Method and apparatus for removing holes from nested product patterns
US7073656B2 · kind B2 · utility
16Cited by
78References
20Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 21, 2004 |
| Grant date | Jul 11, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 13, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB65G2201/0244
- WIPO fieldHandling
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Holes are removed from nested product patterns by conveying products on a conveyance mechanism (12) through an infeed section (14) in nested pattern streams (a1, a2, b1, b2), into a narrowing section (24) of a width less than one and one half the product diameter. After the narrowing section (24), the product streams (a11, a21, b11, b21) enter into an expansion section (44) where products move into a side-by-side product stream (a12, a22, b12, b22). Thereafter, nested product streams (a13, a23, b13, b23) are formed, which can be combined to form nested product streams (A, B) which can be further processed as desired.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.