Granular product inspection device

1. An inspection device for inspecting a granular product, comprising:

a feed tray having a receiving region for receiving the granular product and an imaging region;

a vibration device confirmed to impart vibrations to the feed tray for moving granules of the granular product from the receiving region to the imaging region;

a gate mechanism disposed upstream from the imaging area so as to control a flow of the granular product along the feed tray; and

and an image capturing device configured to capture an image of a sample of the granular product in an image area of the imaging region of the feed tray.

2. The inspection device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the feed tray has an elongate shape defining a central axis and first and second side walls.

3. The inspection device as recited in claim 2 , further comprising a deflector element extending from the first and second side walls, the deflector element configured to focus a flow of the granular product toward the central axis.

4. The inspection device as recited in claim 2 , wherein the vibrations include a component in a direction parallel to the central axis.

5. The inspection device as recited in claim 2 , wherein the feed tray includes an edge disposed downstream from the image area, and further comprising a second image capturing device configured to capture an image of a second sample of the granular product falling off the edge of the feed tray through a second image area.

6. The inspection device as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a tapping mechanism configured to tap the feed tray.

7. The inspection device as recited in claim 1 , further comprising an entry spout in operable combination with the receiving region of the feed tray for supplying the granular product to the receiving region of the feed tray.

8. The inspection device as recited in claim 7 , further comprising an entry structure between the entry spout and the receiving region of the feed tray, a gap being defined between the entry structure and a surface of the tray, wherein the gap is adjustable to control a flow of product onto the receiving region.

9. The inspection device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the gate mechanism includes an orifice, a size of the orifice being adjustable.

10. The inspection device as recited in claim 9 , wherein the orifice size is adjusted by substituting a first panel of the gate mechanism for a second panel of the gate mechanism.

11. The inspection device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the image capturing device is disposed vertically above the image area.

12. The inspection device as recited in claim 1 , further comprising at least one reflecting device for providing a view of the image area to the image capturing device.

13. The inspection device as recited in claim 1 , further comprising an illumination source that includes a ring light, a view of the image area to the image capturing device passing through the ring light.

14. The inspection device as recited in claim 1 , wherein at least one of an amplitude and a frequency of the vibrations is adjustable.

15. The inspection device as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a catch bowl disposed downstream from the image area and a scale configured to detect a change in weight of the catch bowl.

16. The inspection device as recited in claim 1 . further comprising a tray cover element covering at least a portion of the feed tray and configured to reduce an escape of dust from the feed tray.

17. The inspection device as recited in claim 16 , farther comprising a chute element at least partially disposed between the catch bowl and the image area and configured to reduce an escape of dust as the granular product moves from the image area to the catch bowl.

18. The inspection device as recited in claim 17 , wherein the tray cover includes a translucent material.

19. The inspection device as recited in claim 18 , wherein the chute element includes a translucent material.

20. A method for inspecting a granular product, the method comprising:

disposing the granular product on a receiving region of a feed tray;

vibrating the feed tray so as: to induce a movement of the granular product from the receiving region of the feed tray to an imaging region of the feed tray;

controlling a flow of the granular product from the receiving region to the imaging region using a gate mechanism; and

capturing an image of a sample of the granular product in an image area of the imaging region of the feed tray.

21. The method as recited in claim 20 , further comprising adjusting a size of an orifice in the gate mechanism so as to adjust a flow rate of the granular product.

22. The method as recited in claim 20 , wherein the feed tray has an elongated shape defining a central axis, and further comprising focusing a stream of the granular product toward the central axis of the feed tray using a deflector element.

23. The method as recited in claim 20 , further comprising illuminating the image area using a ring light.

24. The method as recited in claim 20 , further comprising analyzing the image using a microprocessor so as to determine a characteristic of the granular product.

25. The method as recited in claim 20 , further comprising tapping the feed tray using a tapping mechanism.

26. The method as recited in claim 20 , wherein the disposing of the granular product on the receiving region is performed using an entry structure defining a gap with a surface of the feed tray and further comprising adjusting the gap so as to control a flow rate of the granular product onto the receiving region.

27. The method as recited in claim 20 , further comprising weighing the sample of the granular product using a scale.

28. The method as recited in claim 20 , further comprising determining a change in weight of the sample per unit time.

29. The method as recited in claim 20 , further comprising capturing a second image of the sample of the granular product during a free fall of the sample falls from an edge of the feed tray through a second image area.