A smart synchronizing method of a web inspection system for monitoring a moving web. A synchronizing device, at least one slave camera, and at least one lighting device illuminate an area of the web arranged to be imaged by the cameras. The method includes transmitting a synchronizing signal to the slave camera. The synchronizing signal includes at least a start pulse and serial data including additional information. All the cameras are synchronized with each other based on synchronization moment when integration of cameras end. A light synchronizing signal is transmitted to the at least one lighting device indicating a switching on and off times of the at least one lighting device, which switching off time corresponds to the synchronization moment, and calculating a starting time of integration based on an individual integration time of a camera and the synchronization moment common for cameras of the web inspection system.

System and methods used to inspect a moving web (112) include a plurality of image capturing devices (113) that image a portion of the web at an imaging area. The image data captured by each of the image capturing devices at the respective imaging areas is combined to form a virtual camera data array (105) that represents an alignment of the image data associated with each of the imaging areas to the corresponding physical positioning of the imaging areas relative to the web. The image output signals generated by each of the plurality of image capturing devices may be processed by a single image processor, or a number of image processors (114) that is less than the number of image capturing devices. The processor or processors are arranged to generate the image data forming the virtual camera array.

An inspection device includes a scanning device, a first recognition unit, and a second recognition unit. The scanning device includes a laser sensor that emits laser slit light for measuring a two-dimensional shape, and a movement mechanism that moves the laser sensor in a predetermined direction. The first recognition unit obtains three-dimensional shape data of an inspection object and a workpiece by associating a plurality of two-dimensional shape data obtained by the laser sensor with position data of the laser sensor at the time of measuring the two-dimensional shape. The second recognition unit derives a three-dimensional shape of the workpiece by obtaining a difference between first three-dimensional shape data indicating a three-dimensional shape before the workpiece is laminated on the mold and second three-dimensional shape data indicating a three-dimensional shape after the workpiece is laminated on the mold.

Inspection apparatus A according to the present exemplary embodiment includes an illumination device capable of emitting first light in a first wavelength band and reference light in a reference wavelength band overlapping with the first wavelength band, an imaging device that images an inspection body and outputs a pixel signal, and an image processing device. The illumination device emits the first light and the reference light to the inspection body at different timings in one imaging time. The image processing device calculates a first reflectance that is a reflectance in the first wavelength band of the object based on the pixel signal, and determines physical properties of the object based on the first reflectance.

The present disclosure provides for identifying subtle variations in a planar material and in real time associating the subtle variations with a cause. Data from gauging or optical inspection of the planar material on a manufacturing line is analyzed in real time for certain root causes of identified variations in the planar material. The data is analyzed at a predetermined longitudinal frequency, averaged and compared to an estimated effect of a known variation source to identify a residual variation. The process is iterative to identify all statistically significant causes of the subtle variations in the planar material.

A method for optically inspecting a surface (10) of an object (1) and an inspection device (9) are described. With the method a temporally periodic pattern (13) with different illumination patterns (130) is generated on the surface (10) by means of a illumination device (8) of the inspection device (9) during an image recording sequence (13), and in the image recording sequence a number of images of the pattern (13) on the surface (10) are recorded by means of an image recording device (7) of the inspection device (9), wherein generating one of the different illumination patterns (130) is synchronised, respectively, with the image recording of one of the images of the pattern (13), the phase of the pattern (13) is determined from the succession of the recorded known illumination patterns (130) in at least one image point and defects (4, 5) on the surface (10) are detected from deviations of the recorded illumination pattern (130) from the generated known illumination pattern (130). The illumination device (8) and the image recording device (7) are arranged in the reflection angle (α), wherein the object (1) is moved relative to the inspection device (9) and the duration of the image recording sequence is chosen such that a sequence reflection zone (17) can be regarded as constant (FIG. 4b).

An inspection system includes an inspection device having at least one image capture device. The image capture device captures image data of a sheet part passing through the inspection device. A processing unit of the inspection device provides the image data representative of the sheet part to a plurality of neural networks, where each of the neural networks is trained to identify a corresponding defect in the sheet part and output data indicative of the presence of the corresponding defect. The processing unit determines a quality category of the sheet part based on the data indicative of the presence of the corresponding defect output by each corresponding neural network. The processing unit can further output the quality category of the sheet part to a sorter that can sort the sheet part based on the quality category.

A method of synchronizing a line scan camera. The method comprises: obtaining line scan data of a region of interest (ROI) of a travelling surface from the line scan camera, the line scan camera being oriented perpendicular to a direction of travel of the travelling surface, the line scan data comprising a plurality of lines; identifying occurrences of a major frequency of a repeated texture on the travelling surface using characterized line scan data for each line in the plurality of lines of the line scan data; determining a period of the major frequency; and changing a line rate of the line scan camera when the determined period is different than a reference period.

A shape inspection apparatus includes N illumination light sources, a line sensor camera, a measurement control unit, and a data processing unit. The measurement control unit controls the illumination light sources to modulate luminescence intensities at a frequency that is 1/N of a frequency of a scan rate of the line sensor camera, and to emit lights by sequentially repeating N different patterns of illumination intensity ratios. The data processing unit generates a first separated image and a second separated image based on a photographed image, generates a first mixing elimination image acquired by removing an unnecessary illumination component from the first separated image, and a second mixing elimination image acquired by removing an unnecessary illumination component from the second separated image, and calculates an inclination of the surface of the strip-shaped body based on a difference between the first mixing elimination image and the second mixing elimination image.

In an embodiment an apparatus includes an image acquisition device with at least one camera, the image acquisition device configured to acquire a multi-line section of a recording region and an evaluation device configured to process at least two sub-areas of the multi-line section as one strip image each and compare at least two strip images of a test pattern to each other in a validation mode to check whether deviations of the strip images are detected.