Patent ID: 8812149

Claim:
A system for identifying at least one physical characteristic of items in a stream of items moving along a path through an inspection zone and for separating items from the stream of items based upon the at least one physical characteristic, the system comprising: an array of ejectors arranged transversely across the path, the ejectors being constructed to eject selected items from the stream of items; an array of detectors, including at least a first detector and a second detector constructed to detect electromagnetic energy within first and second different wavelength ranges, respectively; a movable transversely scanning mirror arranged to reflect electromagnetic energy from the inspection zone onto the array of detectors, the inspection zone including a transverse array of sub-zones, the first and second detectors being arranged to sequentially receive electromagnetic energy so that on each transverse scan of the mirror for any given sub-zone within the inspection zone the first detector receives electromagnetic energy reflected from the mirror before the second detector receives electromagnetic energy reflected from the mirror; and a controller operably connected to the first and second detectors to receive input signals from the first and second detectors and operably connected to the array of ejectors to send control signals to the ejectors, the controller being operable to correlate input signals from the first and second detectors corresponding to detected levels of electromagnetic energy received at different times from each given sub-zone within the inspection zone.