Patent GB-1167325-A (GB)
Title: Product Handling System
IPC: B65G47/00
Filed: 1966-11-21
Abstract: 1,167,325. Endless conveyers; stacking articles; filling receptacles. BAKER PERKINS Ltd. 21 Nov., 1966 [19 Nov., 1965; 27 July, 1966], No. 51989/66. Headings B8A and B8C. A conveyer is fed at spaced stations along its length by respective product transfer units there being co-operating control means to enable the products to be transferred from any one unit to spaces on the conveyer which are not occupied by products transferred by any other unit. In a first embodiment (Figs. 1, 1a, 2, 3a, 4a, 8b and 11) loaves B fed from wrapping machines 21, 22, 23, are transferred at transfer stations 27, 28, 29, to respective (imaginary) zones b, c, a, of an endless conveyer 31. At a station 32 the loaves are fed into trays T supplied by a conveyer 34 and the filled trays are conveyed onwards by a conveyer 36. From the latter at a station 38 the trays are fed to successive shelves of a wheeled container R. The transfer stations 27, 28, 29.-Each of these comprises endless conveyer chains 49 (Fig. 2) fed by the conveyer 24, 25 or 26, and which feed each loaf B successively to fingers 60 of a stop member carried by an arm 65 (Fig. 11). The fingers 60 are thereby periodically lifted by the action of a cam 69 to lift the loaf B off the chains 49. The cam 69 is synchronized with the conveyer 31, thus at the correct instant the fingers 60 are lowered and the loaf B is allowed to proceed. Any transverse misalignment is squared up by the engagement of the loaf with a stop member 63 which is pivotally mounted at 90 on a second stop member 62 and has a latch member 92 normally in engagement with a member 93. At the correct instant for the loaf to proceed, a cam 79 lifts the stop assembly 62, 63, thereby permitting the loaf to disengage the latch member 92 from the member 93. Once the latter are disengaged, the assembly 62, 63, can drop to the position shown in Fig. 11 (following further movement of the cam 79), and the loaf can proceed to be engaged by a pusher bar 94 of endless conveyer chains 95 operating relative to a conveyer surface 100. If however a loaf is not in engagement with the stop member 63 sufficiently early, it is unable when it does engage the latter to disengage the latch 79 until the next instant (corresponding to the arrival at the transfer point of the next corresponding conveyer station a, b, or c as the case may be). Transfer of each loaf B from the conveyer surface 100 to the conveyer 30 is effected by pushers 105d of an obliquely disposed endless conveyer chain 104. The frame 113 carrying the latter has a measure of longitudinal adjustment provided by slots (111) (Fig. 7, not shown). The tray filling station 32.-Conveyer 30 leads via a conveyer 31 to conveyer chains 155 (Figs. 1a, 3a) and thence to a roller conveyer platform 182 on which the loaves are collected in groups of five for transfer laterally by flights 205 carried by endless chains 195. The latter are driven by a motor (206) (Fig. 2a, not shown) which is started by the closure, by the leading loaf of a group of five loaves proceeding from the (continuously running) conveyer chains 155, of a switch 251. Trays T are fed by flights 184 carried by endless chains 183 driven by the motor (206) and pass below the roller platform 182 to a position in which they receive loaf B deflected off the end of the platform 182 by the flights 205. Two rows of five loaves B are successively fed into each tray T. The switch 251 also controls the action of lifting members 169 (Fig. 1a) which rise to stop the feed on to the roller platform 182, of further loaves B by the conveyer chains 155. Stacking loaves B into container R at station 38.-The loaded trays T then pass on to the conveyer 36 (Figs. 1 and 8b) which comprises gravity conveyer rollers 264 (Fig. 4a). Flights (281) (Fig. 13b, not shown) carried by endless chains 280 (Fig. 8b) load the trays successively (under the control of a tray-controlled switch 383 (Fig. 4a)) on to flights 300, 300 of elevator chains 289, 289. The latter are moved step-by-step under the control of a tray controlled switch (395) (Fig. 6b, not shown). The latter controls a pneumatic drive cylinder 394 of the elevator chains 289. The uppermost tray on the elevator flights 300 eventually reaches a switch 419 which controls the operation of a pusher frame 308 for deflecting simultaneously all the trays T carried by the elevator flights 300 on to the shelves of a waiting rack R. This has a retractable lower section 320 which is in a lifted position during stacking of trays T on the shelves to avoid obstruction of the feed of the trays T by the conveyer chains 280. The pusher frame 308 is suspended from a frame 315 having running rollers 312 and powered by a motor 417. A linkage (Fig. 10b, not shown) in this mechanism results in automatic elevation of the retractable section 320. The containers R are moved into a tray-receiving position by the action of a wheeled carriage 327. In order to insure alignment of the containers R, their corner posts (306) (Fig. 6b, not shown) are engaged by clamping members 351 opearted by the action of pneumatic cylinders 355, 355. Also the containers are slightly lifted by the action of members (364) (Fig. 14b, not shown) acted on by a pneumatic cylinder 367. General description of a second embodiment (Fig. 17).-An endless conveyer 1020 is fed by a series of loaf-wrapping machines 1021, 1022, 1023. A further wrapping machine 1024 (under the control of a light gate 1033) feeds any spaces not filled by the other machines. Loaf bagging machines 1025, 1026 &c. could also be used in the system. Each wrapping machine conveyer 1031 feeds a transfer station 1032. The latter transfers five loaves B, B, to a zone of the conveyer reserved for the wrapping machine in question. Thus all zones a, a, are fed with loaves from the wrapping machine 1021, zones b, b, from the machine 1023 and so on. The conveyer 1020 feeds the group of loaves B, B, to a basket-filling station 1034 from which filled baskets T are conveyed to a basket stacking station 1038. The, transfer station 1032 (Fig. 18).-This comprises an endless conveyer 1031 which feeds groups of five loaves B, B, on to a roller platform 1067 and into the path of a flight 1079 of endless chains 1072. These flights are put in motion to transfer the loaves when a cam operated switch (1091) (Fig. 21, not shown) coupled to the drive of the conveyer 1020 is closed. It is necessary also for a switch 1092 (operated by a feeler member engaged by the leading loaf B, B) to be closed. The basket filling station 1034 (Fig. 22).- Baskets 1035 are delivered from a basket unstacking station 1037 by a conveyer 1036a. This comprises rollers mounted between members (1173) (Figs. 24, 26, not shown) which feed pushers (1186) (Figs. 25, 26, not shown) carried by endless chains (1187) disposed at right angles to the direction of delivery of conveyer 1036d. The pushers (1186) feed a similar series of pushers 1167 carried by chains 1156 disposed at right angles to the chains (1187), i.e. parallel with the conveyer 1036a. The pushers 1167 feed the baskets to the pushers 1145 of chains 1144. The chains (1144), (1156), and (1187)are driven by the same motor 1207. The pushers 1145 bring the baskets to a position beneath the end of conveyer chains 1124 which accept the loaves B, B, from the conveyer 1020. These chains have pusher bars 1125 which push the groups of five loaves along a rollerway 1112 between guides (1131) (Fig. 23, not shown). The latter are laterally adjustable by means of a handle 1134 to converge the five loaves of each group into mutual contact. The chains 1124 move at a faster rate than the conveyer 1020 and thus increase the spacing of the loaf groups. The motor 1207 is energized when a loaf group driven by the chains 1124 enters a light gate 1227. The chains 1144 thereby move a distance corresponding to the length of a loaf B, B. The motor 1207 is stopped by the action of a cam-operated switch (1207a) (Fig. 21, not shown). Since each basket is loaded in two separate steps with two groups of loaves, the lobes of the cam of the switch (1207a) are so shaped as to allow for the different distance of basket travel according to whether the first or second group is being loaded. The basket stacking apparatus 1038 (Fig. 31). The filled baskets are pushed on to a gravity conveyer (Fig. 22) which delivers them (in a direction at right angles to the plane of Fig. 31) to a roller platform 1247. Pushers 1287 constrained by rectilinear guides (1292) (Figs. 36 and 37, not shown) are reciprocated by endless chains 1289 to convey the baskets successively to a position above a dolly 1039<SP>1</SP>. The movement of the chains 1289 is initiated by a basket arriving on the roller platform 1247 and thus engaging a switch member (1338) (Fig. 35, not shown). The same switch member (1338) initiates the energization of a pneumatic cylinder 1326, thereby lifting a frame 1321 on which are supported a stack of previously transferred baskets to make room for the basket being traversed by the pushers 1287. The basket on its arrival on the dolly 1039<SP>1</SP> bears (through the open central area of the dolly) on a switch actuating arm 1343 thereby energizing the cylinder 1326 in the opposite sense. This causes downward movement of the frame 1321 and consequent camming outwards of lifting plates 1325 which are thereby brought into engagement with the newly transferred basket. When the top basket of the stack engages a switch member 1348, a motor 1281 is energized thereby driving through linkage (1277), (1278), (Fig. 33, not shown), a wheeled carriage (1267) from which depends a pusher frame 1261. This carries members 1272 which are adapted to engage an empty dolly 1039 and push it into the space occupied by the loaded dolly 1039<SP>1</SP> and thereby moving the latter to a discharge position.