Apparatus for unpiling containers, particularly pastry containers

An apparatus for unpiling containers, the apparatus comprising:

• a bearing structure;
• a plurality of gripping members associable with at least one pile of containers disposed on top of each other, the gripping members being movable between a picking-up station at which each of the gripping members steadily grasps a container being part of the pile, and a laying station at which each gripping member lays the container on a rest surface;
• at least one supporting element to which a plurality of the gripping members is fastened, wherein the gripping members are aligned along the first axis;
• a first actuator coupled to the bearing structure and the gripping members and operable to move the gripping members from the picking-up station to the laying station and vice versa, wherein the first actuator comprises a carousel mechanism rotatable about a first axis to transfer each gripping member between the picking-up station and the laying station by rotation of the carousel mechanism around the first axis;
• and
• a second actuator carried by the carousel mechanism, wherein the second actuator is coupled to the carousel mechanism and the supporting element, and is operable to move the supporting element toward and away from the first axis and to move each gripping member away from and toward the first axis.

An apparatus for unpiling containers, the apparatus comprising:

• a bearing structure;
• a plurality of gripping members associable with at least one pile of containers disposed on top of each other, the gripping members being movable between a picking-up station, at which each of the gripping members steadily grasps a container of the pile, and a laying station, at which each gripping member lays the container on a rest surface;
• a first actuator coupled to the bearing structure and the gripping members and operable to move the gripping members from the picking-up station to the laying station and vice versa, the first actuator comprising a carousel mechanism rotatable about a first axis to transfer each gripping member between the picking-up station and the laying station by rotation of the carousel mechanism around the first axis;
• and
• a second actuator carried by the carousel mechanism and coupled to the carousel mechanism and the gripping members, wherein the second actuator is operable to move each gripping member away from and toward the first axis, the second actuator being adapted to move each gripping member between a first position corresponding to a maximum distance of the gripping member from the first axis and a second position corresponding to a minimum distance of the gripping member from the first axis.

An apparatus for unpiling containers, the apparatus comprising:

• a bearing structure;
• a plurality of gripping members associable with at least one pile of containers disposed on top of each other, the gripping members being movable between a picking-up station, at which each of the gripping members steadily grasps a container of the pile, and a laying station at which each gripping member lays the container on a rest surface;
• a carousel mechanism mounted on the bearing structure and rotatable about a first axis to transfer each gripping member between the picking-up station and the laying station;
• at least one electric motor carried by the carousel mechanism;
• a first kinematic mechanism carried by the carousel mechanism and adapted to convert a rotary motion of the motor into a rotary motion of at least one rotating shaft about a second axis transverse to the first axis;
• and
• at least one second kinematic mechanism carried by the carousel mechanism and adapted to convert the rotary motion of the rotating shaft about the second axis into a rectilinear motion of the gripping members along respective third axes, the third axes defining a Cartesian triad with the first axis and second axis.