EP0962885A1 - Vorrichtung und Verfahren zum Zählen von Platten in einem Stapel - Google Patents

Vorrichtung und Verfahren zum Zählen von Platten in einem Stapel Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0962885A1
EP0962885A1 EP98304387A EP98304387A EP0962885A1 EP 0962885 A1 EP0962885 A1 EP 0962885A1 EP 98304387 A EP98304387 A EP 98304387A EP 98304387 A EP98304387 A EP 98304387A EP 0962885 A1 EP0962885 A1 EP 0962885A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
items
stack
imaging device
boards
characteristic configuration
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.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP98304387A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Amit Shahaf
Ernst Grimberg
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.)
Opsigal-Control Systems Ltd
Opsigal Control Systems Ltd
Original Assignee
Opsigal-Control Systems Ltd
Opsigal Control Systems Ltd
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 Opsigal-Control Systems Ltd, Opsigal Control Systems Ltd filed Critical Opsigal-Control Systems Ltd
Priority to EP98304387A priority Critical patent/EP0962885A1/de
Publication of EP0962885A1 publication Critical patent/EP0962885A1/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06M—COUNTING MECHANISMS; COUNTING OF OBJECTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06M9/00—Counting of objects in a stack thereof
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06M—COUNTING MECHANISMS; COUNTING OF OBJECTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06M1/00—Design features of general application
    • G06M1/08—Design features of general application for actuating the drive
    • G06M1/10—Design features of general application for actuating the drive by electric or magnetic means
    • G06M1/101—Design features of general application for actuating the drive by electric or magnetic means by electro-optical means

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the manufacture of corrugated boards generally and in particular, to the accurate assessment of the number of boards, boxes or similar items within a stack,
  • Corrugated boards are generally produced on an automated line in which web guiding systems are commonly used to correctly guide and tension the material on the web. Since the board material which is guided in web form is generally thin, there is a tendency for the material to wander from its correct alignment on the web. Other factors, such as material irregularity, web speed or faulty machinery, are also liable to lead to a percentage of the manufactured boards being sub-standard. Generally, these sub-standard boards are removed during the production process. Generally, the corrugated boards are stacked in piles of several hundred, commonly 400 boards per stack.
  • Fig. 1 illustrates three stacks, designated 10A , 10B and 10C , of manufactured boards 12 being conveyed together along the corrugated board production line, generally designated 1 .
  • Each of the sticks contains a plurality of corrugated boards 12 , laid one on top of each other.
  • stack 10A contains more boards than stack 10B and stack 10C contains more boards than 10A .
  • FIG.2 An enlarged detail of the top of stacks 10A and 10B is shown in Fig.2, to which reference is now made.
  • the top rows of the corrugated boards are referenced 14 , 16 , 18 and 20 in stack 10A , and 22 and 24 in stack 10B .
  • Stack 10A contains two extra boards, 14 and 16 .
  • Boards 18 and 20 of stack 10A are aligned with boards 22 and 24 of stack 10B .
  • the width of the boards may vary, as exaggerately illustrated in Fig. 2, so that board 16 is narrower than boards 14 and 18 , for example.
  • each corrugated board may vary so that it is not possible to measure the total height of a stack in order to calculate the number of boards contained therein.
  • each corrugated board has a characteristic but distinctive flute or "wave corrugation", it is possible to determine the number of boards in a stack by counting the number of "wave corrugations".
  • One possible system illustrated in Fig. 3, utilizes a camera 30 together with a parabolic reflector 32 to "scan" a stack 34 of corrugated boards 36 .
  • the camera has to be placed far away from the stack. The resultant resolution was too low to accurately determine the number of boards.
  • An alternative configuration used a plurality of cameras, each of which scanned a portion of the stack. For example, it was found that to obtain a high enough resolution, each camera could only scan 40 boards. Since, the standard stack contains approximately 400 boards, ten cameras would be needed. In addition to being costly, it is difficult to ascertain where each camera begins and ends its "scan". To overcome the problem of scan overlap, a "laser pointer is additionally required.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for accurately ascertaining the number of produced corrugated boards, boxes and similar items which overcomes the limitations and disadvantages of existing systems.
  • a further object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for accurately ascertaining the number of Items within a stack of items whether static or moving on a production line.
  • a yet further object of the present invention is to accurately ascertaining the number of items within each of a plurality of a stack of items, adjacent to each other.
  • a system for determining the number of boards within a stack of boards, each board having a characteristic configuration includes an imaging device attached to a moveable carriage, the imaging device being actuated to move to image the stack of boards and a processing unit, coupled to the imaging device, for identifying the characteristic configuration of each of the stack of boards from the scanned images.
  • a system for determining the number of boards within each of a plurality of stacks of boards adjacent to each other, each board having a characteristic configuration includes an imaging device attached to a moveable carriage, the imaging device being actuated to move to image the proximate stack of boards, a processing unit, coupled to the imaging device, for identifying the characteristic configuration of each of the imaged stack of boards and a height sensor coupled to the processing unit, for determining the height of each of the plurality of stacks of boards.
  • the stack of boards are moving along a production line.
  • the boards are corrugated boards and the common characteristic configuration is a sine-wave.
  • the movement of the imaging device is coordinated with the movement of the production line.
  • the movement of the imaging device is generally perpendicular to the stack of boards.
  • the height sensor is an ultrasonic sensor or a laser displacement sensor.
  • the imaging device is a charge coupled device (CCD) camera.
  • CCD charge coupled device
  • a method for determining the number of boards within a stack of boards, each board having a common characteristic configuration includes the steps of:
  • This method further includes the step of measuring the height of the imaged stack of boards.
  • a method for determining the number of boards within each of a plurality of stacks of boards adjacent to each other, each board having a common characteristic configuration includes the steps of:
  • the identifying step includes the steps of;
  • the determining step includes the steps of:
  • FIG. 4 is a generally isometric illustration of a system for determining the number of corrugated boards on a moving production line, generally referenced 40 , constructed and operative according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the production line 40 comprises a stack 10 of manufactured boards.
  • the stack 10 which is similar to the stack 10A , described hereinabove with respect to Fig. 1, contains a plurality of manufactured boards 12 .
  • the board counting system comprises an imaging device 50 , attached to a moveable carriage 52 and a processing unit 54 coupled to the imaging device 50 .
  • Production line 40 moves in a generally longitudinal direction, indicated by arrow 56 .
  • the moveable carriage 52 is suitably attached to a stand 60 which allows the moveable carriage 52 to move in a generally vertical direction, indicated by arrow 58 , that is perpendicular to the movement of the boards.
  • the imaging device 50 scans the boards as the production line 40 moves across (arrow 56 ) the camera's field of view.
  • the imaging device 50 is initially set in line with the top of the stack 10 and as the imaging device 50 scans the stack of boards, the carriage 52 is actuated to move downwards (arrow 58 ).
  • Imaging device 50 initially images the characteristic "wave" of the leftmost edge of the top board stack 10 .
  • the movement of imaging device 50 is coordinated with the movement of the production line 40 , so that the imaging device 50 scans the stack of boards from top to bottom during the time it takes for the stack of boards to move across the imaging device, thereby ensuring that all the boards are scanned.
  • imaging device 50 images the rightmost edge of the bottom board.
  • Processing unit 54 processes the scanned data received from imaging device 50 and by identifying the waveform of the corrugated boards computes the number of boards within the stack.
  • Imaging device 50 which is preferably any suitable CCD (charge coupled device) camera, known in the art, transmits the images scanned to processing unit 54 .
  • CCD charge coupled device
  • the processing unit 54 comprises a suitable computer arrangement, known in the art, such as a PC (personal computer) having memory, storage input and display monitor capabilities.
  • a PC personal computer
  • the corrugated boards 12 have a distinctive flute or waveform when viewed from the front. Each wave represents a single board 12 .
  • Processing unit 54 converts the scanned waves into a number of boards. The number of boards can be displayed on the attached monitor.
  • an imaging device moving at a rate of 1-2 meters per minute can scan a standard stack of approximately 400 corrugated boards (having a length of approximately 2 meters), traveling on a line moving at a rate of 1 - 2 meters per second in less than 2 seconds.
  • the imaging device 50 can move in a vertical direction and is able to scan any stack height, the imaging device 50 can be located close to the production line 40 thus allowing for a high resolution scan of the image.
  • Fig. 5 is a generally isometric illustration of a further embodiment of a system for determining the number of corrugated boards on a moving production line, constructed and operative according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the production line 40 of Fig. 5 is similar to the line, described hereinabove with respect to Fig. 1. That is, the production line 40 comprises a plurality of stacks, referenced 10A , 10B and 10C , of manufactured boards, generally designated 12 .
  • stack 10A contains more boards than stack 10B and stack 10C contains more boards than 10A .
  • the board counting system illustrated in Fig. 5, is similar to the elements which have been previously described hereinabove, with respect to the preferred embodiment of Fig. 4. That is, the board counting system comprises a imaging device 50 , attached to a moveable carriage 52 , and a processing unit 54 coupled to imaging device 50 .
  • Production line 40 moves in a generally longitudinal direction, indicated by arrow 56 and Imaging device 50 scans the proximate stack of boards 10A as carriage 52 is actuated to move downwards (arrow 58 ) along stand 60 .
  • Similar elements are similarly designated and will not be further described.
  • the embodiment of Fig. 5 further comprises a height sensor, generally designated 70 , schematically shown located above the stacks 10A , 10B and 10C .
  • Height sensor 70 is any suitable sensing device, known in the art, capable of high resolution and accurate measurement, to determine the difference in the heights of the stacks 10A , 10B and 10C .
  • An exemplary sensor is a semiconductor laser displacement sensor, such as the LB series, manufactured by Keyence Corp. of Osaka, Japan.
  • the LB laser displacement sensor also has a wide measuring range eliminating the need to reposition the sensor head for the various stacks of boards.
  • the height differences between the stacks 10A , 10B and 10C may be determined by an ultrasonic sensor, such as the MIC-30I/U, manufactured by "Microsonic Gmbh” of Dortmund, Germany.
  • the MIC-30I/U uses a narrow ultrasonic beam to emit short burst impulses. The time taken for the impulse to return is used to calculate the distance to the detected object
  • Height sensor 70 can be actuated to move in a generally horizontal direction (indicated by arrow 72 , perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the moving stacks (arrow 56 ).
  • Fig. 6 is a flow chart illustration of the method for determining the number of boards within a stack. The method individually recognizes and identifies each board.
  • step 202 a correction is made, for non-uniform Illumination to correct for non-homogeneous lighting thereby to ensure that each board receives a uniform amount of illumination.
  • step 204 the start and end of the stack of boards being counted is determined.
  • a statistical analysis of the properties of the boards is carried out to determine the type of board, whether single, double or triple is made (step 206).
  • Non-linear filtering is used to determine the type of flute (step 208).
  • the height and pitch of the flute is scanned a multitude of times (non-limiting example being at least 500 times) in order to statistically obtain an accurate indication of the type and number of boards and to overcome inaccuracies due to obscured boards, for example.
  • a filter is then applied in order to reduce the flute to a single white strip. (step 210), Finally, the number of strips is counted (each strip thus representing a single board), to accurately calculate the number of boards within the stack (step 212). That is, each board in the stack is individually recognized and identified.
  • the invention is applicable to any type of board having a characteristic configuration and not restricted to stacks of corrugated boards. Furthermore, the invention is applicable to boards stacked horizontally, in which case, the imaging device would scan in a generally horizontal direction to identify the characteristic configuration of the boards. Additionally, the invention is applicable to static stacks of items as well as items on a production line. A short time exposure camera can also be used to obtain the image of he stack to be counted.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Length Measuring Devices By Optical Means (AREA)
EP98304387A 1998-06-03 1998-06-03 Vorrichtung und Verfahren zum Zählen von Platten in einem Stapel Withdrawn EP0962885A1 (de)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP98304387A EP0962885A1 (de) 1998-06-03 1998-06-03 Vorrichtung und Verfahren zum Zählen von Platten in einem Stapel

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP98304387A EP0962885A1 (de) 1998-06-03 1998-06-03 Vorrichtung und Verfahren zum Zählen von Platten in einem Stapel

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0962885A1 true EP0962885A1 (de) 1999-12-08

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EP98304387A Withdrawn EP0962885A1 (de) 1998-06-03 1998-06-03 Vorrichtung und Verfahren zum Zählen von Platten in einem Stapel

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Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN102360449A (zh) * 2011-10-20 2012-02-22 惠州华力包装有限公司 一种平板类物件的点数工具
ITRM20130628A1 (it) * 2013-11-14 2015-05-15 Consiglio Nazionale Ricerche Sistema per verificare il numero di contenitori presenti in una pila di contenitori e metodo di verifica relativo.
CN113610465A (zh) * 2021-08-03 2021-11-05 宁波极望信息科技有限公司 一种基于物联网技术的生产制造运营管理***

Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3790759A (en) * 1968-12-02 1974-02-05 Spartanics Pitch matching detecting and counting system
US3971918A (en) * 1973-12-28 1976-07-27 Nihon Electronic Industry Co. Ltd. Method and apparatus for measuring the number of stacked corrugated cardboards
US4417351A (en) * 1981-06-03 1983-11-22 Intercontinental Data Corporation Stacked article counting apparatus
WO1989004021A1 (en) * 1987-10-20 1989-05-05 William Henry Woodward Stack counting instrument
WO1991010972A1 (en) * 1990-01-12 1991-07-25 Westling Bjoern Magnus Apparatus for counting sheets lying on each other in a stack
EP0743616A2 (de) * 1995-05-15 1996-11-20 Eastman Kodak Company Vorrichtung und Verfahren zum Zählen von Blättern
EP0855676A1 (de) * 1997-01-22 1998-07-29 Opsigal-Control Systems Ltd. Vorrichtung und Verfahren zum Zählen von Platten in einem Stapel

Patent Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3790759A (en) * 1968-12-02 1974-02-05 Spartanics Pitch matching detecting and counting system
US3971918A (en) * 1973-12-28 1976-07-27 Nihon Electronic Industry Co. Ltd. Method and apparatus for measuring the number of stacked corrugated cardboards
US4417351A (en) * 1981-06-03 1983-11-22 Intercontinental Data Corporation Stacked article counting apparatus
WO1989004021A1 (en) * 1987-10-20 1989-05-05 William Henry Woodward Stack counting instrument
WO1991010972A1 (en) * 1990-01-12 1991-07-25 Westling Bjoern Magnus Apparatus for counting sheets lying on each other in a stack
EP0743616A2 (de) * 1995-05-15 1996-11-20 Eastman Kodak Company Vorrichtung und Verfahren zum Zählen von Blättern
EP0855676A1 (de) * 1997-01-22 1998-07-29 Opsigal-Control Systems Ltd. Vorrichtung und Verfahren zum Zählen von Platten in einem Stapel

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN102360449A (zh) * 2011-10-20 2012-02-22 惠州华力包装有限公司 一种平板类物件的点数工具
ITRM20130628A1 (it) * 2013-11-14 2015-05-15 Consiglio Nazionale Ricerche Sistema per verificare il numero di contenitori presenti in una pila di contenitori e metodo di verifica relativo.
WO2015071921A1 (en) * 2013-11-14 2015-05-21 Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche System for verifying the number of containers present in a stack of containers and related verification method
CN113610465A (zh) * 2021-08-03 2021-11-05 宁波极望信息科技有限公司 一种基于物联网技术的生产制造运营管理***
CN113610465B (zh) * 2021-08-03 2023-12-19 宁波极望信息科技有限公司 一种基于物联网技术的生产制造运营管理***

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