Apparatus for transferring bodies of delicate consistency from a feed line to a reception line

Claim 1

An apparatus for transferring bodies of delicate consistency from a continuously moving feed conveyor having regularly spaced support elements for said bodies onto a reception conveyor having regularly spaced support members, said reception conveyor being driven with intermittent motion, the distance between the support elements on the feed conveyor being greater than the distance between the support members on the reception conveyor, said apparatus comprising a transfer conveyor moving along a closed path lying in a horizontal plane, said transfer conveyor having a first portion extending parallel to the feed conveyor and a second portion extending parallel to the reception conveyor, transmission means for driving said transfer conveyor with the same speed of said feed conveyor, aspirator means consisting of suckers supported by said transfer conveyor slidably in a vertical direction, cam members arranged along said first and second portion for causing the aspirator means to move vertically thereby to approach said feed conveyor in timed relation therewith to engage the bodies and then to raise for removing the bodies and to transfer and deposit them on the reception conveyor, flexible ducts and a rotating distributor connecting said suckers to a suction pump, wherein according to the improvement said rotating distributor comprises a column arranged within an area surrounded by said path of said transfer conveyor, a disc mounted for rotation on said column about a vertical axis, connectors for said flexible ducts regularly distributed on a circumference on the upper face of said disc concentrically about said vertical axis, a gear-wheel toothing on the periphery of said disc, said transmission means for driving said transfer conveyor including a driving sprocket and a chain transmissively engaging said gearwheel toothing and said driving sprocket, the transmission ratio between said gearwheel toothing and said driving sprocket being such that when the transfer conveyor has covered a way equal to its entire length, the disc has made one complete revolution, a ring member arranged underneath the face of said disc opposite to that provided with the connectors, spring means pressing said ring member against said face, support means for said ring permitting axial displacement and preventing rotation thereof, said ring having a periphery defining a surface area eccentric with respect to said circumference on which said connectors are arranged so that part of said circumference extends within said surface area and another part thereof extends outside said surface area, a cavity in said ring connected with said suction pump and opening at said surface area so as to communicate with the connectors reaching said part of said circumference during the rotation of said disc, means for angularly adjusting said ring with respect to said disc, said cavity having an angular extension such as to connect the suckers with said suction pump during removal and transfer of the bodies from the feed conveyor onto the reception conveyor and to disconnect the suckers thereafter.

Claim 2

An apparatus for transferring bodies of delicate consistency from a continuously moving feed conveyor having regularly spaced support elements for said bodies onto a reception conveyor having regularly spaced support members, said reception conveyor being driven with intermittent motion, the distance between the support elements on the feed conveyor being greater than the distance between the support members on the reception conveyor, said apparatus comprising a transfer conveyor moving along a closed path lying in a horizontal plane, said transfer conveyor having a first portion extending parallel to the feed conveyor and a second portion extending parallel to the reception conveyor, transmission means for driving said transfer conveyor with the same speed of said feed conveyor, aspirator means consisting of suckers supported by said transfer conveyor slidably in a vertical direction, cam members arranged along said first and second portion for causing the aspirator means to move vertically thereby to approach said feed conveyor in timed relation therewith to engage the bodies and then to raise for removing the bodies and to transfer and deposit them on the reception conveyor, flexible ducts and a rotating distributor connecting said suckers to a suction pump, wherein according to the improvement said rotating distributor comprises a column arranged within an area surrounded by said path of said transfer conveyor, a disc mounted for rotation on said column about a vertical axis, connectors for said flexible ducts regularly distributed on a circumference on the upper face of said disc concentrically about said vertical axis, a gear-wheel toothing on the periphery of said disc, said transmission means for driving said transfer conveyor including a driving sprocket and a chain transmissively engaging said gearwheel toothing and said driving sprocket, the transmission ratio between said gearwheel toothing and said driving sprocket being such that when the transfer conveyor has covered a way equal to its entire length, the disc has made one complete revolution, a ring member arranged underneath the face of said disc opposite to that provided with the connectors, spring means pressing said ring member against said face, support means for said ring permitting axial displacement and preventing rotation thereof, said ring having a periphery defining a surface area eccentric with respect to said circumference on which said connectors are arranged so that part of said circumference extends within said surface area and another part thereof extends outside said surface area, a cavity in said ring connected with said suction pump and opening at said surface area so as to communicate with the connectors reaching said part of said circumference during the rotation of said disc, means for angularly adjusting said ring with respect to said disc, said cavity having an angular extension such as to connect the suckers with said suction pump during removal and transfer of the bodies from the feed conveyor onto the reception conveyor and to disconnect the suckers thereafter.