CA1044170A - Apparatus for providing endless succession of compartmented trays - Google Patents
Apparatus for providing endless succession of compartmented traysInfo
- Publication number
- CA1044170A CA1044170A CA250,702A CA250702A CA1044170A CA 1044170 A CA1044170 A CA 1044170A CA 250702 A CA250702 A CA 250702A CA 1044170 A CA1044170 A CA 1044170A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- trays
- conveyor
- destacking
- compartmented
- moving
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Landscapes
- De-Stacking Of Articles (AREA)
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus is disclosed for providing an endless succession of compartmented trays for holding pouches or the like to be processed. The apparatus has a first conveyor to provide a plurality of compartmented trays end on end in end-less fashion; means for taking the trays off of the end of the conveyor and stacking them; means for destacking the trays and placing them on a second conveyor; and means for changing the trays from the second conveyor to the first conveyor to provide an endless succession of trays thereon.
Description
16~4~7~
This invention relates to an apparatus for providing an endless succession of compartmented trays to receive pouches or the like to be processed.
In recent years the industry relating to sterilization of products has discovered that products may be placed in air and light impermeable pouches and sealed and sterili~ed within the pouches without the need to resort to the use of cans or other such containers. In providing these pouches to the sterilization equipment, many methods have been devices including manual stacking onto trays, clamping, putting in slots) and other such devices to move the pouches.
The present invention provides an apparatus for providing an endless succession of stackable, compartmented trays for holding items to be processed, said apparatus comprising a first conveyor for moving a plural- -ity of trays, said first conveyor having a first end and a second end; means for moving the first conveyor in a first direction; means for depositing articles in said trays; means for stacking trays received from said first conveyor; first sensing means operable to lower said stacking means a pre- ~
determined distance; means for destacking the trays; means for transferring ~ :
, the stacked trays to said destacking means; means for removing items from said trays; a second conveyor located below said first conveyor for receiving `
empty trays ~rom said destacking means; a second sensing means operable to raise said destacking means a predetermined distancc so that said trays can :
, be received by said second conveyor; means for moving the second conveyor in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the first conveyor and at a rate such that the rate of trays leaving the second conveyor is at least -:
equal to the rate of trays leaving the first conveyor; means for directing sald compartmented trays end on end onto the first end of the first conveyor; ;~
transfer means for moving the trays on the second conveyor to the means for directing compartmented trays end on end onto the first end of the first ,~ , . .
conveyor; a thlrd sensing means operable to raise said transfer means a pre- :
I determined distance.
,, ~ -1- ' . ~
; A preferred embodiment of this invention will now be more fully described with reference to the attached drawings wherein:
FIGURE 1 illustrates a side view of the apparatus of this invention; and FIGUR~i 2 illustrates a perspective view o-f a preferred form ; of tray for use in this inven~ion.
' Referrin~ to Figure 2, a preferred form of tray 11 for use in i the apparatus of this invention is shown.
, The tray 11 has a base 12 which is generally rectangular and , 10 has upward side walls 13 and 14 terminating in a stackable design such as ou~ward extensions 15 and 16 and upward arms 17 and 18. The trays 11 have a series of compartments filled by pouches 19 which compartments in this case are provided by the divisions provided by loops 20.
! Referring now to Fig. 1, a first conveyor 21 moving over ~, wheels 22 and 23 driven by appropriate driving devices, not shown, , j is appropriately designed to accept trays 11. As the trays 11 move ;~ down the conveyor 21, pouch 19 is deposited into the compartments on"I ., . ' .
; the trays 11 by some such device as a vacuum line 24 releasing a vacuum ~ which holds the pouch 19 as the pouch 19 passes over the compartment.
. 1 The trays 11 are m~ving on the conveyor 21 end on end to present an ' endless row of continuous compartments thereon. As the trays 11 move ~ -off of the conveyor 21 they pass onto an elevator in the form of a ` first platform 25 which can be raised or lowered by any such device ~ ;
such as plstoD 26. As the first tray 11 moves onto the first platform ~
25, lt~contacts a sensing or detecting device 27 which causes the ; - -~ piston 26 to lower the first platform 25 so that the next succeeding i3i~ tray Il can slide onto the top of the first tray 11 to present a stack ~,~ 28 of trays 11.
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The stack 28 of trays 11, when reaching an appropriate height, then slide off of the first platform 25 onto a cart 29 or the like and are moved into a sterili~ation device 30 or some other such processing equipment.
After removal from the sterili~ation devic0 30, the stack 28 of trays 11 can then be , ' '`', ' '~ '' : ~ -: . - .
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; : ::- ~ - , '` , ": ' ' . :
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put on a second elevator or platform 33, although they may be destacked by okher methods, and a piston 31 can therl be used to engage each tray 11 and push it onto a second conveyor 32 dis-posed adjacent the second platform 33, a piston 34 similar to piston 26 is pro~ided for raising or lowering the sec~nd plat-form 33 and is appropriately connected to control device 35, to effect appropriate destacking o the trays 11. At any time from khis point on, the product may be removed from the compartments of the trays 11 by any recognized method such as a vacuum pick-off devica 36. The second conveyor 32 moving over wheels 37 and 38 moves at a speed suficient to return a sufficient number of trays 11 to present an endless feed of ... ..~.- ..
trays 11 to the first conveyor 21 and theréby present an end- ,, i lass succession of compartments thereon. In other words, the second conveyor 32 LS moved at a rate such that the number of trays 11 leaving the second conveyor 32 is at least equal to the number of trays 11 leaving the first conveyor 21. As the `-trays 11 get to the end of the second conveyor 32, an ap~
propriate sensing device 39 is actuated thereby causing a ~-.j ,. -, . . .
third platform 40 and its associated piston 41 to be moved up-ward in alignment with the first conveyor 21. At this point the arrival of the tray 11 actuates a second sensing device 42 1 ~ .
.
which actuates piston 43 and plunger 44 causing the tray 11 ~ -to be moved onto the first conveyor 21 in an endless succession.
.:1 .
ij~ In operation, the apparatu~ operates as hereînbefore `--discussed with the trays 11 moving in endless fashion through I the apparatus and being delayed only for such time as is nec-,, ~. :-.'.
; essary for sterilization. The sterilization process may be . .
either batch or continuous operation if that is desired. ~
: "' `' _ _ , ~ , .;: . ~; ~ , . , . , :
,
This invention relates to an apparatus for providing an endless succession of compartmented trays to receive pouches or the like to be processed.
In recent years the industry relating to sterilization of products has discovered that products may be placed in air and light impermeable pouches and sealed and sterili~ed within the pouches without the need to resort to the use of cans or other such containers. In providing these pouches to the sterilization equipment, many methods have been devices including manual stacking onto trays, clamping, putting in slots) and other such devices to move the pouches.
The present invention provides an apparatus for providing an endless succession of stackable, compartmented trays for holding items to be processed, said apparatus comprising a first conveyor for moving a plural- -ity of trays, said first conveyor having a first end and a second end; means for moving the first conveyor in a first direction; means for depositing articles in said trays; means for stacking trays received from said first conveyor; first sensing means operable to lower said stacking means a pre- ~
determined distance; means for destacking the trays; means for transferring ~ :
, the stacked trays to said destacking means; means for removing items from said trays; a second conveyor located below said first conveyor for receiving `
empty trays ~rom said destacking means; a second sensing means operable to raise said destacking means a predetermined distancc so that said trays can :
, be received by said second conveyor; means for moving the second conveyor in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the first conveyor and at a rate such that the rate of trays leaving the second conveyor is at least -:
equal to the rate of trays leaving the first conveyor; means for directing sald compartmented trays end on end onto the first end of the first conveyor; ;~
transfer means for moving the trays on the second conveyor to the means for directing compartmented trays end on end onto the first end of the first ,~ , . .
conveyor; a thlrd sensing means operable to raise said transfer means a pre- :
I determined distance.
,, ~ -1- ' . ~
; A preferred embodiment of this invention will now be more fully described with reference to the attached drawings wherein:
FIGURE 1 illustrates a side view of the apparatus of this invention; and FIGUR~i 2 illustrates a perspective view o-f a preferred form ; of tray for use in this inven~ion.
' Referrin~ to Figure 2, a preferred form of tray 11 for use in i the apparatus of this invention is shown.
, The tray 11 has a base 12 which is generally rectangular and , 10 has upward side walls 13 and 14 terminating in a stackable design such as ou~ward extensions 15 and 16 and upward arms 17 and 18. The trays 11 have a series of compartments filled by pouches 19 which compartments in this case are provided by the divisions provided by loops 20.
! Referring now to Fig. 1, a first conveyor 21 moving over ~, wheels 22 and 23 driven by appropriate driving devices, not shown, , j is appropriately designed to accept trays 11. As the trays 11 move ;~ down the conveyor 21, pouch 19 is deposited into the compartments on"I ., . ' .
; the trays 11 by some such device as a vacuum line 24 releasing a vacuum ~ which holds the pouch 19 as the pouch 19 passes over the compartment.
. 1 The trays 11 are m~ving on the conveyor 21 end on end to present an ' endless row of continuous compartments thereon. As the trays 11 move ~ -off of the conveyor 21 they pass onto an elevator in the form of a ` first platform 25 which can be raised or lowered by any such device ~ ;
such as plstoD 26. As the first tray 11 moves onto the first platform ~
25, lt~contacts a sensing or detecting device 27 which causes the ; - -~ piston 26 to lower the first platform 25 so that the next succeeding i3i~ tray Il can slide onto the top of the first tray 11 to present a stack ~,~ 28 of trays 11.
::i ~ . , :~:; ",'' '' .
i~ .~ .. .....
.::~ ~ ': ' '-' `', ".... ':'~' :., ~ 2 :, : , . : . . .
The stack 28 of trays 11, when reaching an appropriate height, then slide off of the first platform 25 onto a cart 29 or the like and are moved into a sterili~ation device 30 or some other such processing equipment.
After removal from the sterili~ation devic0 30, the stack 28 of trays 11 can then be , ' '`', ' '~ '' : ~ -: . - .
~, ' ,"'' ,: ' " , -: :
; : ::- ~ - , '` , ": ' ' . :
~, :
~.. , : ::
:~. -, .j,~
.
~: -3-,:, , . : : . . ~ .:
,~r~ 7~
put on a second elevator or platform 33, although they may be destacked by okher methods, and a piston 31 can therl be used to engage each tray 11 and push it onto a second conveyor 32 dis-posed adjacent the second platform 33, a piston 34 similar to piston 26 is pro~ided for raising or lowering the sec~nd plat-form 33 and is appropriately connected to control device 35, to effect appropriate destacking o the trays 11. At any time from khis point on, the product may be removed from the compartments of the trays 11 by any recognized method such as a vacuum pick-off devica 36. The second conveyor 32 moving over wheels 37 and 38 moves at a speed suficient to return a sufficient number of trays 11 to present an endless feed of ... ..~.- ..
trays 11 to the first conveyor 21 and theréby present an end- ,, i lass succession of compartments thereon. In other words, the second conveyor 32 LS moved at a rate such that the number of trays 11 leaving the second conveyor 32 is at least equal to the number of trays 11 leaving the first conveyor 21. As the `-trays 11 get to the end of the second conveyor 32, an ap~
propriate sensing device 39 is actuated thereby causing a ~-.j ,. -, . . .
third platform 40 and its associated piston 41 to be moved up-ward in alignment with the first conveyor 21. At this point the arrival of the tray 11 actuates a second sensing device 42 1 ~ .
.
which actuates piston 43 and plunger 44 causing the tray 11 ~ -to be moved onto the first conveyor 21 in an endless succession.
.:1 .
ij~ In operation, the apparatu~ operates as hereînbefore `--discussed with the trays 11 moving in endless fashion through I the apparatus and being delayed only for such time as is nec-,, ~. :-.'.
; essary for sterilization. The sterilization process may be . .
either batch or continuous operation if that is desired. ~
: "' `' _ _ , ~ , .;: . ~; ~ , . , . , :
,
Claims
1. An apparatus for providing an endless succession of stackable, compartmented trays for holding items to be processed, said apparatus comprising: a first conveyor for moving a plural-ity of trays, said first conveyor having a first end and a second end; means for moving the first conveyor in a first direction;
means for depositing articles in said trays; means for stacking trays received from said first conveyor; first sensing means operable to lower said stacking means a predetermined distance;
means for destacking the trays; means for transferring the stacked trays to said destacking means; means for removing items from said trays; a second conveyor located below said first con-veyor for receiving empty trays from said destacking means; a second sensing means operable to raise said destacking means a predetermined distance so that said trays can be received by said second conveyor; means for moving the second conveyor in a direc-tion opposite to the direction of movement of the first conveyor and at a rate such that the rate of trays leaving the second conveyor is at least equal to the rate of trays leaving the first conveyor; means for directing said compartmented trays end on end onto the first end of the first conveyor; transfer means for mov-ing the trays on the second conveyor to the means for directing compartmented trays end on end onto the first end of the first conveyor; a third sensing means operable to raise said transfer means a predetermined distance.
means for depositing articles in said trays; means for stacking trays received from said first conveyor; first sensing means operable to lower said stacking means a predetermined distance;
means for destacking the trays; means for transferring the stacked trays to said destacking means; means for removing items from said trays; a second conveyor located below said first con-veyor for receiving empty trays from said destacking means; a second sensing means operable to raise said destacking means a predetermined distance so that said trays can be received by said second conveyor; means for moving the second conveyor in a direc-tion opposite to the direction of movement of the first conveyor and at a rate such that the rate of trays leaving the second conveyor is at least equal to the rate of trays leaving the first conveyor; means for directing said compartmented trays end on end onto the first end of the first conveyor; transfer means for mov-ing the trays on the second conveyor to the means for directing compartmented trays end on end onto the first end of the first conveyor; a third sensing means operable to raise said transfer means a predetermined distance.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA250,702A CA1044170A (en) | 1976-04-21 | 1976-04-21 | Apparatus for providing endless succession of compartmented trays |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA250,702A CA1044170A (en) | 1976-04-21 | 1976-04-21 | Apparatus for providing endless succession of compartmented trays |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1044170A true CA1044170A (en) | 1978-12-12 |
Family
ID=4105750
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA250,702A Expired CA1044170A (en) | 1976-04-21 | 1976-04-21 | Apparatus for providing endless succession of compartmented trays |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1044170A (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN108373046A (en) * | 2017-01-31 | 2018-08-07 | 日本电产株式会社 | Member assembling device |
-
1976
- 1976-04-21 CA CA250,702A patent/CA1044170A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN108373046A (en) * | 2017-01-31 | 2018-08-07 | 日本电产株式会社 | Member assembling device |
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