CAVITY IDENTIFICATION

• US 3,745,314 A
• Filed: 06/18/1971
• Issued: 07/10/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Owens-Illinois Glass Container, Inc. (O-I Glass, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Benny B. Mathias, James R. Sager
• Inventors: Sager, James R., Mathias, Benny B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilbur, Maynard R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kilgore, R.
• Application Number:
  US05/154,473
• Time in Patent Office: 753 Days
• Field of Search: 65/242,375,158,29 235/61.12R,61.12N,61.11E,61.11R 209/72 250/223B,219D 356/240
• US Class Current: 235/470
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/3412 according to a code applied to the object which indicates a property of the object, e.g. quality class, contents or incorrect indication sorting according to size measured by light-responsive means B07C5/10; sorting according to optical properties B07C5/342; for packages B65D79/02; for information carriers G06K7/00

Abstract

Apparatus and method for determining which of a plurality of molds produced a particular bottle and a bottle coded in a manner suitable for identification by the apparatus of the invention. A non-digital identification code is molded into a bottle while it is formed in a mold. As a preferred embodiment, the code is an octal code imposed as a series of protuberances in the bottom of a glass container. The bottle is presented at an identification station, and the image of the identification indicia is optically rotated past a reader while the bottle is held stationary. By use of suitable logic and read-out electronics, the mold number of a bottle may be displayed as a digital number and all bottles from a selected mold may be rejected.

Claims

1. A method for identifying the mold origin of non-opaque containers produced in a plurality of molds comprising the steps of:

a. molding identification indicia into each of said containers, unique for each of said plurality of molds, and having distinctive light scattering properties such that a projected image of the portion of said container on which said indicia appears presents a distinctive pattern of dark spots;

b. moving a container to be identified as to its mold of origin into an identification station;

c. illuminating said indicia of said container with a light beam at said identification station;

d. projecting the light transmitted through said container onto an image plane to produce said distinctive pattern of dark spots on said image plane;

e. electronically reading said pattern of dark spots oN said image plane to provide an output representative of said pattern of dark spots; and

f. decoding said output to identify the mold of origin of said container.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising optically rotating said transmitted light on said image plane while said container is held stationary in said identification station.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising presenting the decoded mold identification of each container in the form of a digital output.

4. Apparatus for identifying which of a plurality of molds produced a particular non-opaque container, wherein said containers have integrally molded therein light scattering identifying indicia such that an image of the portion of said container on which said indicia appears presents a distinctive pattern of dark spots, comprising an identification station to accept said containers one at a time, means for conveying said containers in single file to said identification station, means for holding said containers at said identification station, means for illuminating with light said identifying indicia, means for projecting the image of said indicia, means for intercepting the projected image of said indicia to thereby define an image plane, said means for projecting the image of said indicia being located intermediate said container and said image plane, means at said image plane responsive to said dark spots, and means for decoding said identifying indicia appearing as said dark spots on said image plane.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising means connected to said decoding means for digitally displaying said decoded identifying indicia.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising means intermediate said container and said image plane for optically rotating said image of said indicia on said image plane while said container is held stationary.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said means for rotating said image includes a rotating dove prism disposed between said image plane and said container.

8. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising means in said image plane connected to said decoding means for automatically compensating for ambient light falling on said means responsive to said dark spots.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said means for automatically compensating for ambient light falling on said image plane includes photocells sensitive to the general level of illumination falling on said photocells.

10. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said means responsive to said dark spots includes photocells located in said image plane.