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:
Oct. 04, 1994
Filed:
Dec. 04, 1992
H Cary Longest, Jr, Midlothian, VA (US);
Barry S Smith, Hopewell, VA (US);
Philip Morris Incorporated, New York, NY (US);
Abstract
Substantially circular objects such as the ends of the filters of filter tipped cigarettes are inspected to make sure they have an acceptable appearance. The object surface to be inspected is preferably cantilevered out from the object supporting structure, and any surface of the supporting structure which faces in the same direction as the object surface is preferably made visually contrasting with the object surface. The object surface is preferably illuminated obliquely and at an angle to the axis along which an image of the object is formed. The image is subjected to 'blob' analysis to determine whether it has an acceptable appearance. Objects which do not have an acceptable appearance are rejected. A sophisticated user interface provides substantial information to an operator of the system.