Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
  • G06K17/00—Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
  • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
  • G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
  • G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
  • G05B19/04—Programme control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers
  • G05B19/12—Programme control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers using record carriers
  • G05B19/128—Programme control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers using record carriers the workpiece itself serves as a record carrier, e.g. by its form, by marks or codes on it
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
  • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
  • G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
  • G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
  • G05B19/418—Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM]
  • G05B19/4183—Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM] characterised by data acquisition, e.g. workpiece identification
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
  • G06K1/00—Methods or arrangements for marking the record carrier in digital fashion
  • G06K1/12—Methods or arrangements for marking the record carrier in digital fashion otherwise than by punching
  • G06K1/121—Methods or arrangements for marking the record carrier in digital fashion otherwise than by punching by printing code marks
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
  • G06K19/00—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings
  • G06K19/06—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code
  • G06K19/06009—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code with optically detectable marking
  • G06K19/06037—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code with optically detectable marking multi-dimensional coding
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
  • G06K7/00—Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns
  • G06K7/10—Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns by electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical sensing; by corpuscular radiation
  • G06K7/12—Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns by electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical sensing; by corpuscular radiation using a selected wavelength, e.g. to sense red marks and ignore blue marks
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
  • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
  • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
  • G05B2219/30—Nc systems
  • G05B2219/31—From computer integrated manufacturing till monitoring
  • G05B2219/31304—Identification of workpiece and data for control, inspection, safety, calibration
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
  • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
  • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
  • G05B2219/30—Nc systems
  • G05B2219/32—Operator till task planning
  • G05B2219/32025—Automatic marking of article
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
  • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
  • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
  • G05B2219/30—Nc systems
  • G05B2219/49—Nc machine tool, till multiple
  • G05B2219/49302—Part, workpiece, code, tool identification
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
  • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
  • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
  • G05B2219/30—Nc systems
  • G05B2219/49—Nc machine tool, till multiple
  • G05B2219/49304—Tool identification, code
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
  • Y02P90/00—Enabling technologies with a potential contribution to greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions mitigation
  • Y02P90/02—Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the field of automated handling of articles, and particularly to automated article marking apparatus and methods for providing information about articles being handled. Background of the invention
• a well known approach of control data integrity consists in physically applying an information code onto the article, either manually or through automated means, to allow data entry downstream of the process, either through an operator interface or through an automated data input device.
• the information code associated with each article can be either a unique identification code for that particular article which allows the retrieval of the article-related data as previously recorded, or a code directly representing the data corresponding to that particular article.
• Such a known approach is applied by the marking apparatus disclosed in US Patent No. 4,172,417 issued on Oct. 30, 1979 to Fardeau et al., which apparatus applies marks of a bar-code type by spraying fluorescent ink onto each article moving rapidly, the position of marks with respect to a reference point being set according to a coding language.
• the applied bar-code can then be read through scanning by a known optical code reader, and then be converted into identification or any other article-related data.
• a programmable logic controller provided with a shift register commands feeding of the lumber to the lug loader according to a first-in, first-out sequence, thereby causing one or more selected trimming saws to make the proper cuts.
• an apparatus for applying and reading an information mark pattern onto an elongated article to be transferred from longitudinally moving transport means to transversely moving transport means comprises a marking station adapted to receive coded information related to the article and comprising marking means for applying corresponding said information mark pattern onto the article while being carried by the longitudinal transport means, said information mark pattern longitudinally extending onto the article.
• the apparatus further comprises a station for reading the information mark pattern applied on the article after transfer thereof to the transverse moving transport means, to produce an output signal corresponding to the coded information.
• a method for applying and reading information marks onto an elongated article to be transferred from longitudinally moving transport means to transverse moving transport means comprising the steps of a) receiving coded information related to the article; b) applying corresponding said information mark pattern onto the article while being carried by the longitudinally moving transport means, said information mark pattern longitudinally extending onto the article; and c) reading the information mark pattern applied on the article after transfer thereof to the transverse moving transport means, to produce an output signal corresponding to said coded information.
• FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a marking station as part of a marking apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention
• Fig. 2 is a partial end view of the marking station of Fig. 1, showing the ink- jet device used to apply information marks on a lumber passing throughout the marking station;
• Fig. 3 is a side elevation view of a reading station as part of a marking apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
• Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional top view according to line 4-4 of the reading station of Fig. 3;
• Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional end view according to line 5-5 of the reading station of Fig.3;
• Fig. 6 is a partial side elevation view of the reading station of Fig. 3, showing the optical sensing devices disposed under the lumber conveying plane;
• Fig. 7 is a top view of the optical sensing devices of Fig. 6;
• Fig. 8 is a partial side elevation view of reading station of Fig. 3, showing the optical sensing devices supported over the lumber conveying plane ;
• Fig. 9 is a partial end view of the pivoting holder for the optical sensing devices of Fig. 8, which is shown in a lowermost reading position;
• Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view according to line 10-10 of Fig. 8, showing working and storage positions for the optical sensing devices;
• Fig. 11a is an example of a lumber as marked using the apparatus and method according to the present invention, showing a mark pattern corresponding to one of a sequence of information codes;
• Fig. 1 lb is another example of a marked lumber, showing a mark pattern corresponding to another one of the information codes sequence;
• Figs. 12a to 12d illustrate a selected sequence of article identification codes that could be used according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
• a marking station generally designated at 10 as part of an apparatus in accordance with the present invention.
• the example shown relates to lumber marking, it should be understood that the present invention may be advantageously used in any application where elongated articles has to be marked to ensure the integrity of the information required for further processing.
• Marking station 10 has a frame 12 provided with access cover 12', and standing on front and rear pairs of legs 13, on which frame 12 is mounted a belt conveyor 14 having an adjustable driven roll 15 provided with an adjustment mechanism 16 and extending from a rear portion of station 10 to a front portion thereof where a driving roll 17 coupled to a driving motor (not shown) is mounted.
• conveyor 14 can be used as the output conveyor of an adjacent upstream grading/measuring station (not shown), where a lumber 11 was inspected for detecting surface defects such as holes, wane or knots, and was physically measured to obtain its dimensions, to provide information required for later grading and/or sorting.
• the inspection step may be carried out at a viewing station where lumbers travel in sequence past one or more operators who assign to each lumber a grade based on the assessment of the appearing lumber quality.
• the inspection can be performed using an automated grading station such as that disclosed in PCT published application No. WO 98/7023 dated Feb. 19, 1998 and naming the present assignee, or using any other of the inspection devices of the prior art such as those disclosed in Patent documents US 4,827,142, WO 95/24636 or EP 692714.
• the lumber measurement may be carried out manually, a known automated measuring equipment is preferably used. Measurement and grading functions may also be integrated in a single equipment such as the station disclosed in WO 98/7023.
• an operator viewing station When an operator viewing station is used, it must be provided with some data entry means such as a keypad, to generate a computer readable data input signal representing the information as entered, and in cases where an automated grading/measuring equipment is employed, a proper interface must be used to generate such an input signal.
• the input data is fed to a data converter 19 which generates the article identification and/or grade/dimension code data, which is in turn fed through a line 18 to a marking controller 21. Where only article identification data is generated, the same input data is also transmitted through a line 20 to a remote processor 86 as shown in Fig. 3, where it is stored in memory, as will be later explained in more detail.
• the marking controller 21 has an output line 22 being connected to a controlled input of a fluid pump 24 as part of an ink supply unit 26 further having an ink storage tank 28 in fluid communication with pump 24.
• marking controller 21 receives a triggering signal from an optical presence detector 27 of a known construction, and through an input line 23.
• Controller 21 also receives a conveyer belt position signal from a conventional position sensor 29 installed on the conveyer 14, to generate a control marking signal through line 22, as will be later explained in more detail.
• Ink under pressure is supplied to an ink-jet device generally designated at 30, comprising upper and lower pairs of ink-jet nozzles 32, 32' and 34, 34' as better shown in Fig. 2.
• Nozzles 32' and 34' are auxiliary nozzles provided in case of failure of main nozzles 32 and 34, to avoid maintenance interruption.
• a single pair of upper or lower nozzles may be used in case where a single surface of the lumber has to be marked, it has been found advantageous to provide two pairs of nozzles to allow marking on two corresponding series of marking areas associated with top and under surfaces 31, 31 ' of lumber 11, as will be later explained in more detail.
• Marking ink used preferably exhibits fluorescent characteristics to be clearly detectable under suitable short wavelength illumination (ultraviolet), while being substantially invisible under ambient light, as being explained later in more detail.
• a fast drying, isopropylic alcohol-based solution containing fluorescent agent is preferably used.
• Pairs of ink-jet nozzles 32, 32' and 34, 34' are mounted on adjustable holders 38 and 40 providing adjustment of both the angular orientation of nozzles and spacing thereof from the lumber conveying plane 42, to obtain the desired marks having sufficient width to allow a reliable reading.
• Ink-jet device 30 is preferably covered by an exhaust hood 44, which are illustrated in dotted line in Figs. 1 and 2, to collect secondary ink mist produced by nozzles 32, 34 during marking.
• FIG. 1 A reading station according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be now described with reference to Figs. 3 to 10.
• the reading station generally designated at 48 is installed on a conventional transverse conveyor 49 having a guide plate 52 and provided with a series of belt driven rolls 53 mounted for rotation on lower beam 57 to urge the fed lumbers against the guide plate 52 as indicated by arrow 55.
• Transverse conveyer 49 has narrow chains 56 mounted on driving axle 59 coupled to a motor (not shown) and arranged in a parallel spaced relationship.
• Chains 56 are provided with mutually aligned series of lugs 54 adapted to engage trailing edge of lumber 11 for moving thereof in a transverse direction as indicated by arrow 58 toward a downstream processing station (not shown), such as a sorting or trimming station.
• the reading station comprises a holder 51 for maintaining a series of optical sensing devices 61, 62, 63, 64 in a transverse spaced relationship facing corresponding top marking areas 41, 43, 45, 47 on lumber 11 in a reading position as shown in Fig 8, to scan an information mark pattern applied on a top surface 31 of lumber 11 transported through a conveying plane 60.
• the first marking area 41 is located near the first or proximal end 33 of lumber 11, which has also a distal end 35.
• Other marking areas 43, 45, and 47 form a distinct group which is spaced from the marking area 41.
• the purpose of such arrangement of marking areas is to allow an optinal manual marking of any out-of-sequence lumber, as will be described later in more detail.
• the holder 51 comprises a transverse shaft 66 extending under an operator access platform 76 as shown in Fig. 3, and being mounted for rotation at opposed ends thereof on vertically extending side posts 68, 70 forming a frame rigidly secured to floor by attachments 50, 50', as better shown in Fig. 8.
• Adjustably secured along transverse shaft 66 are a plurality of support assemblies 71, 72, 73, 74 for respectively supporting sensing devices 61, 62, 63, 64, as will be later explained in more detail with reference to Figs. 8-10.
• Adjustably secured to the beam 57 are support assemblies 81 and 82, for respectively supporting sensing devices 61' and 62', 63', 64' which are arranged in a transverse spaced relationship facing the corresponding under marking areas 41 ', 43', 45', 47' in a reading position as shown in Fig 6, to scan the information mark pattern applied on under surface 31' of lumber 11.
• the reading station 48 further comprises data processor 86 provided with data buffer receiving through bundles of lines 88, 90 passing within transverse shaft 66 and transverse beam 57 respectively, the detected signals from upper and lower optical sensing devices 61, 62, 63, 64 and 61 ', 62', 63', 64' respectively.
• the data processor 86 receives through line 20 for storing in a memory the same input data that was previously fed to data converter 19 as shown in Fig. 1, to allow correspondence between the input identification data and the grade/dimension data as required for further lumber processing. Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, lower optical sensing devices 61', 62', 63', 64' being identical, only sensing device 61 ' will be described in detail.
• Sensing device 61 ' is mounted within the enclosure 85 of an arm 83 at upper end thereof.
• Sensing device 61 ' which is of a known construction, comprises an ultraviolet light emitter 92 for producing ultraviolet radiation with a wavelength of approximately 365 nm to activate a fluorescent agent contained in the ink used to print marks onto the lumber surface, which in turn generates luminescent radiation in a visually detectable range typically between about 450 nm and 780 nm.
• a scanning receiver 94 is mounted at a position near light emitter 92 for sensing the luminescent radiation, to produce the detected signal either at switching or analog outputs provided on scanning receiver 94, which signal is transmitted toward data processor 86 through respective line 90 extending through lower beam 57, as better shown in Fig. 3.
• a dust removing device 95 adapted to be connected at an outlet 96 to a blower (not shown) is provided, which has an outlet nozzle 97 located adjacent a transparent protecting plate 98 disposed over light emitter 92 and scanning receiver 94.
• First optical sensing device 61' is preferably mounted on its own support 93 which is adjustably secured under lower beam 57, to allow independent transverse position adjustment of optical sensing device 61' over the end portion of the lumber, as will be later explained in more detail.
• Support assembly 81 comprises an holding member 100 to which is secured sensing device 61 ' with bolts 101 passing through mounting plate 99 and elongated slots 103 provided on holding member 100, and an adjustable mounting base 102 having a lateral wall 111 being rigidly connected with bolts 104 passing through elongated slots 107 provided on the lateral wall 111 to a plate 106 retaining proximal ends of short beams 105 having distal ends being secured to holding member 100.
• Adjustable mounting base 102 has a top wall 110 which can be attached to a bottom wall of beam 57 at a desired reading position with bolts 108 passing through elongated slots 109 provided on top wall 110.
• Optical sensing devices 62', 63', 64' are mounted on the lower beam 57 in a similar way as for sensing device 61 ', with a support assembly 82 comprising a common holding member 100' and respective mounting plates 99, which provide proper relative spacing between optical sensing devices 62', 63' and 64'.
• a pair of short beams 105' are used to connect opposed ends of the holding member 100' to a pair of mounting bases 102' and 102" which are secured under transverse beam 57 in a similar manner as for mounting base 102 at a position providing alignment of the optical sensing devices 62', 63', 64' with the lower series of marking areas associated with the lower surface of lumber 11.
• Support assembly 71 comprises an articulated support arm 113 having a first end being adjustably secured along shaft 66 through a base member 115 and a second end receiving optical sensing device 61.
• the base member 115 comprises a lower flanged plate 117 to which the arm first end is rigidly secured and an upper flanged plate 119, which plates 117 and 119 are clamped onto shaft 66 through two pairs of bolts assemblies 121.
• Support arm 113 comprises first and second portions 123, 125 which are pivotally connected at their respective ends 122, 124 as shown in Fig.
• an articulation 127 comprising a hinge pin 129 and a U-section covering member 131 being secured to first portion 123 and traversed by pin 129.
• Respective surfaces of ends 122 and 124 show opposed beveled edges 133 and 135 provided with abutments 130 and 130', which edges 133, 135 form a right angle at the location of the pin 129, arm 113 being in a full extended reading position as illustrated in solid lines in Fig. 10.
• abutments 130, 130' are caused to mate, allowing edges 133 and 135 to be maintained in a stable parallel relationship.
• Optical sensing device 61 which is of a same construction as for sensing device 61' which is described before with reference to Fig. 6, is mounted within enclosure 112 of support arm 71 at a lower end thereof. It is pointed out that as opposed to lower sensing device 61 ', a dust removing device is normally not required to ensure proper operation of sensing device 61.
• Shaft end 143 is rigidly secured to a sleeved head 144 of a connecting rod 145 through a set screw 147, as better shown in Fig. 9, which rod 145 has a levering member 149 on which is pivotally mounted a driving rod 151 as part of a pneumatic cylinder 153 having a base member 157 being pivotally secured to post 70 through a bracket 157.
• Levering member 149 is maintained in a lower position through an adjustable abutment 155 secured to post 70 through an attachment 160 shown in Fig. 8.
• each identification code 161 is structured into two sets of complementary code data represented by right and left adjacent columns of digits 163, 163' respectively corresponding to two complementary portions of a mark pattern, with uppermost digits relating to the proximal or first end 33 of lumber 11, which mark pattern portions are respectively applied onto top and under surfaces 31, 31' of the lumber.
• Fig. 11a illustrates a lumber 11 ' onto which an information mark pattern corresponding to code «FF» has been applied
• Fig. 1 lb illustrates a lumber 11 " onto which an information mark pattern corresponding to code «29» has been applied, at marking areas 41, 43, 45, 47 and 41', 43', 45', 47' for both lumbers 11 ' and 11 ".
• the maximum number of available identification mark patterns is significantly increased compared with a single surface marking method using a same number of marking areas per lumber surface.
• any manual turning is obviated by associating pairs of identification codes which are considered as equivalent whenever lumber surfaces have been inverted. It can be seen from Figs. 11a to l id that 16, i.e.
• article identification codes have symmetrical complementary code data, which corresponds to the codes « 00, 11, 22, 33,..., 99, AA, BB, CC,..., FF Colour Data columns 163, 163' for these codes being symmetrical, these particular codes are not permutable and thus cannot be associated with any other equivalent codes. For a sequence of different codes, there are such symmetrical codes.
• the complementary data of a selected one of equivalent codes form the other one of the equivalent identification codes when being permuted one another, thereby ensuring article identification whenever the article surfaces have been inverted between the marking and reading stations.
• each identification code associated with a selected identification code is crossed out to indicate that any of them can be used for marking. It can be seen in Fig. 12a that code «00», also identified at under numeral «-101» indicating a first exclusion from the selected identification sequence, is also crossed out as being unusable, to prevent generation of an identification signal whenever a lumber is missing at a given location on the transversal conveyor.
• a same marking pattern can be applied to both surfaces of the lumber to provide positive identification irrespective of the lumber orientation.
• first marking areas 41 and 41 ' can be reserved for use by the operator to manually apply a mark on any out-of- current lumber with a luminescent hand-held marker before passing through the reading station, which produces a signal indicative of an out-of-current sequence lumber whenever an applied manual mark is detected.
• an additional upper optical sensing unit can be inserted between sensing unit 61 and 62, with an additional support arm 113.
• the data input signal is converted to a data code representing lumber grade/dimension information, which is associated with a corresponding information mark pattern to be applied to one or more surfaces of the lumber 11.
• data converter 19 is used to provide proper format for the coded data to be fed to marking controller 21.
• both identification data and grade/dimension data are generated in a proper coded format by converter 19 and are then fed to marking controller 21. It is pointed out that for the second and third operation modes, output line 20 is not required to provide data correspondence at the reading stage.
• coded data is processed by marking controller 21 to produce the marking control signal which is sent to ink supply unit 26 through line 22, which control signal shows a proper timing sequence to operate ink-jet device 30 according to the arrangement of longitudinally spaced marking areas on moving lumber 11, in a such manner that the so applied marks longitudinally extend onto article 11 at a predetermined mark length.
• Marked lumber 11 may then be transferred to a further conveyor for handling purpose, before being transferred to transversal conveyor 49 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, trough the input longitudinal conveyor formed by idle rolls 53.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
• Artificial Intelligence (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Toxicology (AREA)
• Electromagnetism (AREA)
• Computer Vision & Pattern Recognition (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Quality & Reliability (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Length Measuring Devices By Optical Means (AREA)
• Control Of Conveyors (AREA)
• Labeling Devices (AREA)

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• 1998
  • 1998-08-20 CA CA002245412A patent/CA2245412C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1999
  • 1999-08-19 WO PCT/CA1999/000769 patent/WO2000011595A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1999-08-19 AU AU53663/99A patent/AU5366399A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1999-08-19 EP EP99939283A patent/EP1105830A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1999-08-19 BR BR9913056-4A patent/BR9913056A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1999-08-19 NZ NZ510537A patent/NZ510537A/xx unknown
• 2001
  • 2001-02-20 NO NO20010867A patent/NO20010867L/no not_active Application Discontinuation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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