Rack loading and unloading apparatus

Claim 2

Bakery product apparatus for treating bakery products, such as pies in containers, comprising: a bakery processing unit including a plurality of vertically spaced, upwardly movable bakery product support shelves having transversely spaced, elongated open ended openings therethrough; bakery product conveying means having transversely spaced, elongated, open ended openings therein; apparatus including transversely spaced support means movable in a to-and-fro path between a first transfer position adjacent said bakery processing unit and a second transfer position adjacent said conveying means for successively transferring bakery products between said support shelves and said conveying means; said transfer apparatus and said product supporting shelves and said conveying means being mounted for relative vertical movement; means for relatively vertically moving at least one of said shelves and said transfer means when said transfer means is in said first transfer position to pass said transversely spaced support means through the openings in said one support shelf and transfer bakery products between said one shelf and said transfer means; and means for relatively vertically moving said conveying means and said transfer means when said transfer means is in said second transfer position to pass said transversely spaced support means through the openings in said conveying means and transfer said bakery products between said conveying means and said transfer means.

Claim 3

For use with a bakery processing unit, such as a cooler, including a plurality of spaced apart, shelves for supporting bakery products, such as pies, in containers, and for moving said products in a processing path of travel, each of said shelves comprising a first plurality of horizontally spaced support members; and means for indexing the shelves in said path of travel; rack unloading apparatus comprising: discharge conveying means including a second plurality of horizontally spaced apart support members for receiving and conveying bakery products to a discharge station; unloader transfer means for sequentially transferring processed bakery products from said shelves to said discharge conveying means including: carrier means movable in a to-and-fro path between a first position adjacent said shelves and a second position adjacent said conveying means; means for moving said carrier means in said to-and-fro path between said first and second positions; a third plurality of horizontally spaced support members intermeshable with said first and second pluralities of horizontally spaced support members and mounted for vertical movement on said carrier means between raised and lowered position; means for moving said third plurality of horizontally spaced apart support members upwardly between the horizontally spaced support members on one of said shelves from said lowered position to said raised position when said carrier means is in said first position to strip saiD bakery products from said one shelf; and means for moving said third plurality of horizontally spaced apart support members downwardly between said second plurality of horizontally spaced apart support members from said raised position to said lowered position when said carrier means is in said second position to deposit the bakery products on the support means of said conveying means.

Claim 4

For use with a bakery processing unit, such as a cooler, including a plurality of spaced apart, shelves for supporting bakery products, such as pies, in containers, and for moving said products in a processing path of travel, each of said shelves comprising a first plurality of horizontally spaced support members; and means for indexing the shelves in said path of travel; rack unloading apparatus comprising: discharge conveying means including a second plurality of horizontally spaced apart support members for receiving and conveying bakery products to a discharge station; unloader transfer means for sequentially transferring processed bakery products from said shelves to said discharge conveying means including: carrier means movable in a to-and-fro path between a first position adjacent said shelves and a second position adjacent said conveying means; means for moving said carrier means in said to-and-fro path between said first and second positions; a third plurality of horizontally spaced support members intermeshable with said first and second pluralities of horizontally spaced support members and mounted for vertical movement on said carrier means between raised and lowered position; means for moving said third plurality of horizontally spaced apart support members upwardly between the horizontally spaced support members on one of said shelves from said lowered position to said raised position when said carrier means is in said first position to strip saiD bakery products from said one shelf; and means for moving said third plurality of horizontally spaced apart support members downwardly between said second plurality of horizontally spaced apart support members from said raised position to said lowered position when said carrier means is in said second position to deposit the bakery products on the support means of said conveying means.

Claim 5

The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein said shelves are mounted on said unit for vertical movement; and means is provided for moving said shelves vertically.

Claim 6

The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein said second plurality of horizontally spaced apart support members comprise driveable conveyor rolls for conveying the bakery products.

Claim 7

For use with a bakery processing unit, such as a cooler, having a plurality of spaced, movable bakery product support shelves, each of said shelves comprising a first plurality of transversely spaced support members, and means for moving the shelves in an endless path; shelf loading apparatus comprising: product supplying conveying means including a second plurality of transversely spaced movable support members for conveying bakery products in a longitudinal path; loader transfer means including a third plurality of support members intermeshable with said first and second pluralities of support members and being movable from a position adjacent said conveying means for receiving bakery products therefrom to a discharge position adjacent said first support means for placing the bakery products in the path of said upwardly movable shelves; said loader transfer means and said product supplying conveying means being mounted for relative vertical movement between remote positions and product transfer positions; means for relatively vertically moving said product supplying conveying means and said loader transfer means between said remote positions and transfer positions when said loader transfer means is in said receiving position so that said second and third pluralities of intermeshable support members pass each other to deposit the bakery products on said third support members; means for moving said loader transfer means between said bakery product receiving position and said discharge position; and said means for moving said shelves in said endless path includes means for indexing at least one of said shelves upwardly when said loader transfer means is in said discharge position so that the plurality of support members on said one shelf moves between said third plurality of support members to strip the bakery products therefrom.

Claim 8

For use with a bakery processing unit, such as a cooler, having a plurality of spaced, movable bakery product support shelves, each of said shelves comprising a first plurality of transversely spaced support members, and means for moving the shelves in an endless path; shelf loading apparatus comprising: product supplying conveying means including a second plurality of transversely spaced movable support members for conveying bakery products in a longitudinal path; loader transfer means including a third plurality of support members intermeshable with said first and second pluralities of support members and being movable from a position adjacent said conveying means for receiving bakery products therefrom to a discharge position adjacent said first support means for placing the bakery products in the path of said upwardly movable shelves; said loader transfer means and said product supplying conveying means being mounted for relative vertical movement between remote positions and product transfer positions; means for relatively vertically moving said product supplying conveying means and said loader transfer means between said remote positions and transfer positions when said loader transfer means is in said receiving position so that said second and third pluralities of intermeshable support members pass each other to deposit the bakery products on said third support members; means for moving said loader transfer means between said bakery product receiving position and said discharge position; and said means for moving said shelves in said endless path includes means for indexing at least one of said shelves upwardly when said loader transfer means is in said discharge position so that the plurality of support members on said one shelf moves between said third plurality of support members to strip the bakery products therefrom.

Claim 9

The combination of claim 5 wherein said product supplying conveying means is vertically movable between a raised position and a lowered position to deposit bakery products on said third plurality of support members; and said means for relatively moving said conveying means and said loader transfer means includes means for vertically moving said conveying means between said raised position and said lowered position.

Claim 10

The combination as set forth in claim 6 wherein said second plurality of transversely spaced support means comprises a plurality of driveable rollers and said third plurality of longitudinally spaced support members comprises a plurality of tines for receiving the bakery products.

Claim 11

The combination as set forth in claim 6 wherein said first plurality of transversely spaced support members comprises a plurality of transversely spaced bars; and said third plurality of transversely spaced support means comprises a plurality of tine members interleavable with said plurality of bars.

Claim 12

The combination of claim 6 including drive control means for causing said conveying means to be driven; and means for selectively intermittently operating said drive control means to render said drive control means inoperative when said conveying means is in said lowered position.

Claim 13

The combination of claim 6 including means pivotally mounting said supply cOnveying means for movement in an arcuate path between said raised and lowered positions.

Claim 14

The combination of claim 5 wherein said shelves are movable in an endless path; said indexing means includes means for indexing said shelves in an endless path; and including discharge conveying means including a fourth plurality of transversely disposed support members; shelf unloading apparatus downstream of said shelf loading apparatus for unloading the processed bakery products from said shelves and transferring them to said discharge conveying means.

Claim 15

The combination as set forth in claim 11 wherein said third plurality of transversely spaced support means is pivotally mounted on said loader transfer means to swing upwardly if a given product is inadvertently not removed from another of said shelves by said unloader apparatus and the upward movement of said shelves is interrupted by said given product engaging said third plurality of transversely spaced support means.

Claim 16

The apparatus as set forth in claim 12 including means responsive to the swinging movement of said third support means to interrupt the upward movement of said shelves.

Claim 17

The apparatus set forth in claim 12 wherein said shelves are mounted on said unit for vertical movement; and said indexing means includes means for indexing said shelves vertically when said transfer means is in said discharge position.

Claim 18

The combination as set forth in claim 11 wherein said shelf unloading apparatus comprises: unloader transfer means including a fifth plurality of horizontally spaced support members movable from a position adjacent said shelves for receiving said bakery products and a discharge position adjacent said discharge conveying means for transferring the products thereto; means for moving said unloader transfer means between said receiving and discharge positions; said unloading transfer means and said shelves, and said discharge conveying means, being relatively movable between remote positions and product transfer positions; means for relatively vertically moving said unloader transfer means and said shelves when said unloader transfer means is in said receiving position to relatively move said fifth plurality of horizontally spaced members and the first plurality of horizontally spaced members on another of said shelves between each other to transfer bakery products from said another shelf to said unloader transfer means; means for relatively vertically moving said unloader transfer means and said discharge conveyor means when said unloader transfer means is in said discharge position to relatively move said fourth and fifth pluralities of horizontally interposed support members between each other to transfer bakery products from said unloader transfer means to said discharge conveyor means.

Claim 19

The combination of claim 15 wherein said supply conveyor means is mounted for vertical movement; said means for relatively vertically moving said supply conveyor means and said loader transfer means includes means for moving said supply conveyor means between a raised position and a lowered position to move said second plurality of support members between said third plurality of support members to transfer the bakery products thereto when said loader transfer apparatus is in said product receiving position.

Claim 20

The combination as set forth in claim 16 wherein said second and fourth pluralities of support members comprise first and second pluralities of conveyor rolls respectively, first and second drive means for driving said first and second pluralities of conveyor rolls; and means for intermittently rendering said first drive means inoperative when said loader transfer means is in said receiving position.

Claim 21

The combination as set forth in claim 17 wherein said supply and discharge conveyor means are in superposed relation.

Claim 22

The combination as set forth in claim 16 wherein said unloader transfer means includes carrier means movable in a to-and-fro patH between said receiving position adjacent said shelves and said discharge position adjacent said discharge conveyor means, said fifth plurality of horizontally spaced members comprising a plurality of spaced apart tines mounted for vertical movement on said carrier means between raised and lowered positions; said means for relatively vertically moving said fifth plurality of members and said discharge conveying means and said shelves comprise means for vertically moving said tines between said first plurality of members from said lowered position to said raised positions when said unloader transfer means is in said receiving position, and for moving said tines between said fourth plurality of support members from said raised position and to said lowered position when said unloader transfer means is in said discharge position to transfer bakery products to said discharge conveyor means.

Claim 23

In combination with a bakery processing unit, such as a cooler, including a plurality of spaced, upwardly movable bakery product support shelves having pluralities of open ended openings therethrough, and means for indexing the shelves upwardly; product supplying conveyor means having a first plurality of transversely spaced rollers for moving the products in a first path and movable between raised and lowered positions; loader means including a first plurality of transversely spaced fingers generally vertically aligned with said openings and being reciprocatable in a to-and-fro path from a receiving position adjacent said supplying conveying means and a discharge position adjacent said shelves to position said bakery products in the path of said upwardly moving shelves; means for moving said supplying conveyor means between said raised and lowered positions when said loader means is in said receiving position to move the first plurality of rollers between said first plurality of spaced fingers and transfer the products thereto; means for reciprocating said loader means between said receiving position and said discharge position to dispose said bakery products in the path of one of said upwardly moving shelves which strips the products from the fingers as the transversely spaced fingers of said one shelf pass through the openings in said shelves and move them through said unit for processing.

Claim 24

In combination with a bakery processing unit, such as a cooler, including a plurality of spaced, upwardly movable bakery product support shelves having pluralities of open ended openings therethrough, and means for indexing the shelves upwardly; product supplying conveyor means having a first plurality of transversely spaced rollers for moving the products in a first path and movable between raised and lowered positions; loader means including a first plurality of transversely spaced fingers generally vertically aligned with said openings and being reciprocatable in a to-and-fro path from a receiving position adjacent said supplying conveying means and a discharge position adjacent said shelves to position said bakery products in the path of said upwardly moving shelves; means for moving said supplying conveyor means between said raised and lowered positions when said loader means is in said receiving position to move the first plurality of rollers between said first plurality of spaced fingers and transfer the products thereto; means for reciprocating said loader means between said receiving position and said discharge position to dispose said bakery products in the path of one of said upwardly moving shelves which strips the products from the fingers as the transversely spaced fingers of said one shelf pass through the openings in said shelves and move them through said unit for processing.

Claim 25

The combination as set forth in claim 20 including: discharge conveyor means including a second plurality of transversely spaced rollers for moving the bakery products in a second path; and unloader means for transferring bakery products from said shelves to said conveying means, said unloader means being mounted for movement in an endless path from a lowered position below another one of said shelves to a raised position above said another shelf, to a raised position above said discharge conveying means, to a lowered position below said discharge conveying means, and then to said lowered position below said another shelf; and means for moving said unloader means in said endless path.

Claim 26

Apparatus for successively transferring bakery products, such as pies in containers, to vertically spaced, upwardly movable, vertically spaced support shelves in a bakery processing unit, such as a cooler, said shelves being provided with transversely spaced, elongated openings therethrough, said apparatus comprising: vertically movable product supplying conveying means for conveying bakery products in a path of travel and having transversely spaced, elongated open ended openings therein; loader means movable between a receiving position adjacent said product supplying conveying means for receiving bakery products from said product supplying conveying means and a depositing position adjacent one of said shelves to transfer bakery products to a position in the path of said shelves as said shelves are moved upwardly, said loader means including transversely spaced support means for passing through the openings in said conveying means when said transfer means is in sAid receiving position and said supply conveying means is moved downwardly, and for passing through the openings in one of said shelves when said transfer means is in said depositing position and said one shelf is moved upwardly; means for sequentially moving said loader means between said receiving and depositing positions; means for moving said supply conveying means between a raised position and a lowered position to deposit said bakery products on said transversely spaced support means, when said loader means is in said receiving position to transfer products thereto; and means for indexing at least said one shelf upwardly to strip the bakery products from said loader means when said loader means is in said depositing position.

Claim 27

Apparatus for successively transferring bakery products, such as pies in containers, to vertically spaced, upwardly movable, vertically spaced support shelves in a bakery processing unit, such as a cooler, said shelves being provided with transversely spaced, elongated openings therethrough, said apparatus comprising: vertically movable product supplying conveying means for conveying bakery products in a path of travel and having transversely spaced, elongated open ended openings therein; loader means movable between a receiving position adjacent said product supplying conveying means for receiving bakery products from said product supplying conveying means and a depositing position adjacent one of said shelves to transfer bakery products to a position in the path of said shelves as said shelves are moved upwardly, said loader means including transversely spaced support means for passing through the openings in said conveying means when said transfer means is in sAid receiving position and said supply conveying means is moved downwardly, and for passing through the openings in one of said shelves when said transfer means is in said depositing position and said one shelf is moved upwardly; means for sequentially moving said loader means between said receiving and depositing positions; means for moving said supply conveying means between a raised position and a lowered position to deposit said bakery products on said transversely spaced support means, when said loader means is in said receiving position to transfer products thereto; and means for indexing at least said one shelf upwardly to strip the bakery products from said loader means when said loader means is in said depositing position.