Information processing device

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to inspect a twisted wire. The present invention involves: acquiring a two-dimensional image showing a twisted wire in which two electric wires are twisted together (S3101); and measuring the twist direction of the twisted wire on the basis of the two-dimensional image (S3103).

Description

Information processing device

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device.

[0002] Devices for inspecting twisted wires formed by twisting two electric wires have been developed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a device for measuring the pitch length of a twisted wire. The device disclosed in Patent Document 1 detects the position of the surface of the twisted wire using a sensor that moves in the direction in which the twisted wire extends, and then detects the pitch length of the twisted wire based on the detected position of the surface of the twisted wire.

[0003] JP 2018-54478 A

[0004] However, the device disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not measure the length of the untwisted portion of the twisted wire (untwisted length). Furthermore, the device disclosed in Patent Document 1 cannot measure the pitch length of the twisted wire when the twisted wire is bent. Furthermore, the device disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not measure the twist direction of the twisted wire.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to inspect twisted wires.

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention has an image acquisition processing unit that acquires a two-dimensional image of a twisted wire formed by twisting two electric wires together, and a twist direction measurement processing unit that measures the twist direction of the twisted wire based on the two-dimensional image.

[0007] An inspection device according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises the above-mentioned information processing device, a first holding unit that holds the end of the untwisted portion of the twisted wire, a second holding unit that holds at least a portion of the twisted portion of the twisted wire, and a camera that photographs the twisted wire and generates the two-dimensional image.

[0008] An information processing method according to one embodiment of the present invention is an information processing method executed by a computer, and includes an image acquisition processing step of acquiring a two-dimensional image of a twisted wire formed by twisting two electric wires together, and a twist direction measurement processing step of measuring the twist direction of the twisted wire based on the two-dimensional image.

[0009] An information processing program according to an embodiment of the present invention causes a computer to execute the above-described information processing method.

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to inspect twisted wires.

[0011] 1 is a diagram illustrating an inspection device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a twisted wire TW. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a twisted wire TW held by a first holding unit 110 and a second holding unit 120, viewed from above. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a two-dimensional image IM generated by a camera 140. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a two-dimensional image IM generated by a camera 140. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a control unit 150. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing operation executed by the control unit 150. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a boundary position measurement processing unit 152. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a process by a twisted wire width calculation unit 1521. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a process by a boundary position determination unit 1522. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a search frame SF. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a calculation of an untwist length LU. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing operation executed in the boundary position measurement processing step (step S702) of FIG. 7. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a situation in which a clamping error has occurred in the first holding unit 110. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a situation in which a sharp bend has occurred in at least one of the two electric wires L1, L2 of the twisted wire TW. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a pitch length measurement processing unit 153. FIG. 8 is a diagram explaining an example of processing by a twisted wire width calculation unit 1531. FIG. 9 is a diagram explaining an example of processing by a valley detection processing unit 1532. FIG. 10 is a diagram explaining an example of processing in a pitch length calculation unit 1533. FIG. 11 is a diagram explaining an example of a search width SW. FIG. 12 is a diagram explaining an example of calculation of the pitch length LP of the twisted wire TW based on a second valley V2. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a processing operation executed in the pitch length measurement processing step (step S703) of FIG. 7. FIG. 14 is a diagram explaining a situation in which a foreign object is also captured in a location where the twisted wire TW is captured. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a pitch length measurement processing unit 153. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a pitch length measurement processing unit 153. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of processing by a lateral distance calculation unit 1536. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a twist direction measurement processing unit 154. FIG. 19 is a diagram explaining a left-twisted twisted wire TW. FIG. 20 is a diagram explaining a right-twisted twisted wire TW. 8 is a diagram showing an example of color information of the right-side electric wire L1, color information of the left-side electric wire L2, and crossing position color information when the twisted wire is left-twisted. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of processing operations executed in the twist direction measurement processing step (step S704) of FIG.

[0012] <Inspection Device 100> Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an inspection device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The inspection device 100 has a first holding unit 110, a second holding unit 120, a background unit 130, a camera 140, a control unit 150, a notification unit 160, and a storage unit 170. The inspection device 100 inspects a twisted wire TW (twisted pair cable) composed of two electric wires.

[0013] 2 is a diagram illustrating the twisted wire TW. As shown in FIG. 2, the twisted wire TW has a twisted portion TP where two electric wires L1 and L2 are twisted together, and untwisted portions UP at both ends of the twisted portion TP where the two electric wires L1 and L2 are untwisted.

[0014] 3 is a diagram showing the twisted wire TW held by the first holding unit 110 and the second holding unit 120 as viewed from above. In FIG. 3, the direction perpendicular to the paper surface is the up-down direction, the top of the paper surface is the upper side, and the bottom of the paper surface is the lower side. In FIG. 3, the direction in which the twisted wire TW extends is the front-rear direction, and the direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction is the left-right direction.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 3 , the first holding portion 110 holds the untwisted portion UP of the twisted wire TW. That is, the first holding portion 110 holds the two electric wires L1 and L2 constituting the twisted wire TW at the untwisted portion UP. In particular, the first holding portion 110 holds the ends of the two electric wires L1 and L2 constituting the twisted wire TW at the untwisted portion UP. At this time, the first holding portion 110 holds the two electric wires L1 and L2 of the twisted wire TW in a state in which the two electric wires L1 and L2 are spread out to the left and right, as shown in FIG. 3 . That is, the first holding portion 110 holds the two electric wires L1 and L2 so that the left-right distance between the two electric wires L1 and L2 in the first holding portion 110 is a distance DS.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 3, the second holding unit 120 holds the twisted portion TP of the twisted wire TW. At this time, for example, the second holding unit 120 holds the twisted portion TP of the twisted wire TW at a position where at least one twist is included in the portion of the twisted wire TW between the portion held by the first holding unit 110 and the portion held by the second holding unit 120. In the example shown in Fig. 3, five twists are included in the portion of the twisted wire TW between the portion held by the first holding unit 110 and the portion held by the second holding unit 120.

[0017] The first holding unit 110 and the second holding unit 120 hold the twisted wire TW so that, for example, bending does not occur in the portion of the twisted wire TW between the portion held by the first holding unit 110 and the portion held by the second holding unit 120.

[0018] The background portion 130 is disposed below the twisted wire TW held by the first holding portion 110 and the second holding portion 120 so that the background color of the twisted wire TW is a single color (first color) when the twisted wire TW is viewed from above. The background portion 130 is a base whose surface located below the twisted wire TW held by the first holding portion 110 and the second holding portion 120 is painted in the first color, or a base whose surface located below the twisted wire TW held by the first holding portion 110 and the second holding portion 120 is covered with a sheet (e.g., paper) of the first color. The background portion 130 may also be a lighting device (backlight) that emits light of the first color from below the twisted wire TW held by the first holding portion 110 and the second holding portion 120. The first color is a color different from the colors of the two electric wires L1 and L2.

[0019] The camera 140 captures an image of the twisted wire TW held by the first holding unit 110 and the second holding unit 120 from above, and generates a rectangular two-dimensional image IM that captures the twisted wire TW. The camera 140 is, for example, an area camera fixed above the twisted wire TW held by the first holding unit 110 and the second holding unit 120. In this embodiment, the two-dimensional image IM is a color image.

[0020] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a two-dimensional image IM generated by the camera 140. As shown in Fig. 4, the camera 140 captures an image so that at least a portion (at least one twist) of the untwisted portion UP and the twisted portion TP held by the first holding unit 110 is captured in the generated two-dimensional image IM. In this embodiment, the background color of the twisted wire TW in the two-dimensional image IM generated by the camera 140 is a first color.

[0021] At this time, the camera 140 captures the image so that the first holding unit 110 is not captured in the generated two-dimensional image IM, as shown in Fig. 4, for example. At this time, it is preferable that the inspection device 100 further includes a marking unit 180. As shown in Fig. 4, the marking unit 180 is spaced a first distance D1 from the first holding unit 110 in the front-rear direction, and is disposed at a position where it is captured in the two-dimensional image IM generated by the camera 140.

[0022] 5, the camera 140 may capture an image so that the first holding unit 113 appears in the two-dimensional image IM. In this case, the inspection device 100 does not need to have the marking unit 180. In this case, even if the inspection device 100 has the marking unit 180, as shown in FIG. 5, the marking unit 180 does not need to appear in the two-dimensional image IM generated by the camera 140.

[0023] In the two-dimensional image IM generated by the camera 140, the direction in which the twist wire TW extends is the front-to-rear direction, and the direction perpendicular to this front-to-rear direction is the left-to-right direction, as shown in Fig. 4. Also, in the two-dimensional image IM generated by the camera 140, the side on which the untwisted portion UP held by the first holding unit 110 is shown is the front side, and the side on which the twisted portion TP is shown is the rear side, as shown in Fig. 4.

[0024] The control unit 150 inspects the twisted wire TW using the two-dimensional image IM generated by the camera 140. To inspect the twisted wire TW, the control unit 150 measures, for example, the boundary position BP of the twisted wire TW (including calculation of the untwist length LU), the pitch length LP of the twisted wire TW, and the twist direction PD of the twisted wire TW, as described in detail below. The control unit 150 is an information processing device that processes information, such as a computer.

[0025] The notification unit 160 notifies the result of the inspection of the twisted wire TW performed by the control unit 150. The notification unit 160 is a display device (for example, a display) that notifies information by displaying the information, an audio output device (for example, a speaker) that notifies information by outputting audio related to the information, or a printing device (for example, a printer) that notifies information by printing the information.

[0026] The storage unit 170 is a storage device that stores information such as a hard disk, memory, etc. The storage unit 170 stores, for example, a program that causes the control unit 150 to execute the above-described processes.

[0027] 6 is a diagram showing the control unit 150. The control unit 150 has an image acquisition processing unit 151, a boundary position measurement processing unit 152, a pitch length measurement processing unit 153, a twist direction measurement processing unit 154, and a notification processing unit 155.

[0028] The image acquisition processing unit 151 uses the camera 140 to photograph the twisted wire TW held by the first holding unit 110 and the second holding unit 120 from above, generates a rectangular two-dimensional image containing the twisted wire TW, and acquires the two-dimensional image IM generated by this camera 140.

[0029] The boundary position measurement processing unit 152 measures a boundary position BP, which is a position that separates the untwisted portion UP and the twisted portion TP of the twisted wire TW, based on the two-dimensional image IM acquired by the image acquisition processing unit 151. Furthermore, the boundary position measurement processing unit 152 calculates the length (untwisted length LU) of the wires L1, L2 of the untwisted portion UP of the twisted wire TW based on the measured boundary position BP. In this embodiment, the boundary position BP is a one-dimensional position, i.e., information indicating a position in the front-rear direction, as shown in Figures 4 and 5 .

[0030] The pitch length measurement processing unit 153 measures the length of one twist (pitch length LP) of the twisted wire TW based on the two-dimensional image IM acquired by the image acquisition processing unit 151 .

[0031] The twist direction measurement processing unit 154 measures the twist direction PD of the twisted wire TW based on the two-dimensional image IM acquired by the image acquisition processing unit 151 .

[0032] The notification processing unit 155 notifies the result of the inspection of the twisted wire TW using the notification unit 160. The notification processing unit 155 notifies, for example, the boundary position BP of the measured twisted wire TW, the calculated untwist length LU of the twisted wire TW, the measured pitch length LP of the twisted wire TW, and the measured twist direction PD of the twisted wire TW.

[0033] 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing operations executed by the control unit 150. The image acquisition processing unit 151 acquires a two-dimensional image IM depicting the twisted wire TW (image acquisition processing step, step S701). The boundary position measurement processing unit 152 measures the boundary position BP, which is the position separating the untwisted portion UP and the twisted portion TP of the twisted wire TW, based on the two-dimensional image IM acquired by the image acquisition processing unit 151, and calculates the untwist length LU based on the measured boundary position BP (boundary position measurement processing step, step S702). The pitch length measurement processing unit 153 measures the pitch length LP of the twisted wire TW based on the two-dimensional image IM acquired by the image acquisition processing unit 151 (pitch length measurement processing step, step S703). The twist direction measurement processing unit 154 measures the twist direction PD of the twisted wire TW based on the two-dimensional image IM acquired by the image acquisition processing unit 151 (twist direction measurement processing step, step S704). The notification processing unit 155 notifies the results of the inspection of the twisted wire TW (e.g., the boundary position BP of the measured twisted wire TW, the calculated untwist length LU of the twisted wire TW, the measured pitch length LP of the twisted wire TW, and the measured twist direction PD of the twisted wire TW) (notification processing step, step S705).

[0034] As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to inspect the twisted wire, such as measuring the boundary position BP of the twisted wire TW, the untwisting length LU, the pitch length LP, and the twisting direction PD.

[0035] 8 is a diagram showing an example of the boundary position measurement processing unit 152. The boundary position measurement processing unit 152 includes a twist line width calculation unit 1521 and a boundary position determination unit 1522.

[0036] The twist line width calculation unit 1521 calculates a first twist line width WT1, which is the horizontal length of a twist line region AT, which is the region occupied by the twist line TW, for each first interval I1 in the front-to-back direction in the two-dimensional image IM, as shown in FIG. 9 . In this embodiment, the twist line region AT is composed of a region in which the twist line TW itself is captured and a region sandwiched between two electric wires L1 and L2 of the twist line TW, as shown in FIG. The twist line width calculation unit 1521 mainly calculates the first twist line width WT1 in the untwisted portion UP. For example, the twist line width calculation unit 1521 calculates the first twist line width WT1 for each first interval I1, starting from the front of the two-dimensional image IM. The first interval I1 is appropriately set, for example, so that a portion of the twist line TW having a length of 1 mm in the front-to-back direction is included in the first interval I1.

[0037] 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing by the twisted wire width calculation unit 1521. In this embodiment, the twisted wire region AT is composed of a region in which the twisted wire TW itself is visible and a region sandwiched between the two electric wires L1 and L2 of the twisted wire TW. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the first twisted wire width WT1 in the untwisted portion UP is the horizontal length of the combined region of the region in which the first electric wire L1 is visible, the region in which the second electric wire L2 is visible, and the region sandwiched between the two electric wires L1 and L2, and the first twisted wire width WT1 in the twisted portion TP is the horizontal length of the region in which the twisted wire TW is visible.

[0038] In this embodiment, the background of the first twist line width WT1 is the first color. Therefore, in this embodiment, by detecting pixels in the two-dimensional image IM that are a color other than the first color, it is possible to detect the area in which the twist line TW is located. Therefore, the twist line width calculation unit 1521 calculates the first twist line width WT1 based on, for example, the positions of pixels that are a color different from the first color. In particular, the twist line width calculation unit 1521 calculates the first twist line width WT1 based on, for example, the positions of the rightmost and leftmost pixels among the pixels that are a color different from the first color for each first interval I1 in the front-to-rear direction.

[0039] The boundary position determination unit 1522 calculates a boundary position candidate BC, which is the frontmost position among the positions in the fore-and-aft direction where the first twist line width WT1 is less than or equal to the first threshold value TV1, and determines the boundary position BP based on this calculated boundary position candidate BC.

[0040] For example, the boundary position determination unit 1522 determines whether the first twist line width WT1 is equal to or less than the first threshold value TV1 each time the twist line width calculation unit 1521 calculates the first twist line width WT1. In this case, if the twist line width calculation unit 1521 calculates the first twist line width WT1 sequentially from the front side of the two-dimensional image IM, the twist line width calculation unit 1521 may terminate the processing when the boundary position determination unit 1522 determines that the first twist line width WT1 is equal to or less than the first threshold value TV1. In other words, the twist line width calculation unit 1521 may calculate the first twist line width WT1 at each first interval I1 sequentially from the front side of the two-dimensional image IM until the boundary position determination unit 1522 determines that the first twist line width WT1 is equal to or less than the first threshold value TV1.

[0041] Here, the first threshold TV1 may be determined based on a wire width WW that is based on the horizontal length of at least one of the two electric wires L1 and L2 in the two-dimensional image IM. In this case, the wire width WW may be the horizontal length LL1 of the electric wire L1 shown on the right side of the untwisted portion UP of the two-dimensional image IM, the horizontal length LL2 of the electric wire L2 shown on the left side of the untwisted portion UP of the two-dimensional image IM, the larger of the lengths LL1 and LL2, the smaller of the lengths LL1 and LL2, or the average of the lengths LL1 and LL2.

[0042] In this case, it is preferable that the boundary position measurement processing unit 152 further includes an electric wire width calculation unit 1523, as shown in FIG. 8 . The electric wire width calculation unit 1523 calculates the electric wire width WW. In this case, the electric wire width calculation unit 1523 may calculate the electric wire width WW based on the two-dimensional image IM, or may calculate the electric wire width WW based on the diameter values ​​of the electric wire L1 and / or the electric wire L2. When the electric wire width WW is calculated based on the diameter values ​​of the electric wire L1 and / or the electric wire L2, it is preferable that the diameter values ​​of the electric wire L1 and / or the electric wire L2 are stored in advance in the storage unit 170.

[0043] The first threshold TV1 may be set to, for example, twice the wire width WW. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing by the boundary position determination unit 1522. FIG. 10 shows a boundary candidate position BC when the first threshold TV1 is set to twice the wire width WW. As shown in FIG. 4 , at the boundary position BP, which separates the untwisted portion UP and the twisted portion TP of the twisted wire TW, i.e., the position where the two wires L1 and L2 begin to contact, the two wires L1 and L2 are in contact with each other side by side. Therefore, at the boundary position BP, the horizontal length of the twisted wire TW (first twisted wire width WT1) is approximately twice the horizontal length of the electric wires L1 and L2. Therefore, if the first threshold TV1 is set to twice the wire width WW, the two wires L1 and L2 begin to come into contact near the boundary position candidate BC, as shown in Figure 10, and the twisted wire TW separates into an untwisted portion UP and a twisted portion TP near the boundary position candidate BC. Therefore, the boundary position measurement processing unit 152 may determine, for example, this boundary position candidate BC as the boundary position BP. In this way, in this embodiment, it is possible to measure the boundary position BP with an accuracy of the first interval I1.

[0044] Furthermore, in order to measure the boundary position BP more accurately, the boundary position determination unit 1522 may set a search frame SF based on the boundary position candidate BC, and determine the frontmost position within this search frame SF in the forward / backward direction where the first color does not exist as the boundary position BP.

[0045] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a search frame SF. The search frame SF is a rectangular region with sides extending in the front-to-back or left-to-right direction, and as shown in FIG. 11 , is set so as to be included in the twisted line region AT in the boundary position candidate BC. Therefore, the left-to-right width of the search frame SF is set to a value (e.g., the electric wire width WW) shorter than the first twisted line width WT1 in the boundary position candidate BC. The right side of the search frame SF is set, for example, so as to be separated from the left-to-right midpoint PC1 of the twisted line TW in the boundary position candidate BC by half the electric wire width WW, and the left side of the search frame SF is set, for example, so as to be separated from the midpoint PC1 by half the electric wire width WW. The front-to-back width of the search frame SF is also set, for example, based on the first interval I1. The front side of search frame SF is set, for example, to be at least a first distance I1 in the front-to-back direction from the boundary position candidate BC, and the rear side of search frame SF is set, for example, to be at least the first distance I1 in the front-to-back direction from the boundary position candidate BC. In the example shown in Fig. 9, the front side of search frame SF is set at a position at the first distance I1 in the front-to-back direction from the boundary position candidate BC, and the rear side of search frame SF is set at the first distance I1 in the front-to-back direction from the boundary position candidate BC.

[0046] By setting the search frame SF in this manner, the frontmost position in the front-to-back direction where the first color does not exist in this search frame SF becomes the position that separates the untwisted portion UP and the twisted portion TP of the twisted wire TW, that is, the boundary position BP. Therefore, it is preferable that the boundary position determination unit 1522 determine the frontmost position in the front-to-back direction where the first color does not exist as the boundary position BP. In this way, it is possible to measure the boundary position BP with greater accuracy.

[0047] 8, the boundary position measurement processing unit 152 may further include an untwisting length calculation unit 1524. The untwisting length calculation unit 1524 calculates the length (untwisting length LU) of the untwisted portion UP of the two electric wires L1 and L2 of the twisted wire TW.

[0048] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of calculating the untwist length LU. Based on the boundary position BP, it is possible to calculate the distance D3 between the first holding unit 110 and the boundary position BP. As shown in FIG. 4, if the first holding unit 110 is not shown in the two-dimensional image IM but the marking unit 180 is, the untwist length calculation unit 1524 calculates the front-to-back distance D2 between the boundary position BP and the marking unit 180, and calculates the front-to-back distance D3 between the first holding unit 110 and the boundary position BP using this distance D2 and the front-to-back distance D1 between the marking unit 180 and the first holding unit 110. As shown in FIG. 5, if the first holding unit 110 is shown in the two-dimensional image IM, the untwist length calculation unit 1524 calculates the front-to-back distance D3 between the first holding unit 110 and the boundary position BP. The untwisting length calculation unit 1524 calculates the untwisting length LU from the distance D3 and the distance DS between the two wires in the left-right direction in the first holding unit 110. (If the lengths of the two wires L1 and L2 in the untwisting portion UP are the same, LU = √(D3 ２ +DS ２ / 4).

[0049] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the processing operations executed in the boundary position measurement processing step (step S702) of FIG.

[0050] The twist line width calculation unit 1521 sets the position X in the front-to-back direction from the front side of the two-dimensional image IM to zero (step S1301). The twist line width calculation unit 1521 calculates a first twist line width WT1 at the position X in the front-to-back direction from the front side of the two-dimensional image IM (step S1302). The boundary position determination processing unit 1522 checks whether the calculated first twist line width WT1 is equal to or smaller than a first threshold value TV1 (step S1303).

[0051] If the calculated first twist line width WT1 is not equal to or less than the first threshold value TV1 (step S1303, NO), the twist line width calculation unit 1521 sets a new position X in the front-to-back direction from the front side of the two-dimensional image IM as a position obtained by adding the first distance I1 to the position X in the front-to-back direction from the front side of the two-dimensional image IM (step S1304), and calculates the first twist line width WT1 at the newly set position X in the front-to-back direction from the front side of the two-dimensional image IM (step S1302).

[0052] If the calculated first twist line width WT1 is equal to or smaller than the first threshold value TV1 (step S1303, YES), the boundary position determination unit 1522 determines the forward-backward position X from the front of the two-dimensional image IM at that time as a boundary position candidate BC, sets a search frame SF based on this boundary position candidate BC (step S1305), and determines the forward-backward position within this search frame SF where the first color is not present as the boundary position BP (step 1306).

[0053] As shown in Fig. 14 , a clamping error may occur in the first holding portion 110, and one of the two electric wires L1, L2 of the twisted wire TW may not be held by the first holding portion 110. In the example shown in Fig. 14 , an electric wire L2 has been clamped incorrectly, and the first holding portion 110 does not hold the electric wire L2. In this case, as shown in Fig. 14 , a sudden change occurs in the size of the first twisted wire width WT1 at the untwisted portion UP of the twisted wire TW.

[0054] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8 , the boundary position measurement processing unit 152 may further include a clamping error detection processing unit 1525. The clamping error detection processing unit 1525 detects clamping errors in the first holding unit 110 based on the first twisted wire width WT1. For example, if the difference between the first twisted wire width WT1 at two adjacent positions in the front-to-rear direction in the untwisted portion UP of the twisted wire TW is equal to or greater than the first difference DEF1, the clamping error detection processing unit 1525 determines that a clamping error has occurred in the first holding unit 110. In this case, when a clamping error is detected by the clamping error detection processing unit 1525, the notification processing unit 155 may notify the occurrence of a clamping error using the notification unit 160. Here, the first difference DEF1 is set appropriately. For example, the first difference DEF1 is set based on the distance DS between the two locations where the first holding unit 110 holds the two electric wires L1 and L2.

[0055] As shown in Fig. 15, a sudden bend may occur in at least one of the two electric wires L1 and L2 of the twisted wire TW. In the example shown in Fig. 15, a sudden bend occurs in the electric wire L1. In this case, as shown in Fig. 15, a sudden change occurs in the first twisted wire width WT1 at the untwisted portion UP of the twisted wire TW.

[0056] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8 , the boundary position measurement processing unit 152 may further include a sharp bend detection processing unit 1526. The sharp bend detection processing unit 1526 detects sharp bends in the two wires L1 and L2 of the twisted wire TW based on the first twist wire width WT1. For example, if the difference in the first twist wire width WT1 between two adjacent positions in the front-to-rear direction in the untwisted portion UP of the twisted wire TW is equal to or greater than the second difference DEF2 and equal to or less than the third difference DEF3, the sharp bend detection processing unit 1526 determines that a sharp bend has occurred in at least one of the two wires L1 and L2 of the twisted wire TW. In this case, when the sharp bend detection processing unit 1526 detects a sharp bend, the notification processing unit 155 may notify the occurrence of the sharp bend using the notification unit 160. Here, the third difference DEF is appropriately set to a value smaller than the first difference DEF1, and the second difference DEF2 is appropriately set to a value smaller than the third difference DEF3.

[0057] 16 is a diagram showing an example of the pitch length measurement processing unit 153. The pitch length measurement unit 153 has a twist line width calculation unit 1531, a valley detection processing unit 1532, and a pitch length calculation unit 1533.

[0058] The twist line width calculation unit 1531 calculates a first twist line width WT1 for each first interval I1 in the front-to-rear direction in the two-dimensional image IM, as shown in Fig. 17. Fig. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing by the twist line width calculation unit 1531. The twist line width calculation unit 1531 calculates the first twist line width WT1 by processing similar to that performed by the twist line width calculation unit 1521 of the boundary position measurement processing unit 152. The twist line width calculation unit 1531 mainly calculates the first twist line width WT1 in the twisted portion TP. In this case, it is preferable that the twist line width calculation unit 1531 calculates the first twist line width WT1 behind the boundary position BP. At this time, for example, the twist line width calculation unit 1531 may calculate the first twist line width WT1 for each first interval I1 in order from the boundary position BP toward the rear side.

[0059] The valley detection processing unit 1532 detects the position where the first twist line width WT1 changes from decreasing to increasing as the first valley V1.

[0060] FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing in the valley detection processor 1532. In the twisted portion TP, the twisted wire TW is thickest when the two electric wires L1 and L2 are aligned horizontally, and is thinnest when the two electric wires L1 and L2 are aligned vertically. As shown in FIG. 18 , the first twisted wire width WT1 decreases until the two electric wires L1 and L2 are aligned vertically, then increases until the two electric wires L1 and L2 are aligned horizontally, and then decreases again until the two electric wires L1 and L2 are aligned vertically. In other words, the first twisted wire width WT1 repeatedly increases and decreases as shown in FIG. 18 . The valley detection processor 1532 detects the position in the front-rear direction where the first twisted wire width WT1 changes from decreasing to increasing as the first valley V1. In this embodiment, the first valley V1 is a one-dimensional position, as shown in FIG. 18, that is, information indicating a position in the front-rear direction.

[0061] The pitch length calculation unit 1533 calculates the pitch length LP of the twisted wire TW based on the first valley V1.

[0062] 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing in the pitch length calculation unit 1533. As shown in FIG. 19, the pitch length calculation unit 1533 calculates the distance between a first valley V1 and its adjacent first valley V1 (i.e., the distance between two first valleys V1) as the pitch length LP. In the example shown in FIG. 19, the distance between odd-numbered first valleys V1 from the front of the two-dimensional image IM is calculated as the pitch length LP. The pitch length calculation unit 1533 may also calculate the distance between even-numbered first valleys V1 from the front as the pitch length LP.

[0063] In this manner, in this embodiment, the pitch length LP is calculated based on the first valley V1, which is the position in the front-to-rear direction. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the twisted wire TW is bent, it is possible to measure the pitch length LP of the twisted wire TW.

[0064] Furthermore, in order to measure the pitch length LP more accurately, the twist line width calculation unit 1531 may set a search width SW for each first valley V1, which is a range in the front-to-back direction including the first valley V1, and calculate a second twist line width WT2, which is the length in the left-to-right direction of the twist line region AT, for each second interval I2, which is shorter than the first interval I1, within the search width SW. The second interval I2 may be, for example, the width of a pixel. In other words, the twist line width calculation unit 1531 may calculate the second twist line width WT2 for each column of pixels aligned in the left-to-right direction.

[0065] 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of the search width SW. For example, as shown in Fig. 20, the search width SW is an area sandwiched between a position that is the first interval I1 before the first valley V1 in the front-to-rear direction and a position that is the first interval I1 after the first valley V1 in the front-to-rear direction.

[0066] The twist line width calculation unit 1531 may set a search width SW, which is a range in the front-to-back direction including the first valley V1, only for odd-numbered first valleys V1 from the front side of the two-dimensional image IM, as shown in Fig. 20. Alternatively, the twist line width calculation unit 1531 may set a search width SW, which is a range in the front-to-back direction including the first valley V1, only for even-numbered first valleys V1 from the front side of the two-dimensional image IM, or may set a search width SW, which is a range in the front-to-back direction including the first valley V1, for all first valleys V1.

[0067] At this time, the valley detection processing unit 1532 detects the position where the second twist line width WT2 changes from decreasing to increasing in each search width SW as the second valley V2, and the pitch length calculation unit 1533 calculates the pitch length LP of the twist line TW based on the second valley V2.

[0068] FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of calculating the pitch length LP of the twist line TW based on the second valleys V2. In FIG. 21, the search width SW is set only for the odd-numbered first valleys V1 from the front of the two-dimensional image IM. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 21, the distance between adjacent second valleys V2 is calculated as the pitch length LP. Similarly, when the search width SW is set only for the even-numbered first valleys V1 from the front of the two-dimensional image IM, the distance between adjacent second valleys V2 is calculated as the pitch length LP. When the search width SW is set for all first valleys V1, the distance between a second valley V2 and its immediately adjacent second valley V2 (i.e., the distance between two second valleys V2) can be calculated as the pitch length LP. When the search width SW is set for all first valleys V1, the distance between the odd-numbered second valleys V2 from the front side of the two-dimensional image IM may be calculated as the pitch length LP, or the distance between the even-numbered second valleys V2 from the front side of the two-dimensional image IM may be calculated as the pitch length LP.

[0069] In this way, by calculating the pitch length LP based on the second valley V2, it becomes possible to measure the pitch length LP with higher accuracy.

[0070] 22 is a diagram showing an example of processing operations executed in the pitch length measurement process (step S703) of FIG. 7. The twist line width calculation unit 1531 calculates a first twist line width WT1 for each first interval I1 (step S2201). The valley detection processing unit 1532 detects a first valley V1 based on the first twist line width WT1 (step S2202). The twist line width calculation unit 1531 sets a search width SW for each odd-numbered first valley V1 from the front side of the two-dimensional image IM (step S2203), and calculates a second twist line width WT2 for each second interval I2 within this search width SW (step S2204). The valley detection processing unit 1532 detects a second valley V2 based on the second twist line width WT2 (step S2205). The pitch length calculation unit 1533 calculates the pitch length LP of the twisted wire TW based on the second valley V2 (step S2206).

[0071] As shown in Figure 23, if a foreign object is present below the twisted portion TP of the twisted wire TW, the foreign object may also be captured in the area where the twisted portion TP of the twisted wire TW is captured. When the first twisted wire width WT1 is calculated based on the positions of pixels whose color is different from the first color, the area where the foreign object is captured will also be included in the twisted wire area AT. Therefore, in this case, as shown in Figure 23, a sudden change occurs in the first twisted wire width WT1 at the twisted portion TP of the twisted wire TW.

[0072] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16 , the pitch length measurement processing unit 153 may further include a foreign object detection processing unit 1534. The foreign object detection processing unit 1534 detects foreign objects in the twisted portion TP of the twisted wire TW based on the first twisted wire width WT1. For example, if the difference between the first twisted wire width WT1 at two adjacent positions in the front-to-rear direction in the twisted portion TP of the twisted wire TW exceeds a fourth difference DEF4, the foreign object detection processing unit 1534 determines that a foreign object is present in the twisted portion TP of the twisted wire TW. In this case, when a foreign object is detected by the foreign object detection processing unit 1534, the notification processing unit 155 may use the notification unit 160 to notify that a foreign object has been detected. Here, the fourth difference DEF4 is set as appropriate.

[0073] 24, the pitch length measurement processing unit 153 may have a peak detection processing unit 1535 instead of the valley detection processing unit 1532. Instead of the valley detection processing unit 1532 detecting the first valley V1 and the second valley V2, the peak detection processing unit 1535 detects the position in the forward / backward direction where the first twist line width WT1 changes from increasing to decreasing as the first peak M1, and detects the position in the forward / backward direction where the second twist line width WT2 changes from increasing to decreasing as the second peak M2. At this time, the twist line width calculation unit 1531 sets a search width SW, which is a range in the front-to-back direction including the first peak M1, for each first peak M1, and calculates a second twist line width WT2, which is the length in the left-to-right direction of the twist line region AT, for each second interval I2 within the search width SW, and the pitch length calculation unit 1533 calculates the pitch length LP of the twist line TW based on the first peak M1 or the second peak M2.

[0074] As shown in FIG. 25 , the pitch length measurement processing unit 153 may include a lateral distance calculation unit 1536 instead of the twist line width calculation unit 1531. The lateral distance calculation unit 1536 calculates a lateral distance SD, which is the horizontal distance from the right or left side of the two-dimensional image IM to the twist line TW. At this time, the lateral distance calculation unit 1536 calculates a first lateral distance SD1, which is the horizontal distance from the right or left side of the two-dimensional image IM to the twist line TW (e.g., twist line region AT), for each first interval, as shown in FIG. 26 . In FIG. 26 , the first lateral distance SD1 is the horizontal distance from the right side of the two-dimensional image IM to the twist line TW. At this time, the valley detection processing unit 1532 detects the position in the front-to-back direction where the first lateral distance SD1 changes from increasing to decreasing as a first valley V1. The lateral distance calculation unit 1536 may set a search width SW, which is a range in the front-to-back direction that includes each first valley V1, for each first valley V1, in the same manner as the twist line width calculation unit 1531, and calculate a second lateral distance SD2, which is the distance in the left-to-right direction from the right or left side of the two-dimensional image IM to the twist line TW, for each second interval I2 within the search width SW. In this case, the valley detection processing unit 1532 may detect, as the second valley V2, a position in the front-to-back direction where the second lateral distance SD2 changes from increasing to decreasing.

[0075] <Twisting direction measurement processing unit 154> The twisting direction measurement processing unit 154 determines the twisting direction PD of the twisted wire TW based on, for example, color information (intersection position color information) about the twisted wire TW at the intersection position CP, which is the foremost first valley V1 among the first valleys V1 calculated by the pitch length measurement processing unit 153. Fig. 27 is a diagram showing an example of the twisting direction measurement processing unit 154. The twisting direction measurement processing unit 154 includes a wire color information acquisition processing unit 1541, an intersection position color information acquisition processing unit 1542, and a twisting direction determination unit 1543.

[0076] The electric wire color information acquisition processing unit 1541 acquires electric wire color information, which is color information of at least one of the two electric wires. The electric wire color information acquisition processing unit 1541 may acquire the electric wire color information based on the two-dimensional image IM. In this case, for example, the electric wire color information acquisition processing unit 1541 acquires color information of the electric wire appearing on the right side of the untwisted portion UP and / or color information of the electric wire appearing on the left side of the untwisted portion UP, based on the two-dimensional image IM. Furthermore, the color information of the two electric wires may be stored in advance in the storage unit 170, and the electric wire color information acquisition processing unit 1541 may acquire the electric wire color information from this storage unit 170.

[0077] The crossing position color information acquisition processing unit 1542 acquires the crossing position color information. The twisting direction determination unit 1543 determines the twisting direction PD of the twisted wire TW based on the electric wire color information and the crossing position color information.

[0078] 28 and 29 are diagrams illustrating the processing by the intersection position color information acquisition processor 1542 and the twist direction determination unit 1543. The twisted wire TW shown in the two-dimensional image IM shown in Fig. 28 is left-twisted, and the twisted wire TW shown in the two-dimensional image IM shown in Fig. 29 is right-twisted. The intersection position color information acquisition processor 1542 acquires, for example, color information of the pixel at the midpoint PC2 in the left-right direction of the twisted wire TW at the intersection position CP as the intersection position color information.

[0079] In each of the first valleys V1 calculated by the pitch length measurement processing unit 153, one of the two electric wires L1, L2 of the twisted wire TW is located above the other electric wire. Therefore, the color of the twisted wire at the crossing position CP, which is the foremost first valley V1 of the first valleys V1, is the color of the electric wire located above at the crossing position CP. In Fig. 28 , the electric wire L1 shown on the right side in the untwisted portion UP is located above the electric wire L2 at the crossing position CP, and the color of the twisted wire TW at the crossing position CP is the color of the electric wire L1. In Fig. 29 , the electric wire L2 shown on the left side in the untwisted portion UP is located above the electric wire L1 at the crossing position CP, and the color of the twisted wire TW at the crossing position CP is the color of the electric wire L2.

[0080] Therefore, if the color information of the electric wire shown on the right side in the untwisting portion UP is the same as the color information of the crossing position, or / and the color information of the electric wire shown on the left side in the untwisting portion UP is different from the color information of the crossing position, the twist direction determination unit 1543 determines that the twist direction PD of the twisted wire TW is left-handed, and if the color information of the electric wire shown on the right side in the untwisting portion UP is different from the color information of the crossing position, or / and the color information of the electric wire shown on the left side in the untwisting portion UP is the same as the color information of the crossing position, the twist direction determination unit 1543 determines that the twist direction PD of the twisted wire TW is right-handed.

[0081] In this manner, in this embodiment, it is possible to measure the twist direction PD of the twisted wire TW.

[0082] The twist direction determination unit 1543 determines whether the color information of the two electric wires L1 and L2 and the crossing position color information are the same, for example, using RGB color components. Fig. 30 is a diagram showing an example of the color information of the right-side electric wire L1, the color information of the left-side electric wire L2, and the crossing position color information when the twisted wire TW is twisted left-handed. In the example shown in Fig. 30, since the twisted wires are twisted left-handed, the right-side electric wire L1 is above the left-side electric wire L2 at the crossing position CP, and the color of the right-side electric wire L1 is the same as the color of the twisted wires at the crossing position CP.

[0083] The twisting direction determination unit 1543 calculates, for example, for each RGB color component, a first brightness difference DB1 which is the difference between the brightness of the electric wire L1 shown on the right side in the untwisting portion UP and the brightness of the twisted wire TW at the crossing position CP, and a second brightness difference DB2 which is the difference between the brightness of the electric wire L2 shown on the left side in the untwisting portion UP and the brightness of the twisted wire TW at the crossing position CP. Then, if the square root of the sum of the squares of the first brightness difference DB1 is smaller than the square root of the sum of the squares of the second brightness difference DB2, the twisting direction determination unit 1543 determines that the color information of the electric wire appearing on the right side of the untwisting portion UP is the same as the color information of the intersection position, and if the square root of the sum of the squares of the first brightness difference DB1 is greater than the square root of the sum of the squares of the second brightness difference DB2, the twisting direction determination unit 1543 determines that the color information of the electric wire appearing on the left side of the untwisting portion UP is the same as the color information of the intersection position.

[0084] In the example shown in FIG. 30, the first brightness difference DB1 is 10 (=255-245) for the R component, 0 (=255-255) for the G component, and 20 (=255-235) for the B component. The second brightness difference DB2 is -41 (=204-245) for the R component, 0 (=255-255) for the G component, and -82 (=153-235) for the B component. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 30, the square root of the sum of squares of the first brightness difference DB1 is 22 (=√(10 ２ +20 ２ )), and the square root of the sum of squares of the second lightness difference DB2 is 92 (=√((-41) ２ +(-82) ２ In this way, in the case of left-handed twisting, that is, when the color of the electric wire L1 shown on the right side is the same as the color of the twisted wire TW at the crossing position CP, the square root of the sum of the squares of the first brightness difference DB1 is smaller than the square root of the sum of the squares of the second brightness difference DB2.

[0085] Furthermore, the twisting direction determination unit 1543 may calculate a characteristic color component, which is the color component among RGB having the largest absolute value of the difference in brightness between the electric wire L1 shown on the right side in the untwisting portion UP and the electric wire L2 shown on the left side in the untwisting portion UP, and may calculate, from the characteristic color component, a third brightness difference DB3 which is the difference in brightness between the electric wire L1 shown on the right side in the untwisting portion UP and the twisted wire TW at the crossing position CP, and a fourth brightness difference DB4 which is the difference in brightness between the electric wire L1 shown on the left side in the untwisting portion UP and the twisted wire TW at the crossing position CP. The twisting direction determination unit 1543 may then determine that if the absolute value of the third brightness difference DB3 is smaller than the absolute value of the fourth brightness difference DB4, the color information of the electric wire L1 shown on the right side in the untwisting portion UP is the same as the color information of the intersection position, and if the absolute value of the third brightness difference DB3 is larger than the absolute value of the fourth brightness difference DB4, the color information of the electric wire L2 shown on the left side in the untwisting portion UP is the same as the color information of the intersection position.

[0086] In the example shown in FIG. 30 , the absolute value of the difference in lightness between the electric wire L1 and the electric wire L2 is 51 (=|255-204|) for the R component, 0 (=|255-255|) for the G component, and 102 (=|255-153|) for the B component. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 30 , the characteristic color component is the B component. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 30 , the absolute value of the third lightness difference DB3 is 20 (=|255-235|), and the absolute value of the fourth lightness difference is 82 (=|153-235|). In this way, in the case of left-handed twisting, that is, when the electric wire L1 shown on the right and the twisted wire TW at the crossing position CP are the same color, the third lightness difference DB3 is smaller than the fourth lightness difference DB4.

[0087] 31 is a diagram showing an example of processing operations executed in the twist direction measurement processing step (step S704) of FIG. 7. The electric wire color information acquisition processing unit 1541 acquires electric wire color information (step S3101). The intersection position color information acquisition processing unit 1542 acquires intersection position color information (step S3102). The twist direction determination unit 1543 determines the twist direction PD of the twisted wire TW based on the electric wire color information and the intersection position color information (step S3103).

[0088] The present invention has been described above in terms of preferred embodiments thereof. While the present invention has been described herein with reference to specific examples, various modifications and variations can be made to these examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims.

[0089] 100 Inspection device 110 First holding unit 120 Second holding unit 130 Background unit 140 Camera 150 Control unit 151 Image acquisition processing unit 152 Boundary position measurement processing unit 1521 Twisted wire width calculation unit 1522 Boundary position determination unit 1523 Wire width calculation unit 1524 Untwisted length calculation unit 1525 Clamping error detection processing unit 1526 Sudden bend detection processing unit 153 Pitch length measurement processing unit 1531 Twisted wire width calculation unit 1532 Valley detection processing unit 1533 Pitch length calculation unit 1534 Foreign object detection processing unit 1535 Peak detection processing unit 1536 Lateral distance calculation unit 154 Twisting direction measurement processing unit 1541 Wire color information acquisition processing unit 1542 Intersection position color information acquisition processing unit 1543 Twisting direction determination unit 155 Notification processing unit 160 Notification unit 170 Storage unit 180 Printing unit

Claims

1. An information processing device having an image acquisition processing unit that acquires a two-dimensional image of a twisted wire in which two electric wires are twisted together, and a twist direction measurement processing unit that measures the twist direction of the twisted wire based on the two-dimensional image.

2. The information processing device of claim 1, further comprising: a twist line width calculation unit that calculates a first twist line width, which is the left-right length of an area occupied by the twist line, for each first interval in the front-to-back direction in the two-dimensional image; and a valley detection processing unit that detects, as a first valley, a position where the first twist line width changes from decreasing to increasing, wherein the twist direction measurement processing unit determines the twist direction of the twist line based on intersection position color information, which is color information about the twist line at the position of the first valley that is the foremost first valley among the first valleys.

3. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein the twist direction measurement processing unit includes: an electric wire color information acquisition processing unit that acquires electric wire color information, which is color information of at least one of the two electric wires; an intersection position color information acquisition processing unit that acquires the intersection position color information; and a twist direction determination unit that determines the twist direction of the twisted wire based on the electric wire color information and the intersection position color information.

4. The information processing device according to claim 3, wherein the electric wire color information acquisition processing section acquires the electric wire color information based on the two-dimensional image.

5. The information processing device of claim 3, wherein the twist direction determination unit determines that the twist direction of the twisted wire is left-handed if, in the two-dimensional image, color information of the electric wire on the right side of the untwisted portion is the same as the color information of the crossing position and / or color information of the electric wire on the left side of the untwisted portion is different from the color information of the crossing position, and determines that the twist direction of the twisted wire is right-handed if, in the two-dimensional image, color information of the electric wire on the right side of the untwisted portion is different from the color information of the crossing position and / or color information of the electric wire on the left side of the untwisted portion is the same as the color information of the crossing position.

6. The information processing device of claim 5, wherein the twisting direction determination unit calculates, for each of the RGB color components, a first brightness difference which is the difference between the brightness of the electric wire appearing on the right side of the untwisted portion and the brightness of the twisted wire at the intersection, and a second brightness difference which is the difference between the brightness of the electric wire appearing on the left side of the untwisted portion and the brightness of the intersection, and determines that the color information of the electric wire appearing on the right side of the untwisted portion and the intersection position color information are the same if the square root of the sum of the squares of the first brightness difference is smaller than the square root of the sum of the squares of the second brightness difference, and determines that the color information of the electric wire appearing on the left side of the untwisted portion and the intersection position color information are the same if the square root of the sum of the squares of the first brightness difference is greater than the square root of the second brightness difference.

7. The twisting direction determination unit calculates a characteristic color component, which is a color component among RGB having the largest difference in brightness between the electric wire appearing on the right side of the untwisted portion and the electric wire appearing on the left side of the untwisted portion, calculates a third brightness difference, which is a difference in brightness between the electric wire appearing on the right side of the untwisted portion and the twisted wire at the crossing position, and a fourth brightness difference, which is a difference in brightness between the electric wire appearing on the left side of the untwisted portion and the twisted wire at the crossing position, from the characteristic color component, and determines that the color information of the electric wire appearing on the right side of the untwisted portion and the crossing position color information are the same if the absolute value of the third brightness difference is smaller than the absolute value of the fourth brightness difference, 6. The information processing device according to claim 5, wherein if the absolute value of the third brightness difference is greater than the absolute value of the fourth brightness difference, it is determined that color information of the electric wire appearing on the left side of the untwisted portion is the same as the crossing position color information.

8. An inspection device comprising: an information processing device as described in claim 1; a first holding portion that holds an end of the untwisted portion of the twisted wire; a second holding portion that holds at least a portion of the twisted portion of the twisted wire; and a camera that photographs the twisted wire and generates the two-dimensional image.

9. An information processing method executed by a computer, comprising: an image acquisition processing step of acquiring a two-dimensional image of a twisted wire formed by twisting two electric wires together; and a twist direction measurement processing step of measuring the twist direction of the twisted wire based on the two-dimensional image.

10. An information processing program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to claim 9.

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