High speed automated feeding system and methods of using the same

A system for separating and feeding tray-packed items individually, comprising:

• a. a feeder magazine having a track for receiving a row of pre-packaged items, a driving mechanism for advancing the row of pre-packaged items through the track;
• and
• b. a picking station operable to perform a picking operation which removes said pre-packaged items one at a time from said feeder magazine, said picking station comprising:
• i. a stop tab operable to hold a leading pre-packaged item in said feeder magazine, and
• ii. a picking mechanism operable to remove said leading pre-packaged item from said feeder magazine and deliver said leading pre-packaged item to a backend conveying system or a container,
• c. an arresting mechanism operable to arrest the advancement of said pre-packaged items during a picking operation by applying pressure to a plurality of said pre-packaged items and disengage from said plurality of said pre-packaged items between picking operations,
• wherein said system is operable to perform said picking operation in repetition to separate said pre-packaged items and deliver them individually to said backend conveying system or said container.

A system for separating and feeding tray-packed items individually, comprising:

• a. a picking station operable to perform a picking operation which removes queued items one at a time from a queue, said picking station comprising:
• i. an arresting mechanism for preventing the advancement of the items in said queue,
• ii. a stop tab operable to hold a leading item in said queue, wherein said stop tab is operable to move from a first position in which it holds said leading item in said queue between consecutive picking operations to a second position it which it releases said leading item during said picking operation, and
• iii. a picking mechanism operable to remove a leading item from said queue and deliver said leading item to a backend conveying system or a container.

A system for separating and feeding tray-packed items individually, comprising:

• a. a picking station operable to perform a picking operation which removes queued items one at a time from a queue, said picking station comprising:
• i. an arresting mechanism operable to periodically apply pressure to the pre-packaged items to prevent the advancement of the items in said queue during a picking operation,
• ii. an articulating stop tab operable to move from a first position in which it holds a pre-packaged leading item in said queue to a second position in which it is retracted from said leading pre-packaged item to allow said leading pre-packaged item to be removed from said queue, wherein said arresting mechanism and said stop tab are engaged at separate times to facilitate the removal of said leading item individually during said picking operation without any trailing items being removed from said queue, and
• iii. a picking mechanism operable to remove grab and pull said leading item from said queue and deliver said leading item to a backend conveying system or a container.