Belt sorting system
First Claim
1. An object counter comprising:
- a base;
a conveyor belt mounted to said base to transport in an uphill direction, the conveyor belt having regularly spaced object retaining posts for retaining single objects on said conveyor belt and having at least one lane for transporting objects in a single file manner from a lower feed end to an upper discharge end, said at least one lane having lateral guide members for helping objects to settle in said at least one lane between said retaining posts during transport on said conveyor belt between said lower feed end and said upper discharge end;
an object feed device arranged at the lower feed end of the conveyor belt for providing a quantity of objects to the conveyor belt;
a deflector arranged over said at least one lane before said upper discharge end for removing objects from said at least one lane that settle on top of objects settled in said at least one lane between said retaining posts; and
an item detector arranged at said upper discharge end for detecting the passage or discharge of individual objects from said at least one lane.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The object counter is provided which includes a conveyor belt having regularly spaced object retaining posts for retaining single objects on the belt in a lane for transport in single file manner from a lower feed end to an upper discharge end. Each lane has lateral guide members for helping objects to settle in the lane between retaining posts during transport on the conveyor belt between the lower feed end and the upper discharge end. A hopper is arranged at the lower feed end of the conveyor belt for providing a quantity of objects to the conveyor belt. A deflector is arranged over the lane before the upper discharge end for removing objects from the lane that settle on top of objects settled in the lane between said retaining posts. An item detector is arranged at the upper discharge end for detecting the passage or discharge of individual objects.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. An object counter comprising:
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a base; a conveyor belt mounted to said base to transport in an uphill direction, the conveyor belt having regularly spaced object retaining posts for retaining single objects on said conveyor belt and having at least one lane for transporting objects in a single file manner from a lower feed end to an upper discharge end, said at least one lane having lateral guide members for helping objects to settle in said at least one lane between said retaining posts during transport on said conveyor belt between said lower feed end and said upper discharge end; an object feed device arranged at the lower feed end of the conveyor belt for providing a quantity of objects to the conveyor belt; a deflector arranged over said at least one lane before said upper discharge end for removing objects from said at least one lane that settle on top of objects settled in said at least one lane between said retaining posts; and an item detector arranged at said upper discharge end for detecting the passage or discharge of individual objects from said at least one lane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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15. An object counter comprising:
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a conveyor belt having regularly spaced object retaining posts for retaining single objects on said conveyor belt and having at least one lane for transporting objects in a single file manner from a lower feed end to an upper discharge end, said at least one lane having lateral guide members for helping objects to settle in said at least one lane between said retaining posts during transport on said conveyor belt between said lower feed end and said upper discharge end; an object feed device arranged at the lower feed end of the conveyor belt for providing a quantity of objects to the conveyor belt; a deflector arranged over said at least one lane before said upper discharge end for removing objects from said at least one lane that settle on top of objects settled in said at least one lane between said retaining posts; and an item detector arranged at said upper discharge end for detecting the passage or discharge of individual objects from said at least one lane, wherein the conveyor belt is arranged at an angle of 25 degrees to 60 degrees with respect to horizontal.
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Specification