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:
Jan. 18, 1994
Filed:
Nov. 20, 1992
James E Crismon, Modesto, CA (US);
Jerry W Brun, Modesto, CA (US);
ESM International, Inc., Houston, TX (US);
Abstract
A sorting machine for separating substandard items from a continuous stream of products is disclosed wherein the ejector that removes the detected substandard items includes an ejector finger of monolithic structure and homogeneous material and an actuator. The ejector finger includes a base fixedly attached with respect to the product stream, a contactor normally withdrawn from the product stream when standard products are in the stream and for entering the product stream to eject a detected substandard item, and a hinge of reduced dimension connecting the ejector finger base to the ejector finger contactor. The hinge is biased to normally withdraw the ejector finger contactor from the product stream. The actuator flexes the ejector hinge to move the ejector contactor so that it enters the product stream for ejecting each detected substandard item. The monolithic structure and homogeneous material are resistant to wear from environmental conditions.