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Patent No. 5678617

Method and apparatus for making a drink hop along a bar or counter

A method for generating a drink which appears to hop from a remote spot on the bar or counter and take one or more leaps, before landing in a patron's glass.

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Class 209/536 - Sensing radiant energy reflected, absorbed, emitted, or obstructed by item or adjunct thereof


Subclass of Class 209 - Classifying, separating, and assorting solids
Definition: Methods and apparatus including means utilizing radiant
No. of patents: 66
Last issue date: 04/22/2008


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NumberTitleIssue Date
7360348Method for controlling manufacture of a sheet material
A sorting and conveying line provided at an X-ray film cutting and collection operation includes a defective sheet gate, a collection gate and a sample gate for sorting X-ray film sheets, which have been cut to a predetermined size at a cutting section, while the X-...
04/22/2008
7326939Method and device for quality controlling packets
A method and device for quality controlling packets of cigarettes, whereby, as a packet is fed, in use, through a quality control station, an optical detecting unit acquires data relative to given portions of the packet, which portions are coated with material optic...
02/05/2008
7278328Method and apparatus for handling sample holders
A sample handling apparatus identifies sample holders and their location in a sample holder carrier. This information may be used to determine the identity of sample holders based only on location in the carrier during subsequent processing of material contained in ...
10/09/2007
7163098Variable-capacity FIFO store with an expulsion station
A variable-capacity FIFO store having a powered endless conveyor belt defining a conveying branch for transferring a mass of articles from an input station to an output station, and a return branch extending from the output station to the input station; and an adjus...
01/16/2007
7107741Method and apparatus for selecting and feeding articles
According to a method for selecting and feeding articles to blisters or containers, a first hopper filled with unselected articles feeds a second main hopper with selected size-matching articles, by means of a tapered inlet section. Size non-matching articles get ja...
09/19/2006
7059478Method and a device for the rejection of commodities
A cigarette packer (1) incorporates a station at which cigarettes (2) are formed into groups (12) and from which the groups (12) are advanced by a first conveyor (13) along a first feed path (P) toward a wrapping station (16...
06/13/2006
6763838Device for detecting a filling density of filler forming a rod-shaped article
A device for detecting a shredded tobacco filling density in a tobacco rod includes four light sources (18, 20, 22 and 24) arranged separately from one another at an angle of 45° around a tobacco rod (T) and causing infrared rays to enter the tobacco ...
07/20/2004
6637598Foreign substance eliminating apparatus
A foreign substance eliminating apparatus transfers raw material by passing the raw material between an upstream conveyor (6) and a downstream conveyor (8), and detects a foreign substance on the upstream transfer conveyor with a foreign substance detecto...
10/28/2003
6603135Method of detecting the position of stacks of blanks for supply to a cigarette packing machine
A method of detecting the positions occupied on a pallet by stacks of blanks arranged on the pallet in a number of superimposed layers and, in each layer, in a number of side by side rows, to enable automatic pickup of each stack and supply of the stack t...
08/05/2003
6446632Process and apparatus for detecting and eliminating defective and/or incorrectly positioned cigarettes
A process and an apparatus for detecting and eliminating, defective and/or incorrectly positioned, in particular transversely located, cigarettes in the cigarette magazine of a cigarette-production and/or a cigarette-packaging machine. Thus, the avoidance...
09/10/2002
6407807Method and apparatus for testing cigarette heads
The invention relates to a method for testing cigarette heads, at least one region of a cigarette head being irradiated with light, and light reflected by the cigarette head being received by a detector in such a way that irradiating and received reflecte...
06/18/2002
6394097Device and method for inspecting filter rod for cigarette
A device for executing an inspection method of a filter rod for cigarettes includes an inspection drum (6), and the inspection drum (6) has plural pickup grooves (8) for receiving one filter rod (F) each in its outer periphery. The filter rod (F) in each ...
05/28/2002
6396017Method of and apparatus for monitoring the outlines of finished containers
Successive packets of cigarettes or the like are monitored to ascertain the integrity or absence of integrity of their outer envelopes by conveying them across at least one curtain of radiation so that a packet having an improperly glued flap or tuck or l...
05/28/2002
6384359Inspection system
An inspection system detects the presence or absence of desired components of an assembled cigarette after tipping paper has been applied to join a multi-component filter to a tobacco rod. A transport moves the assembled cigarettes having multi-component ...
05/07/2002
6088111Selection and control device for bars and relative method
Selection and control device to count bars being fed separated orthogonally to their axis on a plane and cooperating with a translating device such as a screw-type translator, the device including two optical monitors and a processing unit, the optical mo...
07/11/2000
6075882System and method for optically inspecting cigarettes by detecting the lengths of cigarette sections
An inspection station irradiates a moving cigarette with a one or more strobed arrays of infrared LEDs. The infrared radiation which passes through the cigarette is received by a video camera, which forms a digital image of the cigarette. A computer then ...
06/13/2000
6070592Filter assembly machine for producing ventilated tobacco products
A filter assembly machine for producing ventilated tobacco products; the machine having a conveying drum in turn having a number of peripheral seats for successively feeding the products along a given path extending about an axis of the drum; the products...
06/06/2000
6054665Apparatus for checking (cigarette) packs
Following a process or handling apparatus, in particular following a drying turret (11), (cigarette) packs (10) are transported along a horizontal conveying section. The latter has a checking section (30). In the region of this checking section, the camer...
04/25/2000
5877506Method and device for monitoring blanks or revenue seals for cigarette packages
With rapidly-operating packaging machines for cigarette packages, monitoring of blanks is becoming increasingly necessary, such a system supervising the feed of correct blanks in the correct relative position. The same applies to monitoring systems for re...
03/02/1999
5715843Method of and apparatus for measuring the diameters of rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry
The diameters of successive rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry are ascertained while the articles advance sideways at the periphery of a rotary drum-shaped conveyor and are rotated about their longitudinal axes as a result of frictiona...
02/10/1998
5695070Unit for sampling and quality controlling tobacco items, particularly cigarettes
A unit for sampling and quality controlling tobacco items, in particular cigarettes, wherein a sample item, fed by a first conveyor along a first given path, is transferred automatically by a selectively operated spoon-shaped diverter along a second path ...
12/09/1997
5664026Product optical control method
A method of optically controlling products consisting, for example, of blanks whereby a succession of blanks fed along a conveyor to a user machine is controlled by an analog sensor for scanning the surface of each blank along a given line, and developing...
09/02/1997
5505215Method and device for position controlling cigarette filter paper
A cigarette, with a cigarette paper and a filter paper of different colors and separated by a boundary line with a given nominal position, is fed past a pair of optical sensors located on either side of the nominal position of the boundary line. The optic...
04/09/1996
5406376Apparatus for testing end portions of rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry
Apparatus for testing the end portions of cigarettes to detect end portions containing insufficient quantities of tobacco has a conveyor which transports the cigarettes sideways past at least two testing stations each of which accommodates a discrete capa...
04/11/1995
5404023Detection device, particularly for surface checking cigarettes
Cigarettes on a conveyor are surface checked, in at least one observation station, by means of at least one optical unit having a light source for directing light rays on to one half of the outer surface of the cigarette, and a pair of prismatic bodies fa...
04/04/1995
5392359Apparatus for inspecting appearance of cylindrical objects
An apparatus for automatically inspecting abnormalities in the external surface of cylindrical objects. The apparatus inspects the appearance of a cylindrical object using image processing. The apparatus includes a transporter and a CCD camera. The transp...
02/21/1995
5301011Method of and apparatus for ascertaining the diameters of rod-shaped articles
The diameters of rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry are ascertained while the articles are transported past a measuring station in the flutes of a drum-shaped conveyor moving along a range finder which measures the distance of each art...
04/05/1994
5275295Sortation system for recovering tobacco from cigarette packs
A sortation system for separating products such as returned cigarette packs. A conveyor system moves the products in a predetermined orientation and minimum spacing past a bar code reader. A turnstile device contains a plurality of diverting bars which ar...
01/04/1994
5264700Method for telecamera-checking products wrapped with transparent material
A method for telecamera-checking of products (1) wrapped with transparent material, in particular packets of cigarettes, in which a product (1) wrapped with transparent material is illuminated by an ultraviolet lamp (6) and is scanned by a telecamera (4),...
11/23/1993
5240117Method and apparatus for electro-optically scanning (cigarette) packs
Disclosed is a method and apparatus for electro-optically scanning (cigarette) packs. For an inspection of (cigarette) packs (10) as regards exterior appearance, electro-optical inspection means, particularly a camera (48) and a mirror (49) are used to pr...
08/31/1993
5235649Cigarette inspection method
Method for determining when a cigarette in a bundle is unsuitable which uses a statistical value based on gray scales....
08/10/1993
5224811Restraining device for a hopper
Cigarettes are restrained by arresting a cigarette oriented askew relative to the other cigarettes flowing into a hopper before that cigarette blocks the distribution channels of the hopper, thus stopping the manufacturing process. An arrested cigarette i...
07/06/1993
5024333Cigarette segregating apparatus
Single cigarette rejection, particularly in a passage (10) between vanes (12) in a cigarette packing machine hopper, is performed by axial ejection of faulty cigarettes using suction generated by exhausting high pressure air adjacent an ejection aperture ...
06/18/1991
5013905Method of electro-optically inspecting cigarettes
A method of electro-optically inspecting cigarettes, whereby the cigarettes are fed along a route defined by two counter-rotating conveyors, each having substantially cylindrical peripheral seats designed to cooperate with opposite halves of the lateral o...
05/07/1991
5009322Process and apparatus for checking/separating out cigarettes
In the checking of cigarettes, there is the problem that, for contactless measurement, they have had to be guided at an exactly defined distance from the sensor. It is proposed to measure the distance from the two axial end faces, to form the sum of the d...
04/23/1991
5002072Cigarette manufacture
A cigarette making machine includes one or more conveyor bands (12,14,28) or other parts of non-metallic material from which pieces can break off and become entrained in the tobacco, including means (30,42) for detecting such pieces in the tobacco by dire...
03/26/1991
5000323Cigarette segregating apparatus
Moving cigarettes are inspected, particularly in the passages (10, 30) between the vanes (12, 32) in a cigarette packing machine hopper, by an optical ends inspector (74, 76) which is switched by a position detector (84, 86) responding to passage of indiv...
03/19/1991
4976544Method of inspecting the ends of stacked cigarettes
A method of inspecting the ends of cigarettes stacked, in particular, inside a container, with the ends aligned so as to form two opposite lateral surfaces of the mass formed by the same; whereby the ends of the cigarettes are inspected by means of an ele...
12/11/1990
4962629Apparatus for the testing of cigarettes
An apparatus for the testing of cigarettes. In the packaging of cigarettes, it is necessary to test these for correct formation, especially for a complete filling of tobacco. For this purpose, a testing unit (13) is arranged within a cigarette magazine (10) an...
10/16/1990
4955948Process and apparatus for the checking of cigarettes
For the checking of cigarettes for their correct formation in terms of a sufficient tobacco content, electrooptical test processes have been employed for a relatively long time. The use of these processes has hitherto made it necessary to employ high-perf...
09/11/1990
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