Package handling apparatus

摘要

Packages conveyed along a path are carried through a radiation curtain passed from an emitter to a detector. Partial occlusion of the curtain is detected to provide an output indicative of package height. Information about occlusion and speed of conveying can be used to provide data about the package length. The emitter may employ a laser and a series of optical fibres to feed its radiation to a vertical array of individual beam emitters. The detector may have a corresponding array of individual beam detectors. The output data may pass to a computer used for controlling a package testing station where a test head is lowered onto a package. <IMAGE>