High speed and reliable determination of lumber quality using grain influenced distortion effects

摘要

Disclosed is a high speed electro-optical sensor system to determine quality of objects, such as lumber, having complex structures such as grain, knots and the like. It is particularly concerned with electro-optical sensors useful for this purpose, for example those employing the tracheid or other grain induced distortion effects, or those based on visually discernable defects due to contrast variation. Preferred versions use computer processed data from TV cameras viewing laser spot illumination of boards.