JP2008224464A - Inspection system for coating condition of transparent coating solution - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system and method for inspecting the coating condition of a transparent coating solution, without having to add a detection agent to the transparent coating solution. <P>SOLUTION: This inspection system 10 includes an infrared thermograph 16 for detecting the infrared rays emitted from a base material 12 and the coating solution 14 and converting the infrared rays to the surface temperatures of the base material 12 and the coating solution 14 to form an image and a determining means 18 for determining whether the coating solution 14 is applied to the base material 12 at its predetermined position in a predetermined shape from the formed image. The inspection of the coating solution 14 is performed, without having to add detection agents to the coating solution 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a system for inspecting the application state after applying a transparent coating solution.

  Conventionally, various biosensors including Patent Document 1 have been disclosed. For example, FIG. 8 shows a part of the biosensor 50. Two platinum conductor wires 28 are laminated on the PET resin 26. A coating solution 14 containing an enzyme is applied onto the two conductor wires 28 by a dispenser to form a film. When the enzyme reacts with blood or the like, the two conductor wires 28 are conducted, and the blood sugar level or the like can be examined. If the enzyme film is not formed at a predetermined position, the inspection cannot be performed or it becomes inaccurate. In particular, if the enzyme precipitates or becomes clogged in the dispenser, the coating solution 14 cannot be applied accurately. Therefore, it is necessary to inspect whether or not the coating liquid 14 is applied at a predetermined position with a predetermined shape and film thickness.

  The coating liquid 14 may be transparent to visible light, and inspection of the coating condition of the coating liquid 14 is difficult by visual inspection or normal image processing. As a method for inspecting the coating condition of the transparent coating liquid 14, (1) coloring the transparent coating liquid 14 with a pigment, imaging the coating condition of the coating liquid 14 with a CCD camera, and processing with an image processing apparatus (2) A substance having a fluorescent action or a phosphorescent action is mixed in the transparent coating solution 14, and light of a specific wavelength region that generates the fluorescent action or the phosphorescent action is applied to the coating portion to cause a fluorescent phenomenon or a phosphorescent phenomenon. A method of picking up an image with a CCD camera and processing / determining with an image processing device, (3) Specifying that the transparent coating liquid 14 is mixed with a substance having an ultraviolet absorbing action and an infrared absorbing action to generate a light absorbing action at the coating portion A method of inspecting by mixing a detection agent is considered, such as a method of applying light in a wavelength range, imaging a light absorption phenomenon with an imaging device having sensitivity in the wavelength range, and processing and determining with an image processing apparatus.

  However, when a detection agent is added to the transparent coating solution 14 having an enzyme, the original function of the enzyme may be impaired. There is a need for a system and method for inspecting the coating condition of the coating liquid 14 without adding a detection agent.

  In Patent Document 2, a dye is added to the transparent material film, but this is applied to electronic components. In the biosensor, the method of Patent Document 2 cannot be applied to the biosensor because the function of the enzyme may be inhibited as described above.

JP 2005-43122 A JP 2005-315702 A

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for inspecting the application condition without adding a detection agent to a transparent coating solution.

  The inspection system for a transparent coating film of the present invention is dried after the coating liquid is applied to the base material in order to inspect the coating condition of the transparent coating liquid against visible light applied to the base material. In the meantime, infrared rays emitted from the base material and the coating liquid are detected, and an image that can distinguish the base material and the coating liquid is generated by using the difference in emissivity between the base material and the coating liquid of the infrared rays. An infrared thermograph, and means for determining whether or not the coating liquid is applied in a predetermined shape at a predetermined position of the substrate from the image.

  The infrared thermograph generates an infrared image of the base material and the coating liquid from the time when the coating liquid is applied to the base material until it is dried. Even when the base material and the coating liquid are at substantially the same temperature, the surface temperature of the base material is lower than the actual temperature because of the low emissivity of infrared rays. Since the coating liquid has a high infrared emissivity, the surface temperature is expressed close to the actual temperature. Therefore, the judging means can clearly separate the base material and the coating liquid in the image, and can judge that the coating liquid is applied in a predetermined shape at a predetermined position of the base material.

  The inspection system of the present invention can determine that the coating liquid is applied in a predetermined shape at a predetermined position on the substrate without adding any detection agent to the coating liquid. Therefore, there is no possibility of impairing the initial function of the coating liquid.

  The inspection system for the coating condition of the transparent coating solution of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The inspection system performs an inspection without adding a detection agent to the transparent coating solution.

  An inspection system 10 according to the present invention shown in FIG. 1 detects an infrared ray emitted from a base material 12 and a coating liquid 14 and converts the infrared light into surface temperatures of the base material 12 and the coating liquid 14 to generate an image. It includes a graph 16 and determination means 18 for determining whether or not the coating liquid 14 is applied in a predetermined shape on a predetermined position of the substrate 12 from the image.

  Application of the coating liquid 14 to the substrate 12 is performed by the dispenser robot 20. The substrate 12 is placed on the pedestal 22, and the coating solution 14 placed in the dispenser 24 is applied to the substrate 12. The application position of the application liquid 14 with respect to the substrate 12 is determined by moving the base 22, the dispenser 24, or both. An alignment mark may be provided on the base material 12, the base material 12 may be photographed with a CCD camera, and the base material 12 and the coating position may be positioned by image processing.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the base material 12 is obtained by laminating a plurality of conductor wires 28 in parallel on a planar member 26. The planar member 26 is an electrically insulating member made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) resin. The conductor wire 28 is formed of a platinum thin film. Two conductor wires 28 form one set. For example, the conductor wire 28 has a width of about 1 mm and an interval of about 0.5 mm. The coating liquid 14 is applied to a predetermined position on the conductor wire 28 by the dispenser 24. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the two conductor wires 28 are applied in the same shape at the same position. For use in a biosensor, the coating liquid 14 is cut into a predetermined shape after drying.

The infrared thermograph 16 detects infrared rays emitted from an object, converts the infrared rays into the surface temperature of the object, and generates an image. If the surface temperature of the object is T (K) and the infrared emissivity is ε, the infrared thermal energy radiated from the object is E = εσT ⁴ (W / m ² ). At this time, σ is a constant. The infrared thermograph 16 detects the thermal energy of the infrared and converts it into the surface temperature of the object to generate an image.

  For the conversion to the surface temperature, a table showing the relationship between the surface temperature and the infrared thermal energy is prepared and converted to the surface temperature by table conversion. Moreover, you may use the approximate formula which performs conversion from infrared thermal energy to surface temperature. These are implemented in software, circuitry, or both.

  For all objects, the sum of infrared reflectance (ρ) and emissivity (ε) is 1. If the surface is a mirror-like (or smooth) surface made of metal or resin, the reflectance of infrared rays increases, and the emissivity decreases. For this reason, the thermal energy of infrared rays radiated from the object also decreases, and even if the thermal energy is converted into the surface temperature, it becomes lower than the actual temperature, and in some cases, it becomes 0 or close to it. Since the emissivity of the liquid (water) is close to 1, the surface temperature of the liquid can be converted close to the actual temperature. The substrate 12 used in the present invention is composed of a PET resin 26 and platinum 28, and has an infrared reflectance higher than an emissivity. For example, the infrared reflectance is about 0.9. Moreover, since the coating liquid 14 loses moisture as it dries, the emissivity decreases. Furthermore, in the case of a biosensor, the thickness of the coating solution 14 is constant, the surface becomes smooth, and when dried, the emissivity that is about 0.9 is reduced to about 0.1. Therefore, the infrared thermograph 16 generates an image of the substrate 12 and the coating liquid 14 before being dried after the coating liquid 14 is applied. If it is just after apply | coating, the emissivity of the coating liquid 14 is high, and it can change close | similar to actual surface temperature. In the image, the coating liquid 14 having a surface temperature close to the actual temperature is present in the substrate 12 having a low surface temperature.

  In FIG. 3, the coating liquid 14 is accurately applied at a predetermined position so that the position of the coating liquid 14 with respect to the substrate 12 can be seen. If the amount of the coating solution 14 is large and the coating solution 14 at two locations is connected, the result is as shown in FIG. If the enzyme precipitates in the dispenser 24 and the application liquid 14 is insufficiently discharged, or if the movement of the pedestal 22 and the dispenser 24 becomes abnormal, the application cannot be performed at an accurate position as shown in FIG. Further, even if an image is generated by the infrared thermograph 16 after the coating liquid 14 is dried, the infrared emissivity of the coating liquid 14 is lowered, and the surface temperature with the substrate 12 becomes the same as shown in FIG. End up. Therefore, it becomes difficult to distinguish between the base material 12 and the coating liquid 14, and determination by the determination means 18 described later cannot be performed. It should be noted that the PET resin 26 and the conductor wire 28 of the base material 12 have an emissivity of 0 or close to it, and therefore cannot be distinguished from each other.

  The infrared thermograph 16 included in the inspection system 10 may be attached to the dispenser robot 20 as shown in FIG. 1 or may be an independent device. If the substrate 12 is flowed in a line, an infrared thermograph 16 may be installed in the middle.

  The judging means 18 judges whether or not the coating liquid 14 is applied to a predetermined position of the substrate 12 in a predetermined shape from the generated image. For example, the determination of whether or not the shape is a predetermined shape is performed by detecting the edge of the image and extracting the shape of the coating liquid 14 and performing pattern matching between the extracted shape and the predetermined shape. Judge that there is. The predetermined position is determined by providing a reference point in the image, calculating the vertical and horizontal distances between the extracted shape and the reference point, and if the distance is a predetermined distance, the predetermined position is determined. Judge that there is. In addition, if the alignment mark is provided in the base material 12 and positioning of the base material 12 and an application position is performed, the alignment mark may be used as the reference point. The predetermined position and the predetermined shape are stored in a storage element such as a memory.

  An example of the image processing method performed by the determination unit 18 is shown, but the image processing method is not limited to the above-described image processing method as long as the position and shape of the coating liquid 14 can be determined. In addition, a certain threshold value may be provided in determining the position and shape of the coating liquid 14, and it may be determined that the position and shape are accurate if it falls within the threshold value range.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the system 10 of the present invention can inspect the shape and position of the coating liquid 14 because the images of the coating liquid 14 and the substrate 12 can be clearly distinguished by the difference in the apparent surface temperature. Can do.

  The result obtained by the determination unit 18 may be displayed on a monitor 30 connected to the determination unit 18. An image is also displayed on the monitor 30 together. Further, when it is determined that the coating liquid 14 is not in a predetermined shape or a predetermined position, the alarm device 32 may be activated to stop the dispenser robot 22 by the supervisor, or the dispenser robot 22 may be automatically stopped. Anyway. An input device 34 such as a keyboard for changing the predetermined position or controlling the determination means 18 may be attached.

  As described above, the present invention utilizes the fact that the substrate 12 has a low infrared emissivity and the coating solution 14 has a high infrared emissivity until it is dried. By utilizing this, the position and shape of the applied coating solution 14 can be detected without adding a detection agent to the transparent coating solution 14 to which the enzyme has been added. It does not inhibit the function of the enzyme.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described above, this invention is not limited to said embodiment. For example, the coating amount may be inspected in addition to the position and shape of the coating liquid 14. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of conductor wires 28 are laminated on a PET resin 26, and the coating liquid 14 is applied to each conductor wire 28. That is, the transparent coating liquid 14 is applied in the same shape to a plurality of locations on one substrate 12. It is utilized that this coating liquid 14 is applied to a plurality of locations. In order to inspect the coating amount, the inspection system 10 compares the difference in the apparent surface temperature of the coating liquid 14 applied to at least two places from the infrared image of the infrared thermograph 16 during the drying of the coating liquid 14. And a means for determining a difference in the drying speed of the coating liquid 14 from the comparison and determining a difference in the coating amount from the determination.

  The comparison is to compare the apparent surface temperature in the application shape using the application shape extracted by the above-described image processing. As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the coating amount of the left coating liquid 14L is larger and the drying is delayed, so that it is easy to distinguish between the substrate 12 and the coating liquid 14L. is there. The coating liquid 14R on the right side is dried because the coating amount is small, and the surface temperature difference from the substrate 12 is small. Comparison may be performed for a certain point, or comparison may be performed for the entire extracted shape.

  If the coating amount varies, the drying speed varies, and the amount of water contained in the coated coating solution 14 also varies. Therefore, the emissivity of infrared rays changes, and the variation in the coating amount can be understood by comparing the surface temperatures of the coating liquid 14 applied to at least two places. In the case of a biosensor, accurate measurement cannot be performed due to the difference in coating amount. If it is determined that the difference in coating amount is out of specification, the information is displayed on the monitor 30 or the alarm device 32 is activated.

  If the room where the dispenser robot 20 and the inspection system 10 are located at a constant temperature and a constant humidity, the time from application of the coating solution 14 to the substrate 12 until drying is the same. Therefore, the surface temperature during a certain period from application to drying is constant. You may make it test | inspect an application quantity using that. That is, a means for checking the surface temperature of the extracted coating liquid 14 after extracting the coating liquid 14 from the image generated by the infrared thermograph 16 in a predetermined time from application of the coating liquid 14 to drying. Provide. Moreover, a pattern matching may be performed on the shape of the coating liquid 14 at that time to determine whether or not the shape is a predetermined shape. This is because if the thickness of the coating liquid 14 is not constant, the drying speed changes and the shape of the surface temperature changes.

  You may use together the method to test | inspect the thickness of the two coating liquids 14 mentioned above. Furthermore, the position and shape of the coating liquid 14 and the thickness may be inspected at the same time. The number of inspections is not limited to one. You may make it perform an inspection in multiple times after apply | coating and drying. Inspection accuracy is improved.

  Although the embodiment has been described with respect to the coating liquid 14 to which the enzyme is added, the system 10 of the present invention can be applied to other liquids as long as the liquid is transparent. Basically, it is a condition that the substrate 12 has a low infrared emissivity and the coating solution 14 has a high infrared emissivity, and it is necessary to inspect the coating solution 14 before it dries. In addition, various types of image processing performed by the determination unit 18 or the like can be used as long as they are realized by a circuit, software, or both.

  In addition, the present invention can be carried out in a mode in which various improvements, modifications, and changes are added based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the gist thereof.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the test | inspection system of this invention. It is a top view of the base material by which the some platinum conductor wire was laminated | stacked on PET resin. It is a figure which shows the state in which the coating liquid is correctly apply | coated. It is a figure which shows the state in which the coating liquid protrudes and is apply | coated. It is a figure which shows the state in which the coating liquid is applied with a positional shift. It is a figure which shows the surface temperature when a coating liquid dries. It is a figure when the application quantity varies, (a) is a thermal image, (b) is a cross-sectional view along line XX of (a). It is a figure which shows a part of biosensor, (a) is a front view, (b) is a YY sectional view.

Explanation of symbols

10: Inspection system 12: Base material 14: Coating liquid 16: Infrared thermograph 18: Judging means 20: Dispenser robot 22: Base 24: Dispenser 26: Planar member 28: Conductor wire 30: Monitor 32: Alarm device 34: Input device 50: biosensor

Claims (2)

In order to inspect the application condition of the coating liquid transparent to visible light applied to the substrate,
The infrared rays emitted from the substrate and the coating solution are detected between the time when the coating solution is applied to the substrate and dried, and the difference in the emissivity between the infrared substrate and the coating solution is utilized. An infrared thermograph that generates an image in which the substrate and the coating liquid can be distinguished;
Means for determining whether or not the coating liquid is applied to a predetermined position of the substrate in a predetermined shape from the image;
Including inspection system. A coating solution that is transparent to visible light in the same shape is applied to a plurality of locations on the substrate, and the coating solution is applied to at least two locations from an image generated by an infrared thermograph during the drying of the coating solution. 2. The inspection system according to claim 1, further comprising means for comparing differences in the images of the portions and determining a difference in the coating amount of the coating liquid from the comparison.

Images