Method of assembling or disassembling housing shelf, method of producing ceramic fired body, and transferring system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11192256-B2
Application number	US-201916265144-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 1, 2019
Priority date	Feb 19, 2018
Publication date	Dec 7, 2021
Grant date	Dec 7, 2021

Abstract

A method of assembling or disassembling a housing shelf configured at least from shelf plates and frames, including a step in which a chuck holds a frame; a step of determining, based on an image captured by an imager that captures an image of the frame held by the chuck and positioned at an imaged position, a position of a target portion of the frame on the image; and a step of determining, based on the determined position on the image, at least one correction value for causing a change in a release position for the frame when the frame is released from the chuck onto the shelf plate. The target portion may be an inner wall surface of the frame. An illumination unit may be arranged between the imager and the imaged position of the frame.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of assembling or disassembling a housing shelf configured at least from shelf plates and frames, the method comprising:
holding the frame by a chuck;
determining, based on an image captured by an imager of the frame held by the chuck at an imaged position of the frame, a position of a target portion of the frame on the image; and
determining, based on the position of the target portion of the frame on the image, at least one correction value for causing a change in a release position for the frame when the frame is released from the chuck onto the shelf plate, wherein
the target portion of the frame is an inner wall surface of the frame,
an illumination unit is arranged between the imager and the imaged position of the frame, and
a shadow of the frame formed by an illumination light emitted from the illumination unit is positioned outward of the inner wall surface of the frame so as not to be captured by the imager.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein a first angle between a light ray and an axial line is greater than a second angle between an optical path and the axial line, said light ray being emitted from the illumination unit and passing nearby and inward of the target portion of the frame, and said optical path being directed from the target portion of the frame to an optical system of the imager.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the axial line is parallel to the inner wall surface of the frame.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the illumination unit includes one or more light sources, and a base to which the one or more light sources are secured.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the base is captured in the image.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the chuck is provided with a reflective plate for reflecting a light that has been emitted from the illumination unit and transmitted through an inside of the frame.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the illumination unit emits a light ray that passes nearby and inward of an inner edge of the frame positioned at the reflective plate side of the chuck.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein a reflective face of the reflective plate includes a reflecting section and a shadow section where the shadow of the frame is projected, and a boundary between the reflecting section and the shadow section is positioned outward of the inner wall surface of the frame.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inner wall surface of the frame includes first and second sides, the first side being closer to the imager than the second side, and the second side being equal to the target portion of the frame.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said determining, based on the image captured by the imager of the frame held by the chuck at the imaged position of the frame, the position of the target portion of the frame on the image is performed based on an edge detection processing.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein displacement of the chuck in accordance with the correction value causes displacement of the frame in a horizontal direction perpendicular to a vertical direction when the frame is released from the chuck.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein displacement of the chuck in accordance with the correction value causes rotation of the frame around a vertical direction when the frame is released from the chuck.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
releasing the frame at the release position from the chuck onto the shelf plate; and
stacking the shelf plate onto the frame released from the chuck.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the frame includes alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) or mullite (3Al 2 O 3 .2SiO 2 ).

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the frame is shaped like a polygon.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the shelf plate is provided with at least one protrusion so as to restrict the position of the frame on the shelf plate.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein a ceramic body is placed on the shelf plate, and the ceramic body includes at least silicon carbide (SiC).

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein a ceramic body is placed on the shelf plate, and the ceramic body has a lattice-like cell-wall that defines a plurality of cells.

19. A method of producing one or more ceramic fired bodies comprising:
stacking shelf plates and frames alternately to configure a housing shelf;
placing one or more ceramic bodies onto one or more of the shelf plates;
passing the housing shelf through a firing kiln; and
taking out the one or more ceramic fired bodies from the housing shelf which has passed through the firing kiln,
said stacking the shelf plates and the frames alternately to configure the housing shelf including:
holding the frame by a chuck;
determining, based on an image captured by an image of the frame held by the chuck at an imaged position of the frame, a position of a target portion of the frame on the image; and
determining, based on the position of the target portion of the frame on the image, at least one correction value for causing a change in a release position for the frame when the frame is released from the chuck onto the shelf plate, wherein
the target portion of the frame is an inner wall surface of the frame,
an illumination unit is arranged between the image and the imaged position of the frame, and
a shadow of the frame formed by an illumination light emitted from the illumination unit is positioned outward of the inner wall surface of the frame so as not to be captured by the imager.

20. A transferring system for transferring a frame included in a housing shelf that is configured from at least shelf plates and frames, the system comprising:
a chuck that holds the frame;
an imager that captures an image of the frame held by the chuck at an imaged position of the frame; and
a correction value determining unit, said correction value determining unit determining, based on the image captured by the imager, a position of a target portion of the frame on the image, and said correction value determining unit determining, based on the position of the target portion of the frame on the image, at least one correction value for causing a change in a release position for the frame when the frame is released onto the shelf plate, wherein
the target portion of the frame is an inner wall surface of the frame,
an illumination unit is arranged between the imager and the imaged position of the frame, and
a shadow of the frame formed by an illumination light emitted from the illumination unit is positioned outward of the inner wall surface of the frame so as not to be captured by the imager.

Assignees

• Ngk Insulators Ltd

Inventors

• Yoshida Shinya
• Abe Yuito

Classifications

• H04N23/56

  provided with illuminating means · CPC title

• H04N23/54

  Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils · CPC title

• C04B35/18

  rich in aluminium oxide · CPC title

• C04B35/622

  Forming processes; Processing powders of inorganic compounds preparatory to the manufacturing of ceramic products · CPC title

• G03B15/02

  Illuminating scene · CPC title