IP Library Granted Patent US 10,648,921
Granted Patent B2
US 10,648,921 · App. 16/166,694 · Granted May 12, 2020

Image inspection apparatus, image inspection method, image inspection program, computer-readable recording medium and recording device

Inventor: Zhuoli Sun (Osaka, JP)
Assignee: Keyence Corporation
G01N21/8806G01B11/24G01N21/8851G06T7/0004G06T7/0008G06T7/586H04N13/207H04N13/254G01N2201/06G06T2207/10152G06T2207/30164
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,648,921
App. No.
16/166,694
Granted
May 12, 2020
Kind
B2
Abstract

An image inspection apparatus includes: an imaging section for capturing an image of a workpiece from a certain direction; an illumination section for illuminating the workpiece from different directions at least three times; an illumination controlling section for sequentially turning on the illumination sections one by one; an imaging generating section for driving the imaging section to generate a plurality of images; a normal vector calculating section for calculating a normal vector with respect to the surface of the workpiece at each of pixels by use of a pixel value of each of pixels having a corresponding relation among the plurality of images; and a contour image generating section for performing differential processing in an X-direction and a Y-direction on the calculated normal vector at each of the pixels, to generate a contour image that shows a contour of inclination of the surface of the workpiece.

Claims (16)

1. An image inspection apparatus for performing visual inspection of a workpiece, the apparatus comprising:

three or more illumination sections which are arranged in an annular shape for illuminating the workpiece from mutually different illumination directions;

an illumination controlling section for turning on the three or more illumination sections one by one in a turning-on order;

an imaging section for capturing an image of the workpiece from a certain direction at illumination timing for turning on each of the illumination sections by the illumination controlling section, to capture a plurality of partial illumination images with different illumination directions,

a normal vector calculating section for calculating a normal vector with respect to a surface of the workpiece at each of pixels by a photometric stereo method by use of a pixel value of each of pixels having a corresponding relation among the plurality of partial illumination images captured by the imaging section;

a texture extraction image generating section for calculating, from a normal vector at each of the pixels which exists in number corresponding to the number of times of illumination performed by the illumination sections and is calculated by the normal vector calculating section, albedos of each of the pixels in the same number, to generate from the albedos a texture extraction image that shows a design obtained by removing an inclined state of the surface of the workpiece.

2. The image inspection apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the texture extraction image generating section sorts values of the albedos of each of the pixels in the same number as the number of the normal vectors, and employs, as the texture extraction image, an image formed by adopting a pixel value in a specific order from the top.

3. The image inspection apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the normal vector calculated by the normal vector calculating section has such dependency that intensity of the normal vector changes in accordance with a change in relative distance between the imaging section and the illumination section in an optical axis direction of the imaging section.

4. The image inspection apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the installing setting includes three or more illumination directions of the illumination light from the illumination sections.

5. The image inspection apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the imaging section and each of the illumination sections are independent separate members, and are arranged at arbitrary positions.

6. The image inspection apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein four illumination sections are provided.

7. The image inspection apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the three or more illumination sections are made up of a plurality of light-emitting elements arranged in an annular shape, and

the illumination controlling section takes a predetermined number of adjacent light-emitting elements as a first illumination block, simultaneously turns on the light-emitting elements in the first illumination block, and turns off other light-emitting elements, to make a first illumination section function as first illumination from a first illumination direction,

performs control so as to turn on a second illumination block, which is made up of a predetermined number of light-emitting elements and adjacent to the first illumination block, to constitute the second illumination block for performing illumination from a second illumination direction different from the first illumination direction, and

performs control so as to turn on a third illumination block, which is made up of a predetermined number of light-emitting elements and adjacent to the second illumination block, to constitute the third illumination block for performing illumination from a third illumination direction different from the first illumination block and the second illumination direction.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 22, 2018
From: SUN, ZHUOLI
To: KEYENCE CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 047261/0839 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2014-119135 · Jun 9, 2014 · national
Continuity (3)
Continuation 15460253 · Mar 16, 2017
Continuation 14716901 · May 20, 2015
Related Publication 20190056331A1 · Feb 21, 2019