The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 05, 1982
Filed:
May. 30, 1979
Michael C Hoover, Houston, TX (US);
Charles R Brazell, Houston, TX (US);
Shyam B Mehta, Houston, TX (US);
James F Lockett, Houston, TX (US);
Elias H Codding, Houston, TX (US);
Geosource Inc., Houston, TX (US);
Abstract
An apparatus for sorting articles based upon the presence of defects on the surface thereof is characterized by a roller conveyor carrying a random array of articles in transverse channels defined between adjacent rollers. As the conveyor is advanced through a viewed area the articles are simultaneously rotated such that electrical images are formed of the portions of the surface of each article within a viewing zone defined in each channel during a given time frame. The viewing zones advance a predetermined distance through the viewed are in synchronization with the scanning of the electrical images. A characteristic signal for the portion of the electrical image corresponding to each article is developed and output to a processor. The processor generates a classification signal representative of the acceptability of each article based upon the percentage of total surface of area or number of defects on the surface each article.