Sorting optical inspection system

To detect small blemishes on frait and vegetables reliably, it is necessary to inspect the product from two sides. The traditional architecture of an optical sorting machine is to feed the product along a horizontal conveyor and then observe the product from top and bottom views as the product flies off the end of the conveyor. The drawback with this approach is that the bottom camera is soon covered in product. The Sortex Niagara machine overcomes this problem with the PowerShde feed system (Fig. 6.14). The belt conveyor on the Niagara is inclined at 60° to the horizontal, such that the cameras can view the product from either side, and remain clean. This novel feed mechanism is known as the PowerSlide and is patented by Sortex. 

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