Apparatus for orienting case blanks

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR ORIENTING CASE BLANKS COMPRISING: A FRAME; A PLURALITY OF LATERALLY SPACED, LONGITUDINAL, MOVING MEANS MOUNTED IN THE FRAME TO FORM A LONGITUDINAL CONVEYOR HAVING AN INPUT END AND AN OUTPUT END; MEANS FOR MOVING THE PLURALITY OF LATERALLY SPACED, LONGITUDINAL, MOVING MEANS; MEANS FOR FEEDING A VERTICAL STACK OF CASE BLANKS TO THE LONGITUDINAL CONVEYOR AT THE INPUT END; A FIRST PLURALITY OF LATERALLY SPACED, PIVOTABLE SLATS MOUNTED IN THE FRAME BETWEEN THE LATERALLY SPACED, LONGITUDINAL, MOVING MEANS , THE LENGTHS OF AT LEAST SOME OF THE FIRST PLURALITY OF PIVOTABLE SLATS BEING GREATER THAN THE HEIGHT OF THE VERTICAL STACK OF CASE BLANKS; A SECOND PLURALITY OF LATERALLY SPACED, PIVOTABLE SLATS MOUNTED IN THE FRAME BETWEEN THE LATERALLY SPACED, LONGITUDINAL, MOVING MEANS, THE LENGTHS OF AT LEAST SOME OF THE SECOND PLURALITY OF PIVOTABLE SLATS BEING GREAT ENOUGH TO SUPPORT THE VERTICAL STACK OF CASE BLANKS; FIRST MEANS FOR PIVOTING THE FIRST PLURALITY OF PIVOTABLE SLATS AND SECOND MEANS FOR PIVOTING THE SECOND PLURALITY OF PIVOTABLE SLATS; BOTH THE PLURALITIES OF PIVOTABLE SLATS BEING PIVOTED WITH RESPECT TO A LATERAL LINE IN A FIRST LATERAL PLANE ACROSS THE FRAME; MEANS FOR SENSING THE POSITION OF THE VERTICAL STACK OF CASE BLANKS WITH RESPECT TO THE FIRST LATERAL PLANE; FIRST MEANS FOR ACTUATING THE FIRST LATERAL MEANS AND SECOND MEANS FOR ACTUATING THE SECOND PIVOTING MEANS ACTUATED BY THE SENSING MEANS WHEN ONE VERTICAL END OF THE VERTICAL STACK OF CASE BLANKS IS AT A PREDETERMINED POSITION WITH RESPECT TO THE FIRST LATERAL PLANE ACROSS THE FRAME SUCH THAT THE VERTICAL STACK OF CASE BLANKS IS MOVED OFF THE LATERALLY SPACED, MOVING MEANS BY THE FIRST AND SECOND PLURALITY OF LATERALLY SPACED PIVOTABLE SLATS AND IS MOVED TO AN ATTITUDE IN WHICH THE CASE BLANKS ARE FED BACK ONTO THE CONVEYOR ONE BY ONE SO THAT THEY ARE SHINGLED IN THE DESIRED FACED ORIENTATION; MEANS FOR COLLECTING THE ORIENTED CASE BLANKS AT THE OUTPUT END; THE FIRST PLURALITY OF PIVOTABLE SLATS BEING ADJACENT THE INPUT END OF THE CO NVEYOR AND THE SECOND PLURALITY OF PIVOTABLE SLATS BEING ADJACENT THE OUTPUT END OF THE CONVEYOR AND BOTH PLURALITIES OF PIVOTABLE SLATS BEING PIVOTED SICH THAT THE FACED ORIENTATION OF THE CASE BLANKS COLLECTED AT THE OUTPUT END OF THE CONVEYOR IS THE SAME AS THE FACED ORIENTATION OF THE CASE BLANKS IN THE VERTICAL STACK OF CASE BLANKS DELIVERED TO THE POINT END OF THE CONVEYOR; THE STACK BEING LIFTED AND TILTED TOWARDS THE INPUT END OF THE CONVEYOR BY THE SECOND PLURALITY OF SLATS, THE FIRST PLURALITY OF SLATS LOWERING THE SIDE OF THE STACK ONTO THE CONVEYOR.