Sintered Body Crack Evaluation Using HSV Saturation Imaging

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing quality evaluation methods for sintered bodies, which rely on optical microscopy, are labor-intensive and lack accuracy in determining the presence or absence of deep cracks due to the absence of depth information in photographed images.

Innovation Solution

An evaluation apparatus and method that involves staining the cross-section of sintered bodies, extracting a saturation component from RGB images converted to HSV space, and generating two- or three-dimensional images to visualize crack depth, enabling precise crack detection.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If optical microscopy is used to observe cross sections of sintered bodies, then quality evaluation can be performed, but the workload for inspectors is high

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecrack detection accuracyVSAvoidevaluation efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the manual optical microscopy inspection method with an automated image processing system. The system captures images of stained cross-sections and automatically analyzes them using computer algorithms, substituting the mechanical/Manual inspection process with an automated optical-digital hybrid system that maintains detection accuracy while eliminating inspector workload.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates digital copies (images) of the sintered body cross-sections after staining, and performs evaluation on these copies rather than requiring direct visual inspection of physical samples. This allows multiple analyses of the same sample without additional manual effort and enables automated processing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Ease of operation

If photographed images are used for crack determination, then the inspection process is simplified, but depth information is lost and accuracy decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinspection simplicityVSAvoiddeep crack detection accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies staining that causes cracks to appear in different colors or saturation levels based on their depth. Deeper cracks absorb more stain and appear with different color intensity compared to surface cracks. This color encoding preserves depth information in the two-dimensional image, allowing automated systems to distinguish crack depths without requiring three-dimensional visualization or complex depth sensing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #32Color changes

3Device complexity

If standard RGB image processing is used, then image analysis is straightforward, but crack depth visualization is insufficient

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprocessing simplicityVSAvoiddepth information

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent transforms the standard RGB color space parameters into alternative color space parameters (such as saturation, hue, or custom color channels) that better represent crack depth information. By changing the parameter representation from standard red-green-blue intensities to depth-sensitive color components, the system maintains simple image processing while recovering depth information that would otherwise be lost.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

Enables accurate determination of deep cracks in sintered bodies by providing clear visualization of crack depth, reducing the workload and improving evaluation efficiency.

Implementation Method 1

a cross-sectional image obtained by photographing a cross-section of a sintered body group stained with a staining solution

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectAbsorption: Absorption (physical)

Implementation Method 2

the generation unit is configured to convert each pixel value of a separate image that is extracted for each of the sintered bodies from the cross-sectional image, from an RGB color space to an HSV color space, and to extract a saturation component from the converted each pixel value

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectColor space transformation:

Data Source

PatentUS12579647B2Evaluation apparatus, evaluation method, and evaluation program

Publication Date: 2026.03.17 RESONAC CORP

AI summary

An evaluation apparatus, an evaluation method, and an evaluation program applicable to a quality evaluation of sintered bodies are provided. The evaluation apparatus includes: an acquisition unit configured to acquire a cross-sectional image obtained by photographing a cross-section of a sintered body group stained with a staining solution; a generation unit configured to extract a saturation component for each of sintered bodies from the cross-sectional image, thereby to generate a saturation component image; and a visualization unit configured to visualize the saturation component image.