Conveyor belt, conveyor belt assembly including an imaging system, and methods of using the same
First Claim
1. An improved conveyor belt assembly for facilitating improved automated handling of a plurality of packages, said improved conveyor belt assembly comprising:
- a conveyor belt comprising;
a visible surface having a primary axis oriented in a machine direction, said visible surface being movable in said machine direction and configured, during movement, to receive thereon each of said plurality of packages;
a plurality of first stripes having a first visible appearance, each of said plurality of first stripes at least in part defining said visible surface; and
a plurality of second stripes having a second visible appearance, each of said plurality of second stripes at least in part defining said visible surface,wherein;
said first visible appearance of said plurality of first stripes is a solid pattern defined by a first color;
said second visible appearance of said plurality of second stripes is a striped pattern defined by a second and a third color, said second color being a contrasting color relative to said first color; and
at least one of said plurality of second stripes is located intermediate two of said plurality of first stripes such that at least a portion of the plurality of first and second stripes collectively defines an alternating contrasting pattern on the visible surface of the improved conveyor belt; and
an imaging system comprising a plurality of cameras positioned in a plurality of locations relative to said visible surface of said conveyor belt, said imaging system being configured to provide continuous visibility of each of said plurality of packages received on said visible surface during movement thereof.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Various embodiments provide an improved conveyor belt comprising: a visible surface having a primary axis oriented in a machine direction; a plurality of first stripes having a first visible appearance, each of the plurality of first stripes at least in part defining the visible surface and being oriented perpendicular to the primary axis; and a plurality of second stripes having a second visible appearance, each of the plurality of second stripes at least in part defining the visible surface and being oriented perpendicular to the primary axis, wherein: the second visible appearance provides a contrasting appearance relative to the first visible appearance; and each of the plurality of second stripes are located intermediate two of the plurality of first stripes such that the plurality of first and second stripes collectively define an alternating contrasting pattern on the visible surface of the improved conveyor belt.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An improved conveyor belt assembly for facilitating improved automated handling of a plurality of packages, said improved conveyor belt assembly comprising:
a conveyor belt comprising; a visible surface having a primary axis oriented in a machine direction, said visible surface being movable in said machine direction and configured, during movement, to receive thereon each of said plurality of packages; a plurality of first stripes having a first visible appearance, each of said plurality of first stripes at least in part defining said visible surface; and a plurality of second stripes having a second visible appearance, each of said plurality of second stripes at least in part defining said visible surface, wherein; said first visible appearance of said plurality of first stripes is a solid pattern defined by a first color; said second visible appearance of said plurality of second stripes is a striped pattern defined by a second and a third color, said second color being a contrasting color relative to said first color; and at least one of said plurality of second stripes is located intermediate two of said plurality of first stripes such that at least a portion of the plurality of first and second stripes collectively defines an alternating contrasting pattern on the visible surface of the improved conveyor belt; and an imaging system comprising a plurality of cameras positioned in a plurality of locations relative to said visible surface of said conveyor belt, said imaging system being configured to provide continuous visibility of each of said plurality of packages received on said visible surface during movement thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system comprising:
a conveyor belt comprising; a visible surface having a primary axis oriented in a machine direction, said visible surface being movable in said machine direction and configured, during movement, to receive thereon each of said plurality of packages; a plurality of first stripes having a first visible appearance, each of said plurality of first stripes at least in part defining said visible surface; and a plurality of second stripes having a second visible appearance, each of said plurality of second stripes at least in part defining said visible surface, wherein; the second visible appearance provides a contrasting appearance relative to the first visible appearance; and at least one of said plurality of second stripes is located intermediate two of said plurality of first stripes such that at least a portion of the plurality of first and second stripes defines an alternating contrasting pattern on the visible surface of the improved conveyor belt; an imaging system comprising a plurality of cameras positioned in a plurality of locations relative to said visible surface of said conveyor belt; one or more computer processors configured for; during continuous operation of said improved conveyor belt, capturing, via said imaging system a continuous video sequence containing each of said plurality of packages received on said visible surface during movement thereof; extracting at least one screen shot containing at least one image of at least one of said plurality of packages; and calculating, based at least upon first and second known widths of said plurality of first and second stripes appearing in said at least one extracted screen shot, one or more dimensions of said at least one of said plurality of packages; and one or more memory storage areas configured to associate and store said extracted screen shot and said calculated dimensions with said at least one of said plurality of packages. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A computer-implemented method for facilitating improved automated handling of a plurality of packages, said method comprising the steps of:
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continuously operating an improved conveyor belt, said improved conveyor belt comprising; a visible surface having a primary axis oriented in a machine direction, said visible surface being movable in said machine direction during said continuous operation and being configured to receive thereon each of said plurality of packages; a plurality of first stripes having a first known width and a first visible appearance, each of said plurality of first stripes at least in part defining said visible surface; and a plurality of second stripes having a second known width and a second visible appearance, each of said plurality of second stripes at least in part defining said visible surface, wherein; the second visible appearance provides a contrasting appearance relative to the first visible appearance; and at least one of said plurality of second stripes is located intermediate two of said plurality of first stripes such that at least a portion of the plurality of first and second stripes defines an alternating contrasting pattern on the visible surface of the improved conveyor belt; during said continuous operation of said improved conveyor belt, capturing, via an imaging system a continuous video sequence containing each of said plurality of packages received on said visible surface during movement thereof; extracting, via at least one computer processor, at least one screen shot containing at least one image of at least one of said plurality of packages; calculating, via said at least one computer processor and based at least upon first and second known widths of said plurality of first and second stripes appearing in said at least one extracted screen shot, one or more dimensions of said at least one of said plurality of packages; and associating and storing, in at least one memory storage area, said extracted screen shot and said calculated dimensions with said at least one of said plurality of packages. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. An improved conveyor belt for facilitating improved automated handling of a plurality of packages, said improved conveyor belt comprising:
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a visible surface having a primary axis oriented in a machine direction; a plurality of first stripes having a first visible appearance, each of said plurality of first stripes at least in part defining said visible surface; and a plurality of second stripes having a second visible appearance, each of said plurality of second stripes at least in part defining said visible surface, wherein; said first visible appearance of said plurality of first stripes is a solid pattern defined by a first color; said second visible appearance of said plurality of second stripes is a striped pattern defined by a second and a third color, said second color being a contrasting color relative to said first color; and at least one of said plurality of second stripes is located intermediate two of said plurality of first stripes such that at least a portion of the plurality of first and second stripes defines an alternating contrasting pattern on the visible surface of the improved conveyor belt.
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17. An improved conveyor belt for facilitating improved automated handling of a plurality of packages, said improved conveyor belt comprising:
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a visible surface having a primary axis oriented in a machine direction; a plurality of first stripes having a first visible appearance, each of said plurality of first stripes at least in part defining said visible surface relative to said primary axis; and a plurality of second stripes having a second visible appearance, each of said plurality of second stripes at least in part defining said visible surface relative to said primary axis, wherein; the second visible appearance provides a contrasting appearance relative to the first visible appearance; at least one of said plurality of second stripes is located intermediate two of said plurality of first stripes such that at least a portion of the plurality of first and second stripes defines an alternating contrasting pattern on the visible surface of the improved conveyor belt; each of said plurality of first stripes has a first width defined parallel to said primary axis; each of said plurality of second stripes has a second width defined parallel to said primary axis, said second width being substantially the same as said first width; and said first and second widths are in a range between five centimeters and fifteen centimeters.
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18. An improved conveyor belt assembly for facilitating improved automated handling of a plurality of packages, said improved conveyor belt assembly comprising:
a conveyor belt comprising; a visible surface having a primary axis oriented in a machine direction, said visible surface being movable in said machine direction and configured, during movement, to receive thereon each of said plurality of packages; a plurality of first stripes having a first visible appearance, each of said plurality of first stripes at least in part defining said visible surface relative to said primary axis; and a plurality of second stripes having a second visible appearance, each of said plurality of second stripes at least in part defining said visible surface relative to said primary axis, wherein; the second visible appearance provides a contrasting appearance relative to the first visible appearance; at least one of said plurality of second stripes is located intermediate two of said plurality of first stripes such that at least a portion of the plurality of first and second stripes defines an alternating contrasting pattern on the visible surface of the improved conveyor belt; each of said plurality of first stripes has a first width defined parallel to said primary axis; each of said plurality of second stripes has a second width defined parallel to said primary axis, said second width being substantially the same as said first width; and said first and second widths are in a range between five centimeters and fifteen centimeters; and an imaging system comprising a plurality of cameras positioned in a plurality of locations relative to said visible surface of said conveyor belt, said imaging system being configured to provide continuous visibility of each of said plurality of packages received on said visible surface during movement thereof. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
Specification