Sorting method and apparatus
AssigneeBuhler Sortex Ltd.
InventorBenedict Deefholts
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of and apparatus for sorting foreign matter from a flow, the method comprising the steps of: identifying objects within a flow; for each identified object, determining reflectance intensities at at least two different wavelengths or ranges of wavelengths; and for each identified object, comparing the reflectance intensities at the at least two different wavelengths or ranges of wavelengths to a reference intensity profile, wherein the identified object is characterized as foreign matter when the reflectance intensities at the at least two different wavelengths or ranges of wavelengths fall within a predetermined region of the reference intensity profile.
Claims29
A method of sorting foreign matter from a flow, the method comprising the steps of:
- identifying objects within a flow;
- for each identified object, determining reflectance intensities at at least two different wavelengths or ranges of wavelengths;
- and
- for each identified object, comparing the reflectance intensities at a first reflectance intensity from the identified object at a first wavelength in the range of from about 800 nm to about 1200 nm and a second reflectance intensity from the identified object at a second wavelength in the range of from about 1470 nm to about 1570 nm to a reference intensity profile, wherein the identified object is characterized as foreign matter when the reflectance intensities at the at least two different wavelengths or ranges of wavelengths fall within a predetermined region of the reference intensity profile.
A sorting apparatus for sorting foreign matter from a flow, the apparatus comprising:
- an illumination unit for illuminating a flow;
- a camera unit for imaging radiation reflected by objects in the flow, the camera unit including first and second detectors for detecting respectively, for each identified object, a first reflectance intensity from the identified object at a first wavelength in the range of from about 800 nm to about 1200 nm and a second reflectance intensity from the identified object at a second wavelength in the range of from about 1470 nm to about 1570 nm, and at least one beam splitter for splitting the reflected radiation into at least first and second reflected components, which have different wavelengths or ranges of wavelengths and are detected by respective ones of the detectors;
- and
- a processing unit which is operative to identify objects within the flow, and, for each identified object, compare the reflectance intensities at the at least two different wavelengths or ranges of wavelengths to a reference intensity profile, wherein the identified object is characterized as foreign matter when the reflectance intensities at the at least two different wavelengths or ranges of wavelengths fall within a predetermined region of the reference intensity profile.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.