Patent ID: 7736121
Filing Date: 2010-06-15
Classification: A21B,B65H

Abstract:
1. A destacking device for dispensing planar food products, such as tortillas, from a stack bottom, comprising: a carriage assembly configured for linear reciprocation and including a drum having a substantially cylindrical wall and configured to, in response to linear reciprocation of said carriage assembly, rotate between a first position and a second position, said first position being adjacent a receiving area for a stack of planar food products and said second position being angularly displaced from said first position; a suction lip having a hole therethrough and proximal said wall, said suction lip configured to move between a closed position in which said drum is in said first position and an open position in which said drum is in said second position, said suction lip, when in said closed position, being substantially closed with respect to said wall and configured to have a negative pressure at said hole to secure against said suction lip a bottommost member of the stack, and said suction lip, when in said open position, being substantially open with respect to said wall and configured to have the negative pressure released at said hole to release from said suction lip the bottommost member in a substantially downward direction; and an air cylinder responsive to the presence and absence of a negative pressure to move between a distended position and an extended position, said air cylinder, when in said distended position, configured to pull said lip into said closed position, and said cylinder, when in said extended position, configured to push said lip into said open position.