Impact sensor and coder apparatus

Claim 2

Impact sensor and coder apparatus for use in a materialssorting system, that comprises, impact means operable to strike individual pieces of the materials, accelerometer means operable to measure the effect of impact upon the individual pieces and to provide an output signal which is a function of the time history of the deceleration experienced by the impact means, and sensing means connected to receive the signal, to analyze the same, and to provide a further output signal determined by the analysis.

Claim 3

Impact sensor and coder apparatus for use in a materials sorting system, that comprises, a pivotable arm having an impact tool rigidly attached to its free end, an accelerometer also attached to said free end,means for pivoting the arm away from the region occupied by the particular sample material to be tested and to allow the arm face to fall into contact with the sample to deform the sample and adapted to produce a resulting output voltage signal which is a function of the time history of the deceleration experienced by the impact arm, and means connected to receive and display the voltage signal.

Claim 4

Impact sensor and coder apparatus for use in a materials sorting system, that comprises, a pivotable arm having an impact tool rigidly attached to its free end, an accelerometer also attached to said free end,means for pivoting the arm away from the region occupied by the particular sample material to be tested and to allow the arm face to fall into contact with the sample to deform the sample and adapted to produce a resulting output voltage signal which is a function of the time history of the deceleration experienced by the impact arm, and means connected to receive and display the voltage signal.

Claim 5

Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which the pivotable arm is isolated from its support to remove extraneous signals from traveling to accelerometer from the support.

Claim 6

For use as a coder in a materials-sorting system, an impact sensor having acceleration-measuring means adapted to provide an output signal upon impact which is a function of the time history of deceleration of said means, means for effecting impact between a sample of said materials and the aCceleration-measuring means to provide an output signal representative of the resistance to deformation of the sample, and means for coding the sample on the basis of said resistance, said last-named means comprising means for comparing the time history of deceleration obtained in connection with the sample with a group of pre-estalished time histories of deceleration to determine which of the group conforms most closely to that of the sample and in which the means for comparing comprises means for converting the complex output signal into a digital signal and a digital computer to receive the digital signal and to compare it with a group of digitized time histories of deceleration of a group of known materials to determine which of the group conforms most closely with the time history of deceleration of the sample.

Claim 7

For use as a coder in a materials-sorting system, an impact sensor having acceleration-measuring means adapted to provide an output signal upon impact which is a function of the time history of deceleration of said means, means for effecting impact between a sample of said materials and the aCceleration-measuring means to provide an output signal representative of the resistance to deformation of the sample, and means for coding the sample on the basis of said resistance, said last-named means comprising means for comparing the time history of deceleration obtained in connection with the sample with a group of pre-estalished time histories of deceleration to determine which of the group conforms most closely to that of the sample and in which the means for comparing comprises means for converting the complex output signal into a digital signal and a digital computer to receive the digital signal and to compare it with a group of digitized time histories of deceleration of a group of known materials to determine which of the group conforms most closely with the time history of deceleration of the sample.

Claim 8

For use as a coder in a materials-sorting system, an impact sensor having acceleration-measuring means adapted to provide an output signal upon impact which is a function of the time history of deceleration of said means, means for effecting impact between a sample of said materials and the acceleration-measuring means to provide an output signal which is a function of the resistance to deformation of the sample, and means for coding the sample on the basis of said resistance, said last-named means comprising means for comparing the time history of deceleration obtained in connection with the sample with a group of pre-established time histories of deceleration to determine which of the group conforms most closely to that of the sample and in which said means for comparing comprises an analog-to-digital converter connected to receive an output from the acceleration-measuring means, said analog-to-digital converter being connected to a digital computer programmed to analyze the output therefrom.

Claim 9

For use as a coder in a materials-sorting system, an impact sensor having acceleration-measuring means adapted to provide an output signal upon impact which is a function of the time history of deceleration of said means, means for effecting impact between a sample of said materials and the acceleration-measuring means to provide an output signal which is a function of the resistance to deformation of the sample, and means for coding the sample on the basis of said resistance, said last-named means comprising means for comparing the time history of deceleration obtained in connection with the sample with a group of pre-established time histories of deceleration to determine which of the group conforms most closely to that of the sample and in which said means for comparing comprises an analog-to-digital converter connected to receive an output from the acceleration-measuring means, said analog-to-digital converter being connected to a digital computer programmed to analyze the output therefrom.

Claim 10

Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 in which the means for coding the time history of deceleration of the sample and comparing said time history includes signal-conditioning means connected to receive an output from the acceleration-measuring means and connected as input to the analog-to-digital converter.

Claim 11

For use as a coder in a materials-sorting system, an impact sensor having acceleration-measuring means adapted to provide an output signal upon impact which is a function of the time history of deceleration of said means, means for effecting impact between a sample of said materials and the acceleration-measuring means to provide an output signal which is a function of the resistance to deformation of the sample, and means for coding the sample on the basis of said resistance, said last-named means comprising means for comparing the time history of deceleration obtained in connection with the sample with a group of pre-established time histories of deceleration to determine which of the group conforms most closely to that of the sample and in which said means for comparing comprises signal conditioning means connected to receive an output from the acceleration-measuring means and an analog computer connected to receive an output from the signal conditioning means and adapted to analyze the same.

Claim 12

For use as a coder in a materials-sorting system, an impact sensor having acceleration-measuring means adapted to provide an output signal upon impact which is a function of the time history of deceleration of said means, means for effecting impact between a sample of said materials and the acceleration-measuring means to provide an output signal which is a function of the resistance to deformation of the sample, and means for coding the sample on the basis of said resistance, said last-named means comprising means for comparing the time history of deceleration obtained in connection with the sample with a group of pre-established time histories of deceleration to determine which of the group conforms most closely to that of the sample and in which said means for comparing comprises signal conditioning means connected to receive an output from the acceleration-measuring means and an analog computer connected to receive an output from the signal conditioning means and adapted to analyze the same.

Claim 13

A system as claimed in claim 7 that further includes an ejector control connected to receive and act upon an output signal from the analog computer, said ejector control being connected to an ejector mechanism.