Counting apparatus

Claim 1

Machine for accumulating carton blanks into in-seriatimformed stacks of blanks of predetermined count and delivering the counted stacks as uniformly aligned units of blanks to a delivery station at one end of the machine comprising: 1. a counting section including: a. an infeed hopper for receiving a supply of the blanks to be counted, b. a plurality of support brackets having forwardly facing foot portions extendable into the infeed hopper and providing a first lower support for the blanks within the hopper, c. an endless first belt conveyor means disposed below and forwardly of the infeed hopper and providing a second lower support for the blanks within the hopper, d. drive means for driving the first belt conveyor means, e. counting means for measuring the height of a predetermined number of blanks collected in the infeed hopper, and f. adjustable piston actuated kicker means swingable into the infeed hopper for the in-seriatim ejecting of the bundle of the predetermined Number of blanks from the infeed hopper, 2.an ejecting section including: a. a bundle accumulator-aligner hopper for accumulating and aligning a predetermined number of bundles delivered thereto from the infeed hopper by the first belt conveyor means to form a stack of the bundles, b. intermittently-openable gate means cooperant with the accumulator-aligner hopper and operable into gate opening position as a predetermined number of bundles in the stack has been attained, c. second belt conveyor means for removing the stacks from the accumulator-aligner as the gate means is opened for delivery of the stack to a delivery station at one end of the apparatus.