Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor system for moving a specific load as a separate unit – System includes a load supported by a conveyor portion which...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-04
2001-04-03
Valenza, Joseph E. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor system for moving a specific load as a separate unit
System includes a load supported by a conveyor portion which...
C198S867120, C198S867140, C141S166000, C141S179000, C141S237000, C141S316000, C053S459000, C053S564000, C053S570000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06209708
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new and improved conveyor system for receiving, orienting and conveying pouches and, more particularly, pertains to receiving, orienting and conveying pouches adapted to receive fluid material therein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of conveyors of known designs and configurations is known in the prior art. More specifically, conveyors of known designs and configurations heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of receiving objects, orienting objects and conveying objects through known methods and apparatuses are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,782 to Marti discloses an automatic machine for positioning and feeding flat containers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,077 to Schmitt discloses an article handling device combination and method. U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,738 to Lieberman discloses a conveyor mechanism for conveying flexible pouches adapted to contain fluids, granular substances and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 3,778,972 to Chilipalski discloses an apparatus for handling liquid filled flexible pouches. U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,353 to Greenwell discloses an intermittent motion cartoning apparatus for cartoning liquid-filled pouches. U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,917 to Mykleby discloses an automatic packaging apparatus and method and flexible pouch therefor. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,145 to Schmidt et al. discloses an automatic container stuffing apparatus and method.
In this respect, the conveyor system for receiving, orienting and conveying pouches according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of receiving, orienting and conveying pouches adapted to receive fluid material therein.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved conveyor system for receiving, orienting and conveying pouches which can be used for receiving, orienting and conveying pouches adapted to receive fluid material therein. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of conveyors of known designs and configurations now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new and improved conveyor system for receiving, orienting and conveying pouches. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved conveyor system for receiving, orienting and conveying pouches and methods which have all the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a new and improved conveyer system for receiving, orienting and conveying pouches adapted to receive fluid material therein comprising, in combination, a plurality of pucks, each puck having a cylindrical lower extent with a rectangular recess extending upwardly from the lower surface thereof and extending across the entire diameter thereof and having an upstanding cylindrical wall with generally V-shaped openings formed therein for receiving and supporting a pouch; a powered indexing conveyer including a belt in a closed loop configuration supported by an idler roller at one end and with a drive roller at the other end with a motor to drive the rollers and belt in a step and repeat operation, the exterior surface of the belt being formed with a plurality of spaced plates extending transversely thereacross with an upstanding rectilinear cleat on each plate to receive the recesses of a set of four pucks thereacross, the indexing conveyer belt being in a generally horizontal orientation with an input end and an output end; a powered infeed conveyer having a generally horizontal spine alignable with the cleat at the input end of the indexing conveyor adapted to receive and orient pucks from the infeed conveyer to the indexing conveyer and with an overhead guide rail located immediately above the upper edge of the pucks to preclude tipping of the pucks, the infeed conveyer having an input end and an output end adjacent to the input end of the indexing conveyer with an escapement mechanism therebetween to control the quantity of pucks transferred from the infeed conveyer to the indexing conveyor, the infeed conveyor including a belt in a closed loop configuration supported by an idler roller at one end and a drive roller at the other end with a motor to drive the rollers and belt and pucks thereabove in a horizontal path of movement to the indexing conveyor; a filler infeed chute having an elevated input end and a lower output end adjacent to the input end of the infeed conveyor and with a lower spine to receive and orient pucks as they are fed by gravity down the infeed chute, the infeed chute also having an overhead rail located immediately above the upper edge of the pucks to preclude the tipping thereof; a filler exit conveyor having an input end and an output end, the input end being located in operative proximity to the output end of the indexing conveyor, the filler exit conveyor including a conveyor belt supported by an idler roller and a drive roller with a motor to drive the rollers and belt, the rollers of the exit conveyor being mounted for rotation about the vertical axes with the belt having a vertical path of travel adjacent to the pucks at the output end of the indexing conveyor, the conveyor belt having a plurality of outwardly extending fingers adapted to contact and move the set of four pucks at the output end of the indexing conveyor and to move them to the input end of the exit conveyor; feeding mechanisms located over the indexing conveyor adapted to deliver sets of four pouches downwardly into the recesses within a set of pucks laterally aligned on the indexing conveyor; and control mechanisms to operate the motors in a continuous and automatic cycle of operation.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved conveyor system for receiving, orienting and conveying pouches which has all the advantages of the prior art conveyors of known designs and configurations and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved conveyor system for receiving, orienting an
Kolcun Joseph F.
Naylor Bruce A.
Philipp Timothy L.
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