Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for improved inspection and classification of attributes of a workpiece

US6272437A · kind A · utility

101Cited by
56References
17Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 17, 1998
Grant dateAug 7, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 17, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01N23/18
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

An apparatus for detecting the probable existence, location, and type of defects in a workpiece is described. The apparatus includes a sensor subsystem, an optimizer, a control subsystem, and a computer system having a processor and computer readable memory. Sensor subsystem senses a first section of the workpiece and produces signals corresponding to a physical characteristic of the workpiece. The computer system is configured to generate a workpiece model based on the signals produced by the sensor subsystem. In an alternate embodiment, a defect assembler can be provided to merge signals from a plurality of sensor subsystems. The defect assembler can also be configured to generate the workpiece data model. The optimizer is configured to generate workpiece segmentation recommendations based on the workpiece data model. The processor is configured with a first producer thread program which, in response to the receipt of a first set of signals by the computer system, receives a data subscription request from a subsystem which uses data and transmits the signals from the computer readable memory to the generator of the data subscription request. The processor is further configured to…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.