Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A shuffle feed apparatus and sliver remover wherein
the spacing between all the adjacent flights can be adjusted
in unison to change the size of small articles or slivers
removed from the articles being advanced.
Shuffle feed apparatus are utilized for advancing
articles such as vegetables, in rows. After the articles
have been aligned as they are advanced, the sizing operation
begins. The same apparatus is utilized to remove slivers
or undersized pieces from the advancing stream of articles.
For this purpose adjacent flights are spaced apart to form
a sizing opening allowing the passage between flights of
those smaller articles it is desired to separate from the
main stream.
One example of such an apparatus is shown in
United States Patent No. 3,944,077, Shuffle Feed Sizing
Mechanism, issued on March 16, 1976 with Chester Green
as inventor. This patent shows a shuffle feed apparatus
with the flights being spaced apart to allow small articles
such as slivers to be passed between flights and thus be
separated from the mainstream of articles being advanced
in single file order along the faces of the flights. This
patent polnts out the need to adjust the width of the opening
between flights for regulating the size of small articles
separated from the mainstream. As shown in this patent,
it is known to adjust the spacing between flights by adjusting
the thickness of alternate flights. However, this adjustment
is laborious because for each flight lt is necessary to
manually loosen bolts, shift the interlocking members forming
the flight face and thereafter tighten the bolts to make
the machine operable again. The task is even greater when
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trial and error must be exercised to determine what size
of opening works best for removing the desired size of
articles from the mainstream.
In United States Patent No. 3,273,711 Shuffle
Feed Sorter with Sliver Ejection, issued on September 20, 1966
with Traver J. Smith as inventor, a mechanism is provided
for adjusting the spacing between flights of a shuffle feed
mechanism. As illustrated in that patent, the adjustment
is effected by changing the relative position between the
sets of flights, but in widening the spacing between one
pair of flights the spacing between the next adjacent pair
is narrowed. Thus, while the adjustment can be made during
operation, it is only partially successful in that the
size of articles ejected is made larger between every other
flight pair. It is the purpose of the present invention
to provide a shuffle feed apparatus in which the spacing
can be easily and effectively adjusted to change the size
of slivers or small articles separated from the mainstream
of articles being advanced.
Summary of the Invention
The invention provides a shuffle feed sorting
apparatus comprising:
a frame,
a first set of transversely disposed inclined
shuffle members carried by said frame,
a second set of transversely disposed inclined
shuffle members interposed between the shuffle members
of said first set in alternating relation therewith,
means mounting said sets of shuffle members for
relative reciprocation in substantially parallel relation
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to each other to provide a valley-to-valley proyression
of a mainstream of articles supported on said shuffle members,
means spacing at least a portion of said adjacent
shuffle members apart to provide openings through which
articles smaller than said openings can pass and be separated
from the article mainstream for sorting said articles,
at least a portion of one of said sets of said
shuffle members being comprised of two relatively movable
interfitting parts to allow a change of thickness of each
shuffle member of said set portion, and
means interconnecting each of one of said two
movable interfitting parts to allow a change in thickness
of each said shuffle member of said set portion in unison
thereby -to allow adjustment of the size of said openings.
The invention will further be described, by way
of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings
wherein:-
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shuffle feeder
employing the subject invention;
Figure 2 is a side view, partially in cross section,
of the apparatus shown in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a side view of the shuffle feeder
of Figure 1;
Figures 4A and 4s are enlarged views of an adjustable
flight member employed in the subject invention;
Figure 5 is a view along the line 5-5 of Figure
2; and
Figure 6 shows the apparatus of Figure 2 along
~he llne 6-6.
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Referring primarily to Figures 1, 2, and 3, there
is illustrated a shufEle feed structure 10 including a
supporting Eramework 11 comprising a box-like frame in
which the shuEfle feed sorting structure is supported.
The sorting structure hangs on four sets or pairs of parallel
links 13 and 14 suspended from a pair of channel members
15 positioned on opposite sides of the frame. Only one
channel member and the connecting links are seen in the
drawings. Suitable cross members connect the channel members
15.
The shuffle feed sorting structure 10 generally
comprises similar sets of independently supported and alter-
nately arranged shuffle members 26 and 27 (Figure 3) which
are fabricated from sheet metal and are mounted in an inclined
position. These shuffle feed members each have long upwardly
facing article supporting faces 28 and 29 which are generally
disposed at right angles to each other. The shuffle feed
sorting members 26 are fixed bet~een and bolted to parallel first
frame members 31 supported by the four first links 13.
The sorting members 27 are fixed between the second side
frame members 32 supported by the four parallel second
links 14.
The sets of shuffle feed sorting members are
driven or oscillated in opposite directions by suitable
means including a shaft 34 carrying two pairs of eccentrics
35 and 36 to which the drive links 37 and 38 are attached
and extend to the frame members 32 and 31 respectively.
The~ eccentrics are rotated with the shaft 34 which is
driven through a chain drive 40 extending from a trans-
mission 41 and a drive motor 42. By energization of the
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65831-11
drive motor, the sorting member beds are caused to oscillate
back and forth by the eccentric drives such that alternate
sorting members move together but adjacent sorting members move
180 degrees out of phase to cause an oscillatory motion thereby
advancing articles fed onto the bed in rows and aligning
elongated articles as they are fed in the mainstream. The
shuffle feed structure just described and on which the subject
invention is based generally is shown and described in Unlted
States Patent No. 2,792,929, Shuffle Feed Structure, issued on
May 21, 1957.
In accordance with the present invention, means are
provided for sorting by size articles advanced across the
feeder by allowing spaces between the shuffle members, which
spaces are easily adjustable in size. Accordingly, as shown in
Figure 4A the shuffle members 26 and 27 are spaced apart such
that articles can pass therebetween and be separated from the
mainstream of articles advancing across the feeder. However,
each shuffle member 26 includes relatively movable parts which
serve to vary the thickness of each shuffle member thereby
changing the spacing between adjacent flights. In this manner
the sorting size can be altered.
Accordingly, the shuffle member 26 comprises an outer
shell or part 45 forming the front face 28 and the top face 29
supported on an arm 44. Fitting within this outer shell is an
inner shell or part 46 which is fixed to a lever 47 extending
down to a pivot pin 48 as shown in Figures 4 through 6. Pins
49S attach the arm 44
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of the shuffle member to the first frame member 31 while
pins 49A attach the inner part 47 to a rail 50. This rail
is supported on rods 51. The lever 55 includes an extension
58 connecting with a clamping means 59.
The clamping means 59 (shown in Figure 6) comprises
a handle 60 threaded onto a bolt 61 for forcing a clamp
62 against an indicator plate 65. Thus, by loosening the
clamp 59 the lever 58 can be swung or rotated left or right
in the direction of the arrows 66 (Figure 2) so as rotate
shafts 54 that have the upper ends of links 13 attached
to the eccentric pivot 13A. The motion of the eccentric
changes the position of second frame member 32 relative
to the first frame member 31. This changes the spacing
between members 27 and outer shell 45. As the frame member
31 moves closer to the frame member 32, the rod 51 moves
the rail 50 carrying the inner shell 46 away from the outer
shell 45. The linkage is such that shell 46 moves twice
as much as the outer shell 45, thereby keeping the gap
between members 27 and 45 equal to the gap between shell
46 and the member 27 next to it. When the frame member
31 moves farther from the frame member 32 the opposite
motions take place to maintain equal gaps between adjacent
parts. In this manner, the position of each of the rails
50 relative to the frame members 3~ is changed thereby
to pivot the part 46 relative to the part 45 of the shuffle
member and change the shuffle member thickness depending
upon the positioning of the clamping means relative to
the indicator plate. These altered positions are shown
in Figures4A and 4B.
Thus, it can be seen that.-the spacing between adjacent flight
members can be alteredbychanging the positioning of the clamp 60 such
that the size of articles sorted from the mainstream can be varied.
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