Bottle inspection system
US4691231A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 1, 1985 |
| Grant date | Sep 1, 1987 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 1, 2005 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S209/939
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method and apparatus for inspecting the sidewalls of containers on a continuously-moving conveyor includes recording instantaneous upper and lower angularly-spaced images of the bottles as they pass. Data on the images is stored as numeric data indicating the grey shade of each pixel in a matrix of pixels, which matrix is examined for edges and then divided based on detected edges into inspection windows. The windows are subject to separate criteria between typically scuffed areas and open areas. The occurrence of pixels in at least three grey ranges reflecting clear glass, opaque glass, and scuffed glass, together with the correlation of such occurrences between angularly-spaced views and upper and lower views, is processed to detect defects. A memory stores a status indication in a queue representing the acceptability of the bottles being examined, which are then segregated by a downstream reject kicker mechanism.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.