Palletiser for Loading and Packaging Unstable Containers

A palletiser system for efficient loading and packaging of unstable items such as plastic or glass bottles and the like containers, the palletiser system including:

• a series of palletiser stations for receiving bottles and pallets for substantially continuous loading, the stations including:
• a pallet housing for receiving one or more pallets from a pallet in-feed, the pallet housing includes a movable floor portion, the floor adapted to be raised and lowered by a lifting means within the palletiser station between a pallet receiving condition and a bottle receiving location at a predetermined level, whereby the movable floor defines a first pathway within the pallet station,
• a layer pad store for receiving a stack of layer pads for placement over a layer of bottles on a pallet, the layer pad store being spaced apart from and in substantial alignment with the pallet housing;
• an entrance and exit opening in each of the pallet stations defining a passageway therebetween intermediate the pallet housing and layer pad store, wherein the series of pallet stations is aligned so that the passageways form a thoroughfare;
• an in-feed conveyor assembly for transferring bottles to each pallet station in a single pass including a plurality of vertically spaced and parallel bottle in-feed lines linking each line to a pallet station via the thoroughfare, wherein at least a portion of the in-feed lines extend in a pathway substantially transverse to the pallet in-feed;
• a bottle lifting sub-assembly mounted within the each passageway, wherein the bottle lifting sub-assembly includes a movable platform for receiving a predetermined row of bottles from at least one of the bottle in-feed lines, the movable platform adapted to move by a second lifting means between a bottle in-feed condition and a bottle transfer station located adjacent the bottle receiving station, whereby the movable platform is raised by the lifting means to the bottle transfer station when a predetermined low of bottles is detected on the movable platform, and wherein the movable platform defines a further pathway within the first pallet station substantially parallel to the first pathway;
• a bottle pusher means movably mounted to the each palletiser station adjacent the layer pad store, and operable between a stationary mode and a pushing mode, whereby in a stationary mode sufficient space is provided between the floor portion of the pallet housing and the pusher means for receiving the bottle receiving platform therebetween in a bottle dispensing position whereby the pallet and platform form a substantially continuous surface, and whereby in a pushing mode the pusher means moves over a fourth defined pathway which intersects with the second pathway for urging a row of bottles on the bottle platform onto a surface of the pallet;
• a layer pad applicator sub assembly above the layer pad store including a layer pad transfer means, wherein when a predetermined layer of bottles is placed on a surface of the pallet, the layer pad transfer means is actuated to take a layer pad from the layer pad store and transfer the layer pad over and onto the layer of bottles in a fifth defined pathway overlapping the first defined pathway;
• whereby when a predetermined layer of bottles is loaded onto a surface of the pallet and a layer pad is disposed on the predetermined layer, the floor portion of the pallet housing is lowered incrementally within the housing so that a fresh surface of layer pad is presented for receiving the next layer of bottles from the bottle loading platform.