US 5,125,034 AGranted

Method and apparatus for analyzing fabric conditions

AssigneeCompax Corp.

InventorsRick L. Hudson, Michael G. Belanger

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A system for analyzing fabrics, knitted or woven, particularly to perform in-process analysis of stitch count or yarn count. A camera positioned over the fabric is exposed by means of a high speed strobe to form a freeze-frame image, which is digitized and stored for computer processing. An early processing step involves scanning the image along a large number of angularly displaced scanning axes, to determine the construction line of the fabric, which may be skewed relative to the imaging camera. The image is thereafter scanned along lines parallel to (and/or at right angles to) the construction line. A more precise and useful analysis is made possible by this technique. Color insensitivity is achieved without the use of expensive infra-red strobe devices, by using a common xenon strobe and a filter to exclude wave lengths below the near-infra-red range.

Claims8

Dependent claims

In the process of counting stitches per dimensional unit in a fabric, wherein a digitized freeze-frame image is made of a sample area of the fabric, and an analysis is made of the image to derive a value representative of stitch count, the improvement characterized by

(a) initially scanning said digitized image in predetermined step-wise sequences of lateral and longitudinal image increments to identify generally linear regions of said image that are substantially uniform in image pattern over an extended length and are thus identifiable as axes extending parallel to lines of construction of said fabric,
(b) analyzing the ratio of the lateral step-wise increments to the longitudinal step-wise increments to derive a value representative of the skew angle of said lines of construction with respect to the orientation of said image, and
(c) thereafter scanning successive areas of said digitized image in a pattern of lateral and longitudinal step-wise increments corresponding to said skew angle, whereby to derive a value corresponding to the number of stitches per inch of said fabric in a direction generally parallel with or generally at right angles to said lines of construction.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.