US 4,226,563 AGranted

Automatic article-laying apparatus

AssigneeNippon Steel Corporation

InventorsKouetsu Horikawa, Kiyosuke Mori, Yukito Io

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Abstract

An automatic article-laying apparatus is positioned at the terminal end of a horizontally rotatable conveyor. The apparatus comprises a rotatable roller conveyor, a hydraulic drive to horizontally rotate the roller conveyor, a traversing plate, and a reciprocating head. Placed adjacent to the first-mentioned conveyor, the roller conveyor is horizontally rotatable and carries an article holder that projects sidewards, below the plane on which articles are conveyed, so as to contact the side of the previously laid article. Positioned close and parallel to the roller conveyor, the traversing plate pushes an article away from the roller conveyor, at right angles to the direction of conveyor travel and toward the article holder. Extending along the roller conveyor and behind the article holder, the reciprocating head pushes forward the article delivered from the roller conveyor in the direction of conveyor travel. With this apparatus, hexahedral articles can be laid in an exactly geometrical pattern.

Claims5

Dependent claims

An automatic article-laying apparatus, which is adapted to be positioned next to the terminal end of a horizontally rotatable conveyor and comprises:

horizontally rotatable conveying means adapted to be positioned next to said conveyor, said conveying means carrying article holding means that projects sideward, below the plane on which an article is conveyed, so as to contact the side of the previously laid article;
driving means for horizontally rotating said rotatable conveying means;
means for pushing the article transversely, positioned close and parallel to said rotatable conveying means, said transverse pushing means being adapted to push the article away from said rotatable conveying means, at right angles to the traveling direction thereof and toward said article holding means;
and
means for pushing the article longitudinally, positioned behind said article holding means and along said rotatable conveying means, said longitudinal pushing means being adapted to push the article, delivered from said rotatable conveying means, in the traveling direction thereof.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.