Goldco Industries, Inc.

Goldco Engineering, Inc.

Richard H Vander Meer

Milton W Kapke

Rodger E Cole

Ronald A Pearce

Robert L Simmons

An apparatus and method are disclosed for promoting preselected article orientation by elimination of unoccupied spaces in an assemblage of articles at a staging area, and, more particularly for precisely grouping cans prior to palletization thereof. The apparatus has opposite side walls, at least one of which is movable relative to the other, adjacent to a transfer surface for alternately expanding and contracting the area allotted to article staging, while the articles are being assembled to thereby cause articles to occupy unoccupied spaces and thereby enhance quantity reliability of articles within a given area.

Apparatus and method for promotion of preselected article orientation in

A sheet transfer device and method are disclosed for transferring sheets from a sheet stack to a utilization area such as a can pallet. A base unit causes pivoting of a beam about a moveable pivot point so that a sheet picked up from the sheet stack is moved upwardly for a substantial distance and then pivoted to a point above a can pallet, after which the sheet is moved downwardly and deposited on the upwardly extending tops of a horizontal layer of cans on the can pallet. Suction is supplied through a plurality of cups brought into engagement with the top sheet of a sheet stack to lift the top sheet from the stack, with the suction being terminated when the sheet is deposited on the can pallet to thereby release the sheet. Upward movement of the sheet from the sheet stack and downward movement of the sheet toward the can pallet is effected by use of a cam follower engaging contoured cam guides to force displacement of the pivot point of a transfer beam as needed to obtain the desired movement toward and away from the can pallet and sheet stack.

Sheet transfer device and method

Method and apparatus for forming bulk conveyed or stored cylindrical articles, such as thin walled cans, into a single file conveyed row the apparatus being formed of two preferably mirror imaged perforated plate members spaced apart a slightly greater distance than the height of the articles being conveyed, but less than the diagonal dimension thereof the perforated plate members having plenum portions adapted to exhaust air through angled openings primarily in the direction of a peripheral guide member, but with the openings adjacent the guide member being angled in a direction substantially parallel to the guide member in order that the cans may be conveyed along the guide member in a single file fashion with articles not single filed being split away from the single file row and displaced towards the portion of the spaced plates having angled openings directed towards the guide member.

Method and apparatus for forming cylindrical articles into a single line

Apparatus and method for transporting articles, such as cylindrical containers, between differing elevations by initially conveying articles onto a foraminous belt, conducting the belt over a first plenum having a curved supporting surface to secure the articles to the belt and the belt to the surface by means of vacuum while transitioning the articles and belt from a level to an inclined orientation, conveying the articles to a differing elevation while inclined by securing the articles between parallel, spaced belts, and again transitioning from an inclined orientation to a level orientation by passing the foraminous belt over a second plenum having a curved supporting surface and securing the articles to the belt and the belt to the surface by means of vacuum during transition from the inclined orientation to the horizontal orientation.

Method and apparatus for mass transit of cylindrical articles between

Method and apparatus for palletizing articles delivered by an accumulator belt onto a pallet in transverse rows of alternating orientation, with the first and last transverse rows of each tier of articles on the pallet being of the same orientation, such palletization being accomplished by engaging and lifting the transverse row of an appropriate orientation which immediately follows the last transverse row of a first tier, loading a second tier of articles with the transverse row immediately following the lifted transverse row forming the first transverse row of such tier, reforming the lifted transverse row into a transverse row of the appropriate orientation by side shifting, and inserting the reformed lifted transverse row as the initial transverse row of a third tier of articles.

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Arvada, CO, United States of America

Richard H Vander Meer