Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor system for moving a specific load as a separate unit – System includes a rotating or endless carrier with a load...
Patent
1991-01-18
1992-06-30
Olszewski, Robert P.
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor system for moving a specific load as a separate unit
System includes a rotating or endless carrier with a load...
1984771, 1988039, B65G 2500
Patent
active
051255006
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a machine for the automatic sorting of objects, more particularly designed for treating objects of various shapes and sizes in order to group said objects at specific places, for example to route them subsequently to a corresponding destination or to another machine.
2. Discussion of Background Material
In most cases the objects are identified by bar codes, magnetic codes or markings that can be read by a character recognition system or by other like means. The information is processed by a computer which assigns to the object a destination corresponding to an aforementioned specific place. For example, a machine of this kind may be used to sort packets of photographs in a development laboratory in order to group packets for dispatch to different destinations. It can also be used in pharmaceutical laboratories and in mailing centers handling large quantities of mail, newspapers and packets. Conventionally, a machine of this kind moves the objects on conveyor belts with outlets involving lateral deviation or traps opening on the passage of the objects.
For example, known machines in photograph development centers are able to transport only thin identical standardized packets. These objects are inserted into the machine by allowing the objects to drop onto a conveyor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The device in accordance with the invention enables objects of different shapes, volumes and weights to be transported simultaneously without any previous adjustment of the installation. It proposes a new sorting concept using grippers to transport the objects and a loading system in which a conveyor-elevator inserts the objects into the open grippers from below.
To be more precise, the invention therefore concerns a machine for the automatic sorting of objects characterized in that it comprises:
a closed loop conveyor-distributor arranged substantially horizontally above a certain number of reception locations and carrying a plurality of first object support grippers,
actuator means for the grippers disposed at a location for loading the objects and at the reception location, and
a closed loop conveyor-elevator provided with, a plurality of second object supports arranged below the conveyor-distributor and in the vicinity of the loading location, part of the travel the said conveyor-elevator extending upwards to route the second object supports to the same level as the first object support grippers.
The object supports of the conveyor-elevator are advantageously in the form of forks so that the fingers of a fork can be temporarily interleaved between arms and pins of a gripper (to be described later) and so facilitate transferring the objects from the conveyor-elevator to the conveyor-distributor.
Using this transfer method, the invention makes it possible to transport objects of different shape, volume and weight, for example envelopes, packets, mailing tubes, without any need for adjustment or manual modification of the adjustments of the sorting machine. The mechanical motions of the machine are rotary and continuous, simplifying synchronization which is reliable over a wide range of speeds. An object is inserted into the gripper by the conveyor-elevator which may be installed at ground level or below ground level, which facilitates access from all around the machine.
According to another beneficial feature of the invention, the horizontal component of the displacement of the conveyor-elevator is in the same direction as that of the displacement of the conveyor-distributor. In other words, as it moves upwards the object support of the conveyor-elevator moves in substantially the same direction as and therefore, so to speak, "tracks" the corresponding (temporarily open) object support gripper which, when it closes, grasps the object presented to it. In this way, even if the two conveyors operate at relatively high speeds, the object is taken up by the gripper at a relatively slow speed, resulting in excellent reliability.
BRIEF DESCRIP
REFERENCES:
patent: 801523 (1905-10-01), Hinchman et al.
patent: 1852428 (1932-04-01), Marchand et al.
patent: 3055480 (1962-09-01), Hyman
patent: 3399768 (1968-09-01), Holmberg et al.
patent: 4044659 (1977-08-01), Bardenhagen et al.
patent: 4201286 (1980-05-01), Meier
patent: 4567988 (1986-02-01), Weibel
patent: 4905818 (1990-03-01), Houseman
patent: 4968081 (1990-11-01), Beight et al.
Gastineau Cheryl L.
Olszewski Robert P.
LandOfFree
Machine for the automatic sorting of objects does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Machine for the automatic sorting of objects, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Machine for the automatic sorting of objects will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1857515