Abstract:
An apparatus for an enclosure of a linear inspection system for the inspection of products that uses at least one camera and at least one laser. The enclosure is placed in a production line environment as to allow the passage of the products to pass through an aperture of the enclosure. More specifically, the enclosure allows to shelter cameras and lasers that are oriented towards an inspection zone through a translucent surface of the enclosure. Furthermore, in another aspect of the invention, the cameras and lasers are fixed to mounting stations in the enclosure. The mounting stations are positioned as to orient the cameras and lasers towards an inspection zone through the translucent surface of the enclosure.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention generally relates to the field of industrial measuring equipment. More specifically, the invention relates to an enclosure for a linear inspection system. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    For many centuries, wood has been a material that has been primarily used in the areas of construction and carpentry. Although not as prevalent as in the past, lumber is still today considered as a very important and useful material for construction, carpentry, cabinet making, etc. Lumber is a natural product that comes from trees and as many natural products, every piece of lumber is different and may have flaws, such as knots, rot, bark, etc. that may or may not be important depending on intended use. For example, the presence of knots in a piece of lumber might be immaterial in carpentry, but undesirable for other types of use, such as for cabinet making. 
         [0003]    In order to classify lumber according to intended use or to specific requirements from clients, the lumber industry inspects its lumbers using linear inspection systems. Linear inspection systems use different technology, such as a combination of cameras and lasers, to classify lumber. Typically, the linear inspection system is made of four stations of cameras and lasers placed on top, bottom, right and left of the lumber production line so as to inspect each side of a piece of lumber flowing through the production line. These devices operate in a very demanding environment, filled with dust, debris falling from lumber and the occasional debris flying at high speed. Hence, these delicate electronic instrumentations need to be protected accordingly. Unfortunately, existing linear inspection systems do not always effectively protect the cameras and laser stations. Moreover, the bottom station is often subject to debris accumulation. 
         [0004]    There is therefore a need for an improved linear inspection system. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    It is an object of the present invention to provide an enclosure for a linear inspection system that overcomes or mitigates one or more disadvantages of known linear inspection systems, or at least provides a useful alternative. 
         [0006]    The invention provides the advantages of efficiently protecting electronic equipment such as cameras and lasers used in linear inspection systems from their harsh operating environment. 
         [0007]    The invention further provides the advantage of directing at least some of the debris away from the cameras and lasers. 
         [0008]    In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an enclosure to shield the cameras and lasers from dust and debris. The enclosure has an aperture that defines an inspection zone, to allow products to pass through, in a production line environment. In the enclosure, at least one camera and at least one laser are oriented towards the inspection zone through a translucent surface of the enclosure. 
         [0009]    In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an enclosure to shield the cameras and lasers from dust and debris. The enclosure has an aperture that defines an inspection zone, to allow products to pass through, in a production line environment. In the enclosure, mounting stations can be placed as to orient a plurality of cameras and lasers towards the inspection zone through a translucent surface of the enclosure. Moreover, the mounting stations are oriented at an angle in a normal plane to a longitudinal axis of the aperture. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    These and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings wherein: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an enclosure for a linear inspection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a front view of the enclosure of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view of the enclosure of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is another cross-sectional side view of the enclosure of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional side view of the enclosure of  FIG. 1  shown installed on a lumber production line. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    The present solution relates to an enclosure for a linear inspection system. More precisely, the linear inspection system allows inspecting products. The inspection is required to track given characteristics such as defaults in a product. Thanks to the inspection of such characteristics the classification of the products can be made efficiently. 
         [0017]    The enclosure contains cameras and lasers used to inspect moving through products such as lumber. In the case of a lumber production line environment, the presence of dust and wood debris of lumber is common. In such environment, exposed devices such as cameras and lasers can easily be damaged or be obstructed with debris. Hence the need to adequately protect cameras and lasers. 
         [0018]    As the inspection process requires precise readings, the calibration of the cameras and laser alignment is done with caution and detail. Consequently, once calibrated, the camera and laser alignment must not be altered by projected debris found in a lumber production line environment. Hence the need for enclosed cameras and lasers is not only for shielding the cameras and lasers from dust and debris but also to prevent the cameras and lasers from losing alignment. 
         [0019]    Presented in  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an enclosure  10  for a linear inspection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The enclosure can be made of sheet metal, of a polymer material, or of any shock resistant material that is dust resistant. The enclosure is designed to allow a product  11  to pass through for inspection. The product  11  can be any object that might require to be inspected for flaws or classification on a production line. Such products that require inspection can span from pieces of lumber to metal pipes or even polymer products and more. 
         [0020]    The enclosure  10  comprises a central portion  14  that defines an aperture  12 , as best seen in  FIG. 1 . The aperture  12  is large enough to allow a given product  11  to pass through for inspection. The aperture  12  can have any shape, it can be elliptic, polygonal or a combination of both. Consequently, the central portion  14  that defines the aperture  12  can have curved surfaces, flat surfaces or a combination of both. 
         [0021]    According to an embodiment of this invention, an output side  15  of the central portion  14  has an irregular octagonal funnel-shaped aperture  12  that decreases towards an inside of the central portion  14  into a square aperture  12 . A receiving side  16  of the central portion  14 , although not symmetrical to the output side  15 , has a regular octagonal funnel-shaped aperture  12  further decreasing towards the inside of the central portion  14  into a square aperture  12 . 
         [0022]    Presented in  FIG. 2  and concurrently presented in  FIG. 3 , a bottom portion  17  is positioned in the lower part of the central portion  14  and is therefore operative to downwardly direct debris from the product  11 . In accordance with an embodiment of this invention, the bottom portion  17  is a rectangular surface that is inclined downwardly towards the output side  15  of the aperture  12 . In  FIG. 3 , a cross section view of the enclosure  10  is presented with a bottom portion  17  that is shaped as an inverted V, formed by two downwardly opposed inclined surfaces. Such a design allows to downwardly direct debris by gravity from the product towards the output side  15  and the receiving side  16 . For such a design to function effectively, the angle of inclination of the bottom portion  17  must be steep enough to allow dust and debris to slide down by force of gravity. 
         [0023]    Returning to  FIG. 2 , the central portion  14  comprises a plurality of translucent windows  18 . Alternatively, some or all of these translucent windows could be joined such as to form one or a few large translucent windows  18  or a single large translucent window  18  corresponding to the central portion  14 . The translucent windows  18  are typically made of impact resistant glass or translucent plastic. 
         [0024]    Moreover, the enclosure  10  comprises a peripheral portion  20  as presented in  FIG. 2  and concurrently presented in  FIG. 1 . The peripheral portion  20  can be made of any impact resistant material. Additionally, the peripheral portion  20  connects to the central portion  14  and provides an enclosed space surrounding the central portion. Just like the central portion  14 , the peripheral portion  20  can have many shapes: it can have curved surfaces or flat surfaces or a combination of both. According to an embodiment of this invention, the peripheral portion  20  is an octagonal shaped prism. 
         [0025]    As further presented in  FIG. 2  and concurrently presented in  FIG. 1 , the peripheral portion  20  comprises access doors  22  to access an interior of the enclosure  10  for maintenance. The access doors  22  can be placed at any suitable position on the peripheral portion  20 . According to an embodiment of this invention, the access doors  22  are placed on each lateral sides of the peripheral portion  20 . If preferred, an enclosure  10  design with access doors  22  placed on the central portion  14  or on both central  14  and peripheral  20  portions can be possible. 
         [0026]    Referring now to  FIG. 3 , the enclosure  10  mainly comprises mounting stations  40  that are either independent of the enclosure  10  or are attached to a surface of the enclosure. In the case where the mounting stations  40  are attached to a surface of the enclosure, the mounting stations  40  may be attached either to an inside wall of the peripheral portion  20  or to a wall of the central portion  14 . The mounting stations  40  are adapted to mount a single or a plurality of cameras  42  and a single or a plurality of lasers  44 . The mounting stations  40  are, furthermore, positioned so that the cameras  42  and lasers  44  are oriented towards an inspection zone  47  within the central portion  14 , to scan a surface of the product  11 . Moreover, the mounting stations  40  are further positioned so that the cameras  42  and lasers  44  are oriented towards a translucent window  18 . 
         [0027]    For example, each mounting station  40  may be a single attachment connecting either two cameras and a laser or two lasers and a camera. Alternatively, each mounting station  40  may be made of two or three separate attachments for holding each of these elements. Again, the mounting station  40  could simply be holes in the walls of either the central portion  14  or the peripheral portion  20 , given a proper alignment. 
         [0028]    In use, each laser  44  on a mounting station  40  projects a non-permanent laser indicator on a surface of the product  11 . Both cameras  42  on the same mounting station  40  read the laser indicator. Each set of cameras  42  or each mounting station  40  sends their readings to a central computer for analysis. 
         [0029]    According to an embodiment of this invention, each mounting station  40  comprises a first camera attachment  45   a , a second camera attachment  45   b  and a laser attachment  46 . The first camera attachment  45   a  and the second camera attachment  45   b  are oriented at different angles. In this embodiment, four similar mounting stations  40  are placed in the enclosure  10  to take readings of the product  11  from all four sides. 
         [0030]    Alternatively, as presented in  FIG. 4 , each mounting station  40  could comprise two lasers  44  and one camera  42 . Each mounting station  40  comprises a first laser attachment  46   a , a second laser attachment  46   b  and a camera attachment  45 . The first laser attachment  46   a  and the second laser attachment  46   b  are oriented at different angles. In this embodiment, four similar mounting stations  40  are placed in the enclosure  10  to take readings of the product  11  from all four sides. 
         [0031]    Further presented in  FIG. 4  and concurrently presented in  FIG. 3 , is a temperature control system  48  that can be any temperature control system  48  that is effective enough to keep the temperature inside the enclosure  10  at an operable temperature for the cameras  42  and lasers  44 . The temperature control system  48  can be a fan placed in the enclosure  10  with a single or a plurality of openings to allow hot air generated by the cameras  42  and lasers  44  to be released outside the enclosure  10 . According to an embodiment of this invention, the temperature control system  48  can further be only the opening without the fan. It may also be acceptable in some applications not to include a temperature control system  48 , in cases where the cameras  42  or laser  44  release little heat. 
         [0032]    As best seen in  FIG. 4  and concurrently in  FIG. 3 , the product  11  can pass through the enclosure  10  along a longitudinal axis  50 . Although in an embodiment of this invention, the longitudinal axis  50  passes through the center of the aperture  12 , the longitudinal axis  50  can however be off-center. The inspection zone  47  that is aligned with the longitudinal axis  50  can therefore either be centered or off-centered as long as the passage of the product through the enclosure  10  is not obstructed by the central portion  14 . 
         [0033]    Presented in  FIG. 5 , the enclosure  10  is integrated to a production line  60  and is positioned in order to allow the passage of products  11  through the aperture  12  of the enclosure  10  along the longitudinal axis  50 . Conveyors  62  are placed on the receiving side  16  and output side  15  of the enclosure  10  to conduct the products  11  through the aperture  12  of the enclosure  10  along the longitudinal axis  50 . Alternatively, there may be only one conveyor  62  placed on either the receiving side  16  or the output side  15  to accommodate tight space in the production line  60 . 
         [0034]    It will of course be appreciated that many modifications and alternative embodiments are possible within the broad scope of the present invention. For example, in some applications it may be required to have multiple enclosures  10  integrated sequentially to a production line  60 , allowing the collection of multiple measurements. 
         [0035]    The present invention has been described with regard to preferred embodiments. The description as much as the drawings were intended to help the understanding of the invention, rather than to limit its scope. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the scope of the invention as described herein, and such modifications are intended to be covered by the present description.