Tray feeder
AssigneeR. A. Pearson Company
InventorJack J. Mayer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A machine for feeding individual flexible trays from an inclined nested stack to a conveyor or other appropriate surface below the stack. Vacuum heads are mounted to arms that pivot about a horizontal axis spaced from an upper transverse edge of an inclined hopper holding the nested stack. The lower end of the inclined hopper is open for engagement by vacuum heads at the ends of the pivoted arms. The vacuum heads are pivoted by the arms to engage successive trays adjacent a lower transverse edge of the hopper. The arms are then pivoted back with the vacuum heads adhered to a tray, stripping the tray from the stack and pivoting it to a substantially horizontal position where it is released to fall to a surface below. A guide may be employed to direct movement of the tray downwardly.
Claims9
A machine for delivering successive individual flexible trays from a nested stack, comprising:
- a framework;
- inclined hopper means on the framework having an open bottom end with a transverse upper edge and a transverse lower edge for slidably receiving a nested stack of trays and successively releasing individual trays through said open bottom end;
- a vacuum head arm pivotally mounted to the framework about a horizontal axis adjacent said transverse upper edge of the hopper means;
- means for pivoting the vacuum head arm about the horizontal axis between a first position extending under the hopper means to said transverse lower edge and a second position outwardly clear of the hopper alongside said transverse upper edge;
- vacuum head means mounted to the vacuum head arm for:
- (a) engaging the bottom tray of a nested stack at a location adjacent the transverse lower edge of the hopper means as the vacuum head arm is pivoted to its first position;
- and (b) releasing an engaged tray when the vacuum head arm is pivoted to its second position;
- and
- guide means below the hopper means and adjacent the transverse upper edge thereof, said guide means being positioned in the path of trays being moved by the vacuum head and arm to the second position for engaging and guiding the trays to substantially horizontal inverted orientation at the second position of the vacuum head arm in response to movement of the vacuum head arm through an angle about said axis from the bottom end of said hopper means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.