Apparatus and method for economically forming layers of packing units

An apparatus for forming layers of packing units comprising:

• at least one supply conveyor for supplying the packing units;
• at least one further conveyor downstream of the supply conveyor;
• at least one gripper associated with the further conveyor, the at least one gripper being usable for positioning the packing units, wherein the at least one gripper is configured in such a way that at least one packing unit is positionable, and on the positioned packing unit at least one further packing unit is placeable in the same orientation;
• at least one exit conveyor downstream of the further conveyor;
• and
• means associated with the exit conveyor to form with the positioned packing units form-fitting layers of the packing units;
• wherein the at least one gripper places a second packing unit, which is part of a second layer of packing units, on a first packing unit in the same orientation, which is part of a first layer of packing units, and the stack is positioned by the at least one gripper.

An apparatus for forming layers of packing units comprising:

• at least one supply conveyor for supplying the packing units;
• at least one further conveyor downstream of the supply conveyor;
• at least one gripper associated with the further conveyor, the at least one gripper being usable for positioning the packing units, wherein the at least one gripper is configured in such a way that at least one packing unit is positionable, and on the positioned packing unit at least one further packing unit is placeable in the same orientation;
• at least one exit conveyor downstream of the further conveyor;
• and
• a layer former associated with the exit conveyor to form with the positioned packing units form-fitting layers of the packing units;
• wherein the at least one gripper positions a packing unit, which is part of a first layer of packing units and in that the gripper places a further packing unit in the same orientation on the positioned packing unit and thus forms a stack of two packing units.

A method for economically forming packing unit layers, comprising the steps of:

• supplying in series the packing units to at least one further conveyor using at least one supply conveyor,
• positioning at least one packing unit by at least one gripper on the further conveyor and placing at least one further packing unit in the same orientation on the positioned packing unit, and
• associating with the further conveyor at least one exit conveyor, on which the positioned packing units are brought together by a device to form form-fitting layers of stacks of packing units,
• wherein the at least one gripper is used to position a packing unit, which is a part of a first layer of packing units, and in that only one further packing unit is placed on the positioned packing unit in the same orientation by the gripper to thus form a stack of the two packing units.

A method for economically forming packing unit layers, comprising the steps of:

• supplying in series the packing units to at least one further conveyor using at least one supply conveyor,
• positioning at least one packing unit by at least one gripper on the further conveyor and placing at least one further packing unit in the same orientation on the positioned packing unit, and
• associating with the further conveyor at least one exit conveyor, on which the positioned packing units are brought together by a device to form form-fitting layers of stacks of packing units;
• wherein the at least one gripper is used to place a second packing unit, which is a part of a second layer of packing units, on a first packing unit in the same orientation, wherein the first packing unit is a part of a first layer of packing units, and in that the stack is positioned by the at least one gripper.