System for analyzing and sorting material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018147607-A1
Application number	US-201615361929-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 28, 2016
Priority date	Nov 28, 2016
Publication date	May 31, 2018
Grant date	—

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.

First claim

1 . System for analyzing and sorting material comprising:
a feeder means for transporting at least one piece of material along a feeding surface towards and onto an upper portion of a chute, wherein the 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 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 piece of material, can produce an emission from the piece material; a spectrometer configured to detect the emission from the piece of material and to produce an output signal corresponding to the emission and indicative of the chemical composition of the 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 provided on a level below the feeding surface, and wherein 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 over the lower edge of the chute or has fallen off from the chute via the lower edge of the chute and is airborne.

2 . System according to claim 1 , wherein the feeder means is configured to change relative distances between pieces of material on the feeding surface while transporting the pieces of material.

3 . System according to claim 2 , wherein the feeder means comprises at least one vibration feeder.

4 . System according to claim 3 , wherein the feeder means comprises at least an upstream vibration feeder and a downstream vibration feeder, wherein the upstream vibration feeder is configured to transport a piece of material towards and onto the downstream vibration feeder, wherein the downstream vibration feeder transports the piece of material towards and onto the upper portion of the chute, wherein the feeding surface of the upstream vibration feeder is provided on a higher level than the feeding surface of the downstream vibration feeder, and wherein the upstream vibration feeder is operated at a lower vibration frequency and/or amplitude than the downstream vibration feeder.

5 . System according to claim 4 , wherein at least the feeding surface of the downstream vibration feeder has a corrugated shape that forms a plurality of channels.

6 . 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 that generates the laser beam and the piece of material on which the laser beam is incident.

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

8 . 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.

9 . 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.

10 . 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.

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

12 . 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 degree, optionally between 40 and 70 degree, with respect to a horizontal line.

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

14 . System according to claim 1 , wherein the chute is implemented as a guiding slide that defines a length direction between the upper portion and the lower edge and a width direction perpendicular thereto and comprises at least one channel along which the at least one piece of material is slidable from the upper portion to the lower edge, wherein the channel in a section along the length direction comprises a convex portion in the upper portion followed by a straight portion between the convex portion and the lower edge, and wherein the channel in a section along the width direction in the upper portion 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 and the lower edge 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.

15 . 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.

16 . 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 optionally the system further comprises a separator provided spatially between two bins or conveyors corresponding to two of the at least two fractions.

17 . System according to claim 1 , wherein a downstream end of the feeding surface has a corrugated shape that forms a plurality of channels.

18 . Method for analyzing and sorting material comprising:
supplying at least one piece of material, optionally at least one piece of metal, 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 from the upper portion of the chute towards a lower edge of the chute by at least partially using a gravitational force; 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; generating an emission from the at least one piece of metal using the laser beam, 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 piece of material into one of the at least two fraction based on the determining.

19 . Method according to claim 18 , wherein the piece of material is aluminium scrap material, the method further comprising pre-treating the aluminium scrap material by sorting such that the aluminium scrap material has a maximum diameter between 5 mm and 200 mm, optionally between 10 mm and 150 mm, optionally between 10 mm and 40 mm.

20 . Method according to claim 18 , wherein the transporting comprises transporting at least two pieces of material and 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.

Assignees

• Hydro Aluminium Rolled Prod
• Austin Ai Inc

Inventors

• Comtois Rick
• Schindler John
• Comtois Karl
• Locke David

Classifications

• B07C2501/0036

  Sorting out metallic particles · CPC title

• G01N21/63

  optically excited · CPC title

• B07C5/344 Primary

  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)} · CPC title

• B07C5/368 Primary

  actuated independently · CPC title

• B07C5/342 Primary

  according to optical properties, e.g. colour {(according to radiation transmittivity B07C5/3416)} · CPC title