Inspection method, inspection device, and program

Abstract

The purpose of the present disclosure is to improve the accuracy with which the quality of an inspection region provided to a seal portion of a subject is inspected. An inspection method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a method for inspecting the quality of an inspection region H2 provided to a seal portion H1 of a subject H, wherein: the inspection region H2 has a part A which has good sealability and a part B which has poor sealability; the total length of a route, among routes passing through the inspection region H2 from a first space adjacent to the inspection region H2 toward a second space adjacent to the inspection region H2 A in a plan view of the seal portion H1, which has the minimum total length passing through the part A which has good sealability is derived; and the quality of the inspection region H2 is determined on the basis of the total length of the route which has said minimum total length.

Description

Inspection method, inspection device, and program

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

[0002] For packaging containers sealed by pouch processing or the like, the condition of the seal may be inspected during manufacturing to prevent leakage of the contents, etc. Methods for inspecting the seal include irradiating the inspection area with infrared rays, X-rays, ultrasound, visible light, etc. to detect defects.

[0003] JP 2023-67095 A

[0004] Patent Document 1 describes an inspection method in which the signal strength received from ultrasonic waves transmitted from a transmitter to an inspection area is acquired, two-dimensional distribution data is created that shows the relationship between multiple positions in the inspection area and the signal strength, and the pass / fail judgment is made based on counting areas that satisfy predetermined conditions along the width direction of the inspection area, or based on the correlation between the two-dimensional distribution data and reference data.

[0005] However, even if the number of defective parts counted along the width direction of the inspection area is small, the defective parts may spread diagonally across the width direction of the inspection area or may be scattered. Also, if the two-dimensional distribution of the defective parts is complex, it may be difficult to determine the quality of the inspection area by correlation with the reference data.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made based on these circumstances, and the purpose of the present disclosure is to provide an inspection method that can improve the accuracy of inspecting the quality of an inspection area provided in a seal portion of a test object.

[0007] (1) An inspection method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an inspection method for inspecting the quality of an inspection area provided in a seal part of a test object, wherein the inspection area has a portion with good sealing properties and a portion with poor sealing properties, and in a planar view of the seal part, the total length of the route that passes through the inspection area from a first space adjacent to the inspection area to a second space adjacent to the inspection area, with the total length passing through the good portions being the shortest, is derived, and the quality of the inspection area is determined based on the total length of the shortest route.

[0008] (2) In (1) above, distribution data showing a two-dimensional distribution of the good portions and the bad portions may be created, and the total length of the minimum route may be derived using the distribution data.

[0009] (3) In (2), the distribution data may have the good parts and the bad parts distributed in a lattice pattern, and the total length of the minimum route may be the number of passes through the route that has the smallest number of passes through the unit lattices divided into the good parts.

[0010] (4) In (3), the total length of the minimum route may be derived by starting from any unit cell adjacent to the first space and repeating the procedure of determining whether the unit cell adjacent to that unit cell is classified as a good part until the second space is reached.

[0011] (5) In any one of (1) to (4) above, the first space and the second space may be opposed to each other with the seal portion interposed therebetween.

[0012] (6) In any one of (1) to (5) above, the subject may be a bag, and the seal portion may seal an opening of the bag.

[0013] (7) In any of (1) to (6), ultrasonic waves are irradiated onto the inspection area, and good and bad parts in the inspection area are identified according to the intensity of the ultrasonic waves transmitted through the inspection area, and the total length of the minimum route is derived using the results of identifying the good and bad parts.

[0014] (8) An inspection device according to another aspect of the present disclosure executes the inspection method described in any one of (1) to (7).

[0015] (9) A program according to yet another aspect of the present disclosure causes an inspection device to execute the inspection method described in any one of (1) to (7).

[0016] In this disclosure, the term "sealed portion" refers to a portion of the subject that is adhered or welded (hereinafter also referred to as "adhesion, etc."). The term "planar view of the sealed portion" refers to a view in the direction in which the adhered or welded portions of the subject overlap each other in the sealed portion. In this disclosure, the term "lattice-like" is not particularly limited as long as it is a periodically arranged shape, and examples include triangular lattices, square lattices, and other polygonal lattices.

[0017] An inspection method according to one aspect of the present disclosure can improve the accuracy of inspecting the quality of an inspection area provided in a seal portion of a test object.

[0018] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating an inspection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view illustrating an inspection object to be inspected by the inspection method of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of an inspection apparatus used to inspect the inspection object of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a schematic side cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which an inspection object is placed in the inspection apparatus of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating distribution data of good portions and bad portions in an inspection area of ​​the inspection object of FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which numerical values ​​are assigned to the distribution data of FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which numerical values ​​are further assigned to the distribution data of FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which numerical values ​​are further assigned to the distribution data of FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which numerical values ​​are further assigned to the distribution data of FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which numerical values ​​are further assigned to the distribution data of FIG. 9. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which numerical values ​​are further assigned to the distribution data of FIG. 10.

[0019] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Each drawing is a schematic view and may not correspond to actual dimensions, ratios, etc. In this disclosure, the terms "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the components to which they are attached, and do not limit the number, order, priority, etc.

[0020] 1 is an inspection method for inspecting the quality of an inspection area H2 provided in a seal part H1 of a test object H, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5 to FIG. 10. The inspection area H2 has a part A with good sealing properties and a part B with poor sealing properties. In this inspection method, of the routes that pass through the inspection area H2 from a first space adjacent to the inspection area H2 to a second space adjacent to the inspection area H2 in a plan view of the seal part H1, the total length of the route that has the shortest total length passing through the good part A is derived (deriving step S3), and the quality of the inspection area H2 is judged based on the total length of the shortest route (judging step S4).

[0021] 4, an inspection area H2 may be irradiated with ultrasonic waves W (irradiation step S1), and a good portion A and a bad portion B in the inspection area H2 may be identified according to the intensity of the ultrasonic waves W that have passed through the inspection area H2 (identification step S2). Furthermore, the result of identifying the good portion A and the bad portion B may be used to derive the total length of the minimum route.

[0022] As described below, this inspection method can inspect the quality of the inspection area H2 with high accuracy. Conventionally, when inspecting the quality of the inspection area H2 of the test object H, a procedure has been adopted in which a route prone to seal defects (with few good portions A) is searched for linearly along a specific direction in the inspection area H2. However, the good portions A and the bad portions B in the inspection area H2 can be distributed in various shapes. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the search method for routes prone to seal defects when the bad portions B are continuously distributed in directions other than the search direction or when the distribution is complex. In contrast, this inspection method comprehensively searches for routes prone to seal defects based on the total length of the good portions A, thereby reducing the number of routes prone to seal defects that are missed. Furthermore, the searched route can be linear, but it can also bend or curve along the way. Therefore, the total length of the good portions A of the routes prone to seal defects can be derived to fit the diverse and complex distribution patterns of the good portions A and the bad portions B in the inspection area H2. Therefore, this inspection method can inspect the quality of the inspection area H2 with high accuracy.

[0023] In one embodiment of the inspection method, an inspection device may be used to perform the above-described steps. In this case, the inspection device executes the inspection method according to one embodiment of the present invention, and therefore, the quality of the inspection area H2 can be inspected with high accuracy.

[0024] The inspection method will be described in more detail below. First, the subject H to be inspected by the inspection method and an inspection device that can be used to perform each step of the inspection method will be described.

[0025] (Test Subject) The test subject H in FIG. 2 is a bag body. The seal portion H1 of the test subject H seals the opening of the bag body. Examples of the test subject H include pouch-processed packaging containers for storing retort foods, drinking water, etc. The test subject H may be formed by gluing two rectangular sheet members together. More specifically, the test subject H may be formed by overlapping two rectangular sheet members and gluing them together at peripheral portions H3 along three sides of the sheet members to form a bag body having an opening along one side other than the three sides of the sheet members, and then sealing the opening.

[0026] The seal portion H1 that seals the opening in the subject H is formed by bonding the sheet members that make up the subject H together, etc. Therefore, the seal portion H1 is flat. In a plan view of the seal portion H1 (hereinafter simply referred to as a "plan view"), the seal portion H1 has a rectangular shape formed by two long sides parallel to the opening and two short sides perpendicular to the long sides. The two short sides of the seal portion H1 are boundaries with the peripheral edge portion H3.

[0027] In this testing method, the first space and the second space face each other with the seal portion H1 in between. More specifically, the specimen H has a storage portion H4 on the inside along the short-side direction of the seal portion H1 (Y direction in FIG. 2). In this embodiment, the first space is the storage portion H4. The storage portion H4 faces the outer space along the short-side direction of the seal portion H1 of the specimen H with the seal portion H1 in between. In other words, the second space is the outer space.

[0028] The inspection area H2 may be a part of the seal portion H1 or the entire seal portion H1. In this embodiment, the inspection area H2 is a part of the seal portion H1, as shown in FIG. 2 . The inspection area H2 is rectangular with its long and short sides parallel to the long and short sides of the seal portion H1, respectively. However, the size, position, shape, and range of the inspection area H2 are appropriately set depending on the purpose of the inspection, the size of the seal portion H1, the specifications of the inspection device used to perform the inspection method, and the like. From the viewpoint of inspecting the quality of the seal portion H1 over its entirety with high accuracy, it may be preferable that the inspection area H2 be the entire seal portion H1.

[0029] 3 includes an operation unit 11, a control unit 12, a signal control unit 13, an irradiation control unit 14, a reception processing unit 15, an irradiation unit 16 that irradiates an inspection area H2 with ultrasonic waves W, and a reception unit 17 that receives the ultrasonic waves W that have passed through the inspection area H2. The inspection device 10 may also have a display unit (not shown) that displays inspection results.

[0030] The control portion of the inspection device 10 (the control unit 12, the signal control unit 13, the irradiation control unit 14, and the reception processing unit 15) may be a computer including a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a program memory for storing programs executed by the processor. The control portion of the inspection device 10 is realized, for example, by the processor executing the programs stored in the program memory.

[0031] The operation unit 11 is used to input various pieces of information related to the examination. The operation unit 11 outputs the input various pieces of information to the control unit 12. The operation unit 11 may be composed of a keyboard, a mouse, etc.

[0032] The control unit 12 performs overall control of the inspection device 10. The control unit 12 acquires various information from, for example, the operation unit 11, and displays the information on the display unit.

[0033] The signal control unit 13 has a generation unit 13a that generates a signal for controlling the ultrasonic waves W irradiated from the irradiation unit 16. The irradiated ultrasonic waves are, for example, burst signals. The generation unit 13a generates, for example, the burst signal according to the irradiation timing and intensity of the irradiated ultrasonic waves W. The generation unit 13a outputs the generated signal to the irradiation control unit 14.

[0034] The signal control unit 13 further has an identification unit 13b that identifies the quality of a portion of the inspection area H2 according to the intensity of the ultrasonic waves W received by the receiving unit 17, a derivation unit 13c that derives the total length of a route that has the shortest total length passing through the good portion A of the inspection area H2, and a determination unit 13d that determines the quality of the inspection area H2. The signal control unit 13 outputs the determination result of the determination unit 13d to the control unit 12. The control unit 12 displays the determination result from the signal control unit 13 on the display unit, for example.

[0035] The irradiation control unit 14 generates a burst wave of a predetermined frequency in response to the burst signal from the generation unit 13 a, and outputs the generated burst wave to the irradiation unit 16. The irradiation unit 16 converts the burst wave into ultrasonic vibrations and outputs them as ultrasonic waves W.

[0036] The irradiation unit 16 irradiates the subject H with ultrasonic waves W. As shown in Fig. 4, the irradiation unit 16 has one or more ultrasonic wave irradiation elements 16a (hereinafter also referred to as "irradiation elements 16a").

[0037] The receiving unit 17 receives the ultrasonic waves W that have passed through the subject H. As shown in Fig. 4, the receiving unit 17 has one or more ultrasonic receiving elements 17a (hereinafter also referred to as "receiving elements 17a").

[0038] The reception processing unit 15 acquires the analog detection signal received from the receiving unit 17, amplifies the signal, equalizes it, etc., converts it into a digital detection signal by performing AD (analog-to-digital) conversion, and transmits the detection signal to the signal control unit 13. The detection signal includes information on the intensity of the ultrasonic waves W, etc.

[0039] Next, each step of the inspection method will be described in order, and a preferred configuration of the inspection device 10 will also be described in the description of each step.

[0040] (S1) In the irradiation step S1, the inspection area H2 is irradiated with ultrasonic waves W. By irradiating the inspection area H2 with ultrasonic waves W, it is possible to easily distinguish between a portion A with good sealing properties and a portion B with poor sealing properties in the inspection area H2 in the identification step S2 described below.

[0041] The incident angle of the ultrasonic waves W irradiated onto the inspection area H2 in the irradiation step S1, i.e., the incident angle with respect to the surface where the sheet members overlap in the inspection area H2 (hereinafter also referred to as the "adhesive surface"), is preferably 20° or less, more preferably 10° or less, and even more preferably 5° or less. When the incident angle of the ultrasonic waves W is within the above range, it becomes easier to distinguish between good portions A and bad portions B of the inspection area H2. The ultrasonic waves W may be incident perpendicular to the adhesive surface of the inspection area H2, for example.

[0042] In the irradiation step S1, the ultrasonic waves W may be irradiated from the irradiation element 16a of the inspection device 10. As shown in Fig. 4, the ultrasonic waves W may be irradiated from the irradiation element 16a arranged above the specimen H, which is arranged so that the adhesive surface of the seal portion H1 is horizontal.

[0043] From the viewpoint of uniformly irradiating the inspection area H2, it is preferable that the ultrasonic waves W be irradiated from a plurality of irradiation elements 16a. The plurality of irradiation elements 16a may be arranged in a line along the adhesive surface, or may be arranged two-dimensionally, or may be arranged in a grid pattern. It is preferable that the plurality of irradiation elements 16a are arranged at least along the longitudinal direction (X direction in FIG. 2) or the lateral direction (Y direction in FIG. 2) of the inspection area H2. This can further improve the accuracy of inspecting the quality of the inspection area H2. The plurality of irradiation elements 16a may be arranged, for example, in a grid pattern over the entire area of ​​the inspection area H2 along the adhesive surface.

[0044] In the irradiation step S1, the ultrasonic waves W may be irradiated to the entire area of ​​the inspection area H2 at once, or may be irradiated to each partial area of ​​the inspection area H2 in a plurality of divided irradiation times. For example, as shown in Fig. 4, the irradiation elements 16a may be arranged in a row along the short side direction of the inspection area H2 (Y direction in Fig. 4), and the subject H may be moved in the long side direction of the inspection area H2 (X direction in Fig. 4), so that the ultrasonic waves W are irradiated to each partial area in sequence along the long side direction of the inspection area H2. In this case, the partial area is, for example, an elongated area having a width corresponding to one irradiation element 16a and extending in the short side direction of the inspection area H2.

[0045] The ultrasonic waves W transmitted through the inspection area H2 may be received by the receiving elements 17a of the inspection device 10. From the viewpoint of facilitating the discrimination between good portions A and bad portions B of the inspection area H2 in the discrimination step S2 described below, the receiving elements 17a are preferably arranged to face the irradiating elements 16a across the inspection area H2, as shown in FIG. 4 . From the same viewpoint, when there are multiple irradiating elements 16a, it is preferable that the receiving elements 17a are arranged to face the irradiating elements 16a in one-to-one correspondence. When the receiving elements 17a are arranged to face the irradiating elements 16a in one-to-one correspondence, the receiving elements 17a and the irradiating elements 16a may be arranged so that they overlap in a planar view.

[0046] (S2) In the identification step S2, based on the ultrasonic waves W irradiated in the irradiation step S1, good portions A and bad portions B in the inspection area H2 are identified according to the intensity of the ultrasonic waves W that have passed through the inspection area H2.

[0047] In the identification step S2, the intensity of the ultrasonic waves W may be detected by the reception processing unit 15 of the inspection device 10 based on the ultrasonic waves W received by the receiving element 17a of the inspection device 10.

[0048] In the identification step S2, if the intensity of the ultrasonic waves W detected by the reception processing unit 15 is within a predetermined range, the portion (unit area) of the inspection area H2 through which the ultrasonic waves W have passed may be identified as a portion A with good sealing properties. Also, the portion (unit area) that has not been identified as a portion A with good sealing properties may be identified as a portion B with poor sealing properties. The quality of the unit areas of the inspection area H2 may be identified by the identification unit 13b of the inspection device 10. The above range for identifying the quality of the unit areas of the inspection area H2 may be set appropriately depending on the material and shape of the subject H, the bonding method of the bonding surface, the intensity of the ultrasonic waves W irradiated from the ultrasonic transmitting elements, etc.

[0049] In the identification step S2, it is preferable to create distribution data D that indicates a two-dimensional distribution of good portions A and bad portions B. The distribution data D includes, for example, position data that indicates the positions of unit areas included in the inspection area H2 and an identification result (good or bad) for each unit area. The position data may be a plurality of coordinate data, and the identification result may be an identification result for each of the coordinate data. The distribution data D may be created, for example, by the identification unit 13b of the inspection device 10. The position data in the distribution data D may be created in advance before identifying the good or bad of the unit areas in the inspection area H2, or may be created simultaneously with identifying the good or bad of the unit areas in the inspection area H2.

[0050] In the distribution data D, the good portions A and the bad portions B are preferably distributed in a grid pattern. In this case, the inspection area H2 is partitioned by a plurality of unit cells. The distribution data D also includes position data as two-dimensional coordinate data indicating the position of the unit cells and identification results for each unit cell corresponding to the position data. In this embodiment, the unit cells are rectangular cells, more specifically, square rectangular cells. FIG. 5 shows an example of the distribution data D. In FIG. 5, the distribution data D is an area within a frame partitioned by a group of unit cells. In FIG. 5, numerical values ​​indicating coordinate positions in the X and Y directions are also written outside the frame. For example, the identification result of the unit cell at coordinates (X, Y) = (2, 1) is good, and the identification result of the unit cell at coordinates (X, Y) = (3, 1) is bad. That is, in FIG. 5, the good portion A is an uncolored unit cell, and the bad portion B is a colored unit cell. Since the good portions A and the bad portions B are distributed in a grid pattern in this way, the quality of the inspection area H2 can be easily inspected. Note that the numerical values ​​indicating the coordinate positions and the coloring of the unit lattices in Fig. 5 are given for the sake of convenience in explanation and are not essential to the distribution data D. Furthermore, the distribution data D in Fig. 5 corresponds to the inspection region H2 in Fig. 2. More specifically, in the distribution data D, the unit lattice group at Y=1 is a portion adjacent to the storage section H4 (the first space) in Fig. 2, and the unit lattice group at Y=6 is a portion adjacent to the outer space (the second space) facing the storage section H4 across the seal section H1 in Fig. 2.

[0051] When multiple receiving elements 17a are arranged to face the emitting elements 16a in one-to-one correspondence, the position of the unit lattice and the identification result may be calculated based on the ultrasonic waves W received by each receiving element 17a. The position of the unit lattice may also be calculated based on the position of the receiving elements 17a. For example, when multiple receiving elements 17a are arranged in a lattice pattern along the adhesive surface so as to overlap the entire area of ​​the inspection region H2, the position of the receiving elements 17a may be calculated as the position of the unit lattice. By calculating the position of the unit lattice and the identification result for each receiving element 17a in this way, the distribution data D can be easily created.

[0052] (S3) In the derivation step S3, among routes (hereinafter also referred to as "passing routes") passing through the inspection area H2 from a first space adjacent to the inspection area H2 to a second space adjacent to the inspection area H2, the total length (hereinafter also referred to as "minimum total length") of the route that has the shortest total length passing through the good portion A is derived. In the derivation step S3, the passing routes may be searched for and the minimum total length may be derived by comparing the detected passing routes, or the minimum total length may be derived simultaneously with the search for the passing routes. The minimum total length may be derived by the derivation unit 13c of the inspection device 10.

[0053] In the derivation step S3, it is preferable to derive the minimum total length using the distribution data D created in the identification step S2. By using the distribution data D in this way, the minimum total length can be easily derived.

[0054] In this embodiment, as described above, the first space is the storage section H4, and the second space is the space facing the storage section H4 across the seal section H1. By searching for a passage route from the first space to the second space (deriving the shortest total length) in this way, it is possible to easily check the likelihood of leakage of the contents from the storage section H4.

[0055] In this embodiment, the minimum total length is the number of passes through a route that minimizes the number of passes through unit lattices classified as the good portion A of the distribution data D. The minimum total length is derived by starting from any unit lattice adjacent to the first space and repeating the procedure of determining whether or not a unit lattice adjacent to that unit lattice is classified as the good portion A until the second space is reached. In this way, since the minimum total length is the number of passes through unit lattices classified as the good portion A, the minimum total length can be derived more easily.

[0056] In this embodiment, as described above, the unit lattice of the distribution data D is a square lattice. In this way, the minimum total length is the number of passes through the square lattice divided into the good portion A, so that the minimum total length can be derived more easily.

[0057] In this embodiment, the minimum total length is derived by sequentially inputting numerical values ​​into each unit lattice of the distribution data D. In the following description, the unit lattice of the good portion A will also be referred to as a "good lattice," and the unit lattice of the bad portion B will also be referred to as a "bad lattice." A unit lattice into which a numerical value has been input will also be referred to as "inputted," and a unit lattice into which a numerical value has not been input will also be referred to as "uninputted."

[0058] In this embodiment, the rules for inputting numerical values ​​into unit lattices (hereinafter referred to as "numerical value input rules") are as follows (1) to (3): (1) If an uninputted defective lattice is adjacent to an inputted unit lattice, the same numerical value as the inputted unit lattice is input into the adjacent defective lattice, and if an uninputted good lattice is adjacent to an inputted unit lattice, the numerical value obtained by adding 1 to the inputted unit lattice is input into the adjacent good lattice. (2) Input smaller numerical values ​​first. (3) Continue the operation (1) until all the same numerical values ​​have been input, and then start inputting the next larger numerical value.

[0059] In this embodiment, as a result of continuing to input numbers in accordance with the numerical input rules, the number first input into any of the unit cells (unit cells with Y=6) adjacent to the second space of the distribution data D can be regarded as the smallest total length.

[0060] An example of a procedure for deriving the minimum total length based on the distribution data D in FIG. 5 will now be described in more detail.

[0061] First, numerical values ​​are input to the unit lattices adjacent to the first space of the distribution data D. At this time, the good lattice Y=1 is set to 1, and the bad lattice Y=1 (coordinates (3, 1)) is set to 0. The state of the distribution data D after the numerical values ​​are input is shown in FIG.

[0062] From the state shown in FIG. 6, 0 is input into all unit lattices into which 0 can be input, and 1 is input into all unit lattices into which 1 can be input. Specifically, in accordance with the numerical input rules, 1 is input into the uninputted good lattices (coordinates (2,2), (3,2), (4,2)) adjacent to the inputted bad lattice (coordinates (3,1)) into which 0 has been input. Next, 1 is input into the uninputted bad lattices (coordinates (5,2), (5,3)) adjacent to the inputted good lattice into which 1 has been input. The result of this operation is shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 7 shows the state in which 0 and 1 have all been input into the unit lattices.

[0063] From the state shown in FIG. 7, 2 is input into all unit lattices into which 2 can be input. Specifically, in accordance with the numerical input rules, 2 is input into uninputted good lattices adjacent to inputted bad lattices (coordinates (5, 2), (5, 3)) into which 1 has been inputted. Also, 2 is input into uninputted good lattices adjacent to inputted good lattices (coordinates (1, 1), etc.) into which 1 has been inputted. The result of this operation is shown in FIG. 8. However, FIG. 8 shows a state in which there is room to input 2 into the unit lattices.

[0064] From the state of FIG. 8, 2 is input into the unfilled bad lattices adjacent to the good lattices (coordinates (4,4), (6,4), etc.) where 2 has already been input. Furthermore, by repeating the operation of inputting 2 into unit lattices into which 2 can be input in accordance with the numerical input rules, the distribution data finally becomes the state of FIG. 9. FIG. 9 shows the state in which 2 has been input into all unit lattices. Furthermore, 2 has been input into the unit lattice (coordinates (8,6)) adjacent to the second space, and 2 can be considered to be the smallest total length.

[0065] In order to clarify the number of good lattices passed through for each passing route, values ​​may be input into all uninputted unit lattices in the state shown in FIG. 9 as follows.

[0066] From the state shown in Figure 9, input 3 into all unit lattices that can accept the value 3. By repeating the operation of inputting 3 into unit lattices that can accept the value 3 in accordance with the numerical value input rules, the distribution data will become as shown in Figure 10. Figure 10 shows the state where 3 has been input into all unit lattices.

[0067] From the state shown in Figure 10, 4 is input into all unit lattices that can accept 4. By repeating the operation of inputting 4 into unit lattices that can accept 4 in accordance with the numerical value input rules, the distribution data will become as shown in Figure 11. Figure 11 shows the state in which 4 has been input into all unit lattices, and numerical values ​​have been input into all unit lattices.

[0068] As described above, in this embodiment, 2 can be considered to be the minimum total length. That is, since the smallest numerical value among the numerical values ​​of the unit lattices adjacent to the second space is 2 (coordinate (8, 6)) (see FIG. 11 ), when a route with the smallest number of good lattice passages is taken, the number of good lattice passages is 2. Furthermore, the smallest route is, for example, a route starting from coordinate (3, 1) and reaching coordinate (8, 6), or a route starting from coordinate (4, 1), (5, 1), or (6, 1) and reaching coordinate (8, 6).

[0069] The above-described operation of inputting a numerical value can be realized by an algorithm that executes a numerical value input rule, or the like.

[0070] (S4) In the discrimination step S4, the quality of the inspection area H2 is determined based on the minimum total length. Alternatively, the quality of the inspection area H2 may be determined based on a threshold value for the minimum total length. For example, the inspection area H2 may be determined to be defective if the threshold value is not reached. The threshold value for the minimum total length may be set appropriately depending on the type of contents, the material, shape, and size of the specimen H, the bonding method of the bonding surface, etc. The quality of the inspection area H2 may be determined by the determination unit 13d of the inspection device 10.

[0071] A program according to an embodiment of the present disclosure causes an inspection device to execute an inspection method for inspecting the quality of an inspection area provided in a seal part of a test object. The program causes the inspection device to derive a total length of a route that passes through the inspection area from a first space adjacent to the inspection area to a second space adjacent to the inspection area in a plan view of the seal part, the total length passing through good portions being the shortest (deriving step S3), and to determine the quality of the inspection area based on the total length of the shortest route (determining step S4).

[0072] In one embodiment of the program, the inspection device may be caused to irradiate the inspection area with ultrasonic waves (irradiation step S1), and identify the good portion and the bad portion in the inspection area according to the intensity of the ultrasonic waves that have passed through the inspection area (identification step S2). Furthermore, the program may be caused to derive the total length of the minimum route using the results of identifying the good portion and the bad portion in this manner.

[0073] The program can be used to cause, for example, the above-described inspection apparatus 10 to execute the inspection method. In this case, the program may be built into the inspection apparatus 10 or may be arranged outside the inspection apparatus 10. Furthermore, the irradiation step S1, the identification step S2, the derivation step S3, and the determination step S4 that the program causes the inspection apparatus 10 to execute may be the same as the corresponding steps of the above-described inspection method.

[0074] The program causes the inspection device to execute the inspection method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure described above, and therefore enables the quality of the inspection area to be inspected with high accuracy.

[0075] [Other Embodiments] The above-described embodiments do not limit the configuration of the present invention. Therefore, the above-described embodiments may include omissions, substitutions, or additions of components based on the description in this specification and common general technical knowledge, and all of these should be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

[0076] In this inspection method, the inspection area does not have to be rectangular in plan view, and may be partially curved or have an asymmetric shape.

[0077] In the irradiation step of the inspection method, the position of the test object is appropriately set depending on the configuration of the inspection device, etc. For example, in the irradiation step, the test object may be positioned so that the adhesive surface of the seal portion is vertical.

[0078] In the above embodiment, the total length was calculated for the route that passes through the inspection area from the container of the subject to the space facing the container across the seal, and that has the shortest total length passing through the good portion. However, the route that passes through the inspection area is not limited to this. For example, the total length may be calculated for the route that passes through the inspection area from the container of the subject to the seal toward the periphery. Furthermore, the inspection area may be provided on the periphery of the subject.

[0079] In this inspection method, means other than ultrasonic waves may be used to determine whether the sealing property of the inspection area is good or bad, such as X-ray irradiation or image analysis.

[0080] In this inspection method, when generating distribution data showing a two-dimensional distribution of good and bad areas in an inspection area, the unit lattice of the distribution data does not have to be a square lattice (rectangular). That is, any shape of unit lattice may be used so that a plurality of unit lattices are adjacent to each other and are arranged throughout the entire inspection area.

[0081] In this inspection method, when an inspection device is used to create distribution data showing a two-dimensional distribution of good and bad areas in an inspection area, a single ultrasonic emitting element or a single ultrasonic receiving element may be used to create the distribution data. Furthermore, the ultrasonic emitting elements and the ultrasonic receiving elements do not have to correspond one-to-one. For example, a configuration in which a single ultrasonic receiving element faces a plurality of two-dimensionally arranged ultrasonic emitting elements is also possible.

[0082] In the derivation step of the above embodiment, the numerical value input to the good lattice adjacent to the input unit lattice serving as the reference is a numerical value obtained by adding 1 to the numerical value of the reference unit lattice, but the unit of the numerical value added in the derivation step is not limited to 1. Furthermore, the numerical value added may be changed during the derivation step.

[0083] The inspection device that performs the inspection method may not include any or all of the operation unit, the control unit, the irradiation control unit, the reception processing unit, the irradiation unit, and the reception unit. That is, the inspection device may perform the derivation step and the determination step using data of the inspection area created by another device.

[0084] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Inspection device 11 Operation unit 12 Control unit 13 Signal control unit 13a Generation unit 13b Identification unit 13c Derivation unit 13d Determination unit 14 Irradiation control unit 15 Reception processing unit 16 Irradiation unit 16a Ultrasonic irradiation element 17 Reception unit 17a Ultrasonic reception element H Subject H1 Sealed portion H2 Inspection area H3 Periphery H4 Storage unit W Ultrasonic waves D Distribution data A Good part B Bad part

Claims

1. An inspection method for inspecting the quality of an inspection area provided in a seal part of a test object, wherein the inspection area has a part with good sealing properties and a part with poor sealing properties, and an inspection method for deriving the total length of the route that has the shortest total length passing through the good parts from a first space adjacent to the inspection area to a second space adjacent to the inspection area in a plan view of the seal part, and judging the quality of the inspection area based on the total length of the shortest route.

2. The inspection method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of: creating distribution data indicating a two-dimensional distribution of the good portions and the bad portions; and deriving the total length of the minimum route using the distribution data.

3. An inspection method as described in claim 2, wherein in the distribution data, the good parts and the bad parts are distributed in a lattice pattern, and the total length of the minimum route is the number of passes through the route that has the smallest number of passes through unit lattices divided into the good parts.

4. The inspection method according to claim 3, wherein the total length of the minimum route is derived by repeating the procedure of starting from any unit cell adjacent to the first space and determining whether or not a unit cell adjacent to that unit cell is classified into the good portion until the second space is reached.

5. The inspection method according to claim 1, wherein the first space and the second space face each other with the seal portion interposed therebetween.

6. The inspection method according to claim 5, wherein the test object is a bag, and the seal portion seals an opening of the bag.

7. An inspection method as described in claim 1, which includes irradiating the inspection area with ultrasonic waves, identifying the good parts and the bad parts in the inspection area according to the intensity of the ultrasonic waves that have passed through the inspection area, and deriving the total length of the minimum route using the results of identifying the good parts and the bad parts.

8. An inspection device that performs the inspection method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A program for causing an inspection device to execute the inspection method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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