Feeder system for feeding items
AssigneeSiemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc.
InventorsGregory D. Ariff, Donald R. Phillips
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A feeder system for item feeding is presented. The feeder system may include a container having a plurality of walls, an actuator, a selector, and a chute. The container receives a plurality of items. An opening is formed in the container. The items flow through the opening towards the selector by a gravitational force. The selector singulates the plurality of items into one item. The chute receives the singulated item one at a time from the selector. The actuator is attached to the container and agitates the container to maintain a flow of the plurality of items passing through the opening.
Claims20
A feeder system comprising:
- a container adapted to receive a plurality of items, the container comprising a plurality of walls that define a cavity of the container, the plurality of walls including a first wall having a flap formed by a cut of a portion of the first wall;
- an actuator attached to the first wall and to the flap outside of the cavity and configured to operate at a frequency;
- a selector that singulates the plurality of items into one item;
- and
- a chute adapted to receive the singulated item from the selector one at a time,
- wherein an opening is formed in the container,
- wherein the selector is adapted to receive the plurality of items from the container via the opening by a gravitational force, and
- wherein the actuator is adapted to agitate the container at the frequency via movements of the flap to maintain a flow rate of the plurality of items passing through the opening.
A container comprising:
- a plurality of walls defining a cavity to receive a plurality of items, the plurality of walls including a first wall having a flap formed by a cut of a portion of the first wall;
- an actuator attached to the first wall and to the flap outside of the cavity and configured to operate at a frequency;
- and
- a selector that singulates the plurality of items into one item,
- wherein an opening is formed in the container,
- wherein the selector is adapted to receive the plurality of items from the container via the opening by a gravitational force, and
- wherein the actuator is adapted to agitate the container at the frequency via movements of the flap to maintain a flow rate of the plurality of items passing through the opening.
A method for feeding a plurality of items in a feeding system comprising:
- receiving the plurality of items into a cavity of a container, the container comprising a plurality of walls that define the cavity, the plurality of walls including a first wall having a flap formed by a cut of a portion of the first wall;
- agitating the container by an actuator attached to the first wall and to the flap outside of the cavity and configured to operate at a frequency via movements of the flap;
- singulating the plurality of items into one item by a selector that is oscillating;
- and
- feeding the singulated item from the selector to a chute one at a time,
- wherein an opening is formed in the container,
- wherein the selector receives the plurality of items from the container via the opening by a gravitational force, and
- wherein the actuator agitates the container at the frequency to maintain a flow rate of the items passing through the opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.