CA1262463A - Package loader for automatic direct soft cookie loading apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
This invention is directed to an apparatus for handling articles, namely a package loader, comprising trays and a means for supporting trays. In a preferred embodiment, the trays are relatively flexible cookie trays which are supported on a rotat-able mount. The cookie trays which are rotatably mounted may be mounted on a carousel-type of support, which automatically rotates and which can be automatically loaded and unloaded. The cookie trays are not solidly supported, but rather are supported along portions beneath, and in between, regions where cookies are to be received. As the trays are relatively flexible, it is important that, for soft cookies, no rigid or hard surface be encountered during the relatively high speed loading operation.

Description

~6~4~3 B-c-K-~orJND OF T~l~ INV NrrION
rhls application is a divisional of application serial No. 497,788, filed December 16, 1985.
This inven-tion is adapted for use as an automatic direct loading device tor any generally disc-like objects or articles such ~s tuna cans, poker CilipS, hockey pucks, sandwich cookies, soft cookies having multiple -textures, pe-t biscuits, and the like. In a preferred embodimen-t, the invention is adapted for directly loading cookies into trays.
It is well-known to use conveyor belts for conveying bisuits from an oven. It is also conventional to transport biscuits, including cookies, from one conveyor belt to another.
It is also known to package cookies in cartons so that the cookies are arranged in stacks filling partitions in the cartons. There are several prior art patents relating to automatic loading apparatus, which are discussed hereunder.
The Egee et al reference, United States Patent No.
4,159,761, is the most relevant known reference, and in F`igure 5 shows cookies being deposited directly from a conveyor belt into a stack. The stack is supported on a blade-like gate 52 which is rotatably supported and revolved upon a signal by a gate actuating means 54, to drop a stack of cookies 36 into a pocket of a tray 56. Such a tray 56 is also s-hown in Figure 6 of the drawings in side sectional view. While this apparatus is signific-antly different from the apparatus of the present invention, there is a similarity in the result, namely that cookies are ultimately ~26~4~

stacked into trays automatically. However, the apparatus of the Fgee patent would not be suitable for relatively soft cookies, which are very susceptible to breaking, nor for rela-tively high speed operation. Furthermore, the manner in which the cookies are stacked in Egee results in trays being filled so -that -they are not stacked on -their edges in a tray, but rather lie on their bottom surfaces in the tray. The cookies are, in other words, resultingly stacked parallel -to the bottom of a tray rather than perpendicularly to -the bottom of a tray as in the present invention.
Furthermore, there is no showing of a flexible support, nor of moving of the conveyor belt exit end upward or downward to accommodate -the stacking of the cookies. Figure 1 of the Egee patent shows cookies laying on edge being transferred to a conveyor belt where they may lie on their bottom surfaces for feeding to the apparatus shown in Figure 5. Therefore, while the Egee patent addresses a similar problem in the art, that of stacking cookies, there is no teaching or suggestion of a movable conveyor belt where an end of the conveyor belt moves up or down, or toward or away from a tray, to selectively distribute cookies vertically, the cookies being received against a relatively resilient tray wall. Furthermore, there is no teaching or suggestion of provid-ing that each cookie directly impacts a resilient wall of a tray during the loading operation.
The Rose et a] United States Patent ~o. 4,044,885 relates to a method and apparatus for counting and loading cookies.
Here, a relatively complex apparatus eventually places cookies _3_ ~26~3 into a stack as shown in Figure 11. Also, cookies are shown in Figures 13-15 as falling along a chute where they collide with drop rails S6 and 58. This feature alone renders it unsuitable with use for relatively soft cookies since it would damage them.
Furthermore, there is no teaching or suggestion of use of a mov-able conveyor belt, which conveyor belt is relatively movable to a tray having at least a flexible wall portion for receiving cookies which collide with such wall, the conveyor belt being movable relative to the tray being loaded, the tray being supported such that no hard or rigid surface directly underlies those portions of the tray which collide with the cookies.
The Rose patent, United States Patent No. 4,413,462, shows an accumulator and stacker for sandwich biscuits and the like. Here, a relatively complex apparatus stacks sandwich cookies one atop the other. This is shown most clearly in Figures 3and 7-11. While the net result is cookies being stacked two-by-two, there is no teaching or suggestion of employing a flexible tray which directly collides with cookies received from a conveyor belt, the conveyor belt and tray moving relatively to one another so that cookies are stacked without colliding directly with one another. This patent appears to have a different result than the present invention in that stacked cookies are wrapped in a flexible wrapper, rather than being received in a flexible tray.
Also, conveyor belts movably positionable, pivotable, or extend-able are not shown or suggested in this patent.
The Eisenberg patent is notable for Figures SA and 5B

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where artic1es are stacked in rela-tively shor-t stacks. Figure 5C
shows a chute 36 wnich permits a sliding article to slide directly over another article; however, there is no teaching of the article sliding along the chute 36 and colliding with a flexible wall, nor is there any teaching that -the chute 36 moves upward relatively to such stack as in the present invention. The Bertling et al patent, United S-tates Patent No. 3,990,209, shows a relatively complex stacking sys-tem which is very different from -the present invention, and does not show a flexible -tray with which moving cookies collide, nor does i-t show a conveyor means which moves relatively to the previously stacked cookies and the flexible tray.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly one object of the present invention to provide an improved cookie or biscuit stacking apparatus which is automatic and stacks soft cookies directly into trays.
Another object of the present invention is to provide improved loading device for directly automatically loading trays, including transporting relatively squat objects into the trays.
A still further object of the present invention is to -~ 20 provide an improved automatic loading apparatus including a support for flexible trays, the support being so disposed that rear walls of article-receiving portions of -the trays are not directly supported so that they may resiliently collide with a moving article, thereby avoiding damage to the article.
Another still fur-ther object of the present invention is to provide a rotatable support for trays, the trays being fixed ':

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to the rota-table support, and having an automatically actuated tilting means for ti.lting loaded cookie trays forward so that they sl.ide off the support and down a chu-te.
The invention provides an apparatus for handling articles, comprising: a plurality of trays; individual ones of said trays having resilient articl.e-receiving walls; and a means for support-ing individual ones of said plurality of trays; said means for supporting trays being in supporting con-tact with individual ones of said trays only along portions of said individual ones of said trays which are not part of said resilient ar-ticle-receiving walls. A conveyor belt feeds hot, soft cookies in rows to an accumulator station. Electric eye sensors detect the presence of more than two cookies in a column to permit release of cookies by cam-actuated "fingers" to release cookies at predetermined inter-vals. In the accumulator section, relatively higher-speed belts, spaced apart, run under the cookies so that upon release of the "fingers", a single cookie in each column is released. The released cookies travel to an intermediate conveyor which has a bendable or pivotable portion so that cookies are transferred selectively either to an upper conveyor belt or a lower conveyor belt. Ten cookies are deposited at a time on the selected upper or lower belt. The cookies on the upper and lower belts feed - directly into plastic trays, the ends of each of the upper and lower belts nearest the respective trays being movable upwardly and are extensible to maintain even spacing from the tilted, flexible tray surface. The upwàrd movement of the belts ensures that cookies do not directly collide, so that each next stacked cookie arrives so as to collide with flexible rear tray wall first to avoid damage to, or bending of cookies. A carousel having upper and lower tray support regions holds six trays in spaced relationship on eacil tray. Each tray is supported only along its bottom surface and by two blades received between row surfaces, to receive a total of three cookie stacks. When a tray is filled ..:;.
a portion of the carousel holding the tray rotates to bring an ; empty tray into position. The filled tray slides down a chute.
Further details and advantages of the present invention appear from the following description of the preferred embodiment shown schematically in the drawings.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an apparatus for accumulating, conveying and loading cookies into trays;
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Figure 2 is a top elevational view of the conveyor belt arrangement and accumulator, together with a partial sectional ., ` view through the tray support device and the tray itself showing stacks of soft cookies which are being loaded;
,, Figure 3 is a top elevational view of the cookie '.,i ` accumulator control section including an optical controller and : :, optical sensors;
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~ Figure 4 is a side elevational view of a portion of a ., `' pneumatic device for maintaining soft cookies atop a conveyor ;::
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; belt while the soft cookie is held stationary;

Figure 5 is a schematic view showing Eirst and second ., :;
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positions oE a cam and movable Einger member for accumulating cookies;
Figure 6 is a top elevational view of the retaining fingers shown in Figure 5;
Figure 7 is a side elevational view o-E a pivotable conveyor belt, including a dotted outline position of -the pivot-able section;
Figure 8 is a schematic side view of the conveyor belt arrangement and movably positionable roller used in the pivotable conveyor belt of Figure 7;
Figure 9 is a side elevational view o:E an extensible and retractable conveyor belt which pivots about one end, and also :~ shows a dotted outline position of the uppermost pivoted extent :~ of the movable conveyor belt;
Figure 10 is a schematic side view of the roller and conveyor belt arrangement forming the movable conveyor belt including two different movable rollers;
Figure 11 is a top elevational view of the movable conveyor belt of Figures 9 and 10, showing clearly a slot which guides a movable roller which causes extension or retraction of the length of the conveyor belt along an article--support surface thereof;
Figure 12 is a perspective view of a preferred embodi-ment of tray used in the loading apparatus ;
Figure 13 is a rear elevational view taken from the rear of Figure 12, and showing a top surface of the tray as it would be supported by arm members in a loading position;
Figure l4 is a side view partially in section of -the tray of Figure 12 taken along line 14-14 of Figure 12 and shows cookies which are s-tacked so as to partially fill a portion of the tray shown;
Figure 15 is a side elevational view of a cookie sepa-rator;
; Figure 16 is a -top elevational view oE the separator member of Figure 15;
Figure 17 is a top elevational view which is partially schematic showing how a plurality of rows of cookies are guided by separator members into three channels, including alternative embodiment shapes of separator members as well as the shape of the separator member shown in Figure 16;
Figure 18 is a side sectional view showing the fric-tion-al rotary drive of the carousel;
Figure l9 is a top elevational view, par-tially in section, showing an indexing means as well as the rotary frictional ~I drive member;
Figure 20 is a side elevational view of an indexing or formed through the rotary support member of Figure l9;
Figure 21 is a top elevational. view, partially broken away, of the indexing means in its indexing position in the bore shown in Figure 20;
Figure 22 is a side elevational view of a tray support device according to the present invention;

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Figure 23 is a top eleva-tional view of the tray sup-portiny device shown in Figure 22;
Figure 24 is a front elevational view of the tray sup-porting device shown in Figure 22;
Figure 25 is a top elevatlonal view, partially in section, showing a tray unloading means including a dotted-li.ne position of the tray unloading means being moved by a fixed member;
Figure 26 is a side view showing a first and a second positlon of a tray support device, -the dotted outline position indicating the unloading position;
~; Figure 27 is a schematic side view of a single motive means for driving the conveyor belts and accumulator station in proper timed relationship and for driving and causing all rotary :~ and linear movement of devices shown in Figure 1 with the ex-ception of the rotary carousel member;
Figure 28 is a top elevational view of a portion of Figure 27 showing the spatial relationship of two of the driven cam members for actuating the fixst and second movable conveyors belts so that they pivot about a fixed end.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Figure 1 shows a side elevational view of the entire automatic loading apparatus1. An accumulator 2 accumulates cookies until a predetermined number are arranged in columns, and includes an optical controller fc;r a release device 3.
Cookies are released onto a fixed portion 4 of a pivot-able conveyor belt hav~ng a pivotable section 5 which selectively 3~2~i2~ 3 - 1 o -feed direc-tly onto e.ither an upper movable conveyor belt 6 or a lower movable conveyor bel-t 7. Cookles are ]oaded directly from either the upper conveyor belt 6 or -the lower conveyor belt 7 into trays 10. The trays 10 are supported by a tray support device 8, which is ro-tatably ' i ;:

carried by a rotatable support member carousel 20. The carousel 2C ls frictionally driven by a transmission portlon 9.
So~t cookies arrive from a conveyor sectlon 100. The conveyor 100 conveys cookies C directly from an oven ln a soft and dellcate conditlon. A conveyor 110 transports the cookles to narrower conveyor belts 31, whlch are spaced apart to permit crumbs and other articles which are loose to fall between the belts 31. The belts 31 travel at a relatively high speed compared to the other devices, and arrange cookies ln rows 101 beneath an optlcal sensor station 29 havlng an optlcal sensor member 23. The optlcal sensor detects the presence or absence of a sufflclent number of cookles ln the column 101 along the line 22 to a controller 290. The controller 290 elther permits or prevents actuatlon of a cam member 37 whlch controls downward movement of retainlng member 32, whlch are connected ln palrs.
Whlle the retalning fingers 32 are ln upper or ralsed posltlon they prevent passage of cookles beyond a rlxed locatlon to form columns 101. The conveyors belts 31 contlnue to move beneath the cookles C ln the column 101, and when a sufflcient number of cook~es C have been accumulated ln the column 101, they are released individually in lntervals controlled by the cam member 37 whlch rotates at a generally constant speed in timed relationship to the speed Or the ~. other conveyor belts in the system. A separator member 33 ls ;, ~ seen in Figure 1 and a plurallty of such separator members 33 ~: separates and guides cookles lnto the columns 101 atop the conveyor belts 31. An alr supply hose 21 supplied air to a :. plenum which ls supported by the optical control devlce support 29 so as to dlrect alr ~rom the plenum 24 lnto nozzles 25 having open ends 27. The dlrected alr from the nozzle openings 27 directs alr downwardly to retain the foremost Cookle in each column downwardly against the conveyor belts 31 to prevent hopplng of the cookies C over ~1 the flngers 32. The downwardly directed alr also prevents bouncing of the cookies when the flnger member 32 are suddenly withdrawn downwardly, thereby ensuring proper :~ spaclng of the cookies lnto unlform rows across subsequent ~;i conveyor belts downstream of the conveyor belts 31.
The optlcal support means 29 ls supported, for example, by columns 26 which are connected to any flxed surf~ce such as a floor or wall. The conveyor belt 110 supplylng cookles C rrom an oven (the oven ls not shown in Figure 1) has an end conveyor belt roller 111. The conveyor belt roller 111, and the conveyor belt roller 35 and 37 for the conveyor belts 31 are of sufficlently small diameter to permlt a smooth transitlon of the cookles C from the conveyor belt 110 to the conveyor belts 31. Thus, there is only a very small gap between the rollers 111 and 35, and due to the small ;:

2~B3 diameters Or the rollers 111 and 35 there ls only a very small downward bending posslble for the cookles durlng thelr transltlon from the conveyor belt 110 to the conveyor belt~s 31. The same ls true of the transition from the roller 34 supportlng the conveyor belts 31 to the ro].ler 41 whlch supports a conveyor belt 40.
The accumulatcr sectlon 3 provides cookles C at tlmed lntervals to the conveyor belt 40 Or the fixed portlon 4 of the pivotable conveyor belt. The pivotable conveyor belt 4 has a plvotlng sectlon 5 whlch is plvotable between two positlons as lndicated by the dotted outllne of the roller 54 in a positlon originally supplylng a conveyor belt 6 to a positlon for supplylng a conveyor belt 7. The plvotlng actlon takes place ln a very rapid manner so that no cookles C are dlsturbed durlng thelr transitlon from above the roller 54 to one of the conveyor belts 6 or 7. The plvotable section 5 plvots about a maln plvot Jolnt 51 of any standard constructlon, lncludlng but not llmlted to a bearlng ~olnt, ball bearings, a gear arrangement or the llke. Beneath the plvot member 51 ls seen sprlng 52 whlch reslllently tensions a roller 42 whlch ls constralned to move llnearly along a slot 53~ One end of the sprlng member 52 ls flxably connected to the flxed portlon 4.
The flxed portlon 4 may be flxably supported to any sur-face whlch ls lmmovable, such as floor or a wall, for example ~2~ 3 by strut members, posts, columns, brackets, or the like so tha-t the fixed portion 4 is supported in a predetermined and fixed re-lationship to the conveyor belts 110 and 31. A resilient member is connected -to a fixed support and to an end 36 of the accumulator retaininy portion 3, the end 36 being fixedly connected to the fingers 32 and pivotable about a pivot member during actuation downward or upward due to the presence oE the cam member 37. The fixed support members referred to hereinabove are not shown because such are obvious expedience known -to anyone haviny skill in the conveying art.
The pivotable portion 5 of the conveyor 4 has an end roller 54 which is pivotable downwardly to a position shown in dotted outline to selectively feed either conveyor belts 6 or 7.
The roller 54 is in its solid outline position adjacent roller 63 of conveyor belt 61. In the dotted outline position, the roller 54 is adjacent a roller 62 which supports a conveyor belt 71 of the conveyor belt 7. Arrows generally indicate direction of each of the conveyor belts 110, 31, 40, 61, and 71. This serves to define the upstream and downstream portions of the apparatus, as well as the direction of movement of cookies C. Furthermore, the solid, two-headed arrow directly beneath the pivotable section 5 indicates that the pivotable section moves upwardly or downwardly selectively.
The movable conveyors 6 or 7 are virtually identical members which are so positioned as to have a very small gap existing between the rollers 64 and 63 in the upper position of -the pivotable section 5, and between -the rollers 54 and 62 in the lower positi.on of the pivotable section 5. ~ roller arrangement necessary to permit the conveyor bel.t 40 to be maintained in a specified tension range is not shown in Figure 1, but is shown in Figures 7 and 8. The slack -take-up roller 42 is necessary since the overall bel-t leng-th of necessity changes during the pivoting motion of the pivotable section 5. The spring member 52 is con-nected to a fixed member such as a bearing outer sleeve, or the like, so that the fixed portion is preferably constrained linearly along the slot 53 without undue frictional resistant acting upon the roller 42. The bearing is unnumbered in the Figures, but may be any type of anti-friction means such as a packed bearing, bearings having anti-friction surfaces or very low-friction sur-faces including Teflon~ or the like. This same is true of any of the moving or pivoting joints referred to herein, since such bearing devices, anti-friction surfaces and pivoting joints are well-known in the mechanical linkage art and mechanical bearing arts to anyone of skill in . ~6~ 3 those arts.
The conveyor belt 6 is movable in such a manner that the ~: roller 63 malntains fixed position, whlle the far end roller 120 moves upwardly and downwardlyg the entire conveyor belt 6 pivoting about and throueh an arc having its sensor at the rollers 63. As shown in Figure 1, the arc begins at its : lowermost point with the roller 120 belng at the lowest posltion posslble and belng located in a slot 12. The slot 12 controls the position of the roller 120 as the conveyor 6 moves upwardly or downwardly. In Figure 1, the conveyor 6 as shown as Just beginning lts upward movement as indlcated by the large arrow near the roller 120. A take-up roller 609 ls provlded to permit movement of the roller 120 which maintalns a constant and fixed dlstance between the roller 120 and the nearest section of the rear-most wall of each of the trays 10 whlch are supported in an lnclined positlon as shown ln Flgure 1. The flxed end portlon 63 may be flxed in any known fashlon, such as belng supported by struts, posts, brackets, or any other devlce connected to any flxed surface such as a ~loor or wall, the celling or the like, so long as the support permlts plvotlng of the conveyor 6 about the roller 63.
As seen in Flgure 1, as the conveyor 6 beglns upward movement of lts downstream end, the conveyor belt 61 ls level wlth the conveyor belt llO. However, thls is a design ~L26~63 expedlent, and the entire carousel and support structure could be located lower so that when the downstream-most end of the conveyor 6 is at its uppermost reach in the upper slot 12, for loading the top-most cookie in a stack ln the tray 10, the conveyor belt surface 61 would be level (thls embodlment is not shown in the Figures, slnce such would be merely a matter of cholce to anyone skllled ln the conveyor art). The movable conveyor 6 ls caused to move by struts 610 and 611 which are pivotably connected together. The strut 610 is also pivotably connected to a houslng portion (unnumbered) of the conveyor 6. The strut 611 can be moved by a cam member (shown ln Figure 27 and 28), by a direct gear drlve, or by any other type of motlve means whlch cause cyllcal upward and downward motlon of the strut 611 so as to dlrect the strut 610 upwardly and downwardly through a flxed range Or motion. As seen in Figure 1, the strut 611 ln the positlon shown ls movlng upwardly.
ln Flgure 1, the movable conveyor belt 7 is plvoted sub-stantlally identlcally to the manner of plvotlng of the con-veyor 6. The roller 62 is maintalned at a f`lxed location~
wlth a end havlng a roller 21 belng plvotable upwardly and downwardly through an arc about the flxed roller 62. As ln the above, any type Or support can be used to permlt rotatlon of the roller 62 whlle at the same time flxedly locatlng lt wlth respect to any flxed support surface such as a wall, ~26~1,~3 floor, or ceillng. Motion of the conveyor 7 ls controlled by a strut 710 whlch is pivotably connected to strut 711. The strut 710 is plvotably connected to a housing portlon (unnumbered) of the conveyor 7, so as to permit movement of the conveyor 7. In ~lgure 1, the motlon of the strut 711 is downwardly, as lndicated by the arrow through the strut 711, thus causlng downward motlon of the downstream portlon of the conveyor 7 as lndlcated by the arrow drawn near the downstream end. The roller 121 ls constrained to move in a slot 13, whlch slot 13 is parallel to the orientation of the nearest edge of a tray 10.
The directions of motion of the conveyors 6 and 7 are opposite to one another in Figure 1, and the pivoting o~ the pivotable conveyor portion 5 permits simultaneous loadin6 of at least two trays 10 at the same tlme. This ls necessary, since the oven capaclty for producing cookies C is greater than the capacity Or elther conveyors 6 or 7 alone to load cookies C directly into the trays 10 wlthout damage to the cookles C.
The cookies C are relatively sof t and delicate. If improperly handled, or if the cookles collide with one another or collide wlth a hard surface they would bend and cool in a deformed state, or would tend to crumble or break.
To avoid this, the conveyors ends of the conveyors 6 and 7 are sloped downwardly so as to load the cookies parallel to a ~26~;3 ,g bottom support surface of the trays 10. The upward motion of the conveyor 6, for example, loads cookies one at a time wlth the upward movement Or the downstream end of the conveyor 6 belng tlme so that as each cookie enters the tray 10 lt ls at a locatlon Just sufflciently above the prevlously-loaded Cookie to prevent collislon dlrectly wlth the prevlously-loaded Cookle. Instead, any colllsion forces are absorbed by the resillent]y deformable trays 10, whlch are composed of a very thin resillent material such as plastic or the like.
The conveyor 7 has no cookies C shown thereon since the tray 10 which the conveyor 7 feed is full and no further cookles can be loaded until a new tray 10 ls ln position.
Therefore, the plvotable section 5 ls feeding the conveyor 6 rather than conveyor 7 while the conveyor 7 makes lts arcuate downward motlon under the lnrluence of gravlty and strut 711 to brlng the conveyor 7 to the lowermost loadlng posltion.
The slot 13 guides the length of the roller 121, similarily to that of roller 120 Or the conveyor 6, wlth a movable roller 709 taklng up slack to maintain tension in the belt 71 within a predetermined range. This is necessary to the change ln length Or the belt due to the extension Or the roller 121 caused by the slot 13. The slots 12 and 13 are formed in a support member 231, with corresponding opposed slots belng formed in an opposing support member 230 which 1s shown as being partially bro~en away in Figure 1. Thus, only the lowermost portlon of the support member 230 is shown in :- Figure 1. The support members 230 and 231 are supported upon : a fixed surface such as a floor.
The support member 231 support an upper carousel support portion 23 which, in a preferred embodiment, lncludes a solid : surface extending between between support member 230 and 231, a portlon Or which is tran~parent to permit viewing ~rom above of the loading operation of the conveyors 6 and 7 into trays 10. The remainder Or the portion 23 i8 preferably of a ; solid materlal such as metal or the like and receives an ~: uppermost portion of splndle 11 in a rotable relationshlp .
thereto. This forms the uppermost portlon of the carousel 20.
The carousel 20 supports trays 10 at a predetermlned lnclination, and permits automatlc movement and lndexlng Or trays 10 into their proper position relative to the conveyors 6 and 7 for loading the trays 10. Empty trays 10 are placed on holders ~, while rull trays are unloaded automatically by the holders 8 in cooperation with a fixed member 961, supported by strut 962 to the upper portion 23 to cause tlltin6 of a portion of the support 8 to cause the loaded cookle trays to slide down a chute (not shown). Although in Figure 1 only a single flxed member 961 ls shown attached by a support 962, another fixed support member substantially :

i3 Identlcal to support strut 962, as well as a flxed portion slmilar to that of flxed 961 would be fixed ln a similar relatlonshlp ~ust above the ]ower portlon of the carousel to permit unloadlng of the lower trays 10. Such strut 962 would preferably be supported by connecting lt to a flxed portion whlch extends above t~le lower carousel portlon without lnterfering ~lth the rotatlon thereof. Such ls not shown ln the Flgures, slnce such would be an obvious expedient in view of the location of the strut 962 and fixed portlon 961 shown in the Flgure 1, the positlonlng of another such like member belng selectible in any manner preferred or selected by anyone skllled ln the construction or metal working arts.
The rotatlon of the carousel 20 ls caused by a motor 21 which transmits motive power through any known type of transmission along a base 22 of the carousel, to provlde rotary motive power to a splndle 11. The transmlsslon can be a frlctional drive transmission or can be a chain and sprocket type transmission for a posltive power transmlsslon.
An indexing means locks each of the upper and lower carousel support surfaces 85 and 86 respectively, to lntermlttently permit rotatlon of the disc-llke members 85 and 86 to move loaded trays 10 to an unloading ramp and to move the empty trays 10 to a position in which they can be precisely loaded.
The indexlng means ls not shown in Figure 1, but a preferred type of lndexing means ln shown in ~igure 19-21.

While a particular arrangement of carousel parts is shown in Figure 1, the carousel 20 may be configured in any fashion to glve the desired results, namely the provision of at least an empty tray 10 to a loading position, and movement of such a tray 10 to an unloading position; all the while permitting positioning of empty trays 10 upon the supports 8. ~s one example of a different type of tray conveying system, a linear support system pulled by chains could be provided perpendicularly to the :.
plane of Figure 1 so that trays 10 would rnove downwardly into the : 10 page and empty trays would be provided from above the page. Such a conveyor system could include any desired loading and unloading means. However, the carousel 20 is a particular preferred em-bodiment, other embodiments being a~ailable if such are desired.
: Such ermbodiments would include any known conveying devices for supplying empty trays or containers to a loading station where the containers stop to be loaded and to unloading station where the loaded trays or containers are unloaded, such a system would .:
.~ preferably also include a return path for the conveying means such as a drag chain pulling train support members 8 in a linear path, ` 20 for example, from the loading station to the unloading station, and on the return path permitting stopping for placing of empty trays or containers upon the tray support means 8. Preferably, such a support means would have a ~262:4~i3 completed cycle so that a contlnuous operation ror loadlng Or cookles C could be provided. A particular reature Or the tray support means 8 permits support Or the trayq so that the portlon~ o~ the tray whlch colllde wlth the moving cookles C
are not dlrectly relnrorced by any solid member but rather are only supported between the cookle-recelving portlon~ Or the trays 10 by the proJecting slab-llke members 82. The slab-like members 82 enter a portion Or the rear Or the trays 10 to a predetermlned depth where they encounter a qolld portlon of the rear of the trays 10. A lowermost portion 811 of the tray support means 8 prevents downward movement of the trays 10. An unloading member 89 i8 provlded to lnteract with the member 961 to cause plvot~ng Or the lower support portion 811 during an unloadlng operation. A sprlng member maintalns the positlon Or the lower ~upport portlon 811 agalnst the weight of the trays 10, as ls shown by the broken-away portion ln Flgure 1 Or the support means 8. Such sprlng is shown in dotted outline ln the support means 8 shown dlrectly below the broken-away means 8 in Flgure 1. A
bolt 83 anchors the slab-llke memberq 82, whlch heavlly ~upport the support portlon 811, to the table~ 85 and 86 respectlvely. The unloadlng member 89 ls flxably attached to a portlon Or the unloadlng means whlch 1~ ~lxed to the support portlon 811, and which, upon movement Or the support member 89, causes a rotational movement Or the entlre pivotable portlon about 2 pivot member supported by the slab-llke members 82. ~his is shown more clearly in F'igures 22-24.
The carousel has a transmLssion portion 9 formed by an outer member 92 whlch is in a preferred embodiment rotatable with the members 85 and 86, as well as with the spindle 11.
An inner shaft contalned rotatably withln the splndle 11 preferably rr~ctlonally drlves separately each of the supports 85 and 8~, so that if an obstacle is encountered such as a human hand, a loading cart, or the llke, operatlon of the carousel tray lnvolved is stopped to prevent damage to any of the equipment. A lock-out swltch preferably would then be tripped to prevent lmproper operation of the conveyors and the accumulator 3, which would all automatically return to a certaln "reset" posltlon before completely stopping.
The apparatus of Figure 1 ls especially well adapted and suited for use wlth dellcate, soft, bendable artlcles such as cookles C which must be preclsely handled wlthout collislon of encounterlng of hard obJects durlng most of the length of their travel, with the exception of the flngers 32 whlch encounter subsequent cookles in the rows 101 when the cookles have moved forward only a very short distance and have therefore acqulred only a very low momentum. Furthermore, the fin~ers 32 stop each cookie at two points and avoid ~26~

damage to -the cookie by distribu-ting any load where force is required in stopping the cookies. Nonetheless, hard or difficult-to-damage items such as poker chips, tuna cans, hockey pucks, and the like coul.d also be loaded in-to car-tons or trays using the apparatus of the present invention, since such appara-tus precisely locates each of the ar-ticles directly into a generally resilientl.y supported and resilient tray lO in a precise order,while accumu-lating the articles at an accumulator s-tation 3 from a supply 100, which supply need not be as precisely organized in rows and columns as are the cookies C which are released by the accumulator. There-fore, the function of the accumulator is to provide precisel.y ar-ranged rows and columns of articles to be loaded in-to the trays lO.
Furthermore, relatively thin objects such as playing cards, menus, or the like can also be loaded into cartons in the apparatus shown in Figure l. Here, it is expecially evident that the air jet directed downwardly against the artic'es at the accumulator ~- station by the opening 27 is very helpful to maintaining precise : control of the artlcles on the conveyor belt. Also, while an : optical sensor means has been shown as being located at an accumu-lator station 3, any control or sensing devices can be used and any number of articles or cookies C can be manipulated as may be desired. For example, if poker chips were to be loaded into rows one hundred across and one thousand ~6~ 63 long, such arrangement could easlly be made by anyone with sklll ln the control arts having knowledge Or the control arrangement of the present lnvention as shown in Flgure 1 and followlng Figures.
Figure 2 is a top elevational vlew of the apparatus o~
Figure 1, as taken along llne 2-2 of Figure 1. The upper surrace of the rotary tray support table 85 ls vls~ble ln Flgure 2. Also, the cross-sectlonal clrcular outllne of the spindle 11 ls seen in Figure 2. Cookie stacks are seen in the tray 10 (unnumbered ln Flgure 2), as well as the manner of tray 10 ls supported, that ls, wlth the two slab-llke members 82 pro~ecting ln between cookie columns where the back of the package is recessed between the columns.
The cross-sectional shapes of support members 230 and 231 ls also vlsible ln Flgure 2, as ls slots 13, whlch guide the motlon of the roller, the ends of which are guided elther dlrectly by the slot or by a bearlng member whlch travels wlthln the slot and whlch bear~ng rotatably supports the roller 120.
As seen ln Flgure 2, the cookles arrlve from an oven along a conveyor belt 110 ln sllghtly misallgned rows and columns. They are separated into three columns (only one Or whlch, column 101, shown in Figure 2) at the accumulator station 3. Generally speaking, conveyor belt 110 travels approxlmately the same rate of speed as the conveyor belt 40, i 2 ~i3 61, and 71. Irhe bel-t speeds rnay be selectecl to be different from one another if such is expedient fc,r any reason. However, the bel-ts 31 at the accumulator station 3 travel somewhat faster -than the other conveyor belts although such is not necessary for the proper working o~ the apparatus such is desirable since otherwise there would be a possibility -that the accumulator station would become a "bottleneck" -to -the operation. Even though the belts 61 and 71, which deliver cookies directly into the trays 10 -travel at approximately the same speed as the conveyor belt 40, two such conveyors are needed due to the time delay in each of the conveyors 6 and 7 returning from the uppermost position after the loading the uppermost cookie to the lowermost position for again loading a new tray 10. It is this time delay which results in the need for the two conveyors 6 and 7 rather than just one. It would not be desirable to merely speed up one of the conveyors 6 or 7 to handle a greater load since the speeds of the conveyors belts 61 and 71 are preferably selected at the optium speed to prevent damage to the cookies during loading of the trays 10 while a-t the same time loading the cookies as fast as possible. Therefore, the j 20 cookies are sequentially loaded in columns in the trays 10 one atop the other, with each the conveyor belt ends of conveyor 6 and 7 rising by a height equal to a height of a single cookie as each next cookie is loaded.

6~ 3 The movable roller ends 42 are vlsible in Flgure 2 as are the springs 52 whlch bias the roller 42 to malntaln the belt tension wlthln a predetermined range. The sprlng-blased roller 609 and 709 are not shown in F'lgure 2 to avold cluttering the Flgure, but are shown ln detail ln Flgure 9~
The plvoting ~oint 51 ls seen ln dotted outllne in Flgure 2, the houslng (unnumbered) of th~ conveyor 4 supportlng rollers which are fixed, wlth the housing for the movable portion 5 (the housing belng unnumbered for the 10movable portion 5 as well) belng fixed for movement wlth the pivotable sectlon 5. As seen ln Figure 2, the gaps between ad~acent rollers is relatlvely small, the gap between rollers 54 and 63 being small, ar.d in the dotted outllne position of Figure 1, the dlstance between rollers 54 and 62 being small.
Therefore, a direct result of the pivoting action Or the pivotable conveyor portlon 5 is that the conveyor 7 must be ~: located slightly to the left of and beneath the conveyor 6 since due to the radlal travel of the plvoting portlon 5 a greater gap would otherwise result between the rollers 54 and 2062 than the gap between the rollers 54 and 63.
The table 85 rotates generally according to the arrow in Figure 2. The fixed member 961 is shown in ~lgure 2 as havlng a curved shape for causing movement of a proJection 89 and result ln pivoting of the lower tray support portlon 811 of the tray support devices 8. The cross-sectlonal outline 4~3 of the strut 962 ls vislble as a circular outline ln Flgure 2~ si.nce such a strut would of necessity be cut in the vlew taken along 2-2 of Figure 1. It is noted that while the strut 962 and member 961 are not shown directly above the table 86 in Figure 1, they are lndeed present and were merely omltted to avold overly clutterlng the Flgure 1.
Figure 3 is a top elevatlonal view of the apparatus 2 shown ln Flgure 1. Here, three optlcal detectors 23 are shown connected by lines 22 to an optlcal controller 290.
~ The optlcal controller 290, in con~uctlonal wlth the optlcal detector 23 detects the presence or absence of a sufflclent number of cookies ln columns 101. Upon detection of the requesite number of cookies, the optlcal controller 290 sends a slgnal along a slgnal communlcatlon llne 291 to a release controller 360. The release controller 360 releases the cam member 37 to rotate. Rotatlon of the cam member 37 shown ln Flgure 1 as well as ln Figure 5, causes reclprocatory, timed downward and upward actuation of fingers 32.
The detectors 23 are supported by struts 292 across the frame 29. Frame 29 also supports U-blots 28 which anchor a plenum 24. The plenum 24 receives alr from an air supply 21, and dlscharges air through nozzles 25. As seen ln Flgure 1, nozzles 25 have openings 27 at the lowermost portlons thereof, whlch nozzles dlrect air flow downward to the cookies at the accumulator statlon at the flngers 32. The ~26:~63 release controller 360 can be any type of device, such as a sole-noid-actuated brake on the cam 37, or an in-terrupting means such as a gear transmission which automatically shifts gears in response to the signal along line 291 or the like. Such control devices are well-known in the art and would be used at the discretion and selection of anyone having skill in the control arts. The frame 29 is supported (supports not shown in Figure 3) by struts 26, but may be supported in any other fashion as well, such as by attachment to walls. Also in Figure 3, while 3 optical controllers 23 are shown, any numbers of optical controllers may be arranged by rows or columns in any number, for example one hundred optical detectors 23 could be arranged in a column as in Figure 3, with each row of each ~` column having, for example, two hundred optical detectors 23 in each row, if such were desired.
Also, while the optical detectors 23 optically detect the presence or absence of cookies by use of a light beam sensor, infrared sensor, ultraviolet sensor, or the like, such detectors 23 could also be acoustical or microwave detectors, capacitance detectors and the like which could be fine-tuned to sense the presence or absence of the cookies C directly beneath. Selection of suitable detectors would be obvious to anyone of skill in the control arts or measuring and testing arts, and the use of optical or other detectors is not limiting. For example, a simple mechani-cal detector including a very light mechanical arm pivoted upon a low-friction pivot member could be used, which arm produces a signal when moved by the presence of a cookie.

~Z6246;~

~ igure 4 is a side partial view of Figure 3 showing the plenum 24 and nozzle 25. The nozzle 25 directs air downwardly against the cookie C in row l which cookieis being retained by the fingers 32. The conveyor bel-t 31 clirectly beneath the column 101 is seen in Figure 4 and is shown as having a relative velocity to the cookie in column 101. That is, while the cookies in column 101 are held by the fingers, the conveyor belts 31 continue to move at a constant speed regardless of the movement or lack of . movement of the cookies in the columns 101. Therefore, it is very : 10 desirable that the conveyor belts 31 have a low frictional co-efficient with the cookies C to avoid damage, hopping, or bending of the cookies C in columns 101. Such hopping is avoided by the presence of the air jet from nozzle 25. Hopping would occur during the sudden upward or downward movement of the fingers 32 except for the presence of the air jet.
Figure 5 shows the structure and pivotable nature of the fingers 32. The cam 37 has an oblong high end 371, and rotates about center 372. The fingers 32 are spring bias by a spring 323 .~ in an upward direction so that a connecting portion 322 is always ; 20 riding in contact with the cam 37. A pivot pin 301 is shown mounted through the portion 322, to enable pivoting of the fingers 32 downwardly and upwardly with the cam 37. The fingers 32 are spring bias by connection of the spring 33 to the lower finger sup-port section 322. The spring is shown in Figure 5 as being con-nected by a rod which passes through the section 322 and is retained in place by a nut. However, any retaining means such as ~6~4~3 a band, gl.ue, welding, or the like -to the sec-tion 322 could be used. The other end of the spring 323 is fixed to an irnmovable surface such as the support sur:tace or housing member for the rollers 35 and 34. ~30wever, any fi.xed surface could be used for this purpose.
~ s seen in Figure 5, in the solid outline position the cam is rota-ting such that the fingers are in their uppermost posi-tion. In the dotted outline portion, however, the high point 371 is in direct contact wlth the portion 322 of the fingers 32.
This causes downward pivoting of the fingers 32 to the dotted out-line position about the pivot pin 3~1. This also results in out-ward movement of the lower section 322 and ~i246;~

stretchln~ (as shown in dotted outline) of the sprlng 323.
Figure 6 -~s a top elevatlonal view of the fingers and thelr support structure shown in Flgure 5. As seen, a generally U-shaped member connects two ad~acent fingers 32 -~ together along portlons 321. The plvot member 301 shown more clearly ln Flgure 6 as having a llnk beyond that of the portlon 322 (shown in dotted circular outllne slnce not otherwlse vlslble ln Flgure 6, which ls a top vlew). The pivot pin 301 may actually extend and be supported from any fixed portion or support structure and may in fact run across ~ the entire width of all of the conveyor belts 31.
:~i Alternatively, separate pins 301 can be provided rixed to an lmmovable portion or support for each of the movable fingers 32.
. Figure 7 ls a side elevational view showing greater structural detail of the conveyor 4 and movable section 5 of the apparatus ln Figure 1. Here, a strut member 403 is shown as causlng the pivotable movement of the pivotable section 5.
The strut member 403 can be cam-actuated, robot-controlled, sollinoid actuated, or the like. In any event, the actuation of the strut member 403 to cause sudden pivotable movement between the first, solid-outllned posltion of the movable sectlon 5 in Figure 7 and the dotted-outlined position ln Figure 7 ls ln timed relationshlp to the release of cookie from the accumulator statlon to the presence or absence of . 3L2~i2~

trays, to the speeds Or the varlous conveyor belts, and the llke. Preferably, a slngle timed rotary member can be used as ls seen ln Flgures 27 and 28 to actuate ln tlmed relationshlp all of the movable devices leadlng up to the feeding of the cookles dlrectly into the trays, but not lncludlng rotation of the carousel 20.
As seen in Figure 7, the conveyor belt 40 trave]s over the pivot 51 and to the end roller 54. The conveyor belt 40 ls supported, along with lts associated rollers, by a housing 400. The houslng 400 is flxed, with a movable portion 401 supporting all of the movable rollers. The movable rollers are seen ln solid circular outline even though all may not be visible through the housing 401. Also, the travel of the belt 40 is indicated ln dotted outline where it passes behind the housing portions 400 and 401. The belt 40 passes over the roller 54 which is constrained in the flrst or second posltlons to malntaln a flxed dlstance from the other rollers. The conveyor belt passes around roller 54 and to another fixed roller 404 whlch fixed roller malntains a fixed distance and spatial relatlonship to the roller 54. The conveyor 40 then travels to another roller 405 which maintains a fixed spatial relationship to the roller 404.
The belt llO then passes to a sprlng-bias roller 42, which is spring-loaded by spring 52 to maintaln tension in the belt 40.

i3 The movable roller 42 is constrained to move along a single slot 53 having a linear path. ~lthough slot is shown, any generally smooth path would also be acceptable and could also be used. The belt 40 returns from the movable roller 42 to a fixed roller 406 which fixed roller 406 has a fixed , predetermined spatial relationship with the rollers 54, 404, and 405. The belt 40 then travels along a portion of the fixed roller 407, which fixed roller maintains a predetermined spatial relationship to the rollers 405 and 406 and are pivotable therewith.
10Each of the rollers referred to hereinabove ro-tate with -the conveyor belt and are therefore rotatably mounted even though they are fixed spatially. When the pivotable section 5 moves to its dotted outline posi-tion, all of the rollers maintain their spatial relationship to one another in the pivoting section, but change in their spatial relationship to rollers which are perma-~ nently fixed and are immovable except for their rotation. There~
; fore, due to the pivoting of the pivotable section 5, the belt 40 changes its overall length somewhat, thus necessitating the tensioning device 54 which is anchored to the housing 400 by an anchoring means 402, which can be a welded member, nut and bolt, epoxy glue, or the like. Supports are shown for the housing 400 for fixed support to the ground. Two such supports, struts 481 and 482 are seen in Figure 7. The direction of travel of the con-veyor belt 40, as well as the conveyor belts 61 and 71, are indi-cated by arrows in Figure 7.
Figure 8 is a schematic side view of the roller and belt 2~

arrangement of the conveyor 4 and its pivotable section 5 shown in Figure 7. Avertical-line separates schematically the fixed rollers to the left of the line from the rollers which pivot with the pivoting section 5. A double-headed arrow shows the movement of -the roller 42 -to show that the roller 42 moves along a slot in line indicated generally by the arrows. The patent of the conveyor belt 40 has been described with reference to Figure 7 in the above. In Figure 8, the conveyor belt 40 is seen in edge view as a solid line throughout for clarity.
Figure 9 is a side elevational view of conveyor 6. It is noted at this point that conveyors 6 and 7, while being located and positioned somewhat differently and having a slightly different overall length, are substantially identical in structure and function. Therefore, only the conveyor 6 is shown in detail with it being understood that the conveyor 7 is substantially identical to the arrangement shown in Figures 9 and 10.
The conveyor 6 has a belt 61 which travels from a roller 63 which receives cookies C to a roller 603 which directs the con-veyor belt downwardly toward the roller. This downward slope of the downstream "nose" of the conveyor belt 6 ~6~

advantageously directs the cookies parallel to a bottom surface of the trays 10. This also dlrects the cookles perpendicularly to the resllient, flexlble rear wall with whlch each of the cookies C collides of the trays 10.
Therefore, whlle absolutely preclse perpendlcular alignment to the rear wall of the trays is not posslble throughout the entlre arctuate travel Or the conveyor 6 as seen in the dotted outline, a substantially perpendicular arrangement ls maintalned throughout whlch varies by no more than five or ten degrees from the perpendicular.
A roller 602 recelves the belt 61 from the roller 120, the roller 120 being movable relatlve to the other rollers which are all fixed with respect to one another and movable with the housing. The housing 600 supports all Or the flxed rollers, but does not flxedly support the roller 120.
~ather, the roller 120 is constralned to move within the slot 12. A pair of slots 12, as seen in Figure 2, are used to constrain both ends of the roller 120. Advantageously, a block or a sled type arrangement can be used to constrain the roller 120 withln the slot 12, the block or sled having a bearing for recelving ends Or the roller 120 therein, the sled bein~ constrained to move along the slot 12. The strut 610 ls shown as belng flxed to the housing 600 to move pivotably upward to its dotted outllne position as seen in Figure 9. An arrow lndicates the direction of travel of 24fi3 struts 610 and houslng 600 about the f~xed pivot point whlch ls generally at the location of the center of the roller 63.
Another flxed roller 604 recelves the belt 61 from the roller 602. A roller 605 then received the belt from roller 604, and supplies the bel~ to a movable roller 609. The movable roller 609 is spring-biased to tension the belt 61, the roller 609 being constralned as by a block or by a 41ed, or by another means, to move only ln a linear dlrectlon along the slot 61. The slot need not be linear, but may have any generally smooth curved shape lf such is desired. In the present instance, a llnear slot ls the preferred embodlment.
A roller 606 receives the belt 61 from the movable roller 609 and supplles the belt to another roller 607. The roller 607 supplles the belt to a roller 608 whlch ln return completes the cycle returnlng the belt 61 to the roller 63. or all the above-mentloned rollers, only the rollers 609 and 120 are movable relatlve to the houslng 60o. All Or the other rollers are rotatably mounted within the houslng 600.
A portion of the support 231 ls vislble, wlthln whlch ls located the slot 12. The remainder of the support portion 231 is broken away in Figure 9. The spring 620 blases the roller 609 to tension the belt 61, the spring force belng directed to the left ln Figure 9. The spring 620 is anchoreà
by an anchoring means 621 to the housing 600. Therefore, the spring is pre-loaded to provide a predetermined tenslon in ~Z62~63 the belt 61, with addltional movement Or the roller 120 outwardly or inwardly as lt travels along the slot 12 causing movement Or the roller 609 along the slot 61 as addltlonal belt slack is taken up or is needed, dependlng upon whether the conveyor 6 is moving upwardly or downwardly.
The uppermost extent Or travel of the end roller 120 of`
the conveyor belt 6 is ~hown ln dotted outline in Fi~ure 9.
As seen, the ent~re structure plvots about the roller 63, so that the roller 63 contlnues to receive cookies from the conveyor belt 40 during the upward motion and travel of the downstream end portion Or the conveyor 6. As seen, the roller 509, seen ln dotted outllne ln the slot 61 has glven up belt slack and has moved to the right thereby stretching the sprlng 620, also seen in dotted outllne ln Flgure 9 ln the dotted outllne positlon. Thus, the roller 609 accommodates the outward motlon of the roller 120 along the slot 12.
Flgure 10 ls a schematic side vlew of the conveyor belt and roller arrangement of Flgure 9. Here, the roller 609 ls movable and the permltted dlrectlon of movement ls shown by the double-headed arrow assoclated therewith. Also, the roller 120 has a horizontal component of movement lndlcated by the double-headed arrow assoclated therewlth, as well as an u~ward or downward component is lndicated by the heavy black double-headed arrow whlch indlcates the overall ~Z62~6;3 -io-arcuate path o~ travel of the conveyor 6 about the roller 63. A
small arrow abot~e the belt 61 indicates the direction of -travel of the conveyor belt 61 in Figure 10. All of the other rollers are as named and discussed in Figure 9. The conveyor 7, having con-veyor belt 71, would have a substantially identical belt path as shown in Figures 9 and 10, as well as virtually identical movement of the movable roller 709 and the movable roller 121 which is con-strainedto move in the slot 13. In almos-t every respect, the workings of the conveyors 6 and 7 is substantiall~ identical with any differences being due to the fact that the conveyor 7 must be positioned below the conveyor 6 and slightly to the left thereof as seen in Figure 1, due to the pivotable movement of the pivotable section 5. Also, due to the initial downward inclination of the conveyor 7, which is not level as is conveyor 6, the angle down-wardly at the downstream "nose" end leading to the roller 121 would generally be somewhat different and slightly less steep than that of the conveyor 6, since the conveyor 7 is already tilted somewhat downwardly initially.
Figure 11 is a top view partially in section taken along line 11-1 1 of Figure 9. Here, the support 230 and 231 are seen in cross-section, with slots 12 shown being formed in both of the sup-ports 230 and 231. The ends of the roller 120 are seen as riding in the slots 12. The conveyor belt 6 is ~6i24 ~een in top elevational view as having a Veloclty ln the directlon Or the arrow. Whlle the roller 120 ls shown as belng directly con~tralned at lts ends by the slots 12, a slidable member such as block or sled may actually retaln the ends Or the roller 120 therein, the block or sled belng slldable relatlve to the slot 12. Such a support arrangement would be well known and conventlonal to anyone Or ~kill in the machlnlst art.
Figure 12 1~ a perspectlve view of a slngle tray 10 used ln the prererred embodlment Or the present lnventlon. The tray 10 ha~ a left side wall 162, right side wall 163, a top wall 164, and a lower wall 165. Three separate compartments 160 are all formed ln the tray 10. A rear surface 163 18 seen ln Flgure 12, as belng the lowermost rlght-hand edge of the rlght-most compartment 160 ln Figure 12. A compartment connectlng portlon 161 19 seen ln Flgure 12, whlch llmits the entry Or the slab-llke members 82 between the compartment space and between the rear Or compartments 160. Thls permlts support of the tray~ 10 wlthout provldlng a hard surrace dlrectly ln contact wlth any Or the ridge-llke rlb~ ~ormed in the tray surrace.
The rldge portlons are formed to convenlently provlde a locatlng means fcr each Or the cookles, the dlstance between adJacent rlbs belng approxlmately the thlckne~s Or a cookle.
However, the rlbs al~o tend to give the tray addltlonal ~26~ 63 strength laterally and against bendlng. Nonetheless~ the entlre tray 10 1~ formed Or very flexible, reslllent materlal whlch, upon colll~lon wlth a cookle, would not tend to damage lt provided the colllslon occurred at a surflciently low speed ln the case of a very soft cookle as to avold damage to the cookle by bendlng, crumbllng, or the llke. Wlth hot~
sort cookles whlch can be dlrectly loeded l~to the trays 10, any bendlng Or the hot, soft cookles wlll upon coollng, become a permanent shape to the cookle whlch ls generally reg~rded as unattractlve and sllghtly unappeallng.
Therefore, the resllient nature of the tray, together wlth the support arrangement ~hown ln Flgure 1, permlts the tray to reslllently colllde wlth all portlons of the cookie~ C
whlch colllde wlth lt and are loaded lnto the trays 10.
Flgure 13 1~ a rear elevatlonal vlew Or Flgure 12, showlng the top of the tray 164. As seen, the three compartments 160 have a generally ¢lrcular rlght-hand outllne, wlth the left-hand most edge Or the tray 10 belng llnear. Two slab-llke member~ 82 are shown ln Flgure 13 ln3erted between the compartments 160.
Flgure 14 i~ a slde vlew partlally ln cross-sectlon taken along llne 14-14 of flgure 12. Al~o shown therein ls a stack of cookles C, partlally loaded lnto the tray 10, whlch cookles C are stacked atop one another ln the tray 10. As seen ln flgure 14, the tray 10 has a rlexible rear wall 163, gi246,;~, and generally flexible top and bottom walls 164 and 165. A
leading edge 167 Or the tray 10 1~ vlslble ln flgure 14.
Flgure 15 is a slde elevatlonal vlew o~ a separator member 33. The separator member is shown as havlng a taperlng leadlng and tralllng end, for separatlng and guldlng the cookies C lnto column~ 101. The separators 33 are generally located between columns 101 Or cookies C, as well a~ on opposlte ~ldes of each Or the columns lol ror guldlng of the cookles lnto the proper column~. Thls 1~ necessary slnce the cookies recelved ~rom the oven conveyor belt 100 are not necessarlly and completely rows and columns, but may need to be relocated lnto columns by the separators 33.
Flgure 16 ls a top elevatlonal view Or the separator 33 shown ln rlgure 15. As seen ln the flgure 16, the separator 33 ls llnear. However, any other shape Or separator 33 can be used. In particular, any curved, bent, or other shape ~eparator can be used ~o long as lt 1~ adapted to recelve cookles C or other artlcles for loadlng and to separate them lnto columns ror provldlng columns at an accumulator ~tatlon ~0 3.
In flgure 17, a varlety of ~eparator shape~ are shown.
The separator 33 18 seen ln flgure 17, as well as a bent separator 33', another bent separator 33 " and a fourth separator member 331l-. These four separator~ recelve cookles C rrom the conveyor 110 (shown broken away ln flgure ~262~3 17) to separate coolcies which are not preclsely arranged in columns and to arrange them lnto columns. Spaclng between the separators 33 has been exaggerated for clarityJ and would likely be arranged more closely together to closely conform to the lntended diameter of the cookles C.
Flgure 18 ~s a side vlew partlally ln sectlon of the frictional transmlssion used to drive the rotary dlsc table 86. A slmilar fricltlonal transmisslon would be used to drlve the rotary table 85 as well. As seen, the table 86 ls shown as being broken away along lts extremltles and ls seen in sectional view. Also, a covering portlon 92 of the portlon 9 of figure 1 is seen as surroundlng a rotatlng frlctlonal drlve member 91. The portion 92 may rotate with the shaft 91 or may rotate relative thereto, and ls merely used to keep dirt and dust from the fricitlonal drive system.
The shaft 91 preferrably has a frictional contacting engaging relationship wlth the table 86, whlch ls sufficiently strong to move the table at a reasonably fast speed during operation thereof, and yet havlng a sufflciently low frlctlonal resistance that relative rotation between the table 86 and the shaft 91 is permltted whlle the table 86 is held statlonary by any relatlvely low force applled to the table 86. This prevents accidents, destructlon of the carousel 20, destruction of the devices 8, or the like due to lmproper operation when an obstruction is present.

2~63 Such an obstructlon ls the plunger 92~ actuated by the control devlce 921 whlch indexes the table 86. The lndexing is done at bores 99 whlch are formed lnto the edge surfaces of the table 86. Each of the bores 99 ls located at a polnt where a tray holding devlce 8 is properly located wlth respect to the conveyors 6 or 7. The plunger 920 can lf deslred be spring-blased agalns~ the outer surface of the table 86 so that it i8 automatlcally inserted into the bores 99 upon encountering a bore 99 durlng rotatlon Or the table 86 relatlve to the control device 921. During timed operatlon of the carousel relatlve to the conveyor belts, retractlon of the plunger 920 is accompllshed by a sultable electrlcal or mechanical input to the devlce 921. For example, if an electrlcal signal is used to lndlcate that the conveyor 6 is heading down or the conveyor 7 is heading downward, such lndlcates that the previous tray is full and that a new tray ls needed to be rotated lnto positlon. Such a slgnal can be transmltted electrlcally, for example, or mechanlcally through a llnkage or cam means associated with the movable conveyors. If an electrlcal actuator is used, a solldnold devlce (not shown) could be used to wlthdraw the plunger 920 back toward the device 921 to the posltlon shown ln flgure 19.
Flgure 20 ls a slde elevational vlew of a portlon of the table 86 showing the circular outline of the bore 99.

~2~463 Although a circular outline is used, and a bore is discussed, the indexing means could be any type means, not just a bore. Also, the bore need not be circular but can have any cross-sectional shape desired. For example, an indexing means could include magnets fixed to the table 86 in association wi-th a magnetic locking device such as a fixed plunyer having a strong magnetic or electromagnetic field for retaining -the table in place until withdrawal of the magnet or cessation of the electromagnetlc field. Any other types of indexing means can also be used, since such could be used by anyone of ski]l in the control apparatus art.
Figure 21 shows the indexing means, the plunger 920, in indexed insertion into the bore 99. The table 86 is shown as being partially broken away. The actuating device 921 is shown in figure 21, with the plunger 920 being in its extended position indexing the table 86 by insertion into the bore 99, thus preventing relative movement between the table 86 and tl-,e device 921 which is fixed to a support.
Figure 22 is a side elevational view of the tray holding device 8 of the present invention. A slab-like member 82 is seen in its true side elevational view in figure 22, and is fixed to the table 86 by a bolt 83. A portion of the front ~6~

slab-like member 82 is broken away to show a schematic vlew Or a spring 829 which ls flxedly connected to the table 86 and at lts other end to a portion 812 of the tray holdlng device 8.
A connectlng member 813 connects two of the slab-llke members 82 to one another and to the table 86 by use of the bolt 83. Several bolts can be provided, if desired, and the slab-like members can also be welded if deslred to the table 86. A member o9 proJects above the slab-llke members 82 in flgure 22, the member 89 belng fixedly connected to the portion 812 along a length 819 thereof. The member 89 ls convenlently a rod-like member whlch ls bent lnto a rlght-angle rorm havlng a lower portlon 819 whlch ls preferrably welded or otherwise attached fixedly to the portion 812 of a pivotlng portlon 81 of the tray support devlce 8.
The plvoting portlon 81 pivots about a pivot member 84 whlch ls supported at its ends by the slab-like members 82.
The lowermost end of the plvotable portion 81 is bent at right angles thereto and is adapted for support of a tr-ay thereon. The lowermost portion 811 o~ the pivotable portion 81 is not necessarlly posltioned at ri6ht angles to the portion 81 but can be at other angles thereto lf such ls deslred. The spring 829 is used to pre-load the plvotable member 81 ln a predetermined posltlon, so that upon movement ~Z6246;~

-4~-of the member 89 by an unloading member 961 (shown ln flgures 1 and 2), the s~rlng 829 is deformed and lengthened so as to enable plvoting about the plvot 84 Or the plvotable portlon 81 so that the tray can sllde off the lower portlon 811 and down a chute for subsequent handllng or processlng.
Figure 23 is a top elevational vlew of the tray support devlce taken along llne 23-23 Or figure 22. Thls shows the true length of the uppermost edges of the slab-llke members 82. As seen in flgure 23, a pair of slâb-llke members have pro~ecting ends, and are fixedly connected to the table 86 by the bolt 83. The bolt 83 passes through the connecting portlon 813, whlch is preferrably welded, bolted, or otherwise flxedly secured to both of the members 82 ln the f lgure 23.
The member 89 ls seen as centered upon the plvotable portlon 812 of the plvotable member 81. As seen ln flgure 23, the lowermost portlon ôll ls very long and actually extends beyond each of the slab-llke members 82 for full support of the trays 10. At the angle of view taken along flgure 22, the sprlng member 829 appears schematlcally ln flgure 23 as connected between the portlon 812 ând the connectlng member 813. The pin 84 ls seen as enabllng plvoting of the member 81 relatlve to the slab-llke members 82. The portlon 812 Cân be substantlally nârrower than the space between the slab-like members 82, or it may entirely ~L26~ 3~

-~9_ occupy the space between the slab-llke members 82 so long as lt does not frlctlonally 1nterfere therewlth to any substantial degree. The pivot member 84 can be a rod lnserted through a hole bored into the member 81, or it can be a rod or elongated article having any other cross-sectlonal shape physically attached beneath or atop the lntersection of portions 81 and 812 of the plvotable section.
Flgure 24 ls a front elevational vlew taken along line 2~-24 Or figure 22. The table 86 is shown partially broken away in this view. This view shows the crue edge face surraGe of the lower tray support surface 811. All of the other parts, and their relationships, are as discussed with reference to the above-discussed figures 22 and 23. In figure 24, the support surfaces used for directly contacting the trays 10 Or the slab-llke members 82 are vlsible fully.
Flgure 25 is a top elevational vlew, partially in section, of the unloadlng process as shown by the dotted outline. The member 89 is constrained to move forwardly by the member 961 whlch is fixed by a strut 962 (broken away in sectional view as havlng a clrcular outline in flgure 25).
The dotted path of travel is also shown in figure 25 of the member 89.
Figure 26 shows the result of such movement of the member 89, that is the tilting of the pivotable portion 81 from its solid-outlined position to the dotted-outline ~2~ 3 posltlon shown in rigure 26. The pivotable movement results in the dotted outllne position of the member 89, and the upward movement Or the portion 812 as seen in dotted outllne ` in flgure 26. Also in flgure 6, a slde elevational view of the support strut 962 i9 seen, as is a slde elevatlonal vlew of the fixed member 961~ The member 961 has an unusal arcuate shape to provlde for smooth transition and low frlctional forces between the member 89 and the member 961, Also as seen ln figure 26, the member 961 can be lower at the right-hand portion and higher at the left-hand portion so that a very smooth transitlon can be made to occur wlthout interference between the parts to any undue extent. This ' permits release of the pivotable section 81 after the tray 10 has been unloaded therefrom.
While a chute has been discussed as the unloading means, any other type of unloading means could be used as well and such ls contemplated as being wlthln the scope of the present inventlon. For example, a robot mechanlsm can physically llft out the tray 10 from the devlces 8, or such can be done manually as well. All other types of loadlng and unloading devlces for loadlng trays onto supports for supporting the tray without rigldly supporting the resillent cookie-recelving portions are contemplated as being within the scope Or the present invention. Such devices for handling or conveying are well known to anyone havlng ~kill ~3~. 26 ~6~

in the conveying or material handling arts, and therefore such other devices are properly within the scope of the present in-vention.
Figure 27 is a schematic view of the driving and timing device. It is a side view of two cam members which actuate the struts 611 and 711 in their upward and downward oscillatory move-ments. Also, -the same drive means, such as motor or gasoline engine, is used to drive all of the parts shown in figure 27.
ri'hus, the drive means is common to the accumulator conveyor bel-ts 31, the conveyor belts 40, 61, and 71, as well as operating the pivotable sec-tion 5 of the conveyor 4. Furthermore, the common drive means also in figure 27 operates the cam 37 for actuating the accumulator release fingers 32.
Figure 28 is a top elevational view showing the spatial separation of the two cam members which actuate the struts 611 and 711.
While a specific single drive means is shown, a plural-ity of timed devices could be used to drive each separate moving, pivoting, or rotating device. For this purpose, a standard timing device could be used for properly activating the devices in timed sequence. Other sensing devices, such as devices for sensing weight of the cookies or articles on the conveyors, devices for sensing browning of the cookies or proper size or diameters, devices for rejecting broken or crumbled cookies, any optical, acoustical, or mechanical sensing devices and control devices for performing other operations on the articles or cookies on the ~2~3 :`

conveyor belts, and the like can also be used.
The improved appara-tus of the pres~nt invention is capab]e of achieving the above-enumerated objects, and while pre-ferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed, it will be understood that it is not limited thereto but may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the :Eollowing claims.

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Claims (6)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. An apparatus for handling articles, comprising:
a plurality of trays; individual ones of said trays having resilient article-receiving walls; and a means for supporting individual ones of said plurality of trays; said means for support-ing trays being in supporting contact with individual ones of said trays only along portions of said individual ones of said trays which are not part of said resilient article-receiving walls.

2. An apparatus for handling articles as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
said means for supporting trays having a fixed section and a pivotable section; each of said individual ones of said trays being supported along a bottom edge thereof by said pivotable portion, and being supported along a rear edge thereof by pro-jecting members of said fixed section.

3. An apparatus for handling articles as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:
a means for moving said means for supporting trays to an article loading position; said means for moving said means for supporting trays also moving said means for supporting trays from a loading position to an unloading position.

4. An apparatus for handling articles as claimed in claim 3, further comprising:

said means for moving said means for supporting trays also moving unloaded ones of said means for supporting trays to an empty tray loading position.

5. An apparatus for handling articles as claimed in claim 4, further comprising:
a carousel for rotating said means for supporting trays; said carousel sequentially rotating said means for supporting trays into an article loading position, into a filled tray unloading position, into a position for placing empty trays on said means for supporting trays, and back into said article loading position;
a means for indexing rotation of said carousel, to stop said carousel at said article loading position and at said filled tray unloading position.

6. An apparatus for handling articles as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:
said means for indexing including a stop member which is selectively retractable from an indexing position in a stop member receiving portion of said carousel.