Stacker and method of stacking frozen food patties

Claim 1

A stacker for stacking frozen food patties or like discshaped articles, comprising: a substantially horizontal input conveyor, having a terminal end located at a stacking station for conveying frozen food patties or like disc-shaped articles to the stacking station at a predetermined speed and with predetermined minimum spacing, the input conveyor discharging the articles, in free fall, over its terminal end; a normally stationary stacking conveyor, extending outwardly of the stacking station from a stacking location at a point directly below the terminal end of the input conveyor, the vertical distance from the terminal end of the input conveyor to the stacking conveyor being sufficient to allow each article to rotate through an angle of about 180* as it falls toward the stacking conveyor; a guide, movable between a stack guidance position adjacent the stacking conveyor and a stack release position displaced upwardly from the stacking conveyor and outwardly from the stack guidance position, for guiding the articles to accumulate in an orderly stack on the portion of the stacking conveyor at the stacking location; stacking conveyor actuating means for actuating the stacking conveyor for a limited time interval, not substantially greater than the time interval between discharge of successive articles into the stacking station, to transport an accumulated stack of articles away from the stacking location; guide actuating means for actuating the guide from stack guidance position to release position and back again in timed relation to operation of the stAcking conveyor actuating means, the guide returning to stack guidance position before more than one article for the next stack reaches the stacking conveyor; and means to monitor article accumulation at the stacking location and to energize both of said actuating means when a desired accumulation has been attained.

Claim 10

A method of stacking frozen food patties and like disc-shaped articles, comprising: conveying a series of disc-shaped articles, in flat, spaced, longitudinal alignment at a predetermined speed along a given generally horizontal input path toward a terminal end of the path; discharging the articles, successively, in free fall, from the terminal end of the input path and into a stacking station; collecting the falling articles in a stack on a normally stationary conveyor surface at the stacking station, at a point directly below the terminal end of the input path, the vertical distance from the terminal end of the input path to the stacking conveyor surface being sufficient to allow each article to rotate through an angle of about 180* as it falls; guiding the articles into an orderly stack by normally maintaining a guide in a guidance position adjacent the stacking conveyor surface and spaced outwardly of the terminal end of the input path; continuously monitoring the height of the stack of articles accumulating on the stacking conveyor surface by counting the articles traversing the input path; moving the guide upwardly of the stacking conveyor surface and outwardly of the terminal end of the input path to a stack release position upon accumulation of a stack of given height; moving the stacking conveyor surface to transport the stack away from the stacking location, substantially simultaneously with movement of the guide toward its release position and in response to monitoring a predetermined height of articles on the stacking conveyor; and restoring the guide to guidance position and stopping movement of the stacking conveyor before the next article reaches the stacking conveyor.

Claim 11

A method of stacking frozen food patties and like disc-shaped articles, comprising: conveying a series of disc-shaped articles, in flat, spaced, longitudinal alignment at a predetermined speed along a given generally horizontal input path toward a terminal end of the path; discharging the articles, successively, in free fall, from the terminal end of the input path and into a stacking station; collecting the falling articles in a stack on a normally stationary conveyor surface at the stacking station, at a point directly below the terminal end of the input path, the vertical distance from the terminal end of the input path to the stacking conveyor surface being sufficient to allow each article to rotate through an angle of about 180* as it falls; guiding the articles into an orderly stack by normally maintaining a guide in a guidance position adjacent the stacking conveyor surface and spaced outwardly of the terminal end of the input path; continuously monitoring the height of the stack of articles accumulating on the stacking conveyor surface by counting the articles traversing the input path; moving the guide upwardly of the stacking conveyor surface and outwardly of the terminal end of the input path to a stack release position upon accumulation of a stack of given height; moving the stacking conveyor surface to transport the stack away from the stacking location, substantially simultaneously with movement of the guide toward its release position and in response to monitoring a predetermined height of articles on the stacking conveyor; and restoring the guide to guidance position and stopping movement of the stacking conveyor before the next article reaches the stacking conveyor.