Dimensioning system
AssigneeAccu-Sort Systems, Inc.
InventorsAlbert Wurz, John E. Romaine, David L. Martin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention provides a dimensioning system for determining the minimum size box necessary to enclose an object traveling on a moving conveyor. The dimensioning system is comprised of a light source which generates a scan beam that is moved by a mirrored wheel. A line scan camera whose field of view tracks the moving scan beam receives images of the scan beam and outputs a signal which is processed to compute a three dimensional box structure of the scanned object.
Claims19
An apparatus for determining the dimensions of an object traveling on a moving conveyor comprising:
- means for generating a scan beam that repetitiously moves across the conveyor at a selected location such that the beam intersects any object traveling on the conveyor through said location;
- detecting means having a line field of view which is moved in correspondence with the moving beam that receives reflected images of the scan beam at a plurality of points as the beam moves across the conveyor;
- and
- means for calculating the height of the object relative to the conveyor at each image point based on the received reflected images.
An apparatus for determining the dimensions of an object traveling on a moving conveyor comprising:
- a light source which generates a light beam that is directed at a mirrored wheel to create a moving beam;
- means for directing said moving beam across the conveyor at a selected location and at a predetermined angle relative to the conveying surface;
- means in the path of the moving light beam for converting the light from an angular scan to a substantially parallel scan;
- a detecting means having a line field of view;
- means for directing the line field of view at the moving light beam in an angular orientation to the conveying surface which is offset from said predetermined angle with the line field crossing the moving light beam;
- and
- said detecting means receiving images at a plurality of image points along the moving beam outputting a signal, a processor which receives the signal, computes the offset distance of the beam intersect point and the object height at the image point, stores data from a locus of points, and compares data from a series of moving scans to provide a three dimensional measurement of the object.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.