Simco/ramic Corporation

Dennis Cavin

James A Little

A defect detection system is especially applicable to string type potatoes for removing the black spots and includes removing or sorting out potatoes with black spots. It includes a pair of line scanning cameras focused on opposite sides of a vertical on a common line, spaced above the conveyor belt to the height of the potato. Such opposite sight lines provide for effective sensing of leading or trailing edges of the potato. To provide for effective cutting, the cutting blade units have offset blades to allow overlap and a spacing so that areas of uncertainty created by the two cameras are eliminated. To minimize down-time of the system, the vision, light, power and punch modules are separately removable. Moreover, they are located on a cantilevered base above the moving belt. This cantilevering in conjunction with pivoted supports allows for a seamless belt and easy removal of that belt. Finally, off the shelf air piston drives are utilized, their rebound characteristics being optimized by the tailoring actuating pulses to match the specific rebound characteristics.

Defect detection system with quick-release modules

A defect detection system is especially applicable to string type potatoes for removing the black spots and includes removing or sorting out potatoes with black spots. It includes a pair of line scanning cameras focused on opposite sides of a vertical on a common line, spaced above the conveyor belt to the height of the potato. Such opposite sight lines provide for effective sensing of leading or trailing edges of the potato. To provide for effective cutting, the cutting blade units have offset blades to allow overlap and a spacing so that areas of uncertainty created by the two cameras are eliminated. To minimize down-time of the system, the vision light, power and punch modules are separately removable. Moreover, they are located on a cantilevered base above the moving belt. This cantilevering in conjunction with pivoted supports allows for a seamless belt and easy removal of that belt. Finally, off the shelf air piston drives are utilized, their rebound characteristics being optimized by the tailoring actuating pulses to match the specific rebound characteristics.

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Medford, OR, United States of America

Dennis Cavin