Sorting and grading system
US5253765A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 14, 1993 |
| Grant date | Oct 19, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 14, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S209/921
- WIPO fieldChemical engineering
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
A system for sorting randomly oriented objects of various sizes based upon the size of the object includes a transport for conveying a series of objects from an input location to one of a plurality of output locations. An image system is disposed along the transport for capturing the image of each object to be sorted. An image processor detects the minimum and maximum linear dimension of each object based upon the captured image. The image processor further determines the shape of each object based upon the captured image. The minimum or maximum linear dimension is selected based upon the shape of the object. The object is categorized by size based upon the selected minimum or maximum dimension. Structure is provided for selectively routing the object based upon the categorized object size to one of the plurality of output locations.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.