Back to results
US 4,048,783 AGranted
Case loader with invert grid and pushdown feature
AssigneeEmhart Industries, Inc.
InventorsJohn L. Raudat, Lloyd D. Johnson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeEmhart Industries, Inc.
InventorsJohn L. Raudat, Lloyd D. Johnson
Estimating the term…
Articles are fed in a plurality of lanes from an infeed conveyor, across a deadplate, and into a grid which has lane defining structure adapted to expand and to hold the articles while the grid is inverted. After a charge is formed in the grid, means is provided for holding back articles on the deadplate and for retracting the grid slightly to separate articles in the grid from those on the deadplate. Riding strips, or rails, support the articles in the grid, and latch means provided in part on a vertically reciprocable yoke, and in part on these rails is latched by rotation of the grid and unlatched in response to reset or return motion of the retractable grid. After rotation and retraction of the grid, the articles are released, and the yoke and the rails push the articles out of the grid. The rails and grid are then reset, the unlatched yoke raised, and the holdback releases the articles for loading a succeeding charge without the necessity for return rotational motion of the rails and grid.
Apparatus for loading groups of articles into open packing cases, comprising an infeed conveyor for advancing the articles in a plurality of lanes, lane defining grid means for receiving a charge of articles when in a first position adjacent the downstream end of said infeed conveyor, said grid means including means for holding the charge of articles in said lane defining grid means, means for rotating said grid means from said first position to an article discharge or second position, rails associated with the lanes of said grid means for engaging the bottoms of the articles in said grid means when said grid means in said first position, and means for moving said rails at least when said grid means is in its second position to push the articles out of said grid means and into a packing case.
Apparatus for loading groups of articles into open packing cases, comprising an infeed conveyor for advancing the articles in a plurality of lanes, lane defining grid means for receiving a charge of articles when in a first position adjacent the downstream end of said infeed conveyor, shaft means for rotatably supporting said grid means for movement about an axis generally in line with the direction of movement of the articles on the conveyor, said axis being spaced above said infeed conveyor, means for rotating said grid means from said first to a second position 180.degree. from the first position to receive a second charge of articles in the inverted grid means, and rails associated with the lanes of said grid means to engage the bottoms of articles therein, said rails being movable between first and second positions spaced on opposite sides of said axis of rotation of said grid means to support the articles received in said grid when the latter is in its first and second positions respectively.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.