Method of and apparatus for high speed, high quality, contaminant removal and color sorting of glass cullet

Abstract

A system for sorting a mixed stream of different colored cullet into separate groups of same colored cullet comprises a light emitting source for transmitting light, such as white light, through a cullet, and a camera having a plurality of pixels for receiving light transmitted through the cullet or detecting the absence of light blocked by an opaque contaminant, the camera providing at least one value from the light received, wherein the cutlet moves along a designated path based on the at least one value. The camera collects the received light at a desired sampling interval and a circuit converts the values into digital representation values. The circuit calculates a non-linear function from the digital representation values. An electrostatic or fluid driving actuator directs the cullet along a deflected path based on a value of the non-linear function. A vibratory feeder provides the cullet onto a conveyer belt having an exit roller of a desired diameter.

1 . A system for sorting a mixed stream of different colored glass cullet into separate groups of same colored glass cullet comprising:
 a. at least one light emitting source for transmitting at least one light of predetermined frequency through a glass cullet; and   b. at least one camera having a plurality of pixels for receiving light transmitted through the glass cullet, the camera providing at least one value from the light received from at least one of the plurality of pixels, wherein the cullet moves along a designated path based on the at least one value, further wherein the plurality of pixels are organized in a plurality of rows and each row is designated for sensing a particular color transmitted through the cullet.   
   
   
       2 . The system according to  claim 1  wherein the at least one camera collects the received light at a desired sampling interval. 
   
   
       3 . The system according to  claim 2  further comprising a circuit for converting the at least one value into a digital representation value. 
   
   
       4 . The system according to  claim 3  wherein the circuit calculates a non-linear function from at least one digital representation value. 
   
   
       5 . The system according to  claim 4  further comprising at least one actuator for directing the cullet along one or more deflected paths based on a value of the non-linear function. 
   
   
       6 . The system according to  claim 5  wherein the at least one actuator includes an air jet. 
   
   
       7 . The system according to  claim 5  wherein the at least one actuator is an electrostatic actuator. 
   
   
       8 . The system according to  claim 5  wherein the at least one actuator projects a substantially incompressible fluid toward the cullet to deflect the cullet. 
   
   
       9 . The system according to  claim 1  wherein the light emitting source includes a white light source. 
   
   
       10 . The system according to  claim 1  further comprising a conveyer belt for transporting cullet to a light sensing region, the conveyer belt coupled to a rotating mechanism for driving the conveyer belt at a desired speed. 
   
   
       11 . The system according to  claim 10  further comprising a feeding mechanism configured to deliver a constant flow of cullet to the conveyer belt. 
   
   
       12 . The system according to  claim 1  wherein the light emitting source includes one or more of a red light emitting diode, a green light emitting diode, a blue light emitting diode and an infrared light source. 
   
   
       13 . A method of effectively sorting a group of different colored objects into separate groups of similar colored objects comprising:
 a. transmitting at least one light through at least one object in a light sensing region;   b. receiving the transmitted light utilizing a camera having a plurality of pixels, wherein the plurality of pixels are organized in a plurality of rows and each row is designated for sensing a particular color transmitted through an object;   c. determining at least one light intensity value from the transmitted light in the light sensing region;   d. generating a digital representation of the at least one light intensity value; and   e. calculating a color value from the light intensity value.   
   
   
       14 . The method according to  claim 13  further comprising directing the at least one object to a path corresponding with the color value. 
   
   
       15 . The method according to  claim 13  further comprising providing the at least one object to the light sensing region. 
   
   
       16 . The method according to  claim 14  wherein the path deposits the at least one object into a corresponding container. 
   
   
       17 . The method according to  claim 13  wherein the at least one light includes a white light source. 
   
   
       18 . The method according to  claim 13  wherein the at least one light includes one or more of a red light emitting diode, a green light emitting diode, a blue light emitting diode and an infrared light source. 
   
   
       19 . The method according to  claim 13  further comprising receiving the light transmitted through the at least one object. 
   
   
       20 . The method according to  claim 19  wherein the received light is collected at a desired sampling interval. 
   
   
       21 . The method according to  claim 20  further comprising converting the at least one value into a digital representation value. 
   
   
       22 . The method according to  claim 21  further comprising calculating a non-linear function from at least one digital representation value. 
   
   
       23 . A multi-level sorting system for separating different colored cullet into cullet having substantially similar color characteristics comprising:
 a. means for transmitting at least one light through at least one cullet in a light sensing region;   b. means for receiving the transmitted light the means for receiving comprising a camera having a plurality of pixels positioned to receive the transmitted light transmitted from the means for transmitting, wherein the plurality of pixels are organized in a plurality of rows and each row is designated for sensing a particular color transmitted through an object;   c. means for determining at least one light intensity value from the transmitted light in the light sensing region;   d. means for calculating a color value from the at least one light intensity value; and   e. means for directing the at least one cullet to a desired path based on the color value.   
   
   
       24 . A system for sorting a mixed stream of different colored objects into separate groups of same colored objects comprising:
 a. a sorting device further comprising:
 i. at least one light emitting source for transmitting at least one light of predetermined frequency through at least one object; and 
 ii. at least one camera having a plurality of pixels for receiving light transmitted through the at least one object, the camera providing at least one value from the light received from at least one of the plurality of pixels, wherein the at least one object is directed along at least one designated output path based on the at least one value, further wherein the plurality of pixels are organized in a plurality of rows and each row is designated for sensing a particular color transmitted through an object; and 
   b. at least one subsequent sorting device for receiving the at least one object from the at least one designated output path.   
   
   
       25 . The system according to  claim 24  wherein the at least one subsequent sorting device sorts the at least one object in the designated output path into a plurality of further sorted output feeds. 
   
   
       26 . The system according to  claim 24  wherein the at least one subsequent sorting device is a final sorting device, wherein the final sorting device sorts one or more subsequent input feeds into a plurality of final output feeds. 
   
   
       27 . The system according to  claim 24  wherein at least one of the designated output paths contains objects of a desired color. 
   
   
       28 . The system according to  claim 24  wherein at least one of the plurality of designated output paths contains undesired objects, wherein the undesired objects are directed to a rejection bin. 
   
   
       29 . The system according to  claim 28  wherein at least one of the plurality of designated output paths contains flint objects. 
   
   
       30 . The system according to  claim 26  wherein the final sorting device directs each of the plurality of final output feeds into a plurality of corresponding storage bins. 
   
   
       31 . The system according to  claim 24  wherein the objects are glass cullet. 
   
   
       32 . The system according to  claim 24  wherein the light emitting source includes one or more of a red light emitting diode, a green light emitting diode, a blue light emitting diode and an infrared light source. 
   
   
       33 . The system according to  claim 24  wherein the light emitting source includes a white light source. 
   
   
       34 . The system according to  claim 24  wherein the at least one camera collects the received light at a desired sampling interval. 
   
   
       35 . The system according to  claim 34  further comprising a circuit for converting the at least one value into a digital representation value. 
   
   
       36 . The system according to  claim 35  wherein the circuit calculates a non-linear function from at least one digital representation value. 
   
   
       37 . The system according to  claim 36  further comprising at least one actuator for directing the cullet along one or more deflected paths based on a value of the non-linear function. 
   
   
       38 . The system according to  claim 37  wherein the at least one actuator includes an air jet. 
   
   
       39 . The system according to  claim 37  wherein the at least one actuator is an electrostatic actuator. 
   
   
       40 . The system according to  claim 37  wherein the at least one actuator is projects a substantially incompressible fluid toward the cullet to deflect the cullet. 
   
   
       41 . The system according to  claim 24  wherein the light emitting source includes a white light source. 
   
   
       42 . The system according to  claim 24  further comprising a conveyer belt for transporting cullet to a light sensing region, the conveyer belt coupled to a rotating mechanism for driving the conveyer belt at a desired speed, wherein the rotating mechanism is positioned proximal to the light emitting source. 
   
   
       43 . The system according to  claim 42  further comprising a feeding mechanism configured to deliver a constant flow of cullet to the conveyer belt. 
   
   
       44 . The system according to  claim 24  wherein the light emitting source includes one or more of a red light emitting diode, a green light emitting diode, a blue light emitting diode and an infrared light source. 
   
   
       45 . A system for sorting a mixed stream of different colored glass cullet into separate groups of same colored glass cullet comprising:
 a. at least one light emitting source for transmitting at least one light of predetermined frequency through a glass cullet;   b. at least one camera having a plurality of pixels for receiving light transmitted through the glass cullet, the camera providing at least one value from the light received from at least one of the plurality of pixels, wherein the cullet moves along a designated path based on the at least one value; and   c. a plurality of sorting devices each for receiving an input feed of different colored objects and sorting the different colored objects into four output feeds, wherein the plurality of sorting devices operate simultaneously.   
   
   
       46 . The system of  claim 45  wherein the four output feeds include a brown glass cullet bin, a green glass cutlet bin, a flint glass cullet bin and a defect cullet bin. 
   
   
       47 . A system for sorting a mixed stream of different colored glass cullet into separate groups of same colored glass cullet comprising:
 a. at least one light emitting source for transmitting at least one light of predetermined frequency through a glass cullet;   b. at least one camera having a plurality of pixels for receiving light transmitted through the glass cullet, the camera providing at least one value from the light received from at least one of the plurality of pixels, wherein the cullet moves along a designated path based on the at least one value; and   c. a sorting device for receiving an input feed of different colored objects and sorting the different colored objects into four output feeds.   
   
   
       48 . The system of  claim 47  wherein the four output feeds include a brown glass cullet bin, a green glass cullet bin, a flint glass cullet bin and a defect cullet bin. 
   
   
       49 . A system for sorting a mixed stream of different colored glass cullet into separate groups of same colored glass cullet comprising:
 a. at least one light emitting source for transmitting at least one light of predetermined frequency through a glass cullet; and   b. at least one camera having a plurality of pixels for receiving light transmitted through the glass cullet, the camera providing at least one value from the light received from at least one of the plurality of pixels, wherein the cullet moves along a designated path based on the at least one value, further wherein the at least one camera is coupled to a frame grabber device for receiving output from the at least one camera and converting analog color information of the output into a digital representation.