Material or article handling – Apparatus for moving intersupporting articles into – within,... – Unstacking apparatus
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-21
2001-11-20
Krizek, Janice L. (Department: 3652)
Material or article handling
Apparatus for moving intersupporting articles into, within,...
Unstacking apparatus
Reexamination Certificate
active
06318955
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an apparatus that is one part of a conveying system for transferring objects, such as bottles, where the apparatus removes layers of the objects from a pallet or, in reverse operation, arranges the objects in layers on a pallet. In particular, the present invention pertains to an apparatus that may be employed to depalletize objects or to palletize objects, where in the depalletizing mode of operation the apparatus has a slipsheet retainer that holds a slipsheet below a layer of objects being depalletized from the stacked layers of objects and prevents the slipsheet from moving with the layer of objects as the layer of objects is depalletized.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Many containers such as bottles, cans, jars, jugs, etc. are packaged on pallets for transportation from a manufacturer to a user of the container or object. The pallet loads often include layers of the objects, each separated by a paperboard slipsheet, stacked on top of a pallet constructed of wood. The layers of objects and the slipsheets on which the layers rest are secured on the top surface of the pallet by banding, plastic sheet wrap or by other equivalent methods. The pallet loads facilitate the transportation of a significant number of the objects on each pallet load from the manufacture of the objects, through distribution and ultimately to the end user of the objects.
Upon receipt of a pallet load of objects the user of the objects removes the banding or sheet wrap that secured the objects to the top surface of the pallet and then must unload the pallet by removing the topmost layer of objects on the pallet load, removing the slipsheet that supported the topmost layer, then removing the next lower layer of objects from the pallet load and its slipsheet until the pallet is completely unloaded. In many conveyor systems in which objects are unloaded from pallet loads and/or are loaded onto pallets, the faster the system can operate to unload and/or load pallets the more cost efficient is its operation. With manual unloading and loading of pallets being long recognized as slow and expensive, a number of different types of machines have been developed over time that quickly perform the function of unloading and/or loading pallets. These machines are referred to as depalletizers and/or palletizers in the conveying industry. Examples of these types of machines are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,774,489, 3,780,884; 3,844,422; 3,954,190; 3,974,922; 4,058,225; 4,197,046; 4,214,848, and 4,557,656 the disclosures of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 1
is a schematic representation depicting a depalletizer, palletizer apparatus that comprises many features found in other prior art apparatus. The machine shown in
FIG. 1
includes an object infeed section A, an elevator section B, and an object outfeed section C. As stated earlier, machines of this type are known in the prior art and various examples of these machines are disclosed in the above-listed patents. In order to simplify the explanation of the construction and operation of these types of machines the drawing of the machine in
FIG. 1
has been simplified, deleting many of the intricate component parts of the machine, examples of which are disclosed in the above-listed patents, that enable the machine to function in the manner to be described. The machine will be described as depalletizing and palletizing objects, in this case plastic blow-molded bottles as shown in FIG.
1
. It should be understood that “objects” is intended to mean any of the various different types of objects that may be transported in pallet loads and is not intended that the interpretation be limited to plastic bottles.
The sections of the machine shown in
FIG. 1
are all supported by a framework
10
. At the object infeed section A, the framework supports the end of a conveyor depicted as a belt and pulley conveyor
12
. However, any other type of known conveyor may be employed to transport pallets of objects to the machine infeed section A. As shown in
FIG. 1
, the infeed conveyor
12
has transported a pallet load into the object infeed section A. The pallet load is comprised of several layers of objects
14
, in this example plastic bottles, that are each separated from each other by a paperboard slipsheet
16
positioned under each layer of objects
14
. The layers of objects
14
and the slipsheets
16
are all supported on a pallet
18
, for example a wooden pallet although pallets are constructed of other types of materials. As shown in
FIG. 1
, the banding or plastic sheetwrap that usually secures the layers of objects
14
and slipsheets
16
to the top surface of the pallet
18
has been removed. With the pallet load of objects
14
positioned by the infeed conveyor
12
in the object infeed section A, the control system of the machine has precisely positioned the pallet load relative to the sections of the machine to permit the quick depalletizing of each layer of objects in the pallet load. The direction of movement of the infeed conveyor
12
may be reversed for operation in a palletizing mode.
Shown at the top of the object infeed section A is a sweeper mechanism
22
. The sweeper mechanism
22
has a generally rectangular base
24
at its top that is supported in the machine to move horizontally across the length of the machine between the object infeed section A and the object outfeed section C, and also to move vertically in the elevator section B as will be explained. Suspended from four edges of the base
24
are four side plates
26
, only three of which are visible in
FIG. 1
, that are suspended from the four edges of the base
24
. A pivot rod supports each of the side plates
26
from each edge of the base
24
for relative pivoting movement of the side plates
26
to the base
24
as represented by the arrows in FIG.
1
. The pivoting movement of the side plates
26
is controlled by pneumatic actuators that can be controlled to pivot the side plates
26
upwardly to positions that are substantially horizontal and parallel with the base
24
.
A gripper mechanism
28
is also supported by the frame in the object infeed section A of the machine. The gripper mechanism
28
is supported by the frame for vertical movement of the mechanism across the entire vertical height of the object infeed section A. The gripper mechanism
28
comprises a pair of jaws
32
that are controlled to close and grip the back edge of a slipsheet
16
in depalletizing operation of the machine as will be explained.
An elevator mechanism
34
is supported in the elevator section B of the machine. The elevator mechanism
34
is supported for vertical movement across the vertical height of the elevator section B. The elevator mechanism
34
has a smooth, flat top sliding surface
36
that is controlled by the control system of the machine to be selectively positioned by the elevator mechanism adjacent the tiers of slipsheets
16
and the top surface of the outfeed conveyor to be described. In some prior art machines of this type the elevator mechanism
34
, the sweeper mechanism
22
and the gripper mechanism
28
are all part of the same unit and move together vertically. However, these mechanisms can also be made to move independently of each other.
An end of an outfeed conveyor
38
is supported in the machine frame in the object outfeed section C. The outfeed conveyor
38
is depicted as a belt and pulley conveyor but may be any other type of conveyor. As with the infeed conveyor
12
, the conveying direction of the outfeed conveyor
38
may be reversed in order to employ the machine in both a depalletizing mode and a palletizing mode.
The operation of the representative depiction of the prior art depalletizer/palletizer shown in
FIG. 1
is similar to the operation of most prior art palletizer/depalletizers. In the depalletizing mode of operation, a pallet load consisting of a pallet
18
having layers of objects
14
arranged thereon with each layer separated by a
Howell & Haferkamp LC
Krizek Janice L.
Ouellette Machinery Systems, Inc.
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