Method and apparatus for sorting fibers
AssigneeToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
InventorsUmesh N. Gandhi, Raghuram Mandapati
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Abstract
An apparatus and methods for sorting and determining the length distribution of fibers in a sample are disclosed. One method of sorting and determining the length distribution of fibers includes immersing the fibers in a liquid to form a mixture; placing the mixture into a stack of sieves; progressively applying a predetermined number of frequencies of sound energy to each sieve in the stack of sieves; draining the mixture from the stack of sieves; and quantifying the collected fibers in each sieve in the stack of sieves.
Claims20
A method of sorting and determining the length distribution of fibers, comprising:
- immersing the fibers in a liquid to form a mixture;
- filling a stack of sieves with the mixture;
- progressively applying two or more frequencies of sound energy to each sieve in the stack of sieves;
- draining the mixture from the stack of sieves;
- and
- quantifying the collected fibers in each sieve in the stack of sieves.
An apparatus for sorting fibers, comprising:
- a stack of sieves of progressively graduated filtering size for sorting the fibers in a mixture of fibers and liquid;
- a sonicating device configured to apply multiple frequencies of sound energy to each sieve in the stack of sieves;
- a control device configured to implement the multiple frequencies of sound energy in a pattern selected by an operator;
- and
- a drain for removing the liquid from the stack of sieves.
A method of sorting and determining the length distribution of fibers, comprising:
- immersing the fibers in a liquid to form a mixture;
- placing the mixture into a stack of sieves;
- progressively applying a predetermined number of frequencies of sound energy to each sieve in the stack of sieves;
- draining the mixture from the stack of sieves;
- and
- quantifying the collected fibers in each sieve in the stack of sieves.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.