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US 5,996,809 AGranted
Flatware sorting machine
OwnerRobert H. Chiassoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A flatware sorting machine including a feed bin for holding unsorted flatware, a sorting system for sorting the flatware, and a flatware pick-up and transport system for retrieving the flatware from the feed bin and transporting them to the sorting system.
Claims16
A flatware sorting machine comprising:
- a feed bin for holding unsorted flatware;
- a sorting system for sorting the flatware;
- and
- a flatware pick-up and transport system for retrieving the flatware from said feed bin and transporting them to said sorting system, the flatware pick-up and transport system including:
- a transport mechanism,
- a plurality of individual flatware grasping means connected to said transport mechanism for retrieving individual pieces of flatware from said feed bin, and
- a drive subsystem for driving said transport mechanism to bring the grasping means into contact with the unsorted flatware in the feed bin and for transporting the grasping means to the sorting system, and
- means for transferring flatware from the grasping means to the sorting system, each said grasping means including a hollow body, a pair of magnets disposed within said hollow body and separated by a spacing spring, and a driver in contact with one magnet through the body for adjusting the spacing between the two magnets to thereby vary the magnetic strength of the grasping means.
5 more elements
A flatware sorting machine comprising:
- a feed bin for holding unsorted flatware;
- a sorting system for sorting the flatware, the sorting system including:
- a frame portion defining a first sorting station for sorting flatware handle end down and a second sorting station for sorting flatware handle end up, and
- a rotating portion disposed within said frame;
- and
- a flatware pick-up and transport system for retrieving the flatware from said feed bin and transporting them to said sorting system, the flatware pick-up and transport system including:
- a transport mechanism,
- a plurality of individual flatware grasping means connected to said transport mechanism for retrieving individual pieces of flatware from said feed bin, and a drive subsystem for driving said transport mechanism to bring the grasping means into contact with the unsorted flatware in the feed bin and for transporting the grasping means to the sorting system, and
- means for transferring flatware from the grasping means to the sorting system.
6 more elements
A flatware sorting machine comprising:
- a feed bin for holding unsorted flatware;
- a sorting system for sorting the flatware, said sorting system including:
- means for sorting flatware according to type including a plurality of sorting jaw members operable between a closed position and a plurality of different open positions, and
- means for sorting flatware according to orientation;
- and
- a flatware pick-up and transport system for retrieving the flatware from said feed bin and transporting them to said sorting system, the flatware pick-up and transport system including:
- a transport mechanism,
- a plurality of individual flatware grasping means connected to said transport mechanism for retrieving individual pieces of flatware from said feed bin, and
- a drive subsystem for driving said transport mechanism to bring the grasping means into contact with the unsorted flatware in the feed bin and for transporting the grasping means to the sorting system;
- and
- means for transferring flatware from the grasping means to the sorting system.
8 more elements
A flatware sorting machine comprising:
- a feed bin for holding unsorted flatware;
- a sorting system for sorting the flatware including:
- a frame portion defining a first sorting station for sorting flatware handle end down and a second sorting station for sorting flatware handle end up, and
- a rotating portion disposed within said frame, said rotating portion including:
- a plurality of feed hoppers disposed to receive flatware from said pick-up and transport mechanism,
- a corresponding plurality of sorting jaw members disposed beneath said feed hoppers and operable between a closed position and plurality of open positions, and
- means for sequentially opening and closing said jaw members to sort said flatware according to type.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.