MXPA98008679A - Apparatus and method for characterizing curls of fib - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for measuring and controlling the curling characteristics of a moving curling trailer. A light source illuminates a section of the moving curling trailer and at least one camera acquires a video image of the trailer. The acquired image is digitized and a processor decomposes the interlaced image into 2 non-interlaced field images. The curling characteristics are derived based on decompuest images

Description

"APPARATUS AND METHOD 'TO CHARACTERIZE FIBERGLIDS" BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates, in general, to an apparatus and a method for measuring the characteristics of fiber curling, more specifically, an apparatus and method for characterizing fibers in a curling yarn in motion. 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Filaments of manufactured or synthetic fibers usually curl or undulate in a thread before being cut into strands for further processing for various uses such as combed belts, wicks or threads. The fibers are usually crimped by passing the fibers through a curling apparatus to produce crimps or curls. The quality of the fibers manufactured is often measured by the characteristics of the ripple, such as the uniformity of the curl, the number of curls per inch, the frequency of the curls, etc. Until now, the properties of the locks have been measured by manually examining the cut portion of the fibers, for example, counted the number of loops per unit length. Therefore, automated systems to measure the characteristics of the ripple greatly improve the speed and accuracy in the characterization of the fibers, allowing in-line adjustments in production processes, and the production of fiber strands according to the specifications . Different types of automated systems to measure the characteristics of the ripple have been previously proposed. In general, the systems include a light source to illuminate the crimped yarn; a photographic element for acquiring or capturing an image of a portion of the curled yarn; circuits to process the captured image; and a screen to show the measured characteristics of the ripple. One type of system uses a conventional TV camera to capture the image of the curled yarn in motion. As is apparent to those skilled in the art, a TV camera captures an image pattern and converts the image as electrical charges corresponding to the brightness levels of the curled yarn in motion. The charges become a visual signal in an order of sequences of the elements of the image. The elements of the image are displayed on a monitor as an interlaced screen scan, for example, the elements of the image are scanned horizontally from top to bottom. Two fields are used in interlaced scanning.

After completing the exploration of the first field from top to bottom, the beam is attenuated as it returns to the top where the process is repeated providing an exploration of the second field. Due to the semi-displacement of the line for the beginning of the return of the beam to the upper part of the frame and for the beginning of the second field, the lines of the second field are between the lines of the first field. In this way, the lines of the two intertwine. The two interlaced fields constitute a single video frame. There is a problem with the use of a conventional TV camera to capture images of a curling yarn in motion. The captured image is not a true representation of the real image, because the thread is in motion. The two interlacing fields are obtained from two different areas of the yarn. As soon as the beam returns to the top of the frame to start scanning the second field, the thread has been moved and a different portion of the thread is scanned. Therefore, the measured results are obtained from the interlaced images different from the actual images. A common method that is used to counteract the above problem associated with the use of a conventional TV camera is to use a synchronized signal or stikboscopic effect selection system. A strobe light source emits a light pulse that creates an apparent view of interrupted movement of the curled yarn in motion, the camera synchronizes to catch a shot of the curling yarn in motion when the light pulse is emitted. The synchronized signal selection system effectively freezes the curled yarn in motion and the two interlaced fields do not produce an erroneous image such as the use of a sorting system. Nevertheless, advanced electronics are required for synchronization controls. In addition, to cover the full width of the moving wire when using a synchronized signal selection system, it may be necessary to focus the strobe light source and / or the camera, and include positioning mechanisms such as variable speed motors and controls. If movement of the light or camera is required, additional time is needed to place the devices, making it difficult, if not impossible, to measure online or in real time, and / or the settings of the devices. Examples of the strobe-based apparatus for measuring the curling characteristics of the fibers in a moving curled yarn are described in US Patent Nos. 4,737,846; 4,415,926; 4,232,336; and 4,240,110. Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus that uses a non-selective or continuous signaling system to capture images of a curled wire in motion that does not present the above problems and is also capable of making measurements online or in real time and / or adjustments in the system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for measuring the curling characteristics of fibers in a moving curled yarn, where a camera is used to take a video image of the curled yarn in motion. A continuous light source illuminates the curly thread while the camera takes the picture. A processor and its associated software decompose the interlaced image captured in two non-interlaced images. The processor and stored software convert the two non-interlaced images into a series of horizontal bands. The bands are analyzed to measure the characteristics of the curling of the section of the curled yarn in motion represented by the bands. The measured results can be displayed and adjustments can be made to the peripheral devices that in turn control the manufacturing process to correct deviations from the specifications given by the operator. The processor and stored programs process the decomposed image into user defined categories and the frequency of the corrugations belonging to each category are displayed on a monitor to allow the operator to determine if the curled wire is within predetermined specifications. A method of the invention includes the steps of: capturing a video image of a crimped yarn; digitize the image captured; decompose the digitized image into images of two fields; and process the images in two fields. An illustrative method according to the present invention in the step of processing the images in two fields includes dividing one of the images into a series of horizontal bands; build an intensity profile by averaging the intensity of the pixels of each band; identify the minimum and maximum local of the intensity profile, and mark a maximum as a peak of the ripple if the difference in intensity between the maximum and its two immediate minimums exceed a threshold value of the intensity specified by the operator; calculate and store the distance of the adjacent ripple peaks for all peaks identified in the previous step; and group the ripple peaks into a category of ripple type. A preferred method further includes the step of communicating the results of the measurements to a plurality of peripheral devices that configure the manufacturing process of the crimped yarn. Advantageously, the apparatus and method of the present invention also provides convenient and reliable means for monitoring the quality of a crimped yarn to obtain the physical data from these that can be used as a quality control measure during the process of manufacture. For a traditional batch-type manufacturing process, the system also supports a start-up process to minimize waste production.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a block diagram of the main components for measuring the curling characteristics of the fibers according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is an illustration of the flow diagram of a method of measuring the curling characteristics of the fibers according to the present invention. Figure 3 is an illustration of the flow diagram of a start-up process. Figure 4 is an illustration of the flow diagram of a "check lighting" method. Figure 5 is an illustration of the flow diagram of a "normal ripple measurement" method. Figures 6a and 6b are monitor screens illustrative of the representative ripple criterion and system arrangements for a preferred ripple measuring apparatus for a manual and automatic mode of operation, respectively, according to the present invention. Figures 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d and 7e are samples of the illustrative parameters for the automatic mode of operation. Figures 8 and 9 are representations of screens showing the illustrative results of the curling measurement in text and graphics. Figure 10 shows a screen of the illustrative alarm cases. Figs. 1a, 1b, 11c and lid are screen representations illustrating illustrative analogue and digital I / O test diagnostics for the illustrative crimping measurement system according to the present invention. Appendix A lists a representative portion of the stored program that includes the program to implement the method as outlined in Figure 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION An illustrative system for crimping measurement of the present invention is a system based on the analysis of digital images to characterize crimps of fibers including quantifying the number of crimps per unit length and the distribution of the crimps. size of the curls of a curly thread in movement. The measurement, which is non-contact and non-destructive, can be carried out offline or online during the yarn manufacturing process in which a crimped yarn moves at higher speeds, for example, about 1,200 feet per minute. With reference to Figure 1, the illustrative ripple measurement system according to the present invention includes a computer 10, a random frame taker 12, an analog video monitor 14, a video signal switch board 16, a plurality of video camera 18, an I / O interface 20 and peripheral devices 22. Peripheral devices 22 include, but are not limited to, a curler controller 24, a thread tension detector 26, a regulator of the light intensity 28, an external data storage 30 and an audio / video alarm device 32. The video signal switch board 16 can interface with the computer 10 an RS-23234 cable, and the plurality of video cameras video 18 for directing a video signal to the computer 10 from the plurality of video cameras 18 mounted in different positions through a wire or in different lines of wire extensions. The I / O interface 20 is connected to the peripheral devices 22 for I / O communication between the computer 10 and the peripheral devices 22. The frame taker 12 is connected to the analog video monitor 14 and the switch board 16 video signals for digitizing analog signals and directing the digital data to the computer 10. The computer 10 is preferably an IBM-compatible PC that includes a pentium-type microprocessor and operates in a Microsoft Windows environment the computer 10 includes the software in "the form of a stored program 11 for controlling hardware components The video signal switch board 16 is preferably a KNOX VIDEO RS 12x2 model capable of accommodating up to 12 video cameras, by computer 10 an operator sends signals through of the RS-232 cable 34 to the video switch board 16 to selectively receive video switch 16 to selectively receive the signal of video from one of the cameras 18. The selection process may be by means of a multiplexing scheme commonly used by those skilled in the art. The I / O interface 20 constitutes two boards for data acquisition, preferably a CyberResearch DAS 1601 and a CYRDDA 06, for I / O communications between the computer 10 and the peripheral devices 22. The random frame taker preferably is a Truevision TARGA + 64 digitizer capable of digitizing a video image in a two-dimensional data matrix. The video cameras 18 are preferably Panasonic cameras model GP-MF502 with electronic control of the shutter speed. The image acquired by the camera 18 is similar to the images acquired by the conventional video cameras, an interlaced image, that is, a composition of images in two fields (for example, pair and non). As already explained, due to the movement of the yarn, each field image can represent a different area of the curled yarn. User interfaces include a main control panel, a display of measurement results on the computer screen, a keyboard and mouse, and selection icons on the computer screen to allow an operator to configure the system of ripple measurement, as described below. A light source (not shown) is placed next to the plurality of video cameras 18 to continuously illuminate the curled yarn in motion. The light source is preferably a high intensity halogen lamp having the right intensity to cover the entire width of a line of yarn. The intensity of the light source can be adjusted by the light intensity regulator 28 which in turn is under the control of the processor 10 and the stored program 11. At least one thread extension (not shown) is placed below the light source to move the curly yarn. The illustrative components of Figure 1 can characterize 3 or more lines of threads. The line of the wire extension can be stationary, but preferably moves the crimped yarn at speeds of up to about 1200 feet per minute. Figure 2 illustrates an algorithmic stored program process 11 for measuring the curling characteristics of the curled yarn in motion. Under the control of the software, the moving thread is continuously illuminated by the light source. The video cameras 18 are preferably stationary and can be enabled to continuously capture images of the stationary or moving curly wire, and signals representing selected images of one of the cameras 18 are received in the computer 10 with selection by the switching board of video 16 under the control of the stored program 11. The selected image is digitized by the random frame taker 12 and can be stored in computer 10 in step 100. In step 105, the "taken" image is decomposed into his pair and non pre-interlaced field images. The preferred decomposition process is carried out by means of a decomposition module of the stored program image 11, as shown by way of illustration in table 1.

Function of the field decomposition Input memory pointer of the input image whose height 400 and width 512 output [2] two memory pointers of the output images. Field = 0 field ID number, 0 for the even field and one for the non field. Loop: For Rowlndex = 1 to 400 step 1 memory (output) [fiedl], input 12 copies the row data of the image from the input image to the output image output [field] = output [field] +512 ) advances the memory pointer of the output image to the next row Input = input + 512 advances the memory pointer of the input image to the next row If field = O Then field = l Else field = 0 End If Next Row Index Table 1 The field decomposition function defines a loop that processes each of the 400 lines of the digitized data that make up a video frame. The processed lines are separated into first and second or non and par fields depending on the Row Index account. For example, row 400 is separated from the video frame and designated as part of the even field, when the field identification number on line 4 of table 1 is set to 0. The steps in the loop are repeated until all the 400 lines are separated in a non or even field. A representative portion of the stored program 11 that includes program codes to instrument the process as described in FIG. 2 is shown in appendix A. The reduction of the noise of images decomposed by conventional image noise reduction techniques, such as it can be the use of a filter, it is done in step 110. This process is optional and can be disabled by the operator by arranging the screens of figures 6a and 6b. With the decomposition, each of the non and even fields will have 200 lines. For the purposes of measuring the ripple characteristics, the lines in each non and even image are divided into bands M having each band N lines. In the present example, M is set to 50 and N to 4. In this way, each decomposed image has 200m lines, 50 bands with 4 lines in each band. In step 115, each band is averaged to form an intensity profile, which is plotted on a gray level scale in the range from 0 (black) to 255 (white). Step 120 locates all local maximum and minimum ripple peaks of the intensity profile based on the ripple intensity threshold specified by the operator. A ripple peak is labeled as a maximum if the difference in its intensity and the intensity of its two immediate adjacent ripple peaks exceed an intensity threshold value specified by the operator. The value of the ripple intensity threshold is adjusted by an optical factor related to the rolled material that takes into account the absorption and reflection qualities of the continuous material. The ripple intensity threshold is entered into the system through a ripple measurement regulation screen, as shown in Figure 6a. The ripple intensity threshold in Figure 6a has been set to 8. The frequency of the adjacent maximum ripple peaks is calculated in step 125, where the frequency is defined as "the reciprocal of the distance between two adjacent maxima. step 130 each maximum is identified as a valid ripple if its corresponding frequency is within the range specified by the user.Each ripple is grouped into one of the three predefined categories, which include micro, normal and large. base in a CPI range specified by the operator for each of the three categories by means of one of the regulation screens of the system measurement represented by figures 6a and 6b As an example, in figures 6a and 6b a ripple has a micro category , normal or large if the CPI parameter is greater than or equal to 16, 8 or 4. The statistical analysis is performed on the measured results to determine the parameters as average CPI and the percent of the area covered by the curls classified in each category. The statistical analysis shows on the computer screen to allow the operator to see the data as described below.

Steps 115 to 130 are repeated for each band until all the lines of the image of a decomposed image have been analyzed (135). Then, steps 115 to 130 are performed by analyzing the characteristics of the ripple of the second non-interlaced image (140). To capture images that represent the full width of the curled thread, which is usually about 4 inches or more, it is possible to use more than one camera. In the present illustrative embodiment, three chambers are used for each thread line. The same steps from 100 to 140 of FIG. 2 are followed in the analysis of the images acquired by the other cameras to obtain curling statistics for the total width of the curled yarn in motion. The data of all three chambers 18 are averaged to obtain the results of the total ripple measurement. These results along with other statistical analysis results are displayed on the computer screen to allow the operator to examine the curly characteristics of the crimped yarn. Figures 8 and 9 are examples of the on-screen representations of the ripple measurement results. Figure 8 indicates that the average CPI is 9.8 for all the yarn, and 22.6, 11.2 and 6.2 for the curls classified in the micro, normal and large categories, respectively. Figure 8 further indicates that the percentage of the area of the yarn covered by the measurable ripple is 69.8%, and that 3.0%, 40.5% and 26.3% of the area is covered by ripple classified as micro, normal and large categories, respectively. The screen representation of Figure 8 further includes a main user interface control panel on the right side to control the ripple measurement system and set the system parameters. Figure 9 indicates the statistics of the in-line ripple distribution for a crimped yarn. These distribution statistics change as the ripple measurement process continues to allow the operator to continuously monitor the curl measurements of the curling yarn in motion. The online curl distribution screen also indicates the average ripple in motion (Avg), the percent of the area covered by the ripple in each of the three categories, and the total area covered by the ripple, along with other data. The operator in view of the measured results can direct the peripheral devices 22 through the E / S20 interface to take the appropriate actions to conform the curly wire manufacturing process for the suitable product and the process specifications. As an example, the operator can instruct the curler controller 24 to increase or decrease the amount of curls or to reconfigure the manufacturing process to reassign the number of curls classified as micro, normal and large, depending on the intended use for the curly yarn. . With respect to the regulating screens of the system measurement that are depicted in Figures 6a and 6b, the operator can select manual or automatic as the mode of operation, as shown in the upper left side of Figures 6a and 6b. In Figure 6a the manual operation mode is selected, and in Figure 6b the automatic operation mode has been selected. Other parameters or initial settings for the curling measurement system can be made with the help of the regulation screens represented by figures 6a-6b. For example, adjustments of parameters or arrangements can be made for image resolution, band size, ripple intensity threshold, valid range for ripple per inch (CPI), total CPI reference point , the CPI tolerance, select the thread extension line and select the camera; the types and specifications of the ripple; and the configuration of the image prior to the process. On the lower left side of Figures 6a and 6b, the operator can select if applicable softened to the acquired image before it is processed. If smoothing is selected then each non-image and pair passes through a filter to perform a noise reduction of the image as described above. The number of lines of the image constituting a band is also selected in the same box labeled "Image Pre-process" in Figure 6a, the selected band size is 8 and in Figure 6b the selected band size is 4. In the layout screen of the measurements of the system represented by figure 6b in which the automatic mode has been selected, the number of thread extension lines that have been selected for the measurement is three. The number of cameras that has been selected for each thread extension line is also three. Directly below the selections for the number of thread extension lines and the cameras for each thread extension line is a user interface for accessing the system layout screens represented by FIGS. 7a-7e for the mode of automatic operation By selecting the box marked "General" you have access to the General Setting for Automatic Mode layout screen represented by Figure 7a. This disposition screen allows the operator to establish the general arrangement of the system and other parameters, such as the sampling rate, the number of images that are kept on the screen, the number of average data points in movement, the resolution of the image, the thread tension adjustment factor, the ripple intensity threshold, the optical fiber adjustment factor, the average image intensity, the tolerance factor and the image intensity around the wire. By selecting the box marked "Alias" in Figure ßb, you have access to the Common Nail layout screen represented by Figure 7b. This layout screen allows the operator to provide a short and long name for each thread extension line and for each camera placed across the width of the thread extension lines. As shown by Figure 7b, the short and long common names for the yarn extension lines are 0, 1, and 2 and ts800 and ts801 and ts802, respectively. The common short and long names for the three cameras are R, C and L and right, center and left, respectively. By selecting the box marked "Trend" in Figure 6b, you have access to the trend window layout screen represented by Figure 7c. This disposition screen allows the operator to select the parameters that he wants to be presented during the normal measurement. The selected parameters are 'displayed' in a trend window of the online ripple, such as the one shown in figure 9. When using the trend window layout screen, the operator can set the ranges of the general CPI parameter, the percent of the area covered by the global CPI and the percent of the area covered by the ripple in the micro, normal and large categories. By selecting the box marked "I / O" in Figure 6b, one has access to the 1/0 Usage screen represented in Figures 7b. The screen in figure 7d allows the operator to manually enable and disable each wire extension line, the start process, the faulty wire alarm, the specification alarm, the lighting, the wire tension and set the range for the wire. Total CPI and other parameters. On the right side of Figure 7d, the operator can enable the system malfunction alarm and run a digital or analog diagnostic test for each data acquisition board. By selecting the box marked "Start Up" in Figure 6b, you have access to the Start-up layout screen represented by Figure 7e. This screen allows the operator to configure the process in start mode, another advantageous feature of the apparatus described below. By means of FIG. 7e, the operator can set the resolution of the image, the size of the band, the value of the ripple intensity threshold. The minimum measurable area, the range for valid ripple and other process parameters in start mode. The process in start mode is shown in Figure 3. The process in start mode is particularly advantageous when fiber processing is used in batch type, i.e. batch fibers are provided in batches and are usually discontinuous after from certain lengths. The characteristics of the fiber of the initial portion of each lot is usually "non-characteristic" or different from the rest of the lot. This is mainly due to loose ends of cuts or other deformities. Initial non-characteristic portions are usually cut and discarded. Start mode is used to monitor the initial portions of each batch and to alert the operator when the curled yarn reaches the "characteristic" portion of the batch, whereby the operator cuts and discards the initial "non-characteristic" portion. The start process reduces waste because it does not unnecessarily discard an initial portion that is too long and provides more uniform characteristics in each batch. The start mode also avoids the possible corruption of the data by avoiding the inclusion of the measurements of the curling characteristics of the beginning of the curled yarn with the main portion of the yarn. The start mode triggers an alarm when the good quality yarn is placed in the direct view of at least one camera 18 set to take the image of the width of the curled yarn in motion. With reference to Figure 3, the curling measurement system is activated by turning on the continuous light source (300a); establishing the identification of the extension line and turning on the defective wire alarm light (300b) to indicate the start of a batch; selecting a start video channel (300c) which can be a separate camera located specifically to capture initial images; set the good quality thread and abort the timers (300d); and prepare the trend window (300e). A timer is used to set a time within which the boot process is completed. The counter is updated (305) and checked to determine if it has reached the pre-established abort time (310). When the abort time is reached, the boot mode is terminated. Illumination is turned off (315), defective wire alarm light (315b) is turned off, and normal measurement (315c) is resumed. Within the abort time, images of the curled yarn in motion are taken using the start camera (320). The acquired images are displayed on the screen (325), the curls per inch (CPI) parameter is measured and recorded (330) and the trend window (335) is updated. The illumination is checked by the computer 10 to determine if the intensity of the average image is within the specifications (340). If the lighting does not meet the operator's specifications, it adjusts by increasing or decreasing the voltage of the continuous light source to increase or decrease the intensity of the image (405). If the voltage of the light source is exceeded (410), a system alarm (415) is verified and an alarm is activated in the next step. On the computer screen (420) an alarm / event message is displayed to indicate the lighting operator or other system problems. A screen representing an alarm / event message window is shown in figure 13. It is possible to turn on (430) a system alarm light if a system alarm I / O has been enabled as determined in step (425) ). The I / O of the system alarm is enabled by the system layout screen shown in Figure 7d. If the illumination does not meet the operator's specifications, the process returns to step 345 of FIG. 3. In step 345 the software checks to determine whether the measured area of the crimped yarn is within the operator's specifications. If not, the process returns to step 305 and the abort time counter is updated. If in step 345 the software determines that the measured area of the crimped yarn is within the operator's specifications, the initial non-characteristic portion of the yarn is likely to be moved through the system. In step 350, the stored program 11 checks to determine whether the CPI parameter of the crimped wire is within the operator's specifications. If the CPI parameter is within the operator's specifications, the good quality wire counter (355) is updated. The good quality thread counter is checked to determine if the good thread count has been reached (360). If the good quality wire counter has reached the good thread count, the process returns to step 315 to determine the start mode characteristic. The start mode feature is terminated by turning off the illumination (315a); turning off the defective wire alarm light to indicate to the operator that the good thread has been reached (315b); and resuming the measurements and characteristics of the normal ripple (315c). If in step 350 the CPI parameter is not within the operator's specifications, the good wire counter is reset (365) and the boot process returns to step 305 where the abort time counter is updated. In the same way, if the good thread count has not been reached, the process returns to step 305. The start-up process continues until the CPI parameter in step 350 is determined within the operator's specifications and has been reached. the good thread count in step 360. The interaction between the software, the hardware components and the status checks during the normal measurement mode is illustrated by the flow chart of Fig. 5. Steps 500 and 505 determine whether the start trigger has been activated to switch to the start-up process mode represented by the flow chart of figure 3. If the start trigger has been activated, as it may be in the case of the batch type processing, it is postponed the normal measurement and the system continues with the boot process. In the normal measurement mode, the computer 10 and the associated program 11 determine whether the camera 18 is enabled to acquire images of the curled yarn in motion. The preferred system uses three cameras placed across the width of the curled yarn in motion to take images of the entire width. If one of the three cameras is disabled or malfunctions, the measurements can continue with the other cameras. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, three different yarn extension lines may be running at the same time with three cameras positioned across the width of each yarn. The number of thread extension lines that can be measured in the automatic operating mode is established by the arrangement screen shown in Figure 6b. The stored program 11 checks the cameras 18 and the cutter before capturing the selected images. For example, when a camera 18 is enabled (515) and the cutter I / O is not enabled or the cutter is running (steps 520 and 525, an image is taken for processing from the selected camera (step 530). It should be noted that, although three cameras are chosen in the present mode, measurements of the ripple characteristics can be made with images acquired from less than three cameras.In some cases, the operator can disable one of the three cameras. curly and for lighting control, the average intensity of the images of all enabled cameras is used.If in step 515 the camera is not enabled, the next video channel is selected in step 535 and an image of the curled yarn in motion from the selected camera of the video channel is received in the processor 10 and the stored program 11 (step 540) .If the image has not been received, the process returns to step 515. The Acquired image is displayed in the image window (545); the CPI is measured, displayed and recorded (550); and the moving average (555) is calculated. The measured results can be compared with the operator specifications (560) and the status of the specifications is verified (565), the message window (570) is updated and a flag can be set to indicate that the state of the specifications has been changed (575). If the state of the specifications has not changed or after the flag is set to indicate that the state of the specifications has changed (580), the stored program 11 checks whether all the enabled cameras of a thread line have been selected to send an image of the curled yarn in motion. If not, process 515 to 580 is repeated for the next camera. After all the enabled cameras have sent an image, the process checks the illumination based on the average image intensity of the images acquired from the three cameras and, if necessary, makes adjustments for the lighting control (steps 585 , 590 and 595. See also Figure 4). The curling measurements are also based on the average of the images of the three cameras. For example, if the I / O of the CPI output is enabled (step 605), the average CPI is sent and can be displayed (step 605). In step 610 the stored program 11 checks whether the measured specifications of the ripple characteristics have changed from the previous measurement and updates the trend window according to step 615 to allow the operator to see the characteristics of the measured ripple on line and other parameters measured. It is possible to use alarms to alert the operator if the measurements are outside the pre-established specifications. The process of Figure 5 is repeated for other yarn lines. Advantageously, the use of a continuous wave (oc) light source to illuminate the curled wire in motion and conventional TV cameras avoid the need to move the light source or the camera by variable speed motor controls. Measurements of ripple characteristics can be displayed in near real-time speed compared to systems using variable speed motor controls. In these last systems, the update of the results of the measurements is much slower due to the time needed to place the light and the cameras. As a result, adjustments to system parameters are proportionally delayed in systems that have motorized positioning controls. The stored program 11 further provides the means to verify the data acquisition boards for executing diagnostic tests as indicated by the screens of the figures lla-lld. These screens allow the operator, for example, to establish the bit / channel positions, the channel identification and control the input and output. It will be understood that various modifications can be made to the embodiment of the present invention in the present description without departing from the spirit of the same. The above description should not be considered as limiting the invention but simply as exemplifications of the preferred embodiments thereof. Those skilled in the art will discover other modifications within the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. A system for measuring curling characteristics of fibers in a curled yarn in motion, the system consists of: a processor and the associated stored program; lighting means placed on the curling yarn in motion to illuminate a section of the curled yarn in motion; at least one camera for capturing at least one interlaced video image of the curled wire section in motion; the digitizing means for digitizing at least one interlaced video image into digital data; the decomposition means for decomposing digital data into decomposed data representing the images in the first and second non-interleaved fields, wherein the processor and the associated stored program process the decomposed data; and a screen to display the ripple characteristics based on the processing of the decomposed data. The system according to claim 1, wherein the means for decomposing includes the means for dividing the images in the first and second fields into a series of horizontal bands and to establish an intensity profile of each of the bands averaging the intensity of the pixels of the sequential horizontal lines within each of the bands. 3. The system according to the claim 1, wherein the processor processes the decomposed data as minimum and maximum intensity profiles, where a maximum is marked as a ripple peak if the difference in intensity between the maximum and its two adjacent minima exceeds a specified threshold value of intensity by the operator. The system according to claim 1, wherein the processor calculates distances from adjacent ripple peaks, compares the distances with thresholds specified by the operator, groups the ripple peaks into one of the micro, normal or large categories and tabulates the statistics of the total ripple for the image of the first field. The system according to claim 1, wherein the processor communicates the results of the measurements to at least 1 of a plurality of peripheral devices to configure the system depending on the predetermined specifications. The system according to claim 1, which includes a plurality of chambers to substantially cover a full width of the curled yarn in motion. The system according to claim 6, wherein the processor and the stored program control a video switchboard to selectively receive signals from one of the plurality of cameras. The system according to claim 1, wherein the illumination means is a continuous wave light source. 9. The system according to the claim 8, wherein the lighting means illuminates at least one full amplitude of the curled yarn in motion. 10. A method for measuring curling characteristics of fibers in a curling yarn in motion, the method consists of the steps of: a) illuminating the crimped yarn with a continuous wave light source; b) acquire an interlaced video image of the crimped yarn; c) digitize the video image; d) decompose the digitized image into images of two non-interlaced fields; e) process the images of two fields; and f) display the ripple characteristics based on the processed images.