Information Item Forming Machine with Visual Inspection Unit and Method for Forming and Sorting Informational Items
AssigneeG&K-Vijuk Intern. Corp.
InventorChad M. Lacek
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Abstract
An apparatus for forming and sorting informational items comprises a folding unit, a conveyor belt, a camera, a controller, and a diverter assembly. The folding unit forms a folded article from a sheet of paper. The conveyor belt transports the folded article. The camera captures an image of the folded article as it passes by the camera. The controller receives and processes the image, and the diverter assembly causes the folded article to move off of the conveyor belt when the controller determines that the folded article fails to satisfy at least one predetermined criteria.
Claims27
An apparatus for forming and sorting informational items having product information printed thereon, the apparatus comprising:
- at least one folding unit to form a folded article from a sheet of paper having information printed thereon;
- a conveyor belt to transport the folded article away from the folding unit;
- a camera disposed adjacent the conveyor belt and downstream from the folding unit, the camera to capture an image of the folded article as the folded article passes by the camera on the conveyor belt;
- a controller operatively coupled to the camera to receive and processing the image of the folded article;
- and
- a diverter assembly disposed adjacent to the conveyor belt and downstream from the camera, the diverter assembly operatively coupled to the controller to cause the folded article to move off of the conveyor belt when the controller determines that the folded article fails to satisfy at least one predetermined criteria.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the diverter assembly comprises a diverter arm that is movable to divert the folded article off of the conveyor belt.7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the diverter assembly further comprises a pneumatic cylinder operatively coupled to the diverter arm, the pneumatic cylinder operatively coupled to the controller such that the controller may activate the pneumatic cylinder to move the diverter arm to cause the folded article to move off of the conveyor belt.
A method of forming and sorting informational items having product information printed thereon, the method comprising:
- folding a sheet of paper having product information printed thereon by making a plurality of folds in said sheet of paper to form a folded article;
- conveying the folded article on a conveyor belt passed the camera;
- capturing an image of the folded article with the camera as it passes on the conveyor belt;
- processing data retrieved from the image;
- and
- determining if the folded article satisfies at least on predetermined criteria based on the processed data.
A method of forming and sorting informational items having product information printed thereon, the method comprising:
- folding a sheet of paper having product information printed thereon by making a plurality of folds in said sheet of paper to form a folded article;
- conveying the folded article on a conveyor belt;
- determining if the folded article satisfies at least one predetermined criteria;
- and
- diverting the folded article off of the conveyor belt when it is determined that the folded article does not satisfy the at least one predetermined criteria.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.