Apparatus for separating nested cup-shaped containers

Claim 1

Apparatus for continuously separating cup-shaped containers from a plurality of stacks thereof in which the containers in each stack are arranged in upwardly opening nested relation, said apparatus comprising, in combination, a separating mechanism for separating the containers of a stack supplied thereto and a feed mechanism for supplying additional stacks of containers to said separating mechanism prior to or upon depletion of a stack being separated, said separating mechanism including vertically extending guide means for supporting a stack of containers to be separated in vertically extending relation, said guide means having an upper end through which a stack of containers to be separated descends, finger means movable into and out of engagement with the containers of the stack in said guide means and operable to separate said containers, one at a time, from the bottom of said stack, and at least one holding shoe disposed below said finger means and operable to engage a side wall of the lowermost container in the stack and thus support the stack of containers in said guide means while said finger means is disengaged from said stack, said feed mechanism including means defining a path for receiving and retaining a plurality of stacks of said containers, one end of said path terminating at a staging station adjacent to the upper end of said guide means, conveyor means for advancing stacks of containers on said path toward and onto said staging station, shiftable means for effecting movement of a stack of containers on said staging station over the upper end of said guide means prior to or upon depletion of a stack being separated, first control means carried by said guide means for controlling said shiftable means, and second control means carried by said staging station and operable to actuate said conveyor means whenever a stack of containers and said shiftable means are absent from said staging station.