Abstract:
A utensil sorting apparatus having a plurality of different buckets, each bucket being adapted to receive one type of utensil and to discharge it from a discharge port. Other utensils received by, for example, the cavity adapted to receive spoons are discharged from the inlet port of the bucket as the bucket rotates. The discharge ports of the spoon buckets are aligned with a first slide, fork buckets with a second slide and knife buckets with a third slide so that utensils slide into bins as they are sorted.

Description:
Priority is Claimed to Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/116,381, Filed Jan. 14, 1999. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     An apparatus is described for the sorting of utensils such as knives, forks and spoons. 
     2. Prior Art. 
     The sorting of utensils such as knives, forks and spoons can be an arduous task especially in large restaurants and institutions. Typically the utensils are washed together and then manually sorted into bins. 
     The present invention provides an apparatus for sorting such utensils. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A utensil sorting apparatus having a first plurality and second plurality of buckets mounted generally radially on a drum. Each bucket includes an inlet port where all the inlet ports define a generally cylindrically-shaped region centrally disposed on the drum. The first buckets have a first elongated neck and a first cavity adapted to receive a first utensil and discharge a first utensil from a first discharge port as the drum rotates. The second buckets have a second elongated neck and a second cavity adapted to receive a second utensil and to discharge the second utensil from a second discharge port as the drum rotates. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 illustrates three cross-sectional elevation views of buckets where each bucket defines a cavity for a utensil. 
     FIG. 2 is an elevation view showing the buckets mounted on a drum. 
     FIG. 3 is a front view showing three layers of buckets, one for each utensil. 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing one layer of drums and its communication with a slide and bin 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     An apparatus is described for the sorting of kitchen utensils and the like is disclosed. 
     The apparatus utilizes a plurality of buckets. There is a plurality of identical buckets for each utensil to be sorted. Three buckets for sorting different utensils are shown in FIG.  1 . As will be understood from the following description, if additional utensils are to be sorted such as soup spoons, another plurality of buckets would be used. FIG. 1A shows a first bucket defining a spoon receiving cavity  13 . The bucket includes an inlet  10  and a discharge port  1   1 . There is an elongated neck section  12  which communicates with the cavity  13  through an orifice  14 . The diameter of this orifice and the height of the cavity  13  shown by the dimension  1 , are the primary dimensions determining which utensil the bucket will be collected and eventually discharge through the discharge port  11 . 
     In general, the bucket in total is approximately  14  inches high in one embodiment and approximately  2  inches wide in the cavity region. The inlet opening  10  is approximately 2″×2″. In one embodiment the bucket is fabricated from fiberglass, this is not critical, however, it is desirable that the interior of the bucket be relatively smooth and slick so that the utensils slide easily within the bucket. 
     For the spoon bucket in FIG. 1 A the diameter  14  is large enough to pass spoons and as such, is large enough for both the fork and the knife to fall into the cavity  13 . In the case of the knife, when one does enter the cavity it will be too long to fall under the lip  15  of the cavity and as the cavity is rotated (as will be discussed) the knife will fall out through the opening  10 . As for forks which enter the bucket of FIG. 1 A, they also are too long to fit under the lip  15  and will fall out as will be described. 
     The bucket of FIG. 1B, while having the same, general, overall dimensions is different from the bucket of FIG. 1A in that the diameter  20  is smaller and the height l is longer than the corresponding “l” of the bucket of FIG.  1 A. The bucket of FIG. 1B selects forks only. The diameter  20  is too small for spoons to fall through and consequently, the spoons fall back out of the inlet as the bucket is rotated. As for knives, they also are too long to fit under the lip  21  of cavity  22 . As will be seen, the forks fit under the lip  21  and eventually are discharged through the discharge port  24 . 
     The bucket of FIG. 1C receives only knives. The diameter  25  is too small to allow either spoons or forks to fall into the cavity  26  and only the knives are trapped within the cavity  26 . 
     Buckets of a kind are mounted on a common drum with their inlets facing inward into a central cylindrically shaped region  30  (see FIG.  2 ). The unsorted utensils as will be seen are dropped into the region  30  and as the drum  31  rotates the utensils are sorted. The only openings into or from the region  30  are the inlets to the buckets and the inlet  54  of FIG. 4 which allows the unsorted utensils to enter the region  30 . Assume first for sake of discussion, that all of the buckets of FIG. 2 are the spoon collecting buckets such as shown in FIG.  1 A. One such bucket has been numbered in FIG.  2 . When in the six o&#39;clock position, spoons will enter the cavity defined by the bucket. This is shown with the number  1  in the cross section of bucket  32 . When the bucket is in the nine o&#39;clock position in the drum, the spoon become locked under the lip of the cavity as shown by position  2 . As the drum continues to rotate into the one o&#39;clock position, the spoon drops to the position by number  3 . Finally, as the drum rotates to the four o&#39;clock position the spoons are discharged as shown by number  4 . Any knives or forks which have entered the inlet  10  of the spoon buckets of FIG. 2 will not become locked into the position  2  but rather will fall back into the region  30  at the 10 o&#39;clock to 12 o&#39;clock positions. 
     Referring now to FIG. 3 the apparatus includes three drums;  41 ,  31  and  51 . Drum  41  includes a plurality of the buckets shown in FIG. 1B, drum  31  a plurality of the buckets shown in FIG.  1 A and drum  51  a plurality of the buckets such as shown in FIG.  1 C. The buckets rotate together driven by motor  52  and the belt  53 . The region  30  receives silverware from the tray  54 . As the rotations occur, the utensils tumble from bucket-to-bucket until they are locked in a bucket made to receive that utensil. As that bucket rotates to position  4  of FIG. 4, the utensil drops into a slide  60  and finally into a receiving bin  61 . There are three separate slides, one associated with each of the drums of FIG.  3  and three separate bins; one for receiving one type (i.e., fork, spoon or knife) of the utensil. The bearings  33  for supporting the drums are shown in FIG. 4 along with the positions  1 ,  2 ,  3  and  4  corresponding to the positions discussed previously in connection with FIG.  2 . 
     Tumblers or baffles may extend into the cavity  30  to, in effect, stir the utensils causing them to drop into the buckets. In one embodiment, the drums rotate at approximately  30  rpm. In one embodiment the cavity  30  has a diameter of approximately  18  inches. 
     In another embodiment a discharge port is located at the lips  15  or  21  of FIG.  1 . For this embodiment the drums&#39; axes are mounted at an angle to the vertical and the drums revolve around the vertical axis.