MULTI-UNIT PROCESS SPATIAL SYNCHRONIZATION

• US 20090028416A1
• Filed: 07/26/2007
• Published: 01/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Skeps, Carl J., Masterman, James A., Floeder, Steven P., Berg, Brandon T.
• Granted Patent: US 8,175,739 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/141
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/8851 Scan or image signal processing specially adapted therefor, e.g. for scan signal adjustment, for detecting different kinds of defects, for compensating for structures, markings, edges G01N21/8806 and G01N21/93 - G01N21/95692 take precedence; optical measurement of dimensions G01B11/00; optical scanning G02B26/10; image transformation G06T3/00; computerised image enhancement G06T5/00; image processing per se for flaw detection G06T7/0002
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/89 in moving material, e.g. running paper or textiles G01N21/90, G01N21/91, G01N21/94 take precedence

Abstract

A conversion control system is described for spatially synchronizing data gathered from a plurality of operations performed on a web. The conversion control system applies a set of fiducial marks to a web, performs a plurality of operations on the web, generates a first and a second set of digital information for first and second operations, respectively, in accordance with respective first and second coordinate systems using the set of fiducial marks such that the each of the sets of digital information includes position data for respective first and second sets of regions on the web. The conversion control system may then register the position data of the first set of regions and the position data for the second set of regions to produce aggregate data and outputting a conversion control plan.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

applying at least one set of fiducial marks to a web;

performing a plurality of operations on the web;

generating a first set of digital information for a first operation in accordance with a first coordinate system using the at least one set of fiducial marks, wherein the first set of digital information includes position data for a first set of regions on the web;

generating a second set of digital information for a second operation in accordance with a second coordinate system using the at least one set of fiducial marks, wherein the second set of digital information includes position data for a second set of regions on the web;

registering the position data of the first set of regions and the position data for the second set of regions to produce aggregate data; and

outputting a conversion control plan.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating comprises generating digital information using at least one of an X-Ray, an ultrasound, an ultraviolet (UV) camera, a UV sensor, an infrared (IR) camera, an IR sensor, a machine vision system, a beta gauge, a physical contact sensor, an ultrasound, a spectral gauge, a spectral camera, a capacitance gauge, an interferometric sensor, a haze measure, a three-dimensional (3D) surface profiler, or a digital imaging device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein generating comprises generating digital information regarding at least one of thickness, weight, tension, opacity, surface roughness, conductivity, UV images, UV readings, IR images, IR readings, optical uniformity, structural uniformity, capacitance, haze, flatness, color, birefringence, polarization, pressure variations, pressure drop, 3D profile, or pressure of the web.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating comprises generating digital information for a single point corresponding to a physical location on the web.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating comprises generating digital information for an array of points each corresponding to physical locations on the web.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein generating comprises generating digital information from the web corresponding to less than the entire length of the web.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein registering comprises creating a correspondence between the position data gathered from one or more of the operations regarding a common segment of the web.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein performing a plurality of operations comprises performing each of the operations on a single manufacturing line.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein performing a plurality of operations comprises performing at least one operation that manipulates the web so as to require spatial registration of the position data.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein performing the at least one operation comprises stretching the web in at least one of the x-axis or y-axis directions.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein performing a plurality of operations comprises performing the first operation on a first manufacturing line and performing the second operation on a second manufacturing line.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein generating digital information comprises generating anomaly information for the web.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising

processing the digital information from each of the operations to produce local anomaly data for each of the operations;

and

registering the local anomaly data for each of the operations to produce aggregate anomaly information in accordance with the registered position data.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising analyzing at least a portion of the aggregate anomaly information to determine which of the anomalies represent actual defects in the web.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising processing the digital information to produce local defect data directly from the digital information.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying an additional set of fiducial marks to the web with at least one of the operations.

17. A system comprising:

a plurality of processes that each perform at least one operation on a web;

a plurality of data gathering devices positioned within the plurality of operations, wherein each of the data gathering devices sequentially retrieves digital information from at least a portion of the web to provide digital information;

one or more computers to process the digital information to produce local data for each of the operations, wherein the local data for each of the operations includes position data for one or more regions on the web;

a computer that registers the position data of the local data for each of the plurality of operations to produce aggregate data; and

a conversion control system that analyzes at least a portion of the aggregate data and that outputs a conversion control plan.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein a first one of the plurality of processes is located on a first manufacturing line and a second one of the plurality of processes is located on a second manufacturing line.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the data gathering devices are configured to retrieve digital information corresponding to anomalies of the web.

20. The system of claim 19,

wherein the one or more computers to process the digital information are configured to produce local anomaly data for each of the operations,

wherein the computer that registers the position data is configured to register the anomaly data to produce aggregate anomaly data, and

wherein the conversion control system is configured to analyze the aggregate anomaly data for the one or more regions of the web to determine whether any of the anomaly data corresponds to a defect in the respective region of the web.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the data gathering devices are configured to retrieve digital information directly corresponding to defects of the web.

22. The system of claim 17, wherein at least one of the data gathering devices comprises at least one of an X-Ray, an ultrasound, an ultraviolet (UV) camera, a UV sensor, an infrared (IR) camera, an IR sensor, a machine vision system, a beta gauge, a physical contact sensor, an ultrasound, a spectral gauge, a spectral camera, a capacitance gauge, an interferometric sensor, a haze measure, a three-dimensional (3D) surface profiler, or a digital imaging device.

23. A conversion control system comprising:

a database to store data defining a set of rules;

an interface to receive local data from a plurality of different data collecting machines associated with a plurality of processes that each perform at least one operation on a web of material, wherein each of the processes generates digital information including position data for a set of regions on the web;

a computer that registers the position data of the local attribute information for the plurality of manufacturing process lines to produce aggregate attribute information; and

a conversion control engine that applies the rules to the aggregate attribute information to determine which regions of the web conform to various quality levels for a plurality of products.

24. The conversion control system of claim 23, wherein the conversion control engine applies the rules to determine a value for at least one product selection parameter for each of a plurality of products, wherein the conversion control engine selects one of the products for conversion of the web based on the determined values.