Back to results
US 5,133,198 AGranted
Endoscopic apparatus for flaw detection on a circular knitting machine
AssigneeInstitut Textile de France
InventorJean-Marie Bachmann
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeInstitut Textile de France
InventorJean-Marie Bachmann
Estimating the term…
The apparatus has particular use in the detection of flaws in articles being knitted on a circular knitting machine and aplies in particular to the manufacturing of footwear. The apparatus comprises a light source, an electro-optical sensor receiving light coming from the light source after the light has been reflected by the knitted fabric, or after it has passed through that knitted fabric. Devices are provided for processing the data produced by the electro-optical sensor. According to the invention, there is provided a linear endoscope fixedly mounted along the rotation axis of the machine, whose viewing cone is matched to a distal lens and is oriented radially towards the knitted fabric. The photosensitive zone of the electro-optical sensor is located at the image plane of a lens located at a proximal end of the endoscope.
Apparatus for the detection of flaws in articles being knitted in a circular knitting machine, said apparatus comprising at least one luminous source outside the circular knitting machine, an electro-optical sensor receiving light emanating from said source after said light has been reflected by a knitted fabric or after said light has passed through said knitted fabric, and data processing means for processing data produced by said electro-optical sensor, wherein said apparatus further comprises a rectilinear endoscope fixedly mounted along a rotation axis of the knitted machine cylinder and defining an optical cone angle related to a distal lens, said lens being radially oriented towards the knitted fabric, and wherein a photo-sensitive zone of said electro-optical sensor is located above the cylinder and is substantially in an image plane of a proximal lens of said endoscope.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.