JP-2026074672-A - Visual inspection device for die-cast products

Abstract

[Problem] Even when adopting a configuration in which the illumination unit directly illuminates the image in order to avoid increasing the overall size of the device, the occurrence of halation in the captured image is suppressed. [Solution] The inspection device 10 includes a plurality of bar-type lights 18 that illuminate a die-cast product 60 placed on a stage with illumination light from the surroundings, a robotic arm 12 that sequentially moves a first camera 16 to a plurality of imaging points for imaging different parts of the die-cast product 60 placed on the stage, a storage 36 that stores a first dimming value determined for each imaging point so that halation does not occur in the captured image, and a controller 28 that controls the amount of illumination light from the bar-type lights 18 based on the corresponding first dimming value when the first camera 16 is positioned at each imaging point, and then causes the first camera 16 to image the die-cast product 60. [Selection Diagram] Figure 1

Inventors

• 柳ヶ瀬 大將

Assignees

• トヨタ自動車株式会社

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20241021

Claims (4)

1. A first lighting unit that illuminates the die-cast product placed on a mounting platform with illumination light from the surroundings, A moving unit moves the imaging unit sequentially to multiple imaging points for imaging different parts of the die-cast product placed on the aforementioned stand, A storage unit that stores a first exposure control value determined for each imaging point to prevent halation in the captured image, With the imaging unit positioned at each imaging point, the control unit controls the amount of illumination light from the first illumination unit based on the corresponding first dimming value stored in the memory unit, and then causes the imaging unit to image the die-cast product. A visual inspection device for die-cast products, including those with die-cast finishes.
2. The system further includes a second illumination unit which is moved together with the imaging unit to each imaging point by the moving unit, The memory unit stores a plurality of second dimming values, each determined so as dimming values for the second illumination unit at a specific imaging point for imaging the recess of the die-cast product, such that halation does not occur in regions of the captured image that correspond to different parts of the recess. The appearance inspection apparatus for die-cast products according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the amount of illumination light from the second illumination unit while the imaging unit and the second illumination unit are positioned at the specific imaging point, and causes the imaging unit to image the inside of the recess multiple times using each of a plurality of second dimming values.
3. The die-cast product appearance inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of second dimming values are second dimming values determined so as not to cause halation in the region corresponding to the bottom of the recess in the captured image, and second dimming values determined so as not to cause halation in the region corresponding to the side of the recess in the captured image.
4. The die-cast product is a Gigacast product manufactured by Gigacasting, as described in claim 1. (This is an appearance inspection apparatus for a die-cast product.)

Description

This disclosure relates to an inspection apparatus for the appearance of die-cast products. This document describes a casting defect trend management device that captures images of characteristic surface features of a casting illuminated by a lighting device, quantifies the amount of depressions occurring in these feature areas by image processing, and estimates the amount of porosity occurring within the casting based on the relationship between the amount of depressions and the amount of porosity occurring inside the casting. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-68100 This is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a visual inspection apparatus for die-cast products according to an embodiment.This is a perspective view showing a robotic arm, bar-type lighting, and other components.This is a side view showing the configuration of the tip of a robot arm.(A) is an oblique view and (B) is a side view showing the ring-shaped light positioned close to the recess of the product.This is a diagram showing an example of an imaging point and illumination light intensity table.This flowchart shows an example of lighting and imaging control processing performed by the controller. Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of this disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows a die-cast product visual inspection apparatus 10 (hereinafter simply referred to as "inspection apparatus 10") according to this embodiment. The inspection apparatus 10 is a device that images a die-cast product 60 (an example is shown in Figure 4) from a plurality of different imaging points and determines the presence or absence of defects on the surface of the die-cast product 60 based on the captured images, and includes a robot arm 12, a first camera 16, and a controller 28. The die-cast product 60 that the inspection device 10 inspects may be, for example, a Gigacast product such as a vehicle frame in which the wheel arch and side member are integrally molded by Gigacasting, or it may be a regular die-cast product such as a transaxle case housing. As shown in Figure 2, the robot arm 12 is a vertical articulated robot, including multiple actuators 14 for moving each joint, and is connected to a controller 28. The robot arm 12 is positioned near the stage 50 on which the die-cast product 60 to be inspected is placed, and a first camera 16 is attached to its tip (see Figure 3). Based on instructions from the controller 28, the tip of the robot arm 12, i.e., the first camera 16 (and the second camera 22 and ring-shaped illumination 24, described later), is sequentially moved to a plurality of preset imaging points. The robot arm 12 is an example of a moving part in this disclosure, and the stage 50 is an example of a mounting platform in this disclosure. The first camera 16 is connected to the controller 28 and is controlled by the controller 28 to image the die-cast product 60 on the stage 50 each time it is moved to an individual imaging point by the robot arm 12. The image obtained by the first camera 16 is output to the controller 28. The first camera 16 is a wide-angle camera capable of imaging a wider area than the second camera 22, which will be described later. The first camera 16 is an example of the imaging unit in this disclosure. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, a frame 52 is provided around the stage 50, enclosing the stage 50 and the robot arm 12. Multiple bar-type lights 18 are mounted on the frame 52. When illuminated, the multiple bar-type lights 18 illuminate the die-cast product 60, which is placed on the stage 50, from the surroundings. The multiple bar-type lights 18 are connected to a controller 28 via a lighting controller 20. The bar-type lights 18 may be configured to illuminate the die-cast product 60 with indirect light, or with direct light. In this embodiment, a first dimming value is determined for each imaging point and for each individual bar-type light illuminator 18 to prevent halation in the captured image when the first camera 16 captures the image at each imaging point. Each time the first camera 16 moves to an individual imaging point, the amount of light emitted from each bar-type light illuminator 18 is individually controlled based on the first dimming value. The multiple bar-type light illuminators 18 are an example of the first illumination unit in this disclosure. Furthermore, the controller 28 is connected via a lighting controller 26 to a ring-shaped light 24 for illuminating recesses 62 (an example is shown in Figure 4(B)) in the die-cast product 60, and a second camera 22 for illuminating the recesses 62 is also connected to the controller 28. As shown in Figure 3, the second camera 22 and the ring-shaped light 24 are mounted coaxially to the tip of the robot arm 12 and are moved sequentially to each imaging point by the robot arm 12 together with the first camera 16. The ring-shaped light 24 is an example of a second illumination unit in this d