Patent ID: 6952911

Claim:
A case packaging system for automatically stacking and loading a plurality of articles into a case, comprising: an in-feed conveyor assembly including a flat portion for receiving the plurality of articles and an arcuate portion for delivering the articles on an inclined path of travel to a position where the articles are stacked; an elevator mechanism for receiving the stacked articles; a servomotor having a timing belt for raising the elevator to begin loading the stacked articles, and for lowering the elevator as the stacked articles continue to load onto the elevator, and a case positioning assembly for receiving a case to be filled, the case positioning assembly including a case rack assembly, a ram mechanism for moving the case onto the case rack adjacent the elevator, a clamp mechanism to clamp and rotate the case on the case rack to receive a stack of articles from the elevator, and a discharge mechanism to eject the case after the case has filled.