Granular product inspection device

A method for inspecting a particle, the method comprising:

• providing a feeder having a tray surface that includes a flat portion and a downwardly curved edge portion;
• disposing the particle on the flat portion;
• vibrating the feeder so as to induce movement of the particle from the flat portion to the downwardly curved edge portion;
• sliding the particle over the downwardly curved edge portion and dropping the particle from the downwardly curved edge portion through an image area;
• and
• capturing an image of the particle in the image area using an image capturing device.

A particle inspection device comprising:

• a feeder configured to drop a particle through an image area, wherein the feeder includes a tray surface having a flat portion and an edge portion disposed above the image area;
• a vibration device configured to vibrate the feeder so as to jog the particle from the flat portion to the edge portion;
• a landing element having a landing surface disposed in the image area and configured to receive the particle, a relative landing angle between the landing surface and the flat portion of the tray being less than 90 degrees;
• and
• an image capturing device configured to capture an image of the particle on the landing surface.

A method for inspecting a particle, the method comprising:

• providing a feeder having a tray surface that includes a flat portion and an edge portion;
• disposing the particle on the flat portion;
• vibrating the feeder so as to induce movement of the particle from the flat portion to the edge portion and dropping the particle from the edge portion through an image area;
• receiving the particle on a landing surface disposed in the image area at an angle less than 90 degrees from the flat tray surface;
• and
• capturing an image of the particle on the landing surface using an image capturing device.