Patent ID: 7719670

Claim:
A machine vision system for inspecting a tray populated with a plurality of devices, the machine vision system comprising: an inspection station including an imaged area, wherein the inspection station is configured to perform a machine-vision inspection of a plurality of devices in a tray; a first output station having a first output elevator configured to hold a plurality of trays each of which has a plurality of devices that have passed the machine-vision inspection; and a sorting device that operates on devices held in a top first tray held at the first output elevator above a plurality of other trays each of which has a plurality of devices all of which have passed inspection, wherein the sorting device, based on the machine-vision inspection having determined that a first device of the plurality of devices in the first tray has not passed inspection operates to remove the first device that has not passed inspection from the top first tray and to replace the first removed device with a device that has previously passed inspection; wherein upon completion of a sorting operation by the sorting device the system operates to then lower the first tray and the plurality of other trays such that trays, each having a plurality of devices that have passed inspection, are held at the first output elevator of the first output station.