Method and apparatus for product separation and stacking
First Claim
1. An apparatus for arranging products, comprising:
- a conveyor having first and second ends, the conveyor operable to receive a stream of products between the first and the second ends and to separate products from the stream of products;
a disperser comprising a central region and a periphery, the disperser operable to receive separated products from the second end of the conveyor and to disperse the separated products in a plurality of directions substantially radially outward from the central region toward the periphery; and
an arranger operable to receive dispersed products at the periphery of the disperser and to arrange the dispersed products.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Manufactured products, for example those produced by a die press, may be cleaned, separated, randomized and stacked with the apparatus of the present invention. A first conveyor system removes contaminants from the products. A second conveyor system separates and randomizes the products, for example, by allowing the products to cascade down an inclined conveyor belt. The conveyor is segmented to capture a portion of the products as they are pulled downward by gravitational forces. The products are aligned on a shaker table with any of several operator stations. In one embodiment the products pass through a funneling array, a slot and into a stacking tube from which operators may remove stacks of the product in preparation for shipping.
11 Citations
33 Claims
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1. An apparatus for arranging products, comprising:
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a conveyor having first and second ends, the conveyor operable to receive a stream of products between the first and the second ends and to separate products from the stream of products; a disperser comprising a central region and a periphery, the disperser operable to receive separated products from the second end of the conveyor and to disperse the separated products in a plurality of directions substantially radially outward from the central region toward the periphery; and an arranger operable to receive dispersed products at the periphery of the disperser and to arrange the dispersed products. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for arranging products, comprising:
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a conveyor having first and second ends, the conveyor operable to receive a stream of products between the first and second ends and to separate individual products from the stream of products; a disperser comprising a central region and a periphery, the periphery comprising a substantially arc-shaped portion, the disperser operable to receive separated products from the second end of the conveyor and to vibrate to disperse the separated products substantially radially outward in a plurality of directions from the central region toward the substantially arc-shaped portion of the periphery; and an arranger operable to receive dispersed products at the substantially arc-shaped portion of the periphery and to gather and arrange the dispersed products. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for arranging products, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a stream of products; separating products from the stream of products; dispersing the separated products substantially radially outward in a plurality of directions from a central region toward a periphery of a disperser; receiving dispersed products at the periphery of the disperser; and arranging the dispersed products. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. An apparatus for arranging products, comprising:
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a conveyor operable to receive a stream of products and to separate products from the stream of products, the conveyor comprising a conveyor belt having a slip-resistant surface and a plurality of separators operable to reduce slippage of separated products along the surface, the conveyor operable to direct an air stream upon the products to remove contaminants from the products; a disperser coupled to the conveyor and operable to scatter separated products received from the conveyor, the disperser comprising a shaker table having a vibrator and an inclined surface; and an arranger coupled to the disperser and operable to arrange scattered products received from the disperser, the arranger comprising a slot operable to receive scattered products and a stacking tube, the arranger operable to receive scattered products along at least a portion of the periphery of the disperser and to reorient the received products using the slot for arrangement using the stacking tube.
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Specification