JPH03158710A - Image data generating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately measure various shapes by making brightness data correspond to coordinate positions on a video image plane and storing the data in a video data storage means. CONSTITUTION:An object W is moved in the width direction of slit light L to a position where an external synchronizing signal is inputted from a conveyor controller 30. Then the object W is irradiated with the light L from an irradiating machine 11, its reflected light R is picked up by a TV camera 12, and the video signal of an image is passed through an A/D converter 21, so that a coordinate arithmetic part 22 calculates distance coordinates. Then the calculated distance coordinates are converted into brightness data, which are written in an image memory 24. Then when it is judged that brightness data equivalent to one output image plane are written in the memory 24, the brightness data are converted as image data into a video signal by a D/A converter 25 and outputted to an image processor 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image data creation device, and more particularly to an image data creation device that creates video output data including height information of an object.

[Prior art] Conventionally, shape detection or shape recognition of various objects has been performed using C.
Some devices image an object with a two-dimensional television camera such as an OD camera, and process the obtained video signal with an image processing device. In this case, the captured two-dimensional image includes brightness information of the object surface corresponding to the two-dimensional coordinate position of the object, and based on the two-dimensional shape (contour) and this brightness information, The object is recognized. That is,
Based on the difference in brightness, not only the position on the plane of the object but also its height can be determined. In addition, the image processing method based on the video signal from the television camera is the rsPIDERJ developed by the Japan Electronics Research Institute of the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology.
Many proposals have been made, including . Using these processing methods, many image processing devices have been developed for various purposes, such as object shape measurement, character recognition, etc.
It is used.

On the other hand, devices are also known that detect the three-dimensional shape of an object without depending on the brightness. This type of device (above) By capturing the reflected light of the slit light irradiated on the target object with a TV camera, the distance from the TV camera to the target surface is calculated from the captured slit light image using the principle of triangulation. In addition, such a device (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-253
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 806.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when determining the shape of an object based on differences in brightness (for example, in the case of a metal object with a mirror-finished surface, differences in the intensity of light captured by a television camera) ,
In other words, because the brightness ratio is small, the brightness information output as a video signal becomes inaccurate, and the shape of the object,
In particular, there is a problem that the height cannot be detected accurately.
Therefore, in such cases, the functions of many image processing devices that have been developed cannot be fully utilized, and devices that detect the shape of an object based on triangulation simply calculate the three-dimensional coordinate values of the object. The coordinates of the clearance meter may be used to measure the gap, or the coordinate value may be used to measure the gap. To apply it, it was necessary to develop a device tailored to the purpose each time.

The image data creation device of the present invention solves the above problems, accurately detects the three-dimensional shape of an object, and enables connection with a conventional image processing device to fully utilize its functions. do.

[Means for Solving the Problems] An image data creation device of the present invention (as illustrated in FIG. 1, an image data creation device that creates video output data including height information of an object W) , an imaging means M1 that irradiates light onto a main scanning line that crosses the surface of the object W and images the reflected light R at an angle different from the irradiation direction; and based on the displacement of the imaged reflected light R. height data calculating means M2 for calculating height data of the object W on the main scanning line for each position on the main scanning line; a sub-scanning direction calculation means M3 that causes the height data calculation means M2 to calculate height data at each position in the sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the scanning direction, and the height data calculation means M2 calculates the height data at each position in the sub-scanning direction; a luminance data converting means M4 for converting the height data of the object W into luminance data; The gist of the present invention is to include a video data storage means M5 for positioning and storing data at the coordinates of the video screen based on the imaged screen position.

[Operation] The image data creation device of the present invention having the above-mentioned configuration performs the following operations based on the displacement of the reflected light R captured by the imaging means M1.
A height data calculating means M2 calculates height data of the object W for each position on the main scanning line irradiated to the object W,
Further, the sub-scanning direction calculating means M3 calculates the height data at each position in the sub-scanning direction.The calculated height data (upper luminance data is converted into luminance data by the luminance data converting means M4, The video data storage means MS positions and stores the video screen at the coordinates of the video screen corresponding to two-dimensional plane coordinates consisting of the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction based on the imaged screen position.Therefore, the stored data (The video data is created by positioning the luminance data corresponding to the height data of the object W at the coordinates of the video screen [Example] In order to further clarify the configuration and operation of the present invention described above, the following is A preferred embodiment of the image data creation device of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 2 (1) is a schematic configuration diagram of an image data creation device as an example.

An image data creation device (Yo): an imaging unit 10 that images an object W placed on a conveyor C and as a target for data creation; an electronic control unit 20 that processes a video signal from the imaging unit 10 and creates image data; The conveyor control device 30 is connected to the electronic control device 20 and controls the conveyance of the conveyor C.

Imaging unit 10i includes an irradiation device 11 that irradiates the object W with laser slit light, and a television camera 12 using a CCD that images the irradiated reflected light R at a predetermined distance from the irradiation device 11.

Irradiation device 11 (L) As shown in Figure 3 ((a) is a front view, (b) is a plan view), a laser diode 13 as a light source and a cylindrical lens 14 that spreads light in only one direction from the light source. , a collimating lens 5 that makes the light parallel, and a slit 16 to obtain extremely narrow slit light.

Electronic control unit 2012. An A/D converter 21 converts the video signal from the television camera 12 into a digital signal, and the distance and planar position (hereinafter referred to as
a coordinate calculation unit 22 equipped with an arithmetic and logic operation circuit that calculates distance coordinates (referred to as distance coordinates); and an external synchronization interface 23 that synchronizes the movement of the object W with the distance coordinate calculation by exchanging signals with the conveyor control device 30. , an image memory 24 that stores image data, a D/A converter 25 that converts the image data stored in the image memory 24 into a video signal (NTSC signal) and outputs it to the image processing device P, and controls and supervises the entire system. It includes a CPU 26 and a ROM 27 in which processing programs such as arithmetic processing procedures are stored. Note that the coordinate calculation unit 22. External synchronization interface 231 image memory 24. CPU26. The ROMs 27 are interconnected by a bus 28.

Next, the principle of calculating distance coordinates based on the reflected light R of the imaged object W will be explained with reference to FIG. 4.

The object W is irradiated with laser slit light perpendicularly (perpendicular to the mounting surface of the object W), and the reflected light R is imaged by the television camera 12 from diagonally above.

At this time, with respect to the origin position ○ of the object W, the reflected light R from the point A on the surface of the object W passes through the upper lens 7 and forms an image at a position A' away from the origin ○' of the light receiving section 18. In other words, an image corresponding to the ridgeline of the object W is formed on the light receiving section 18.Distance coordinates are calculated from this formed image and the imaging position.That is, the height and plane position of the object W are calculated. can be detected.

Next, the image data creation process of the object W executed by the electronic control device 20 will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the object W is moved in the width direction of the slit light to a position where an external synchronization signal from the conveyor control device 30 is input (steps 100, 110). That is, the object W is moved to a predetermined position where an external synchronization signal is detected, and at that predetermined position, positioning is performed so that the processing from the next step 20 onwards begins. Note that the conveyor control device 30 detects the position using a sensor such as an encoder (not shown).

When the object W is placed at a predetermined position, the irradiator 1 irradiates the object W with slit light (Step 120);
The reflected light R is imaged by the television camera 12 (step) 30. Video signal 1i A of this captured image
/D converter 2] into a digital signal. Next, the coordinate calculation unit 22 calculates distance coordinates based on the position of the reflected light R detected for each scanning line on the captured screen (step 140). Next, the calculated distance coordinates are converted into brightness data (step) 50.
. In this example (above), this transformation is as shown in FIG.
- Do this using a map of the number of dimensions.

For example, in 1f, the distance measurement range of the imaging unit 10 is 0 to 100 mm.
If the resolution per pixel of the image memory 24 is 8 bits, that is, 256 gradations, then at the position where the distance measurement value is 0mm, the brightness data is 01: and the distance measurement value is 100mm.
At the position, the luminance data is converted to 255. That is, the height of the surface of the object W is divided into 256 levels, and brightness data corresponding to each level is created.

Next, the luminance data converted in step 150 is written into the image memory 24 (step 160).
. Image memory 24 (for example l'L) The number of pixels of the screen of image processing device P (hereinafter referred to as output screen) is 512 x 480.
(horizontal x vertical), the luminance data for one irradiation of one upper slit light, that is, the luminance data for one frame obtained by one imaging, is transferred to one line (horizontal direction) on the output screen. It is divided into 5]2 pixels and stored. Then, increment counter C (the value of counter C was reset when this routine was started),
The processing of steps 100 to 170 is repeated until the value of becomes 480 (steps 170 to 180). That is, the object W is moved to sequentially change the irradiation position of the slit light, and the distance coordinates for one frame obtained by imaging each irradiation position are converted into luminance data, and the luminance data is converted into luminance data. are sequentially stored in the image memory 24 one line at a time, and the above process is repeated until writing of the luminance data for one output screen is completed. Note that the address of the image memory 24 is changed depending on the value of the counter C.

An outline of writing the luminance data into the image memory 24 will be explained with reference to FIG. Outputs the image memory 24 (frames F corresponding to coordinates on the screen and obtained by imaging at each irradiation position L1 to 1480 of the slit light onto the object W) to F480, brightness data D1 to D480. It is stored in the imaging unit in correspondence with the horizontal line on the screen.Therefore, 256 gradation luminance data is written in the image memory 24 in correspondence with the coordinate position on the output screen. In order to make it easier to understand, each frame F1 to F480 is expressed perpendicular to the mounting surface of the object W, but in reality, it is oblique due to the imaging position of the television camera 12.

In step 180, when it is determined that the luminance data for one output screen has been written to the image memory 24, this luminance data is converted as image data to a video signal (NTSC signal) via the D/A converter 25, and the image processing device The routine is output to P and exits to "rEND" (step 190).

The luminance data on the image data creation device 1 of this embodiment described above is stored as image data in the image memory 24 in correspondence with the coordinate position on the output screen, and is converted into a video signal and output. Therefore, it is possible to connect to a general-purpose image processing device P with the same image as a video signal captured and sent by a television camera, and a large number of image processing software developed to date can be used, and their functions can be utilized. You can make full use of it. Moreover, since the brightness data as image data is converted based on distance coordinates, it accurately represents the height and planar position of the object W, and does not reflect the reflection from the surface of the object W as in the past. An image with high dimensional accuracy can be output even for a mirror-finished metal object that is difficult to identify using the luminance signal of light R. Therefore, various shape measurements, shape discrimination, etc. can be performed accurately.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments in any way.
A configuration may be adopted in which the slit light is always irradiated regardless of the movement of the object W, or a configuration in which the irradiation position is changed by movement of the imaging unit 10. Further, the conversion map shown in FIG. 6 may be a quadratic function in which the luminance data is proportional to the square of the distance. Furthermore, the timing of outputting image data,
It is also possible to have a configuration in which the process is always performed instead of after writing for one screen is completed, and it goes without saying that the process can be implemented in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Effects of the Invention As detailed above, according to the image data creation device of the present invention, the luminance data is stored in the video data storage means in correspondence with the lid with coordinates on the video screen. It is now possible to connect to a general-purpose image processing device with the same image as the video signal captured and sent by
A large number of image processing software developed to date can be used, and their functions can be fully utilized.

Moreover, since the stored luminance data (table) is converted based on the height data, it accurately represents the height and plane position of the object W, and the
A video signal with high dimensional accuracy can be output even for a mirror-finished metal object or the like that is difficult to identify using a luminance signal based on the reflected light R from the surface. Therefore, various shape measurements, shape discrimination, etc. can be performed accurately.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating the basic configuration of the present invention, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the image data creation device, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the irradiation device, and Figure 4 is the principle of calculating distance coordinates. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the image data creation routine, FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between measured distance values and brightness data, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the concept of writing to image memory. be. 10... Imaging unit ]1... Irradiation machine]2...
Television camera 20...Electronic control device 22...Coordinate calculation unit 24.
・Image memory

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An image data creation device that creates video output data including height information of an object, which emits light onto a main scanning line that crosses the surface of the object, and also emits light reflected from the object. an imaging means for capturing an image at an angle different from the irradiation direction; and a height for calculating height data of the object on the main scanning line for each position on the main scanning line based on the displacement of the imaged reflected light. data calculating means; causing the imaging means to illuminate and image the object at each position in a sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction; and the height data calculating means at each position in the sub-scanning direction. a sub-scanning direction calculating means for calculating height data according to the method; a luminance data converting means for converting the calculated height data of the object into luminance data; While making the plane coordinates correspond to the coordinates of the video screen, the converted luminance data is based on the imaged screen position,
An image data creation device comprising: video data storage means for positioning and storing video data at coordinates on a video screen.