Automatic tray loading, unloading and storage system

• US 5,607,278 A
• Filed: 02/09/1995
• Issued: 03/04/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fleetwood Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Fleetwood Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Mojden, Wallace W., Darr, Robert E., Mojden, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Underwood, Donald W.
• Application Number:
  US08/386,293
• Time in Patent Office: 754 Days
• Field of Search: 414/416, 414/751, 414/753, 294/116, 294/81.61, 294/87.1
• US Class Current: 414/416.07
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/18 Liquid substances or solutions comprising solids or dissolved gases
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/5181 using stacking or destacking arrangements or stacks of articles or article-carriers
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 61/00 Use of pick-up or transfer devices or of manipulators for stacking or de-stacking articles not otherwise provided for

Abstract

An automatic loading and unloading system is provided for loading articles supplied from a first location at a rate commensurate with the rate at which articles are supplied from the first location into trays and for unloading the articles from the trays for transport to a second location at a rate commensurate with the demand for articles at the second location, and for balancing a supply of articles loaded onto trays with variations in both the rate of supply thereof and the rate of demand therefor. The system includes a tray loading station, and a tray loading apparatus for loading articles supplied from the first location into trays at tray loading station. An infeed device feeds articles to the loading apparatus in a predetermined, orderly fashion. At a stacking station, a stacking device stacks article-filled trays to form a supply thereof for use on demand. An outfeed device delivers articles on demand to the second location in a predetermined, orderly fashion. At an unloading station, an unloading apparatus unloads articles from article-filled trays to the outfeed device upon demand, such that article-filled trays may alternatively be stacked by the stacking device or delivered to the unloading station, in accordance with fluctuations in the supply and demand for articles at the first and second locations, respectively.

Claims

1. An article loading and unloading system for loading groups of articles, supplied from a first location into trays, and for unloading said groups of articles from said trays for transport to a second location, said system comprising:

a loading station;

a loading apparatus for loading said groups of articles supplied from said first location into trays at said loading station;

an infeed apparatus for feeding articles to said loading apparatus;

a stacking station;

a stacking apparatus for stacking article-filled trays to form a supply thereof at said stacking station;

an outfeed apparatus for delivering said groups of articles on demand to said second location;

an unloading station;

an unloading apparatus for unloading said groups of articles at said unloading station from said article-filled trays to said outfeed apparatus, such that article-filled trays are stacked by said stacking apparatus and then selectively delivered to said unloading station;

said infeed apparatus and said outfeed apparatus each comprises at least one elongate lane for receiving and transporting said groups of articles;

said infeed and outfeed apparatus being respectively arranged for accommodating said groups of articles in a substantially coaxial arrangement;

said loading and unloading apparatus each including a plurality of generally identical elongated pick-and-place devices arrayed in parallel arrangement;

each of said pick-and-place devices including a mechanical gripping device for simultaneously gripping substantially all of the members of each of said groups of articles along side edges of said members of said groups of articles to thereby retain said group of articles within said pick-and-place device;

each of said trays being configured for accommodating, generally in parallel, a plurality of said groups of articles corresponding in number to said plurality of parallel pick-and-place devices; and

said infeed and outfeed apparatus each comprising a plurality of parallel lanes for receiving and transporting said articles, and wherein each of said pick-and-place devices is movable relative to the respective infeed and outfeed lanes for individually retrieving a group of articles from and delivering a group of articles to, respectively, any one of said plurality of said infeed and outfeed lanes, respectively, in accordance with which ones thereof are filled and empty, respectively, at any given time.

2. A system according to claim 1 and further including a conveyor for conveying articles-filled trays between said stacking station and said second location.

3. A system according to claim 2 wherein said conveyor means is reversible for alternatively delivering empty trays from said unloading station to said loading station for re-use.

4. A system according to claim 3 and further including feeder conveyor means for transporting filled and empty trays respectively from and to said reversible conveyor means.

5. A system according to claim 4 wherein said feeder conveyor means comprise respective feeder conveyors running between said conveyor means, and, respectively, said stacking station, said unstacking station, said loading station, and said unloading station.

6. A system according to claim 1 wherein each of said trays is configured for permitting loading and unloading of articles by said plurality of pick-and-place devices, with clearance space for simultaneous operation of said gripping device of each of said pick-and-place devices.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein said loading and said unloading pick-and-place devices are individually operable so that any one of said at least one loading pick-and-place devices can remove articles from any one of said infeed lanes and any one of said at least one unloading pick-and-place devices can place articles into any one of said outfeed lanes, respectively.

8. A system according to claim 1, said loading and unloading apparatus further comprising:

an operational device for moving said loading pick-and-place devices into positions overlying said loading station and said tray, and for moving said unloading pick-and-place devices into positions overlying said tray and said unloading station; and

a controller for operating said loading pick-and-place devices to remove at least one group of articles from said loading station and to discharge said group of articles removed from the loading station into said tray, and for operating said unloading pick-and-place devices to remove at least one group of articles from said tray and to place said group of articles removed from said tray into said unloading station, and

said controller and said operational device are operative for operating the pick-and-place devices of said loading apparatus for locating and aligning with respective groups of articles in said loading station individually, until each of said pick-and-place devices of said loading apparatus has acquired a group of articles from said loading station, and therefore operating the pick-and-place devices of said loading apparatus in unison for delivering the groups of articles acquired from said loading station to said tray.

9. A system according to claim 8, wherein said controller and said operational device are further operative for operating the pick-and-place devices of said unloading apparatus in unison for removing groups of articles from said tray and for operating the pick-and-place devices of said unloading apparatus individually relative to said unloading station for locating and aligning with said unloading station until each of said pick-and-place devices of a said unloading apparatus has discharged a group of articles removed from said tray to said unloading station.

10. An automatic loading and unloading system for loading articles, supplied from a first location into trays, for unloading said articles from said trays for transport to a second location and for compensating for differences between a rate of supply of articles at said first location and a rate of demand for articles at said second location, said system comprising:

a tray loading station;

tray loading apparatus for loading said articles supplied from said first location into trays at said tray loading station;

infeed apparatus for feeding said articles to said loading apparatus in a predetermined, orderly fashion;

a stacking station;

stacking apparatus for stacking article-filled trays to form a supply thereof at said stacking station for use on demand;

outfeed apparatus for delivering said articles on demand to said second location in a predetermined, orderly fashion;

an unloading station;

an unloading apparatus for unloading said articles at said unloading station from article-filled trays to said outfeed apparatus upon demand, such that article-filled trays may be alternatively stacked by said stacking apparatus and delivered to said unloading station, in accordance with fluctuations in the supply of, and demand for, articles at said first and second locations, respectively;

wherein said loading apparatus and said unloading apparatus comprise a first plurality and a second plurality of generally parallel, elongated, pick-and-place devices, each of said pick-and-place devices controllably, selectively overlying said infeed station and a tray, and a tray and said outfeed station, respectively, for engaging and discharging a group of said articles.

11. A system according to claim 10, further including a controller for controlling said pick-and-place devices comprising said loading apparatus individually relative to said infeed apparatus for locating and aligning with articles in said infeed apparatus until each of said pick-and-place devices comprising said loading apparatus has acquired articles, and thereafter controlling said pick-and-place devices comprising said loading apparatus for operating in unison for delivering articles acquired from said infeed apparatus to a tray.

12. A system according to claim 11, wherein said controller further controls said pick-and-place devices comprising said unloading apparatus operating in unison for removing articles from a tray, and operating individually relative to said outfeed apparatus for locating and aligning with said outfeed apparatus until each of said pick-and-place devices comprising said unloading apparatus has discharged articles removed from a tray to said outfeed apparatus.