Electronic minnow counter

The salesperson sets a predetermining counter on the amount required. The minnows are then placed in the separating tank where they are moved through two funnels at each end of the tank via water force on and through a sensing area where their presence is registered and thus counted. Movement of the minnows from the separating tank is effected by a combination of whirlpool current and natural habitat effect draw the minnows through clear flexible plastic tubing. The fluid current now confined to one solid stream moves the minnows through the sensor area on and to the holding tank. The minnows are caught in a wire mesh strainer basket in the holding tank, which allows the water to continue to circulate through the drain pipe from the holding tank to pump and reservoir tank. The water is then recycled through the pump back to the separator tank. When the counter reaches zero, normally open contacts close, causing the solenoid valve to shut off the flow of water and minnows, also de-energizing the pump. The counted minnows caught in the strainer basket are ready for dumping into the customer's minnow container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The U.S. Pat. No. of Mann, et al., 3,040,980, June 26, 1962, shows an 
electric eye-type minnow counting device. Of interest should be the use of 
a funnel-like member 10 and features of the device based on some natural 
instincts of minnows (note FIG. 3 and column 5, lines 49-62). 
The U.S. Pat. Nos. of Klapes, 3,395,269, July 30, 1968, and Potter, 
2,523,517, Sept. 26, 1950, show electric eye counters of small objects 
that employ automatic cutoff means. 
The U.S. Pat. Nos. of Ross, et al., 3,372,784 and Shook, 2,279,862, May 14, 
1957, show minnow dispensers that automatically cut off the output of 
minnows after a predetermined count. 
The U.S. Pat. No. of Englesson, 3,273,276, Sept. 20, 1966, shows a fish 
catching device including pump 4, funnel-shaped trawl 1 and suction line 
3. Of interest should be the arrangement of the discharge tube 8 so that 
the flow of fish may be observed (see column 2, lines 53-65). 
The following U.S. patents are selected as examples of ones disclosing 
photo-electric counting devices: 
U.s. pat. No. 3,760,166 
U.s. pat. No. 3,412,254 
U.s. pat. No. 2,470,926 
U.s. pat. No. 2,333,791 
The following U.S. patents show live minnow or bait dispensers that may be 
of further interest: 
U.s. pat. No. 3,212,210 
U.s. pat. No. 3,105,320 
U.s. pat. No. 3,048,937 
U.s. pat. No. 2,860,444 
None of the above-mentioned patents suggests making use of a minnow's 
light/darkness sense to aid in creating a flow of minnows through a 
counting device or the like. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The salesperson sets a predetermining counter on the amount required. The 
minnows are then placed in the separating tank where they are moved 
through two funnels at each end of the tank via water force on and through 
a sensing area where their presence is registered and thus counted. 
Movement of the minnows from the separating tank is effected by a 
combination of whirlpool current and natural habitat effect draw the 
minnows through clear flexible plastic tubing. The fluid current now 
confined to one solid stream moves the minnows through the sensor area on 
and to the holding tank. The minnows are caught in a wire mesh strainer 
basket in the holding tank, which allows the water to continue to 
circulate through the drain pipe from the holding tank to pump and 
reservoir tank. The water is then recycled through the pump back to the 
separator tank. 
When the counter reaches zero, normally open contacts close, causing the 
solenoid valve to shut off the flow of water and minnows, also 
de-energizing the pump. The counted minnows caught in the strainer basket 
are ready for dumping into the customer's minnow container. 
Of course, the device could be easily automated further to permit coin 
operation. 
In developing the present invention, the inventors have taken into 
consideration many things, such as speed, separation, accuracy, 
self-aeration, provision of a closed water system and self-replenishment, 
and the most important feature: handling of the minnows in such a way as 
not to harm them. We have found that minnows are easily shocked to death 
by a temperature change of only 10.degree. F. Also, utilization of the 
light-to-dark area is most important. We have found that a minnow will 
naturally swim himself to death in a light area where there is no dark 
area of safety. The dark areas afford two benefits, one being an area of 
safety and the other being an area of congregation which enables very 
rapid flushing of the excess minnows after the count is completed. 
One unfamiliar with the art might be tempted to draw too close an analogy 
between automatically counting other objects and counting minnows. But 
consider: 
1. Articles such as pill capsules are easy to count because they are the 
same weight, size, shape, easily oriented and, most important, inanimate. 
2. A minnow is never the same weight, size and shape as its fellows, so 
other expertise must be relied upon in order to properly orient, convey, 
count and dispense this creature without damage to it. 
The principles of the invention will be further discussed with reference to 
the drawing wherein a preferred embodiment is shown. The specifics 
illustrated in the drawing are intended to exemplify, rather than limit, 
aspects of the invention as defined in the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The electronic minnow counting machine 10 includes as major parts a housing 
12, a separation tank 14, a reservoir tank 16 with a pump 18 and make-up 
means 20, a holding tank 22, a sensing and counting mechanism 24, a valve 
26 operated by the counting mechanism 24, and associated tubing 28 
interconnecting the tanks in a circuit. 
The separation tank 14 is an upwardly open tank positioned relatively high 
in the housing 12. Its bottom 30 is provided with two laterally spaced, 
dark colored, downward funneling areas 32 which lead to respective tubing 
branches 34, 36 which wye together into a common trunk 38. The tube 38 
esses upwards, then downwards, terminating in position to debouche its 
contents into the holding tank 22, located near the bottom of the housing 
12. 
The sensing and counting station 24 is located at the transition point of 
the essing trunk 38. 
In the instance shown, the valve 26 is a normally open solenoid-operated 
valve interposed in the tube 38 just downstream from the sensing and 
counting station 24. 
The sensing and counting are preferably effected by the following means. 
The tube 38 is surrounded by an axially short collar which directs three 
photo-electric cells 40 and three light sources 42 radially towards the 
tubing. The cells 40 and sources 42 are arranged in three respective 
pairs; the pairs are arranged in three lines at 120.degree. to one 
another, so that every 60.degree. about the collar, there is either a cell 
or a source. 
Typically, the light sources 42 are of the incandescent, five-volt type and 
are wired in parallel. Also typically, the photo-cells 40 are of the CdS 
type and are wired in series. In this preferred embodiment, the 
photo-cells 40 are charged positive twelve-eighteen volts DC via the light 
beams, causing an electron flow in the circuit. 
As each minnow travels through the sensing and counting area, in which the 
tubing 38 is translucent, if not transparent, its shadow causes a 
temporary negative voltage drop across the faces of the cells 40. This 
pulse is amplified by DC amplifier 44 and converted, e.g., to eighteen 
volts DC positive at and supplied to the counter 46. (The counter 46, a 
commercially-available device, is one which can be preset to the number of 
pulses it is to count, i.e., equating to the number of minnows wanted. As 
each count is made, the counter registers one number closer to zero until 
zero is reached. Many people will be familiar with this type of counter 
from their use of xerographic document reproduction machines, which 
automatically count down the number of copies to be made, then turn off 
the copy-making apparatus upon reaching zero.) 
When the counter reaches zero, it closes the normally open 
solenoid-operated valve 26. 
By preference, a wire basket 48 is provided in the holding tank 22 and a 
water return line 50 is provided between the holding tank 22 and the 
reservoir tank 16. The counted fish are removed from the holding tank by 
raising the wire basket 48 and are placed in the customer's container. 
Then, if no more minnows are to be counted, the wire basket may be replaced 
and a manually-operated button 52 actuated to open the valve 26 and permit 
the minnows remaining in the separator tank to flow down to the holding 
tank. The wire basket can then be raised to withdraw these minnows and 
return them to a bulk tank. (This need not be done if another sale is 
expected soon.) 
Water recirculated to the reservoir tank from the holding tank via the line 
50 is recirculated to the separator tank via a sump pump 18 connected to 
the separator tank via a lateral outlet 54 which aids in circulating the 
minnows toward the funnel areas during the dispensing operation. 
Of course, the level of water in the system can be monitored by eye and 
replenished to a fill level (not shown) when a certain amount has been 
lost, i.e., by evaporation, and on the dispensed minnows. However, in the 
instance shown, the reservoir tank is connected via a tube 56 to a source 
of make-up water. A float valve 58 is automatically opened to the source, 
temporarily, to provide make-up water when the float senses that a 
predetermined threshold level has been reached. 
Due to its importance to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the 
natural habitat effect of minnows and the way the preferred embodiment 
makes use of it are reiterated. Dark areas represent safety to minnows, a 
place to go hide. Light areas represent danger to minnows, a place to be 
afraid of and flee from. In the separator tank 14, by preference, the 
sidewalls 60 and bottom are all light-colored, except for the funnel areas 
32 which are dark-colored, preferably black. Once in the tank 14, natural 
instinct will aid in their deception: they will swim from the light area 
where they are safe, though instinct tells them they are in danger, toward 
the dark funnel areas where they become in danger of accompanying 
someone's fishing trip as bait, though instinct tells them they are safe. 
This instinctive orientation mechanism has the further virtue, that 
because the minnows are swimming towards the dark funnel areas when they 
exit down into the tubing branches 34, 36 with the draining water stream, 
they proceed head first and are thus much less likely to be harmed in 
their transit through the tubing 34, 36, 38 to the holding tank. 
It should now be apparent that the Electronic Minnow Counter as described 
hereinabove possesses each of the attributes set forth in the 
specification under the heading "Summary of the Invention" hereinbefore. 
Because the Electronic Minnow Counter can be modified to some extent 
without departing from the principles of the invention as they have been 
outlined and explained in this specification, the present invention should 
be understood as encompassing all such modifications as are within the 
spirit and scope of the following claims.