Formation detection system and a process of controlling

1. A formation detection system comprising:

a. one or more sensors, wherein at least one of the one or more sensors is a camera and

b. one or more lights that illuminate a location of interest so that the one or more sensors can monitor the location of interest;

wherein one of the one or more sensors is located at a beginning of a press section of a paper machine, a dryer section, or both and at an end of the press section of a paper machine, a dryer section, or both, and

wherein the one or more lights illuminate a sheet of paper at the beginning of the press section, the dryer section, or both and at the end of the press section of a paper machine, a dryer section, or both so that the one or more sensors are capable of monitoring formation of the sheet of paper within the press section, the dryer section, or both.

2. The formation detection system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the one or more sensors monitor a nip between two press rolls of the press section or a transfer location between two dryer cans of the dryer section.

3. The formation detection system of claim 2 , further comprising:

one or more sensors-located between two sets of press rolls in the press section, between two sets of dryer cans in the dryer section, or both.

4. The formation detection system of claim 1 , wherein the one of the one or more sensors is located above the sheet of paper, below the sheet of paper, or the one or more sensors are located both above and below the sheet of paper.

5. The formation detection system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the one or more lights are located below the sheet of paper, and wherein one of the one or more sensors is an overhead sensor that views the sheet from a location substantially normal to the sheet of paper.

6. The formation detection system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more sensors is located normal to the sheet of paper so that the one of the one or more sensors monitor surface characteristics in addition to formation of the sheet.

7. The formation detection system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the one or more sensors that is the camera on a first side of the sheet of paper and one of the one or more lights are located on a second side of the sheet of paper and aligned with the camera so light from the one or more lights is directed through the sheet of paper towards the camera.

8. A formation detection system comprising:

a. two or more sensors wherein the two or more sensors include:

i. a first of the two or more sensors is directed to a location along a paper machine corresponding to a first sheet of paper and

ii. a second of the two or more sensors is directed to a location along a paper machine corresponding to a second sheet of paper;

b. two or more lights located adjacent to the two or more sensors; and

c. a control system;

wherein formation of the first sheet of paper and formation of the second sheet of paper are matched up by the control system to form joint data so that when the first sheet of paper and the second sheet of paper are joined, formation data regarding the first sheet of paper and the second sheet of paper is recorded individually; and

wherein the first of the two or more sensors and the second of the two or more sensors comprise a camera that monitors the formation of the first sheet of paper and the formation of the second sheet of paper respectively.

9. The formation detection system of claim 8 , wherein the two or more sensors include a third sensor that is capable of monitoring a location where the first sheet of paper and the second sheet of paper are joined to form a single sheet, and wherein the control system compares data from the third sensor to the joined data so that formation of the single sheet is generated and any formation issues within the single sheet can be tracked to the first sheet or the second sheet.

10. The formation detection system of claim 8 , wherein one or more of the two or more lights are located on a different side of a sheet of paper as the two or more sensors, or the two or more lights are located on both a first side and a second side of a sheet of paper on the paper machine.

11. The formation detection system of claim 8 , wherein the two or more sensors include a fourth sensor that is located after all or a portion of a press section so that formation of the single sheet is measured.

12. The formation detection system of claim 11 , wherein formation measured by the fourth sensor is compared to formation measured by the first sensor, second sensor, and third sensor so that the paper machine can be adjusted upstream of the first sensor, the second sensor, the third sensor, or a combination thereof to remove any detected formation issues.