CA1278319C - Continuous motion, in-line product stacking apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

CONTINUOUS MOTION, IN-LINE PRODUCT STACKING APPARATUS
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A continuous motion, in-line stacker for positioning products, one atop the other, as the products are being conveyed from a product supply point to a high-speed wrapping machine.
The stacker assembly comprises a supply conveyor which is in longitudinal alignment with a downstream stacking conveyor and a discharge conveyor. The stacking conveyor has an endless belt or chain which is trained over a series of idler rollers or sprockets so as to form an ascending flight, a horizontal flight, a descending flight and a return flight. Secured to the stacking conveyor's belt or chain at predetermined spacings therealong are a series of product platens of predetermined differing heights.
In the zone of the horizontal flight are a series of vertically arranged, horizontally extending deadplates whose vertical spacings correspond to the heights or the product platens. As the products move along the supply conveyor, they are intercepted by the product's platens as they move along the ascending flight and are deposited on the deadplates in sequence. Also affixed to the stacker conveyor's belt or chain are a series of pusher fingers which cooperate with the products resting on the deadplates to move those products in unison off the deadplates and onto the descending flight of the stacker conveyor to be picked up by the discharge conveyor. In moving off the deadplates in unison, the products become stacked one atop the other.

Description

~7~ 3 CONTINUOUS MOTION, IN-LINE PRODUCT ~TACKI~G APP~RA~JS
BACKGROUND OF TH~ INVENTION
I. Field oP the Invention: Thl~ lnventlon r~lates gan~rally to material~ handllng apparatu~, and more ~pacl~ically S to an improvsd maans for s~acking product~ one Atop th~ eth~r a~
they are transported ~rom a supply station to a wrapplng ~tatlon.
II. Discu~sion o~ the Prior Art: In packaging product~ ~or distribution, it i8 sometimes de~ired that the product~ be arranged in layer~ or ~tack6 prior ~o being wrappsd ln plastic ~ilm, ~oil or pap~r. For ~xample, bak~ry it~m~ ~uch a~ coo~
buns, confoctionary item~, etc., are o~ten a~c~d two, thro~ or mora high in a ~ray or box prior to being envaloped i~ ~ ~ultabl~
film wrappsr. Similarly, ~rozen meat or ~i~h pattl~ ~r~ o~t~n ~tac~ed prior to b~ing wrapped. It i6, 0~ cour~e, deeir~bl~ that the ~acking operation be au~omated ~nd th~t ~he ~ack~ b¢
creatad and ~ransported to ~ha wrapping ~tation at a speed compatible with the ovarall ~peed o~ ~he 3upply ~ourcs and the high-~paed wrapper. To avoid th~ ne~d gor machine ~hut-down or intermitt4nt opsration, it i8 imperat1v~ that th~ ~tacking ~y~tem not only work continuouely at hig~ Bp~e~, but in ~ r~ bl~
~a~hion and wlthout damAg0 to tho product~ b~ing ~t~ckod.
In the Joa Patent 2,324,930, ther~ i~ d0plct~d ~n arrange~ent ~or rec~iving products in ~erial ord~r and ar~ting a ~tack Or a pred~t~rmin~d height which involva~ ~ v~rtl~ally orientad ccnv~yor, havlng a plurality o~ outw~rdly pro~ectlng arm~ ~ecured th~reto, po~itioned down~traam ~rom And ~d~ac~nt to a horizontally extsnding product supply conveyor. Th~
vertically-orient~d conv~yor i~ ~ynchronized with th~ ~upply conveyor ~uch that, a~ ~n arm on the vortlaal conveyor p~e~ by the end o~ the supply conv~yor, a produc~ ie di~char~ed ~r4m the supply conv~yor onto the arm and carrled upward prior to turning 180J and d~6canding. Al~o included i~ a aynchroniz~d ~l~charge convQyor having a plurali~y o~ pu~her~ a~fixe~ thar~to, the pu~her~ bQing o~ a predetermined height LO a~ to ~lmultaneou~ly engage a plurality o~ product,3 on a~jacent arm~ o~ the v0rtical stacking convQyor. A~ the dischar~e conveyor move~, the pusher ~inger~ engag~ a stack o~ produc~s on the arm~ and urg~ them free o~ the~e arm~.
Another machine ~or accomplishing a similar end. i.~., stacking product~ diæclo6ed in the Rose Patent 4,413,462.
In th~ case o~ this machine, ~andwlch~d coo~ies ~r~ deliv0r~d ~rom ~ conventional ~andwi~hlng ~achln~ an~ atacked lnto two-hlgh ~tack~ b~Por~ being tran~ported ~o ~ wr~pplng machln0. In thi~
machine, ~ir~t and ~econd row~ o~ cookle~ l~aving the sandw~chlng machino ara tran~ported along parallel conveyor branche~, with one such branch being elevated ralativ~ to th~ other and of~t therefrom in a ~ida-by-side relation~hip. The upper branch ha~
a diverter which ~xtend~ obliqu~ly to a point wher~ itB ~nd ovorlio~ th0 lowQr conveyor. A~ the r~pectiv~ product~ mov~
along their r0~pective conv~yor bx~nch~ point 1~ reach~d whare the two conv~yor~ m~rge in a common vertic~l plan~ allowin~
cookie~ di~charged rrOm th~ upp~rmo~t conveyo~ to com~ to ro~ an top o~ other cookie~ progras~ing along the low~r conv~yor.
Whil~ the machln~ d~cribed in th~ a~or~re~srenc~d ~o~ ~nd ~5 Ros~ pat~nt~ functlon to ~tack product prlor to wxapping, ln each in~tanc~, ths machines in que~tion ar~ unduly complic~t~d and would app~r to be ~ub~ ect to ~evere problem~ in t~rm~ or main~aining ~ynchronization over prolon~ed periods Or operatlon.
It is th~ purposs o~ the pr~nt lnv~ntion to obvlat~ ~uch 30 prOblemB. r .

~ 2 ~

SUMMARY OF THE INVEN~ION
In ~ccor~ance wl~h ~he present invent~on, a ~tack o~
products 18 cr~a~ad without the nece~ity oP cha~ging ~ha gsneral direction o~ travel o~ the product~ a~ th~y progre~ ~rom a 5 supply source to the wrapping ~a~ion. ~ore partlcularly, and ln contraat wi~h the above d~3cribed prior art machlneEI, th~ product ~low remain~ in a longitudinal dlrentlon and the re~pQctlve conveyors ~omprislng ths ~ystem operat0 in a contlnuou~ Plow mode.
T~o ~y~tem o~ the pre~en~ inventlon can ~ con~ld~r~d ao ~
contlnuou~ motlon, ln-lina ~tacker capabl~ o~ r~c0ivlng ~roduGt ~ro~ a supply atation, cr~ating a v~rtl~ t~cX o~ such product~, and tranaporting the ~tack to the in~0d aonvayor o~ a high-~p~d wrapping machins. I~ compri~s a ~upply conveyor which i~ in longitudinal alignment with, ~ir~t, a down~tream ~tac~ing convayor and, ~econd, with a di~charg~ conv~yor. The supply conveyor provide~ product~ to kh~ stacking conveyor in a synchronized, serial ~equence. The ~tacXing conv~yox lncludes an andleRs belt or chain which i~ train~d over 3 series ot idler roller~ or ~procketa ~o a~ to ~orm an ~sc~nding ~light, a horizontal flight ~ollowed by a descendlng flight in the directlon o~ product movemsnt. ~ecurod to th~ ~tac~lng ~onveyor'e bslt or chain at pxedetermined ~paclng~ ~rom on~
another ar~ ~ aerie~ o~ product plat~n~ o~ pr~d~e~mlned height dimen~ion or dim~n~lon~. The epacing b~tw~n ~nd l~ngth o~
ad~acent product platen~ i~ a ~unction o~ th~ l~ngth dimen~lon o~
the product b~ing atack~d.

~ o~ia~e~ wlth ~hs ~one :Involvlng ths horizont~ ht o~
the ~acking conveyor are a ~erie~ oR vertically ~paced, horizon~ally extending ~ea~plate~. The ~paclng betwe0n ad~cent deadplates i~ determined ~y the product~ thickne~ and the height of the product platen~.
As tha product~ movs alonq thQ 6upply conveyor, they are intexcept~d by the produc~ platene as th0y mov~ alcng tha a~cending ~light o~ the 0tacking conveyor'~ b~lt or chain and ~r~
depo~ited on the ~tationary deadplate~) in ~a~u~nce ~ o 1~ a~ix~d to the stacker conveyor'~ belt or chain aro a ~rl~ o~
pu~her Ylng~r~ which cooperat~ wi~h ~he product~ r~ing on th~
d~adplat~(~) ko ~ovo tho~e product~ in uni~on o~ the daadplate(~) and onko ~he descendin~ ~light o~ ~ha ~tacker conveyor to be picked up by the discharge conveyor. ~ecaus~ the products are moved freQ of the stationary d~dplates in unieon, thay a~suma a stacked relationship on th~ ds~cending ~llght and lator on the di~charga con~eyor.
Th~ ~ystem oP th~ present lnvention ~t~k~ th~ product with continuou~ motlon whil~ traveling along a ~ingl0 longltudlnal axis and wltbout the need ~or cam~, intermi~ten~ motion, cycllc divert~rs or any other type o~ ~tart/stop mot~on. A~ ~uch, the ~ystsm i3 capablc of operatlng at sub~tantially high~r ~p~eds than known prior ark ~y~tem~.
OBJEC~S
It is accordingly a principal ob~0ct o~ the praaent inv~ntion to provide a n~w and improved ~y~tem ~or conveying product3 ~rom a ffupply ~ource to a wr~pplng machln~ whll~
aimultaneou~ly creating a vertlcal ~tac~ o~ ~u~h product~.

7~

Another ob~et o~ th~ invantion i~ to ~rovid~ ~ ~y~t~m ~or stacklng produc~ whlch do~ not require lnt~rmlttent op~r~tlon of the conveyor drive motor~.
Still another ob~ect of the invention i~ ~o provide a product stacker in which t~le product flow remains allgned with the longitudinal axe~ o~ the conveyor~ employed in the ~y~tem, there belng no need for a ~u~den chanqe in ~he direction o~ the pxoduct flow.
A still ~urther obj~ct of ~he invention i~ to provide a high-sp~ad conveyor/~tack~r mechanl~m which i8 r311abl~ in lt~
operation ovsr prolong~d periodR o~ tim~ ~nd without th~ no~d ~
~rogu~nt ad~ustment to maintain it~ oper~tlng ol~nt~ ln sychronization.
~he~Q and o~her ob~ects and advantag~s o~ the invention w~ll bec~m~ apparent to tho~e skilled in the art from th~ ~ollowing detalled de~cription o~ a pre~erred embodlment, especially wh~n con~idered in con~unction wlth the accompanying drawi~g~ ln which like numerals in the sev~ral vi~w~ reter to corr~ponding part~.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figura 1 i~ a schematic top or plan elevation oi th~ product stacking apparatu~ o~ the pr~ent invention; and Figure 2 is a ~chematic mechanical repre~ntatiDn o~ the aide elevation o~ the product ~tac]cing apparatu~.
Re~erring ~i~ul~aneou~ly to both Figure~ 1 and 2, ~h~re i6 illustrated genarally by numeral 10 a contlnuou~ motion, ln-lino ~tacker in ~ccordanc~ with the pr~ent inv~ntlon. For illu~trativa purpo~es only, th~ lnvention will b~ de~oribed in connect~on with an appllcation in the bakin~ indu~try wher01n lt i~ de~red to ~rea~a stack~ o~ cookies prior to thsir being wrapped by a high- peed horl20ntal wrapping machln~ , such ~ th~

SUPER-H~ or S~RVOT~ONIC~ wrapper~ ~not ~hown) manu~actured and ~old by ~o~oy P~ckaglng Machln~ry, Inc., o~ New ~lchmond, ~l~con~in, the a~lgne~ v~ the in~tant appllcatlon~
In the ~igures, the cookie product~ are ldenti~ied by numeral 12. It le to bs underatood, however, that the pr~ent invention i~ not limited to ~h1B partlcular application, but, ln ~act, can be u~e~ ~or stacking a wide variety o~ product~ as t~ose ~killQd in the art can appreclat~, Pollowing a raading o~
the in~tant patent ~pecif~cation.
l~he in-line ~tacking/conveylng ey~tem, indicated g~n~rally by numeral 10, i~ ~een to compri~e a ~upply conv~yor 14, whtch includ~ a ~lr~t palr o2 ~ndlo~ band~ 16 ~nd ~ ~econd palr ~
endl~s~ bands 18 trained about idler rollers 20 ~n~ 2~ ~rPlxed to a co~on ~ha~t 2~. The rollers 20 and 22 are ~paced lat~rally with re~pect to one anothar ~uch tha~ tha palr3 o~ ban~e 16 and 18 are lik~wi80 ~pacsd laterally with resp~ct to one another.
~h~ lateral Bpacing betweQn adjacent pairs o~ ~ands i~ ma~ntal~ed by virtue og the ~act that the bands ar~ al80 trainod about ldler rollQrs ~6 and 28 affixed to the ~ha~t 30 which, lik~ ~ha~t 24, i~ ~ournaled ~or rotation b~tw~en the ~ramo plateæ 32 ~nd 34.
The band ~paclng i~ determined by th~ width oX th~ product boing transported. The 8~ 0~ endleB~ ~and~ or bQlt~ lfi and 18 are adapted to b~ ~riven in the dirQctlon l~dlc~t~d by th~ ~rxow 36 (Figure 2~ and, a~ such, product 12 re~tlny on ~ho~ band~
will move in the dlrectlon indicated by the arrow ~8.
In ~ddition to the supply conveyor 14, ~h0 continuou~ ~otlon ln-llno ~tack~r 10 al~o include~ ~ ~tacXing cQnv~yor which i4 indicated gen~rally by numQral 40. It i~ n to co~pr1~e an ondlo~ b~lt or ch~in 42 which i~ trainad about roll~r~ or ~procket~ 44, 22, 46 an~ 48 to de~in~ an a~c~nding ~light 50, ~

3~

horlzont~l ~light 52~ a de~cending ~l:lght 5~, And ~ re~urn Plight 56. The roller~ or sprockat~ 4~, 46 and ~, llk~ th~ roll0r or ~prock~t~ 20- 22 and 26-28 are af~lxo~ ~o tr~n~v~r~ly ~xt~nding shaft~ 58, 60 an~ 62 which are g~nerally parallel ~o one anoth~r and which are journaled for rotation ~etween the ~rame plate~ 32 and 34. ~ecau~a the ~haft 58 i~ at a somewhat lower elevation on the fram2 than its next ad;acen~ ~ha~t 24, and bec~use the stack~r conveyor belt or chain 42 i~ driven by a motor (not shown) to move in the direction o~ ths arrow 64, the ~light 50 i~
ld lnclin~d upwardly and to the right at an angl~ ln the rang~ o~
abou~ 3 to 10 de~rees relative to tha horizontal in ~h~ vi~w o~
Flguro 2. Slmilarly, b~caus~ ~he ~ha~t 62 o~ th~ wh~el or sprocket 48 iB mount~d below the sha~t 60 a~ociated wlth th~
roller or sprocket ~6, a~ thQ belt or chain 42 is driven ln the direction o~ th~ arrow 6~, ~he ~light 54 i~ d~cendlng relatiYe to the horizontal in Figure 2. AB can best b~ seen in ths plan view o~ Figure 1, ths ~tacker conveyor balt or chain 42 1 disposed approximat~ly midway betwaen th~ ~et~ oY parall~l band~
16 and 18 compri~ing ths ~upply conveyor 14.
In dQscribing the pre~ent invention, the device~ are con~igured to creat~ a two-high ~tack o~ cookl~ 12. ~ho ~killsd ln th~ ~r~ wlll, however, r~adily viouallzo how th~
principle~ o~ the invention may be extend~d to or~ate ~tack~ oP
product~ which ara greater than two hlgh.
A~ixed to th~ chain ~r belt 42 compri~ing th~ ~tacker convayor are a serie~ o~ pro~uct platan~ 6a whlCh, ln th0 illu~trated embediment, ar~ each o~ the ~am~ h~ight dim~n~lon, h, ~Figur~ 2). Each o~ the plat~ns 68 i~ spacod ~rom it~ ad~ac~nt naighbor by a di~tance only Rllghtly grea~er th~n the l~ngth dimen~ion o~ the product 12 being tran~ported. ~ ~hown in the ~ 7~ 3 drawings, the product platena 6~ musk b~ abl~ to pa~ around ths roller~ or sprocket~ 44 and 48 and, a~ ~uch, may conv~niantly compris~ a ~erle o~ ~epara~e or hingod block~ 70a ~hrough 70e ~ach o~ a height th), ~r~lxed to the b~l or ~haln 42. S00ur~d to ths laading block 70a o~ each o~ the product plat~n~ 68 i~ a pu~er ~ingar w~ich pro~ec~ gen~rally a~ right~ angle~ to the belt 42 and which 1~ ~ubQtan~ially o~ a heigh~ 2h (~lgur~ 2).
PositLoned above and parallal to the horizontal flight 52 o~ the ~tack~r conveyor ~0 by mean~ o~ ~tando~f~ (not ~hown) 1~ a deadplat~ 74 compri~ed o~ ~irst ~nd ~econd coplanar ahQete 76 and 78 o~ stainles~ ~ta~l or other ~uit~bl~ materi~ he hslght o~
the stando~a i~ ~uch that th~ underaur~a~ o~ th~ ~adpl~te membsr~ 76 and 78 i~ o~ a higher elevation relative to th~
horizontal conveyor ~light 52 than iB th~ upp~r ~ur~ac~ o~ the product b~ing tr~n~port~d. Bacau~e o~ tha tran~ver~o ~pacing ~etwaen the inn2r ~ide edg~ of the d~adpl~t~ ~mb~r~ 76 and 78, there i~ ~u~fici~nt clearanca ~or th~ pu~h0r me~ber 72 to pa~
therebetwaen.
A~sociated with th~ de~cending flight 54 of tha ~tacking ~0 convoyor i~ a di~chargs conveyor which 1~ lndica~od g~n~r~lly by numeral 80. Like th6 supply conv~yor 16, ~he di~charge conveyor compxi~a~ ~ir~t and ~econd ~et~ or ~air~ o~ ~ndl~o~ b~nd~ 82 ~nd B4 whio~ ~xtond around ~ ~lr~ pa~r Or roll~rs or ~ro~k~ta including roll~r~ or ~prockat~ 86 and 8~ and 90 ~nd 92.
The~ 3pac0d apart convayor belt palrs p~rmit tho desc~nding ~light 54 o~ th~ ~tack~r conveyor to pa~ th~rebntw~n a~ it passec around tha rollar 62 to b~come th~ return rllght S6. Th~
roll~r~ or sprocket~ ~6 and ~9 and thsir corro~ponding tr~n~v~r~
~haft~ 90 and 92 ar~ ~ournal~d Por rot~tlon ln b~aring~ (not ~hown) ~upportad in the ~id~ ~rame pl~te mamb0r~ 32 and 34 ~re ~k 3~

the ~ame elava~ion and/ a~ ~uch, the upper ~llght o~ the di~ch~rqe conveyor 80 travel~ in a generally hor~zont~l direction, carrying the ~tacked product~ ~ow~rd th~ rlght whon vl~wed as in Flgure 2 wh0re the ~tack~d producte ~re lntsrcopt0d by the pu~her ~ingers 96 ~ixed ~o ~he wrapp~r'~ ln~e~d chaln conv~yor 98. Tho in~aed chain conveyor 98 1~ longitudinally disposad ralative to ~he discharge conveyor ~0 80 that the 1UgB
thereon pass betwean the parallel set~ o~ ondle~ ~and~ 82 and 84 and they trav~rse the a~cending ~light 100 o~ th~ in~ssd lQ conveyor 98 which extend~ betw~en th~ ~prockst whesl~ 102 ~nd 104. ~i~charge conveyor could utiliz~ or b~ compri~d o~ a ~lig~ed chain i~ better product control i~ n~c0~ary du~ to di~ricul~-to-handl~ produets.
Arrival o~ product~ on ths supply convoyor 14 can b~
synchronized with the a~cending ~light 50 o~ th~ stacklng conv~yor 10 u~ing the apparatu~ and m~thod da~crib~d i~ th~
r Patant 4,553,668, a~ignad to ~h~ a~0ign~e Or th~ in~tant application. By drlving it mechanic~lly and ln timo with th~
stacker chain ~2, the product ~tacX~ will alway~ b~ mad~ to arrive in th0 spaca bstween ad~acen~ pu~her ~ing~r~ on th~ in~eed conv~yor chain 9~.
In op~ration, the products (cookia~3 arriv~ in ~terad ~a~hion on the ~upply conv~yor 14 ~o that ~ pr~d~ter~in~d ~p~clng oxi~t~ b~tween a~acent product~. This ~p~cing corro~pond~ with 25 the ~paclng ~atweDn adi acent product pl~ten~ 68 on ~ho ot~ak~r conveyor 40 as doe~ the l~ngth dimen~ion o~ t~e product Rlat~n.
A~ Auch, a~ the product~ ar~ lntercept~d by ~he a~cendlng ~ligh~
o~ th~ ~tackinq conv~yor 40, altQrnat0 product~ will b~
engag~d by tha product platens 68 whlle th~ r~aining product~

continu~ to ride upon the infeed band or b~lt pair~ 16 and 18.

1~'7~

In thls ~a~hion, one product will be ol~vat0d to a heigh'c h while the ~ollowing product r~maln~3 at a low~r ~l~po~i'clon xi~lng upon th~ b~lt p~lr0 16 and 1~. ~n arrlvlng ol~v~t~d ~rod~aat i~
depoaLtlad momentarily u~on tha E~pace-~p~rt doad~l~t6~ m~mb~rs 76 5 and 78 whE3r~ lt remains until ~he n9x~ ~ollowing pu~3her r1ng~r 72 ~ngage~3 that product to cs: ntinue puEIhing the Uppermost product to the right wh~3n view2d in Figure 2. At th~ ~ame ~cime, how4~v8r, lt l~ill be ob~3erved that the product rla~i3iding at the low~r sl~vation, i.~., upon the ~tacker CenVQyOr b~lt 56 itr~3el~, wlll 10 becomQ positloned baneath the product th~n on the deadplate and the two wlll b~ moved in unil3on to th~s rlght untll th~ upp~srmo~t product reach~E~ th~ and of the c~eadpla~e 7~ an~ ~all~ onto tho upper sur~ce o:e the lower product being e:arried blan~ath it.
A~ the stack o~ ~wo product~ contlnue~ ~o mov~ rightward, 15 the desc~nding ~light o~ the stack~r conveyor 5~ wlll no long~r ~upport thia ~tackad product~ and the produc:t~ wlll ke carricd ~urth~r to the right by virtu~ o~ riding upon the ~i~charg~
conveyor bal1:~ 82 and 8~.
A~ already m~ntion~d, the di~charg~ conv~yor ~unction~ to 2 0 time the arrlval o~ the product stacks with th~ ~1 lght ~gment~
between ad~acent pu;her ~ingeri; on the wrapper's in~3ed conveyor 98. Onc~3 ~o intercepted by the in~eed ~onv0yor chain, the producta ax~ carriQd into the hl~h-~p~ed wr~pp~r ~no~ ohown) where th~y ar~ wr~pped ln ~ xible pla~tlc or p~p~r wr~p~ing 2 5 mat~rial .
Whilo the embodirn~nt ~hown ~chematically in Figuro~ 1 ~nd 2 ~llow~ for th~ stac~clng o~ product~ only two high, tho~ ~klllod in th~ art a~n appr~aiatlla that, by Addinq ~urther d0~dplato~ at prodatermin~d helght alevation~ abov~ th~3 d~adpl~t~ 74 and by 30 p~ovidlng additional product platerl~ og incr0~1ngly gr3~t~r ~ ~7~

preda~ermln~d hei~ht~ on ~he stack~r conveyor ~0, the ~atne principal may be u~ed ~co g~nerate a ~ta~k which i~ three or more product~ high. That i~ ko say, i~ i8 only a ma~kar oP properly posltloning product platen~ o~ di~ererlt helght~ on the stack~r conveyor 40 and providing the r~qui~lte number o~ vertirally ~paced deadplate6 ~hat sequential product~ may be 11~ted on~o d~adplate steps o~ increa~ing heigh~ ~ollowsd by a pu~h~r ~ing0r which can be used to BW0ep the compl~ted ~tack o~ a de~ir~d height from th~ ~he~ve~ and on~o ~he d~c~ndlng ~ligh~ 5~ o~ the stackin~ conveyor 40. Deadpla~e or shelv~ 76 and 7~ can be hinged or otherwi~ de~lgned for quick r~moval, whlch allows ~or qulck changeover ~o that only a ono-high product would be pr~sonted to wr~pper'~ ln~d.
So as not to con~u~ the drawing~ and thereby ob~uscate th~
invention, th~ drive ~o~or and ~ransmi~ion ~e~bers a~ocia~d with the Rupply conveyor 14, the ~tack~r conveyor 40 and the di~charge convsyor 80 are not shown. It i~ r0lt ~hat per~ona o~
ordlnary ~ l in the conveyor art can re~dily vi~u~lizo how th~
various c~nveyor section~ are to ba drlv~n ~rom a co~mon motor or by separate servo controlled motor~ ~rom wha~ ha~ b~en particularly disclo~ed and ~t out herQin.
This invention has b~en de~cr~b~d h~r~in ln considerabl~
detail in ordor to comply wit~ th~ Patent Statut~s and to provid0 tho~o ~killed ln ths art with the in~ormation needed to apply th~
novel pr~nciples and to con~truct and u0e ~uch specialized co~ponent~ as are r~quired. Now~v~r, it 1~ to be under~tood that th~ inv~ntion ca~ b~ carried out by ~pea1~ically di~erent squip~ent and d~vice~, and that variou~ ~odi~ication~, bot.h ~3 to equip~ent detalls ~nd operatlng procedurs~, can b~ ~acompll~h~d without departin~ ~rom the ~cope o~ the invantion it~el~.
What ~ cla$med i :

Claims (6)

1. A system for stacking products one atop the other comprising, in combination:
(a) first, second and third endless conveyors positioned in longitudinal alignment with one another, said first conveyor receiving products to be stacked in serial order and transporting same toward said second conveyor;
(b) a horizontally extending deadplate positioned downstream of said first conveyor and above said second conveyor;
(c) means on said second conveyor for elevating every other product carried by said first conveyor onto said deadplate;
and (d) further means on said second conveyor for simultaneously pushing a product disposed on said deadplate and a product carried by said first conveyor onto said third endless conveyor, whereby at least two adjacent products formerly positioned adjacent one another on said first endless conveyor become stacked on one another on said third endless conveyor.

2. Apparatus for stacking products one atop the other comprising:
(a) a feed conveyor having a generally horizontal flight for receiving products thereon at an input station and transporting same in serial order toward a stacking station, said stacking station including a plurality of deadplates positioned in parallel and spaced-apart vertical relation to one another;
(b) a stacking conveyor comprising a driven endless belt trained over a plurality of rollers defining, in order, an ascending flight, a horizontal flight and a descending flight in the direction of travel of said endless belt, said stacking conveyor being in general longitudinal alignment with said feed conveyor and carrying a plurality of platen members of predetermined heights corresponding to the heights of said deadplates above said second horizontal flight of said stacking conveyor and with a predetermined spacing therebetween such that successive products being carried by said feed conveyor are received on successive ones of said platen members as said ascending flight intercepts the horizontal flight of said feed conveyor and are lifted onto a respective one of said deadplates;
(c) a discharge conveyor comprising an endless belt trained over a plurality of rollers to define a generally horizontal flight intersected by said descending flight of said stacking conveyor for carrying products away from said stacking station; and (d) pusher means carried by predetermined ones of said platen members for simultaneously pushing product from said plurality of deadplates onto said horizontal flight of said discharge conveyor in a vertically stacked relationship.

3. The apparatus as in claim 2 wherein each of said platen members includes a plurality of contiguous block-like elements of a length dimension sufficiently small to traverse a semicircular segment of said plurality of rollers, said block-like element being attached to said driven endless belt.

4. The apparatus as in Claim 3 wherein said pusher means is carried by the leading one of said block-line elements in the direction of travel of said platen members on selected ones of said platen members.

5. The apparatus as in Claim 4 wherein said pusher means are of a length at least as great as the vertical height of the uppermost one of said plurality of deadplates.

6. The apparatus as in Claim 2 wherein said ascending flight is at an angle of between three to ten degrees with respect to said horizontal flight.