Machine vision-based singulation verification system and method
First Claim
1. A system for detecting the presence of overlapped objects on a conveyor belt conveying a plurality of objects, said system comprising:
- at least one machine vision system including at least one machine vision camera, an illumination subsystem and at least one machine vision computer;
said illumination subsystem configured to illuminate said plurality of objects as said objects are conveyed past a field of view at an inspection station along said conveyor belt;
said at least one camera positioned to capture images of said plurality of objects as said objects are conveyed past said field of view, and said at least one machine vision computer programmed to detect the presence of multiple object conditions by detecting and counting a number of edges appearing in an image captured by said at least one machine vision camera.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for detecting multiple object conditions, such as side-by-side and overlapped objects, such as packages, on a conveyor. The system includes at least one machine vision system including at least one machine vision camera, at least one illumination subsystem and at least one machine vision computer. The illumination subsystem(s) is configured to illuminate a plurality of objects as they are conveyed past at least one field of view at an inspection station along a conveyor belt. Each machine vision camera is positioned to capture one or more images of the objects as the objects are conveyed past the field of view(s). Each machine vision computer is programmed to detect the presence of multiple object conditions by detecting and counting the number of edges appearing in an image of an object captured by one of the machine vision cameras. The method illuminates at least one object as it passes through the field of view, at which time at least one image of the object is captured. Next, each captured image is processed using a machine vision computer by windowing each parcel using a Region of Interest (ROI) and counting the number of edges appearing within the ROI. The presence of other than a single package condition is determined if the number of edges exceeds four.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for detecting the presence of overlapped objects on a conveyor belt conveying a plurality of objects, said system comprising:
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at least one machine vision system including at least one machine vision camera, an illumination subsystem and at least one machine vision computer;
said illumination subsystem configured to illuminate said plurality of objects as said objects are conveyed past a field of view at an inspection station along said conveyor belt;
said at least one camera positioned to capture images of said plurality of objects as said objects are conveyed past said field of view, and said at least one machine vision computer programmed to detect the presence of multiple object conditions by detecting and counting a number of edges appearing in an image captured by said at least one machine vision camera. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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14. A system for detecting the presence of overlapped parcels on a conveyor belt conveying a plurality of parcels, said system comprising:
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at least one machine vision system including at least one machine vision camera, an illumination subsystem and at least one machine vision computer;
said illumination subsystem configured to illuminate said plurality of parcels as said parcels are conveyed past a field of view at an inspection station along said conveyor belt;
wherein said at least one machine vision camera includes first and second cameras, said first machine vision camera oriented to capture a first image of said objects in said field of view in a vertical direction as said parcels are conveyed past said field of view, and said second machine vision camera oriented to capture a second image of said objects in said field of view in a horizontal direction as said parcels are conveyed past said field of view, and said at least one machine vision computer programmed to detect the presence of multiple parcel conditions by detecting and counting a number of edges appearing in an image of an parcel captured by said at least one machine vision camera.
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15. A method of detecting the presence of overlapping parcels on a conveyor belt conveying a plurality of parcels past an inspection station including a machine vision system having at least one machine vision camera for capturing images within a field of view, an illumination subsystem for illuminating said parcels as said parcels are conveyed through said field of view on said conveyor belt and a machine vision computer, said overlapping parcel detection method including the acts of:
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illuminating at least one parcel as said at least one parcel passes through said field of view;
capturing at least one image of said at least one parcel as said at least one parcel is illuminated;
processing said at least one captured image using said machine vision computer by windowing said at least one parcel using a Region of Interest (ROI), counting a number of edges appearing in said ROI, and determining the presence of other than a single carton if said number of edges counted exceeds four.
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Specification