Apparatus for inverting articles

Claim 1

APPARATUS ADAPTED TO INVERT AN ARTICLE FROM A FIRST ATTITUDE RESTING ON A TRAY COMPRISING SUPPORTING FRAME MEANS; CONVEYOR MEANS MOUNTED IN THE FRAME MEANS AND DEFINING A PATH OF TRAVEL EXTENDING FROM AN ADMISSION STATION TO A DISCHARGE STATION AND INCLUDING MEANS FOR RECEIVING THE ARTICLE IN SAID FIRST ATTITUDE, AND PROPELLING THE ARTICLE ALONG SAID PATH OF TRAVEL WHILE CONCURRENTLY INVERTING THE ARTICLE PRIOR TO REACHING THE DISCHARGE STATION; MEANS PROVIDING A SUPPLY OF PROTECTIVE COVERS; DISPENSING MEANS DISPOSED ADJACENT TO THE ADMISSION STATION OF THE CONVEYOR MEANS TO DEPOSIT ONE OF THE PROTECTIVE COVERS OVER SAID ARTICLE IN OVERLYING RELATION TO THE TRAY PRIOR TO TRAVERSING THE PATH OF TRAVEL; POWER MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID CONVEYOR MEANS IN DRIVING RELATION TO PROPEL THE ARTICLE ALONG SAID PATH OF TRAVEL WHILE CONCURRENTLY INVERTING THE ARTICLE, THE TRAY AND THE COVER AS A UNIT SO THAT THE ARTICLE IS RESTING UPON THE COVER IN AN INVERTED POSITION UPON REACHING THE DISCHARGE STATION; TRAY RECOVERY MEANS DISPOSED ADJACENT TO SAID DISCHARGE STATION TO REMOVE THE TRAY THEN IN A SUPERPOSED POSITION RELATIVE TO THE ARTICLE; TRAY TRANSPORT MEANS MOUNTED ON THE FRAME TO CARRY THE RECOVERED TRAY TO SAID SUPPLY OF COVERS FOR SUBSEQUENT DISPENSING AS A COVER; AND TIMING MEANS SUPPORTED ON THE FRAME IN A POSITION ADJACENT TO THE ADMISSION STATION FOR ACTUATION BY AN ARTICLE PASSING THERETRHOUGH AND ARRANGED IN CONTROL RELATION TO SAID DISPENSING MEANS FOR INDIVIDUAL TIMED RELEASE OF A COVER THE ARTICLE.