Method and apparatus for determining the amount of a material present in a mixture of at least two materials - Patents.com

Abstract

A method and apparatus for determining the amount of a material present in a mixture of at least two materials. The present invention provides a method and apparatus for determining the amount of a first material present in a mixture of at least a first material and a second material, each material comprising multiple distinct portions of the material. A first image and a second image of a sample of the mixture are obtained, the second image being different from the first image. The boundary of the first material is determined in each image, from which the total area of ​​the first material present in each image is determined. The amount of the first material present in the mixture can be determined from the total area of ​​the first material present in each image. A second image that is different from the first image can be achieved by changing the imaging conditions or, if the sample is the same in each image, by changing the physical configuration. Changing the physical configuration can be achieved by changing the relative positions of the distinct portions of the material, for example, by physically repositioning the sample by turbulence, stirring, or remixing. If the sample is different in each image (e.g., passing through a conveyor), the imaging conditions can be maintained.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining the amount of a material present in a mixture of at least two materials, each of which comprises a plurality of distinct portions of the material.

[0002] background

[0003] A particular product may include a mixture of two or more materials, each of which may include multiple separate portions of the material, such as strands or strips. For example, in an aerosol delivery system such as a heated tobacco product, the aerosol-generating article may include a mixture of tobacco or a tobacco-containing strip and an amorphous solid strip, such as a dry gel. The mixture is heated during use to generate the aerosol.

[0004] During manufacturing processes, it is important to monitor the amount of at least one ingredient in a mixture for quality control purposes. This may be necessary to determine the absolute amount of one or more ingredients in the mixture, the relative amounts of ingredients in the mixture, or the homogeneity of the mixture. Depending on the results, further action may be required, such as adjusting processing parameters such as the amount of ingredients in the mixture or the mixing time.

[0005] It may be necessary to analyze the mixture at different points in the manufacturing process; for example, the mixture supply before the product is manufactured may be analyzed, or the mixture may be analyzed in the manufactured product itself.

[0006] Traditionally, determining the amount of material present in a mixture involves obtaining a sample of the mixture from a desired location during processing and manually separating the material. The amount (e.g., weight) of one or more materials can then be determined using standard methods. When the strip of material is relatively small (e.g., for a tobacco / gel mixture, the strip is 1 mm wide, 0.1-1 mm thick, and 20-40 mm long), the separation method may require the use of tweezers or a magnifying glass. Such methods are labor-intensive and relatively slow.

[0007] When the materials in a mixture are of contrasting colors, manual separation, while time-consuming, may be able to produce results with acceptable accuracy depending on the skill of the operator. However, in at least some products, it may be desirable for the materials to be the same color. For example, in the tobacco / gel mixture mentioned above, it may be desirable to color the gel the same color as the tobacco material to hide the presence of the gel in the finished product. This makes it more difficult to visually distinguish the different materials and separate them with acceptable accuracy.

[0008] Summary of the Invention

[0009] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for determining an amount of a first material present in a mixture of at least a first material and a second material, each material comprising a plurality of separate portions of the material, the method comprising the following steps: acquiring a first image of a sample of the mixture; acquiring a second image of the mixture sample, the second image being different from the first image; determining a boundary of the first material in each image; determining a total area of ​​the first material present in each image; and determining an amount of the first material present in the mixture from the total area of ​​the first material present in each image.

[0010] This method is not limited to the particular order of steps claimed, and one skilled in the art will understand that the steps can be performed in any logical order, such as acquiring a first image, determining the perimeter / area for that image, acquiring a second image, and determining the perimeter / area for that image, or acquiring all images first and then determining the perimeter / area for all images.

[0011] Having the second image different from the first can be achieved as follows: · Varying the imaging conditions or physical configuration of the same specimen for each image; · Maintain imaging conditions if the sample is different for each image.

[0012] Varying the image conditions may include varying one or more of the following: position, angle, magnification, image area, camera settings (focus point, depth of field, shutter speed, aperture, zoom), lighting properties, and background properties.

[0013] Altering the physical configuration includes changing the relative positions of separate portions of the material, for example, physically rearranging (agitating, stirring, remixing, etc.) the sample.

[0014] If the sample is different for each image (e.g., passing on a conveyor), ensure that the sample characteristics are consistent (e.g., consistent area, depth, volume, weight, etc.) so that the amount of material visible in the images is the same. Image conditions may be consistent between images.

[0015] In some embodiments, the method may further include the steps of: determining the boundary of the second material in each image; determining the total area of ​​the second material present in each image; and determining the amount of the second material present in the mixture from the total area of ​​the second material present in each image. The method may further include determining the relative amounts (e.g., ratios, proportions, etc.) of the first and second materials present in the mixture.

[0016] In some embodiments, determining the boundaries includes determining boundaries of individual material portions within each image.

[0017] In some embodiments, the method further includes obtaining one or more additional images of the mixture sample that are different from the first and second images, and performing the determining step for each additional image, where a larger number of images reduces statistical error, as described below.

[0018] In some embodiments, determining the amount of material present in the mixture includes calculating an average of the total area of ​​the material in each image to obtain the area of ​​the material in the mixture. In some embodiments, determining the amount of material present in the mixture includes calculating one or more of the following based on the total area of ​​the material in each image or the area of ​​the material in the mixture: volume, length, width, thickness, weight, relative weight. If the required parameters of the material (e.g., density, basis weight (gsm), thickness / width / length) are known, the desired "quantity" (volume, length, width, thickness, weight / mass, relative weight / mass) can be calculated from the area.

[0019] In some embodiments, the area of ​​a material in a mixture is calibrated with a known sample, as described below. The calibration process can also convert the area to, for example, a volume or weight / mass measurement, provided the necessary parameters are known and input into the calibration calculation.

[0020] In some embodiments, the mixture sample is the same sample for each image. In this embodiment, one or more image conditions may be different for each image. As described above, varying the image conditions may include varying one or more of the following: position, angle, magnification, image area, camera settings (focus point, depth of field, shutter speed, aperture, zoom), lighting properties, and background properties. Lighting properties include wavelength, color, and intensity. The lighting may be, for example, white, colored, ultraviolet, or infrared. The light source may be any conventional light source (e.g., LED) to provide the desired wavelength, color, or intensity. It may be desirable to include an additive in one material in the sample that responds more significantly to incident electromagnetic radiation (e.g., fluorescence) than the other material, thereby improving visibility and enhancing differentiation between the materials. For example, if tobacco material absorbs infrared radiation, the gel strip formulation may include an additive that causes this material to fluoresce or reflect infrared radiation more than tobacco. Background properties include brightness and color. The background may be, for example, non-reflective black. In this embodiment, the physical configuration of the mixture sample may be the same for each image.

[0021] If the sample is the same for each image, the physical configuration of the mixture sample may be different for each image. As described above, changing the physical configuration includes physically rearranging the sample by changing the relative positions of separate portions of the material, for example, by turbulence, stirring, remixing, etc. Thus, in some embodiments, the method may further include physically rearranging the mixture sample before acquiring the second image and before acquiring each additional image. In some embodiments, the rearrangement may be achieved by stirring or vibrating the container containing the mixture. In such embodiments, the image conditions for each image may be the same.

[0022] In some embodiments, the mixture sample is different for each image, although the image conditions may be the same for each image. In such embodiments, the images may be taken of a moving mixture (e.g., passing on a conveyor).

[0023] In a first embodiment, each material comprises multiple distinct portions of material. The distinct portions may be pieces or sections of material, or strands or strips. One or more of the materials may comprise cut strands or strips. Each distinct portion of material may be uniform (i.e., approximately the same size) or may comprise two or more distinct groups of portions (e.g., a group of portions of a first length and a group of portions of a second length).

[0024] In a first embodiment, the first material is different from the second material. The materials may differ in one or more of the following properties: physical dimensions, appearance, color, and composition of the separate portions. However, the present invention is particularly useful for methods of determining the amount of a first material present in a mixture when the first material has a different composition than the second material.

[0025] In some embodiments, the first material is a first aerosolizable material, and the second material is a second aerosolizable material having a different composition from the first aerosolizable material. In some embodiments, one of the aerosolizable materials may comprise an amorphous solid, gel, or dry gel. The amorphous solid, gel, or dry gel may be substantially free of plant material. The amorphous solid, gel, or dry gel may be substantially free of tobacco. The other aerosolizable material may comprise tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, or reconstituted tobacco.

[0026] In some embodiments, the mixture may be for use as or in an aerosol delivery system.

[0027] In some embodiments, the method may be a computer-implemented method.

[0028] According to a second aspect, there is provided a method of adjusting the relative proportions of a first material and a second material present in a mixture, the method comprising the steps of determining the amount of the first material present in the mixture according to the method described above, and adjusting the amount of the first material present in the mixture.

[0029] According to a third aspect, there is provided a method of manufacturing an article for use as or in an aerosol delivery system, the article comprising a mixture of a first material and a second material, the method comprising the steps of determining an amount of the first material present in the mixture according to the method described above, and adjusting the amount of the first material present in the mixture.

[0030] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided an apparatus configured to perform the method as described above, the apparatus comprising imaging means configured to acquire an image and processing means configured to perform the determining step.

[0031] In some embodiments, the imaging means is a digital camera.

[0032] In some embodiments, the device further comprises a light source for illuminating the mixture sample. The characteristics of the light source may be variable or adjustable depending on the particular material or imaging requirements. Lighting properties include wavelength, color, and intensity. The light source may emit, for example, white, colored, ultraviolet, or infrared electromagnetic radiation. The light source may be any conventional light source (e.g., an LED) for providing the desired wavelength, color, or intensity.

[0033] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a background for placement behind the mixture sample during image acquisition. "Behind" refers to the perspective of the image. The background may include a screen. The characteristics of the background may be adjustable depending on the particular material or image conditions. Background properties include brightness, color, and reflectance. The background properties may be non-reflective black.

[0034] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a means for changing the physical configuration of the mixture sample. The means for changing the physical configuration of the mixture sample can change the configuration of the mixture sample from a first configuration to a second configuration (different from the first configuration). Changing the physical configuration includes physically rearranging the sample by changing the relative positions of separate portions of material, for example, by turbulence, stirring, remixing, etc. In some embodiments, the means for changing the physical configuration of the mixture sample is configured to rearrange the sample. In some embodiments, the means for changing the physical configuration may include a stirring mechanism, a vibration mechanism, a stirrer, a shaker, or an air blower. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0035] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an apparatus suitable for carrying out the method of the present invention according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an image analysis process according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows an image of a mixture of brown tobacco strips and white gel strips. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows the image of FIG. 3 with boundary conditions identified. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows an image of a mixture of brown tobacco strips and brown colored gel strips. [Figure 6]Figure 6 shows an image of the brown tobacco strip and the brown-colored gel strip, with contrast enhanced using near-infrared illumination. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows raw images of a brown tobacco strip and a brown colored gel strip illuminated with near-infrared illumination. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 shows the image of FIG. 7 processed to show the tobacco strip in green and the gel strip in blue.

[0036] Detailed Description of Embodiments of the Invention

[0037] Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods for detecting and measuring the area or volume of gel and tobacco strips in a gel / tobacco mixture or matrix.

[0038] An embodiment of the present invention utilizes a camera system with variable illumination capabilities. Images of the gel and tobacco are taken against a suitable background. The areas of the gel and tobacco strips in the images are measured. The sample is physically agitated, and additional images are taken, and the areas are re-measured. This is repeated until a statistically significant number of images are acquired. This is because strips may overlap other strips or may curl or bend in a particular image, biasing a single area measurement. Using multiple images, with different physical placements of the strips in each image, minimizes the effects of strip orientation and configuration in a single image.

[0039] However, there is always the possibility that there will be strips that are not fully visible in all images, so calibration with a known sample may still be necessary. Calibration allows for a direct correlation between the observed area (averaged over multiple images) and other properties, such as the calibrated weight of the material present in the sample. This requires knowledge of the basis weight or density and thickness of the material, which can be pre-programmed into the calibration calculations.

[0040] The background on which the strip is placed is chosen to enhance the contrast between the strip and the background, improving measurement accuracy. A non-reflective black background has been found to be suitable for the spectral response range of the camera and lens system.

[0041] The illumination of the sample can be varied in both intensity and color (spectral range) to enhance the contrast between the gel and tobacco strips. For example, if the gel strip is white and contains menthol, white light may be adequate to provide sufficient contrast between the tobacco and gel strips. On the other hand, if the gel strip is colored the same brown as the tobacco strip, white light may not provide sufficient contrast. In this case, alternative illumination methods can be used, such as colored LEDs or lights, or using ultraviolet or infrared light beyond the visible spectrum. Tobacco is known to absorb light in the infrared spectrum, which may improve image contrast. Additionally, additives can be added to the gel strip to cause it to fluoresce under ultraviolet light, further enhancing contrast with the appropriate lighting system.

[0042] The camera and lens system are designed to fit the field of view of the tobacco / gel sample distribution and have sufficient resolution, spectral range, and magnification to allow effective analysis of the image. The image is preferably digital. A computer system or processor may be required for image acquisition and processing.

[0043] Image processing determines the area or relative area of ​​the gel and / or tobacco strip in each image. If the thickness of the material is known (e.g., from the thickness of the sheet from which the strips were cut), the area can be converted to volume. If the basis weight is known (e.g., gsm), the area can be converted to weight / mass. Similarly, if the density is known, the volume can be converted to weight / mass. The weight / mass of one or both materials can be expressed as a weight percent.

[0044] With additional information about the material, other parameters of the material or mixture can be determined. For example, if the material strips are uniform and of known width and the number of strips in a sample can be determined, the average length of the strips in the sample can be calculated. This information is useful for understanding the proportion of "short" and "long" gel strips in a material that is a mixture of "short" and "long" strips (e.g., 20 mm and 40 mm long strips). Determining the distribution of strip lengths in a sample can provide information about the mix of strips and damage that occurs to the strips during processing. The proportion of strips of a particular length is known to affect the sensory evaluation of THP users, and clear processing controls are useful.

[0045] The analysis can be performed on an image of a single sample of the mixture, which can be a sample taken from a supply of the mixture before product manufacture, or a sample taken from one or more manufactured products. The analysis can be performed by taking multiple images of a single sample and, for example, changing the physical composition of the sample between each image (e.g., by stirring) or by changing the image conditions between each image.

[0046] In some embodiments, the present invention can be used in a stand-alone mode for quality assurance purposes. It can be used in an instrument that takes a formed tobacco heating product (THP) rod, extracts the tobacco gel mixture by either slitting, blowing, suction, or some other means, and places it within a field of view of the area where imaging will occur. The sample is periodically agitated during image acquisition by controlled air blowing, mechanical / pneumatic agitators, vibration, etc. The acquired images are analyzed, and the weight of the gel is determined for each image and statistically processed to obtain a representative value for the area, volume, or weight of the gel in the tobacco mixture. At the end of a set of controlled measurements, the gel and tobacco strip samples are automatically discarded, and the field of view is prepared for the next sample. This data can be processed for a batch of a predetermined number of THP rods to provide useful information regarding batch acceptability as part of process control or batch release processing.

[0047] In other embodiments, the analysis can be performed on images of a different sample each time, for example, a different mixture sample can be acquired for each image, or images of the mixture passing on a conveyor can be acquired. In this case, the image conditions (field of view, lighting, etc.) can be kept the same for each image. Other parameters, such as the amount of mixture present in each image (e.g., weight, volume, area), should be kept as consistent as possible between images, although the more images there are, the less the impact of variability.

[0048] Small batch sampling from the tobacco / gel hopper feeding the THP machine or sampling of the blend being fed into the hopper is possible. This can be achieved using a dispensing mechanism that ensures approximately the same amount of mixture is tested each time. This can be achieved by pockets in a rotating drum mounted above the hopper, each with the desired sample volume. The pockets are filled from the hopper and rotated to deposit the sample in the camera's field of view. After analysis, a second pocket's worth of tobacco / gel mixture is collected and deposited. More sophisticated methods can include an agitator within the hopper to ensure uniformity of the mixture. Alternatively, a known-sized sample can be advanced from the hopper by rotating it with an Archimedes screw for a predetermined time, depositing the desired sample size.

[0049] While the hopper feed / blend characterizes the finished mixture, the mixture delivered to the THP machine may have subtly different characteristics from the bulk mixture. In this case, the present invention can be used in a "single image" mode to continuously image the moving bed of gel / tobacco mixture being fed into the THP machine. Images taken at high speeds and high shutter speeds can be analyzed for the weight percentage of gel in tobacco, and a constant stream of data for mixture control can thus be obtained in the form of a moving average of data, thus eliminating the need for stirring and repeated measurements of a single sample. This data can be used for process control functions, and it is even envisioned that it can provide control functions to the hopper / blend to increase the relative proportion of gel or reconstituted tobacco.

[0050] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an apparatus 10 suitable for carrying out the method of the present invention according to an embodiment. The apparatus comprises a digital camera 1, a lens 2, and an illumination system 3. A mixture sample is placed on a sample holder 4, and the sample configuration can be varied by a sample stirring system 5. Images of the sample in different configurations are acquired by the digital camera 1 and sent to an image processing unit 6. The apparatus also comprises a control system / processor 7 and a display 8. The image processing unit 6 and the control system / processor 7 enhance the image as needed and determine the visible area of ​​one or more materials in the mixture. Calibration can be performed as described above, with any necessary additional calculations being performed (either as part of the calibration process or afterwards), and the necessary data being provided via a data output 9.

[0051] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the image analysis process according to an embodiment, performed by the image processing unit 6 and control system / processor 7 of FIG.

[0052] Figure 3 shows an image of a mixture of brown tobacco and white gel strips, and Figure 4 shows an image of Figure 3 with boundary conditions identified (the brown tobacco strip is outlined in green, and the white gel strip is outlined in red). In this example, the natural contrast between the tobacco and gel strips makes it relatively easy to identify areas of gel and / or tobacco using specialized image processing software. In this case, no image enhancement is required, and the image can simply be provided as an input image (either color or monochrome) for processing in Figure 2. Multiple images similar to Figure 3 can be acquired and analyzed to determine the amount of one or both materials present.

[0053] Figure 5 shows an image of a mixture of brown tobacco strips and brown-colored gel strips. Because the contrast between the two materials is very small, image enhancement is performed before analysis using the method in Figure 2. Figure 6 shows an image of the brown tobacco strips and brown-colored gel strips with contrast enhancement using near-infrared illumination. In the enhanced image, the tobacco strips appear lighter than the gel strips. This enhanced image is used as the input image for the process in Figure 2.

[0054] Figure 7 shows a raw image of a brown tobacco strip and a brown-colored gel strip illuminated with near-infrared illumination, and Figure 8 shows the processed image of Figure 7, with the tobacco strip colored green and the gel strip colored blue. This enhanced image is used as the input image for the process in Figure 2.

[0055] Boundary tools used to identify separate materials in enhanced images and determine strip areas within the field of view are known to those skilled in the art. These tools, combined with statistical analysis approaches of multiple images and image enhancements such as lighting, provide the desired measurement repeatability and accuracy.

[0056] Although embodiments of the present invention are described with respect to mixtures of tobacco and gel strips, the invention is not limited to these materials and is applicable to determining the amount or relative amounts of materials in any mixture that can be analyzed by the process of the present invention.

[0057] The present invention also relates to a method for determining the relative amount of a substrate, comprising the steps of: 1) acquiring an image of a mixture of two different substrates (e.g., tobacco and thin film); 2) determining an area of ​​at least one substrate from the image; 3) determining the mass of the at least one substrate using the determined area;

[0058] Previously, determining the amount of film in a THP rod required cutting the rod open, separating the film from the tobacco, and weighing the separated film. The new method eliminates the need to separate the material, allowing for rapid online (or offline) film weight measurements.

[0059] Additional features of this method include: · a detector configured to illuminate the mixture with light of different wavelengths (e.g., NIR, visible, UV, etc.) depending on the reflective properties of the substrate and detect those wavelengths; · Changing the background on which the substrate is placed for testing; · performing a mixing / agitation step of the substrate after step 1), repeating step 1) after mixing (taking two or more images), performing step 2) on both mixed images taken under step 1), and performing statistical analysis (e.g., averaging) to obtain more accurate measurements; · Perform a calibration step with known samples between steps 2) and 3) to convert the area information into other properties such as mass to improve accuracy.

Claims

1. 1. A method for determining the amount of a first material present in a mixture of at least a first material and a second material, each material comprising a plurality of distinct portions of material, the method comprising: acquiring a first image of the mixture sample; acquiring a second image of the mixture sample, the second image being different from the first image; determining a boundary of the first material in each image; determining the total area of ​​the first material present in each image; determining the amount of the first material present in the mixture from the total area of ​​the first material present in each image; A method comprising:

2. determining a boundary of the second material in each image; determining the total area of ​​the second material present in each image; determining the amount of the second material present in the mixture from the total area of ​​the second material present in each image; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising determining the relative amounts of the first material and the second material present in the mixture.

4. The method of claim 1 , 2 or 3, wherein the step of determining boundaries comprises determining boundaries of individual material portions within each image.

5. 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining one or more further images of the mixture sample that are different from the first and second images, and performing the determining step for each further image.

6. 6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein determining the amount of material present in the mixture comprises calculating an average of the total area of ​​material in each image to obtain an area of ​​material in the mixture.

7. 7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein determining the amount of material present in the mixture comprises calculating one or more of volume, length, width, thickness, weight, relative weight based on the total area of ​​material in each image or the area of ​​material in the mixture.

8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the mixture sample is the same sample for each image.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein one or more image conditions for each image are different.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the image conditions include position, angle, magnification, camera settings (focus point, depth of field, shutter speed, aperture), lighting properties, and background properties.

11. 11. The method of claim 9 or 10, wherein the physical composition of the mixture sample is the same for each image.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the physical composition of the mixture sample is different for each image.

13. 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising physically repositioning the mixture sample before acquiring the second image and before acquiring each additional image.

14. 14. The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein the image conditions for each image are the same.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the mixture sample is different for each image.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the image conditions are the same for each image.

17. 17. The method of claim 15 or 16, wherein the image is obtained from a moving mixture.

18. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the first and second materials comprise strands or strips of material.

19. 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the first material and the second material are selected from an aerosolizable material, an amorphous solid, a gel, a dry gel, tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, and paper reconstituted tobacco.

20. 20. The method of any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the mixture is used as or in an aerosol delivery system.

21. The method of any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein the method is a computer-implemented method.

22. 1. A method for adjusting the relative proportions of a first material and a second material present in a mixture, comprising: Determining the amount of a first material present in the mixture according to the method of any one of claims 1 to 21; adjusting the amount of a first material present in the mixture; A method comprising:

23. 1. A method of manufacturing an article for use as or in an aerosol delivery system, the article comprising a mixture of a first material and a second material, the method comprising: Determining the amount of a first material present in the mixture according to the method of any one of claims 1 to 21; adjusting the amount of a first material present in the mixture; A method comprising:

24. An apparatus configured to carry out the method of any one of claims 1 to 23, comprising: imaging means configured to acquire said image; processing means configured to perform said determining step; An apparatus comprising:

25. 25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the imaging means is a digital camera.

26. 26. The apparatus of claim 24 or 25, further comprising a light source for illuminating the mixture sample.

27. 27. The apparatus of claim 24, 25 or 26, further comprising a background for placing behind the mixture sample during image acquisition.

28. 28. Apparatus according to any one of claims 24 to 27, further comprising means for changing the physical composition of the mixture sample.

29. 30. The method of claim 28, wherein the means for changing the physical configuration of the mixture sample is configured to reposition the sample.

30. 30. The apparatus of claim 28 or 29, wherein the means for changing the physical configuration of the mixture sample comprises a container containing the mixture sample and means for agitating the container to change the physical configuration of the mixture sample.

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