U.S. patent number 3,616,901 [Application Number 05/021,929] was granted by the patent office on 1971-11-02 for article-classifying system and method.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Industrial Nucleonics Corporation. Invention is credited to Charles Richard Groves.
United States Patent |
3,616,901 |
Groves |
November 2, 1971 |
ARTICLE-CLASSIFYING SYSTEM AND METHOD
Abstract
Articles, such as cigarettes, are moved successively down a
prescribed path past sensing and operating stations. Each article
is categorized and the category, such as reject, is recorded in a
respective memory cell of an addressable memory according to a
memory-addressing signal formed as the difference between a counter
signal and the address signal of the respective sensing station.
When the article reaches the operating station, the recorded signal
is read out from the respective memory cell by addressing it with a
memory address signal formed as the difference between the counter
signal and the address signal of the operating station. The readout
signal is utilized to operate upon the article, as to reject a
faulty cigarette from the path.
Inventors: |
Groves; Charles Richard
(Worthington, OH) |
Assignee: |
Industrial Nucleonics
Corporation (N/A)
|
Family
ID: |
21806915 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/021,929 |
Filed: |
March 23, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
209/535; 209/555;
209/564 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B07C
5/361 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B07C
5/36 (20060101); B07c 005/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;209/73,74,75 |
Primary Examiner: Knowles; Allen N.
Assistant Examiner: Church; Gene A.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A system for classifying a plurality of articles into either of
first and second categories according to a sensed characteristic of
each article, which articles are moved successively along at least
one prescribed path past a reference point, a plurality of sensing
stations, and an operating station, each of said sensing stations
being located at a respective predetermined number of article
intervals from said reference point, said operating station being
located a further predetermined number of article intervals from
said reference point and at a position following the last of said
sensing stations along said path, said system comprising:
timing means synchronized with the movement of the articles along
said path for providing timing pulses indicative of each article
interval movement along said path,
sensing means responsive to a respective given characteristic of
the article at each respective sensing station by providing a
respective information signal indicative of said respective given
characteristic,
categorizing means responsive to each of said information signals
for providing a first category signal whenever the article at a
respective sensing station is in said first category,
operating means for acting on an article at said operating station
according to the category of the respective article,
a counter responsive to said timing pulses for counting each
article interval movement and providing a count signal indicative
of the number registered in the counter,
memory means having a plurality of memory cells, input means
through which signals may be written into said memory cells for
storage, output means through which the stored signals may be read
out, and address selection means for selecting the cells into which
the signals at said input means are written and from which the
stored signals are read at said output means,
programmed addressing means for providing a sensing station address
signal corresponding to each respective predetermined number of
article intervals and an operating station address signal
corresponding to said further predetermined number of article
intervals,
combining means responsive to sensing control signals for combining
said count signal and respective sensing station address signals to
produce respective writing memory address signals corresponding to
the difference between the number registered in the counter and the
respective predetermined numbers of article intervals and applying
said respective writing memory address signal to said address
selection means, and responsive to an operating control signal for
combining said count signal and said operating station address
signal to produce a reading memory address signal corresponding to
the difference between the number registered in the counter and the
further predetermined number of article intervals and applying said
reading memory address signal to said address selection means,
cyclic switching means responsive to a timing pulse to provide a
plurality of sensing control signals and an operating control
signal successively in a predetermined sequence to said combining
means, and in synchronism with said control signals applying
respective first category signals to said input means during the
application of respective writing memory address signals to said
address selection means and applying a respective stored signal to
said operating means during the application of said reading memory
address signal to said address selection means, and
means coupled to said memory and responsive to said cyclic
switching means for clearing each respective memory cell no earlier
than the reading of the stored signal therefrom, no later than the
writing of the next category signal therein, and no later than
during the application to said address selection means of the
respective cell's writing memory address signal first occurring
after said reading,
whereby information associated with the article at the respective
sensing station is written into the memory when the article is at
the respective sensing stations and the stored category information
associated with the article at the operating station is read from
the memory and utilized to actuate said operating means when the
respective article is at the operating station.
2. A system for classifying a plurality of articles into either of
reject and accept categories according to a sensed characteristic
of each article, which articles are moved successively along at
least one prescribed path past a reference point, a plurality of
sensing stations, and an operating station, each of said sensing
stations being located at a respective predetermined number of
article intervals from said reference point, said operating station
being located a further predetermined number of article intervals
from said reference point and at a position following the last of
said sensing stations along said path, said system comprising:
timing means synchronized with the movement of the articles along
said path for providing timing pulses indicative of each article
interval movement along said path,
sensing means responsive to a respective given characteristic of
the article at each respective sensing station by providing a
respective information signal indicative of said respective given
characteristic,
categorizing means responsive to each of said information signals
for providing a reject signal whenever the article at a respective
sensing station is in said reject category,
operating means for acting on an article at said operating station
according to the category of the respective article to reject the
respective article,
a counter responsive to said timing pulses for counting each
article interval movement and providing a count signal indicative
of the number registered in the counter,
memory means having a plurality of memory cells, input means
through which signals may be written into said memory cells for
storage, output means through which the stored signals may be read
out, and address selection means for selecting the cells into which
the signals at said input means are written and from which the
stored signals are read at said output means,
programmed addressing means for providing a sensing station address
signal corresponding to each respective predetermined number of
articles intervals and an operating station address signal
corresponding to said further predetermined number of article
intervals,
combining means responsive to sensing control signals for combining
said count signal and respective sensing station address signals to
produce respective writing memory address signals corresponding to
the difference between the number registered in the counter and the
respective predetermined numbers of article intervals and applying
said respective writing memory address signal to said address
selection means, and responsive to an operating control signal for
combining said count signal and said operating station address
signal to produce a reading memory address signal corresponding to
the difference between the number registered in the counter and the
further predetermined number of article intervals and applying said
reading memory address signal to said address selections means,
cyclic switching means responsive to a timing pulse to provide a
plurality of sensing control signals and an operating control
signal successively in a predetermined sequence to said combining
means, and in synchronism with said control signals applying
respective reject signals to said input means during the
application of respective writing memory address signals to said
address selection means and applying a respective stored signal to
said operating means during the application of said reading memory
address signal to said address selection means, and
means coupled to said memory and responsive to said cyclic
switching means for clearing each respective memory cell of any
reject signal nor earlier than the reading of the stored signal
therefrom, no later than the writing of the next reject signal
therein, and no later than during the application to said address
selection means of the respective cell's writing memory address
signal first occurring after said reading,
whereby reject information associated with the article at the
respective sensing stations is written cumulatively into the memory
when the article is at the respective sensing stations and any
stored reject information associated with the article at the
operating station is read from the memory and utilized to actuate
said operating means to reject the respective article when it is at
the operating station.
3. A system according to claim 2 wherein said means for clearing is
responsive to the sensing control signal from said cyclic switching
means first occuring when the respective cell is addressed
following said reading, whereby the respective memory cell stores
the category information derived from the information signal from
the sensing means at the sensing station furthest upstream and
thereafter receives signals for storage only when reject signals
are derived from the information signals at respective downstream
stations.
4. A system according to claim 2 wherein one of said sensing means
is a radiation gauge responsive to mass per unit length of
respective articles by providing an information signal indicative
thereof, and wherein said categorizing means comprises a standard
and a comparator for providing a reject signal when said
information signal deviates from said standard by more than a
predetermined amount.
5. A system for classifying a plurality of articles into either of
two categories according to a sensed characteristic of each
article, which articles are moved successively along at least one
prescribed path past a reference point, a sensing station, and an
operating station, said sensing station being located a first
predetermined number of article intervals from said reference
point, and said operating station being located a second
predetermined number of article intervals from said reference
point, said system comprising:
timing means synchronized with said movement for providing timing
pulses indicative of each article interval movement along said
path,
sensing means responsive to a given characteristic of each article
at said sensing station by providing an information signal
indicative of said given characteristic,
categorizing means responsive to said information signal for
providing a category signal indicative of the category of the
respective article,
operating means for acting on an article at said operating station
according to the category of the respective article,
a counter responsive to said timing pulses for counting each
article interval movement and providing a count signal indicative
of the number registered in the counter,
memory means having a plurality of memory cells, input means
through which signals may be written into the memory cells for
storage, output means through which the stored signals may be read
out, and address selection means for selecting the cells into which
the signals at said input means are written and from which the
stored signals are read at said output means,
programmed addressing means for providing a sensing station address
signal corresponding to said first predetermined number of article
intervals and an operating station address signal corresponding to
said second predetermined number of article intervals,
combining means responsive to a sensing control signal for
combining said count signal and said sensing station address signal
to produce a first memory address signal corresponding to the
difference between the number registered in the counter and the
first predetermined number of article intervals and applying said
first memory address signal to said address selection means, and
responsive to an operating control signal for combining said count
signal and said operating station address signal to produce a
second memory address signal corresponding to the difference
between the number registered in the counter and the second
predetermined number of article intervals and applying said second
memory address signal to said address selection means, and
cyclic switching means responsive to a timing pulse to provide
successive sensing and operating control signals in a predetermined
sequence to said combining means, and in synchronism with said
control signals applying the category signal to said input means
during the application of said first memory address signal to said
address selection means and applying a respective stored signal to
said operating means during the application of said second memory
address signal to said address selection means,
whereby the category information associated with the article at the
sensing station is written into the memory when the article is at
the sensing station and the stored category information associated
with the article at the operating station is read from the memory
and utilized to actuate said operating means when the respective
article is at the operating station.
6. The system of claim 5 wherein the number of memory cells in said
memory means is no less than the difference between said first and
second predetermined number of article intervals.
7. The system of claim 5 wherein the number of states in the
register of said counter equals the number of memory cells in said
memory means.
8. A system according to claim 5 when following said sensing
station the path divides into alternate parts over one of which
said operating station is a third predetermined number of article
intervals from said reference point, said third predetermined
number of article intervals differing from said second
predetermined number by an even number, and alternate articles
follow alternate respective parts of said path, in which
system:
said programmed addressing means provides an alternate operating
station address signal corresponding to said third predetermined
number of article intervals,
said combining means is responsive to an alternate operating
control signal for combining said count signal and said alternate
operating station address signal to produce a third memory address
signal corresponding to the difference between the number
registered in the counter and the third predetermined number of
article intervals and applying said third memory address signal to
said address selection means, and
said cyclic switching means is responsive to alternate timing
pulses to provide successive sensing and alternate operating
control signals in a predetermined sequence to said combining
means, and in synchronism with said sensing and alternate operating
control signals applying the category signal to said input means
during the application of said first memory address signal to said
address selection means and applying a respective stored signal to
said operating means during the application of said third memory
address signal to said address selection means.
9. A system according to claim 5 wherein said programmed addressing
means comprises a diode array having a plurality of input terminals
and a plurality of output terminals, and a respective diode
connected between each input terminal and each of respective output
terminals in accordance with the respective predetermined number of
article intervals, whereby upon application of a respective control
signal to a respective input terminal, parallel address output
signals appear upon the respective output terminals connected
through said diodes to said respective input terminal, said
parallel output signals forming a respective station address
signal.
10. A system according to claim 9 wherein said parallel address
output signals are in binary code and said combining mans includes
inverter means associated with said output terminals for converting
said address output signals to their one's complements, and means
for adding one as a carry-in signal to the sum of respective one's
complements and the count in the register of said counter.
11. A system for classifying cigarettes into either of reject and
accept categories according to the mass per unit length of each
cigarette, which cigarettes are moved successively along at least
one prescribed path past a reference point, a sensing station, and
an operating station, said sensing station being located a first
predetermined number of cigarette intervals from said reference
point, and said operating station being located a second
predetermined number of cigarette intervals from said reference
point, said system comprising:
timing means synchronized with said movement for providing timing
pulses indicative of each cigarette interval movement along said
path,
a radiation gauge responsive to the mass per unit length of each
cigarette at said sensing station by providing an information
signal indicative of said mass per unit length,
categorizing means responsive to said information signal comprising
a standard and a comparator for providing a reject signal when said
information signal deviates from said standard by more than a
predetermined amount,
operating means for acting on a cigarette at said operating station
according to the category of the respective article to reject each
cigarette in the reject category,
a counter responsive to said timing pulses for counting each
cigarette interval movement and providing a count signal indicative
of the number registered in the counter,
memory means having a plurality of memory cells, input means
through which signals may be written into the memory cells for
storage, output means through which the stored signals may be read
out, and address selection means for selecting the cells into which
the signals at said input means are written and from which the
stored signals are read at said output means,
programmed addressing means for providing a sensing station address
signal corresponding to said first predetermined number of
cigarette intervals and an operating station address signal
corresponding to said second predetermined number of cigarette
intervals,
combining means responsive to a sensing control signal for
combining said count signal and said sensing station address signal
to produce a first memory address signal corresponding to the
difference between the number registered in the counter and the
first predetermined number of cigarette intervals and applying said
first memory address signal to said address selection means, and
responsive to an operating control signal for combining said count
signal and said operating station address signal to produce a
second memory address signal corresponding to the difference
between the number registered in the counter and the second
predetermined number of cigarette intervals and applying said
second memory address signal to said address selection means,
cyclic switching means responsive to a timing pulse to provide
successive sensing and operating control signals in a predetermined
sequence to said combining means, and in synchronism with said
control signals applying any respective reject signal to said input
means during the application of said first memory address signal to
said address selection means and applying a respective stored
signal to said operating means during the application of said
second memory address signal to said address selection means,
whereby the reject information associated with the cigarette at the
sensing station is written into the memory when the cigarette is at
the sensing station and any stored reject information associated
with the cigarette at the operating station is read from the memory
and utilized to actuate said operating means to reject the
respective cigarette when it is at the operating station.
12. A system according to claim 11 including means responsive to
signals from said radiation gauge for providing a signal to control
the amount of tobacco in the cigarettes as they are made.
13. For use in a system for classifying a plurality of articles
into either of two categories according to a sensed characteristic
of each article, said system having conveying means for moving
successive articles along at least one prescribed path past a
reference point, a sensing station, and an operating station, said
sensing station being located a first predetermined number of
article intervals from said reference point, and said operating
station being located a second predetermined number of article
intervals from said reference point, sensing means responsive to a
given characteristic of each article at said sensing station by
providing an information signal indicative of said given
characteristic, categorizing means responsive to said information
signal for providing a category signal indicative of the category
of the respective article, and operating means for acting on an
article at said operating station according to the category of the
respective article, apparatus comprising:
timing means for providing timing pulses synchronized with said
movement and indicative of each article interval movement along
said path,
a counter responsive to said timing pulses for counting each
article interval movement and providing a count signal indicative
of the number registered in the counter,
memory means having a plurality of memory cells, input means
through which signals may be written into the memory cells for
storage, output means through which the stored signals may be read
out, and address selection means for selecting the cells into which
the signals at said input means are written and from which the
stored signals are read at said output means,
programmed addressing means for providing a sensing station address
signal corresponding to said first predetermined number of article
intervals, and an operating station address signal corresponding to
said second predetermined number of article intervals,
combining means responsive to a first control signal for combining
said count signal and said sensing station address signal to
produce a first memory address signal corresponding to the
difference between the number registered in the counter and the
first predetermined number of article intervals and applying said
first memory address signal to said address selection means, and
responsive to a second control signal for combining said count
signal and said operating station address signal to produce a
second memory address signal corresponding to the difference
between the number registered in the counter and the second
predetermined number of articles intervals and applying said second
memory address signal to said address selection means, and
cyclic switching means responsive to a timing pulse for providing
first and second successive control signals in a predetermined
sequence to said combining means, and in synchronism with said
control signals applying the category signal to said input means
during the application of said first memory address signal to said
address selection means and applying a respective stored signal to
said operating means during the application of said second memory
address signal to said address selection means
whereby the category information associated with the article at the
sensing station is written into the memory when the article is at
the sensing station and the stored category information associated
with the article at the operating station is read from the memory
and utilized to actuate said operating means when the respective
article is at the operating station.
14. Apparatus according to claim 13 wherein said programmed
addressing means comprises a diode array having a plurality of
input terminals and a plurality of output terminals, and a
respective diode connected between each input terminal and each of
respective output terminals in accordance with the respective
predetermined number of article intervals, whereby upon application
of a respective control signal to a respective input terminal,
parallel address output signals appear upon the respective output
terminals connected through said diodes to said respective input
terminal, said parallel output signals forming a respective station
address signal.
15. A system according to claim 14 wherein said parallel address
output signals are in binary code and said combining means includes
inverter means associated with said output terminals for converting
said address signals to their one's complements, and means for
adding one as a carry-in signal to the sum of respective one's
complements and the count in the register of said counter.
16. A method of classifying a plurality of articles into either of
first and second categories according to a sensed characteristic of
each article, said method comprising:
moving the articles successively along at least one prescribed path
past a reference point, a plurality of sensing stations, and an
operating station, each of said sensing stations being located at a
respective predetermined number of article intervals from said
reference point, said operating station being located a further
predetermined number of article intervals from said reference point
and at a position following the last of said sensing stations along
said path,
counting each article movement and keeping a total count,
sensing a respective given characteristic of the article at each
respective sensing station,
categorizing each article as in one of said first and second
categories at each respective sensing station according to the
sensed characteristic,
writing each indication that an article is in said first category
into a respective memory cell of a memory having an address
corresponding to the difference between said total count and the
respective predetermined number of article intervals corresponding
to the respective sensing stations,
reading the indication of category contained in the memory cell
having an address corresponding to the difference between said
total count and said further predetermined number of article
intervals,
operating upon the respective article at said operating station in
accordance with the category information read out, and
clearing each respective memory cell no earlier than the reading of
the stored signal therein, no later than while the respective
memory cell is next addressed for writing information therein, and
no later than when information is next written therein.
17. A method of classifying a plurality of articles into either of
first and second categories according to a sensed characteristic of
each article, said method comprising:
moving the articles successively along at least one prescribed path
past a reference point, a plurality of sensing stations, and an
operating station, each of said sensing stations, being located at
a respective predetermined number of article intervals from said
reference point, said operating station being located a further
predetermined number of article intervals from said reference point
and at a position following the last of said sensing stations along
said path,
providing timing pulses indicative of each article interval
movement along said path and utilizing the timing pulses to provide
a plurality of sensing control signals and an operating control
signal successively in a predetermined sequence,
sensing a respective given characteristic of the article at each
respective sensing station by providing a respective information
signal indicative of said respective given characteristic,
categorizing each article as in one of said first and second
categories at each respective sensing station according to each of
of said information signals by providing a first category signal
whenever the article at a respective sensing station is in said
first category,
counting each article interval movement and providing a count
signal indicative of the number registered in a counter,
providing a sensing station address signal corresponding to each
respective predetermined number of article intervals and an
operating station address signal corresponding to said further
predetermined number of article intervals,
upon occurrence of sensing control signals, combining said count
signal and respective sensing station address signals to produce
respective writing memory address signals corresponding to the
difference between the number registered in the counter and the
respective predetermined numbers of article intervals, utilizing
each of the respective writing memory address signals to address a
respective memory cell in a memory, and writing a respective first
category signal into the address memory cell,
upon occurrence of an operating control signal, combining said
count signal and said operating station address signal to produce a
reading memory address signal corresponding to the difference
between the number registered in the counter and the further
predetermined number of article intervals, utilizing the reading
memory address signal to address a respective memory cell in the
memory, and reading a respective stored signal from the addressed
memory cell,
acting on the article at said operating station according to the
respective stored signal read out,
clearing such respective memory cell no earlier than the reading of
the stored signal therein and no later than while the respective
memory cell is next addressed for writing information therein and
no later than when information is next written therein,
whereby the category information associated with the article at the
respective sensing stations is written into the memory when the
article is at the sensing stations and the stored category
information associated with the article at the operating station is
read from the memory and utilized to act on the respective article
when it is at the operating station.
18. A method of classifying a plurality of articles into either of
two categories according to a sensed characteristic of each
article, said method comprising;
moving successive articles along at leas one prescribed path past a
reference point, a sensing station, and an operating station, said
sensing station being located a first predetermined number of
article intervals from said reference point, and said operating
station being located a second predetermined number of article
intervals from said reference point,
providing timing pulses indicative of each article interval
movement along said path, and utilizing the timing pulses to
provide a sensing control signal and an operating control signal
successively in a predetermined sequence,
sensing a given characteristic of each article at said sensing
station by providing an information signal indicative of said given
characteristic,
categorizing each article in response to said information signal by
providing a category signal indicative of the category of the
respective article,
counting each of article interval movement and providing a count
signal indicative of the number registered in a counter,
providing a sensing station address signal corresponding to said
first predetermined number of article intervals and an operating
station address signal corresponding to said second predetermined
number of article intervals,
upon occurrence of a sensing control signal combining said count
signal and said sensing station address signal to produce a first
memory address signal corresponding to the difference between the
number registered in the counter and the first predetermined number
of article intervals, and utilizing the first memory address signal
to address a respective memory cell in a memory, and writing a
respective category signal into the addressed memory cell,
upon occurrence of an operating control signal, combining said
count signal and said operating station address signal to produce a
second memory address signal corresponding to the difference
between the number registered in the counter and the second
predetermined number of article intervals, utilizing the second
memory address signal to address a respective memory cell in the
memory, and reading a respective stored signal from the addressed
memory cell, and
acting on the article at said operating station according to the
respective stored signal read out,
whereby the category information associated with the article at the
sensing station is written into the memory when the article is at
the sensing station and the stored category information associated
with the article at the operating station is read from the memory
and utilized to act on the respective article when it is is at the
operating station.
19. A method according to claim 18 wherein following said sensing
station the path is divided into alternate parts over one of which
said operating station is a third predetermined number of article
intervals from said reference point, said third predetermined
number of article intervals differing from said second
predetermined number by an even number, said method further
comprising:
moving alternate articles over alternate respective parts of the
path,
providing an alternate operating station address signal
corresponding to said third predetermined number of article
intervals, and
upon occurrence of an alternate operating control signal, combining
said count signal and said alternate operating station address
signal to produce a third memory address signal corresponding to
the difference between the number registered in the counter and the
third predetermined number of article intervals, utilizing the
third memory address signal to address a respective memory cell in
the memory, and reading a respect stored signal from the addressed
memory cell.
20. A method of classifying a plurality of articles into either of
reject or accept categories according to a sensed characteristic of
each article, said method comprising:
moving the articles successively along at least one prescribed path
past a reference point, a plurality of sensing stations, and an
operating station, each of said sensing stations being located at a
respective predetermined number of article intervals from said
reference point, said operating station being located a further
predetermined number of article intervals from said reference point
and at a position following the last of said sensing stations along
said path,
providing timing pulses indicative of each article interval
movement along said path and utilizing the timing pulses to provide
a plurality of sensing control signals and an operating control
signal successively in a predetermined sequence,
sensing a respective given characteristic of the article at each
respective sensing station by providing a respective information
signal indicative of said respective given characteristic,
categorizing each article as in one of said reject and accept
categories at each respective sensing station according to each of
said information signals by providing a reject signal whenever the
article at a respective sensing station is in said reject
category,
counting each article interval movement and providing a count
signal indicative of the number registered in a counter,
providing a sensing station address signal corresponding to each
respective predetermined number of article intervals and an
operating station address signal corresponding to said further
predetermined number of article intervals,
upon occurrence of sensing control signals, combining said count
signal and respective sensing station address signals to produce
respective writing memory address signals corresponding to the
difference between the number registered in the counter and the
respective predetermined numbers of article intervals, utilizing
each of the respective writing memory address signals to address a
respective memory cell in a memory, and writing a respective reject
signal into the addressed memory cell,
upon occurrence of an operating control signal, combining said
count signal and said operating station address signal to produce a
reading memory address signal corresponding to the difference
between the number registered in the counter and the respective
predetermined number of article intervals, utilizing the reading
memory address signal to address a respective memory cell in the
memory, and reading any respective stored signal from the addressed
memory cell,
rejecting the article at said operating station upon reading out a
respective stored reject signal,
clearing each respective memory cell no earlier than the reading of
the stored signal therein, no later than while the respective
memory cell is next addressed for writing information therein and
no later than when information is next written therein,
whereby reject information associated with the article at the
respective sensing stations is written cumulatively into the memory
when the article is at the respective sensing stations and any
stored reject information associated with the article at the
operating station is read from the memory and utilized to reject
the respective article when it is at the operating station.
21. A method of classifying cigarettes into either of reject and
accept categories according to the mass per unit length of each
cigarette, said method comprising:
moving successive cigarettes along at least one prescribed path
past a reference point, a sensing station, and an operating
station, said sensing station being located a first predetermined
number of cigarette intervals from said reference point, and said
operating station being located a second predetermined number of
cigarette intervals from said reference point,
providing timing pulses indicative of each cigarette interval
movement along said path, and utilizing the timing pulses to
provide a sensing control signal and an operating control signal
successively in a predetermined sequence,
with a radiation gauge sensing the mass per unit length of each
cigarette at said sensing station by providing an information
signal indicative of said mass per unit length,
comparing the information signal against a standard and providing a
reject signal when the information signal deviates from the
standard by more than a predetermined amount,
counting each cigarette interval movement and providing a count
signal indicative of the number registered in a counter,
providing a sensing station address signal corresponding to said
first predetermined number of cigarette intervals and an operating
station address signal corresponding to said second predetermined
number of cigarette intervals,
upon occurrence of a sensing control signal combining said count
signal and said sensing station address signal to produce a first
memory address signal corresponding to the difference between the
number registered in the counter and the first predetermined number
of article intervals, and utilizing the first memory address signal
to address a respective memory cell in a memory, and writing any
respective reject signal into the addressed memory cell,
upon occurrence of an operating control signal, combining said
count signal and said operating station address signal to produce a
second memory address signal corresponding to the difference
between the number registered in the counter and the second
predetermined number of article intervals, utilizing the second
memory address signal to address a respective memory cell in the
memory, and reading any respective stored signal from the addressed
memory cell, and
rejecting the cigarette at said operating station upon reading out
a respective reject signal,
whereby the reject information associated with the cigarette at the
sensing station is written into the memory when the cigarette is at
the sensing station and any stored reject information associated
with the cigarette at the operating station is read from the memory
and utilized to reject the respective cigarette when it is at the
operating station.
Description
The present invention relates to a method and system for
classifying into categories, such as reject and accept categories,
articles which are transported through an industrial process and
automatically inspected or gauged in respect to one or more
characteristics. More particularly, the present invention relates
to such a classifier system and method for use in the manufacture
of cigarettes for the detection of cigarettes varying from
predetermined standards and the rejection or segregation of the
cigarettes which do not conform to such standards.
In conventional cigarette-making machines it is common practice to
monitor or detect various characteristics or properties of each
cigarette during various stages of its manufacture, and to compare
these detected characteristics with suitable standards to generate
some form of indication of unacceptability. Those cigarettes in the
reject category are rejected by a suitable reject or "kick-out"
device, generally located near the detector. Typically, there are a
number of characteristics which may be detected or sensed,
including deviations in tobacco weight or density from a specified
band of limits, excessive deviations in weight or density
uniformity, deviations in the printed trademark or brand name
position or print density from specified criteria, the presence of
metal particles, excessive air leakage, the presence of loosely
packed tobacco at the cigarette ends, missing filters, and
deviations from a specified range of moisture content. The various
particular transducing means for sensing these characteristics are,
per se, well known in the art, and do not themselves form any part
of the present invention.
Such cigarette-making machinery may typically employ various open
and closed-loop servosystems for automatically monitoring various
characteristics of the cigarettes during the manufacturing process,
and may utilize derived feedback signals to control the
manufacturing process to reduce deviations in these characteristics
from preselected standards. However, in spite of the use of such
automatic control systems, excessive deviations or variations from
the acceptable standards may still result, at least in individual
cigarettes, both with respect to those characteristics which are
actually subject to such closed-loop servo control, such as tobacco
weight and density, and with respect to those characteristics
normally not subject to servocontrol, such as the presence of metal
particles and loose ends.
It has been proposed to measure a number of characteristics and
preserve the information for a single rejection device near the end
of the cigarette line, prior to packaging. With the high speeds of
the order of 3,000 to 4,000 per minute of modern cigarette
production machinery, the inspection and rejection systems must be
capable of accurately and separately collecting all of the desired
information corresponding to each and every individual cigarette at
rapid rates, storing this information, and delivering this
information to the rejection device at precisely the time when the
corresponding cigarette is in operable relation to the device.
While this may be at least partially achieved under certain
conditions by employing delay devices such as various types of
memory drums, wheels or discs and the like to establish the
appropriate delay times, such drum or disc delay devices are
relatively expensive to manufacture and maintain, and lack
versatility. Moreover, such mechanically movable storage or delay
media generally have inherent speed restrictions which reduce test
accuracy with increasing production speeds or necessitate slower
speeds to obtain the required test accuracies.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an
improved system and method for classifying a plurality of articles,
such as cigarettes, into either of two categories, such as for
rejection or acceptance, according to sensed characteristics of
each article transported through an industrial process at extremely
high speeds.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a
classifier system and method therefor employing a tracking-type
memory system which is suitable for use in high-speed
cigarette-making machines, and which may readily utilize logic
signal outputs from multiple classification sensors, each located
at a different process point or station in the machine.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an
improved classifier system which has a high degree of flexibility
and versatility to permit the relocation of the various
classification sensors to any point or station location in the
process without necessitating rewiring of the system to obtain the
desired "delay" or storage time and thus can be modified easily to
accommodate substantially any type of machine or process
layout.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an
improved classifier system embodied in apparatus which is
relatively economical to manufacture and maintain and which employs
standard commercially available components.
These and other objects of the invention are more particularly set
forth in the following detailed description and in the accompanying
drawings of which:
FIG. 1 is a general block and diagrammatic illustration showing the
layout of a typical cigarette-making machine employing a classifier
system in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention;
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the classifier system
utilized in the cigarette-making machine of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an electrical schematic and logic diagram showing a
preferred logic arrangement for implementation of a portion of the
system illustrated in FIG. 2; and
FIG. 4 is an electrical schematic and logic diagram showing the
preferred logic arrangement for implementation of the remainder of
the system illustrated in FIG. 2.
In general, the present system classifies a plurality of articles
moving successively along one or more prescribed paths into either
of first and second categories according to a sensed characteristic
of each article. A suitable conveying means is provided for moving
the articles successively along the paths past a reference point,
one or more sensing stations, and an operating station. The
reference point may be arbitrarily taken at any position along the
paths, but is preferably selected at a position which results in
the least complexity or cost of the system. Typically, each of the
sensing stations may be located at a different preselected position
along the paths relative to the reference point, and the operating
station is located after the last sensing station.
The respective distances along the paths between each of the
sensing stations and the reference point, as well as the distance
between the operating station and the reference point, are herein
conveniently measured in terms of an "article interval" which
defines a unit of measurement indicative of an interval or space
which may be generally occupied by a single article as it is moved
along the prescribed paths by the conveying means. This is a fixed
unit even though the actual absolute distance between the centers
of articles as measured in linear units will typically differ at
various locations along the path, depending on the relative speeds
of various conveyors which may be employed, and the position or
orientation of the articles relative to the direction of movement.
Thus, in terms of "article intervals," and for any prescribed path,
each of the sensing stations is located at a position which is a
respective predetermined number of article intervals from the
reference point, and the operating station is located a further
predetermined number of article intervals from the reference point
at a position following the last of the sensing stations along the
path.
Sensing means are provided in association with each sensing station
and are each responsive to a respective given characteristic of the
article at each of the respective stations to provide information
signals indicative of these respective given characteristics.
Categorizing means are then provided responsive to these
information signals to provide a category signal indicative of the
category of the respective articles relative to each of the sensed
characteristics. Associated with the operating station, an
operating means, such as a reject or kickout mechanism, is provided
for acting on the article thereat in a manner determined by the
category information corresponding to the respective article.
To keep track of the category information relative to each sensed
characteristic of each of the moving articles, a timing means is
provided which is synchronized with the movement of the articles
and which generates timing pulses indicative of each article
interval movement along the prescribed paths. A counter responds to
these timing pulses to count each article interval movement and
provide a count signal indicative of the number registered in the
counter. A memory is also provided which has a plurality of
addressable discrete memory cells, input means through which
signals may be written into the memory cells for storage, output
means from which the stored signals may be read out, and address
selection means for selecting the particular memory cells into
which the signals at the input means are written and from which the
stored signals are read at the output means.
To derive the appropriate memory addresses for writing into the
memory the respective category information corresponding to each of
the sensing means, and to read out the appropriate stored
information corresponding to the article at the operating station,
programmed addressing means are provided (1) to produce respective
sensing station address signals corresponding to the predetermined
number of article intervals that each respective sensing station is
from the reference point, and (2) to produce an operating station
address signal corresponding to the predetermined number of article
intervals that the operating station is from the reference point.
Then arithmetic combining means are provided which are responsive
to sequential control signals (1) to combine the count signal of
the counter and the respective sensing station address signals to
produce successive memory address signals corresponding to the
respective differences between the number registered in the counter
and the predetermined number of article intervals that each of the
sensing stations is from the reference point, and (2) to combine
this same count signal and the operating station address signal to
produce a reading memory address signal corresponding to the
difference between the number registered in the counter and the
predetermined number of article intervals between the operating
station and the reference point.
The application of these writing and reading memory address signals
to the address selection means is controlled by a cyclic switching
means which is responsive to each timing pulse to provide the
aforementioned sequential control signals to the arithmetic
combining means during the time of each article interval movement.
These control signals also synchronously apply those category
signals which are indicative of a given one of the categories to
the input means of the memory during the application of each
respective writing memory address signal to the memory. These
control signals also apply respective stored category information
signals from the memory output means to the operating means during
the application of the reading memory address signals to the
memory.
Thus, the category information signals indicative of said given
category are written into the memory when the respective articles
are at their respective sensing stations, and the stored given
category information associated with an article at the operating
station is read from the memory and utilized to actuate the
operating means when that respective article is at the operating
station. Means are provided which are coupled to the memory and
responsive to the cyclic switching means for clearing each
respective memory cell no earlier than the reading of the stored
signal therefrom, no later than the writing of the next category
signal therein, and no later than during the application to the
address selection means of the respective cell's writing memory
address first occurring after this reading. This overall sequence
of events takes place during the time period of an article interval
movement, and continuously and cyclically repeats for each
successive article interval movement as each of the articles is
conveyed along the prescribed paths to the operating station.
The classifier system of the present invention is herein described
as embodied in a cigarette-making machine for classifying the
cigarettes into either a reject or an accept category, and those
cigarettes which are in the reject category are removed from the
process path at the operating station. More particularly, there is
shown in FIG. 1 a cigarette-making machine utilizing a classifier
system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention,
wherein five sensing stations are employed together with associated
sensing means to monitor five different characteristics at
different locations along a divided process path of the machine to
determine the cigarettes having a characteristic which renders them
defective, and ultimately utilizes this information to actuate a
reject device at the operating station to segregate from the
satisfactory cigarettes those which are defective.
In particular, the tobacco is fed from a suitable hopper or supply
means 10 to a suitable feeding mechanism 12 via any suitable
transfer means 14. The tobacco slivers or shreds are fed by the
feeder 12 onto a moving conveyor belt illustrated by broken line
16. The tobacco stream is moved past a rotating trimmer or
equalizing knife 18 which cuts off the portions of the tobacco
shreds extending above the knife position to remove bunches and
irregularities, and to control the density and packing of the
tobacco as it enters the rod-forming apparatus 20 in a manner well
known in the art. The rod-forming apparatus 20 receives cigarette
paper from a reel 22 after it has been printed with the desired
trademark or brand name by the paper printer 24. The brand names
26, in the cigarette machine which is symbolically illustrated in
FIG. 1, are printed in pairs, with the lettering of the names of
each pair facing in opposite directions. The rod former 20 wraps
the cigarette paper about the tobacco and supplies an output on
conveyor 17 which is in the form of a continuous cigarette rod
28.
The cigarette rod 28 passes a first sensing station 30 where its
weight or density characteristic is monitored by a first sensing
means comprising a beta gauge 32 operating in conjunction with a
beta ray source 34. The signals produced by the beta gauge 32 may
be utilized for servo control of the trimmer knife 18 in a manner
to be later described, and may also provide information signals
indicative of more than one characteristic of the cigarette rod,
such as the average density over each entire cigarette length, as
well as the average density over each of a plurality of short
segments within each cigarette length. In general, more than one
characteristic may be monitored at a given station, and this will
be discussed in greater detail hereinafter.
The cigarette rod then moves by a second sensing station 36 wherein
sensing means 37, illustrated as any suitable print detector,
monitors the position and imprint density of the brand names to
provide an information signal indicative of these qualities. The
cigarette rod 28 is then fed through a cutter 38 typically
employing a knife arrangement for cutting the midpoints between
printed brand names to form individual cigarettes. These are fed
out of the cutter 38 with the printed ends mutually facing each
other and on to a conveyor 39. Thus, each alternate cigarette has
the same orientation. The cutting blades of the cutter 38 are
driven by a suitable mechanism in synchronism with a timing
generator 40, which generates timing pulses synchronized with the
movements of the cigarettes on the various conveyors employed in
the machine so that preferably one pulse is generated for each
article interval movement, regardless of actual distances between
successive cigarettes at various locations in the machine.
Each cigarette is then moved by means of the conveyor 39 past a
third sensing station 44 whereat each cigarette is monitored for
the presence of metal particles by sensing means 45, which may be a
conventional metal detector, for producing an information signal
indicative of the presence of metal within the cigarette at the
station 44.
The cigarettes on conveyor 39 are then transferred to one of a pair
of synchronized conveyors 46 and 48 by conventional material
handling means so that each of the conveyors 46 and 48 carries only
the cigarettes having the same printing orientation. Consequently,
the movement of each pair of mutually facing cigarettes is changed
from the original longitudinal orientation to a lateral movement
where they are brought to a position 50 whereat suitable apparatus
(not shown) may be provided for inserting a filter tip, mouthpiece,
etc. on each pair of cigarettes at their mutually facing ends. Such
apparatus may receive the filter tips, mouthpieces, etc. from a
supply which is symbolically shown as 52 in any conventional
manner.
For convenience of reference, the cigarettes having the brand name
printed on the leading end as they are moved on conveyor 39 are
herein designated as "A" cigarettes and follow conveyor path 46,
while those cigarettes having the brand name printed on the
trailing end are herein designated as "B" cigarettes and follow
conveyor path 48. The pairs of cigarettes are moved by these
conveyors to a fourth sensing station 54 whereat sensing means 55
performs a leak test to provide an information signal indicative of
a perforation or tear in the papers of the A and B pair of
cigarettes at the station. After the cigarettes leave this fourth
station, a filter cutter 57 slices each filter at its midpoint so
that each respective half becomes the filter for a completed A or B
cigarette. Then, after the filter-cutting operation, the A
cigarettes are transferred to another conveyor 56 having a speed
somewhat slower than the conveyor 46 so that the cigarettes have
somewhat less distances therebetween. At the same time, the B
cigarettes are transferred to a conveyor 58 which may include a
suitable rotating mechanism or wheel for turning the B cigarettes
about to give them the same orientation as the A cigarettes, as
shown. The path thus divides into two parts, and alternate A and B
cigarettes are directed into the respective parts. The speed of the
conveyor 58 is synchronously related to the speed of the conveyor
56 so that one B cigarette is inserted between each A cigarette at
a combining location 60 whereat suitable and known material
handling means are provided to perform the combining operation.
After the A and B cigarettes are recombined at the combining point
60, they pass a fifth sensing station 62 whereat a further sensing
means 63 monitors each cigarette at the station for loose ends in a
well known manner, and provides an information signal indicative of
this characteristic. The cigarettes then pass through an operating
station 64 whereat a suitable reject device 66 ejects any cigarette
found to be defective as sensed by any of the various sensing means
in response to a suitable signal from a programmable delay memory
and control system 70, which has previously received respective
input information signals from each of the sensing means. The
reject device 66 may comprise a fluid amplifier for providing a
controlled air blast which rapidly ejects the selected cigarette
from the normal path. The fluid amplifier permits rapid switching,
and the low inertia of the air medium enables the device to operate
at extremely high speed with a high degree of precision.
More particularly, turning to a specific sensing means at its
respective sensing station, the sensing means 32, comprising a beta
gauge, provides an output signal to a gauge controller and weight
classifier circuit 68. This output signal systematically
corresponds to the radiation absorption characteristic of the
portion of the cigarette rod which is at the sensing station 30.
The weight classifier 68 averages the signal from the beta gauge
over some time base and compares this average with a predetermined
reference to derive an error signal indicative of deviation from a
standard. This error signal is utilized as a servosystem feedback
signal to the trimmer knife 18 via line 69 for automatically
adjusting the position of the knife in the directions of the arrows
to reduce the deviation and maintain a relatively constant
preselected tobacco density or mass per unit length. Additionally,
the weight classifier 68 provides an information output signal to
the programmable delay memory and control system 70 via an output
line 72. This signal may be proportional to the direct output from
the beta gauge 32.
The programmable delay memory and control system 70 of FIG. 1 is
illustrated in somewhat more detailed block form in FIG. 2 wherein
the information signal on line 72 is shown as a first input to a
categorizing means illustrated as comparator 100. The comparator
100 receives additional input lines 73, 74, 75 and 76 from the
other respective sensing means 37, 45, 55 and 63 to provide the
respective information signals to the comparator 100 corresponding
to each of the respective sensed characteristics. The comparator
100 operates in conjunction with reference signals or levels
supplied from standards circuit 102 for each of the information
input signals to derive respective category signals on
corresponding output lines 78, 79, 80, 81 and 82, which indicate
whether or not the respective information signal is within given
limits. The category signals thus indicate the respective category
of each of the cigarettes, i.e., reject or accept, at each
respective sensing station.
In order to establish the relation between the input information
signals and each of the cigarettes moving through the sensing
stations, the timing pulses generated by the timing generator 40
are fed to the programmable delay memory and control system 70 via
a line 84, and these pulses are fed to the comparator 100 to define
each article interval movement of the cigarettes. The comparator
100 may also include any desired additional timing and control
means for establishing the precise instant or period of time within
each article interval for interrogating the appropriate sensing
means in a conventional manner and comparing the respective
information signals with their respective reference standards. The
respective category or accept/reject signals thus produced may be
stored temporarily by any suitable two-stage storage means, such as
flip-flop, for each respective category signal until the storage
means are interrogated during each article interval movement by
cyclic switching means, illustrated as an input data multiplexer
104, which is driven by a control pulse generator 106 in response
to the timing pulses on line 84.
In the particular case of the mass characteristic information
signal from the beta gauge sensing means 32 on line 72, the
comparator 100, utilizing an appropriate standard from the
standards circuit 102, provides a reject signal on line 78 when
upon comparison of the information signal with the standard, the
information signal deviates from the standard by more than a
predetermined amount as determined by the desired range of
acceptance or tolerance. The information signal from beta gauge 32,
typically in the form of an electrometer amplifier output voltage,
may be applied to an integrating circuit of conventional type
employing a capacitor, and the voltage across the capacitor
resulting from the accumulated charge over a cigarette interval may
then be compared with a pair of reference voltage thresholds
defining a band of acceptable mass per unit length values so that a
reject category signal will be produced when the voltage across the
capacitor at a given time is either above or below the respective
upper and lower threshold voltages, indicating that the cigarette
is too light or too heavy. After interrogation, or when the
cigarettes have moved one article interval, the capacitor charge is
dumped by an appropriate means operating in response to the timing
pulses on line 84.
As previously mentioned, the information signal from the beta gauge
32 may also be utilized to derive reject signals in response to any
of preselected discrete segments of a cigarette having a mass per
segment which deviates from a given standard by more than a
predetermined amount to assure uniformity of mass distribution in
each cigarette. The same sort of capacitor-type integrating
technique as discussed above may be employed, but with the means
for dumping the capacitor charge being actuated after the
comparison operation on the charge corresponding to each segment,
and any resulting reject category signal is held for interrogation.
Suitable operating signals may be readily derived by appropriately
dividing the intervals between timing pulses on line 84 into a
number of pulses equal to the number of segments per cigarette
being sensed. Four to six segments per cigarette are typical, and
the acceptance band for the segment mass characteristic is
preferably set to permit a greater percentage deviation than the
acceptance band for the average overall mass per cigarette.
The print detector, metal detector, leak detector and loose-end
detector also provide their respective information signals to the
comparator 100 where they are each compared to an appropriate
reference from the standards circuit 102 to derive and hold a
reject or accept category signal on a respective output line 78 to
82.
In accordance with the present embodiment of the invention, each of
the detectors is located a different predetermined number of
article intervals (being particularly cigarette intervals in the
present example) from a reference point which may be taken as any
location along the paths to the rejection station 64. Although the
reference point may be taken at any location along the paths, in
the present example, for the sake of simplicity the reference point
is taken to be at the first sensing station 30. Thus, in accordance
with the previously described principles of the present invention,
the first sensing station 30 is located at zero cigarette intervals
from the reference point. Then, for a given or prescribed path, the
second or print-sensing station 36 will be located a second
predetermined number of cigarette intervals from the first sensing
station 30, the third or metal-sensing station 44 will be located a
third predetermined number of cigarette intervals from the first
sensing station 30, and so on, to the fifth or loose-end sensing
station 62 located downstream from the other sensing stations which
is at a fifth predetermined number of cigarette intervals from the
first sensing station 30. The rejection station 64 will then be
located downstream from the loose-end sensing station 62 at a sixth
predetermined number of cigarette intervals from the first sensing
station 30 along the prescribed paths.
It should be noted here that since the path lengths are different
for the A and B cigarettes, the distance, in cigarette intervals,
from the loose-end detector to the reference point at the first
sensing station 30 will differ depending on whether the A cigarette
path or the B cigarette path is followed. Likewise, the distances
between the rejection station 64 and the references point will
differ depending on whether the A cigarette or B cigarette path is
followed. Thus, in the present example, any sensing or operating
stations located after the cigarettes are separated into plural
paths which do not have a one-to-one phase correspondence of
article intervals will have associated therewith more than one
distance, in article intervals, from the reference point. Since the
B cigarettes are recombined alternately between the A cigarettes,
the alternate distances of the station 62 from the reference point
will differ by an even number. This will likewise be true for the
alternate distances of the reject station 64 from the reference
point.
Referring to FIG. 2, an N state counter 108 responds to the
cigarette interval timing pulses on line 84 which are synchronized
with the cutter 38 and with the movement of the cigarettes
throughout the process to present one pulse for each cigarette
interval movement. In response to the timing pulses on line 84, the
counter 108 counts each cigarette interval movement in a register
and provides a count signal output 110 which is indicative of the
number registered in the counter. An addressable N word
nondestructive memory 112 having N memory cells (i.e., one bit per
word) has input means shown symbolically as input line 114 through
which signals may be written into the memory cells for storage,
output means symbolically illustrated as output line 116 through
which the stored signals may be read out, and address selection
means, illustrated symbolically by line 118, for addressing, i.e.,
selecting, the cells into which the signals at the input 114 are
written and from which the stored signals are read at the output
116.
A write strobe signal is fed from the multiplexer 104 to the memory
112 via line 115 to enable or gate the memory so that the signal at
the input 114 will be written into the addressed cell. It is, of
course, understood that, depending on the type and characteristics
of the memory employed in any particular construction, the
utilization of such a write strobe signal may not be necessary.
Programmed addressing means, illustrated as the address constant
selection array 120, provides a sensing station signal or constant
corresponding to each respective predetermined number of cigarette
intervals that each sensing station is from the reference point for
a particular path. The address constant selection array also
provides an operating station address signal or constant
corresponding to the particular predetermined number of article
intervals that the operating station is from the reference station
along a prescribed path.
The respective sensing station address signals and the operating
station address signal are generated from a preprogrammed diode
array in response to control signals applied to the address
constant selection array 120 from the control pulse generator 106,
and these signals are fed to arithmetic combining means illustrated
as the address subtractor 122 which also receives the count signal
from the counter 108. During each cigarette interval movement and
in response to respective control pulses, the address subtractor
122 successively subtracts each respective sensing station address
constant and the operating station address constant from the
registered count signal. The address subtractor provides via line
118 to the memory address selection means respective writing memory
address signals corresponding to the difference between the number
registered in the counter 108 and the respective predetermined
numbers of cigarette intervals that the sensing stations are from
the reference point, and also provides a reading memory address
signal corresponding to the difference between the same number
registered in the counter 108 and the number of cigarette intervals
that the operating station is from the reference point.
Cyclic switching means, including the input data multiplexer 104
and the control pulse generator 106, are responsive to the
cigarette interval timing pulses on line 84 to provide, as
previously indicated, a plurality of sensing control signals and a
reading control signal which are applied successively in a
predetermined sequence to the address constant selection array 120,
and these sensing control signals are also applied to the input
data multiplexer 104 to synchronously interrogate the category
signals on the multiplexer input lines 78 through 82 and apply any
reject category signal which may be present to the input 114 of the
memory 112 during the application of respective writing memory
address signals from the address subtractor 122. The control pulse
generator 106 also supplies a read signal via a line 124 to the
memory 112 during the application of the reading memory address
signal to apply the respective stored signal from the memory output
of line 116 to a reject mechanism controller 126. The controller
126 operates the reject mechanism after a short delay to avoid the
undesired effects of system transients by having a delayed read
strobe pulse applied from the control pulse generator 106 via a
line 128.
The input data multiplexer 104 also includes means, to be described
hereinafter, which are coupled to the memory 112 and are responsive
to the control pulse generator 106 for clearing each respective
memory cell (1) no earlier than the reading of the stored signal
therefrom on line 116, (2) no later than the writing of the next
reject category signal therein, and (3) no later than during the
application to the memory 112 of the respective cell's writing
memory address first occurring after the reading of the stored
signal on line 116. In the illustrated example, the clearing of a
memory cell is accomplished by the first control pulse of a cycle
from generator 106, which pulse is associated with the first
sensing station address and the multiplexing of the category signal
from the beta gauge 32 at the first sensing station 30. A detailed
discussion of this clearing operation will be presented
hereinafter.
Referring now to FIG. 3 there is shown a preferred logic
implementation of the system of FIG. 2. In particular, the
cigarette interval timing pulses on line 84 are supplied to the
control pulse generator 106, to the N state counter 108, and to an
alternating switching circuit 130 of any suitable type. The
alternating switching circuit 130 alternately pulses the A and B
output terminals 132 and 134 with each successive interval timing
pulse on line 84 so that the A output pulses correspond to A
cigarettes and the B pulses correspond to B cigarettes. Since the
interval timing pulses are synchronized with cutter 38, and all of
the various conveyors, this alternate pulse relationship with the A
and B cigarettes will hold true throughout the manufacturing
process from the initial cigarette rod at the first sensing station
30 to the reject station 64.
The counter 108, as previously indicated, registers a count for
each cigarette interval timing pulse, and thus accumulates the
count of the cigarette interval movements up to its maximum state
N; after which it begins again from zero.
At the control pulse generator, the interval timing pulses are fed
to the set terminal of a flip-flop circuit 136 through an inverter
138. The output of the flip-flop at 140 is applied to the K
terminal of a J-K flip-flop 142. A free-running oscillator 144,
which may be a conventional astable multivibrator, supplies a
relatively high-frequency pulse train to the T terminal of the J-K
flip-flop 142 and to one input of NAND-gate 146. The other input of
the NAND-gate 146 is connected to the Q output terminal of the J-K
flip-flop 142. The J terminal of the flip-flop 142 is connected
directly to ground. Consequently, upon the occurrence of the
interval timing pulse on line 84, the NAND-gate 146 is enabled by
the J-K flip-flop 142 so as to apply the pulse train from the
oscillator 144 on the NAND-gate output line 148. The pulse train on
line 148 is fed to a circuit 150 comprising a conventional binary
counter coupled to a binary-to-decimal decoder which provides
control signals in the form of sequential pulses on each of the
eight output channels, O through 7. That is, in synchronism with
the pulse train on lead 148, successive pulses will appear on each
of the eight output channels of the counter and decoder circuit
150. Thus, at a first time in the cycle a pulse will appear on
channel 0 to provide a control signal S.sub.O on line 152.
Thereafter, at a second time in the cycle, a pulse will appear on
channel 1 to provide a control signal S.sub.1 on line 153.
Thereafter, a third control signal pulse S.sub.2 will appear on
line 154, and so on, for signals S.sub.3, S.sub.4, S.sub.5, and
S.sub.6, on respective lines 155 through 158. Each of these output
pulses from the counter and decoder 150, as well as the output
pulse from the last channel, are inverted by respective inverters
serially connected in each respective line to provide the
appropriate logical state for proper functioning in the system.
The last control pulse S.sub.7 of a sequence or cycle is fed back
to an input of a NAND-gate 160 which also receives at its other
input delayed signals which are generated by a delay circuit 162 in
response to the pulse train on lead 148. The delay circuit 162 may
be a conventional monostable multivibrator. The combined signals
from the delay circuit 162 and channel 7 of circuit 150 cause the
output of the NAND-gate 160 to reset the flip-flop 136 and the J-K
flip-flop 142, the latter of which disables the NAND-gate 146,
holding the output on lead 148 at a constant level.
The control signals S.sub.0 through S.sub.7 are utilized to perform
two functions in the system. First, these control signals are used
to transfer the appropriate address constants preprogrammed in the
diode array 120 to the address subtractor 122, the address
constants corresponding respectively to the distance in cigarette
lengths of each of the stations from the reference point. Second,
the control signals S.sub.0 through S.sub.6 are fed to the input
data multiplexer 104 to interrogate or strobe each of the category
signals on respective input leads 78 through 82, and the control
signal S.sub.7 is used to actuate a strobe signal for reading out
the memory to the reject device at the last station. Since the same
control signals are utilized for both of these functions, they are
necessarily in synchronism, and each address signal which is
applied to the memory 112 will be appropriately timed to each
respective category signal being interrogated.
Turning first to the control of the address constant selection
array 120, this array comprises a diode matrix having a plurality
of input terminal pairs 164a and b, through 167a and b, a plurality
of single input terminals 168 through 170, and a plurality of
output terminals 171 through 179. Respective diodes are connected
between each input terminal and respective output terminals in
accordance with the respective predetermined number of article
intervals, or delays, between the reference point or station and
each of the other stations, including both the sensing stations and
the operating station, for each prescribed path between the first
and last stations. Thus, upon application of a respective control
signal S.sub.0 through S.sub.7 to a respective input terminal, the
preprogrammed address constant for the respective stations will
appear as a parallel 9-bit output signal on the output terminals
connected through the diodes to the respective input terminal. The
diodes are poled in a manner to prevent the signal on one input
terminal from affecting the normal level on the others. In the
present embodiment, the output signals for the respective address
constants for each station equals the number (in binary form) of
cigarette intervals delay between the reference point and each
respective station for either the A or B cigarette paths.
More particularly, four of the inputs are paired, as indicated by
the a and b designations so that the system may be utilized with
four stations positioned downstream of a plural path arrangement
such as is shown in FIG. 1 for the A and B cigarettes. However, in
the FIG. 1 arrangement, only two stations, i.e., the loose-end
station 62 and the reject station 64, would require such paired
inputs to determine the proper station address. Since the system
illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 is adapted to be used with various
layouts and additional sensing stations other than depicted in FIG.
1, two additional path inputs are provided. The alternate path
inputs for the control signals each comprise pairs of NAND-gates
182a and 182b, through 185a and 185b, each of which receives an
input from a respective control signal, S.sub.4 through S.sub.),
and a second signal from either the A terminal 132 or the B
terminal 134 of the alternate switching circuit 130. Consequently
for each A cigarette the a NAND gates are enabled, and for each B
cigarette, the b NAND gates are enabled, so as to apply the control
signal to the proper input terminal of the array having the
necessary preprogrammed offset or delay occasioned by the alternate
path.
In practice, the diode array 120 is preferably in the form of a
plug-in card having a diode connected at every matrix point. Then,
for any particular sensing station and operating station layout as
may be desired for any particular machine or production line, the
appropriate diodes may be removed (or merely their circuit
connections broken) to provide the respective station address
constants at the 9-bit parallel binary output, which may be the
exact number of cigarette intervals between each respective sensing
station and the reference point, as previously indicated.
The address constant selection array 120 also includes an inverter,
as shown, in each of the nine output terminal lines 171 through 179
to provide the appropriate logic levels for the system. These
inverters may or may not be a physical part of the plug-in card
itself, as desired. Each of the parallel output address constant
signals is fed to a set of parallel inverters 190 which produces
the one's complement of the 9-bit signal by inversion of each bit.
The one's complement of each address constant is then fed to a full
adder 192 which adds a 1 to the one's complement to produce the
two's complement of the respective address constants. The added
binary 1 is a carry-in supplied by a constant level voltage source
194. The adder 192 also receives the registered count from the N
state counter 108 as a 9-bit parallel binary signal. Using two's
complement binary arithmetic, and adding, the adder 192 effectively
subtracts the difference between the registered count on the
counter 108 and the output of the address constant selection array
120, since the sum of the two's complement of a binary number and
another binary number equals the difference between the numbers,
provided any carryout is ignored.
Thus, the output of the adder 192 will be the appropriate memory
address for each cigarette interval movement, and will be a binary
number equal to the state of the counter minus the respective
cigarette interval delay. The output of the adder 192 is a 9-bit
parallel binary signal (y.sub.0 through y.sub.8) which is fed to
the corresponding terminals of the memory 112 as shown in FIG.
4.
Turning to the other function of the control signals S.sub.0
through S.sub.6 on leads 152 through 158, these leads are coupled,
as shown in FIG. 4, to one input of respective NAND-gates 200
through 206 of the input data multiplexer 104. The category signals
on input leads 78 through 82 are also applied to the input data
multiplexer 104. The category signal input lead 78 is applied
through an inverter 208 to one input of NAND-gate 210, the other
input of which is coupled to the S.sub.0 control signal input line
152 at the control signal input of the NAND-gate 200. The output of
NAND-gate 210 is coupled to an inverter 212, through an
intermediate inverter 213, and thence to the input means
corresponding generally to line 114 of FIG. 2 of the memory 112.
The other category signals on respective leads 79 through 82 are
applied to an additional input of respective NAND-gates 201 through
204. The remaining NAND-gates 205 and 206 will not be utilized in
the implementation of the specific layout illustrated in FIG. 1
since there are only five sensing stations, and thus an additional
two stations could be handled by the system of FIGS. 3 and 4.
A delayed enable signal on line 215 is applied in parallel to each
of the NAND-gates 200 through 206 to control the precise time for
writing information into the memory 112 to assure sufficient time
for address selection of the memory cell into which the information
may be written by the output from the adder 192 fed to the address
input 118. This also prevents errors which might be otherwise
caused by system transients. The delayed enable signal is derived
from the control pulse generator 106 and, particularly from the
output of the delay circuit 162 (FIG. 3).
Consequently, as each respective address selection signal is
applied to the memory 112 at memory address input 118, each of the
category signals on lines 78 through 82 are interrogated by the
successive control pulses S.sub.0 through S.sub.4 at times within
the duration of each respective sensing address selection signal.
For the information signal from the cigarette at the first sensing
station 30, the cigarette weight accept/reject information is
received on line 78 as a logical 1 for reject and a logical 0 for
an accept. This category signal information on line 78 includes
both the segment category information and the overall cigarette
category information which may be merged in the comparator 100 to
obtain the resulting weight classification information on line 78.
Alternatively, a separate line may be brought for the segment
category information from the comparator 100 to a further input of
the NAND-gate 210 through a suitable inverter.
For the normal condition of this circuit, the output of the
inverter 212 supplies a logical 1 or reject signal to the memory
112 which is not written into the addressed cell until a suitable
write strobe signal is applied to the inverter 216. The inverter
216 applies a signal on line 115 via inverter 217. Thus, upon the
occurrence of the control signal S.sub.0 and the delayed enable
which is the first control signal during a cigarette interval
cycle, the output of the NAND-circuit 200 will always change its
state and apply the appropriate write strobe signal to the memory
112. At the same time, the control signal S.sub.0 is also applied
to the gate 210, and if the weight classification signal on line 78
is a logical 0 or accept, the output of inverter 212 will change
from its normal logical 1 to a logical 0 and an accept will be
written into an addressed memory cell. This portion of the circuit
performs the clear function and clears the respective memory cell
regardless of the category signal on line 78, while also writing
reject category signals into the respective cell if such a signal
is present on line 78 during the occurrence of the control signal
S.sub.0. For example, if that particular cell had previously been
in a 1 or reject state, this logical 0 signal will clear the cell
by writing a 0 or accept signal therein. On the other hand, if the
weight classification category signal on line 78 is a logical 1 or
reject, the inverter 212 writes a 1 or reject signal into the
memory with the write strobe signal on line 115. If that memory
cell was previously in its 1 or reject state, it would remain in
that state, but in any event would be considered cleared of
previous information. This manner of clearing is advantageous in
that it does not require any additional lines or sequential control
pulses, but other techniques for clearing may be alternatively used
so long as they clear each respective memory cell no earlier than
the occurrence of the read strobe signal on line 218 and no later
than the writing of the next category signal into this cell. Also,
the clear must be performed no later than during the application of
the respective cell's writing address signal first occurring after
the previous read strobe signal.
On the occurrence of the control signal S.sub.1 and the delayed
enable signal, the output of the inverter 212 will be in its normal
reject state regardless of the signal on line 78 at this time,
since control signal S.sub.0 is no longer present at the input to
the gate 210. Meanwhile, if the category signal on line 79 is in
its accept state, no write strobe signal will be produced from the
inverter 216, and the respective memory cell remains in the state
determined by the category signal previously written in. On the
other hand, if the category signal on line 79 is a reject signal, a
write strobe signal will be produced from the inverter 217 which
will cause the normally present reject signal on line 114 to be
read into this particular addressed memory cell. Likewise, a
category signal on any of the other lines 80 through 82 will have
no effect unless the appropriate control signal S.sub.2 through
S.sub.4 is also applied (with the delayed enable signal), and a
write strobe signal will be produced only in response to a reject
category signal occurring with its respective control signal,
causing the normally present reject signal on line 114 to be read
into the respective cell. Since the memory 112 employs a write
strobe signal on line 115 to write in reject signals on line 114,
both of these lines together comprise category information input
means to the memory 112.
After all of the sequential control signal pulses S.sub.0 through
S.sub.6 have occurred during the period of a cigarette interval
movement, the last or "read" control signal S.sub.7 of the
sequence, or cycle, occurs and, as shown in FIG. 3, is applied to
the gate 160 which, together with the output from the delay circuit
162, causes the gate to supply a read strobe signal through the
inverter 220 on lead 218 at the same time that the flip-flops 136
and 142 are reset by the output of the gate 160. The read strobe
signal on line 218 is applied to the read strobe input of the
memory 112 through an inverter, if required by the particular
construction of the memory. Upon the application of the read strobe
signal to the memory, the output of the respective cell being
addressed, always corresponding to the address of the cigarette in
the rejection station, will be read out at the output terminal 116.
If, as will generally be the case, the addressed cell has an accept
status, than a logical 0 will be read out of the cell.
On the other hand, if the cell is in its reject or logical 1 state,
a 1 will be read out of the cell and the output voltage
corresponding to the memory cell level will be amplified by an
amplifier 222. The output from the amplifier 222 sets a memory
flip-flop 224 which retains this set state until it is reset by a
reset pulse on line 225 from inverter 138 (FIG. 3) in response to
each new cigarette interval timing pulse occurring after a read
strobe pulse.
The two outputs from the memory flip-flop 224 are fed through a
reject/accept mode gating arrangement 226, which may be employed to
change the normal mode of operation from ejection of only reject
category cigarettes to a mode of operation wherein only accept
category cigarettes are ejected by the reject mechanism 66.
Normally, a logical 0 signal from an external source will be
applied to the mode selection line 228 for the normal reject mode
of operation. However, when a logical 1 signal is applied on the
mode select line 228, the output at the pair of mode select
NAND-gates 226 will cause the opposite mode of operation. This
alternate mode may be used for testing, as to manually obtain a
segregated sample of the cigarettes which are being classified by
the system in the accept category. An inverter interconnects the
NAND gate inputs not coupled to the flip-flop 224 to achieve this
selectively controlled operation.
Assuming that the mode selector 226 is in its normal reject mode, a
reject signal at the output 116 will cause a "reject" lamp 230 to
be illuminated via an inverter 232 and a gate 234. Also, the output
from inverter 232 will be fed to one input of a NAND-gate 236, this
gate being normally enabled by the output of flip-flop 238
connected to the other input of the gate 236. The output from the
gate 236 actuates a gated pulse generator 240 which controls the
duration of the reject air blast by providing an output pulse of
adjustable length to a further gate 242 upon receipt of a delayed
read strobe signal on line 244. The delayed read strobe signal is
generated, as shown in FIG. 3, from the output of the inverter 220
which is delayed by a delay circuit 246. Since both the read strobe
and the delayed read strobe signals are derived from the output of
the inverter 220, the delay circuit 246 will determine the precise
time delay between these two signals. After the occurrence of the
delayed read strobe signal, the output of the gate 242 applies an
actuating signal to the valve driver of the fluid amplifier reject
mechanism 66 to cause a sharp blast of air to eject the cigarette
at the rejection station.
The state of the flip-flop 238 is controlled by a switch 260 which
applies a ground voltage (or 0) to either the set or reset
terminals of the flip-flop to maintain the reject mechanism in
either the normal inspection and rejection mode of operation, or in
a mode where the reject mechanism 66 does not operate, as indicated
by the two positions on the switch. With the switch in the "out"
position, the flip-flop 238 disables the gate 236 so that even
though reject signals are read out from the memory 112 at output
116 and a delayed read strobe pulse is produced on line 244, the
reject mechanism will not operate. On the other hand, when the
switch 260 is in the "in" position, the flip-flop 238 will enable
the gate 236 and will also supply a signal to one input of each of
the gates 262 and 264. A second input is supplied to each of these
gates from an inverter 268 which, in normal operation, causes lamp
270 to be illuminated indicating that the system is in the normal
inspection-rejection mode. Similarly, the gate 262 through an
inverter 272 energizes a driver circuit 274 which may be employed
to energize a suitable annunciator displayed on a control panel or
elsewhere.
The inverter 268 receives an input signal from NAND-gate 280 which
is utilized in conjunction with certain test and diagnostic signals
which are employed to operate the system in various test and
diagnostic modes. For example, appropriate input signals may be
applied at the input terminals 282 and 284 to the gate 280 which
result in the disablement of the lamp and annunciator controlled by
gates 264 and 262 to indicate that the system is not in the normal
inspection and rejection mode. The signal which may be applied on
terminal 284 disables gate 242 and the reject mechanism for manual,
rather than automatic, operation of the cigarette machine when the
servo control systems are not in operation. An additional flip-flop
circuit 286 having set and reset inputs 288 and 290 may be utilized
for selectively supplying a suitable signal to an additional input
292 of the delay circuit 240, so that the reject mechanism 66 may
be operated in some predetermined test modes, such as for rejecting
every other cigarette, etc., by applying appropriate signals to the
terminals 288 and 290.
Thus, a classifier system has been described employing a read/write
memory which has a number of memory cells at least equal to the
number of cigarettes in the delay path between the first sensing
station and the ultimate rejection station. The input and output
controls of the memory are achieved by the use of a cyclic
switching means which operates a memory address control and an
input data multiplexer which is thus maintained in synchronism with
the memory address control. The memory address control includes
preprogrammed station address constants, a counter and a
subtractor, and the counter preferably has as many states as cells
in the memory so that if there are N memory cells the counter
registers N states before it recycles. With the binary circuitry
employed in he illustrated embodiment, the subtractor
advantageously performs subtraction of the constants from the count
on the counter register by using two's complement binary
arithmetic. That is, inverting the binary constants to obtain the
one's complement, adding one to obtain the two's complement, and
adding this sum to the registered count.
Each time a cigarette moves through one cigarette interval, the
counter is incremented by one state. Then within the time period of
this cigarette interval the weight accept/reject information is
stored in the memory at the cell address corresponding to the state
of the counter (assuming that this station is taken as the
reference point for the system). The category signals for the other
sensing stations are then sequentially interrogated, and a reject
category signal is written in the memory cell corresponding to the
present counter state minus the number of cigarettes delay existing
between the reference point and each of the respective stations in
sequence. Thus, this operation logically "OR's" all classification
information for a given cigarette from all sensors into one memory
cell as the cigarette reaches each respective station in turn.
Then, the accept/reject information is read from the memory cell
corresponding to the present counter state minus the number of
cigarettes delay between the reference point and the operating
station, and if there are two different delays, such as for
successive A and B of a pair, a suitable alternate delay or offset
is subtracted, depending on whether the cigarette in the operating
station is an A or B cigarette.
In a particular construction of an apparatus embodying the
principles of the present invention, a 512-bit memory was employed
to accommodate a weight classification sensor and six optional
additional sensors located any place on the line before the reject
mechanism. The memory address signal or 9-bit word is obtained, in
the manner previously described, by adding 9 bits from the counter
to 9 bits from the diode array and a carry-in. The counter can be
in any binary state 0 through 511, and the diode array output can
also vary between 0 and 511. As a specific example of an
application of such apparatus, assume that the reference point is
at the first sensing station, which may be taken as the weight
classification station, and that for A cigarettes the rejection
station is located 437 cigarette intervals downstream from the
weight classification station. Referring to the address constant
selection diode array 120 in FIG. 3, no diodes would be connected
for the weight classification station address constant (since it is
zero predetermined intervals from the reference), and this is
equivalent to having all logical 0's on the output lines 171
through 179 from the diode array. Therefore, there are all logical
1's on the respective output lines from the set of inverters 190.
When the 1 carry-in is added to the least significant bit of the
inverted output, the sum is zero since the carryout 1 bit is
ignored in reading out only 9 bits. Thus, the first memory address
from the adder 192 is simply the contents of the counter 108.
The memory address is modified for each of the other stations by
arranging the diode array 120 so that the number to be subtracted
from the counter contents is the binary representation of the
number of cigarette intervals from the reference point to the
station. This is accomplished by providing a diode wherever there
is a 1-bit in the binary representation of the address constant.
Thus, if we consider the reject mechanism, at 437 cigarette
intervals away from the weight classification in our example, then
in the state of the system corresponding to the occurrence of the
control signal S.sub.7, the number 437 should be subtracted from
the counter state to obtain the memory address. To do this, the
binary equivalent of 437 is obtained. This number to the base 2 is
110110101. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, diodes are placed in the 1, 4,
16, 32, 128, and 256 places of the diode array 120 from input
terminal 164a to each respective output terminal, the output
terminals going from the least to the most significant bit from the
bottom to top as illustrated.
Also shown, are the diode connections for the alternate path for B
cigarettes, the diodes being connected from input terminal 164b to
the respective output terminals. In this example, it is assumed
that there is a 10-cigarette interval difference between the B and
A cigarette paths with the B path 10 intervals longer. Thus, with
respect to B cigarettes, the rejection station is 447-cigarette
intervals from the weight classification station. The number 447 to
the base 2 is 110111111. Referring to the input terminal 164b, it
can be seen that a diode is present for each of the places except
for the 64 place, which is zero, and no diode is there
employed.
Any other delay can be programmed in the same manner, and it is
necessary only to know in which state of the cyclic switching means
it is desired to have the memory modified, and the distance from
the respective station to the reference point.
Although in the present embodiment the control signals from the
cyclic switching means followed a predetermined sequence
corresponding to the order of the stations along the production
line, this does not necessarily have to be the case, and these
control signals may bear a "scrambled" relation to the actual order
of the sensing stations. Likewise, although the last of such
sequence control signals provided the read strobe signal, other
alternative timing arrangements may be employed. Furthermore,
although a particular type of nondestructive type of memory has
been disclosed, other types of memory may alternatively be
employed. However, the memory of the illustrated embodiment may
conveniently be constructed by employing commercially available
64-bit static random access memory circuits in the form of MOS
integrated circuits, such as the Fairchild number 3530, to form a
multichip memory in a well known manner. Additionally a suitable
counter may be coupled to the output of the memory to provide an
indication of the total number of rejects regardless of the
operating state of the reject mechanism. The delay circuits in the
illustrated embodiment may conveniently comprise retriggerable
monostable multivibrators, such as the Fairchild TT.mu.L9601.
Although particular logic circuits principally utilizing NAND gates
have been herein illustrated and described for implementation of
the present embodiment of the invention, it is of course understood
that many other equivalent logic configurations, utilizing other
types of logic gates as well as NAND gates, may be alternatively
employed. These and other modifications of the various aspects of
the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art;
and thus, the scope of the invention should be defined only by the
appended claims, and equivalents thereof.
Various features of the invention are set forth in the following
claims.
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