Article counter with improved light beam coverage

• US 6,201,848 B1
• Filed: 11/03/1999
• Issued: 03/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Count On US Corporation
• Original Assignee: Count On US Corporation
• Inventors: Brancato, Dominic S.
• Primary Examiner(s): RUBIN, MARGARET R
• Application Number:
  US09/432,531
• Time in Patent Office: 496 Days
• Field of Search: 377/6, 377/8
• US Class Current: 377/6
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 93/00 Counting, sorting, or marking arrangements specially adapted for laundry purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06M 1/101 by electro-optical means

Abstract

A five sided chamber is placed in a laundry chute such that any laundry article passing through the chute must also pass through the chamber. The five sided chamber is mirrored on the inside surfaces of four of the five sides while the fifth side is transparent. A light beam emitter and a light beam receiver are positioned along the transparent fifth side of the chamber. The light beam emitter is directed at the center of one of the four mirrored sides and the light beam receiver is directed at the center of an adjacent one of the four mirrored sides. Reflection of the light beam internally within the five sided chamber is such that the light beam forms a star pattern before returning to the light beam receiver via the transparent fifth side. This star pattern insures that any article of laundry passing through the chute will block at least a portion of the star shaped light beam and toggle an electronic counter connected to the light beam receiver for increased accuracy and reliability in laundry item counting.

Claims

1. An article counter adapted to be positioned within a chute via which articles to be counted are conveyed past the article counter, said article counter comprising:

a) a chamber containing at least three sides, two of which are internally mirrored with a third side being at least partially transparent;

b) a light beam emitter positioned proximate the third side, said light beam emitter directing a light beam at one of the internally mirrored sides;

c) a light beam receiver also positioned proximate the third side, said light beam receiver being positioned to detect a light beam reflected from another one of the internally mirrored sides; and

d) a counter responsive to the light beam receiver to count the number of times the light beam is broken by an article passing through the chamber.

2. An article counter as in claim 1, wherein:

a) there are four of said internally mirrored sides arrayed, along with said transparent side, into a pentagonal shape, and

b) said light beam emitter is directed toward one of said four internally mirrored sides and said light beam receiver is directed toward another one of said internally mirrored sides which is adjacent to said one of said four internally mirrored sides such that said light beam is internally reflected by said four internally mirrored sides within said chamber to form a star shaped pattern.

3. A laundry article counter adapted to be positioned within a chute via which laundry articles to be counted are conveyed past the article counter, said article counter comprising:

a) a chamber containing five sides arrayed in a pentagonal shape, four of which are internally mirrored with a fifth side being at least partially transparent;

b) a light beam emitter positioned proximate the fifth side, said light beam emitter directing a light beam at one of the internally mirrored sides;

c) a light beam receiver also positioned proximate the fifth side, said light beam receiver being positioned to detect a light beam reflected from another one of said internally mirrored sides which is adjacent to said one of said four internally mirrored sides, said four internally mirrored sides reflecting said light beam into a star shaped pattern; and

d) a counter responsive to the light beam receiver to count the number of times the light beam is broken by a laundry article passing through the chamber.

4. A method of improving the light beam coverage of an article counter which is adapted to be positioned within a chute via which articles to be counted are conveyed, said method comprising the steps of:

a) providing said article counter with a chamber containing at least three sides, two of which are internally mirrored with a third side being at least partially transparent;

b) positioning a light beam emitter proximate the third side such that said light beam emitter is positioned to direct a light beam toward one of the internally mirrored sides;

c) positioning a light beam receiver proximate the third side such that said light beam receiver is positioned to detect a light beam reflected from another one of the internally mirrored sides; and

d) connecting a counter to the light beam receiver such that it is responsive to said light beam receiver to count the number of times the light beam is broken by an article passing through the chamber.

5. A method as in claim 4, wherein:

a) said providing step includes providing said chamber with five sides arrayed in a pentagonal shape with four of the five sides being internally mirrored and forming, with said transparent side, a pentagonal shape;

b) said light beam emitter positioning step includes directing said light beam emitter through said transparent side toward one of said four internally mirrored sides; and

c) said light beam receiver positioning step includes directing said light beam receiver toward another one of said internally mirrored sides which is adjacent to said one of said four internally mirrored sides such that said light beam is internally reflected by said four internally mirrored sides within said chamber to form a star shaped pattern.