Conveyor belt assembly including an imaging system and systems and methods using the same
First Claim
1. An improved conveyor belt assembly for facilitating improved automated handling of a plurality of packages, said improved conveyor belt assembly comprising:
- a conveyor belt comprising;
a visible surface configured, during movement, to receive thereon each of said plurality of packages;
a plurality of first stripes having a first visible appearance;
a plurality of second stripes having a second visible appearance,wherein;
said first visible appearance of said plurality of first stripes is a pattern defined by a first color, andsaid second visible appearance of said plurality of second stripes is a different pattern defined by at least a second color; and
an imaging system comprising a plurality of cameras positioned in a plurality of locations relative to said visible surface of said conveyor belt.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Various embodiments provide an improved conveyor belt comprising: a visible surface having a primary axis oriented in a machine direction; a plurality of first stripes having a first visible appearance, each of the plurality of first stripes at least in part defining the visible surface and being oriented perpendicular to the primary axis; and a plurality of second stripes having a second visible appearance, each of the plurality of second stripes at least in part defining the visible surface and being oriented perpendicular to the primary axis, wherein: the second visible appearance provides a contrasting appearance relative to the first visible appearance; and each of the plurality of second stripes are located intermediate two of the plurality of first stripes such that the plurality of first and second stripes collectively define an alternating contrasting pattern on the visible surface of the improved conveyor belt.
22 Citations
15 Claims
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1. An improved conveyor belt assembly for facilitating improved automated handling of a plurality of packages, said improved conveyor belt assembly comprising:
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a conveyor belt comprising; a visible surface configured, during movement, to receive thereon each of said plurality of packages; a plurality of first stripes having a first visible appearance; a plurality of second stripes having a second visible appearance, wherein; said first visible appearance of said plurality of first stripes is a pattern defined by a first color, and said second visible appearance of said plurality of second stripes is a different pattern defined by at least a second color; and an imaging system comprising a plurality of cameras positioned in a plurality of locations relative to said visible surface of said conveyor belt. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system comprising:
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a conveyor belt comprising; a visible surface configured, during movement, to receive thereon each of said plurality of packages, a plurality of first stripes having a first visible appearance, and a plurality of second stripes having a second visible appearance; an imaging system comprising a plurality of cameras positioned in a plurality of locations relative to said visible surface of said conveyor belt; and one or more computer processors configured for; during operation of said improved conveyor belt, capturing, via said imaging system a visual sequence of said plurality of packages received on said visible surface during movement thereof, extracting at least one screen shot containing at least one image of at least one of said plurality of packages, and calculating, based upon at least one characteristic of said plurality of first and second stripes, one or more dimensions of said at least one of said plurality of packages. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A computer-implemented method for facilitating improved automated handling of a plurality of packages, said method comprising the steps of:
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operating an improved conveyor belt, said improved conveyor belt comprising; a visible surface being movably configured to receive thereon each of said plurality of packages, a plurality of first stripes having a first known dimensional characteristic and a first visible appearance, and a plurality of second stripes having a second known dimensional characteristic and a second visible appearance; during said operation of said improved conveyor belt, capturing, via an imaging system, a visual sequence containing said plurality of packages received on said visible surface during movement thereof; extracting, via at least one computer processor and from said visual sequence, at least one screen shot containing at least one image of at least one of said plurality of packages; calculating, via said at least one computer processor and based at least upon said first and second known dimensional characteristics of said plurality of first and second stripes appearing in said at least one extracted screen shot, one or more dimensions of said at least one of said plurality of packages; and associating said extracted screen shot and said calculated dimensions with said at least one of said plurality of packages. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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Specification