GB1282355A - Stack forming and conveying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

1282355 Stack-forming apparatus; endless conveyers LERNER MACHINE CO. Ltd 10 May 1971 [21 May 1970] 24676/70 Headings B8A and B8C. In an apparatus, for forming a two-tier stack of articles and for conveying the formed stack to one, or more, further work stations such as a shrink wrapping machine, after two packs, each comprising a tray 1 filled with metal cans and fed by a conveyer 3, have collected at a first transfer station 5 a switch (not shown) is actuated to cause transfer fingers 13 of a pusher to rise and transfer the packs, side-by-side, to high and low level conveyers 7, 9 respectively which deliver them to corresponding high and low level zones 17, 19 of a second transfer station 15 the latter consisting of vertically-aligned upper and lower sets of parallel support bars 21, 29 which are equally spaced to receive a plurality of transfer fingers 31. When two, or more, packs have collected at each zone 17, 19 a signal is operated to cause a ram 30 to raise the fingers 31, pivotally mounted on a carriage 39, and project upwardly through the support bars 21, 29 whereupon the carriage 39 moves to the right, as shown in Fig. 3. The packs in the lower zone 17 are first transferred towards and below tne packs in the upper zone 19 the forward movement of the fingers 31 being slowed down prior to their engagement with the packs in the upper zone to prevent the latter packs from being thrown forward. The carriage 39 is moved backwards and forwards by means of a rotary arm 45 which carries, at its free end, a bell-crank 49 one arm 53 of which supports a cam follower 52 which is spring-loaded to follow the contour of a fixed cam plate 41 and the other arm 59 of which supports a roller 60 which engages in a transverse slideway 63 in the underside of the carriage 39. The fingers 31 transfer the two tier stack or stacks to a conveyer 33 and on to a table 61 which co-operates with a two-way endless conveyer belt 64 to move alternate stacks to the right, or left for transfer into a wrapping machine 67 or 65.