Method and apparatus for sorting materials according to relative composition
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A sorting device to distinguish materials of differing relative average atomic numbers, comprising:
- an X-ray tube, wherein the X-ray tube is in a fixed position;
a first multi-energy detector having a photon counting rate in the range of from about 1 million counts per second to about 10 million counts per second, positioned in a fixed position to receive x-rays from the X-ray tube;
a microprocessor operationally connected to the first multi-energy detector;
an ejector controller operationally connected to the microprocessor; and
at least one ejector attached to the ejector controller.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed herein is a metal sorting device including an X-ray tube, a dual energy detector array, a microprocessor, and an air ejector array. The device senses the presence of samples in the x-ray sensing region and initiates identifying and sorting the samples. After identifying and classifying the category of a sample, at a specific time, the device activates an array of air ejectors located at specific positions in order to place the sample in the proper collection bin.
58 Citations
11 Claims
-
1. A sorting device to distinguish materials of differing relative average atomic numbers, comprising:
-
an X-ray tube, wherein the X-ray tube is in a fixed position; a first multi-energy detector having a photon counting rate in the range of from about 1 million counts per second to about 10 million counts per second, positioned in a fixed position to receive x-rays from the X-ray tube; a microprocessor operationally connected to the first multi-energy detector; an ejector controller operationally connected to the microprocessor; and at least one ejector attached to the ejector controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A sorting device to distinguish materials of differing relative average atomic numbers, comprising:
-
an X-ray tube, wherein the X-ray tube is in a fixed position; a first multi- energy detector having a photon counting rate of about 1 million counts per second, positioned in a fixed position to receive x-rays from the X-ray tube; a microprocessor operationally connected to the first multi-energy detector; an ejector controller operationally connected to the microprocessor; and at least one ejector attached to the ejector controller.
-
Specification