Claims
- 1. An apparatus for receiving and sorting disks having a parameter, the parameter of each disk having one of a plurality of values, comprising:
a frame; a wheel having at least one hole forming a well for receiving a disk, the wheel being rotatably coupled to the frame; a motor coupled to the frame and the wheel for controllably rotating the wheel about an axis; a disk sensor coupled to the frame and positioned relative to the well, the sensor for sensing the value of the parameter of the disk and responsively generating a parameter value signal as a function of the value; a collecting device coupled to the frame and positioned relative to the wheel, the collecting device having at least first and second collectors for receiving disks; an ejector coupled to the frame and positioned relative to the well, the ejector for ejecting the disk from the well in response to receiving an eject signal; and, a controller coupled to the disk sensor and the ejector, the controller for receiving the parameter value signal and responsively sending an eject signal to the ejector to eject the disk from the well into the first collector when the parameter value signal has a first value and for sending an eject signal to the ejector to eject the disk from the well into the second collector when the parameter value signal has a second value.
- 2. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:
a base plate being mounted to the frame and having an aperture; a shaft disposed having an inner bore and being located in the aperture; and, an axle couple to the wheel, the axle rotatably located within the bore.
- 3. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, the wheel having an upper surface and a bottom surface, the apparatus further comprising a sprocket wheel on the bottom surface of the wheel, the sprocket being coupled to the motor.
- 4. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, further comprising an ejector lever pivotally mounted adjacent the well and being movable between first and second positions by actuation of the ejector.
- 5. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, the well being formed by an aperture in the wheel and a well bottom plate.
- 6. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 5, the bottom plate having a slot therein.
- 7. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 6, the disk parameter sensor being positioned relative to the well such that it is adjacent a chip located in the well when the well passes the disk parameter sensor as the wheel is rotated.
- 8. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the parameter is at least one of color, an image, bar code, and radio frequency identification.
- 9. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the ejector is a solenoid.
- 10. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, the well having at least one other well and at least one other respective ejector.
- 11. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, the collecting device being a rack having a rack assembly and a plurality of column assemblies.
- 12. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 11, the rack assembly and the column assemblies being unitarily formed.
- 13. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 11, the rack assembly having a rack base portion, each column assembly being mounted to the rack base portion.
- 14. An apparatus for receiving and sorting disks having a parameter, the parameter of each disk having one of a plurality of values, comprising:
a frame; a wheel having a plurality of holes forming a plurality of wells, each well for receiving a disk, the wheel being rotatably coupled to the frame; a motor coupled to the frame and the wheel for controllably rotating the wheel about an axis; a disk sensor coupled to the frame and positioned relative to the well, the sensor for sensing the value of the parameter of the disk and responsively generating a parameter value signal; a collecting device coupled to the frame and positioned relative to the wheel, the collecting device having a plurality of collectors for receiving disks, each collector being associated with one of the values of the parameter; a plurality of ejectors coupled to the frame and positioned relative to the wells, the ejector for ejecting the disk from the well in response to receiving an eject signal; and, a controller coupled to the disk sensor and the ejector, the controller for receiving the parameter value signal and responsively sending an eject signal to at least one of the ejectors to eject the disk from at least one of the wells into a respective collector as a function of the parameter value signal.
- 15. An apparatus as set forth in claim 14, further comprising a position sensor for sensing a position of the wheel as the wheel rotates and generating a wheel position signal, the controller for receiving the wheel position signal and responsively sending the eject signal when the at least one of the wells is aligned with the respectively column assembly.
- 16. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 14, the wells being equally spaced around the wheel, the ejectors being spaced along a portion of the wheel.
- 17. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 16, wherein the plurality of wells and the number of ejectors being unequal.
- 18. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 16, the wells being separated by a first predetermined angle, the ejectors being separated by a second predetermined angle, the first and second predetermined angles being one of equal and unequal.
- 19. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 18, wherein the controller sends the eject signal to a predetermined set of ejectors when the values of disks within a corresponding set of wells are equal to the value associated with a corresponding set of collectors.
- 20. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 14, the collecting device being a rack having a rack assembly and a plurality of column assemblies.
- 21. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 20, the rack assembly and the column assemblies being unitarily formed.
- 22. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 20, the rack assembly having a rack base portion, each column assembly being mounted to the rack base portion.
- 23. A collecting device for use with an apparatus for sorting disks, comprising:
a collecting device assembly having a first end and a second end; a plurality of collectors, each collector having first and second ends, the first ends of the collectors being aligned with the first end of the collecting device assembly, the second ends of the collectors being aligned with the second end of the collecting device assembly, the first ends of the collectors being arranged in a semi-circle having a first radius.
- 24. A collecting device, as set forth in claim 23 the second ends of the collectors being arranged in a semi-circle having a second radius.
- 25. A collecting device, as set forth in claim 24, the first and second radii being equal.
- 26. A collecting device, as set forth in claim 24, the first and second radii being unequal.
- 27. A collecting device, as set forth in claim 24, the second radius being greater than the first radius.
- 28. A collecting device, as set forth in claim 24, the second radius being equal to infinity.
- 29. A collecting device, as set forth in claim 23, the collecting device assembly and the collectors being unitarily formed.
- 30. A collecting device, as set forth in claim 23, the collecting device assembly include a rack base portion, each collector being mounted to the rack base portion.
- 31. A collecting device, as set forth in claim 30, each collector being formed by a plurality of rods connected at a first end to the rack base portion and connected at a second end to an end portion.
- 32. A method for receiving and sorting disks having a parameter, the parameter of each disk having one of a plurality of values, comprising:
rotating a wheel, the wheel having at least one well for receiving a disk; receiving a first disk in a first well; sensing the value of the parameter of the first disk; and, ejecting the first disk into one of a plurality of collectors when the first well is aligned with the one collector and the value of the parameter of the first disk is equal to a value associated with the one collector.
- 33. A method, as set forth in claim 32, including the steps of:
receiving a second disk in a second well; sensing the value of the parameter of the second disk; and, ejecting the second disk into another of the plurality of collectors when the second well is aligned with the another collector and the value of the parameter of the second disk is equal to a value associated with the another collector.
- 34. A method, as set forth in claim 33, wherein the step of ejecting the first disk and the step of ejecting the second disk may occur substantially simultaneously.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/444,178, filed on Feb. 3, 2003.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60444178 |
Feb 2003 |
US |