Semiautomatic stacker for stackable articles
First Claim
1. A stacker uniquely able to semiautomatically load, in place, inside a variety of trailer types, columns of stackable articles, said stacker including:
- a base structure having a front portion and a rear portion;
a conveyor support structure pivotally mounted on said base for horizontal arcuate movement and having a front portion and a rear portion;
an incline conveyor for moving said articles, said incline conveyor being both pivotally and slidably attached to the conveyor support structure for both elongated horizontal movement and vertical movement with respect to the base structure, said incline conveyor having an inner end for receiving articles and an outer end for depositing articles in a stack;
controlled motors for automatically moving said incline conveyor inwardly, upwardly, and outwardly with respect to said conveyor support structure while stacking articles such that the outer end of said incline conveyor is selectively movable vertically in a substantially straight line from a lowest position to a highest position;
first detector means on the outer end of said incline conveyor for detecting each of said deposited articles and providing a signal to said controlled motors to stop upward movement of the incline conveyor at the proper location to deposit the next article; and
second detector means mounted on the conveyor support structure for detecting when said incline conveyor is at its maximum height and stopping movement of said incline conveyor.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A box stacker uniquely able to semiautomatically load, in place, inside a variety of enclosures, columns of stackable boxes, said box stacker being in the form of a movable structure that has a conveyor belt carrying structure attached thereto in a cantilevered fashion. The conveyor belt carrying structure has an inner end and an outer end and carries spaced boxes thereon to be stacked. A speed-up belt carrying structure has an inner end attached to the outer end of the conveyor belt carrying structure and receives boxes from the conveyor belt. A lift device automatically raises the conveyor belt carrying structure in predetermined increments to successively deposit boxes on a column or stack and a drive arrangement is coupled to the speed-up belt for driving the speed-up belt at a greater speed than the conveyor belt to eject the boxes from the speed-up belt onto the column or stack.
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Citations
9 Claims
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1. A stacker uniquely able to semiautomatically load, in place, inside a variety of trailer types, columns of stackable articles, said stacker including:
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a base structure having a front portion and a rear portion; a conveyor support structure pivotally mounted on said base for horizontal arcuate movement and having a front portion and a rear portion; an incline conveyor for moving said articles, said incline conveyor being both pivotally and slidably attached to the conveyor support structure for both elongated horizontal movement and vertical movement with respect to the base structure, said incline conveyor having an inner end for receiving articles and an outer end for depositing articles in a stack; controlled motors for automatically moving said incline conveyor inwardly, upwardly, and outwardly with respect to said conveyor support structure while stacking articles such that the outer end of said incline conveyor is selectively movable vertically in a substantially straight line from a lowest position to a highest position; first detector means on the outer end of said incline conveyor for detecting each of said deposited articles and providing a signal to said controlled motors to stop upward movement of the incline conveyor at the proper location to deposit the next article; and second detector means mounted on the conveyor support structure for detecting when said incline conveyor is at its maximum height and stopping movement of said incline conveyor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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Specification