阅读说明：本技术 用于确定宝石的光学特性的系统 (System for determining optical properties of a gemstone ) 是由 郑家荣 许冠中 于 2020-02-28 设计创作，主要内容包括：用于观察和确定宝石的光学特性的系统(100),所述系统包括：第一和第二积分球(150、150a),其中每个积分球(150、150a)彼此光学通联且具有布置在其间的间隔部(116),与第一球体(150)接合并且用于向第一球体(150)的内部提供光的第一光源(118)和与第二球体(150a)接合并且用于向第二球体(150a)的内部提供光的第二光源(118a)；至少一个光学图像获取设备(110),与球体中的一个的内部通联,以获取布置在球体之间的区域中的宝石的光学图像；透明平台(117),用于将宝石支撑在两个积分球(150、150a)之间；和控制模块(120),与光学图像获取设备(110)通联,以控制宝石的光学图像的获取；其中宝石的光学图像由处理器处理以确定宝石的一个或多个光学特性。(A system (100) for viewing and determining optical properties of a gemstone, the system comprising: first and second integrating spheres (150, 150a), wherein each integrating sphere (150, 150a) is in optical communication with each other and has a spacing portion (116) disposed therebetween, a first light source (118) engaged with the first sphere (150) and for providing light to an interior of the first sphere (150), and a second light source (118a) engaged with the second sphere (150a) and for providing light to an interior of the second sphere (150 a); at least one optical image acquisition device (110) in communication with the interior of one of the spheres to acquire an optical image of the gemstone disposed in the region between the spheres; a transparent platform (117) for supporting the gemstone between two integrating spheres (150, 150 a); and a control module (120) in communication with the optical image acquisition device (110) for controlling acquisition of an optical image of the gemstone; wherein the optical image of the gemstone is processed by a processor to determine one or more optical characteristics of the gemstone.)

1. A system for viewing and determining optical properties of a gemstone, the system comprising:

a first integrating sphere and a second integrating sphere, wherein each integrating sphere is in optical communication with each other and has a spacer disposed therebetween,

a first light source engaged with the first sphere and for providing light to an interior of the first sphere and a second light source engaged with the second sphere and for providing light to an interior of the second sphere;

at least one optical image acquisition device in communication with the interior of one of the spheres for acquiring an optical image of a gemstone disposed in the region between the spheres;

a transparent platform for supporting the gemstone between the two integrating spheres; and

the control module is communicated with the optical image acquisition equipment and is used for controlling the acquisition of the optical image of the diamond;

wherein the optical image of the gemstone is processed by a processor to determine one or more optical characteristics of the gemstone.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the interior of the integrating sphere is covered with a diffuse reflective coating so that light rays incident on any point on the inner surface are equally distributed to all other points by multiple diffuse reflections and the effect of the original direction of the light source is minimized.

3. The system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the system further comprises a robotic arm controlled by the control module for delivering a gemstone from outside the integrating sphere to a platform for supporting the gemstone between the two integrating spheres.

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein the robotic arm allows movement in a vertical direction to pick and release the gemstone, and rotation about an axis for transporting the gemstone from one location to another.

5. The system of claim 3 or 4, further comprising a movable door at the spacer, the movable door being openable to allow the gemstone to be transported to and from the support platform by the robotic arm.

6. The system of any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the system comprises a plurality of optical image acquisition devices in communication with an interior of at least one of the spheres.

7. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the system comprises a first optical image acquisition device in communication with the interior of the first sphere at a polar point of the sphere.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the system comprises another optical image acquisition device in communication with the interior of the second sphere at a polar point of the sphere.

9. The system of any one of the preceding claims, comprising one or more optical image acquisition devices for acquiring a side image of the gemstone, wherein the one or more optical image acquisition devices acquire the side image of the gemstone through an aperture extending through the spacer.

10. A system according to any preceding claim, comprising one or more optical image acquisition devices for acquiring oblique images of the gemstone, wherein one or more optical image acquisition devices are directed towards the gemstone and are oblique to an axis extending through the pole of the sphere.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more optical image acquisition devices are directed at the gemstone and tilted at an angle in a range of 40 degrees to 50 degrees to an axis extending through a pole of the sphere.

12. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one optical image acquisition device is located at a distance in the range 100mm to 300mm from the gemstone.

13. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one optical image acquisition device is located at a distance of about 200mm from said gemstone.

14. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one optical image acquisition device is located at a distance in the range 20mm to 100mm from the gemstone.

15. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the light source provides a predetermined constant light level of colour temperature 6500K.

16. The system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the light source is selected from the group comprising an LED (light emitting diode) light source, a Xeon lamp light source, an incandescent lamp light source, a fluorescent lamp light source, a solar simulator, etc.

17. The system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the platform is rotatable about a central axis extending between the poles of the sphere and within the integrating sphere system, and rotation of the gemstone about the central axis is provided such that a plurality of optical images of the gemstone can be acquired by the at least one optical image acquisition device.

18. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one optical image acquisition device is a digital camera.

19. The system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one optical image acquisition device is monochromatic or polychromatic.

20. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the system is for determining the colour of a gemstone.

21. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the system is for determining the clarity of a gemstone.

22. The system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the gemstone is a diamond.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a system for viewing a gemstone and for determining an optical characteristic of the gemstone. More particularly, the present invention provides a system for determining the optical properties of a diamond.

Background

Gemstones (particularly diamonds) are key components used in luxury goods (particularly in articles of jewelry) and can be of great value. The value of a diamond depends on several physical properties of the diamond.

There are four globally accepted criteria for assessing the quality of diamonds, commonly known as 4C, namely, Clarity, Color, Cut, and Carat Weight.

Color grading

For diamonds, the value of a diamond is highly dependent on so-called colorlessness, in addition to the color of the diamond, which may have a specific or fancy color. The more colorless the diamond, the higher.

For example, the american institute of Gemstones (GIA) has a color grading from D to Z, where D grading represents a completely colorless diamond, and range to Z grading, which represents a diamond with a significant amount of unwanted color.

Fig. 9a shows the color scale of the american Gem Institute (GIA) for which a color grading is applied, wherein the grading is shown from colorless to light.

Although human visual recognition of different diamond colors is not particularly sensitive to similarly graded diamonds in particular, only slight color changes can significantly affect the value of the diamond.

There are several factors that affect the color of a diamond, the most common and important being the inclusion in the diamond. Impurities can be easily incorporated during the diamond formation process. Nitrogen is the most common impurity in natural diamond and produces an undesirable yellow color. The higher the nitrogen content in the diamond, the darker the color and, therefore, the lower the color grading of the stone. Boron can also affect the diamond color of the diamond, but is less common. Diamonds with boron inclusions show a bluish color. There are other impurities that also affect diamond color, but they are rare.

In addition to impurities, vacancy defects within a diamond also affect the color of the diamond. There are various forms of vacancies, such as isolated vacancies, multiple complexes, and vacancies combined with impurities, etc.

In some diamonds, the carbon atoms may not form an ideal tetrahedral structure and the tetrahedral structure may deform due to the environmental pressure conditions during the formation process deep in the earth. This crystalline deformation residue in natural diamond also causes a color change. To assess the color of a diamond, the most recognized industry standard and practice for determining the color of a diamond is through the trained human eye.

Using the example of GIA, color graders were trained for months using standard prime stones from a group of prime stones with various color grades. Furthermore, the evaluated diamonds were compared side by side with the master stone in a controlled environment during the color grading process.

The controlled environment was a standard light box with white tiles placed behind the main stone and test diamonds as a background. In this standardized environment, the color of the diamond can be graded by referencing it to the stone with the closest color.

The diamond is usually viewed from below at approximately 45 degrees to the pavilion (pavilion) and the color grader looks primarily at the table of the diamond.

Repetitive training of color graders is applied so that different graders can reproduce the same assessment results to provide uniformity and consistency among color graders. Although this color grading process is widely used and under such a rigorous color grading program, the reliability and repeatability of the color grading process is still subject to inconsistencies, and such inconsistencies may result in incorrect grading, which may adversely affect the value of the diamond.

Cleanliness classification

For example, the american gem association (GIA) has a clarity rating as shown in fig. 9 b.

In order to evaluate the clarity of a diamond, the number, size and location of defects in the stone material need to be determined.

Different defects can form from the conditions under which the diamond is formed to the manual application on the diamond.

Inside the diamond body, there may be impurities, voids and cracks, which are considered internal defects. On the surface of the diamond, there may be under-polished irregularities and scratches that are considered as external defects.

These internal and external features are also important for diamonds as they can be one of the unique identification marks or "birthmarks" that can be used to identify the diamond.

Currently, the most accepted practice for determining the clarity of a diamond is through the well-trained human eye under a 10-fold microscope. Gemmologists are trained for several months with standard samples having different types of defects, with the aim that the gemstones should reproduce the same evaluation results when evaluated by different persons.

However, even under standardized training and evaluation procedures, repeatability cannot be guaranteed due to inevitable subjective human judgment.

Evaluation of the same diamond by the same person at different times may also result in different net gradings being applied to the same diamond. Due to human visual fatigue, different judgments may also be made on the same diamond before and after the evaluation of many different gemstones.

Thus, even for a trained and experienced professional gemmologist, such a gemmologist has difficulty providing repeatability in a cleanliness assessment.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a system for viewing a gemstone and determining an optical property of the gemstone, and more particularly to provide a system which can be used to determine the colour and cleanliness grading of a gemstone, particularly a diamond, which overcomes or at least partially ameliorates at least some of the disadvantages associated with the prior art.

A system for viewing and determining optical properties of a gemstone, the system comprising: a first integrating sphere and a second integrating sphere, wherein each integrating sphere is in optical communication with each other and has a spacer disposed therebetween, a first light source engaged with the first sphere and for providing light to an interior of the first sphere, and a second light source engaged with the second sphere and for providing light to an interior of the second sphere; at least one optical image acquisition device in communication with the interior of one of said spheres for acquiring an optical image of the gemstone disposed in the region between said spheres; a transparent platform for supporting the gemstone between two integrating spheres; and a control module in communication with the optical image acquisition device for controlling acquisition of an optical image of the diamond, wherein the optical image of the gemstone is processed by a processor to determine one or more optical characteristics of the gemstone.

The interior of the integrating sphere is covered with a diffuse reflective coating so that light rays incident on any point on the inner surface are equally distributed to all other points by multiple scattered reflections and the influence of the original direction of the light source is minimized.

The system may further comprise a robotic arm controlled by the control module for delivering a gemstone from outside the integrating sphere to a platform for supporting the gemstone between the two integrating spheres.

The robotic arm allows movement in a vertical direction to pick and release the gemstone and rotation about an axis for transferring the gemstone from one location to another.

The system may further comprise a movable door at the spacer, the movable door being openable to allow the gemstone to be transported to and from the support platform by the robotic arm.

The system may include a plurality of optical image acquisition devices in communication with an interior of at least one of the spheres.

The system may include a first optical image acquisition device in communication with an interior of the first sphere at a polar point of the sphere.

The system may include a further optical image acquisition device in communication with the interior of the second sphere at a polar point of the sphere.

The system may comprise one or more optical image acquisition devices for acquiring a side image of the gemstone, wherein the one or more optical image acquisition devices acquire the side image of the gemstone through an aperture extending through the spacer.

The system may comprise one or more optical image capture devices for capturing a tilted image of the gemstone, wherein the one or more optical image capture devices are directed at the gemstone and tilted with respect to an axis extending through the pole of the sphere.

The one or more optical image capturing devices may be directed at the gemstone and inclined at an angle in the range of 40 to 50 degrees to an axis extending through the pole of the sphere.

The at least one optical image acquisition device may be located at a distance in the range of 100mm to 300mm from the gemstone.

The at least one optical image acquisition device may be located at a distance of about 200mm from the gemstone.

The at least one optical image acquisition device may be located at a distance in the range 20mm to 100mm from the gemstone.

The light source preferably provides a predetermined constant light level of 6500K color temperature.

The light source may be selected from the group comprising an LED (light emitting diode) light source, a Xeon lamp light source, an incandescent lamp light source, a fluorescent lamp light source, a solar simulator, etc.

The platform may be rotatable about a central axis extending between the poles of the sphere and within the integrating sphere system, and provide rotation of the gemstone about the central axis such that a plurality of optical images of the gemstone can be acquired by the at least one optical image acquisition device.

The optical image acquisition device is a digital camera. The optical image acquisition device may be monochromatic or polychromatic.

The system may provide for determining the color of the gemstone or may provide for determining the clarity of the gemstone.

Preferably, the gemstone is a diamond.

Drawings

In order that a more particular understanding of the invention described above may be obtained, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof that are illustrated in the appended drawings. The drawings presented herein may not be drawn to scale and any reference to size in the drawings or the following description is specific to the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1a shows a schematic representation of a system according to the invention;

FIGS. 1b-1d show a schematic representation of the system of FIG. 1 when a gemstone (in this example, a diamond) is delivered to the integrating sphere system from the outside;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of a top view of an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an integrating sphere system according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of an integrating sphere system according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a reference photographic representation of a spacer in a preferred embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows a reference photographic representation of an optical image acquisition device in a preferred embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows a reference photographic representation of a robotic arm assembly in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 shows a reference photographic representation of a close-up view of a jaw portion of a robotic arm in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9a shows a color scale of the American Gem Institute (GIA) for which a color grading is applied, the grading being displayed from colorless to light; FIG. 9b shows the clarity rating of the American Gem Association (GIA).

Detailed Description

The present inventors have identified the disadvantages of the way in which the colour and cleanliness grading of diamonds is performed and, in identifying the problems of the prior art, have provided a more consistent and reliable system and overcome the problems of the prior art.

Referring to fig. 1a, there is shown a schematic representation of a system 100 according to the present invention, wherein the system 100 provides an optically controlled environment for acquiring optical images for determining optical properties of a gemstone, such as color and clarity grading of a diamond.

As shown in fig. 1a, system 100 includes two hollow integrating spheres 150 and 150a in optical communication with each other, abutting at spacer 116 and spaced apart by spacer 116. Light sources 118 and 118a are located at each sphere to provide a predetermined constant light level within the integrating sphere system.

The spacer 116 is suitably sized so as to provide an area for delivering and holding the gemstone for image acquisition and may have a height of, for example, 100mm, or about 50mm, or less or more, depending on the arrangement.

The inside of the integrating spheres 150 and 150a is covered with a diffuse reflection coating so that light incident on any point on the inner surface is equally distributed to all other points by multiple scattered reflections and the influence of the original directions of the light sources 118 and 118a is minimized.

The optical image acquisition device 110 at the integrating sphere system is in communication with the control unit 120. The control unit 120 may control the acquisition of an optical image of a gemstone, for example, depicted as diamond 115 when positioned between the integrating spheres 150, 150a, as shown in fig. 1c, and as described below with reference to fig. 1 d.

Depending on where the optical image acquisition device 110 is arranged, images may be acquired at a predetermined angle and at a predetermined side of the gemstone, in this example the optical image acquisition device is shown positioned below the gemstone and pointing up at an angle towards the central axis of the diamond 115. Alternatively, there may be more than one optical image acquisition device 110 at different angles above, below, or above and below the diamond 115.

The acquired images may be further analyzed to determine optical properties of the stone, such as the color and net grading of the diamond.

As shown in fig. 1a-1d and 2, the system 100 may further include a robotic arm assembly 130 for automatically feeding a gemstone (such as diamond 115) into and out of the integrating sphere, and an actuator device, such as a pneumatic system, for operating the robotic arm 130 a.

Referring to fig. 1a, the robotic arm 130a is movable in a vertical direction to pick up and release a diamond 115, and is also rotatable about a central axis 131 for transporting the diamond 115 from one location to another.

This movement and positional accuracy of the robotic arm 130a is controlled and determined by the control module 120.

To initiate the image acquisition process of system 100, a technician or another automated device is required to first place diamond 115 on surface 140 outside of integrating spheres 150 and 150a, as is apparent from fig. 2, which is described further below.

The diamond 115 is generally flat-down on the surface 140 with the pavilion facing up, although in other embodiments it may be positioned in other orientations.

After placing the diamond 115 onto the surface 140, the mechanical arm 130a is then rotated about the axis 131 until the claw 135 of the mechanical arm 130a reaches directly above the diamond 115. The diamond 115 is then ready to be picked up by the claw 135 of the robotic arm 130 a.

The pick-up process of the diamond 115 is shown in figure 1B, where the two jaws 135a and 135B of the robotic arm 130a are moved outwardly away from each other, which may also be pneumatically controlled, while the robotic arm 130a is lowered to reach the same horizontal level (horizontal level) as the diamond 115 on the surface 140.

The two jaws 135a and 135b are then moved inwardly to securely hold the diamond 115 therein, and the robotic arm 130 is moved vertically upwardly to vertically lift the diamond 115 away from the surface 140.

When the diamond 115 is picked up by the robotic arm 130, the sliding gate 119 slides horizontally to the side of the integrating sphere system and exposes an aperture 124 at the partition 116 through which the diamond 115 is allowed to be transported into the integrating spheres 150 and 150A. The movement of the sliding door 119 may be controlled by the control module 120, and for example by a pneumatic actuator, or alternatively manually or via another system.

Such delivery of the diamond 215 is further illustrated in the embodiment of figure 2, for example, where the robotic arm 230 rotates about an axis and delivers the diamond 215 from a position a on the surface 240 to a predetermined position B within the integrating sphere system directly above the rotating platform 217.

The jaws 235a and 235B of the robotic arm 230 are then moved outwardly away from each other to release the diamond 215 to a position B on the rotating platform 217, which is generally the center of the rotating platform 217.

Referring back to fig. 1a-1d, a rotating platform 117 is located at the divider 116 where the two integrating spheres 150 and 150a abut.

In some embodiments, the rotating platform 117 is rotatable around the central axis of the system and thus of the diamond 115 and within the integrating spheres 150 and 150a, such that multiple optical images of different views of the diamond 115 can be acquired by the optical image acquisition device 110.

The rotating platform 117 is optically transparent so that it does not optically block light from either side of the platform 117.

Control of the movement of the rotating platform 117 may be performed by the control module 120.

The automated transfer of the diamond 115 by the robot arm 130a allows the diamond 115 to be always precisely placed at a predetermined position on the rotating platform 117, thus providing optimal lighting conditions for the diamond 115 when optical images are acquired for viewing and grading purposes.

Furthermore, since the robot arm 130a is mechanically controlled by the control unit 120, wherein no human factors such as misalignment or misplacement of the diamond are involved, and the position of the diamond 115 on the rotary platform 117 is always consistent and has high repeatability, a controlled environment for inspecting different diamonds is provided.

Due to the visual nature of the optical properties of clarity and color, assessment of the clarity and color of a diamond needs to be done in a controlled environment. The computerized system 100 ensures that the lighting conditions and background of each diamond are the same and constant.

Referring now to FIG. 1c, the diamond 115 is shown precisely positioned on a rotating platform 117 within the integrating sphere system. Then, the mechanical arm 130a is raised and rotated about the central axis 131 to move out of the integrating spheres 150 and 150a through the aperture 124.

When the robot arm 130a moves out of the integrating spheres 150 and 150a, the sliding door 119 slides horizontally towards the integrating sphere system and closes the aperture 124 so that the aperture 124 is again covered by the sliding door 119, as shown in fig. 1d, forming a closed system therein, ready for the image acquisition process of the diamond 115 to take place.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a cross-sectional view of a system 300 in one embodiment of the invention is shown.

As shown in fig. 3, system 300 includes two integrating spheres 350 and 350a abutting at spacer 316 and spaced apart by spacer 316.

An optical image acquisition device 310 at the integrating sphere system is in communication with a control unit 320. The control unit 320 controls the acquisition of an optical image of the diamond at an oblique angle of, for example, 45 degrees with respect to the central vertical axis of the diamond 315.

The acquired image will be further analyzed to determine the optical properties of the stone, such as the color and clarity grade of the diamond 315.

Optical image acquisition device 310 may be located at a distance of about 200mm, or closer, or further from diamond 315, depending on the requirements of the system and the particular integers and features used to form system 300.

System 300 includes two light sources 318 and 318a that provide a predetermined constant light level of 6500K color temperature within each integrating sphere 350 and 350 a. The light source is selected from the group comprising an LED (light emitting diode) light source, a Xeon lamp light source, an incandescent lamp light source, a fluorescent lamp light source, a solar simulator, etc. to provide a predetermined constant light level with a color temperature of 6500K within the spheres 350 and 350 a.

Similarly, the two light sources 118 and 118a of FIGS. 1a-1d also provide a predetermined constant light level and may have a color temperature of 6500K within each integrating sphere 150 and 150 a. The light source may be selected from the group comprising an LED (light emitting diode) light source, a Xeon lamp light source, an incandescent lamp light source, a fluorescent lamp light source, a solar simulator, etc. to provide a predetermined constant light level with a color temperature of 6500K within the spheres 150 and 150 a.

Referring again to fig. 3, the system 300 further comprises a rotation platform 317 rotatable about the central axis of the diamond 315 and within the integrating sphere 350 and 350a, wherein the rotation platform 317 provides rotation of the diamond about the central axis such that a plurality of optical images of the diamond 315 can be acquired by the optical image acquisition device 310.

Referring now to fig. 4, there is shown a schematic representation of another embodiment of a system 400 in accordance with the present invention.

System 400 also includes two integrating spheres 450 and 450a abutting at spacer 416 and spaced apart by spacer 416. Light sources 418 and 418a are located at each sphere to provide a predetermined constant light level within the integrating sphere system and a predetermined constant light level of 6500K color temperature within each integrating sphere 350 and 350 a. The light source is selected from the group comprising an LED (light emitting diode) light source, a Xeon lamp light source, an incandescent lamp light source, a fluorescent lamp light source, a solar simulator, etc. to provide a predetermined constant light level of 6500K color temperature within the spheres 450 and 450 a.

The light sources 450 and 450a may be controlled by the control module 420.

The system 400 further comprises a plurality of optical image acquisition devices 410, 410a and 410b, wherein one optical image acquisition device 410a is positioned orthogonal to the rotating platform 417, which is movable in the vertical direction to change the distance between the diamond 415 and the optical image acquisition device 410 a.

In this embodiment there is also an optical image acquisition device 410b positioned orthogonal to the central axis of the diamond, which is movable in the horizontal direction to change the distance between the diamond 415 and the optical image acquisition device 410 b.

As will be appreciated, the optical image acquisition device 410b, although provided as a pair on opposite sides of the spheres 450, 450a, may be a single device on one side.

The multiple optical image acquisition devices 410, 410a and 410b are controlled by a control module 420, which control module 420 allows multiple optical images of the diamond 415 to be acquired at different angles for color and clarity grading of the diamond, as well as from above and below the diamond 415.

The height of the diamond 415 may be determined by an optical image acquired via another optical image acquisition device 410b positioned orthogonal to the central axis of the diamond.

When acquiring an image from above or below the diamond 415, the apparent depth of focus D for focusing is corrected according to the following formula_apparent：

Wherein n is_diamond≈2.42

Using the height of the diamond as inferred from the side view images, multiple images of the diamond at different focal depths can be captured perpendicular to the table to detect defects.

This can be achieved by dividing the height into respective depths of focus. However, since the side view image is captured in air at the same time as the image perpendicular to the table top is to be captured in the diamond, air (n) is the cause_airRefractive index ≈ 1) and diamond (n)_diamondApproximately 2.42) will affect the depth of focus determination. The approximation of the angle of the incident ray is small with respect to the image captured perpendicular to the mesa, the apparent depth D for focusing_apparentShould be corrected to:

rather than the actual depth D_real。

Referring now to fig. 5, there is shown a photographic representation of a spacer 516 in which two integrating spheres abut and are spaced apart, similar to that discussed above with reference to fig. 1a-1d, and thus may be immediately implemented into the system of the present invention.

At the partition 516, the sliding door 519 opens to the side where the aperture 524 is exposed, which allows the diamond to be transported into and out of the integrating sphere system, similar to that described above with reference to fig. 1a-1 d.

Within the spacer 516 of the integrating sphere, a transparent rotating platform 517 is shown, which allows for placement of the diamond during the image acquisition process. The image of the diamond is acquired by an optical image acquisition device 510, which may be a digital camera, placed orthogonally to the transparent platform 517.

The optical image acquisition device 510 is located at a suitable distance from the diamond, for example about 20mm to 60mm from the diamond, and is movable in the vertical direction so as to vary the distance from the diamond.

The transparent platform 517 is rotatable by a scale 521 located outside the integrating sphere system, which can be controlled by an external control unit, so that images of different views of the diamond can be acquired by the image acquisition device 510.

Referring now to fig. 6, a photographic representation of a side view image acquisition device 610 is shown positioned orthogonal to the central axis of the diamond on the rotating platform within the bay.

Optical image acquisition device 610 is positioned outside the integrating sphere system at an appropriate distance from the diamond.

Side-looking image acquisition device 610 is connected to spacer 616 of the integrating sphere system by an opaque tube that extends through spacer 616, which allows image acquisition device 610 to capture only an image of a diamond located within the integrating sphere system and not optically disturbed by the external environment.

Fig. 7 shows a photographic representation of an example of a robotic arm 730 that may be employed in the system of the present invention, at about the same level as the spacer portion 716 of the integrating sphere system.

The robotic arm 730 allows the diamond to be automatically transported into and out of the integrating sphere. The robotic arm 730 is movable in a vertical direction to pick up and release a diamond and rotatable about a central axis to transport the diamond from one location to another.

When a diamond is placed on the surface 740, the jaws 735 of the robotic arm 730 pick up the diamond from the surface 740, which then rotates and transports the diamond into the spacing portion 730 of the integrating sphere, similar to that described above with reference to figures 1a-1 d.

The sliding door 719 is closed when no diamonds are being transported into and out of the integrating sphere system. This protects the interior of the integrating sphere and provides an optically closed system for image acquisition of the diamond.

Figure 8 shows a photographic representation of a close-up view of the robotic arm 830 comprising two jaws 835a and 835b for picking and holding a diamond therein.

Since metals are relatively softer than diamonds, there is a possibility that metal impurities will adhere to the diamond surface when they come into contact with each other, which may contaminate the diamond surface or even create scratches on the diamond surface.

It is highly undesirable for gemstones such as diamonds to be scratched or contaminated during the grading process. Any defect applied to a diamond can degrade the diamond and cause significant economic loss.

To prevent any metallic impurities from adhering to the diamond surface during the pick up process by the jaws 835a and 835b, a coating 821 is applied to the surface of the jaw 835 of the robotic arm 830, particularly to the surface of the jaws in direct contact with the diamond.

As can be seen in fig. 8, the surface of the jaw portion 835 is lighter in color, which refers to a coating thereon to protect any diamond in contact with the jaw from contamination.

The coating may be a metal oxide layer, quartz, etc. which prevents metal impurities of the jaws from adhering to the surface of the diamond during the pick-up process.

The computerized system according to the invention is superior to the prior art by eliminating the problem of visual fatigue and having algorithms for analyzing color and imperfections can provide a good alternative with high repeatability and allow the processor to determine optical properties, such as color and clarity, of a gemstone, such as a diamond, using images of the diamond electronically acquired by the system.

It may also reduce the cost and time of creating the boulder set and training a professional gemmologist. It may also reduce the time to train a professional gemmologist.

The integrating sphere system helps to perform this function because the light intensity, spectrum and uniformity can be well controlled and repeated.

The integrating sphere system can do this because the light intensity, spectrum and uniformity can be well controlled and repeated. The system can be used for clarity and color assessment of diamonds.