Patent ID: 6181372
Filing Date: 2001-01-30
Classification: A24C,G01N

Abstract:
A method for monitoring the external integrity of cigarettes, comprising the steps of:advancing single cigarettes in a predetermined feed direction by means of a conveyor, each accommodated within a relative seat afforded by the conveyor and made to follow a path of which one section is a monitoring path;examining external characteristics of the cigarettes while in movement along the monitoring path using at least one set of multiline optical scanning means positioned along the monitoring path, such as will execute a plurality of pulsed optical scans at successive intervals;performing each pulsed scan on a same single given generator line of the cylindrical surface of the cigarette, during the movement of the cigarette along the monitoring path, so determining a surface swept by the given generator line, the surface being formed by a cluster of parallel lines disposed one alongside another;performing each pulsed scan by the at least one multiline optical scanner more than once, sequentially and synchronously with the movement of the same single given generator line of the cylindrical surface of the cigarette along the monitoring path in the feed direction;comparing each scanned image of each generator line with a reference image, assigning to the image a positive mark if the scanned image is dissimilar to the reference image, and assigning a negative mark to the image if the scanned image is in accordance with the reference image;determining a ratio between the positive marks and the negative marks of the scanned images, in the event of the ratio exceeds a reprogrammable preset value, generating an output signal; andrejecting the corresponding cigarette if the output signal is generated.