Container handling apparatus

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR LIFTING JARS FROM THE CELLS OF SHIPPING CARTONS AND TRANSPORTING THEM COMPRISING A FIRST CARTONCARRYING ENDLESS CONVEYOR HAVING A RECEIVING END AND A DISCHARGE END, MEANS INTERMEDIATE SAID ENDS FOR LIFTING AND OPENING OUT FLAPS AT EACH SIDE OF THE CARTON, A SECOND CARTON CONVEYOR AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE FIRST AT THE DISCHARGE END OF THE FIRST FOR RECEIVING CARTONS FROM THE FIRST CARTON CONVEYOR AND MOVING THEM IN A HORIZONTAL DIRECTION AT RIGHT ANGLES TO SAID FIRST CONVEYOR, MEANS INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS OF THE SECOND CARTON CONVEYOR FOR OPENING THE END FLAPS OF A CARTON MOVING THEREALONG, AN EMPTY CARTONRECEIVING CONVEYOR AT THE END OF THE SECOND CONVEYOR AND POSITIONED AT RIGHT ANGLES THERETO AND POSITIONED FOR RECEIVING CARTONS FROM THE SECOND CONVEYOR AND CARRYING THEM TO ONE SIDE OF THE APPARATUS, A JAR-RECEIVING CONVEYOR IN LINE WITH THE SECOND CARTON CONVEYOR AND POSITIONED AT THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE EMPTY CARTON-RECEIVING CONVEYOR, AN ENDLESS CHAIN CONVEYOR POSITIONED ABOVE THE SECOND CARTON CONVEYOR, THE EMPTY CARTON-RECEIVING CONVEYOR AND THE JAR-RECEIVING CONVEYOR, SAID ENDLESS CHAIN CONVEYOR HAVING GROUPS OF TRANSVERSELY-ELONGATED MOUNTING PLATES THEREON, THE NUMBER OF PLATES IN A GROUP CORRESPONDING TO THE NUMBER OF ROWS OF CELLS IN A CARTON WHICH ARE CROSSWISE OF THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF A CARTON MOVING ALONG THE SECOND CARTON CONVEYOR WITH THE CENTERTO-CENTER SPACING OF THE PLATES OF THE GROUPS EQUAL TO THE CENTER-TO-CENTER SPACING OF SAID ROWS, EACH PLATE HAVING A NUMBER OF PUSH RODS PASSING THERETHROUGH ALONG ITS CENTER LINE AND SLIDABLE IN A DIRECTION NORMAL TO THE PLANE OF THE PLATES, SAID PUSH RODS BEING CENTERED FROM ONE ANOTHER A DISTANCE CORRESPONDING TO THE CENTER-TO-CENTER SPACING OF THE CARTON CELLS, THE CHAIN CONVEYOR HAVING A LOWER JARLIFTING AND TRANSPORTING AND DEPOSITING REACH ABOVE THE SECOND CARTON CONVEYOR AND JAR-RECEIVING CONVEYOR AND AN UPPER RETURN REACH ABOVE THE LOWER ONE, EACH PLATE HAV-