Inspection system
First Claim
1. An inspection system comprising:
- a conveyor to convey a plurality of pellet-shaped articles along a path;
at least one camera unit configured to sense a predetermined characteristic of the plurality of pellet-shaped articles;
a removal unit, downstream from the at least one camera unit, structured to remove at least a selected one of the plurality of pellet-shaped articles from the path depending on whether the predetermined characteristic is sensed by the at least one camera unit; and
processing resources, including at least one processor, the processing resources being operably connected to and in communication with the at least one camera unit and the removal unit, and being configured to at least;
provide a signal to the removal unit in accordance with the predetermined characteristic sensed by the at least one camera unit, the signal representing whether a given pellet-shaped article is to be accepted or rejected;
generate for output to a display device a first display area including real-time video output, including at least a portion of the conveyor, from the at least one camera unit,calculate inspection statistics based on input relating to the predetermined characteristic sensed by the at least one camera unit; and
generate for output to the display device a second display area including the calculated inspection statistics.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An inspection system is configured for use with a conveyer apparatus including carrier bars. Each carrier bar conveys pellet-shaped articles along a predetermined path. The inspection system includes at least one camera unit for sensing a predetermined characteristic of the pellet-shaped articles, a removal unit, and a controller. The removal unit, downstream from the at least one camera unit, removes selected pellet-shaped article(s) from the carrier bar(s) depending on whether the characteristic is sensed by the at least one camera unit. The controller is in communication with the at least one camera unit and the removal unit. The controller provides a signal to the removal unit in accordance with the sensed characteristic. The removal unit includes a rotatable ejection drum having extended vacuum nozzles along its length, equal to the number of articles conveyed in each carrier bar. Each vacuum nozzle selectively removes article(s) from the carrier bar(s) by suction.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An inspection system comprising:
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a conveyor to convey a plurality of pellet-shaped articles along a path; at least one camera unit configured to sense a predetermined characteristic of the plurality of pellet-shaped articles; a removal unit, downstream from the at least one camera unit, structured to remove at least a selected one of the plurality of pellet-shaped articles from the path depending on whether the predetermined characteristic is sensed by the at least one camera unit; and processing resources, including at least one processor, the processing resources being operably connected to and in communication with the at least one camera unit and the removal unit, and being configured to at least; provide a signal to the removal unit in accordance with the predetermined characteristic sensed by the at least one camera unit, the signal representing whether a given pellet-shaped article is to be accepted or rejected; generate for output to a display device a first display area including real-time video output, including at least a portion of the conveyor, from the at least one camera unit, calculate inspection statistics based on input relating to the predetermined characteristic sensed by the at least one camera unit; and generate for output to the display device a second display area including the calculated inspection statistics. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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5. An inspection system comprising:
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a conveyor to convey a plurality of pellet-shaped articles along a path; a plurality of camera units configured to sense a predetermined characteristic of the plurality of pellet-shaped articles; a removal unit, downstream from the plurality of camera units, structured to remove at least a selected one of the plurality of pellet-shaped articles from the path depending on whether the predetermined characteristic is sensed by the plurality of camera units; and processing resources, including at least one processor, the processing resources being operably connected to and in communication with the plurality of camera units and the removal unit, and being configured to at least; provide a signal to the removal unit in accordance with the predetermined characteristic sensed by the plurality of camera units, the signal representing whether a given pellet-shaped article is to be accepted or rejected, generate for output to a display device a first display area including real-time video output, including at least a portion of the conveyor, from the plurality of camera units, and calculate at least some inspection statistics on a camera-by-camera basis.
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6. An inspection system comprising:
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a conveyor to convey a plurality of pellet-shaped articles along a path; a plurality of camera units configured to sense a predetermined characteristic of the plurality of pellet-shaped articles; a removal unit, downstream from the plurality of camera units, structured to remove at least a selected one of the plurality of pellet-shaped articles from the path depending on whether the predetermined characteristic is sensed by the plurality of camera units; and processing resources, including at least one processor, the processing resources being operably connected to and in communication with the plurality of camera units and the removal unit, and being configured to at least; provide a signal to the removal unit in accordance with the predetermined characteristic sensed by the plurality of camera units, the signal representing whether a given pellet-shaped article is to be accepted or rejected, generate for output to a display device a first display area including real-time video output, including at least a portion of the conveyor, from the plurality of camera units, and calculate inspection statistics including a system-wide yield of accepted pellet-shaped articles, and yields of accepted pellet-shaped articles on a camera-by-camera basis.
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11. An inspection system comprising:
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a conveyor to convey a plurality of pellet-shaped articles along a path; at least one camera unit configured to sense a predetermined characteristic of the plurality of pellet-shaped articles; a removal unit, downstream from the at least one camera unit, structured to remove at least a selected one of the plurality of pellet-shaped articles from the path depending on whether the predetermined characteristic is sensed by the at least one camera unit and processing resources, including at least one processor, the processing resources being operably connected to and in communication with the at least one camera unit and the removal unit, and being configured to at least; provide a signal to the removal unit in accordance with the predetermined characteristic sensed by the at least one camera unit, the signal representing whether a given pellet-shaped article is to be accepted or rejected; and generate for output to a display device a first display area including real-time video output, including at least a portion of the conveyor, from the at least one camera unit, wherein the removal unit includes a rotatable drum having a plurality of extended nozzles along its length associated with the number of articles conveyed in each row, each nozzle being structured to selectively remove the article from the conveyor. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. A method of operating an inspection system, the method comprising:
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conveying a plurality of pellet-shaped articles along a path via a conveyor; sensing a predetermined characteristic of the plurality of pellet-shaped articles using at least one camera unit; removing at least a selected one of the plurality of pellet-shaped articles from the path depending on whether the predetermined characteristic is sensed by the at least one camera unit via a removal unit located downstream from the at least one camera unit; providing a signal to the removal unit in accordance with the predetermined characteristic sensed by the at least one camera unit, the signal representing whether a given pellet-shaped article is to be accepted or rejected; generating for output to a display device a first display area including real-time video output, including at least a portion of the conveyor, from the at least one camera unit; calculating inspection statistics based on input relating to the predetermined characteristic sensed by the at least one camera unit; and generating for output to the display device a second display area including the calculated inspection statistics. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification