Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE
A SHELL FEEDER APPARATUS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a shell feeder apparatus.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a
shell
feeder apparatus including a conveyor means arranged to receive shells and
transport them to a further location, wherein the conveyor means is arranged
to
orientate the shells to face in a specific direction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference
to
the accompanying drawings, in which:-
Figure I is an upper perspective view of an apparatus in accordance with the
present
invention;
Figure 2 is an end view of the apparatus of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a perspective view to an enlarged scale of part of the apparatus
of
Figures 1 and 2 showing a conveyor means and a carousel means;
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Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 to a further enlarged scale showing
more
details of the conveyor means and the carousel means;
Figure 5 is a side elevation of the carousel means shown in Figure 3 and a
further
S conveyor means; and
Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view of a shell orientation means forming
part
of the apparatus of Figures 1 to 5.
DESCRIPTION
In Figure l, there is shown a shell feeder apparatus 10 in accordance with the
present invention including a ground engaging support frame 12 on which is
mounted a conveyor means 14. The conveyor means 14 includes an endless belt 15
which is formed of a plurality of blocks 16 connected together in end to end
1 S manner. Each block 16 contains an aperture 18 which, as can best be seen
in
Figure 4, is generally circular but includes a cut out portion 20 at a
trailing location
of the aperture 16 relative to the direction of travel of the conveyor belt 15
as will
be described. Thus, the conveyor belt 15 includes a plurality of spaced
apertures
18.
To one side of the conveyor belt 15 on an upper run thereof there is located a
bench
22. Further, a shell feeder tray 24 is located adjacent an end of the bench 22
to a
side thereof remote from the conveyor belt i 5. The tray 24 is, in use,
connected to
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a bulk shell bin (not shown). Further, the tray 24 is located adjacent a
Station A of
the apparatus 10.
The conveyor belt 15 is connected to endless chains (not shown) which pass
over
sprockets 26 (see Figures 3 and 4) located at each end of the conveyor means
14.
As can be seen in figures 1 and 3, the sprockets 26 at one end of the conveyor
means 14 are operatively connected to an electric drive motor 28. The
sprockets 26
and associated equipment are covered by guards 30 at each end of the conveyer
means 14.
A shell orientating means 32 is disposed within the apparatus 10. The
orientating
means 32 is shown in figure 6. The orientating means 32 includes an electric
motor
34 connected to a drive pulley 36. The drive pulley 36 is connected by means
of an
endless belt 38 to an idler pulley 40 via a plurality of intermediate pulleys
42. The
upper run of the endless belt 38 extends just below the conveyor belt 15 at a
Station
B (see Figure 1 ) to facilitate orientation of shells carried on the conveyer
belt 15 in
the apertures 18 as will be described . Further, away from the Station B there
is a
guide plate 44 (see Figures 3 and 4) located below the upper run of the
conveyer
belt 15. The guide plate 44 defines a longitudinal channel for engagement with
shells located in the apertures 18 as will be described.
The apparatus 10 further comprises a carousel 50 which includes a plurality of
robot
arms 51 having suction cups 52 mounted thereon.
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Each suction cup 52 is mounted on an L-shaped support arm 60 of a robot arm 51
which support arm 60 is in turn mounted on a U-shaped bracket 61. Each bracket
61 is pivotally mounted at a pivot 62 on a base 64. Each bracket 61 is
connected to
a pneumatic cylinder 66 which extends between the bracket 61 of the robot arm
51
and a circular bulkhead 56 centrally located in the carousel 50.
Further, each suction cup 52 is provided with a pneumatically operated rotary
actuator 68. Still further, each arm 60 is provided with a pneumatically
operated
rotary actuator 70 located within the corresponding bracket 61.
A plurality of tubes 72 extend from the bulkhead 56 to each of the cylinders
66, the
actuators 68 and the actuators 70.
A valve terminal 74 (See Figure 3) is located within the bulkhead 56 and is
connected to the tubes 72 which lead to each of the pneumatic cylinders 66,
the
actuators 68 and the actuators 70. Further, the valve terminal 74 is connected
to a
vacuum generator 73.
As can be seen in Figure 2, the carousel 50 is mounted on an axially rotatable
vertical shaft 80 having an electric motor mounted 82 mounted thereon. The
shaft
80 is provided with bearings 84 upon which the shaft 80 is supported in a
ground
engaging frame 86.
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There is also provided an air coupling 88 which is arranged to be connected to
an air
supply (not shown). In addition, an electrical cable 90 leads to the motor 82
from a
suitable power supply (not shown). Other electrical cables 90 are also shown
leading to electrically operated components.
Further, there is shown a computer 92 which is operatively connected to the
components of the apparatus 10 to provide control thereof.
As can be seen in Figure 3, the shaft 80 continues upwardly into the region of
the
carousel 50 within the bulkhead 56. A slip ring 94 is provided at an upper end
of
the shaft 80. Also, as can be seen the electric cable 90 emerges from the top
of the
shaft 80 and the slip ring 94.
Further, as can be seen in Figure 1, there is also a secondary conveyor 100
located
I 5 at a Station D of the carousel 50. The conveyor 100 includes an electric
motor 102
mounted on a frame 104. There are also provided a plurality of axially
rotatable
upright shafts 106 and two pairs of rollers 108 on the shafts 106. The shafts
106
have ends mounted in the frame 104 by means of bearings 110. Further, a
respective belt 112 extends around each pair of rollers 108. The nearest belt
112
seen in Figure I travels in an anticlockwise direction whilst the farthest
belt 112
travels in a clockwise direction as seen in Figure 1. The belts 112 have
regions 114
at which they run closely adjacent one another. Further, tensioning rollers
116 are
located within each of the belts 112 to maintain the tension thereof at a
desired
level.
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In operation, a supply of shells particularly scallop shells are placed in the
bulk shell
bin 24. The apparatus 10 is energised so that the conveyor belt 15 commences
moving in its upper run towards the carousel 50. Simultaneously, the carousel
SO
commences to rotate and the conveyer 100 commences to operate. The shells
slide
onto the feeder tray 24 and then across the bench 22 on to the conveyor belt
15 at
Station A shown in Figure 1. The shells fall in to the individual apertures 18
in the
blocks 16 of the moving conveyor belt 15.
The lower ends of shells in the apertures 18 slide along the guide plate 44
below
the upper run of the conveyor belt 15.
At Station B shown in Figure 1, the shell orientating means 32 is located. At
this
point the lower ends of the shells in the apertures 18 contact the upper runs
of the
belt means 38 moving in opposite directions. The relative motion of the two
parts
of the belt 38 cause the shells to be rotated in the apertures 18 until the
hinges of
the shells are forced into the cut out portions 20. The hinges engage with the
cut out
portions 20 and the shells then remain in this orientation.
The shells are now oriented with their hinges trailing and the shells
themselves
facing forwardly.
At Station C shown in Figure 1, each suction cup 52 is pivoted downwardly in
sequence under control of the computer 92 about the corresponding pivot point
62
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by the corresponding cylinder 66 so that the suction cup 52 engages with a
shell on
the conveyor belt 15. The suction cup 52 at this point has a vacuum applied
thereto
so that the suction cup 52 becomes affixed to the shell. The robot arm 51 then
reverts back to the upright position shown in Figures 3 and 4, with the shell
attached.
Simultaneously, a colour sensor (not shown) identifies which face of the shell
is
facing upwardly on the conveyor belt 15. If the incorrect face is facing
upwardly a
signal is sent to the computer 92. The computer 92 then activates the valve
terminal
74 which causes air to be supplied to the corresponding actuator 70 causing
the arm
60, and the actuator 68 and the suction cup 52 to be rotated through
180° about a
vertical axis. All of the shells now have their faces facing in the same
direction.
Also, at the same time, in the case of all suction cups 52 holding shells, a
further
signal from the computer 92 to the valve terminal 74 causes air to be supplied
to the
corresponding actuator 68 rotating each suction cup 52 and the attached shells
through approximately 90° about a horizontal axis. The shells are now
in a hinge
down position.
The carousel 50 continues to rotate so that each shell arrives at Station D
shown in
Figure 1 under control of the motor 82. Signals are passed between the
computer 92
and the rotating carousel 50 via the slip ring 94 and the electrical cables
90.
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At Station D, the shells are placed in the secondary conveyor 100 and the
computer
then causes the valve terminal 74 to release air to the suction cup 52 so that
the shell
is released into the conveyor 100. The shells are placed between the belts I
12 in the
regions 114 and are gripped by the belts 112. The suction cups 52 are located
adjacent to but below the belts I 12. The belts 112 take the released shell to
Station
E. Each robot arm 51 is then reset for the next cycle.
In the case where a robot arm 51 has been rotated through 180 ° as
described above,
the robot arm 51 is then pivoted downwardly to avoid contacting shells in the
conveyor 100 and subsequently returned to its normal upright position.
The belts 112 are formed of foam rubber. The conveyor 100 is driven by the
motor 102.
I S As discussed above, the shells are positioned by the robot arms 51 so that
the top
parts of the shells are pinched between the two moving belts 112. Thus, the
shells
are conveyed to Station E shown in Figure 1 at which suction cups from a
scallop
processing apparatus become affixed to both sides of the shells and the shells
are
transferred to the scallop processor from the shell feeder. A suitable scallop
processing apparatus is described in detail in copending International Patent
Application Number PCT/AU97/00787 in the name of the present applicant the
disclosure of which is incorporated hereinto by reference.
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The motion of the conveyor means 14, the carousel 50 and the conveyer means
100
are all synchronised and continuous while the apparatus 10 is operating under
control of the computer 92. Also, the motion of the shell orientator 32 is
continuous. The motion of the robot arms 51 and the actuators is intermittent.
Modifications and variations such as would be apparent to a skilled addressee
are
deemed within the scope of the present invention.
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