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US 11,458,509 B2Granted
Sorter
AssigneeWipotec GmbH
InventorsAlexander Schulzki, Matthias Joachim
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention concerns a sorter having a base element that can be swiveled around a horizontal swivel axis with a number of support surfaces uniformly arranged about the swivel axis. Each of the support surfaces can be swiveled into a conveyor for conveying a product along a product stream and swiveled out of the conveyor for ejection of a product from the product stream.
Claims16
A sorter for sorting products which are transported in a conveying direction along a conveyor, the sorter comprising:
- (a) a base element;
- (b) multiple support surfaces provided on the base element, each support surface lying in a respective plane extending parallel to a swivel axis of the base element, and the support surfaces being evenly arranged around the swivel axis so as to form the sides of a regular prism;
- and
- (c) the base element being mounted for rotation about the swivel axis so that each of the support surfaces is adapted to be swiveled into the conveyor, each respective support surface when swiveled into the conveyor extending parallel to the conveying direction and providing a transport layer for (i) receiving thereon a product delivered to the sorter by the conveyor so that the weight of the product is received by the transport layer and for (ii) further transport of the product in the conveying direction with the weight of the product received by the transport layer.
1 more element
A method for selectively removing products from a product stream, the method including:
- (a) delivering a first product to a transport layer of a sorter in a first sorter state, the first product being delivered in a conveying direction at a conveyor speed and when delivered resides on the transport layer so that the weight of the first product is received by the transport layer with the first product in position to be conveyed further in the conveying direction with the weight of the first product received by the transport layer, the transport layer in the first sorter state being provided by a first support surface extending parallel to the conveying direction, the first support surface comprising one of multiple support surfaces provided on a base element, each of the multiple support surfaces lying in a respective plane extending parallel to a swivel axis of the base element, and the support surfaces being evenly arranged around the swivel axis so as to form the sides of a regular prism;
- and
- (b) where the first product is to be removed from the product stream, swiveling the base element about the swivel axis in a rotation direction and through a swing angle to thereby transport the first product further to a sorting path that departs from the conveying direction.
A conveyor system including:
- (a) a sorter for sorting products which are transported in a conveying direction along a conveyor, the sorter comprising,
- (i) a base element,
- (ii) multiple support surfaces provided on the base element, each support surface lying in a respective plane extending parallel to a swivel axis of the base element, and the support surfaces being evenly arranged around the swivel axis so as to form the sides of a regular prism, and
- (iii) the base element being mounted for rotation about the swivel axis so that each of the support surfaces is adapted to be swiveled into the conveyor, each respective support surface when swiveled into the conveyor extending parallel to the conveying direction and providing a transport layer for (i) receiving thereon a product delivered to the sorter by the conveyor so that the weight of the product is received by the transport layer and for (ii) further transport of the product in the conveying direction with the weight of the product received by the transport layer;
- and
- (b) an outfeed unit adjacent to the sorter downstream in the conveying direction, the outfeed unit defining an outfeed transport layer substantially aligned with the transport layer.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.