INSPECTION APPARATUS

• US 20160086320A1
• Filed: 04/25/2014
• Published: 03/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
• Original Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
• Inventors: FUJISAWA, Yoshitaka
• Granted Patent: US 9,710,904 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/24 for measuring contours or curvatures
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/8851 Scan or image signal processing specially adapted therefor, e.g. for scan signal adjustment, for detecting different kinds of defects, for compensating for structures, markings, edges G01N21/8806 and G01N21/93 - G01N21/95692 take precedence; optical measurement of dimensions G01B11/00; optical scanning G02B26/10; image transformation G06T3/00; computerised image enhancement G06T5/00; image processing per se for flaw detection G06T7/0002
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/95607 using a comparative method
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2201/12 Circuits of general importance; Signal processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/22 Matching criteria, e.g. proximity measures
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20112 Image segmentation details
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30108 Industrial image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/001 using an image reference approach
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/11 Region-based segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/13 Edge detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/74 involving reference images or patches
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/75 Organisation of the matching processes, e.g. simultaneous or sequential comparisons of image or video features; Coarse-fine approaches, e.g. multi-scale approaches; using context analysis; Selection of dictionaries
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/757 Matching configurations of points or features

Abstract

An inspection apparatus capable of preventing a conforming article from being judged as nonconforming when inspecting a molded object for acceptability by performing image processing on an image captured of the inspection object. The apparatus includes a means for positioning a model pattern in a position with a highest degree of agreement by matching the model pattern against the image captured of the inspection object, a model pattern dividing means for dividing the model pattern into a plurality of elements in such a manner as to have mutually overlapping regions, and a shape recognition means for recognizing a shape corresponding to the model pattern by positioning each of the elements divided by the model pattern dividing means in a position with a highest degree of agreement by performing pattern matching within a predetermined range with reference to the position where the model pattern has been positioned on the image.

Claims

1. An inspection apparatus for judging acceptability of

an inspection object by matching a model pattern representing conforming object data against an image captured of an appearance of the inspection object, the apparatus comprising:

a model pattern positioning means for positioning the model pattern in a position with a highest degree of agreement by matching the model pattern against the image captured;

a model pattern dividing means for dividing the model pattern into a plurality of elements in such a manner as to have mutually overlapping regions; and

a shape recognition means for recognizing a shape corresponding to the model pattern by positioning each of the elements divided by the model pattern dividing means in a position with a highest degree of agreement by performing pattern matching within a predetermined range with reference to the position where the model pattern has been positioned on the image.

2. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the model pattern dividing means performs division of the model pattern a plurality of times and changes the number of divisions at each time of division so that the positions of division boundaries of elements divided at each time of division are dislocated from the other.

3. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shape recognition means is provided with an element deforming means to carry out necessary deformation of the elements, including scaling deformation, rotational deformation, and shear deformation, and repeats the deformation of the elements by performing pattern matching against the image until the shape reaches a highest degree of agreement.

4. The inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the shape recognition means is provided with an element deforming means to carry out necessary deformation of the elements, including scaling deformation, rotational deformation, and shear deformation, and repeats the deformation of the elements by performing pattern matching against the image until the shape reaches a highest degree of agreement.