Denesting apparatus

#The denesting of articles (e.g. fruit trays) from a stack of nested articles has heretofore been an operation normally involving a substantial amount of manual effort. In commercial fruit packing plants, the manual denesting operation is a monotonous, oftentimes frustrating and awkward operation. Various apparatus have heretofore been developed to perform some of the manual manipulations involved in denesting; however, such apparatus are beset with one or more of the following shortcomings: (a) the apparatus is of costly and complex construction; (b) it is susceptible to frequent breakdown and requires an inordinate amount of servicing and maintenance; (c) it is not capable of being readily adjustable to accommodate articles varying in size and shape over a wide range; and (d) it is not readily adapted to vary denesting patterns so as to coordinate with other packing procedures.

#Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide a denesting apparatus which avoids the aforementioned shortcomings associated with prior apparatus of this general type.

#It is a further object to provide a denesting apparatus which utilizes simple, mechanical components conveniently located for ease of servicing and adjusting when required.

#DESCRIPTION

#For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference is made to the drawings wherein

#FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side perspective view of one form of the improved denesting apparatus showing two stacks of nested articles supported in tandem relation.

#Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1, one embodiment of the improved apparatus 20 is shown for automatically denesting successive articles A, (e.g. molded pulp fruit trays) from stacks 21 and 22; each of the latter comprising a plurality of nested articles. The apparatus 20 includes an upright frame 23 which is provided with a pair of support assemblies 24,25 arranged in horizontally spaced, tandem relation. Each support is of similar construction and, as illustrated, is adapted to retain a stack 21 or 22 in an elevated, downwardly inclined relation with respect to a horizontal plane P--P disposed therebeneath. Each support assembly includes a pair of upright, front posts 26 and a pair of upright, rear posts 27. In the rear support assembly 25, the rear posts 27 of assembly 24 serve as the front posts for assembly 25, otherwise the assemblies are the same. Each pair of posts are disposed in laterally spaced relation and extend upwardly from a pair of relatively spaced, parallel, horizontally extending channel-like frame members 28,30. The frame members are disposed on opposite sides of an article A' subsequent to the latter being denested from a supported stack, see FIG. 6.

#The upper end portions of the front pair of posts 26 of assembly 24 are interconnected by a cross member 31. The backside of the cross member 31 is provided with a pair of laterally spaced pads 32, see FIG. 10. The upper peripheral portion of the endmost article A' of the stack 21 rests against the pads prior to the endmost article being denested from the stack. The lower edge portions of the articles of the stack are supportingly engaged by inclined guide members 33,34, see FIGS. 1 and 2. Each guide member is of like construction and is substantially L-shaped in cross-section with the long leg portion L.sub.1, subtending the articles of the stack and the short leg portion L.sub.2 disposed to the outside of the side edges of the stacked articles. The short leg portions L.sub.2 coact to prevent lateral shifting of the supported stack. The exposed surfaces of leg portions L.sub.1 and L.sub.2 are preferably polished or coated with a non-friction material (e.g. Teflon) so as to reduce to a minimum frictional resistance to downward sliding movement of the stack as each endmost article is denested therefrom. The guide members 33,34 are downwardly inclined at an angle of approximately 30.degree. to the horizontal plane P--P. The guide members are retained at the inclined positions by the rear pair of posts 27.

#As seen in FIG. 1, the front side of each cross member 31 is provided with downwardly and forwardly projecting plows 35 which engage the upper edge portion of the denested article and cause the latter to fall rearwardly onto the upper section 36' of a conveyor 36. The conveyor upper section defines the aforementioned horizontal plane P--P.