PCB Component Presence Judgment via Color Difference Inspection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing component presence/absence judging apparatuses inaccurately determine if a component is mounted at a predetermined place on a board due to color differences between the component and the mounting area, leading to erroneous judgments when the colors are similar.
Innovation Solution
A component presence/absence judging apparatus and method that uses an image pickup device to acquire ante-mounting and post-mounting color information, determines an inspection area with significant color differences, and compares this information to accurately judge the component's presence using an inspection area determined by identifying sections with large color information variations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If color detection is performed at the center part of the electronic component, then the detection process is simple, but the judgment accuracy deteriorates when the component color is similar to the board color
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by identifying and selecting specific inspection areas within the component mounting region where the color difference between component and board is maximized. Instead of uniformly inspecting the entire component area or relying on the center point, the system divides the mounting region into multiple sections and determines inspection areas based on local color characteristics. This allows the detection to focus on regions with high color contrast, thereby improving judgment accuracy while maintaining operational efficiency.
2Device complexity
If inspection is performed using color information from the component center, then the inspection method is straightforward, but erroneous judgments occur when component and board colors are similar
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the component mounting region into multiple inspection areas rather than relying on a single center point. The system segments the mounting region and evaluates color information from multiple sections, selecting inspection areas where the color difference between component and board is significant. This segmented approach increases judgment reliability by providing multiple data points for comparison, reducing the impact of similar colors between component and board.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by dynamically selecting inspection areas based on color difference parameters. The system calculates color differences between various regions and adjusts the inspection area selection accordingly. When the component color is similar to the board color at the center, the system shifts the inspection focus to regions with greater color contrast, thereby changing the inspection parameters to maintain high reliability in judgment.
3Productivity
If a fixed inspection area is used, then the inspection process is efficient, but accuracy decreases when color differences vary across different regions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the inspection area selection adaptive rather than fixed. The system dynamically determines inspection areas based on the actual color characteristics of each component and board combination. By evaluating color differences across multiple regions and selecting the most appropriate inspection areas for each case, the system maintains both efficiency and accuracy. This dynamic approach allows the inspection process to adapt to varying color contrasts without requiring a fixed inspection area for all components.
Data Source
AI summary
A component presence/absence judging apparatus judges the presence/absence of a component through a registration step and an inspection step. The registration step comprises an ante-mounting color information acquisition step, a post-mounting color information acquisition step and an inspection area determination step. Ante-mounting color information is acquired from an ante-mounting image taken at a predetermined portion on an ante-mounting board. Post-mounting color information is acquired from a post-mounting image taken at the predetermined portion on a post-mounting board. Then, a section having a large difference between both color information of the ante-mounting image and the post-mounting image is identified and is determined as an inspection area. At the inspection step, the presence/absence of the component at a predetermined place on each inspection board to be inspected is judged in dependence on the color information on the determined inspection area.