Method and apparatus for detecting articles moving in a continuous stream
AssigneeR. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
InventorRodney W. Heikel
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for counting indeterminately spaced articles traveling in a continuous stream. Successive individual lead articles of the stream are diverted from their direction of movement in an oblique direction. A sensor located beneath the stream at the point of oblique movement detects the sequential presence and absence of articles which information is accumulated to obtain a count. For counting rod-shaped articles, such as cigarettes, the method may be embodied in a drum having a helical groove to move the rods, the drum being located above a reflective scanning sensor head.
Claims5
A method for counting articles fed in a continuous stream, comprising the steps of:
- conveying successive lead articles in a direction of travel;
- detecting the presence of said lead articles;
- accelerating said lead articles transverse to said direction of travel;
- said lead articles being maintained in a position oriented substantially parallel to said direction of travel;
- sensing the absence of said lead articles before the rearmost portion of said lead article passes beyond said detecting means;
- and
- developing signals based on said detecting and sensing steps.
Apparatus for counting articles fed in a continuous stream, comprising:
- means for detecting the presence or absence of articles in a detection zone and generating signals responsive to same;
- means for conveying successive lead articles in a direction of travel into said detection zone so that said detecting means detects the presence of said lead article;
- means for accelerating said lead article transversely to said direction of travel while retaining said lead article oriented substantially parallel to said direction of travel such that said acceleration commences after said detecting means detects the presence of said lead article, said acceleration being effective to cause the rearmost portion of said lead article to describe a path of motion entirely outside said detection zone.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.