Importance

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Abstract

A light source module for use with a multi-camera array in a video surface inspection system includes a first light emitter which extends lengthwise across the entire width of a sheet to be inspected. Light from the first light emitter, which preferably comprises one or more fluorescent lamps, is received by a light guide and carried by the guide to uniformly illuminate a band extending entirely across the width of the moving sheet. The light guide comprises a transparent thermoplastic such that the light receiving end of the guide can be bent to define a plurality of sections which can be axially aligned with a corresponding plurality of fluorescent lamps. The fluorescent lamps may be powered by individual inverter ballasts which may be driven inturn by one or more variable dc power supplied to control the intensity of light emitted by the lamps. The light source module can also assist the inspection system in overcoming redundant data processing problems by providing second light emitters which illuminate the sheet in overlapping portions of the field of view of adjacent cameras of the multi-camera array to define data dividing points. Accordingly, duplicated data generated by the video cameras can be divided among the cameras at the defined data dividing points such that duplicated data is only processed once by the video surface inspection system.

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First Claim