US Patent 7403278 Surface inspection apparatus and surface inspection method

A surface inspection apparatus, for inspecting a plurality of surfaces formed in a peripheral edge portion of a plate-like object, includes a image pickup mechanism, which photographs the peripheral edge portion of the plate-like object having a plurality of surfaces, and an image processing device, which processes an image obtained by the photographing device. The image pickup mechanism includes an optical system which guides images of the plurality of surfaces of the plate-like object in one direction, and a camera unit having an image pickup surface, on which the images of the plurality of surfaces guided by the optical system in the one direction are formed.