Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
196 words
A method for palletizing upright cans comprising: normally holding stationary a front row of upright cans, building up cans upright behind said front row in a pattern having the width of the pallet, the rows being nested compactly in a diamond-type pattern, releasing the cans of said front row and moving the whole pattern forward when a desired length of pattern is attained, temporarily supporting the moved-forward cans upright and slightly above a pallet on a surface while moving them with respect to the surface until the full length of the pallet has been transversed by said front row, stopping the forward movement of cans on said surface and holding a row of cans behind those that are temporarily supported above the pallet, so as to provide a new front row for building up the pattern behind, moving the surface forwardly to strip the temporarily supported cans to drop them while upright onto said pallet, lowering the pallet by the height of one can to receive a next layer, and moving the surface rearwardly to its starting point while carrying a paper sheet of substantially the are of the pallet over the lowered layer of cans.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
196 words
A method for palletizing upright cans comprising: normally holding stationary a front row of upright cans, building up cans upright behind said front row in a pattern having the width of the pallet, the rows being nested compactly in a diamond-type pattern, releasing the cans of said front row and moving the whole pattern forward when a desired length of pattern is attained, temporarily supporting the moved-forward cans upright and slightly above a pallet on a surface while moving them with respect to the surface until the full length of the pallet has been transversed by said front row, stopping the forward movement of cans on said surface and holding a row of cans behind those that are temporarily supported above the pallet, so as to provide a new front row for building up the pattern behind, moving the surface forwardly to strip the temporarily supported cans to drop them while upright onto said pallet, lowering the pallet by the height of one can to receive a next layer, and moving the surface rearwardly to its starting point while carrying a paper sheet of substantially the are of the pallet over the lowered layer of cans.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 1 wherein after a preselected number of layers has been deposited on said pallet, said pallet is lowered and the loaded pallet is transferred laterally away to a dock where it can be picked up and moved elsewhere.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 2 wherein an empty pallet is then put in the original place of the filled pallet and is raised to an uppermost position ready to receive a layer of cans.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 3 wherein a sheet of paper of substantially the area of said pallet is then deposited on said empty pallet.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
207 words
A method for palletizing upright cans, comprising: normally holding stationary on a stationary surface on a substantially horizontal plane an front row of upright cans, moving a second surface supporting upright cans to build up a compact diamond-type pattern of upright cans behind said front row on said plane, said pattern having substantially the width of said pallet, releasing the cans of said front row and moving said first mentioned surface forwardly while continuing forward movement of said second mentioned surface to move the whole pattern forward on said plane when a desired length of pattern is attained., temporarily supporting the moved forward upright cans on said plane slightly above a pallet until the full length of said pallet has been traversed by said front row, stopping the forward movement of said cans and holding a row of cans behind those that are temporarily supported above the pallet, so as to provide a new front row for building up the diamond-type pattern therebehind, stripping the temporarily supported cans to drop them, still upright, onto said pallet, supporting them there by gravity, and lowering the pallet by the height of one can to receive a next layer, and continuing the cycle until a full pallet load is achieved.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
207 words
A method for palletizing upright cans, comprising: normally holding stationary on a stationary surface on a substantially horizontal plane an front row of upright cans, moving a second surface supporting upright cans to build up a compact diamond-type pattern of upright cans behind said front row on said plane, said pattern having substantially the width of said pallet, releasing the cans of said front row and moving said first mentioned surface forwardly while continuing forward movement of said second mentioned surface to move the whole pattern forward on said plane when a desired length of pattern is attained., temporarily supporting the moved forward upright cans on said plane slightly above a pallet until the full length of said pallet has been traversed by said front row, stopping the forward movement of said cans and holding a row of cans behind those that are temporarily supported above the pallet, so as to provide a new front row for building up the diamond-type pattern therebehind, stripping the temporarily supported cans to drop them, still upright, onto said pallet, supporting them there by gravity, and lowering the pallet by the height of one can to receive a next layer, and continuing the cycle until a full pallet load is achieved.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 5 wherein a store of paper sheets of substantially the same area as the pallet is maintained adjacent the pallet and one said sheet is deposited on each layer of cans after the lowering step.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
56 words
The method of claim 5 wherein, after a preselected number of layers of cans have been deposited on said pallet, said pallet with its load is transferred away laterally and an empty pallet put in its place and raised to an uppermost position ready to receive the first of a new series of layers of cans.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 7 wherein when said pallet reaches its uppermost position and before any cans are loaded onto it, a sheet of paper of substantially the same area as said pallet is placed on said empty pallet.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 8 comprising initiating a succeeding step responsive to the completion of a preceding step and initiating the first step, in a new cycle responsive to the completion of the last step of a cycle.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 5 comprising initiating a succeeding step responsive to the completion of a preceding step and initiating the first step, in a new cycle responsive to the completion of the last step of cycle.