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Article sizing apparatus and container filling system employing the same

  • US 4,490,801 A
  • Filed: 07/06/1982
  • Issued: 12/25/1984
  • Est. Priority Date: 07/06/1982
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. Article sizing apparatus comprising a housing, said housing defining an opening for affording transport of an article to be measured therethrough, a plurality of first light sources mounted in said housing in a first linear array at one boundary of said opening for producing a plurality of first discrete light beams traversing said opening, a first opaque wall mounted adjacent another boundary of said opening in confronting relation to said light beams from said first array, said first wall having a plurality of slits therein that are spaced apart in correspondence to the spacing between said light sources in said first array, a plurality of first photodetectors for receiving light from said first light sources in said first array, first means for supporting said first photodetectors in said housing on the side of said opening opposite from said first light sources, said first supporting means supporting individual first photodetectors in alignment with respective said slits in said first wall so that each said first photodetector responds to light from only one of said first light sources, a plurality of second light sources mounted in said housing in a second linear array that is substantially orthogonal to said first array for producing a plurality of second discrete light beams traversing said opening substantially normal to said first light beams, a second opaque wall mounted on a boundary of said opening opposite said second linear array, said second wall having a plurality of slits therein that are spaced apart in correspondence to the spacing between said second light sources in said second array, a plurality of second photoconductors for receiving light from said second light sources in said second array, second means for supporting individual second photodetectors in alignment with said slits in said second wall so that each said second photodetector responds to light from only one of said second light sources, sensing means coupled to said photodetectors for sensing the identity of photodetectors that are in a condition illuminated by said light sources and the identity of photodetectors that are in a condition obscured by an article at each of a plurality of locations along the article as it traverses said opening, storage means coupled to said sensing means for storing plural signals representative of the identity and condition of each said photocell at each of said locations, and analyzing means coupled to said storage means for analyzing the signals stored in said storage means to produce a resultant parameter representative of the volume of said article.

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