Package-handling apparatus

Claim 1

PACKAGE-HANDLING APPARATUS COMPRISING FIRST AND SECOND ELONGATED CONVEYOR LEGS DISPOSED AT SUBSTANTIALLY RIGHT ANGLES AND WITH THE OFFBEARING END OF SAID FIRST LEG IN FEEDING RELATION TO THE FEED AND OF SAID SECOND CONVEYER LEG, SAID FIRST CONVEYER LEG INCLUDING A PACKAGE-TRANSGER SECTION WITH MEANS DEFINING TWO ELONGATED PATHS OF TRAVEL FOR PACKAGES EXTENDING ALONG THE LEG, SAID PACKAGE-TRANSFER SECTION ALONG ONE OF SAID PATHS OF TRAVEL BEING CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED TO MOVE PACKAGES FORWARDLY WITHOUT SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE IN THEIR ORIENTATION AND ALONG THE OTHER OF SAID PATHS OF TRAVEL BEING CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED TO MOVE PACKAGES FORWARDLY WHILE APPLYING SIMULTANEOUSLY TWO SPEEDS TO THE PACKAGES SO RELATED AS TO PRODUCE TURNING OF SUCCESSIVE PACKAGES ABOUT UPRIGHT AXES AND A REORIENTATION OF THE PACKAGES, SAID FIRST CONVEYER LEG FURTHER INCLUDING A FEED-CONVEYER SECTION OPERABLE SELECTIVELY TO FEED PACKAGES FIRST INTO ONE AND THEN INTO THE OTHER OF SAID PATHS OF TRAVEL, SAID SECOND CONVEYER LEG INCLUDING A RECEIVING STATION DIRECTLY ADJACENT THE OFFBEARING END OF THE FIRST CONVEYER LEG WHERE PACKAGES ARE DEPOSITED AS ROWS ON TRAVELING FROM SAID TRANSFER-CONVEYER SECTION, A COLLECTING STATION FORWARDLY IN THE SECOND CONVEYER LEG FROM THE RECEIVING STATION, INTERMITTENTLY-ACTUATED EJECTOR MEANS FOR SHIFTING SUCCESSIVE ROWS OF PACKAGES DEPOSITED IN SAID RECEIVING STATION INTO SAID COLLECTING STATION WITH SAID ROWS BEING STACKED SIDE BY SIDE TO FORM A TIER, A TRANSFER PLATFORM DISPOSED FORWARDLY IN SAID SECOND CONVEYER LEG FROM SAID COLLECTING STATION, INTERMITTENTLY-OPERATED MEANS FOR SHIFTING A TIER OF PACKAGES FROM SAID COLLECTING STATION FORWARDLY AND ONTO SAID TRANSFER PLATFORM, A PALLETIZING STATION DISPOSED FORWARDLY IN SAID SECOND CONVEYOR LEG FROM SAID TRANSFER PLATFORM HAIVNG MEANS FOR SUPPORTING A PALLET, AND INTERMITTENTLY-OPERATED MEANS FOR SHIFTING SAID TRANSFER PLATFORM WHILE LOADED WITH PACKAGES INTO SAID PALLETIZING STATION AND OVER A PALLET SUPPORTED THEREIN AND THEN SLIDING SAID PLATFORM OUT FROM UNDER ANY TIER OF PACKAGES DESPOSITED THEREON.