Transparent liquid inspection apparatus, transparent liquid inspection method, and transparent liquid application method

• US 7,276,380 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2001
• Issued: 10/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: PHC Holdings Corporation
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Fukuyama, Teruaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Soderquist; Arlen
• Application Number:
  US10/110,326
• Publication Number:
  US 20020151042A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,255 Days
• Field of Search: 422/62, 422/82.05, 422/82.09, 436/54, 436/164, 436/169, 436/1, 356/601, 356/610, 356/612, 356614-615, 356/628, 356/635, 356/603
• US Class Current: 436/164
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/55 Specular reflectivity

Abstract

The present invention provides a transparent liquid inspection apparatus capable of identifying a boundary between a transparent liquid applied on a base material which provides a multi-piece product and the base material, and automatically inspecting an applied condition of the transparent liquid without influence of a background of the base material. A projected image of an illumination source (2) is reflected on a surface of the transparent liquid as a mirror, the projected image is picked up by cameras (41 to 44), and the image is analyzed by an image processing unit (8), thereby inspecting an amount of displacement of the transparent liquid from a predetermined application position and expansion of the surface of the transparent liquid.

Claims

1. A transparent liquid inspection apparatus, comprising:

a base material having a multiplicity of section pieces placed in predetermined locations, each section piece having applied thereto a transparent liquid capable of surface expansion;

illuminating means having a predetermined shape, for illuminating a surface of the base material so that the shape is projected on the surface of the transparent liquid in each section piece, the projected shape of said illuminating means having a plurality of tips;

image pickup means for picking up an image of the surface of the base material and transmitting the image of a predetermined number of section pieces of said base material applied with the transparent liquid;

means for calculating, based on the image transmitted from said image pickup means, a luminance component in a plurality of locations in each section piece, each location being defined by a cursor for performing histogram processing and comprising an area to be transmitted as an image, the location comprising a part of a boundary of the transparent liquid applied at a predetermined application position thereof in each section piece and including one of the tips of the projected shape of the illuminating means on the surface of the transparent liquid in each section piece, wherein the luminance component is calculated by measuring a first luminance of the illuminated base material located in the cursor and a second luminance of a tip of the projected share on the surface of the transparent liquid located in the cursor;

means for calculating, based on the calculated luminance component, the surface expansion of the transparent liquid in each section piece; and

means for statistically processing data on the surface expansion of the transparent liquid in the predetermined number of section pieces to calculate an amount of displacement of the transparent liquid from the predetermined application position thereof in each section piece.

2. The transparent liquid inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said base material is divided into a plurality of blocks in accordance with image pickup fields of said image pickup means, and a desired number of said pickup means and said illuminating means each corresponding to said blocks are provided, thereby allowing images of said desired number of said blocks to be simultaneously picked up.

3. The transparent liquid inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the illuminating means has a cross shape.

4. A transparent liquid inspection method, comprising the steps of:

providing a base material with a surface thereof facing upward, said base material having a multiplicity of section pieces in predetermined locations, each section piece having applied thereto a transparent liquid capable of surface expansion;

illuminating the surface of said base material by illuminating means having a predetermined shape so that the shape is projected on the surface of the transparent liquid in each section piece, the projected shape of said illuminating means having a plurality of tips;

picking up an image of the surface of said base material illuminated by said illuminating means and transmitting the image of a predetermined number of section pieces of said base material applied with the transparent liquid;

calculating, based on the transmitted image, a luminance component in a plurality of locations in each section piece, each location being defined by a cursor for performing histogram processing and comprising an area to be transmitted as an image, the location comprising a part of a boundary of the transparent liquid applied at a predetermined application position thereof in each section piece and including one of the tips of the projected shape of the illuminating means on the surface of the transparent liquid in each section piece, wherein the luminance component is calculated by measuring a first luminance of the illuminated base material located in the cursor and a second luminance of a tip of the projected shape on the surface of the transparent liquid located in the cursor;

calculating, based on the luminance component, the surface expansion of said transparent liquid in each section piece; and

statistically processing data on the surface expansion of said transparent liquid in the predetermined number of section pieces to calculate an amount of displacement of the transparent liquid from the predetermined application position thereof in each section piece.

5. The transparent liquid inspection method according to claim 4, wherein the illuminating means has a cross shape.

6. A transparent liquid inspection method, comprising the steps of:

applying a transparent liquid on each of a multiplicity of section pieces on predetermined locations on a base material, the transparent liquid capable of surface expansion;

illuminating an upward facing surface of said base material by illuminating means having a predetermined shape so that the shape is projected on the surface of the transparent liquid in each section piece, the projected shape of said illuminating means having a plurality of tips;

picking up an image of the surface of said base material illuminated by said illuminating means and transmitting the image of a predetermined number of section pieces of said base material applied with the transparent liquid;

calculating, based on the transmitted image, a luminance component in a plurality of locations in each section piece, each location being defined by a cursor for performing histogram processing and comprising an area to be transmitted as an image, the location comprising a part of a boundary of the transparent liquid applied at a predetermined application position thereof in each section piece and including one of the tips of the projected shape of the illuminating means on the surface of the transparent liquid in each section piece;

calculating, based on the luminance component, the surface expansion of said transparent liquid in each section piece;

statistically processing data on the surface expansion of said transparent liquid in the predetermined number of section pieces to calculate an amount of displacement of the transparent liquid from the predetermined application position thereof in each section piece; and

feeding back the calculated amount of displacement of the transparent liquid from the predetermined application position thereof in each section piece, to the step of applying a transparent liquid on each of a multiplicity of the section pieces on predetermined locations on the base material.

7. The transparent liquid inspection method according to claim 6, wherein the illuminating means has a cross shape.