# US 2014/0197078 A1 · Separation apparatus and separation method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0197078 A1 - Document ID: US20140197078A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/809,458 - Filed: 2012-09-12 - Published: 2014-07-17 - Earliest claimed: 2011-12-15 - Assignees: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Tamao Kojima; Masatoshi Miyasaka; Hideshi Ueda; Shinji Yoshino - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140197078A1 ## CPC - B07C 5/00: Sorting according to a characteristic or feature of the articles or material being sorted, e.g. by control effected by devices which detect or measure such characteristic or feature; Sorting by manually actuated devices, e.g. switches (sorting by hand only B07C7/00; separating solids from solids by sieving, screening, or sifting or by using gas currents or other separating by dry methods applicable to bulk material B07B) - B07C 5/368: {actuated independently} - B07C 2501/0018: Sorting the articles during free fall - 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) ## Abstract A separation apparatus according to the present invention includes: a conveyor that conveys a group of pieces; a material distinguishing unit that distinguishes between first pieces and second pieces that are placed on the conveyor, according to material; a blower that generates airflow supplied from a middle of the conveyor toward a conveying end along a conveying surface; a first separation unit that blows off the first pieces thrown forward from the conveying end, based on a differentiation result obtained by the material distinguishing unit; a second separation unit that blows off the second pieces toward a different place; and a current plate provided below the group of pieces thrown forward and protruding from the conveyor. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A separation apparatus for separating first pieces made of a first material and second pieces made of a second material, from a group of pieces that are separation subjects including the first pieces and the second pieces, the separation apparatus comprising: a conveyor that conveys, in one direction, the group of pieces placed on the conveyor, a material distinguishing unit to distinguish between the first pieces and the second pieces that are placed on the conveyor, according to material; a blower that generates airflow supplied from a middle of the conveyor toward a conveying end along a surface on which the group of pieces is conveyed; a first separation unit to discharge airflow to blow off the first pieces, from the group of pieces carried by the airflow from the blower from the conveying end that is an end of the conveyor, based on a differentiation result obtained by the material distinguishing unit; a second separation unit to discharge airflow to blow off the second pieces toward a place different from a place toward which the first separation unit blows off the first pieces, based on the differentiation result, the second pieces being blown off from the group of pieces carried by the airflow from the blower from the conveying end that is the end of the conveyor; and a current plate provided below the group of pieces thrown forward and protruding from the conveyor in a direction in which the group of pieces are thrown forward. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The separation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a velocity of the airflow generated by the blower ranges from ½ to 3 times a conveying speed of the group of pieces placed on the conveyer. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The separation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a vertical thickness of the airflow generated by the blower is greater than an average height of the pieces in the group of pieces. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The separation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveyer includes a head pulley at the conveying end, and the current plate is provided so that a distance between a vertical line passing through a terminal end of the current plate and a rotation axis of the head pulley is longer than or equal to a length of 80% of a radius of the head pulley. ### Claim 5 A separation method for separating first pieces made of a first material and second pieces made of a second material, from a group of pieces that is a separation subject including the first pieces and the second pieces, the separation method comprising: conveying, by a conveyor, the group of pieces in one direction; distinguishing between the first pieces and the second pieces that are placed on the conveyor, according to material, by a material distinguishing unit; generating, by a blower, airflow supplied from a middle of the conveyor toward a conveying end along a surface on which the group of pieces is conveyed; discharging airflow to blow off, by a first separation unit, the first pieces, from the group of pieces carried by the airflow from the conveying end that is an end of the conveyor, based on a differentiation result obtained by the material distinguishing unit; discharging airflow to blow off, by a second separation unit, the second pieces toward a place different from a place toward which the first separation unit blows off the first pieces, based on the differentiation result, the second pieces being blown off from the group of pieces carried by the airflow from the conveying end that is the end of the conveyor; and adjusting the airflow by a current plate provided below the group of pieces thrown forward and protruding from the conveyor in a direction in which the group of pieces are thrown forward. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The separation method according to claim 5, wherein a velocity of the airflow at the conveying end of the conveyor ranges from ½ to 3 times a conveying speed of the group of pieces placed on the conveyer. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The separation method according to claim 5, wherein a vertical thickness of the airflow is greater than heights of pieces that are separation subjects and are conveyed by the conveyor. ### Claim 8 (depends on 5) The separation method according to claim 5, wherein the conveyer includes a head pulley at the conveying end, and the current plate is provided so that a distance between a vertical line passing through a terminal end of the current plate and a rotation axis of the head pulley is longer than or equal to a length of 80% of a radius of the head pulley.