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US 4,969,746 AGranted
Component inspection apparatus and method
AssigneeR. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
InventorsBain C. McConnell, Clifford R. Marritt, John L. Nelson, Kenneth W. White
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Abstract
The apparatus of the invention comprises a lighting device for illuminating a component to be inspected to form a halo of light around a periphery of the component and a system for comparing the shape of the halo of light to a known acceptable shape. A camera may be used to detect the halo and a programmed computer may be used to perform image analysis of the shape of the halo to determine if it conforms to an acceptable shape.
Claims25
An apparatus comprising:
- means for illuminating a component to be inspected to form a halo of light around a periphery of the component;
- and
- means for comparing the shape of the halo of light to a known acceptable shape.
An apparatus comprising:
- means for presenting a plurality of rod shaped elements to an inspection station one at a time;
- means for determining a shape of a periphery of said elements relative to a known shape, said determining means comprising means for producing a halo of radiation representing said shape of said periphery;
- and
- means for accepting or rejecting said elements based on said determined shape.
1 more element
A method, comprising:
- illuminating a component to be inspected to form a halo of light around a periphery of the component;
- and
- comparing the shape of the halo of light to a known acceptable shape.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.