Appearance Inspection Device for Arbitrary Line Patterns
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing appearance inspection methods struggle to effectively teach and inspect line patterns with arbitrary shapes, including branch points, due to difficulties in defining inspection regions and factors, especially when contrast with the background is unclear, and require costly calculations for accurate extraction and approximation.
Innovation Solution
An appearance inspection device and method that uses a simple teaching process to define a reference inspection line and region on a captured image, allowing for the generation of inspection points and regions with consistent positional relationships, enabling comprehensive judgment on factors like brightness and width, even with unclear contrast and arbitrary shapes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing image processing methods are used to inspect line patterns, then inspection can be performed, but the methods fail when contrast between line pattern and background is unclear or when line patterns have arbitrary shapes including branch points
Solution Approach 1:
The inspection line is divided into multiple inspection points along its length. Each inspection point has an associated inspection region that can be independently analyzed. This segmentation allows the system to handle arbitrary shapes and branch points by processing each segment separately, improving reliability without requiring the entire line pattern to have uniform characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary teaching where an operator defines the inspection line and inspection regions on a reference image before actual inspection. This preliminary configuration allows the inspection line to be precisely positioned and shaped according to the specific object being inspected, enabling accurate inspection of arbitrary shapes and low-contrast patterns without requiring complex automatic detection.
2Measurement precision
If complex line pattern extraction and approximation methods are used, then accurate inspection can be achieved, but computational costs and processing time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential information needed for inspection by defining inspection regions at specific points along the inspection line. Instead of processing the entire line pattern complexly, the system extracts and analyzes only the relevant portions (inspection regions) at discrete points, significantly reducing computational cost while maintaining inspection accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a simplified representation of the inspection line and regions on the captured image by overlaying the taught inspection line and regions. This copying approach allows the system to perform inspection based on the simplified geometric representation rather than complex pattern matching, reducing computational requirements while maintaining measurement precision.
3Manufacturing precision
If inspection is focused on a specific factor like width, then width inspection can be performed, but other factors like brightness cannot be simultaneously inspected
Solution Approach 1:
The inspection region at each inspection point serves multiple functions: it can analyze brightness, width, and other appearance factors simultaneously. The same inspection region structure supports different inspection factors depending on what is being measured, allowing multi-factor inspection without requiring separate inspection mechanisms for each factor.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows dynamic selection of inspection factors at each inspection point. The inspection factors (such as brightness, width, color) can be adjusted and changed during the inspection process, enabling flexible multi-factor inspection. This dynamic capability allows the same inspection line to adapt to different inspection requirements without reconfiguring the entire inspection system.
Data Source
AI summary
An appearance inspection device and an appearance inspection method, capable of teaching a line pattern having an arbitrary shape as a portion to be inspected, in relation to a captured image of an inspection object, by a simple teaching operation. The device has an image storing part, a teaching part, an inspecting part and an inspection factor storing part. The teaching part obtains an image of the inspection object in the teaching process, and teaches the position of an inspection point, the position and the angle of an inspection region relative to the inspection point, the inspection factor and a judgment condition. The teaching factor storing part stores a setting parameter and a teaching factor. The inspecting part executes inspection based on the teaching factor in the inspecting process.