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:
Dec. 16, 1997
Filed:
Apr. 03, 1995
Richard L Fedor, Mantua, OH (US);
Thomas H Palombo, Akron, OH (US);
Alltrista Corporation, Muncie, IN (US);
Abstract
A system and method for inspecting opaque objects, such as metal beverage containers, is presented including a light source for illuminating the interior surface of the container, an ellipsoidal first mirror for forming a first image of an upper interior portion of the container, a first camera for capturing the first image of the upper interior portion of the container, a planar image-splitting second mirror for forming a second image of the flange of the container, a second camera for capturing the second image of the flange, an image combiner for electro-optically combining the first and second images, whereby a resultant composite image corresponding to substantially the entire upper interior surface of the container can be generated and analyzed for defects, a third camera located at a separate location for viewing directly the lower interior portion of the container and capturing a corresponding third image, and a computer means for analyzing the resulting images for defects. In an alternative embodiment, a fourth camera and a planar image-splitting third mirror may be disposed at the separate location for forming and capturing a fourth image corresponding specifically to the bottomwall of the container, and an image combiner can electro-optically combine the third and fourth images, whereby a second resultant composite image corresponding to substantially the entire lower interior portion of the container can be generated and analyzed for defects.