally formed with the object; a light projecting device having a plurality of light projectors arranged around the light diffuser; a plurality of cameras that are also arranged around the light diffuser and are arranged to capture an image of the entire surface of the object to be inspected; a determination unit that analyzes the image captured by the camera and determines whether the appearance of the object to be inspected is good or bad, The light diffuser has a transmission diffusion section in a part thereof that transmits and diffuses light from the outside, and the inner curved surface of the other part is formed as a reflection surface that reflects light, and further, a passage opening through which the inspection object passes is formed in the upper and lower parts, and an imaging opening for imaging is formed at a position where the passage opening intersects with each optical axis connecting the imaging position set inside and each of the cameras, each of the light projectors is configured to irradiate illumination light from the transmission diffusion section into the light diffuser; The drop type inspection device is characterized in that each of the cameras is configured to capture an image of the object to be inspected through the imaging port.

2. a horizontal plane including the imaging position set in the light diffuser and a vertical plane including a fall path of the object to be inspected and perpendicular to the horizontal plane as a reference plane; the transmission diffusion section is provided on one side of the vertical surface, 2. The drop type inspection device according to claim 1, wherein, of the space partitioned by the horizontal plane and the vertical plane, the space above the horizontal plane on which the transmissive diffusion unit is provided is defined as a first corner region, the space on the other side is defined as a second corner region, the space below the horizontal plane on which the transmissive diffusion unit is provided is defined as a fourth corner region, and the space on the other side is defined as a third corner region, and the light projector and the camera are provided in the first corner region and the fourth corner region, respectively, and cameras are provided in the second corner region and the third corner region, respectively.

3. a first projector, a second projector, and a first camera are disposed in the first corner area; a second camera and a third camera are disposed in the second corner region; a fourth camera and a fifth camera are disposed in the third corner region; a third projector, a fourth projector, and a sixth camera are disposed in the fourth corner region; the light diffuser has the imaging openings formed in correspondence with the first camera, the second camera, the third camera, the fourth camera, the fifth camera, and the sixth camera, 3. The drop type inspection device according to claim 2, wherein the first, second, third and fourth light projectors are configured to irradiate illumination light toward the imaging position.

4. the first projector in the first corner area is disposed on one side of a third plane that includes the imaging position and is perpendicular to the horizontal plane and the vertical plane, the second projector is disposed on the other side, and the first camera is disposed on the one side; the second camera of the second corner area is disposed on the one side, and the third camera is disposed on the other side; the fourth camera of the third corner area is disposed on the one side, and the fifth camera is disposed on the other side; 4. The drop type inspection device according to claim 3, wherein the third light projector in the fourth corner region is disposed on the one side, the fourth light projector is disposed on the other side, and the sixth camera is disposed on the other side.

5. the first projector, the second projector, the third projector, and the fourth projector each have an optical axis directed toward the imaging position that has an angle within a range of 44.5° to 45.5° with respect to the horizontal plane and an angle within a range of 36.5° to 37.5° with respect to the third plane; the first camera and the sixth camera each have an optical axis directed toward the imaging position that has an angle within a range of 29.5° to 30.5° with respect to the horizontal plane and an angle within a range of 4.5° to 5.5° with respect to the third plane; The drop type inspection device according to claim 4, wherein the optical axes of the second camera, the third camera, the fourth camera, and the fifth camera directed toward the imaging positions are angled in the range of 39.5° to 40.5° with respect to the horizontal plane and are angled in the range of 49.5° to 50.5° with respect to the third plane.

Images