Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – Portable systems or track mounted supply means – Track mounted
Patent
1997-08-05
1999-03-16
Recla, Henry J.
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
Portable systems or track mounted supply means
Track mounted
141 94, 141192, 141198, 141231, 141387, 141388, 414397, 414808, B65B 100, B65B 104, B65F 900
Patent
active
058817808
ABSTRACT:
A centering and loading apparatus for locating the center of a fill opening of a vehicle and loading bulk material into the vehicle through the opening is provided which includes a movable loading spout assembly and a locator assembly which locates the fill opening of the vehicle and is adapted to move the loading spout assembly for centering over the fill opening of the vehicle. The loading spout assembly is supported on a first support and is adapted to move along the longitudinal and lateral horizontal axes of the first support for aligning the loading spout assembly over the fill opening of the vehicle. The locator assembly includes a pair of scanning devices, for example, charge coupled devices, radio frequency sensors, and laser and infrared devices, that detect and scan the fill opening to locate the center of the opening. The locator assembly and loading spout are controlled by a programmable logic controller, which processes the data provided by the scanning devices to calculate the center of the opening. Once the center of the opening is calculated, the controller moves and centers the loading spout assembly over the opening and starts the loading sequence. A centering and loading method includes scanning the vehicle with scanning device, which preferably detects reflected light, locating the center of the fill opening from the signals generated by the scanning device, and aligning a loading spout with the center coordinates of the opening so that the vehicle can be loaded with the bulk material by the loading spout through the fill opening.
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Heath Evard John
Matye Reinhard
DCL, Inc.
Nguyen Tuan N.
Recla Henry J.
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