Smoking article inspection system and associated method
First Claim
1. A smoking article inspection system configured to inspect a smoking article comprising a smokable rod and a filter element connected by a tipping material, the smoking article inspection system comprising:
- one or more imaging devices configured to respectively capture one or more images in a visible light spectrum of an exterior surface of the smoking article as the smoking article is supported in a groove defined by a circumferential surface of a drum and oriented parallel to a rotational axis of the drum, the one or more imaging devices being positioned to capture the plurality of images substantially perpendicular to the rotational axis of the drum; and
an analysis unit configured to analyze the images captured by the one or more imaging devices, the analysis unit being configured to execute;
an edge detection tool configured to determine a position of the smoking article based on an edge location of the smoking article; and
a defect detection tool configured to determine whether the smoking article is defective after the position of the smoking article is determined.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Smoking article inspection systems configured to inspect smoking articles are provided. The systems may include imaging devices configured to capture images of an exterior of the smoking article and an analysis unit configured to analyze the images captured by the imaging devices. The analysis unit may execute an edge detection tool configured to determine a position of the smoking article based on an edge location of the smoking article and a defect detection tool configured to determine whether the smoking article is defective after the position of the smoking article is determined. The imaging devices may be configured to capture images of the smoking articles during the assembly thereof. Thereby, the analysis unit may determine any operations during assembly causing damage to the smoking article from analysis of the images of the smoking article captured during assembly. Related methods are also provided.
201 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A smoking article inspection system configured to inspect a smoking article comprising a smokable rod and a filter element connected by a tipping material, the smoking article inspection system comprising:
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one or more imaging devices configured to respectively capture one or more images in a visible light spectrum of an exterior surface of the smoking article as the smoking article is supported in a groove defined by a circumferential surface of a drum and oriented parallel to a rotational axis of the drum, the one or more imaging devices being positioned to capture the plurality of images substantially perpendicular to the rotational axis of the drum; and an analysis unit configured to analyze the images captured by the one or more imaging devices, the analysis unit being configured to execute; an edge detection tool configured to determine a position of the smoking article based on an edge location of the smoking article; and a defect detection tool configured to determine whether the smoking article is defective after the position of the smoking article is determined. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A smoking article inspection system configured to inspect a smoking article comprising a smokable rod and a filter element connected by a tipping material, the smoking article inspection system comprising:
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a plurality of imaging devices configured to respectively capture one or more images in a visible light spectrum of an exterior surface of the smoking article as the smoking article is supported in a groove defined by a circumferential surface of a drum and oriented parallel to a rotational axis of the drum, the one or more imaging devices being positioned to capture the plurality of images substantially perpendicular to the rotational axis of the drum, the one or more imaging devices being configured to capture the one or more images of the smoking article during assembly of the smoking article, wherein assembly of the smoking article comprises a plurality of operations; and an analysis unit configured to analyze the images captured by the imaging devices, the analysis unit being configured to execute a defect detection tool configured to determine whether the smoking article is defective from the images thereof, and, if the smoking article is determined to be defective, to determine the one of the operations causing damage to the smoking article from analysis of the images of the smoking article captured during assembly. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for inspecting a smoking article comprising a smokable rod and a filter element connected by a tipping material, the method comprising:
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capturing one or more images in a visible light spectrum of an exterior surface of the smoking article as the smoking article is supported in a groove defined by a circumferential surface of a drum and oriented parallel to a rotational axis of the drum, the one or more imaging devices being positioned to capture the plurality of images substantially perpendicular to the rotational axis of the drum; determining a position of the smoking article based on an edge location of the smoking article; and determining whether the smoking article is defective after the position of the smoking article is determined. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for inspecting a smoking article comprising a smokable rod and a filter element connected by a tipping material, the method comprising:
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capturing a plurality of images in a visible light spectrum of an exterior surface of the smoking article during assembly of the smoking article as the smoking article is supported in a groove defined by a circumferential surface of a drum and oriented parallel to a rotational axis of the drum, the one or more imaging devices being positioned to capture the plurality of images substantially perpendicular to the rotational axis of the drum, wherein assembly of the smoking article comprises a plurality of operations; determining whether the smoking article is defective from the images thereof; and if the smoking article is determined to be defective, determining the one of the operations causing damage to the smoking article from analysis of the images of the smoking article captured during assembly. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification