Bin unloader
AssigneeLaitram, L.L.C.
InventorsMatthew L. Fourney, Bryant G. Ragan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An article-unloading apparatus comprising a bin assembly including a bag inside a bin. The bin assembly is raised and lowered by a lift and tilted, when raised, to dump articles onto a decline conveyor, such as a ramp. A winch attached to the bag moves the bottom of the bag through the bin to help push articles from the tilted bin assembly. A camera takes a video image of the articles entering the ramp to detect clumps. Stops on the ramp are selectively actuated to block the bottom-most articles in a clump to help separate articles.
Claims23
An article-unloading apparatus comprising:
- a bin having an interior and a top opening bounded by a rim;
- a bag for holding articles, the bag having a bottom in the interior of the bin and an opposite top edge portion;
- a winch below the rim and connected to the bag to raise and lower the bottom of the bag through the interior of the bin;
- a tilter connected to the bin to tilt the bin to a tilted position to discharge articles from the bag.
An article-unloading apparatus comprising:
- a bin having an interior and a top opening bounded by a rim;
- a bag for holding articles in the interior of the bin;
- wherein the bag comprises a flexible sheet and has a semi-rigid bottom and a top edge portion attached to the rim of the bin;
- a winch below the rim and connected to the bag to increase and decrease the volume of the bag in the interior of the bin;
- wherein the winch comprises a plurality of reels and a plurality of lines wound round the reels, wherein distal ends of the lines are attached to the bottom of the bag so that, as the lines are reeled in on the reels, the flexible sheet is stretched as the bottom of the bag is pulled downward through the interior of the bin, and, as the lines are payed out from the reels, the bottom of the bag is pulled upward through the interior of the bin toward the top opening by tension in the stretched flexible sheet.
An article-unloading apparatus comprising:
- a bin having an interior and a top opening bounded by a rim;
- a bag for holding articles in the interior of the bin;
- a winch connected to the bag to increase and decrease the volume of the bag in the interior of the bin;
- wherein the bag has a top edge portion lapped over the rim and wherein the winch comprises a plurality of reels outside the bin and below the rim and a plurality of lines wound around the reels, wherein distal ends of the lines are attached to the top edge portion of the bag so that, as the lines are reeled in on the reels, the top edge portion of the bag is pulled downward toward the reels to invert the bag over the rim of the bin.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.