1. A vehicle, comprising:
a communications bus having a delay;
an electric motor communicatively coupled to the communications bus, the electric motor configured to transmit an operational frequency of the electric motor to the communications bus;
a radio communicatively coupled to the communications bus; and
an audio amplifier communicatively coupled to the communications bus and further configured to be coupled to the radio via the communications bus, the audio amplifier comprising a filter configured to selectively filter radio signals of the radio based upon the operational frequency of the electric motor and a maximum change in angular velocity of the vehicle over the delay.
2. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising:
a controller communicatively coupled to the radio and the audio amplifier, the controller configured to:
compare a signal strength of the radio signals to a predetermined threshold; and
enable the filter to filter the radio signals when the signal strength of the radio signals is less than or equal to the predetermined threshold.
3. The vehicle of claim 2, further comprising a memory communicatively coupled to the controller, the memory configured to store the predetermined threshold.
4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the maximum change in angular velocity of the vehicle over the delay is based at least in part on a weight of the vehicle.
5. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein the maximum change in angular velocity of the vehicle over the delay is based at least in part on a tire size of the vehicle.
6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the maximum change in angular velocity of the vehicle over the delay is based at least in part on a size of the electric motor.
7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the communications bus is a serial data bus.
8. A method for suppressing interference in a radio of a vehicle, the vehicle including an electric motor and a communications bus having a delay, the method comprising:
receiving an operational frequency of the electric motor;
determining a maximum angular velocity change for the vehicle over the delay; and
filtering, by a filter, radio signals of the radio based upon the operational frequency of the electric motor and the maximum angular velocity change for the vehicle over the delay.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:
comparing a signal strength of a radio signals to a threshold; and
enabling the filter to filter the radio signals when the signal strength is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining further comprises determining the maximum angular velocity change for the vehicle over the delay based at least in part on a weight of the vehicle.
11. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining further comprises determining the maximum angular velocity change for the vehicle over the delay based at least in part on a size of the electric motor.
12. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining further comprises determining the maximum angular velocity change for the vehicle over the delay based at least in part on a size of a tire of the vehicle.
13. A system for suppressing interference in a radio of a vehicle, comprising:
a communications bus having a delay;
a noise source communicatively coupled to the communications bus, the electric motor configured to transmit an operational frequency of the electric motor to the communications bus; and
a filter communicatively coupled to the communications bus and further configured to be coupled to the radio via the communications bus, the filter configured to selectively filter radio signals of the radio based upon the operational frequency of the electric motor and a maximum change in angular velocity of the vehicle over the delay.
14. The system of claim 13, further comprising:
a controller communicatively coupled to the radio and the filter via the communications bus, the controller configured to:
compare a signal strength of the radio signals to a predetermined threshold; and
enable the filter to filter the radio signals when the signal strength of the radio signals is less than or equal to the predetermined threshold.
15. The system of claim 14, further comprising a memory communicatively coupled to the controller, the memory configured to store the predetermined threshold.
16. The system of claim 13, wherein the maximum change in angular velocity of the vehicle over the delay is based at least in part on a weight of the vehicle.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein the maximum change in angular velocity of the vehicle over the delay is based at least in part on a tire size of the vehicle.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the maximum change in angular velocity of the vehicle over the delay is based at least in part on a size of the electric motor.
19. The system of claim 13, wherein the communications bus is a serial data bus.
20. The system of claim 13, wherein the filter implements a notch filter around a harmonic of the operational frequency based upon the maximum change in angular velocity of the vehicle over the delay.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What is claimed is:
1. A carton feeder for receiving and dispensing carton blanks comprising:
a carton magazine for receiving and supporting a stack of carton blanks on the lower edges of the respective blanks with upper edges shifted laterally so the blanks incline at an angle with respect to the vertical;
a reversing station wherein the angle of inclination of the blanks in the stack is reversed to another angle of inclination on the opposite side of the vertical; and
a blank pickoff station for removing a blank from a discharge end of said stack after said angle of blank inclination is reversed.
2. A feeder as in claim 1 wherein the top edges of the blanks in the magazine are inclined forwardly toward said reversing station and wherein the top edges of blanks in the pickoff station are inclined rearwardly toward said reversing station.
3. A feeder as in claim 1 wherein said stack has a first top end defined by the last outer-most carton blank in the stack and a second top end defined by the first outer-most carton in the pickoff station.
4. A feeder as in claim 3 wherein said stack is supplemented by the loading of carton blanks at the first top end and is diminished by feeding of carton blanks from the second top end of the stack at the pickoff station.
5. A feeder as in claim 1 further including three blank conveyors including:
a first blank conveyor for conveying blanks in said magazine at one inclination in a first direction; and
a second conveyor for carrying and moving bottom edges of blanks within said stack at a faster velocity than the top edges of the blanks, thereby separating said blank bottom edges, and inclining the blanks so the blank top edges are disposed rearwardly with respect to the bottom edges; and
a third conveyor for transporting bottom edges of said blanks, the third conveyor receiving blanks whose bottom edges have been separated by said second conveyor and urging said bottom edges together while said top edges remain rearwardly of the bottom edges.
6. A feeder as in claim 5 further including a first prime mover operatively connected to drive a first one of said conveyors;
a first blank sensor oriented to sense top edge blanks at a position in said first direction proximate the engagement of sensed blanks at their bottom edges by said second conveyor, said first sensor operatively connected to signal a first prime mover to drive said first conveyor when no blanks are sensed by said first sensor and to stop said first prime mover and said first conveyor when blanks are sensed by said first sensor.
7. A feeder as in claim 6, including:
a second prime mover operatively connected to a second one of said conveyors;
a second sensor disposed to sense top portions of blanks at a position downstream from said second conveyor, said second sensor operatively connected to said second prime mover to signal said second prime mover to drive said second conveyor when said second sensor does not sense blanks and to stop said second prime mover and said second conveyor when it does sense blanks.
8. A feeder as in claim 7 including:
a third prime mover operatively connected to a third one of said conveyors;
a third sensor oriented to sense bottom portions of blanks at a position proximate a discharge end of said third conveyor, said third sensor operatively coupled to signal said third prime mover to drive said third conveyor when no blanks are sensed by said third sensor and to stop said third prime mover and said third conveyor when blanks are sensed by said third sensor.
9. A feeder as in claim 1 further including a carton gripping member oriented for engaging a bottom portion of a blank in said carton pickoff station and for pulling said blank away from said stack.
10. A stack of carton blanks in a feeder and comprising:
a stack of blanks having a supplemental end at one end of said stack, and a discharge end at another end of said stack,
wherein blanks of both ends are inclined in respective opposite directions toward each other.
11. A stack of blanks as in claim 10 wherein blanks in said stack intermediate said ends have bottom edges spaced apart while top edges of those blanks are oriented more closely together than said bottom edges.
12. A carton feeder comprising:
a magazine section for receiving a stack of carton blanks inclined in one direction at a first angle with respect to the vertical, and a discharge section for discharging from said stack carton blanks inclined at a second angle on the other side of the vertical, wherein the inclination of blanks in said stack is reversed between the loading of blanks into the magazine section and the discharge of blanks from the discharge section.
13. A feeder as in claim 12 including means for reversing said first angle of blank inclination within said stack to said second angle of blank inclination.
14. A feeder as in claim 13 wherein while said blanks in said stack remain in contact with each other respectively, while reversing means reverse their respective angles of inclination.
15. A carton blank magazine and feeder comprising:
means for receiving a stack of blanks with top edges inclined in a forward direction;
means for reversing the inclination of the blanks within the stack so the top edges are inclined rearwardly; and
means for feeding individual blanks, one after the other from an end of the stack having a blank rearwardly inclined.
16. A method of feeding items including the steps of:
depositing a stack of items in a magazine;
conveying said item stack in a first direction;
thereafter conveying bottom edges of said items in said stack faster than respective top edges so the top edges trail the bottom edges with respect to said first direction; and
thereafter removing items one at a time from said stack beginning with the downstream-most item with respect to said first direction.
17. A method as in claim 16 including the steps of maintaining top edges of adjacent items in said stack together during the two conveying steps and until an item is removed from said stack.
18. A method as in claim 17 including the step of picking off an item from said stack by pulling said item toward said first direction from a bottom portion of said items proximate its bottom edge.
19. A method of handling blanks, including
moving a stack of blanks in a downstream direction to a position where leading blanks are fed seriatim one-by-one from said stack, said method further including the steps of:
depositing blanks in a magazine such that said blanks from a stack with blank top edges inclined forwardly into a downstream direction;
conveying said stack downstream;
shifting said blanks in said stack such that bottom portions of the blanks are separated and thereby reorienting said blanks such that said top edges now incline rearwardly toward an upstream direction;
moving bottom portions of blanks in said stack together, said blanks remaining in a rearwardly inclined disposition, and
picking off blanks from said stack seriatim by removing one downstream-most blank at a time from said stack.
20. A process for feeding items including the steps of:
depositing items in a stack such that the items are inclined at an incline angle in a forward direction;
moving items in said forward direction;
reversing the incline angle of at least one item so it inclines rearwardly;
collecting rearwardly inclined items; and
feeding items from a downstream end of collected rearwardly inclined items.