Abstract:
A patterning apparatus for advancing packaged baked goods such as loaves of bread, and positioning the packages for precise loading into delivery containers includes an endless conveyor having a horizontally disposed upper flight and a series of turner assemblies spaced along the conveyor. Each turner assembly, when on the upper flight, receives one or more packages, which rest by gravity effect on the turner assembly. The turner assemblies are adapted to rotate the received package in a horizontal plane while also achieving longitudinal conveyance in the direction of motion of the upper flight, and lateral movement transversely to the longitudinal direction.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to apparatus for positioning and advancing packaged baked goods such as loaves of bread, buns, rolls and the like which must be grouped in accurate patterns for loading into delivery containers for transportation to retail outlets. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     It is common for baked goods such as loaves of bread, buns and the like to be packaged by placing them into individual plastic bags with the open end of each plastic bag being gathered and having a gripping closure placed there around inwardly of the open end. The terminal portion of the bag outwardly of the closure expands to form a fantail end portion which is generally referred to in the bread packaging art as a “tail.” 
     The packaged bread loaves or other baked goods are generally placed in trays or containers for transportation to retail outlets. The packages are typically arranged in a particular pattern for loading in the container, depending upon the size and shape of the container and the size and shape of the individual packages, so as to place the maximum number of packages in each container without damage to the packages and without having any portion of a package, including the tail, project,beyond the container. The tail extremity of the packages are preferably directed toward the interior of the container. 
     For this purpose, pattern forming devices are known in the art for arranging individual articles into predetermined patterns and then handling the pattern as a unit for loading into an associated container or the like. Pattern formers designed for handling packaged baked goods are disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,739,902 and 3,779,363. However, these devices require one or more transfers between moving belts during the pattern forming operation. Such transfers necessarily increase the amount of handling that each package must undergo, thereby increasing the chance of damage to the packaged products. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,292 discloses a patterning apparatus which employs a horizontally disposed window belt to orient and advance packages of bakery goods. As the belt undergoes continuous movement, packages supplied from a feeder belt drop through a window on the belt onto an underlying rotatable platform. Entrance and exit gates and a vertically movable positioning frame undergo reciprocating movement each time packages drop through the window. The complex sequence of events attendant package orientation causes the apparatus to have a slow throughput and frequent incidence of malfunction. Although throughput can be increased by causing groups of packages to be supplied by said feeder belt, such grouping diminishes the patterning options of the apparatus. 
     It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a continuous patterning apparatus for arranging packaged bakery goods for shipment. 
     It is another object of this invention to provide patterning apparatus as in the foregoing object which has a faster throughput than prior patterning apparatus. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a patterning apparatus of the aforesaid nature capable of handling sequentially supplied single packages. 
     It is a still further object of this invention to provide a patterning apparatus of the aforesaid nature of simple and durable construction amenable to low cost manufacture. 
     These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The above and other beneficial objects and advantages are accomplished in accordance with the present invention by a patterning apparatus for arranging packaged bakery goods for placement into shipping containers, said apparatus comprising: 
     a) a product orienter comprised of: 
     1) conveyor means having a horizontally disposed surface for transporting packages of bakery goods in a longitudinal direction from an entrance site to a discharge site, 
     2) a series of turner assemblies associated with said conveyor means for rotating said packages in a horizontal plane while being transported, and 
     3) means for causing displacement of said turner assemblies laterally with respect to said longitudinal direction during said transport, and 
     b) a staging deck which receives oriented packages from said product orienter and assembles them into a predetermined pattern. 
     The turner assemblies include platform means capable of retaining by gravity effect a packaged bakery product resting thereupon. Said platform means is comprised of an upper layer of a resilient material and a lower layer comprised of an engineering grade polymer such as a nylon polyamide in a sufficiently thin sheet configuration to impart flexibility to said lower layer. Said resilient material is preferably a closed cell sponge rubber as defined in ASTM-D-1056-99, grade  2 C 2 , and having a coefficient of friction interactive with said packaged bakery goods of between 1.0 and 1.2. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and in which similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawing: 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the patterning apparatus of this invention shown in association with packages of bakery goods and conventional.components of equipment for loading said packages into containers for transportation to retail outlets. 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows upon the line  3 — 3  of FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the embodiment of FIG. 2 with portions broken away. 
     FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 4 with portions broken away. 
     FIG. 6 is a schematic side view corresponding to FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 7 is a fragmentary top view showing a turner assembly of the patterning apparatus. 
     FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows upon the line  8 — 8  of FIG. 7, with parts added. 
     FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows upon the line  9 — 9  of FIG.  7 . 
     FIG. 10 is a top view similar to FIG. 4 but with further portions broken away, and schematically illustrating functionality. 
     FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows upon the line  11 — 11  of FIG.  9 . 
     FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows upon the line  12 — 12  of FIG.  9 . 
     FIG. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of the belt component of the apparatus of FIG.  3 . 
     FIGS. 14A-H illustrate typical patterns of packaged bakery goods emplaced within shipping containers, with descriptive titles. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The expressions “upper” and “lower” and terms of equivalent import are employed herein for convenience of description, and are not intended to be limitative of the invention. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 1-13, an embodiment of the patterning apparatus  10  of the present invention is shown in functional association with infeed conveyor  11  that supplies a succession of packaged bakery goods  12  along a longitudinal path  13 . Said packages are oriented and positioned by product orienter  14  and forwarded to staging deck  15  on which a predetermined pattern of packages is assembled. Said assemblage of packages is moved as a unit to a container loader  16  for loading into waiting containers  17 . The infeed conveyor  11 , the product orienter  14 , the staging deck  15  and container loader  16  are all disposed in-line upon longitudinal center path or axis  13 , along which said packages are transported. 
     Infeed conveyor  11  is of standard construction, comprised of endless belt  18  whose upper flight  19  moves in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 for transporting packages forwardly along said longitudinal path. A bridging conveyor  20  may be employed between infeed conveyor  18  and product orienter  14 . Said bridging conveyor may be equipped with a control gate  21  adapted to move into and out of the path of packages to selectively space or time the packages before their transfer to said product orienter. For purposes of illustration, the packages  12  have been depicted as loaves of bread in plastic bags tied at one end to form a tail  99  in a well known manner. In the drawings, the loaves on said infeed conveyor are shown placed transversely to path  13  with the tails all oriented in the same direction. However, in other embodiments, the tails may be otherwise oriented. 
     Product orienter  14  includes a frame  22  comprised of a plurality of upright posts  23  interconnected by horizontal members  24 . An endless belt  25  is positioned at the upper extremity of frame  22 . Said belt is comprised of a multitude of parallel cross rods  26  orthogonally disposed to path  13  and secured at their lateral extremities to paired vertically disposed endless sprocket chains  27 . Such arrangement further defines opposed lateral edges  37  of belt  25 . Said sprocket chains engage paired forward and rearward sprocket wheels  28  and  29 , respectively, mounted on axles  97  journaled to said frame. In the illustrated embodiment, said forward sprocket wheels are driven in a clockwise direction by motor  30  and associated speed controller  39 , thereby forwardly advancing the upper flight  31  of belt  25 . The lower, rearwardly moving flight  32  of belt  25  is spaced apart from said upper flight by the diameter of said sprocket wheels, thereby creating an a intervening zone  33  that contains equipment components which will be subsequently described. The diameter of said sprocket wheels, and the attendant height of zone  33  is preferably between 12 and 14 inches. Belt  25  may be further characterized in having an outer surface  34  and opposed interior surface  35  directed toward intervening zone  33 . Rails supported by frame  22  may be disposed between corresponding forward and rearward sprocket wheels for slideably supporting chains  27 . 
     A number of turner assemblies  36  are carried by belt  25  in a manner to slideably traverse between opposite edges  37  of said belt. Said turner assemblies include a rotator gearbox  70 . As best shown in FIGS. 7-9 and  11 - 12 , the rotator gearbox has an exterior configuration comprised of bottom extremity  71 , upper extremity  72  and sidewall  73  disposed between said upper and lower extremities. Upper extremity  72  is provided with opposed receiving troughs  95  configured to slideably engage adjacent cross rods of said belt, particularly at gaps  38  in said belt where two or more cross rods have been deleted. Specialized heavy duty cross rods  74  may be employed within gap  38  for slideably receiving said gearbox by way of troughs  95 . Said specialized cross rods  74  serve as tracks for the traversing movement of the turner assembly across belt  25 . 
     Drive means in the form of a knurled circular input hub  51  protrudes downwardly from bottom extremity  71 , and attaches to input shaft  75  that enters the interior  76  of gearbox  70 . A first flat gear  77  is attached to shaft  75 , and is interactive with second flat gear  78  attached to interior shaft  79 . A first bevel gear  80  is positioned atop shaft  79 , and is interactive with second level gear  81  attached to worm gear  82  journaled to sidewall  73  in orthogonal relationship to input shaft  75 . Rotation of said worm gear produces controlled turning of output shaft  83  having attached securement plate  84  emergent from upper extremity  72  of gearbox  70 . 
     In a preferred embodiment, gearbox  70  is constructed in a manner such that twenty revolutions of input shaft  75  produce one revolution of output shaft  83 . Accordingly, five revolutions of said input shaft produce a 90 degree rotation of said output shaft. 
     Each turner assembly  36  is further comprised of platform means  44  attached to securement plate  84  by way of cap  91  consisting of a thin flat plastic disc bolted to plate  84  in a manner to sandwich there between said platform means. Platform means  44  is comprised in part of disc  45  fabricated of a durable engineering grade polymer such as a nylon polyamide, polycarbonate, polyacetal or polyester, and being sufficiently thin to be resilient. The thickness of disc  45  is preferably between 0.5 and 2.0 millimeters. The outer perimeter of disc  45  is slideably held beneath elongated brackets  46  coextensive with said cross rods on outer surface  34 . The degree of resiliency of disc  45  should be such as to enable it to remain engaged by brackets  46  as the corresponding portion of belt  25  moves around said sprocket wheels. 
     A second component of platform means  44  is an upper layer  47  of a resilient material such as a closed cell sponge as defined by ASTM-D1056-99 Grade  2 C 2 , and having a Shore A Hardness between 10 and 70. Upper layer  47  preferably has a coefficient of friction interactive with the packaged bakery item between 1.0 and 1.2, and is preferably bonded to disc  45  by use of adhesives or other means. Said coefficient of friction is the tangent of the angle to which a first object resting upon a second object can be tilted without sliding. In the case of a loaf of bread in a polyethylene bag resting upon upper layer  47 , said angle is between 45 and 50 degrees, which provides a coefficient of 1.0-1.2. It has been found that, when said upper layer has the aforesaid properties, any package of bakery goods will be retained thereupon by gravity force alone despite translational and rotational movement of the package. 
     A straight swing track  52  elongated between upstream and downstream open extremities  53  and  54 , respectively, is disposed within intervening zone  33  adjacent upper flight  31 . Track  52  has an upwardly opening U-shaped configuration comprised of spaced apart vertical side panels  85  and connecting bottom panel  86 . Upstream extremity  53  is pivotably secured at a site  98  above the axle of rearward sprocket wheels  29  to permit movement of track  52  in a horizontal plane. Low friction bearing plates  89  may be attached to the facing surfaces of side panels  85 . 
     Downstream extremity  54  of track  52  is pivotably secured to transverse belt  55  interactive with laterally opposed drive spool  87  and follower spool  88 . A computer-controlled servomotor  56  interactive with drive spool  87  produces reciprocating back and forth movement of belt  55 , causing swinging movement of downstream extremity  54  of said track toward the lateral edges  37  of belt  25 . 
     Upstream extremity  53  of track  52  is adapted to receive turner assemblies  36  by embracing the sidewalls  73  thereof as said assemblies are moved by belt  25  forwardly upon entering upper flight  31 . As the turner assemblies  36  continue their forward travel, swinging movement of track assembly  52  causes said turner assemblies to exit at desired lateral locations on upper flight  31 . Once exited from the track assembly, the released turner assemblies retain their positions with respect to the lateral edges of belt  25 . 
     While said turner assemblies ride within track  52 , elongated control bars  61 , activated by pneumatic cylinders  69 , are selectively caused to move to inward and outward positions with respect to the longitudinal center of the track. In the inward position, a rubber strip  93  attached to the forward extremity of bar  61  is brought into forceful contact with input hub  51 . Such action produces rotation of hub  51 , with consequent rotation of platform means  44 . The length of the control bar and the diameter of hub  51  are matched so that 90 degrees of rotation are produced by each control bar  61 . For example, if hub  51  has a diameter of one inch, five rotations of said hub will be produced by 15.7 inches of contact with rubber strip  93 , and said five rotations, at a 20/1 ratio, cause platform means  44  to turn 90 degrees. 
     Three control bars  61  are associated with track  52 , and are designated  61 A,  61 B and  61 C. Bars  61 A and  61 B are in facing juxtaposition, and bar  61 C is positioned further downstream. When it is desired to cause a turner assembly to rotate 90 degrees counterclockwise, bar  61 A will be caused to contact hub  51 . If a 90 degree clockwise rotation is sought, bar  61 B will be pushed inwardly to contact hub  51 . When a 180 degree rotation of the turner assembly is needed, bars  61 B and  61 C will sequentially interact with hub  51 . As best shown by the arrows in FIG. 7, the turner assembly  36 , while engaged by track  52 , rotates and is advanced forwardly by the belt, as indicated by the “driven” arrow, and is caused to slide in a reciprocating lateral direction by virtue of the swinging motion of track  52 , as indicated by the “slide” arrow. Such directions of motion are also shown by the arrows associated with gearboxes  70  in FIG.  10 . 
     Two straight elongated stationary guide rails  57  are disposed within intervening zone  33  adjacent lower flight  32 . Said guide rails are adapted to slideably contact the sidewall  73  of rotator gearboxes  70 , and are convergent in the rearward direction, thereby defining a funnel-shaped area  58  adapted to gather said turner assemblies and return them to longitudinal path  13  upon the center line of belt  25 . Said centered turner assemblies are then carried around rearward sprocket wheels  29 , and enter track  52  associated with upper flight  31 . 
     In the operation of the product orienter  14  of the present invention, packages are deposited by infeed conveyor  11  onto the resilient upper layer  47  of the platform means of sequential turner assemblies. A programmable computer controls the operation of pneumatic cylinders  69  to achieve desired rotational orientation of each package, and a computer interactive with servomotor  56  simultaneously causes traversing movement of track  52  to achieve desired lateral position of the package. The positioned packages are transferred from upper flight  31  onto staging deck  15  having a bed of free-rolling rollers  60  which enables the packages to be assembled into a predetermined pattern. The assemblage of packages is then transferred to shipping containers  64 . Typical patterns of said assemblages are shown in FIGS. 15A-H. 
     In view of the aforesaid specialized components and their interaction, the patterning apparatus is capable of high speed operation while producing any pattern configuration. Throughput speeds of up to 120 packages per minute are achievable. By way of comparison, patterning apparatus of the prior art has generally been capable of not more than about 90 packages per minute. 
     While particular examples of the present invention have been shown and described, it is apparent that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention in its broadest aspects. The aim of the appended claims, therefore, is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.