BigPatents India

A sample analyser for bulk materials such as sugar cane includes a shredding means which finelly divides the material and deposits a sample on an endless conveyor (2). The sample is compressed and its upper surface (30) is levelled, to ensure a fixed presentation height relative to the reading head of an analyser (48) such as an infrared spectrometer. A plate (20) may be used to control the presentation height of a moving sample. Alternatively, the sample may be deposited in compartments mounted on the conveyor, smoothed mechanically or manually, and then moved beneath the analyser (48). Each sample is placed on top of the remnant, if any, of a previous sample, thus preventing contamination of the upper surface (30) by the latter.