US-12625084-B2 - Package quality inspection station and a method for inspecting quality of a package

US12625084B2US 12625084 B2US12625084 B2US 12625084B2US-12625084-B2

Abstract

A package quality inspection station ( 100 ) is provided. The station ( 100 ) comprises a first conveyor belt ( 102 ) and a second conveyor belt ( 108 ) arranged to abut a bottom portion ( 104 ) of a package ( 106 ). The second conveyor belt ( 108 ) is placed at distance (D) from the first conveyor belt ( 102 ) such that a gap ( 110 ) is formed. A belt brake ( 112 ) comprising a first and a second lateral belt arrangement ( 114, 116 ) arranged to hold the package ( 106 ) is provided to bridge the gap ( 110 ) and to hold the package ( 106 ) such that a top portion ( 160 ) and the bottom portion ( 104 ) are made visible when conveyed over the gap ( 110 ). A top camera ( 132 ) is configured to capture top image data ( 134 ) depicting the top portion ( 160 ), and a bottom camera ( 136 ) configured to capture bottom image data ( 138 ) depicting the bottom portion ( 104 ). A controller ( 142 ) can be configured to receive the top image data ( 134 ) and the bottom image data ( 138 ) and to identify quality issues linked to the package ( 106 ) based on the top image data ( 134 ) and the bottom image data ( 138 ) in combination.

Inventors

Antonio Melandri
Paolo Scarabelli
Massimo Viola
Renzo Bellei
Francesco Panini
Mattia Verasani

Assignees

TETRA LAVAL HOLDINGS & FINANCE S.A.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220504
Priority Date: 20210618

Claims (12)

1 . A package quality inspection station comprising a first conveyor belt arranged to abut a bottom portion of a package while being conveyed along a transportation path, a second conveyor belt arranged to abut the bottom portion of the package while being conveyed along the transportation path, wherein the second conveyor belt is placed at distance from the first conveyor belt such that a gap is formed, a belt brake comprising a first and a second lateral belt arrangement arranged to hold the package via a first and a second lateral section of the package while being conveyed along the transportation path, wherein in a first conveyor section of the transportation path the package is solely conveyed by the first conveyor belt, in a first hand-over section of the transportation path the package is conveyed by the first conveyor belt in combination with the belt brake, in a belt brake section of the transportation path the package is conveyed by the belt brake solely, in a second hand-over section of the transportation path the package is conveyed by the belt brake in combination with the second conveyor belt, and in a second conveyor section of the transportation path the package is solely conveyed by the second conveyor belt, a top camera configured to capture top image data depicting a top portion of the package, wherein the top camera is placed above the transportation path, a bottom camera configured to capture bottom image data depicting the bottom portion of the package, wherein the bottom camera is placed below the belt brake section and in the gap between the first and second conveyor belt, and a controller configured to receive the top image data and the bottom image data and to identify quality issues linked to the package based on the top image data and the bottom image data by correlating a first quality issue associated with the top portion of the package with a second quality issue associated with the bottom portion of the package that is related to the first quality issue.
2 . The package quality inspection station according to claim 1 , wherein the top camera is placed vertically above the bottom camera.
3 . The package quality inspection station according to claim 1 , wherein a photocell is provided upstream the top camera or the bottom camera in the transportation path such that the photocell triggers capturing of the top image data using the top camera or capturing of the bottom image data using the bottom camera.
4 . The package quality inspection station according to claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises a text recognition module configured to transform a text comprised in the top image data into a text data set.
5 . The package quality inspection station according to claim 1 , wherein the controller further comprises an identification code recognition module configured to transform an identification code depicted in the top image data into an identification data set.
6 . The package quality inspection station according to claim 5 , wherein the controller further comprises a top forming assessment module configured to assess top features provided on the top portion of the package depicted in the top image data.
7 . The package quality inspection station according to claim 6 , wherein the controller further comprises a bottom forming assessment module configured to assess bottom features provided on the bottom portion of the package depicted in the bottom image data.
8 . The package quality inspection station according to claim 7 , wherein the top forming assessment module is configured to feed top features assessment data to the bottom forming assessment module, and the bottom forming assessment module is arranged to assess the bottom features based on the bottom image data in combination with the top features assessment data.
9 . The package quality inspection station according to claim 8 , wherein the controller further comprises a data communications module configured to transfer the identification data set, the top image data, and the bottom image data of the package to a database on a server, wherein the server is further configured to receive operator features assessment data and the identification data set from an operator panel and to link the operator features assessment data to the top image data and the bottom image data via the identification data set, wherein the operator features assessment data specifies whether or not the package meets features quality requirements with respect to the top features, such that a combination of the top image data, the bottom image data, and the operator features assessment data is used as features training data for an artificial intelligence engine used by the top forming assessment module and/or the bottom forming assessment module.
10 . A method for quality inspection of a package, said method comprising: transporting the package on a first conveyor belt along a transportation path by having the package placed on the first conveyor belt such that a bottom portion of the package is resting on the first conveyor belt, handing over the package from the first conveyor belt to a belt brake, comprising a first and a second lateral belt arrangement, by transporting the package along the transportation path by having the bottom portion resting on the first conveyor belt and a first and a second lateral section of the package interacting with the first and the second lateral belt arrangement, respectively, transporting the package over a gap formed between the first conveyor belt and a second conveyor belt placed downstream the first conveyor belt in the transportation path by having the package interacting with the first and second lateral belt arrangement, capturing top image data depicting a top portion of the package using a top camera during the step of transporting the package over the gap, capturing bottom image data depicting the bottom portion of the package using a bottom camera during the step of transporting the package over the gap, handing over the package from the belt brake to the second conveyor belt by transporting the package along the transportation path by having the bottom portion resting on the second conveyor belt and the first and the second lateral section of the package interacting with the first and the second lateral belt arrangement, respectively, transporting the package on the second conveyor belt along the transportation path by having the package placed on the second conveyor belt such that the bottom portion of the package is resting on the second conveyor belt, feeding the top image data and the bottom image data to a controller, and identifying, using the controller, quality issues linked to the package based on the top image data and the bottom image data by correlating a first quality issue associated with the top portion of the package with a second quality issue associated with the bottom portion of the package that is related to the first quality issue.
11 . The package quality inspection station according to claim 1 , wherein the first quality issue comprises a first misalignment and the second quality issue comprises a second misalignment, wherein the first misalignment or the second misalignment results in the other of the second misalignment or the first misalignment.
12 . The package quality inspection station according to claim 11 , wherein the package comprises a carton package formed from a roll-fed packaging machine, such that the carton package being formed with the first misalignment or the second misalignment results in the other of the second misalignment or the first misalignment.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The invention generally relates to food packaging, more specifically it is related to a package quality inspection station and a method for inspecting quality of a package. BACKGROUND ART Today it is common practice within the packaging industry to continuously assess quality of packages being produced. In its most simple form, this may be achieved by that personnel is assessing the quality of sample packages. Even though this has proven to be a reliable method for assessing quality in some cases, there is a risk that different persons make different assessments for identical quality issues, and thus as an effect that the reliability of the quality assessment can sometimes be questioned. To overcome the risks involved with manual quality assessment, automatic quality assessment can be an option. Instead of having personnel assessing the packages, an automatic quality station may comprise a camera for capturing image data depicting the package, and a controller configured to assess the image data such that deviations linked to a specific package can be detected. For instance, in case a cap is not applied correctly compared to other packages, in which the cap application process is confirmed to be made according to pre-set quality standards, this may be detected by the automatic quality station and a notification can be sent to an operator. Once receiving the notification, the operator can make a manual quality inspection and/or look into the cap application process to make sure that this is working adequately. Even though the camera-based quality control stations available today are improving consistency of the quality control of packages, there is still a need for even better quality control stations such that quality issues can be detected quicker and also with improved reliability. The positive effect of detecting deviations earlier and also with improved reliability is that costs can be lowered. In other words, by making it is possible to detect inadequate packages sooner, fewer packages need to be discarded. Since less food is wasted with improved quality control, improved quality control stations also have a positive effect on the CO2 footprint. The patent document TWM542139U discloses an image data based inspection system provided with several cameras for inspecting the bottles while being transported on conveying units. The patent document U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,193A discloses a system for checking packages, particularly cigarette packs, by using cameras such that defective packs can be sorted out. SUMMARY It is an object of the invention to at least partly overcome one or more of the above-identified limitations of the prior art. In particular, it is an object to provide a quality control inspection station that can quickly and reliably can detect quality issues in packages, such as carton packages. According to a first aspect it is provided a package quality inspection station comprising a first conveyor belt arranged to abut a bottom portion of a package while being conveyed along a transportation path,a second conveyor belt arranged to abut the bottom portion of the package while being conveyed along the transportation path,wherein the second conveyor belt may be placed at distance from the first conveyor belt such that a gap is formed,a belt brake comprising a first and a second lateral belt arrangement arranged to hold the package via a first and a second lateral section of the package while being conveyed along the transportation path,wherein in a first conveyor section of the transportation path the package may be solely conveyed by the first conveyor belt, in a first hand-over section of the transportation path the package may be conveyed by the first conveyor belt in combination with the belt brake, in a belt brake section of the transportation path the package may be conveyed by the belt brake solely, in a second hand-over section of the transportation path the package may be conveyed by the belt brake in combination with the second conveyor belt, and in a second conveyor section of the transportation path the package may be solely conveyed by the second conveyor belt,a top camera configured to capture top image data depicting a top portion of the package, wherein the top camera may be placed above the transportation path,a bottom camera configured to capture bottom image data depicting a bottom portion of the package, wherein the bottom camera may be placed below the belt brake section and in the gap between the first and second conveyor belt, anda controller configured to receive the top image data and the bottom image data and to identify quality issues linked to the package based on the top image data and the bottom image data in combination. An advantage of having the gap and the belt brake holding the package is that it is made possible to capture the top image data and the bottom image data at the same time or within a short time span, such as within an interval of thre