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US 4,545,714 AGranted
Apparatus and method for forming stacks of nested containers each having a predetermined count of containers
AssigneeMobil Oil Corporation
InventorsDavid E. Johnson, Donald W. Myers
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus and a method for forming stacks of nested containers, such as cups and the like, and more particularly, an apparatus and method for isolating or separating stacks each consisting of a requisite count of isolated nested containers from a continuous supply of the containers.
Claims20
An apparatus for separating stacks each consisting of a predetermined count of nested containers from a supply of said containers;
- comprising:
- (a) means for feeding a continuous supply of containers to a first station;
- detector means at said station for determining the presence of said containers;
- (b) means for advancing a continuous flow of said containers in nested relationship from said first station to a second station;
- (c) means at said second station for sequentially stacking said nested containers at a predetermined rate while advancing said containers through said second station;
- and means operatively coacting with said stacking means for separating a requisite count of said nested containers into individual stacks and for conveying said separated stacks of containers from said apparatus, said container stacking means of said second station comprising at least one rotatable wheel, a plurality of resilient members spaced about and extending radially outwardly from said wheel, said resilient members being adapted to engage the edge of each said container so as to bias said container downwardly into predetermined nested relationship with a preceding container, said coacting means including a protuberance intermittently engaging the trailing edge of one said container of said nested containers at intermittent time intervals and at a downward speed of movement higher than the speed of rotation of said wheel to thereby separate and advance stacks each constituted of a predetermined count of said nested containers from said second station.
3 more elements
A method for counting and separating stacks of a predetermined number of nested containers from a continuous supply of said containers;
- comprising the steps of:
- (a) feeding a continuous supply of containers in nested relationship to a first station, and determining the presence of said containers at said first station;
- (b) advancing a continuous supply of said nested containers from said first station to a second station;
- (c) sequentially stacking said nested containers while advancing said containers through said second station by at least one rotatable wheel having resilient members spaced about and extending radially outwardly from said wheel and being adapted to engage the edge of each said container so as to bias said container downwardly into predetermined nested relationship with a preceding container, the edge of one said container of said nested containers being engaged by a downwardly moving element at intermittent time intervals at a downward speed higher than the speed of rotation of said wheel to thereby separate and advance stacks each consisting of a predetermined count of said nested containers from said second station;
- and separating a predetermined count of said nested stacked containers into individual separated stacks, and conducting said separated stacks of containers from said apparatus.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.