Ceramic Honeycomb Side Inspection With Orbiting Area Camera
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for inspecting pillar-shaped honeycomb structures with non-cylindrical shapes face challenges in maintaining a constant camera distance, leading to image blurring due to vibration during high-speed inspection, and are inadequate for detecting defects on non-cylindrical shapes.
Innovation Solution
An inspection method using an area camera that captures strip-shaped images of the side surface by orbiting around the honeycomb structure, with adjustable shutter speed and frame rate to suppress blurring, and an inspection system with a robot arm for precise positioning and lighting to detect defects on non-cylindrical shapes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the pillar-shaped honeycomb structure with non-cylindrical shape is rotated about its central axis while being captured by a fixed camera, then the inspection can be performed, but the distance between the camera and the side surface fluctuates causing the camera to lose focus
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the Dynamics principle by making the camera movable instead of fixed. The camera moves in synchronization with the rotation of the honeycomb structure to maintain a constant distance from the side surface being inspected. This dynamic adjustment resolves the focus loss problem that occurs with non-cylindrical shapes when using a fixed camera setup.
2Productivity
If the inspection speed is increased to improve productivity, then the inspection efficiency is improved, but the captured image becomes blurred due to vibration during movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies Periodic action by using intermittent illumination during the inspection process. The illumination is turned on and off periodically to provide sufficient light for high-speed capture while minimizing motion blur. This allows the system to maintain high inspection speed without sacrificing image clarity.
3Device complexity
If a line sensor camera is used to capture the side surface while rotating the honeycomb structure, then the inspection method is simple, but it cannot sufficiently suppress image blurring even with short exposure time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies Mechanics substitution by replacing the line sensor camera with an area camera. This substitution allows for much shorter exposure times (10 to 1000 μsec) to be effectively used, thereby suppressing image blurring while maintaining the simplicity of the inspection method. The area camera's ability to capture images with extremely short exposure times resolves the blurring issue that plagues line sensor cameras.
Data Source
AI summary
An inspection method for determining a presence of a defect on a sides surface of a pillar-shaped honeycomb structure including generating strip-shaped images by repeatedly capturing the side surface part by part with an area camera while relatively moving the area camera with respect to the pillar-shaped honeycomb structure; determining the presence or absence of defects based on the strip-shaped images when a number of the strip-shaped images generated is sufficient to cover the entire side surface; a shutter speed when the area camera captures a part of the side surface for generating a single strip-shaped image is 10 to 1000 μsec; and each of the strip-shaped images has a length covering the entire height of the pillar-shaped honeycomb structure in a longitudinal direction, and a length of 1 to 10 mm in a width direction.