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:
Apr. 29, 2008
Filed:
Nov. 27, 2002
Leonard J. Bond, Richland, WA (US);
Aaron A. Diaz, Richland, WA (US);
Richard A. Pappas, Richland, WA (US);
Timothy L. Stewart, Pendleton, OR (US);
Albert Mendoza, West Richland, WA (US);
Leonard J. Bond, Richland, WA (US);
Aaron A. Diaz, Richland, WA (US);
Richard A. Pappas, Richland, WA (US);
Timothy L. Stewart, Pendleton, OR (US);
Albert Mendoza, West Richland, WA (US);
Battelle Memorial Institute, Richland, WA (US);
Abstract
Systems and techniques for detecting the presence of foreign material in food utilizing optical backlighting and/or ultrasonic inspection are presented. In optical backlighting, a substantially monochromatic light source optically backlights a food stream with source light having a wavelength between about 500 and 600 nm. An image of the food stream is captured and the presence of foreign material is determined when a portion of the detected image exceeds a predetermined threshold. The technique is especially suitable for the detection of bone in chicken meat, and the light source can be a planar array of green LEDs. In ultrasonic inspection, a process stream is interrogated with pulses of ultrasound and the presence of foreign material is determined based on the detected off-angle ultrasound scattering response.