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:
Oct. 17, 2000
Filed:
Oct. 30, 1997
Karl J Fritze, Denmark Township, MN (US);
Bruce H Koerner, Red Wing, MN (US);
Ferdinand J Herpers, Minnetonka, MN (US);
Kirby J Kuhlemeier, Cottage Grove, MN (US);
Robot Aided Manufacturing Center, Inc., Red Wing, MN (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus are provided for dispensing articles into a manually placed receiving basket and for controlling the dispensing mechanism to more accurately dispense the desired articles. The dispenser 20 includes a main storage area 39 which can take the form of a bulk storage hopper, an accumulator area 36 into which the dispensed articles are transferred during the 'gravimetric' dispensing of the articles. The accumulator area 36 may be formed from the same externally formed walls of the primary storage area 39 and hopper 21. An assembly for controllably transferring articles from the primary area 39 to the accumulator area 36 is also provided. This controllable transfer assembly may include a drum 51 having a plurality (or series) of elevated areas 52 about the circumference 53 of the drum 51, a diverter shape 54 located in the primary storage area 39, and an incline slope shape 37 leading down to the drum 51. A drive assembly 159 is provided to rotate the drum 51 when transferring articles. The articles in the accumulator area 36 are retained in that area by doors 32 of a gate assembly. The gate assembly are selectively operated between open and closed positions. A load cell 165 comprising a weight sensing assembly is arranged and configured to weigh the articles retained by the gate assembly. A controller 152 monitors the load cell 165 and operates the drive assembly 159 to control the articles dispensed into the accumulator area 136 to a predetermined level. By monitoring the movement of the drum 51 and the weight of the transferred articles, the controller 152 can determine the manner in which the drum 51 might be moved in a future dispensing cycle to increase the accuracy of the dispensed articles.