Method and apparatus for establishing whether fiber material is contaminated with foreign objects
First Claim
1. A method of establishing whether fiber material is contaminated with foreign objects comprising the steps of:
- investigating fiber material delivered in bales during bale opening by moving a bale opener in a first direction over said bales to expose layers of the fiber material, said step of investigating further including the steps of;
automatically scanning a surface of at least some layers of the fiber material exposed by the bale opener with a scanning apparatus over the exposed layers of the fiber material and producing signals indicative of a degree of contamination of the scanned fiber material, said scanning being performed in a first direction and in a second direction transverse relative to said first direction during opening of the bales;
and storing the degree of contamination with scanned foreign objects in association to each particular bale scanned.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and an apparatus for establishing whether fiber material is contaminated with foreign objects is characterized in that for the finding of foreign objects in the form of foreign fibers and pieces of foil, for example packaging remnants such as jute sack remnants, plastic foil remnants, cords or bands, rags or cleaning scrim, the fiber material delivered in bales is investigated during bale opening. The investigation takes place by scanning the surface of at least some of the layers of fiber material exposed during the bale opening, and the degree of the contamination with the scanned foreign objects is retained and is stored in association with the particular bale which has been scanned.
32 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A method of establishing whether fiber material is contaminated with foreign objects comprising the steps of:
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investigating fiber material delivered in bales during bale opening by moving a bale opener in a first direction over said bales to expose layers of the fiber material, said step of investigating further including the steps of; automatically scanning a surface of at least some layers of the fiber material exposed by the bale opener with a scanning apparatus over the exposed layers of the fiber material and producing signals indicative of a degree of contamination of the scanned fiber material, said scanning being performed in a first direction and in a second direction transverse relative to said first direction during opening of the bales; and storing the degree of contamination with scanned foreign objects in association to each particular bale scanned. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. Apparatus for establishing whether a fibrous material is contaminated with foreign objects, comprising:
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a scanning device mounted for movement over the bales in a first traveling direction or on a structure disposed adjacent to said bale opening machine for scanning a surface of individual bales of fiber material which is exposed during bale opening to detect foreign objects formed as foreign fibers and pieces of foil such as packaging remnants including jute sack remnants, pieces of plastic foil, cords or bands, rags or cleaning scrim; means for moving the scanning device in a cross-direction to the traveling direction of the bale opening machine; and a storage means for storing a result of scanning the individual bales. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. Method for opening a row of bales of fiber material and for identifying a combination level of the fiber material in each opened bale comprising the steps of:
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moving a rotating opening member in a first direction along a bale to expose plural layers of fiber material in the bale; recording a position of the rotating opening member relative to the bale and recording bale identification information; automatically scanning the exposed layers of the bale in said first direction and in a second direction transverse to said first direction to detect characteristics of an exposed bale surface, said scanning being performed with a scanning apparatus over the exposed layers of the bale for producing signals indicative of the degree of contamination of the scanned fiber material; analyzing the detected characteristics of the bale surface relative to at least one specified threshold value to measure a contamination level of each exposed bale surface; and recording the contamination level of each exposed bale surface with said opening member position and said bale identification information. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31)
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32. Apparatus for opening bales of fiber material and for identifying a contamination level of the fiber material in each opened bale comprising:
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a bale opening machine having a tower movable in a first direction along a row of bales, said movable tower supporting a rotating cutting member engageable with the bales for exposing layers of fiber material; scanning means supported on said movable tower for scanning said exposed layers of fiber material along said first direction and in a second direction transverse to said first direction, said scanning means including at least one signal emitter and one signal receiver for detecting characteristics of an exposed bale surface; processing means for analyzing the detected characteristics of the exposed bale surface relative to at least one specified threshold value to identify a contamination level of each exposed bale surface; and recording the contamination level of each exposed bale surface with said opening member position and said bale identification information. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification