Inventors:
Reinhard Matye - Chalevoix MI
Evard John Heath - Gaylord MI
Assignee:
DCL, Inc. - Charlevoix MI
International Classification:
B65B 100
B65B 104
B65F 900
Abstract:
A centering and loading apparatus for locating the center of a fill opening of a vehicle and loading bulk material into the vehicle through the opening is provided which includes a movable loading spout assembly and a locator assembly which locates the fill opening of the vehicle and is adapted to move the loading spout assembly for centering over the fill opening of the vehicle. The loading spout assembly is supported on a first support and is adapted to move along the longitudinal and lateral horizontal axes of the first support for aligning the loading spout assembly over the fill opening of the vehicle. The locator assembly includes a pair of scanning devices, for example, charge coupled devices, radio frequency sensors, and laser and infrared devices, that detect and scan the fill opening to locate the center of the opening. The locator assembly and loading spout are controlled by a programmable logic controller, which processes the data provided by the scanning devices to calculate the center of the opening. Once the center of the opening is calculated, the controller moves and centers the loading spout assembly over the opening and starts the loading sequence.