Workload regulator for automated production

An apparatus adapted to be positioned between a first work station producing articles at a first cyclic rate and a second work station downstream of said first station and adapted to perform an operation on said produced articles at a second cyclic rate, said apparatus being adapted to regulate the rate of flow between said stations so that both stations may be operated continuously at their desired cyclic rates, respectively, said apparatus including means defining a first area for accumulating inbound articles being fed to said apparatus in a continuous array from said first work station, a second area for accumulating outbound groups of articles for advancement as a continuous array to said second work station, said apparatus also including a transfer station having at least one staging area for said inbound articles, at least one staging area for said outbound articles, a storage placement and retrieval area, and a transfer mechanism including means for picking up and releasing said articles in groups, means forming a part of said transfer mechanism for moving said pickup and releasing means between positions adjacent said staging areas and a position adjacent said storage placement and retrieval area, said apparatus further including means for receiving a plurality of empty storage containers, means for receiving a plurality of full storage containers, a storage container shuttle assembly including conveying means for positioning a selected portion of one of said storage containers in a predetermined position in said storage placement and retrieval area, and detection and control means adapted to determine the rate at which articles are being supplied to said regulating apparatus from said first work station and the demand rate at which articles are required to be supplied to said second work station, said control means being operative, when said demand rate substantially equals said supply rate, to cause said transfer mechanism to transfer all of said groups of articles arriving at said inbound staging area to said outbound staging area at substantially the same rate at which said articles are arriving at said inbound staging area, when said supply rate exceeds said demand rate, to cause said transfer mechanism to transfer some of said groups of articles arriving at said inbound staging area to said outbound staging area and the remainder of said arriving groups to selected storage areas within one of said storage containers, and when said demand rate exceeds said supply rate, to cause said transfer mechanism to transfer all groups of articles arriving at said inbound staging area to said outbound staging area at substantially the same rate at which said articles are arriving at said inbound staging area, and to supplement the groups of articles being fed from said inbound to said outbound staging areas by periodically retrieving groups of articles from said storage areas in said storage containers and transferring them to said outbound staging area.

An apparatus for regulating the flow rate of an apparatus for articles moving between an upstream work station serving as a source of supply for such articles, and a downstream station having a demand for such articles, said apparatus having means for transiently accumulating inbound articles being fed in a continuous array, means for subdividing said continuous array of articles into individual groups, means for accumulating groups of articles intended to be fed downstream and means for advancing and consolidating said groups into at least one continuous array of articles destined for said downstream work station, article group transfer means adapted to engage and transport said individual inbound groups of articles to said area in which said articles are to be accumulated for advancement downstream, means for transferring selected groups of articles from said inbound accumulating area to a storage area in a storage container means and for removing groups of articles from a storage area in said storage container means and transferring them to said area in which said downstream bound articles are accumulating, at least one storage container means and means for positioning said storage container means so as to provide registration between a desired area of said storage container means and a portion of said article group transfer means when said group of articles is being placed in said storage container means, and for registering a group of articles in said storage container means with said article group transfer means when said group of articles is to be transferred from said container means to said area in which said downstream bound articles are accumulating, and control means adapted to move said article group transfer means so as to supplement the number of groups of articles being fed to said downstream work station from said upstream work station by adding groups of articles taken from said storage container means to said groups being transferred from said area in which said inbound articles are accumulating, and for diminishing the supply of articles fed to said area in which said downstream bound articles are accumulating by transferring groups of articles from said area at which said inbound articles are accumulating to said storage area within said storage container means.