(19)
(11) EP 0 743 616 A3

(12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(88) Date of publication A3:
14.01.1998 Bulletin 1998/03

(43) Date of publication A2:
20.11.1996 Bulletin 1996/47

(21) Application number: 96420158.6

(22) Date of filing: 06.05.1996
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC)6: G06M 9/02, G06M 1/10
(84) Designated Contracting States:
DE FR GB NL

(30) Priority: 15.05.1995 US 441149

(71) Applicant: EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY
Rochester, New York 14650-2201 (US)

(72) Inventors:
  • Young, Richard Dean
    Rochester, New York 14650-2201 (US)
  • Reed, Robert John
    Rochester, New York 14650-2201 (US)
  • Crosdale, Fitzroy Hugh
    Rochester, New York 14650-2201 (US)

(74) Representative: Buff, Michel et al
Kodak-Pathé Département des Brevets et Licences CRT Centre de Recherches et de Technologie Zone Industrielle
71102 Chalon sur Saône Cédex
71102 Chalon sur Saône Cédex (FR)

   


(54) Apparatus and method for counting sheets


(57) An apparatus and method for counting sheets of thin media is provided by illuminating with an LED array 24 the edge 5 of a plurality of sheets 8. A linear CCD array camera 20 receives the reflected light from the sheets 8, and generates a signal waveform responsive to variations in the reflected light corresponding to the sheets. A digitizer then converts the signal into a digital signal waveform for storage in a video buffer 36. The stored signal waveform is thereafter processed along one dimension of said edge using a digital signal processor 34 for locating the positions of the sheets in the waveform, and then counting the sheets. Preferably, the linear CCD array camera 20 provides a one-dimensional image of the edge 5, however a two-dimensional CCD array may be used with additional signal processing to translate its two-dimensional signal into a one-dimensional signal. The apparatus further can locate in the signal waveform rigid portions called stiffener boards 9 which border the plurality of sheets 8 or lie at intervals between the sheets. The processing in this apparatus is automatically adaptive to sheets of different media type, edge conditions, and the presence or absence of stiffener boards 9. The apparatus can be used for counting sheets comprising a pack 10, or the rotational convolutions 74 of media on a roll 70.






Search report