JPH04335408A - Vision sensor device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simply and exactly change the processing program in a short time by an operation of a small number of switches by constituting the device so that a result of processing can be recognized directly by a screen display means at the time of changing the data. CONSTITUTION:The device consists of a vision sensor control part 1 being a control mechanism of the vision sensor device, a host controller 2, an object work 3 being a sensing object, a camera 4, a monitor indicator 5 on which a monitor is displayed as an image, a switch 6 for executing an input operation, etc. Also, in the switch 6, the upper arrow switch 61, the left arrow switch 62, the right arrow switch 65, and the lower arrow switch 63 are provided. In such a state, a specific processing is selected, a command for executing a processing selected from a processing program is displayed, one command line is selected from in the displayed command, and by the kind of the selected command, a command execution result is displayed on the monitor indicator 5. Subsequently, in accordance with an input of the switch 6, the command execution result is changed, and the command selected from the processing program is changed to this changed command.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a visual sensor device, and more particularly to a visual sensor device for identifying and measuring target workpieces in assembly and transportation operations in factory automation.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 8 shows a conventional program controller (hereinafter referred to as
9 is a flowchart showing a method of rewriting data for a PC (simply referred to as a "PC"), and FIG. 9 is a display diagram showing a setting data screen displayed on a conventional monitor display.

[0003] A data rewriting method will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In the figure, in step S11 on the NC control (numerical control) circuit side, parameter data is read and transferred to the RAM, in step S12 preparations are made to store data for the PC to be displayed on the setting data screen, and in step S13 the PC circuit Outputs a data transfer request to the side. On the PC circuit side, the PC internal parameter data has already been read in step S14 and transferred to the PC internal RAM, and step S15
The address and data to be transferred to the NC control circuit are prepared. Therefore, in step S16, the prepared address and data are transferred from the PC circuit side to the NC control circuit side. In step S17 on the NC control circuit side, it is determined whether or not to display the setting screen on the monitor display.
When changing data, an image of a setting data screen is displayed in step S18, and it is determined in step S19 whether or not there is a screen display request for changing PC data. When changing, a setting data screen for changing PC data as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed on the monitor display in step S20. FIG. 9 is a display diagram showing a setting data screen displayed on a monitor display, and addresses and data of data in the PC are displayed on the setting data screen. In step S21, it is determined whether or not the data for the PC needs to be changed, and if the data is desired to be changed, it is rewritten by operating the keyboard. In step S22, the data on the setting data screen is replaced and displayed, and the changed data is
Transfer from the C control circuit to the PC circuit side. On the PC circuit side, the changed data is rewritten in step S23, and the PC circuit
Changing the internal data via the NC circuit setting screen is completed.

[0005] As another technology related to data transfer, there is also a technology described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-308320. This technology relates to a data transfer method for transferring data from a display control device to an expansion device branch-connected to a video signal path.

[0006]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional data rewriting method as described above, only addresses and data are displayed on the screen. In visual sensor devices, whether or not the processing program operates correctly with changed data is determined only by running the processing program and performing sensing operations, since the processing results cannot be directly recognized on the monitor display when data is changed. Could not confirm. If the processing program does not work correctly, make the same changes again and
Transfer work was required. therefore,
It took a long time and a lot of effort to change the processing program.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a visual sensor device in which a processing program can be easily and accurately changed in a short period of time by operating a small number of switches.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] A visual sensor device according to the present invention includes an image reading means for reading an image of a target work;
an image processing means for processing the video signal from the image reading means and measuring the characteristic amount of the target work; a screen display means for displaying the measurement results of the image processing means on a screen; and a process selection for selecting a specific process. means, command display means for displaying from a processing program a command for executing the process selected by the process selection means, and command selection means for selecting one command line from among the commands displayed by the command display means. , a command execution result display means for displaying a command execution result on the screen display means according to the type of command selected by the command selection means; a command changing means for changing the command execution result according to an input of a switch; The processing program changing means changes the command selected from the processing program by the command selecting means to the command changed by the command changing means.

[0009]

[Operation] In the visual sensor device of the present invention, a specific process is selected, a command for executing the selected process is displayed from the processing program, one command line is selected from among the displayed commands, and the selected process is selected. The command execution result is displayed on the screen display means depending on the type of command that is input, the command execution result is changed according to the input of the switch, and the command selected from the processing program is changed to the changed command. When changing data, the processing results can be directly recognized on the screen display means.

0010

[Examples] Examples of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a visual sensor device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is a visual sensor control unit which is a control mechanism of this visual sensor device, 2 is a host controller, 3 is a target workpiece to be sensed, 4 is a camera, and 5 is a monitor on which an image is displayed. The display 6 is a switch for performing input operations, and the switch 6 is provided with an up arrow switch 61, a left arrow switch 62, a right arrow switch 63, and a down arrow switch 64. 7 is a central processing unit of the visual sensor control unit 1; 8 is a storage circuit that stores programs, data, etc. to be executed by the central processing unit 7;
9 is an image input circuit that inputs a video signal from the camera 4 to the visual sensor control unit 1; 10 is an image processing circuit that generates run length data; 11 is an image storage circuit; and 12 is for information communication with the monitor display 5. 13 is a switch interface circuit for transmitting information with the switch 6, and 14 is a high-level interface circuit for transmitting information with the host controller 2.

In the visual sensor device having this configuration, the video signal from the camera 4 is binarized by the sensing operation, and a binary image or the like is selected by the image input circuit 9.
It is displayed on the monitor display 5. Further, the image is analyzed and judged, and a predetermined control signal is output to the host controller 2 according to this analysis and judgment. The above sensing operation is executed by the operator according to a predetermined program created in advance in the host controller 2. The created processing program is transferred to the storage circuit 8 of the visual sensor control unit 1 via the upper interface circuit 14. The central processing unit 7 performs sensing operations according to the processing program transferred to the storage circuit 8.

Next, the sensing operation and processing program modification operation by the visual sensor device of this embodiment will be explained along the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the visual sensor device which is one embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, first, prior to sensing operation, a specific command is selected in step S1. In step S2, only the command line for executing the selected item is searched from within the processing program and displayed on the monitor display 5. In step S3, a command line to be changed is selected from among the command lines displayed on the monitor display 5, and
In step S4, the execution result of the selected command is displayed on the monitor display 5. By pressing the switch 6 in step S5, the execution result of the command is changed and displayed on the monitor display 5. In step S6, the selected command line is changed based on the execution result of the command changed in step S5, and the processing program is rewritten.

[0016] Here, regarding the operation of each step during the series of processing program rewriting operations in the above flowchart,
This will be explained using each figure from FIG. 3 to FIG. FIG. 3 is a display diagram showing a menu screen displayed on a monitor display of a visual sensor device which is an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a display diagram showing a menu screen displayed on a monitor display of a visual sensor device which is an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a display diagram showing a processing area screen displayed on a monitor display of a visual sensor device that is an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a display diagram that shows a specific command line screen that is an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a display diagram showing a binary image screen displayed on a monitor display of a certain visual sensor device. FIG. 7 is a program data configuration diagram showing the contents of a processing program of a visual sensor device that is an embodiment of the present invention.

First, a specific command selection process performed in step S1 in FIG. 2 will be described. In the processing program, setting the effective field of view when performing image processing,
Alternatively, it is possible to select which item to change, such as threshold settings when performing binarization processing. This can be selected by operating the switch 6 as appropriate. for example,
A cursor, underbar, etc. are displayed on the menu displayed on the monitor display 5, and a selection is made by operating the up arrow switch 61 or the down arrow switch 64 (see FIG. 3).

Next, the process of selecting and displaying a command line for executing the menu item selected in step S1 from the processing program, which is performed in step S2 of FIG. 2, will be described. For example, if changing the effective field of view is selected in step S1, only the command line for setting the effective field of view is selected from the processing program and displayed on the monitor display 5 in step S2. Also, in step S1, 2
If changing the value processing is selected, step S2
Then, only the command line for setting the binarization process is selected and displayed on the monitor display 5 (see FIG. 4).

Next, the process of selecting a command line to be changed from among the command lines selected in step S2, which is performed in step S3 of FIG. 2, will be described. this is,
The selection can be made by operating the switch 6 as appropriate. For example, a cursor, an underbar, etc. are displayed on the monitor display 5, and the selection is made by operating the up arrow switch 61 or the down arrow switch 64.

Next, the process of executing the command line selected in step S3 in step S4 of FIG. 2 and displaying the command execution result will be described. For example, in the case of changing the effective field of view, the outline of the effective field of view is displayed on the monitor display 5. At the same time, the image read by the camera 4 is displayed on the monitor display 5. In other words, the image from the camera 4 and the outline of the area serving as the effective field of view are displayed on the monitor display 5 at the same time. Furthermore, in the case of binarization processing, a binary image obtained by binarizing the image read by the camera 4 is displayed on the monitor display 5.

Next, the process of changing the command execution result using the switch 6 and displaying it on the monitor display 5 in step S5 of FIG. 2 will be described. For example, in the case of changing the effective field of view, an up arrow switch 61, a left arrow switch 62, a right arrow switch 63, a down arrow switch 64
Use to move the outline of the effective field of view in the direction of the arrow on the switch. At this time, for example, you can change the position and size of the effective field of view by first moving the upper left point of the effective field of view, and then moving the lower right point after fixing it (see Figure 5).
.

Furthermore, in the case of changing the binarization process, the switch 6 is used to change the threshold value for performing the binarization process. For example, a binary image may be displayed by increasing the threshold value with the up arrow switch 61 or decreasing the threshold value with the down arrow switch 64 (see FIG. 6).

Next, the process of rewriting the command line selected in step S3 from the processing program in step S6 of FIG. 2 based on the value changed in step S5 will be described. For example, in the case of changing the effective field of view, the code representing the effective field of view is rewritten to the changed value in the command line. In the case of changing the binarization process, the code representing the threshold value may be similarly rewritten to the changed value in the command line (see FIG. 7).

As described above, the visual sensor device of the present embodiment includes a camera 4 serving as an image reading means for reading an image of the target work 3, and a video signal from the camera 4 (image reading means) that processes the video signal to read the image of the target work 3. a visual sensor control unit 1 which is an image processing means for measuring feature quantities of the visual sensor control unit 1;
A monitor display 5 as a screen display means for displaying the measurement results of the image processing means (image processing means) on the screen, a process selection means (step S1 in FIG. 2) for selecting a specific process as shown in FIG.
a command display means (step S2 in FIG. 2) for displaying a command to execute the process selected by the process selection means from the processing program on the monitor display 5; A command selection means (step S3 in FIG. 2) selects one command line from the list with a switch 6, and a command execution result is displayed on the monitor display 5 (screen display means) according to the type of command selected by the command selection means. A command execution result display means (step S4 in FIG. 2) to display a command execution result, a command change means (step S5 in FIG. 2) to change the command execution result according to the input of the switch 6 as shown in FIG. The processing program changing means (step S6 in FIG. 2) changes the command selected from the processing program by the command selecting means into the command changed by the command changing means.

That is, the visual sensor device of this embodiment selects a specific process (step S1 in FIG. 2), displays a command to execute the selected process from the processing program (step S2 in FIG. 2), Select one command line from the displayed commands (step S3 in FIG. 2), display the command execution result on the screen display means according to the type of selected command (step S4 in FIG. 2), and input the switch. Change the command execution result according to (step S in Figure 2)
5) The command selected from the processing program is changed to the changed command (step S6 in FIG. 2).

Therefore, when changing data, the processing result can be directly recognized on the monitor display 5 (screen display means). Therefore, it is possible to directly recognize on the monitor display 5 whether or not the processing program operates correctly with the changed data, so if the processing program does not operate correctly, it can be changed again in the same way as before. This eliminates the need for transfer. As a result, the processing program can be easily and accurately changed in a short time by operating a small number of switches.

By the way, in the above embodiment, the change in the effective field of view and the change in the binarization process have been described, but similar effects can be obtained with other image processing commands.

Further, in the above embodiment, the switch 6 shown in FIG. 1 is used, but a keyboard may be used in place of the switch 6. Instead, an interface for connecting the keyboard and the visual sensor control unit 1 is required.

[0029]

As explained above, the visual sensor device of the present invention includes an image reading means, an image processing means, a screen display means, a process selection means, a command display means, a command selection means, and a command display means. It includes an execution result display means, a command change means, and a processing program change means, and displays a command for selecting a specific process, executing the selected process from the process program, and selecting one of the displayed commands Select a command line, display the command execution result on the screen display means according to the type of the selected command, change the command execution result according to the switch input, and change the command selected from the processing program to the changed command. By changing the data, the processing result can be directly recognized on the screen display means when changing the data, so the processing program can be changed correctly in a short time by operating a small number of switches.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a visual sensor device that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control operation of a visual sensor device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a display diagram showing a menu screen displayed on a monitor display of a visual sensor device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a display diagram showing a specific command line screen displayed on a monitor display of a visual sensor device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a display diagram showing a processing area screen displayed on a monitor display of a visual sensor device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a display diagram showing a binary image screen displayed on a monitor display of a visual sensor device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a program data configuration diagram showing the contents of a processing program for a visual sensor device that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a conventional method for rewriting data for a program controller.

FIG. 9 is a display diagram showing a setting data screen displayed on a conventional monitor display.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Visual sensor control section 2 Upper controller 3 Target work 4 Camera 5 Monitor display 6 Switch 7 Central processing unit 8 Memory circuit 9 Image input circuit 10 Image processing circuit 11 Image storage circuit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An image reading means for reading an image of a target workpiece, an image processing means for processing a video signal from the image reading means and measuring a feature amount of the target workpiece, and displaying the measurement results of the image processing means on a screen. a screen display means for displaying the
a process selection means for selecting a specific process; a command display means for displaying from a processing program a command for executing the process selected by the process selection means; and one command from among the commands displayed by the command display means. command selection means for selecting a line; command execution result display means for displaying a command execution result on the screen display means according to the type of command selected by the command selection means; A visual sensor device comprising: a command changing means for changing a command; and a processing program changing means for changing a command selected from a processing program by the command selecting means to a command changed by the command changing means.