Tray feed mechanism

Claim 1

IN AN AUTOMATIC TRAY-FEEDING DEVICE FOR CIGARETTEPACKAGING MACHINES PROVIDED WITH A VERTICAL FEED HOPPER AND TO WHICH THE CIGARETTES ARE FED FROM TRAYS HAVING SLIDABLY REMOVABLE BOTTOM SLATS; A SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED CONVEYOR SITUATED IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE ABOVE SAID HOPPER FOR MOVABLY SUPPORTING SAID TRAYS IN A COMMON HORIZONTAL PLANE; SAID CONVEYOR HAVING AN ENTRANCE POINT FOR FULL TRAYS, A DELIVERY STATION OVER SAID HOPPER, AND AN EXIT POINT FOR EMPTY TRAYS, ALL CO-PLANAR WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER; MEANS COMPRISING A FIRST SET OF TRAY PAWLS CARRIED BY A FIRST PAIR OF PUSHER BARS OSCILLATABLE IN A FORWARD AND BACKWARD MOTION FOR ADVANCING SAID FULL TRAYS ONE STEP AT A TIME TO SAID DELIVERY STATION, MEANS FOR OSCILLATING SAID BARS, AND FOR ADVANCING A PRECEDING AND PREVIOUSLY EMPTIED TRAY ONE STEP FORWARD OF SAID DELIVERY STATION, MEANS FOR RESETTING SAID FIRST PART OF PUSHER BARS TO THEIR NORMAL POSITION, WHEREIN ALL OF SAID TRAYS TRAVERSE A CO-PLANAR PATH; MEANS COMPRISING A SLAT-PULLER OSCILLATABLE IN A LEFT AND RIGHT MOTION FOR PULLING OUT THE BOTTOM SLAT FROM A FULL TRAY POSITIONED OVER SAID DELIVERY STATION TO CAUSE SAID FULL TRAY TO DISCHARGE ITS CONTENTS INTO SAID HOPPER AND MEANS FOR RESETTING SAID SLOT PULLER TO ITS NORMAL POSITION WITHOUT CAUSING SAID FULL TRAY TO DEVIATE FROM SAID CO-PLANAR PATH; MEANS COMPRISING SLATPUSHER FINGERS FOR TRANSFERRING SAID PULLED-OUT SLAT FORWARDLY ONE POSITION IN ADVANCE OF ITS PULLED-OUT POSITION, AND MEANS FOR RESETTING SAID SLAT-PUSHER FINGERS REARWARDLY TO THEIR NORMAL POSITIONS; MEANS COMPRISING EMPTY-TRAY CROSS-INDEXING PUSHER MEANS FOR LEFTWARDLY MOVING THE SAID PRECEDING AND PREVIOUSLY EMPTIED TRAY FROM ITS POSITION ONE STEP FORWARD OF SAID HOPPER AND FOR SUBSEQUENTLY RIGHTWARDLY MOVING SAID PUSHER MEANS TO RESET IT TO ITS NORMAL POSITION WITHOUT CAUSING SAID CROSS-INDEXED TRAY TO DEVIATE FROM SAID CO-PLANAR PATH; MEANS COMPRISING TRAY-ACTUATED SLAT ELEVATOR MEANS FOR LIFTING THE RIGHT-HAND END OF THE SAID FORWARDLY TRANSFERRED SLAT TO CAUSE IT TO BE THREADED INTO THE BOTTOM OF SAID CROSS-INDEXED TRAY DURING ITS SAID LATERAL MOVEMENT; MEANS COMPRISING AN EMPTYTRAY DOUBLE-INDEXING ASSEMBLY CARRIED BY A PAIR OF DOUBLEINDEXING SHAFTS OSCILLATABLE IN A FORWARD AND BACKWARD DIRECTION FOR PUSHING A PRECEDING AND PREVIOUSLY EMPTIED TRAY TWO STEPS REARWARDLY TOWARD SAID EXIT POINT, MEANS FOR OSICLLATING SAID SHAFTS, AND WHEREIN SAID TRAY CONTINUES TO TRAVERSE SAID CO-PLANAR PATH, AND MEANS FOR RESETTING SAID DOUBLE-INDEXING SHAFTS TO THEIR NORMAL POSITIONS; AND MEANS COMPRISING A SECOND SET OF TRAY PAWLS CARRIED BY A SECOND PAIR OF PUSHER BARS OSCILLATABLE IN A FORWARD AND BACKWARD MOTION FOR PUSHING EMPTY TRAYS REARWARDLY ONE STEP AT A TIME TOWARD SAID EXIT POSITION AND WHERIN SAID EMPTY TRAYS DO NOT DEVIATE FROM SAID CO-PLANAR PATH.