US 6,290,452 B1Granted

Apparatus for replenishing the supply of commodities in a reservoir

AssigneeTopack Verpackungstechnik GmbH

InventorMichael Kleine Wächter

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Abstract

A conveyor delivers successive stacks of blanks to a position at a level above a single magazine or to positions at levels above discrete plural magazines for stacked blanks. In order to avoid misalignment of blanks during replenishment of supplies of such blanks in the magazine or magazines, the level of the uppermost blank in each magazine is monitored and the thus obtained signals are utilized to release stacks of blanks for gravitational descent onto the remnant(s) of blanks in the magazine or magazines when the lowermost blank of a stack is located at a preselected distance from the uppermost blank(s) of the remnant(s) of the supply or supplies of blanks in the magazine(s). This can be accomplished by causing a stack of blanks above a magazine to descend relative to the dwindling supply of blanks in the magazine until the lowermost blank of the descending stack reaches a position at the selected distance from the topmost blank in the magazine.

Claims17

Dependent claims

Apparatus for replenishing from a source of stacks of superimposed commodities a supply of superimposed commodities disposed in at least one facility for temporary storage of said supply of superimposed commodities and for dispensal of the commodities from the temporary storage to at least one consuming station with attendant reduction of the height of the supply of superimposed commodities, comprising:

at least one signal-responsive conveyor movable between the source of stacks of superimposed commodities where a stack of superimposed commodities is to be loaded on said conveyor and a position above said at least one facility;
means for monitoring the level of the uppermost commodity of the supply in said at least one facility, including means for generating signals when the monitored commodity descends to a predetermined level;
and
means for effecting a gravitational descent of a stack of commodities from said conveyor onto the monitored commodity in said at least one facility in response to said signals so that the extent of gravitational descent of successive stacks of commodities from said conveyor onto said monitored commodity at least approximates a predetermined distance.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/376,181Filed 17 Aug 1999
Priority: DE 198 42 96519 Sep 1998
Granted: 18 Sep 2001
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

B65H 1/30
Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated: with means for replenishing the pile during continuous separation of…
B65H 2301/4224
Handling piles, sets or stacks of articles: gripping piles, sets or stacks of articles
B65H 2301/42261
Delivering, advancing piles: by dropping
B65H 2301/42322
Of horizontal or inclined articles, i.e. wherein articles support fully or in part the mass of other articles in the piles: from bottom of the pile