# US 10,478,861 B2 · System for analyzing and sorting material

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- Number: US 10,478,861 B2
- Document ID: US10478861B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/361,929
- Filed: 2016-11-28
- Published: 2018-05-31
- Granted: 2019-11-19
- Earliest claimed: 2016-11-28
- Assignees: Hydro Aluminium Rolled Products GmbH; Austin Ai, Inc.
- Applicants: Hydro Aluminium Rolled Products GmbH; Austin AI, Inc.
- Inventors: Rick Comtois; John Schindler; Karl Comtois; David Locke
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10478861B2

## CPC

- B07C 5/342: according to optical properties, e.g. colour {(according to radiation transmittivity B07C5/3416)}
- B07C 5/344: according to electric or electromagnetic properties {(sorting according to size measured electrically or electronically B07C5/08; material testing by magnetic means G01N24/00, G01N27/00, by electrical means G01N27/00; electrical measuring devices in general G01R; coin testing G07D5/00)}
- B07C 5/368: {actuated independently}
- G01N 21/63: optically excited
- B07C 5/02: Measures preceding sorting, e.g. arranging articles in a stream orientating {(sorting and transport of caps B67B3/06)}
- B07C 2501/0036: Sorting out metallic particles
- Y02P 10/20: Recycling
- B07C: POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING (specially adapted for a specific purpose covered by another class, see the relevant place, e.g. A43D33/06, B23Q7/12)
- G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q)
- Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS

## Abstract

A system (1) for analyzing and sorting material (2) including a feeder (10) for transporting at least one piece of material along a feeding surface (15) towards and onto an upper portion (21) of a chute (20), a sorting device (50), a laser device (30), a spectrometer (40) configured to detect an emission from the piece of material and to produce an output signal corresponding to the emission, and a controller device configured to receive the output signal and to operate the sorting device. The laser device and the spectrometer are both provided on a level below the feeding surface. Also, the laser device is configured to produce a laser beam that can be incident on the piece of material when the piece of material is at least partially protruding from the chute or has fallen off from the chute via the lower edge of the chute and is airborne.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A system for analyzing and sorting material comprising:
a chute;
a feeder means for transporting at least one piece of material along a feeding surface towards and onto an upper portion of the chute, wherein the at least one piece of material is slidable on the chute and off the chute via a lower edge of the chute;
a sorting device operable to sort the at least one piece of material according to at least two fractions;
a laser device configured to generate a laser beam that, when the laser beam is incident on the at least one piece of material, can produce an emission from the piece material;
a spectrometer configured to detect the emission from the at least one piece of material and to produce an output signal corresponding to the emission and indicative of a chemical composition of the at least one piece of material; and
a controller device configured to receive the output signal and to operate the sorting device based on the output signal and at least one sorting criterion,
wherein the laser device and the spectrometer are both positioned on a same side of the chute in a direction perpendicular to a transportation direction of the chute,
wherein the laser device is configured to produce a laser beam that can be incident on the at least one piece of material when the at least one piece of material is at least partially protruding from the chute over the lower edge of the chute or has fallen off from the chute via the lower edge of the chute and is airborne,
wherein the chute defines a channel configured to guide the at least one piece of material from the upper portion of the chute to the lower edge of the chute,
wherein the channel includes a convex portion at the upper portion of the chute and a straight portion between the convex portion and the lower edge of the chute, and
wherein the channel is configured such that an extension of a centerline thereof intersects a path of the laser beam.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one piece of material comprises pieces of material and the feeder means is configured to change relative distances between the pieces of material on the feeding surface while transporting the pieces of material.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The system according to claim 2, wherein the feeder means comprises at least one vibration feeder.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The system according to claim 3, wherein the at least one vibration feeder comprises at least an upstream vibration feeder and a downstream vibration feeder,
wherein the upstream vibration feeder is configured to transport the pieces of material towards and onto the downstream vibration feeder,
wherein the downstream vibration feeder is configured to transport the pieces of material towards and onto the upper portion of the chute,
wherein the feeding surface of the upstream vibration feeder is positioned on a higher level than the feeding surface of the downstream vibration feeder, and
wherein the upstream vibration feeder is configured to be operated at a lower vibration frequency and/or amplitude than the downstream vibration feeder.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The system according to claim 4, wherein at least the feeding surface of the downstream vibration feeder has a corrugated shape that defines a plurality of channels.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The system according to claim 1, wherein the system does not comprise beam separation means or beam deflection means in the path of the laser beam between the laser device configured to generate the laser beam and the at least one piece of material on which the laser beam is incident.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one piece of material is a piece of metal scrap.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The system according to claim 7, wherein the piece of metal scrap is a piece of 5xxx or 6xxx series aluminum having a diameter of more than 5 mm and less than 200 mm.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The system according to claim 7, wherein the piece of metal scrap is a piece of 5xxx or 6xxx series aluminum having a diameter of more than 10 mm and less than 150 mm.

### Claim 10 (depends on 7)

The system according to claim 7, wherein the piece of metal scrap is a piece of 5xxx or 6xxx series aluminum having a diameter of more than 10 mm and less than 40 mm.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The system according to claim 1, wherein the laser device, the spectrometer and the controller device define a LIBS system and are housed in a common housing.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The system according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam, after being generated by the laser device, extends upwards with an angle of between 0 and 90 degrees with respect to a horizontal line.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The system according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam does not propagate through an opening or aperture in the chute.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The system according to claim 1, wherein the chute is defines a length direction between the upper portion of the chute and the lower edge of the chute and a width direction perpendicular thereto, and
wherein the channel in a section along the width direction in the upper portion of the chute has a profile shape with a trough and two side walls having a first height, and wherein the channel in a section along the width direction between the upper portion of the chute and the lower edge of the chute has a profile shape with a trough and two side walls having a second height, wherein the first height is larger than the second height.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The system according to claim 14, wherein the channel in a section along the width direction through the lower edge of the chute has a straight shape that is at least substantially horizontal.

### Claim 16 (depends on 1)

The system according to claim 1, wherein the sorting device is configured to impart an impulse on the at least one piece of material by using compressed air or by using a physical contact with a mechanical device, and
wherein the system further comprises a separator positioned spatially between two bins or conveyors corresponding to two of the at least two fractions.

### Claim 17 (depends on 1)

The system according to claim 1, wherein a downstream end of the feeding surface has a corrugated shape that defines a plurality of channels.

### Claim 18

A method for analyzing and sorting material comprising:
supplying at least one piece of material to and onto a feeding surface of a feeder means;
transporting the at least one piece of material on the feeding surface towards and onto an upper portion of a chute using the feeder means;
sliding the at least one piece of material on the chute which defines a channel which guides the at least one piece of material from the upper portion of the chute towards a lower edge of the chute by at least partially using a gravitational force, wherein the channel includes a convex portion at the upper portion of the chute and a straight portion between the convex portion and the lower edge of the chute;
providing a laser beam such that the laser beam is incident on a part of the at least one piece of material that is protruding over the lower edge of the chute, or such that the laser beam is incident on the at least one piece of material when the at least one piece of material has fallen from the chute via the lower edge of the chute and is airborne, wherein an extension of a centerline of the channel intersects a path of the laser beam;
generating an emission from the at least one piece of material using the laser beam, and detecting the emission;
determining to which fraction of at least two fractions the at least one piece of material corresponds based on the detecting and at least one sorting criterion; and
sorting the at least one piece of material into one of the at least two fractions based on the determining.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The method according to claim 18, wherein the at least one piece of material is aluminum scrap material, and the method further comprises pre-treating the aluminum scrap material by sorting such that the aluminum scrap material has a maximum diameter between 5 mm and 200 mm.

### Claim 20 (depends on 18)

The method according to claim 18, wherein the at least one piece of material comprises at least two pieces of material and the transporting comprises changing a relative distance between the at least two pieces of material on the feeding surface while transporting the at least two pieces of material.