US5318173A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Hole sorting system and method
Assignee: KET TECHNOLOGY Inc
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Filing: 1992-05-29
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Granted: 1994-06-07
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Expires: 2012-05-29
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus and a method sort items, such as pickles, having defective shapes, such as holes. A video camera scans moving items and acquires lines of image data including item-colored data and background-colored data. The lines of image data are sent to an image processor and compiled into a 64 line "frame" of image data that are further processed to identify the coordinates of individual items and to compute the size of each item. Because holes in an item are the same color as the background color, the invention provides a device differentiating holes from the background. A "hole-bounding box" is scaled to fit within the item position coordinates. The number of background-colored pixels inside the hole-bounding box is computed and compared to a user-defined threshold number. An item is classified as defective if the threshold number is exceeded. Whenever the image processor classifies an item as defective, centroid position coordinates of the item are reported to a master processor for subsequent rejection of the item.
Inventors
- 👤 Srinivasa R. Datari
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 16:19
CPC Classifications
B; B07; B07C; B07C5/00; B07C5/04; B07C5/10; B07C5/34; B07C5/342; B07C5/3422; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S209/00; Y10S209/939
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
157 words
A method of detecting an item having a hole through which background colors are detectable as the item travels through a medium characterized by one or more of the background colors, comprising the steps of: scanning the medium to produce a background signal that indicates the presence of a background color and an item signal that indicates the absence of a background color, the absence of background color representing the presence of an item; storing in image memory locations the relative position coordinates of the background signals and the item signals representative of an image of the item scanned; bounding with an item-bounding box the image memory locations containing the item signals, producing an identifying code identifying the item-bounding box; placing a hole-bounding box within the item-bounding box; and sending the identifying code to a sorting processor upon a determination that the number of background signals stored inside the hole-bounding box is at least a predetermined number.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
157 words
A method of detecting an item having a hole through which background colors are detectable as the item travels through a medium characterized by one or more of the background colors, comprising the steps of: scanning the medium to produce a background signal that indicates the presence of a background color and an item signal that indicates the absence of a background color, the absence of background color representing the presence of an item; storing in image memory locations the relative position coordinates of the background signals and the item signals representative of an image of the item scanned; bounding with an item-bounding box the image memory locations containing the item signals, producing an identifying code identifying the item-bounding box; placing a hole-bounding box within the item-bounding box; and sending the identifying code to a sorting processor upon a determination that the number of background signals stored inside the hole-bounding box is at least a predetermined number.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 1 in which the item travels on a conveyor belt that provides the medium with a background that has the one or more background colors.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method of claim 1 in which the medium comprises air.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 in which the item-bounding box has a centroid, and the identifying code includes the centroid.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 1 in which the item-bounding box has a item size and the hole-bounding box has a hole size, the hole size being a user-definable proportion of the item size.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 1 in which the item has an item range of colors and the one or more background colors of the medium have a range of colors substantially nonoverlapping with the range of item colors.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
168 words
An apparatus for detecting an item having a hole through which background colors are detectable as the item travels through a medium characterized by one or more of the background colors, comprising: a scanning camera scanning the medium to produce a background signal that indicates the presence of a background color and an item signal that indicates the absence of a background color, the absence of background color representing the presence of an item; an image memory storing at a set of relative coordinate storage locations the background signals and the item signals representative of an image of the item scanned; a signal processor implemented to bound with an item-bounding box the storage locations containing the item signals to produce an identifying code identifying the item-bounding box, and to place a hole-bounding box within the item-bounding box; and a communications link sending the identifying code to a sorting processor upon determination that the number of background signals stored inside the hole-bounding box is at least a predetermined number.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
168 words
An apparatus for detecting an item having a hole through which background colors are detectable as the item travels through a medium characterized by one or more of the background colors, comprising: a scanning camera scanning the medium to produce a background signal that indicates the presence of a background color and an item signal that indicates the absence of a background color, the absence of background color representing the presence of an item; an image memory storing at a set of relative coordinate storage locations the background signals and the item signals representative of an image of the item scanned; a signal processor implemented to bound with an item-bounding box the storage locations containing the item signals to produce an identifying code identifying the item-bounding box, and to place a hole-bounding box within the item-bounding box; and a communications link sending the identifying code to a sorting processor upon determination that the number of background signals stored inside the hole-bounding box is at least a predetermined number.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus of claim 7 in which the item travels on a conveyor belt that provides the medium with a background that has the one or more background colors.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
11 words
The apparatus of claim 7 in which the medium comprises air.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
20 words
The apparatus of claim 7 in which the item-bounding box has a centroid, and the identifying code includes the centroid.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
33 words
The apparatus of claim 7 in which the item-bounding box has a item size and the hold-bounding box has a hole size, the hole size being a user-definable proportion of the item size.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
38 words
The apparatus of claim 7 in which the item has an item range of colors and the one or more background colors of the medium have a range of colors substantially nonoverlapping with the range of item colors.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1997-06-06 | 1997-12-06 | 1998-06-07 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2001-06-06 | 2001-12-06 | 2002-06-07 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2005-06-06 | 2005-12-06 | 2006-06-07 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |