Patent ID: 7353954

Claim:
A machine-vision system for inspecting a device, the device having a first side and a second side, the machine-vision system comprising: a first inspection station for inspecting a first side of a device; a second inspection station for inspecting a second side of a device; and a tray-transfer mechanism that operates to move the device in a tray, the tray having a height, a long-dimension side and a short-dimension side, from the first inspection station to the second inspection station in a direction substantially perpendicular to the long-dimension side, wherein the short dimension side is shorter than the long dimension side and longer than the height, and wherein the tray-transfer mechanism further includes an inverting mechanism that operates to invert the device so that the first side of the device can be inspected at the first inspection station and the second side of the device can be inspected at the second inspection station, wherein the inverting mechanism further comprises a mechanism for flipping the devices carried in a tray, the mechanism further comprising: a first jaw having a surface for receiving a first tray; a second jaw having a surface for receiving a second tray; a mover for moving the first jaw, the first tray carrying the device, the second tray, and the second jaw into engagement with each other, said first tray associated with the first jaw and the second tray associated with the second jaw; and a rotator for rotating the first and second jaws.