US-12626357-B2 - Method for quality assessment of a food package and a packaging system

US12626357B2US 12626357 B2US12626357 B2US 12626357B2US-12626357-B2

Abstract

A method for quality assessment of a food package in a packaging system comprising capturing a first and second sets of image data depicting the food package at first and second stations, respectively, wherein the first station comprises a first image capturing apparatus, and the second station comprises a second image capturing apparatus, wherein the second station is placed at a different location than the first station of a package transportation path, wherein the second image capturing apparatus is set up differently compared to the first image capturing apparatus, thereby resulting in that the food package is represented differently in the second image data compared to the first image data, and determining features by processing the first and second image data, comparing the features with reference data, and in case of match, transferring a positive quality indication, else, transferring a negative quality indication.

Inventors

Antonio Melandri
Paolo Scarabelli
Mattia Verasani

Assignees

TETRA LAVAL HOLDINGS & FINANCE S.A.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220427
Priority Date: 20210528

Claims (20)

1 . A method for quality assessment of a food package in a packaging system, said method comprising: prior to performing at least a portion of packaging the food package, capturing a first set of image data depicting the food package at a first station, wherein the first station comprises a first image capturing apparatus, capturing a second set of image data depicting the food package after performing at least the portion of packaging the food package at a second station, wherein the second station comprises a second image capturing apparatus, wherein the second image capturing apparatus is configured differently compared to the first image capturing apparatus, wherein the food package is represented differently in the second set of image data compared to the first set of image data, wherein the first station is placed upstream of a third station in a package transportation path and the second station is placed downstream of the third station, and wherein the third station is configured to perform at least the portion of packaging the food package, determining features associated with the portion of packaging the food package by processing the first set of image data and the second set of image data based on one or more physical attributes depicted on the food package prior to performing at least the portion of packaging the food package, comparing the features with reference data associated with a quality standard for at least the portion of packaging the food package, in case of a match between the features and reference data, transferring a positive quality indication, and in case of a mismatch between the features and reference data, transferring a negative quality indication.
2 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising: identifying an identification mark in the first set of image data, identifying the identification mark in the second set of image data, and linking the first set of image data and the second set of image data to the food package.
3 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein the identification mark comprises a printed mark provided on the food package.
4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein a second lighting arrangement is provided including a polarized filter such that a second light emitted by the second lighting arrangement is transformed into polarized light and reflected by the food package before reaching the second image capturing apparatus, and a first lighting arrangement is provided without the polarized filter such that a first light emitted by the first lighting arrangement is reflected by the food package and received as unpolarized light by the first image capturing apparatus.
5 . The method according to claim 4 , wherein the first set of image data is generated by the unpolarized light received by the first image capturing apparatus and is configured for detecting dents in the food package.
6 . The method according to claim 4 , wherein the second set of image data is generated by the polarized light received by the second image capturing apparatus and is configured for checking printed text on the food package.
7 . The method according to claim 4 , wherein the first lighting arrangement is set up physically different compared to the second lighting arrangement such that the first light is reflected differently by the food package compared to the second light.
8 . The method according to claim 4 , further comprising: receiving packaging material data and/or recipe data, wherein the packaging material data comprises information about a type of material used in a packaging material of the food package and the recipe data comprises information about a food product filled into the food package, and adjusting properties of the first light and/or the second light based on the packaging material data and/or the recipe data.
9 . The method according to claim 4 , further comprising: receiving décor data, wherein the décor data comprises information about a print provided on the food package, and adjusting properties of the first light and/or the second light based on the décor data.
10 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising transferring measurements to the packaging system such that settings can be adjusted accordingly, wherein determining the features comprises determining measurements associated with the features.
11 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising receiving machine data linked to the food package, wherein the machine data comprises information about machine components and/or machine settings of the packaging system used when producing the food package, and wherein determining the features comprises processing the first set of image data and the second set of image data in combination with the machine data.
12 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the third station comprises a cap applicator, and wherein the portion of packaging the food package comprises a degree of rotation of a cap, applied onto the food package by the cap applicator, relative to the food package, wherein the cap is rotationally asymmetric.
13 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising: receiving a feature request from a server comprising a database holding the reference data, wherein one or more requested features specified in the feature request are determined when determining the features by processing the first set of image data and the second set of image data, and uploading the one or more requested features to the server, thereby closing gaps in the database.
14 . A packaging system comprising: a first station comprising a first image capturing apparatus configured to capture a first set of image data depicting a food package prior to performing at least a portion of packaging the food package, a second station comprising a second image capturing apparatus configured to capture a second set of image data depicting the food package after performing at least the portion of packaging the food package, wherein the second image capturing apparatus is configured differently compared to the first image capturing apparatus, and wherein the food package is represented differently in the second set of image data compared to the first set of image data, wherein the first station is placed upstream of a third station and the second station is placed downstream of the third station, and wherein the third station is configured to perform at least the portion of packaging the food package, and a controller configured to: determine features associated with the portion of packaging the food package by processing the first set of image data and the second set of image data based on one or more physical attributes depicted on the food package prior to performing at least the portion of packaging the food package, compare the features with reference data associated with a quality standard for at least the portion of packaging the food package, in case of a match between the features and the reference data, transfer a positive quality indication, and in case of a mismatch between the features and the reference data, transfer a negative quality indication.
15 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to carry out the method according to claim 1 .
16 . The packaging system according to claim 14 , wherein the controller is further configured to transfer measurements to the packaging system such that settings can be adjusted accordingly, wherein determining the features comprises determining measurements associated with the features.
17 . The method according to claim 10 , wherein the third station comprises a cap applicator configured to apply a cap on the food package, wherein the measurements associated with the features comprise a distance between the cap and an edge of a top of the food package.
18 . The method according to claim 10 , wherein the third station comprises a cap applicator configured to apply a cap on the food package, wherein the measurements associated with the features comprise a quotient between a shortest distance between the cap and an edge of a top of the food package and a longest distance between the cap and another edge of the top of the food package.
19 . The method according to claim 12 , wherein the one or more physical attributes comprise at least a pre-laminated hole.
20 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising updating the reference data based on the food packages associated with the positive quality indication.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The invention generally relates to quality assessment of food packages. More specifically, it is related to a method for quality assessment of a food package, a packaging system and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon program code portions for implementing the method. BACKGROUND ART Today it is commonly known to have quality assessment stations as part of food packaging systems. Such stations may for example comprise a camera and a control unit configured to capture image data depicting a cap of a food package, compare the image data with reference image data and if deviations between the captured image data and the reference image data are identified, notify an operator that a cap application process should be looked into. By being able to detect quality issues, the risk of producing packages not fulfilling food safety standards can be reduced. This in turn provides for that the risk that food products not safe to consume are distributed to consumers can be reduced. In addition to assuring food safety, the quality assessment stations are also closely linked to reducing food waste. By being able to quickly identify quality issues in food packages, the food packaging systems can quickly be halted and as an effect fewer food packages with quality issues are produced. This is beneficial in that fewer food packages need to be discarded, in turn resulting in less food waste. Thus, having quality assessment stations for food package systems in place also comes with the advantage that the environmental impact, such as the CO2 foot print, can be improved. Several techniques for assessing image data for assessing cap application or the like within the packaging industry are known. During the last decades the development of cameras have been profound and the image quality of cameras of today provides possibilities not present 10-20 years ago. The development of image data processing devices has in a similar manner also been strong the last decades. In combination, this provides for that image data based quality assessment of food packages has been improved during the last years. Even though the image based quality assessment stations are capable of detecting deviations both efficiently and reliably, there is a need to further improve the quality assessment to provide even better food safety and even less food waste. 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 method for quality assessment of food packages such that the risk of producing food packages not meeting preset quality standard can be further reduced. According to a first aspect it is provided a method for quality assessment of a food package in a packaging system. The method may comprise capturing a first set of image data depicting the food package at a first station in the packaging system, wherein the first station comprises a first image capturing apparatus,capturing a second set of image data depicting the food package at a second station in the packaging system, wherein the second station comprises a second image capturing apparatus, wherein the second station is placed at a different location than the first station of a package transportation path P of the packaging system, wherein the second image capturing apparatus is set up differently compared to the first image capturing apparatus, thereby resulting in that the food package is represented differently in the second image data compared to the first image data, anddetermining features by processing the first and second image data,comparing the features with reference data, andin case of match, transferring a positive quality indication,else, transferring a negative quality indication. The features may be construed as a single or a combined characteristics for the package being assessed. For instance, the features may include a distance between a cap, placed on a top of the package, and a shortest distance to an edge of the top of the package. Such feature is herein referred to as a single characteristic. In case the features include a relationship, i.e. a quotient, between the shortest distance between the cap and an edge of the top and a longest distance between the cap and an edge of the top, such feature is herein referred to as combined characteristics. Put differently, the features may be construed as details of the package that may differ from package to package, such that the features can be used for identifying the package or for determining if the package is deviating from other packages being produced, thereby detecting if the package is not fulfilling pre-set quality standards. The features may include the pre-set quality standards, thereby making the comparison a direct assessment of the pre-set quality standards, but the features may also involve features that are indirectly linked to the pre-set quali