초록 ▼

A stabilizing system stabilizes light-weight articles carried on conveyors for automated bulk processing equipment. In a preferred embodiment, the light-weight articles, such as, for example, tobacco leaf products or wood chips, are moved and stabilized along a conveyor from a first infeed end to a

A stabilizing system stabilizes light-weight articles carried on conveyors for automated bulk processing equipment. In a preferred embodiment, the light-weight articles, such as, for example, tobacco leaf products or wood chips, are moved and stabilized along a conveyor from a first infeed end to a second discharge end where they are projected in-air along a trajectory through an illumination station and sorting station. An enclosed off-belt housing is provided within which the light-weight articles are projected along a controlled trajectory to be processed by the optical inspection and sorting systems.

대표청구항 ▼

[ We claim:] [1.] In an automated bulk processing system that includes inspection and sorting stations for optical inspection and sorting of light-weight articles, an air stream carrying the light-weight articles for processing by the inspection and sorting stations and, because of their light weigh

[ We claim:] [1.] In an automated bulk processing system that includes inspection and sorting stations for optical inspection and sorting of light-weight articles, an air stream carrying the light-weight articles for processing by the inspection and sorting stations and, because of their light weight, the light-weight articles tending to travel along unpredictable trajectories that prevent reliable position tracking of The light-weight articles as they travel between the inspection and sorting stations and thereby adversely affect accurate and efficient processing, a method of providing a predictable trajectory for the light-weight articles to improve processing accuracy and efficiency as they undergo inspection and sorting, comprising:conveying the light-weight articles along a path having an infeed end and a discharge end;stabilizing the light-weight articles as they are conveyed along the path from the infeed end to the discharge end;discharging the light-weight articles from the discharge end along an air stream within an open-ended off-conveyor region through which the light-weight articles pass for inspection and sorting, the air stream carrying the light-weight articles and developing proximal to the discharge end in the open-ended off-conveyor region a turbulent air flow pattern the effect of which would be to disturb the air stream and thereby cause the light-weight articles to travel along unpredictable paths;confining the open-ended off-conveyor region within defined boundaries; andintroducing into the open-ended off-conveyor region proximal to the discharge end a compensating air flow that substantially prevents the effect of the turbulent air flow pattern, the defined boundaries confining the open-ended off-conveyor region and the compensating air flow co-acting with the air stream to constrain the light-weight articles such that the air stream carries them along a predictable trajectory for accurate and efficient processing as they undergo inspection and sorting.