Stack stripper for a stacking machine

United States Patent m

Schweizer et al.

[li] Patent Number: 4,927,322 [45] Date of Patent: May 22, 1990

[54] STACK STRIPPER FOR A STACKING MACHINE

[75] Inventors: Werner Schweizer, Boynton Beach;

Daniel J. McGuire, Ft. Lauderdale;
Edward D. Archer, Lantana, all of
Fla.

[73] Assignee: Curt G. Joa, Inc., Sheboygan Falls, Wis.

[21] Appl. No.: 349,119
[22] Filed: May 8,1989

[51] Int. CI.' B65G 25/00

[52] U.S. CI 414/794.7; 414/788.1;

198/429; 198/430; 53/152

[58] Field of Search 198/418.4, 430, 429,

198/418.9, 426; 414/331, 794.7, 791, 788.1;

53/152, 153

[56] References Cited

U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS

3,191,748 6/1965 Martin 198/430

3,995,748 12/1976 Looney 414/791 X

4,325,475 4/1982 Spalding 198/429

4,399,905 8/1983 Lance et al 198/430

4,523,671 6/1985 Campbell 198/429

■ 4,802,570 2/1989 Hirsch et al 198/430 X

Primary Examiner—Robert J. Spar

Assistant Examiner—James R. Bidwell

Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Fuller, Ryan & Hohenfeldt

[57] ABSTRACT

A vertically extending stripper bar is manipulated to strip a stack of articles from a conveyor while the conveyor is carrying the articles downwardly at high speed. A carriage is mounted for being vertically movable. A pneumatic cylinder is coupled to the carriage. The stripper bar is supported on horizontal guide rods which slide in the vertically movable carriage. A pneumatic cylinder moves the stripper bar horizontally in and out relative to the conveyor. When the correct number of articles has accumulated next to the bar, a stripping cycle is initiated. This involves activating one pneumatic cylinder which pushes the stripper bar horizontally across the path of the downwardly moving articles. A gear rack is mounted to the vertically movable carriage and it is engaged by a gear which begins to drive the carriage and stripper bar downwardly at the same speed that the articles are moving downwardly at the instant the stripper bar begins to move horizontally. At the instant when the stripping cycle begins, a clutch is engaged to make the gear drive the carriage downwardly by driving the rack. When the stack of articles is cleared of the paddles, the clutch is disengaged and the gear can turn freely. The pneumatic cylinder which is coupled to the carriage drives the carriage upwardly back to its home position in readiness for stripping the next stack to accumulate.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets