Image sensor annotation method and apparatus

• US 20060092274A1
• Filed: 07/25/2005
• Published: 05/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Good, John M.
• Application Number:
  US11/188,493
• Publication Number:
  US 20060092274A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/61
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10004 Still image; Photographic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30164 Workpiece; Machine component
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0004 Industrial image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

Systems and methodologies that facilitate representation/detection of failed parts by employing an indicator component that annotates and points out a failed portion of a unit on its image taken by an image sensor. The indicator component can include: a boundary definition system, a dilation system and a mixture based analysis system. The annotated digital images can be saved in a memory of the image sensor or an external memory, for a display and presentation of a visual cue to an operator.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates quality control in a manufacturing line comprising:

a vision sensor that captures a digital image of a manufactured item;

an indicator component that annotates on the digital image a troubled manufacturing spot(s), to create an annotated image.

2. The system of claim 1, the indicator component comprises a boundary definition system that separates a foreground of the digital image from a background thereof.

3. The system of claim 1, the indicator component comprises a dilation system that expands regions along a boundary or contour pixels of the digital image to mitigate a blur of the annotated image.

4. The system of claim 1, the indicator component comprises a mixture based analysis system to determine a mixing ratio, to enable smooth mixing of the foreground region with annotated markups.

5. The system of claim 1, annotations of the troubled manufacturing spots comprise at least one of a pictogram, color prompt, bar code, and symbols.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising a memory component as part of the vision sensor to store the annotated images for a down load to a network.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising a memory component that stores a signature image for a comparison with the digital image.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising a feed back or feed forward control system that adjusts operations of the manufacturing line based on analysis of the annotated image.

9. The system of claim 1 further comprising an artificial intelligence component.

10. The system of claim 1 further comprising a logic unit that compares the digital image to a signature, and determines a quality of the manufactured item.

11. A method of quality control in a manufacturing line assembly comprising:

capturing a digital image of a manufactured product; and

annotating the digital image to show troubled spots therein.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising comparing a feature of the digital image with that of a signature reference.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising rejecting the manufactured product when the comparing act demonstrates that the feature is outside a predetermined threshold.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising extracting a foreground of the digital image.

15. The method of claim 13 further comprising mixing the foreground of the digital image with an annotation background.

16. The method of claim 11 further comprising transferring the digital image via a network to a plurality of devices connected thereto.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising employing at least one of a lossless or lossy compression techniques.

18. The method of claim 13 further comprising adjusting processes in the manufacturing line assembly.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising displaying an annotated image to a technician.

20. The method of claim 13 further comprising saving the digital image in one imaging format, and retrieving the digital image in another imaging format.

21. A system that facilitates quality control in a manufacturing line comprising:

means for capturing a digital image of an item; and

means for annotating the digital image.

22. The system of claim 21 further comprising means for inferring a quality of the item.