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US 5,142,160 AGranted
Method and device for determining the volume of an object on a flat background
OwnerFrank Storbeckinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Method for determining the volume of an object arranged on a flat background surface. The object is scanned using radiation in a predetermined pattern, the radiation reflected by the object is detected by a radiation pick-up means, the detected radiation is compared with radiation reflected by the background surface, and the volume of the object is computed from the comparison. A representative device determines the mass of a fish carried on a conveyor.
Claims4
A method for determining the volume and/or mass of a fish on a flat surface of a moving conveyor comprising the steps for:
- a) irradiating a position across the conveyor with a band of light transversely of the direction of movement of the conveyor, said band of light being directed to the conveyor at an angle thereto;
- b) advancing the conveyor at a substantially constant speed;
- c) repeatedly detecting the two dimensional video image of the band of light which becomes curved and shifted as a fish is carried by the conveyor under a video camera disposed above the position on the conveyor irradiated with the band of light;
- d) encoding the sampled video image for computer manipulation;
- e) comparing the encoded images of the curved and shifted band of light with the image of the band of light reflected only from the conveyor surface;
- and
- f) calculating the volume and/or mass of the fish from the comparisons made in the preceding step.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.