Automated Apparatus For Counting Pillings In Textile Fabrics

Abstract

An automated system and associated method of counting pillings in textile fabrics. Images of consecutive sections of a fabric sample are captured by a CCD camera. A system processor then processes the images to enhance image quality. Pillings on the processed, captured fabric sample images are counted, and the resulting data is fuzzified to determine the membership of the data in one or more of a plurality of fabric classes. The present invention provides an objective rating system and method with repeatable accuracy for fabric samples that eliminates the inherent subjectivity associated with conventional manual visual fabric inspection methods.