CN102095735B - Coating wire inspection device and wire processor therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a coated electric wire inspection device and a wire processing machine equipped with the same, capable of accurately inspecting the state of the end portion of the covered electric wire. The coated electric wire inspection device (A) is equipped with: a CCD camera (3), which takes an image of the end face (T) of the core wire (S) from which the coating layer (H) has been peeled off; (3) measure the number of core wires (S) in the captured image; Whether or not the state of the end portion of the covered electric wire (D) is good is judged.

Description

Covered electric wire inspection device and electric wire processing machine equipped with the same

technical field

The present invention relates to a covered electric wire inspection device for inspecting the state of an end portion of a covered electric wire having a plurality of core wires and a covering layer covering the core wires, and an electric wire processing machine equipped with the same.

Background technique

Conventionally, as such a covered electric wire inspection device, for example, the inspection device described in Patent Document 1 is known. The covered electric wire inspection device described in Patent Document 1 includes: an illumination unit for illuminating the end of the core wire from which the coating layer has been peeled off; The end of the core wire is photographed; the image processing unit processes the image captured by the imaging means; and the monitor displays the image processed by the image processing unit. In this covered electric wire inspection device, the state of the end of the covered electric wire is inspected based on the coordinate positions of the stripped end of the covering layer and the end of the core wire, the inclination of the core wire, etc. obtained from the brightness data of the captured image.

However, since the above-mentioned covered electric wire inspection device uses only an image taken from one side of the core wire, when a defect occurs in the other core wire, there is a problem that the defect cannot be detected. For example, in the case where a part of the core wires is missing or a part of the core wires is scattered in the side on which no image is taken, such a missing state or a loose state cannot be detected.

In contrast, there is a device that images the end surface of the core wire by an imaging device, and checks whether the core wire end is good or not based on the sum of the end surface areas in the captured image (see Patent Document 2).

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-79824

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-156910

However, in a device that checks goodness based on the sum of the areas of the end faces of the core wires, even though a part of the core wires is actually missing, the sum of the areas happens to satisfy a predetermined condition, and a defective product may be mistakenly judged as a good product.

In addition, it is not easy to accurately measure the area of the end face of the core wire. For example, when the peeling length of the covering layer of the covered electric wire is relatively long, the distance between the end faces of adjacent core wires becomes wide. Then, when the interval between the end faces of the core wires becomes wider, it is difficult to accurately measure the area of the end faces of the core wires. Therefore, in a device that inspects whether the wires are good or not based on the sum of the end surface areas of the core wires, there is a problem that the accuracy of the inspection is lowered for such a coated electric wire in which the core wires are scattered.

Contents of the invention

The present invention has been made in view of this point, and an object of the present invention is to provide a covered electric wire inspection device and a wire processing machine equipped with the device, which can accurately inspect the state of the end of the covered electric wire.

A coated electric wire inspection device according to the present invention inspects the state of an end portion of a covered electric wire having a plurality of core wires and a coating layer covering the core wires, and the covered electric wire inspection device includes: an imaging unit for imaging the end surface of the core wire from which the covering layer has been peeled off; a measuring unit capable of measuring the number of the core wires from the image captured by the imaging unit; and a determination unit based on Whether or not the state of the end portion of the covered electric wire is good is determined whether or not the number of the core wires measured by the measuring means matches a predetermined number set in advance.

According to the covered electric wire inspection device described above, when a part of the core wire is missing, the measured number of core wires does not match the preset predetermined number, so the end of the covered electric wire is determined to be defective. Therefore, it is less likely to judge a defective product as a good product when a part of the core wire is missing, compared to a device that checks whether it is good or not based on the sum of the areas of the end faces of the core wires. In addition, according to the above covered electric wire inspection device, even if the core wire is not missing, for example, if a part of the core wire is greatly bent, the core wire is not measured. Therefore, in this case, since the measured number of core wires does not match the predetermined number, the end portion of the covered electric wire is determined to be defective. According to the above covered electric wire inspection device, it is possible to accurately inspect the end portion of the covered electric wire.

The covered electric wire inspection device may further include a storage unit that stores data related to the outer diameter of the core wire. The measurement unit is configured to extract the outer diameter of the end surface of each core wire from the image captured by the imaging unit, and calculate the outer diameter by comparing the extracted outer diameter with the outer diameter stored in the storage unit. Measure the number of core wires.

According to the covered electric wire inspection device described above, the outer diameter of the end surface of the core wire extracted from the captured image is compared with the outer diameter stored in the storage means, for example, when the difference or ratio of these outer diameters is within a predetermined range, the The core wire is counted as 1 core wire. According to the above covered electric wire inspection device, the number of core wires can be measured by relatively simple processing.

The core wires may include a plurality of inner core wires and a plurality of outer core wires arranged to surround the inner core wires, and the measuring means is configured to measure the number of the outer core wires. The determining means is configured to determine whether or not the state of the end portion of the covered electric wire is good based on the number of the outer core wires measured by the measuring means.

The covering layer covering the electric wire is peeled off with a cutter or the like. The covered electric wire is cut from the outside to the inside by a cutting machine or the like. Therefore, in the covered electric wire having the inner core wire and the outer core wire, the inner core wire is less likely to be missing than the outer core wire. In addition, when the inner core wire is missing, there is a high possibility that the outer core wire is also missing. Therefore, by inspecting the end of the covered electric wire according to the number of outer core wires, the inspection accuracy is not substantially reduced, and it is possible to Perform easy and quick inspections.

Furthermore, the inner core wires tend to be closer to each other than the outer core wires. Therefore, the boundary of the inner core wire tends to become indistinct, and it is difficult to measure the number of wires than the outer core wire. However, according to the above covered electric wire inspection device, it is not necessary to measure the number of inner core wires. Therefore, the measurement accuracy of the number of core wires can be improved, and the end portion of the covered electric wire can be inspected more reliably.

The covered electric wire inspection device further includes a storage unit that stores at least data related to the outer diameter of the outer core wire. The measurement unit is configured to extract the outer diameter of the end surface of the outer core wire from the image captured by the imaging unit, and compare the extracted outer diameter with the outer core wire stored in the storage unit. to measure the number of outer core wires.

According to the aforementioned covered electric wire inspection device, the number of outer core wires can be measured by relatively simple processing.

The measuring means may be configured to measure the entirety of the plurality of inner core wires as one core wire.

When judging whether the end of the covered electric wire is in good condition based on the number of outer core wires, the number of inner core wires does not need to be measured, but the entire inner core wires may be regarded as one core wire as described above. measurement.

The core wire may consist of compressed conductors compressed against each other.

Compression conductors are more compact than loose cores. Covered wires with compressed conductors are used in a variety of applications. Among them, when the entire core wire composed of the inner core wire and the outer core wire is compressed, the inner core wire is particularly likely to be tightly packed. Therefore, the usefulness of the above-mentioned covered electric wire inspection device that detects based on the number of outer core wires is very high.

The electric wire processing machine according to the present invention includes: the covered electric wire inspection device; a conveying unit that holds and carries the covered electric wire; a cutting unit that cuts the covered electric wire and peels off the coating layer; and a terminal crimping unit for The end portion of the covered electric wire from which the covering layer has been peeled off is crimped to a terminal, and the covered electric wire inspection device is configured to carry the covered electric wire from the cutting unit to the terminal crimping unit by the conveying unit. During connecting the unit, check the state of the end of the covered wire.

According to the electric wire processing machine described above, before the covered electric wire is conveyed to the terminal crimping unit, the state of the end portion of the covered electric wire is inspected by the covered electric wire inspection device. The covered electric wires determined to be defective by the covered electric wire inspection device are removed before being transported to the terminal crimping unit, thereby preventing occurrence of defective cables in advance.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a coated electric wire inspection device and a wire processing machine including the same, which can accurately inspect the state of the end portion of the covered electric wire.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a covered electric wire inspection device.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a device main body of the covered electric wire inspection device.

FIG. 3 shows an example of an image displayed on a display device.

Fig. 4 is a plan view schematically showing the structure of the electric wire processing machine.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an inspection method according to Embodiment 1. FIG.

Fig. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a core wire end face of a covered electric wire.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an inspection method according to Embodiment 2. FIG.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a captured image.

FIG. 9 shows an image after the circle corresponding to the inner core wire is removed.

Fig. 10 shows an image after the circle corresponding to a part of the outer core wire is deleted.

In the picture:

3-CCD camera (camera component)

9 - computer

9a-Measurement parts

9b-judgment part

9c - storage unit

30, 31-handling unit

32-cutting unit

33-terminal crimping unit

51-inner core wire

52- Outer core wire

A-covered wire inspection device

B-wire processor

D-coated wire

H-Cladding

S-Core

Detailed ways

<Embodiment 1>

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the covered electric wire inspection device according to the present invention will be described. Covered electric wire inspection apparatus A shown in FIG. The covered electric wire inspection device A inspects the state of the end portion of the covered electric wire D. As shown in FIG. The type of covered electric wire D to be inspected is not particularly limited, and is, for example, a covered electric wire having a plurality of core wires S made of metal and a synthetic resin covering layer H covering the core wires S. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the device main body 1 is formed in a vertically long box shape. The camera 3 is housed in the device main body 1 . A recess 2 recessed rearward is formed in the device main body 1 . A hole 6 is formed in the front face 5 of the device main body 1 . Although the hole 6 is formed in a square shape in the present embodiment, the shape of the hole 6 is not limited. The hole 6 is located in front of the camera 3 . The hole 6 is closed by a transparent glass plate 7 . An illuminating unit 8 arranged to surround the imaging axis X of the camera 3 is provided inside the glass plate 7 . The illuminating unit 8 is composed of a plurality of LEDs arranged in a row in a substantially circular shape. However, the lighting unit 8 is not limited to LEDs, and other light sources may be used.

The photoelectric sensor 4 is an example of detection means that detects that the end of the covered electric wire D has moved to the front of the device main body 1 . The photoelectric sensor 4 detects the covered electric wire D conveyed in the width direction (the direction of the arrow P in FIG. 2 ) inside the concave portion 2 . The photoelectric sensor 4 is composed of a light projecting part 4a and a light receiving part 4b. The light projecting part 4a is arrange|positioned above the front surface 5, and is comprised so that it may emit light downward. However, the light projecting unit 4 a may be arranged below the front surface 5 and the light receiving unit 4 b may be arranged above the front surface 5 . When the covered electric wire D passes between the light projecting part 4a and the light receiving part 4b, the light irradiated by the light projecting part 4a is blocked by the covered electric wire D. Accordingly, it is detected that the covered electric wire D is located in front of the front surface 5 . When the photoelectric sensor 4 detects the covered electric wire D, a detection signal is sent. The camera 3 and the lighting unit 8 operate based on detection signals from the photosensor 4 . That is, when the covered electric wire D passes near the imaging axis X of the camera 3, the illuminating part 8 emits light, and the camera 3 takes an image. Thereby, the end surface T of the core wire S of the covered electric wire D is photographed.

The computer 9 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, which are not shown. The CPU executes predetermined processing according to programs stored in the ROM or the like. Thereby, the computer 9 functions as the measuring means 9a, and the measuring means 9a measures the number of the core wires S of the covered electric wire D. As shown in FIG. In addition, the computer 9 functions as a judging means 9b, and the judging means 9b judges whether or not the state of the end of the covered electric wire D is good. The computer 9 measures the number of the core wires S based on the captured image of the end surface T of the core wire S, and judges whether the state of the end portion of the covered electric wire D is good or not based on the measurement result. In addition, the method of measuring the number of core wires S and the method of judging whether the covered electric wire D is good or not will be described later. The covered electric wire inspection device A is capable of inspecting a plurality of types of covered electric wires D. As shown in FIG. The ROM stores data of a plurality of types of covered electric wires that can be inspected, and the ROM constitutes the storage unit 9c. Furthermore, instead of the internal ROM of the computer 9, an external storage device (for example, a hard disk, an optical disk, a USB memory, etc.) may be used for the storage unit 9c. The computer 9 may be a dedicated computer produced for the coated electric wire inspection apparatus A, or may be a general computer such as a personal computer. The type of computer 9 is not particularly limited.

The type of the display device 10 is not particularly limited as long as it can display an image captured by the camera 3 . For example, a liquid crystal display or the like can be suitably used as the display device 10 . The image captured by the camera 3 , the result of determination of whether the covered electric wire D is good or not, etc. are displayed on the display device 10 as shown in FIG. 3 .

Covered electric wire inspection apparatus A can be used as a part of electric wire processing machine B shown in FIG. 4, for example. This wire processing machine B is provided with: a front side conveying unit 30 and a rear side conveying unit 31; a cutting unit 32 arranged between the front ends of the two conveying units 30, 31; The core wire S of the covered wire D is crimped to the terminal. The coated electric wire inspection apparatus A is installed on the side of each conveying unit 30 , 31 , and is disposed between the cutting unit 32 and the terminal crimping unit 33 .

Clamp mechanisms 34 and 35 capable of holding the covered electric wire D are respectively provided at the front ends of the conveying units 30 and 31 . The covered electric wire D sent from the left to the right of FIG. The transport units 30 and 31 are rotatable around the centers C1 and C2 on the base end side, respectively, and are driven by a motor (not shown) or the like. The cutting unit 32 includes: a cutting blade 36 for cutting the coated electric wire D; and front side and rear side peeling blades 37 provided on both sides of the cutting blade 36 .

Next, the operation of the wire processing machine B will be described. First, the covered electric wire D is conveyed from the front-side conveyance unit 30 to the rear-side conveyance unit 31 , and is held by each clamp mechanism 34 , 35 . Then, the covered electric wire D is cut by the cutting blade 36 of the cutting unit 32 . Next, the conveying units 30 and 31 rotate around the centers C1 and C2, and the coated electric wire D is placed on the front surface of the peeling blade 37 . After the peeling blade 37 cuts into the covering layer H of the covered electric wire D, the covered electric wire D is pulled toward the side opposite to the peeling blade 37 . As a result, the covering layer H covering the electric wire D is peeled off.

Then, the conveying units 30 , 31 are further rotated until the end portion of the covered electric wire D moves to the terminal crimping unit 33 . At this time, the end part of the covered electric wire D crosses the recessed part 2 of the covered electric wire inspection apparatus A (refer FIG. 2). Then, the end portion of the covered electric wire D is inspected by the covered electric wire inspection device A. As shown in FIG. The electric wire processing machine B of this embodiment is provided with the front side and rear side covered electric wire inspection apparatus A, and inspects the end part of the front side and rear side covered electric wire D substantially simultaneously. Therefore, the inspection time can be shortened, and the processing speed of the electric wire processing machine B can be increased. When the covered electric wire inspection device A determines that the covered electric wire D is a good product, the conveyance units 30 and 31 are further rotated, and the covered electric wire D is conveyed to the terminal crimping unit 33 . Then, a terminal is crimped to the end of the covered electric wire D. As shown in FIG. On the other hand, when the covered electric wire inspection apparatus A determines that the covered electric wire D is a defective product, predetermined processing is performed. For example, this is displayed on the display device 10, and the operator confirms the state of the end of the covered electric wire D again. Alternatively, the conveying units 30 and 31 discharge defective products to the outside, and the like.

Next, the inspection performed by the covered electric wire inspection device A will be described. As described above, the photoelectric sensor 4 detects the covered electric wire D when the covered electric wire D passes through the front surface 5 of the device main body 1 . When the covered electric wire D is detected, the illuminating part 8 emits light, and the camera 3 photographs the end face T of the core wire S of the covered electric wire D. The captured image is displayed on the display device 10 . Here, as shown in FIG. 3 , the end face of the core wire S of the covered electric wire D on the front side is shown on the upper side, and the end face of the core wire S of the covered electric wire D on the rear side is shown on the lower side. That is, both end faces of the core wire S on the front side and the rear side are simultaneously displayed on the display device 10 . However, the method of displaying the end surface of the core wire S of the covered electric wire D on the display device 10 is not particularly limited.

The computer 9 measures the number of core wires S from the captured image, and determines whether the state of the end of the covered electric wire D is good or not based on the number of core wires S. Next, a method of measuring the number of core wires S and a method of judging whether the covered electric wire D is good or not will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5 . In addition, the CPU of the computer 9 executes the following processes.

As shown in FIG. 5 , first, in step S100 , the data of the captured image is acquired. Next, in step S101 , the captured image is binarized according to a preset threshold. That is to say, the brightness of each pixel of the captured image is compared with the above-mentioned threshold value, and the pixels with brightness above the above-mentioned threshold value are regarded as bright parts, and the pixels with brightness lower than the above-mentioned threshold value are regarded as dark parts, so as to obtain the image. In addition, at this time, so-called edge emphasis processing may be performed so that the boundary portion of the end surface T of the core wire S may be made clear.

As mentioned above, in the storage unit 9c of the computer 9, various data related to the covering layer D are stored, such as the model name of the covering electric wire D, the number of the plurality of core wires S when the whole is regarded as a conductor. The overall outer diameter (conductor diameter), the outer diameter of each core wire S (core wire outer diameter) d, the number of core wires S included in the covered electric wire D (core wire number), and the like. In the following inspection, use the core wire outer diameter d and the number of core wires.

In step S102, the CPU of the computer 9 searches for a circular image included in the binarized image. In addition, the term "circular" here refers to a circular shape to the extent that the core wire S can be seen. When the covered electric wire D is cut or the covering layer H is peeled off, the shape of the end surface of the core wire S may be slightly deformed. Therefore, the so-called "circle" here includes not only a true circle, but also a slightly deformed circle. In other words, the term "circular" here also includes substantially circular shapes.

In step S103, it is determined whether or not there is a circle matching a predetermined circle among the searched circles. That is, it is determined whether there is a circle whose diameter coincides with the core wire outer diameter d stored in the storage unit 9c among the circles retrieved in step S102. In addition, although the judgment standard can be appropriately set, in this embodiment, as long as the error from the outer diameter d of the core wire is within the range of -10% to +5%, the outer diameter is considered to be equal to the outer diameter of the core wire. d is substantially the same, and its circle is regarded as a predetermined circle. That is to say, a circle whose outer diameter error is within the range of -10% to +5% is regarded as equivalent to one core wire. In addition, the comparison between the outer diameter of the circle extracted from the binarized image and the core wire outer diameter d stored in the storage unit 9c is not limited to their difference, but may be based on their ratio.

When the determination result in step S103 is YES, in step S104, the number of matching circles is counted. The circles counted in step S104 are deleted from the binarized image data in step S105. As a result, circles that have not yet been counted remain in the binarized image data. Thereafter, the process returns to step S103, and the above-mentioned processing is repeated. The computer 9 functions as the measuring means 9 a when executing the processing of the above-mentioned steps S103 , S104 , and S105 .

When all the circles are counted, there is no circle matching the predetermined circle in the image data. Therefore, the determination result of step S103 is NO. When the result of determination in step S103 is NO, in step S106, it is determined whether the original number of core wires (set number) of the covered electric wire D matches the count value. When the determination result is Yes, the core wire S is not missing; in addition, since all the core wires S are in good condition at the end of the covered electric wire D to the extent that it can be counted, it proceeds to step S107, and the covered electric wire D is It was judged to be good. On the other hand, in the case where the determination result is No, a part of the core wires S cannot be counted because a part of the core wires S is missing or the end state of the covered electric wire D is poor, so the covered electric wire D is counted in step S108. Judged as defective.

As described above, the covered electric wire inspection device A according to this embodiment measures the number of core wires S from the end face image of the covered electric wire D captured by the camera 3, and determines whether the covered electric wire D is good. According to the covered electric wire inspection device A, compared with an inspection device that judges whether the covered electric wire D is good or not based on the total end surface area of all the core wires S, it is less likely to judge a defective product as a good product when a part of the core wire S is missing. Generally, when the core wires S are scattered a lot, gaps are formed between the end faces T of adjacent core wires S, and a part of the gap is easily mistaken for a part of the area of the core wire S. However, according to the covered electric wire inspection device A of the present embodiment, since it is judged whether the covered electric wire D is good or not based on the number of core wires S, such misidentification does not occur. According to the covered electric wire inspection device A, it is possible to accurately inspect whether the end portion of the covered electric wire D from which the covering layer H has been peeled off by the cutting unit 32 is good or not.

When the core wire S is bent or unraveled, the core wire S is imaged as small, and the outer diameter of the core wire S extracted from the captured image is smaller than the original core wire outer diameter d. If the outer diameter of the circle extracted from the imaging is outside the allowable range, the circle is not counted as the core wire S, and thus the core wire S is considered missing. Therefore, by the simple method of measuring the number of core wires, it is possible to check not only the defective state of missing core wire S, but also other faulty states such as bent and unraveled core wire S. Furthermore, according to the covered electric wire inspection apparatus A, such a covered electric wire D having a core wire S whose outer diameter has changed for some reason can also be detected as a defective product.

In addition, in the covered electric wire inspection device A according to the present embodiment, since the device main body 1 is formed in a vertically long shape, it can be assembled in the electric wire processing machine B without taking up much space. In addition, since the overall structure of the covered electric wire inspection device A is very simple, it also has practical advantages of being easy to manufacture and inexpensive.

According to the electric wire processing machine B according to the present embodiment, since the covered electric wire processing device A is provided, when the covering layer H of the covered electric wire D in the cutting unit 32 is not peeled off satisfactorily, the covered electric wire This defective state can be detected before D is conveyed to the terminal crimping unit. Therefore, defective products can be excluded in advance. Thereby, it is possible to avoid crimping a terminal to a defective covered electric wire D, and it is possible to prevent occurrence of a defective cable in advance.

<Embodiment 2>

As shown in FIG. 6 , it is known that a covered electric wire D includes a plurality of inner core wires 51 and a plurality of outer core wires 52 arranged to surround the inner core wires 51 . In addition, in order to easily distinguish the inner core wire 51 from the outer core wire 52 , the inner core wire 51 is hatched for convenience in FIG. 6 and the like. In this embodiment, a covered electric wire D including six inner core wires 51 and ten outer core wires 52 will be described as an example. However, the number of inner core wires 51 and outer core wires 52 is not particularly limited. In addition, the covered electric wire to be inspected in the present invention may include a plurality of other outer core wires disposed so as to surround the outer core wire 52 .

As described above, the covered electric wire D is cut by the cutting unit 32, and the covered electric wire H is peeled off. When cutting, the cutting blade 36 is pressed against the covered electric wire D, and the core wire S is forced in the moving direction of the cutting blade 36 (direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the core wire S). As a result, the core wire S is slightly compressed. At this time, since the inner core wire 51 is surrounded by the outer core wire 52 , the inner core wire 51 is more easily compressed than the outer core wire 52 . In addition, when peeling off the coating layer H, the peeling blade 37 cuts in from the outside of the coating layer H. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the outer core wire 52 is more likely to be cut by the peeling blade 37 than the inner core wire 51 . In other words, the inner core wire 51 is less likely to be missing than the outer core wire 52 .

In this way, since the inner core wire 51 is less likely to be missing than the outer core wire 52 , for the covered electric wire D including the inner core wire 51 and the outer core wire 52 , it is possible to determine the covered electric wire based only on the number of the outer core wires 52 . Is D good. The covered electric wire inspection device A according to the present embodiment targets the covered electric wire D including the inner core wire 51 and the outer core wire 52 , and judges the covered electric wire D by considering the inner core wire 51 as a whole as one core wire. Is it good. Since the structure of the covered electric wire inspection apparatus A is the same as Embodiment 1, the description is abbreviate|omitted. Hereinafter, the inspection method of the covered electric wire D in this embodiment is demonstrated with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7. FIG.

First, in step S200 , the data of the captured image is loaded into the computer 9 . Next, in step S201, the CPU of the computer 9 searches for the center C of the entire end surface of the core wire of the covered electric wire D (see FIG. 8 ). In the covered electric wire D including the inner core wire 51 and the outer core wire 52 , the inner core wire 51 is evenly arranged around the center C. In step S202, the CPU counts the circle 53 having a predetermined radius R around the center C as one core wire. That is, the whole inner core wire 51 is regarded as one core wire. Next, in step S203, the portion of the above-mentioned circle 53 is deleted from the captured image (see FIG. 9 ).

Then, as in Embodiment 1, the number of outer core wires 52 is counted. That is, in step S204, the image from which the circle 53 has been removed is binarized with reference to a predetermined threshold. Next, in step S205 , a circular image included in the binarized image is retrieved. In step S206, it is determined whether or not there is a circle that matches a predetermined circle among the searched circles. When the determination result is Yes, the matching circles are counted in step S207, and the counted circles are deleted from the image in step S208. For example, when it is determined that the upper right circle 52a in the image shown in FIG. 9 coincides with a predetermined circle, the image after removing the circle 52a is the image shown in FIG. 10 . Return to step S206 after step S208, and repeat the above processing.

When the counting of all the circles is completed, no circles matching the predetermined circles exist in the above-mentioned image. Therefore, the determination result of step S206 is NO, and the process of step S209 is performed. In step S209, it is determined whether or not the original number of core wires (set number) of the covered electric wire D coincides with the count value. In addition, the set number here refers to the number of core wires when the whole inner core wire 51 of the covered electric wire D is regarded as one core wire. In the present embodiment, since the covered electric wire includes six inner core wires and ten outer core wires, the above-mentioned set number is one.

If the result of determination in step S209 is Yes, the covered electric wire D is determined to be a good product in step S210. On the other hand, when the result of determination in step S209 is No, the covered electric wire D is determined to be a defective product in step S211.

According to the present embodiment, the entire inner core wire 51 is regarded as one core wire, and the individual counting of the number of core wires for the inner core wire 51 is omitted. Therefore, simple and rapid inspection can be realized.

In addition, the inner core wires 51 tend to be closer to each other than the outer core wires 52 due to the cutting by the cutting unit 32 and the peeling of the covering layer H. In addition, the shape of the end surface of the inner core wire 51 is easily deformed compared with the outer core wire 52 . In addition, there is an inclination in which illumination reflection is strong at the center of the covered electric wire D, and the image at the center tends to become unclear. For this reason, the boundary of the inner core wire 51 tends to become inconspicuous compared with the outer core wire 52 . Therefore, in the case of the covered electric wire D including the inner core wire 51 and the outer core wire 52 , it is more difficult to accurately measure the number of the inner core wire 51 than the outer core wire 52 . However, according to the present embodiment, the inner core wires 51 are not individually counted. Therefore, the number of core wires can be counted more accurately. Therefore, the end portion of the covered electric wire D including the inner core wire 51 and the outer core wire 52 can be more accurately inspected.

In addition, as one type of the covered electric wire D, there is also a covered electric wire in which a plurality of core wires are compressed with each other. Such a covered core wire of the electric wire D is called a compression conductor. In the covered electric wire D in which the inner core wires 51 and the outer core wires 52 are formed as compressed conductors, the inner core wires 51 are very close to each other, so the boundary between the inner core wires 51 tends to become indistinct. Therefore, the covered electric wire inspection device A according to the present embodiment is particularly useful for the covered electric wire D having a compressed conductor.

In addition, in this embodiment, the whole inside core wire 51 is counted as one core wire. However, instead of counting the inner core wires 51 , it is also possible to determine whether the covered electric wire D is good or not based only on the number of the outer core wires 52 . In this case, the set number is ten, and it is determined in step S209 whether or not the count value is ten.

<Other Embodiments>

In addition, the covered electric wire inspection apparatus A which concerns on this invention does not necessarily have to be incorporated in the electric wire processing machine B like the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, it can be incorporated into a device that only peels off the covering layer H of the covered electric wire D, and can be used as a stand-alone product as a special inspection machine.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the CCD camera 3 is used as an imaging means, but the imaging means in this invention is not limited to this.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a single computer 9 is used for the measurement means and the determination means, but the measurement means and the determination means may be constituted by different computers.

In addition, although each conveyance unit 30,31 in the said embodiment is comprised so that it may rotate centering on a base end part, it does not necessarily have to be such a structure. For example, each conveyance unit 30 and 31 may be slid in the horizontal direction to convey the covered electric wire D in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the outer diameters of the core wires S included in the covered electric wire D are the same as each other, but the inspection objects of the covered electric wire inspection device A according to the present invention may have different outer diameters. A covered electric wire D of a plurality of core wires S.

In addition, the specific structure such as the shape of the covered electric wire inspection device A or the electric wire processing machine B can be changed arbitrarily within the scope of the design concept of the present invention.

Claims (5)

1. A coated electric wire inspection device for inspecting the state of an end of a covered electric wire, the covered electric wire having a plurality of core wires and a covering layer covering the core wires, characterized in that: an imaging component for imaging the end face of the covered electric wire from which the covering layer has been peeled off; a measuring unit capable of measuring the number of the core wires from the image captured by the imaging unit; and a judging part for judging whether the state of the end of the covered electric wire is good or not based on whether or not the number of the core wires measured by the measuring part coincides with a preset predetermined number, The covered electric wire has a plurality of inner core wires and a plurality of outer core wires arranged so as to surround the inner core wires, The measuring means is configured to measure the number of the outer core wires, The determining means is configured to determine whether or not the state of the end portion of the covered electric wire is good based on the number of the outer core wires measured by the measuring means. 2. The covered electric wire inspection device according to claim 1, wherein: further comprising: a storage unit that stores at least data related to the outer diameter of the outer core wire, The measurement unit is configured to extract the outer diameter of the end surface of the outer core wire from the image captured by the imaging unit, and compare the extracted outer diameter with the outer core wire stored in the storage unit. to measure the number of outer core wires. 3. The covered electric wire inspection device according to claim 1, wherein: The measuring means is configured to measure the entirety of the plurality of inner core wires as one core wire. 4. The covered electric wire inspection device according to claim 1, wherein: The core wire consists of compressed conductors compressed against each other. 5. A wire processing machine, characterized in that, Equipped with: the covered electric wire inspection device according to claim 1; Handling unit, holding and handling covered wires; cutting the unit, severing the covered wire, and stripping off its covering; and a terminal crimping unit for crimping a terminal to an end of the covered electric wire from which the covering layer has been peeled off, The covered electric wire inspection device is configured to inspect a state of an end portion of the covered electric wire while the conveyance unit is carrying the covered electric wire from the cutting unit to the terminal crimping unit.

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