Inspection of container finish
First Claim
1. Apparatus for inspecting the finish of containers having a central axis and an open mouth surrounded by axially facing surface for sealing engagement with a container cap, said apparatus comprising:
- means for rotating the container about its central axis,a light source positioned to direct light energy onto the sealing surface of a container in said rotating means,a camera that includes an array of light sensitive elements, said light source and said camera being positioned at respective acute angles to said sealing surface such that light energy from said source is directly reflected by said sealing surface to said camera, said camera having an effective field of view limited to an angular portion less than the entire circumference of the container sealing surface,means for scanning said camera array at increments of container rotation to develop information indicative of intensity of light reflected by said sealing surface onto each said element as a function of said increments, andmeans for detecting commercial variations in the container sealing surface as a function of said information.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus for inspecting the sealing surface of a container finish that includes a light source positioned to direct light energy onto the container sealing surface as the container is held in stationary position and rotated about its central axis. A camera that includes an array of light sensitive elements is positioned and oriented with respect to the container axis of rotation to receive light energy reflected by the sealing surface, with the camera having an effective field of view limited to an angular portion less than the entire circumference of the container sealing surface. The camera array is scanned at increments of container rotation to develop information indicative of intensity of light at each array element as a function of such increments, and commercial variations in the container sealing surface are detected as a function of such information. The camera array is oriented with respect to the container axis of rotation and coupled to the scanning mechanism to scan the array in linear fields orthogonal to the axis of rotation, and scan information is stored for subsequent analysis in two-dimensional electronic memory as a function of array element and scan increment. The light source is strobed at increments of container rotation and the camera array, which may be either a linear array or an area array, is scanned at each strobe increment of container rotation.
49 Citations
43 Claims
-
1. Apparatus for inspecting the finish of containers having a central axis and an open mouth surrounded by axially facing surface for sealing engagement with a container cap, said apparatus comprising:
-
means for rotating the container about its central axis, a light source positioned to direct light energy onto the sealing surface of a container in said rotating means, a camera that includes an array of light sensitive elements, said light source and said camera being positioned at respective acute angles to said sealing surface such that light energy from said source is directly reflected by said sealing surface to said camera, said camera having an effective field of view limited to an angular portion less than the entire circumference of the container sealing surface, means for scanning said camera array at increments of container rotation to develop information indicative of intensity of light reflected by said sealing surface onto each said element as a function of said increments, and means for detecting commercial variations in the container sealing surface as a function of said information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
-
-
24. Apparatus for inspecting a selected portion of a container having a central axis, said apparatus comprising:
- means for positioning a container at an inspection location, a light source for directing a cone of light energy of substantial solid angle onto said selected portion of a container in said positioning means, a camera positioned to have a field of view that includes that portion of the container illuminated by said light source, and means responsive to said camera for indicating optical characteristics of the container,
characterized in that said light source comprises a multiplicity of light emitting elements, means mounting said light elements in a spherical array having a center of curvature, and means for focusing an image of said center of curvature substantially at said selected portion of said container. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
- means for positioning a container at an inspection location, a light source for directing a cone of light energy of substantial solid angle onto said selected portion of a container in said positioning means, a camera positioned to have a field of view that includes that portion of the container illuminated by said light source, and means responsive to said camera for indicating optical characteristics of the container,
-
31. A method of inspecting the finish of containers having a central axis and an open mouth surrounded by an axially facing surface for surface variations that may affect sealing engagement with a container cap, said method comprising the steps of:
-
rotating the container about its central axis, directing light energy onto the sealing surface of the container from a direction opposed to said sealing surface, positioning and orienting an array of light sensitive elements with respect to said axis to receive light energy directly reflected by said sealing surface from said source to said array, and so that said array has an effective field of view limited to an angular portion less than the entire circumference of the container sealing surface, scanning said array at increments of container rotation to develop information indicative of intensity of light reflected by said sealing surface onto each said element as a function of said increments, and detecting commercial variations in the container sealing surface as a function of said information. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34)
-
-
35. Apparatus for inspecting the finish of containers having a central axis and an open mouth surrounded by an axially facing surface for sealing engagement with a container cap, said apparatus comprising:
-
means for rotating the container about its central axis, a stroboscopic light source positioned to direct light energy onto the sealing surface of a container in said holding-and-rotating means, means for strobing said light source at increments of container rotation, a camera that includes an array of light sensitive elements positioned and oriented with respect to said axis to receive light energy reflected by said sealing surface, said camera having an effective field of view that includes at least an angular portion of the container sealing surface, means for scanning said camera array at increments of container rotation to develop information indicative of intensity of light at each said element as a function of said increments, and means for detecting commercial variations in the container sealing surface as a function of said information. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
-
-
41. A method of inspecting the finish of containers having a central axis and an open mouth surrounded by an axially facing surface for sealing engagement with a container cap, said method comprising the steps of:
-
rotating the container about its central axis, directing light energy onto the sealing surface of the container, strobing said light energy at increments of container rotation, positioning and orienting an array of light sensitive elements with respect to said axis to receive light energy reflected by said sealing surface, so that said array has an effective field of view that includes an angular portion of the container sealing surface, scanning said array at increments of container rotation to develop information indicative of intensity of light at each said element as a function of said increments, and detecting commercial variations in the container sealing surface as a function of said information. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43)
-
Specification