JPH035871B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a product discrimination method for determining the quality of a product based on its shape.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, die-cast molding and injection molding products such as synthetic resins can be molded into various shapes, and products having complex uneven shapes including branches have been manufactured. In such products, inspections are performed after manufacturing to ensure shape and size accuracy such as the dimensions of each part and the distance between each part.

Here, as a method of determining the quality of a product based on its shape, for example, as shown in FIG. ₁ , _a limit switch L ₁ , It is known that a product is determined to be a good product if _{the limit switch L 1 and} L ₂ are turned on at the same time when L 2 is faced. However, with this method, the limit switch comes into direct contact with the product, so the product is likely to be damaged, and even if the part that does not come into contact with the limit switch is chipped, the product may still be considered good.

Therefore, if the limit switch in the one shown in FIG. 1 is replaced with a non-contact sensor, the problem of damage to the product can be solved. However, in any case, a large number of sensors must be used to discriminate complex shapes such as products with many branches.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a product discrimination method that can accurately determine the quality of products with complex shapes without using many sensors.

Therefore, in the present invention, as a method for determining the shape of a product having unevenness including branches, the product is transferred, and a stroke through which a predetermined part of the product passes during the transfer is determined in accordance with the uneven shape of the product. The actual stroke pattern detected by each sensor is compared with a reference stroke pattern set in advance for each sensor, and the quality of the product is determined based on the comparison result. By comparing patterns to determine whether the lengths of parts and distances between parts are correct, and determining whether the product is good or bad based on the results, it is possible to process complex shapes without the need for many sensors. This makes it possible to accurately determine whether a product is good or bad.

A product discrimination device implementing the method of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the same device. The device includes a non-contact type unloading stroke sensor 1, a stroke detector 2, a non-contact type first and second sensor 3, which detects the unloading stroke of the product W.
4, stroke setters 5 and 6 corresponding to the respective sensors 3 and 4, stroke comparators 7 and 8, and a quality discriminator 9.

As shown in FIG. 3, the product W has a shape in which spheres W ₁ , W ₂ , and W ₃ are molded at the tips of three arms branched from the center in three directions, and are transported by a delivery device (not shown). It is designed to be transferred from left to right in the figure. Further, the carry-out stroke sensor 1 is arranged at a position X ₀ on one side in the transport direction of the product W, and detects the presence or absence of the product W at the position X ₀ . The stroke detector 2 compares a stroke signal, for example a pulse signal, corresponding to the distance traveled by the product W with the first and second strokes while the product W is being transported by the transport stroke sensor 1. Give to vessels 7 and 8. Further, the first and second sensors 3 and 4 are
In the width direction of X ₀ , it is placed above the positions X ₀₁ and X ₀₂ through which different parts of the product W pass, and each position
Signal data that turns on and off depending on the presence or absence of each part at X ₀₁ and X ₀₂ (actually measured stroke pattern)
Output. In other words, the first sensor 3
At the position X ₀₁ where the spheres W ₁ and W ₂ pass, the presence or absence of the spheres W ₁ and W ₂ is detected. The second sensor 4 detects the presence or absence of the sphere W ₃ of the product W at the position X ₀₂ where the sphere W ₃ passes. Furthermore, the product W is placed in the first stroke setting device 5.
Corresponding to the distance moved from the position _of X ₀ , the first sensor ₃ is
Data (reference stroke pattern) to be turned on is set in advance. The second stroke setter 4 also has a spherical shape of the product W corresponding to the distance that the product W is moved from the X ₀ position.
The data (reference stroke pattern) at which the second sensor 4 should be turned on is preset by the part _W3 .

The first stroke comparator 7 receives the input from the first sensor 3 and the data from the first stroke setter 5 at each stroke position while receiving a stroke signal from the stroke detector 2. The results are compared to see if they match, and the results are sent to the pass/fail discriminator 9. Further, while the second stroke comparator 8 is receiving a stroke signal from the stroke detector 2, the second stroke comparator 8 receives an input from the second sensor 4 and the first stroke setter 5 at each stroke position. The results are compared with the data of
send to The quality discriminator 9 integrates the comparison results from the first and second stroke comparators 7 and 8, calculates the sum of the strokes for which the comparison results match and the strokes for which the comparison results do not match, and thereby determines whether the product W It determines whether it is good or bad and outputs the determination result.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

Now, when the product W is transferred from the left to the right in FIG. 3 by the unillustrated carry-out device, the carry-out detection sensor ₁ is
detects that the product W is passing. Then, the stroke detector 2 detects that the product W is at the reference position.
While passing through X ₀ , a stroke signal corresponding to the moving distance of the product W is sent to the first and second stroke comparators 7 and 8 . Specifically, in FIG. 3, the product W is detected by the unloading detection sensor 1 from the stroke position O to the stroke position E, and during this period, the stroke signal from the stroke detector 2 is turned on.

On the other hand, the first sensor 3 detects the sphere W ₁ of the product W,
A detection signal is sent to the first stroke comparator 7 while the portion W ₂ is passing through the reference position X ₀ . Further, the second sensor 4 sends a detection signal to the second stroke comparator 8 while the spherical body W ₃ of the product W passes through the reference position X ₀ . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the output pattern of the first sensor 3 is turned on between A and B by the sphere _W1 , and turned on between C and D by the sphere _W2 . , between O-A, B-C
and between D and E are respectively off. Also, the second
The output pattern of the sensor 4 is turned on between A and B by the sphere _W3 , and turned off between O and A and between BE and E.

Then, in the first stroke comparator 7, the input from the first sensor 3 and the data from the first stroke setter 5 are switched on and off in a pattern corresponding to the stroke signal given from the stroke detector 2. It is determined whether or not they match, and the result is sent to the pass/fail discriminator 9. Also, the second
The stroke comparator 8 compares the input from the second sensor 4 and the second stroke setter 6 in response to the stroke signal given from the stroke detector.
It is determined whether or not the data similarly match, and the result is sent to the quality discriminator 9. As a result, the quality discriminator 9 integrates the matching and non-matching stroke data given from the first and second stroke comparators 7 and 8, respectively, and determines the quality of the product W based on the integration results. Output.

For example, if the dimensions of the spheres W ₁ , W ₂ , W ₃ of the product W are not correct or the shapes are partially missing, the first sensor 3 will turn on the A-B or C-
D, the timing between A and B of the second sensor 4 changes. Moreover, each sphere W ₁ , W ₂ ,
W ₃ If the relative position of the spheres W ₁ and W ₂ is out of alignment, the first sensor 3 will turn off the signals between O and A, between B and C, and between D and E. If the timing between changes and there is a deviation in the relative device of the sphere _W3 , the second sensor 4 turns off O-A.
The timing between BE and E will change. When such a change occurs, the first and second
Since the inputs from the sensors 3 and 4 and the data from the stroke setters 5 and 6 do not match in pattern, the pass/fail discriminator 9 determines that the stroke is defective.

Therefore, according to the embodiment described above, for a product W that is branched in three directions, the spheres W ₁ ,
The first sensor 3 is placed at the position where W ₂ passes, and the sphere W ₃
A second sensor 4 is placed at the position where the spheres W 1 , W 1 , W ₁ ,
The shape of W ₂ is determined based on the input from the second sensor 4 and the second
Since the shape of the sphere _W3 is determined by comparing the data with the data of the stroke setting device 6, it is possible to determine the quality of products with complex shapes without increasing the number of sensors. In particular, two spheres W ₁ and W ₂
Since the shape of the product can be detected using only one sensor 3, it is possible to determine whether a product with a complicated shape is good or bad using a smaller number of sensors. In addition, the length and interval of the spheres W ₁ and W ₂ are detected by the first sensor 3, and the length of the sphere W ₃ is detected by the second sensor 4, and the patterns are compared and determined. Therefore, in addition to the dimensions of each sphere W ₁ , W ₂ , W ₃ ,
Part of the shape of each sphere W ₁ , W ₂ , W ₃ is missing,
Alternatively, it is possible to make a more detailed determination, such as when the mutual positional relationships of the spheres W ₁ , W ₂ , and W ₃ are shifted.
Furthermore, since the comparison results from each stroke comparator 7 and 8 are sent to the pass/fail discriminator 9, and the pass/fail discriminator 9 comprehensively judges the quality of the product based on the comparison results, accuracy is required. It is possible to set criteria for determining pass/fail depending on which products are acceptable and which are not.

In the above embodiment, since the product W has a shape branched into three directions, two sensors are provided.
Depending on the shape of the product, its posture during transportation, etc., one sensor may be sufficient, or on the other hand, if the accuracy is to be improved, more sensors may be provided.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a product discrimination method that can accurately discriminate the quality of products with complicated shapes without using many sensors.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional product discrimination method, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a product discriminating device implementing the method of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between the product and each sensor. be. W... Product, 3, 4... Sensor, 5, 6... Stroke setting device, 7, 8... Stroke comparator,
9... Pass/fail discriminator.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A method for determining the shape of a product having unevenness including branches, the method comprising: transporting the product; and applying a stroke through which a predetermined part of the product passes during the transfer to the uneven shape of the product. The product is characterized by detecting the stroke pattern using a plurality of correspondingly installed sensors, comparing the measured stroke pattern detected by each sensor with a reference stroke pattern set in advance for each sensor, and determining the quality of the product based on the comparison results. Product identification method.