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:
Nov. 17, 1992
Filed:
Mar. 23, 1990
Applicant:
Inventor:
Tim D Conway, Stockton, CA (US);
Assignee:
Sunkist Growers, Inc., Sherman Oaks, CA (US);
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01J / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
356407 ; 250226 ; 356418 ; 356425 ; 358106 ;
Abstract
A method and apparatus is disclosed for grading the surface of generally apherical fruit according to surface characteristics such as color and blemish. The fruit are moved in single file past a scanning camera while being rotated about a transverse horizontal axis. Reflectivity data in three separate wavelength bands is collected for a series of scans of each article of fruit, and this data is processed to eliminate all duplicative data arising from the fruit's rotation. Color ratio signals based on the remaining reflectivity data are then utilized to grade the fruit according to their surface color and degree of blemish.