# US 2013/0155220 A1 · Configurable image trigger for a vision system and method for using the same

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- Number: US 2013/0155220 A1
- Document ID: US20130155220A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 13/331,866
- Filed: 2011-12-20
- Published: 2013-06-20
- Earliest claimed: 2011-12-20
- Assignees: Cognex Corporation
- Inventors: Tyson Mahuna
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20130155220A1

## CPC

- G01N 21/8851: {Scan or image signal processing specially adapted therefor, e.g. for scan signal adjustment, for detecting different kinds of defects, for compensating for structures, markings, edges (G01N21/8806 and G01N21/93 - G01N21/95692 take precedence; optical measurement of dimensions G01B11/00; optical scanning G02B26/10; image transformation G06T3/00; computerised image enhancement G06T5/00; image processing per se for flaw detection G06T7/0002)}
- G06F 3/04847: Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
- G01N 21/8806: {Specially adapted optical and illumination features}
- G01N 2021/8867: {using sequentially two or more inspection runs, e.g. coarse and fine, or detecting then analysing}
- G01N 2021/8887: {based on image processing techniques}
- 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)
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)

## Abstract

This invention provides a trigger for a vision system that can be set using a user interface that allows the straightforward variation of a plurality of exposed trigger parameters. Illustratively, the vision system includes a triggering mode in which the system keeps acquiring an image of a field of view with respect to objects in relative motion. The system runs user-configurable “trigger logic”. When the trigger logic succeeds/passes, the current image or a newly acquired image is then transmitted to the main inspection logic for processing. The trigger logic can be readily configured by a user operating an interface, which can also be used to configure the main inspection process, to trigger the vision system by tools such as presence-absence, edge finding, barcode finding, pattern matching, image thresholding, or any arbitrary combination of tools exposed by the vision system in the interface.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A configurable trigger for a vision system having a vision system camera that acquires images of objects moving relative to a field of view of the camera comprising:
a vision system interface constructed and arranged to allow user access to a plurality of vision system tools to process the acquired images;
a trigger configuration function within the interface constructed and arranged to allow a user to configure at least some of the plurality vision system tools to define a trigger logic by which an event is triggered; and
a main inspection configuration function within the interface constructed and arranged to allow a user to configure the vision system tools to define a main inspection logic that operates on at least one of the images in response to the triggered event.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The configurable trigger as set forth in claim 1 wherein the interface constructed and arranged to allow a user to configure all of the plurality vision system tools.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The configurable trigger as set forth in claim 1 wherein the vision system interface is constructed and arranged to provide a user-selectable trigger mode interface, the trigger mode interface including user-selectable buttons that expose at least some of the plurality of tools.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The configurable trigger as set forth in claim 3 wherein the trigger mode interface further comprises a trigger logic dialog screen that displays a trigger logic criteria based on selected ones of the tools.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The configurable trigger as set forth in claim 4 wherein the criteria include at least one of threshold values and pass/fail parameters.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The configurable trigger as set forth in claim 1 wherein the trigger logic operates on a sequence of the acquired images and, when the triggered event occurs, provides the image that triggers the event to the main inspection logic.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The configurable trigger as set forth in claim 1 wherein the trigger logic operates on a sequence of the acquired images and, when the triggered event occurs, provides to the main inspection logic an image acquired subsequent to the image that triggers the event.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The configurable trigger as set forth in claim 7 wherein the sequence of images is acquired at a frame rate that is higher than a frame rate at which the image acquired subsequent is acquired.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The configurable trigger as set forth in claim 7 wherein the sequence of images is acquired at a resolution that is lower than a resolution of the image acquired subsequent.

### Claim 10

A method for configuring a trigger event in a vision system having a vision system camera that acquires images objects moving relative to a field of view of the camera comprising the steps of:
operating a vision system interface including a plurality of vision system tools to process the acquired images;
configuring, with a trigger configuration function within the interface, at least some of the plurality vision system tools to define a trigger logic by which an event is triggered; and
configuring, with a main inspection configuration within the interface, the vision system tools to define a main inspection logic that operates on at least one of the images in response to the triggered event.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method as set forth in claim 10 wherein the step of configuring at least some of the plurality vision system tools to define the trigger logic includes configuring all of the plurality vision system tools.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The method as set forth in claim 10 wherein the vision system interface is constructed and arranged to provide a user-selectable trigger mode interface, and wherein the step of configuring at least some of the plurality vision system tools to define the trigger logic includes accessing on the trigger mode interface user-selectable buttons that expose at least some of the plurality of tools.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The method as set forth in claim 12 wherein the step of configuring at least some of the plurality vision system tools to define the trigger logic includes accessing a trigger logic dialog screen that displays a trigger logic criteria based on selected ones of the tools.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The method as set forth in claim 13 further comprising setting the criteria to include at least one of threshold values and pass/fail parameters.

### Claim 15 (depends on 10)

The method as set forth in claim 10 wherein the trigger logic operates on a sequence of the acquired images and, when the triggered event occurs, provides the image that triggers the event to the main inspection logic.

### Claim 16 (depends on 10)

The method as set forth in claim 10 wherein the trigger logic operates on a sequence of the acquired images and, when the triggered event occurs, provides to the main inspection logic an image acquired subsequent to the image that triggers the event.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The method as set forth in claim 16 wherein the sequence of images is acquired at a frame rate that is higher than a frame rate at which the image acquired subsequent is acquired.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The method as set forth in claim 16 wherein the sequence of images is acquired at a resolution that is lower than a resolution of the image acquired subsequent.

### Claim 19

A method for triggering an event in a vision system having a vision system camera that acquires images of objects moving relative to a field of view of the camera comprising the steps of:
continuously acquiring images within the field of view and analyzing acquired image data from the images;
applying a pre-configured trigger logic based on at least one of a plurality of user-configured vision system tools to the image data from the images;
when the pre-configured trigger logic achieves a passing result on the image data, providing an event trigger; and
providing image data from at least one of (a) one or more of the images that achieves the passing result and (b) an image acquired subsequent to one of the images to a main inspection logic.