The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 16, 1980
Filed:
Apr. 09, 1979
Donald N Gannon, Dallas, TX (US);
The Boeing Company, Seattle, WA (US);
Abstract
An apparatus for sorting items includes a plurality of receiving stations for receiving the unsorted items. Each of the receiving stations has associated with it a scale for sensing the weight of each item as it is received. The weight of each item is transmitted to a memory device associated with the receiving stations along with destination information for each particular item. The weight and destination is stored in the memory device for retrieval at a later time. The sorting apparatus further includes a conveyor operating to move the items from the receiving stations to their destinations. A recognition unit associated with the conveyor is located intermediate the receiving stations and the destinations and includes a scale in assocation with the memory device. The items are weighed a second time on the recognition unit scale and the weight information is transmitted to the memory device. A comparison is made between the weight information transmitted by the recognition unit scale and the stored weight information to identify the item currently at the recognition unit by its weight. After identification, the destination information previously stored for the item identified is retrieved from the memory device. The identified item is then moved from the recognition unit and a transfer device removes the item from the conveyor at a location determined by the destination information retrieved from memory for that item.