Method and apparatus for performing fixturing in a machine vision system
First Claim
1. A method for determining the location and angular alignment of an object with respect to a fixed coordinate system in a machine vision system with a camera and processing system for obtaining an image of the object and a vision tool capable of aligning location and at least one other non-translational degree of freedom, the method comprising:
- (a) placing a single non-rotationally symmetric fiducial mark on the object at a predetermined location on the object and at a predetermined angular orientation with respect to the object;
(b) using the vision tool to process the image and locate the fiducial mark in the image and to determine its location and angular orientation with respect to the fixed coordinate system; and
(c) using the location and angular orientation of the fiducial mark to calculate the location and angular orientation of the object with respect to the fixed coordinate system.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A single non-rotationally symmetric fiducial mark, such as a Universal Alignment Target, is placed on an object and the alignment of the object is determined with a vision tool that can align objects with translation and at least one additional degree of freedom, such as angular orientation. Alternatively, if a unique non-rotationally symmetric feature occurs naturally on the object, that feature may be used instead of a fiducial mark. In one embodiment, a geometrical feature matching vision tool is used to locate the single fiducial mark. In another embodiment, a normalized correlation search tool is used to locate the mark. The tool internally generates a set of rotated and scaled patterns that are then stored. The stored patterns are subsequently used to perform the search. In still another embodiment, a normalized correlation search tool internally generates a set of rotated and scaled patterns at runtime when the search for the mark is being performed.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for determining the location and angular alignment of an object with respect to a fixed coordinate system in a machine vision system with a camera and processing system for obtaining an image of the object and a vision tool capable of aligning location and at least one other non-translational degree of freedom, the method comprising:
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(a) placing a single non-rotationally symmetric fiducial mark on the object at a predetermined location on the object and at a predetermined angular orientation with respect to the object;
(b) using the vision tool to process the image and locate the fiducial mark in the image and to determine its location and angular orientation with respect to the fixed coordinate system; and
(c) using the location and angular orientation of the fiducial mark to calculate the location and angular orientation of the object with respect to the fixed coordinate system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. Apparatus for determining the location and angular alignment of an object with respect to a fixed coordinate system in a machine vision system with a camera and processing system for obtaining an image of the object and a vision tool capable of aligning location and at least one other non-translational degree of freedom, the apparatus comprising:
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means for placing a single non-rotationally symmetric fiducial mark on the object at a predetermined location on the object and at a predetermined angular orientation with respect to the object;
an image processing system that uses the vision tool to process the image and locate the fiducial mark in the image and to determine its location and angular orientation with respect to the fixed coordinate system; and
an object processing system that uses the location and angular orientation of the fiducial mark to calculate the location and angular orientation of the object with respect to the fixed coordinate system. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for determining the location and angular alignment of an object with respect to a fixed coordinate system in a machine vision system with a camera and processing system for obtaining an image of the object and a vision tool capable of aligning location and at least one other non-translational degree of freedom, the method comprising:
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(a) selecting a single pre-existing non-rotationally symmetric feature that is at a predetermined location on the object and at a predetermined angular orientation with respect to the object;
(b) using the vision tool to process the image and locate the feature in the image and to determine its location and angular orientation with respect to the fixed coordinate system; and
(c) using the location and angular orientation of the feature to calculate the location and angular orientation of the object with respect to the fixed coordinate system. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. Apparatus for determining the location and angular alignment of an object with respect to a fixed coordinate system in a machine vision system with a camera and processing system for obtaining an image of the object and a vision tool capable of aligning location and at least one other non-translational degree of freedom, the apparatus comprising:
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means for selecting a single preexisting non-rotationally symmetric feature that is at a predetermined location on the object and at a predetermined angular orientation with respect to the object;
an image processing system that uses the vision tool to process the image and locate the feature in the image and to determine its location and angular orientation with respect to the fixed coordinate system; and
an object processing system that uses the location and angular orientation of the feature to calculate the location and angular orientation of the object with respect to the fixed coordinate system. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A machine vision system for determining the location and angular alignment of an object with respect to a fixed coordinate system, comprising:
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a camera and processing system for obtaining an image of the object;
a vision tool capable of aligning location and at least one other non-translational degree of freedom;
means for selecting a single non-rotationally symmetric feature that is at a predetermined location on the object and at a predetermined angular orientation with respect to the object;
an image processing system that uses the vision tool to process the image and locate the feature in the image and to determine its location and angular orientation with respect to the fixed coordinate system; and
an object processing system that uses the location and angular orientation of the feature to calculate the location and angular orientation of the object with respect to the fixed coordinate system. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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Specification