Patent EP0554850A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0554850A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for classifying and separation of plastic containers
Assignee: Magnetic Separation Systems Inc
•
Filing: 1993-02-03
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2013-02-03
Abstract
Abstract Automated identification and sorting of plastic containers (48) is performed by projecting infrared radiation through said plastic containers, receiving said radiation and determining the difference in intensity between the projected and the received radiation. Using said determined difference the plastic containers are classified and sorted. <IMAGE>
Inventors
- 👤 Gary R. Dr. Kenny
- 👤 Abdul R. Al-Ali
- 👤 David R. Morgan
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 14:02
CPC Classifications
B; B07; B07C; B07C5/00; B07C5/36; B07C5/363; B07C5/365; B07C5/34; B07C5/3416
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
39 words
A method for classifying plastic containers comprising: projecting infrared radiation through said plastic containers, receiving said infrared radiation projected through said plastic containers and determining the difference in intensity between the projected infrared radiation and the received infrared radiation.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
67 words
The method of Claim 1 further comprising: said infrared radiation is projected at wavelengths of substantially 800 to 1000 nanometers and classifying said plastic containers in a first class comprising polyethylene terephalate (PET) plastics and polyvinylchloride (PVC) plastics, a second class comprising natural or dairy high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastics and polypropylene (PP) plastics or a third class comprising opaque or colored high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastics.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of Claim 1 further comprising: said infrared radiation is projected at wavelengths of substantially 600 to 700 nanometers and classifying said plastic containers as clear polyethylene plastics, green polyethylene plastics, amber polyethylene plastics, clear polyvinylchloride plastics, or clear polypropylene plastics using said determined difference.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of Claim 1 further comprising: said infrared radiation is projected at wavelengths of substantially 200 to 400 nanometers and classifying said plastic containers as dairy high density polypropylene (HDPE) plastics or polypropylene (PP) plastics using said determined difference.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of Claim 1 further comprising: said infrared radiation is projected at wavelengths of substantially 1000 to 1200 nanometers said plastic containers comprises a substantially opaque HDPE containers and classifying said substantially opaque HDPE container by color using said determined difference.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method of Claim 2 further comprising: diverting each of said plastic containers classified in said first class, projecting infrared radiation at wavelengths of substantially 200 to 400 nanometers through said diverted plastic containers and classifying and separating said diverted plastic containers into polyvinylchloride (PVC) plastics and polyethylene (PET) plastics.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of Claim 6 further comprising: projecting infrared radiation at wavelength of substantially 600 to 700 nanometers through said polyethylene plastic containers and classifying and separating said polyethylene plastic containers into clear polyethylene plastics and colored polyethylene plastics.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
58 words
The method of Claim 2, 6 or 7 further comprising: diverting each of said plastic containers classified in said second class, projecting infrared radiations at wavelength of substantially 200 to 400 nanometers through said diverted plastic containers and classifying and separating said diverted plastic containers into polypropylene (PP) plastics and natural or dairy high density Polyethylene (HDPE) plastics.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of Claim 8 further comprising: projecting infrared radiation at wavelength of substantially 600 to 700 nanometers through said polypropylene (PP) plastic containers and classifying and separating said polypropylene (PP) plastic containers into mono-layer polypropylene plastics and multi-layer polypropylene plastics.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
45 words
An apparatus for classifying plastic containers comprising: means to project infrared radiation through said plastic containers, means to receive said infrared radiation projected through said plastic containers and means to determine the difference in intensity between the projected infrared radiation and the received infrared radiation.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
75 words
The apparatus of Claim 10 wherein: said infrared radiation has a wavelength of substantially 800 to 1000 nanometers and said means to determine the difference in intensity comprises means to classify said plastic containers in a first class comprising polyethylene (PET) plastics and polyvinylchloride (PVC) plastics, a second class comprising natural or dairy high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastics and polypropylene (PP) plastics or a third class comprising opaque or colored high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastics.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
51 words
The apparatus of Claim 10 wherein: said infrared radiation has a wavelength of substantially 600 to 700 nanometers and said means to determine the difference in intensity comprises means to classify said plastic containers as clear polyethylene plastics, green polyethylene plastic, amber polyethylene plastic, clear polyvinylchloride plastic or clear polypropylene plastic.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
40 words
The apparatus of Claim 10 wherein: said infrared radiation has a wavelength of substantially 200 to 400 nanometers and said means to determine the difference in intensity comprises means to classify said plastic containers as HDPE dairy container or polypropylene.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
37 words
The apparatus of Claim 10 wherein: said infrared radiation has a wavelength of substantially 1000 to 1200 nanometers and said means to determine the difference in intensity comprises means to classify substantially opaque HDPE containers by color.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
34 words
The apparatus of Claim 10, 11, 12, 13 or 14 further comprising: means for separating said classified plastic containers, which means for separating is controlled by said means to determine the difference in intensity.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
26 words
An apparatus for carrying out the method according to one of Claims 1 to 9 comprising: a sensor array for projecting and receiving said infrared radiation.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus of Claim 16 wherein: said sensor array comprises five sensor elements arranged in a crosslike pattern.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
16 words
The apparatus of Claim 16 wherein: said sensor array comprises sensor elements in a linear arrangement.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.