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Title: Real time automated inspection

Patent ·
OSTI ID:7147177

A method and apparatus are described relating to the real time automatic detection and classification of characteristic type surface imperfections occurring on the surfaces of material of interest such as moving hot metal slabs produced by a continuous steel caster. A data camera transversely scans continuous lines of such a surface to sense light intensities of scanned pixels and generates corresponding voltage values. The voltage values are converted to corresponding digital values to form a digital image of the surface which is subsequently processed to form an edge-enhanced image having scan lines characterized by intervals corresponding to the edges of the image. The edge-enhanced image is thresholded to segment out the edges and objects formed by the edges by interval matching and bin tracking. Features of the objects are derived and such features are utilized to classify the objects into characteristic type surface imperfections. 43 figs.

DOE Contract Number:
FC07-79CS40242
Assignee:
Honeywell Inc., Minneapolis, MN (United States)
Patent Number(s):
US 4519041; A
Application Number:
PPN: US 6-374373
OSTI ID:
7147177
Resource Relation:
Patent File Date: 3 May 1982
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English