US3650368A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Article-orienting apparatus
Assignee: John R Nalbach Engineering Co Inc
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Filing: 1970-11-30
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Granted: 1972-03-21
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Expires: 1990-11-30
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus for orienting and feeding lightweight articles, such as, empty plastic bottles. The apparatus includes a hopper for receiving and holding plastic bottles. The floor of the hopper is defined by a stationary cover which is spaced from the hopper''s side wall to allow a bottle to be positioned between the side wall and the cover. A rotary drum having its axis of rotation offset from the vertical is positioned below the cover and extends beyond the periphery of the cover to the side wall of the hopper. The rotary drum has a plurality of chutes fixed thereon. Each chute has a portion movably positioned between the edge of the cover and the hopper side wall for receiving bottles. Since the axis of rotation of the drum is offset from the vertical, the chutes carry bottles from a lower portion of the hopper to an upper point, where each bottle falls down its respective chute onto a shelf. The chutes move the respective bottles along the shelf until the bottles come to the end of the shelf and the bottles drop to a second shelf. The chutes move the bottles along the second shelf until the bottles come to the end of the second shelf, when the bottles transfer onto a moving conveyor. The conveyor and the drum move at a speed such that the speed of the bottle is not changed when it is deposited on the conveyor.
Inventors
- 👤 John C Nalbach
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 21:32
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65G; B65G47/00; B65G47/02; B65G47/04; B65G47/12; B65G47/14; B65G47/1407; B65G47/1442; B65G47/1457; B65G2201/00; B65G2201/02; B65G2201/0235; B65G2201/0244
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
112 words
An apparatus for orienting lightweight articles comprising, a hopper for receiving and holding randomly-positioned articles, a rotatable drum positioned generally below the hopper, said drum having a plurality of chutes communicating with the hopper, said drum having its axis of rotation offset from the vertical, a stationary shelf positioned adjacent to the drum and cooperative with the chutes for retaining articles in the chutes for a prescribed arc of rotation of the drum, and a conveyor positioned adjacent to the drum for receiving articles from the chutes, said conveyor traveling at substantially the same speed as the chutes at the point where the articles are transferred from the chutes to the conveyor.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
112 words
An apparatus for orienting lightweight articles comprising, a hopper for receiving and holding randomly-positioned articles, a rotatable drum positioned generally below the hopper, said drum having a plurality of chutes communicating with the hopper, said drum having its axis of rotation offset from the vertical, a stationary shelf positioned adjacent to the drum and cooperative with the chutes for retaining articles in the chutes for a prescribed arc of rotation of the drum, and a conveyor positioned adjacent to the drum for receiving articles from the chutes, said conveyor traveling at substantially the same speed as the chutes at the point where the articles are transferred from the chutes to the conveyor.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
52 words
An apparatus for orienting lightweight articles as defined in claim 1, including a fixed cover mounted above the plurality of chutes to prevent articles from going down the chutes except at a selected position, said cover having an opening to allow articles to go down the respective chutes at a selected position.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
36 words
An apparatus for orienting lightweight articles as defined in claim 2, including a plow fixedly mounted adjacent to the cover opening for removing excessive articles as the articles are carried toward the opening in the cover.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
41 words
An apparatus for orienting lightweight articles as defined in claim 2, including a retainer fixedly connected relative to the cover and surrounding the opening in the cover to prevent articles from entering the chutes other than those carried by the chute.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
25 words
An apparatus for orienting lightweight articles as defined in claim 2, including a bridge fixed relative to the hopper, said bridge supporting the fixed cover.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
45 words
An apparatus for orienting lightweight articles as defined in claim 1, including a drive connected to the rotatable drum for rotating the chutes and a clutch connecting the drum with the drive, said clutch being disengageable when an excessive load is placed on the drum.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
35 words
An apparatus for orienting lightweight articles as defined in claim 6 wherein the drive for driving the drum is also connected to the conveyor for moving the conveyor and the drum at a synchronized speed.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
32 words
An apparatus for orienting lightweight articles as defined in claim 6, including a switch connected to the clutch for interrupting a source of power to the drive when the clutch is disengaged.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
42 words
An apparatus for orienting lightweight articles as defined in claim 1, including a second shelf positioned below the chutes and below the first-mentioned shelf, said second shelf extending to the conveyor for supporting articles in the chutes being carried to the conveyor.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
52 words
An apparatus for orienting lightweight articles as defined in claim 9 wherein each chute has a pair of side walls and an inner wall, each chute has an outer wall in that portion of the chute above the first shelf, each chute being open on its outer side below the first shelf.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
35 words
An apparatus for orienting lightweight articles as defined in claim 1, including an article aligner mounted in each chute to orient all the articles in one direction when the articles go down the respective chutes.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
27 words
An apparatus for orienting lightweight articles as defined in claim 1, including a plurality of rotating agitator arms positioned in the hopper to agitate the lightweight articles.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
130 words
An apparatus for orienting plastic bottles comprising, a hopper having one side lower than the opposed side for holding a plurality of randomly-arranged plastic bottles, a rotatable drum having a plurality of chutes communicating with the hopper to receive the plastic bottles, said drum having its axis of rotation offset from the vertical, and a stationary cover positioned above the chutes, haviNg its outer periphery defining a bottle-carrying pocket with each chute when the chute is positioned adjacent to the lower side of the hopper, said cover having a recess in the side adjacent to the higher side of the hopper to open the bottle-carrying pocket of each chute as the chute moves past the recess to allow a plastic bottle carried in the pocket to drop down the cute.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
130 words
An apparatus for orienting plastic bottles comprising, a hopper having one side lower than the opposed side for holding a plurality of randomly-arranged plastic bottles, a rotatable drum having a plurality of chutes communicating with the hopper to receive the plastic bottles, said drum having its axis of rotation offset from the vertical, and a stationary cover positioned above the chutes, haviNg its outer periphery defining a bottle-carrying pocket with each chute when the chute is positioned adjacent to the lower side of the hopper, said cover having a recess in the side adjacent to the higher side of the hopper to open the bottle-carrying pocket of each chute as the chute moves past the recess to allow a plastic bottle carried in the pocket to drop down the cute.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
46 words
An apparatus for orienting plastic bottles as defined in claim 13, including, a stationary shelf positioned below the cover and extending below the recess in the cover, said stationary shelf cooperative with each chute to retain a plastic bottle in the chute in a selected attitude.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
150 words
An apparatus for orienting plastic bottles as defined in claim 14 wherein the recess in the stationary cover extends over an arc of 90*, which arc commences 30* prior to the highest point of the cover in the opposite direction from the direction of rotation of the drum, said stationary shelf defining an arc of 300*, which arc commences at the same radial position as the commencement of the arc of the recess, and a second stationary shelf positioned below the chutes and positioned below the first-mentioned stationary shelf, said second stationary shelf defining an arc of approximately 90*, which arc commences at the same radial position as that at which the first-mentioned stationary shelf terminates, whereby plastic bottles fall first from the pocket to the first-mentioned stationary shelf, and, as the articles move further around, they fall to the second stationary shelf and are oriented to an upright attitude.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
31 words
An apparatus for orienting plastic bottles as defined in claim 13 wherein the angle of offset between the axis of rotation and the drum and the vertical is less than 31*.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
34 words
An apparatus for orienting plastic bottles as defined in claim 13, including a rotating brush mounted on the hopper adjacent to the recess in the cover for discharging plastic bottles out of the pockets.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
70 words
An apparatus for orienting articles comprising, a hopper having one side lower than the opposed side for holding a plurality of randomly-arranged articles, a rotatable drum having a plurality of chutes movably communicating with the hopper to receive articles from the hopper, said drum having its axis of rotation offset from the vertical, and a stationary shelf cooperative with the chutes to control movement of an article in each chute.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
70 words
An apparatus for orienting articles comprising, a hopper having one side lower than the opposed side for holding a plurality of randomly-arranged articles, a rotatable drum having a plurality of chutes movably communicating with the hopper to receive articles from the hopper, said drum having its axis of rotation offset from the vertical, and a stationary shelf cooperative with the chutes to control movement of an article in each chute.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
29 words
An apparatus for orienting articles as defined in claim 18, including a plurality of agitator arms rotatably mounted in the hopper for agitating the lightweight articles in the hopper.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
34 words
An apparatus for orienting articles as defined in claim 18 wherein the stationary shelf extends into the chutes, and including a second stationary shelf positioned below the chutes and below the first-mentioned stationary shelf.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
40 words
An apparatus for orienting articles as defined in claim 18 wherein each chute has a pair of side walls and an inner wall, each chute having an outer wall in that portion of the chute positioned above the stationary shelf.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-03-21 | 1975-09-20 | 1976-03-21 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-03-21 | 1979-09-20 | 1980-03-21 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-03-21 | 1983-09-20 | 1984-03-21 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |