Material sorting system
AssigneeUHV Technologies, Inc.
InventorsManuel Gerardo Garcia, Nalin Kumar, Subodh Das
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A material sorting system sorts materials, such as scrap pieces composed of unknown metal alloys, as a function of their detected x-ray fluorescence. The x-ray fluorescence may be converted into an elemental composition signature that is then compared to an elemental composition signature of a reference material in order to identify and/or classify each of the materials, which are then sorted into separate groups based on such an identification/classification. The material sorting system may include an in-line x-ray tube having a plurality of separate x-ray sources, each of which can irradiate a separate stream of materials to be sorted.
Claims24
A method for sorting a plurality of metal alloy pieces into at least a first sorted collection of metal alloy pieces having a first metal alloy composition and a second sorted collection of metal alloy pieces having a second metal alloy composition different from the first metal alloy composition, the method comprising:
- determining an approximate length of each of the plurality of metal scrap pieces;
- classifying a first one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces as having the first metal alloy composition as a function of the determined approximate length of the first one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces;
- classifying a second one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces as having the second metal alloy composition as a function of the determined approximate length of the second one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces;
- and
- sorting the first one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces from the second one of the metal alloy pieces in response to (1) classifying the first one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces as having the first metal alloy composition, and (2) classifying the second one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces as having the second metal alloy composition, wherein the determining the approximate length of each of the plurality of metal alloy pieces comprises measuring the approximate length of each of the plurality of metal alloys scrap pieces as they travel at a predetermined speed past a distance measuring device, wherein metal alloy compositions of the plurality of metal alloy pieces are classified as a result of acquired x-ray fluorescence (“XRF”) detected from each of the plurality of metal alloy pieces using an XRF system.
A system for sorting metal alloys comprising:
- a conveyor system configured to separate a plurality of received metal alloy pieces into first and second parallel singulated streams of the plurality of metal alloy pieces each travelling at a predetermined speed;
- a distance measuring device configured to determine an approximate length for each of the plurality of metal alloy pieces within the first and second parallel singulated streams;
- an XRF system configured to emit x-rays towards each of the plurality of metal alloy pieces within the first and second parallel singulated streams;
- the XRF system configured to determine separate XRF spectra for each of the plurality of metal alloy pieces within the first and second parallel singulated streams only during time periods determined as a function of the approximate lengths and the relative predetermined speeds of each of the first and second parallel singulated streams;
- circuitry configured to produce a plurality of spectra of net counts on a per channel basis for a plurality of channels each corresponding to a chemical element, wherein each of the plurality of spectra pertains to one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces;
- circuitry configured to normalize each of the net counts to generate an elemental composition signature for each of the plurality of metal alloy pieces;
- circuitry configured to compare each of the generated elemental composition signatures to one or more known elemental composition signatures, wherein the one or more known elemental composition signatures each correspond to one of a plurality of different standard reference metal alloy compositions, in order to classify each of the plurality of metal alloy pieces as corresponding to at least one of the plurality of different standard reference metal alloy compositions;
- and
- a sorting device configured to sort the plurality of metal alloy pieces into a plurality of receptacles as a function of their classified metal alloy composition.
A system for sorting materials into separate groups, comprising:
- a conveyor system configured to separate a plurality of materials into first and second parallel singulated streams of the plurality of materials each travelling at predetermined speeds;
- an x-ray fluorescence (“XRF”) system configured to emit x-rays towards each of the plurality of materials within the first and second parallel singulated streams, and to detect XRF from each of the plurality of materials, wherein the XRF system comprises first and second separately energized x-ray sources linearly aligned within a single x-ray tube, wherein the first x-ray source is configured to emit x-rays towards the first parallel singulated stream of the plurality of materials, and wherein the second x-ray source is configured to emit x-rays towards the second parallel singulated stream of the plurality of materials;
- circuitry configured to produce a plurality of spectra of counts on a per channel basis for a plurality of channels each corresponding to a chemical element, wherein each of the plurality of spectra pertains to one of the plurality of materials;
- circuitry configured to compare each of the plurality of spectra of counts to one or more known spectra of counts, wherein the one or more known spectra of counts each correspond to a different material composition, in order to classify a material composition for each of the plurality of materials;
- and
- a sorter configured to sort the plurality of materials into the separate groups as a function of their classified material composition.
A method for sorting a plurality of metal alloy pieces into at least a first sorted collection of metal alloy pieces having a first metal alloy composition and a second sorted collection of metal alloy pieces having a second metal alloy composition different from the first metal alloy composition, the method comprising:
- determining an approximate length of each of the plurality of metal scrap pieces;
- classifying a first one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces as having the first metal alloy composition as a function of the determined approximate length of the first one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces;
- classifying a second one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces as having the second metal alloy composition as a function of the determined approximate length of the second one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces;
- and
- sorting the first one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces from the second one of the metal alloy pieces in response to (1) classifying the first one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces as having the first metal alloy composition, and (2) classifying the second one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces as having the second metal alloy composition, wherein the first metal alloy composition is a first aluminum alloy composition, wherein the second metal alloy composition is a second aluminum alloy composition, and wherein the first and second aluminum alloy compositions are of different aluminum alloy compositions.
A method for sorting a plurality of metal alloy pieces into at least a first sorted collection of metal alloy pieces having a first metal alloy composition and a second sorted collection of metal alloy pieces having a second metal alloy composition different from the first metal alloy composition, the method comprising:
- determining an approximate length of each of the plurality of metal scrap pieces;
- classifying a first one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces as having the first metal alloy composition as a function of the determined approximate length of the first one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces and an acquired x-ray fluorescence (“XRF”) detected from each of the first one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces using an XRF system;
- classifying a second one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces as having the second metal alloy composition as a function of the determined approximate length of the second one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces and an acquired x-ray fluorescence detected from each of the second one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces using the XRF system;
- and
- sorting the first one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces from the second one of the metal alloy pieces in response to (1) classifying the first one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces as having the first metal alloy composition, and (2) classifying the second one of the plurality of metal alloy pieces as having the second metal alloy composition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.