Apparatus for handling stacks for articles
AssigneeRobert Bosch GmbH
InventorsMartin J. Mueller, Ryan Dye
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for handling stacks of articles, such as cups or containers, includes a selectively extensible conveyor which can be indexed for moving the stacks of articles, and which can moved from an extended position to a retracted position. By movement from the extended position, the conveyor is moved from beneath one or more of the stacks for discharging stacks from the apparatus. The apparatus includes one or more movable stack gates for controlling, guiding, and stabilizing movement and discharge of the stacks, to thereby avoid problems associated with the instability of the stacked articles.
Claims10
An apparatus for loading stacks of articles, comprising:
- an infeed conveyor defining an upper run for carrying one or more stacks of articles, said infeed conveyor including an infeed end and a discharge end;
- a conveyor drive for driving said infeed conveyor for advancing said stacks of articles in a direction from said infeed end to said discharge end;
- said infeed conveyor including a movable conveyor guide at the discharge end thereof, so that by reciprocable movement of said movable conveyor guide, said upper run of said conveyor can be changed between extended and retracted positions;
- and
- at least one stack gate positioned at said discharge end of said infeed conveyor for controlling movement of said stacks of articles at said discharge end, said stack gate being movable between a first open position and a second blocking position,
- wherein in said first open position of said stack gate, said movable conveyor guide is positioned so that said upper run of said conveyor is in said extended position, and at least one of said stacks of articles can be conveyed along said upper run of said infeed conveyor to said discharge end thereof,
- said stack gate thereafter being movable to said second, blocking position to block advancement of said stacks of articles, said movable conveyor guide thereafter being movable to change said upper run of said infeed conveyor from said extended position to said retracted position, to thereby move said upper run of said infeed conveyor from beneath at least one endmost one of said stacks of articles, whereby said at least one endmost stacks of articles is downwardly discharged from said discharge end of said upper run of said infeed conveyor.
A method of supplying stacks of articles to an associated apparatus, comprising the steps of:
- providing an infeed conveyor defining an upper run for carrying one or more stacks of articles, including an infeed end and a discharge end, said infeed conveyor being movable between extended and retracted positions;
- providing at least one movable stack gate positioned at said discharge end of said infeed conveyor for controlling movement of said stacks of articles at said discharge end, said stack gate being movable between a first open position and a second blocking position,
- intermittently driving said infeed conveyor for advancing said stacks of articles in a direction from said infeed end to said discharge end;
- positioning said upper run of said infeed conveyor in said extended position, and positioning said stack gate in said open position, so that an endmost one of said stacks in moved to the discharge end of said upper run,
- thereafter moving said stack gate from said open position to said blocking position, and moving said upper run of said upper run from said extended position to said retracted position, so that said upper run is moved from beneath said endmost one of said stacks to downwardly discharge said endmost stack from said upper run.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.