1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sampling apparatus and, more particularly, to a sampling apparatus operable to collect material, such as fungible material, from a continuous stream thereof and to such a sampling apparatus having particular utility in the sampling of raisins during processing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are many environments in which it is necessary to extract material from a substantially continuous stream of such material. For example, in the manufacturing or processing of products, it is frequently necessary to remove products from the production line for examination so as to confirm that they are of the desired standard of quality, or that they are not below an established minimum standard of quality. If the samples do not meet preestablished criteria, remedial action can be taken. Known as "sampling," it is desirable that those products removed from the stream for examination, to the extent possible, be selected in such a manner as to be as representative of all of the products passing in the stream.
Where the material to be extracted from the stream consists of fungible food products, the standards for sampling are most stringent, either because of governmental regulation or because of internal concerns in the maintenance of predefined standards of quality. With the periodic public notoriety regarding instances of the contamination and adulteration of food products, the probability is that even more severe standards will be adopted. Independently thereof, it is certain that the manufacturers, processors and handlers of food products will seek to improve upon their own sampling, examination and testing procedures so as to maintain high standards of quality and to minimize the risk of injury to the public.
An illustrative environment relative to these concerns is the production, processing and handling of raisins. Although sampling may be performed at other points in the production, processing and handling of raisins, perhaps the most notable example is the sampling of raisins for examination by inspectors on behalf of the United States Department of Agriculture. The sampling of incoming lots of raisins for examination presents unique difficulties. The current method for collecting samples of raisins for examination is manual or, in other words, literally by hand. Typically, the collection process includes the sampling of raisins from the continuous stream of raisins released from the discharge chute of a device known as a "shaker table." The raisins are passed over the shaker table for the removal of foreign material from the raisins. The raisins collected as samples are literally removed by hand frown the stream at the discharge chute on a periodic basis. The samples are collected and representative portions thereof tested, on site, for moisture content, sugar content and the like.
It is evident that such conventional sampling methods are prone to inaccuracy since the collected samples are frequently not truly representative of the lot from which they were collected; that is, the timing and location in the stream of the collection do not ensure the collection of samples representative of the whole. In addition, this method is time consuming for the inspectors who could more productively devote their attention to other duties. With or without conscientious effort, conventional methods are, as a practical matter, entirely inadequate for the purpose. Thus, the samples collected for inspection and the resulting dependability of the overall inspection process are adversely affected by the inaccuracy of the sampling method.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have a sampling apparatus which is adaptable for use in sampling material, such as fungible goods transported in a substantially continuous stream; which is significantly more reliable than conventional methods and apparatuses intended for the same purpose; which is uniquely well suited to the sampling of incoming lots of raisins in such a manner as to ensure that the samples collected are representative of the lot sampled; which operates substantially automatically with little or no attention by personnel; which is entirely safe and dependable in operation, and is inexpensive to install, maintain and operate; and which is otherwise entirely successful in achieving its operational objectives.