Abstract: An automated carrier system is disclosed for moving objects to be processed. The automated carrier system includes a base structure of a carrier on which an object may be supported, and at least two wheels mounted to at least two motors to provide at least two wheel assemblies, the at least two wheel assemblies being pivotally supported on the base structure for pivoting movement from a first position to a second position to effect a change in direction of movement of the carrier.

Abstract: An adjustable spring grizzly bar material separator provided and includes a plurality of flexible tines, a cassette, wherein the plurality of flexible tines are each coupled on an end to the cassette, and a first set of spacers removably coupled within the cassette between the plurality of tines, wherein the first set of spacers separate the plurality of flexible tines a first predetermined distance to set the size of material that is to be separated from an amount of aggregate flowing over the tines. The material separator may also include a second set of spacers; the first set of spacers is replaceable with the second set of spacers, wherein the second set of spacers separates the plurality of flexible tines a second predetermined distance, the second predetermined distance being different from the first predetermined distance.

Abstract: A device for separating cardboard components from bulk waste paper features a sorting unit that includes a feed area (1) including a flexibly mounted support (5) on which the bulk waste paper is supplied to a receiving device (3) studded with spikes (2). The spikes (2) and the feed area (1) are designed such that the spikes (2) essentially skewer only the cardboard components of the bulk waste paper fed in the feed area (1) while any material that cannot be skewered may cause the support (5) to move downwardly upon application of a specified force and bypass the spikes (2). At least one of the spikes (2) is connected to a receiving device (3) such that it can be displaced when a prespecified force is encountered.

Abstract: The methods and apparatus separate fines from crushed rock and stone. A motorized conveyor belt system is activated that includes a conveyor belt moving in an upward direction. A spray system is activated to spray a fluid on an underneath surface of the conveyor belt. The mixture of rock and fines are directed to the conveyor belt. The rock tumbles or rolls down the conveyor belt and is collected at a first end of the conveyor belt. The fines stick or adhere to the conveyor belt, and the fines are scraped off of the conveyor belt at or near the second end of the conveyor belt. The apparatus includes a conveyor belt system, including a moving belt, a motor to move the belt, the belt including a first end and a second end, wherein the second end is elevated relative to the first end. The apparatus includes a spray system, including a source of fluid, a sprayer in fluidic communication with the source of the fluid, and the sprayer positioned to spray a surface of the belt with the fluid.

Abstract: In an apparatus for separating plastic film material from waste, a plurality of hooks is mounted on a hook carrier for circulating the hooks along a trajectory through an engagement area near a supply track and through a disengagement area downstream of the engagement area. The engagement area is located higher than the supply track and/or in supply direction beyond the downstream end of the supply track, such that, in operation, a remainder of the waste passes by the trajectory of the hooks without contacting the hooks. The hooks project from the drum via openings in the circumferential surface of the drum and are retractable into a circumferential surface of the drum. A method for separating plastic film material from waste is also described.

Abstract: A method for separation of heterogeneous products included in household waste (HW) comprises separating the products in a fractionation vessel containing a liquid. The waste includes components, of which at least some are capable of floating in the liquid. The components are exposed to a first essentially horizontal force (P1) in a first direction (D1) enforced by a flow of the liquid in the fractionation vessel and to a second essentially horizontal force (P2) in a second direction (D2), which is substantially different from the first direction (D1). The combined impact of the forces (P1; P2) on the components spreads the components and leads them to at least two collection areas. Products of varying buoyancy may thus be treated separately.

Abstract: The invention relates to a screening device consisting of an elongated comb comprising several flexible combs arranged in parallel. The invention is characterised in that the combs are provided with angular or rounded sections, which form a grid that defines the particle size of the screened material. The invention also relates to a roller crusher comprising a screening device of the aforementioned type.

Abstract: A mechanical separator having a primary frame, a tray frame linked to the primary frame, and an oscillator linked to the tray frame for imparting relatively short period reciprocating and/or orbital motion thereto. The tray frame includes a plurality of tines preferably rigidly linked at their proximal ends to one end of the tray frame, and a supporting cross member that permits restricted motion of the tines when subject to kinetic impetus. The supporting cross member preferably defines holes through which the tines pass, and the distal ends of the tines are preferably free to move, being only restricted in motion by the supporting cross member. The tray frame is preferably suspended from the primary frame by extension members, which also provide for tilt, elevation and vibration isolation features.

Abstract: The multi-purpose rake includes a rake head and a detachable pole for pulling the rake across a surface. The rake head has a frame with two arced end ribs, an upper and a lower crossbar extending between the end ribs. The upper crossbar has a sleeve or other attachment means extending therefrom for receiving and retaining one end of the pole. A wire mesh cage is formed into an arc to conform to the end ribs and is attached to the ribs and the upper and lower crossbar. In the preferred embodiment, the end ribs are formed from a continuous panel so that the ends of the rake head are fully closed. The detachable pole is preferably constructed in multiple sections that can be broken down for easy transport. Optional clips or other retainers may be disposed on the rake head for retaining the pole sections for easy transport and storage. An optional handhold can be provided for facilitating transport of the disassembled rake.

Abstract: A conveyor device (2) is provided on which the bulk material containing both card board and paper is transported to a sorting station (5). At this point, the cardboard components are extracted mechanically. For this, the paper and cardboard components are transported while lying flat, and are only partially supported, for which the conveyor device (2) includes lowered free spaces (7) between the support areas. A receiver device (9) possessing freestanding barbs (11) moves synchronously with the conveyor device (2). These barbs (11) are arranged pointing toward the non-supported sections of the paper and cardboard components, and can extend into the free spaces (7) formed on the conveyor device (2). For this, the cardboard components are transfixed by, and held to the barbs (11) of the receiver device (9), but the paper components are not.

Abstract: An arrangement in a spinning preparation machine Is provided. The arrangement has a clothed roll having clothing presenting free ends; flat bar slide elements; clothed flat bars having clothing presenting free ends and cooperating with the clothing of the clothed roll, the flat bars having slide guides which glide on the flat bar slide elements; and a measuring apparatus comprising at least one sensor arranged for detecting a distance between a reference surface and at least one of the free ends of the clothing of the clothed roll and the free ends of the clothing of the clothed flat bars.

Abstract: A device is provided for a spinning preparation machine for removing foreign particles, the machine having a rotating cylinder with ends. The device has a knife blade having a separation edge, the knife blade being arranged at an adjustable distance to and angled counter to a rotational direction of the cylinder; a suctioning chamber associated with the knife blade; a holding element to which the knife blade and the suctioning chamber are attached; and at least one adjusting element. The holding element, the knife blade and the suctioning chamber form a single adjustable unit. A position of the single adjustable unit relative to the cylinder is adjustable by adjusting the at least one adjusting element. The at least one adjusting element is located outside one of the ends of the cylinder in a longitudinal direction of the cylinder and in a region of the separation edge on the knife blade.

Abstract: A device is provided for a spinning preparation machine for removing foreign particles, the machine having a rotating cylinder with ends. The device has a knife blade having a separation edge, the knife blade being arranged at an adjustable distance to and angled counter to a rotational direction of the cylinder; a suctioning chamber associated with the knife blade; a holding element to which the knife blade and the suctioning chamber are attached; and at least one adjusting element. The holding element, the knife blade and the suctioning chamber form a single adjustable unit. A position of the single adjustable unit relative to the cylinder is adjustable by adjusting the at least one adjusting element. The at least one adjusting element is located outside one of the ends of the cylinder in a longitudinal direction of the cylinder and in a region of the separation edge on the knife blade.

Abstract: Dispensing equipment for dispensing blown loose-fill insulation. The equipment includes a flexible delivery conduit that conveys loose-fill insulation material from a source of such material and, possibly, an optional a rigid tubular wand connected to the distal end of the conduit. The equipment further includes structure projecting radially inwardly into the loose-fill insulation flow path of the delivery conduit and/or wand for mechanically separating the insulation material's fibers and particles prior to discharge from the delivery conduit or wand. The insulation material separating structure conditions or “opens” the insulation material in such a way that the material is discharged in a substantially uniform density stream of substantially uniformly distributed fibers and particles.

Abstract: A device for sorting and selectively collecting flat products, such as shipping pouches, printed products or workpieces, which are placed at predetermined collecting points along the conveying path of an endless conveyor and below the conveyor in collecting containers, includes a pushing device for moving the empty collecting containers transversely of the direction of movement of the conveyor on a transfer path between a lateral pick-up position and the collecting point. The pushing device is reversibly driven in a guide arrangement of the transfer path, wherein the filled collecting containers can be ejected from the collecting point. For driving the pushing device, the pushing device is connected to a drive member of a fixedly mounted drive unit, wherein the drive member is attached to an endless or revolving traction unit.

Abstract: A device for removing flat materials from a mixture of valuable substances comprises a conveyor (1) on which the substance mixture is conveyed, and an extractor for extracting flat materials from the substance mixture in an extraction zone. The extractor comprises extracting prongs (4) which are provided on a revolving transporter (3) which is deflected at least at two points of deflection, with the materials which have been picked up being discharged in a discharge zone.

Abstract: The present invention reveals a sorting device, positioned above and orientated across a plurality of conveyors, capable of diverting objects between the conveyors or removing objects entirely from the conveyors, based on the object's destination location or some other characteristic. To accomplish its purpose, the device comprises: a primary conveyor; a secondary conveyor; a monorail positioned above and orientated across the conveyors; a carriage that mounts the monorail; a linear actuator that drives the carriage side to side the length of the monorail; a paddle attached to the carriage that extends downward to contact the objects; a wiper located along the bottom edge of the paddle that is biased in contact with the conveyors; and a controller capable of positioning the carriage so the paddle contacts the object to be diverted and pushes it between conveyors or from conveyors to adjacent destination locations.

Abstract: The present invention provides a unique mechanical method and device for sorting pieces (e.g. vegetables and fruits) of any desired size from unsorted and irregularly sized pieces. The device includes a pair of elongated cylindrical brushes, one of which is equipped with a spiraled furrow for propelling the unsorted pieces and another brush being a smooth surfaced bristled brush (an expelling brush) laterally positioned to the propelling brush so as to form a trough between the two brushes for longitudinally moving the pieces. The brushes are rotated in a common rotational direction. A contacting member, such as a pivotally mounted lever, traversing the trough and the smooth surfaced brush and laterally positioned above the trough at a predetermined distance will tangentially contact a piece of a desired sizing and guide the contacted piece along its interfacing surface.

Abstract: A parts feeder for conveying a succession of parts in a common posture, includes: a rotary drum rotatable about its substantially horizontal axis of rotation and having on its inner circumferential wall surface a plurality of radial plates circumferentially spaced at predetermined distances; a chute in the form of an elongated plate substantially horizontally extending from an inside to an outside of the rotary drum through an outlet and having a guide portion along its upper edge; a vibrator supporting the chute for vibrating the chute longitudinally; a remover disposed adjacent to the guide portion for removing any of the parts if it is abnormal in posture while being conveyed on the guide portion of the chute; and the guide portion having a parts-supporting cross-sectional shape gradually varying from an inner end of the chute outwardly toward the outlet of the rotary drum.

Abstract: A developer unit adapted to develop with marking particles a latent image. The developer unit includes a housing and a mover for moving the marking particles in a recirculating path within the housing. The developer unit further includes a fibrous element located adjacent the recirculating path to trap contaminants recirculated by the mover with the marking particles.

Abstract: A system for classifying recycled debris comprising ferrous materials, fines, non-ferrous light material and non-ferrous heavy material. The classification system is made of a hopper having an inlet, including a spillway opening defining a lowermost portion of the hopper inlet, and an outlet formed along a lower portion of the hopper and contained in a plane at an angle of about 50 degrees from horizontal. A conveyor covering the outlet includes substantially rigid cleats extending into the hopper for agitating the debris and for transporting heavy material, such as glass bottles, out of the hopper outlet. Agitation of the debris causes the heavy material to drift to the lower portion of the hopper and the light material to rise to the top portion and flow over the spillway. A second conveyor positioned beneath the spillway catches the light material and carries it to another location.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for performing multiple level sortation operations upon a number of randomly ordered garments. The garments are identified by unique identification data, which can be scanned and entered into a computer. The computer remembers the order in which garment identification data has been. The garments are then transferred in their entered order to a first sortation assembly in which a rotating wheel assembly accepts and selectively releases garments during indexed rotation of the wheel at one of a number of stop points. Each stop point has associated with it a receiving rail, where each rail represents a different group within a first sortation level. The computer recognizes which receiving rail is the correct rail for each garment according to the first sortation criteria and signals the release of the garment at the correct stop point. The garments collected on each receiving rail comprise a group of first sorted garments according to the first sortation criteria.

Abstract: A sorter for separating waste material such as aluminum cans, large plastic containers, cardboard containers, cardboard, small lumber or wood material, paper and similar lightweight material by directing the waste material to be sorted downwardly onto pairs of elongated driven rollers which are arranged for gripping and pulling paper and similar material downwardly between adjacent rollers of a pair while aluminum cans and large plastic and cardboard containers will move longitudinally on the rollers with the plastic containers being lifted upwardly and discharged onto a conveyor and the cans being discharged from the ends of the rollers. The rollers have a spiral rib thereon to facilitate gripping of paper material and movement of the aluminum cans and containers. A kicker, in the form of a rotatable brush, is oriented above the discharge end of the rollers for lifting large lightweight material such as large containers upwardly along the interior of a curved deflector onto a conveyor.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for removing elongated contaminants from a stream containing pellets and elongated contaminants. The method comprising flowing the stream through a snagging zone in which the contaminants are snagged.

Abstract: An apparatus for sorting spent tubes as they are carried on an intermittently advancing conveyor with the apparatus having a tube ejecting device that reciprocates along the length of tubes during dwells in conveyor movement and has a tube contacting element that slides along clean surfaces of the tubes without causing ejection but engages any residual windings of yarn on tubes to thereby force the tubes with residual windings to move longitudinally and out off the conveyor. The tube contacting element has a base portion with resilient flat teeth projecting therefrom longitudinally with respect to the tubes and in the direction of tube ejecting movement. The base portion is a flat resilient plate from which the teeth project at an inclination toward the tube surface for resilient biasing thereagainst to facilitate engagement of residual windings thereon and resulting ejection of tubes with yarn windings while allowing clean tubes to remain on the conveyor.

Abstract: A cop selecting and conveying apparatus for an automatic winder is disclosed in which winding units are divided into a plurality of winding sections and different kinds of cops carried on carrying mediums are transferred on the conveying passage to each winding sections. A discrimination indicator is formed in either the carrying medium or the guide member at the side of the conveying passage and a device for discriminating or detecting the discrimination indicator is disposed at a position to corresponding to the indicator.

Abstract: A tube transfer device for transferring usable tubes from a tube feeding device to a tube receiving device includes an elevator advancing tubes in a given transport direction from the tube feeding device to the tube receiving device is steps with pauses between the steps, the elevator having receiver elements for individual tubes, a feeler element movable back and forth transverse to the given transport direction during the pauses, the feeler element passing over usable tubes and pushing unusable tubes out of the receiver elements, and a receiver device adjacent the elevator for receiving the unusable tubes from the receiver elements.

Abstract: This invention then relates to a measuring apparatus wherein a plurality of measuring machines are provided transversely for continuous measuring on a lower side of a feeding hopper enclosing a long size such as dried noodle or the like in alignment, which is subjected to a combined measuring accurately by a predetermined weight as conveyed continuously crosswise.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method for the separation of seeds from seed-containing fruit rag or the like, particularly the separation of seeds from citrus fruit rag, which essentially consists of seeds, seed sacks and membranes to which the seeds adhere, and of albedo, and wherein the efficient separation of seeds enables the economical processing utilization of the separated seeds and of the fruit rag for further commercial applications.

Abstract: Selectors which can be worked alternately are placed along the advancement path of articles having different sizes. Each selector is constituted by a rake structure with L-shaped prongs which can be moved from an upper rest position, where the prongs do not interfere with the advancement of the articles along said path, to a lower pick up position where the prongs stop the advancement of the articles and then again to an upper discharge position, where the prongs, after having lifted the engaged articles, allow their conveyance towards collection places, such as piling hoppers.

Abstract: A conveyor-separator apparatus having a separator unit slave driven from the conveyor unit by a gear train which employs an idler gear rotatably supported on the separator unit. The idler gear projects from the housing of the separator unit so as to be disposed in meshing engagement with a drive gear associated with the conveyor unit when the two units are joined together. This gear train also employs a drive gear which is in meshing engagement with the idler gear and is coaxially secured relative to the separator belt roller disposed adjacent the lower end of the separation gap. This driven gear is supported on an arm swingable about the axis of the idler gear, which arm can be selectively secured in a desired location. This swinging of the arm causes the axis of the drive gear, and hence the axis of the separator belt roller, to be selectively moved toward or away from the conveyor unit so as to selectively vary the width of the separation gap.

Abstract: In a device for separating a liquid, as a cutting oil, from a mixture of metal chips and larger pieces of metal, such as bar ends and scrap, there is provided structure for preliminarily separating larger pieces of metal from the entire mass prior to the separation of the oil from the chips by a centrifuge. The structure includes a chute for feeding the mixture to be separated into the centrifuge, and a strong stream of air is caused to flow through the chute into the centrifuge. An opening is provided in the bottom of the chute intermediate its ends such that bar ends and other large pieces of metal which may be included in said mixture will drop through the opening, while air being drawn by the centrifuge into the chute through the opening will entrain the metal chips to prevent their dropping out of the opening and carry them onward through the chute into the centrifuge.

Abstract: A parts feeder for conveying a succession of parts in a common posture, includes: a rotary drum rotatable about its substantially horizontal axis of rotation and having on its inner circumferential wall surface a plurality of radial plates circumferentially spaced at predetermined distances; a chute in the form of an elongated plate substantially horizontally extending from an inside to an outside of the rotary drum through an outlet and having a guide portion along its upper edge; a vibrator supporting the chute for vibrating the chute longitudinally; a remover disposed adjacent to the guide portion for removing any of the parts if it is abnormal in posture while being conveyed on the guide portion of the chute; and the guide portion having a parts-supporting cross-sectional shape gradually varying from an inner end of the chute outwardly toward the outlet of the rotary drum.