Inspection system, inspection method, and program

Abstract

Provided are an inspection system, an inspection method, and a program, all of which are for improving detection accuracy of a foreign object in a container filled with a liquid. The inspection system comprises a rotation control unit that performs control for rotating the container around a horizontal axis in a direction in which the inclination of the central axis with respect to the vertical axis increases while rotating the container around the central axis of the container filled with the liquid.

Description

Inspection system, inspection method, and program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an inspection system, an inspection method, and a program.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an inspection method that includes a step of rotating a container (e.g., a syringe) by 180 degrees or more around an axis perpendicular to the central axis of the container, and then rotating the container around the central axis. This inspection method makes it possible to obtain image data for accurately detecting foreign matter.

[0003] International Publication No. 2022 / 239158

[0004] When rotating the container around the orthogonal axis, foreign matter may adhere to the bottom surface of the container, which may result in a decrease in the accuracy of detecting foreign matter.

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned problems, one of the objects of the present disclosure is to provide an inspection system, an inspection method, and a program that improve the accuracy of detecting foreign matter in a container filled with liquid.

[0006] The inspection system according to the first aspect of the present disclosure includes a rotation control unit that controls the rotation of a liquid-filled container around a first rotation axis, which is the central axis of the container, while rotating the container around a second rotation axis that is perpendicular to the first rotation axis in a direction that increases the inclination of the first rotation axis relative to a vertical axis.

[0007] An inspection method according to a second aspect of the present disclosure involves rotating a container filled with liquid around a first rotation axis, which is the central axis of the container, while rotating the container around a second rotation axis perpendicular to the first rotation axis in a direction that increases the inclination of the first rotation axis relative to a vertical axis.

[0008] A program according to a third aspect of the present disclosure causes a computer to execute control to rotate a container filled with liquid around a first rotation axis, which is the central axis of the container, while rotating the container around a second rotation axis perpendicular to the first rotation axis in a direction that increases the inclination of the first rotation axis relative to a vertical axis.

[0009] The present disclosure makes it possible to provide an inspection system, an inspection method, and a program that improve the accuracy of detecting foreign matter in a container filled with liquid.

[0010] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an overview of an inspection method according to a study example. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a problem with the inspection method according to the study example. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an inspection system according to the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an inspection method according to the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of an inspection system according to the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an information processing device according to the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an inspection method according to the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating movement of a vial according to the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an information processing device, etc. according to the present disclosure.

[0011] Background to the Embodiment Products containing liquids such as pharmaceuticals sealed in transparent containers need to be inspected for the presence of foreign objects inside the product. In recent years, such foreign object inspections have been automated. Foreign objects floating on the liquid surface are obscured by the liquid surface or the container structure (e.g., lid, constricted portion), and there is a problem that the background when observing such foreign objects tends to be complex. While it is possible to image foreign objects located at the center of the liquid surface from above at an angle, if the diameter of the container is small, there is a risk that the foreign object will move to the periphery of the liquid surface due to surface tension. To avoid this problem, foreign objects in the container are guided to a position where they can be easily observed.

[0012] The inventors have investigated a method for rotating a container on its side by rotating the container on a second axis of rotation perpendicular to a first axis of rotation, which is the central axis of the container, and then rotating the container on its side. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of the inspection method according to the investigated example. The left figure shows the bottom of a container 1 (e.g., a vial) placed on its side. The right figure shows the side of the container 1 placed on its side. The container 1 is filled with a liquid 3. Referring to the right figure, a foreign object 2 is attached to the inner wall of the bottle body of the container 1. When the container 1 is rotated on its side, the foreign object 2 moves from the inner wall to the surface of the liquid 3. The arrow indicates the direction of movement of the foreign object 2. The inspection method according to the investigated example can distinguish the foreign object 2 from scratches or dirt on the container 1.

[0013] 2 is a diagram illustrating a problem with the inspection method according to the study example. The inventors discovered that when the container 1 is turned sideways, a foreign object 2 may adhere to the bottom surface of the container 1. When observing the foreign object 2 adhered to the bottom surface of the container 1, the foreign object 2 cannot be clearly observed due to interference between light from the foreign object 2 and light from the bottom surface or the liquid surface of the container 1, or due to obstruction by unevenness on the bottom surface, making it difficult to detect the foreign object 2.

[0014] The inventors have conceived the invention according to the embodiment based on the above-mentioned considerations.

[0015] Embodiment 1 Hereinafter, embodiment 1 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an inspection system 10 according to the present disclosure. The inspection system 10 includes a rotation control unit 11. The inspection system 10 may further include a first rotation drive mechanism (not shown) and a second rotation drive mechanism (not shown). The first rotation drive mechanism rotates the container around a first rotation axis, which is the central axis of the container, under the control of the rotation control unit 11. The second rotation drive mechanism rotates the container around a second rotation axis perpendicular to the first rotation axis, under the control of the rotation control unit 11. The first rotation drive mechanism and the second drive mechanism may include motors.

[0016] The inspection system 10 includes an information processing device (not shown) including a rotation control unit 11. The information processing device may be a computer device that operates by a processor executing a program stored in a memory. The information processing device may also be composed of multiple computers.

[0017] A container (e.g., a vial, an ampoule, a syringe, or a plastic bottle) is filled with a liquid (e.g., a pharmaceutical product (including a protein preparation), drinking water, etc.). The first rotation axis passes through the center of the bottom surface of the container and the center of the top surface of the container. The container may be formed in a cylindrical shape centered on the first rotation axis.

[0018] The rotation control unit 11 performs control to rotate the container around the first rotation axis while rotating the container around the second rotation axis in a direction that increases the inclination of the first rotation axis relative to the vertical axis. Specifically, the rotation control unit 11 generates a first control signal and a second control signal for performing the above control and outputs the first control signal and the second control signal to the first rotation drive mechanism and the second rotation drive mechanism, respectively. The rotation of the container around the first rotation axis (also referred to as the first rotation) and the rotation of the container around the second rotation axis (also referred to as the second rotation) may be performed simultaneously. Alternatively, the first rotation and the second rotation may be performed multiple times in this order or in reverse order. In this case, the first rotation and the second rotation are performed intermittently.

[0019] Next, the flow of the inspection method according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 4. In the inspection method according to the present disclosure, while rotating a container about a first rotation axis, the container is rotated about a second rotation axis in a direction in which the inclination of the first rotation axis with respect to the vertical axis increases (step S1). After step S1, the inspection system 10 may acquire an image of the side surface of the container and detect foreign matter present in the container based on the image.

[0020] As described above, the inspection system 10 rotates a container around a first rotation axis while rotating the container around a second rotation axis in a direction that increases the inclination of the first rotation axis with respect to the vertical axis. As a result, the inspection system 10 can prevent foreign matter from adhering to the bottom surface of the container and improve the accuracy of detecting foreign matter in the container.

[0021] Embodiment 2 Embodiment 2 is a specific example of embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of an inspection system 100 according to the present disclosure. The inspection system 100 is a specific example of the inspection system 10. Referring to FIG. 5, the inspection system 100 is a system that inspects filled vials 110. The filled vials 110 are an example of the containers described above. The inspection system 100 includes, as main components, a gripping and rotating device 200, an illumination device 300, a camera device 400, an information processing device 500, and a display device 600.

[0022] The filled vial (hereinafter simply referred to as a vial) 110 is, for example, a bottle that is filled with a medicinal solution, has its opening sealed with a rubber stopper, and is then covered with an aluminum cap to preserve the medicinal solution in a sterile environment. Alternatively, a cap (such as a flip cap) that combines an aluminum seal and a plastic cap may be used. The rubber stopper and the aluminum and plastic caps form the lid of the vial 110. The amount of liquid filled into the vial 110 in this example is approximately half the capacity of the vial 110. That is, the liquid level R of the vial 110 in this example is approximately the center of the vial body. However, the vials to which the present invention is applicable are not limited to the above. Furthermore, the amount of liquid filled into the vial 110 does not need to be approximately half the capacity of the vial 110; it may be more than half or less than half. The vial 110 may have various defects. For example, there is a possibility that foreign matter has been mixed into the vial 110. Examples of foreign matter include glass fragments, metal fragments, rubber fragments, hair, fiber fragments, soot, and the like. Furthermore, the vial 110 may have cracks, scratches, dirt, improper seaming, insufficient medicine, and the like. The inspection system 100 is a system that inspects the vial 110 for various defects that may occur. The inspection system 100 according to this embodiment inspects for foreign matter attached to the bottle body, scratches on the bottle body, matter attached to the inside of the lid, scratches on the bottom, and the like. However, the items inspected by the inspection system 100 are not limited to those described above. Other inspection items may also be used, such as foreign matter floating in the filled liquid, foreign matter settling on the bottom, insufficient medicine (insufficient filling), foreign matter floating on the liquid surface, improper seaming, and scratches on the bottle top.

[0023] The vial 110, in an upright position, consists of, from top to bottom, a seam, a bottle head (container head), a truncated cone-shaped bottle shoulder (container shoulder), a cylindrical bottle body (container body), and a bottle bottom that closes the bottle body. Foreign matter attached to the bottle body is foreign matter attached to the inner or outer wall surface of the bottle body of the vial 110. Typical foreign matter attached to the bottle body includes fiber fragments. The fiber fragments are approximately tens of microns in diameter and several hundred microns to several millimeters in length. Bottle body damage is cracks, scratches, dirt, etc. on the bottle body of the vial 110. Lid back adhesion is foreign matter attached to the back side of the lid of the vial 110 (the back side of the rubber stopper). Bottom damage is cracks, scratches, dirt, etc. on the bottom of the vial 110. The size of the bottle body and bottom damage to be detected is on the order of millimeters. This is because fine scratches are generally not considered a problem.

[0024] The gripping and rotating device 200 is a device that can rotate a vial 110 while gripping it. The gripping and rotating device 200 has two mutually orthogonal rotation axes (rotation axis A and rotation axis B), and is capable of rotating the gripped vial 110 about rotation axis A and rotation axis B. Rotation axis A corresponds to the first rotation axis described above, and rotation axis B corresponds to the second rotation axis described above. The gripping and rotating device 200 includes a flat plate-like member 201, an upper arm 202 connected to the upper end of the flat plate-like member 201, and a lower arm 203 connected to the lower end of the flat plate-like member 201. A lower gripping part 204 is connected to the end of the lower arm 203 opposite to the end to which the flat plate-like member 201 is connected.

[0025] The lower gripping portion 204 functions as a base for placing the vial 110. A rotatable plate 205 is attached to the upper surface of the lower gripping portion 204.

[0026] A chuck mechanism 206 having chuck fingers 211 for chucking the vial 110 is provided at the end of the upper arm 202 opposite to the end to which the flat plate-like member 201 is connected. For example, the chuck mechanism 206 may be configured as, but is not limited to, a parallel open / close air chuck. The chuck fingers 211 are rotatable about a rotation axis A and are movable up and down along the rotation axis A. The chuck mechanism 206 closes, opens, rotates, and moves up and down the chuck fingers 211 in accordance with commands sent from the information processing device 500. When the vial 110 is placed on the plate 205 in an upright position and the chuck fingers 211 are lowered to chuck the top of the vial 110, the vial 110 is gripped by the gripping / rotating device 200 so that its central axis (the axis passing through the center of the top and bottom; also referred to as the upright central axis) coincides with the rotation axis A. When the chuck fingers 211 are rotated in this state, the vial 110 rotates around the rotation axis A. A rotation angle detector 209, such as an encoder, provided on the upper arm 202 detects the rotation angle of the chuck fingers 211, and therefore the rotation angle of the vial 110 chucked by the chuck fingers 211 about the rotation axis A. The rotation angle detector 209 is configured to output the rotation angle to the information processing device 500.

[0027] The lighting device 300 is a surface light source that illuminates the bottle body of the vial 110 chucked by the chuck mechanism 206 of the gripping and rotating device 200 from a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis A, and is attached to the flat plate-like member 201. The lighting device 300 is installed on the opposite side of the vial 110 from the camera device 400.

[0028] The plate-like member 201 is supported by a rotating shaft 208 that is rotated by a motor 207. The motor 207 is fixed by a support member (not shown). When the rotating shaft 208 is rotated by the motor 207, the plate-like member 201 rotates. Accordingly, all elements directly or indirectly connected or attached to the plate-like member 201, i.e., the upper arm 202, the lower arm 203, the lower gripping portion 204, the chuck fingers 211, the chuck mechanism 206, the plate 205, the illumination device 300, the rotation angle detector 209, and the rotation angle detector 210, rotate. Therefore, the vial 110 placed on the plate 205 and chucked by the chuck mechanism 206 also rotates around the rotation axis B. The dimensions and mounting positions of each part of the gripping / rotating device 200 are specified so that the vial 110 rotates around an axis perpendicular to the rotation axis A and passing through the center of the vial 110. A rotation angle detector 210 such as an encoder provided on the flat plate-like member 201 is configured to detect the rotation angle of the rotating shaft 208, and therefore the rotation angle of the vial 110 chucked by the chuck finger 211 around the rotation axis B, and output it to the information processing device 500.

[0029] The camera device 400 is a high-speed camera equipped with a wide-angle lens that continuously captures images of the vial body of the vial 110 at a predetermined frame rate (100 fps or higher) from a predetermined position on the opposite side of the vial 110 from the side where the illumination device 300 is installed. The camera device 400 may have a telecentric lens instead of a wide-angle lens. The optical axis of the camera device 400 is parallel to the rotation axis B. The focus value of the camera device 400 is adjusted, for example, so that scratches on the outer wall of the vial body or foreign matter attached to the inner wall close to the camera device 400 can be clearly captured. The camera device 400 includes, for example, a color camera equipped with a charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensor or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor having a pixel capacity of several million pixels. Alternatively, the camera device 400 may include a monochrome camera. The camera device 400 is connected to the information processing device 500 via a wired or wireless connection. The camera device 400 is configured to transmit time-series images obtained by capturing images to the information processing device 500 together with information indicating the capture time and the like.

[0030] The display device 600 is a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). The display device 600 is connected to the information processing device 500 by wire or wirelessly. The display device 600 is configured to display the results of an inspection of the vial 110 performed by the information processing device 500.

[0031] The information processing device 500 is a device that performs image processing on time-series images captured by the camera device 400, and inspects the vial 110 for foreign matter. The information processing device 500 is connected to the gripping / rotating device 200, the camera device 400, and the display device 600 by wire or wirelessly.

[0032] 6 is a block diagram showing an example of an information processing device 500. Referring to FIG. 6, the information processing device 500 includes a communication I / F unit 510, an operation input unit 520, a storage unit 530, and an arithmetic processing unit 540.

[0033] The communication I / F unit 510 is composed of a data communication circuit and is configured to perform data communication with the gripping and rotating device 200, the lighting device 300, the camera device 400, the display device 600, and other external devices (not shown) via wired or wireless connections. The operation input unit 520 is composed of operation input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, and is configured to detect operations by the operator and output the detected operations to the calculation processing unit 540.

[0034] The storage unit 530 is composed of one or more storage devices of one or more types, such as a hard disk or memory, and is configured to store processing information and a program 531 required for various processes in the arithmetic processing unit 540. The program 531 is a program that is read into the arithmetic processing unit 540 and executed to realize various processing units, and is read in advance from an external device or recording medium (not shown) via a data input / output function such as the communication I / F unit 510 and stored in the storage unit 530.

[0035] The arithmetic processing unit 540 has a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and its peripheral circuits, and is configured to read and execute a program 531 from the storage unit 530, thereby realizing various processing units through cooperation between the above hardware and the program 531. The main processing units realized by the arithmetic processing unit 540 include a gripping / rotation control unit 541, an acquisition unit 542, a detection unit 543, and a display control unit 544.

[0036] The gripping / rotation control unit 541 is a specific example of the rotation control unit 11 described above. The gripping / rotation control unit 541 is configured to control the gripping / rotating device 200. The gripping / rotation control unit 541 controls operations such as lowering, closing, rotating, opening, and raising of the chuck fingers 211 by transmitting and receiving signals to and from the chuck mechanism 206 of the gripping / rotating device 200 via the communication I / F unit 510. In this way, the gripping / rotation control unit 541 controls the rotation of the vial 110 gripped by the gripping / rotating device 200 about the rotation axis A. The gripping / rotation control unit 541 also controls the rotation of the vial 110 gripped by the gripping / rotating device 200 about the rotation axis B by transmitting and receiving signals to and from the motor 207 via the communication I / F unit 510. The gripping / rotation control unit 541 also monitors the rotation angles around the rotation axes A and B of the vial 110 gripped by the gripping / rotating device 200 by transmitting and receiving signals to and from the rotation angle detectors 209 and 210 via the communication I / F unit 510. The gripping / rotation control unit 541 controls the rotation of the vial 110 around the rotation axis A while controlling the rotation of the vial 110 around the rotation axis B so that the rotation axis A substantially coincides with the horizontal axis. When the orientation of the vial 110 changes from an upright orientation to a sideways orientation, the inclination of the rotation axis A relative to the vertical axis changes from 0° to 90°. The "inclination of the rotation axis A relative to the vertical axis" may correspond to the absolute value of the rotation angle around the rotation axis B. The rotation angle around the rotation axis B may be expressed, for example, as a positive value (e.g., 0 to +90°) for a clockwise rotation angle and a negative value (e.g., 0 to -90°) for a counterclockwise rotation angle.

[0037] The acquisition unit 542 is configured to control the lighting device 300 and the camera device 400. The acquisition unit 542 controls the lighting device 300, such as by transmitting and receiving signals to and from the lighting device 300 via the communication I / F unit 510. The acquisition unit 542 also controls the photographing of the vial 110 held by the gripping and rotating device 200 and acquires time-series images obtained by photographing the vial 110 by transmitting and receiving signals to and from the camera device 400 via the communication I / F unit 510. The acquisition unit 542 also stores in the storage unit 530 image information (not shown) including the images acquired from the camera device 400 and information on the rotation angles of the vial 110 about the rotation axis A and the rotation axis B monitored by the rotation angle detectors 209 and 210.

[0038] The detection unit 543 is configured to inspect the presence or absence of foreign matter in the vial 110 based on the image information acquired by the acquisition unit 542. The detection unit 543 is also configured to store information representing the inspection result in the storage unit 530.

[0039] The display control unit 544 is configured to output information representing the test results to the display device 600 .

[0040] Next, the operation of the inspection system 100 will be described. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the inspection method according to the present disclosure. The inspection system 100 performs the process shown in Fig. 7 for each vial 110 to be inspected. Dust and the like that may adhere to the outside of the vial 110 to be inspected is blown away with air immediately before inspection.

[0041] When the process of FIG. 7 starts, the gripping / rotating device 200 is in an initial state. In the initial state, the chuck fingers 211 of the gripping / rotating device 200 are open, raised, and stopped from rotating. At this time, the rotation angle about the rotation axis A detected by the rotation angle detector 209 is set to 0°. The motor 207 of the gripping / rotating device 200 also stops the rotation of the flat plate-like member 201 about the rotation axis B at an angle where the rotation axis A coincides with the vertical. At this time, the rotation angle about the rotation axis B detected by the rotation angle detector 210 is set to 0°. In this initial state, the gripping / rotating device 200 of the inspection system 100 loads the vial 110 to be inspected (step S21). At this time, the gripping / rotating control unit 541 uses, for example, a robot arm (not shown) or a human hand to place the vial 110 in an upright position at a predetermined position on the plate 205 of the gripping / rotating device 200. Next, the gripping / rotation control unit 541 controls the chuck mechanism 206 to lower the chuck fingers 211 and chuck the head of the vial 110. As a result, the vial 110 to be inspected is gripped in an upright position by the gripping / rotation device 200. At this time, the central axis of the vial 110 is aligned substantially vertically with the rotation axis A.

[0042] Next, the inspection system 100 rotates the vial 110 around rotation axis A while rotating the vial 110 around rotation axis B so that rotation axis A is horizontal (step S22). As a result, the vial 110 is gripped by the gripping / rotating device 200 in a sideways position. In step S22, the gripping / rotation control unit 541 controls the chuck mechanism 206 and the motor 207 to rotate the vial 110 around rotation axis A and rotation axis B in accordance with a preset rotation angle timeline (also referred to as a rotation table). When starting rotation of the vial 110 around rotation axis A, the gripping / rotation control unit 541 issues a rotation start command to the chuck mechanism 206 specifying the rotation direction, and when ending the rotation, issues a rotation end command to the chuck mechanism 206. Furthermore, when rotating vial 110 about rotation axis B, gripping / rotation control unit 541 issues a rotation start command specifying the rotation direction to motor 207, and when terminating the rotation, issues a rotation end command to motor 207. During rotation, gripping / rotation control unit 541 also monitors the rotation angles around rotation axis A and rotation axis B detected by rotation angle detector 209 and rotation angle detector 210.

[0043] Next, the inspection system 100 rotates the vial 110 about the rotation axis A and photographs it (step S23). In this step S23, the gripping / rotation control unit 541 controls the chuck mechanism 206 and the motor 207 to rotate the vial 110 about the rotation axis A in accordance with a preset rotation table. When starting to rotate the vial 110, the gripping / rotation control unit 541 issues a rotation start command to the chuck mechanism 206 specifying the rotation direction, and when ending the rotation, issues a rotation end command to the chuck mechanism 206. During rotation, the gripping / rotation control unit 541 monitors the rotation angle about the rotation axis A detected by the rotation angle detector 209.

[0044] Meanwhile, in step S23, when the camera device 400 starts photographing the vial 110, the acquisition unit 542 issues a turn-on command to the illumination device 300 and a start-photography command to the camera device 400. When the photographing ends, the acquisition unit 542 issues a turn-off command to the illumination device 300 and a stop-photography command to the camera device 400. However, the illumination device 300 may be kept on at all times. The acquisition unit 542 may also issue a command to control the zoom and / or focus to the camera device 400 so as to change the zoom amount and focus value of the camera device 400 during photographing. Note that, when rotation and photographing are started simultaneously in step S23, the gripping / rotation control unit 541 and the acquisition unit 542 are configured to operate synchronously. For example, when the vial is rotated around the rotation axis A and photographing is started simultaneously by the camera device 400, the gripping / rotation control unit 541 issues a rotation start command to the chuck mechanism 206. Then, the acquisition unit 542 issues a shooting start command to the camera device 400 in synchronization with the rotation start command.

[0045] In step S23, the acquisition unit 542 receives time-series images sent from the camera device 400, along with information indicating the time of capture, while the camera device 400 is capturing images. The acquisition unit 542 also receives information on the monitored rotation angle around the rotation axis A from the rotation angle detector 209 via the gripping / rotation control unit 541. The acquisition unit 542 then associates the time-series images received from the camera device 400 with the capture time and the rotation angle around the rotation axis A and stores them in the storage unit 530. In the above example, the acquisition unit 542 used information on the monitored rotation angle around the rotation axis A. However, since the rotation table is set in advance and known, processing may be performed assuming that rotation always starts and ends at a fixed time. In other words, if the gripping / rotation device 200 performs a programmed operation in milliseconds in response to an operation start instruction from the information processing device 500, the acquisition unit 542 automatically determines the programmed rotation angle around the rotation axis A from the time information at the start of operation of the information processing device 500. The acquisition unit 542 then stores the rotation angle in the storage unit 530 in association with the time-series images.

[0046] Next, the detection unit 543 of the inspection system 100 detects foreign matter in the vial 110 based on the acquired information, and stores information representing the inspection results in the storage unit 530 (step S24). After step S24, the display control unit 544 of the inspection system 100 may display the information representing the inspection results on the display device 600 and / or transmit it to an external device (not shown) via the communication I / F unit 510.

[0047] Next, the inspection system 100 returns the inspected vial 110 to an upright position and transports the vial 110 (step S25). When returning the vial 110 to the upright position, the gripping / rotation control unit 541 issues a rotation start command to the motor 207. When transporting the vial 110, the gripping / rotation control unit 541 controls the chuck mechanism 206 to release and then raise the chuck fingers 211. Then, the gripping / rotation control unit 541 moves the vial 110 on the plate 205 of the gripping / rotation device 200 to a storage location based on the inspection results, using a robot arm (not shown) or by hand. For example, a vial 110 in which a foreign object is detected is isolated. In the above example, after the rotation and photographing of the vial 110 (step S23) are completed, foreign object detection by image analysis (step S24) is performed. However, the rotation and photographing of the vial 110 (step S23) and the detection of foreign matter by image analysis (step S24) may be performed simultaneously (sequential processing).

[0048] FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the movement of the vial 110 in steps S22 and S23. The top diagram shows the vial 110 in an upright position. The foreign matter 2 floats on the surface of the liquid 3. If the specific gravity of the foreign matter 2 is less than that of the liquid 3, or if the foreign matter 2 has no affinity for the liquid 3, the foreign matter 2 floats on the surface of the liquid 3. The middle diagram shows the vial 110 rotating around rotation axis A while also rotating around rotation axis B. The solid arrow indicates the direction of movement of the foreign matter 2. Because the vial 110 rotates around rotation axis A, the foreign matter 2 adheres to the inner wall of the bottle body and passes through the boundary between the inside and outside of the liquid as the vial 110 rotates around rotation axis A. If the vial 110 does not rotate around rotation axis A, the foreign matter 2 would adhere to the bottom of the bottle, as indicated by the dotted arrow. The bottom diagram shows the vial 110 in a sideways position. The foreign matter 2 adheres to the inner wall of the bottle body. When the vial 110 is rotated around the rotation axis A, the foreign matter 2 moves in the direction indicated by the solid arrow. The imaging area 4 surrounded by a dotted line represents the imaging area of ​​the camera device 400. The imaging area 4 is, for example, the portion of the bottle body above the liquid surface (e.g., the upper half). Because the background image is uniform, the inspection system 100 can easily detect the foreign matter 2. Shadows in the captured image may be detected as foreign matter 2 or scratches. The gripping / rotation control unit 541 may rotate the vial 110 by 720° or more around the rotation axis A. Alternatively, the gripping / rotation control unit 541 may rotate the vial 110 360° in one direction around the rotation axis A, and then rotate it 360° in the opposite direction. The detection unit 543 then extracts images of the imaging area 4 captured at the same rotation angle around the rotation axis A, and detects image areas where the difference or brightness is above a threshold as potential foreign matter. The detection unit 543 may also determine whether or not an object is a foreign object based on image features of the surroundings of the object.

[0049] Next, a specific example of an object to be inspected by the inspection system 100 will be described. The object to be inspected is, for example, a transparent fiber present in a vial 110 filled with a low-viscosity liquid. Such foreign matter is often found floating on the outer periphery of the liquid surface or adhering to the inner wall of the vial 110 bottle body.

[0050] The inspection system 100 turns the vial 110 sideways, causing any foreign matter floating on the liquid surface to adhere to the inner wall of the vial body of the vial 110. The inspection system 100 then observes the foreign matter that has adhered to the inner wall of the bottle body. Therefore, the inspection system 100 can also observe foreign matter that was originally attached to the inner wall of the bottle body. Furthermore, even when performing transmitted light photography, the wetting effect improves the visibility of foreign matter.

[0051] As described above, when the vial 110 is simply turned sideways, depending on the shape of the vial 110 and the amount of liquid contained in the vial 110, the foreign object 2 present near the center of the liquid surface may move toward the bottom of the vial and adhere to the bottom. In this case, light from the foreign object 2 interferes with light from the curved portion of the vial bottom or the raised liquid surface, making it difficult to detect the foreign object 2. The inspection system 100 rotates the vial 110 around the rotation axis A even while changing the vial 110's orientation, causing the foreign object 2 to adhere to the inner wall of the bottle body. Since the foreign object 2 adhered to the bottle body does not move toward the bottom, the amount of movement of the foreign object 2 toward the bottle bottom is reduced. Inspection can be facilitated by designing a turntable with a defined rotation amount around the rotation axis A and a defined rotation amount around the rotation axis B to prevent all foreign objects 2 from moving to the bottom of the vial. Furthermore, since the foreign object 2 present in the vial 110 can be guided to a position where it can be imaged from a single viewpoint, the number of camera devices 400 can be reduced.

[0052] FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing device including the rotation control unit 11 described in the first embodiment and an information processing device 500 described in the second embodiment (hereinafter also referred to as the information processing device 500, etc.). Referring to FIG. 9, the information processing device 500, etc. includes a network interface 1001, a processor 1002, and a memory 1003. The network interface 1001 may be used to communicate with a network node. The network interface 1001 may include, for example, a network interface card (NIC) conforming to the IEEE 802.3 series. IEEE stands for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

[0053] The processor 1002 reads and executes software (computer programs) from the memory 1003 to perform the processing of the information processing device 500 and the like described using flowcharts in the above-described embodiments. The processor 1002 may be, for example, a microprocessor, an MPU, or a CPU. The processor 1002 may include multiple processors.

[0054] The memory 1003 is configured by a combination of volatile memory and non-volatile memory. The memory 1003 may include storage located remotely from the processor 1002. In this case, the processor 1002 may access the memory 1003 via an I / O (Input / Output) interface (not shown).

[0055] 9, the memory 1003 is used to store a group of software modules. The processor 1002 reads and executes these software modules from the memory 1003, thereby performing the processing of the information processing device 500 described in the above embodiment.

[0056] As explained using Figure 9, each of the processors possessed by the information processing device 500 etc. in the above-mentioned embodiment executes one or more programs including a group of instructions for causing a computer to perform the algorithm explained using the drawings.

[0057] In the above examples, the program includes instructions (or software code) that, when loaded into a computer, cause the computer to perform one or more functions described in the embodiments. The program may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium or a tangible storage medium. By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable medium or tangible storage medium includes random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid-state drive (SSD) or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray® disk or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device. The program may also be transmitted on a transitory computer-readable medium or communication medium. By way of example and not limitation, transitory computer-readable medium or communication medium includes electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals.

[0058] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, although a vial is used as the inspection object, any bottle or container other than a vial can be used as the inspection object as long as it is a transparent or translucent container filled with a liquid such as drinking water.

[0059] Some or all of the above embodiments can be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes. (Supplementary Note 1) An inspection system including a rotation control unit that controls rotation of a container filled with a liquid around a first rotation axis that is the central axis of the container, while rotating the container around a second rotation axis that is perpendicular to the first rotation axis in a direction that increases the inclination of the first rotation axis with respect to a vertical axis. (Supplementary Note 2) The inspection system described in Supplementary Note 1, in which a first rotation of the container around the first rotation axis and a second rotation of the container around the second rotation axis are performed simultaneously. (Supplementary Note 3) The inspection system described in Supplementary Note 1, in which the first rotation of the container around the first rotation axis and the second rotation of the container around the second rotation axis are performed multiple times in this order or in reverse. (Supplementary Note 4) The inspection system according to any one of Supplements 1 to 3, further comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires an image of a side surface of the container after the control of the rotation control unit; and a detection unit that detects foreign matter present in the container based on the captured image. (Supplementary Note 5) The inspection system according to Supplementary Note 4, wherein the specific gravity of the foreign matter is smaller than the specific gravity of the liquid. (Supplementary Note 6) The inspection system according to Supplementary Note 5, wherein the foreign matter floats on the surface of the liquid before the control of the rotation control unit, and the foreign matter adheres to the inner wall of a bottle body of the container after the control of the rotation control unit. (Supplementary Note 7) The inspection system according to Supplementary Note 6, wherein the tilt of the first rotation axis is 0° before the control of the rotation control unit, and the tilt of the first rotation axis is 90° after the control of the rotation control unit. (Supplementary Note 8) The inspection system according to any one of Supplements 1 to 3, wherein the container has a curved bottom. (Supplementary Note 9) An inspection method comprising rotating a container filled with a liquid around a first rotation axis that is the central axis of the container, and rotating the container around a second rotation axis that is perpendicular to the first rotation axis in a direction that increases the inclination of the first rotation axis with respect to a vertical axis.(Appendix 10) A program that causes a computer to execute control to rotate a container filled with a liquid around a first rotation axis that is the central axis of the container, while rotating the container around a second rotation axis that is perpendicular to the first rotation axis in a direction that increases the inclination of the first rotation axis with respect to a vertical axis.

[0060] Some or all of the elements (e.g., configurations and functions) described in Supplementary Notes 2 to 8 that are dependent on Supplementary Note 1 may also be dependent on Supplementary Notes 9 and 10 in the same dependency relationship as Supplementary Notes 2 to 8. Some or all of the elements described in any Supplementary Note may be applied to various hardware, software, recording means for recording software, systems, and methods.

[0061] Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present disclosure within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, each embodiment can be combined with other embodiments as appropriate.

[0062] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-152066, filed September 20, 2023, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

[0063] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Container 2 Foreign body 3 Liquid 4 Imaging area 10, 100 Inspection system 11 Rotation control unit 110 Vial 200 Grip and rotation device 201 Flat plate-like member 202 Upper arm 203 Lower arm 204 Lower gripping unit 205 Plate 206 Chuck mechanism 207 Motor 208 Rotating shaft 209, 210 Rotation angle detector 211 Chuck finger 300 Illumination device 400 Camera device 500 Information processing device 510 Communication I / F unit 520 Operation input unit 530 Memory unit 531 Program 540 Arithmetic processing unit 541 Grip and rotation control unit 542 Acquisition unit 543 Detection unit 544 Display control unit 600 Display device 1001 Network interface 1002 Processor 1003 Memory

Claims

1. An inspection system equipped with a rotation control means for controlling the rotation of a container filled with liquid around a first rotation axis, which is the central axis of the container, while rotating the container around a second rotation axis perpendicular to the first rotation axis in a direction that increases the inclination of the first rotation axis with respect to a vertical axis.

2. The inspection system of claim 1, wherein the first rotation of the container about the first axis of rotation and the second rotation of the container about the second axis of rotation are performed simultaneously.

3. The inspection system of claim 1, wherein a first rotation of the container around the first rotation axis and a second rotation of the container around the second rotation axis are performed multiple times in this order or in reverse order.

4. An inspection system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: an acquisition means for acquiring an image of the side surface of the container after the control of the rotation control means; and a detection means for detecting foreign objects present in the container based on the acquired image.

5. The inspection system according to claim 4, wherein the specific gravity of the foreign matter is smaller than the specific gravity of the liquid.

6. The inspection system according to claim 5, wherein before the control of the rotation control means, the foreign matter floats on the surface of the liquid, and after the control of the rotation control means, the foreign matter adheres to the inner wall of the bottle body of the container.

7. The inspection system according to claim 6, wherein before the control by the rotation control means, the inclination of the first rotation axis is 0°, and after the control by the rotation control means, the inclination of the first rotation axis is 90°.

8. The inspection system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the container has a curved bottom surface.

9. An inspection method comprising: rotating a container filled with liquid around a first axis of rotation, which is the central axis of the container; and rotating the container around a second axis of rotation perpendicular to the first axis of rotation in a direction that increases the inclination of the first axis of rotation with respect to a vertical axis.

10. A program that causes a computer to execute control to rotate a container filled with liquid around a first axis of rotation, which is the central axis of the container, while rotating the container around a second axis of rotation perpendicular to the first axis of rotation in a direction that increases the inclination of the first axis of rotation with respect to the vertical axis.

Images