Stack-supporting bottom feed conveyor
First Claim
1. In a conveyor for feeding stock items to associated mechanism,means for storing said stock items in a stack,means for feeding said items to the associated mechanism from said storing means including means for sequentially delivering to said mechanism said items one by one off the bottom of the stack during predetermined intervals, and means intervening said intervals for lifting the entire stack off said feeding means and comprising means for thereupon facilitating pullout of the bottom item by said mechanism,said means for feeding said items comprising rotatable means disposing beneath the stack and having slick areas and high frictional areas circumferentially offset from each other, said slick areas projecting farther from the axis of rotation of said rotatable means than said frictional areas and being operative to engage and lift the stack and provide a slide surface for the bottom item during said interval and said frictional areas operative to advance the succeeding bottom article a predetermined distance from under the stack into said mechanism after the previous bottom item has been completely withdrawn by said mechanism from under the stack by engaging such succeeding article attendant to the stack being lowered upon the respective frictional area.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A conveyor for removing stock items from the bottom of a stack comprising an intermittently operable roller member having conveying and lifting portions movable in an orbit, the conveying portions being operative during their operative periods to drag against the lowermost item of the stack seated thereon and enter one end of the item into a metering device which is operative during the same intervals to enter the leading end of each article into a pair of pullout rollers, the roller member cycling to dispose the lifting portions in lifting positions to the stack and providing smooth surfaced areas releasing the partially withdrawn items from under the stack during this interval.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. In a conveyor for feeding stock items to associated mechanism,
means for storing said stock items in a stack, means for feeding said items to the associated mechanism from said storing means including means for sequentially delivering to said mechanism said items one by one off the bottom of the stack during predetermined intervals, and means intervening said intervals for lifting the entire stack off said feeding means and comprising means for thereupon facilitating pullout of the bottom item by said mechanism, said means for feeding said items comprising rotatable means disposing beneath the stack and having slick areas and high frictional areas circumferentially offset from each other, said slick areas projecting farther from the axis of rotation of said rotatable means than said frictional areas and being operative to engage and lift the stack and provide a slide surface for the bottom item during said interval and said frictional areas operative to advance the succeeding bottom article a predetermined distance from under the stack into said mechanism after the previous bottom item has been completely withdrawn by said mechanism from under the stack by engaging such succeeding article attendant to the stack being lowered upon the respective frictional area.
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8. Means for conveying stock items from the bottom of a heavy stack as a continuous stream of single items comprising:
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a feeding system underposed with respect to said stack and having delivery means for periodically engaging the bottom item of the stack and partially removing the bottom item from the bottom of the stack and delivering it into associated item-grasping metering means, and means for lifting the entire stack off said delivery means and providing means facilitating complete withdrawal of the partially removed item and positioning the items in the stack above the partially removed item out of registry with said metering means. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A conveying system for feeding in sequence single article from the bottom of a plurality of articles arranged in a stack,
means for withdrawing articles presented thereto from under the stack, dual means comprising conveying and lifting means disposed beneath the stack for respectively alternately conveying the bottom article from under the stack to said withdrawing means for grasping engagement thereby and then elevating the remainder of the stack to a nonconveying interim and disposing the remaining articles in a non-grasping position by said withdrawing means while accommodating withdrawal of the remainder of the grasped bottom article from under the stack by said withdrawing means, and said withdrawing means operative to withdraw the remainder of the article grasped thereby during said interim while the entire load of the remaider of the stack rests upon said lifting means with minimal friction.
Specification