Air decelerator for pneumatic sorting system
AssigneeSRC Vision, Inc.
InventorPhilip L. Hoffman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An air decelerator for an inspection and sorting system employing pneumatic ejectors, comprising an air plenum adapted to generally cause a stream of air to flow in a direction opposing acceptable articles moving in a trajectory, and thereby decelerate the velocity of the articles to reduce the impact of the articles when they come into contact with the receiving surface to minimize damage to the articles caused by the impact.
Claims31
In a system for sorting unacceptable and acceptable articles according to predetermined characteristics, wherein the articles are conveyed past a video scanning camera that sends video data to a video signal processor for actuating selected combinations of multiple ejection modules to deflect unacceptable articles with an ejection gas toward a first trajectory directed to a first area surface and to permit articles that are not deflected by an ejection gas to proceed in a second trajectory directed to a second area surface, an air decelerator adapted to generally cause a stream of air directed through an air plenum to flow in a direction opposing articles in the second trajectory and thereby decelerate the velocity of the articles to reduce the impact of the articles when the articles come into contract with the second area surface, the air decelerator comprising:
- a housing defining an air plenum having outer surfaces enclosing a generally hollow interior, wherein a lower outer surface of the housing facing downwardly toward the second trajectory is oriented at a slight declining slope in a proximate position above and substantially parallel to the second trajectory, and wherein an upper surface of the housing has an open inlet through which the stream of air enters into the housing and an open outlet through which the stream of air flows out of the housing in a direction along the lower outer surface of the housing so as to oppose articles in the second trajectory and thereby decelerate the velocity of the articles to reduce impact forces imposed on the articles when the articles come into contact with the second area surface.
In a sorting system in which acceptable and unacceptable articles are conveyed past a video scanning camera that sends video data to a video signal processor for actuating selected combinations of multiple air ejection modules to deflect with ejection air unacceptable articles toward a first trajectory directed to a first area surface and acceptable articles proceed in a second trajectory directed to a second area surface, a method of decelerating the velocity of the articles directed toward the second trajectory, comprising the steps of:
- providing a housing defining an air plenum having outer surfaces enclosing a generally hollow interior, the housing having an open inlet and an open outlet;
- positioning the housing so that-a lower outer surface of the housing is oriented to place the housing axis lying perpendicular to the slot in a slight downward slope in a proximate position above and substantially parallel to the second trajectory;
- and
- blowing a stream of air into the open inlet of the housing such that at least a portion of the stream of air is blown out of the open outlet in a direction that flows along the lower outer surface of the housing and thereby opposes the articles in the second trajectory to thereby decelerate the velocity of the articles and thus reduce impact forces imposed on the articles when the articles come into contact with the second area surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.