# US 11,305,975 B2 · Dual laser closure scan and method of using the same

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- Number: US 11,305,975 B2
- Document ID: US11305975B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/225,812
- Filed: 2018-12-19
- Published: 2020-06-25
- Granted: 2022-04-19
- Earliest claimed: 2018-12-19
- Assignees: Silgan White Cap LLC
- Applicants: Silgan White Cap LLC
- Inventors: Thomas C. Schafer
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11305975B2

## CPC

- B07C 5/342: according to optical properties, e.g. colour {(according to radiation transmittivity B07C5/3416)}
- B67B 3/265: {presence of a cap}
- B07C 5/3408: {for bottles, jars or other glassware (according to size B07C5/122)}
- B65G 15/50: Endless load-carriers consisting of a series of parallel ropes or belt strips
- B65G 43/08: Control devices operated by article or material being fed, conveyed or discharged {(and controlling the discharging devices B65G47/42)}
- B67B 3/264: {positioning of the caps}
- G01N 21/90: in a container or its contents (G01N21/91 takes precedence)
- G01N 21/909: {in opaque containers or opaque container parts, e.g. cans, tins, caps, labels}
- B65G 47/82: Rotary or reciprocating members for direct action on articles or materials, e.g. pushers, rakes, shovels {(means for pushing glass articles onto a conveyor C03B9/453)}
- G01B 11/026: {by measuring distance between sensor and object (G01B11/0608 takes precedence)}
- G01B 11/245: using a plurality of fixed, simultaneously operating transducers ({G01B11/2408 - G01B11/2425, } G01B11/255 take precedence)
- B07C: POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING (specially adapted for a specific purpose covered by another class, see the relevant place, e.g. A43D33/06, B23Q7/12)
- B67B: APPLYING CLOSURE MEMBERS TO BOTTLES JARS, OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; OPENING CLOSED CONTAINERS (opening or closing devices attached to, or incorporated in, containers or container closures B65D)
- B65G: TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS (packaging B65B; handling thin or filamentary materials, e.g. paper sheets or thread, B65H; cranes B66C; portable mobile or lifting or hauling appliances, e.g. hoists, B66D; devices for lifting or lowering goods for loading or unloading purposes, e.g. fork-lift trucks, B66F9/00; emptying bottles, jars, casks, barrels or similar containers, not otherwise provided for, B67C9/00; delivering or transferring liquids B67D; filling or discharging vessels for liquefied, solidified or compressed gases F17C; pipe-line systems for fluids F17D)
- G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q)
- G01B: MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS

## 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.

## Claims

### Claim 1

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.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:
calculate an average distance for each pair of the first leading set, the second leading set, the first trailing set, and the second trailing set;
determine the closure is properly affixed when each of the averages is less than a first threshold; and
determine the closure is not properly affixed when at least one of the averages is above the first threshold.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:
calculate an average distance for each of the first leading set, the second leading set, the first trailing set, and the second trailing set;
identify a highest average and a lowest average of the averages;
calculate a difference between the highest average and the lowest average;
determine the closure is properly affixed when the difference is less than a second threshold; and
determine the closure is not properly affixed when the difference is above the second threshold.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein each of the sets comprise between 10% and 35% of the path from which they were selected.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein each of the sets comprise between 15% and 30% of the path from which they were selected.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein each of the sets comprise between 17% and 25% of the path from which they were selected.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to:
identify a first middle set from the plurality of first distance signals, the first middle set collectively being centered on the first path;
identify a second middle set of distances from the plurality of second distance signals, the second middle set being centered on the second path;
calculate a first leading average of the first leading set;
calculate a first middle average of the first middle set;
calculate a first trailing average of the first trailing set;
calculate a second leading average of the second leading set;
calculate a second middle average of the second middle set;
calculate a second trailing average of the second trailing set;
calculate differences between:
the first middle average and the average of the first leading average and the first trailing average;
the second middle average and the average of the second leading and the second trailing averages;
determine the closure is properly affixed when each of the differences is less than, or greater than a third threshold, depending on a characteristic of the closure; and
determine the closure is not properly affixed when at least one of the differences is greater than, or less than the third threshold, depending on the characteristic of the closure.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The system of claim 7, wherein the characteristic of the closure comprises whether a properly affixed closure is expected to be inwardly sloped or outwardly sloped.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to:
calculate a first leading slope for the first leading set by identifying a distance measurement in the first trailing set that is nearest the leading edge and comparing that to a distance measurement in the first trailing set that is nearest the trailing edge;
calculate a first trailing slope for the first trailing set by identifying a distance measurement in the first trailing set that is nearest the trailing edge and comparing that to a distance measurement in the first trailing set that is nearest the leading edge;
calculate a second leading slope for the second leading set by identifying a distance measurement in the second leading set that is nearest the leading edge and comparing that to a distance measurement in the second leading set that is nearest the trailing edge;
calculate a second trailing slope for the second trailing set by identifying a distance measurement in the second trailing set that is nearest the trailing edge and comparing that to a distance measurement in the second trailing set that is nearest the leading edge;
analyze the slopes to determine if the closure is properly affixed such that:
the closure is determined to be properly affixed when the calculated slopes indicate a center of the closure is elevated above a periphery of the closure; and
the closure is determined to be not properly affixed when the calculated slopes indicate a center of the closure is not elevated above a periphery of the closure.

### Claim 10

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.

### Claim 11

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.

### Claim 12

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.

### Claim 13

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.