Fastener inspection system
First Claim
1. An inspection system for inspecting and sorting a plurality of fasteners, each fastener having a head and a shank, said system comprising:
- a rotary table having an outer periphery, an inner periphery, and a plurality of radial slots extending from the outer periphery to the inner periphery, each radial slot being configured to receive a fastener with the head of the fastener facing upward and to shank suspending in the radial slot;
means for rotating the rotary table;
a loading mechanism for sequentially delivering the fasteners to the radial slots;
an anti-jam mechanism for preventing jamming as the fasteners are being delivered to the radial slots;
at least one vision inspection camera operable to capture an image of each fastener after the fastener has been delivered to a radial slot;
an image analyzer operatively connected to said at least one vision inspection camera for analyzing the captured image and to determine whether the fastener shown in the captured image is defective; and
a sorting mechanism for removing any defective fastener from the rotary table when the defective fastener has been identified by the image analyzer, wherein the loading mechanism, the anti-jam mechanism and the sorting mechanism are positioned along the outer periphery of the rotary table.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A high-speed fastener inspection system is provided to perform 100 percent inspection of various geometry features and to sort a large number of fasteners at high speed. The inspection system includes a rotary table having an outer periphery, an inner periphery, and a plurality of radial slots extending from the outer periphery to the inner periphery. When a fastener is be placed in a radial slot with the head of the fastener facing upward and the shank extending into the slot, the side view of each fastener is unobstructed. A loading mechanism, an anti-jam mechanism, and a sorting mechanism are arranged along the outer periphery of the rotary table. At least one vision inspection camera is provided for capturing the image of each fastener after each fastener is placed in a radial slot. An image analyzer is operatively connected to the vision inspection camera for analyzing the captured image and to determine whether the fastener is defective. Once the defective fastener has been identified by the image analyzer, the sorting mechanism is actuated to remove the defective fastener from the rotary table.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. An inspection system for inspecting and sorting a plurality of fasteners, each fastener having a head and a shank, said system comprising:
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a rotary table having an outer periphery, an inner periphery, and a plurality of radial slots extending from the outer periphery to the inner periphery, each radial slot being configured to receive a fastener with the head of the fastener facing upward and to shank suspending in the radial slot;
means for rotating the rotary table;
a loading mechanism for sequentially delivering the fasteners to the radial slots;
an anti-jam mechanism for preventing jamming as the fasteners are being delivered to the radial slots;
at least one vision inspection camera operable to capture an image of each fastener after the fastener has been delivered to a radial slot;
an image analyzer operatively connected to said at least one vision inspection camera for analyzing the captured image and to determine whether the fastener shown in the captured image is defective; and
a sorting mechanism for removing any defective fastener from the rotary table when the defective fastener has been identified by the image analyzer, wherein the loading mechanism, the anti-jam mechanism and the sorting mechanism are positioned along the outer periphery of the rotary table. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for automatically inspecting and sorting a plurality of fasteners, said method comprising:
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providing an inspection system comprising;
(a) a rotary table having an outer periphery, an inner periphery, and a plurality of radial slots extending from the outer periphery to the inner periphery, each radial slot being configured to receive a fastener;
(b) means for rotating the rotary table;
(c) a loading mechanism for sequentially delivering the fasteners to the radial slots;
(d) an anti-jam mechanism for preventing jamming as the fasteners are being delivered to the radial slots;
(e) at least one vision inspection camera operable to capture a side view image of each fastener after the fastener has been delivered to a radial slot;
(f) an image analyzer operatively connected to said at least one vision inspection camera for analyzing the captured image and to determine whether the fastener shown in the captured image is defective; and
(g) a sorting mechanism for removing any defective fastener from the rotary table when the defective fastener has been identified by the image analyzer;
inspecting a plurality of fasteners using said inspection system; and
separating any defective fastener from the inspected fasteners. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. A method for automatically inspecting and sorting a plurality of fasteners, said method comprising:
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providing a rotary table having an outer periphery, an inner periphery, and a plurality of radial slots extending from the outer periphery to the inner periphery, each radial slot being configured to receive a fastener;
rotating the rotary table;
sequentially delivering a plurality of fasteners into the radial slots, one fastener per slot;
operating at least one vision inspection camera to capture an unobstructed side-view image of each fastener after each fastener has been delivered to a radial slot;
analyzing the captured image to determine whether the fastener shown in the captured image is defective;
removing any defective fastener from the rotary table when the defective fastener has been identified; and
collecting the non-defective fasteners on the rotary table.
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Specification