Case loading machine

Claim 2

A case loading machine comprising: a. means for receiving a file of articles along a first path of travel and forming a row containing a fixed number of articles on a predetermined area thereof, b. articulable pushing means opeRable between a retracted position and an extended position for pushing said row of articles a predetermined distance laterally along a second path of travel as said pushing means is extended to insert at least one row of articles into a case disposed in a case loading position, said pushing means comprising oppositely disposed upper and lower operating jaws, c. means for articulating said pushing means to move each said jaws substantially vertically between a row pushing position and a row passing position independently from operating said pushing means laterally such that said pushing means does not obstruct the second path of travel while being retracted laterally while said jaws are disposed at said row passing positions, and d. means for returning said pushing means to its retracted position without interfering with forming another row of articles on said predetermined area.

Claim 3

A case loading machine comprising: a. means for receiving a file of articles along a first path of travel and forming a row containing a fixed number of articles on a predetermined area thereof, b. means for pushing said row of articles and at least one additional previously formed row of articles laterally along a second path of travel, said last mentioned means inserting at least two rows of articles into a case disposed in a case loading position, c. means for articulating said pushing means such that it clears the second path of travel of said rows of articles, d. means for returning said pushing means to its original position without any interference to the continuous formation of a row of articles at said predetermined area, and e. a short stroke pusher for removing at least one row of articles from said predetermined area during the cycle of said pushing means.

Claim 4

A case loading machine comprising: a. means for receiving a file of articles along a first path of travel and forming a row containing a fixed number of articles on a predetermined area thereof, b. means for pushing said row of articles and at least one additional previously formed row of articles laterally along a second path of travel, said last mentioned means inserting at least two rows of articles into a case disposed in a case loading position, c. means for articulating said pushing means such that it clears the second path of travel of said rows of articles, d. means for returning said pushing means to its original position without any interference to the continuous formation of a row of articles at said predetermined area, and e. a short stroke pusher for removing at least one row of articles from said predetermined area during the cycle of said pushing means.

Claim 5

A case loading machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein said pushing means comprises an upper operating jaw and a lower operating jaw for engaging and pushing a plurality of rows of articles, and said articulating means is operative for moving said operating jaws out of the path of movement of said rows of articles during the return of said jaws to their original position.

Claim 6

A case loading maching comprising: a. means for receiving a file of articles along a first path of travel and forming a row containing a fixed number of articles on a predetermined area thereof, b. means for pushing said row of articles and at least one additional previously formed row of articles laterally along a second path of travel, said pushing means inserting at least two rows of articles into a case disposed in a case loading position, said pushing means comprising a frame, an upper arm, a lower arm, an upper jaw and a lower jaw, said arms each having one end pivotally connected to said frame so that said arms extend generally horizontally and are movable so that the space intermediate their distal ends can be varied by pivoting said arms about their proximal ends, said upper jaw being secured to the distal end of said upper arm and said lower jaw being secured to the distal end of said lower arm for engaging and pushing a plurality of said rows of articles along said second path, c. means for articulating said pushing means so that said arms and said jaws clear said second path of travel of said rows of articles, said articulating means comprising a follower lever extending downwardly from said upper arm, a push lever extending upwardly from said lower arm, a push link pivotally connected intermediate the distal ends of said levers, and means for raising and lowering said lower arm, and d. means for returning said pushing means to its original position without any interference with the continuous formation of a row of articles at said predetermined area, said articulating means being operative for moving said jaws out of the path of movement of said rows of articles during the return of said jaws to their original position.

Claim 7

A case loading maching comprising: a. means for receiving a file of articles along a first path of travel and forming a row containing a fixed number of articles on a predetermined area thereof, b. means for pushing said row of articles and at least one additional previously formed row of articles laterally along a second path of travel, said pushing means inserting at least two rows of articles into a case disposed in a case loading position, said pushing means comprising a frame, an upper arm, a lower arm, an upper jaw and a lower jaw, said arms each having one end pivotally connected to said frame so that said arms extend generally horizontally and are movable so that the space intermediate their distal ends can be varied by pivoting said arms about their proximal ends, said upper jaw being secured to the distal end of said upper arm and said lower jaw being secured to the distal end of said lower arm for engaging and pushing a plurality of said rows of articles along said second path, c. means for articulating said pushing means so that said arms and said jaws clear said second path of travel of said rows of articles, said articulating means comprising a follower lever extending downwardly from said upper arm, a push lever extending upwardly from said lower arm, a push link pivotally connected intermediate the distal ends of said levers, and means for raising and lowering said lower arm, and d. means for returning said pushing means to its original position without any interference with the continuous formation of a row of articles at said predetermined area, said articulating means being operative for moving said jaws out of the path of movement of said rows of articles during the return of said jaws to their original position.

Claim 8

A case loading machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein Said pushing means further comprises a frame and said articulating means comprises an upper arm and a lower arm, said arms each having a proximal end pivotally connected to said frame, said upper operating jaw being mounted on the distal end of said upper arm and said lower jaw being mounted on the distal end of said lower arm, and said articulating means comprises a follower lever extending downwardly from the upper arm, a push lever extending upwardly from said lower arm, a push link pivoted to said levers and means for raising and lowering said lower arm.

Claim 9

An improved case loading machine having a frame structure, a platform mounted on said frame structure, means for causing an advancing file of articles to form a row of a predetermined plurality of the articles in abutting relation on a predetermined area of the platform, and pushing means for forwarding the row laterally from the predetermined area towards a case held in loading position relative to the platform whereby successive said rows can be advanced columnarly in side-by-side relation to fill a succession of said cases, the improvement wherein the pushing means comprises a four-stroke pusher comprising row engaging means for simultaneously engaging each said article in the row disposed on said predetermined area, means for operating said row engaging means substantially vertically between a row pushing position and a row passing position, and means for reciprocating said row engaging means laterally between one position and another position, said means for operating and said means for reciprocating being independently operable, whereby said four-stroke pusher can be operated through a cycle comprising the sequence of, a row pushing stroke to effect said forwarding of the row from said predetermined area as said row engaging means is moved laterally by said reciprocating means from said one position to said another position while said row engaging means are disposed at said row pushing position, a row disengaging stroke to move said row engaging means from said row pushing position to said row passing position so that said row engaging means can be returned to said one position without said row engaging means interfering with said advancing file or any said article disposed on said platform, a return stroke of said reciprocating means to laterally return said row engaging means to said one position, and a reset stroke to operate said row engaging means to said row pushing position whereby said file of articles can begin advancing to form a successive row of said articles on said predetermined area during said cycle of said four-stroke pusher after forwarding the preceding row therefrom.

Claim 10

An improved case loading machine having a frame structure, a platform mounted on said frame structure, means for causing an advancing file of articles to form a row of a predetermined plurality of the articles in abutting relation on a predetermined area of the platform, and pushing means for forwarding the row laterally from the predetermined area towards a case held in loading position relative to the platform whereby successive said rows can be advanced columnarly in side-by-side relation to fill a succession of said cases, the improvement wherein the pushing means comprises a four-stroke pusher comprising row engaging means for simultaneously engaging each said article in the row disposed on said predetermined area, means for operating said row engaging means substantially vertically between a row pushing position and a row passing position, and means for reciprocating said row engaging means laterally between one position and another position, said means for operating and said means for reciprocating being independently operable, whereby said four-stroke pusher can be operated through a cycle comprising the sequence of, a row pushing stroke to effect said forwarding of the row from said predetermined area as said row engaging means is moved laterally by said reciprocating means from said one position to said another position while said row engaging means are disposed at said row pushing position, a row disengaging stroke to move said row engaging means from said row pushing position to said row passing position so that said row engaging means can be returned to said one position without said row engaging means interfering with said advancing file or any said article disposed on said platform, a return stroke of said reciprocating means to laterally return said row engaging means to said one position, and a reset stroke to operate said row engaging means to said row pushing position whereby said file of articles can begin advancing to form a successive row of said articles on said predetermined area during said cycle of said four-stroke pusher after forwarding the preceding row therefrom.

Claim 11

The improved case loading machine of claim 6 wherein said means for reciprocating said row engaging means laterally between said one position and said another position comprises a way secured to said frame structure, said way extending parallel to the direction of said forwarding, a carriage mounted on said way for linear motion thereon, first linkage means intermediate said carriage and said row engaging means, means for reciprocating said carriage on said way, and, said means for operating said row engaging means between said row pushing position and said row passing position comprises an actuator and second linkage means.

Claim 12

An improved case loading machine having a frame structure, a platform mounted on said frame structure, means for causing an advancing file of articles to form a row of a predetermined plurality of the articles in abutting relation on a predetermined area of the platform, and pushing means for forwarding the row laterally from the predetermined area towards a case held in loading position relative to the platform whereby successive said rows can be advanced columnarly in side-by-side relation to fill a succession of said cases, the improvement wherein said platform includes jaw and jaw support passage means, and said pushing means comprises a fouR-stroke pusher movable through a cycle comprising the sequence of a row pushing stroke, a row disengaging stroke, a return stroke and a reset stroke whereby said file of articles can begin advancing to form a successive row of said articles on said predetermined area during said cycle of said four-stroke pusher after the preceding row is forwarded therefrom, said four-stroke pusher comprising row engaging means for simultaneously engaging each said article in the row disposed on said predetermined area, means for operating said row engaging means between a row pushing position and a row passing position, and means for reciprocating said row engaging means laterally between one position and another position, said means for reciprocating said row engaging means laterally between said one position and said another position comprises a way secured to said frame structure, said way extending parallel to the direction of said forwarding, a carriage mounted on said way for linear motion thereon, first linkage means intermediate said carriage and said row engaging means, and said means for operating said row engaging means between said row pushing position and said row passing position comprises an actuator and second linkage means, said first linkage means comprises an upper arm and a lower arm having one end of each pivotally connected to said carriage for moving the distal ends of said arms generally vertically along predetermined arcs, said arms being configured and spaced to not interfere with said advancing file regardless of the position of said carriage and regardless of where the distal ends are positioned along said predetermined arcs, said lower arm having an upwardly extending distal end portion, and said row engaging means comprises an upper jaw and a lower jaw which are secured to the distal ends of said upper and lower arms respectively so that they are vertically spaced to be contiguous to top and bottom portions respectively of a side surface of each of the articles in a said row on said platform when said jaws are at said row pushing position and, when disposed at said row passing position, said upper jaw is wholly above the uppermost reach of said article on said platform and said lower jaw is wholly below said platform, said jaw and jaw support passage means enabling said lower jaw to traverse a rectangular path part of which is above said platform and part of which is below said platform whereby said lower jaw is wholly above said platform during said row pushing stroke, and is wholly below said platform during said return stroke, said row pushing stroke being to effect said forwarding of the row from said predetermined area as said row engaging means is moved laterally by said reciprocating means from said one position to said another position while said row engaging means are disposed at said row pushing position, said row disengaging stroke being to move said row engaging means from said row pushing position to said row passing position so that said row engaging means can be returned to said one position without said row engaging means interfering with said advancing file or any said article disposed on said platform, said return stroke of said reciprocating means being to laterally return said row engaging means to said one position, and said reset stroke being to operate said row engaging means to said row pushing position.

Claim 13

An improved case loading machine having a frame structure, a platform mounted on said frame structure, means for causing an advancing file of articles to form a row of a predetermined plurality of the articles in abutting relation on a predetermined area of the platform, and pushing means for forwarding the row laterally from the predetermined area towards a case held in loading position relative to the platform whereby successive said rows can be advanced columnarly in side-by-side relation to fill a succession of said cases, the improvement wherein said platform includes jaw and jaw support passage means, and said pushing means comprises a fouR-stroke pusher movable through a cycle comprising the sequence of a row pushing stroke, a row disengaging stroke, a return stroke and a reset stroke whereby said file of articles can begin advancing to form a successive row of said articles on said predetermined area during said cycle of said four-stroke pusher after the preceding row is forwarded therefrom, said four-stroke pusher comprising row engaging means for simultaneously engaging each said article in the row disposed on said predetermined area, means for operating said row engaging means between a row pushing position and a row passing position, and means for reciprocating said row engaging means laterally between one position and another position, said means for reciprocating said row engaging means laterally between said one position and said another position comprises a way secured to said frame structure, said way extending parallel to the direction of said forwarding, a carriage mounted on said way for linear motion thereon, first linkage means intermediate said carriage and said row engaging means, and said means for operating said row engaging means between said row pushing position and said row passing position comprises an actuator and second linkage means, said first linkage means comprises an upper arm and a lower arm having one end of each pivotally connected to said carriage for moving the distal ends of said arms generally vertically along predetermined arcs, said arms being configured and spaced to not interfere with said advancing file regardless of the position of said carriage and regardless of where the distal ends are positioned along said predetermined arcs, said lower arm having an upwardly extending distal end portion, and said row engaging means comprises an upper jaw and a lower jaw which are secured to the distal ends of said upper and lower arms respectively so that they are vertically spaced to be contiguous to top and bottom portions respectively of a side surface of each of the articles in a said row on said platform when said jaws are at said row pushing position and, when disposed at said row passing position, said upper jaw is wholly above the uppermost reach of said article on said platform and said lower jaw is wholly below said platform, said jaw and jaw support passage means enabling said lower jaw to traverse a rectangular path part of which is above said platform and part of which is below said platform whereby said lower jaw is wholly above said platform during said row pushing stroke, and is wholly below said platform during said return stroke, said row pushing stroke being to effect said forwarding of the row from said predetermined area as said row engaging means is moved laterally by said reciprocating means from said one position to said another position while said row engaging means are disposed at said row pushing position, said row disengaging stroke being to move said row engaging means from said row pushing position to said row passing position so that said row engaging means can be returned to said one position without said row engaging means interfering with said advancing file or any said article disposed on said platform, said return stroke of said reciprocating means being to laterally return said row engaging means to said one position, and said reset stroke being to operate said row engaging means to said row pushing position.

Claim 14

The improved case loading machine of claim 8 wherein the lateral distance between said one position and said another position is at least the cumulative width of two said rows in abutting side-by-side relation, and said pushing means further comprises a short stroke pusher which is independently and simultaneously operable with respect to said four-stroke pusher for moving a said row laterally at least the width of a said row to wholly remove a said row from said predetermined area, said short stroke pusher including a face plate for acting on other portions of said side surfaces when operated from a first position to a second posItion, and means for interrupting said advancing file of said articles onto said predetermined area except when said face plate is at said first position.

Claim 15

The improved case loading machine of claim 9 wherein said short stroke pusher comprises an L-shape member comprising said face plate and a side plate, said side plate being configured and disposed to be said file interrupting means whereby the operation of both said pushers can be integrated so that a laterally extending column consisting of a predetermined number of said rows in side-by-side relation can be accumulated on said platform by operating said short stroke pusher, said column comprising a predetermined array of said rows, and said four-stroke pusher can advance said column to move a said array as a unit into said case during one said cycle of said four-stroke pusher.