EP0796671A1 - Bilderfassungssystem für Paketensortierung - Google Patents

Bilderfassungssystem für Paketensortierung Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0796671A1
EP0796671A1 EP97400627A EP97400627A EP0796671A1 EP 0796671 A1 EP0796671 A1 EP 0796671A1 EP 97400627 A EP97400627 A EP 97400627A EP 97400627 A EP97400627 A EP 97400627A EP 0796671 A1 EP0796671 A1 EP 0796671A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
camera
sensor
upper face
conveying plane
height
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP97400627A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0796671B1 (de
Inventor
Gilbert Micaletti
Claude Mitte
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Solystic SAS
Original Assignee
Alcatel Postal Automation Systems
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Alcatel Postal Automation Systems filed Critical Alcatel Postal Automation Systems
Publication of EP0796671A1 publication Critical patent/EP0796671A1/de
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0796671B1 publication Critical patent/EP0796671B1/de
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
    • B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
    • B07C3/00—Sorting according to destination
    • B07C3/10—Apparatus characterised by the means used for detection ofthe destination
    • B07C3/14—Apparatus characterised by the means used for detection ofthe destination using light-responsive detecting means

Definitions

  • the invention relates to an image acquisition system for reading information on the upper face of objects moved on a conveying plane, comprising a high resolution camera mounted fixed above the conveying plane to scan the face. top of each object, this camera being equipped with a lens with motorized focusing mechanism.
  • an ultrasonic sensor determines the height of the plane corresponding to the upper surface of each package or package relative to the conveying plane to control the motor of the lens focusing mechanism at the moment when the camera begins to scan the upper surface of this object.
  • the camera is of the type with charge transfer photosensitive elements ("CCD") and the depth of field (at a fixed distance between the network of photosensitive elements and the object to be scanned) depends on two parameters: the magnification factor and the aperture of the objective.
  • the magnification factor ratio of dimensions between the object scanned and the image
  • the opening of the objective is limited taking into account the speed of conveying parcels or postal packages in sorting equipment (of the order of 1 to 2 m / s) and the light energy to be put used to light up packages during the shooting (2 kW is a maximum).
  • An opening of 2 seems to be a difficult limit to cross. Consequently, the maximum depth of field that can be obtained is of the order of 2 to 3 centimeters.
  • this image acquisition system cannot function properly if some or all of the packages have a top surface with significant surface irregularities (undulations, setbacks) resulting in height variations of the upper side of packages much larger than the depth of field of the objective and consequently the impossibility of recovering a clear image of the information. Furthermore, it is not possible to treat mail items arranged in an inclined manner on the conveying plane. However, this practice is generalized because it allows bulky mail items of the parcel or package type to be kept in a fixed position on a conveyor belt when these are moved at high speed (of the order of 1 to 2 m / s) .
  • the object of the invention is to propose a more sophisticated image acquisition system than that known previously.
  • an image acquisition system capable of adapting in real time to variations in height of the upper face of packages or packages which may be much greater than the depth of field (a priori fixed) of the lens of a high-resolution camera (typically variations of around forty centimeters compared to the two centimeters of depth of field of the lens) while these parcels or packages are moved at around 1.7 m / s.
  • the subject of the invention is an image acquisition system which comprises a sensor adapted to produce a signal representative of the height profile of the upper face of each object with respect to the conveying plane and in that means are provided for processing this profile signal so as to produce positioning instructions for the focusing mechanism in order to take account of variations in the height of the face of each object while the object is moving under the camera lens.
  • This sensor is preferably a laser rangefinder which has the advantage of having a good response on surfaces of different colors which is advantageous in the postal application.
  • another laser rangefinder is also provided for producing a signal indicative of the position of a movable lens placed at the rear of the objective and moved by a DC motor of the mechanism of focus.
  • the position signal is used to control the positioning setpoints so as to increase the precision of the focus adjustment.
  • the camera can be a camera with photosensitive elements with charge transfer (“CCD”) or with photosensitive elements with integration (“TDI”).
  • CCD photosensitive elements with charge transfer
  • TDI photosensitive elements with integration
  • the image acquisition system described below is intended to be connected to an optical character recognition system for the automatic reading of addresses on mail items of the parcel or package type, but the invention is not limited to this area of application.
  • the image acquisition system comprises a camera 1 fixedly mounted on a frame (not shown) above a conveying plane on which are moved postal packages 2a, 2b, 2c bearing on their face upper 3 of the postal address information represented by A for packet 2a. Note that this information can be printed on a label stuck on the upper side of each package as for package 2a.
  • the packets are moved at high speed on the conveying plane 4 in a certain direction D to pass under the camera 1.
  • Camera 1 is placed approximately 2 m above the conveying plane.
  • the objective 5 of the camera is equipped with a motorized focusing mechanism (not shown in the figure) which moves a movable rear lens 6 in a direction perpendicular to the conveying plane as indicated by the double arrow 7 to make a focused to move the area of sharpness.
  • the high resolution line scanning camera 1 is of the type with photosensitive elements 1A with charge transfer or with integration arranged transversely to the direction D to cover the entire width of the conveying plane. In the figure, the package lighting device for shooting is not shown.
  • a first laser rangefinder 8 for example the "MSL / 400" model having an excursion capacity of approximately 40 cm, is disposed above the conveying plane and upstream of the camera 1 in the direction D.
  • This rangefinder 8 sends a fine light beam at high frequency to the upper face of each packet and outputs a signal S representative of the height profile of this face with respect to the conveying plane.
  • Another laser rangefinder 9 for example the "M5L / 4" model having an excursion capacity of approximately 4 mm is mounted fixed relative to the objective 5 and is used to determine the position of a fixed reference target 10 of the lens 6.
  • a passage sensor 11, of the photoelectric cell type, is arranged upstream of the camera 1 in the direction D and downstream of the rangefinder 8. This sensor is used for detecting the passage of the front edge of a packet to synchronize the sending of setpoint commands to the motor of the focusing mechanism with the movement of the packets.
  • the motor is preferably a direct current motor making it possible to obtain a precise displacement of the movable lens (of the order of ten microns).
  • the objects 2b and 2c are moved on the conveying plane by being inclined because they are placed on supports 12 in the form of a ramp.
  • the height of the upper face of each package relative to the conveying plane varies over an interval greater than the depth of field of the objective. It is therefore necessary to carry out successive adjustments to move the area of sharpness by following the height profile of the upper face of a package as and when this package is moved under the camera lens.
  • An implementation of the image acquisition system was carried out. This makes it possible to process packets which are moved at a speed of 1.7 m / s with a target development time of less than 100 ms for a 40 cm excursion from the area of sharpness.
  • the latter produces an analog signal S as an output representative of the height profile of the upper face 3 of this packet.
  • This signal is digitized at a sampling frequency chosen to obtain approximately 300 measurement points for a packet length of approximately 40 cm.
  • the measurement points (succession of the different heights of the upper face in the direction D) are processed in real time by the processor 13 by using a table matching profile heights with setpoint data corresponding to as many adjustment positions of lens 6 and therefore of positions of the sharpness zone.
  • the package 2b moving according to the direction D towards the camera 1 is detected by the sensor 11 which then sends a detection signal T to the processor 13.
  • the processor 13 On reception of the signal T, the processor 13 sends the succession of setpoint data C to the motor 14 at a frequency depending on the speed of movement of the packet 2b under the camera lens and after a guard time dependent on the distance between the sensor 11 and the optical axis of the camera 1. In response to the reception of a setpoint data, the motor 14 moves the lens 6 to the desired position to carry out the required focusing. Furthermore, the position signal P produced by the rangefinder 9 is sent to the processor 13 to control the instructions sent to the motor 14.
  • a single lens is moved to focus, which makes it possible to obtain a very short focusing time and good reliability of the system.

Landscapes

  • Sorting Of Articles (AREA)
  • Character Input (AREA)
  • Image Input (AREA)
EP97400627A 1996-03-22 1997-03-20 Bilderfassungssystem für Paketensortierung Expired - Lifetime EP0796671B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR9603606 1996-03-22
FR9603606A FR2746330B1 (fr) 1996-03-22 1996-03-22 Systeme d'acquisition d'images pour le tri de paquets

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0796671A1 true EP0796671A1 (de) 1997-09-24
EP0796671B1 EP0796671B1 (de) 2001-05-09

Family

ID=9490459

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP97400627A Expired - Lifetime EP0796671B1 (de) 1996-03-22 1997-03-20 Bilderfassungssystem für Paketensortierung

Country Status (6)

Country Link
US (1) US6122001A (de)
EP (1) EP0796671B1 (de)
JP (1) JPH10187952A (de)
DE (1) DE69704738T2 (de)
ES (1) ES2157051T3 (de)
FR (1) FR2746330B1 (de)

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE19851284A1 (de) * 1998-11-06 2000-05-11 Siemens Ag Vorrichtung zur Bildaufnahme von Paketoberflächen
WO2002003105A2 (en) * 2000-07-05 2002-01-10 Psc Scanning, Inc. Autofocus apparaturs and method of using the same
WO2002092246A1 (de) * 2001-05-16 2002-11-21 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft de0201736NG ZUR BILDAUFNAHME
US6963074B2 (en) 2001-06-21 2005-11-08 Psc Scanning, Inc. Omni-directional optical code reader using scheimpflug optics
CN112561882A (zh) * 2020-12-16 2021-03-26 深圳市六合智能感知***科技有限公司 物流的分拣方法、***、设备及存储介质

Families Citing this family (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP4251312B2 (ja) * 2002-03-08 2009-04-08 日本電気株式会社 画像入力装置
JP2005064633A (ja) * 2003-08-08 2005-03-10 Hitachi Ltd 帳票読取装置
US9424634B2 (en) 2004-03-04 2016-08-23 Cybernet Systems Corporation Machine vision system for identifying and sorting projectiles and other objects
US20050226489A1 (en) * 2004-03-04 2005-10-13 Glenn Beach Machine vision system for identifying and sorting projectiles and other objects
ES2289633T3 (es) * 2004-10-11 2008-02-01 Sick Ag Dispositivo y procedimiento para la vigilancia de objetos en movimiento.
US7809158B2 (en) * 2005-05-02 2010-10-05 Siemens Industry, Inc. Method and apparatus for detecting doubles in a singulated stream of flat articles
JP4807402B2 (ja) * 2008-11-14 2011-11-02 日本電気株式会社 画像入力装置
US9554094B1 (en) 2012-11-30 2017-01-24 Cognex Corporation System and method for determining a displaced substrate with a vision system
EP2763105B1 (de) 2013-01-31 2018-08-22 Neopost Technologies Bilderfassungssystem zur Verarbeitung und Verfolgung von Postsendungen
CN109002796B (zh) * 2018-07-16 2020-08-04 阿里巴巴集团控股有限公司 一种图像采集方法、装置和***以及电子设备

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3736288A1 (de) * 1987-10-27 1989-05-11 Leuze Electronic Gmbh & Co Verfahren zum lesen und dekodieren von strichkodierungen auf halbleiteroberflaechen
US4920255A (en) * 1988-10-31 1990-04-24 Stephen C. Gabeler Automatic incremental focusing scanner system
EP0620051A1 (de) * 1993-04-16 1994-10-19 Materiel Pour L'arboriculture Fruitiere (M.A.F.) S.A. Verfahren und Vorrichtung zur automatischen Sortierung von Produkten, hauptsächlich von Früchten oder Gemüsen
EP0647479A2 (de) * 1993-10-12 1995-04-12 Galai Laboratories Ltd. Paketsortiersystem

Family Cites Families (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
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NO864109L (no) * 1985-10-17 1987-04-21 Knepper Hans Reinhard Fremgangsmaate for automatisk foering av selvgaaende gulvrengjoeringsmaskiner samt gulvrengjoeringsmaskin for utfoerelse av fremgangsmaaten.
IS1666B (is) * 1991-02-19 1997-11-14 Marel Hf Aðferð og búnaður til ákvörðunar rúmmáls, forms og þyngdar fisks eða annarra hluta
US5440648A (en) * 1991-11-19 1995-08-08 Dalsa, Inc. High speed defect detection apparatus having defect detection circuits mounted in the camera housing
US5668887A (en) * 1992-05-29 1997-09-16 Eastman Kodak Company Coating density analyzer and method using non-synchronous TDI camera
US5650813A (en) * 1992-11-20 1997-07-22 Picker International, Inc. Panoramic time delay and integration video camera system
US5696591A (en) * 1996-01-05 1997-12-09 Eastman Kodak Company Apparatus and method for detecting longitudinally oriented flaws in a moving web

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3736288A1 (de) * 1987-10-27 1989-05-11 Leuze Electronic Gmbh & Co Verfahren zum lesen und dekodieren von strichkodierungen auf halbleiteroberflaechen
US4920255A (en) * 1988-10-31 1990-04-24 Stephen C. Gabeler Automatic incremental focusing scanner system
EP0620051A1 (de) * 1993-04-16 1994-10-19 Materiel Pour L'arboriculture Fruitiere (M.A.F.) S.A. Verfahren und Vorrichtung zur automatischen Sortierung von Produkten, hauptsächlich von Früchten oder Gemüsen
EP0647479A2 (de) * 1993-10-12 1995-04-12 Galai Laboratories Ltd. Paketsortiersystem

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE19851284A1 (de) * 1998-11-06 2000-05-11 Siemens Ag Vorrichtung zur Bildaufnahme von Paketoberflächen
WO2000027549A1 (de) * 1998-11-06 2000-05-18 Siemens Production And Logistics Systems Ag Vorrichtung zur bildaufnahme von paketoberflächen
WO2002003105A2 (en) * 2000-07-05 2002-01-10 Psc Scanning, Inc. Autofocus apparaturs and method of using the same
WO2002003105A3 (en) * 2000-07-05 2003-01-23 Psc Scanning Inc Autofocus apparaturs and method of using the same
US6689998B1 (en) 2000-07-05 2004-02-10 Psc Scanning, Inc. Apparatus for optical distancing autofocus and imaging and method of using the same
WO2002092246A1 (de) * 2001-05-16 2002-11-21 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft de0201736NG ZUR BILDAUFNAHME
US7215363B2 (en) 2001-05-16 2007-05-08 Siemens Ag System and method for scanning a surface of a moving object
US6963074B2 (en) 2001-06-21 2005-11-08 Psc Scanning, Inc. Omni-directional optical code reader using scheimpflug optics
CN112561882A (zh) * 2020-12-16 2021-03-26 深圳市六合智能感知***科技有限公司 物流的分拣方法、***、设备及存储介质
CN112561882B (zh) * 2020-12-16 2023-05-12 深圳市六合智能感知***科技有限公司 物流的分拣方法、***、设备及存储介质

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ES2157051T3 (es) 2001-08-01
US6122001A (en) 2000-09-19
DE69704738T2 (de) 2002-02-07
FR2746330B1 (fr) 1998-04-17
JPH10187952A (ja) 1998-07-21
FR2746330A1 (fr) 1997-09-26
EP0796671B1 (de) 2001-05-09
DE69704738D1 (de) 2001-06-13

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