Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor system for arranging or rearranging stream of items – By distributing items from one stream into plural streams
Reexamination Certificate
2003-11-03
2004-08-10
Hess, Douglas (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor system for arranging or rearranging stream of items
By distributing items from one stream into plural streams
C198S427000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06772872
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
In the packaging of articles, it is often necessary to take a single lane of successive articles and divert it into two or more lanes for packaging. The division process is used in container filling and packaging lines, for example, to supply containers to packaging machines that have a plurality of infeed lanes. For example, articles for production lines, such as containers being filled with a product, come from the filling equipment with sealing means applied to them in a single lane on a conveyor and have to be divided into a plurality of lanes in order to be filled into packages such as three-packs or six-packs. This division of a main stream article line transported on a conveyor into a plurality of lanes can also be necessary when it is desired to separate articles of similar cross-section shape, by height, or by color, or during an inspection process where it would be necessary to reject the articles for flaws or missing components such as caps or labels.
One existing apparatus for dividing a single lane of articles into multiple lanes employs an upstream lane, two downstream lanes, and a mechanism to change the angle of the upstream lane in a region proximate the two downstream lanes so as to permit a movable end of the upstream lane to be positioned to feed into either of the two downstream lanes. Such arrangements, unfortunately, do not permit conveyance of the articles as quickly as desired without unduly increasing the risk of a blockage due to failure of the article to make the turn in the transition between the upstream single lane and the two or more downstream lanes.
Another existing apparatus employs a servo motor to move a single pair of swing arms to divide a lane of articles into multiple lanes. The swing arms move one complete width of the lane when it is desired to change lanes. While the swing arms are moved from one lane to another lane, the articles are slowed down or stopped to retard movement of the articles through the swing arms.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3193078 (1965-07-01), Amenta et al.
patent: 3599789 (1971-08-01), Kurczak
patent: 3822006 (1974-07-01), Shuttleworth
patent: 3830359 (1974-08-01), Fogelberg
patent: 4060165 (1977-11-01), Bauer
patent: 4147248 (1979-04-01), Kurczak et al.
patent: 4265356 (1981-05-01), Glover
patent: 4296590 (1981-10-01), Focke
patent: 4498575 (1985-02-01), Arfert et al.
patent: 4723649 (1988-02-01), Hartness et al.
patent: 4779715 (1988-10-01), Pazdernik
patent: 4830173 (1989-05-01), Hartness et al.
patent: 4842124 (1989-06-01), Musschoot
patent: 4880103 (1989-11-01), Ludwig et al.
patent: 4974721 (1990-12-01), Born
patent: 5107978 (1992-04-01), Andrew
patent: 5174430 (1992-12-01), Ebira
patent: 5333722 (1994-08-01), Ouellette
patent: 5388682 (1995-02-01), Dudley
patent: 5423409 (1995-06-01), Wipf
patent: 5441142 (1995-08-01), Schneider
patent: 5567091 (1996-10-01), Johnson et al.
patent: 5761883 (1998-06-01), Pruett et al.
patent: 5787679 (1998-08-01), Lynch et al.
patent: 5788052 (1998-08-01), Spatafora
patent: 5944165 (1999-08-01), Mannlein et al.
patent: 5979635 (1999-11-01), Calhoun
patent: 6220427 (2001-04-01), Ratz et al.
patent: 6666324 (2003-12-01), Engarto et al.
Penn Packaging Ltd web site (http://www.penn-packaging.com), Penn Packaging Conveyor System; Applicant became aware of product in or about Mar., 2003.
Rakowski, Jr. Carl
Spangenberg Thomas
AMBEC, Inc.
Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP
Hess Douglas
LandOfFree
Apparatus for diverting successive articles in a single lane... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Apparatus for diverting successive articles in a single lane..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Apparatus for diverting successive articles in a single lane... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3335010