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GooglePatent applicationChips & hardwareInterest 4/10

Google patents system to measure falling particles for mixtures

Google describes a machine that drops particles into a light beam and takes photos of them from different angles. It uses these images to build a 3D model of each particle to measure its size and shape.

Why it mattersThis technology could help factories ensure that ingredients in products like food or medicine are consistent in size and shape.

In the filing’s own words

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for characterizing a particulate ingredient of a mixture including a hopper configured to dispense particles along an axis and in freefall through an imaging region, an illumination sub-system including at least one light source arranged at a first location with respect to the axis and configured to illuminate the imaging region, an image capture sub-system including at least one image capture device including a telecentric lens and arranged at a second location with respect to the axis and configured to align a focal plane of the at least one image capture device with the axis within the imaging region, such that when a particle freefalls through the imaging region, the particle is illuminated by the illumination sub-system and the image capture sub-system captures images of at least three silhouettes of the particle within the imaging region.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A method for characterizing a particulate ingredient of a mixture, the method comprising: receiving image data of a plurality of particles representative of the particulate ingredient of the mixture, wherein the image data comprises sets of frames, and wherein each set of frames includes silhouettes of one or more particles captured within the set of frames; for each set of frames identifying, in each frame of the set of frames, a silhouette of at least one particle in the frame; matching respective silhouettes from each frame of the set of frames that represent a same particle appearing in each frame from different perspectives; and for the respective silhouettes corresponding to same particle; generating a reconstruction of the particle from the respective silhouettes to obtain a reconstructed particle; and extracting from the reconstruction of the particle, one or more characteristics of the particle; generating, from the reconstructed particles of the plurality of particles, a characteristic profile of the plurality of particles; and determining, in response to the characteristic profile, an update to a composition of the mixture.

Facts

Company
Google (X Development LLC)
Official title
PARTICLE CHARACTERIZATION SYSTEM AND METHOD
Publication number
US20260276524A1
Application number
19667259
Filed
May 4, 2026
Published
Sep 17, 2026
Inventors
2
Claims
20

Classified under

G01N 15/1434 Physics & computingG01N 33/383 Physics & computingG01N 2015/1497 Physics & computing
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.