JP2000214097A - Tablet visual inspection device and PTP packaging machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To prevent the unstable image of the peripheral part of a tablet from being erroneously judged as a foreign substance, and also to prevent foreign substances which are mostly on the peripheral part and only a part of the foreign substance is hung on a flat part. It is an object of the present invention to provide a tablet appearance inspection apparatus and a PTP packaging machine that can reliably determine a foreign substance. SOLUTION: In the tablet appearance inspection device of the present invention, the image processing device is provided with a binarization unit for binarizing a video signal,
A connected component of one of the values obtained by binarizing the video signal with a first threshold value by the binarizing unit is a tablet region, which is a region of the tablet, and includes a central portion of the tablet. Region and, of the second region outside the first region,
A first foreign matter discriminating means is provided for judging a connected component in the tablet area which is at least partially included in the first area as a foreign matter on the tablet.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a visual inspection device for inspecting foreign substances in tablets and a PTP packaging machine having a function of inspecting foreign substances in tablets.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a tablet appearance inspection apparatus for inspecting foreign matter on a tablet surface, a video signal obtained by imaging a tablet with an imaging device is binarized with a certain threshold value, and one of the values representing the foreign matter is converted into a binary value. The appearance inspection of tablets has been carried out by counting the pixels and judging those having a certain value or less as non-defective products and those having a certain value or more as defective products having foreign matters such as dirt or hair adhered to the surface. Referring to the flowchart of FIG. 11, in step (hereinafter, referred to as S) 31, a video signal which is multi-valued data output from an imaging device that has captured a tablet and stored in an image memory is binarized. I do. Next,
In S32, an inspection area is set. The inspection area may be set in advance if the position of the tablet is predetermined, but if the position of the tablet varies each time, the inspection area may be set each time using the binary image obtained by the binarization in S31. Is also good. Next, in S33, the number of pixels of one value in the inspection area is counted to determine the total area of the foreign matter. And
In S34, a tablet having a total foreign substance area exceeding a certain value is determined to be defective because foreign substances are attached.

However, in general, the peripheral portion of the tablet is often a slope, and the peripheral portion has a shortage of light quantity and is likely to be unstable in the video signal, as compared with the central portion which is almost parallel to the light receiving surface of the imaging device. In particular, sugar-coated tablets having an elliptical cross section, or split tablets with large and angled chamfers have a large effect. For example, in the case of a divided tablet, not only the chamfered portion becomes darker than the flat portion, but also a crescent-shaped dark portion may be generated outside the edge of the chamfered portion. The image pickup by the image pickup device is performed by capturing light, which is emitted from a light source and is irregularly reflected from a surface to be inspected, on a light receiving surface of the image pickup device. Here, if the imaging device is close to the normal direction of the inspected surface of the tablet, the amount of light is sufficient and the ratio of the directly reflected component to the irregularly reflected component is stable, but on the other hand, the light amount is close to the tangential direction. In addition to the shortage, the ratio of the directly reflected component to the irregularly reflected component becomes unstable, resulting in a portion where the irregularly reflected component extremely decreases. In this case, if the binarization is performed as it is, the crescent-shaped dark portion is determined to be a foreign substance, and becomes a defective product despite the absence of the foreign substance.

Since a crescent-shaped dark part is brighter than a black foreign substance, by setting the threshold to a low (dark) value,
Although it is conceivable not to detect the hair, hair having a thickness of about 50 μm may have a video signal level brighter than that of a crescent-shaped dark portion due to light circling, and may miss a foreign substance. In addition, the hair is not always black, and some hair is lighter in color than a crescent-shaped dark part. Therefore, an erroneous determination is prevented by limiting the inspection area to a flat part excluding the peripheral part of the tablet and excluding the unstable peripheral part area of the image from the inspection area.

[0005]

However, a foreign substance which is mostly at the periphery and only a part of the foreign substance is located in the inspection area is regarded as a foreign substance because only pixels in the inspection area are regarded as foreign substances. It is difficult to detect such foreign matter because the pixels are so small that they cannot be distinguished from noise. Therefore, the present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, without erroneously determining an unstable image of the peripheral portion of the tablet as a foreign substance,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tablet visual inspection device and a PTP packaging machine that can reliably determine even foreign substances, most of which are on the peripheral edge and only a part of the foreign substances are on the flat part.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tablet appearance inspection apparatus comprising: an illumination device for irradiating a tablet; and a surface of the tablet irradiated by the illumination device. In a tablet appearance inspection device having an imaging device for imaging and an image processing device for processing a video signal output from the imaging device, the image processing device is provided with a binarization unit for binarizing the video signal. A connected component of one of the values obtained by binarizing the video signal with a first threshold value by the binarization unit, the first component including a central part of the tablet in a tablet area that is an area of the tablet; Area and
Of the second region outside the first region, the connected component in the tablet region, which is also included in the first region,
A first foreign matter discriminating means for judging a foreign matter on the tablet is provided.

A tablet appearance inspection apparatus according to claim 2 is the tablet appearance inspection apparatus according to claim 1,
The first threshold value is selected as a level between the level of the video signal of the tablet in the first area and the level of the video signal of the foreign substance in the first area. The tablet appearance inspection apparatus according to claim 3 is the tablet appearance inspection apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the tablet area is configured to convert the video signal by the binarization unit into the video signal. It is characterized by being a region which is binarized with one threshold value and is surrounded by the outer periphery of the obtained connected component of the other value.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tablet appearance inspection apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the tablet area is provided by the binarizing means. Is a region obtained by binarizing with the second threshold value and surrounded by the outer periphery of the connected component of the other value. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tablet appearance inspection apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the binarizing means converts the video signal into a second image signal. Among the connected components of one value obtained by binarizing with the threshold of, the connected component in the tablet area included in the second area is a second foreign matter determining unit that determines that the foreign matter is on the tablet Is provided.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the tablet appearance inspection apparatus according to the fourth or fifth aspect, wherein the second threshold value is set to a value corresponding to the second area. The level is selected between the video signal and the video signal of the foreign matter in the second area. Claim 7
The tablet visual inspection device according to claim 1, is a tablet visual inspection device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The tablet is circular, and the first region is a region inside a circle provided with the center coincident with the center of the tablet region.

The tablet appearance inspection apparatus according to claim 8 is the tablet appearance inspection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the tablet is a divided tablet or a sugar-coated tablet. There is a feature. A tablet appearance inspection apparatus according to claim 9 is the tablet appearance inspection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the tablet is filled in a pocket of a PTP sheet. It is characterized by being a tablet. According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a PTP packaging machine including the tablet appearance inspection device according to the ninth aspect.

[0011] In the tablet appearance inspection apparatus of the present invention having such a configuration, the image processing apparatus is provided with a binarization unit for binarizing the video signal, and the binarization unit converts the video signal into a binary signal. A connected component of one value obtained by binarization with a first threshold is a tablet region that is a region of the tablet, a first region including a central portion of the tablet, and an outside of the first region. In the second region, the connected component in the tablet region, which is also included in the first region even partially, is provided at the peripheral portion because the first foreign matter discriminating means for determining foreign matter on the tablet is provided. Without falsely determining the dark area to be
Even a foreign substance which is mostly on the peripheral edge and only part of the foreign substance is hung on the flat part can be reliably determined as a foreign substance.

Further, if the first threshold value is selected to be a level between the video signal of the tablet in the first area and the video signal of the foreign substance in the first area, the foreign substance in the first area is reduced to two levels. It is possible to stably determine the foreign matter by the value converting means. Further, if the image signal is binarized by the binarization means using the first threshold, and the region surrounded by the outer periphery of the obtained connected component of the other value is set as the tablet region, the connected component of the foreign substance is obtained. The binarization processing for obtaining the tablet area and the binarization processing for obtaining the tablet area can be performed by one binarization processing using one threshold value. For foreign matter where the part is hanging on the flat part,
It can be reliably determined that the substance is a foreign substance.

[0013] Further, if the video signal is binarized by the binarization means using a second threshold value, and the area surrounded by the outer periphery of the obtained connected component of the other value is set as the tablet area, When specifying the threshold value, it is possible to select a threshold level at which the tablet area can be detected most stably without being influenced by the level of the video signal of the foreign substance.

Further, of the connected components of one of the values obtained by binarizing the video signal with a second threshold value by the binarizing means, the tablet region contained in the second region is entirely included in the second region. If the connected component is provided with a second foreign matter discriminating means for judging the foreign matter on the tablet, the foreign matter in the tablet area which is entirely included in the second area can be also stably discriminated.

If the second threshold value is selected to be a level between the video signal of the tablet in the second area and the video signal of the foreign substance in the second area, the detection of the foreign substance in the second area or In specifying the tablet region, stable detection or specification can be performed without being affected by the region where the image of the tablet peripheral portion is unstable.

Further, if the tablet is circular and the first region is a region inside a circle provided so that the center coincides with the center of the tablet region, no complicated processing is performed. The first area and the second area can be easily separated.

In the case of a divided tablet or a sugar-coated tablet, the dark portion formed in the peripheral portion is not erroneously determined as a foreign substance.
Even foreign substances, most of which are on the periphery and only partly hung on a flat part, can be reliably judged as foreign substances.Moreover, since complicated processing is not required, many tablets are imaged and processed simultaneously. This can be applied to the visual inspection of tablets filled in the pockets of the PTP sheet. Further, if provided on the PTP packaging machine, the dark portion generated at the peripheral portion of the tablet is not erroneously determined as a foreign material, and the foreign material that is mostly on the peripheral portion and only a part of the foreign material is hung on the flat surface portion is also prevented. Thus, it is possible to provide a PTP packaging machine that can reliably determine a foreign substance.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [First Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the appearance inspection of tablets is carried out in the PTP packaging machine 30 by equipping the PTP packaging machine 30 with an appearance inspection device for tablets packaged in a PTP sheet. .

First, a PTP in which a tablet appearance inspection is performed
The packaging machine 30 will be described briefly. PTP packaging machine 3
0 automatically packages tablets and the like on a PTP sheet. Specifically, first, a container film 40 such as polypropylene, PVC, or the like is heated by a film feed roll 33 and tension rolls 31 and 32 using a heating plate 50 and a forming plate 51.
Then, the pocket portion 44 (see FIG. 3) filled with tablets and the like is formed in the container film 40. When the container film 40 having the pocket portion 44 (see FIG. 3) formed thereon is sent below the tablet input shutter 52, the tablet input shutter 52 is moved to each of the pocket portions 4.
4 (see FIG. 3) is automatically filled with tablets and the like. Here, the tablet 1 is filled in each pocket 44 (see FIG. 3).

Further, an aluminum sealing film 42 is fed via tension rolls 34 and 35 onto a container film 41 in which each pocket portion 44 (see FIG. 3) is filled with the tablet 1, and a pair of seal rolls is provided. Fix at 36. Thus, a film-like PTP sheet 43 in which the tablet 1 is filled in each pocket portion 44 (see FIG. 3) is manufactured. After the film-shaped PTP sheet 43 is cut into a sheet shape, it is sequentially sent to a not-shown defective sheet discharging mechanism, a PTP sheet stacking mechanism, and the like.

FIG. 4 shows a tablet appearance inspection apparatus.
This will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The visual inspection device includes a CCD camera 11 as an imaging device and a monitor 2 as a display device.
5, an illumination device 12, which is not shown in the block diagram of FIG. 4, but is an illumination device, an image processing device 10, and the like. The CCD camera 11 and the illumination 12 are shown in FIGS.
Although it is illustrated in the PTP packaging machine 30, it is one of the components that constitute the visual inspection device. The illumination 12 is a halogen lamp, a fluorescent lamp having a high-frequency lighting device, or the like. If the lighting has a brightness control unit that can maintain a certain brightness by controlling the temperature of the lamp or the like and the power supply current, etc., a highly accurate tablet can be obtained without considering the variation in the brightness of the lighting 12. Can be inspected.

The image processing apparatus 10 includes an A / D converter 3, a shading correction unit 14, an image memory 16, a shading correction table 18, a CPU 20, and a determination memory 2.
2, an input / output interface 23, a visual inspection result and statistical data memory 24, a camera timing control means 26, and the like. The A / D converter 3 is a CCD camera 1
The one-dimensional image data captured in step 1 is converted from an analog signal to a digital signal. Where CCD
Describing the camera 11, as shown in FIG. 3, the PTP sheet 43 is illuminated by the light 13 of the illumination 12, and the PTP sheet 43 is one-dimensionally imaged in its width direction. Therefore, a plurality of pockets 44 formed in a line in the width direction of the PTP sheet 43 and the tablets 1 filled in the respective pockets 44 can be simultaneously imaged. At this time, since the PTP sheet 43 in close contact with the fixed roll 37 is imaged, the film-shaped PTP sheet 43 does not swing and does not adversely affect the imaging.

Returning to FIG. 4, the image memory 16 sequentially stores A / D converted one-dimensional image data,
This is stored as two-dimensional image data of the sheet. Before the one-dimensional image data is stored in the image memory 16, shading correction is performed by the shading correction unit 14 in accordance with the data in the shading correction table 18. Shading correction is PTP
Since there is a technical limit in uniformly illuminating the entire sheet 43 with the light 13 of the illumination 12, the variation in the brightness of the video data caused by the brightness of the illumination due to such a difference in position is corrected. The image memory 16 stores not only multi-valued data output from the shading correction unit 14 but also data that has undergone image processing or is in the process of being subjected to image processing, for example, binarized data.

The CPU 20 is for executing various image processing programs, and is executed using the determination memory 22 or the like. The input / output interface 23 is
This is for transmitting or receiving a control signal to the TP packaging machine 30. Thereby, for example, a defective sheet discharging mechanism of the PTP packaging machine 30 can be controlled. It is also for transmitting display data to the monitor 25, and the monitor 25 can display two-dimensional image data, a visual inspection result, and the like.

Visual inspection result and statistical data memory 24
Stores data such as coordinates regarding connected components, appearance inspection result data, and statistical data obtained by statistically processing appearance inspection result data. These appearance inspection result data and statistical data can be displayed on the monitor 25. Further, a control signal can be transmitted to the PTP packaging machine 30 based on the appearance inspection result data and the statistical data. The camera timing control means 26
The one-dimensional image data captured by the D camera 11 is
It controls the timing of taking in the D converter 3. Such timing is performed based on a signal from an encoder (not shown) provided in the PTP packaging machine 30.

Next, the procedure of the tablet appearance inspection process is shown in FIG.
This will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. First, in S1, the video signal, which is multi-valued data stored in the image memory 16, is binarized using a first threshold δc, and a labeling process is performed on the connected component. For convenience, the following description is based on the assumption that the level of the video signal on the surface of the tablet is a high (bright) level and the background and foreign matter are at a low (dark) level. Therefore, one value which is the connected component of the foreign substance obtained by binarization is 0, and the other value which is the surface of the tablet is 1. The first threshold value δc will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 illustrates a tablet to be inspected. Foreign substances 101, 102, and 103 are present on the surface of the tablet 100, and a dark portion 104 is generated. The imaginary line B represents the first area and the second area.
Indicates the boundaries of the region. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a luminance gradation of a line corresponding to the imaginary line A in FIG. A1 in FIG. 8 is a video signal corresponding to the foreign matter 102, A2 is a foreign matter 103,
A3 corresponds to the dark part 104. The first threshold value δc is set to be higher than the level of the video signal A2 of the foreign substance 103 in order to detect the foreign substance 103 on the flat portion of the tablet. Also, naturally, it is selected to be lower than the image level of the tablet surface. When the video signal, which is multi-value data, is binarized by the first threshold value δc selected in this way, as shown in FIG.
2, 103 and the dark portion 104 are connected components of one value. The labeling process is performed on the connected component having one of these values (0).

Next, in S2, the video signal, which is multi-valued data stored in the image memory 16, is binarized by a second threshold value δ, and a labeling process is performed on connected components. The labeling process is performed not only on the connected component having one value (0) representing the foreign substance, but also on the connected component having the other value (1) representing the surface of the tablet. The second threshold value δ is higher (brighter) than the video signal A1 corresponding to the foreign matter 102 at the periphery shown in FIG. 8 in order to distinguish foreign matter at the periphery of the tablet such as the foreign matter 102 shown in FIG. In order to set the level to the level and avoid the influence of the unstable area of the periphery including the dark part 104 shown in FIG. 7, the video signal A3 of the dark part of the tablet shown in FIG. ) Level should be set. Further, in order to specify the tablet region, it is preferable to set the level to a level higher (brighter) than the level of the background video signal. Also in this case, it is lower (darker) than the video signal A3.
When set to the level, there is no influence of the unstable area at the periphery. Therefore, as is apparent from FIG. 8, the second threshold value δ is usually selected to be lower (darker) than the first threshold value δc. In the present embodiment, the threshold value for distinguishing the foreign matter at the peripheral portion and the threshold value for specifying the tablet region are processed by one threshold value. And the threshold for specifying the tablet area may be the third threshold. In that case, the processing becomes somewhat complicated, and the processing time per tablet becomes longer. When the video signal is binarized by the second threshold value δ, as shown in FIG.
Only 1 and 102 are connected components of one value. The labeling process is performed on the connected component of one value and the connected component of the other value that is a tablet.

Then, in S3, the connected component of the tablet is specified from the connected component of the other value (1) obtained by binarization using the second threshold value δ, and is set as a tablet area. In FIG. 10, the tablet 100 is the tablet area. The specification of the connected component of the tablet includes predetermined coordinates, and specifies a connected component having an area within a predetermined range as the connected component of the tablet. In order to simplify the program, for example, it may be specified from only the coordinates or only the size of the area. If the positions of the tablets do not vary so much, the tablet area can be set in advance. But PT
In the inspection of tablets packaged in P-sheets, the positions of the tablets are often not determined because the pockets of the container film of the PTP sheet are formed sufficiently larger than the tablets, and therefore, when performing a precise visual inspection, images are required. It is desirable to specify each time from the signal.

Next, in S4, the tablet area is divided into a first area and a second area. The first region has a surface to be inspected that is nearly parallel to the light receiving surface of the imaging device and is a region where a video signal can be stably acquired, and is usually a region including a central portion. The second region is a region where the angle between the light receiving surface of the imaging device and the surface to be inspected is large and a video signal cannot be stably acquired, and is usually a peripheral region. The division determines the center of the tablet region specified in S3, sets a shape corresponding to the first region prepared in advance so that the center of the tablet region coincides with the center, and sets the inside to the first region and the outside to the first region. Is defined as a second region. 7, 8, 9, and 10, the inside of the imaginary line B is the first area, and the outside is the second area. As shown in these figures, if the shape corresponding to the first region is circular,
Only the coordinates of the center need to be considered, and it is not necessary to consider the inclination, so that the processing is facilitated. In particular, it is effective for circular tablets.

Then, among the connected components of one value (0) obtained by binarizing with the first threshold value δc in S5, the connected component having an area of a certain value or more that is at least partially included in the first region. The component is defined as a first foreign substance. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the foreign matter 101 is partially included in the first region,
It becomes the first foreign matter. On the other hand, the foreign material 102 and the dark portion 104 do not enter the first region at all, and thus do not become the first foreign material. Here, the reason why only the connected component having an area equal to or larger than a certain value is set as the first foreign substance is to remove noise.

Next, of the connected components of one value (0) obtained by binarizing with the second threshold value δ in S6,
A connected component having an area equal to or larger than a certain value, which is included in the second region, is defined as a second foreign substance. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the foreign matter 102 is a second foreign matter because the foreign matter is entirely contained in the second region. On the other hand, the foreign matter 101 does not become the second foreign matter because it protrudes outside the second area. Further, since the level of the video signal in the dark portion 104 shown in FIG. 7 is higher than the second threshold value δ, the dark portion 104 is eliminated by the binarization of S2 and does not become the second foreign matter. Here, the reason why only the connected component having an area equal to or larger than a certain value is used as the second foreign matter is to remove noise as in the case of the first foreign matter. Then, in S7, the tablet determined to have the first foreign substance in S5 or the second foreign substance in S6 is a tablet having the foreign substance and is determined to be defective. The sheet containing the tablet determined to be defective is discharged by a defective sheet discharge mechanism to be described later. Here, the processing of one tablet has been described, but a plurality of tablets may be imaged simultaneously, and the above processing may be performed on a plurality of tablets simultaneously or sequentially.

The characteristic effects of the tablet appearance inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described below. (A) According to the tablet appearance inspection apparatus of the present embodiment having the above configuration, the connected components in the tablet area, which are even partially included in the first area, are determined to be foreign substances on the tablet, It is possible to reliably determine a generated foreign material as a foreign material without erroneously determining the generated foreign material as a foreign material, and also with respect to a foreign material that is almost entirely located at the peripheral portion and only partially covers the flat surface portion. (B) Since the second threshold value is separately provided, a threshold value suitable for obtaining the foreign material or the tablet area at the peripheral portion without being affected by the image level of the first foreign material as the foreign material at the tablet center is selected. be able to. (C) The second threshold value is lower than the level of the video signal of the tablet in the second area, that is, lower than the level of the video signal of the tablet in the unstable area at the periphery of the tablet, and the foreign matter in the second area. Since the video signal is set to a higher level than the video signal of the above, in detecting foreign matter in the second region or specifying the tablet region, stable detection or specification in which the image of the tablet peripheral portion is not affected by the unstable region is performed. It becomes possible. (2) Since the first threshold is set to be lower than the level of the video signal of the tablet in the first area, which is the flat part of the tablet, and higher than the level of the video signal of the foreign substance in the first area. 1
The foreign matter in the region can be stably determined as the foreign matter by the binarizing means.

[0003] (e) Among the connected components of one value obtained by binarization using the second threshold value, the connected components in the tablet area, which are all included in the second area, are considered as foreign substances on the tablet. Since the determination is made, it is also possible to determine the foreign matter in the tablet area that is entirely included in the second area.

(F) Since the tablet is circular and the first area is an area inside a circle provided so that the center coincides with the center of the tablet area, the first area can be processed without complicated processing.
The first area and the second area can be easily separated.

(G) Even for tablets such as a split tablet or a sugar-coated tablet, the image of which is unstable due to the angle of the surface of the peripheral part, the dark part generated in the peripheral part is not erroneously determined as a foreign substance. In addition, a foreign substance which is mostly on the peripheral edge and only a part of the foreign substance is hung on the flat part can be reliably determined as a foreign substance. (H) The present invention can be applied to the visual inspection of tablets filled in a pocket of a PTP sheet, which requires simultaneous imaging and processing of many tablets because complicated processing is not required. (I) If provided on the PTP packaging machine, the dark portion generated at the peripheral portion of the tablet will not be erroneously determined as a foreign material, and the foreign material which is mostly located on the peripheral portion and only a part of the foreign material is hung on the flat surface portion will be described. Can be reliably determined to be a foreign substance.
A TP packaging machine can be provided.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the first embodiment, when dividing into the first area and the second area,
The center of the tablet region is determined, and a shape corresponding to the first region prepared in advance is set so that the center of the tablet region coincides with the center, and the inside is defined as the first region and the outside is defined as the second region. In contrast, in the present embodiment, the first threshold δc
The connection in the tablet area is determined by whether or not the minimum value of the distance between the connected component of one value obtained by binarization and the center coordinate of the tablet area is equal to or less than the foreign matter reference distance HRd which is the reference value. The component is determined to be a first foreign substance that is a foreign substance even partially contained in the first region, or a second foreign substance that is a foreign substance entirely contained in the second region. However, since the configuration of the PTP packaging machine and the block diagram of the tablet appearance inspection apparatus are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description of the same parts will be omitted, and the flowchart shown in FIG. I will explain.

First, in step S11, a video signal, which is multivalued data of a tablet filled in a PTP sheet and stored in the image memory 16, is binarized by a first threshold value δc, and a connected component of one of the values is calculated. Perform labeling processing. S1
1 is the same as S1 of the first embodiment, and the first threshold δ
The same applies to c and the labeling process. Next, the PTP stored in the image memory 16 in S12
A video signal, which is multi-value data of a tablet filled in a sheet, is binarized by a second threshold value δ, and a labeling process is performed on a connected component of one value and the other value. S
12 is the same as S2 of the first embodiment, and the same applies to the second threshold value δ and the labeling process. Then, in S13, the connected component of the tablet is specified from the connected component of the other value obtained by binarization using the second threshold value δ, and is set as a tablet area. S13 is the same as S3 of the first embodiment.

Next, the center coordinates of the tablet are determined in S14. The center is obtained by adding the maximum value and the minimum value of the tablet area and dividing by 2 to obtain the center X coordinate, and adding the maximum value and the minimum value of the Y coordinate of the tablet area and dividing the result by 2 to obtain the center. Coordinates. Of course, the center of gravity may be used instead of the center, or the center may be obtained by another method. When the position of the tablet is predetermined, a fixed value set in advance may be used as the center, but when applied to a tablet packed in a PTP sheet, the pocket of the PTP sheet is formed sufficiently large with respect to the tablet. Since the position of the tablet is not determined, obtaining the center from the tablet area each time enables more accurate inspection.

Then, of the connected components of one value obtained by binarization using the first threshold value δc in S15, S
A connected component having an area equal to or larger than a certain value in the tablet region in which the minimum value of the distance from the center coordinates of the tablet region obtained in step 14 is equal to or smaller than the foreign object reference distance HRd as the reference value is determined as the first foreign object. Here, the reason why only the connected component having an area equal to or larger than a certain value is set as the first foreign substance is to remove noise. The foreign matter reference distance HRd is selected so as to include only an area close to being parallel to the light receiving surface of the imaging device and capable of obtaining a stable video signal.

Then, of the connected components of one value obtained by binarization using the second threshold value δ in S16, S1
The minimum value of the distance from the center coordinates of the tablet area obtained in 4 is
A connected component having an area equal to or larger than a certain value in the tablet region exceeding the foreign matter reference distance HRd is determined as a second foreign matter. Here, the reason why only the connected component having an area equal to or larger than a certain value is used as the second foreign matter is to remove noise as in the case of the first foreign matter. In S17, the tablet in which the first foreign substance is present in S15 or the tablet in which it is determined that the second foreign substance is present in S16 is a tablet in which the foreign substance is present and is determined to be defective. The sheet containing the tablet determined to be defective is later discharged by the defective sheet discharge mechanism. Step S17 is the same as step S7 in the first embodiment.

Now, the characteristic effects of this embodiment will be listed below. (A) The tablet appearance inspection apparatus of the present embodiment is also the same as that of the first embodiment.
Because the basic configuration is the same as the tablet visual inspection device,
Needless to say, the effects of A, B, C, B, E, G, J, and R described in the first embodiment are exhibited. (B) Only by setting the foreign matter reference distance HRd, it is possible to determine the first foreign matter even partially contained in the first area and the second foreign matter entirely contained in the second area, so that setting is easy. . Especially in the case of round tablets, the first region and the second region
The boundary of the region is most preferably a circle provided so that the center of the tablet coincides with the center, and therefore, in the present embodiment, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the first embodiment, when specifying the tablet area, binarization is performed using the second threshold value δ separately from the first threshold value δc for specifying a foreign substance at the center of the tablet. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the first
The tablet area is specified from the connected component of the other value obtained by binarization using the threshold value δc. However, since the configuration of the PTP packaging machine and the block diagram of the tablet appearance inspection apparatus are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description of the same parts will be omitted, and the flow chart of FIG. I will explain.

First, in step S21, a video signal, which is multi-value data of a tablet filled in a PTP sheet and stored in the image memory 16, is binarized by a first threshold value δc, and labeling processing is performed on connected components. I do. The labeling process is performed not only on one value but also on a connected component of the other value. Regarding the first threshold value δc, S1 of the first embodiment is used.
Is the same as Next, in S22, the first threshold δc
The connected component of the tablet is specified from the connected component of the other value obtained by binarization according to and is set as a tablet area. The connection component of the tablet is specified in the same manner as in S3 of the first embodiment. And
In S23, the area is divided into a first area including the center and a second area. The classification is the same as in S4 of the first embodiment.

Then, in S24, of the connected components of one value (0) obtained by binarization using the first threshold value δc, the connected component having an area of a certain value or more that is at least partially included in the first region. The component is defined as a first foreign substance. S of the first embodiment
Same as 5. Then, in S25, the tablet in which the first foreign matter is present in S24 is determined to be defective. The sheet containing the tablet determined to be defective is discharged by the subsequent defective sheet discharge mechanism, similarly to S7 of the first embodiment.

The operation and effects characteristic of the present embodiment will be listed below. (A) The tablet appearance inspection apparatus of the present embodiment is also the same as that of the first embodiment.
Because the basic configuration is the same as the tablet visual inspection device,
Needless to say, the effects of A, D, H, G, H, and R described in the first embodiment are exhibited. (B) By a single binarization process using one threshold value, even a foreign substance that is mostly on the peripheral edge and only partially hangs on the flat part can be reliably determined as a foreign substance. The simplicity of processing allows for faster processing and is also suitable for visual inspection on PTP packaging machines where many tablets must be inspected simultaneously.

[0046]

According to the tablet appearance inspection apparatus of the present invention having such a configuration, the image processing apparatus is provided with a binarization unit for binarizing the video signal, and the binarization unit performs the binarization by the binarization unit. A connected component of one value obtained by binarizing the signal with a first threshold value is a tablet region, which is a region of the tablet, a first region including a central portion of the tablet, and the first region. Of the second region outside the connected region, the connected component in the tablet region, which is also included in the first region, is provided with first foreign matter determination means for determining foreign matter on the tablet. Without misjudging the dark area generated in
Even a foreign substance which is mostly on the peripheral edge and only part of the foreign substance is hung on the flat part can be reliably determined as a foreign substance.

Further, if the first threshold value is selected to be a level between the video signal of the tablet in the first area and the video signal of the foreign substance in the first area, the foreign substance in the first area is reduced to two levels. It is possible to stably determine the foreign matter by the value converting means. Further, if the image signal is binarized by the binarization means using the first threshold, and the region surrounded by the outer periphery of the obtained connected component of the other value is set as the tablet region, the connected component of the foreign substance is obtained. The binarization processing for obtaining the tablet area and the binarization processing for obtaining the tablet area can be performed by one binarization processing using one threshold value. For foreign matter where the part is hanging on the flat part,
It can be reliably determined that the substance is a foreign substance.

Further, if the binarizing means binarizes the video signal with a second threshold value and sets the area surrounded by the outer periphery of the obtained connected component of the other value as the tablet area, When specifying the threshold value, it is possible to select a threshold level at which the tablet area can be detected most stably without being influenced by the level of the video signal of the foreign substance.

Further, of the connected components of one of the values obtained by binarizing the video signal with the second threshold value by the binarizing means, the tablet area contained in the second area is entirely included in the second area. If the connected component is provided with a second foreign matter discriminating means for judging the foreign matter on the tablet, the foreign matter in the tablet area which is entirely included in the second area can be also stably discriminated.

If the second threshold value is selected to be a level between the video signal of the tablet in the second area and the video signal of the foreign substance in the second area, the detection of the foreign substance in the second area or In specifying the tablet region, stable detection or specification can be performed without being affected by the region where the image of the tablet peripheral portion is unstable.

Further, if the tablet is circular and the first area is an area inside a circle provided with the center coincident with the center of the tablet area, no complicated processing is performed. The first area and the second area can be easily separated.

In the case of a divided tablet or a sugar-coated tablet, the dark portion formed in the peripheral portion is not erroneously determined as a foreign substance.
Even foreign substances, most of which are on the periphery and only partly hung on a flat part, can be reliably judged as foreign substances.Moreover, since complicated processing is not required, many tablets are imaged and processed simultaneously. This can be applied to the visual inspection of tablets filled in the pockets of the PTP sheet. Further, if provided on the PTP packaging machine, the dark portion generated at the peripheral portion of the tablet is not erroneously determined as a foreign material, and the foreign material that is mostly on the peripheral portion and only a part of the foreign material is hung on the flat surface portion is also prevented. Thus, it is possible to provide a PTP packaging machine that can reliably determine a foreign substance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an operation of a first embodiment of a tablet appearance inspection device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the tablet appearance inspection device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a part of the PTP packaging machine, and showing a part for imaging the appearance of a tablet or capsule filled in a pocket portion of a PTP sheet being conveyed.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the tablet appearance inspection device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of the tablet appearance inspection apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the third embodiment of the tablet appearance inspection device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a view showing the appearance of a tablet.

8 is a diagram showing a video signal of a line corresponding to the imaginary line A in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing video data binarized by a first threshold.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing video data binarized by a second threshold.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of a conventional tablet appearance inspection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 tablet 3 A / D converter 10 image processing device 11 CCD camera 12 illumination 13 light 14 shading correction means 16 image memory 18 shading correction table 20 CPU 22 judgment memory 23 input / output interface 24 statistical data memory 25 monitor 26 camera timing control Means 30 PTP packaging machine 31, 32, 34, 35 Tension roll 33 Film feed roll 36 Seal roll 37 Fixing roll 40 Container film 42 Sealing film 43 Blister sheet 44 Pocket 50 Heating plate 51 Molding plate 52 Tablet input shutter 100 Tablet 101 , 102, 103 Foreign matter 104 Dark area

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2G051 AA02 AA32 AB20 CA03 CB01 EA09 EA11 EB01 EB05 EC01 ED09

Claims (10)

[Claims] An illumination device for irradiating a tablet, an imaging device for imaging a surface of the tablet irradiated by the illumination device,
In a tablet appearance inspection device having an image processing device that processes a video signal output from the imaging device, the image processing device includes a binarization unit that binarizes the video signal, A connected component of one value obtained by binarizing the video signal with a first threshold value according to a tablet region, which is a region of the tablet, a first region including a central portion of the tablet, and In the second area outside the one area, the connected component in the tablet area, which is also included in the first area even partly, is provided with first foreign matter determination means for determining foreign matter on the tablet. A tablet appearance inspection device characterized by the following. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first threshold is selected to be a level between a level of a video signal of a tablet in a first area and a level of a video signal of a foreign substance in the first area. The tablet appearance inspection device according to claim 1. 3. The tablet area is an area surrounded by the outer periphery of a connected component of the other value obtained by binarizing the video signal with the first threshold value by the binarizing means. The tablet appearance inspection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 4. The tablet area is obtained by binarizing the video signal with a second threshold by the binarizing means.
The tablet appearance inspection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the region is a region surrounded by the outer periphery of the other value of the connected component. 5. A tablet region included in the second region, which is included in the second region, of a connected component of one value obtained by binarizing the video signal with a second threshold value by the binarizing means. The connected component is provided with a second foreign matter discriminating means for judging a foreign matter on the tablet.
The tablet appearance inspection device described in any one of the above. 6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second threshold value is selected to be a level between a video signal of a tablet in a second area and a video signal of a foreign substance in a second area. Or a tablet visual inspection device according to claim 5. 7. The tablet according to claim 1, wherein the tablet has a circular shape, and the first region is a region inside a circle provided so that the center is coincident with the center of the tablet region. Item 7. A tablet appearance inspection device according to any one of Items 6. 8. The tablet appearance inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tablet is a divided tablet or a sugar-coated tablet. 9. The tablet appearance inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tablet is a tablet filled in a pocket of a PTP sheet. 10. A PTP packaging machine provided with the tablet appearance inspection device according to claim 9.