System and method for manufacturing boards with on-line defect detection system with illuminated machine vision
AssigneeUnited States Gypsum Company
InventorRonald John Koval
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments of a system and a method for detecting a defect in a board can be used in connection with the manufacture of products, including cementitious board products such as gypsum wallboard, for example. Such systems and methods can include a light source mounted in a fixture configured to focus the light beam emitted by the light source onto the board being produced so that a camera/computer vision system can generate an image for use by a controller to detect a defect condition during the continuous manufacture of the board.
Claims20
A system for manufacturing a cementitious board, the cementitious board having a pair of edges, the system comprising:
- a forming station, the forming station configured to form the cementitious board such that the cementitious board is within a predetermined thickness range;
- a conveyor, the conveyor configured to convey the cementitious board along a machine direction away from the forming station such that the edges of the cementitious board extend along the machine direction and are disposed in lateral spaced relationship to each other along a cross-machine direction, the cross-machine direction being perpendicular to the machine direction;
- a defect detection system, the defect detection system including an imaging device, a light assembly, and a controller,
- the imaging device being disposed downstream of the forming station along the machine direction, the imaging device being positioned relative to the conveyor and being configured to generate image data within a field of view corresponding to a portion of the cementitious board as the cementitious board is conveyed past the imaging device,
- the light assembly having a light source configured to generate a light beam and a fixture configured to receive the light source therein and to reflect at least a portion of the light beam emitted by the light source so that the light beam is projected onto the board within the field of view of the imaging device,
- the controller being in operable arrangement with the imaging device to receive image data therefrom, the controller configured to generate a control signal in response to the image data meeting a defect condition.
A method of manufacturing a cementitious board, the method comprising:
- conveying the cementitious board along a machine direction away from a forming station, the cementitious board having a pair of edges, the edges disposed in lateral spaced relationship to each other along a cross-machine direction, the cross-machine direction being perpendicular to the machine direction, the edges of the cementitious board extending along the machine direction;
- using an imaging device disposed downstream of the forming station along the machine direction to generate image data within a field of view corresponding to a portion of the cementitious board as the cementitious board is conveyed past the imaging device;
- operating a light source mounted in a fixture to emit a light beam that strikes the board within the field of view of the imaging device, the fixture reflecting at least a portion of the light beam emitted by the light source;
- transmitting image data from the imaging device to a controller;
- using the controller to determine whether a defect condition has occurred using the image data and, in response to so determining, to generate a control signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.