What is claimed:
1. An apparatus for sensing conveyed objects, the apparatus comprising:
a conveyor for conveying objects in a first direction along a conveyed path; and,
a photosensor positioned adjacent the conveyor to emit a beam of light from the photosensor in a second direction across the conveyed path, the second direction being oriented at an oblique angle relative to the first direction.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
the conveyor is configured for conveying objects in a single file line.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein:
the conveyor is configured for conveying objects that have a triangular cross-section.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
the oblique angle is substantially a 60 degree angle.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
the photosensor is one of a pair of photosensors that are each positioned adjacent the conveyor to emit a beam of light across the conveyed path with a first of the photosensors emitting the beam of light in the second direction and a second of the photosensors emitting a beam of light in a third direction, the third direction being oriented at an oblique angle relative to the first direction.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein:
the first and second photosensors are positioned where the second direction and third direction are oriented at an oblique angle.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein:
the oblique angle is substantially a 60 degree angle.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
the conveyor has a conveying surface that supports the objects conveyed along the conveyed path.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein:
a pair of parallel rails extend along the conveyed path on opposite sides of the conveying surface.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein:
the photosensor is mounted on one of the rails.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
a gate is positioned adjacent the conveyed path and is moveable between first and second positions relative to the conveyor where in the first position the gate is oriented parallel with the first direction and in the second position the gate is oriented at an angle relative to the first direction; and
a restriction is positioned adjacent the conveyed path on an opposite side of the conveyed path from the gate.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:
the restriction is an elongate panel that extends over the conveyed path
13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:
the conveyor is configured for conveying objects in a single file line.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein:
the conveyor is configured for conveying objects that have a triangular cross section.
15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:
the photosensor is one of a pair of photosensors that are each positioned adjacent the conveyor to emit a beam of light across the conveyed path with a first of the photosensors emitting the beam of light in the second direction and a second of the photosensors emitting a beam of light in a third direction, the third direction being oriented at an oblique angle relative to the first direction.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein:
the first and second photosensors are positioned where the second direction and third direction are oriented at an oblique angle.
17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein:
the oblique angle is substantially a 60 degree angle.
18. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:
the conveyor has a conveying surface that supports the objects conveyed along the conveyed path.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein:
a pair of parallel rails extend along the conveyed path on opposite sides of the conveying surface.
20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein:
the photosensor is mounted on one of the rails.
21. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:
a pair of guide rails extend along opposite sides of the conveyed path, the restriction is connected to one of the guide rails giving the conveyed path a reduced width; and,
a row former is positioned adjacent the infeed conveyor, the row former has pusher arms that are aligned with the infeed conveyor guide rails and the pusher arms have a width between an opposed pair of pusher arms that is larger than the reduced width of the conveyed path.
22. A method of sensing conveyed objects having a triangular cross section, the method comprising:
conveying the objects in a single file line in a first direction with at least some of the objects abutting each other;
positioning a photosensor adjacent the conveyed line of objects to emit a beam of light from the photosensor in a second direction that is oriented at an oblique angle relative to the first direction.
23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:
positioning the photosensor where the oblique angle is substantially a 60 degree angle.
24. The method of claim 22, further comprising:
conveying the objects on a conveying surface between a pair of parallel rails extending along opposite sides of the conveying surface.
25. The method of claim 22, further comprising: positioning a second photosensor adjacent the conveyed line of objects to emit a beam of light from the second photosensor in a third direction that is oriented at an oblique angle relative to the first direction.
26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:
positioning the photosensor and the second photosensor where the second and third directions are oriented at an oblique angle to each other.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A networked computer system configured for commerce in chemical products, the system comprising:
a server configured to exchange data with a plurality of client computers;
a database operatively coupled to the server and storing chemical product data for a plurality of chemical products;
a memory operatively coupled to the server and comprising instructions to configure the server to:
receive a request comprising a product identifier from a first one of the plurality of client computers,
query the database in response to the received request to retrieve chemical product data comprising a starting point formulation and chemical characteristics inherent to the starting point formulation,
send the product information to the first client computer,
receive a purchase order comprising a request to purchase a product identified by the product identifier and target characteristics input by a user,
modify the starting point formulation based on the target characteristics input by the user, and
process the purchase order, wherein the purchase order comprises an order for purchase of a chemical product formulated in accordance with said modified starting point formulation.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the sent chemical product data further comprises data selected from the group consisting of material safety data, chemical property data, processing data, and product manufacturing data.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein the sent chemical product data further comprises testing result data stored in the database in response to a sample testing request.
4. The system of claim 3 wherein the product information comprises testing result data.
5. The system of claim 4 wherein the database further comprises user access permission information and the memory further comprises instructions to query the database to validate access by a user of the first computer, and the instructions to send the product information comprise instruction to send only if access by the first user is validated.
6. The system of claim 1 wherein the memory comprises a disk storage media configured as an integral component of the server.
7. A method for processing a chemical product transaction, the method comprising:
receiving at a server computer from a first one of a plurality of client computers a request identifying a chemical product,
querying a database in response to the received request to retrieve chemical product data comprising a starting point formulation and chemical characteristics inherent to the starting point formulation,
sending the chemical product data to the first client computer,
modifying the starting point formulation based on the target characteristics input by the user,
receiving a purchase order comprising a request to purchase the chemical product,
processing the purchase order, said purchase order comprising an order for purchase by the user of a chemical product formulated in accordance with said modified starting point formulation.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein the chemical product data further comprises data selected from the group consisting of material safety data, chemical property data, processing data, and product manufacturing data.
9. The method of claim 7 wherein the chemical product data further comprises testing result data stored in the database in response to a sample testing request.