Claims
- 1. A system for determining the number of items within a stack of items, the system comprising:a device in communication with a moveable carriage, said device being actuated to move to produce an image of said stack of items, said items being any one of a group including boxes having a characteristic flute configuration; and a processing unit, coupled to said device, for identifying the characteristic flute configuration of each of said stack of items from said scanned images and for determining the number of items within the stack from said characteristic flute configuration.
- 2. A system according to claim 1 wherein said stack of items are moving along a production line.
- 3. A system according to claim 1 wherein said items are corrugated boards and said common characteristic configuration is at least one sine-wave.
- 4. A system according to claim 2 wherein the movement of said imaging device is coordinated with the movement of said production line.
- 5. A system according to claim 1 wherein the movement of said device is generally perpendicular to the characteristic flute configuration of said items.
- 6. A system for determining the number of items within each of a plurality of stacks of items adjacent to each other, the system comprising:a device in communication with a moveable carriage, said device being actuated to move to produce an image of said stack of items, said items being any one of a group including boxes having a characteristic flute configuration; a processing unit, coupled to said device, for identifying the characteristic flute configuration of each of said stack of items from said scanned images and for determining the number of items within the stack from said characteristic flute configuration; and a height sensor coupled to said processing unit, for determining the height of each of said plurality of stacks of items.
- 7. A system according to claim 6 wherein said plurality of stacks of items are moving along a production line.
- 8. A system according to claim 6, wherein the movement of said device is generally perpendicular to the characteristic flute configuration of said items; and wherein said height sensor is actuated to move in a direction, perpendicular to the direction of movement of said device.
- 9. A system according to claim 7 and wherein the movement of said imaging device is coordinated with the movement of said production line.
- 10. A system according to claim 6 and wherein said plurality of items are corrugated boards and said common characteristic configuration is at least one sine-wave.
- 11. A system according to claim 6 and wherein said height sensor is a laser displacement sensor.
- 12. A system according to claim 6 and wherein said height sensor is an ultrasonic sensor.
- 13. A system according to claim 6 wherein the movement of said imaging device is generally perpendicular to the plurality of said stack of items.
- 14. A system according to claim 1 wherein said imaging device is a charge coupled device (CCD) camera.
- 15. A method for determining the number of items within a stack of items, the method comprising the steps of:producing an image of said stack of items, each item being any one of a group including boxes having a characteristic flute configuration; identifying said characteristic corrugated configuration for each of said imaged stack of items from the produced image; and determining from said characteristic corrugated configuration the number of items within the stack.
- 16. A method according to claim 15 and further comprising the step of coordinating the movement of the imaging device.
- 17. A method according to claim 15 wherein said identifying step comprises the steps of:correcting for non-uniform illumination; determining the type of sheet and type of characteristic configuration; and applying a filter to said characteristic configuration shape.
- 18. A method according to claim 17 wherein said determining step comprises the steps of:scanning said stack a multiplicity of times; and applying statistical analytical procedures to individually recognize and identify each of said items.
- 19. A method according to claim 15 and further comprising the step of measuring the height of said imaged stack of items.
- 20. A method for determining the number of items within each of a plurality of stacks of items adjacent to each other, the method comprising the steps of:imaging said stack of items, proximate to the imaging device, each item being any one of a group including boxes having a characteristic flute configuration; identifying said characteristic flute configuration for each of said imaged stack of items; counting the number of items within said imaged stack of items; measuring the height of each of said plurality of stacks of items; and comparing the measured heights of each of said plurality of stacks of items to count the number of items within each of said adjacent stacks of items.
- 21. A method according to claim 20 and further comprising the step of coordinating the movement of the imaging device.
- 22. A method according to claim 20 wherein said identifying step comprises the steps of:correcting for non-uniform illumination; determining the type of sheet and type of characteristic configuration; and applying a filter to said characteristic configuration shape.
- 23. A method according to claim 22 wherein said determining step comprises the steps of:scanning said stack a multiplicity of times; and applying statistical analytical procedures to individually recognize and identify each of said items.
RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation in part application of patent application Ser. No. 09/010,625 filed Jan. 22, 1998.
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EP |
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EP |
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Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/010625 |
Jan 1998 |
US |
Child |
09/089581 |
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US |