Method and apparatus for color recognition and defect detection of objects such as capsules

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for the automated surface analysis of single- and multi-colored objects such as pharmaceutical dose forms based on a standard representative of desired color(s) and a time varying shape signature standard, and for classifying the objects as acceptable or non-acceptable comprising:

(a) first means including electro-optic means for receiving electromagnetic radiation from an object and for converting same into corresponding electrical signals including signals constituting at least one color vector of the object and signals constituting the time-varying shape signature of the object, and further including means for effecting relative translational movement between said electro-optic means and the objects and for providing output signals which are utilized in determining the instantaneous relative location of the object;

(b) second means for storing a standard signal representative of the desired object color and a standard time-varying signal representative of the desired object shape; and

(c) third means operatively connected to said first and second means for comparing the derived signals of the object with the stored standard signals and determining therefrom the acceptability/non-acceptability of that object.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said first means is further comprised of electro-optic means including light source means for illuminating the objects and photodetecting means arranged to receive light reflected from the objects in one or more bands of the light spectrum,

said second means being comprised of means for storing a pre-established standard for each said one or more bands of the spectrum representative of the correct object color(s) and a pre-established standard representative of the correct shape of the object, and

said third means being comprised of fourth means operatively connected to said electro-optic means and said means for effecting relative movement for selectively sampling the signal generated by said electro-optic means based at least in part on object location and processing said sampled signals into a form representative of object color(s) and shape.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said first means includes means for receiving diffusely reflected light from the object in a plurality of different color bands of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum and for providing for each an output signal representative thereof, and means for receiving specularly reflected light from the object and for providing an output signal representative thereof, and fourth means for sampling signals from said means for receiving diffusely reflected light and said means for receiving specularly reflected light and for processing same respectively into a form representative of the desired color(s) and shape signature of the object.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 further including means connected between said electro-optic means and said third means for converting said electrical signals from said electro-optic means to a first processable form for selective input to said third means and wherein said third means includes controller means for selecting which signals from said electro-optic means are to be converted based at least in part on object location.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said third means further includes means for determining the presence of at least a certain characteristic in the electrical signals output from said electro-optic means which serves as a basis for controlling the conversion of the electro-optic output signals.

6. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said third means further includes means for storing the processed signals from said means associated to said diffusely reflected light for each of L number of acceptable objects inspected and means for up-dating the stored color(s) standard based on the processed signals of said L acceptable objects.

7. Apparatus according to claim 3 further including means operatively connected to said second means and said third means for separating non-acceptable objects from acceptable objects.

8. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said means for effecting relative translational movement constitutes high-speed, continuous-movement transport means for providing automatic on-the-fly inspection of the objects.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said transport means includes means for providing the transport of the objects past said electro-optic means in a plurality of flow channels.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 including a separate electro-optic means for each said flow channel.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said means for receiving diffusely reflected light comprises a separate photodetecting means for each of said bands of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum, and said means for receiving specularly reflected light comprises a pair of photodetecting means arranged, in relation to the direction of relative object movement, to receive specularly reflected light from respective different portions of an object.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11 wherein each said photodetecting means operating on said diffusely reflected light has associated therewith a plurality of individual optical channels each intended to inspect a different portion of the object, and each said photodetecting means operating on said specularly reflected light has associated therewith an individual optical channel, one arranged to inspect the front portion of the object and the other the rear portion of the object relative to the direction of object movement.

13. Apparatus according to claim 12 wherein the plurality of optical channels associated with each photodetecting means operating on said diffusely reflected light are arranged to provide inspection of contiguous areas of the object.

14. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the objects are capsule dose forms having one portion thereof of one color and at least one other portion thereof of a different color and said means for effecting relative translational movement inclues means for presenting the capsule dose forms to said electro-optic means in a plurality of flow channels with a preferential orientation with respect to their major axes of symmetry, and wherein said electro-optic means comprises at least one optical head arrangement for each flow channel positioned to inspect the capsule dose forms associated with said flow channel, said optical head arrangement including a plurality of optical channels for viewing the objects at different angles.

15. Apparatus according to claim 14 wherein optical channels utilized for color determination are arranged in P groups of R optical channels each and said electro-optic means further comprises a plurality of means for converting optical images obtained by said optical channels to electrical signals, each of a subset of P such converting means including a color filter operative in regard to a predetermined portion of the light spectrum and in operative arrangement with one of said groups of optical channels and photodetecting means arranged to receive the output of said filter and to generate output electrical signals corresponding thereto.

16. Apparatus according to claim 15 wherein said optical channels have associated therewith masking means for providing an optical image of a capsule dose form intended to accentuate at least one certain structural characteristic thereof.

17. Apparatus according to claim 16 wherein said masking means utilizes an elliptical slit possessing major and minor axes to match the contour of a cylindrical portion of the capsule and said optical channels further include lens means having a predetermined aperture and focal length to pass a magnified image of the capsule.

18. Apparatus according to claim 14 wherein a separate photodetecting means is provided for each optical channel utilized for inspection on the basis of shape and wherein each optical channel associated with a separate photodetecting means is predeterminably optically directed relative to the orientation of the capsule dose form for deriving the specular reflectance from respective portions thereof. .

19. Apparatus according to claim 18 wherein said optical channels have associated therewith masking means for providing an optical image of a capsule dose form intended to accentuate at least one certain structural characteristic of the capsule dose form.

20. Apparatus according to claim 19 wherein said masking means utilizes a linear slit for accentuating the specular reflectance from the objects, and said optical channels further include lens means having a predetermined aperture and focal length to pass a magnified image of the capsule dose form.

21. System for high speed, continuous automated surface analysis of a batch of capsule dose forms in which such material is classified into acceptable and non-acceptable categories based on both color and shape comprising:

(a) means for derandomizing the capsules and for transporting same in a plurality of streams, with the capsules each having a predetermined orientation with respect to their major axes of symmetry and relative to their direction of movement;

(b) a plurality of light source means at least one of which is arranged relative to each capsule stream for providing light to illuminate the capsules of the associated stream;

(c) a plurality of optical head means at least one of which is associated with each capsule stream for directing light from said source onto the objects of the associated stream, each said optical head means having associated therewith a plurality of optical channel means transmitting in respect to each capsule light reflected from segments of the illuminated portion thereof;

(d) a plurality of optical filter means for filtering the light received from predetermined ones of said optical channel means, each said optical filter means being selected to pass light energy within a respective preestablished frequency range;

(e) first converting means for converting the optical signals of said filter means to respective electrical signals;

(f) means for analyzing said electrical signals relative to references representative of the desired color and shape of the capsules and for generating output signals in response thereto;

(g) said first converting means and said analyzing means comprising color vector forming means wherein the color of an illuminated portion of a capsule is quantified by said color vector forming means; and

(h) means for separating the acceptable and non-acceptable capsules in dependence upon said output signals.

22. System according to claim 21 wherein said streams are parallel.

23. System according to claim 21 further including second converting means for converting electrical signals from the first converting means to digital signals.

24. System according to claim 21 wherein said analyzing means is a properly programmed computer.

25. System according to claim 21 wherein said separating means includes multiple air jets for diverting the non-acceptable capsules from the plurality of capsule streams into a plurality of parallel reject channels and shield means for assuring diversion of a capsule from one stream will not interface with capsules in another stream.

26. System according to claim 21 wherein said transporting means provides continuous linear movement of the capsules relative to the optical head means.

27. System according to claim 26 wherein said transporting means moves the capsules aligned with their major axes of symmetry in the direction of motion.

28. System according to claim 21 wherein each said optical channel means is comprised of a mask which is opaque except for at least one slit of predetermined shape and a lens of predetermined aperture and focal length for passing a magnified image of the capsule'a contour.

29. System according to claim 28 wherein said slit is an elliptical slit possessing the proper major and minor axes to match the contour of a cylindrical portion of a capsule.

30. System according to claim 28 wherein said slit is of such geometry as to accentuate the changes of slope along the ends of a capasule.

31. System according to claim 21 wherein said color vector means includes means for forming a set of electrical signals where each signal of the set is proportional to a component of a color vector.

32. System according to claim 31 wherein said first converting means includes a plurality of photodetecting means and wherein the arrangement of said plurality of optical channel means and said photodetecting means is such that the color vector components are generated by passing light from the optical channel means through the set of optical filters having pass bands in different regions of the optical specturm and detecting the light level of the light passing through each optical filter individually with respective photodetectors, the current output of each photodetector being representative of a component of the color vector.

33. System according to claim 31 wherein the arrangement of said optical channels and said filter means is such that spatial averaging of the illuminated portion of a capsule is provided by passing light reflected from different segments of the illuminated portion of the capsule through common optical filters, to thereby minimize the effects of printing which may be present on at least one such segment.

34. Apparatus for the automated surface analysis of single and multicolored objects such as pharmaceutical dose forms, including the determination of the correctness of the color(s) and shape of the objects relative to respective standards, and classifying the objects into acceptable and nonacceptable categories, comprising:

(a) electro-optic means for receiving electromagnetic radiation from an object and for generating in response thereto electrical signals representative of color and shape, including means for illuminating the object and first means for receiving electromagnetic radiation from the object in at least one band of the electromagnetic radiation specturm and for providing for each a time-varying output signal representative thereof;

(b) second means for effecting relative translational movement between said electro-optic means and the objects and for providing output signals which are utilized in determining the instantaneous relative location of the objects; and

(c) third means connected to said electro-optic means and said second means for selectively sampling the signals from said first means at least in part in dependence on object location and for processing said sampled signals from said first means into a form representative of the color(s) and shape of the object, said third means including fourth means for storing a first standard representative of the desired color(s) of the object and a second, time-varying standard representative of the desired shape of the object, and fifth means for comparing the processed sample signals representative of the color(s) and constituting the time-varying shape signature of the object respectively with said first and second standards and for generating an output signal representative of the acceptability or nonacceptability of each object.

35. System for high-speed, continuous automated surface analysis of a batch of capsule dose forms in which such material is classified into acceptable and non-acceptable categories based on both color and shape comprising:

(a) means for derandomizing the capsules and for transporting same in a plurality of streams, with the capsules each having a predetermined orientation with respect to their major axes of symmetry and relative to their direction of movement;

(b) a plurality of light source means at least one of which is arranged relative to each capsule stream for providing light to illuminate the capsules of the associated stream;

(c) a plurality of optical head means at least one of which is associated with each capsule stream for directing light from said source onto the objects of the associated stream, each said optical head means having associated therewith a plurality of optical channel means transmitting in respect to each capsule light reflected from segments of the illuminated portion thereof;

(d) a plurality of optical filter means for filtering the light received from predetermined ones of said optical channel means, each said optical filter means being selected to pass light energy within a respective pre-established frequency range;

(e) first converting means for converting the optical signals of said filter means to respective electrical signals;

(f) means for analyzing said electrical signals relative to references representative of a desired color and shape of the capsules and for generating output signals in response thereto, said analyzing means including means for determining color vectors of the first and second halves of the capsules by sampling the color vectors generated from different portions along the longitudinal axes of each capsule half and averaging said samples values; and

(g) means for separating the acceptable and nonacceptable capsules in dependence upon said output signals.

36. System for high-speed continuous automated surface analysis of a batch of capsule dose forms in which such material is classified into acceptable and nonacceptable categories based on both color and shape comprising:

(a) means for derandomizing the capsules and for transporting same in a plurality of streams, with the capsules each having a predetermined orientation with respect to their major axes of symmetry and relative to their direction of movement;

(b) a plurality of light source means at least one of which is arranged relative to each capsule stream for providing light to illuminate the capsules of the associated stream;

(c) a plurality of optical head means at least one of which is associated with each capsule stream for directing light from said source onto the objects of the associated stream, each said optical head means having associated therewith a plurality of optical channel means transmitting in respect to each capsule light reflected from segments of the illuminated portion thereof;

(d) a plurality of optical filter means for filtering the light received from predetermined ones of said optical channel means, each said optical filter means being selected to pass light energy within a respective pre-established frequency range;

(e) first converting means for converting the optical signals of said filter means to respective electrical signals;

(f) means for analyzing said electrical signals relative to references representative of a desired color and shape of the capsules and for generating output signals in response thereto, said analyzing means including means for determining whether a capsule is an acceptable color by comparing the generated capsule half color vectors to previously determined acceptable ranges of said vectors, said determining means having means for considering two sets of acceptable ranges, one for cap-first-oriented capsules and one for body-first-oriented capsules; and

(g) means for separating the acceptable and nonacceptable capsules in dependence upon said output signals.

37. System for high speed, continuous automated surface analysis of a batch of capsule dose forms in which such material is classified into acceptable and non-acceptable categories based on both color and shape comprising:

(a) means for derandomizing the capsules and for transporting same in a plurality of streams, with the capsules each having a predetermined orientation with respect to their major axes of symmetry and relative to their direction of movement;

(b) a plurality of light source means at least one of which is arranged relative to each capsule stream for providing light to illuminate the capsules of the associated stream;

(c) a plurality of optical head means at least one of which is associated with each capsule stream for directing light from said source onto the objects of the associated stream, each said optical head means having associated therewith a plurality of optical channel means transmitting in respect to each capsule light reflected from segments of the illuminated portion thereof;

(d) a plurality of optical filter means for filtering the light received from predetermined ones of said optical channel means, each said optical filter means being selected to pass light energy within a respective pre-established frequency range;

(e) first converting means for converting the optical signals of said filter means to respective electrical signals;

(f) means for analyzing said electrical signals relative to references representative of desired color and shape of the capsules and for generating output signals in response thereto;

(g) means for separating the acceptable and non-acceptable capsules in dependence upon said output signals;

(h) said analyzing means including means for constructing signatures representative of a capsule's shape by sampling at certain times transformed outputs of certain ones of said optical channel means, said analyzing means being arranged to quantify the shape of a viewed capsule by computing certain predefined parameters of signatures and to determine if a viewed capsule is acceptable by way of means for comparing computed signature parameters to previously determined acceptable ranges.

38. Method for automatically determining the colors of objects of pre-established shape and having at least two distinct major portions thereof of different color, said determination being substantially independently of the sequence in which the different colored portions of the objects are encountered, comprising:

(a) providing a light source to illuminate the objects;

(b) conveying the objects past the light source so as to enable the differently colored portions thereof to be illuminated;

(c) optically scanning each object based at least in part on the relative instantaneous location thereof to provide a plurality of output signals representative of the diffuse reflectance received by said optical scanning in a corresponding number of different portions of the light spectrum for each colored portion of the object;

(d) prestoring reference signals representative of each object color which may be encountered; and

(e) comparing the signals derived through optically scanning the object with said reference signals to provide an output indicative of the colors of the object.

39. Method according to claim 38 wherein the objects undergoing color recognition are multicolored objects of known shape having printing thereon of yet another color.

40. Method according to claim 39 characterized by the steps of:

providing a plurality of optical channels for viewing the illuminated objects, arranged in P groups of R channels each;

arranging the R channels of each group relative to the object to receive diffusely reflected light from substantially contiguous portions of the object at substantially the same time;

transmitting for each of said P groups the diffusely reflected light received by each of the R channels thereof to respective ones of P light filters each operatively associated with a different portion of the light spectrum;

providing P photodetector means each associated with one of said filters and deriving therefrom for each group a composite electrical signal representative of a spatially averaged color of each colored portion of the object; and comparing the composite electrical signals to previously determined acceptable ranges.

41. An arrangement for comparing the colors of solid discrete particular objects which are multicolored in predetermined manner to standards representative of a desired multicolor combination and for classifying on the basis of color comparison the objects as acceptable or non-acceptable comprising:

(a) light source means for illuminating the objects and first means for detecting diffusely reflected light from an object in each of N distinct spectral bands for each colored portion of the objects, where N .gtoreq. 3, and converting same to N respective electrical signals for each said colored portion to thereby form a color vector in electrical signal form for each colored portion of the object;

(b) second means for storing a plurality of standard color vectors representative of the desired multicolor combination for the objects; and

(c) third means connected to said first and second means for comparing the derived color vectors of an object with the standard color vectors and determining therefrom whether that object is acceptable or non-acceptable.

42. An arrangement according to claim 41 further including means for storing the derived color vector signals for the previous M number of acceptable objects and for up-dating the stored standard color vectors based on these stored derived color vectors.

43. An arrangement according to claim 41 wherein the objects are capsule dose forms having one portion thereof of one color and the other portion thereof of another color, and wherein said third means includes means for determining whether the one color vector associated with the one color portion of a capsule dose form corresponds to one of the standard color vectors and whether the color vector associated with the other portion of the capsule dose form corresponds to the other of the standard color vectors.

44. An arrangement according to claim 41 further including means for separating the non-acceptable objects from the acceptable objects.

45. An arrangement according to claim 41 further including means for providing an incrementally up-dated count of the acceptable objects.

46. Apparatus for the automated surface analysis, in particular the color(s), of single and multicolored objects such as pharmaceutical dose forms based on a standard representative of desired color(s), and for classifying the objects as acceptable or non-acceptable, comprising:

(a) first means comprising light source means for illuminating the objects and means for receiving electromagnetic radiation from preselected portions of the surface of an object based on the shape of the object and for converting same into electrical signals, said receiving means including photo-detecting means arranged to receive light reflected from the objects in a plurality of color bands of the light spectrum, said first means further comprising means for effecting relative movement between said electro-optic means and the object and for providing output signals which are utilized in determining the instantaneous relative location of the object;

(b) second means for storing a standard signal representative of the desired object color(s), said second means being comprised of means for storing a pre-established standard for each of said bands of the spectrum representative of the desired object color(s); and

(c) third means operatively connected to said first and second means for comparing derived signals of the object with the stored standard signal and determining therefrom and acceptability/non-acceptability of that object, said third means being comprised of fourth means, operatively connected to said electro-optic means and said means for effecting relative movement, for selectively sampling the signals generated by said electro-optic means based at least in part on object location and processing said sampled signals into a form representative of object color(s).

47. Apparatus according to claim 46 wherein the objects are multicolored in predetermined manner and the standards are representative of a desired multicolor combination, and wherein said electro-optic means includes means for detecting diffusely reflected light from an object in each of N distinct spectral bands for each colored portion of the objects where N .gtoreq. 3, and converting same to N repsective electrical signals for each said color portion to thereby form a color vector in electrical signal form for each colored portion of the object, and said second means includes means for storing a plurality of standard color vectors representative of the desired multicolor combination of the objects for comparison to the derived color vectors of an object.

48. Apparatus according to claim 47 wherein said third means includes means for determining the relative order of appearance of the colors of an object and comparing same to the stored standards.

49. Apparatus according to claim 46 wherein said means for effecting relative movement is comprised of high-speed, continuous-movement transport means for providing on-the-fly inspection of the objects.

50. Apparatus according to claim 49 wherein said transport means includes means for providing transport of the objects past said electro-optic means in a plurality of flow channels.

51. Apparatus according to claim 50 wherein said electro-optic means includes a separate photodetecting means and light source means for each flow channel provided by the transport means.

52. Apparatus according to claim 51 wherein said photodetecting means includes a separate photodetector for each of said spectrum bands.

53. Apparatus according to claim 52 wherein said separate photodetector has associated therewith a plurality of individual optical channels each arranged to inspect a different portion of the object to provide a spatial averaging of the output of said photodetector.

54. Apparatus according to claim 53 wherein the plurality of optical channels are arranged to provide inspection of contiguous areas of the object.

55. Apparatus according to claim 46 futher including means coupled between said electro-optic means and said means for effecting relative movement, for converting said electrical signals from said electro-optic means to a first processable form for selective input to said means for effecting relative movement.

56. Apparatus according to claim 55 wherein said third means further includes means for determining the presence of at least a certain characteristic in the electrical signals output from said electro-optic means which characteristic serves as a basis for controlling the conversion of the electro-optic signals.

57. Apparatus according to claim 56 wherein said third means further includes means for storing in convenient retrievable form the signal values obtained for N previously analyzed acceptable objects and means for up-dating the stored standards based on the values obtained for said N acceptable objects.

58. Apparatus according to claim 46 wherein said third means further includes counter means for providing an incrementally up-dated count of the analyzed objects deemed acceptable and for providing a total count of acceptable objects inspected at the end of the inspection run.

59. Apparatus according to claim 46 further including means operatively connected to said means for effecting relative movement and to said third means for separating non-acceptable objects from acceptable objects.

60. Apparatus according to claim 46 wherein the objects are capsule dose forms having one portion thereof of one color and at least one other portion thereof of the same or different color and said means for effecting relative movement includes means for presenting the capsule dose forms to said electro-optic means in a plurality of flow channels with each capsule dose form in a preferential orientation with respect to its major axis of symmetry, and wherein said electro-optic means comprises at least one optical head arrangement for each flow channel positioned to inspect the capsule forms associated with said flow channel, said optical head arrangement including a plurality of optical channels for viewing the articles at different angles.

61. Apparatus according to claim 60 wherein said electro-optic means further comprises a plurality of means for converting optical images obtained by said optical channels to electrical signals, each said optical image converting means including a color filter operative in regard to a predetermined portion of the light spectrum and arranged to receive the images of at least some of the optical channels and said photodetecting means arranged to receive the images from said filter for generating electrical output signals corresponding to the light images input thereto, and wherein said optical channels are arranged in P groups of R optical channels each, with a respective optical image converting means being associated with each of said P groups.

62. Apparatus according to claim 61 wherein said optical channels have associated therewith masking means for providing an optical image of a capsule dose form intended to accentuate at least one certain structural characteristic of the capsule dose form.

63. Apparatus according to claim 61 wherein for each optical image converting means the output signals therefrom derived from a capsule dose form and time-referenced over an inspection period thereof constitute the color signature portion of that capsule dose form for the associated group of optical channels, and wherein said third means includes means for comparing the composite signature obtained from the output signals of said plurality of image converting means to a reference signature stored therein and thereby determining the acceptability/non-acceptability of that capsule dose form.

64. An arrangement for determining the correctness of color(s) of articles relative to a standard and classifying said articles into acceptable and non-acceptable categories, comprising:

(a) electro-optic means including light source means for illuminating the articles and photodetecting means arranged to receive light reflected from the articles in at least three color bands of the light spectrum and for generating electrical signals corresponding thereto;

(b) first means for effecting relative movement between said electro-optic means and the articles and for providng output signals which are utilized in determining the instantaneous relative location of the articles; and

(c) control sampling and processing means operatively connected to said electro-optic means and said first means for selectively sampling the signals generated by said electro-optic means and derived from a predetermined plurality of different surface areas of an article based at least in part on article location and processing said sampled signals into a form representative of article color(s), said control sampling and processing means including means for storing a pre-established reference for each of said bands of the spectrum representative of the correct article color(s), and means for comparing the processed sampled signals associated to the respective spectrum bands to corresponding ones of said references and for generating output signals representative of the acceptability/non-acceptability of each article.

65. Apparatus for the automated surface analysis of multicolored objects, such as pharmaceutical dose forms, including the determination of the correctness of the color of each observed colored portion of the objects relative to a standard, and classifying the objects into acceptable and non-acceptable categories, comprising:

(a) electro-optic means for receiving electromagnetic radiation from each colored portion and for generating in response thereto electrical signals representative of color, including means for illuminating the object and first means for receiving electromagnetic radiation from the object in a plurality of different color bands of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum and for providing for each an output signal representative thereof;

(b) second means for effecting relative movement between said electro-optic means and the objects and for providing output signals which are utilized in determining the instantaneous relative location of the objects; and

(c) third means connected to said electro-optic means and said second means for selectively sampling the signals from said first means at least in part in dependence on object location and for processing said sampled signals from said first means into a form representative of the colors of the object, said third means including fourth means for storing standards representative of the desired colors of the object and fifth means for comparing the processed sampled signals representative of the colors of the object with said standards and for generating an output signal representative of the acceptability or non-acceptability of each object irrespective of the order in which the colored portions of the objects are presented to said electro-optic means.

66. A method of automated surface inspection of objects of known shape for surface defects, comprising:

(a) providing a light source for illuminating the objects;

(b) translationally conveying the objects relative to the light source for illuminating same, said object being conveyed in predetermined orientation relative to the major axis of symmetry thereof;

(c) providing an electro-optical system relative to the direction of movement of the objects arranged to receive specular reflectance from an object as the same is illuminated by said light source and obtaining thereby a time-varying electrical signal representative of the object shape; and

(d) analyzing said electrical signals based on a standard representative of desired object shape.

67. Apparatus for the automated surface analysis of objects, such as pharmaceutical dose forms, including the determination of the correctness of the shape of the objects relative to a time-varying standard shape signature, and classifying the objects into acceptable/non-acceptable categories, comprising:

(a) electro-optic means for receiving electromagnetic radiation from an object and for generating in response thereto electrical signals representative of shape, including means for illuminating the object and first means for receiving electro-magnetic radiation from the object in at least one band of electromagnetic radiation spectrum and for providing for each an output signal representative thereof;

(b) second means for effecting relative translational movement between said electro-optic means and the objects and for providing output signals which are utilized in determining the instantaneous relative location of the objects; and

(c) third means connecting to said electro-optic means and said second means for selectively sampling the signals from said first means at least in part in dependence an object location and for processing said sampled signals from said first means into a form representative of the shape of the object, said third means including fourth means for storing a time-varying standard shape signature representative of the desired shape of the object, and fifth means for comparing the processed sampled signals constituting the time-varying shape signature of the object with said standard and for generating an output signal representative of the acceptability or non-acceptability of each object.

68. Apparatus according to claim 67 wherein said electro-optic means includes means for accentuating the specular reflectance from the article.

69. Apparatus according to claim 68 wherein said third means further includes counter means for providing an incrementally up