Cylindrical object surface inspection system
First Claim
1. An inspection system for optically inspecting substantially an entire circumference of a cylindrical surface of a cylindrical object comprising:
- a first movable support for supporting and transporting a cylindrical object so that a first side of a cylindrical surface of said cylindrical object is presented to a first visual inspection apparatus;
a first illumination source for illuminating said first side of said cylindrical surface when said first side of said cylindrical surface is presented to said first visual inspection apparatus, said first illumination source configured to direct light onto said cylindrical surface along a longitudinal axis of said cylindrical surface at a low, acute angle with respect to said longitudinal axis of said cylindrical object being inspected;
a second movable support for receiving said cylindrical object from said first movable support and for supporting and transporting said cylindrical object so that a second side of said cylindrical surface is presented to a second visual inspection apparatus, said second side of said cylindrical surface including at least all portions of said cylindrical surface which are not included in said first side;
a second illumination source for illuminating said second side of said cylindrical surface when said second side of said cylindrical surface is presented to said second visual inspection apparatus, said second illumination source configured to direct light onto said cylindrical surface along said longitudinal axis of said object at a low, acute angle with respect to said longitudinal axis of said cylindrical object; and
wherein said first and said second visual inspection apparatus comprise first and second image capture devices for capturing first and second images of said cylindrical object, said first image corresponding to said first side of said cylindrical surface and said second image corresponding to said second side of said cylindrical surface.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An inspection system and method for optically inspecting substantially the entire circumference of a cylindrical surface, such as a cigarette is provided. The system includes first and second moveable supports for supporting and transporting the cigarette so that a first side of the cylindrical surface of the cigarette is presented to a first visual inspection apparatus and a second side, which includes at least those portions of the cylindrical surface of the cigarette not included in the first side, is presented to a second visual inspection apparatus. Each visual inspection apparatus includes an illumination source for illuminating the presented side of the cigarette'"'"'s surface. Each illumination source is configured to direct light onto the cigarette'"'"'s surface substantially in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the cigarette at a low, acute angle with respect to the longitudinal axis. An image of each presented side of the cigarette is captured using an image capture device, which is preferably a time domain and integration (TDI) camera. The system also includes multiple inspection system processors for processing the captured images.
78 Citations
22 Claims
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1. An inspection system for optically inspecting substantially an entire circumference of a cylindrical surface of a cylindrical object comprising:
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a first movable support for supporting and transporting a cylindrical object so that a first side of a cylindrical surface of said cylindrical object is presented to a first visual inspection apparatus;
a first illumination source for illuminating said first side of said cylindrical surface when said first side of said cylindrical surface is presented to said first visual inspection apparatus, said first illumination source configured to direct light onto said cylindrical surface along a longitudinal axis of said cylindrical surface at a low, acute angle with respect to said longitudinal axis of said cylindrical object being inspected;
a second movable support for receiving said cylindrical object from said first movable support and for supporting and transporting said cylindrical object so that a second side of said cylindrical surface is presented to a second visual inspection apparatus, said second side of said cylindrical surface including at least all portions of said cylindrical surface which are not included in said first side;
a second illumination source for illuminating said second side of said cylindrical surface when said second side of said cylindrical surface is presented to said second visual inspection apparatus, said second illumination source configured to direct light onto said cylindrical surface along said longitudinal axis of said object at a low, acute angle with respect to said longitudinal axis of said cylindrical object; and
wherein said first and said second visual inspection apparatus comprise first and second image capture devices for capturing first and second images of said cylindrical object, said first image corresponding to said first side of said cylindrical surface and said second image corresponding to said second side of said cylindrical surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of inspecting substantially an entire circumference of a cylindrical surface of a cylindrical object comprising the steps of:
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supporting said object along a longitudinal axis and transporting said object so that a first side of the cylindrical surface is presented to a first visual inspection apparatus;
illuminating said first side of said cylindrical surface with an illumination source configured to direct light upon said first side of the cylindrical surface in a longitudinal direction along an illumination axis which is oriented at a low, acute angle with respect to said longitudinal axis;
capturing a first image of said cylindrical object, said first image corresponding to said first side of said cylindrical surface using a first image capture device, while said first side is illuminated by said first illumination source;
analyzing said first image using an image processor to identify defects in the first side of the cylindrical surface;
transporting said cylindrical object so that a second side of the cylindrical surface of the cylindrical object is presented to a second visual inspection system, said second side of said cylindrical surface including at least all portions of said cylindrical surface which are not included in said first side;
illuminating said second side of said cylindrical surface with an illumination source configured to direct light upon said second side of said cylindrical surface along said illumination axis;
capturing a second image of said cylindrical object with a second image capture device said second image corresponding to said second side of said cylindrical surface while said second side is illumination by said second illumination source; and
analyzing said second image using an image processor to identify defects appearing in the second side of the cylindrical surface. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. An inspection system for detecting visually detectable defects in cigarettes, said system comprising:
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a first visual inspection apparatus comprising a first TDI camera, for capturing a first image of said cigarette, said first image corresponding to a first side of said cigarette;
a first movable support for supporting at least one cigarette along its longitudinal axis and for transporting said cigarette so that the first side of said cigarette is presented to said first visual inspection apparatus;
a first illumination source oriented to direct light substantially along said longitudinal axis of said at least one cigarette at a first, low, acute angle with respect to said longitudinal axis, for illuminating said first side of said cigarette when said first side is presented to said first visual inspection apparatus;
a second visual inspection apparatus comprising a second TDI camera, for capturing a second image of said cigarette, said second image corresponding to a second side of said cigarette;
a second movable support for supporting at least one cigarette along its longitudinal axis and for transporting said cigarette so that the second side of said cigarette is presented to said second visual inspection apparatus; and
a second illumination source oriented to direct light substantially along said longitudinal axis of said at least one cigarette at a second, low, acute angle with respect to said longitudinal axis, for illuminating said second side of said cigarette when said second side is presented to said second visual inspection apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification