Granted Patent B2

US 12,741,342 · App. 18/414,946 · Granted Sep 22, 2026

Inventors: Hiromasa Takahashi (Minato, JP); Yasunori Chiba (Yokohama, JP); Masahiro Saito (Yokohama, JP); Takuya Atsumi (Hamamatsu, JP); Shin Matsumoto (Yokohama, JP)

Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

B23K31/125G01S15/08

Abstract

Claims (58)

1 . A processing device, configured to:

receive, via a detector connected to the processing device, intensity data of a reflected wave obtained by transmitting an ultrasonic wave from the detector along a first direction toward a joined body, the detector configured to transmit the ultrasonic wave, detect the reflected wave, and transmit the intensity data to be received at the processing device;

designate a weld portion of the joined body by using the intensity data, designating the weld portion including

determining, at points in a first plane crossing the first direction, whether a peak corresponding to a lower surface of a first member of the joined body exists in a reflected wave intensity distribution in the first direction,

determining that points at which the peak is not detected are joined, and

designating a cluster of the points determined to be joined as the weld portion;

calculate a first center position of the designated weld portion in the first plane crossing the first direction;

calculate, in the first plane, a distance between the first center position of the designated weld portion and a second center position corresponding to a design position of the weld portion; and

determine a goodness of the joined body by using the calculated distance.

2 . The processing device according to claim 1 , wherein

the processing device outputs a first notification to a user when a value based on the distance is greater than a first threshold.

3 . The processing device according to claim 1 , wherein

the processing device inspects the weld portion by using a diameter of the designated weld portion.

4 . The processing device according to claim 3 , wherein

the processing device determines an accuracy of the inspection of the weld portion by using the distance.

5 . The processing device according to claim 4 , wherein

the processing device outputs a second notification to a user when a value based on the distance is greater than a second threshold.

6 . A detecting system, comprising:

the processing device according to claim 1 ; and

a detector configured to transmit the ultrasonic wave, detect the reflected wave, and transmit the intensity data to the processing device.

7 . The detecting system according to claim 6 , further comprising:

a manipulator,

the detector being located at a distal end of the manipulator.

8 . The detecting system according to claim 7 , further comprising:

a control device configured to control the manipulator,

the control device correcting a position of the detector by operating the manipulator to reduce a distance between the first center position and the second center position of the intensity data in the first plane when a value based on the distance is greater than a first threshold,

the detector transmitting the ultrasonic wave toward the weld portion and detecting the reflected wave at the corrected position.

9 . A processing method, comprising:

receiving, via a detector connected to a processing device, intensity data of a reflected wave obtained by transmitting an ultrasonic wave from the detector along a first direction toward a joined body, the detector configured to transmit the ultrasonic wave, detect the reflected wave, and transmit the intensity data to be received at the processing device;

designating a weld portion of the joined body by using the intensity data, designating the weld portion including

determining, at points in a first plane crossing the first direction, whether a peak corresponding to a lower surface of a first member of the joined body exists in a reflected wave intensity distribution in the first direction,

determining that points at which the peak is not detected are joined, and

designating a cluster of the points determined to be joined as the weld portion;

calculating a first center position of the designated weld portion in the first plane crossing the first direction;

calculating, in the first plane, a distance between the first center position of the designated weld portion and a second center position corresponding to a design position of the weld portion; and

determining a goodness of the joined body by using the calculated distance.

10 . An inspection method, comprising:

the processing method according to claim 9 ; and

inspecting the weld portion using the intensity data.

11 . The processing method according to claim 9 , further comprising:

outputting a first notification to a user when a value based on the distance is greater than a first threshold.

12 . The inspection method according to claim 10 , wherein

in the inspecting, a diameter of the designated weld portion is calculated using the intensity data and the weld portion is inspected based on the diameter.

13 . The inspection method according to claim 12 , further comprising:

determining an accuracy of the inspection of the weld portion by using the distance.

14 . The inspection method according to claim 12 , further comprising:

outputting a second notification to a user when a value based on the distance is greater than a second threshold.

15 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program, the program configured to cause a processing device to:

receive, via a detector connected to the processing device, intensity data of a reflected wave obtained by transmitting an ultrasonic wave from the detector along a first direction toward a joined body, the detector configured to transmit the ultrasonic wave, detect the reflected wave, and transmit the intensity data to be received at the processing device;

designate a weld portion of the joined body by using the intensity data, designating the weld portion including

determining, at points in a first plane crossing the first direction, whether a peak corresponding to a lower surface of a first member of the joined body exists in a reflected wave intensity distribution in the first direction,

determining that points at which the peak is not detected are joined, and

designating a cluster of the points determined to be joined as the weld portion;

calculate a first center position of the designated weld portion in the first plane crossing the first direction;

calculate, in the first plane, a distance between the first center position of the designated weld portion and a second center position corresponding to a design position of the weld portion; and

determine a goodness of the joined body by using the calculated distance.

16 . The storage medium according to claim 15 , wherein

the program further configured to cause the processing device to inspect the weld portion using the intensity data.

Assignments (2)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (33)