Patent US3591776A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3591776A
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US
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Automatic crop shear control system
Assignee: Jones and Laughlin Steel Corp
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Filing: 1969-12-03
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Granted: 1971-07-06
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Expires: 1989-12-03
Abstract
Abstract A system employing digital techniques for automatically controlling a shearing device to crop a desired length from the trailing end of an elongated article while the article is conveyed along a longitudinal path. Two sensors determine the ends of the article and control the counting of tachometer pulses. Provision is made to compensate for delay time of the shear.
Inventors
- 👤 Robert A Sylester
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 22:34
CPC Classifications
B; B23; B23D; B23D36/00; B23D36/0008; B23D36/0083
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 4
Claim 1
Independent Claim
242 words
Apparatus for automatically activating a shearing device to crop a desired length from the trailing end of an elongated article while the article is conveyed along a longitudinal path, including first and second indicating stations positioned along said path and spaced apart a distance equal to the distance between the second station and the shearing device, pulse generating means for generating pulses at a rate dependent on the speed of travel of the elongated article along its longitudinal path, a crop adjust counter for counting pulses generated by said pulse generating means beginning with the passage of the trailing end of the elongated article past the first indicating station and terminating with a pulse count representative of the desired crop length, a calibration counter for counting pulses generated by said pulse generating means during a counting period beginning with the termination of counting by said crop adjust counter and terminating with the passage of the trailing end of the elongated article past the second indicating station, a shear control counter for counting pulses generated by said pulse generating means beginning with the passage of the trailing end of the elongated article past the second indicating station and starting at a pulse level representative of the distance the article travels while the shearing device completes a shearing cycle, and comparator means for issuing a shear command to the shearing device upon the shear control counter reaching the pulse count in the calibration counter.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
242 words
Apparatus for automatically activating a shearing device to crop a desired length from the trailing end of an elongated article while the article is conveyed along a longitudinal path, including first and second indicating stations positioned along said path and spaced apart a distance equal to the distance between the second station and the shearing device, pulse generating means for generating pulses at a rate dependent on the speed of travel of the elongated article along its longitudinal path, a crop adjust counter for counting pulses generated by said pulse generating means beginning with the passage of the trailing end of the elongated article past the first indicating station and terminating with a pulse count representative of the desired crop length, a calibration counter for counting pulses generated by said pulse generating means during a counting period beginning with the termination of counting by said crop adjust counter and terminating with the passage of the trailing end of the elongated article past the second indicating station, a shear control counter for counting pulses generated by said pulse generating means beginning with the passage of the trailing end of the elongated article past the second indicating station and starting at a pulse level representative of the distance the article travels while the shearing device completes a shearing cycle, and comparator means for issuing a shear command to the shearing device upon the shear control counter reaching the pulse count in the calibration counter.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
115 words
The apparatus of claim 1 including clock means for generating pulses, a shear time compensation counter for counting the number of pulses generated by the clock means while the shearing device completes a shearing cycle during a first cropping operation and For counting down from that number of pulses during the next cropping operation in response to pulses from the clock means, a timer counter for counting pulses from said pulse generating means during the time period the shear time compensation counter counts down to zero from said number of pulses, and means for transferring the count in the timer counter to the shear control counter before the shear control counter begins its counting sequence.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
43 words
The apparatus of claim 2 including speedup compensation means for first disabling the calibration counter during its counting period while the elongated article travels along its path a preselected distance and for then reenabling the calibration counter, thereby compensating for article speed acceleration.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1974-07-05 | 1975-01-04 | 1975-07-06 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-07-05 | 1979-01-04 | 1979-07-06 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-07-05 | 1983-01-04 | 1983-07-06 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |