Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor system for arranging or rearranging stream of items – By queueing items from quantity source of items into stream...
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-07
2001-01-09
Olszewski, Robert P. (Department: 3652)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor system for arranging or rearranging stream of items
By queueing items from quantity source of items into stream...
C198S785000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06170637
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an article feeding apparatus for arraying and feeding articles having nearly spherical shape or nearly elliptical shape, such as fruits including orange, apple, tomato, water melon, pear, persimmon, peach and potato, or balls for sports including tennis, soccer, baseball and table tennis.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hitherto, as an apparatus for feeding fruits, as shown in
FIG. 7
, there was an apparatus for mounting fruits A . . . between dispersion belts
30
,
30
stretched in a V-form opened upward, arraying the fruits A . . . while dispersing back and forth by the dispersion belts
30
,
30
to transfer onto an array belt
31
, and moving the fruits A . . . sequentially from the array belt
31
to a sorting conveyor
33
.
However, if the surface of the fruit A is coated with polishing wax, the contact resistance between the fruit A and the dispersion belt
30
is large, and it is hard to disperse the fruit A mounted between the dispersion belts
30
,
30
back and forth, or correct the mounting position of the fruit A.
The fruit A having a nearly elliptical shape is large in contact area with the dispersion belt
30
, and it may be conveyed in a state contacting with one dispersion belt
30
only, and the fruit A may not be arrayed and mounted in the center of the conveying route.
Further, if attempted to center (align) the fruit A put on the array belt
31
by means of guide plates
32
stretched at both sides, since the contact resistance is large, the fruit A is only inclined or erected, and it is hard to correct its mounting position.
Accordingly, since the fruit A is mounted in an offset state to the central mounting surface of the sorting conveyor
33
, or the fruit A is mounted in an erect state, it is hard to inspect or take the entire surface of the fruit A by camera or the like, and the sorting job cannot be done accurately.
Or, due to the contact resistance between adjacent fruits A . . . , or contact resistance against the guide plate
32
, some of the fruits A . . . are conveyed in a gathered state, or the interval of the fruits A mounted back and forth may be irregular, and it was difficult to keep constant the interval and number of fruits A.
Other feeding method is shown in
FIG. 8
, in which a dispersion conveyor
35
is oscillated by a vibration generator
34
disposed in the lower part of the conveying route, and the fruits A . . . mounted on the dispersion conveyor
35
are dispersed back and forth and transferred onto an array conveyor
36
, and are sequentially transferred from the array conveyor
36
to a sorting conveyor
33
, but by using such apparatus, since the contact area with the dispersion conveyor
35
varies with the size, shape and kind of the fruits A, the feed speed is fast when the contact area is large and the feed speed is slow when the contact area is small, and it was hard to maintain constant the feed rate of the fruits A.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is hence a primary object of the invention to present an article feeding apparatus capable of rotating support rollers arranged in a nearly V form wide in the opening angle as seen from the plane toward the conveying direction (hereinafter abbreviated merely as a nearly V form in plane view) in the conveying direction by rotating means, centering articles put on the support rollers to the central part of the conveying route, dispersing the articles conveyed in overlaid or gathered state back and forth, applying a transfer force positively in the direction moved toward the central part of the conveying route, and maintaining the centering state of articles, so that the articles may be transferred accurately and securely one by one, for example, onto the central mounting surface of the sorting conveyor.
It is another object of the invention to present an article feeding apparatus capable of conveying objects while moving positively toward the central part of the conveying route by means of support rollers of a wide angle arranged at the start end side, and preventing contact of the articles with the guide members disposed at both sides of the conveying route or blocking of their conveyance, so that articles of arbitrary size may be dispersed or arrayed easily.
It is a different object of the invention to present an article feeding apparatus capable of rotating the support rollers at the start end side fast, and conveying in the conveying direction while moving the articles contacting with the support rollers toward the central part of the conveying route, so that multiple articles can be dispersed and arrayed back and forth efficiently, thereby enhancing the feeding capability.
It is a further object of the invention to present an article feeding apparatus for disposing support rollers at both sides so that the angle may be smaller gradually toward the conveying direction, whereby the transfer force in the conveying direction increases gradually, the transfer force in the width direction attenuates, transverse drift of articles decreases, and the feeding position and feeding posture of articles are stabilized.
It is a further different object of the invention to present an article feeding apparatus for arranging support rollers in a slant so as to be higher from the central part of the conveying route toward both sides, and conveying articles while moving toward the central part of the conveying route along the slope of the support rollers, so that the articles may be centered securely by rotation and inclination of the support rollers.
It is a still different object of the invention to present an article feeding apparatus for providing a support roller in the middle position with a slip allowing function, stopping the articles on the conveying route temporarily, causing the succeeding articles to contact sequentially, and arraying and conveying the front and rear articles in contact or close state by the transfer force given at the time of this contact.
It is another different object of the invention to present an article feeding apparatus capable of rotating a support roller at terminal end side fast, accelerating and conveying the arrayed articles toward the conveying direction, separating multiple articles back and forth, and supplying into next process.
It is another different object of the invention to present an article feeding apparatus capable of supplying the arrayed articles to next process remaining in the centered state along plural guide rollers arranged at the terminal end portion of the conveying route, and transferring the articles securely, for example, on the central mounting surface of the sort conveyor, and transferring the articles smoothly, if the surface of articles is coated with wax, without allowing stagnant flow of articles by the small contact resistance of the guide rollers.
Further objects of the invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of the preferred embodiment thereof.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1863520 (1932-06-01), Camerota
patent: 3386559 (1968-06-01), Ross et al.
patent: 5052543 (1991-10-01), Hagan
Jaketic Bryan
Kojima Moonray
Olszewski Robert P.
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