System for registering and sorting out not properly filled deep-drawn packages in a packaging machine

• US 4,245,243 A
• Filed: 08/24/1977
• Issued: 01/13/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/1976
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kloeckner-Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Kloeckner-Werke AG
• Inventors: Gutjahr, Lothar, Grube, Gerhard
• Primary Examiner(s): Griffin, Robert L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Orsino, Jr., Joseph A.
• Application Number:
  US05/826,743
• Time in Patent Office: 1,238 Days
• Field of Search: 356/237, 356/240, 358/106, 358/93, 358/105, 250/562, 250/563, 250/223 R, 250/223 B, 209/936, 209/939
• US Class Current: 348/92
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/3404 according to properties of containers or receptacles, e.g. rigidity, leaks, fill-level control devices for cigarette or cigar packaging B65B19/28; investigation of fluid-tightness of structures G01M3/00
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 57/10 responsive to absence, presence, abnormal feed, or misplacement of articles or materials to be packaged
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/66 Trinkets, e.g. shirt buttons or jewellery items recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69

Abstract

A reference package or packages comprised of an orderly group of properly filled compartments is moved into a testing station, where its image is picked up by a television camera. The picture signal produced by the camera is digitalized and stored in a circulating memory for repeated read-out. Thereafter, successively, a package or packages comprised of compartments to be examined, and exhibiting the same orderly arrangement as the properly filled compartments, are moved into the testing station. The picture signal produced by the camera during pick-up of the successive images is synchronously compared with reconstituted analog picture information read out from the memory. Discrepancies in the compared information result in error signals used to produce discard signals. Groups of packages, arranged in rows extending transverse and parallel to the scan lines of the camera tube, can be tested. The operator uses a selector device to establish x-coordinate zones or y-coordinate zones, or x-y sectors defined by x- and y-coordinate zones in conjunction. Error signals are automatically correlated with the zones or sectors, and thereby with the individual rows of packages or the individual packages to which the error signals are attributable, and discard signals correlated with individual rows of packages or individual packages are produced, for subsequent use at a sorting station, to eject not properly filled rows of packages or not properly filled individual packages.

Claims

1. In a system for testing the compartments of packages transported through a packaging machine to determine which compartments are not properly filled and sorting out the packages having the not properly filled compartments, in combination, means for transporting a succession of packages comprised of orderly groups of compartments along a predetermined path;

a testing station located along the predetermined path, provided with a television camera operative for converting into a picture signal the image content of the pick-up images of each orderly group of compartments moved into the field of view of the camera;

storage means for storing the image information contained in the picture signal produced by the camera during the pick-up of the image of one orderly group of properly filled compartments for use as reference image information;

read-out means operative for repeatedly reading out the stored image information;

comparing means operative for comparing the image information contained in the picture signal produced by the images of the orderly groups of compartments successively moved into the field of view of the camera against the repeatedly read out reference image information and operative for generating discard signals in respond to discrepancies between the compared image information, and zone-establishing means operative for generating zone-indicating signals indicating which zones within the whole video images constituted by a plurality of adjoining rows of adjoining zones are being compared at any given time, the comparing means including means responsive to the zone-indicating signals and operative for generating mutually distinguishable zone-referenced discard signals associated with respective individual ones of the zones of the complete images, thereby indicating what part of the orderly group of compartments located in the field of view of the camera contains at least one not-properly filled compartment, whereby to permit systematic discard of less than all the compartments of the orderly group of compartments located in the field of view of the camera.

2. The system defined in claim 1, furthermore including selecting means for selecting the number of zones which the zone-indicating signals are to indicate.

3. The system defined in claim 1, furthermore including selecting means for selecting the number of rows of zones and the number of zones within each individual row.

4. The system defined in claim 3, further including selecting means operable by the operator of the testing system for establishing the number of zones into which the decoding means subdivides the image picked up by the camera.

5. In a system for testing the compartments of packages transported through a packaging machine to determine which compartments are not properly filled and sorting out the packages having the not properly filled compartments, in combination, means for transporting a succession of packages comprised of orderly groups of compartments along a predetermined path;

a testing station located along the predetermined path, provided with a television camera operative for converting into a picture signal the image content of the picked-up image of each orderly group of compartments moved into the field of view of the camera;

storage means for storing the image information contained in the picture signal produced by the camera during the pick-up of the image of one orderly group of properly filled compartments for use as reference image information;

read-out means operative for repeatedly reading out the stored image information; and

comparing means operative for comparing the image information contained in the picture signal produced by the camera during the pick-up of the images of the orderly groups of compartments successively moved into the field of view of the camera against the repeatedly read out reference image information and operative for generating discard signals in response to discrepancies between the compared image information, the storage means including means for converting the image information in the picture signal produced by the camera into digitalized image information, a storage, and means for converting digitalized image information read out from the storage into reconstituted analog image information, the read-out means comprising synchronizing means operative for receiving the horizontal synch signals in the picture signal produced by the camera and in synchronism therewith effecting readout of the digitalized image information from the storage, the comparing means including means for synchronously comparing the picture signal produced by the camera against the reconstituted analog information and in response to discrepancies between the picture signal and the reconstituted analog information generating error signals, and gating means receiving the error signals and operative when enabled for transmitting received error signals to form the discard signals, and means for enabling the gating means in synchronism with the transport of successive packages through the testing station, the gating means including means operative during each read-out of the information corresponding to one image line for furnishing during the course of the read-out a series of synchronizing pulses, counting means receiving the series of synchronizing pulses and operative for counting in dependence thereon, decoding means responsive to the count on the counting means and in dependence thereon producing zone-indicating signals indicating at any given time which zone of the image picked up by the camera is being compared against the image information being read out from the storage means, and means operative for correlating the error signals received by the gating means with the packages in a row of packages extending parallel to the camera-tube scan lines by correlating the error signals with the zone-indicating signals and in dependence upon the correlation generating the discard signals.

6. The system defined in claim 5, further including selecting means operable by the operator of the testing system for establishing the number of zones into which the decoding means subdivides the image picked up by the camera.

7. In a system for testing the compartments of packages transported through a packaging machine to determine which compartments are not properly filled and sorting out the packages having the not properly filled compartments, in combination, means for transporting a succession of packages comprised of orderly groups of compartments along a predetermined path;

a testing station located along the predetermined path, provided with a television camera operative for converting into a picture signal the image content of the picked-up image of each orderly group of compartments moved into the field of view of the camera;

storage means for storing the image information contained in the picture signal produced by the camera during the pick-up of the image of one orderly group of properly filled compartments for use as reference image information;

read-out means operative for repeatedly reading out the stored image information; and

comparing means operative for comparing the image information contained in the picture signal produced by the camera during the pick-up of the images of the orderly groups of compartments successively moved into the field of view of the camera against the repeatedly read out reference image information and operative for generating discard signals in response to discrepancies between the compared image information, the storage means including means for converting the image information in the picture signal produced by the camera into digitalized image information, a storage, and means for converting digitalized image information read out from the storage into reconstituted analog image information, the read-out means comprising synchronizing means operative for receiving the horizontal synch signals in the picture signal produced by the camera and in synchronism therewith effecting readout of the digitalized image information from the storage, the comparing means including means for synchronously comparing the picture signal produced by the camera against the reconstituted analog information and in response to discrepancies between the picture signal and the reconstituted analog information generating error signals, and gating means receiving the error signals and operative when enabled for transmitting received error signals to form the discard signals, and means for enabing the gating means in synchronism with the transport of successive packages through the testing station, the gating means including first counting means receiving horizontal synch pulses from the synchronizing means and operative for counting image lines of the image picked up by the camera, means operative during each read-out of the information corresponding to one image line for furnishing during the course of the read-out a series of synchronizing pulses, second counting means receiving the series of synchronizing pulses and operative for counting in dependence thereon, decoding means responsive to the counts of the first and second counting means and producing in dependence thereon x-coordinate and y-coordinate zone-indicating signals indicating at any given time which x-coordinate zone and which y-coordinate zone of the image picked up by the camera is being compared against the image information being read out from the storage means, to thereby identify the x-y sector being compared, and means operative for correlating the error signals received by the gating means with the packages in rows of packages extending both transverse and parallel to the camera-tube scan lines by correlating the error signals with the x-y sector defined by the indicated x-coordinate zone and the indicated y-coordinate zone and in dependence upon the correlation generating the discard signals.

8. The system defined in claim 7, further including selecting means operable by the operator of the testing system for establishing the number of x-coordinate zones, the number of y-coordinate zones, and thereby the number of x-y sectors, into which the decoding means subdivides the image picked up by the camera.