Sheet inspection and marking system

摘要

A method and apparatus for inspecting and marking flawed sheet material is disclosed. Sheet material is moved from a supply along its length through a path to a cutter. The sheet material is visually inspected as it moves along its path, and a temporary electrically conductive mark is applied to the moving material at a predetermined distance away from any flaw that appears in the sheet material. The temporary mark is electrically detected at a position along the path the same predetermined distance away from the cutter as the flaw moves into the cutter, and as the last portion of the segment to be cut from the sheet material moves to the cutter, the sheet material is marked with a permanent mark. The sheet material is then cut and folded, and the permanent mark is located at a predetermined position in the folded segment of sheet material, no matter at what location in the segment of the sheet material the flaw appears.