Importance

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Abstract

A sorting and inspection apparatus comprising a feed system for delivering a product stream sequentially through an imaging zone and a sorting zone, at least one tight source for illuminating a product at the imaging zone, at least one optical sensor and detector circuit for viewing at least a portion of the illuminated product at the imaging zone, for collecting viewed data, for determining a condition of that at least portion of the illuminated product from the viewed data and then for outputting a signal dependent upon the determined condition of that at least portion of the illuminated product, and at least one ejector for ejecting product at the sorting zone dependent upon the output signal. The imaging zone comprises at least two sensor zones, sequentially arranged one after another in a direction of the product stream. The data collected from the at least two sensor zones is temporally delayed between an earlier one of the sensor zones and a subsequent sensor zone, with the temporal delay being set at a time that would match a sensor output for the said earlier one of the sensor zones with a sensor output for the said subsequent sensor zone for a hypothetical product travelling through the viewing zone at a fixed, predetermined velocity. The apparatus additionally determines the velocity of each product that passes through the sensor zones. The determined velocity, or its difference from the predetermined velocity, used in a determination of a shortened but non-clipped sector of each sensor zone from which to use collected data for basing its defect determination.

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First Claim