| WO/1992/014116 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DETERMINING THE WEIGHT OF PIGS |
| WO/2012/033418 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING SENSOR INPUTS |
| JP2740111 | SEPARATION APPARATUS FOR WALKING ANIMAL |
| W
Claim
1. Apparatus for grading live fish in a sensitive way comprising a specially designed elevator (4) equipped with a bucket (3) which has a special screen bottom and is built into a bin (2) which is shaped so as to enclose the fish and make it easy for the buckets
(3) to sweep away all the fish in front of it and remove the fish without hurting them and lift them to a receiver(6) or (36) and from the receiver the fish go to the arranger device (7) or (37) which arranges the fish in a line and feeds the fish only one at a time to the weighing equipment (13) which is in contact with sensors (14) which influence a computer which determines the direction of the outgoing material from the distributor (15) characterized by an automatic machine line which is built up from the elevator
(4) including the bucket (3) with a screen bottom and a bin (2) specially shaped to enclose the fish and lift them to a receiver (6 or 36) and arranging equipment (7 or 37) which lines up the fish in a row and feeds only one fish at time to the weighing unit (13) which is fastened to springs (12) which become curved when the gravity point of the fish is over the edge (30) of the weighing scale (17) and through sensors (14) send a signal to a computer which controls where the distributor (15) shall place the material which is sorted into three categories the first is fish which are undersized the second is the size which goes to the processing line and the third are to large for the intended use.
2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in the elevator (4) and a basement bin (2) which is designed in such a way that the live fish will be surrounded and a specially shaped bucket (3) which is equipped with a screen bottom (25) and a large opening so the bucket will not move the water but only removes the fish and the bucket will go right up to the walls of the bin (2) so no fish will be hurt.
3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and a device to place round fish in a line so only one fish will be on the weight at any time and of such dimensions that the arranger can be used on both small and large fish and it is characterized in an arranging device (7) placed in inclined position and have speed controlled arranger belts (8) which have a V-gap where the fish are held in a line at the bottom of the V-gap and moved to the weighing device so only one fish leaves the arranging device at any time but overlying fish will glide downwards.
4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and a device to place flat fish in a line so only one fish will be on the weight at any time and of such dimensions that the arranger can be used on both small and large fish and it is characterized in an arranging device (37) placed in inclined position and have speed controlled arranger belts (32) with hole (33) loaded with vacuum from under lying vacuum chamber (34) and connected through spout (35) to vacuum fan or vacuum pump which hold the fish in a line at the belt surface and move it to the weighing device so only one fish leaves the arranging device at any time but overlying fish will glide downwards.
5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, and a weighing aggregate which measures the weight when the point of gravity is placed just over the edge of the weighing scale (17) which is fastened to supporting springs (12) which are fastened to a spring bracket (20) and are adjusted with spring loading arms (19) which the spring bracket is fastened to and curve and stretch the springs until they carry the desired weight which is arranged with the adjusting-screw (21) and the upper marks are adjusted from the sensors (14) which control the decided weight interval suited to the category of fish to be selected from the tanks characterized in scale which is supported from springs (12) which bend when they are loaded and when the gravity point of the object is on the edge (30) of the scale a detector (14) measures the lowering of the scale (13) and sends a signal to a computer which arranges moving of cylinders (22) so the object goes to the right outlet and to set the weight range a second sensor is adjusted in the sensor house (14). |
Weighing machine to pick out a selection of live fish within decided intervals in weight
The invention concerns a method and equipment for grading automatically according to weight, sensitive objects in particular live fish with machinery and equipment which are movable and of low weight and can be placed in a narrow area.
The machinery and equipment involved is based on the assessment of the weight of the object, and is unique in that processing is based on a specially-designed feeding equipment which lifts the object up to a specially designed receiver which is connected to the weighing equipment through a feeding device which arranges the fish in a line and ensures that only one piece goes through at a time. The weighing equipment measures the weight of the object when the point of gravity is placed over the scale edge and sends a signal to a special computer which controls equipment which moves the distributor system in the right direction.
Different equipment and machinery are known and used in the industry to sort material according to weight. They are fed by hand but conveyers transport the material to and from the weighing equipment where the distributor directs the weighed material to its intended place. This equipment is stationery and firmly installed in the buildings. A patent DE 3314861 Cl shows a belt conveyer which transports fish from a water filled bin. This conveyer can easily lift dead fish but it is more difficult to catch live fish in the band conveyor because the live fish moves away when the catch on the belt moves the water. If the bin is crowded with fish it will be possible to catch some and lift. A patent DD 129862 shows lifting equipment where fish are lifted with a bucket conveyer. But this equipment is used to lift dead fish. The buckets are placed between chains which lift them at the top and they move sideways and are emptied. When dead fish are lifted the buckets go down in the pile and collect the fish. The up going and the down going parts of the conveyer are not separated. It is not possible to collect and lift live fish with a box conveyer of this design. A patent DE 27 40 820 Bl shows an equipment to arrange fish into the correct position when it enters a fish fillet machine. The equipment is made of tow belts which are placed with V-space between them so fish which are transported with the conveyer are placed longitudinally between the belts and the direction is well suited to feeding the machine. A patent WO 9608322A1 shows an apparatus to sort objects according to weight. This type of apparatus is mostly fed by hand to make sure that only one piece is on the weighing plate at a time. It is to be expected that live fish will be continually moving and wriggling some times forcefully and this will influence the accuracy of the weighing. A patent FR 2 312 959 shows an equipment for sorting objects according to weight. The weighing machine is likely hand fed with the fish put into a funnel which leads to a bin where it is mechanically weighed and then directed to the right outgoing cannel. It is very difficult to handle ordinary live fish so it will be necessary to use some kind of drug to anesthetize the fish to enable the hand feeding. A patent US 4,934,537 shows a sorting apparatus which uses a video camera to evaluate the different sizes and is able to sort more than one fish at a time which increases the capacity.
The main aim is to make a grader which can sort fish based on weight which can be used to pick out fish in a weight range suited to special sizes of product for the market. The machine
removes to other tanks fish which are too small for the selection to and also sends fish which are too large to still another tank. The design that follows is made to fulfill the aim and provide a line which includes weighing machinery and feeding apparatus which work automatically from the fish tank to the outgoing cannels and treat the fish gently, are accurate for live fish and can also grade some other organic materials. The machinery is designed with the aim that it will be light, compact and movable and does not need much working space so it will also be suited for the smaller fish farms. The weighing is based on a slightly sloping scale which the fish glides down and just when the gravity point is situated on the edge of the scale the computer registers the weight of the fish. The scale is fastened with springs which will bend when it is loaded to a degree depending on how large the weight is. When the bending of the spring reaches predefined marks the computer sends a signal to the distributor indicating in which direction the graded fish shall go. The infeed device consists of a lift which lifts the fish up from the water tank in a bucket with a grid in the bottom. The lift brings the fish up to a bin and to an arranger which lines the fish up in a row so that only one piece offish is placed on the weighing scale at a time. The lift is made of a frame and a transport belt which closes the inside of the lift so that no fish can get inside and be injured by the cogwheels. On the belt is fastened a specially designed bucket. The bottom of the bucket is made of a grid which allows the water to go through without moving the water. In the lower end of the lift is a basement with a form which allows the fish to enter and be trapped to be collected with the buckets which are shaped so as to sweep out all the inside space of the basement. At the top of the lift is an arrangement to empty the bucket into a chute which is then pushed away to allow the bucket to pass. The type of arranger are different because the fish have different shape. When round fish as trout and cod are arranged the arranger is made of two belts with a slightly roughened surface on the outside and placed so the V-formed space between them is at an angle of about 20°. Fish from the bin flow into the arranger and the belts are equipped with side walls which are high enough to prevent the fish from going over the edges. Because the arranger has a substantial inclination the arranger will only feed fish placed at the bottom to the weighing scale whereas overlying fish will glide back down the slope until they get a place at the bottom on the roughened surface of the belts. When flat fish as halibut are arranged it is necessary to use a arranger which can keep up with that shape of fish.
Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only and with reference to accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 - shows a side view of the machine and equipment for grading automatically live fish by weighing.
Figure 2 — shows an isometric view of the machine and equipment for grading automatically live fish by weighing.
Figure 3 - shows the elevator which lifts the fish up from a basement to a receiver.
Figure 4 - shows an arranger device for round fish as trout and cod.
Figure 5 - shows how the arranger works.
Figure 6 - shows an arranger device for flat fish as halibut.
Figure 7 - shows the weighing instrument which gives a signal to the computer when the gravity point is on the edge of the scale disk.
Figure 8 — shows a distributor which transmits the weighed material to the correct container.
Figure 1.
The figure shows a side-view of the machine and the machine line. The machine is built on a frame (1) where the different parts are placed. The fish is lifted with the elevator (4) in a specially designed bucket from the basement (2) and placed in the receiver (6) and from the receiver it goes to the arranger (7) which lines the fish up in a row. The arranger device is driven by a motor (9). The arranger device has two sloping belts (8) with a V-gap between them which hold the underlying fish and move them to the weighing device (13) where only one fish arrives at a time for weighing. The overlying fish will glide down the slope and wait its turn. The weighing device is supported from spring seats (12) which bend when they are loaded and over the scale is placed a sensor chamber (14) which notes how much the springs have bent and sends a corresponding signal to the computer. From the weighing device (13) the fish goes to the distributor (15) where the moving aggregate (22) which is controlled by the computer directs the graded material to its intended outlet.
Figure 2. The figure is an isometric drawing which shows the same things as figure 1.
Figure 3.
The figure shows an elevator ( 4) which lifts the fish from a bin (2) which is specially designed to have a form which allows the fish to swim into the bin where the bucket (3) can easily collect the fish and lift them up to the receiver (6 in fig.l and 5). The lift is a belt conveyor (4) with a frame and belts. The belts are placed in such a way that there is no passage to the inside space. This stops the fish from going inside and interferes with the cogwheels inside the elevator. On the belt are fastened specially designed buckets (3) in a mat or black color and the bottom of each bucket is made as open as possible with a grid or network (25), the speed of the bucket is very low so the bucket will not move the water and the fish will not be aware of the bucket (3). The design of the bin (2) and the bucket (3) are
made such that the bucket collects all the fish in front of the bucket and no Fish will be hurt or crushed by the side walls. The buckets are emptied when they turn over the top and the fish falls down into the chute (26) but on passing the chute the buckets push on the chute (26) which moves away because of the arms (27, 28) and the spring (29) brings the chute back when the buckets have passed.
Figure 4.
The figure shows the arranger aggregate (7) which takes fish from a pile and delivers only one Fish at a time over to the scale (13). The fish are moved with tow belts (8) which have a rough surface and are placed so they make a V-form at an angle of about 20°. The fish at the bottom of the pile are held tightly and will be moved with the belt but overlying fish which are wriggling will glide down until they finally get their place at bottom of the feeder ( fig. 5). The feeding belt (8) is driven from a motor (9) which has a speed control so the feeding speed will suit the capacity of the weighing aggregate. Above the belts are shielding boards (10) to prevent the fish from escaping from the belts.
Figure 5.
The figure shows another view of the arranger (7) and its placement in the automated weighing line. The feeder has an inclination of about 15° to 30° the amount depending upon the type offish to be sorted. The receiver (6) is connected to the feeder to increase the volume of the fish mass and serve as a stabilizer for the flow.
Figure 6.
The figure shows arranger for flat fish as halibut. The arranger are made up from a transport belt (32) with holes (33) where vacuum works through. The vacuum are made in a vacuum chamber (34) which is placed just under the belt (32) and is connected to vacuum fan or pump through a spot (35) on the end of the vacuum chamber (34). When the vacuum holes (33) in the belt pas under the flatfish in the receiver (36) the suction fasten the fish to the belt which mow it to the weighing instrument.
Figure 7.
The figure shows the weighing aggregate (13) which includes a scale dish (17) and supporting springs (12) and a spring bracket (20) and spring loading arms (19) which curve and stretch the springs to control the loading. The adjusting screw (21) adjusts the load intervals for the weight. The arranger delivers the fish over to the weighing scale (17) which has a slight downwards slope. The fish glide down the scale and the gravity point moves the scale when the fish move downwards and when the gravity point is just over the edge (30) of the scale the scale comes to the lowest point. Over the weighing scale is placed a light source which sends an infrared beam across the scale which the side shelters (31) on the scale block when it is unloaded but when the scale is lowered by the weight of the fish the beam passes over the side shelters (31) and arrives at a detector and a signal is transmitted to the industrial computer which sends a command to the air cylinder (22) (fig. 7) on the distributor which directs the object to the correct outlet. The computer can serve more detectors so it is easy to increase the number of sorting categories.
Figure 8.
The figure shows the distributor (15 in fig. 1) which includes the distributor channel (24) the moving cylinder (22) and the moving arms (23). The moving cylinders can be two or more depending upon the number of categories to be sorted into. The cylinders are controlled from the computer which gets a signal from the weighing detectors,
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