US3898435A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Memory device for an egg grading machine
Assignee: FMC Corp
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Filing: 1974-03-11
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Granted: 1975-08-05
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Expires: 1994-03-11
Abstract
Abstract A memory device for use with an egg grading machine which includes a single lane conveyor carrying uniformly spaced eggs past a series of packing stations where the eggs are delivered directly into pocketed containers in accordance with predetermined weight grades. The memory keeps track of each egg on the conveyor and not only causes it to be discharged at the proper packing station but also causes it to be discharged at the correct position to sequentially fill the container at the packing station. The memory generally comprises solid state circuitry which includes a shift register carrying the grading information for the eggs on the conveyor at any particular time. In order to effectively process the information in the memory and condition the various packing stations the register is cycled a considerable number of times during the movement of the conveyor through a distance equal to the egg spacing thereon, and phasing pulses derived from the conveyor drive are used to periodically update the information in the register in accordance with the movement of the conveyor in order to maintain tracking control of the eggs as they move downstream to the packing stations.
Inventors
- 👤 John N Pritchard
- 👤 Louis S Mctamaney
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 13:33
CPC Classifications
B; B07; B07C; B07C5/00; B07C5/16
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 28
Claim 1
Independent Claim
378 words
A memory device particularly adapted for use in an egg grading machine which includes an egg conveyor for receiving eggs from a plurality of spaced eggs grading stations and for carrying said eggs to a plurality of spaced discharge stations where said eggs are selectively discharged in accordance with the grades assigned thereto at said grading stations, said egg conveyor comprising a plurality of linearly arranged and uniformly spaced egg carriers adapted to be moved from said grading stations to said discharge stations, said memory device comprising: a storage register comprised of a plurality of information carrying sectors arranged in serial fashion with the number of sectors in said register being at least as great as the number of egg carriers from the furthest upstream grading station to the furthest downstream discharge station; means providing a continuous series of shift pulses at a first rate for serially shifting information through said register from each sector thereof to an adjacent sector and from the last sector thereof to the first sector thereof; means for providing phasing pulses at a second rate corresponding to the movement of the conveyor through a linear distance equal to the center-to-center spacing between a pair of adjacent egg carriers, said first rate being faster than said second rate by a factor whereby information in any sector in said register is transferred sequentially through all of the sectors in said register a considerable number of times between each pair of consecutive phasing pulses; means for transferring information from each of said grading stations into one of the sectors in said register in accordance with the grades of the eggs received by said conveyor; means for transferring iNformation from one of the sectors of said register to said discharge stations to cause the selective discharge of said eggs in accordance with said information; counting means connected to said means for shifting said register for correlating the information in said register at any given time with the position of the eggs on the conveyor; and means connecting said phasing pulse providing means with said counting means so that the count in said counting means is increased by one each time that a phasing pulse is produced whereby the movement of the eggs on the conveyor is tracked.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
378 words
A memory device particularly adapted for use in an egg grading machine which includes an egg conveyor for receiving eggs from a plurality of spaced eggs grading stations and for carrying said eggs to a plurality of spaced discharge stations where said eggs are selectively discharged in accordance with the grades assigned thereto at said grading stations, said egg conveyor comprising a plurality of linearly arranged and uniformly spaced egg carriers adapted to be moved from said grading stations to said discharge stations, said memory device comprising: a storage register comprised of a plurality of information carrying sectors arranged in serial fashion with the number of sectors in said register being at least as great as the number of egg carriers from the furthest upstream grading station to the furthest downstream discharge station; means providing a continuous series of shift pulses at a first rate for serially shifting information through said register from each sector thereof to an adjacent sector and from the last sector thereof to the first sector thereof; means for providing phasing pulses at a second rate corresponding to the movement of the conveyor through a linear distance equal to the center-to-center spacing between a pair of adjacent egg carriers, said first rate being faster than said second rate by a factor whereby information in any sector in said register is transferred sequentially through all of the sectors in said register a considerable number of times between each pair of consecutive phasing pulses; means for transferring information from each of said grading stations into one of the sectors in said register in accordance with the grades of the eggs received by said conveyor; means for transferring iNformation from one of the sectors of said register to said discharge stations to cause the selective discharge of said eggs in accordance with said information; counting means connected to said means for shifting said register for correlating the information in said register at any given time with the position of the eggs on the conveyor; and means connecting said phasing pulse providing means with said counting means so that the count in said counting means is increased by one each time that a phasing pulse is produced whereby the movement of the eggs on the conveyor is tracked.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
82 words
A memory device according to claim 1 wherein said counting means is arranged to repeatedly and continuously count said shift pulses up to a number directly corresponding to the number of sectors in said storage register, means for providing output signals from said counting means at certain predetermined counts, said last name being connected to said means for transferring information to said register in order to effect the transfer of said information at times when said counting means indicates certain predetermined counts.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
76 words
A memory device according to claim 2 including logic circuit means connected to said output signals from said counting means, said logic circuit means being arranged to provide an enabling signal to permit the transfer of information into and out of said register only during one complete cycle thereof during the interval between two consecutive phasing pulses, the duration of said enabling signal being very short as compared with said interval between two consecutive phasing pulses.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
42 words
A memory device according to claim 3 wherein said enabling signal is both initiated and stopped when said counting means indicates a number greater than the number of egg carriers from the furthest upstream grading station to the furthest downstream discharge station.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
88 words
A memory device according to claim 3 wherein said output signals from said counting means are connected to each of said discharge stations, and means at each discharge station for comparing information representative of a predetermined grade of egg with the information transferred out of said register at a time corresponding to an indicated count in said counting means associated with that discharge station whereby eggs of said predetermined grade will be discharged at said discharge station when they reach the proper discharging position on said egg conveyor.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
23 words
A memory device according to claim 5 including manual switching means for changing said predetermined grade information at each of said discharge stations.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
29 words
A memory device according to claim 5 including means for causing only a predetermined percentage of said predetermined grade of egg to be discharged at any one discharge station.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
59 words
A memory device according to claim 5 including means for creating a variable delay in the time between the transfer of egg grade information to a discharge station and the discharge of an egg at that station so that eggs will be discharged at different positions at said station to fill a row of pockets in an egg container.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
99 words
A memory device according to claim 8 wherein said means for creating a variable delay comprises a secondary serial shift register associated with each discharge station, means operatively associated with said phasing pulse providing means for serially shifting information in said secondary serial shift register, means for monitoring the output of certain cells in said secondary serial shift register, and secondary counter means for comparing a count dependent upon the number of eggs discharged at a discharge station with the secondary serial shift register output monitoring means to cause said eggs to be discharged consecutively at linearly spaced positions.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
15 words
A memory device according to claim 8 including means for adjusting said variable delay time.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
329 words
In an egg grading machine which includes an egg conveyor for receiving eggs from at least one egg grading station And carrying said eggs to a plurality of spaced discharge stations where said eggs are selectively discharged in accordance with the grades assigned thereto at said grading station, said egg conveyor comprising a plurality of linearly arranged egg carriers adapted to be moved continuously at a uniform speed from said grading station to said discharge stations, the improvement comprising a memory device which includes, in combination: a storage register comprised of a plurality of information carrying sectors arranged in serial fashion; means providing a continuous series of shift pulses at a first rate for serially shifting information through said register from each sector thereof to an adjacent sector and from the last sector thereof to the first sector thereof; means for providing phasing pulses at a second rate corresponding to the movement of the conveyor through a predetermined short linear distance, said first rate being faster than said second rate; means for transferring information from said grading station into one of the sectors in said register in accordance with the grades of the eggs received by said conveyor; means for transferring information from one of the sectors of said register to said discharge stations to cause the selective discharge of said eggs in accordance with said information, both of said means for transferring information being operative only with respect to the sectors at the ends of the register; counting means connected to said means for shifting said register for correlating the information in said register at any given time with the position of the eggs on the conveyor; and means connecting said phasing pulse providing means with said counting means so that the count in said counting means is increased by one each time that a phasing pulse is produced whereby the movement of the eggs on the conveyor is tracked as they move through said short linear distances.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
329 words
In an egg grading machine which includes an egg conveyor for receiving eggs from at least one egg grading station And carrying said eggs to a plurality of spaced discharge stations where said eggs are selectively discharged in accordance with the grades assigned thereto at said grading station, said egg conveyor comprising a plurality of linearly arranged egg carriers adapted to be moved continuously at a uniform speed from said grading station to said discharge stations, the improvement comprising a memory device which includes, in combination: a storage register comprised of a plurality of information carrying sectors arranged in serial fashion; means providing a continuous series of shift pulses at a first rate for serially shifting information through said register from each sector thereof to an adjacent sector and from the last sector thereof to the first sector thereof; means for providing phasing pulses at a second rate corresponding to the movement of the conveyor through a predetermined short linear distance, said first rate being faster than said second rate; means for transferring information from said grading station into one of the sectors in said register in accordance with the grades of the eggs received by said conveyor; means for transferring information from one of the sectors of said register to said discharge stations to cause the selective discharge of said eggs in accordance with said information, both of said means for transferring information being operative only with respect to the sectors at the ends of the register; counting means connected to said means for shifting said register for correlating the information in said register at any given time with the position of the eggs on the conveyor; and means connecting said phasing pulse providing means with said counting means so that the count in said counting means is increased by one each time that a phasing pulse is produced whereby the movement of the eggs on the conveyor is tracked as they move through said short linear distances.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
83 words
A memory device according to claim 11 wherein said counting means is arranged to repeatedly and continuously count said shift pulses up to a number directly corresponding to the number of sectors in said storage register, means for providing output signals from said counting means at certain predetermined counts, said last named means being connected to said means for transferring information to said register in order to effect the transfer of said information at times when said counting means indicates certain predetermined counts.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
76 words
A memory device according to claim 12 including logic circuit means connected to said output signals from said counting means, said logic circuit means being arranged to provide an enabling signal to permit the transfer of information into and out of said register only during one complete cycle thereof during the interval between two consecutive phasing pulses, the duration of said enabling signal being very short as compared with said interval between two consecutive phasing pulses.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
88 words
A memory device according to claim 13 wherein said output signals from said counting means are connected to each of said discharge stations, and means at each discharge station for comparing information representative of a predetermined grade of egg with the information transferred out of said register at a time corresponding to an indicated count in said counting means associated with that discharge station whereby eggs of said predetermined grade will be discharged at said discharge station when they reach the proper discharging position on said egg conveyor.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
59 words
A memory device according to claim 14 including means for creating a variable delay in the time between the transfer of egg grade information to a discharge station and the discharge of an egg at that station so that eggs will be discharged at different positions at said station to fill a row of pockets in an egg container.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
99 words
A memory device according to claim 8 wherein said means for creating a variable delay comprises a secondary serial shift registEr associated with each discharge station, means operatively associated with said phasing pulse providing means for serially shifting information in said secondary serial shift register, means for monitoring the output of certain cells in said secondary serial shift register, and secondary counter means for comparing a count dependent upon the number of eggs discharged at a discharge station with the secondary serial shift register output monitoring means to cause said eggs to be discharged consecutively at linearly spaced positions.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
315 words
An egg grading machine comprising: an egg conveyor including a plurality of linearly arranged and uniformly spaced egg carriers; an egg grading station for sensing the grades of a series of eggs and sequentially delivering said eggs to said egg conveyor; a plurality of spaced egg discharge stations positioned adjacent to said egg conveyor downstream of said grading station; means for causing the selective discharge of said eggs at said discharge stations in accordance with the grades of the eggs sensed at said grading station; means for moving said conveyor from said grading station to said discharge stations; a storage register comprised of a plurality of information carrying sectors arranged in serial fashion; means providing shift pulses at a first rate for serially shifting information through said register from each sector thereof to the adjacent sector and from the last sector thereof to the first sector thereof; means for providing phasing pulses at a second rate corresponding to the movement of the conveyor through a short linear distance, said first rate being faster than said second rate; means for transferring information from said grading station into one of the sectors in said register in accordance with the grades of the eggs received by said conveyor; means for transferring information from one of the sectors of said register to said discharge stations to cause the selective discharge of said eggs in accordance with said information; counting means connected to said means for shifting said register for correlating the information in said register at any given time with the position of the eggs on the conveyor; and means connecting said phasing pulse providing means with said counting means so that the count in said counting means is increased by one each time that a phasing pulse is produced whereby the movement of the eggs on the conveyor is tracked as they move through said short linear distances.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
315 words
An egg grading machine comprising: an egg conveyor including a plurality of linearly arranged and uniformly spaced egg carriers; an egg grading station for sensing the grades of a series of eggs and sequentially delivering said eggs to said egg conveyor; a plurality of spaced egg discharge stations positioned adjacent to said egg conveyor downstream of said grading station; means for causing the selective discharge of said eggs at said discharge stations in accordance with the grades of the eggs sensed at said grading station; means for moving said conveyor from said grading station to said discharge stations; a storage register comprised of a plurality of information carrying sectors arranged in serial fashion; means providing shift pulses at a first rate for serially shifting information through said register from each sector thereof to the adjacent sector and from the last sector thereof to the first sector thereof; means for providing phasing pulses at a second rate corresponding to the movement of the conveyor through a short linear distance, said first rate being faster than said second rate; means for transferring information from said grading station into one of the sectors in said register in accordance with the grades of the eggs received by said conveyor; means for transferring information from one of the sectors of said register to said discharge stations to cause the selective discharge of said eggs in accordance with said information; counting means connected to said means for shifting said register for correlating the information in said register at any given time with the position of the eggs on the conveyor; and means connecting said phasing pulse providing means with said counting means so that the count in said counting means is increased by one each time that a phasing pulse is produced whereby the movement of the eggs on the conveyor is tracked as they move through said short linear distances.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
84 words
An egg grading machine according to claim 17 wherein said counting means is arranged to repeatedly and continuously count said shift pulses up to a number directly corresponding to the number of sectors in said storage register, means for providing output signals from said counting means at certain predetermined counts, said last named means being connected to said means for transferring information to said register in order to effect the transfer of said information at times when said counting means indicates certain predetermined counts.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
107 words
An egg grading maching according to claim 18 including logic circuit means connected to said output signals from said counting means, said logic circuit means being arranged to provide an enabling signal to permit the transfer of information into and out of said register only during one complete cycle thereof during the interval between two consecutive phasing pulses, the duration of said enabling signal being very short as compared with the interval between two consecutive phasing pulses whereby information in any sector in said register is transferred through all of the sectors in said register a considerable number of times between each pair of consecutive phasing pulses.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
69 words
An egg grading machine according to claim 19 wherein said conveyor is moved at a continuous and uniform rate of speed, said predetermined short linear distance being equal to the center-to-center spacing between a pair of adjacent egg carriers, and tHe number of sectors in said register being at least as great as the number of egg carriers extending from said grading station to the furthest downstream discharge station.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
38 words
An egg grading machine according to claim 20 wherein said enabling signal is initiated when said counting means indicates a number greater than the number of egg carriers from said grading station to said furthest downstream discharge station.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
95 words
An egg grading machine according to claim 18 wherein said output signals from said counting means are connected to each of said discharge stations, and means connected with said selective discharge means at each discharge station for comparing information representative of a predetermined grade of egg with the information transferred out of said register at a time corresponding to an indicated count in said counting means associated with that discharge station whereby eggs of said predetermined grade will be discharged at said discharge station when they reach the proper discharging position on said egg conveyor.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
30 words
An egg grading machine according to claim 22 including means for causing only a predetermined percentage of said predetermined grade of egg to be discharged at any one discharge station.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
60 words
An egg grading machine according to claim 17 including means for creating a variable delay in the time between the transfer of egg grade information to a discharge station and the discharge of an egg at that station so that eggs will be dropped at different positions at said station to fill a row of pockets in an egg container.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
99 words
An egg grading machine according to claim 24 wherein said means for creating a variable delay comprises a secondary serial shift register at each discharge station, means operatively associated with said phasing pulse providing means for serially shifting information in said secondary serial shift register, means for monitoring the output of certain cells in said secondary serial shift register, and secondary counter means for comparing a count dependent upon the number of eggs discharged at a discharge station with the secondary serial shift register output monitoring means to cause said eggs to be discharged consecutively at linearly spaced positions.
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) | 1978-08-04 | 1979-02-03 | 1979-08-05 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-08-04 | 1983-02-03 | 1983-08-05 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-08-04 | 1987-02-03 | 1987-08-05 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |