Classifying – separating – and assorting solids – Sorting special items – and certain methods and apparatus for... – Sorting bottles – ampoules – jars – drinking vessels – or like...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-11
2001-05-08
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)
Classifying, separating, and assorting solids
Sorting special items, and certain methods and apparatus for...
Sorting bottles, ampoules, jars, drinking vessels, or like...
C198S394000, C198S395000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06229108
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally concerned with automatic distribution apparatus used to orient objects of any kind and distribute them to a workstation of any kind.
It is more particularly directed, although not necessarily exclusively so, to the situation in which the objects are hollow bodies, for example containers which have a neck, i.e. bottles.
Bottles must necessarily be offered up to a workstation for filling them with the neck at the top.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The distribution apparatus usually employed to impart this orientation to them includes a feed hopper adapted to receive the objects to be distributed loose, at least one take-up corridor that dips into the feed hopper, a longitudinal take-up conveyor in the take-up corridor adapted to drive the objects, a selective turning device adapted to allow the objects to pass through it when they arrive a first way round and to turn them if they arrive a second, opposite way round, and a take-off conveyor fed by the selective turning device.
In practice there is a plurality of take-up corridors side-by-side and each has a take-up conveyor, a selective turning device and a take-off conveyor.
In practice, when the objects to be distributed are bottles, the neck is toward the rear on the take-off conveyors.
Distribution apparatus of the above type is described in particular in U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,346.
Distribution apparatus of the above type, in which the take-off conveyors are in practice simple chutes, has proved satisfactory and may continue to do so.
It nevertheless has the disadvantage of requiring an operative to be present to monitor its operation.
This is because various incidents can disrupt its operation.
For example, the selective turning device at the upstream end of a take-off conveyor may develop a fault as a result of which a bottle on that take-off conveyor has the neck at the front.
If the objects to be distributed are synthetic material bottles, a bottle that has been crushed as a result of the handling to which it has been exposed may have a sufficiently large transverse dimension to become jammed in the take-off conveyor, causing congestion upstream thereof.
To overcome this drawback, the previously mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,346 provides each take-off conveyor with an individual sensor responsive to the prolonged presence of an object at its location and adapted to stop the corresponding take-up conveyor accordingly.
Apart from the fact that this entails providing each take-up conveyor with individual clutch means, an object can become jammed in the take-off conveyor as soon as it enters it and therefore before reaching the sensor with which the take-off conveyor is provided, which renders the sensor ineffective.
Although such incidents are relatively infrequent in practice, each incident requires the intervention of the operative responsible for monitoring the system, to eliminate the defective object and/or to restart all or part of the distribution apparatus. Despite the relative infrequency with which such intervention is required, the operator necessarily has to be present at all times.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,939 provides each take-off conveyor with a sensor adapted to stop an object which is the wrong way round.
As previously, however, this type of incident still requires the intervention of an operative to remove the object that is the wrong way round.
A general aim of the present invention is an arrangement for automatically dealing with an object before it enters a take-off conveyor and which has other advantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention consists in apparatus for distributing objects to be oriented longitudinally one way round, including a feed hopper adapted to receive the objects to be distributed loose, at least one take-up corridor that dips into the feed hopper, a longitudinal take-up conveyor in the take-up corridor adapted to drive the objects, a selective turning device adapted to allow the objects to pass through it when they are a first way round and to turn them when they are a second, opposite way round, a take-off conveyor fed by the selective turning device and a retractable selection conveyor between the selective turning device and the take-off conveyor.
The selection conveyor preferably moves between a service position in which it is continuous with the take-off conveyor and an ejection position in which it interrupts feeding of the take-off conveyor.
The selection conveyor preferably intervenes automatically when an object is the wrong way round, i.e. has the longitudinal orientation opposite that required.
For example, actuator means for moving the selection conveyor from its service position to its ejection position are controlled by two longitudinally spaced sensors between the selective turning device and the take-off conveyor, both of which are responsive to the movement of the objects to be distributed, one of which is substantially on an axis of displacement of the objects and the other of which is spaced from that axis.
The two sensors can therefore sense the orientation of passing objects vertically aligned with them.
When the objects are bottles, for example, they can sense whether each bottle has the bottom or the neck at the front.
Finally, the drive means of the selection conveyor provided in accordance with the invention are preferably also under the control of a sensor vertically aligned with the take-off conveyor.
Accordingly, if there are excess objects on the take-off conveyor because of congestion, the selection conveyor of the invention automatically moves to its ejection position which, by returning objects reaching it to the feed hopper, avoids the need to stop the corresponding take-up conveyor.
It is therefore advantageously possible, if required, to dispense with individual clutch means for the take-up conveyors, which is beneficial in terms of cost.
The features and advantages of the invention will emerge from the following description given by way of example and with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3212668 (1965-10-01), Gleason et al.
patent: 3710922 (1973-01-01), Lamphere et al.
patent: 3776346 (1973-12-01), Dubuit
patent: 4324336 (1982-04-01), Sandbank
patent: 4574939 (1986-03-01), Dubuit
patent: 4699261 (1987-10-01), Nesin
patent: 4915237 (1990-04-01), Chang et al.
patent: 5065852 (1991-11-01), Marti
patent: 5141110 (1992-08-01), Trischan et al.
patent: 5260576 (1993-11-01), Sommer, Jr. et al.
patent: 5423431 (1995-06-01), Westin
patent: 5641072 (1997-06-01), Otake
patent: 19 04 967 (1970-08-01), None
patent: 1 244 294 (1971-08-01), None
patent: 1 403 182 (1975-08-01), None
Crawford Gene O.
Ellis Christopher P.
Societe d'Exploitation des Machines Dubuit
Young & Thompson
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