Grading apparatus
AssigneeAutoSystems Limited
InventorsRichard Morley Brook, Eric Elliot
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Grading apparatus is provided for use in associating one of a plurality of a grade with each of a plurality of articles travelling in succession along a feed path. The apparatus comprises a grading station of sufficient length to accommodate at least two articles at any one time, a control unit, and at least two means of feeding a grading signal to the control unit. Although the same amount of work is involved it is easier for an operator to grade say four articles at a time over a distance of say 2 feet, rather than to grade one article at a time over a distance of 6 inches.
Claims16
Grading apparatus for use in associating one of a plurality of grades with each of a plurality of articles conveyed in succession along a feed path by conveyor means, the apparatus comprising a grading station of sufficient length along said path to accommodate a group of at least two articles at any one time, a control unit adapted to be connected to said conveyor means, and a plurality of means for feeding a grading signal to the control unit, the number of feed means being equal to the number of articles which can be accommodated at the grading station.
A conveyor system for transporting poultry carcasses and sorting the carcasses by weight, the system including a control unit for receiving information regarding the weight of the carcasses and actuating sorting devices in dependence upon the weight information, the control unit having a plurality of replaceable modular components, a first of said modular components comprising means for receiving information regarding the weight of a carcass lying within a first preselected weight range, said first modular component having means for preselecting the upper and lower limits of said first weight range.
A system for transporting and sorting poultry carcasses comprising an overhead conveyor system, a control unit, a grading station, means for feeding information into the control unit regarding the grade of carcass at the grading station, means for storing the information in the control unit, a weighing station, means for feeding into the control unit information regarding the weight of carcasses as they pass through the weighing station, and a plurality of shift registers each associated with a drop-off mechanism, one of which receives a signal relating to one particular carcass, dependent on the grading information and weight information received by the control unit, and actuates the associated drop-off mechanism to remove the particular carcass from the conveyor when the particular carcass reaches the drop-off mechanism.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.