JPH11295060A - Device and method for automatic inspection of surface quality of cylindrical work - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To save the space and to reduce the facility cost by standing and supporting the cylindrical work rotatably without bringing it into contact with a rotating roller, etc., and making them compact so that its surface quality can be inspected automatically with high precision and the device and method can easily be adapted to size changes. SOLUTION: On a conveyance palette 3 mounted on a conveyor 4, the lower end of the cylindrical work 1 is supported rotatably. The cylindrical work 1 is conveyed in this state to an inspection position, where the upper end is supported in the center by an upper pressing mechanism part 6 and also supported rotatably. While the cylindrical work 1 is rotated by the upper pressing mechanism part 6, an inspection head 5 is scanned to inspect the surface of the cylindrical work 1 with high precision.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for inspecting the roughness and irregularity of a cylindrical work over the entire surface by using mechanical means, optical means, electric means, or the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for automatically inspecting the surface quality of a cylindrical work in which a cylindrical work is correctly erected vertically and rotatably supported, and inspection is performed while rotating the cylindrical work.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are various known techniques for inspecting the appearance of a workpiece such as a cylindrical object, a defect of a surface layer, and the like.
For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-55762 and JP-A-7-17-1
No. 40079. Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-5576
No. 2, "Cylindrical object appearance inspection device" mounts a cylindrical object to be inspected on two rotating rollers, rotates the cylindrical object by the frictional force using the own weight of the cylindrical object,
The quality of the appearance of the cylindrical object is determined by optical inspection means. On the other hand, the "surface layer defect detection device" of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-140079 discloses a method in which a cylindrical object is placed horizontally on four rotating rollers provided at both ends of two axes arranged in parallel, The cylindrical object is rotated by the frictional force using the weight of the cylindrical object in the same manner as the known art, and the inspection light irradiating device that irradiates the inspection light and the light receiving sensor that detects the amount of scattered reflected light are used to detect the surface of the cylindrical object. This is to inspect the layer for defects.

[0003]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-5576
The inspection apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2 (1995) also inspects an end face of a cylindrical object, and has an extremely complicated structure as a whole. Further, in the case of this inspection apparatus, there is a problem that the deflection of the cylindrical object is determined by the cylindricity of the outer shape of the cylindrical object. Also, dirt and irregularities on the surface of the cylindrical object may be transferred to the rotating roller, and if the inspection is continued in this state, the shape accuracy of the rotating roller deteriorates, and as a result, the rotating accuracy of the cylindrical object decreases. There is a problem. In addition, since the rotational force from the motor is transmitted to the two rotating rollers via a friction wheel, the frictional wheel and the two rotating rollers need to maintain the cylindricity and diameter of the friction roller with high precision, such as slippage. This causes a problem that the cylindrical object itself is damaged.

On the other hand, the detection device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-140079 has a problem that the deflection of a cylindrical object is determined by the cylindricity of the outer shape of the cylindrical object, as in the above-mentioned known technology. In addition, dirt and irregularities on the surface of the cylindrical object may be transferred to the rotating roller, and if the inspection is continued in this state, the shape accuracy of the rotating roller deteriorates, and as a result, the rotating accuracy of the cylindrical object decreases. There is a problem. In addition, the rotating roller uses a rubber material on the surface of the cylindrical object to protect the surface of the cylindrical object, but the cylindrical object rotates in an eccentric state due to the uneven thickness of the rubber material, for example, the amount of eccentricity However, there is a problem that it is difficult to detect defects with high accuracy at a maximum of about 0.2 mm. Further, it is possible to detect a defect of another cylindrical object having a different dimension in the radial direction, but it is difficult to detect a cylindrical object having a different dimension in the longitudinal direction.

The present invention solves the above problems, and can support a cylindrical work with high accuracy, and can rotate a cylindrical work without using frictional force with a rotating roller or the like.
Inspection of cylindrical workpieces with different dimensions in the radial and length directions is also possible, and the surface quality of cylindrical workpieces can be inspected with high precision. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for automatically inspecting the surface quality of a cylindrical work.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an apparatus for automatically inspecting the surface quality of a cylindrical work according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a cylindrical work having a surface roughness, irregularities, scratches, and the like.
An inspection device that automatically inspects surface quality such as dirt, a transport pallet that vertically rotatably mounts the cylindrical work, and a conveyor that moves the transport pallet,
A detection head disposed at a predetermined position for detecting the surface quality of the cylindrical work; and a position at which the detection head is disposed, wherein the detection head is engaged with an upper end of the cylindrical work on the transport pallet to form the cylindrical work. And an upper holding mechanism for rotatably holding the holding member.

In order to achieve the above object, an apparatus for automatically inspecting the surface quality of a cylindrical workpiece according to claim 2 is provided.
2. The pallet base according to claim 1, wherein the transport pallet is a pallet base mounted directly on the conveyor, a pedestal support cylinder mounted on the pallet base, and a pallet base stored in the pedestal support cylinder. A three-jaw chuck mounted on the pedestal, and a pedestal detachably pivotally supported by the pedestal support cylinder and engaged with a lower end of the cylindrical work to rotatably support the cylindrical work. In the three-jaw chuck,
An inner coupler of the cylindrical work supported by the pedestal is provided with a sub-claw that abuts and engages via a rotary bearing, and an auto-coupler for expanding or reducing the diameter of the sub-claw by air pressure is provided. Features.

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, an automatic inspection apparatus for surface quality of a cylindrical workpiece according to claim 3 is provided.
3. The core support rod according to claim 2, wherein a core support rod is erected and fixed on a portion of the three-jaw chuck that does not interfere with the child nail, and an upper end of the core support rod guides the inner diameter of the cylindrical workpiece. The core is provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic inspection apparatus for surface quality of a cylindrical work.
The upper holding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the upper holding mechanism is vertically movable on the upper base, and actuating means for operating the moving, and detachably pivotally supported on the moving base. It is characterized by comprising a center punch that supports the upper end of the cylindrical work at the center and a motor that is disposed on the moving table side and that drives the center punch to rotate.

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, an automatic surface quality inspection apparatus for a cylindrical workpiece according to claim 5 is provided.
5. The center punch according to claim 4, wherein the center punch is detachably supported on the movable table side via an automatic hand changer, and is exchangeably supported corresponding to the shape of the cylindrical work. .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic inspection apparatus for surface quality of a cylindrical workpiece.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a spring member for compensating for the weight of the moving table is interposed between the moving table and the upper base table.

[0012] In order to achieve the above object, an automatic inspection apparatus for surface quality of a cylindrical workpiece according to claim 7 is provided.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the upper base is movably suspended from an immovable side of a building or the like.

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic inspection apparatus for surface quality of a cylindrical work according to claim 8 is provided.
2. The detection head according to claim 1, wherein the detection head is capable of detecting at least surface quality such as scratches and dirt on the surface of the cylindrical work, physical defects, and surface roughness. Thus, it is formed so as to be scannable.

In order to achieve the above object, a method for automatically inspecting the surface quality of a cylindrical work according to the ninth aspect of the present invention provides a method for automatically inspecting the surface of a cylindrical work such as surface roughness, irregularity, scratches, dirt, and the like. An inspection method for automatically inspecting quality, comprising: a first step of rotatably mounting and holding a lower end of the cylindrical work on a transport pallet at a charging position of the cylindrical work; and mounting the cylindrical work. Moving the conveyor head to the position of the detection head at the predetermined position and engaging the upper holding mechanism with the upper end of the cylindrical work at the position to support the cylindrical work rotatably upright.
A third procedure of scanning the detection head to inspect the surface quality of the cylindrical work while rotating the vertically supported cylindrical work, and the upper holding mechanism from an upper end of the inspected cylindrical work. And a fourth step of releasing the part, transporting the cylindrical work by the conveyor, and discharging the cylindrical work to a next process side at a discharge position of the cylindrical work.

In order to achieve the above object, a method for automatically inspecting the surface quality of a cylindrical workpiece according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is the method according to the ninth aspect, wherein the conveyor moves the cylindrical workpiece from a charging position to a discharging position. And continuously inspects the cylindrical workpieces which are continuously formed and sequentially charged.

The cylindrical work loaded on the conveyor side at the loading position is rotatably supported by the pedestal of the transport pallet on the conveyor and the three-jaw chuck, and is stably supported by the child nail and the core. In this state, the cylindrical work transferred to the detection head side is rotatably supported by an upper pressing mechanism engaged with the upper end thereof, and is rotated by the motor. That is, the cylindrical work is rotated while the upper and lower ends are stably supported. By scanning the entire surface of the rotating cylindrical work with the detection head, the surface quality of the cylindrical work is inspected without touch.
As a result, highly accurate surface quality inspection can be performed. The inspected cylindrical work is transported by the conveyor with the upper holding mechanism released, and is discharged from the discharge position to the next process side. A similar process is applied to a cylindrical workpiece to be sequentially input. In addition, even if the dimensions of the cylindrical work in the radial and length directions change, the members engaged with the upper and lower ends of the cylindrical work can be easily exchanged. Inspection is performed.

[0017]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an apparatus and method for automatically inspecting the surface quality of a cylindrical work according to the present invention. First, the overall configuration of the automatic inspection apparatus for surface quality of a cylindrical work of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. An automatic surface quality inspection apparatus 2 for inspecting a cylindrical work 1 to be inspected is roughly composed of a transport pallet 3, a conveyor 4, a detection head 5, an upper holding mechanism 6, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cylindrical work 1 is placed at a loading position 7 by a carrying means such as a robot from a preceding step (not shown).
From the conveyor pallet 3 on the conveyor 4. The cylindrical work 1 is fixed to the transport pallet 3 by the air supply unit 8 disposed at the charging position. The detection head 5 is arranged at a predetermined position, and an upper holding mechanism 6 is arranged at that position. The upper holding mechanism 6 rotatably holds the upper end of the cylindrical workpiece on the transport pallet 3 transported to this position, and rotates the cylindrical workpiece. The cylindrical work 1 inspected by the detection head 5 is released from the upper holding mechanism 6 and transported on the conveyor 4 to the discharge position 9.
To reach. The discharge position 9 is provided with an air discharge unit 10 for discharging air from the transport pallet 3, and the cylindrical work 1 is released from the transport pallet 3 and is discharged from the discharge position 9 to the next process side.

Next, the structure of each component of the automatic surface quality inspection apparatus will be described. First, the conveyor 4 is formed of an endless conveyor, and has a shape on which a large number of transport pallets 3 can be mounted. The conveyor 4 is driven by driving means (not shown). In FIG. 1, the transport pallet 3 on the conveyor 4 is driven in a counterclockwise direction indicated by an arrow.

Next, the structure of the transport pallet 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. The transport pallet 3 includes a pallet base 11
And a pedestal support tube 12 mounted thereon, a three-jaw chuck 13, a pedestal 14, and the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the pallet base 11 is formed of a flat member that can be mounted on the conveyor 4. The pedestal support cylinder 12 is formed of a hollow cylindrical body capable of accommodating the three-jaw chuck 13 therein, and a pedestal 14 is mounted on an upper end thereof via a detachable plate 15 and a bearing 16. As shown in FIG. 4, the pedestal 14 supports the lower end 1a of the cylindrical workpiece 1 on the upper end side. Therefore, when the dimension of the cylindrical workpiece 1 in the radial direction changes, a pedestal 14 corresponding to this is adopted, and the dimensions of the bearing 16 and the detachable plate 15 are changed in accordance with this, so that the common pedestal support cylinder 12 is formed. Supported.

The three-jaw chuck 13 has three claws.
Each nail is provided with a child nail 17. Also, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, a rotary bearing 18 is fitted to the child pawl 17. Further, an auto-coupler 19 is connected to the tri-jaw chuck 13, and by introducing pressurized oil air into the tri-jaw chuck 13 via the auto-coupler 19, the child jaw 17 moves in a direction to expand the diameter, By removing compressed air, child nail 1
7 moves in the direction of reducing the diameter. In addition, three claw chuck 1
A core support bar 20 is erected and fixed at the center of 3, and a core 21 is connected to its upper end. The core 21 is inserted into the cylindrical work 1 and supports the cylindrical work. Further, the outer diameter of the core support rod 20 is formed so as not to interfere even if the child pawl 17 moves in the diameter reducing direction.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the cylindrical work 1 is erected and supported by the transport pallet 3 having the above structure.
The cylindrical work 1 is supported by engaging its lower end 1 a with the upper end of a pedestal 14. The core 21 supports the inner surface of the cylindrical work 1. The introduction of compressed air from the auto-coupler 19 to the three-jaw chuck 13 causes the child pawl 17 to open in the diameter-expanding direction, and the rotary bearing 18 comes into contact with the inner diameter of the cylindrical work 1. As described above, the cylindrical work 1 is rotatably held on the transport pallet 3 and the rotary bearing 1
The center is accurately supported by the core 8 and the core 21.

Next, the upper holding mechanism 6 will be described with reference to FIG. First, an upper base table 23 is supported by rails 22 disposed in a building or the like. The movable table 24 is supported by the upper base table 23 via a linear guide 25 so as to be vertically movable. One of the operating means is provided between the moving table 24 and the upper base table 23.
One pneumatic cylinder 26 is installed. Further, the movable table 24 is connected to the spring member 27 and functions to perform weight compensation on the movable table 24 side.

A motor 28 and a bearing holder 29 are fixed to the moving table 24. The rotating shaft 30 pivotally supported by the bearing holder 29 is connected to the motor 28 via a belt 31 and the like. A center punch 33 is connected to the rotating shaft 30 via an automatic hand changer 32. In addition, the tool of the center punch 33 of various shapes can be changed by the automatic hand changer 32. Center punch 3
5, a tapered portion 34 is formed on the lower end side as shown in FIG. 5, and the lower end of the tapered portion 34 fits into the upper end 1b of the cylindrical workpiece 1 as shown in FIG. The cylindrical work 1 is held. With the above structure, the center punch 33 is lowered toward the cylindrical work 1 by operating the pneumatic cylinder 26 and pressed against the upper end 1b thereof, and the center punch 3 is controlled by operating the motor 28.
3 rotates, and accordingly, the cylindrical workpiece 1 can be rotated.

The detection head 5 is for inspecting the surface quality of the cylindrical work 1, and is provided at a predetermined position as shown in FIGS. The structure is not particularly limited in this example, and mechanical, optical, and electrical means are employed. Further, it is necessary to have a function that can detect at least scratches, irregularities, dirt, roughness, and the like on the surface of the cylindrical work 1. In addition, as shown in FIG.
Of a structure that can be scanned and inspected over the entire length.

Next, an outline of an inspection method of the cylindrical work 1 by the automatic surface quality inspection apparatus 2 of the present invention will be described. The cylindrical work 1 is mounted on the transport pallet 3 near the charging position 7 on the conveyor 4. Specifically, the three-jaw chuck 1 in a state where compressed air is not supplied from the air supply unit 8
Since the third claw 17 is moving to the diameter reducing side, the cylindrical work 1 is guided by the core 21 and is mounted in contact with the upper end of the pedestal 14. In this state, compressed air is introduced from the air supply unit 8 into the three-jaw chuck 13 via the auto coupler 19. As a result, the child pawl 17 opens, and the rotary bearing 18 comes into contact with the inner surface of the cylindrical work 1. Since there are at least three child claws 17 at equal intervals, the cylindrical work 1 is centripetally supported on the lower end side by the transport pallet 3. In this state, the cylindrical work 1 is supported by the tri-jaw chuck 13 via the rotary bearing 18, and the pedestal 14 is also pivotally supported by the bearing 16. Therefore, the cylindrical work 1 is rotatably supported by the transport pallet 3.

The cylindrical work 1 is transported by the conveyor 4 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 with the lower end held by the transport pallet 3 and reaches a predetermined position of the detection head 5. At this position, the upper holding mechanism 6 is positioned as shown in FIG. 6, and the center holding porch 33 is inserted into the upper end 1b of the cylindrical work 1 by lowering the upper holding mechanism 6. As described above, the cylindrical work 1 is held at the upper and lower ends as shown in FIG. By rotating the motor 28 of the upper holding mechanism 6 in this state, the cylindrical work 1 rotates, and the detection head 5 inspects the surface quality.

When the inspection by the detection head 5 is completed, the upper holding mechanism 6 is moved upward. As a result, the cylindrical work 1 is supported only by the transport pallet 3 and is transported along the conveyor 4. When the transport pallet 3 is transferred to the vicinity of the discharge position 9, the air discharge unit 10 engages with the auto coupler 19 of the tri-jaw chuck 13, and the compressed air in the tri-jaw chuck 13 is discharged. The cylindrical workpiece 1 moves in the diameter reducing direction and is in a free state. Therefore, the sheet can be discharged from the discharge position to the next process side.

FIG. 1 shows a case where a large number of cylindrical workpieces 1 are sequentially mounted on a conveyor 4 for inspection. These are also sequentially inspected based on the aforementioned inspection method. When the dimensions of the cylindrical work 1 change, the pedestal 1
This can be easily performed by changing the core 4 and the core 21 to the corresponding one and replacing the center punch 33 with the corresponding one. Further, the inspection apparatus of the present invention differs from the conventional apparatus in that the surface of the cylindrical work 1 does not come into contact with a rotating roller or the like, but is inspected as it is. Thereby, a highly accurate inspection result can be obtained. As one of the experimental examples, the cylindrical workpiece 1 having a length of about 400 mm, an outer diameter of about 40 mm, and a thickness of about 1 mm has a runout accuracy of 0.1 mm or less at the upper end and can be rotated at a constant speed of 30 rpm. Has been demonstrated.

[0030]

According to the present invention, the cylindrical workpiece can be vertically and correctly erected without any contact with other rollers or the like, and without any influence from these rollers. Be placed. Accordingly, it is possible to accurately inspect the surface for scratches, dirt, roughness, irregularities or defects having a size of several tens of μm or less without requiring special skills. Also,
The shape of the cylindrical workpiece changes, and it can be handled in a short time. In addition, the entire structure is compact and space saving is possible. In addition, the pneumatic cylinder or the like may simply rotate the cylindrical work, and a small capacity is sufficient because the lower end of the cylindrical work is pivotally supported with respect to the transport pallet side. Thereby, the equipment cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an apparatus for automatically inspecting the surface quality of a cylindrical workpiece according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an axial sectional view showing a detailed structure of a transfer pallet of the automatic inspection apparatus for surface quality of a cylindrical work of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial axial sectional view showing a state in which a cylindrical work is supported on a transport pallet of the automatic inspection apparatus for surface quality of a cylindrical work of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a detailed structure of an upper holding mechanism in the automatic inspection apparatus for surface quality of a cylindrical work according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the method for automatically inspecting the surface quality of a cylindrical workpiece according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cylindrical workpiece 1a Lower end 1b Upper end 2 Automatic surface quality inspection device 3 Conveying pallet 4 Conveyor 5 Detection head 6 Upper holding mechanism 7 Input position 8 Air supply unit 9 Discharge position 10 Air discharge unit 11 Pallet base 12 Base support cylinder 13 Three-jaw chuck 14 Pedestal 15 Detachable plate 16 Bearing 17 Child jaw 18 Rotary bearing 19 Auto coupler 20 Core support rod 21 Core 22 Rail 23 Upper base stand 24 Moving table 25 Linear guide 26 Pneumatic cylinder 27 Spring member 28 Motor 29 Bearing holder 30 Rotating shaft 31 Belt 32 Auto hand changer 33 Center punch 34 Tapered part

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. The surface roughness and irregularity of a cylindrical workpiece,
What is claimed is: 1. An inspection apparatus for automatically inspecting surface quality such as scratches and dirt, comprising: a transport pallet on which said cylindrical workpiece is vertically rotatably mounted; a conveyor for moving said transport pallet; A detection head for detecting the surface quality of the cylindrical work; and a position where the detection head is disposed, which is engaged with an upper end of the cylindrical work on the transport pallet to rotatably hold the cylindrical work. An automatic surface quality inspection apparatus for a cylindrical work, comprising an upper holding mechanism. 2. The pallet base, wherein the transport pallet includes a pallet base mounted directly on the conveyor, a pedestal support tube mounted on the pallet base, and a pallet base stored in the pedestal support tube. A three-jaw chuck mounted on the pedestal, and a pedestal detachably pivotally supported by the pedestal support cylinder and engaged with a lower end of the cylindrical work to rotatably support the cylindrical work. The three-jaw chuck is provided with a sub-jaw that abuts and engages, via a rotary bearing, on the inner surface of the cylindrical work supported by the pedestal, and expands or reduces the diameter of the sub-jaw by air pressure. The automatic inspection apparatus for surface quality of a cylindrical workpiece according to claim 1, further comprising an auto coupler for performing the inspection. 3. A core supporting rod is erected and fixed on a portion of the three-jaw chuck that does not interfere with the child pawl, and an upper end of the core supporting rod guides an inner diameter of the cylindrical work. 3. The apparatus for automatically inspecting surface quality of a cylindrical workpiece according to claim 2, wherein a core is provided. 4. The moving mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the upper holding mechanism is vertically movable on an upper base table side, operating means for operating the moving table, and detachably pivotally supported on the moving table side. A center punch that supports the upper end of the cylindrical work at the center,
2. The automatic inspection apparatus for surface quality of a cylindrical workpiece according to claim 1, further comprising: a motor disposed on the side of the moving table and configured to rotate the center punch. 5. The center punch is detachably supported on the movable table side via an automatic hand changer, and is exchangeably supported corresponding to the shape of a cylindrical work. An automatic surface quality inspection device for a cylindrical workpiece according to claim 4. 6. The cylindrical shape according to claim 4, wherein a spring member for compensating a weight of the moving table is interposed between the moving table and the upper base table. Automatic surface quality inspection device for workpieces. 7. An automatic surface quality inspection apparatus for cylindrical workpieces according to claim 4, wherein said upper base table is movably suspended on an immovable side of a building or the like. 8. The detection head is capable of detecting at least surface quality such as scratches and dirt on the surface of the cylindrical work, physical defects, surface roughness, and the like, and has a distance over the entire length of the cylindrical work. 2. The apparatus for automatically inspecting the surface quality of a cylindrical workpiece according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is formed so as to be scanable. 9. The surface roughness and irregularity of a cylindrical workpiece,
An inspection method for automatically inspecting surface quality such as scratches and dirt, a first procedure of rotatably mounting and holding a lower end of the cylindrical work on a transport pallet at an input position of the cylindrical work, The cylindrical head is moved by a conveyor to a position of the detection head at a predetermined position where the cylindrical work is mounted, and an upper holding mechanism is engaged with an upper end of the cylindrical work at the position to rotatably support the cylindrical work. A second procedure, a third procedure of scanning the detection head while rotating the cylindrical work supported upright to inspect the surface quality thereof, and a third procedure of inspecting the top of the inspected cylindrical workpiece from the upper end. Performing a fourth step of releasing the holding mechanism, transporting the cylindrical work by the conveyor, and discharging the cylindrical work to a next process side at a discharge position of the cylindrical work. Surface quality automatic inspection method of work. 10. The conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the conveyor is formed continuously from an input position to a discharge position of the cylindrical work, and continuously transports and inspects the cylindrical work sequentially input. Item 9. An automatic surface quality inspection method for a cylindrical workpiece according to Item 9.