GB1246292A - Sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

1,246,292. Discharging different kinds of articles from a conveyer. L. G. DAHLQUIST. 1 Nov., 1968, No. 51926/68. Heading B8A. [Also in Divisions B2 and G1] In a method of sorting objects of two or more kinds which are fed in a stream along a feeding path where the stream is divided into two or more different streams, each of which only contains objects of the same kind, a plurality of sorting means 3 are mounted on an endless conveyer 2 and moved synchronously with the objects (not shown) to be sorted, each sorting means being displaceable in a lateral direction with respect to the feeding path of the objects from a laterally idle position along the path, each object being allotted a sorting means of its own, in which the occurrence of a certain property of the objects is detected, and in which objects in respect of which this property has been detected are laterally transferred a predetermined distance by means of the allotted sorting means. As described, the objects are coloured and plain bottles which are to be sorted according to colour. They are fed on to an endless conveyer 1 and are uniformly spaced by a feed screw 9. The coloured bottles cause a photo-electric gate 7, 8, to energize an electromagnet 5. This attracts an arm 6 which latches on to a guide rail 4. The latter is spaced progressively nearer to the conveyer 2 in the downstream direction of the latter. Thus coloured bottles are progressively deflected to the far side of the conveyer belt 1 while plain bottles remain in their original lane. There may be a single conveyer in place of the two separate conveyers 1, 2. The ratio between the speed of deflection and lateral conveyer speed is preferably 1 : 5 but may be in the range 1 : 2 to 1 : 50. The sorting belt 2 may alternatively be mounted above the belt 1. The stream may be divided into more than two streams in dependence on different properties of the bottles. Different kinds of objects may be displaced laterally in opposite directions.