Patent ID: 8548771

Claim:
A system for automatically inspecting the roundness of containers, comprising: an apparatus for rotating a single container about an axis of the container, the single container being inspected at an inspection station, wherein the container has a shoulder located between a body of the container and a neck of the container; a first ultrasonic proximity sensor positioned at a fixed location with respect to said inspection station for sensing the distance between said first proximity sensor and the container being inspected at the inspection station while the container is rotated; said first ultrasonic proximity sensor being oriented orthogonally with respect to the axis of the container and oriented toward one of the shoulder of the container, the body of the container, and at least one raised embossed logo of the container; and a first programmable processor configured to process the distance sensed by said first proximity sensor and provides a first output signal that is indicative of whether or not the distance sensed by said first proximity sensor is within a first predetermined range of distances programmed in the first processor for a container type being inspected; wherein the single container being inspected at the inspection station is located a nominal distance X from said first proximity sensor, and wherein a preset tolerance Y from perfect roundness is desired and acceptable for the container type is programmed in the first processor, and wherein said first predetermined range of distances comprises: the range of distances between X−Y and X+Y; the first processor provides a first output signal when the distance between said first proximity sensor and the container is between X−Y and X+Y, and a different second output signal when the distance between said first proximity sensor and the container is either less than X−Y or more than X+Y; wherein said first processor has a hysteresis function whereby any occurrence of a sensed distance between said first proximity sensor and the single container being inspected that is either less than X−Y or more than X+Y must occur for a minimum duration of container rotation before said second output signal is provided by said first processor.