Method and device for the automated recognition of semi-finished products
US7515755B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 14, 2006 |
| Grant date | Apr 7, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 1, 2027 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB21C51/005
- WIPO fieldMaterials, metallurgy
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
Semifinished products, especially strand sections that are cut off from continuous cast strands, are marked in steel mills and rolling mills so that individual pieces can be tracked. The marks applied or attached to the pieces have to be machine-readable in a sorting station. Marking and reading devices are expensive and produce undesired reading errors. The aim of the invention is therefore to create a method and a device that avoid the aforementioned disadvantages and that allow for a reliable and cost-efficient identification of semifinished products. For this purpose, a first camera is used in an identification station to obtain digitized images of optically visible separating section-specific and strand section-specific surface features on an identification surface and the images are stored in a database. A second camera is used in a sorting station to obtain digitized images of the same identification surface and these images are used in the database for an identification by comparing them with the stored images of the first camera.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.