Patents by Inventor Walton A. Perkins, III

Walton A. Perkins, III 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).

  • Method and apparatus for inspecting engine head valve retainer assemblies for missing keys
    Patent number: 4399554
    Abstract: A computer vision system for inspecting engine heads during assembly for missing valve spring assembly keys comprises a solid-state camera for taking pictures of the valve spring assemblies and providing picture data upon command to a computer. The computer responds to a position encoder which relates the position of the engine head to the camera. Once the data is stored in the computer, it is analyzed to determine the center of the digitized image of the valve spring assembly and an intensity profile at the expected location of the keys relative to the center of the assembly is utilized to determine whether a key is missing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 1980
    Date of Patent: August 16, 1983
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Walton A. Perkins, III, Lothar Rossol, Robert Dewar, James K. West