Dual-Camera Package Inspection Across a Conveyor Gap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing quality control stations for packages, particularly carton packages, struggle with inconsistent and unreliable detection of quality issues due to manual assessments and limitations in automatic systems, leading to delayed detection and increased waste.
Innovation Solution
A package quality inspection station utilizing a conveyor system with a belt brake and dual cameras to capture simultaneous or near-simultaneous top and bottom images of carton packages, combined with AI/ML models to assess features and correlations, incorporating operator feedback for enhanced reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual quality assessment by personnel is used, then flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but reliability and consistency deteriorate due to subjective differences
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual visual inspection with an automated optical inspection system comprising cameras, lighting devices, and image processing units. This substitution eliminates subjective human assessment while maintaining objective quality evaluation through technological means, directly resolving the reliability- consistency problem without requiring complex AI systems initially.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates visual copies (images) of the package surfaces through cameras and captures lighting conditions, then analyzes these copies to detect defects. This copying approach allows multiple assessments of the same package features without subjectivity, improving reliability while keeping the system relatively simple through standard imaging technology.
2Measurement precision
If automatic quality station with single camera is used, then automation is achieved, but measurement precision deteriorates due to inability to detect both top and bottom misalignments
Solution Approach 1:
The inspection system is segmented into multiple independent camera units, each responsible for capturing specific areas (top surface, bottom surface, edges) of the package. This segmentation allows each camera to focus on specific features with optimized positioning and lighting, improving measurement precision for detecting misalignments while distributing system complexity across modular components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from single-plane inspection to multi-dimensional inspection by positioning cameras to capture top, bottom, and lateral surfaces simultaneously. This dimensional expansion enables comprehensive detection of package misalignments and defects that would be invisible from a single viewpoint, significantly improving measurement precision.
3Loss of time
If packages are conveyed continuously without interruption, then productivity is maintained, but loss of time increases due to inability to capture both top and bottom images simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-positioning multiple cameras and lighting devices to capture all necessary package surfaces (top, bottom, edges) simultaneously as the package moves along the conveyor. This preliminary setup eliminates the need to stop the conveyor for sequential imaging, reducing inspection time while maintaining productivity through continuous operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The inspection system maintains continuous operation by using multiple cameras that capture images simultaneously while packages move on the conveyor belt. The useful action of quality inspection continues uninterrupted throughout the package's passage through the inspection zone, minimizing loss of time and maintaining high productivity through parallel data capture from multiple viewpoints.
Data Source
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AI summary
A package quality inspection station (100) is provided. The station (100) comprises a first conveyor belt (102) and a second conveyor belt (108) arranged to abut a bottom portion (104) of a package (106). The second conveyor belt (108) is placed at distance (D) from the first conveyor belt (102) such that a gap (110) is formed. A belt brake (112) comprising a first and a second lateral belt arrangement (114, 116) arranged to hold the package (106) is provided to bridge the gap (110) and to hold the package (106) such that a top portion (160) and the bottom portion (104) are made visible when conveyed over the gap (110). A top camera (132) is configured to capture top image data (134) depicting the top portion (160), and a bottom camera (136) configured to capture bottom image data (138) depicting the bottom portion (104). A controller (142) can be configured to receive the top image data (134) and the bottom image data (138) and to identify quality issues linked to the package (106) based on the top image data (134) and the bottom image data (138) in combination.