Apparatus for assorting articles according to size

An apparatus for assorting articles according to size comprising:

• A. means for conveying articles along a predetermined elongated path from a receiving station through a plurality of successive assorting stations;
• B. a plurality of rollers individually mounted at the assorting stations for rotation about respective axes substantially parallel to and aligned along the conveying means, the rollers having substantially cylindrical peripheral surfaces concentric to the axes of their rollers and frusto-conical ends disposed toward the receiving station, the peripheral surfaces disposed toward the conveyor being progressively more closely spaced from the conveyor in successive increments at the assorting stations;
• and
• C. means for rotating the rollers to cause their peripheral surface disposed toward the conveyor to travel transversely of the conveyor to displace articles engaged thereby from the conveyor at their respective assorting stations.

An apparatus for assorting articles to size comprising:

• A. means for conveying articles along a predetermined elongated path from a receiving station through a plurality of successive assorting stations;
• B. a plurality of rollers individually mounted at the assorting stations for rotation about respective axes substantially parallel to the conveying means, the rollers having peripheral surfaces of revolution concentric to the axes of their rollers, the peripheral surfaces disposed toward the conveyor being progressively more closely spaced from the conveyor in successive increments at the assorting stations;
• and
• C. means for rotating the rollers to cause their peripheral surfaces disposed toward the conveyor to travel transversely of the conveyor to displace articles engaged thereby from the conveyor at their respective assorting stations;
• wherein the means for conveying articles comprises:
• (1) a pair of endless belts having respective upper runs, the upper runs being substantially parallel in a direction along the path and elongated therealong and being disposed in transversely upwardly divergent adjacent relation;
• and
• (2) power drive means for motivating the upper runs in a direction from the receiving station to the assorting stations.

An apparatus for assorting articles according to size comprising:

• A. means for conveying articles along a predetermined elongated path from a receiving station through an assorting station;
• B. means at the assorting station for removing articles in a predetermined range of sizes from the conveying means, the removing means having a surface disposed toward the conveying means in a predetermined spaced relation thereto and mounted for movement in a direction transversely of the path, the surface having a portion disposed toward the receiving station and a portion disposed oppositely thereof, said opposite portion being more closely spaced from the conveying means than said portion toward the receiving station and the difference in said spacing of said portions corresponding to the difference between the size of the largest articles in said range and the size of the smallest articles in said range;
• and
• C. means for motivating the surface in said direction so that articles in said range are engaged by the surface and displaced transversely from the conveying means at the station;
• wherein the means for conveying articles comprises a pair of endless belts having respective upper runs, the upper runs being substantially parallel in a direction along the path and elongated therealong and being disposed in transversely upwardly divergent relation;
• and power drive means for motivating the upper runs in a direction from the receiving station to the assorting stations.

An apparatus for assorting articles according to size comprising:

• A. a conveyor having a pair of endless belts providing elongated, substantially planar upper runs which, longitudinally, are extended in parallel relation and, transversely, are disposed in edgewardly adjacent, transversely upwardly divergent relation;
• B. means for motivating the belts so that the upper runs move in the same direction longitudinally to transport articles rested on and between the runs in said direction;
• C. a roller having a peripheral surface which is a surface of revolution about an axis;
• D. means mounting the roller for rotation about the axis with the axis extended substantially parallel to said direction and for continuously adjustable movement transversely of the runs along a path generally parallel to one of said runs and toward and from the other of said runs, with the peripheral surface of the roller being disposed in adjacent spaced relation to the runs and the axis remaining in substantial parallelism to said direction as the roller moves along said path;
• and
• E. means for rotationally driving the roller about said axis so that the peripheral surface engages those of the transported articles which extend from said other run toward said axis a distance greater than the distance between the peripheral surface and the other run and displaces the articles so extending transversely from the runs, said displaced articles which extend a relatively lesser such distance being displaced only when the axis is moved toward the other run and only those articles which extend a relatively greater such distance being displaced when the axis is moved from said other run, so that the apparatus is adjustable to assort from the conveyor articles larger than a predetermined size in a continuous range of sizes.