CA1171811A - Vibratory feeding apparatus - Google Patents
Vibratory feeding apparatusInfo
- Publication number
- CA1171811A CA1171811A CA000389939A CA389939A CA1171811A CA 1171811 A CA1171811 A CA 1171811A CA 000389939 A CA000389939 A CA 000389939A CA 389939 A CA389939 A CA 389939A CA 1171811 A CA1171811 A CA 1171811A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- articles
- ring
- bowl
- orienting
- baffle
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
- B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
- B65G47/02—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors
- B65G47/04—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors for feeding articles
- B65G47/12—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors for feeding articles from disorderly-arranged article piles or from loose assemblages of articles
- B65G47/14—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors for feeding articles from disorderly-arranged article piles or from loose assemblages of articles arranging or orientating the articles by mechanical or pneumatic means during feeding
- B65G47/1407—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors for feeding articles from disorderly-arranged article piles or from loose assemblages of articles arranging or orientating the articles by mechanical or pneumatic means during feeding the articles being fed from a container, e.g. a bowl
- B65G47/1414—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors for feeding articles from disorderly-arranged article piles or from loose assemblages of articles arranging or orientating the articles by mechanical or pneumatic means during feeding the articles being fed from a container, e.g. a bowl by means of movement of at least the whole wall of the container
- B65G47/1421—Vibratory movement
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Feeding Of Articles To Conveyors (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
An apparatus for orienting and feeding axially elon-gated articles has a feeder bowl which includes a helical ramp surface which terminates at the upper edge of the bowl. An annular ring supported for rotation around an upper portion of the feeder bowl has an upwardly facing article supporting sur-face contiguous with a terminal portion of the ramp surface to receive articles therefrom. An annular baffle disposed above the ring and in coaxial alignment with it coacts with the ring to successively release articles from the ring to a guide con-veyor which directs the articles tangentially away from the ring.
Separate independent drive mechanisms are provided for vibrating the feeder bowl and rotating the ring to enable the feeder bowl to operate intermittently to discharge articles onto the ring which may operate continuously.
An apparatus for orienting and feeding axially elon-gated articles has a feeder bowl which includes a helical ramp surface which terminates at the upper edge of the bowl. An annular ring supported for rotation around an upper portion of the feeder bowl has an upwardly facing article supporting sur-face contiguous with a terminal portion of the ramp surface to receive articles therefrom. An annular baffle disposed above the ring and in coaxial alignment with it coacts with the ring to successively release articles from the ring to a guide con-veyor which directs the articles tangentially away from the ring.
Separate independent drive mechanisms are provided for vibrating the feeder bowl and rotating the ring to enable the feeder bowl to operate intermittently to discharge articles onto the ring which may operate continuously.
Description
r;~ ~ ~ ;
1:~7181~
VIBRATORY FEEDING APPARATUS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates in general to article feeding devices and deals more particularly with an improved article feeder of the vibratory bowl type wherein the bowl is formed with a helical ramp along which articles to ~e fed travel in response to vibration or oscillation of the bowl. The present invention is particularly concerned with an improved vibratory feeding apparatus for orienting and feeding 2xially elongated articles in axially side-by-side relation to each other wherein each of the articles has an elongated body and a radially en-larged portion axially spaced from at least one end of the body.
Apparatus of the aforedescribed general type has here-tofore been provided wherein a supply of articles loosely con-tained within a vibrating feeder bowl are discharged upwardlyby means of a peripheral ramp leading to a gated outer rim through which articles are successively discharged in a generally radial direction. If articles are to be fed from the feeder bowl directly to another machine which opera~es continuously or 20 to a conveyor which feeds the machine, the feeder bowl must generally remain in constant operation to continuously advance articles along its ramp surface. Articles loosely received with-in the central portion of the bowl remain in a continuous state ; of motion and constantly rub or impact against each other. This 25 condition is generally undesirable, particularly where the article 1~7~811 are made from a soft plastic material or the like and have a surface finish which may be easily damaged. The present inven-tion is particularly concerned with this problem.
It is the general aim of the present invention to pro-vide an improved article feeding apparatus of the vibratory bowl type for feeding a continuous supply of axially elongated articles oriented in axially side-by-siae relation and wherein the drive mechanism for vibrating the feeder bowl may, if desired, be in-termittently operated.
SUI~MARY OF THE INVENTION
- In accordance with the present invention an apparatus is provided for orienting and feeding axiallv elongated articles, wherein each article has an axially elongated body and a radially enlarged portion axially spaced from at least one end of the body. The feeding apparatus co."prises a feed2r bowl for contain-ing a supply of articles to be oriented and fed. A generally helical track surface extends along the inner peripnery of the feeder bowl and has a terminal ~ortion which extends along an associated portion of the upper edge of the bowl. A drive mech-anism is provided for vibrating the feeder bowl to move articlescontained within a central portion of the bowl onto and along the track surface in one direction and in generally zxial end-to-end relation to each other. A ring surrounds a portion of the outer periphery of the feeder bowl and has an up~ardly facing article supporting surface contiguous with the terminal portion ¦ of the tra urface for receiving articles from the terminal . i , .
portion. The ring is supported for rotation around and relative to the fee~er bowl. The apparatus further includes drive means for rotating the ring, means for retaining articles on the sup-porting surface, and means for releasing each successive article from the supporting surface.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a pers?ective view of a vibratory feeder em-bodying the present invention and containing articles to be fed.
Fig. 2 is a somewhat enlarged perspective view of an article such as shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a plan view of the vibratory feeaer sho-wn in Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a somewhat enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line ~-4 of Fig. 3.
Fig. S is a somew'nat enlarged fra~mentary sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.
Fig. 6 is a somewhat enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 3.
Fig. 7 is a somewhat enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken generally along the line 7-7 of Fig. 3.
Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing components of a drive control mechanism.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED ~r:BODIMENT
Turning now to the drawings and referring first parti-cularly to Fig. 1, a vibraiory feeding apparatus embodying the present invention is indicatea generally by the reference numeral 10. The apparatus 10 is particularly adapted for orienting and feeding a continuous succession of axially elongated articles, such as the articles indicated at A, A in the drawings. ~ach article has an axially elongated body and a radially enlarged portion axially spaced from at least one end of the body.
A typical article A is illustrated in somewhat further detail in Fig. 2 and comprises a hollow axially elongated gener-ally cylindrical hypodermic syringe body part. The syringe body ~art A is preferably made from transparent plastic material and has a generally cylindrical body portion 12 and a radially en-larged flange portion 14 integrally connected to one end of the body portion. An axially elongated nozzle portion 16 projects coaxially from the opposite end of the body portion 12.
Considering now the illustrated vibratory feeding apparatus 10 in further detail, it includes a feeder bowl indi-cated generally at 18 ~B which has a central portion for con-taining a supply of articles, such as the articles A, A. The feeder bowl 18 is preferably made from cast aluminum or like material and has a helical track surface 20 which spirals upwardly and outwardly from the central portion along the ;nner peripheral surface of the b~wl. The track surface 20 is inclined radially outwardly and downwardly relative to the axis of the bowl 18, is wide enough to accommodate a single article A, and terminates in an arcuate terminal portion 22 at the ~s ~ s~o~ ~ 3 41 circular upper edge of the bowl 18~.
The feeder bowl 18 is mounted on a base 24 which is supported on vertically adjustable legs and contains vibratory drive mechanism of a well-known type indicated schematically at 25 in Fig. 8, but not shown in detail. The drlve mechanism 25 vibrates the feeder bowl 18 to move articles such as the articles A, A onto and along the track surface 20 in generally axial end-to-end relation to each other. The construction and arrange~ent o the drive mechanism 25 may vary, but, preferably, the latter mecnanism is arranged to impart helical oscillato~y m~tion to the feeder bowl 18. More specifically, the bowl drive mechanism is arranged to oscillate the bowl about its vertical axis and at the same time reciprocate it vertically. Preferably, the drive mechanism 25 includes a tuning device which may be adjusted to ca_se the feeder bowl to vibrate at a predetermined frequency, as, for example, 60 Hertz. Disclosure of a typical drive mecnan-is~ for vibrating a feeder bowl of the aforedescribed general ty?e is contained in U. S. Patent 3,048,260 to Willis for VIB~A-TO~ FOR ~TERIAL CONVEYING A?PARATUS, issued August 7, 1962.
20 The aforesaid patent, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention, is hereby adopted by reference as a part of the present disclosure.
An annular ring, indicated generally at 26, and best shown in Figs. 1 and 3, surrounds an upper portion of the outer periphery of the feeder bowl 18 and has an upwardly facing article 117181~
supporting surface 28. The surface 28 is contiguous to the track surface terminal portion 22 and inclined radially outwardly and downwardly relative to the central axis of the feeder bowl, as best shown in Figs. 4 and 5. A coaxial annular groove 30 formed in the ring 26 o?ens upwardly through the article supporting sur-face 28, for a purpose which will be hereinafter further discussed The lower portion of the ring 26 is partially defined by a sub-stantially radially disposed and downwardly facing lower surface 32 and a radially outwardly facing annular surface 34.
The ring 26 rests upon a series of angularly spaced support rollers 36, 36 and 36a which are journalled .or rotation about horizontal axes and which engage the lower surface 32 and support t~e ring 26 for rotation about the vertical axis of the feeder bowl 18 and relative to the bowl. It is further supported by three equiangularly spaced support rollers 38, 38 journalled for rotation about vertical axes and engaged with the annular surface 34, as best shown in Fig. 5. The rollers 38, 38 retain the ring 26 for coaxial rotation about the axis of the feeder-bowl. Tne roller 36a com~rises a drive roller which frictionally engages the surface 32 to drive the ring 26. The roller 36a is driven through a belt and pulley mechanism by an indepen~ent drive motor 40. The latter motor and its associated drive mech-anism rotates the ring 26 about its axis in a clocXwise direction : relative to the feeder bowl 18 as viewed from above and as shown ; 25 in Fig. 3.
An annular baffle 42 is mounted in fixed position above and in generally coaxial alignment with the annular ring 26.
Preferably, and as shown, the baffle 42 is generally cylindrical and has an inside diameter somewhat larger than the inside dia-meter of the ring 26. The baf'le 42 is preferably cylindrical and spaced above an associated portion of the article supporting surface 28, a distance greater than ~ne maximum cross-sectional dimension of the syringe body portion 12, but less than the minor dimension of the enlarged flance 14. A downwardly opening gate 10 slot 44 formed in the baffle 42 opens through the lower edge of the baffle at-a discnarge region angularly spaced from the region of the track terminal portion 22. Tne upper edge of the gate slot 44 is spaced a sufficient distance above the article support-ing surface 28 to allow the radiallv enlarged flange portion 14 15 of a.syringe body to pass therethrough.
A take-away conveyor, indicated generally at 46, which also comprises a par~ of the apparatus 10, is mounted in fixed position in the discharge region of the ~owl 18 and extends in a generally tangential direction relative to the ring 26. The 20 conveyor 46 has a frame zssembly indicated generally at 47, which defines a guide track for receiving articles A, A from the article support surface 26 and guiding the articles in a generally tangen-tial direction relative to the ring 26 to an exit or discharge point at one end of the frame. The frame 47 lncludes a tangenti-ally extending guide plate 48 which has a generally upwardly fac-ing guide surface 50. The entry end of tho guide plate 48 extends 1~718~1 into the annular groove 30, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 7, and is arranged so that the surface 50 is substantially contiguous to the article supporting surface 28. As viewed in the direction of its exit end, and as shown in Fig. 7, the frame 47 and its asso-ciated guide plate 48 are inclined downwardly and generallyradially outwardly relative to the central axis of the feeder bowl. 18.
The conveyor 46 further includes a generally vertically disposed fence 52 supported above the guide vlate 48 and in gen-eral parallel alignment with the inner edge of the plate. The fence is mounted on the frame 47 so that the lower edge of the fence is spaced above the guide plate surface 50 a distance greater than the maximum cross-sectional dimension of the syringe body portion 12, but less than the minor d mension of the syringe ; 15 flange 14. A support rail 54 mounted on the frame 47 in parallel ; relation to the guide plate 48 has its entry end disposed gen-erally tangentially of the ring 26. The u?per edge of the~ ~
rail 54 and the surface 50 cooperate to support articles A, A as the articles move through the frame 47 which comprises the con-veyor guide track. An air manifold 56, shown in Fig. 7, has a series of jet nozzles arranged at spaced intervals along the conveyor guide track and directed toward the exit end to move articles A, A through the conveyor 46. A typical nozzle is indicated at 58 in Fig. 7.
Preferably, the feeder bowl drive mechanism 25 is ar-ranged to operate intermittently. The arrangement for controllin .
~ -8-the feeder bowl drive mechanism may vary, however, the illustrated control mechanism indicated generally at 59 in Fig. 8, includes a timer 60 for activating and deactivating the drlve mecnanism 25 and a photoelectric sensing device 62 for controlling the timer as will be hereinafter further described. Another control mechz-nism, similar to the control mechanism illustrated in fUll lines in Fig. 8 is or may be provided to deactivate both the feeder bowl drive mechanism 25 and the ring arive unit 40, ill-lstrated in broken lines in Fig. 8, in the event that an articie beco~es ja~med in the machine 10, as will also be hereinafter further dis-cussed.
Articles A, A fed from a supply hopper H (shown in Fig.
1) are deposited in the central portion of the feeder bowl 18.
As hereinbefore explained, the feeder bowl is subjectea to vibra-tory motion sufficient to move the syringe bo~ies or articles A,A placed therein in a path such that the articles A, A will travel upwardly along the ramp or track surface 20. As a syringe body or article A reaches the track terminal portion 22 it is free to move radially outwardly beyond the outer peripheral edge of the bowl 18 and onto the inner portion of the rotating annular article supporting surface 28. The spacing between the article supporting surface 28 and the lower edge of the baffle 42 is su~-ficient to allow the body portion 12 of the article A to pass therethrough. ~owever, the baffle is positioned relative to the surface 28 so as to engage the enlarged annular flange portion &-j~
14 on each article A. Thus, the nozzle end of the article A will be thrown outwardly under and beyond the baffle 42 by centrifugal force causing the article to assume a position on the ring 26 wherein its longitudinal axis is generally radially aligned. The article A, which now rests on the upper or article supporting surface 28 of the ring 26, travels with the rotating ring to the gate slot 44. When the article reaches the gate slot 44 it is moved radially outwardly through the slot and generally onto the take-zway conveyor 46 by centrifugal force. Th~ spacing between the lower edge of the fence 52 and the guide ~late surface 50 is sufficient to allow passage of the article body portion 12, however, the enlarged annular flange 14, which will not pass through this space, is engaged by the inner surface of the fence 52. An outer marginal portion o' the annular article supporting surface 28 remains in engagement with the article body portion 12 after the article A is received within the conveyor 46. Thus, rotational movement of the ring 26 impzrts the initial motion to the article A required to move it into the conveyor and toward the conveyor exit end. Air from the jet nozzles 58, 58 associated with the conveyor 46 impinges upon the article A to further move i through the conveyor.
The control mechanism 59 which includes the timer 60 and the photoelectric sensing device 62 provides a means for monitoring article movement and for disabling the feeder bowl rive mechanism 25 upon detection of a predetermined condition of . . , . - - .
¦article movement, as, for example, a slowdown of article movement ¦below a predetermined rate of movement. The conveyor 46 prefera~l~
¦delivers articles A, A to another conveyor, such as the belt con-¦veyor indicated at 64 in Fig. 3 which, in turn, delivers the ¦articles to another machine, such as an assembly machine. Pre-¦ferably, and as shown, the control mechanism 59 is associated with ¦the belt conveyor 64 and is located some distance downstream of ¦the conveyor 46. Movement of an article A into the path of ~he ¦photoelectric sensing device 62 causes the sensing device to emit 1'0 la high output signal which activates the timer 60. The timer ¦functions as a timing switch to turn off the feeaer bowl drive __ ¦mecnanisr.l upGn conclusion of a predetermined timing cycle. ~nen ¦the article A passes the sensing device 62, the device emits a ¦low output signal which resets the time. If the article moves ¦past the photoelectric sensing device 62 within the predeterm ned ¦period for which the timer is set the timer will be reset before it can cycle to shutdown the feeder bowl drive mechanism 25.
However, if an article A stalls in the path of the sensing dsvice 62 for a time longer than the predetermined time for which the timer is set, the timer 60 will cycle to interrupt power to the feeder bowl drive mechanism 25. Power will be restored to the drive mechanism 25 when the stalled article moves beyond the sensing region of the photoelectric sensing device 62. ~hus, the feeder bowl drive mechanism 25 operates continuously for as long as articles continue to move at a rate equal to or greater than a -~ . .. ~ ~ .
:1~71811 predetermined rate, as, for example, 1,000 articles per minute.
However, when a bac~up of art;cles occurs on the conveyor 64 the vibratory feeding mechanism 25 is shutdown. Tnose articles ~-hich may already be in position on the ring 26 when shutdown occurs will continue to be urged toward and onto the guide conveyor 46 by the rotating ring and through the conveyor 46 ana onto the conveyor 64 by air jets from the nozzles 58, 58. The drive mechanism 25 will be reenergized when the stalled articles again begin to move and will remain in operation for as long as the articles continue to move at a rate equal to or greater than the predetermined rate.
The mechanism for aetecting an article jam in the machin 10 is subs.antially similar to the control mechansim 59, shown in Fig. 8, however, unlike the control mechanism 59 which sh-~ts down lS only the feeder bowl drive 25 the jam control mechanism shuts down both the feeder bowl drive and the ring drive 40. The sensing device 62 which comprises a part of the jam control mechanism is preferably located in close proximity to the gate slot 44 at ~he entry end of the conveyor 46. If articles A, A fail to move onto and/or along the conveyor 46 at a rate equal to or greater than a predetermined rate, as determined by the setting of a timer 60, the jam control mechanism operates to shut down the entire machine O.
1:~7181~
VIBRATORY FEEDING APPARATUS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates in general to article feeding devices and deals more particularly with an improved article feeder of the vibratory bowl type wherein the bowl is formed with a helical ramp along which articles to ~e fed travel in response to vibration or oscillation of the bowl. The present invention is particularly concerned with an improved vibratory feeding apparatus for orienting and feeding 2xially elongated articles in axially side-by-side relation to each other wherein each of the articles has an elongated body and a radially en-larged portion axially spaced from at least one end of the body.
Apparatus of the aforedescribed general type has here-tofore been provided wherein a supply of articles loosely con-tained within a vibrating feeder bowl are discharged upwardlyby means of a peripheral ramp leading to a gated outer rim through which articles are successively discharged in a generally radial direction. If articles are to be fed from the feeder bowl directly to another machine which opera~es continuously or 20 to a conveyor which feeds the machine, the feeder bowl must generally remain in constant operation to continuously advance articles along its ramp surface. Articles loosely received with-in the central portion of the bowl remain in a continuous state ; of motion and constantly rub or impact against each other. This 25 condition is generally undesirable, particularly where the article 1~7~811 are made from a soft plastic material or the like and have a surface finish which may be easily damaged. The present inven-tion is particularly concerned with this problem.
It is the general aim of the present invention to pro-vide an improved article feeding apparatus of the vibratory bowl type for feeding a continuous supply of axially elongated articles oriented in axially side-by-siae relation and wherein the drive mechanism for vibrating the feeder bowl may, if desired, be in-termittently operated.
SUI~MARY OF THE INVENTION
- In accordance with the present invention an apparatus is provided for orienting and feeding axiallv elongated articles, wherein each article has an axially elongated body and a radially enlarged portion axially spaced from at least one end of the body. The feeding apparatus co."prises a feed2r bowl for contain-ing a supply of articles to be oriented and fed. A generally helical track surface extends along the inner peripnery of the feeder bowl and has a terminal ~ortion which extends along an associated portion of the upper edge of the bowl. A drive mech-anism is provided for vibrating the feeder bowl to move articlescontained within a central portion of the bowl onto and along the track surface in one direction and in generally zxial end-to-end relation to each other. A ring surrounds a portion of the outer periphery of the feeder bowl and has an up~ardly facing article supporting surface contiguous with the terminal portion ¦ of the tra urface for receiving articles from the terminal . i , .
portion. The ring is supported for rotation around and relative to the fee~er bowl. The apparatus further includes drive means for rotating the ring, means for retaining articles on the sup-porting surface, and means for releasing each successive article from the supporting surface.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a pers?ective view of a vibratory feeder em-bodying the present invention and containing articles to be fed.
Fig. 2 is a somewhat enlarged perspective view of an article such as shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a plan view of the vibratory feeaer sho-wn in Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a somewhat enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line ~-4 of Fig. 3.
Fig. S is a somew'nat enlarged fra~mentary sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.
Fig. 6 is a somewhat enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 3.
Fig. 7 is a somewhat enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken generally along the line 7-7 of Fig. 3.
Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing components of a drive control mechanism.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED ~r:BODIMENT
Turning now to the drawings and referring first parti-cularly to Fig. 1, a vibraiory feeding apparatus embodying the present invention is indicatea generally by the reference numeral 10. The apparatus 10 is particularly adapted for orienting and feeding a continuous succession of axially elongated articles, such as the articles indicated at A, A in the drawings. ~ach article has an axially elongated body and a radially enlarged portion axially spaced from at least one end of the body.
A typical article A is illustrated in somewhat further detail in Fig. 2 and comprises a hollow axially elongated gener-ally cylindrical hypodermic syringe body part. The syringe body ~art A is preferably made from transparent plastic material and has a generally cylindrical body portion 12 and a radially en-larged flange portion 14 integrally connected to one end of the body portion. An axially elongated nozzle portion 16 projects coaxially from the opposite end of the body portion 12.
Considering now the illustrated vibratory feeding apparatus 10 in further detail, it includes a feeder bowl indi-cated generally at 18 ~B which has a central portion for con-taining a supply of articles, such as the articles A, A. The feeder bowl 18 is preferably made from cast aluminum or like material and has a helical track surface 20 which spirals upwardly and outwardly from the central portion along the ;nner peripheral surface of the b~wl. The track surface 20 is inclined radially outwardly and downwardly relative to the axis of the bowl 18, is wide enough to accommodate a single article A, and terminates in an arcuate terminal portion 22 at the ~s ~ s~o~ ~ 3 41 circular upper edge of the bowl 18~.
The feeder bowl 18 is mounted on a base 24 which is supported on vertically adjustable legs and contains vibratory drive mechanism of a well-known type indicated schematically at 25 in Fig. 8, but not shown in detail. The drlve mechanism 25 vibrates the feeder bowl 18 to move articles such as the articles A, A onto and along the track surface 20 in generally axial end-to-end relation to each other. The construction and arrange~ent o the drive mechanism 25 may vary, but, preferably, the latter mecnanism is arranged to impart helical oscillato~y m~tion to the feeder bowl 18. More specifically, the bowl drive mechanism is arranged to oscillate the bowl about its vertical axis and at the same time reciprocate it vertically. Preferably, the drive mechanism 25 includes a tuning device which may be adjusted to ca_se the feeder bowl to vibrate at a predetermined frequency, as, for example, 60 Hertz. Disclosure of a typical drive mecnan-is~ for vibrating a feeder bowl of the aforedescribed general ty?e is contained in U. S. Patent 3,048,260 to Willis for VIB~A-TO~ FOR ~TERIAL CONVEYING A?PARATUS, issued August 7, 1962.
20 The aforesaid patent, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention, is hereby adopted by reference as a part of the present disclosure.
An annular ring, indicated generally at 26, and best shown in Figs. 1 and 3, surrounds an upper portion of the outer periphery of the feeder bowl 18 and has an upwardly facing article 117181~
supporting surface 28. The surface 28 is contiguous to the track surface terminal portion 22 and inclined radially outwardly and downwardly relative to the central axis of the feeder bowl, as best shown in Figs. 4 and 5. A coaxial annular groove 30 formed in the ring 26 o?ens upwardly through the article supporting sur-face 28, for a purpose which will be hereinafter further discussed The lower portion of the ring 26 is partially defined by a sub-stantially radially disposed and downwardly facing lower surface 32 and a radially outwardly facing annular surface 34.
The ring 26 rests upon a series of angularly spaced support rollers 36, 36 and 36a which are journalled .or rotation about horizontal axes and which engage the lower surface 32 and support t~e ring 26 for rotation about the vertical axis of the feeder bowl 18 and relative to the bowl. It is further supported by three equiangularly spaced support rollers 38, 38 journalled for rotation about vertical axes and engaged with the annular surface 34, as best shown in Fig. 5. The rollers 38, 38 retain the ring 26 for coaxial rotation about the axis of the feeder-bowl. Tne roller 36a com~rises a drive roller which frictionally engages the surface 32 to drive the ring 26. The roller 36a is driven through a belt and pulley mechanism by an indepen~ent drive motor 40. The latter motor and its associated drive mech-anism rotates the ring 26 about its axis in a clocXwise direction : relative to the feeder bowl 18 as viewed from above and as shown ; 25 in Fig. 3.
An annular baffle 42 is mounted in fixed position above and in generally coaxial alignment with the annular ring 26.
Preferably, and as shown, the baffle 42 is generally cylindrical and has an inside diameter somewhat larger than the inside dia-meter of the ring 26. The baf'le 42 is preferably cylindrical and spaced above an associated portion of the article supporting surface 28, a distance greater than ~ne maximum cross-sectional dimension of the syringe body portion 12, but less than the minor dimension of the enlarged flance 14. A downwardly opening gate 10 slot 44 formed in the baffle 42 opens through the lower edge of the baffle at-a discnarge region angularly spaced from the region of the track terminal portion 22. Tne upper edge of the gate slot 44 is spaced a sufficient distance above the article support-ing surface 28 to allow the radiallv enlarged flange portion 14 15 of a.syringe body to pass therethrough.
A take-away conveyor, indicated generally at 46, which also comprises a par~ of the apparatus 10, is mounted in fixed position in the discharge region of the ~owl 18 and extends in a generally tangential direction relative to the ring 26. The 20 conveyor 46 has a frame zssembly indicated generally at 47, which defines a guide track for receiving articles A, A from the article support surface 26 and guiding the articles in a generally tangen-tial direction relative to the ring 26 to an exit or discharge point at one end of the frame. The frame 47 lncludes a tangenti-ally extending guide plate 48 which has a generally upwardly fac-ing guide surface 50. The entry end of tho guide plate 48 extends 1~718~1 into the annular groove 30, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 7, and is arranged so that the surface 50 is substantially contiguous to the article supporting surface 28. As viewed in the direction of its exit end, and as shown in Fig. 7, the frame 47 and its asso-ciated guide plate 48 are inclined downwardly and generallyradially outwardly relative to the central axis of the feeder bowl. 18.
The conveyor 46 further includes a generally vertically disposed fence 52 supported above the guide vlate 48 and in gen-eral parallel alignment with the inner edge of the plate. The fence is mounted on the frame 47 so that the lower edge of the fence is spaced above the guide plate surface 50 a distance greater than the maximum cross-sectional dimension of the syringe body portion 12, but less than the minor d mension of the syringe ; 15 flange 14. A support rail 54 mounted on the frame 47 in parallel ; relation to the guide plate 48 has its entry end disposed gen-erally tangentially of the ring 26. The u?per edge of the~ ~
rail 54 and the surface 50 cooperate to support articles A, A as the articles move through the frame 47 which comprises the con-veyor guide track. An air manifold 56, shown in Fig. 7, has a series of jet nozzles arranged at spaced intervals along the conveyor guide track and directed toward the exit end to move articles A, A through the conveyor 46. A typical nozzle is indicated at 58 in Fig. 7.
Preferably, the feeder bowl drive mechanism 25 is ar-ranged to operate intermittently. The arrangement for controllin .
~ -8-the feeder bowl drive mechanism may vary, however, the illustrated control mechanism indicated generally at 59 in Fig. 8, includes a timer 60 for activating and deactivating the drlve mecnanism 25 and a photoelectric sensing device 62 for controlling the timer as will be hereinafter further described. Another control mechz-nism, similar to the control mechanism illustrated in fUll lines in Fig. 8 is or may be provided to deactivate both the feeder bowl drive mechanism 25 and the ring arive unit 40, ill-lstrated in broken lines in Fig. 8, in the event that an articie beco~es ja~med in the machine 10, as will also be hereinafter further dis-cussed.
Articles A, A fed from a supply hopper H (shown in Fig.
1) are deposited in the central portion of the feeder bowl 18.
As hereinbefore explained, the feeder bowl is subjectea to vibra-tory motion sufficient to move the syringe bo~ies or articles A,A placed therein in a path such that the articles A, A will travel upwardly along the ramp or track surface 20. As a syringe body or article A reaches the track terminal portion 22 it is free to move radially outwardly beyond the outer peripheral edge of the bowl 18 and onto the inner portion of the rotating annular article supporting surface 28. The spacing between the article supporting surface 28 and the lower edge of the baffle 42 is su~-ficient to allow the body portion 12 of the article A to pass therethrough. ~owever, the baffle is positioned relative to the surface 28 so as to engage the enlarged annular flange portion &-j~
14 on each article A. Thus, the nozzle end of the article A will be thrown outwardly under and beyond the baffle 42 by centrifugal force causing the article to assume a position on the ring 26 wherein its longitudinal axis is generally radially aligned. The article A, which now rests on the upper or article supporting surface 28 of the ring 26, travels with the rotating ring to the gate slot 44. When the article reaches the gate slot 44 it is moved radially outwardly through the slot and generally onto the take-zway conveyor 46 by centrifugal force. Th~ spacing between the lower edge of the fence 52 and the guide ~late surface 50 is sufficient to allow passage of the article body portion 12, however, the enlarged annular flange 14, which will not pass through this space, is engaged by the inner surface of the fence 52. An outer marginal portion o' the annular article supporting surface 28 remains in engagement with the article body portion 12 after the article A is received within the conveyor 46. Thus, rotational movement of the ring 26 impzrts the initial motion to the article A required to move it into the conveyor and toward the conveyor exit end. Air from the jet nozzles 58, 58 associated with the conveyor 46 impinges upon the article A to further move i through the conveyor.
The control mechanism 59 which includes the timer 60 and the photoelectric sensing device 62 provides a means for monitoring article movement and for disabling the feeder bowl rive mechanism 25 upon detection of a predetermined condition of . . , . - - .
¦article movement, as, for example, a slowdown of article movement ¦below a predetermined rate of movement. The conveyor 46 prefera~l~
¦delivers articles A, A to another conveyor, such as the belt con-¦veyor indicated at 64 in Fig. 3 which, in turn, delivers the ¦articles to another machine, such as an assembly machine. Pre-¦ferably, and as shown, the control mechanism 59 is associated with ¦the belt conveyor 64 and is located some distance downstream of ¦the conveyor 46. Movement of an article A into the path of ~he ¦photoelectric sensing device 62 causes the sensing device to emit 1'0 la high output signal which activates the timer 60. The timer ¦functions as a timing switch to turn off the feeaer bowl drive __ ¦mecnanisr.l upGn conclusion of a predetermined timing cycle. ~nen ¦the article A passes the sensing device 62, the device emits a ¦low output signal which resets the time. If the article moves ¦past the photoelectric sensing device 62 within the predeterm ned ¦period for which the timer is set the timer will be reset before it can cycle to shutdown the feeder bowl drive mechanism 25.
However, if an article A stalls in the path of the sensing dsvice 62 for a time longer than the predetermined time for which the timer is set, the timer 60 will cycle to interrupt power to the feeder bowl drive mechanism 25. Power will be restored to the drive mechanism 25 when the stalled article moves beyond the sensing region of the photoelectric sensing device 62. ~hus, the feeder bowl drive mechanism 25 operates continuously for as long as articles continue to move at a rate equal to or greater than a -~ . .. ~ ~ .
:1~71811 predetermined rate, as, for example, 1,000 articles per minute.
However, when a bac~up of art;cles occurs on the conveyor 64 the vibratory feeding mechanism 25 is shutdown. Tnose articles ~-hich may already be in position on the ring 26 when shutdown occurs will continue to be urged toward and onto the guide conveyor 46 by the rotating ring and through the conveyor 46 ana onto the conveyor 64 by air jets from the nozzles 58, 58. The drive mechanism 25 will be reenergized when the stalled articles again begin to move and will remain in operation for as long as the articles continue to move at a rate equal to or greater than the predetermined rate.
The mechanism for aetecting an article jam in the machin 10 is subs.antially similar to the control mechansim 59, shown in Fig. 8, however, unlike the control mechanism 59 which sh-~ts down lS only the feeder bowl drive 25 the jam control mechanism shuts down both the feeder bowl drive and the ring drive 40. The sensing device 62 which comprises a part of the jam control mechanism is preferably located in close proximity to the gate slot 44 at ~he entry end of the conveyor 46. If articles A, A fail to move onto and/or along the conveyor 46 at a rate equal to or greater than a predetermined rate, as determined by the setting of a timer 60, the jam control mechanism operates to shut down the entire machine O.
Claims (40)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles, each of said articles having an axially elongated body portion and a radially enlarged portion axially spaced from at least one end of the body portion, said apparatus comprising a feeder bowl for containing a supply of the articles and including a generally helical track surface extending along the inner periphery of said bowl, feeder bowl drive means for vibrating said bowl to move articles onto said track surface and along said track sur-face in one direction and in generally axial end-to-end relation to each other, a ring surrounding a portion of the outer periphery of said bowl and having an upwardly facing article supporting surface contiguous with an associated portion of said track sur-face for receiving articles from said track surface, means sup-porting said ring for rotation around and relative to said feeder bowl, ring drive means for rotating said ring independently of the vibratory movement of said feeder bowl, means for retaining articles on said supporting surface during a portion of one revolution of said ring and means for successively releasing articles from said supporting surface.
2. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 1 wherein said ring defines a peripheral skirt generally aligned with and extending radially outwardly from the upper edge of said bowl.
3. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said associated portion of said track comprises a terminal portion at the upper edge of said bowl and said supporting surface is contiguous to said terminal portion.
4. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 1 wherein said retaining means comprises a baffle supported in fixed position above said article supporting surface and having a lower edge spaced from said article support-ing surface to allow at least the body portion associated with the one end to pass between said lower edge and said article supporting surface and to prevent passage of the radially en-larged portion therebetween.
5. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 4 wherein said baffle is further characterized as an annular baffle supported above and in generally coaxial alignment with said ring.
6. Apparatus as set forth in either claim 4 or claim 5 wherein said releasing means comprises a slot in said baffle opening through the lower edge of said baffle.
7. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means supporting said ring comprises a plurality of supporting rollers engaging said ring.
8. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 7 wherein said support rollers comprise a plurality of angularly spaced apart rollers journalled for rotation about generally horizontally extending axes.
9. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in either claim 7 or claim 8 wherein said drive means comprises one of said support rollers.
10. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in either claim 7 or claim 8 wherein said support rollers comprise a plurality of angularly spaced apart supporting rollers journalled for rotation about generally vertically extending axes.
11. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 1 wherein said apparatus includes means for receiving articles from said ring and directing the articles in a generally tangential direction away from said ring.
12. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 11 wherein said means for receiving articles comprises conveying means including a guide track and means for moving articles along said guide track.
13. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 12 wherein said conveying means includes a guide plate having an upwardly facing guide surface contiguous to said article supporting surface.
14. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 13 wherein said ring has an upwardly opening annular groove therein and said guide plate has an end portion disposed within said groove.
15. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 12 wherein said means for moving articles comprises means defining a nozzle for emitting a jet of air directed generally toward the exit end of said conveyor to impinge upon articles received by said conveyor.
16. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 11 wherein said apparatus includes means for monitoring movement of articles through said article receiving means and means responsive to said monitoring means for dis-abling said feeder bowl drive means upon detection of a pre-determined condition of article movement by said monitoring means.
17. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 1 wherein said apparatus includes means for monitoring movement of articles moved by said apparatus and means responsive to said monitoring means for disabling at least said feeder bowl drive means in response to a predetermined condition of article movement detected by said monitoring means.
18. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 17 wherein said disabling means is further characterized as means for disabling both said feeder bowl drive means and said ring drive means.
19. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 17 wherein said apparatus includes first conveying means for receiving articles released from said support-ing surface and said monitoring means is positioned proximate said first conveying means.
20. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 17 wherein said apparatus includes first conveying means for receiving articles released from said support-ing surface and second conveying means for receiving articles from said first conveying means and said monitoring means is associated with said second conveying means.
21. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles, each of said articles having an axially elongated body portion and a radially enlarged portion axially spaced from at least one end of the body portion, said apparatus comprising a feeder bowl for containing a supply of the articles and including a generally helical track surface extending along the inner periphery of said bowl which track surface has a terminal portion at the upper edge of said bowl which terminal portion extends generally out-wardly and downwardly, feeder bowl drive means for vibrating said bowl to move articles onto said track surface and along said track surface in one direction and in generally axial end-to-end relation to each other, a ring surrounding the upper edge portion of said bowl and having an upwardly facing annular article supporting surface adjacent said terminal portion of said track surface for receiving articles from said track surface, said annular supporting surface being generally in line with said terminal portion of said track surface and extending outwardly and downwardly so as to form essentially a continuation of said terminal portion of said track surface, means supporting said ring for rotation around and relative to said bowl, ring drive means for rotating said ring independently of the vibratory movement of said bowl, and a stationary arcuate baffle concentric with said ring extending circumferentially along and beyond said terminal portion of said track surface in the direction of rotation of said ring, said baffle having a lower edge spaced above said supporting surface of said ring and located radially a substantial distance from both the inner and outer edges of said supporting surface so that a substantial portion of said supporting surface is located radially inside of said baffle and another substantial portion of said supporting surface is located radially outside of said baffle so that each article is engaged by said ring at at least two points along its length located on opposite sides of said baffle, the vertical spacing between said lower edge of said baffle and said supporting surface being such as to allow the body portion of each article to pass through the space so formed and to prevent passage of its enlarged portion, said baffle at a point located some distance circum-ferentially from said terminal portion of said track surface having a discharge point at which said lower edge no longer restrains said enlarged portions of said articles so that said articles are free to move from said ring.
22. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 21, wherein said baffle is an annular member supported above and in generally coaxial alignment with said ring.
23. Apparatus as set forth in claim 22 wherein said discharge point is defined by a slot in the lower edge of said baffle which slot has a lower edge spaced vertically from said support surface of said ring by a distance greater than the corresponding dimension of said enlarged portion of each article.
24. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 21 wherein said means supporting said ring comprises a plurality of supporting rollers engaging said ring, and said drive means comprises one of said rollers.
25. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 21 wherein said apparatus includes discharge means for receiving articles from said ring and directing the articles in a generally tangential direction away from said ring, said discharge means including a stationary fence located above said supporting surface of said ring and extending tangentially of said ring away from said discharge point of said baffle, said fence having a lower edge spaced vertically above said support surface by a distance sufficient to permit the body portions of articles to pass through the space so formed and to restrain the passage of their enlarged portions.
26. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 21 wherein said apparatus includes means for receiving articles from said ring and directing the articles in a generally tangential direction away from said ring, and said discharge means includes a guide plate located below and parallel to said lower edge of said fence for engaging and supporting said articles as they move from said discharge point of said baffle, said guide plate having an upwardly facing support surface limited by a radially inner edge generally parallelly aligned with said lower edge of said fence and spaced vertically from said lower edge of said fence by such distance as to permit the passage of the body of an article through the space so formed and to restrain the passage of the enlarged portion of each article, and means for moving articles along said fence and guide plate.
27. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 26 wherein said means for moving articles along said fence and guide plate comprises a nozzle for emitting a jet of air directed to impinge upon articles received by said fence and guide plate.
28. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 21 wherein said apparatus includes an article delivery means comprising a discharge means for receiving articles from said ring and directing the articles in a generally tangential direction away from said ring, and a conveyor for conveying the articles from said discharge means to a remote location, and means for monitoring movement of articles through said article delivery means and means responsive to said monitor-ing means for disabling said feeder bowl drive means upon detection of a predetermined condition of article movement by said monitoring means.
29. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles, each of said articles having an axially elongated body portion and a radially enlarged portion axially spaced from at least one end of the body portion, said apparatus comprising a feeder bowl, having a vertical axis, for containing a supply of the articles and including a generally helical track surface extending along the inner periphery of said bowl which track surface has a terminal portion at the upper edge portion of said bowl which terminal portion has a radially outer arcuate edge and which terminal portion of said track surface extends generally inwardly and upwardly from said arcuate outer edge, feeder bowl drive means for vibrating said bowl to move articles onto said track surface and along said track surface in one direction of movement about said vertical bowl axis and in generally axial end-to-end relation to each other, said terminal portion of said track sur-face having a downstream end defining the limit of its extension in said one direction of movement about said vertical bowl axis, a ring concentric with said vertical bowl axis surrounding the upper edge portion of said bowl and having a generally upwardly facing annular article supporting surface with an inner circular edge closely adjacent to said outer arcuate edge of said terminal portion of said track surface, said annular article supporting surface of said ring being generally in line with said terminal portion of said bowl track surface in a plane containing said vertical bowl axis and extending outwardly and downwardly from its said inner circular edge to form essentially a continuation of said terminal portion of said bowl track surface for receiving articles after they move radially outwardly beyond said outer edge of said terminal portion, means supporting said ring for rotation about said vertical bowl axis relative to said bowl, ring drive means for rotating said ring independently of the vibratory movement of said bowl in said one direction of movement about said vertical bowl axis, and a stationary arcuate baffle concentric with said vertical bowl axis extending circumferentially along said terminal portion of said track surface and also extend-ing for some distance beyond said downstream end of said terminal portion of said track surface in the direction of rotation of said ring, said baffle having a lower edge spaced above said supporting surface of said ring and located radially a substantial distance outwardly from said inner edge of said supporting surface of said ring so that a substantial portion of said supporting surface is located radially inside of said baffle and another substantial portion of said supporting surface is located radially outside of said baffle, the vertical spacing between said lower edge of said baffle and said supporting surface of said ring being such as to allow the body portion of each article to pass through the space so formed and to prevent passage of its enlarged portion, whereby after an article moves radially outwardly from said terminal portion of said bowl track surface to said support-ing surface of said ring said body portion of the article will swing radially outwardly through the space between said lower edge of said baffle and said supporting surface and its radially enlarged portion will be restrained against further radial out-ward movement by engagement with said baffle, said baffle being so radially spaced outwardly from said inner edge of said support-ing surface of said ring that after an article has its body swung radially outwardly through said space said portion of said supporting surface located radially inwardly of said baffle is of sufficient radial extent as to entirely receive said radially enlarged portion of said article whereby said article after its body portion has swung through said space is supported entirely by said ring at at least two points along its length on opposite sides of said baffle and is free of contact with said terminal portion of said bowl track surface, said baffle some distance circumferentially downstream beyond said downstream end of said terminal portion of said track surface having a discharge point at which said lower edge no longer restrains said enlarged portions of said articles so that said articles are free to move from said ring.
30. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 29 wherein said baffle is an annular member extending fully around said vertical bowl axis.
31. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 30 wherein said baffle has a gate slot in its lower edge portion which slot starts at said discharge point, said gate slot where it occurs providing said baffle with a lower edge spaced sufficiently above said supporting surface of said ring as to allow the radially enlarged portion of an article to pass radially beyond said baffle.
32. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 29 further characterized by said ring having an annular groove in its said supporting surface, and a take-away means positioned adjacent said discharge point of said baffle for transporting said articles sidewise of themselves away from said discharge point in side-by-side orientation along with a take-away path extending generally tangentially of said ring and with the axes of said articles as they move along at least the initial portion of said take-away path having substantially the same in-clination to the horizontal as they do while supported by said ring just before reaching said discharge point, said take-away means including an elongated guide plate having an entry end portion located in said ring groove at said discharge point of said baffle, said guide plate extending away from said entry end portion tangentially of said groove to a point spaced outwardly beyond the outer edge of said ring, said guide plate having a generally upwardly facing support surface located below the body portions of articles which are brought to said entry end portion by said ring and which support surface subsequently vertically supports said articles as they move along said take-away path away from said discharge point.
33. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as defined in claim 32 further characterized by said take-away means also including an elongated fence member extending parallel to said guide plate, said fence member having a lower edge spaced above said support surface of said guide member by a distance sufficient to accommodate said body portions of said articles but less than sufficient to accommodate said radially enlarged por-tions of said articles whereby said fence member engages said radially enlarged portions of said articles to guide said articles along the length of said fence member.
34. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as defined in claim 33 further characterized by said fence member at said discharge point of said baffle being located closely adjacent to said baffle so that after the radially enlarged portion of an article is released by said baffle at said discharge point it immediately contacts said fence member which fence member there-after restrains the article against movement axially of itself and guides it tangentially away from said ring.
35. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as defined in claim 34 further characterized by said take-away means also including means for emitting at least one air jet directed onto said articles in such a manner as to urge them along said take-away path.
36. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 32 wherein said apparatus includes means for monitoring movement of articles through said take-away means, and means responsive to said monitoring means for disabling said feeder bowl drive means upon detection of a predetermined condi-tion of article movement by said monitoring means.
37. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 32 wherein said apparatus includes means for monitoring movement of articles moved by said apparatus, and means responsive to said monitoring means for disabling at least said feeder bowl drive means in response to a predetermined condition of article movement detected by said monitoring means.
38. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 37 wherein said disabling means is further characterized as means for disabling both said feeder bowl drive means and said ring drive means.
39. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 37 wherein said apparatus includes a take-away means for receiving articles released from said supporting sur-face of said ring at said discharge point of said baffle, and said monitoring means is positioned proximate said take-away means.
40. Apparatus for orienting and feeding articles as set forth in claim 37 wherein said apparatus includes a take-away means for receiving articles released from said supporting sur-face of said ring at said discharge point of said baffle, convey-ing means for receiving articles from said take-away means, and said monitoring means is associated with said conveying means.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US22036680A | 1980-12-29 | 1980-12-29 | |
| US220,366 | 1980-12-29 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1171811A true CA1171811A (en) | 1984-07-31 |
Family
ID=22823266
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000389939A Expired CA1171811A (en) | 1980-12-29 | 1981-11-12 | Vibratory feeding apparatus |
Country Status (4)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JPS57121516A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1171811A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE3148796A1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2090236B (en) |
Families Citing this family (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE3150330A1 (en) * | 1981-12-18 | 1983-09-29 | Sortimat Creuz & Co Gmbh, 7057 Winnenden | Device for aligning syringe cylinders, in particular in front of a stamping press |
| IT1259447B (en) * | 1992-10-30 | 1996-03-18 | Azionaria Costruzioni Acma Spa | PRODUCT ORDERING DEVICE, IN PARTICULAR SWEET PRODUCTS, SUPPLIED IN BULK. |
| CN107282452B (en) * | 2017-07-20 | 2018-06-01 | 北京领邦智能装备股份公司 | Preselect cover vibrating disk |
Family Cites Families (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3907099A (en) * | 1974-03-13 | 1975-09-23 | Arthur J Smith | Feeder for headed objects |
| JPS54140360A (en) * | 1978-04-21 | 1979-10-31 | Nitto Kogyo Kk | Rotary highhspeed carrying board doubling as vibration |
-
1981
- 1981-11-12 CA CA000389939A patent/CA1171811A/en not_active Expired
- 1981-12-09 GB GB8137089A patent/GB2090236B/en not_active Expired
- 1981-12-09 DE DE19813148796 patent/DE3148796A1/en active Granted
- 1981-12-11 JP JP19995581A patent/JPS57121516A/en active Pending
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB2090236A (en) | 1982-07-07 |
| DE3148796C2 (en) | 1988-07-28 |
| GB2090236B (en) | 1985-01-16 |
| JPS57121516A (en) | 1982-07-29 |
| DE3148796A1 (en) | 1982-08-05 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |