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:
Sep. 07, 2004
Filed:
Jul. 10, 2000
Gary A. Lebens, Chaska, MN (US);
PPT Vision, Inc., Eden Prairie, MN (US);
Abstract
In a machine-vision system for inspecting a part or either object, the invention provides a method and apparatus providing illumination with high-speed changing and/or automatic adjustment of not only the illumination's angle, but also the dispersion, intensity, and/or color. Optionally, a light source emits polarized light, a machine-vision imager obtains an image, and a processor receives the image and generates a quality parameter based on the image. One or more of the various means described selectively direct the light in a predetermined pattern based on its polarization and based on the quality parameter of the image. A machine-vision method includes setting one or more illumination parameters, illuminating the object based on the one or more illumination parameters, obtaining an image of the illuminated object, generating a quality parameter based on an image quality of a predetermined region of interest in the image, and iterating using a different illumination parameter.