Case packing machine for tiered articles

Claim 1

IN A CASE PACKING MACHINE OF A TYPE HAVING AN INFEED CONVEYOR FOR ADVANCING SEGREGATED MULTI-ROW TIER-FORMING GROUPS OF ARTICLES AND ALSO HAVING A PACKING FUNNEL PROVIDED WITH A SLOTTED BOTTOM FOR SUPPORTING THE ARTICLES BEFORE THEY ARE THRUST INTO A CASE, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A CHUTE DISPOSED BETWEEN THE CONVEYOR AND FUNNEL AND PIVOTALLY SUPPORTED AT ITS END ADJACENT THE CONVEYOR, CONTINUOUS DRIVE MEANS FOR ALTERNATELY RAISING AND LOWERING THE OTHER END OF THE CHUTE ADJACENT THE FUNNEL, AN OVERHEAD FLIGHT BAR CONVEYOR SUPPORTED IN PART OVER THE DOWNSTREAM END PORTION OF THE INFEED CONVEYOR AND SUPPORTED IN PART OVER THE CHUTE FOR MOVEMENT THEREWITH, THE SAID FLIGHT BAR CONVEYOR BEING OPERATED BY SAID DRIVE MEANS IN TIMED RELATIONSHIP WITH THE RAISING AND LOWERING OF SAID CHUTE TO SWEEP A FIRST TIER OF ARTICLES ONTO THE FUNNEL BOTTOM WHEN THE CHUTE IS LOWERED AND THEN TO SWEEP A SECOND TIER OF ARTICLES ONTO THE TOP OF THE FIRST TIER WHEN THE CHUTE IS RAISED, AND A MECHANISM FOR MOVING THE STACKED TIERS OUT OF THE FUNNEL, SAID MECHANISM INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF PUSHERS EXTENSIBLE THROUGH THE SLOTS IN THE BOTTOM OF THE FUNNEL TO ENGAGE THE REARMOST ARTICLES IN THE ROWS OF THE STACKED TIERS, AND SUPPORT MEANS FOR SAID PUSHERS OPERATED BY SAID DRIVE MEANS TO ELEVATE THE PUSHERS INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE STACKED TIERS AND TO THRUST THE TIERS OUT OF THE FUNNEL AND TO THEN LOWER THE PUSHERS WHILE SAID CHUTE IS BEING LOWERED AND PRIOR TO MOVEMENT OF A SUBSEQUENT TIER INTO THE FUNNEL.