Configurable image trigger for a vision system and method for using the same

• US 9,651,499 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2011
• Issued: 05/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cognex Corporation
• Original Assignee: Cognex Corporation
• Inventors: Mahuna, Tyson
• Primary Examiner(s): PONTIUS, JAMES M
• Application Number:
  US13/331,866
• Publication Number:
  US 20130155220A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,974 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/8867 using sequentially two or more inspection runs, e.g. coarse and fine, or detecting then analysing
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/8887 based on image processing techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/8806 Specially adapted optical and illumination features
• 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: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials

Abstract

This invention provides a trigger for a vision system that can be set using a user interface that allows the straightforward variation of a plurality of exposed trigger parameters. Illustratively, the vision system includes a triggering mode in which the system keeps acquiring an image of a field of view with respect to objects in relative motion. The system runs user-configurable “trigger logic”. When the trigger logic succeeds/passes, the current image or a newly acquired image is then transmitted to the main inspection logic for processing. The trigger logic can be readily configured by a user operating an interface, which can also be used to configure the main inspection process, to trigger the vision system by tools such as presence-absence, edge finding, barcode finding, pattern matching, image thresholding, or any arbitrary combination of tools exposed by the vision system in the interface.

Claims

1. A configurable trigger for a vision system having a vision system camera that acquires images of objects moving relative to a field of view of the camera comprising:

a vision system interface constructed and arranged to allow user access to a plurality of vision system tools to process the acquired images;

a trigger configuration function within the interface constructed and arranged to allow a user to configure at least some of the plurality of vision system tools to define a trigger logic by which an event is triggered when at least one of the acquired images matches a predetermined trigger criteria; and

a main inspection configuration function within the interface constructed and arranged to allow a user to configure the vision system tools to define a main inspection logic that operates on the at least one of the acquired images and inspects the at least one of the acquired images that matches the predetermined trigger criteria to provide an inspection result in response to the triggered event.

2. The configurable trigger as set forth in claim 1 wherein the interface is constructed and arranged to allow a user to configure all of the plurality of vision system tools.

3. The configurable trigger as set forth in claim 1 wherein the vision system interface is constructed and arranged to provide a user-selectable trigger mode interface, the trigger mode interface including user-selectable buttons that expose at least some of the plurality of tools.

4. The configurable trigger as set forth in claim 3 wherein the trigger mode interface further comprises a trigger logic dialog screen that displays a trigger logic criteria based on selected ones of the tools.

5. The configurable trigger as set forth in claim 4 wherein the criteria include at least one of threshold values and pass/fail parameters.

6. The configurable trigger as set forth in claim 1 wherein the trigger logic operates on a sequence of the acquired images and, when the triggered event occurs, provides the image that triggers the event to the main inspection logic.

7. The configurable trigger as set forth in claim 1 wherein the trigger logic operate on a sequence of the acquired images and, when the triggered event occurs, provides to the main inspection logic an image acquired subsequent to the image that triggers the event.

8. The configurable trigger as set forth in claim 7 wherein the sequence of images is acquired at a frame rate that is higher than a frame rate at which the image acquired subsequent is acquired.

9. The configurable trigger as set forth in claim 7 wherein the sequence of images is acquired at a resolution that is lower than a resolution of the image acquired subsequent.

10. The configurable trigger as set forth in claim 1 wherein the main inspection logic is distinct from the trigger logic.

11. A method for configuring a trigger event in a vision system having a vision system camera that acquires images objects moving relative to a field of view of the camera comprising the steps of:

operating a vision system interface including a plurality of vision system tools to process the acquired images;

configuring, with a trigger configuration function within the interface, at least some of the plurality of vision system tools to define a trigger logic by which an event is triggered when at least one of the acquired images matches a predetermined trigger criteria; and

configuring, with a main inspection configuration within the interface, the vision system tools to define a main inspection logic that operates on the at least one of the acquired images and inspects the at least one of the acquired images that matches the predetermined trigger criteria to provide an inspection result in response to the triggered event.

12. The method as set forth in claim 11 wherein the step of configuring at least some of the plurality of vision system tools to define the trigger logic includes configuring all of the plurality vision system tools.

13. The method as set forth in claim 11 wherein the vision system interface is constructed and arranged to provide a user-selectable trigger mode interface, and wherein the step of configuring at least some of the plurality of vision system tools to define the trigger logic includes accessing on the trigger mode interface user-selectable buttons that expose at least some of the plurality of tools.

14. The method as set forth in claim 13 wherein the step of configuring at least some of the plurality of vision system tools to define the trigger logic includes accessing a trigger logic dialog screen that displays a trigger logic criteria based on selected ones of the tools.

15. The method as set forth in claim 14 further comprising setting the criteria to include at least one of threshold values and pass/fail parameters.

16. The method as set forth in claim 11 wherein the trigger logic operates on a sequence of the acquired images and, when the triggered event occurs, provides the image that triggers the event to the main inspection logic.

17. The method as set forth in claim 11 wherein the trigger logic operates on a sequence of the acquired images and, when the triggered event occurs, provides to the main inspection logic an image acquired subsequent to the image that triggers the event.

18. The method as set forth in claim 17 wherein the sequence of images is acquired at a frame rate that is higher than a frame rate at which the image acquired subsequent is acquired.

19. The method as set forth in claim 17 wherein the sequence of images is acquired at a resolution that is lower than a resolution of the image acquired subsequent.

20. A method for triggering an event in a vision system having a vision system camera that acquires images of objects moving relative to a field of view of the camera comprising the steps of:

continuously acquiring images within the field of view and analyzing acquired image data from the images;

applying a pre-configured trigger logic based on at least one of a plurality of user configured vision system tools to the image data from the images;

when the pre-configured trigger logic achieves a passing result on the image data, providing an event trigger; and

providing image data to a main inspection logic that operates on the image data and inspects the image data that achieves the passing result to provide an inspection result in response to the event trigger.