Apparatus for stacking and packaging food products

Claim 2

A packaging apparatus comprising in combination, conveyor means for successively feeding a plurality of food articles to an accumulation location where each falls from the conveyor means and lands upon the preceding article in a stacked condition, sensor means adjacent said articles that have landed upon one another to determine when a sufficient number of said articles are present in the stack, said sensor means being operatively connected to an actuator means for transferring the stacked articles to a bucket conveyor having a plurality of buckets thereon for conveying the stack in a given feed direction, means locating a plurality of cartons each adjacent one of the buckets and in alignment therewith and an extensible loading arm means adapted to engage the stack and press the same laterally in a direction normal to the direction of travel and into the carton to thereby fill the carton and further means for withdrawing the loading arm from the carton.

Claim 5

Apparatus for stacking and packaging food products comprising in combination conveyor means for carrying a plurality of food articles in sequence to a stacking location defined by a horizontally disposed supporting surface, drive means for running the conveyor continuously to feed the articles in succession to the stationary supporting surface defining an accumulator station whereby each lands upon the one preceding it to form a stack, counting means adjacent to supporting surface to determine when a predetermined number of said articles are present in the stack in the accumulator station and at least one movable accumulator emptying member positioned adjacent the accumulator station in engagement with the stack upon the horizontally disposed surface and operatively associated with the counter for advancing the stack when the stack is completed, a horizontally disposed rotating turntable on a vertically disposed axis adjacent to the accumulator table to receive the stack when the accumulator table emptying member is operated, the rotation of the turntable conveying the stack to a hold location, a transfer arm engagable with the stack in the hold location for transferring the articles off the turntable and loading means operatively associated with the turntable to receive the stack when moved by the pusher arm for loading each stack into a package.

Claim 6

Apparatus for stacking and packaging food products comprising in combination conveyor means for carrying a plurality of food articles in sequence to a stacking location defined by a horizontally disposed supporting surface, drive means for running the conveyor continuously to feed the articles in succession to the stationary supporting surface defining an accumulator station whereby each lands upon the one preceding it to form a stack, counting means adjacent to supporting surface to determine when a predetermined number of said articles are present in the stack in the accumulator station and at least one movable accumulator emptying member positioned adjacent the accumulator station in engagement with the stack upon the horizontally disposed surface and operatively associated with the counter for advancing the stack when the stack is completed, a horizontally disposed rotating turntable on a vertically disposed axis adjacent to the accumulator table to receive the stack when the accumulator table emptying member is operated, the rotation of the turntable conveying the stack to a hold location, a transfer arm engagable with the stack in the hold location for transferring the articles off the turntable and loading means operatively associated with the turntable to receive the stack when moved by the pusher arm for loading each stack into a package.

Claim 7

Apparatus for stacking and packaging food products comprising in combination conveyor means for carrying a plurality of food articles in sequence to a stacking location defined by a horizontally disposed supporting surface, drive means for running the conveyor continuously to feed the articles in succession to the supporting surface, article counting means adjacent to supporting surface to determine when a predetermined number of said articles are present in the stack in the accumulator station and at least one movable accumulator emptying wheel positioned adjacent the accumulator station in engagement with the stack upon the horizontally disposed surface and operatively associated with the counting means for advancing the stack when the stack is completed, a horizontally disposed rotating turntable on a vertically disposed axis adjacent to the accumulator table to receive the stack when the accumulator table emptying member is operated, the rotation of the turntable conveying the stack to a hold location, a transfer arm engagable with the stack in the hold location for transferring the articles off the turntable and loading means operatively associated with the turntable to receive the stack when moved by the transfer arm for loading each stack into a package, said loading means including an endless conveyor means positioned adjacent the hold location on each turntable, said endless conveyor having a plurality of buckets of an appropriate size to rEceive one of the stacks, a first sensor means to determine when one of the buckets is in alignment with the stack on the turntable, a second sensor means to determine whether the bucket is empty when aligned with a selected turntable and means operatively associated with both of the sensing means and the transfer arm to actuate the transfer arm and thereby shift the stack from the turntable into the bucket when the bucket is in alignment therewith and is empty, said endless bucket conveyor being adapted to carry the stack to a carton filling station and means operative at the carton filling station for transferring each stack into a package.

Claim 8

Apparatus for stacking and packaging food products comprising in combination conveyor means for carrying a plurality of food articles in sequence to a stacking location defined by a horizontally disposed supporting surface, drive means for running the conveyor continuously to feed the articles in succession to the supporting surface, article counting means adjacent to supporting surface to determine when a predetermined number of said articles are present in the stack in the accumulator station and at least one movable accumulator emptying wheel positioned adjacent the accumulator station in engagement with the stack upon the horizontally disposed surface and operatively associated with the counting means for advancing the stack when the stack is completed, a horizontally disposed rotating turntable on a vertically disposed axis adjacent to the accumulator table to receive the stack when the accumulator table emptying member is operated, the rotation of the turntable conveying the stack to a hold location, a transfer arm engagable with the stack in the hold location for transferring the articles off the turntable and loading means operatively associated with the turntable to receive the stack when moved by the transfer arm for loading each stack into a package, said loading means including an endless conveyor means positioned adjacent the hold location on each turntable, said endless conveyor having a plurality of buckets of an appropriate size to rEceive one of the stacks, a first sensor means to determine when one of the buckets is in alignment with the stack on the turntable, a second sensor means to determine whether the bucket is empty when aligned with a selected turntable and means operatively associated with both of the sensing means and the transfer arm to actuate the transfer arm and thereby shift the stack from the turntable into the bucket when the bucket is in alignment therewith and is empty, said endless bucket conveyor being adapted to carry the stack to a carton filling station and means operative at the carton filling station for transferring each stack into a package.

Claim 9

The packaging apparatus of claim 3 including, a succession of movable buckets, one such bucket to receive each stack, means locating a plurality of cartons adjacent the buckets and in alignment therewith, an extensible loading arm adapted to engage the stack and press the same laterally in a direction normal to the direction of travel and into one of the cartons to thereby fill the carton and further means for withdrawing the loading arm from the carton.

Claim 10

The apparatus of claim 3 for stacking and packaging food products including endless feed conveyor entrained over horizontally disposed spaced apart rolls for advancing columns and rows of said food products toward the inlet end of the conveyor means, said conveyor means comprising a plurality of spreading conveyors positioned adjacent the feed conveyor, the spreading conveyors being arranged with the ends closest to the second conveyor being spaced closely together and the opposite ends thereof being fanned apart whereby the articles transferred in the rows and columns on the feed conveyor are advanced by the spreading conveyors in single diverging rows.