US 4,454,947 AGranted

Product inspection and ejection system

AssigneeOlin Corporation

InventorsBernard J. Jacobsmeyer, Gary D. Reding

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Abstract

A method of removing product of an unacceptable height from a product line is disclosed. In the method, a quantity of the product is arrayed in a carrier and moved to a gauging station where the array is placed between a reference plate and a corresponding array of gauging members and gauged by raising the reference plate to a predetermined height position and measuring the height of the gauging members when the gauging members are supported on the product array. The signals from the gauging station are stored and the carrier plate is moved to a rejection station where unacceptable product is selectively removed in response to the stored rejection signals from the gauging station. The carrier plate is then returned to the product line with only acceptable product still in place.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A method of automatically removing products of an unacceptable height from an array of products in a production line, which comprises the steps of:

(a) supporting a quantity of said products in a product carrier in an array of rows and columns;
(b) moving said carrier to a gauging station;
(c) placing said array between a planar reference plate and an array of gauging members of known height;
(d) uniformly raising said planar reference plate, relative to said carrier plate and said gauging members, to a predetermined height position so as to cause said planar reference plate to support said product array and said product array in turn to support said array of gauging members;
(e) measuring the height of each gauging member in said array of supported gauging members;
(f) generating a first rejection signal corresponding to each gauge member whose height is not within a predetermined range;
(g) storing said first rejection signals;
(h) lowering said planar reference plate, relative to said carrier plate and said gauging members, so that said product array is again supported by said carrier plate;
(i) moving said carrier plate to a rejection station;
(j) selectively activating a product removal device in response to said first rejection signals so as to automatically remove from said carrier plate only those products corresponding to gauging members which had an unacceptable height during said measuring;
and
(k) returning said carrier plate to said production line.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.