Classifying – separating – and assorting solids – Sorting special items – and certain methods and apparatus for... – Separating means
Patent
1985-01-17
1987-03-24
Reeves, Robert B.
Classifying, separating, and assorting solids
Sorting special items, and certain methods and apparatus for...
Separating means
209625, 209660, 209698, B07C 504, B07C 536
Patent
active
046518819
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for rejecting too short and/or too low products, particularly so-called fish fingers e.g. in conjunction with packaging.
Up to now the rejection of too long and/or too short fish fingers before packaging has been carried out entirely manually, many faulty fish fingers thus having been included in the finished package.
The object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for automatically rejecting too short and/or too low fish fingers without any manual handling or supervision being necessary, the disadvantages associated with manual rejection of faulty fish fingers being thus eliminated. What is essentially distinguishing for the invention is that the method includes the following steps, namely that the products are placed resting one after the other with their short ends mutually juxtaopposed on at least one conveyor, for advancing them towards a final position or a stop; when a product is in the final position at least one restraining member is lowered down against the following flow of products, the vertical movement path of the member being substantially in register with the axis of a hatch or the like for removing incorrect products, or in register with the free end portion of the conveyor, and at a distance from the trailing edge of the first product which is somewhat less than the normal length of a product; the conveyor with associated restraining member and hatch, as well as the products on the conveyor, apart from the product or products in the final position, are moved a short distance backwards simultaneously as the hatch opens, products with the right length and height being arrested or squeezed between the restraining member and underlying means supporting the product; the hatch is repositioned once again to its horizontal position in line with the conveyor, and the conveyor with associated restraining member and hatch together with the products on the conveyor are displaced to their original position (to the right on the drawing), previous to which the faultless product in the final position, as it was released from the pressure from the fish fingers behind it, was removed, e.g. for conveying into a package, a new faultless product being advanced to the final position as the restraining member rises. The apparatus for carrying out the method essentially distinguishes itself in that for the removal of faulty products there is at least one conveyor, horizontally displaceable between two end positions, the conveyor having a bridging means between its free end portion and a reception unit level with it, and in that there is at least one means displaceably, resiliently arranged in a vertical direction in the area above the free end portion of the conveyor, said means in its uppermost end position being situated with clearance above the advancing flow of products on the conveyor, and enabled in its bottommost position to assume a predetermined, adjustable position spaced from the conveyor at somewhat less than the height of a normal, faultless product, the resilient means also being situated at a distance from the trailing edge of a product, which is preferably in its end position on the reception unit, this distance being somewhat less than the length of a faultless product, enabling faultless products either to be squeezed or arrested by the means when the conveyor etc are drawn backwards coincident with the bridging means being retracted, such that products which are too short and/or too low fall out from the flow of products.
With the aid of the invention there is now achieved a method and apparatus for rejecting faulty products, resulting in a very efficient separation of too short and/ or too low products. By the backward movement of the conveyor during the rejection operation there is achieved an improved feed function of the faultless products, which are to be fed into their package, since the foremost product will be released from the pressure of the products behind it in conjunction with this withdrawal of the c
REFERENCES:
patent: 2792922 (1957-05-01), Malhiot
patent: 3469690 (1969-09-01), Ervin
patent: 3749242 (1973-07-01), Eckstein
patent: 4090610 (1978-05-01), Luginbuhl
patent: 4228901 (1980-10-01), Watzka et al.
Reeves Robert B.
Sprinter System AB
Wacyra Edward M.
LandOfFree
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