GB521671A - Improvements in apparatus for grading articles by weight - Google Patents

Abstract

521,671. Grading eggs &c. by weighing. PHILADELPHIA METAL WORKS. Inc. Nov. 24, 1938, No. 34244. Convention date, March 3. [Class 143] [Also in Group XXX] In an apparatus for grading eggs, packaged foods, fruit or other articles by weight, the eggs &c. are progressively moved over a series of weighing devices by a plurality of reciprocating arms provided at their free ends with pusher elements, the arms being connected to a pair of reciprocating bars one of which lags behind the other so that the pusher elements are raised and lowered at the ends of their stroke to relinquish and engage the eggs. The eggs placed in an inclined shoot 55, Fig. 1, are fed successively as described below, to a platform 11, and are pushed along the platform by cupshaped members 39 so as to bring the eggs successively on to scale pans 12, 13, 14 and on to a final discharge plate 15. The heaviest eggs tilt the first scale pan 12 and are discharged into a compartment 75a, the lighter eggs are discharged according to weight into compartments 75b ... 75d. The weighing units are locked except during the weighing periods, by detents 48 depending from a reciprocating slide 45. In a modification, Figs. 11, 12, (not shown) the weighing units are locked by clamping the ends of the weighbeams within inclined slots in a cam-operated slide. The cups 39 for pushing the eggs along the platform 11 are secured to bell-crank levers 36, 37, Fig. 3, mounted by pivots 34 on a slidable bar 25. A shifting member 31 reciprocated by a motor 26a and bent connecting-rod 30 is suspended by pivots 38 from the bell-crank levers 36, 37 the arrangement being such that owing to the lag in the movements of the slidable bar 25 the cups 39 are raised and lowered at the ends of the reciprocations to relinquish and engage the eggs. In a modification, Fig. 13 (not shown), the cups 39 engage the tops of the eggs and are carried on resilient portions of the bell-crank levers 36, 37 to avoid damage to the eggs. Article-feeding devices. The eggs &c. are fed singly to the grading platform 11, Fig. 6, by two stop members 59, 64 projecting from a lever 60 pivoted on a pin 61 and caused to rise and fall by cam and slot mechanism actuated by the. reciprocating bar 25. When the lever 60 descends, the stop 59 permits the foremost egg A to roll on to the platform 11. The remaining eggs B, C &c. are retained by the stop 64 which is of inverted U-shape so as to permit these eggs to roll down to the stop 59 when the lever 60 ascends. In a modification, Fig. 9, a cam projection 80 on the reciprocating bar 25 actuates a lever 83 carrying a stop 95 and an actuating member 97. The actuating member 97 raises and lowers a U-shaped stop 88 supported on pivots 92 the action being similar to that described in connection with Fig. 6.