Apparatus for weight-classifying odd-shaped articles

Claim 3

An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said transporting means defines a closed loop path of travel for said buckets, and means is provided to return said bucket bottom walls to closed position, at a point downstream of said discharge classifying station along said path of travel.

Claim 4

An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein there is additionally provided in combination: takeoff conveyors provided one adjacent each of said spaced points for receipt of articles discharged from said buckets and means to drive said conveyors in a stepwise fashion, said drive means being controlled by said memory means such that said conveyors are individually driven in accordance with which of said spaced points an article is to be discharged, whereby contact is prevented between articles successively discharged at the same spaced point onto the same conveyor.

Claim 5

An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each said bucket includes a pair of carrier bars carried one on each of a pair of sidewalls thereof aligned with said path of travel, said weighing station includes a vertically deflectable weighing platform, said platform being adapted to support said buckets one at a time such that said bottom wall thereof is maintained in bottom closed position, said transporting means includes first conveyor means adapted to transport said buckets with bottom walls thereof in closed position one at a time onto said platform, a pair of parallel conveyors extending from adjacent said weighing platform through said classifying station and a bottom guide means extending through said classifying station intermediate said parallel conveyors, said first conveyor means being adapted to transport a bucket onto said weighing platform such that a bucket previously disposed thereon is forced by said transported bucket onto said parallel conveyors with said bucket carrier bars being supportedly engaged thereby, said bottom guide means including stationary guide elements and movable guide elements, said movable guide elements when in a first position aligned with said stationary elements cooperate therewith to slidably engage said bucket bottom walls so as to maintain same in closed position, said discharge means being associated one with each of said movable elements such that when said discharge means are actuated said movable elements are moved out of alignment with said stationary elements into a second position out of sliding engagement with said bucket bottom walls, thereby permitting the bottom wall of a bucket to move into open position when said parallel conveyors carry said bucket to a point along said path of travel at which said article is to be discharged in accordance with the determined weight thereof.

Claim 6

An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said transporting means defines a closed loop path of travel for said buckets, and means are provided to return said bucket bottom walls to closed position at a point downstream of said discharge classifying station along said path of travel.

Claim 7

An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said bucket-transporting means additionally includes second conveyor means arranged parallel to said first conveyor means and said parallel conveyors, and a pair of turn tables, said turn tables connecting opposite ends of said second conveyor means to said first conveyor means and to said parallel conveyors.

Claim 10

An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein there is further provided in combination: a rotary timer; drive means, said drive means being adapted to drive said rotary timer such as to release one bucket at a time for transfer to said weighing station; and means to sense release of said bucket by said rotary timer, said sensing means being operable to initiate operation of said weighing means such that the weight class of an article carried by a bucket previously positioned at said weighing station is determined, said released bucket being thereafter adapted to be transferred into said weighing station and during transfer thereof force said previously positioned bucket into said discharge classifying station for transfer therethrough; said memory means includes a rotatably supported memory drum having a plurality of memory elements, said memory elements being normally in a cancelled condition but being settable in a memory condition, said memory elements being arranged in at least N rows of memory elements, said rows of memory elements being equally spaced apart annularly of said drum, each of said N rows of memory elements including N memory elements arranged in spaced relationship axially of said drum such that the respective memory elements of each of said N rows are aligned in columns annularly of said drum, said drum being rotatably driven in a stepwise manner by said drive means so as to index each of said rows successively through a memory-setting and N memory-element-sensing stations arranged annularly of said drum, N memory-element-setting means selectively operable by said weighing means when one of said rows is placed in said memory-setting station to set one of said memory elements of said placed row in its memory condition so as to store an input in said placed row which is characteristic of the determined weight class of an article carried by said previously positioned bucket, memory element sensing means disposed one at each of said sensing stations, said element-sensing means being spaced apart axially of said drum in alignment one with each of said columns such that each of said element-sensing means is adapted to produce an output when one of said memory elements set in memory condition is indexed into radial alignment therewith, said element-sensing means being associated one with each of said discharge means, said discharge means being operable in response to said outputs, and memory-element-cancelling means, said cancelling means being operative to return said memory elements to said cancelled condition after indexing thereof through said sensing stations, said drum and cancelling means being coupled to said drive means such that said cancelling means and drum are driven in synchronization with said rOtary timer, whereby when rotary timer is operated to release a bucket as aforesaid, said drum is indexed to place a first of said N rows in position at said setting position and said cancelling means operated, upon sensing of said released bucket said weighing means is operated and a memory element of said placed row is set in accordance with the determined weight class of an article in said previously positioned bucket, and upon release of the next succeeding bucket, said drum is rotated to position said first of said N rows in a first of said element-sensing stations.

Claim 11

An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein each said bucket includes a pair of carrier bars carried one on each of a pair of sidewalls thereof aligned with said path of travel, said weighing station includes a vertically deflectable weighing platform, said weighing means being responsive to vertical deflections of said platform, said platform being adapted to support said buckets one at a time such that said bottom wall thereof is maintained in bottom closed position, said transporting means includes first conveyor means adapted to transport said buckets with bottom walls thereof in closed position one at a time past said rotary timer and release sensing means onto said platform, a pair of parallel conveyors extending from adjacent said weighing platform through said classifying station and a bottom guide means extending through said classifying station intermediate said parallel conveyors, said first conveyor means being adapted to transport a released bucket onto said weighing platform such that a bucket previously disposed thereon is forced by said released bucket onto said parallel conveyors with said bucket carrier bars being supportedly engaged thereby, said bottom guide means including stationary guide elements and movable guide elements, said movable guide elements when in a first position aligned with said stationary elements cooperate therewith to slidably engage said bucket bottom walls so as to maintain same in closed position, said discharge means being associated one with each of said movable elements such that when said discharge means are actuated said movable elements are moved out of alignment with said stationary elements into a second position out of sliding engagement with said bucket bottom walls, thereby permitting the bottom wall of a bucket to move into open position when said parallel conveyors carry said bucket to a point along said path of travel at which said article is to be discharged in accordance with the determined weight class thereof.

Claim 12

An article-carrying bucket for use in combination with apparatus adapted to classify articles on a weight basis, said apparatus including conveyor means to transport said bucket successively through a filling station at which an article to be weighed may be placed in said bucket, a weighing station at which said bucket and article carried thereby is adapted to be weighed and a discharge classifying station at which the weighed article is adapted to be discharged from said bucket, said bucket comprising: a pair of spaced sidewalls; spaced front and rear walls, said front and rear walls being edge joined to said sidewalls to form a generally rectangular bucket having an open top and bottom; a bottom wall hingedly joined to one of said sidewalls along adjacent marginal edges thereof for vertical pivotal movement between bucket bottom closing and opening positions, said bottom wall being adapted to be alternately engaged and disengaged by said apparatus such that when engaged it is maintained in a bucket bottom closing position wherein it is adapted to support an article within said bucket and when disengaged pivots vertically into said bucket bottom opening position to permit gravity discharge of said supported article; a pair of carrier bars carried one on each of said sidewalls and adapted to be supportingly engaged by said apparatus so as to support of said bucket at least when said bottom wall is disengagEd by said apparatus; and means for adjusting the tare weight of said bucket.

Claim 13

An article-carrying bucket for use in combination with apparatus adapted to classify articles on a weight basis, said apparatus including conveyor means to transport said bucket successively through a filling station at which an article to be weighed may be placed in said bucket, a weighing station at which said bucket and article carried thereby is adapted to be weighed and a discharge classifying station at which the weighed article is adapted to be discharged from said bucket, said bucket comprising: a pair of spaced sidewalls; spaced front and rear walls, said front and rear walls being edge joined to said sidewalls to form a generally rectangular bucket having an open top and bottom; a bottom wall hingedly joined to one of said sidewalls along adjacent marginal edges thereof for vertical pivotal movement between bucket bottom closing and opening positions, said bottom wall being adapted to be alternately engaged and disengaged by said apparatus such that when engaged it is maintained in a bucket bottom closing position wherein it is adapted to support an article within said bucket and when disengaged pivots vertically into said bucket bottom opening position to permit gravity discharge of said supported article; a pair of carrier bars carried one on each of said sidewalls and adapted to be supportingly engaged by said apparatus so as to support of said bucket at least when said bottom wall is disengagEd by said apparatus; and means for adjusting the tare weight of said bucket.

Claim 14

An article-carrying bucket according to claim 10, wherein said adjustment means includes a pair of receivers carried one adjacent each of said sidewalls, each said receiver defining a recess adapted to removably receive a plurality of metal shot, and means to retain said shot within the recesses defined by said receivers such that the tare weight of said bucket may be varied by varying the number of shot in said recesses.

Claim 15

An article-carrying bucket according to claim 10, wherein a marginal end of said bottom wall spaced from said hingedly joined marginal edge thereof is adapted to supportingly engage the other of said sidewalls spaced from said one sidewall when said bottom wall is engaged as aforesaid, whereby said bottom wall when in closed position is adapted to support said side, front and rear bucket walls.

Claim 16

An article-carrying bucket according to claim 12, wherein front and rear edge portions of said bottom wall are upturned and terminating inwardly of said bucket front and rear walls when said bottom wall is in closed position.