Thermoguard Equipment, Inc.

David Shill

Travis W Hanson

Curtis A Roth

Method and apparatus for separating a bundle of blank pieces from a stack of sheets. The apparatus has a frame and a subframe which pivots with respect to the frame. The frame and subframe each have a clamp for clamping the stack of sheets along a stack plane and the bundle portion to be separated from the stack along a separation plane that intersects the stack plane. The subframe pivots with respect to the frame, bending the stack to cause the bundle portion to be separated from the remainder of the stack in such a way that separation is initiated at one point along the stack rather than across the whole stack or across an entire sheet of the stack. The subframe pivots about an axis that is skewed with respect to at least one of the planes to produce the described effect. Pressure sensors are included to detect the pressure being applied to the stack of sheets to ensure that sufficient force is applied to hold the stack steady in tension during the pivotal motion of the subframe, and yet avoid damage to the stack by the clamps.

Bundle breaker

A stacked sheet handling machine 11 includes a top sheet hold down apparatus 10 that prevents trailing sheets from following individual blocks of sheets separated from an upright stack supported on an elevator conveyor 15. A pusher plate 20 is moved laterally of a sheet stack 14 to engage a side 22 of the stack and push a sheet block 21 laterally from the stack and onto the discharge conveyor 17. A top sheet hold down is provided along the sheet block separator to securely hold the top sheet through provision of a hold down traction arrangement 38. Two forms of the hold down traction arrangement are disclosed, both being operated to move a friction surface against the top surface of the sheet 19 to hold the sheet stationary as the block is moved towards the discharge conveyor 17.

Top sheet hold down for stacked sheet handling machine

Successive blocks of corrugated sheets are divided from a large vertical stack by a combination of a horizontally movable pusher plate and a guiding ramp that lifts the front edge of each block of sheets upwardly and onto a receiving conveyor surface. The ramp is a hybrid that includes a powered cylindrical roller and an adjacent yieldably biased upright plate that is moved to an inclined position in response to initial movement of a block of sheets.

Stack dividing mechanism for a corrugated sheet unstacking and feeding

A squaring and aligning assembly for the transfer frame of a corrugated sheet stacking and feeding apparatus is mounted within a transverse guide member in the form of an elongated channel. Separate squaring shoes at each side of the machine are selectively moved along the channel. They can be connected in centered positions along opposite flights of a powered chain to center a block of sheets relative to the machine. One can be connected to a chain flight in an off-center position to align the block of sheets in an off-centered aligned condition. Either shoe can be clamped to the channel for edge alignment in response to movement of the remaining shoe.

Squaring and aligning assembly for a corrugated sheet unstacking and

A corrugated container blank stacker 10 is described for receiving rows of container blanks 12 from a sheet cutter and for stacking the container blanks in rows of stacks on a pallet. In the embodiment shown the stacker is able to receive container blanks in rows of three abreast and then forming three rows of stacks, three abreast, on a pallet.

Apparatus for stacking corrugated sheet material

A corrugated sheet stacking and feeding apparatus is provided in which stacks of sheets are fed to the unstacking apparatus and are raised to an elevated position in which blocks are progressively removed from the top of the stack and pushed and fed onto an inverting carriage that receives the blocks and pivots the blocks vertically upward and then to an inverted position over a feed conveyor. While the block of sheets are raised to a vertical orientation, alignment elements move inward along the lateral sides to align the lateral edges of the sheets with respect to each other and to laterally shift the block to align the block with a central feed axis. The block then is lowered onto the feed conveyor and moved forward through a shingling gate to feed the sheets progressively in a shingled fashion to a discharge end of the conveyor.

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Spokane, WA, United States of America

David Shill