Apparatus and method for measuring size distribution of granular matter
US8655048B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 5, 2009 |
| Grant date | Feb 18, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 28, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T2207/30161
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method and apparatus for measuring size distribution of bulk matter consisted of randomly orientated granules, such as wood chips, make use of scanning the exposed surface of the granular matter to generate three-dimensional profile image data defined with respect to a three-coordinate reference system, The image data is segmented to reveal regions associated with distinct granules, and values of the size-related parameter for the revealed regions are estimated. Then, a geometric correction to each ones of estimated size-related parameter values is applied, to compensate for the random orientation of corresponding distinct granules. Finally, the size distribution of bulk matter is statistically estimated from the corrected size-related parameter values.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.