초록 ▼

A bun laner sorts buns into a predetermined number of lanes, for providing buns to a packaging unit. The bun laner detects when some lanes are filling faster than other and closes those lanes while the other lanes fill. A vacuum may be used to hold buns in a filled lane in order to close the lane. A

A bun laner sorts buns into a predetermined number of lanes, for providing buns to a packaging unit. The bun laner detects when some lanes are filling faster than other and closes those lanes while the other lanes fill. A vacuum may be used to hold buns in a filled lane in order to close the lane. An optical detection unit may be used to determine when a bun has been stationary at a certain position in the lane for a predetermined amount of time.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A bun laner comprising: a staging area for holding a plurality of buns; a predetermined number of lanes into which buns from the staging area are channeled; a bun detection unit for detecting each lane having at least a predetermined number of buns; and vacuum means for

The invention claimed is: 1. A bun laner comprising: a staging area for holding a plurality of buns; a predetermined number of lanes into which buns from the staging area are channeled; a bun detection unit for detecting each lane having at least a predetermined number of buns; and vacuum means for selectively closing one or more of the lanes responsive to the bun detection unit. 2. The bun laner of claim 1 wherein the bun detection unit comprises optical sensors for respective lanes. 3. The bun laner of claim 2 wherein said vacuum means includes valves controlled by the optical sensors. 4. The bun laner of claim 1 and further comprising a plurality of oscillating guides for directing buns into a lane. 5. The bun laner of claim 1 and further comprising wherein the staging area includes a vibratory conveyor. 6. The bun laner of claim 1 wherein the vacuum means includes a sloping grate. 7. A method of channeling buns into a plurality of lanes comprising the steps of: transferring a plurality of buns into a staging area; transporting the buns towards the lanes; detecting each lane having at least a predetermined number of buns; and selectively applying a vacuum to one or more of the lanes responsive to the detecting step. 8. The method of claim 7 wherein the detecting step comprises the step of detecting stationary a stationary bun at a predetermined location in a lane using an optical sensors. 9. The method of claim 8 said selectively applying a vacuum step comprises enabling valves responsive to the optical sensors. 10. The method of claim 7 and further comprising the step of directing buns into a lane using oscillating guides. 11. The method of claim 7 wherein said transporting step comprises the step of transporting the buns towards the lanes using a vibratory conveyor.