Container counting apparatus
First Claim
1. Apparatus for counting containers comprising movable conveyor means for supporting and moving containers in a direction leading toward a discharge zone;
- spaced partitions of less height than that of said containers overlying said conveyor means and defining a plurality of parallel rows each of which has a width corresponding substantially to that of said containers;
metering means overlying said conveyor means upstream from said discharge zone, said metering means having a sweep surface spanning all of said rows and spaced above said conveyor means a distance greater than the height of any of said containers but less than twice the height of any of said containers, thereby precluding the delivery of stacked containers to said discharge zone; and
counting means at said discharge zone for each of said rows for counting each container passing said zone in each of said rows.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus for counting containers such as empty aluminum cans comprises a loading conveyor for feeding empty containers to a counting unit having a movable conveyor underlying spaced, parallel partitions which provide a plurality of parallel pathways along which the containers are conveyed toward a discharge zone. Upstream from the discharge zone is a metering device which overlies the containers and which precludes more than one container in any row from passing the metering device at any one time. Downstream from the metering device are counters which record the number of containers discharged from the counting unit. Containers discharged from the counting unit are conveyed to an elevated level from which they are discharged to a bin for crushing and baling.
12 Citations
18 Claims
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1. Apparatus for counting containers comprising movable conveyor means for supporting and moving containers in a direction leading toward a discharge zone;
- spaced partitions of less height than that of said containers overlying said conveyor means and defining a plurality of parallel rows each of which has a width corresponding substantially to that of said containers;
metering means overlying said conveyor means upstream from said discharge zone, said metering means having a sweep surface spanning all of said rows and spaced above said conveyor means a distance greater than the height of any of said containers but less than twice the height of any of said containers, thereby precluding the delivery of stacked containers to said discharge zone; and
counting means at said discharge zone for each of said rows for counting each container passing said zone in each of said rows. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
- spaced partitions of less height than that of said containers overlying said conveyor means and defining a plurality of parallel rows each of which has a width corresponding substantially to that of said containers;
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11. Apparatus for counting containers comprising elevator means for lifting a plurality of containers to an elevated level and discharging them therefrom;
- container receiving means at a level below said elevated level for receiving containers discharged from said elevator means;
partition means in said receiving means for dividing the latter into a plurality of parallel rows each having a width corresponding substantially to that of said containers;
conveyor means underlying said partition means for conveying containers in said rows in a direction toward a discharge zone;
metering means overlying said conveyor means and spanning said rows upstream from said discharge zone, said metering means having a sweep surface located at such level with reference to that of said conveyor means as to preclude stacked containers passing said metering means; and
counting means at said discharge zone for counting containers passing said metering means. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
- container receiving means at a level below said elevated level for receiving containers discharged from said elevator means;
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15. Apparatus for counting containers comprising a conveyor for supporting and moving containers along a path leading to a discharge zone;
- partition means of less height than that of said containers overlying said conveyor and defining a plurality of parallel rows having a width corresponding substantially to that of said container;
means for driving said conveyor in a direction to move said containers along said path;
a rotary metering device overlying said conveyor upstream from said zone and past which said containers must move to reach said zone, said metering device having at least one sweep surface spanning said rows;
means mounting said metering device at such level above said conveyor that said sweep surface has a lowermost position spaced above said conveyor a distance greater than the height of said containers but less than 1.5 times such height;
means for rotating said metering device in a direction such that when said sweep surface is in its lowermost position it directly confronts said conveyor and moves in a direction opposite that in which said conveyor is driven; and
counting means downstream from said metering device for counting containers passing said metering device. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
- partition means of less height than that of said containers overlying said conveyor and defining a plurality of parallel rows having a width corresponding substantially to that of said container;
Specification