Apparatus for collecting an article

• US 5,444,749 A
• Filed: 03/07/1994
• Issued: 08/22/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nambu Electric Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nambu Electric Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Nambu, Kunio
• Primary Examiner(s): Fuller, Benjamin R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gibson, Randy W.
• Application Number:
  US08/206,394
• Time in Patent Office: 533 Days
• Field of Search: 177/25.18, 177/70, 177/83, 364/567, 364/478, 364/479, 377/6, 221/8, 414/901, 209/551
• US Class Current: 377/6
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/387 for combinatorial weighing, i.e. selecting a combination of articles whose total weight or number is closest to a desired value
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 414/115 including article counter

Abstract

An article collecting device comprising: feed unit 5 for feeding a set of articles smaller in quantity than a target quantity for collection; a recirculating conveyer 2 for conveying a set of articles fed by the feed unit 5; an operation unit 14 for combining at least two sets of articles fed during conveyance of the set of articles by the conveyer and determining whether a target quantity of articles as a preset collection unit is obtained; and an opening unit 12 for discharging the sets of articles combined as the target quantity from the conveyer to a bagging and packaging unit 13 as the result of the combination by the operation unit.

Claims

1. An apparatus for counting a small article, which sequentially feeds a set of small articles indefinite in number and smaller in number than target number, conveys the fed set of articles each in units of a set in a recirculating manner, combines at least two sets of articles during recirculating conveyance of the articles after the feeding of the articles to thereby obtain the target number of small articles, said apparatus comprising:

feeding means for feeding said set of small articles indefinite in number and smaller in number than the target number;

scattering means positioned below a discharge end of said feeding means for hindering a fall of the articles and scattering the articles in a passageway for the articles falling from the discharge end; and

detecting means for detecting the articles which are scattered by said scattering means to thereby count a total number of falling articles.

2. An apparatus for counting a small article, which sequentially feeds sets of small articles indefinite in number and smaller in number than a target number, conveys the fed sets of articles in units of a set in a recirculating manner, combines at least two sets of articles during recirculating conveyance of the articles after the feeding of the articles to thereby obtain the target number of small articles, said device comprising feeding means for feeding a set of small articles indefinite in number and smaller in number than the target number;

scattering means positioned below a discharge end of said feeding means in a passageway for the articles falling from the discharge end for hindering a fall of the articles and scattering the articles; and

detecting means provided above and below said scattering means for detecting a total articles, which fall through the passageway for the articles, to thereby count the number of falling articles above and below said scattering means.

3. An apparatus for counting a small article, sequentially feeds sets of small articles indefinite in number and smaller in number than a target number, conveys the fed sets of articles in units of a set in a recirculating manner, combines at least two sets of articles during recirculating conveyance of the articles after the feeding of the articles to thereby obtain the target number of small articles, said device comprising feeding means for feeding a set of small articles indefinite in number and smaller in number than the target number;

scattering means positioned below a discharge end of said feeding means for hindering a fall of the articles and scattering the articles in a passageway for the articles falling from the discharge end;

first detecting means provided above said scattering means for detecting the articles and second detection means below said scattering means for detecting the articles which fall through the passageway for the articles;

which fall through the passageway for the articles; and

determining means for comparing a first number of articles detected by first detecting means above said scattering means and a second number of articles detected by the second detecting means below said scattering means to determine a number of articles which have fallen.

4. An apparatus for counting a small article, wherein when the number of articles counted by the first detecting means above said scattering means provided in the passageway of fall of the articles differs from the number of articles counted by the second detecting means below said scattering means, said determining means according to claim 3 determines that the largest one of said first number and said second number is the number of articles which have fallen.

5. An apparatus for collecting constant-quantity-of-articles, comprising:

feeding means for feeding respective sets of articles less in total quantity than a target quantity;

distributing means for conveying in a recirculating manner in units of a fed quantity the respective sets of articles fed by said feeding means and selectively distributing the respective sets of articles on a conveyance way;

tracing means for tracing a respective current positions of sets of articles of the feed quantity fed by said feeding means together with information on respective quantities of sets of articles in correspondence to the conveyance of said distributing means;

combining means for combining at least two of the sets of articles to obtain the target quantity of articles as a present collection unit;

discharging means for discharging the combined sets of articles whose total quantity is the target quantity from said distributing means as the result of combination by the combining means; and

accommodating means for temporarily accommodating the combined sets of articles, whose total quantity is the target quantity discharged by said discharging means.