Philip Morris Inc.

Dcs Corporation

Andrew D Struckhoff

Lee C Cramer

Steven Frederick Spiers

Marc D Belcastro

Gordon H Bokelman

Janet L Thompson

Bogdan N Alexander

William E Shaw

Eric S Mosser

Gilbert D Glass

Mark Roth

A system and method for detecting defects in a material in a liquid bath, the system including a light that illuminates the material through the liquid bath, at least one camera with a view of the material through the liquid bath, and a digital processor in communication with the at least one camera. The at least one camera transmits image data to the digital processor and the digital processor analyzes the image data to identify defects in the material. In an embodiment of the invention, the system includes an anti-turbulence interface through which the at least one camera views the material.

Method and apparatus for detecting defects in a material in a liquid bath

A cigarette filter rod system comprises a plug combiner machine having a knife located downstream from a sensor. The knife generates a trigger signal which prompts an Inspection Unit to locate a previously stored frame of sensor data corresponding the rod which was cut by the knife. The Inspection Unit applies thresholds to the frame of sensor data to determine the location of filter segment boundaries, and then determines whether air rings are present in the data. The Inspection Unit then compares measurements made on the frame of sensor data with a pre-stored recipe indicating expected values for the frame. Statistical data is sent to a Human-Machine Interface Unit for analysis and display. The system performs filter rod rejection and cut registration based on the analysis performed by the Inspection Unit and the Human-Machine Interface.

Plug combiner inspection system and method

An optical inspection system mounts on a cigarette making machine or like system and detects the presence of bands having irregular widths or spacings. In response to the detection of irregular bands, the optical inspection system instructs the cigarette making machine to reject cigarettes which will be subsequently made from portions of the cigarette paper containing the irregular bands. The optical inspection system includes a sensor which can accommodate different types of cigarette paper and band material having varying reflectance properties. In operation, sensor circuitry detects the range of voltages produced by a sensor detector, and formulates a peak value (or average peak value) for the range of voltages. The circuitry then takes a percentage of this peak value to form a threshold value. This threshold value is compared with the AC signal from the sensor detector. If the AC signal exceeds the threshold, then the circuitry asserts a signal to indicate that a band is present. The output of the sensor is fed to a computer. The computer detects whether the bands detected by the sensor have regular band spacing and width.

Cigarette making machine including band inspection

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Alexandria, VA, United States of America

Andrew D Struckhoff