Distributor mechanism for articles coming off a conveyor

Claim 1

Apparatus for transferring articles from a conveyor into individuallly predetermined and mutually spaced positions of the articles, comprising; an elongate distribution platform disposed to receive a predetermined number of articles such as bottles, delivered to the platform by a conveyor, as a row, extending along the elongate platform, of articles standing in mutually close positions; an elongate rod extending longitudinally of the elongate platform, on one side of and beyond the row of articles; a number of transfer blocks corresponding to said predetermined number of articles and disposed as a row of transfer blocks, each transfer block being shiftably mounted on the elongate rod to enable shifting of the transfer blocks along the rod; a plurality of links, each interconnecting two mutually adjacent transfer blocks of the row of blocks, and disposed shiftably between a first condition of the latter row wherein the blocks are located in mutually close positions, opposite respective articles, and a second condition wherein the row of blocks is stretched out along the elongate rod; article-engaging means on each transfer block for engaging one of the delivered articles in said first condition of the row of transfer blocks, and for shifting the engaged article along the elongate platform by the shifting of the transfer blocks into said second condition of the row of transfer blocks, to establish individually predetermined, mutually spaced positions of the articles; transverse shifting means for supporting, and returnably shifting, said rod and said row of blocks thereon transversely of said elongate platform to shift the engaged articles transversely from the platform; and means mounted on the transverse shifting means for holding the standing articles, engaged by the article-engaging means on the blocks, against tumbling of articles during the shifting of the articles transversely from the distribution platform.

Claim 11

A method of transferring bottles from a conveyor into individually predetermined, mutually spaced positions of the bottles, comprising; collecting bottles delivered by a conveyor in a distribution zone as a row of bottles standing in mutually close positions; providing a group of bottle-engaging members parallel to the row of collected bottles, initially disposing said members in positions opposite respective ones of the collected bottles; first moving said row of bottle-engaging members transversely of and toward said row of bottles into engagement of each member with one of the bottles; thereupon moving said members, in engagement with the bottles, in a direction parallel to said row to space the bottles apart in individually predetermined standing positions; and finally moving said members in engagement with the spaced bottles, in movement transverse of said row for removal of the bottles from the distribution zone, while holding the bottles against tumbling during the transverse movement.

Claim 12

A method of transferring bottles from a conveyor into individually predetermined, mutually spaced positions of the bottles, comprising; collecting bottles delivered by a conveyor in a distribution zone as a row of bottles standing in mutually close positions; providing a group of bottle-engaging members parallel to the row of collected bottles, initially disposing said members in positions opposite respective ones of the collected bottles; first moving said row of bottle-engaging members transversely of and toward said row of bottles into engagement of each member with one of the bottles; thereupon moving said members, in engagement with the bottles, in a direction parallel to said row to space the bottles apart in individually predetermined standing positions; and finally moving said members in engagement with the spaced bottles, in movement transverse of said row for removal of the bottles from the distribution zone, while holding the bottles against tumbling during the transverse movement.