SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INSPECTING ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE
First Claim
1. An inspection system for an article of manufacture comprising:
- at least one computer operative to receive, store and process data, amend software settings, and loading and executing of at least one inspection procedure;
a first inspection station communicating electronically with the at least one computer, the first inspection station having an input device for entering an article identifier, a monitor screen for displaying a series of questions to be answered and inputted by an inspector in sequential order; and
a timer integrated into the at least one computer and triggered when a minimum time allocation is called for by a sub-routine of the at least one inspection procedure to prolong an observation by the inspector instructed by the sub-routine thus providing a thorough and complete inspection.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An inspection system for an article of manufacture and method of using the same, assists an inspector in the inspection of a wide variety of articles for conformance to a pre-selected set of requirements particularly when checking is done by means of human senses and the manual application of measuring devices. A computer server is utilized in conjunction with the inspector to impose constraints and discipline on the inspector'"'"'s actions. Such constraints include enforcing a standardized sequence for checking each of a pre-selected set of article requirements depending on the fabric article type, limiting the available responses by which the inspector can record the results of the observation, and enforcing a minimum lapsed time for inspection of certain article requirements. The inspector interfaces with the computer server via at least one remote inspection station each having computer monitor, keyboard, pointer and preferably a bar-code scanner capable of reading labels attached to the articles.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. An inspection system for an article of manufacture comprising:
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at least one computer operative to receive, store and process data, amend software settings, and loading and executing of at least one inspection procedure;
a first inspection station communicating electronically with the at least one computer, the first inspection station having an input device for entering an article identifier, a monitor screen for displaying a series of questions to be answered and inputted by an inspector in sequential order; and
a timer integrated into the at least one computer and triggered when a minimum time allocation is called for by a sub-routine of the at least one inspection procedure to prolong an observation by the inspector instructed by the sub-routine thus providing a thorough and complete inspection. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of inspecting articles of manufacture comprising the steps of:
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inputting an article identifier and class by an inspector into an inspection station communicating with a computer;
selecting automatically the correct inspection procedure having a plurality of sequential steps as a computer code for the identified article class;
displaying the most recent inspection report for the same identifier on a monitor screen of the inspection station if previously inspected;
initiating a timer and in regards to a specific sub-routine of the inspection procedure by the computer;
instructing the inspector to perform a particular observation to the article by the computer for the specific sub-routine;
expiring the timer by the computer;
entering observation data by the inspector into the inspection station for the specific sub-routine; and
comparing the observation to a specification stored by the computer. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification