Optical inspection system
AssigneeLandrex Technologies Co., Ltd.
InventorsDouglas W. Raymond, Richard D. Fleming
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An automated optical inspection system includes a plurality of asynchronously triggerable cameras for providing image data of an object, such as a printed circuit board. The circuit board is divided into fields of view that are to be imaged in one or more cameras in one or more lighting modes. Each location on the board can be imaged by each camera in a plurality of lighting modes in a single pass across the board. The image data for each of the cameras can be concurrently transferred directly to main memory for opportunistic analysis by the main computer. The system allows the full bandwidth of the cameras to be utilized for reducing the inspection time of the board.
Claims20
An optical inspection system for inspecting an object, comprising:
- a plurality of cameras for imaging the object, each of the plurality of cameras being asynchronously triggerable;
- an illumination system for providing a plurality of lighting modes to illuminate the object for the plurality of cameras;
- a frame grabber unit for transmitting image data from the plurality of cameras to a memory;
- and
- a main computer for controlling image acquisition of the object,
- wherein the plurality of cameras are adapted to obtain image data of the object based upon a plurality of fields of view of the object and a series of firing positions within each field of view, each of the firing positions having associated therewith at least one of the plurality of cameras and at least one of the plurality of lighting modes provided by the illumination system, wherein the optical image system is adapted to image a first one of the plurality of fields of view of the object with the at least one of the plurality of cameras in first and second ones of the plurality of lighting modes in a single pass.
An optical inspection system for inspecting an object, comprising:
- a plurality of triggerable cameras for imaging the object;
- an illumination system for providing a plurality of lighting modes to illuminate the object for the plurality of cameras;
- a main computer coupled to the plurality of cameras and the illumination system;
- and
- a frame grabber unit for receiving image data from the plurality of cameras, wherein the frame grabber unit includes at least one image acquisition board having a plurality of channels for transmitting image data from at least two of the plurality of cameras concurrently to main memory, which is directly accessible by the main computer, wherein each of the plurality of channels corresponds to a DMA channel
- wherein the optical inspection system is adapted to image a first location on the object with a first one of the plurality of cameras in first and second ones of the plurality of lighting modes in a single pass over the first location.
A method of inspecting a circuit board, comprising:
- selecting a speed for movement of a head assembly supporting a plurality of cameras with respect to the circuit board;
- dividing the circuit board into field of views arranged in stripes, each field of view including a plurality of firing positions;
- for each of the plurality of firing positions, selecting at least one of a plurality of asynchronously triggerable cameras and at least one of a plurality of lighting modes, wherein the optical inspection system is adapted to image a first location on the circuit board with the at least one of the plurality of cameras in first and second ones of the plurality of lighting modes in a single pass;
- and
- transmitting image data from the plurality of cameras to memory.
A method of manufacturing a circuit board, comprising:
- fabricating a printed circuit board;
- populating the circuit board with components;
- soldering the components to the circuit board to provide a circuit board assembly;
- and
- inspecting the circuit board assembly by
- selecting a speed for movement of a head assembly supporting a plurality of cameras with respect to the circuit board,
- dividing the circuit board into a plurality of field of views, each of which includes a plurality of firing positions;
- for each of the plurality of firing positions, selecting at least one of a plurality of asynchronously triggerable cameras and at least one of a plurality of lighting modes, wherein the method of manufacturing is adapted to image a first location on the circuit board with the at least one of the plurality of cameras in first and second ones of the plurality of lightning modes in a single pass, and
- transmitting image data from the plurality of cameras to memory.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.