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US 11,305,975 B2Granted
Dual laser closure scan and method of using the same
AssigneeSilgan White Cap LLC
InventorThomas C. Schafer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system of measuring a top surface of a closure to determine if the closure is properly affixed to a container. Multiple paths of measurements may be collected and analyzed. In various analysis paradigms, measurements on a given path are separated into different sets, such as a leading set that generally includes the first third of measurements, a trailing set that includes the trailing set of measurements, and a middle set that includes the middle third of measurements. Several methods of analysis may be based on a presumption that a properly affixed closure is symmetrical or near symmetrical.
Claims13
A closure monitoring system comprising:
- a conveyer that moves a container with a closure in a direction;
- a first device supported along a direction of travel of the conveyer and configured to generate first distance signals representative of first distances to a top surface of the closure along a first path that traverses the top surface of the closure;
- a second device supported along a direction of travel of the conveyer and configured to generate second distance signals representative of second distances to the top surface of the closure along a second path that traverses the top surface of the closure;
- and
- a processor coupled to first and second devices to analyze the first and second distance signals to generate a signal in response to the analysis indicating that the closure is improperly affixed to the container;
- wherein the processor is configured to:
- identify a first leading set from the plurality of first distance signals, each distance in the first leading set corresponding to a point on the top surface in a leading half of the container in the direction the container is moving;
- identify a second leading set from the plurality of second distance signals, each distance in the second leading set corresponding to a point on the top surface in a leading half of the container in the direction the container is moving;
- identify a first trailing set from the plurality of first distance signals, each distance in the first trailing set corresponding to a point on the top surface in a trailing half of the container in the direction the container is moving;
- and
- identify a second trailing set from the plurality of second distance signals, each distance in the second trailing set corresponding to a point on the top surface in a trailing half of the container in the direction the container is moving, wherein the analyzed signal distances are selected from the first leading set, the second leading set, the first trailing set and the second trailing set.
8 more elements
A closure monitoring system comprising:
- a conveyer that moves a container with a closure in a direction;
- a first device supported along a direction of travel of the conveyer and configured to generate first distance signals representative of first distances to a top surface of the closure along a first path that traverses the top surface of the closure;
- a second device supported along a direction of travel of the conveyer and configured to generate second distance signals representative of second distances to the top surface of the closure along a second path that traverses the top surface of the closure;
- and
- a processor coupled to first and second devices to analyze the first and second distance signals to generate a signal in response to the analysis indicating that the closure is improperly affixed to the container;
- wherein the processor is configured to:
- identify a first plurality of pairs of measurements from the first path, the first and second elements of each pair being approximately equal distances from the leading and trailing edges as indicated by the direction of travel, respectively;
- identify a second plurality of pairs of measurements from the second path, the first and second elements of each pair being approximately equal distances from the leading and trailing edges as indicated by the direction of travel, respectively;
- calculate differences between the elements of each pair of the first and second plurality of pairs;
- calculate a sum of the differences;
- determine the closure is properly affixed when the sum is less than a fourth threshold;
- and
- determine the closure is not properly affixed when the sum is above the fourth threshold.
10 more elements
A closure monitoring system comprising:
- a conveyer that moves a container with a closure in a direction;
- a first device supported along a direction of travel of the conveyer and configured to generate first distance signals representative of first distances to a top surface of the closure along a first path that traverses the top surface of the closure;
- a second device supported along a direction of travel of the conveyer and configured to generate second distance signals representative of second distances to the top surface of the closure along a second path that traverses the top surface of the closure;
- and
- a processor coupled to first and second devices to analyze the first and second distance signals to generate a signal in response to the analysis indicating that the closure is improperly affixed to the container;
- wherein the first and second paths are an equal distance from a centerline diameter that is parallel to both first and second paths.
3 more elements
A closure monitoring system comprising:
- a conveyer that moves a container with a closure in a direction;
- a first device supported along a direction of travel of the conveyer and configured to generate first distance signals representative of first distances to a top surface of the closure along a first path that traverses the top surface of the closure;
- a second device supported along a direction of travel of the conveyer and configured to generate second distance signals representative of second distances to the top surface of the closure along a second path that traverses the top surface of the closure;
- and
- a processor coupled to first and second devices to analyze the first and second distance signals to generate a signal in response to the analysis indicating that the closure is improperly affixed to the container;
- wherein the first and second paths being generally parallel to each other.
3 more elements
A closure monitoring system comprising:
- a conveyer that moves a container with a closure in a direction;
- a first device supported along a direction of travel of the conveyer and configured to generate first distance signals representative of first distances to a top surface of the closure along a first path that traverses the top surface of the closure;
- a second device supported along a direction of travel of the conveyer and configured to generate second distance signals representative of second distances to the top surface of the closure along a second path that traverses the top surface of the closure;
- and
- a processor coupled to first and second devices to analyze the first and second distance signals to generate a signal in response to the analysis indicating that the closure is improperly affixed to the container;
- wherein the distances within a given set are contiguous with each other.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.