# US 11,111,082 B2 · Product detector

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- Number: US 11,111,082 B2
- Document ID: US11111082B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/999,809
- Filed: 2016-02-19
- Published: 2020-09-10
- Granted: 2021-09-07
- Earliest claimed: 2016-02-19
- Assignees: Sidel (Canada) Inc.
- Applicants: Sidel Canada Inc.
- Inventors: Stéphane Goyette
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11111082B2

## CPC

- B65G 43/08: Control devices operated by article or material being fed, conveyed or discharged {(and controlling the discharging devices B65G47/42)}
- B33Y 80/00: Products made by additive manufacturing
- B65G 2203/043: Magnetic
- G01F 1/30: for fluent solid material
- G01F 3/00: Measuring the volume flow of fluids or fluent solid material wherein the fluid passes through the meter in successive and more or less isolated quantities, the meter being driven by the flow (measuring a proportion of the volume flow G01F5/00)
- G01F 13/003: {comprising a conveyor belt}
- B65G: TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS (packaging B65B; handling thin or filamentary materials, e.g. paper sheets or thread, B65H; cranes B66C; portable mobile or lifting or hauling appliances, e.g. hoists, B66D; devices for lifting or lowering goods for loading or unloading purposes, e.g. fork-lift trucks, B66F9/00; emptying bottles, jars, casks, barrels or similar containers, not otherwise provided for, B67C9/00; delivering or transferring liquids B67D; filling or discharging vessels for liquefied, solidified or compressed gases F17C; pipe-line systems for fluids F17D)
- B33Y: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING
- G01F: MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME

## Abstract

Disclosed is a detector for detecting a product flow on a conveyor, including a base, to be fixed at a side of the conveyor, a pendulum, fixed to the based with a rotation to an axis, the pendulum rotating when products are pushed against it, a sensor, for detecting the position of the pendulum. The pendulum includes at an end thereof a contact unit having a flat plate shape, with a non-metallic surface for contacting the products.

## Claims

### Claim 1

Detector (1) for detecting a product flow on a conveyor (2), comprising
a base (3), to be fixed at a side of said conveyor (2),
a pendulum (4), fixed to the base (3) with a rotation to an axis (5), said pendulum (4) rotating when products are pushed against said pendulum (4),
a sensor (6), for detecting the position of the pendulum (4)
wherein the pendulum (4) comprises:
at an end thereof, a contact means (7) having a flat plate shape, with a non metallic surface for contacting the products and an outer surface of the contact means (7) being made of an elongated plastic part (10), and
a support structure (9) for supporting the contact means (7), said support structure (9) having a bottom end that extends parallel to the axis (5), and
wherein the plastic part (10) has a flat plate shape and has formed therein a cavity (11) for receiving a corresponding end of the support structure (9),
the cavity (11) and the corresponding end of the support structure (9) having complementary elongated shapes and the cavity (11) configured to position the end of the support structure parallel to elongated plastic part (10).

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

Detector (1) according to claim 1, wherein the plastic part (10) and/or the support structure (9) and/or the pendulum (4) are/is obtained by additive manufacturing.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

Detector (1) according to claim 2, wherein the plastic part (10) is detachably mounted on the support structure (9).

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

Detector (1) according to claim 3, wherein the support structure (9) has openings (12) contributing to the balance of the pendulum (4) for the pendulum (4) to be urged against the products.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

Detector (1) according to claim 2, wherein the support structure (9) has openings (12) contributing to the balance of the pendulum (4) for the pendulum (4) to be urged against the products.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

Detector (1) according to claim 1, wherein the plastic part (10) is detachably mounted on the support structure (9).

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

Detector (1) according to claim 6, wherein the plastic part (10) is screw mounted to the end of the support structure (9).

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

Detector (1) according to claim 7, wherein the support structure (9) has openings (12) contributing to the balance of the pendulum (4) for the pendulum (4) to be urged against the products.

### Claim 9 (depends on 6)

Detector (1) according to claim 6, wherein the support structure (9) has openings (12) contributing to the balance of the pendulum (4) for the pendulum (4) to be urged against the products.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

Detector (1) according to claim 1, wherein the support structure (9) has openings (12) contributing to the balance of the pendulum (4) for the pendulum (4) to be urged against the products.