US 12,073,548 B2 · Machine vision based automatic needle cannula inspection system and method of use

Abstract

A machine vision based automatic needle cannula inspection system includes an inspection and control unit, image capture devices, light sources, a unit that makes the needle cannula and the image capture device(s) rotate relative to each other, and a rejected part removal unit. By means of rotating the needle cannula and image capture devices relatively, a plurality of images captured along the circumferential direction of the needle cannula are directly saved to a computer, the images are then screened, processed and analyzed to fulfill the automatic inspection of multiple quality and technical parameters of the needle cannula without the need to position the bevel area of cannula tip to a specific direction. Inspection parameters and accuracy can be set at any time, the system can automatically record classification and statistics of passed and rejected needle cannulas for query, and the rejected cannula are removed automatically at next position.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A machine vision based automatic needle cannula inspection system comprising:

a control unit configured to perform synchronized control and information processing;
a needle cannula retainer for retaining at least one needle cannula, the needle cannula retainer rotating the needle cannula about an axis extending from a first end of the needle cannula to a second end of the needle cannula;
and
an image capture device configured to capture images of the needle cannula at a plurality of positions about the circumference of the needle cannula, each of the captured images including a left edge and a right edge of the needle cannula,
wherein the control unit is configured to:
analyze images of the plurality of images captured on one bevel area of said needle cannula;
identify an image with a largest bright area;
count forward or backward a predetermined number of images to obtain a second image, the second image being approximately 90 degrees to the image with the largest bright area;
perform linear fitting of left and right vertical lines;
determine the needle has a curved tip when the distance between a top point of the longest vertical line and horizontally the leftmost pixel or rightmost pixel exceeds a preset threshold;
and
reject the needle cannula.

9 more elements

A machine vision based automatic needle cannula inspection method comprising:

rotating a needle cannula about an axis extending from a first end of the needle cannula to a second end of the needle cannula
capturing, with an image capture device, a plurality of images of the needle cannula along a plurality of positions about a circumference of the needle cannula;
and
inspecting the needle cannula for defects through analyzing, by a control unit, the captured images, each of the plurality of images including a left edge and a right edge of the needle cannula,
wherein inspecting the needle cannula for defects through analyzing comprises:
analyzing images of the plurality of images captured on one bevel area of said needle cannula comprises the following steps:
identifying an image with a largest bright area;
counting forward or backward a predetermined number of images to obtain a second image, the second image being approximately 90 degrees to the image with the largest bright area;
performing linear fitting of left and right vertical lines;
determining the needle has a curved tip when the distance between a top point of the longest vertical line and horizontally the leftmost pixel or rightmost pixel exceeds a preset threshold;
and
rejecting the needle cannula.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Machine vision based automatic needle cannula inspection system and method of use

Life of this patent

Machine vision based automatic needle cannula inspection system and method of use

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims17