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US 2010/0168907 A1Published application
Method and apparatus for sorting contaminated glass
OwnerThomas A. Valerioinventor
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Abstract
A method, apparatus and system for sorting contaminated glass from a stream of glass particles used light of a wavelength suited to inducing fluorescence in the contaminated glass pieces. Automatic cleaning mechanisms are included in some embodiments to facilitate removal of coatings which would prevent the contaminated particles from fluorescing. The identified particles are then automatically separated from the remaining particles.
Claims7
-20. (canceled)
An apparatus for identifying glass pieces, comprising:
- a carrier adapted to carry a plurality of glass pieces, wherein at least one of the glass pieces comprises a contaminant;
- a light source emitting a first wavelength of light energy and not a second wavelength of light energy, wherein the contaminant absorbs the first wavelength of light energy and emits by fluorescence the second wavelength of light energy;
- and
- a sensor positioned to detect the second wavelength of light energy.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.