Material or article handling – Apparatus for moving intersupporting articles into – within,... – Stack forming apparatus
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-21
2002-04-16
Olszewski, Robert P. (Department: 2167)
Material or article handling
Apparatus for moving intersupporting articles into, within,...
Stack forming apparatus
C414S792700
Reexamination Certificate
active
06371720
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 arranges the objects in layers on a pallet. In particular, the present invention pertains to an apparatus that is employed to palletize objects, where improvements result in more time efficient operation of the apparatus.
(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 containers or objects. 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.
In many conveyor systems in which objects are loaded onto pallets, the faster the system can operate to load pallets the more cost efficient is its operation. With manual 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 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 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 supply conveyor
12
depicted as a belt and pulley conveyor. However, any other type of known supply conveyor may be employed to transport objects to the machine infeed section A. As depicted in
FIG. 1
, the supply conveyor
12
has transported a layer of objects into the object infeed section A. Conveyors of palletizers of this type usually have side rails (not shown) and depending, vertically reciprocated gates (not shown) that arrange a plurality of the objects into a generally square grouping that is dimensioned to cover a majority of the load supporting surface of a pallet onto which the objects are to be loaded. The grouping of objects
14
arranged on the supply conveyor
12
will comprise one layer of objects to be loaded onto a pallet by the palletizer. When the supply conveyor
12
has conveyed the grouping of objects
14
into the infeed section A and adjacent the elevator section B, the programmable control unit of the palletizer (CU) controls the motor or drive system M for the supply conveyor
12
to stop the conveyor with the grouping of objects adjacent the elevator section B.
Positioned in the elevator section B is an elevator platform
16
having a drive system M that is controlled by the control unit to move vertically in the elevator section B and, to a limited extent, to move horizontally. The elevator platform
16
is part of a carriage assembly of the palletizer, where the carriage assembly is mounted in the frame
10
and is driven by its drive system to move vertically through the elevator section B. The elevator platform
16
, being mounted on the carriage assembly, moves vertically with the carriage assembly through the elevator section B and also moves horizontally to a limited extent relative to the carriage assembly.
A sweeper assembly
18
is also mounted on the carriage assembly for vertical movement with the carriage assembly. In addition, the sweeper mechanism
18
is mounted on the carriage assembly for horizontal movement of the sweeper mechanism
18
across the carriage assembly between the infeed section A, the elevator section B, and the object outfeed section C. Therefore, the sweeper mechanism
18
not only moves vertically with the elevator platform
16
as the carriage assembly moves vertically, but may also move horizontally relative to the elevator platform
16
. The sweeper mechanism
18
has a pair of side flaps
22
, a front flap
24
and a rear flap
26
mounted for pivoting movement about the top edges of the four flaps. The top edges of the four flaps are suspended from four edges of a base
28
of the sweeper mechanism
18
. The base
28
is generally rectangular so that when the four flaps are moved to depend straight downward from the base
28
they define a square that extends around the grouping of objects
14
. The pivoting movement of the flaps is controlled by actuators M that are controlled by the control unit of the palletizer to move the pair of side flaps
24
upwardly and move the front
24
and rear
26
flaps upwardly.
An end of an output conveyor
30
is supported in the palletizer frame in the object outfeed section C. The output conveyor
30
in the preferred embodiment is a chain and sprocket conveyor. Conveyors of this type are known in the art and are generally comprised of shafts with two or more sprockets mounted on the shaft in a spaced apart relation. The shafts are positioned parallel to each other in a spaced arrangement along the conveying length of the conveyor. Loops of chain are meshed between the sprockets of adjacent shafts. In prior art
FIG. 1
, the sprockets
32
and loops of chain
34
are represented schematically. The drive system for the output conveyor
30
is controlled by the control unit to selectively rotate the shafts and their sprockets
32
, thereby causing the chains
34
around the sprockets to convey objects, such as the pallet
36
shown in
FIG. 1
, on the output conveyor
30
.
The output conveyor
30
shown in
FIG. 1
conveys a pallet
36
loaded with layers of objects
14
out of a loading station
38
in the object outfeed section C of the palletizer. However, before the pallet
36
is loaded with layers of objects by the palletizer, an empty pallet
36
, with a slipsheet
40
positioned thereon, must first be moved into the loading station
38
of the outfeed section C. An empty pallet with its slipsheet is usually conveyed into the loading station
38
by a pallet input conveyor (not shown). In the schematic representation of the palletizer shown in
FIG. 1
, the supply conveyor
12
, the elevator platform
16
and the output conveyor
30
are all arranged in a longitudinal line from left to right. The empty pallet input conveyor in systems such as that shown in
FIG. 1
is usually positioned to a lateral side of the object outfeed section C so that it will supply an empty pallet and slipsheet in a lateral direction onto the output conveyor
30
at the loading station
38
in the object outfeed section C of the palletize
Coburn LLP Thompson
O'Connor Gerald J.
Olszewski Robert P.
Ouellette Machinery Systems, Inc.
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