Sunkist Growers Inc.

Don E Dossey

Jerry W Cramer

Bradley N Borgman

Richard D Heck

Alfredo Acevedo

An apparatus for packing closely-arranged articles into a receptacle includes a rigid funnel having inwardly sloping walls and a downwardly projecting flexible skirt means attached to the funnel. The flexible skirt comprises a plurality of flexible planar segments that project downwardly into the receptacle. The funnel and skirt are lowered into an empty receptacle, the articles are packed, and the funnel and skirt are lifted out. The skirt means avoids contact between the articles and the walls of the receptacle as the receptacle is being packed, thereby decreasing the potential for damage to the articles. The apparatus includes a switch that stops the downward movement of the funnel and skirt when the bottom edge of the skirt is adjacent the bottom of the receptacle.

Method and apparatus for packing layers of articles

Apparatus for picking up and transferring layers of round food articles and the like is disclosed including movable pickup heads mounted on a carriage, each pickup head comprising a vacuum manifold or plenum forming multiple openings on a lower surface and adapted for developing low vacuum, high flow rate conditions variant, a vacuum cup mounted in each of the openings and having a bellows-like construction for permitting expansion and contraction along its axis, a flexible base portion of the vacuum cup forming a seal surface for engagement with one of the round food articles, the vacuum cup also forming a relatively large orifice for permitting relatively unrestricted communication between the vacuum cup and the plenum upon engagement of the vacuum cup with a food article in order to very rapidly produce a vacuum within the cup for causing adherence of the food article. The vacuum cup is also particularly adapted for assuring that the food article is retained upon the vacuum cup until released. A quick connect-disconnect latch assembly is also provided for facilitating replacement of the pickup head on the carriage. A switching arrangement is also provided which functions automatically upon bottoming out of the pickup heads for initiating or terminating operation of a vacuum source in order to cause the vacuum cups to either engage or release the food articles.

Vacuum apparatus for transferring round food articles

Apparatus for picking up and transferring layers of round food articles and the like including movable pickup heads mounted on a carriage, each pickup head comprising a vacuum manifold or plenum forming multiple openings on a lower surface and adapted for developing low vacuum, high flow rate conditions variant, a vacuum cup mounted in each of the openings and having a bellows-like construction for permitting expansion and contraction along its axis, a flexible base portion of the vacuum cup forming a seal surface for engagement with one of the round food articles, the vacuum cup also forming a relatively large orifice for permitting relatively unrestricted communication between the vacuum cup and the plenum upon engagement of the vacuum cup with a food article in order to very rapidly produce a vacuum within the cup for causing adherence of the food article. The vacuum cup is also particularly adapted for assuring that the food article is retained upon the vacuum cup until released. A quick connect-disconnect latch assembly is also provided for facilitating replacement of the pickup heads on the carriage. A switching arrangement is also provided which functions automatically upon bottoming out of the pickup heads for initiating or terminating operation of a vacuum source in order to cause the vacuum cups to either engage or release the food articles.

Vacuum manifold with quick connect-disconect latch assembly

Apparatus for picking up and transferring layers of round food articles and the like is disclosed including movable pickup heads mounted on a carriage, each pickup head comprising a vacuum manifold or plenum forming multiple openings on a lower surface and adapted for developing low vacuum, high flow rate conditions variant, a vacuum cup mounted in each of the openings and having a bellows-like construction for permitting expansion and contraction along its axis, a flexible base portion of the vacuum cup forming a seal surface for engagement with one of the round food articles, the vacuum cup also forming a relatively large orifice for permitting relatively unrestricted communication between the vacuum cup and the plenum upon engagement of the vacuum cup with a food article in order to very rapidly produce a vacuum within the cup for causing adherence of the food article. The vacuum cup is also particularly adapted for assuring that the food article is retained upon the vacuum cup until released. A quick connect-disconnect latch assembly is also provided for facilitating replacement of the pickup heads on the carriage. A switching arrangement is also provided which functions automatically upon bottoming out of the pickup heads for initiating or terminating operation of a vacuum source in order to cause the vacuum cups to either engage or release the food articles.

Growing community of inventors

Montclair, CA, United States of America

Don E Dossey