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:
Apr. 25, 1995
Filed:
Feb. 03, 1994
Gulzar Ahmed, Tualatin, OR (US);
Gregory L Branch, Newberg, OR (US);
James F Bausch, West Linn, OR (US);
Richard T Symer, Lake Oswego, OR (US);
Joseph J Stupak, Jr, Portland, OR (US);
Allen Fruit Co., Inc., Newberg, OR (US);
Abstract
An elongate vibratory conveyor for moving products is reciprocated by driving a motor with a cyclical nonuniform motion by supplying power nonuniformly to the motor. The conveyor is reciprocated in opposite lengthwise directions, without any substantial movement of the conveyor normal to the lengthwise direction. Motor control circuitry variably drives the motor automatically in response to feedback from a sensor which senses a motion related to the conveyor motion. The feedback signal is compared to a selected one of a set of predetermined different motion patterns, and the motor is driven by supplying power nonuniformly thereto in accordance with the selected motion pattern. The conveyor system readily enables instantaneous reversibility of the product flow at the same average velocity, and instantaneous variable control for modifying the motion of the conveyor to obtain either different desired average product velocities or the same average product velocity at different conveyor inclinations or reciprocating frequencies, all irrespective of changes in conveyor loading or resistance to slip of the products conveyed. Separate motors driving either the same conveyor or separate conveyors are driven with cyclical nonuniform motions in synchronization by synchronizing their respective power supplies.