Sig Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft

Markus Gasser

Hauke Schneider

An apparatus for conveying, grouping and storing flat articles includes a storing device which has a plurality of gondolas each having a plurality of vertically spaced, generally horizontally oriented, superposed storing shelves; a gondola support and conveying mechanism for carrying the gondolas and moving them in a predetermined travelling path; an input station situated along the travelling path for presenting the gondolas in succession to receive articles; and an output station situated along the travelling path for presenting the gondolas in succession to discharge articles. There are further provided a conveyor situated at the input station for advancing articles thereto and for placing articles on the storing shelves of the gondola dwelling in the input station; and a grouping device for removing articles from the superposed storing shelves of the gondola dwelling in the output station and for forming article stacks of the removed articles.

Article conveying, grouping and storing apparatus

An apparatus for introducing articles into a storage device includes a feeder conveyor for advancing articles toward the storage device in a direction of advance; a support for movably supporting the feeder conveyor such that its discharge end is movable in a direction transverse to the direction of advance of articles on the feeder conveyor and generally parallel to a direction of motion of article-supporting elements of the storage device at the inlet thereof; a drive for moving the feeder conveyor in the direction of advance; a drive for moving the support to thus displace its discharge end transversely to the direction of advance; and an arrangement for synchronizing the motion of the discharge end of the feeder conveyor with the motion of a selected one of the article-supporting elements for transferring articles from the feeder conveyor to the selected article-supporting element during simultaneous motions of the article-supporting elements, of the feeder conveyor in the direction of advance, and of the discharge end in a direction transverse to the direction of advance.

Apparatus for introducing articles into a storage device

An article processing line has a plurality of first conveyors for advancing articles in a direction of conveyance; a plurality of second conveyors adjoining respective first conveyors for advancing articles in the direction of conveyance; a plurality of normally operating processing machines associated with a respective second conveyor for receiving articles therefrom; a standby conveyor mechanism situated underneath the second conveyors; a standby processing machine associated with the standby conveyor mechanism for receiving articles therefrom; and a plurality of deflector conveyor belts adjoining respective first conveyors. Each deflector conveyor belt is pivotal in a vertical plane to assume an upper position and a lower position. In the lower position the deflector conveyor belt is operatively connected with the standby conveyor mechanism for receiving articles from the respective first conveyor and transferring articles to the standby conveyor mechanism.

Apparatus for deflecting articles

An apparatus for selectively routing articles from a supply conveyor belt to an upper delivery conveyor and a lower delivery conveyor. The apparatus has first, second and third deflecting rollers about which the supply conveyor belt is successively trained. The first and second deflecting rollers are at about the same height level, while the third deflecting roller is therebelow. The first deflecting roller defines a first discharge end and an upper reach, while the third deflecting roller defines a second discharge end and a lower reach of the supply conveyor belt. The first deflecting roller can assume an advanced position in which articles advanced on the upper reach are transferred from the first discharge end onto the upper delivery conveyor and a withdrawn position in which articles advanced on the upper reach are transferred from the first discharge end onto the lower reach. The third deflecting roller can assume an upper position in which the lower reach extends approximately parallel to the upper reach and a lower position in which the lower reach slopes downwardly to the lower delivery conveyor and in which articles advanced on the lower reach are transferred from the second discharge end onto the lower delivery conveyor.

Method and apparatus for deflecting articles during their conveyance

A system for feeding spaced, serially arranged articles to a plurality of article processing machines operatively connected to the system and including a plurality of normally, simultaneously operating article processing machines and a standby article processing machine for assuming the operation of a non-operating normal machine. Upstream of each normal article processing machine there is arranged an article aligning (row aligning) apparatus each provided with a deflector which directs, via conveyors, the articles either to the associated, normally operating machine or to the standby machine.

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Gachlingen, Switzerland

Markus Gasser