Apparatus for diverting articles

Apparatus and method for diverting articles being moved by a conveyor in a line extending along a predetermined path to at least one additional conveyor moving along at least one additional path extending from a diverting station located adjacent to the first path. A different diverting signal corresponding to each additional path can be generated, causing a diverter to switch a given article to a selected additional path. The diverters includes a plurality of engaging devices supported in spaced relation and driven in a closed path that is adjacent to the conveyor at the diverting station. The engaging devices are programmed in response to corresponding diverting signals to divert specific articles on the conveyor by enabling assemblies at an enabling station located along the closed path ahead of the diverting station. The diverting signals may be generated as each article passes a sensing station located along the predetermined path ahead of the diverting station. The engaging devices are driven in synchronism with the conveyor so that each enabled engaging device arrives at the diverting station coincidentally with the arrival of the corresponding article.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to apparatus for diverting or switching 
articles and particularly to apparatus for diverting articles from a first 
conveyor to at least one additional conveyor if the value of a sensed 
characteristic of the article differs by more than a predetermined amount 
from a preselected value. 
In many manufacturing activities it is desirable to divert or switch 
selected articles travelling in a line on one conveyor to one or more 
additional conveyors leading, for example, to similar processing stations 
operating in parallel, according to available capacity. 
In other manufacturing activities the finished product is required to have 
a certain characteristic, such as weight, maintained within predetermined 
limits. For example, in the food industry a line of containers typically 
is transported on a conveyor past a filling station to be filled with food 
items. After filling, the containers continue to be transported by the 
conveyor past a sensing station where the value of a characteristic, such 
as weight or fill level, is determined. If the value of the characteristic 
falls outside a predetermined range, the container is diverted to another 
conveyor line, either for return to the filling station or for other 
remedial action to bring the measured characteristic within the desired 
limits. In the simplest case, all out-of-limits articles may be returned 
for refilling. In other cases, it may be desirable to treat out-of-limits 
articles differently, depending upon whether the sensed value is over or 
under the desired value and the amount by which the sensed value differs 
from the desired value. 
For example, in packing some food items a certain amount of moisture or 
liquid is permitted in the packaged product. If a container is initially 
filled with items containing less moisture than the permitted maximum, it 
may be possible to remedy slight underfilling by adding corresponding 
amounts of liquid to the container. In such a situation it is desirable to 
be able to divert containers to any one of several additional conveyor 
lines. For example, one conveyor line can pass a station adapted to add 
one ounce of liquid to containers that were no more than one ounce 
underweight, another line can pass a station adapted to add two ounces of 
liquid to containers between one and two ounces underweight, and so on, 
and a final line can return a container for dumping and refilling if it is 
overweight, or more than a correctable amount underweight. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the invention to selectively divert articles from one 
conveyor to one or more additional conveyors. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for 
classifying articles into two or more groups based on differing values of 
a predetermined characteristic. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus for 
classifying articles which is particularly suited for diverting filled 
containers from a line of containers on a first conveyor to at least one 
additional conveyor if the weight of the container differs by a 
predetermined amount from a preselected value. 
These and other objects of the invention are accomplished by an apparatus 
for diverting articles which are moved by a conveyor in a line extending 
along a predetermined path, the apparatus comprising a diverting station 
located adjacent the predetermined path; at least one additional conveyor 
for moving articles along at least one additional path diverted from said 
predetermined path and extending from said diverting station; means for 
generating a different diverting signal corresponding to each additional 
conveyor; and means responsive to each different diverting signal for 
selectively diverting an article from the conveyor extending along the 
predetermined path to the additional conveyor corresponding to its 
respective diverting signal when the article reaches the diverting 
station. 
In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus the diverting means comprises a 
plurality of devices, each of which is adapted to engage a different 
article as it passes the diverting station on a first conveyor and for 
diverting the engaged article from the first conveyor; means for 
supporting the engaging devices in spaced relation to each other for 
movement along a closed path, the diverting station and each additional 
conveyor being located along said closed path; means for driving the 
supporting means in synchronism with the first conveyor such that an 
engaging device arrives at the diverting station simultaneously with the 
arrival of each article on the first conveyor; an enabling station located 
along said closed path ahead of the diverting station at a distance such 
that each engaging device can move from the enabling station to the 
diverting station as each article on the first conveyor moves to the 
diverting station; means at said enabling station for enabling an engaging 
device passing said enabling station, in response to a diverting signal 
from a diverting signal generating means, to be actuated for selectively 
engaging an article on the first conveyor at the diverting station to 
selectively divert the engaged article to at least one additional conveyor 
when the engaging device and the article meet at the diverting station; 
and means for actuating each enabled engaging device for diverting the 
corresponding article thereto when it arrives at the diverting station. 
The engaging device preferably comprises an arm pivotally mounted on said 
support means for movement between a first position in which the arm will 
not contact the article at the diverting station and a second position in 
which the arm will engage the article to divert it from the first 
conveyor. The arm is spring biased toward the first position and carries a 
cam follower adapted to engage a cam track means extending from adjacent 
the enabling station to adjacent each additional conveyor. The enabling 
means operates to engage the cam follower with the cam track means upon a 
signal from the diverting signal generating means. If more than one 
additional conveyor is provided, the cam track means may be equipped with 
gates adjacent each additional conveyor for releasing the cam follower to 
allow the arm to return to the first position. Alternatively, separate and 
parallel cam tracks may be provided for each additional conveyor, in which 
case the enabling means operates to engage the cam follower of the 
corresponding arm with the proper cam track. The latter arrangement is 
preferred because the only active selecting mechanism is the enabling 
means. 
The above and other objects and features of the invention will become 
clearer from the following description of the preferred embodiment in 
connection with the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
With reference to FIG. 1, the embodiment of the best mode presently known 
to the inventers of an apparatus 10 for diverting articles according to 
the invention receives articles, such as containers 11, from a conveyor 
belt 12, which may bring the containers from a conventional filling 
machine (not shown). A guide rail 13 transfers the containers laterally 
from belt 12 to a plastic-covered chain conveyor 14. 
Feeding of the containers to the diverting apparatus is controlled by a 
lead screw 15 spirally grooved to fit the sides of the containers and made 
of a plastic such as polytetrafluoroethylene, or other suitable material. 
The containers are held against the lead screw by guide rail 12, and their 
spacing as they leave the screw is established by the final pitch of the 
groove, which may increase from entrance end to exit end if it is desired 
to separate containers that are close up at the entrance to the screw. The 
lead screw is driven in synchronism with chain conveyor 14 by any suitable 
means, such as by the schematically illustrated pulleys 16 and 17, drive 
belt 18, and bevel gears 19 and 20 coupling shaft 21 of the lead screw to 
shaft 22 of idler wheel 23 of the plastic-covered chain conveyor. 
After leaving the exit end of lead screw 15, at regulated timing and 
spacing, the containers move onto another conveyor which, in the preferred 
mode, comprises two parallel flexible chains, such as timing or roller 
chains 24 and 25 that are looped over front drive sprockets 26 and 27 and 
rear idler sprockets 28 and 29. The chains slide over support plates 30 
and 31, which are separated by a scale platform 32 at a sensing station 
33. The chains are provided with substantial slack on the return to insure 
that there will be no variation in the measured weight due to changing 
tension in the chains. Platform 32 is part of a commercially available 
weighing unit which can be adjusted to provide a signal corresponding to 
the difference of the weight of each filled container from a preselected 
value as the container passes the sensing station. Although weight is the 
sensed characteristic in the illustrated embodiment, other 
characteristics, such as fill level, may be sensed, depending on the 
characteristic upon which classification of the articles is based. 
After leaving the sensing station, the containers pass onto an extension 34 
of conveyor 24/25, the extension being of the endless belt type and 
passing over a rear idler roller 35, coaxial with sprockets 26 and 27, and 
a front drive roller 36. This extension conveyor 34 passes a diverting 
station 37 spaced from the sensing station in the direction of movement of 
the conveyor. At the diverting station there is a means responsive to 
signals from the sensing station for selectively diverting containers from 
the first conveyor to any one of three additional conveyors 38, 39, 40, or 
to the return leg of chain conveyor 14, depending on the difference of the 
sensed container weight from a preselected value. 
The diverting means comprises a number of engaging devices in the form of 
hooked arms 41, each of which is pivotally mounted at one end to a support 
means in the form of a radial member 42. The illustrated embodiment of the 
diverting means includes eight arms pivoted to eight radial support 
members. The support members are connected to a central axle 43 mounted 
for rotation about a vertical axis and driven in synchronism with the 
conveyor by a single drive motor and any suitable drive arrangement (not 
shown in FIG. 2, but as illustrated in FIG. 7). 
The pivoted arms 41 are adapted to swing from a first position in which 
they will not contact the containers as the containers pass the diverting 
station to a second position in which they engage the containers and slide 
them off the conveyor 34 onto a circular deadplate 44. Depending on the 
value of the signal from the sensing station, the arms are released at a 
predetermined one of the three additional belt type conveyors 38, 39, and 
40, or the container may be carried around to a continuation of the 
plastic-covered chain conveyor 14 for return to the filling area on yet 
another conveyor 45. 
Referring next to FIGS. 2 and 3, the diverting means is shown in more 
detail. It will be seen that the radial support arms 42 are bolted to a 
hub 46, the hub having a central hole that allows it to slide onto axle 
43. Each of the engaging arms is bolted onto a fitting 47 that includes a 
bushing 48 that is rotatably mounted on an arbor 49, and the arbor is 
fastened to the respective support arm by a nut 50. Fitting 47 also 
carries a cam follower means 51 that comprises a follower wheel 52 mounted 
on the lower end of a rod 53 that is slidably and rotatably supported in a 
bushing 54. A collar 55 fastened to the upper end of the rod with set 
screws (not shown) acts as a stop to prevent the rod from dropping through 
the bushing and to adjust the height of the cam follower wheel relative to 
the support assembly. 
Also connected to the fitting is a spring biasing means comprising a rod 56 
having a clevis 57 at one end that is pivotally attached to the fitting by 
a pin 58. The rod extends slidably through a hole in an angle bracket 59 
fastened to the underside of the respective support arm and has a stop 
collar 60 at the other end secured by a nut 61. A coil compression spring 
62 between the stop collar and the bracket 59 urges the engaging arm to 
pivot to a retracted first position I as shown in FIG. 3. 
Each arm can be selectively enabled by an enabling means to move outward to 
an extended position II (see FIG. 3) by an actuating means in the form of 
a cam track means 63. The manner of operation of the enabling means and 
the actuating means can be best understood by referring to FIG. 4 in 
connection with FIG. 3. 
In FIG. 4, the support assembly has been lifted off axle 43 to provide a 
clear view of enabling means 64 and actuating means 65. The enabling means 
comprises a triangular shaped guide means or guide channel 66 that is 
pivotally mounted by a pin 67 to a vertical support plate 68 that is 
bolted to table 69. The radial distance of the bottom of outwardly facing 
guide channel 66 from the axis of axle 43 is equal to the radius of a 
circle tangent to the inner circumference of each cam follower wheel 52 
when its respective engaging arm is in the retracted first position. 
The pivoted guide channel 66 is actuated, by means which will be described 
in detail below, to selectively guide the follower wheel of the cam 
follower means of each engaging arm in succession either to ride on top of 
cam track means 63 or, alternatively, to enter a predetermined one of four 
parallel cam track channels 70, 71, 72, or 73. If the respective follower 
wheel is guided to ride on top of the cam track means, its respective arm 
remains biased into the retracted position by the spring biasing means 
pivotally described. On the other hand, if the follower wheel is guided 
into any one of the cam track channels, the wheel is moved spirally 
outward as the support assembly rotates with axle 43 to reach a radial 
position in which the engaging arm is fully extended to position II when 
its respective support arm is generally aligned with the center of the 
respective container to be diverted, as shown in FIG. 3. 
Because the drive for axle 43 is synchronized with the conveyor drive, it 
is possible to position the enabling means at a circumferential point 
ahead of the diverting station such that the time for an engaging arm to 
travel from the enabling station to the diverting station is the same as 
the time for a container to travel from the sensing station to the 
diverting station. Preferably, the speed of the diverting means is 
synchronized so that the linear velocity of a point on each arm that falls 
vertically above the center line of conveyor 34 when the arm is in the 
extended position is equal to the linear velocity of conveyor 34. 
Consequently, the circumferential distance of the enabling means to the 
diverting station will be approximately equal to the distance of the 
sensing station to the diverting station. In this way, signals from the 
sensing station can be used simultaneously to actuate the enabling means 
without the need for any electronic delay system. 
The operation of the enabling means will next be explained with reference 
to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. As previously mentioned, guide channel 66 is 
pivotally mounted to a vertical support member 68 by a pin 67. Between the 
inner face of guide channel 66 and the outer face of support member 68 is 
an intermediate actuator plate 74, also pivotally mounted on pin 67. 
Actuator plate 74 carries a cam follower wheel 75 and is biased upward by 
a compression spring 76 which has its lower end bearing against the bottom 
of a slot 77 in vertical support plate 68 and its upper end bearing 
against a stop pin 77 fixed to the actuator plate. The actuator plate is 
also coupled to guide channel 66 by a lost motion or override coupling 
comprising an arcuate groove 78 in the actuator plate and a stop pin 79 
fixed to the guide channel and freely movable from the upper end to the 
lower end of the groove. Normally guide channel 66 will be biased downward 
by the weight of a latching bar 80 which is suspended from the channel by 
a link member 81 and two pivot pins 82 and 83; so that stop pin 79 will 
bear against the bottom of arcuate groove 78 (as shown in FIG. 5). 
The cam follower wheel 75 at the top of the actuator plate is adapted to 
bear against a downward-facing cam surface 84 of a cam ring 85 (see FIG. 
4) that is attached to the underside of the support arms by means (not 
shown), such as screws and arcuate slots, that permit a limited amount of 
angular adjustment of the cam ring with respect to the engaging arm 
support assembly. Cam surface 84 undulates between upper points 86 and 
lower points 87, with one cycle corresponding to each arm 41. The vertical 
distance between the upper and lower points on the cam is such as to cause 
exit end 88 of guide channel 66 to "scan" vertically from just above the 
top of cam track means 63 (see FIG. 5) down to the bottom cam track 
channel 73. As the support assembly rotates, therefore, the guide channel 
will perform one complete vertical "scanning" cycle with respect to each 
engaging arm, assuming no signal is transmitted from the sensing station. 
In order for the enabling means to be able to select between the five 
alternatives of the four cam track channels plus the top of the cam track 
means, it is provided with a four-position mechanism 89. The mechanism 
includes four latch assemblies 90, 91, 92, and 93, mounted in a housing 
94. Each latch assembly comprises a solenoid actuator 95, a latching pawl 
96 pivotaly mounted on a pin 97 and biased toward the disengaged position 
by a compression spring 98. Each of latch assemblies 90, 91, 92, and 93 is 
adapted to engage a corresponding notch 99, 100, 101, and 102 on latching 
bar 80 such that the enabling means can respectively select the top 
surface of the cam track means, cam channel 70, channel 71, or channel 72, 
depending on which of assemblies 90, 91, 92, or 93 is energized. 
As an example, the manner of selecting channel 71 is illustrated 
successively in FIGS. 5 and 6. In FIG. 5, the cam follower wheel 75 is at 
a high point of undulating cam surface 84, and a cam follower wheel 52 of 
a corresponding engaging arm 41 is just entering entrance end 103 of guide 
channel 66. It should be noted that the height of cam follower wheel 52 is 
adjusted (by means of collar 55 on rod 53, as previously described) to be 
at the level of the lowest cam track channel 73. 
Approximately coincident with the arrival of actuator plate cam follower 
wheel 75 at the high point of the cam surface, as shown in FIG. 5, a 
container will arrive at the sensing station. The sensing system (in this 
case a weight measuring system) has four separate outputs, each output 
producing a signal corresponding to one of four different weight ranges, 
one of the signals representing a normal or acceptable weight and the 
other three representing successive degrees of underweight conditions, for 
example. The four outputs are connected to the respective solenoids of the 
four latch assemblies 90, 91, 92, and 93. 
Assuming the particular container falls within the second degree of the 
underweight category, the sensing system will produce a signal from output 
three, thereby energizing the solenoid of latch assembly 92. This solenoid 
presses its pawl against the latching bar. Meanwhile, the support assembly 
rotates and carries cam ring 85 in the direction shown by the arrow, so 
that cam surface 84 starts to press down cam follower wheel 75. Actuator 
plate 74 pivots downward, and guide channel 66 follows until the pawl of 
energized latch assembly 92 engages its respective notch 101 on the 
latching bar. This stops the downward scan of the guide channel at the 
level where the exit end of the guide channel is opposite cam track 
channel 71. The actuator plate continues to pivot downward, however, until 
its cam follower wheel reaches the lowest point of cam surface 84, this 
movement relative to the guide channel being permitted by the 
pin-and-groove override coupling between the two elements. As shown in 
FIG. 6, at the moment the actuator plate cam follower wheel reaches the 
lowest point of the cam cycle, the cam follower wheel 52 of the 
corresponding engaging arm is just leaving the exit end of guide channel 
66 and entering the second cam track channel 71. 
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, it can be seen that this cam track channel 
extends to the second additional conveyor 39. Consequently, the cam 
follower wheel 52 entering this track will actuate its respective engaging 
arm to swing outward to position II (FIG. 3) by the time the arm reaches 
the diverting station. The arm then engages the corresponding container, 
which has concurrently arrived at the diverting station, and transfers the 
container in an arcuate path laterally off conveyor 34, along deadplate 
44, over the first additional conveyor 38, and continuing along the 
deadplate until the container is on conveyor 39. This position is 
illustrated by container 104 in FIG. 1. 
At this point, the cam follower wheel of the engaging arm is at the end of 
cam track channel 71. Further rotation of the support assembly causes the 
cam follower wheel to move radially inward along end face 105 (FIG. 4) of 
the cam track channel, thereby allowing the engaging arm to swing 
rearwardly and inwardly under the urging of its spring biasing device and 
to disengage from container 104. This permits the container to move 
outwardly on conveyor 39 and to clear the engaging arm as the support 
assembly continues its rotation. 
It will be apparent from an inspection of FIGS. 1, 4 and 5 that signals 
energizing latch assemblies 91 and 93 will similarly cause the enabling 
means to select cam track channels 70 and 72, so that the corresponding 
engaging arms will be actuated to deliver containers to the first and 
third additional conveyors 38 and 40, respectively. On the other hand, if 
latch assembly 90 is energized by a signal from the first, or "acceptable" 
output of the sensing question, the enabling means will deliver the 
corresponding cam follower wheel 52 to the top of cam track means 63. As 
the support assembly rotates, the cam follower wheel 52 will slide along 
the top of the cam track means without being urged radially outward. 
Consequently, its engaging arm will remain retracted, and the 
corresponding container will not be engaged but will continue on conveyor 
34 past the diverting station. 
If no signal is received from the sensing station, which may indicate 
either no container or an uncorrectably underfilled or overfilled 
container, the enabling means makes a full downward scan and delivers the 
cam follower wheel 52 to the lowest cam track channel 73. This channel 
actuates the corresponding engaging arm for the full diversion path back 
to the return leg of conveyor line 14, at which point the arm retracts, 
allowing a diverted container, if any, to be sent back for refilling. If 
the lack of signal is caused by no container (i.e., a gap in the line of 
containers), the actuated engaging arm merely travels around the diversion 
path empty, as shown by arm 106 in FIG. 1. 
With reference next to FIG. 7, an alternative embodiment of the enabling 
means and actuating means for the engaging arms is illustrated in a 
cutaway schematic form. This embodiment uses a single cam track ring 107 
to actuate the engaging arms 108 for diverting containers to any of the 
three additional conveyors 38, 39, and 40, or return line 14, which 
correspond to the same numbered conveyors in FIG. 1. 
Each engaging arm is pivotally connected to a radial support arm 109, in a 
manner similar to that of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-6, and is spring 
biased into a retracted position corresponding to position I of the 
previous embodiment. In the retracted position, a cam follower wheel 110 
depending from each engaging arm follows a path which lies inside the 
inner circumference of cam ring 107. 
The enabling means in this embodiment comprises an air cylinder or similar 
linear actuator 111 mounted adjacent to and inside the entrance end 112 of 
the cam ring. A curved deflection block 113 is attached to the actuator 
shaft of the air cylinder. Normally this block is positioned below the cam 
ring, clear of the path followed by the cam follower wheels of the 
retracted engaging arms. In response to a diverting signal, the air 
cylinder of the enabling means is actuated to position the deflection 
block in the path of an approaching cam follower wheel 110. The block 
diverts the wheel to the outside of cam ring 107, thereby urging the 
corresponding engaging arm outward into an extended position corresponding 
to position II of the previous embodiment. 
At the same time, the diverting signal actuates an auxiliary air cylinder 
114 and a latching mechanism 115 similar to the latching mechanism 
illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the previous embodiment. An inclined block 
111 is mounted on the top of auxiliary air cylinder 114, and the block is 
raised to three different levels, depending on which one of three 
different signals is delivered to the latching mechanism. Mounted on the 
support arm of the corresponding engaging arm is a trip member that 
includes a vertical shaft 117 mounted in a bushing 118 for vertical 
movement in response to contacting the inclined block 116. The vertical 
shaft 117 has three detent positions corresponding to the three latch 
levels of the inclined block. Thus, the trip member can be set to any one 
of three different levels by the actuation of air cylinder 114 and its 
latching mechanism 115 in response to a corresponding one of three 
different diverting signals. 
Depending on the set level of the trip member, when the corresponding 
support arm reaches a position opposite a selected one of the three 
additional conveyors, the trip member trips a switch 119 positioned at 
that set level to operate an air cylinder 120 located below the cam track 
ring. The air cylinder 120 carries a gate block 121 which normally permits 
the cam track follower wheels 110 to continue along the outside of the cam 
ring. Upon actuation of this air cylinder, however, the gate block is 
dropped down, thereby allowing the cam follower wheel to move inwardly 
through the gap and retract the contact arm at the selected conveyor. 
From the foregoing, it can be seen that by properly selecting the latching 
height of air cylinder 114 a total of four trip member levels can be 
obtained (three levels corresponding to the three actuated levels of air 
cylinder 114 plus a fourth lowest level corresponding to no actuation). 
The lowest three of these four trip member levels correspond to the 
respective heights of the switches for actuating the three cam track 
gates. The fourth, and highest, trip member level will actuate none of the 
gates. In the last situation, a corresponding container will be carried 
around the diverting means to be released onto the return leg of conveyor 
14. 
The schematic diagram of FIG. 7 also illustrates a synchronized drive 
arrangement in which motor 122 drives a shaft 123 through a worm and gear 
124. At the upper end of drive shaft 123 is a pulley 125 which drives the 
axle of the diverting means and the return leg of conveyor 14 through a 
belt 126 and pulleys 127 and 128. Another pulley 129 mounted on axle 130 
drives conveyors 34, 38, 39, and 40 through a belt 131 and respective 
pulleys 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, and 137. 
Although the foregoing description of the preferred embodiments has shown 
engaging means in the form of pivoted arms, it is possible to substitute 
other devices, for example vacuum pads, to perform the function of 
selectively diverting articles from one conveyor to one or more additional 
conveyors. In such an arrangement, suitable valves and actuating 
mechanisms for enabling and actuating such vacuum pads from a vacuum 
source can be provided by one skilled in the art, based on the foregoing 
teaching. 
In addition, although the description of the preferred embodiment has been 
in connection with the classification of filled containers by weight, the 
apparatus and method of the invention are adapted broadly to any process 
in which articles are to be diverted from one conveyor to any of one or 
more additional conveyors. For example, such diversion might be called for 
in a production line where a high rate station is followed by two or more 
low rate stations, with the diverting means being actuated to shift 
articles from a line experiencing delays or possibly a breakdown to 
another line with available capacity. 
Other variations and embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those 
skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as 
disclosed.