Method and apparatus for testing the quality of reclaimable waste paper matter containing contaminants

摘要

Method and apparatus for testing the quality of reclaimable waste paper matter containing contaminants such as brown cardboard or colored plastic bag fragments employ image data analysis techniques to provide quality indication data useful for establishing reclaimed pulp process parameters. Polychromatic light directed onto an inspected area the matter is sensed following reflection thereon to generate color image pixel data representing values of color components within a color space for pixels forming an image of the inspected area. The image data is processed by comparison with color classification data related to one or more contaminants, to identify the pixels likely to be associated with the presence of the contaminant in the inspected area. The classification color data is derived from statistical distribution through Bayesian estimation of a probability that each said pixel be associated with the presence of each contaminant. A selection of remaining image pixel data associated with pixels likely to be not associated with the contaminants is made, and luminance-related data are generated from the remaining image pixel data to provide an indication of the quality of the reclaimable waste paper matter.