US3651985A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Feeder control and method
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1970-12-07
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Granted: 1972-03-28
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Expires: 1990-12-07
Abstract
Abstract A feeder is disclosed in which a supply feeder delivers frangible parts to a linear feeder. The control is achieved by slaving the supply feeder to the linear feeder, and controlling the number of parts on the linear feeder as a master with the supply feeder as slave. An interrupted beam control is positioned to determine the infeed from the supply feeder to the linear feeder, the linear feeder being controlled by another beam interruption control at its delivering end. The parts are delivered to a finite position, illustrated for pick up by a conveyor having a plurality of buckets on a chain. The control shuts off the slave supply feeder upon a predetermined time delay after parts pass through the beam. The supply feeder is then activated again after the parts blockage is removed. For purposes of illustration, the supply feeder is a vibratory bowl feeder and the linear feeder is a vibratory linear feeder. The method contemplates feeding the parts to the linear feeder from the slave supply feeder shutting the same off upon a predetermined time delay after a signal. The signal is a function of continuous parts blockage of a sensor, which is reactivated responsive to the absence of parts blockage, the method of controlling the linear feeder being solely the function of positioning of parts at its delivery end.
Inventors
- 👤 Floyd E Smith
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 22:18
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65G; B65G23/00; B65G47/00; B65G2811/00; B65G2811/06; B65G2811/0673; B65G2811/0689; B65G2811/0694; B65G2811/09; B65G2811/091; B65G2811/093
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
203 words
A feeder control comprising, in combination a supply feeder tooled for delivering parts one at a time, an uninterrupted linear feeder tooled for receiving the said parts delivered one at a time from the supply feeder, a control mechanism involving two interrupted beams, one a linear feeder beam sensor and one a supply feeder beam sensor, means coupling the two said beam sensors to activate the supply feeder as a slave and the linear feeder as a master, said linear feeder beam sensor being positioned at the delivery end of the linear feeder and set to activate the linear feeder based upon the absence of blockage and deactivate the linear feeder based upon the presence of blockage by a single part, the supply feeder beam being positioned and set to activate the supply feeder upon the absence of a single part, a time delay device operatively connected to said supply feeder beam to deactivate the supply feeder a predetermined time delay after blockage occurs and position the supply feeder for reactivation after no further break of the beam occurs, and thereafter the supply feeder beam being conditioned for reactivation upon the absence of a part and the activation of the supply feeder thereupon.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
203 words
A feeder control comprising, in combination a supply feeder tooled for delivering parts one at a time, an uninterrupted linear feeder tooled for receiving the said parts delivered one at a time from the supply feeder, a control mechanism involving two interrupted beams, one a linear feeder beam sensor and one a supply feeder beam sensor, means coupling the two said beam sensors to activate the supply feeder as a slave and the linear feeder as a master, said linear feeder beam sensor being positioned at the delivery end of the linear feeder and set to activate the linear feeder based upon the absence of blockage and deactivate the linear feeder based upon the presence of blockage by a single part, the supply feeder beam being positioned and set to activate the supply feeder upon the absence of a single part, a time delay device operatively connected to said supply feeder beam to deactivate the supply feeder a predetermined time delay after blockage occurs and position the supply feeder for reactivation after no further break of the beam occurs, and thereafter the supply feeder beam being conditioned for reactivation upon the absence of a part and the activation of the supply feeder thereupon.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
50 words
In the feeder control of claim 1 above, orienting the supply feeder beam sensor at an acute angle with the linear feeder track axis to thereby be blind to gaps between parts attributable to narrower portions of the parts at the point where the axis of the beam is positioned.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
77 words
In the control of claim 1, means for sighting at an acute angle said supply beam interruption activator along the input portion of the linear feeder to sense the presence or absence of parts, means for activating the supply feeder responsive to the absence of parts, and means for presetting a time delay to pass at least two parts before shut off of supply feeder due to the presence of parts sensed by the beam interruption activator.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
22 words
In the control of claim 1, said supply feeder being a vibratory bowl feeder, said linear feeder being a vibratory linear feeder.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
In the control of claim 2, said supply feeder being a vibratory bowl feeder, said linear feeder being a vibratory linear feeder.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
22 words
In the control of claim 3, said supply feeder being a vibratory bowl feeder, said linear feeder being a vibratory linear feeder.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
145 words
A method of controlling the feeding of individual parts oriented for delivery one at a time to transfer means to receive such parts singly from a linear feeder which in turn receives single oriented parts from a slaved supply feeder comprising the steps of feeding the parts one at a time to the linear feeder from the slaved supply feeder, delaying the shutting off the slaved supply feeder for a predetermined time after a signal, said signal being a function of continuous parts blockage of a sensor at the receiving part of thE linear feeder, activating the slaved supply feeder responsive to the absence of parts blockage of the sensor at the receiving part of the linear feeder, deactivating the linear feeder responsive to one part at its delivery end, and reactivating the linear feeder upon the removal of a part at its delivery end.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
145 words
A method of controlling the feeding of individual parts oriented for delivery one at a time to transfer means to receive such parts singly from a linear feeder which in turn receives single oriented parts from a slaved supply feeder comprising the steps of feeding the parts one at a time to the linear feeder from the slaved supply feeder, delaying the shutting off the slaved supply feeder for a predetermined time after a signal, said signal being a function of continuous parts blockage of a sensor at the receiving part of thE linear feeder, activating the slaved supply feeder responsive to the absence of parts blockage of the sensor at the receiving part of the linear feeder, deactivating the linear feeder responsive to one part at its delivery end, and reactivating the linear feeder upon the removal of a part at its delivery end.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
82 words
In the method of claim 7, reactivating the supply feeder responsive to the absence of a part at a discreet position at the infeed portion of the linear feeder, delaying the deactivation of the supply feeder a predetermined time lag after first part has passed the discreet position, thereafter deactivating the supply feeder responsive to the presence of a part at the discreet position, thereby sending at least a pair of parts onto the linear feeder after the supply feeder is activated.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
71 words
In the method of claim 7, sighting at an acute angle a beam interruption activator along the input portion of the linear feeder to sense the presence or absence of parts, activating the supply feeder responsive to the absence of parts, and presetting a time delay to pass at least two parts before shut off of the supply feeder due to the presence of parts sensed by the beam interruption activator.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
71 words
In the method of claim 8, sighting at an acute angle a beam interruption activator along the input portion of the linear feeder to sense the presence or absence of parts, activating the supply feeder responsive to the absence of parts, and presetting a time delay to pass at least two parts before shut off of the supply feeder due to the presence of parts sensed by the beam interruption activator.
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) | 1975-03-28 | 1975-09-27 | 1976-03-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-03-28 | 1979-09-27 | 1980-03-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-03-28 | 1983-09-27 | 1984-03-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |