Apparatus for dispensing articles

• US 5,586,685 A
• Filed: 09/27/1994
• Issued: 12/24/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dorner Manufacturing Corporation (Columbus Mckinnon Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Dorner Manufacturing Corporation (Columbus Mckinnon Corporation)
• Inventors: Danelski, Darin L., Dorner, Wolfgang C., Hosch, Michael A., Remsing, David A.
• Primary Examiner(s): NOLAND, KENNETH W
• Application Number:
  US08/313,016
• Time in Patent Office: 819 Days
• Field of Search: 221/197, 221/282, 221/268, 221/270, 221/272, 221/232, 221/285, 221/287, 271/165, 271/145
• US Class Current: 221/197
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 59/067 articles being separated substantially perpendicularly to the axis of the stack

Abstract

An apparatus for dispensing articles from a stack onto a moving conveyor. The apparatus includes a supporting structure or frame that supports a stack of articles and the supporting structure is canted at an angle of about 15° to 25° from the vertical. The supporting structure is generally L-shaped in cross section, having a pair of walls located generally normal to each other, while the opposite sides of the supporting structure are open so that the articles can be loaded into the supporting structure through the open sides. The lowermost article in the stack is supported on an L-shaped base, so that only peripheral portions of adjacent side edges of the lowermost article are supported. A pusher plate is mounted for sliding movement relative to the supporting structure and acts to push the lowermost article from the stack and the dispensed article will then fall onto the moving conveyor below. A stripper is mounted to engage the second lowermost article in the stack to prevent that article from being displaced from the supporting structure as the lowermost article is pushed from the stack.

Claims

1. An apparatus for dispensing articles onto a conveyor, comprising a conveyor having a pair of generally parallel side rails and a conveyor member mounted for travel between said side rails, an elongated supporting structure for supporting a stack of vertically stacked articles, said supporting structure disposed at a level above the conveyor member and having a longitudinal axis disposed at an acute angle to the vertical, said supporting structure including a base to support a lowermost article of said stack, said base including a pair of intersecting side edges disposed at an acute angle to each and facing the longitudinal axis of said supporting structure, said base disposed to support a peripheral portion of said lowermost article with said lowermost article projecting from said side edges in a direction toward said axis, pusher means including a pusher mounted for sliding movement on said base and disposed to engage the lowermost article and push said lowermost article from the stack and deposit said article on the conveyor member, and stripper means mounted on the supporting structure and disposed to be engaged by a second lowermost article in the stack to prevent movement of said second lowermost article from the stack as the lowermost article is pushed from the stack.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said article is rectilinear in shape and includes a pair of first parallel sides and a pair of second parallel sides, one of said first sides and one of said second sides of the lowermost article being supported on said base.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said pusher is generally L-shaped and includes a pair of arms connected at a junction, one arm disposed to engage said first side of the lowermost article, and the other arm disposed to engage said second side of the lowermost article.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said supporting structure comprises a column and a pair of walls that extend outwardly from the column at an angle of about 90°

with respect to each other.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said pusher means includes a fluid cylinder unit operably connected to said pusher.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said fluid cylinder unit comprises a cylinder connected to the supporting structure, and a piston rod slidable relative to the cylinder and connected to said pusher.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the axis of the cylinder is located at an angle of about 45°

with respect to a side rail of the conveyor.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the axis of the cylinder bisects the angle between the arms of the pusher.

9. In combination, a conveyor including a conveyor frame and a conveyor member mounted for travel on the frame in a given direction, a dispenser disposed above the conveyor member for individually dispensing articles onto the conveyor member, said dispenser including an elongated supporting structure for supporting a stack of superimposed articles, said supporting structure having a longitudinal axis disposed at an acute angle with respect to the vertical, said supporting structure including a generally L-shaped base to support a lowermost article in the stack, said L-shaped base having a pair of legs disposed at an angle to each other, a peripheral portion of the lowermost article being supported on said legs, pusher means including a pusher mounted for sliding movement relative to the base and disposed to engage the lowermost article and push the lowermost article from the stack and deposit said article on the conveyor member, and stripper means mounted on the supporting structure and disposed to be engaged by a second lowermost article in the stack to prevent movement of the second lowermost article from the stack as the lowermost article is pushed from the stack.

10. A combination of claim 9, wherein one leg of said base is disposed parallel to a side edge of the conveyor, and the other leg of the base is disposed generally normal to said side edge of the conveyor.

11. The combination of claim 10, wherein said pusher means includes a fluid cylinder unit composed of a cylinder member and a piston member, one of said members being connected to the supporting structure and the other of said members being connected to said pusher.

12. The combination of claims 9, wherein said pusher means includes a fluid cylinder unit operably connected to said pusher, said fluid cylinder unit having a longitudinal axis disposed at an angle of about 45°

with respect to a side edge of the conveyor member.

13. The combination of claim 9, wherein said supporting structure is generally L-shaped in cross-section and includes a first wall and a second wall connected to the first wall at a junction, the sides of said supporting structure opposite said first and second walls being open.

14. The combination of claim 9, wherein said longitudinal axis lies in a vertical plane that extends at an angle of about 45°

with respect to a side edge of the conveyor member, said longitudinal axis being tilted outwardly from said side edge at an angle of 15°

-25°

with respect to the vertical.

15. In combination, a conveyor including a pair of parallel side rails and an endless belt mounted for movement on said side rails in a direction of travel, a dispenser disposed above the conveyor for individually dispensing articles onto the conveyor, each article being generally rectilinear in shape and including a pair of parallel first side edges and a pair of parallel second side edges, each article also having opposed flat faces, said dispenser including a dispensing frame disposed to support a stack of said articles, said dispenser frame having a longitudinal axis disposed at an acute angle to the vertical, said dispenser frame including a generally L-shaped base to support a lowermost article in the stack, said L-shaped base including a pair of legs disposed generally normal to each other, a first side edge portion of the lowermost article being supported on one of said legs and an adjacent second side edge portion of the lowermost article being supported on the other of said legs, pusher means including a pusher plate mounted for sliding movement relative to the base and disposed to engage the lowermost article in the stack and push said lowermost article from the stack and deposit the article on the conveyor, said pusher means also including a fluid cylinder operably connected to the pusher plate, said fluid cylinder projecting outwardly of a side rail of the conveyor and having a longitudinal axis disposed at an acute angle with respect to said side rail.

16. An apparatus for dispensing articles, comprising an elongated supporting structure for supporting a stack of superimposed articles, said supporting structure being generally L-shaped in cross section and including a first wall and a second wall connected to the first wall at a junction, the sides of said supporting structure opposite said first and second walls being open, said first wall being disposed at an angle of about 90°

with respect to said second wall, each of said walls being disposed in a non-vertical plane, a supporting base secured to a lower edge portion of each of said walls to support a lowermost article in the stack, said bases being constructed and arranged to support only a first portion of the periphery of said lowermost article with a second portion of said periphery being unsupported, and a pusher member disposed above the base and disposed to slide relative to the base to push the lowermost article from the stack.