JPH02297028A - Color identification device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical field to which the invention is directed] This invention relates to a color identification device that stores color information of a detected object.

[Prior art]

In general, this type of color identification device detects and determines whether the color of an object to be detected, which serves as an arbitrary reference, and the color of the object to be compared or identified match or fall within a certain specified range. be. Therefore, in order to identify any color, it is necessary to input and store reference color information into the device. In this case, the reference color information can be input numerically into the apparatus, or the object to be detected, which is actually the reference, is set in the detection system of the apparatus and detected by the apparatus. At this time, a so-called teaching method is used, such as storing sampled color information in a memory within the device. For example, if the color detection element is a light-receiving element that separates red, green, and blue into three colors, the obtained color information is in the three-color system of red, green, and blue. Therefore, color information of red, green, and blue is obtained by one sampling. That is, the number of color information is determined by the spectral number of the color detection element.

Normally, a color identification device has a plurality of channels for registering reference colors, and color information of any sample can be registered in any channel.

It also has a color identification parameter unique to the device, and sets in advance an allowable range that is considered to correspond to the reference for the reference color information based on the color identification parameter.

Furthermore, various parameters for operating the device are determined, and color detection, calculation, or identification is executed by operating the device.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, the conventional teaching method in a color identification device is performed by sampling color information once for an arbitrary reference detection object, and the color information is stored in a memory. Moreover, this is taught individually for each of the multiple registered channels.

Furthermore, the color information obtained for any object to be detected is not necessarily uniquely determined; the obtained color information also varies depending on the environmental conditions and setting conditions at the time of color information sampling. The color information of each detected object has variations and statistically forms a population. Therefore, in the conventional teaching method, it is unclear which of the population of reference color information is sampled and registered in the apparatus as reference color information. However, in extreme cases, the color information with the largest deviation from the center of the population or the average may be registered as the reference color information. Of course, there will naturally be a difference between performing color identification calculations on the population average of the reference color and the comparative color, and performing color identification calculations on the standard color and comparison color with deviations. Conventional teaching methods belong to the latter category, and this method, ie, the method of registering a reference color by just one sampling, cannot improve the accuracy and reliability of color identification. In order to solve this drawback, it is possible to teach the reference color information near the center of the population, but this requires adjusting the environmental conditions and setting conditions before starting the process. It may become complicated.

[Purpose of the invention]

In view of these conventional problems, the present invention aims to identify colors regardless of the environment or setting conditions, and to improve the accuracy and reliability of color identification calculations with comparison colors. shall be.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the object, this invention performs color information sampling multiple times during reference color teaching in a single color identification device, calculates a group of samples, or performs appropriate processing to obtain optimal reference color information. It has a function of automatically creating or determining and registering it as a reference color.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

That is, FIG. 5 shows a color identification device 11, and a reference light projection system 1 is composed of a light source such as a halogen lamp, and projects a reference light to a subject whose body weight is 0. The detection optical system 2 is composed of, for example, a convex lens, and guides the light irradiated from the reference light projection system 1 onto the object 10 to be detected and reflected by the object 10 to the color detection element 3. This color detection element is red and green.

It consists of a light-receiving element that separates blue into three colors. Color detection element 3
An amplification system 4 is provided on the output side of the color detection element 3 to amplify the output of the color detection element 3. An A/D conversion system 5 is provided on the output side of this amplification system, and converts the analog signal from the amplification system 4 into a digital signal. An arithmetic and control system 6 is provided on the output side of the human/D conversion system 5, and a memory system 7 and an I10 system 8 are provided on this output side. Further, a power supply system 9 is provided to supply power to each system.

Next, teaching for sampling color information from a reference detection object in the above configuration will be explained with reference to FIG.

That is, the color identification device is brought into a state in which a teaching operation is performed using an externally connected operation key or the like (step 1).

In this state, for teaching purposes, a reference object is set at the detection position of the detection optical system 2, that is, at the position of the object to be detected 10 in FIG. 1 (step 2). Next, color information is sampled. This sampling is started, ie, taught-triggered, by an operation key or an external signal input (step 3). As a result, the red, green, and blue signal levels are sequentially or collectively read into the device 11 and stored in the memory 7 or the like (step 4). Note that the first color information is stored in the first storage areas R1, Gl, and Bl in the memory area shown in FIG. The color information obtained by the next teaching trigger is stored in the second storage areas R2, G2, . . . in the memory area shown in FIG. Similarly, the n-th color information is sequentially stored in the n-th storage areas Rn, Gn, and Bn. Also, when a teaching trigger is applied, various conditions that affect the color information change. When the color information is stored, variations occur in the multiple pieces of color information stored. Next, when the teaching is completed (step 5), a plurality of color information stored in the memory 7 is calculated, optimal reference color information is created (step 6), and the information is stored in the memory 7 again.

This ends the sampling (step 7).

Further, in another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, during teaching, after taking in the red, green, and blue signals, an operation for creating or determining optimal reference color information is immediately executed, Creation of reference color information is executed every time color information is sampled; in step 4, when reading and storing color information, the i-th information is temporarily stored in the memory area, and in step 5, reference color information is created;
Store this. Then, by the next teaching trigger, the previous memory in the memory area is updated, the average value of this color information and the previous memory value is taken, and this is used as new reference color information to update the memory.

In the embodiments of the present invention, a light-receiving element that separates three colors of red, green, and blue is used, and the color information is also three components. It is also possible.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, this invention samples color information multiple times for teaching the reference color, and then performs arithmetic processing on the sample group, thereby automatically creating or determining optimal reference color information. Even if there are multiple reference objects and their colors vary, the optimal reference color information for a group of reference objects can be registered, rather than changing the object for each teaching trigger. It is possible to register. In addition, when applied to a conveyance line, the detection conditions on the conveyance line are likely to fluctuate, and when teaching, the accuracy and reliability of color identification can be improved by flowing a large number of reference objects through the conveyance line and creating reference color information. can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a program chart showing one embodiment of the color identification device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a memory area diagram in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a program chart showing another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a memory area diagram of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the color identification device according to the present invention. l...Reference light projection system, 2...Detection optical system, 3...
Color detection element, 4... Amplification system, 5... A/D conversion system%
6... Arithmetic control system, 7... Memory system, 8... I1
0 system, 9...power supply system, lO...detected object, 11...
・Color identification device. Figure 1 Figure 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] It has the function of obtaining color information of the object to be detected by optical and electrical means and distinguishing between a reference color and a comparative color, and the reference object for obtaining the reference color information is placed at a predetermined position of the device. In a color identification device that has a teaching function of sampling, thereby obtaining reference color information of the object to be detected, and storing this in a memory within the device, the color information of the reference object is used for teaching the reference color information. What is claimed is: 1. A color identification device that automatically creates or determines optimal reference color information by sampling a plurality of times and performing arithmetic processing on a group of samples, and registers the information as a reference color.