US1791096A - Sorting apparatus - Google Patents

Description

' Feb. 3, 1931. w, E, HUMPHREY 1,791,096

SORTING APPARATUS Filed April 17, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Mam g fla MMM Feb. 3, 1931. w. E. HUMPHREY SORTING APPARATUS Filed April 17, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Patented Feb. 3, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VAN: 1A RUBBER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA Somme APPARATUS Application filed April 17,

This invention concerns sorting apparatus, and, specifically, apparatus for sorting articles by weight; to the end that, out of. a larger number, those particular articles which meet and satisfy a certain standard shall be retained, while those which fail to meet and satisfy the standard shall be rejected: I have developed the invention in its application to apparatus for sorting tennis balls, and in that particular application I shall show and describe it; but. it will be apparent that there'is no essential feature of the apparatus which limits it to the sorting of tennis balls merely. It is applicable, wherever discrete articles are to be sorted by weight.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. I is a diagrammatic view in side elevation of tennis-ball sorting apparatus embodying the invention; and Fig. II is a view to larger scale of the same apparatus seen in transverse section, on the plane indicated at IIII, Fig. I.

In the manufacture of tennis balls, conditions of economic production are such that there may be wider variation in Weight of particular balls than the specification of users require; and it, accordingly, becomes necessar to reject from the output of the ballma 'ng shop both the individual balls which are overweight and those which are underweight. This selection is advantageously made when the balls come from their first vulcanzation, partially-cured and not yet covere An approximately horizontal runway 1 is fixed at a entle incline, to the end that a succession of alls B may roll down without great acceleration of speed. Since, as presently will appear, it is desirable that the balls be accurately positioned within the trough, in certain portions of its extent, the trough may be provided internally, throughout such portions at least, or even throughout all its expegt, with guide strips or rails 11 (see Fig.

The trough, otherwise stationary, includes co-operating vertically movable sections; there is at least one, and for usual practice there are two, pairs of such sections; if desired, there may be three or more such pairs; but, typically there are two, and in Fig. I of as a ball diameter.

1930. Serial 1T0. 444,988.

the drawings I show two. The trough sections of the first pair (and in theprovision of a single pair the invention may be realized) are indicated at 12 and 13. The higher of these (relatively to the inclined runway), the section 12, is movable vertically downward, through a conveniently small but suflicient interval; the lower section 13 is movable vertically upward through an interval which (relatively to section 12) is at least as great In Fig. I the extreme positions of the sections 12 and 13 when moved aside are indicated'in dotted lines.

The trough section 12 is carried on one arm of a horizontal beam 2, pivoted in delicate equipoise to swing vertically upon a standard 3 (cf. Fig. II, where a duplicate struc- 4 ture appears). The opposite arm of the beam carries an adjustable weight 4!. The weight may be so nicely adjusted that, while a ball of normal weight will not disturb the equipoise, a ball that is too heavy will, by overbalancing the weight 4, swing the beam, and v in so doing cause the trough section 12 to descend to the dotted-line position (Fig. I).

A stop 5 may be provided, to limit the rangev of descent of the trough section.

The beam 2 carries a metal rod 6, adjustable in its extent, as Fig. II shows, and a cup 7 of mercury is provided. The parts are so arranged and adjusted that the swinging of the beam under the weight of a too-heav ball will cause the rod 6 to make contact wit the body of mercury in cup 7, and in so doing to complete an electric circuit. The

circuit so completed is efi'ective, through instrumentalities presently to be described, to raise the trough section 13 from full-line'to dotted-line position (Fig. I).

The ball is not hindered in its course by the swinging of beam 2, and presently it passes beyond the trough section 12, and thereupon the beam, relieved of the weight, swings back to its initial position, ready to receive.

the next following ball; and, by the return swing of ,the beam the contact of rod 6 with the body of mercury in cup 7-is broken and thecircuit alluded to is broken. p

. The trough section 13 is cradled in'a block 8, and the block is threaded to move along meroee electromagnet 18. The range of clockwise turning (Fig. I) of shaft 16 1s determ1nedby the proportions of the electromagnet. lVhen the magnet, after ha ving raised trough section 13, is dcenergized, the shaft, under the excessive weight of the trough section, will turn counterclockwise until, by abutment of block 8 upon the nuts 91 upon rods 9, comes to rest in ,the aligned position shown in full lines, Fig. I.

The electric, circuit, completed by the make-and-break device 6, 7, is diagrammatically indicated at 20; and this is the circuitwh ch energizes the clectromagnet.

,It has; been found that, when a too-heavy ,ball has effected the lowering of the trough section 12-with the consequent dippingof the rod 6 in the mercury of cup 7there is a tendency of the delicately poised beam 2 to chatter. Such chattering would tend to break the inagnet energizing circuit before tue ball had "fallen from the trough section 12, permitting the raised trough section 18 to descend too soon from its raised position. To prevent such undesirable chattering of the beam 2, a gravity operated steadying arm 19 is pivotally secured at 190 to a frame element of the apparatus. The arm 19 includes a toot-piece 191 which over-lies, but normally does not rest upon, the beam 2. The foot-piece 191 desirably should not rest upon the beam'2 when it is in its normal position, because in such case the sensitiveness of the counterpoise would be slightly lessened. Accordingly, there is provided on the block 8 a, shoulder 80, against which shoulder the pivoted arm 19 normally rests, with the footpiece 191 clear of beam 2. W hen, however, a t0oheavy ball has caused trough section 12 to descend, and, as explained, has effected the rise of the block 8 and of the trough section 13, the shoulder is raised, and the arm 19, no longer restrained, swings under gravity counter-clockwise (Fig. 1), until the footpiece 191 rests upon the beam 2, there to dampen or prevent objectionable chattering. The meeting surfaces of arm 19 and of shoulder 80 are obliquely disposed, to the end that the return of trough section 13 to normal position will raise the foot-piece 191 clear of beam 2, now also returned to normal position.

At a point along the trough higher than (though, preferably, immediately adjacent to) the section 12, means are arranged for feeding balls one by one from a line resting freely in the trough. Such means may conveniently take the form of two vertically reciprocable stops 21 and 22, movable from positions beneath the trough and out of the way of an advancing ball, to positions of obstjiiuction, imwhieli position either-stop may hold a line of balls arrested. These stops, suitably guided for vertical reciprocation,

rest severally upon cams 23 and 21, borne by a suitably driven shaft 25; and the cams are so particularly shaped and so relatively placed that, with each rotation of the shaft, one ball is released to roll singly from the higherand stationary portion of trough 1. to trough section 12.

If the so rolling ball is not of excessive weight it will pass across trough section 12 without disturbing it, and from trough sec--.

tion 12 it will continue on its way; if, how-- ever, it happens to be a ball which is overweight, its weight when it rests on section 12 will effect the descent of the section 12 to the dotted-line position (Fig.1), the consequent energizing of electromagnet 18, and the rise of trough section 13 to its dotted-line position (Fig. I). All this will occur in the brief interval while the rolling ball contin: ues on section 12. When then it reaches the end of trough section 12, the ball will fall tree beneath the raised section 13. At that point a receiving hopper 26 may be placed, and from the hopper the ball may be conveyed away through a pipe (cf. the pipe 27, Fit 1]) to a suitable place of accumulation.

11. needs but a glance at Fig. I to perceive that with the provision of a second palr of trough sections 14- and 15, suitably mounted, the apparatus may be adapted to select and divert not only the balls which are too heavy, but also the balls which are too light; or, rather, having diverted the balls which in weight exceed a certain figure (and which are too heavy), it may similarly divert the balls which in weight exceed a certain other and smaller figure (and which are thus within the range permitted by the users specifications), and leave (to continue in their course along the trough) the balls which are less in weight than that smaller amount (and so are too light) It is a matter merely of proportioning the parts, and particularly of adjusting the weights 4 upon the beams, to bring about such capacity to make selection.

It remains to remark that, when a second pair of trough sections 14:, 15 is thus provided in co-ordination with the first, the feed mechanism for the second pair need consist in no more than one stop, 28; for the balls Will advance singly from the first separating device, and all that is needed is the sure advance of each ball to the trough section 14, after that section has returned from a lower position to its normal position in alignment with the other parts of the trough. This stop may be caused in like manner to reciprocate, by the action of a cam 29 borne by shaft 25, upon which cam the stop 28 rests.

Thus the first hopper 26 will receive the balls which are over weight, the second hopper will receive the balls of proper weight, while the balls which are under weight will continue on their course along trough 1.

It will, further, be apparent that, by adding still other pairs of similarly operated trough sections, different grades of balls may be segregated from a common supply; that is to say, all balls which weigh from a ounces to b, all from b to 0, all from c to 0!, etc.

Any commodities may in like manner-be sorted; though, unless they be round and capable of rolling, other provision will have to be made to cause them to advance singly to the vertically movable sections of their carrier.

I claim as my invention:

1. In apparatus for sorting articles by weight, a runway including two adjacent sections movable severally downward and upward, means yielding under weight for sustaining the downwardly movable section in its elevated position, and electrically operated means for raising the upwardly movable section, the last-named means being rendered effective by the descent of the downwardly movable section.

2. In apparatus for sorting articles by weight, a runway including two pairs of adjacent sections, the two sections of each pair being such as those defined in claim 1.

3. In apparatus for sorting by weight articles which are round in cross-section, an inclined runway including two adjacent sec tions of which the higher is downwardly movable and the lower upwardly movable, means yielding under weight for sustaining the higher in elevated position, electrically operated means subject to the downward movement of the upper section for raising the lower section, and feed-controlling means allowing articles to advance under gravity one by one to the higher section from a supply aligned upon the runway,

4. In apparatus for sorting by weight quantities of approximately identical pieces, a runway including a section movable to a position permissive of the escape of a piece laterally from the runway, means for moving said runway section, means for operating the moving means last named, such operating means including a member adapted to be subject to the weight of a piece in its advance toward the movable section of the runway and,

6. In apparatus for sorting by weight quantities of approximately identical pieces, a runway including a section movable to a position permissive of the escape of a piece laterally from the runway, electrically operable means for moving said runway section, an open electrical. circuit including a source of electrical energy for operating upon the closing of the circuit the means last named, means for closing the electrical circuit and rendering the source of energy effective upon the means for moving said runway section, such circuit-closing means including a member adapted to be subject to theweight of a piece in its advance towardthe movable sec-- tion of the runway and, otherwise, immovable, adapted to yield under a piece of excessive weight for closing said circuit, and means which are eflfective when said runway section is in escape position for steadying said circuit closing means when yielding to the piece.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

WALTER E. HUMPHBEY.

otherwise immovable, adapted to yield unposition permissive of the escape of a piece laterally from the runway, electrically operable means for moving said runway section,

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