Patent ID: 8780358

Claim:
A system for detecting a characteristic of an object riding on a portion of an upper face of a conveyor, comprising: an image detecting apparatus positioned directly over a path of conveyance for the conveyor, said image detecting apparatus being oriented so as to be directed directly vertically downward; a laser source oriented to output laser light at an angle such that the laser light is projected so as to follow or substantially follow a contour of the upper face of the conveyor; and a controller electrically connected to said image detecting apparatus and said laser source, wherein the image detecting apparatus is operative to sense a characteristic of the output laser light to detect presence of the object riding on the conveyor, wherein said laser source includes two lasers on opposite sides of the conveyor, each of the lasers being oriented so as to produce a projected laser line parallel or substantially parallel to the top surface of the conveyor and parallel to a direction of movement of the conveyor.