Poultry weighing and packing apparatus
OwnerWilliam F. Altenpohl, Paul J. Altenpohlinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Poultry dropped from a conveyor line at a weighing station is automatically packed into containers by a container filling machine positioned below the weighing station. The birds received in the machine from the weighing station are rammed into an accumulator from which they are dropped into a container that is supported and periodically reorientated on a turntable. When fully loaded, the container is displaced from the turntable by an empty container to begin another operational cycle. Signal feedback sensors and control logic govern automatic operation of the machine through fluid power operated devices.
Claims13
In combination with a container filling machine in which objects are compacted within a storage zone by strokes of a ram and objects accumulated within the storage zone are transferred to a container, a control system including first counter means for counting the strokes of the ram, means responsive to completion of a preset count by the first counter means for effecting said transfer of accumulated objects in the storage zone to the container, second counter means for counting a preset number of said transfers of compacted objects to the container, reset means responsive to completion of the preset count by each of the counter means for terminating operation of the counter means, means responsive to the completion of said preset count by the second counter means for continuing supplemental operation of the first counter means, and means responsive to a preset supplemental count by the first counter means for transferring the accumulated objects in the storage zone to the container to complete filling thereof.
In combination with a weight sorting mechanism from which objects within a predetermined weight range are received, an automatic container filling machine comprising accumulator means for storing a predetermined number of objects received from the sorting mechanism, means for transferring said objects from the accumulator means to a container in response to accumulation of said predetermined number of objects, means for reorientating the container relative to the accumulator means following tranfer of said objects to the container, counter means for selecting said predetermined number of objects and the number of reorientations imparted to the container during a filling operation, and selector means connected to the counter means for terminating said filling operation in response to the transfer of a supplemental number of objects less than said predetermined number, from the accumulator means to the container.
In a control system for an automatic container packing machine, a pair of counter devices, signal input means connected to one of the counter devices for supply of input pulses thereto, control means for producing a pulse resetting said one of the counter devices in response to a preselected number of signal pulses counted, means connecting the control means to the other of the counter devices for counting a preselected number of resetting pulses from the control means, reset means responsive to a count of said preselected number of resetting pulses by the other of the counter devices for resetting thereof, and means responsive to said resetting of the other of the counter devices for setting said one of the counter devices to count a supplemental number of the input signal pulses different from said preselected number.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.