An insect sortation system includes a first puff system in a puff-back region for moving insects toward an inlet of an insect pathway and a second puff system in a puff-forward region for moving insects toward an outlet of the pathway. The first puff system is configured to singulate the insects. The second puff system is configured to sort the insects.

A high-speed method and system for inspecting a stream of parts using at least one transparent traveling carrier of a conveyor subsystem are provided. The subsystem has a forward reach and a return reach. The method includes controllably receiving a stream of parts in rapid succession on the at least one traveling carrier and utilizing the subsystem to transfer the stream of parts in rapid succession to a part inspection station. The bottom surface of each part is illuminated through its traveling carrier with radiant energy when the part is located at the inspection station to generate reflected radiation signals which travel through its traveling carrier. A bottom image of each illuminated bottom surface is formed from the reflected radiation signals at an imaging location between the forward and return reaches at the inspection station. The bottom images are detected at the imaging location.

A high-speed method and system for inspecting a stream of parts using at least one transparent traveling carrier of a conveyor subsystem are provided. The subsystem has a forward reach and a return reach. The method includes controllably receiving a stream of parts in rapid succession on the at least one traveling carrier and utilizing the subsystem to transfer the stream of parts in rapid succession to a part inspection station. The bottom surface of each part is illuminated through its traveling carrier with radiant energy when the part is located at the inspection station to generate reflected radiation signals which travel through its traveling carrier. A bottom image of each illuminated bottom surface is formed from the reflected radiation signals at an imaging location between the forward and return reaches at the inspection station. The bottom images are detected at the imaging location.

In a processing of immersing substrates in a chemical solution, and agitating the chemical solution by as bubbles or liquid, the gas bubbles or liquid is supplied so as to bring about alternate occurrence of a first state and a second state. The first state is a state in which an amount of the gas bubbles or the liquid supplied to first side in one direction of each substrate is greater than an amount of the gas bubbles or the liquid supplied to a second side in the one direction of the substrate. The second state is a state in which the amount of the gas bubbles or the liquid supplied to the first side in the one direction of the substrate is smaller than the amount of the gas bubbles or the liquid supplied to the second side in the one direction of the substrate.

In order to achieve a higher material throughput and/or a higher sorting speed in a sorting installation (10) for use in plastics recycling, it is provided, in the case of an apparatus which is intended for separating one or more material fractions from at least one material stream of free-flowing bulk material and which has a directing device (12), via which the material stream is guided under the action of gravitational force, also has an optical sensing device (16) for the spectroscopic detection of composition- or condition-dependent properties of individual fractions (13) contained in the material stream, and additionally has a separation device (14), by which the individual fractions (13) contained in the material stream are separated mechanically in dependence on detection results of the optical sensing device (16). Here, the directing device (12) is designed in the form of a shell surface of a rotational solid or truncated pyramid, which widens downwards, and the optical sensing device (16) is arranged in a scanning plane below the rotational solid or truncated pyramid.

In order to achieve a higher material throughput and/or a higher sorting speed in a sorting installation (10) for use in plastics recycling, it is provided, in the case of an apparatus which is intended for separating one or more material fractions from at least one material stream of free-flowing bulk material and which has a directing device (12), via which the material stream is guided under the action of gravitational force, also has an optical sensing device (16) for the spectroscopic detection of composition- or condition-dependent properties of individual fractions (13) contained in the material stream, and additionally has a separation device (14), by which the individual fractions (13) contained in the material stream are separated mechanically in dependence on detection results of the optical sensing device (16). Here, the directing device (12) is designed in the form of a shell surface of a rotational solid or truncated pyramid, which widens downwards, and the optical sensing device (16) is arranged in a scanning plane below the rotational solid or truncated pyramid.

A system for removing unstable articles from an automated processing stream includes an automated processing stream with a plurality of processing units including a flow diverter and configured to carry a stream of articles, a vision system, and a control system interfacing with the automated processing stream and the vision system, wherein the vision system is configured to detect positions of an article and to transmit position data to the control system, and wherein the control system is configured, through operation of a processor, to determine an expected position of the article based on a first detected position, compare the expected position to a second detected position of the article, determine a deviation of the second detected position from the expected position, and control the flow diverter to divert the article based on the deviation.

A system for removing unstable articles from an automated processing stream includes an automated processing stream with a plurality of processing units including a flow diverter and configured to carry a stream of articles, a vision system, and a control system interfacing with the automated processing stream and the vision system, wherein the vision system is configured to detect positions of an article and to transmit position data to the control system, and wherein the control system is configured, through operation of a processor, to determine an expected position of the article based on a first detected position, compare the expected position to a second detected position of the article, determine a deviation of the second detected position from the expected position, and control the flow diverter to divert the article based on the deviation.

An automating seed sorting system is provided comprising a tray subsystem, a de-lidding subsystem, an extraction subsystem, and a collection subsystem. The tray subsystem is configured to remove at least one tray from a cart and, subsequently, return the at least one tray to the cart. The de-lidding subsystem is structured and operable to remove a lid from the at least one tray. The extraction subsystem is configured to extract one or more seeds from the at least one tray and release the one or more seeds into a funnel assembly. And, the collection subsystem includes the funnel assembly, wherein the collection subsystem is structured and operable to align at least one receptacle with the funnel assembly and direct the one or more seeds into the at least one receptacle via the funnel assembly.

An automating seed sorting system is provided comprising a tray subsystem, a de-lidding subsystem, an extraction subsystem, and a collection subsystem. The tray subsystem is configured to remove at least one tray from a cart and, subsequently, return the at least one tray to the cart. The de-lidding subsystem is structured and operable to remove a lid from the at least one tray. The extraction subsystem is configured to extract one or more seeds from the at least one tray and release the one or more seeds into a funnel assembly. And, the collection subsystem includes the funnel assembly, wherein the collection subsystem is structured and operable to align at least one receptacle with the funnel assembly and direct the one or more seeds into the at least one receptacle via the funnel assembly.