Egg transfer head
AssigneeDiamond Automations, Inc.
InventorDouglas E. Riley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus for transferring articles, such as eggs, from one station to another. The eggs are arranged in a predetermined configuration at the first or transfer station, and deposited at a second station in a different array or configuration. The transfer head, which contains egg engaging and lifting members in the form of vacuum cups, includes a first and second carrier section, each of which retains one-half of the array or egg engaging positions. The carrier sections are interconnected by linkage members which, when rotated, change the array configuration from a first position to a second position without the need for rotating the entire transfer head and the articles being carried.
Claims10
A transfer system having a transfer head for transporting a predetermined plurality of articles which are disposed in a first array configuration having m columns by n rows at a first station, to a second station, the predetermined plurality of articles being reconfigured from the first array configuration to a second array configuration having n columns by m rows so as to be deposited at the second station in the second array configuration, the transfer head being provided with a predetermined plurality of article holders for engaging respective ones of the predetermined plurality of articles during transportation, the transfer system further comprising:
- first and second article holder carrier means, each said article holder carrier means being arranged to retain one-half of the predetermined plurality of article holders in positions corresponding to the first array configuration;
- and
- linkage means connected to each of said first and second article carrier means to permit said first and second article carrier means to be moved with respect to one another, said linkage means being rotated by approximately 90.degree. so as to change said arrangement of the article holders from the first array configuration to the second array configuration.
An apparatus for transferring a plurality of eggs from the uppermost tray of multiple stacked trays, alternate trays having different orientations, from a pick-up station to an unloading station, the apparatus comprising a transfer head including means thereon for engaging the eggs to be transferred from said uppermost tray, means for pivotally moving said transfer head from said pick-up station to said unloading station, the egg engaging means including vacuum cups adapted to engage and hold the eggs to be transferred, said vacuum cups being arranged in rows parallel and perpendicular to one another to form a first rectangular configuration with the parallel rows including a like number of vacuum cups, and those rows perpendicular thereto having a different number of vacuum engaging cups, said transfer head including thereon a pair of oppositely disposed carrier frames of the same general configuration for supporting said egg engaging cups, each of said carrier frames being adapted to support one-half of the eggs to be transferred, said carrier frames having linkage means for connecting said pair of oppositely disposed carrier frames to one another and means attached to said linkage means to rotate said linkage means and thereby move said oppositely disposed carrier frames with respect to one another to change the orientation of said carrier frames while being transferred from said pick-up station to said unloading station, whereby the changed orientation of said carrier frames produces a second rectangular configuration of parallel rows having an equal number of vacuum cups to said first rectangular configuration.
A method for transferring a plurality of eggs from a tray disposed at a pick-up station, said tray having 30 eggs arranged therein in a 6 column by 5 row rectangular configuration, the method comprising the steps of:
- engaging the 30 eggs in respectively associated vacuum cups;
- transferring said vacuum cups and eggs engaged therewith in a transfer head having two carrier portions, each carrier portion supporting one-half of said vacuum cups and eggs engaged therewith, in the 6 column by 5 row rectangular configuration;
- changing the orientation of the carrier portions with respect to one another during said transferring step so as to arrange said vacuum cups and eggs engaged therewith in a 5 column by 6 row rectangular configuration;
- and
- depositing said eggs in said 5 column by 6 row rectangular configuration at an unloading station.
An article transfer system for simultaneously transporting a plurality of articles which are arranged in a planar array of m columns by n rows having mn array positions, where m.noteq.n;
- (m,n)>1;
- /m-n/=p, where p is an integer and 0<p<(m,n);
- and mn/2=q, where q is an integer, the article transfer system having a transfer head for collecting the articles at a pick-up location while the articles are arranged in the m column by n row array configuration, and depositing the articles at an unloading location in an n column by m row array configuration, the article transfer system further comprising:
- a plurality of article holder means in the transfer head, each for holding a respective article during transportation;
- first and second article holder carrier means, each said article holder carrier means being arranged to retain q ones of said article holder means in positions corresponding to said respective articles;
- and
- linkage means for connecting said first and second article carrier means to one another so as to permit said first and second article carrier means to be rotated with respect to one another, and thereby change said arrangement of said article holder carrier means from the m column by n row array configuration to the n column by m row array configuration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.