Edward R Butterly

US Patent:

48437972, Jul 4, 1989

Filed:

Oct 5, 1987

Appl. No.:

7/104394

Inventors:

Edward R. Butterly - Brookfield CT
Doyle Stoppel - Danbury CT

Assignee:

Doran Brothers Inc. - Bethel CT

International Classification:

B65B 3536
B65B 508

US Classification:

53448

Abstract:

High speed dairy casing methods and apparatus assemble columns of filled containers arriving on two infeed conveyors, transfer one, two or more columns to an assembly ramp adjoining each conveyor, and then sweep the assembled columns from the conveyor and the ramp together across the ramp to an adjacent loading zone for casing, leaving the assembly ramp free for assembling succeeding columns while case loading is proceeding. Preferably two infeed conveyors deliver filled containers into two separate assembly zones with their ramps flanking a central loading zone, and a pusher with two extended positions propels each single column from its conveyor onto the assembly ramp, and then propels the final column with the assembled columns together across the ramp to the loading zone as the pusher advances to its remote extended position. Programming of limit sensors and pusher controls, and re-positioning of adjustable guides and guide-plates adapts the modular casers of this invention to assemble many different sizes of containers, and to load them into one or two cases, utilizing either one or two infeed conveyors.

US Patent:

46343334, Jan 6, 1987

Filed:

Oct 19, 1984

Appl. No.:

6/662724

Inventors:

Edward R. Butterly - Brookfield CT
Doyle E. Stoppel - Danbury CT

Assignee:

Doran Brothers Inc. - Danbury CT

International Classification:

B65G 6700

US Classification:

414331

Abstract:

A cart loader assembles objects advancing along an infeed conveyor line into arrayed rows of parallel columns, and transfers these arrayed rows of columns to individual shelves of a multi-tiered rolling cart. The cart loader has an external frame enclosing a vertically elongated front elevator and a central staging zone fed by the infeed conveyor. A multi-deck elevator has decks spaced apart vertically by a distance corresponding to the vertical distance between shelves on the multi-tiered cart, latched to the frame for loading. A plurality of horizontally deployable and retractable pushers are each aligned respectively with one shelf, and positioned for delivery of objects from the elevator zone to the cart. A preferred deck-loading and cart-shelf loading sequence achieves minimum loading cycle time coupled with maximum time within each cycle for replacing each loaded cart with an empty cart for the next loading operation.