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Latex detection system
| Details |
Inventors: Hereford, deceased, Cliff E.; Malek, Joseph H.;
Assignee: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation (Louisville, KY)
Primary Examiner: Bollinger; David H.
Assistant Examiner: Nguyen; Tuan
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Sherman; Charles I.
A method and apparatus for detecting foreign matter in a particulate material stream, particularly tobacco, including an optical scanner, in combination with a camera system with beam splitter and filters, and a computer to process signals from the camera to determine whether foreign matter is present. If foreign matter is detected, a diverter deviates the flow of the contaminated material onto a discharge conveyor. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention provides a system for optically detecting and removing foreign material in a bed of particulate matter moving at production flow rates.
Further, the present invention provides a system which detects and removes foreign material which may be similar in size, shape, and color as the standard production material in which it is mixed.
Also, the present invention provides a system for detecting and removing foreign material even when it may be completely covered by the standard production material.
Even further, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for optically scanning through a bed of tobacco with near infrared light coupled with a camera means and computer programmed to detect the presence of small pieces of foreign material, particularly latex, mixed in the tobacco, and a flow diverter means which operates in response to detection of the foreign material to divert contaminated portions of the tobacco into a discharge system.
More particularly, the present invention provides an apparatus and method for detecting and removing foreign material in a moving stream of particulate matter, comprising: a first conveyor means spaced from and disposed vertically above second and third conveyor means, the second and third conveyor means being transverse to the first conveyor means and positioned at a discharge end of the first conveyor means; compression assembly for packing the particulate matter to a uniform depth; means for transmitting light through said particulate matter; means for collecting the light and passing it to a camera disposed for sensing multiple regions of near infrared light; a computer in electrical communication with said camera, said computer having a means for digitizing the camera's analog signals into digital data and programmed to analyze said digital data to determine the presence of foreign material within the flow of particulate matter; and a flow diverter means in connection with said computer disposed in the spacing between the first conveyor and the second and third conveyor to remove the foreign material, said flow diverter including means to automatically control the flow of materials from the first conveyor means to either the second or third conveyor means, in response to said computer
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Cooking 
