Author: claimsbot

1. A high-speed process for classifying a piece of material of unknown composition, the process comprising acts of:
irradiating the piece with x-rays from an x-ray source, causing the piece to fluoresce x-rays;
detecting the fluoresced x-rays with an x-ray detector;
determining an x-ray fluorescence spectrum of the piece of material from the detected fluoresced x-rays, wherein the detected x-ray fluorescence spectrum has a spectral pattern; and
recognizing the spectral pattern of the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum; and
classifying the piece based on the recognition of the spectral pattern,
wherein the acts of detecting, determining, recognizing and classifying are cumulatively performed in less than one second.
2. The process of 1, wherein a plurality of x-ray fluorescence spectra are stored as reference spectra on a computer-readable medium, each reference spectrum having a spectral pattern and corresponding to a different material classification, and wherein the act of recognizing the detected spectral pattern comprises:
comparing the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum to each of the reference spectra to determine which reference spectrum has a spectral pattern most similar to the spectral pattern of the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum,
wherein the piece of material is classified as the material classification corresponding to the reference spectrum determined to have the most similar spectral pattern.
3. The process of claim 2, wherein each reference spectrum and the determined spectrum comprise a number n of energy counts, each energy count representing a number of x-rays detected at a given energy level, respectively, and for each reference spectrum, each energy count has been normalized such that the normalized reference spectrum represents a unit vector in n-dimensional space, and wherein the act of comparing comprises:
normalizing each energy count of the determined spectrum such that the determined spectrum is converted into a unit vector in n-dimensional space;
for each normalized reference spectrum, calculating a vector dot-product of the normalized generated spectrum and the normalized reference spectrum, wherein calculating the vector dot-product comprises:
multiplying each normalized count of the normalized generated spectrum with a corresponding normalized count of the normalized reference spectrum to produce a plurality of products; and
adding the products to produce the vector dot-product;

selecting each vector dot-product that exceeds a predetermined threshold value for the normalized reference spectrum corresponding to the vector dot-product; and
determining which selected dot-product has an optimal value,
wherein the reference spectrum for which the dot-product has the optimal value is the reference spectrum having the most similar spectral pattern.
4. The process of claim 3, wherein the optimal value is a highest value of the selected vector dot-products.
5. The process of claim 3, wherein the optimal value is a highest percentage greater than the predetermined threshold value for the normalized reference spectrum corresponding to the vector dot-product.
6. The process of claim 1, wherein a computer system receives a signal representing the fluoresced x-rays from the x-ray detector and performs the acts of determining, recognizing, and classifying.
7. The process of claim 1, wherein the acts of detecting, determining, recognizing and classifying are cumulatively performed in less than 500 ms.
8. The process of claim 1, wherein the acts of detecting, determining, recognizing and classifying are cumulatively performed in less than 100 ms.
9. The process of claim 1, wherein the acts of detecting, determining, recognizing and classifying, for each piece, are cumulatively performed in less than 50 ms.
10. The process of claim 1, wherein the acts of detecting, determining, recognizing and classifying, for each piece, are cumulatively performed in less than 15 ms.
11. The process of claim 1, further comprising an act of:
flattening the piece of material prior to irradiation and detection.
12. The process of claim 1, wherein the act of irradiating comprises:
irradiating the x-rays at a high intensity.
13. The process of claim 12, wherein the x-ray source is an x-ray tube.
14. The process of claim 12, further comprising an act of:
flattening the piece of material prior to irradiation and detection.
15. The process of claim 1, wherein a largest diameter of the piece in any dimension is less then inch.
16. The process of claim 1, wherein the largest diameter of the piece in any dimension is approximately inch.
17. The process of 1, further comprising acts of:
conveying the piece of material on a conveyor and through a detection area where the irradiating x-rays irradiate the piece and the fluoresced x-rays are detected from the piece; and
actuating an ejector corresponding to the classification of the piece such that the piece is ejected from the conveyor at a point downstream from the detection area.
18. A system for classifying a piece of material of unknown composition at high speeds, the system connected to a power supply, the system comprising:
an x-ray source powered by the power supply to generate x-rays that irradiate the piece of material, causing the piece to fluoresce x-rays;
an x-ray detector to detect the fluoresced x-rays and produce as an output an x-ray signal representing the detected x-rays;
a spectrum acquisition module connected to the x-ray detector, the spectrum acquisition module to receive as an input the x-ray signal and to generate as an output an x-ray fluorescence spectrum; and
a classification module to receive as an input the x-ray fluorescence spectrum and to generate as an output a classification signal indicating a classification of the piece of material, wherein the classification module is operative to classify the piece by recognizing a spectral pattern of the x-ray fluorescence spectrum,
wherein the x-ray detector and x-ray fluorescence processing module are operative to detect the fluoresced x-rays, determine the x-ray fluorescence spectrum and classify the piece, respectively, in a combined time of less than one second.
19. The system of 18, the system further comprising:
a computer-readable storage medium to store a plurality of x-ray fluorescence spectra as reference spectra, each reference spectrum having a spectral pattern and corresponding to a different material classification,
wherein the classification module comprises:
means for comparing the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum to each of the reference spectra to determine which reference spectrum has a spectral pattern most similar to the spectral pattern of the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum, and
wherein the classification of the piece corresponds to the reference spectrum determined to have the most similar spectral pattern.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein each reference spectrum and the determined spectrum comprise a number n of energy counts, each energy count representing a number of x-rays detected at a given energy level, respectively, and for each reference spectrum, each energy count has been normalized such that the normalized reference spectrum represents a unit vector in n-dimensional space, and wherein the classification module further comprises:
means for normalizing each energy count of the determined spectrum such that the determined spectrum is converted into a unit vector in n-dimensional space; and
means for calculating, for each normalized reference spectrum, a vector dot-product of the normalized generated spectrum and the normalized reference spectrum, wherein the means for calculating comprise:
a multiplier to multiply each normalized count of the normalized generated spectrum with a corresponding normalized count of the normalized reference spectrum to produce a plurality of products; and
an adder to add the products to produce the vector dot-product;

means for selecting each vector dot-product that exceeds a predetermined threshold value for the normalized reference spectrum corresponding to the vector dot-product; and
means for determining which selected dot-product has an optimal value,
wherein the reference spectrum for which the dot-product has the optimal value is the reference spectrum having the most similar spectral pattern.
21. The system of claim 20, wherein the optimal value is a highest value of the selected vector dot-products.
22. The process of claim 20, wherein the optimal value is a highest percentage greater than the predetermined threshold value for the normalized reference spectrum corresponding to the vector dot-product.
23. The system of claim 18, wherein the x-ray detector and x-ray fluorescence processing module are operative to detect the x-rays, generate the x-ray fluorescence spectrum and classify the piece in a combined time of at most 500 ms.
24. The system of claim 18, wherein the x-ray detector and x-ray fluorescence processing module are operative to detect the x-rays, generate the x-ray fluorescence spectrum and classify the piece in a combined time of less than 100 ms.
25. The system of claim 18, wherein the x-ray detector and x-ray fluorescence processing module are operative to detect the x-rays, generate the x-ray fluorescence spectrum and classify the piece in a combined time of less than 50 ms.
26. The system of claim 18, wherein the x-ray detector and x-ray fluorescence processing module are operative to detect the x-rays, generate the x-ray fluorescence spectrum and classify the piece in a combined time of less than 15 ms.
27. The system of claim 18, wherein the piece of material is flattened prior to irradiation and detection.
28. The system of claim 18 wherein the x-ray source is operative to generate the irradiating x-rays at a high intensity.
29. The system of claim 28, wherein the x-ray source is an x-ray tube.
30. The system of claim 28, wherein the piece of material is flattened prior to irradiation and detection.
31. The system of claim 18, wherein a largest diameter of the piece in any dimension is less then inch.
32. The system of claim 31, wherein the largest diameter of the piece in any dimension is approximately inch.
33. The system of claim 18, further comprising:
a conveyor to convey the piece of material through a detection area where the irradiating x-rays irradiate the piece and the fluoresced x-rays are detected from the piece; and
an ejector corresponding to the classification of the piece having an input to receive an ejection signal, the ejector to eject the piece from the conveyor in accordance with the ejection signal at a point downstream from the detection area.
34. A system for classifying a piece of material of unknown composition at high speeds, the system comprising:
means for irradiating the piece with x-rays from an x-ray source, causing the piece to fluoresce x-rays;
means for detecting the fluoresced x-rays with an x-ray detector;
means for determining an x-ray fluorescence spectrum of the piece of material from the detected fluoresced x-rays, wherein the detected x-ray fluorescence spectrum has a spectral pattern;
means for recognizing the spectral pattern of the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum; and
means for classifying the piece based on the recognition of the spectral pattern,
wherein the means for detecting, the means for determining, means for recognizing and means for classifying are operative to detect, determine, recognize and classify, respectively, in a combined time of less than one second.
35. The system of claim 34, further comprising:
means for storing a plurality of x-ray fluorescence spectra as reference spectra on a computer-readable medium, each reference spectrum having a spectral pattern and corresponding to a different material classification, and
wherein the means for recognizing the detected spectral pattern comprises:
means for comparing the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum to each of the reference spectra to determine which reference spectrum has a spectral pattern most similar to the spectral pattern of the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum,
wherein the piece of material is classified as the material classification corresponding to the reference spectrum determined to have the most similar spectral pattern.
36. The system of claim 35, wherein each reference spectrum and the determined spectrum comprise a number n of energy counts, each energy count representing a number of x-rays detected at a given energy level, respectively, and for each reference spectrum, each energy count has been normalized such that the normalized reference spectrum represents a unit vector in n-dimensional space, and wherein the means for comparing comprises:
means for normalizing each energy count of the determined spectrum such that the determined spectrum is converted into a unit vector in n-dimensional space;
means for calculating, for each normalized reference spectrum, a vector dot-product of the normalized generated spectrum and the normalized reference spectrum, wherein the means for calculating the vector dot-product comprises:
means for multiplying each normalized count of the normalized generated spectrum with a corresponding normalized count of the normalized reference spectrum to produce a plurality of products;
means for adding the products to produce the vector dot-product;

means for selecting each vector dot-product that exceeds a predetermined threshold value for the normalized reference spectrum corresponding to the vector dot-product; and
means for determining which selected dot-product has an optimal value,
wherein the reference spectrum for which the dot-product has the optimal value is the reference spectrum having the most similar spectral pattern.
37. The system of claim 36, wherein the optimal value is a highest value of the selected vector dot-products.
38. The system of claim 36, wherein the optimal value is a highest percentage greater than the predetermined threshold value for the normalized reference spectrum corresponding to the vector dot-product.
39. The system of claim 34, wherein the means for detecting, the means for determining, means for recognizing and means for classifying are operative to detect, determine, recognize and classify, respectively, in a combined time of less than 500 ms.
40. The system of claim 34, wherein the means for detecting, the means for determining, means for recognizing and means for classifying are operative to detect, determine, recognize and classify, respectively, in a combined time of less than 100 ms.
41. The system of claim 34, wherein the means for detecting, the means for determining, means for recognizing and means for classifying are operative to detect, determine, recognize and classify, respectively, in a combined time of less than 50 ms.
42. The system of claim 34, wherein the means for detecting, the means for determining, means for recognizing and means for classifying are operative to detect, determine, recognize and classify, respectively, in a combined time of less than 15 ms.
43. The system of claim 34, further comprising:
means for flattening the piece of material prior to irradiation and detection.
44. The system of claim 34, wherein the means for irradiating comprises:
means for irradiating the x-rays at a high intensity.
45. The system of claim 44, wherein the x-ray source is an x-ray tube.
46. The system of claim 44, further comprising:
means for flattening the piece of material prior to irradiation and detection.
47. The system of claim 34, wherein a largest diameter of the piece in any dimension is less then inch.
48. The system of claim 47, wherein the largest diameter of the piece in any dimension is approximately inch.
49. The system of claim 34, further comprising:
means for conveying the piece of material through a detection area where the irradiating x-rays irradiate the piece and the fluoresced x-rays are detected from the piece; and
means for actuating an ejector corresponding to the classification of the piece such that the piece is ejected from the conveying means at a point downstream from the detection area.
50. A high-speed process of classifying a piece of material of unknown composition, the process comprising:
irradiating the piece with x-rays from an x-ray source, causing the piece to fluoresce x-rays;
detecting the fluoresced x-rays from the piece with an x-ray detector;
determining an x-ray fluorescence spectrum of the piece of material from the detected fluoresced x-rays, wherein the detected x-ray fluorescence spectrum has a spectral pattern;
recognizing the spectral pattern of the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum; and
classifying the piece based on the recognition of the spectral pattern,
wherein at least one of the acts of the irradiating and detecting comprises an act of conditioning the irradiating x-rays or the fluoresced x-rays, respectively, such that speed and accuracy of determining the x-ray fluorescence spectrum is not significantly compromised or complicated by extraneous x-rays.
51. The process of 50, wherein a plurality of x-ray fluorescence spectra are stored as reference spectra on a computer-readable medium, each reference spectrum having a spectral pattern and corresponding to a different material classification, and wherein the act of recognizing the detected spectral pattern comprises:
comparing the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum to each of the reference spectra to determine which reference spectrum has a spectral pattern most similar to the spectral pattern of the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum,
wherein the piece of material is classified as the material classification corresponding to the reference spectrum determined to have the most similar spectral pattern.
52. The process of claim 51, wherein each reference spectrum and the determined spectrum comprise a number n of energy counts, each energy count representing a number of x-rays detected at a given energy level, respectively, and for each reference spectrum, each energy count has been normalized such that the normalized reference spectrum represents a unit vector in n-dimensional space, and wherein the act of comparing comprises:
normalizing each energy count of the determined spectrum such that the determined spectrum is converted into a unit vector in n-dimensional space;
for each normalized reference spectrum, calculating a vector dot-product of the normalized generated spectrum and the normalized reference spectrum, wherein calculating the vector dot-product comprises:
multiplying each normalized count of the normalized generated spectrum with a corresponding normalized count of the normalized reference spectrum to produce a plurality of products; and
adding the products to produce the vector dot-product;
selecting each vector dot-product that exceeds a predetermined threshold value for the normalized reference spectrum corresponding to the vector dot-product; and
determining which selected dot-product has an optimal value,
wherein the reference spectrum for which the dot-product has the optimal value is the reference spectrum having the most similar spectral pattern.
53. The process of claim 52, wherein the optimal value is a highest value of the selected vector dot-products.
54. The process of claim 52, wherein the optimal value is a highest percentage greater than the predetermined threshold value for the normalized reference spectrum corresponding to the vector dot-product.
55. The process of claim 50, wherein a computer system receives a signal representing the fluoresced x-rays from the x-ray detector and performs the acts of determining, recognizing, and classifying.
56. The process of claim 50, wherein the acts of detecting, determining, recognizing and classifying are cumulatively performed in less than one second.
57. The process of claim 50, wherein the x-ray fluorescence spectrum is determined for a predefined range of energy levels, and wherein the act of conditioning comprises an act of:
filtering the irradiating x-rays to reduce a number of irradiating x-rays having an energy level too low to cause the piece to fluoresce x-rays having an energy level within the predefined range of the x-ray fluorescence spectrum.
58. The process of claim 50, wherein the act of conditioning comprises an act of:
aiming the irradiating x-rays at the piece of material to reduce an amount of x-rays detected by the x-ray detector that were not fluoresced by the piece.
59. The process of claim 58, wherein the x-ray fluorescence spectrum is determined for a predefined range of energy levels, and the act of conditioning further comprises an act of:
aiming the irradiating x-rays with a first collimator consisting essentially of one or more materials that fluoresce at energy levels not within the predefined range.
60. The process of claim 59, wherein the act of conditioning comprises an act of:
filtering the irradiating x-rays to reduce a number of irradiating x-rays having an energy level too low to cause the piece to fluoresce x-rays having an energy level within the predefined range of the x-ray fluorescence spectrum.
61. The process of claim 59, wherein the first collimator consists essentially of polyvinyl chloride.
62. The process of claim 50, wherein the act of conditioning comprises an act of:
aiming the x-ray detector at the piece of material to reduce an amount of x-rays detected by the x-ray detector that were not fluoresced by the piece.
63. The process of claim 62, wherein the x-ray fluorescence spectrum is determined for a predefined range of energy levels, and the act of conditioning further comprises an act of:
aiming the detection of the x-rays with a collimator consisting essentially of one or more materials that fluoresce at energy levels not within the predefined range.
64. The process of claim 63, wherein the first collimator consists essentially of polyvinyl chloride.
65. The process of claim 62, wherein the act of conditioning comprises an act of:
aiming the irradiating x-rays at the piece of material to reduce an amount of x-rays detected by the x-ray detector that were not fluoresced by the piece.
66. The process of claim 65, wherein the x-ray fluorescence spectrum is determined for a predefined range of energy levels, and wherein the act of conditioning further comprises acts of:
aiming the irradiating x-rays with a first collimator consisting essentially of one or more materials that fluoresce at energy levels not within the predefined range; and
aiming the detection of the x-rays with a second collimator consisting essentially of one or more materials that fluoresce at energy levels not within the predefined range.
67. The process of claim 50, further comprising an act of:
conveying the piece of material on a conveyor through a detection area where the irradiating x-rays irradiate the piece and the fluoresced x-rays are detected from the piece,
wherein the conveyor consists essentially of one or more materials that fluoresce at energy levels not within a redefined range, resulting in a reduction in a number of x-rays not fluoresced by the piece that are comprised in the x-ray fluorescence spectrum.
68. The system of claim 67, wherein the conveyor belt consists essentially of polyvinyl chloride
69. The process of claim 50, further comprising an act of:
flattening the piece of material prior to irradiation and detection.
70. The process of claim 50, wherein the act of irradiating comprises an act of:
irradiating the x-rays at a high intensity.
71. The process of claim 70, wherein the x-ray source is an x-ray tube.
72. The process of claim 70, further comprising an act of:
flattening the piece of material prior to irradiation and detection.
73. The process of claim 50, wherein a largest diameter of the piece in any dimension is less then inch.
74. The process of claim 73, wherein the largest diameter of the piece in any dimension is approximately inch.
75. The process of claim 50, further comprising:
conveying the piece of material on a conveyor and through a detection area where the irradiating x-rays irradiate the piece and the fluoresced x-rays are detected from the piece; and
actuating an ejector corresponding to the classification of the piece such that the piece is ejected from the conveyor at a point downstream from the detection area.
76. The process of claim 50, wherein the x-ray florescence spectrum is determined for predefined range of energy levels, and the piece of material is irradiated and the fluoresced x-rays are detected in an x-ray detection chamber, and wherein at least an interior surface of the chamber consists of one or more materials that fluorescence at energy levels that fluoresce at energy levels not within the predefined range.
77. A system for classifying a piece of material of unknown composition at high speeds, the system connected to a power supply and comprising:
an x-ray source powered by the power supply to generate x-rays that irradiate the piece of material and cause the piece to fluoresce characteristic x-rays;
an x-ray detector to detect the fluoresced x-rays and produce as an output an x-ray signal representing the detected x-rays;
a spectrum acquisition module connected to the x-ray detector, the spectrum acquisition module to receive as an input the x-ray signal and to generate as an output an x-ray fluorescence spectrum; and
a classification module to receive as an input the x-ray fluorescence spectrum and to generate as an output a classification signal indicating a classification of the piece of material, wherein the classification module is operative to classify the piece by recognizing a spectral pattern of the x-ray fluorescence spectrum,
wherein the system is conditioned such that accuracy and speed of determining the x-ray fluorescence spectrum is not significantly compromised or complicated by extraneous x-rays.
78. The system of 77, the system further comprising:
a computer-readable storage medium to store a plurality of x-ray fluorescence spectra as reference spectra, each reference spectrum having a spectral pattern and corresponding to a different material classification,
wherein the classification module comprises:
means for comparing the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum to each of the reference spectra to determine which reference spectrum has a spectral pattern most similar to the spectral pattern of the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum, and

wherein the classification of the piece corresponds to the reference spectrum determined to have the most similar spectral pattern.
79. The system of claim 78, wherein each reference spectrum and the determined spectrum comprise a number n of energy counts, each energy count representing a number of x-rays detected at a given energy level, respectively, and for each reference spectrum, each energy count has been normalized such that the normalized reference spectrum represents a unit vector in n-dimensional space, and wherein the classification module further comprises:
means for normalizing each energy count of the determined spectrum such that the determined spectrum is converted into a unit vector in n-dimensional space; and
means for calculating, for each normalized reference spectrum, a vector dot-product of the normalized generated spectrum and the normalized reference spectrum, wherein the means for calculating comprise:
a multiplier to multiply each normalized count of the normalized generated spectrum with a corresponding normalized count of the normalized reference spectrum to produce a plurality of products; and
an adder to add the products to produce the vector dot-product;

means for selecting each vector dot-product that exceeds a predetermined threshold value for the normalized reference spectrum corresponding to the vector dot-product; and
means for determining which selected dot-product has an optimal value,
wherein the reference spectrum for which the dot-product has the optimal value is the reference spectrum having the most similar spectral pattern.
80. The system of claim 79, wherein the optimal value is a highest value of the selected vector dot-products.
81. The system of claim 79, wherein the optimal value is a highest percentage greater than the predetermined threshold value for the normalized reference spectrum corresponding to the vector dot-product.
82. The system of claim 77, wherein the x-ray detector and x-ray fluorescence processing module are operative to detect the x-rays, determine the x-ray spectrum, and classify the piece in a combined time less than one second.
83. The system of 77, wherein the x-ray fluorescence spectrum is determined for a predefined range of energy levels, the system further comprising:
an x-ray filter to filter the irradiating x-rays to reduce a number of irradiating x-rays having an energy level too low to cause the piece to fluoresce x-rays having an energy level within the predefined range of the x-ray fluorescence spectrum.
84. The system of claim 77, further comprising:
a collimator connected to the x-ray source, the collimator having an aperture to aim the irradiating x-rays at the piece such that production of x-rays from objects other than the piece is reduced.
85. The system of claim 84, wherein the x-ray fluorescence spectrum is determined for a predefined range of energy levels, and
wherein the collimator consists essentially of one or more materials that fluoresce at energy levels not within the predefined range.
86. The system of claim 83, further comprising:
an x-ray filter to filter the irradiating x-rays to reduce a number of irradiating x-rays having an energy level too low to cause the piece to fluoresce x-rays having an energy level within the predefined range of the x-ray fluorescence spectrum.
87. The system of claim 83, wherein the collimator consists essentially of polyvinyl chloride.
88. The system of claim 77, further comprising:
a first collimator connected to the x-ray detector, the first collimator having an aperture to aim the detection of the fluoresced a-rays at the piece during the detection such that detection of incident radiation from objects other than the piece is reduced.
89. The system of claim 88, wherein the x-ray fluorescence spectrum is determined for a predefined range of energy levels, and
wherein the first collimator consists essentially of one or more materials that fluoresce at energy levels not within the predefined range.
90. The system of claim 89, wherein the first collimator consists essentially of polyvinyl chloride.
91. The system of claim 88, further comprising:
a second collimator connected to the x-ray source, the second collimator having an aperture to aim the first x-rays produced by the x-ray source at the piece such that production of x-rays from objects other than the piece is reduced.
92. The system of claim 91, wherein the x-ray fluorescence spectrum is determined for a predefined range of energy levels, and
wherein the first collimator and second collimator both consist essentially of one or more materials that fluoresce at energy levels not within the predefined range.
93. The system of 77, wherein the x-ray fluorescence spectrum is determined for a predefined range of energy levels, the system further comprising:
a conveyor to convey the piece of material through a detection area where the irradiating x-rays irradiate the piece and the fluoresced x-rays are detected from the piece,
wherein the conveyor consists essentially of one or more materials that fluoresce at energy levels not within the predefined range.
94. The system of claim 93, wherein the conveyor belt consists essentially of polyvinyl chloride
95. The system of claim 77 wherein the piece of material is flattened prior to irradiation and detection.
96. The system of claim 77 wherein the x-ray source is operative to generate the irradiating x-rays at a high intensity.
97. The system of claim 96, wherein the x-ray source is an x-ray tube.
98. The system of claim 96, wherein the piece of material is flattened prior to irradiation and detection.
99. The system of claim 77 wherein a largest diameter of the piece in any dimension is less then inch.
100. The system of claim 99, wherein the largest diameter of the piece in any dimension is approximately inch.
101. The system of claim 77, further comprising:
a conveyor to convey the piece of material through a detection area where the irradiating x-rays irradiate the piece and the fluoresced x-rays are detected from the piece; and
an ejector corresponding to the classification of the piece having an input to receive an ejection signal, the ejector to eject the piece from the conveyor in accordance with the ejection signal at a point downstream from the detection area.
102. The system of claim 77, wherein the x-ray fluoresce spectrum is determined for a predefined range of energy levels, the system further comprising:
an x-ray detection chamber that houses the x-ray source and the x-ray detector, wherein at least an interior surface of the chamber consists of one or more materials that fluorescence at energy levels that fluoresce at energy levels not within the defined range.
103. A system of classifying a piece of material of unknown composition, the system comprising:
means for irradiating the piece with x-rays from an x-ray source, causing the piece to fluoresce x-rays;
means for detecting the fluoresced x-rays from the piece with an x-ray detector;
means for determining an x-ray fluorescence spectrum of the piece of material from the detected fluoresced x-rays, wherein the detected x-ray fluorescence spectrum has a spectral pattern;
means for recognizing the spectral pattern of the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum; and
means for classifying the piece based on the recognition of the spectral pattern; and
means for conditioning the irradiating x-rays or the fluoresced x-rays, respectively, such that speed and accuracy of determining of the x-ray fluorescence spectrum is not significantly compromised or complicated by extraneous x-rays.
104. The system of 103, further comprising:
means for storing a plurality of x-ray fluorescence spectra as reference spectra on a computer-readable medium, each reference spectrum having a spectral pattern and corresponding to a different material classification, and
wherein the means for recognizing the detected spectral pattern comprises:
means for comparing the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum to each of the reference spectra to determine which reference spectrum has a spectral pattern most similar to the spectral pattern of the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum,

wherein the piece of material is classified as the material classification corresponding to the reference spectrum determined to have the most similar spectral pattern.
105. The system of claim 104, wherein each reference spectrum and the determined spectrum comprise a number n of energy counts, each energy count representing a number of x-rays detected at a given energy level, respectively, and for each reference spectrum, each energy count has been normalized such that the normalized reference spectrum represents a unit vector in n-dimensional space, and wherein the means for comparing comprises:
means for normalizing each energy count of the determined spectrum such that the determined spectrum is converted into a unit vector in n-dimensional space;
means for calculating, for each normalized reference spectrum, a vector dot-product of the normalized generated spectrum and the normalized reference spectrum, wherein the means for calculating the vector dot-product comprises:
means for multiplying each normalized count of the normalized generated spectrum with a corresponding normalized count of the normalized reference spectrum to produce a plurality of products;
means for adding the products to produce the vector dot-product;

means for selecting each vector dot-product that exceeds a predetermined threshold value for the normalized reference spectrum corresponding to the vector dot-product; and
means for determining which selected dot-product has an optimal value,
wherein the reference spectrum for which the dot-product has the optimal value is the reference spectrum having the most similar spectral pattern.
106. The process of claim 105, wherein the optimal value is a highest value of the selected vector dot-products.
107. The process of claim 105, wherein the optimal value is a highest percentage greater than the predetermined threshold value for the normalized reference spectrum corresponding to the vector dot-product.
108. The system of claim 103, wherein the means for detecting, means for determining, means for recognizing and means for classifying are operative to detect, determine, recognize and classify, respectively, in a combined time of less than one second.
109. The system of claim 103, wherein the x-ray fluorescence spectrum is determined for a predefined range of energy levels, and wherein the means for conditioning comprises:
means for filtering the irradiating x-rays to reduce a number of irradiating x-rays having an energy level too low to cause the piece to fluoresce x-rays having an energy level within the predefined range of the x-ray fluorescence spectrum.
110. The system of claim 103, wherein the means for conditioning comprises:
means for aiming the irradiating x-rays at the piece of material to reduce an amount of x-rays detected by the x-ray detector that were not fluoresced by the piece.
111. The system of claim 1 10, wherein the x-ray fluorescence spectrum is determined for a predefined range of energy levels, and wherein the means for aiming comprises:
a collimator consisting essentially of one or more materials that fluoresce at energy levels not within the predefined range.
112. The system of claim 111, wherein the means for conditioning further comprises:
means for filtering the irradiating x-rays to reduce a number of irradiating x-rays having an energy level too low to cause the piece to fluoresce x-rays having an energy level within the predefined range of the x-ray fluorescence spectrum.
113. The system of claim 111, wherein the means for aiming comprises a first collimator consists essentially of polyvinyl chloride.
114. The system of 103, wherein the means for conditioning comprises:
means for aiming the x-ray detector at the piece of material to reduce an amount of x-rays detected by the x-ray detector that were not fluoresced by the piece.
115. The system of claim 114, wherein the x-ray fluorescence spectrum is determined for a predefined range of energy levels, and the means for aiming comprises:
a collimator consisting essentially of one or more materials that fluoresce at energy levels not within the predefined range.
116. The system of claim 115, wherein the collimator consists essentially of polyvinyl chloride.
117. The system of claim 114, wherein the means for conditioning comprises:
means for aiming the irradiating x-rays at the piece of material to reduce an amount of x-rays detected by the x-ray detector that were not fluoresced by the piece.
118. The system of claim 117, wherein the x-ray fluorescence spectrum is determined for a predefined range of energy levels, and
wherein the means for aiming the irradiating x-rays comprises a first collimator consisting essentially of one or more materials that fluoresce at energy levels not within the predefined range; and
the means for aiming the detection of the x-rays comprises a second collimator consisting essentially of one or more materials that fluoresce at energy levels not within the predefined range.
119. The system of 103, further comprising:
means for conveying the piece of material through a detection area where the irradiating x-rays irradiate the piece and the fluoresced x-rays are detected from the piece,
wherein the means for conveying comprises a conveyor consisting essentially of one or more materials that fluoresce at energy levels not within a predefined range, resulting in a reduction in a number of x-rays not fluoresced by the piece that are comprised in the x-ray fluorescence spectrum.
120. The system of claim 119, wherein the conveyor consists essentially of polyvinyl chloride
121. The system of claim 103, further comprising:
means for flattening the piece of material prior to irradiation and detection.
122. The system of claim 103, wherein the means for irradiating comprise:
means for irradiating the x-rays at a high intensity.
123. The system of claim 122, wherein the x-ray source is an x-ray tube.
124. The system of claim 122, further comprising:
means for flattening the piece of material prior to irradiation and detection.
125. The system of claim 103, wherein the largest diameter of the piece in any dimension is less then inch.
126. The system of claim 125, wherein the largest diameter of the piece in any dimension is approximately inch.
127. The system of claim 103, further comprising:
means for conveying the piece of material through a detection area where the irradiating x-rays irradiate the piece and the fluoresced x-rays are detected from the piece; and
means for actuating an ejector corresponding to the classification of the piece such that the piece is ejected from the conveying means at a point downstream from the detection area.
128. The system of claim 103 wherein the x-ray fluorescence spectrum is determined for a predefined range of energy levels, and the piece of material is irradiated and the fluoresced x-rays are detected in a chamber and wherein at least an interior surface of the chamber consists of one or more materials that fluorescence at energy levels that fluoresce at energy levels not within the predefined range.
129. A high speed process for classifying a piece of material of unknown composition, the process comprising acts of:
flattening the piece of material;
irradiating the flattened piece with x-rays from an x-ray source, causing the flattened piece to fluoresce x-rays;
detecting the fluoresced x-rays with an x-ray detector;
determining an x-ray fluorescence spectrum of the flattened piece of material from the detected fluoresced x-rays; and
classifying the flattened piece based on the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum.
130. A system for classifying a piece of material of unknown composition at high speeds, the system connected to a power supply, the system comprising:
a flattening apparatus to flatten the piece of material;
an x-ray source powered by the power supply to generate x-rays that irradiate the flattened piece of material, causing the piece to fluoresce x-rays;
an x-ray detector to detect the fluoresced x-rays and produce as an output an x-ray signal representing the detected x-rays;
a spectrum acquisition module connected to the x-ray detector, the spectrum acquisition module to receive as an input the x-ray signal and to generate as an output an x-ray fluorescence spectrum; and
a classification module to receive as an input the x-ray fluorescence spectrum and to generate as an output a classification signal indicating a classification of the flattened piece of material, wherein the classification module is operative to classify the flattened piece based on the x-ray fluorescence spectrum.
131. A system for classifying a piece of material of unknown composition at high speeds, the system comprising:
means for flattening the piece of material;
means for irradiating the flattened piece with x-rays from an x-ray source, causing the piece to fluoresce x-rays;
means for detecting the fluoresced x-rays with an x-ray detector;
means for determining an x-ray fluorescence spectrum of the flattened piece of material from the detected fluoresced x-rays; and
means for classifying the flattened piece based on the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A network device, which is network-connected with a plurality of terminal devices and has a network filtering function for rejecting an access from a preliminarily registered terminal device among said plurality of terminal devices, comprising:
an identification information registration unit on which identification information for identifying a terminal device an access from which is to be rejected, among said plurality of terminal devices, is registered;
detecting means for detecting identification information of an access terminal device for an administrator that is accessing the network device;
receiving means for receiving identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be rejected, wherein said identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be rejected is transmitted from said access terminal device that is accessing the network device;
judging means for judging whether the detected identification information by said detecting means is included in the received identification information by said receiving means or not; and
registering means for, when said judging means judges that the identification information detected by said detecting means is included in the received identification information, registering the received identification information on said identification information registration unit after excluding the identification information detected by said detecting means from the received identification information.
2. A network device, which is network-connected with a plurality of terminal devices and has a network filtering function for authorizing an access from a preliminarily registered terminal device among said plurality of terminal devices, comprising:
an identification information registration unit on which identification information for identifying a terminal device an access from which is to be authorized, among said plurality of devices, is registered;
detecting means for detecting identification information of an access terminal device for an administrator that is accessing the network device;
receiving means for receiving identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be authorized, wherein said identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be authorized is transmitted from said access terminal device that is accessing the network device;
judging means for judging whether the detected identification information by said detecting means is included in the received identification information by said receiving means or not; and
registering means for, when said judging means judges that the identification information detected by said detecting means is not included in the received identification information, registering the received identification information on said identification information registration unit after adding the identification information detected by said detecting means to the received identification information.
3. A network device, which is network-connected with a plurality of terminal devices and has a network filtering function for rejecting an access from a preliminarily registered terminal device among said plurality of terminal devices, comprising:
an identification information registration unit on which identification information for identifying a terminal device an access from which is to be rejected, among said plurality of terminal devices, is registered;
detecting means for detecting identification information of an access terminal device for an administrator that is accessing the network device;
receiving means for receiving identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be rejected, wherein said identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be rejected is transmitted from said access terminal device that is accessing the network device;
judging means for judging whether the detected identification information by said detecting means is included in the received identification information by said receiving means or not; and
means for, when said judging means judges that the identification information detected by said detecting means is included in the received identification information, notifying the terminal device that is accessing the network device of the same.
4. A network device, which is network-connected with a plurality of terminal devices and has a network filtering function for authorizing an access from a preliminarily registered terminal device among said plurality of terminal devices, comprising:
an identification information registration unit on which identification information for identifying a terminal device an access from which is to be authorized, among said plurality of terminal devices, is registered;
detecting means for detecting identification information of an access terminal device for an administrator that is accessing the network device;
receiving means for receiving identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be authorized, wherein said identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be authorized is transmitted from said access terminal device that is accessing the network device;
judging means for judging whether the detected identification information by said detecting means is included in the received identification information by said receiving means or not; and
means for, when said judging means judges that the identification information detected by said detecting means is not included in the received identification information, notifying the terminal device that is accessing the network device of the same.
5. A network device, which is network-connected with a plurality of terminal devices and has a network filtering function for rejecting an access from a preliminarily registered terminal device among said plurality of terminal devices, comprising:
an identification information registration unit on which identification information for identifying a terminal device an access from which is to be rejected, among said plurality of terminal devices, is registered;
detecting means for detecting identification information of an access terminal device for an administrator that is accessing the network device;
receiving means for receiving identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be rejected, wherein said identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be rejected is transmitted from said access terminal device that is accessing the network device;
judging means for judging whether the detected identification information by said detecting means is included in the received identification information by said receiving means or not; and
means for, when said judging means judges that the identification information detected by said detecting means is included in the received identification information, making a display state of the identification information detected by said detecting means on a display screen of the terminal device that is accessing the network device different from other identification information.
6. A network device, which is network-connected with a plurality of terminal devices and has a network filtering function for authorizing an access from a preliminarily registered terminal device among said plurality of terminal devices, comprising:
an identification information registration unit on which identification information for identifying a terminal device an access from which is to be authorized, among said plurality of terminal devices, is registered;
detecting means for detecting identification information of an access terminal device for an administrator that is accessing the network device;
receiving means for receiving identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be authorized, wherein said identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be authorized is transmitted from said access terminal device that is accessing the network device;
judging means for judging whether the detected identification information by said detecting means is included in the received identification information by said receiving means or not; and
means for, when said judging means judges that the identification information detected by said detecting means is not included in the received identification information, setting the identification information detected by said detecting means on a display screen of the terminal device that is accessing the network device as identification information to be registered.
7. A network device, which is network-connected with a plurality of terminal devices and has a network filtering function for rejecting an access from a preliminarily registered terminal device among said plurality of terminal devices, comprising:
an identification information registration unit on which identification information for identifying a terminal device an access from which is to be rejected, among said plurality of terminal devices, is registered; and
a controller, coupled to said identification information registration unit, and capable of performing the following operations of:
detecting identification information of an access terminal device for an administrator that is accessing the network device;
receiving means for receiving identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be rejected, wherein said identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be rejected is transmitted from said access terminal device that is accessing the network device;
judging whether the detected identification information is included in the received identification information by said receiving means or not; and
registering the received identification information on said identification information registration unit after excluding the detected identification information from the received identification information, when it is judged that the detected identification information is included in the received identification information.
8. A network device, which is network-connected with a plurality of terminal devices and has a network filtering function for authorizing an access from a preliminarily registered terminal device among said plurality of terminal devices, comprising:
an identification information registration unit on which identification information for identifying a terminal device an access from which is to be authorized, among said plurality of terminal devices, is registered; and
a controller, coupled to said identification information registration unit, and capable of performing the following operations of:
detecting identification information of an access terminal device for an administrator that is accessing the network device;
receiving means for receiving identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be authorized, wherein said identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be authorized is transmitted from said access terminal device that is accessing the network device;
judging whether the detected identification information is included in the received identification information by said receiving means or not; and
registering the received identification information on said identification information registration unit after adding the detected identification information to the received identification information, when it is judged that the detected identification information is not included in the received identification information.
9. A network device, which is network-connected with a plurality of terminal devices and has a network filtering function for rejecting an access from a preliminarily registered terminal device among said plurality of terminal devices, comprising:
an identification information registration unit on which identification information for identifying a terminal device an access from which is to be rejected, among said plurality of terminal devices, is registered; and
a controller, coupled to said identification information registration unit, and capable of performing the following operations of:
detecting identification information of an access terminal device for an administrator that is accessing the network device;
receiving means for receiving identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be rejected, wherein said identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be rejected is transmitted from said access terminal device that is accessing the network device;
judging whether the detected identification information is included in the received identification information by said receiving means or not; and
notifying the terminal device that is accessing the network device that the detected identification information is included in the received identification information, when it is judged so.
10. A network device, which is network-connected with a plurality of terminal devices and has a network filtering function for authorizing an access from a preliminarily registered terminal device among said plurality of terminal devices, comprising:
an identification information registration unit on which identification information for identifying a terminal device an access from which is to be authorized, among said plurality of terminal devices, is registered; and
a controller, coupled to said identification information registration unit, and capable of performing the following operations of:
detecting identification information of an access terminal device for an administrator that is accessing the network device;
receiving means for receiving identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be authorized, wherein said identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be authorized is transmitted from said access terminal device that is accessing the network device;
judging whether the detected identification information is included in the received identification information by said receiving means or not; and
notifying the terminal device that is accessing the network device that the detected identification information is not included in the received identification information, when it is judged so.
11. A network device, which is network-connected with a plurality of terminal devices and has a network filtering function for rejecting an access from a preliminarily registered terminal device among said plurality of terminal devices, comprising:
an identification information registration unit on which identification information for identifying a terminal device an access from which is to be rejected, among said plurality of terminal devices, is registered; and
a controller, coupled to said identification information registration unit, and capable of performing the following operations of:
detecting identification information of an access terminal device for an administrator that is accessing the network device;
receiving means for receiving identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be rejected, wherein said identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be rejected is transmitted from said access terminal device that is accessing the network device;
judging whether the detected identification information is included in the received identification information by said receiving means or not; and
making a display state of the detected identification information on a display screen of the terminal device that is accessing the network device different from other identification information, when it is judged that the detected identification information is included in the received identification information.
12. A network device, which is network-connected with a plurality of terminal devices and has a network filtering function for authorizing an access from a preliminarily registered terminal device among said plurality of terminal devices, comprising:
an identification information registration unit on which identification information for identifying a terminal device an access from which is to be authorized, among said plurality of terminal devices, is registered; and
a controller, coupled to said identification information registration unit, and capable of performing the following operations of:
detecting identification information of an access terminal device for an administrator that is accessing the network device;
receiving means for receiving identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be authorized, wherein said identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be authorized is transmitted from said access terminal device that is accessing the network device;
judging whether the detected identification information is included in the received identification information by said receiving means or not; and
setting the detected identification information on a display screen of the terminal device that is accessing the network device as identification information to be registered, when it is judged that the detected identification information is not included in the received identification information.
13. A network device, which is network-connected with a plurality of terminal devices and has a network filtering function for rejecting an access from a preliminarily registered terminal device among said plurality of terminal devices, comprising:
an identification information registration unit on which identification information for identifying a terminal device an access from which is to be rejected, among said plurality of terminal devices, is registered;
detecting unit which detects identification information of an access terminal device for an administrator that is accessing the network device;
a receiving unit which receives information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be rejected, wherein said identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be rejected is transmitted from said access terminal device that is accessing the network device; and
a judging unit which judges whether the detected identification information by the detecting unit is included in the received identification information by the receiving unit or not, wherein
the identification information registration unit, when said judging unit judges that the detected identification information by the detecting unit is included in the received identification information by the receiving unit, registers the received identification information after excluding the detected identification information by the detecting unit from the received identification information by the receiving unit.
14. A network device, which is network-connected with a plurality of terminal devices and has a network filtering function for authorizing an access from a preliminarily registered terminal device among said plurality of terminal devices, comprising:
an identification information registration unit on which identification information for identifying a terminal device an access from which is to be authorized, among said plurality of terminal devices, is registered;
detecting unit which detects identification information of an access terminal device for an administrator that is accessing the network device;
a receiving unit which receives identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be authorized, wherein said identification information of one or more terminal devices an access from which is to be authorized is transmitted from said access terminal device that is accessing the network device; and
a judging unit which judges whether the detected identification information by the detecting unit is included in the received identification information by the receiving unit or not, wherein
the identification information registration unit, when said judging unit judges that the detected identification information by the detecting unit is not included in the received identification information by the receiving unit, registers the received identification information after adding the detected identification information by the detecting unit to the received identification information by the receiving unit.

1. A method of recovering a data signal including:
receiving an input signal from a magnetic recording channel;
using an analog to digital converter (ADC) to sample the input signal according to a sampling clock having a sampling phase wherein the sampling phase is determined at least in part by comparing, during tracking, the sampled input signal output by the analog to digital converter to a signal associated with a decision; and
filtering the sampled input signal output by the analog to digital converter using an equalization filter that is trained to match an adaptive target filter that is not predetermined, wherein coefficients of the adaptive target filter and the equalization filter are jointly optimized, the adaptive target filter being external to the equalization filter.
2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the signal associated with a decision comprises the decision.
3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the signal associated with a decision comprises the decision filtered by a channel model.
4. A method as recited in claim 3, wherein the channel model is stored in a lookup table.
5. A method as recited in claim 3, wherein the channel model models a read signal processed by an analog filter.
6. A method as recited in claim 3, wherein the channel model models a read signal processed by a linear phase filter.
7. A method as recited in claim 3, wherein the target filter is different from the channel model.
8. A method as recited in claim 3, wherein the channel model corresponds to a longitudinal magnetic recording channel.
9. A method as recited in claim 3, wherein the channel model corresponds to a perpendicular magnetic recording channel.
10. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the decision is associated with a Viterbi detector.
11. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the decision is associated with a decision feedback equalizer (DFE).
12. A method as recited in claim 1, further including updating coefficients of the target filter.
13. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the sampling phase is determined at least in part by a slope associated with the decision.
14. A method as recited in claim 13, wherein the slope is stored in a lookup table.
15. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein during acquisition, a frequency accumulator in a loop filter is effectively set to zero and the ADC samples the input signal open-loop.
16. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein at the end of acquisition, the loop filter is initialized with estimated phase and frequency errors and the ADC samples the input signal closed-loop.
17. A system for recovering a data signal including:
a processor configured to:
receive an input signal from a magnetic recording channel;
use an analog to digital converter (ADC) to sample the input signal according to a sampling clock having a sampling phase wherein the sampling phase is determined at least in part by comparing, during tracking, the sampled input signal output by the analog to digital converter to a signal associated with a decision; and
filter the sampled input signal output by the analog to digital converter using an equalization filter that is trained to match an adaptive target filter that is not predetermined, wherein coefficients of the adaptive target filter and the equalization filter are jointly optimized, the adaptive target filter being external to the equalization filter; and

a memory coupled with the processor, wherein the memory provides the processor with instructions.
18. A computer program product for recovering a data signal, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions which when executed cause a computer to:
receive an input signal from a magnetic recording channel;
use an analog to digital converter (ADC) to sample the input signal according to a sampling clock having a sampling phase wherein the sampling phase is determined at least in part by comparing, during tracking, the sampled input signal output by the analog to digital converter to a signal associated with a decision; and
filter the sampled input signal output by the analog to digital converter using an equalization filter that is trained to match an adaptive target filter that is not predetermined, wherein coefficients of the adaptive target filter and the equalization filter are jointly optimized, the adaptive target filter being external to the equalization filter.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. An article sanitation device comprising:
a container defining an inner chamber and including an inlet and an outlet;
a motor operable to move the container;
a duct in fluid communication with the inlet and the outlet;
a fan operable to circulate fluid along a flow path that extends through the inner chamber and the duct;
an ozone generator operable to provide ozone to the inner chamber;
an ozone neutralizer operable to remove ozone from the inner chamber; and
a filter element positioned to remove particulate matter from the fluid in the flow path, the ozone and the filter element cooperating to substantially destroy biological contaminates in the inner chamber and remove the biological contaminates and particulate matter from the flow path.
2. The article sanitation device of claim 1, wherein the ozone generator supplies ozone to the flow path upstream of the inlet.
3. The article sanitation device of claim 1, wherein the ozone neutralizer removes ozone from the flow path downstream of the outlet.
4. The article sanitation device of claim 1, wherein the filter element is in the flow path between the inner chamber and the ozone neutralizer.
5. The article sanitation device of claim 1, further comprising a housing surrounding the container, wherein the container is rotatable within the housing by the motor to agitate an article to be sanitized inserted into the inner chamber.
6. The article sanitation device of claim 5, wherein the container includes an access opening through which the article to be sanitized is insertable into the inner chamber, the article sanitation device further comprising a lid coupled to the housing and movable to open and close the container.
7. The article sanitation device of claim 6, wherein a portion of the duct extends through the lid when the container is closed.
8. The article sanitation device of claim 5, further comprising an outer chamber surrounding the inner chamber and defined between the container and the housing, wherein the duct extends through the outer chamber.
9. The article sanitation device of claim 5, further comprising an indicator coupled to the housing, the indicator indicating a condition of sanitation of the article to be sanitized.
10. The article sanitation device of claim 5, wherein the housing at least partially defines a mailbox.
11. A mailbox for destroying contaminants of and removing particulate matter from mail, the mailbox comprising:
an inner container defining an inner chamber having an inlet and an outlet;
a fan operable to circulate fluid through the inner chamber;
an ozone generator operable to provide ozone to the inner chamber to destroy contaminants; and
a filter element positioned to remove particulate matter from the inner chamber.
12. The mailbox of claim 11, further comprising an outer container at least partially defining an outer chamber having an access opening, wherein the inner container is inside the outer container.
13. The mailbox of claim 12, wherein the inlet is located at the access opening.
14. The mailbox of claim 12, wherein the inner container is rotatable with respect to the outer container to agitate the mail.
15. The mailbox of claim 11, further comprising a duct communicating with the inlet and the outlet, wherein the ozone generator is coupled to the duct.
16. The mailbox of claim 15, wherein the filter element is in the duct downstream of the outlet.
17. The mailbox of claim 15, further comprising an ozone neutralizer coupled to the duct to remove ozone from the duct.
18. A method for sanitizing mail, the method comprising:
providing a mailbox including an inner chamber and a selectively closable access opening;
inserting an article of mail into the inner chamber;
closing the access opening;
generating a flow of fluid including increased levels of ozone through the inner chamber upon closing of the access opening;
filtering the flow of fluid to remove particulate matter from the flow of fluid; and
indicating that the mail has been sanitized.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising removing the ozone from the flow of fluid.
20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:
removing the sanitized mail from the mailbox;
receiving a signal that indicates the sanitized mail has been removed; and
disabling the mailbox in response to receiving the signal, wherein disabling the mailbox prevents the act of generating a flow of fluid upon a subsequent closing of the access opening.
21. The method of claim 18, further comprising rotating the inner chamber upon closing of the access opening.
22. The method of claim 18, further comprising:
providing an electronic controller including a timer;
starting the timer upon closing the access opening; and
stopping the generation of the flow of fluid after a period of time is counted by the timer.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the act of generating a flow of fluid includes introducing additional ozone into the flow of fluid, the method further comprising stopping the introduction of additional ozone prior to the counting of the period of time by the timer.
24. A method for sanitizing an article comprising:
providing a container defining an inner chamber and having a selectively closable access opening;
inserting an article to be sanitized into the inner chamber;
closing the access opening;
generating a flow of fluid through the inner chamber;
moving the container to agitate the article in the inner chamber; and
adding ozone to the flow of fluid to substantially destroy biological contaminates in the inner chamber.
25. The method of claim 24, further comprising filtering the flow of fluid to remove contaminates from the flow of fluid.
26. The method of claim 24, further comprising neutralizing ozone in the flow of fluid after adding ozone to the flow of fluid.
27. The method of claim 24, further comprising:
indicating that a sanitizing process performed on the article has been completed;
removing the sanitized article from the container;
receiving a signal indicating that the sanitized article has been removed; and
disabling future execution of the generating, moving, and adding steps in response to receiving the signal.
28. The method of claim 24, wherein moving the container comprises rotating the container.
29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:
driving the container with a motor connected to an electrical power supply;
determining a power level of the electrical power supply;
comparing the power level to a lower limit; and
indicating when the power level is below the lower limit.
30. The method of claim 24, further comprising:
providing an electronic controller including a timer;
starting the timer after closing the access opening; and
stopping generation of the flow of fluid after a period of time determined by the timer.
31. The method of claim 30, further comprising stopping adding of ozone to the flow of fluid prior to stopping generation of the flow of fluid.