Loading apparatus and related method for loading edible items into trays

A method of loading horizontally oriented slugs of edible, edge-standing items into trays, the method comprising:

• moving trays from a tray infeed to a tray outfeed using a tray delivery mechanism, the tray delivery mechanism including a tray conveyor moving the trays from the tray infeed to the tray outfeed;
• transferring a pre-selected number of the edge-standing items forming the slug from a counting conveyor to a tray loading area using an over head transfer mechanism disposed above the tray conveyor, the over head transfer mechanism including a pusher flight linked to a first drive system and a retainer flight linked to a second drive system, the pusher flight and retainer flight cooperating to transfer the pre-selected number of edge-standing items forming the slug from the counting conveyor to the tray loading area, the transferring achieved by using the first drive system to move the pusher flight in a first direction and by using the second drive system to move the retainer flight in the first direction, the first drive system and second drive system configured for moving independent of each other to enable movement of the retainer flight and the pusher flight relative to each other;
• and
• adjusting a distance between the retainer flight and the pusher flight by using the first drive system to move the pusher flight in one direction and by using the second drive system to move the retainer flight in an opposite direction so as to change the pre-selected number of edge-standing items being transferred by the over head transfer mechanism from the counting conveyor to the tray loading area.

An apparatus that forms and loads horizontally oriented slugs of edible, edge-standing items into trays, the apparatus comprising:

• a sandwiching system configured to assemble the edge-standing items, the sandwiching system including an infeed and an outfeed;
• a tray delivery mechanism having a tray infeed for receiving trays, a tray outfeed from which filled trays can be removed from the apparatus and a tray conveyor that moves the trays from the tray infeed to the tray outfeed;
• and
• an over head transfer mechanism disposed above the tray conveyor, the over head transfer mechanism including a pusher flight linked for movement by a first drive system including a first servo motor and a retainer flight linked for movement by a second drive system including a second servo motor, a control system for controlling operation of the first servo motor and the second servo motor, the control system configured to operate during tray loading such that the first drive system moves the pusher flight in a loading direction and the second drive system moves the retainer flight in the loading direction so that the pusher flight and retainer flight cooperate to transfer a pre-selected number of edge-standing items forming the slug delivered from the outfeed of the sandwiching system to a tray loading area, the control system configured to operate during flight adjustment such that both the first drive system and second drive system are operated to adjust a distance between the retainer flight and the pusher flight to change the pre-selected number of edge-standing items being transferred by the over head transfer mechanism to the tray loading area, and
• wherein the control system operates during flight adjustment to actuate the first drive system to move the pusher flight in a first direction and to actuate the second drive system to move the retainer flight in a second direction opposite the first direction to establish a selected distance between the retainer flight and the pusher flight, and subsequent to flight adjustment and during a later loading operation actuate the first drive system and the second drive system to move the pusher flight and the retainer flight together in the same direction such that the selected distance between the retainer flight and the pusher flight is maintained.