R. a. Jones Co., Inc.

James A Glazier

Eric W Scarpa

Frank G Oliverio

Rita Maria Cunha De Almeida

A product transfer apparatus for transferring individual product from a rotary feeding station to downstream apparatus such as a cartoner conveyor in preselected count stacks for subsequent discharge at a cartoner machine. Stacks of product are formed by dropping the product into stacks on a transfer conveyor and from there dropping the stacks directly into buckets of a cartoner conveyor. A transfer bucket conveyor is disposed beneath and transverse to an axis of the rotary feeding station and includes an upper fill run and a lower discharge run of product transfer buckets. The cartoner conveyor is disposed beneath and aligned with the transfer bucket conveyor and includes a series of cartoner product buckets operating in speed register with the lower run of product transfer buckets for receiving the preselected count stacks from the lower discharge run. The transfer bucket conveyor is capable of intermittent or decreased speed in the upper fill run for accommodating stack building, rejection of the product, varied product sizes, varying counts of the product in the upper fill run, a varied bucket pitch, while maintaining a constant speed in the lower discharge run for continuously feeding product stacks to the cartoner product buckets. Any combination of continuous and intermittent motion in the upper and lower transfer runs can be used for desired effect, including synchronization between varied upstream and downstream product handling stations.

Direct drop transfer apparatus

A barrel loader for a cartoner having a product conveyor and a carton conveyor. A plurality of pusher heads are carried on two spaced endless chains. A cam track between the chains cooperates with cam followers on the heads to cam the heads toward the product conveyor to thrust product into the cartons. A switch on the cam track diverts a pusher head from the cam track upon detecting the absence of a carton with which the pusher head is associated.

Growing community of inventors

Hamilton, OH, United States of America

James A Glazier