Apparatus and method of counting, inspecting and stacking planar

Details Apparatus and method of counting, inspecting and stacking planar Apparatus and method of counting, inspecting and stacking planar

1994-09-19

1998-02-24

Nguyen, Tuan

Material or article handling

Apparatus for moving intersupporting articles into, within,...

Stack forming apparatus

4147906, 4147944, 209698, B65G 5700

Patent

active

057205930

ABSTRACT:
An apparatus for counting, inspecting, and stacking flexible, generally planar food products such as tortillas, or the like. The apparatus has an inclined infeed conveyor with adjustable alignment guides thereon to adjust the lateral position of each tortilla as it moves to a transit conveyor. Sensors mounted on the transit conveyor count the tortillas and inspect the size and shape of the tortillas to detect any defective tortillas moving along the transit conveyor. At the end of the transit conveyor, an arcuate-shaped trajectory guide bends the tortilla into an arcuate shape as the tortilla leaves the trajectory guide and flies through a known flight trajectory to a stacking mechanism. The arcuate shape allows the leading edge of the tortilla to resist bending or folding. A rejection mechanism positioned between the end of the transit conveyor and the trajectory guide redirects any rejected tortillas detected by the sensors downward away from the trajectory guide. A stacking mechanism receives the tortillas at the end of the flight trajectory. A shaker shakes the stacking mechanism and jostles the stack of tortillas to form a tight, aligned stack. A movable stack plate supports the stack of tortillas in the stacking mechanism and moves downward incrementally as tortillas are stacked into the stacking mechanism so the flight trajectory of each tortilla is approximately the same. The stacking plate has a lowered position that deposits a stack of tortillas on a baseplate, and a stack removal device moves the stack of tortillas away from the stacking assembly to a discharge conveyor.

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