System, method and graphical user interface for displaying and controlling vision system operating parameters

• US 9,292,187 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2013
• Issued: 03/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cognex Corporation
• Original Assignee: Cognex Corporation
• Inventors: Whitman, Steven M., Tremblay, Robert, Arbogast, Carroll McNeill Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nabi, Reza
• Application Number:
  US14/106,568
• Publication Number:
  US 20140177979A1
• Time in Patent Office: 830 Days
• Field of Search: 715/764
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/90 in a container or its contents G01N21/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32128 Gui graphical user interface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials

Abstract

A graphical user interface (GUI) display and GUI-based system for displaying and controlling vision system operating parameters of a contour sensor comprises an automated region of interest graphic image applied to a discrete region of a selected image in response to a single click by a user at the discrete region of the selected image, the selected image selected from a window on the GUI display containing a plurality of captured images of the object. At least one automated operating parameter is generated automatically in response to the single click by the user at the discrete region of the selected image to determine whether a contour of interest is in the automated ROI graphic image. The GUI also provides a contour graphic image that outlines the contour of interest to demonstrate whether the contour of interest is in (present or at the correct position within) the automated ROI graphic image.

Claims

1. A machine vision system including a processor,

the processor displays a graphical user interface (GUI) and controls vision system operating parameters of a contour position sensor, the GUI comprising:

an automated region of interest (ROI) graphic image that is applied to a discrete region of a selected image of an object in response to a single click by a user at the discrete region of the selected image, the selected image being selected by the user from a window on the GUI display containing a plurality of captured images of the object;

at least one automated operating parameter that is generated automatically in response to the single click by the user at the discrete region of the selected image to determine whether a contour of interest is in the automated ROI graphic image; and

a contour graphic image that outlines the contour of interest to demonstrate whether the contour of interest is within the automated ROI graphic image.

2. The GUI display as set forth in claim 1 wherein the contour sensor comprises a contour presence sensor and is generated automatically in response to the single click by the user to determine whether a contour is present in the automated ROI graphic image, the automated ROI graphic image comprising a contour region for the contour presence sensor, and the GUI display further comprising a search region that specifies the region of the selected image that the sensor examines for contour candidates.

3. The GUI display as set forth in claim 2 wherein the contour region comprises a bounding box that surrounds the contour of interest.

4. The GUI display as set forth in claim 2 wherein measurements computed by the contour presence sensor to determine whether the contour is present in the search region comprise at least one of:

X-location, Y-location, rotation, correlation score and sensor match score.

5. The GUI display as set forth in claim 2 wherein the contour graphics for the contour presence sensor are drawn at a location of the best match in the search region.

6. The GUI display as set forth in claim 1 wherein the contour sensor comprises a contour position sensor and is generated automatically in response to the single click by the user to determine whether a contour is at a correct position within the automated ROI graphic image, the automated ROI graphic image comprising a contour region for the contour position sensor, the GUI display further comprising a pass-fail region for the contour position sensor that is centered at boundaries of the contour of interest.

7. The GUI display as set forth in claim 6 wherein measurements computed by the contour position sensor to determine whether the contour is at the correct position within the pass-fail region comprise at least one of:

X-location, Y-location, rotation, correlation score, sensor match score, X-position score and Y-position score.

8. The GUI display as set forth in claim 6 wherein the contour graphics for the contour position sensor are drawn at a location of the best candidate selected by the contour position sensor.

9. The GUI display as set forth in claim 1 wherein the contour graphic image is drawn as pixels of the contour of interest in a first color for a passing contour that is in the search region and a second color for a failing contour that is not in the search region.

10. The GUI display as set forth in claim 1 further comprising an indicator graphic that indicates whether the contour of interest is in the pass-fail region.

11. The GUI display as set forth in claim 1 wherein the automated ROI graphic image is applied in response to the single click by the user by:

determining a contour region;

selecting a set of contour features in the contour region;

5 determining runtime parameters;

computing a pass-fail region;

computing a search region; and

assigning a name to the contour sensor.

12. A machine vision system including a processor,

the processor displays a graphical user interface (GUI) and controls vision system operating parameters of a contour position sensor, the GUI comprising:

a contour region graphic image applied to a discrete region of a selected image of an object in response to a single click by a user at the discrete region of the selected image, the selected image selected by the user from a window on the GUI display containing a plurality of captured images of the object;

a search region that specifies a region of the selected image that the contour presence sensor examines for contour candidates;

at least one automated operating parameter that is generated automatically in response to the single click by the user at the discrete region of the selected image to determine whether a contour of interest is in the contour region graphic image; and

a contour graphic image that outlines the contour of interest to demonstrate whether the contour of interest is present within the contour region graphic image.

13. The GUI display as set forth in claim 12 wherein the contour region comprises an area of approximately 300 pixels by 300 pixels.

14. The GUI display as set forth in claim 12 wherein the search region is approximately 8 pixels longer in width and 8 pixels longer in height than the contour 3 region.

15. The GUI display as set forth in claim 12 wherein the contour graphic image comprises pixels of a trained contour that are drawn at a location of the best match in the search region on the selected image in a first color for a passing contour and a second color for a failing contour.

16. The GUI display as set forth in claim 12 wherein the automated ROI graphic image is applied in response to the single click by the user by:

determining a contour region;

selecting a set of contour features in the contour region;

determining runtime parameters;

computing a search region; and

assigning a name to the contour sensor.

17. A machine vision system including a processor,

the processor displays a graphical user interface (GUI) and controls vision system operating parameters of a contour position sensor, the GUI comprising:

a contour region graphic image applied to a discrete region of a selected image in response to a single click by a user at the discrete region of the selected image, the selected image selected by the user from a window on the GUI display containing a plurality of captured images of the object;

a pass-fail region for the contour position sensor that is centered at the boundaries of the contour to determine if a contour of interest is at a correct position within the contour region graphic image;

at least one automated operating parameter that is generated automatically in response to the single click by the user at the discrete region of the selected image to determine whether the contour of interest is in the contour region graphic image; and

a contour graphic image that outlines the contour of interest to demonstrate whether the contour of interest is at the correct position within the contour region graphic image.

18. The GUI display as set forth in claim 17 wherein the pass-fail region is based on 2 the size of the contour region.

19. The GUI display as set forth in claim 17 wherein the contour region is approximately 300 pixels by 300 pixels.

20. The GUI display as set forth in claim 17 wherein the contour graphic image comprises pixels of a trained contour that are drawn at a location of the best candidate selected by the contour position sensor on the selected image in a first color for a passing 4 contour and a second color for a failing contour.

21. The GUI display as set forth in claim 17 wherein the automated ROI graphic image is applied in response to the single click by the user by:

determining a contour region;

selecting a set of contour features in the contour region;

determining runtime parameters;

computing a pass-fail region;

computing a search region; and

assigning a name to the contour sensor.