Method and device for inspecting an incision on a plastic cap
AssigneeSacmi Cooperativa Meccanici Imola Societa' Cooperativa
InventorsMassimo Balducci, Donato Laico
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Abstract
A method for inspecting an incision made on a lateral surface of a plastic cap includes the following steps: conveying the plastic cap along an inspection path through an inspection zone in which the cap is inspected; emitting a polarized light collimated along a light orientation towards the inspection zone; capturing image data representing at least one image of the lateral surface of the cap through an optical sensor; receiving the image data in a control unit; processing the image data to derive information about the incision.
Claims23
A method for inspecting an incision made on a lateral surface of a plastic cap, the method comprising the following steps:
- conveying the plastic cap on a conveyor along an inspection path through an inspection zone in which the cap is inspected;
- emitting a light along an emission orientation, the light being collimated along a light orientation towards the inspection zone, through an illuminator, the illuminator including a light source for emitting a beam of light, to illuminate the lateral surface of the cap;
- rotating the cap about an axis of rotation, so that the cap rotates about its axis of symmetry;
- capturing image data representing at least one image of the lateral surface of the cap through an optical sensor;
- deflecting the beam light from the emission orientation to the light orientation by a reflective element interposed between the cap and the optical sensor, along a detection direction of the optical sensor, wherein the reflective element allows illumination of the lateral surface and acquisition of the lateral surface from the same side, so to capture the lateral surface of the cap in reflection,
- processing the image data to derive information about the incision based on the image data,
- wherein the step of rotating exposes different portions of the lateral surface of the cap to the optical sensor, to allow the optical sensor to capture an image of each portion of the lateral surface of the cap.
A device for inspecting an incision made on a lateral surface of a plastic cap, the device comprising:
- an inspection zone in which the cap to be inspected can be positioned;
- a conveyor, configured to convey the cap along an inspection path passing through the inspection zone;
- an illuminator, including a light source configured to emit a beam of light along an emission orientation, the light being collimated along a light orientation towards the inspection zone, to illuminate the lateral surface of the cap;
- an optical sensor configured to capture image data representing at least one image of the lateral surface of the cap;
- a reflective element, interposed between the cap and the optical sensor along a detection direction of the optical sensor and configured for deflecting the beam light from the emission orientation to the light orientation, so to allow illumination of the lateral surface and acquisition of the lateral surface from the same side, so to capture the lateral surface of the cap in reflection;
- a control unit, configured to receive the image data and to process the image data to derive information about the incision from the image data,
- wherein the cap is configured for rotating about an axis of rotation, so that the cap rotates about its axis of symmetry, in order to expose different portions of the lateral surface of the cap to the optical sensor to allow the optical sensor to capture an image of each portion of the lateral surface of the cap.
A machine for testing a detachment force between a first portion of a cap and a second portion of a cap, connected to the first portion of the cap by one or more connectors, the machine comprising:
- a gripping element configured to hold the second portion of the cap;
- a pushing element, movable relative to the gripping element along a test orientation and configured to apply a force between the first portion and the second portion of the cap to move them along the test orientation in a pushing direction;
- an inspecting device, wherein the inspecting device comprises:
- an inspection zone in which the cap to be inspected can be positioned;
- a conveyor, configured to convey the cap along an inspection path passing through the inspection zone;
- an illuminator, configured to emit a light collimated along a light orientation towards the inspection zone, to illuminate the lateral surface of the cap;
- an optical sensor configured to capture image data representing at least one image of the lateral surface of the cap;
- a control unit, configured to receive the image data and to process the image data to derive information about the incision from the image data.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.