Sony Corporation

Sony Electronics Inc

Digital Audio Disc Corporation

Timothy J Garrard

Tracy Eugene Wheeler

James M Fuller

A product stacking apparatus, and a method of using it, is provided, where the apparatus is located inline with a product conveyor, and includes a frame having at least one spanner connecting plates which together straddle the product conveyor, a drive roller, an infeed system driven by the drive roller, having carriers which move upstream to downstream relative to motion of the product conveyor, a hopper which receives a product from the infeed system, an automatic detainer which automatically opens the hopper so that a predetermined number of the products exits the hopper on the conveyor, an automatic dropgate mechanism, located between the infeed system and the hopper, which automatically releases the product into the hopper, and sensors which count products, allows for their accumulation and release, and prevents jamming of the product on the apparatus.

On-line package stacking apparatus and method

An inverting apparatus for inverting a product package being moved by a conveyor belt comprises an auxiliary conveyor having a pick-up end to receive the package from the conveyor surface and a discharge end located vertically above the pick-up end and the conveyor belt to discharge the package back onto the conveyor surface. The auxiliary conveyor moves the package along an inclined path from the pick-up end to the discharge end, and a fulcrum element at the discharge end horizontally spaced from the discharge end catches a forward end of the package and supports the package off center such that the package temporarily rocks on the fulcrum element and falls with a package trailing end falling forward of the package forward end to thereby invert the package as it is discharged back onto said conveyor belt.

Growing community of inventors

Terre Haute, IN, United States of America

Timothy J Garrard