Patent ID: 8066469

Claim:
A tray stacking apparatus for a plurality of trays containing food product, said trays individually delivered to the apparatus by a tray conveyor delivering trays in a first direction of travel, said tray stacking apparatus comprising: a tray receiving platform disposed at a first end of the conveyor, said platform adapted to receive an incoming tray from the tray conveyor; a tray sliding mechanism disposed above the tray receiving platform, said tray sliding mechanism adapted to displace a tray from the tray receiving platform into the tray stacking area of the lower portion of the stacking tower, the tray sliding mechanism comprising a slider guide rail, where the tray slider device engages the slider guide rail and pushes the tray along a path directed toward the stacking area, the path corresponding to the orientation of the slider guide rail; a sensor operably connected to the tray sliding mechanism wherein the sensor detects a tray received on the receiving platform from the tray conveyor and activates the tray sliding mechanism; and a tray stack carriage including: a tray transportation cart movable along a track disposed in a second direction of travel being transverse to said first direction of travel, said tray carriage adapted to allow the tray transportation cart to move under the tray receiving platform and into a tray stacking area; a stacking tower disposed adjacent to the receiving platform, said stacking tower adapted to allow the tray transportation cart to be movably received into the tray stacking area located in a lower portion of the tower, said tower including a support structure, a stack elevator movably mounted on the support structure, a detecting mechanism operably connected to the stack elevator; wherein when an incoming tray is detected in the stacking tower the stack elevator is activated and raises a prior received tray a predetermined height sufficient for the incoming tray to be received below the prior received tray positioned in the stacking tower, thereby creating a tray stack with the incoming tray in the lowermost position.