Method of and means for indexing articles
OwnerWarren C. Nessinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A conveyor system wherein randomly spaced articles are advanced on a conveyor at a predetermined rate of speed, and means made effective by the presence of an article in a predetermined position on said conveyor, to lift the article therefrom and advance it a predetermined distance at a greater speed than that of the conveyor so as to locate each article in uniform spaced relation to an article in advance thereof and reposition it on the conveyor.
Claims13
An apparatus for sequentially indexing a first article having at least a predetermined minimum overall spacing behind a second article on a conveyor wherein said overall spacing includes the spacing between said first and said second article and the length of said first article, said apparatus comprising:
- a. sensing means for determining the position of said first article on said conveyor;
- and
- b. positioning means responsive to said sensing means for:
- 1. lifting said first article from said conveyor if said sensing means indicates that said first article is mispositioned;
- 2. moving said first article if thusly lifted at a speed greater than the speed of said conveyor;
- and
- 3. placing said first article on a surface at a position where it will lie a positive integral number of unit lengths behind said second article, said unit length being longer than the lengths of said first and second articles and no longer than said minimum overall spacing.
An apparatus for sequentially indexing a first article behind a second article on a conveyor comprising:
- a. sensing means for determining the position of said first article on said conveyor;
- and
- b. positioning means responsive to said sensing means for:
- 1. lifting said first article from said conveyor if said sensing means indicates that said first article is mispositioned;
- 2. moving said first article if thusly lifted at a speed different than the speed of said conveyor;
- and
- 3. placing said first article on a surface at a position where it will lie a positive integral number of unit lengths behind said second article, said unit length being longer than the lengths of said first and second articles, said positioning means touching said first and second articles only on their horizontal surfaces.
A method for sequentially indexing a first article having at least a predetermined minimum overall spacing behind a second article on a conveyor comprising:
- a. determining the position of said first article on said conveyor;
- b. lifting said first article from said conveyor if said first article is determined to be mispositioned without contacting the edges of said first article;
- c. moving said first article if thusly lifted at a speed greater than the speed of said conveyor;
- and
- d. placing said first article on a surface at a position where it will lie a positive integral number of unit lengths behind said second article, said unit length being longer than the lengths of said first and second articles and no longer than said minimum overall spacing.
A method for sequentially indexing a first article behind a second article on a conveyor comprising:
- a. determining the position of said first article on said conveyor;
- b. lifting said first article from said conveyor if said first article is determined to be mispositioned, without contacting any edge of either said first or second article;
- c. moving said first article if thusly lifted at a speed different than the speed of said conveyor;
- and
- d. placing, without contacting any edge of either said first or said second article, said first article on a surface at a position where it will lie a positive integral number of unit lengths behind said second article, said unit length being longer than the lengths of said first and said second article.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.