Automatic corn cutter feeder
US4201285A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 14, 1976 |
| Grant date | May 6, 1980 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 14, 1996 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB65G2201/0211
- WIPO fieldHandling
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Husked ears of corn are fed individually between the flights of a forwardly moving flight conveyor and are supported by a rearwardly moving conveyor belt which spins the ears about their axes causing them to move in the direction of their axes until the smaller ends of the ears have moved close to or engage one of the side walls of the conveyor, depending upon which direction the ears are pointing. This forms two lanes of preoriented ears. At the delivery end of the preorienting conveyor, the ears are dropped with their axes generally parallel and horizontal and the ears of each lane fall against one side of a V shaped butt deflector which defects the following butts of the ears from each lane from vertical free fall but allows the smaller ends to continue to fall freely until they encounter the deflector. The ears now slide down a chute with their smaller ends forward and the side walls of the chute converge so as to singulate the ears from both lanes into a row of ears pointed small end first which row is picked up by a rearwardly moving cutter feeder conveyor. The conveyor conducts the row of ears, which are now axially aligned pointed small end first, into a rotary corn cutter …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.