Patents by Inventor Scott P. Snietka

Scott P. Snietka has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Automatic optical inspection system having a weighted transition database
    Patent number: 5608453
    Abstract: A method and apparatus used with a printed circuit board (PCB) defect detection system generates a reference database image of the PCB having tolerances for each individual PCB feature, The invention is characterized by a tolerance database of at least three states in which each color is weighted and adjacent pixels are grouped into arrays or "bins". An error signal is generated when the sum of the pixel weights in a bin exceeds a preselected threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 4, 1997
    Assignee: Gerber Systems Corporation
    Inventors: H. Joseph Gerber, Ronald J. Straayer, Bruce L. Davidson, Scott P. Snietka, Peter M. Walsh, Dana W. Seniff, James P. Kohler
  • Automatic optical inspection system having a weighted transition database
    Patent number: 5517234
    Abstract: A method and apparatus used with a printed circuit board (PCB) defect detection system generates a reference database image of the PCB having tolerances for each individual PCB feature wherein a tolerance database of at least three states in which each color is weighted and adjacent pixels are grouped into arrays or "bins". An error signal is generated when the sum of the pixel weights in a bin exceeds a preselected threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 14, 1996
    Assignee: Gerber Systems Corporation
    Inventors: H. Joseph Gerber, Ronald J. Straayer, Bruce L. Davidson, Scott P. Snietka, Peter M. Walsh, Dana W. Seniff, James P. Kohler
  • Method and apparatus for distortion compensation in an automatic optical inspection system
    Patent number: 5506793
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for compensating substrate distortion in automatic optical inspection (AOI) systems eliminates false error signals during printed circuit boards (PCB) defect detection. The present invention is used in feature edge transition AOI systems that employ pixel to pixel comparison between CAD and scanned PCB feature databases. The present invention divides the substrate into a plurality of regions or "tiles". A distortion vector for each tile is calculated and is used to generate a shift of pixels within each tile which removes any variation between the preferred pixel location and the actual pixel location, thereby enabling the AOI system to avoid generating error signals when features are only misplaced on the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 9, 1996
    Assignee: Gerber Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Ronald J. Straayer, Scott P. Snietka, Peter M. Walsh, James P. Kohler
  • Method and apparatus for providing a three state data base for use with automatic optical inspection systems
    Patent number: 5157762
    Abstract: A method and apparatus used with a printed circuit board (PCB) defect detecting system generates a reference database image of the PCB having tolerances for each individual PCB feature. A transitional data base is included that has three states, black, white and gray corresponding to areas where the PCB features respectively must appear, must not appear and may or may not appear.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 20, 1992
    Assignee: Gerber Systems Corporation
    Inventor: Scott P. Snietka