Singling unit for articles stacked in a nested configuration
AssigneeG.D S.p.A.
InventorsAndrea Biondi, Luca Cavazza, Enrico Campagnoli, Antonio Gigante, Umberto Zanetti
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A singling unit for articles stacked in a nested configuration includes at least two stacks of articles stacked in a nested configuration, an extractor group to extract single articles from each stack, and a conveyor to receive the articles singled by the extractor group and to transport them along an advance direction arranged in at least one row substantially parallel to the advance direction. The extractor group is configured to deposit on the conveyor the articles extracted from the stacks in a number of rows smaller than the number of the stacks.
Claims18
A singling unit for articles stacked in a nested configuration, comprising:
- at least two stacks of articles stacked in a nested configuration,
- an extractor group configured to extract single articles from each of said at least two stacks, the extractor group comprising:
- an extractor wheel configured to rotate about a main rotation axis,
- at least one first gripping head mounted on said extractor wheel, and
- at least two gripping elements, each mounted on said at least one first gripping head, each gripping element being configured to selectively retain one of said articles extracted from said at least two stacks of articles, and
- a conveyor configured to receive the articles singled by said extractor group and to transport the articles along an advance direction with the articles arranged in at least one row substantially parallel to said advance direction,
- wherein said extractor group is configured to deposit on said conveyor the articles extracted from said stacks in a number of rows smaller than the number of said at least two stacks.
A method for singling articles stacked in a nested configuration, comprising:
- providing at least two stacks of said stacked articles,
- extracting, by an extractor group, one article from each of said at least two stacks, and
- depositing the articles extracted from each stack on a conveyor configured to transport said articles in at least one row substantially parallel to an advance direction of said conveyor, the number of rows being smaller than the number of said at least two stacks
- wherein the extractor group comprises:
- an extractor wheel configured to rotate about a main rotation axis,
- at least one first gripping head mounted on said extractor wheel, and
- at least two gripping elements, each mounted on said at least one first gripping head, each gripping element being configured to selectively retain one of said articles extracted from said at least two stacks of stacked articles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.