Patents by Inventor Thomas Joseph Martel

Thomas Joseph Martel 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).

  • Patent number: 6720989
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and method for scanning electronically acquired periodic images from an object and thereafter, inspecting the periodic images by using predetermined rules. The method to inspect the image includes an algorithm for analyzing the periodic patterns of the image and detecting deviations from numerical acceptance norms. In the system, the field of view of a camera, such as a video camera, viewing the object includes a two-dimensional image of the object. The camera captures the two-dimensional image of the object and converts the image into an array of scan lines, whereby each scan line represents a one-dimensional “slice” of target shape of the object. Hence, while all two dimensional images do not have periodic pattern, the array of scan lines represents a periodic pattern that is used by the algorithm in the inventive system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2004
    Assignee: K-G Devices Corp.
    Inventor: Thomas Joseph Martel
  • Patent number: 6459448
    Abstract: A system and method for using electronically acquired imagery from a one-dimensional camera, to inspect an object for tolerance, color, blemishes, cracks or a wide variety of manufacturing defects that might be present in an object. The method used to detect manufacturing defects includes an algorithm for analyzing the pattern of annular elements in an array and detecting deviations from numerical acceptance norms, such as diameter, spacing, and symmetry, for the annular elements. In the inventive system, a one-dimensional video camera captures a single one-dimensional “slice” of target shape of an object with every line it scans. Each slice is broken down into “segments” consisting of sets of adjacent pixels that are similar in brightness, hue, or both. The one-dimensional camera delivers the segments to the system where they are sequenced. The system identifies every segment to determine what feature of the target shape the segment represents.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2002
    Assignee: K-G Devices Corporation
    Inventor: Thomas Joseph Martel
  • Publication number: 20010033328
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and method for scanning electronically acquired periodic images from an object and thereafter, inspecting the periodic images by using predetermined rules. The method to inspect the image includes an algorithm for analyzing the periodic patterns of the image and detecting deviations from numerical acceptance norms. In the system, the field of view of a camera, such as a video camera, viewing the object includes a two-dimensional image of the object. The camera captures the two-dimensional image of the object and converts the image into an array of scan lines, whereby each scan line represents a one-dimensional “slice” of target shape of the object. Hence, while all two dimensional images do not have periodic pattern, the array of scan lines represents a periodic pattern that is used by the algorithm in the inventive system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 5, 2000
    Publication date: October 25, 2001
    Inventor: Thomas Joseph Martel