Optical inspection system for automated detection of biological contaminants and surface defects in fish fillets combined with shadow-free illumination lamp

An optical inspection system for food-stuff comprising:

• a first conveyor, a second conveyor, and a third conveyor arranged in series along a travel path, wherein a discharge end of the first conveyor is spaced from a receiving end of the second conveyor to define a first inter-conveyor gap, and a discharge end of the second conveyor is spaced from a receiving end of the third conveyor to define a second inter-conveyor gap;
• a first bottom inspection station positioned beneath the first inter-conveyor gap and oriented upward to view a bottom side of the food-stuff as the food-stuff traverses the first inter-conveyor gap, the first bottom inspection station comprising at least one ultraviolet illumination source and at least one image capture device;
• a second bottom inspection station positioned beneath the second inter-conveyor gap and oriented upward to view the bottom side of the food-stuff as the food-stuff traverses the second inter-conveyor gap, the second bottom inspection station comprising at least one visible-spectrum illumination source and at least one image capture device;
• a first top inspection station positioned above at least one of the first conveyor, the second conveyor, and the third conveyor and oriented downward to view a top side of the food-stuff while supported by the corresponding conveyor, the first top inspection station comprising at least one ultraviolet illumination source and at least one image capture device;
• and
• a second top inspection station positioned above at least one of the first conveyor, the second conveyor, and the third conveyor and oriented downward to view the top side of the food-stuff while supported by the corresponding conveyor, the second top inspection station comprising at least one visible-spectrum illumination source and at least one image capture device;
• wherein the first bottom inspection station and the second bottom inspection station are respectively positioned between the first and second conveyors and between the second and third conveyors to inspect the bottom side of the food-stuff while the food-stuff is unsupported over the respective inter-conveyor gap, and wherein the first top inspection station and the second top inspection station and the first and second bottom inspection stations collectively provide both ultraviolet inspection and visible light inspection of the food-stuff on both top and bottom sides.

A method for dual-mode, dual-sided optical inspection of food-stuff, comprising:

• conveying the food-stuff along a travel path on a first conveyor, a second conveyor, and a third conveyor arranged in series;
• transferring the food-stuff from a discharge end of the first conveyor to a receiving end of the second conveyor across a first inter-conveyor gap and from a discharge end of the second conveyor to a receiving end of the third conveyor across a second inter-conveyor gap;
• imaging a bottom side of the food-stuff with a first bottom inspection station comprising at least one ultraviolet illumination source and at least one image capture device while the food-stuff is unsupported over the first inter-conveyor gap;
• imaging the bottom side of the food-stuff with a second bottom inspection station comprising at least one visible-spectrum illumination source and at least one image capture device while the food-stuff is unsupported over the second inter-conveyor gap;
• and
• imaging a top side of the food-stuff with a first top inspection station comprising at least one ultraviolet illumination source and at least one image capture device and with a second top inspection station comprising at least one visible-spectrum illumination source and at least one image capture device while the food-stuff is supported by at least one of the first conveyor, the second conveyor, and the third conveyor;
• wherein the first and second top inspection stations and the first and second bottom inspection stations collectively provide both ultraviolet inspection and visible light inspection of the food-stuff on both top and bottom sides.