Mineral identification using mineral definitions having compositional ranges
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of spectrum data analysis, the method comprisingacquiring a spectrum of an unknown mineral sample by generating x-rays from the unknown mineral sample and detecting the x-rays with a x-ray detector;
- decomposing the spectrum of the unknown mineral sample to yield a compositional value;
determining a similarity metric between the unknown mineral sample and a mineral definition, the mineral definition providing a range for at least one element in th definition and a variation measure and including a variable mineral composition defined by a subspace with end members, the similarity metric being determined using a sample variation determined by a variation in the mineral definition and the number of x-ray counts in the unknown spectrum; and
if the computed value is within a user-defined threshold distance to an extrapolation of the subspace, extending the subspace to include a computed value outside bounds of the subspace.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Determining the composition of a mineral sample entails comparing measurements of a sample to mineral definitions and determining a similarity metric. The mineral definition includes a subspace of compositional values defined by end members. The similarity metric is related to a projection of the measured data point onto the subspace or onto an extension of the subspace.
85 Citations
18 Claims
-
1. A method of spectrum data analysis, the method comprising
acquiring a spectrum of an unknown mineral sample by generating x-rays from the unknown mineral sample and detecting the x-rays with a x-ray detector; -
decomposing the spectrum of the unknown mineral sample to yield a compositional value; determining a similarity metric between the unknown mineral sample and a mineral definition, the mineral definition providing a range for at least one element in th definition and a variation measure and including a variable mineral composition defined by a subspace with end members, the similarity metric being determined using a sample variation determined by a variation in the mineral definition and the number of x-ray counts in the unknown spectrum; and if the computed value is within a user-defined threshold distance to an extrapolation of the subspace, extending the subspace to include a computed value outside bounds of the subspace. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 18)
-
-
6. A method of spectrum analysis, the method comprising:
-
acquiring a spectrum of an unknown mineral sample by generating x-rays from the unknown mineral sample and detecting the x-rays with a x-ray detector; decomposing the spectrum of the unknown mineral sample to yield a compositional Value; determining a similarity metric between the unknown mineral sample and a mineral definition, the mineral definition providing a range for at least one element in the definition and a variation measure, the similarity metric being determined using a sample variation determined by a variation in the mineral definition and the number of x-ray counts in the unknown spectrum as well as the distance from the unknown mineral sample to the closest point in a subspace representing a mineral definition, in which the closest point of the subspace representing the mineral definition to the compositional value is determined using a least-squares method to find a minimum distance between the compositional value and the closest point in the mineral definition.
-
-
10. A method of spectrum data analysis, the method comprising:
-
acquiring a spectrum of an unknown mineral sample by generating x-rays from the unknown mineral sample and detecting the x-rays with a x-ray detector; decomposing the spectrum of the unknown mineral sample to yield a compositional value; and determining a similar metric between the unknown mineral sample and a mineral definition, the mineral definition providing a range for at least one element in the definition and a variation measure, the similarity metric being determined using a sample variation determined by a variation in the mineral definition and the number of x-ray counts in the unknown spectrum in which the mineral definition includes a variable mineral composition defined by a subspace with end members and in which the subspace is a plane, such that the mineral definition can comprise two or more variable elemental compositions.
-
-
12. A method of spectrum data analysis, the method comprising:
-
acquiring a spectrum of an unknown mineral sample by generating x-rays from the unknown mineral sample, detecting the x-rays using an x-ray detector, and counting the x-rays detected by the x-ray detector; fitting elemental spectra from a mineral definition to the spectrum of the unknown mineral sample to calculate elemental concentrations of the unknown mineral sample; and determining from the calculated elemental concentrations a similarity metric between the unknown mineral sample and the mineral definition, the mineral definition including a range of elemental compositions between known end points and a variation measure, the similarity metric being using a sample variation determined by a variation in the mineral definition and the number of x-ray counts in the unknown spectrum, in which the range of elemental compositions between known end points is extended if the calculated elemental concentrations of the unknown mineral sample lies within a certain user-defined threshold of an extrapolation of the range of elemental compositions between known end points. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
Specification