Carton unloading and stack transferring apparatus

Claim 2

Carton unloading apparatus comprising: frame means; means for supporting a carton on said frame means adjacent a carton discharge station, said carton having an open top and an open bottom with a plurality of layers of articles being positioned between said top and bottom, said frame means including an inclined ramp at said discharge station for receiving layers if articles successively discharged from said carton; said frame means further including an inclined wall that is positioned generally perpendicularly with respect to said ramp; said carton supporting means including carton clamping means and means for mounting said clamping means on said inclined wall; elevator means mounted on said frame means adjacent said discharge station, said elevator means including an ejector member that is movable through the open bottom of said carton and into engagement with the lowermost layer of articles in said carton upon actuation of said elevator means; means for sensing demand for articles, said sensing means being positioned to monitor the articles on said ramp; and means responsive to said sensing means for actuating said elevator means to move said ejector member into engagement with the lowermost layer of articles to shift all of the layers of articles upwardly in said carton and to move the uppermost layer of articles outwardly of said carton through said open top.

Claim 3

Carton unloading apparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which the means on said inclined wall for mounting said clamping means includes first and second parallel tracks, and wherein said carton supporting means further includes follower means on said carton clamping means for engaging said tracks.

Claim 4

Carton unloading apparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which said carton clamping means includes wall means collectively defining a frame having an open upper end for receiving a carton therein, support means extending inwardly adjacent the lower end of said wall means for retaininG the open bottom of said carton, said support means having a clearance opening therein for allowing said ejector member to move therethrough and into engagement with the articles in the carton.

Claim 5

Carton unloading apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein at least one carton piercing member is mounted for movement inwardly of said wall means for piercing the wall of the carton to positively retain the carton with the clamping means.

Claim 6

Carton unloading apparatus as set forth in claim 4, including linkage means outwardly of said wall means for moving said piercing member between a first clearance position to allow a carton to be placed within the clamping means and a second carton piercing position wherein the piercing member is positioned inwardly of the sidewall of the carton.

Claim 7

Carton unloading apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said linkage means includes a first link pivotally mounted on said wall means, and a second link pivotally connected to said first link outwardly of its pivotal connection to said wall means, said second link having a reversely bent outer end positioned in alignment with an opening in said wall means, so that upon rotation of said first link, said second link is moved between said first and second positions.

Claim 8

Carton unloading apparatus mechanism as set forth in claim 6, wherein a third link is pivotally connected to said first link on an opposite side of its pivotal connection to said wall means from said second link, said third link having a reversely bent outer end positioned in alignment with an opening in said wall means, so that upon rotation of said first link, said second and third links are moved between said first and second positions.

Claim 9

Carton unloading apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein said support means is defined by a flange extending inwardly from the lower end of said wall means.

Claim 10

Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which said layers of articles include plural stacks of nested containers; and further including stop means adjacent the lower end of said ramp means for initially retaining said stacks on said inclined ramp means; means for moving said stop means to a clearance position for releasing said stacks one at a time; stack transfer means having a plurality of sections; each section being adapted to receive a stack of containers therein; means mounting said stack transfer means for movement between a stack receiving position and a stack dispensing position for dispensing stacks of containers in said sections into hoppers that are each adapted to support a stack of containers; and stack transport means movable between the lower end of said inclined ramp and said stack transfer means for receiving stacks released by said stop means and for transporting the stacks one at a time from said inclined ramp to said transfer means.

Claim 11

A container supply mechanism as set forth in claim 9, including means for mounting said frame means for pivotal movement relative to a filling machine, and means on said frame means for releasably connecting said frame means to said filling machine.

Claim 12

A container supply mechanism as set forth in claim 9, including means for sensing the level of containers within said hoppers, and control means responsive to said sensing means for actuating means, transport means and transfer means.

Claim 13

A container supply mechanism as set forth in claim 9, including means for sensing the absence of stacks on said inclined ramp, and control means for actuating said elevator means in response to the absence of stacks on said inclined ramp.

Claim 14

A container supply mechanism as set forth in claim 9, in which said carton includes sheets at the upper and lower end thereof and between each of said layers; and wherein sheet removal means is provided on said frame for removing said sheets in response to upward movement of said elevator means.

Claim 15

A container supply mechanism as set forth in claim 13, including means responsive to placement of said carton on said carton suppoRting means for providing a portion of said sheet removing means to a clearance position.

Claim 16

A container supply mechanism as set forth in claim 13, including means responsive to removal of said carton from said carton supporting means for moving a portion of said sheet removing means to a clearance position

Claim 17

Carton unloading apparatus comprising: frame means; means for supporting a carton on said frame means adjacent a carton discharge station, said carton having an open top and an open bottom with a plurality of layers of articles being positioned between said top and bottom; an inclined ramp at said discharge station for receiving layers of articles successively discharged from said carton; stop means at the end of said discharge ramp for retaining articles on said ramp, said stop means and said ramp cooperating to form an article storage zone; means for moving said stop means from an article stopping position to a clearance position for dispensing articles one at a time from the end of said ramp; elevator means mounted on said frame means adjacent said discharge station; said elevator means including an ejector member that is movable through an open bottom of said carton and into engagement with the lowermost layer of articles in said carton upon actuation of said elevator means; means positioned to monitor the articles on said ramp for sensing demand for articles; and means responsive to said sensing means for actuating said elevator means to move said ejector member into engagement with the lowermost layer of articles to shift all of the layers of articles upwardly in said carton and to move the uppermost layer of articles outwardly of said carton through said open top.

Claim 18

Carton unloading apparatus comprising: frame means; means for supporting a carton on said frame means adjacent a carton discharge station, said carton having an open top and an open bottom with a plurality of layers of articles being positioned between said top and bottom; an inclined ramp at said discharge station for receiving layers of articles successively discharged from said carton; stop means at the end of said discharge ramp for retaining articles on said ramp, said stop means and said ramp cooperating to form an article storage zone; means for moving said stop means from an article stopping position to a clearance position for dispensing articles one at a time from the end of said ramp; elevator means mounted on said frame means adjacent said discharge station; said elevator means including an ejector member that is movable through an open bottom of said carton and into engagement with the lowermost layer of articles in said carton upon actuation of said elevator means; means positioned to monitor the articles on said ramp for sensing demand for articles; and means responsive to said sensing means for actuating said elevator means to move said ejector member into engagement with the lowermost layer of articles to shift all of the layers of articles upwardly in said carton and to move the uppermost layer of articles outwardly of said carton through said open top.

Claim 19

Carton unloading apparatus comprising: frame means: means for supporting a carton on said frame means adjacent a carton discharge station; said carton having an open top and an open bottom with a plurality of layers of articles being positioned between said top and bottom, there being a sheet at upper and lower end of the carton and between each layer of articles in the carton; elevator means mounted in said frame means adjacent said discharge station, said elevator means including an ejector member that is movable through the open bottom of said carton and into engagement with the lowermost layer of articles in said carton upon actuation of said elevator means; means for sensing demand for articles; sheet removal means operable in response to actuation of said elevator means; and means responsive to said sensing means for actuating said elevator means to move said ejector member into engagement with the lowermost layer of articles to shift all of the layers of articles upwardly in said carton and to move the uppermost sheet into engagement with said removal means and to move the uppermost layer of articles outwardly of said carton through said open top.

Claim 20

Carton unloading apparatus comprising: frame means: means for supporting a carton on said frame means adjacent a carton discharge station; said carton having an open top and an open bottom with a plurality of layers of articles being positioned between said top and bottom, there being a sheet at upper and lower end of the carton and between each layer of articles in the carton; elevator means mounted in said frame means adjacent said discharge station, said elevator means including an ejector member that is movable through the open bottom of said carton and into engagement with the lowermost layer of articles in said carton upon actuation of said elevator means; means for sensing demand for articles; sheet removal means operable in response to actuation of said elevator means; and means responsive to said sensing means for actuating said elevator means to move said ejector member into engagement with the lowermost layer of articles to shift all of the layers of articles upwardly in said carton and to move the uppermost sheet into engagement with said removal means and to move the uppermost layer of articles outwardly of said carton through said open top.

Claim 21

Carton unloading apparatus as set forth in claim 17, wherein said sheet removal means includes a plurality of fingers having pointed lower ends adapted to dig into said sheets upon upward movement of said elevator means, and means mounting said fingers for movement as said elevator means moves upwardly to shift said sheets relative to said articles.

Claim 22

Carton unloading apparatus as set forth in claim 18, including powered roller means adjacent said fingers for receiving said sheets when they are moved relative to said articles by said fingers.

Claim 23

Carton unloading apparatus as set forth in claim 17, wherein said sheet removal means includes frame means, a shaft pivotally mounted in said frame means, at least one support arm connected at one end to said shaft, a sheet engaging finger extending downwardly from said support arm having a pointed lower end adapted to dig into a sheet and move the sheet outwardly as the layers of articles are moved upwardly relative to the finger, and powered roller means on said frame adjacent said finger for receiving a sheet therefrom and transporting it to a storage zone.

Claim 24

Carton unloading as set forth in claim 20, wherein said powered roller means includes an arm pivotally mounted on said frame means, a first powered roller rotatably mounted in the pivot of said arm, a second powered roller positioned in sheet feeding relationship with respect to said first powered roller, and a third powered roller on said arm outwardly of the pivot axis thereof for initially engaging said sheet and for feeding it toward said first and second powered rollers.

Claim 25

Carton unloading apparatus as set forth in claim 16, in which each of said articles is a stack of nested containers, and wherein stack transport means is provided for receiving stacks one at a time from said storage zone, said apparatus further including means for moving said transport means from a stack receiving position adjacent said storage zone to a plurality of stack discharging positions; a stack transfer member having a plurality of sections, each section being adapted to receive a stack of containers therein; and means for moving said stack transfer member from (1) a stack receiving position wherein each section of said transfer member corresponds to a discharging position into (2) a position for simultaneously dispensing the stack in each section into a container dispensing hopper associated with a multiline filling machine.

Claim 26

Apparatus as set forth in claim 22, including means for sensing a predetermined level of containers in said hoppers, and mans for actuating said stack transfer member moving means in response to actuation of said sensing means.

Claim 27

Apparatus as set forth in claim 22, wherein said transport means includes a stack of holding tray, and means for moving said tray between a stack receiving position adjacent the lower end of said ramp for receiving a stack when said stop member is in the clearance position and a stack dumping position adjacent said transfer member.

Claim 28

Apparatus as set forth in claim 24, wherein said tray moving means includes means for inverting said tray at said dumping position to dump the stack of containers in said tray into the transfer member.

Claim 29

Apparatus as set forth in claim 25, wherein said tray moving means includes means for locating said tray at different locations in said dumping position for dumping the stacks into the different sections of said transfer member.