Patent ID: 9250193
Filing Date: 2016-02-02
CPC Classification: G01N

Claim Text:
1. A system for obtaining images of a gemstone, and performing quantitative analysis on the images to obtain measures of properties of the gemstone, comprising: a support structure for supporting the gemstone at an observation position; an illumination system arranged to illuminate the gemstone, the illumination system comprising a plurality of directional light sources directed towards the observation position, the support structure and illumination system being rotatable relative to one another around a rotation axis so that the gemstone can be illuminated by one or more of the directional light sources at each of a plurality of rotational positions, the directional light sources being disposed at a series of discrete inclination angles relative to the axis of rotation, and at polar angles chosen around the axis of rotation such that the imaging system does not possess rotational symmetry; an imaging device directed towards the gemstone for obtaining images of the gemstone at each of the rotational positions, the imaging device having an imaging axis parallel to or coincident with the axis of rotation; and an image processor for identifying sparkle regions in the images corresponding to reflections from individual light sources by the gemstone and providing a quantitative measure of the gemstone on the basis of properties of the sparkle regions.