TWI839842B - Transporting apparatus with passive wheel and automatic optical inspection apparatus thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a transporting apparatus with passive wheel, comprising a transporting device, a passive wheel device, and an encoder device. The transporting device is used for conveying a workpiece, wherein the transporting device has an interval space, and is suitable for an image capturing device to capture an image of the workpiece passing through the interval. The passive wheel device is arranged in the interval space, and the passive wheel device contacts the surface of the workpiece and drives the pivot. The encoder device is connected and rotates with the passive wheel device to obtain the movement information of the workpiece in the space.

Description

Transmission device with passive wheel and automatic optical detection device thereof

The present invention relates to a transmission device and an automatic optical detection device, in particular to a transmission device with a passive wheel and an automatic optical detection device thereof.

In the conventional technology, due to various environmental factors or the accumulated tolerance of mechanical equipment, conventional conveying devices often have poor transmission accuracy (such as motor, roller, conveyor belt tolerance, or poor device accuracy), which makes the conveying speed between the conveyor belt or multiple rollers uneven, resulting in low image capture quality and affecting the subsequent image analysis results.

In the past, there was a technology that used an adsorption roller to stably adsorb and drive the workpiece to improve the image capture accuracy for light and thin objects. However, when the weight of the object to be tested is heavier (for example, a 4-5mm thick PCB hard board), it cannot be stably adsorbed and driven by the adsorption roller, so when the equipment is used for heavier workpieces, the problem of uneven conveying speed and low image capture quality still exists.

The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a transmission device with a passive wheel, comprising a conveying device, a passive wheel device, and an encoder device. The conveying device is used to transmit a workpiece, wherein the conveying device has a space, suitable for an image capture device to capture an image of the workpiece passing through the space. The passive wheel device is set in the space, and the passive wheel device contacts the surface of the workpiece to drive the hinge. The encoder device is connected to and rotates with the passive wheel device to obtain the movement information of the workpiece in the space.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic optical inspection device with passive wheel transmission, including a conveying device, a passive wheel device, an encoder device, and an image capture device. The conveying device is used to transport a workpiece, wherein the conveying device has a spacing space. The passive wheel device is disposed in the spacing space, and the passive wheel device contacts the surface of the workpiece to drive the hinge. The encoder device is connected to and rotates with the passive wheel device to obtain movement information of the workpiece in the spacing space. The image capture device is disposed on either side of the spacing space to capture an image of the workpiece passing through the spacing space.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic optical inspection device with passive wheel transmission, including a conveying device, a first passive wheel device, a first encoder device, a first image capture device, a second passive wheel device, a second encoder device, and a second image capture device. The conveying device is used to transport a workpiece, wherein the conveying device has a first spacing space and a second spacing space. The first passive wheel device is arranged above the first spacing space, and the first passive wheel device contacts the surface of the workpiece to drive the rotation. The first encoder device is connected to and rotates with the first passive wheel device to obtain a first movement information of the workpiece in the first spacing space. The first image capture device is arranged below the first spacing space to capture a first side image of the workpiece passing through the spacing space. The second passive wheel device is disposed in a second interval space of the conveying device, and the second passive wheel device contacts the surface of the workpiece to drive the hinge. The second encoder device is connected to and rotates following the second passive wheel device to obtain second movement information of the workpiece in the second interval space. The second image capture device is disposed above the second interval space to capture a second side image of the workpiece passing through the second interval space. Therefore, in terms of hardware configuration, the present invention can provide the image capture device with the precise movement information obtained on the passive wheel device through the cooperation of the passive wheel device and the encoder device, so that the image capture device can stably and accurately capture the object to be measured to obtain a clear image.

The detailed description and technical content of the present invention are described below with the help of the drawings. Furthermore, for the convenience of explanation, the drawings in the present invention may not be drawn according to the actual scale, but may be exaggerated. Such drawings and their scales are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

The transmission device with a passive wheel of the present invention can be used in an automatic optical inspection device to inspect the surface of the workpiece while moving the workpiece. In one embodiment, the workpiece can be, for example, a circuit board, a panel, or any other workpiece, which is not limited in the present invention.

The following is an explanation of one embodiment of the present invention. Please refer to "Figure 1" and "Figure 2", which are schematic diagrams of the appearance of the transmission device with a passive wheel of the present invention, and schematic diagrams of the configuration of two different embodiments, as shown in the figure. The present invention discloses a transmission device 100 with a passive wheel, which includes a conveying device 110, a passive wheel device 120, and an encoder device 130.

The conveying device 110 is used to convey the workpiece WP, wherein the conveying device 110 has a spacing space SP, which is suitable for the image capture device to capture the image of the workpiece WP passing through the spacing space SP. In one embodiment, the conveying device 110 can be, for example, but not limited to, a power conveyor belt, a conveyor roller device, or other similar conveying devices, which are not limited in the present invention. The spacing space SP is determined according to the volume of the driven wheel device 120, the size of the workpiece WP and/or the viewing angle of the camera. Specifically, as shown in "Figure 2", the present invention, for example but not limited to, sets the passive wheel device 120 on the spacing space SP1 (see embodiment (A)), and the spacing space SP1 should be at least larger than the passive wheel device 120 to accommodate the passive wheel device 120; in addition, the spacing space should be smaller than the length of the workpiece, or even smaller than the length or width of the workpiece (depending on the conveying direction) to prevent the workpiece from falling from the spacing space; in addition, in the embodiment used for automatic optical inspection equipment, the spacing space SP2 should be larger than the visual range of the camera (see embodiment (B)) to prevent the image capture device from shooting the bottom side of the conveying device 110.

The passive wheel device 120 is disposed in the spacing space SP, and the passive wheel device 120 contacts the surface of the workpiece WP to drive the passive wheel device 120 to rotate. The passive wheel device 120 contacts the surface of the moving workpiece WP to drive the passive wheel device 120 to rotate. In one embodiment, the surface of the passive wheel device 120 or the passive wheel device 120 itself includes, but is not limited to, a material with a relatively high friction coefficient to increase the sliding resistance, so as to provide the encoder device 130 with accurate measurement of the movement information of the workpiece WP. The material with a relatively high friction coefficient may be, for example, rubber, rubber composite, plastic, plastic composite or other similar materials with a high friction coefficient, which are not limited in the present invention. In one embodiment, in order to prevent the passive wheel device 120 from damaging the surface of the workpiece WP, the material of the passive wheel device 120 or the surface material of the passive wheel device 120 should preferably be selected from a material with a lower hardness than the workpiece WP or the workpiece surface material, which is not limited in the present invention.

The encoder device 130 is connected to and rotates with the passive wheel device 120 to obtain the movement information of the workpiece WP in the spacing space SP. In one embodiment, the encoder device 130 may be, for example, but not limited to, a rotary encoder. In the embodiment, the axis of the passive wheel device 120 may be coaxially fixed with the rotating shaft of the rotary encoder. When the passive wheel device 120 rotates, the rotating shaft of the rotary encoder is driven to rotate, and the reading head on one side of the rotary encoder records the movement information of the passive wheel device 120. The working principle of the rotary encoder is not within the scope of the present invention and belongs to the known technology, so it will not be elaborated here. In another embodiment, the encoder device 130 can also be implemented by including a linear encoder. Specifically, for example, a gear can be set on the axis of the passive wheel device 120, and the gear drives the gear connected to the linear encoder to move, so as to calculate the movement information of the workpiece WP through the distance of the gear movement. After pushing the linear encoder to move to the end, the gear can be reset to the starting position through, for example, a linear carrier, so as to obtain the movement information of the workpiece through one reciprocating movement. Such embodiments of the encoder device 130 are included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

The "movement information" mentioned above may include, but is not limited to, location, moving distance, rotation angle, rotation distance, moving time, or other similar information, which is not limited in the present invention.

The present invention obtains accurate movement information through an encoder device that cooperates with a passive wheel device, replacing the previous image capture device that uses the encoder of the conveying device to feedback the position information of the workpiece, and obtains more accurate positioning information. The obtained movement information can be directly fed back to the image capture device or provided to a controller (such as a PLC) to control the operation of the image capture device, which is not limited in the present invention. Since the cooperation between the encoder device and the image capture device belongs to the known technology and is not within the scope of the present invention, it will not be elaborated here.

One embodiment of the transmission device 100 with a passive wheel in the present invention has been described above. The following will describe one embodiment of the automatic optical detection device 200 with a passive wheel transmission in the present invention. Please refer to "Figure 3" and "Figure 4" together, which are the configuration diagram and block diagram of the automatic optical detection device with a passive wheel transmission in the present invention, as shown in the figure.

The automatic optical inspection device 200 of this embodiment includes a conveying device 210, a first passive wheel device 220, a first encoder device 230, a first image capture device 240, a second passive wheel device 250, a second encoder device 260, and a second image capture device 270.

The conveying device 210 is used to transport the workpiece WP, wherein the conveying device 210 has a first spacing space SP3 and a second spacing space SP4. As for the conveying device 210, since most of its functions are the same as those of the conveying device 110 mentioned in the previous embodiment, the same parts will not be repeated. The conveying device 210 in this embodiment includes two sets of spacing spaces (i.e., the first spacing space SP3 and the second spacing space SP4). The first spacing space SP3 should be smaller than the length of the workpiece, or even smaller than the length or width of the workpiece (depending on the conveying direction) to prevent the workpiece from falling from the spacing space; in addition, in the embodiment used for automatic optical inspection equipment, the first spacing space SP3 should be larger than the visual range of the camera to prevent the image capture device from shooting the bottom side of the conveying device 110. The second spacing space SP4 should be at least larger than the second passive wheel device 250 to accommodate the second passive wheel device 250.

The first passive wheel device 220 is arranged above the first spacing space SP3 of the conveying device 210. The first passive wheel device 220 contacts the surface of the workpiece WP to drive the pivot. The material of the first passive wheel device 220 is the same as that of the passive wheel device 120, and the same parts will not be repeated. The first passive wheel device 220 abuts against the workpiece WP passing through from the upper side, so that the first passive wheel device 220 rotates when the workpiece WP passes through the first spacing space SP3 (as shown in FIG. 5). In one embodiment, the distance between the bottom extension plane of the first passive wheel device 220 and the upper extension plane of the conveying device 210 can be slightly smaller than the thickness of the workpiece to ensure that the upper surface of the workpiece WP contacts the bottom side of the first passive wheel device 220 when the workpiece WP moves through the first spacing space SP3.

The first encoder device 230 is connected to and rotates with the first passive wheel device 220 to obtain the first movement information of the workpiece WP in the first interval space SP3. The working principle of the first encoder device 230 is the same as that of the encoder device 130, and the same part will not be repeated. The first movement information obtained by the first encoder device 230 is directly fed back to the first image capture device 240 or provided to a controller (such as a PLC) to control the operation of the image capture device 240, which is not limited in the present invention.

The first image capture device 240 is disposed below the first space SP3 to capture the first side image (equivalent to the lower side in FIG. 3 ) of the workpiece WP passing through the first space SP3, thereby completing the back detection of the workpiece WP. In one embodiment, the first image capture device 240 captures the first side image of the workpiece WP passing through the first space SP3 according to the first movement information. In one embodiment, the first image capture device 240 includes a line scanning camera or a surface scanning camera, which is not limited in the present invention.

Through the configuration of the above-mentioned conveying device 210, the first passive wheel device 220, the first encoder device 230, and the first image capture device 240, a back inspection device can be constructed on the conveying device 210, thereby quickly completing the back inspection during the process of conveying the workpiece WP.

The second passive wheel device 250 is arranged in the second interval space SP4. The second passive wheel device 250 contacts the surface of the workpiece WP to drive the pivot. The material of the second passive wheel device 250 is the same as that of the passive wheel device 120, and the same parts will not be repeated. The second passive wheel device 250 abuts against the workpiece WP passing through from the lower side, so that the second passive wheel device 250 rotates when the workpiece WP passes through the second interval space SP4. In one embodiment, the upper side extension plane of the second passive wheel device 250 should be flush with the upper side extension plane of the conveying device 210, or slightly higher than the upper side extension plane of the conveying device 210, to ensure that the workpiece WP abuts against the second passive wheel device 250 when passing, which is not limited in the present invention.

The second encoder device 260 is connected to and rotates with the second passive wheel device 250 to obtain the second movement information of the workpiece WP in the second interval space SP4. The working principle of the second encoder device 260 is the same as that of the encoder device 130, and the same part will not be repeated. The second movement information obtained by the second encoder device 260 is directly fed back to the second image capture device 270 or provided to a controller (such as a PLC) to control the operation of the image capture device 270, which is not limited in the present invention.

The second image capture device 270 is disposed above the second spacing space SP4 to capture the second side image of the workpiece WP passing through the second spacing space SP4 (equivalent to the upper side in FIG. 3 ), thereby completing the back detection of the workpiece WP. The second image capture device 270 captures the second side image of the workpiece WP passing through the second spacing space SP4 according to the second movement information. In one embodiment, the second image capture device 270 includes a line scanning camera or a surface scanning camera, which is not limited in the present invention.

Through the configuration of the above-mentioned conveying device 210, the second passive wheel device 250, the second encoder device 260, and the second image capture device 270, a positive inspection device can be constructed on the conveying device 210, thereby quickly completing the positive inspection during the process of conveying the workpiece WP.

In one embodiment, the shooting process of the image capture device can be triggered by an encoder device, or by a sensor arbitrarily set in the interval space, which is not limited in the present invention.

Please refer to "Figure 5" and "Figure 6" for the working schematic diagram (I) and working schematic diagram (II) of the automatic optical inspection equipment with passive wheel transmission in the present invention, as shown in the figure. First, as shown in "Figure 5", the workpiece WP is transported to the first space SP3 by the transport device 210, and contacts the first passive wheel device 220 above the first space SP3. The first passive wheel device 220 rotates due to contact with the workpiece WP, thereby driving the first encoder device 230 to rotate, and recording the first movement information of the distance moved by the first passive wheel device 220. After receiving the first movement information, the first image capture device 240 starts to capture the first side image of the workpiece WP passing through the first space SP3. Next, as shown in "Figure 6", the workpiece WP is transported to the second interval space SP4 via the conveying device 210, and contacts the second passive wheel device 250 in the second interval space SP4. The second passive wheel device 250 rotates due to contact with the workpiece WP, thereby driving the second encoder second image capture device 270 to receive the second movement information, and then capture the second side image of the workpiece WP from above the conveying device 210.

To complete the detection process, the present invention includes an optical detection device 280, which is connected to the first image capture device 240 and the second image capture device 270, and performs image analysis on the captured image to obtain defect information in the image. The "defect information" may be, for example, but not limited to, the location of the defect, the type of the defect, the type of the defect, etc., which is not limited in the present invention. The "image analysis" may be, for example, the detection of defects of the workpiece WP through traditional binarization image subtraction method, or through machine learning (Machine Learning), deep learning (Deep Learning) and other neural network-like networks, which is not limited in the present invention.

In one embodiment, in addition to the above-mentioned configuration, the front inspection equipment and the back inspection equipment can also be set in reverse, so that the workpiece WP is first inspected on the front and then on the back; in another embodiment, based on the inspection requirements or configuration, it can also include only front inspection equipment or only back inspection equipment. This part depends on the requirements of the assembly line and is not limited in the present invention.

In summary, the invention uses the cooperation of the passive wheel device and the encoder device to adaptively adjust the rotation speed of the passive wheel when the object to be tested passes through the passive wheel device, so that the image capture device can capture images stably and accurately.

The above is a detailed description of the present invention. However, what is described above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and should not be used to limit the scope of implementation of the present invention. In other words, all equivalent changes and modifications made within the scope of the patent application for the present invention should still fall within the scope of the patent coverage of the present invention.

100         Transmission device with passive wheel 110         Conveying device 120         Passive wheel device 130         Encoder device WP         Workpiece SP          Spacing space SP1         Spacing space SP2         Spacing space 200         Automatic optical inspection device with passive wheel transmission 210         Conveying device 220         First passive wheel device 230         First encoder device 240         First image capture device 250         Second passive wheel device 260         Second encoder device 270         Second image capture device 280         Optical inspection device SP3         First spacing space SP4         Second spacing space

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the transmission device with a passive wheel of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of two different embodiments of the transmission device with a passive wheel of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the configuration of the automatic optical detection equipment with passive wheel transmission in the present invention.

Figure 4 is a block diagram of the automatic optical detection device with passive wheel transmission in the present invention.

Figure 5 is a working schematic diagram of the automatic optical detection equipment with passive wheel transmission in the present invention (I).

Figure 6 is a working schematic diagram of the automatic optical detection equipment with passive wheel transmission in the present invention (II).

100         Transmission device with passive wheel 110         Conveying device 120         Passive wheel device 130         Encoder device WP         Workpiece SP          Spacing space

Claims (13)

A transmission device with a passive wheel comprises: a transport device for transporting a workpiece, wherein the transport device has a space, suitable for an image capture device to capture an image of the workpiece passing through the space; a passive wheel device, arranged in the space, the passive wheel device contacts the surface of the workpiece to drive the hinge; and an encoder device, connected to and rotates with the passive wheel device to obtain the movement information of the workpiece in the space. The passive wheel transmission device as described in claim 1, wherein the encoder device includes a rotary encoder or a linear encoder. A passive wheel transmission device as described in claim 1, wherein the material of the passive wheel device includes rubber, rubber composite material, plastic, or plastic composite material with higher friction. An automatic optical inspection device with passive wheel transmission includes: a conveying device for conveying a workpiece, wherein the conveying device has a space; a passive wheel device, arranged in the space, the passive wheel device contacts the surface of the workpiece to drive the rotation; an encoder device, connected to and rotates with the passive wheel device to obtain movement information of the workpiece in the space; an image capture device, arranged on either side of the space, for taking an image of the workpiece passing through the space; and a detection device, receiving and performing an image detection procedure according to the image of the workpiece. An automatic optical detection device with passive wheel transmission as described in claim 4, wherein the encoder device includes a rotary encoder or a linear encoder. An automatic optical inspection device with passive wheel transmission as described in claim 4, wherein the image capture device includes a line scanning camera or an area scanning camera. An automatic optical inspection device with passive wheel transmission as described in claim 4, wherein the image capture device captures an image of the workpiece passing through the interval space based on the movement information. An automatic optical detection device with passive wheel transmission as described in claim 4, wherein the material of the passive wheel device includes rubber, rubber composite material, plastic, or plastic composite material with higher friction. An automatic optical inspection device with a passive wheel transmission includes: a conveying device for conveying a workpiece, wherein the conveying device has a first spacing space and a second spacing space; a first passive wheel device, arranged above the first spacing space, the first passive wheel device contacts the surface of the workpiece to drive the pivot rotation; a first encoder device, connected to and rotating with the first passive wheel device to obtain a first movement information of the workpiece in the first spacing space; a first image capture device, arranged below the first spacing space, to capture the workpiece passing through the spacing space a first side image of the workpiece in the second space; a second passive wheel device, arranged in the second space, the second passive wheel device contacts the surface of the workpiece and drives the workpiece to rotate; a second encoder device, connected to and following the rotation of the second passive wheel device, to obtain a second movement information of the workpiece in the second space; and a second image capture device, arranged above the second space, to take a second side image of the workpiece passing through the second space; and a detection device, receiving and performing an image detection procedure according to the image of the workpiece. An automatic optical inspection device with passive wheel transmission as described in claim 9, wherein the first image capture device or the second image capture device includes a line scanning camera or an area scanning camera. An automatic optical inspection device with passive wheel transmission as described in claim 9, wherein the first image capture device captures the first side image of the workpiece passing through the first interval space according to the first movement information; and wherein the second image capture device captures the second side image of the workpiece passing through the second interval space according to the second movement information. An automatic optical detection device with passive wheel transmission as described in claim 9, wherein the encoder device includes a rotary encoder or a linear encoder. An automatic optical detection device with passive wheel transmission as described in claim 9, wherein the material of the passive wheel device includes rubber, rubber composite material, plastic, or plastic composite material with higher friction.