Cigarette Inspection Device Filter Contamination Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image processing methods struggle to accurately distinguish between contamination and tobacco shreds on filter end faces of cigarettes, leading to incorrect identification of defects in cigarette bundles, especially when the array of cigarettes is disturbed.
Innovation Solution
A cigarette inspection device that uses pattern images to accurately detect cigarette locations and cut out filter end face images, allowing for precise contamination detection by comparing preset pattern images with inspection images, and employs quality judging means to determine if the number or area of contaminations exceeds threshold values.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional image processing simply discriminates color components of inspection images, then the inspection process is simple and fast, but it cannot distinguish between contamination and tobacco shreds, leading to false positives
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the inspection process into distinct stages: first detecting cigarette positions and extracting filter end face regions, then performing contamination detection on the extracted regions. This segmentation allows the system to focus processing resources on relevant areas, improving detection accuracy while managing complexity through modular processing steps
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary step of extracting filter end face images from the full inspection image before performing contamination detection. This intermediary extraction process isolates the region of interest, enabling more precise contamination analysis by separating it from other elements like tobacco shreds that may be present in the full image but not on the filter surface
2Reliability
If the inspection device removes all detected anomalies, then contamination quality is improved, but normal products with attached tobacco shreds are incorrectly eliminated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by focusing contamination detection specifically on the filter end face region rather than the entire cigarette. By extracting and analyzing only the filter end face area, the system evaluates contamination characteristics in the specific location where machine oil contamination occurs, while ignoring tobacco shreds that may be attached to other parts of the cigarette, thus improving reliability without increasing false rejections
3Measurement precision
If the inspection system processes the entire inspection image, then all potential contaminations are detected, but processing time and computational load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the filter end face region from the complete inspection image for contamination detection. This extraction is performed based on detected cigarette positions and predetermined geometric relationships. By taking out only the relevant filter end face areas rather than processing the entire image, the system maintains comprehensive contamination detection coverage while significantly reducing computational load and processing time
Data Source
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AI summary
Purpose: To provide a cigarette inspection device that is capable of inspecting a filter quality through an inspection image of filter end faces in a bundle of cigarettes and accurately detecting, for example, only contaminations. Means to Attain the Purpose: A pattern image to be used for detecting a cigarette location on the basis of a preset location of each cigarette in the cigarette bundle and a search area on the inspection image are set, and the pattern image is shifted within the search area, thereby obtaining a position at which the pattern image coincides with an image of the filter end face. An image of a filter end face of the cigarette is cut out from the inspection image according to the detected position, and quality (contamination) is inspected. Inspection results obtained with respect to the cigarettes are aggregated, and a judgment is made on the quality (presence or absence of a contamination) of the filter end face.