GB1488345A - Conveyors incorporating weight sensing devices - Google Patents

Abstract

1488345 Weighing; sorting by weight AUTOSYSTEMS Ltd 30 Sept 1974 [28 June 1973 7 Aug 1973 29 Sept 1973 14 Feb 1974 30 May 1974] 30952/73 37314/73 45643/73 6711/74 and 23959/74 Headings G1N and G1W A conveyer comprising a rail 10 along which a succession of inter-connected carriers 11 are conveyed, the carriers being adapted to carry poultry carcases 9, is provided with an electrical weight sensing device, e.g. a load cell 101, for emitting a signal proportional to the weight of each carcass as the carcass moves therepast, the signal being passed to a control unit 22 which starts a succession of signals and which operates carcass removal means for removing carcasses from the conveyer according to their weight. As shown, each carrier 11 includes a shackle 14 which is released, under the control of unit 22, by one of three pneumatic release units 23-25 so that a carcass carried by the shackle 14 falls into one of three bins 26-28 according to which of three weight ranges its weight lies in. The weight of each carcass is applied in turn to the load cell 101 by a rotatable shaft 102 having radial spokes 104 with forked ends which engage chains 13 from which the shackles 14 are suspended so as to lift each shackle and carcass carried thereby on to a roller 104 on a shaft 105 acting as a weight sensitive member for the load cell 101. The signal emitted by cell 101 may be stored by the control unit 22 for a predetermined time or until a predetermined number of carcasses has passed a fixed point. In an alternative arrangement, Figs. 3 and 4 (not shown) the carcasses are weighed at a 180 degree bend in the conveyer and the carcasses are swung outwardly at the bend so ensuring an increased separation between successive carcasses at the weighing station. In this arrangement the sight sensing device may comprise one or more load cells to monitor the compressive load on the radial spokes. Alternatively the shaft 102 and spokes 103 may be replaced by a floating portion of rail either part of or additional to the rail 10. Each carcass may be weighed more than once by the same or different weight sensing devices to ensure greater accuracy. One or more reference weights carried by the conveyer in place of carcasses may be used to check and calibrate the sensing device(s). Provision may be made for automatically adjusting the weight ranges into which the carcasses are sorted according to the rate at which carcasses are sorted into particular ranges.