COUNTING DEVICE HAVING MEMORY-READOUT AND LOGIC CIRCUITS

• US 3,777,769 A
• Filed: 02/07/1973
• Issued: 12/11/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Shinichi Ueno
• Original Assignee: Shinichi Ueno
• Inventors: Ueno, Shinichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tollberg, Stanley H.
• Application Number:
  US05/330,417
• Time in Patent Office: 307 Days
• Field of Search: 133/8 194/1N,10
• US Class Current: 453/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06M 1/10 by electric or magnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06M 7/00 Counting of objects carried by a conveyor

Abstract

A device for counting articles capable of by far speeding up the counting time, which comprises a plurality of gates through which the articles are fed, a plurality of detecting means provided on the respective gates for generating a signal upon detection of the article, a plurality of memory-readout circuits connected to the respective detecting means and adapted to memorize the signals therefrom, a sweep signal generator for periodically reading out the signals memorized by said memory-readout circuit, a logical circuit and a digital counter or an analogic indicator for integratingly indicating signals obtained through said logical circuit.

Claims

1. A counting device comprising a hopper;

a conveyor driven by a motor and provided below said hopper;

a chute disposed adjacently to the forward end of said conveyor, inclined downwardly of said forward end of the conveyor and provided with a plurality of gates;

photoelectric detecting means provided on the respective gates and adapted to generate a pulse signal upon detection of articles to be counted;

a plurality of memory-readout circuits respectively connected to the corresponding photoelectric detecting meaNs and adapted to memorize the pulse signals from said photoelectric detecting means for a predetermined time;

a sweep signal generator adapted to generate a sweep signal for periodically reading out the signals memorized by said memoryreadout circuit;

a logical circuit for obtaining logical sum of each of the signals read out through said sweep signal generator; and

a display means for integratingly indicating the number of the signals from said logical circuit.

2. A counting device as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said memory-readout circuits includes a memory circuit adapted to be turned on to produce an output upon receipt of the input signal from said photoelectric detecting means and kept turned on until a signal is applied thereto from a delay circuit connected in said memory-readout circuit;

and a gate circuit adapted to produce an output when the output signal from said memory circuit and the sweep signal from said sweep signal generator are applied thereto;

said delay circuit being adapted to apply the output signal from said gate signal to said memory circuit after the predetermined time delay to turn off said memory circuit.

3. A counting device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said memory-readout circuit further includes a build-up delay circuit which is adapted to apply said sweep signal from the sweep signal generator to said gate circuit after a predetermined time delay.

4. A counting device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said memory-readout circuit further includes a monostable multivibrator for making the width of said output signal from said gate signal larger than that of the input signal from the photoelectric detecting means.

5. A counting device as claimed in claim 1, which further comprises a detecting means disposed over said conveyor in height just for passing one article thereunder and adapted to be displaced by the articles fed on said conveyor overlapping one another;

a switch adapted to be operated by the displacement of said detecting means; and

a motor control circuit having a pulse oscillator electrically connected when said switch is operated by the displacement of the detecting means to intermittently drive said motor.