Sorting device
AssigneeRobert Bosch GmbH
InventorsMichael Habele, Jakob Zeyda
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed is a device for sorting fasteners, particularly screws, wherein defective fasteners are identified by a series of mechanical and electrical gauging stations arranged one after the other on a rectilinear conveying track and controlling ejection devices for eliminating screws which are not true in size or in quality. The mechanical gauging stations precede the electrical ones operating on the eddy current principle, in order to prevent neutralization of error signals generated by the electrical gauging stations. In this manner a very high accuracy of the entire sorting device is achieved.
Claims18
A device for sorting fasteners defining a head and a shank, particularly screws, comprising a conveying device including a linear track for imparting to a series of said fasteners a rectilinear movement in a feeding direction;
- a plurality of mechanical and electrical gauging stations arranged one after the other in the rectilinear path of movement of said fasteners to detect deviations of the heads and shanks thereof from a predetermined fastener;
- said mechanical gauging stations preceding said electrical gauging stations;
- means for selectively removing said fasteners from said linear track in response to said gauging stations;
- and further comprising a proximity sensor for detecting fasteners fed on said linear track, said conveying device including a supply container having means for introducing said series of fasteners on said linear track and generating corresponding acknowledgment signals, and a regulating device for controlling said removing means in response to control signals at the output of said proximity sensor and to said acknowledgment signals.
A device for sorting fasteners defining a head and a shank, particularly screws, comprising a conveying device including a linear track for imparting to a series of said fasteners a rectilinear movement in a feeding direction;
- a plurality of mechanical and electrical gauging stations arranged one after the other in the rectilinear path of movement of said fasteners to detect deviations of the heads and shanks thereof from a predetermined fastener;
- said mechanical gauging stations preceding said electrical gauging stations;
- means for selectively removing said fasteners from said linear track in response to said gauging stations;
- said linear track including a slotted rail coupled to a vibrator for imparting to said fasteners said rectlinear movement in the feeding direction;
- and wherein one of said mechanical gauging stations consists of a gauging hole in said slotted rail of the linear track, said hole being slightly smaller in diameter than a predetermined diameter of heads of tested fasteners so that fasteners with a smaller head diameter fall through the gauging hole into a collecting container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.