CA1325986C - Apparatus and processes for handling material - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
Material handling apparatus and methods, especially for use with loose stacks of paper and the like in pallets. The inven-tion includes depalletizing apparatus, distributing apparatus, and hopper loading apparatus; and material handling means for transporting material between the depalletizing apparatus, the distributing apparatus, and the hopper loading apparatus. The depalletizing operation includes lateral sliding of layers of a pallet load onto a removal conveyor and then away from the pallet. Significant advantages are achieved by using a special spacing sheet in the pallet load instead of slip sheets and tie sheets. Fingers on the pusher extend below individual layers of the load and into the channels in a spacing sheet, effecting the removal of even the bottom layer of papers in a stack. Similar use of fingers and channels applies to operation of the hopper loader and its control of the bottom papers in the stack.
Accumulator apparatus is used as desired for staging appropriate materials throughout the system. Spacing sheets and empty pallets are automatically removed from the depalletizer, to collection and storage areas.

Description

1 325~86 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to apparatus and method for material handling, and especially for the palletizing and depalletizing of materials, and, optionally, the distribution of those materials to specific locations. The invention especially pertains to apparatus and processes for the handling of stacks of loose materials such as newspaper and loose sheets of paper, and the like, in conjunction with loading the materials onto a pallet and subsequently unloading the materials using a depalletizer, and optionally distributing them to a subsequent work station, and loading them into a hopper.
Apparatus for palletizing bundles of newspaper into a pallet load are known in the art. U.S. Patent No. 4,?04,060 teaches apparatus and methods for palletizing loose stacks of paper such as newspaper. To the inventor's knowledge, apparatus for unloading a pallet load of loose materials is unknown, as is unloading a pallet load by sliding the load off the pallet.
Palletizers have achieved substantial use for loading cases of material onto a pallet in layers typically with a slip sheet on the bottom of the load and tie sheets between the layers. In U.S. Patent No. 4,704,060 there is disclosed palletizing apparatus for loading layers of loose paper, such as sta~ks of newspaper, onto a pallet.

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2~ 21 It i~ Deliev~d th~t the unlo~din~ of p~llst~, ~nd particularly pallet~ of loosely stacked materials, i~
gener~lly done by h~nd. The problem w1th handlin~ loose materials with a pallet unloading apparatus is that each unit of m~terial must be acted upon in some way, by th~
apparatus, to effect the desired movement. With the smal]
thicknesa of, for example, p4per, it i~ e~sy for ~heets near particularly the bottom of a sthck, to be missed by that material handlin~ apparatus which functions ~y ~ction on a ~ide of the stack, at the edges of th~
sheet~. Yet, efficient material h4ndlin4 of thin sheetc typically i~ done through interaction~ at the sheet edges.
P~pers are conventionally taken ~anually from a pallet load and stacked into a hopper for further process-ing. Since remov 1 of nsterial from the pallet load undplacing it in the hopper are manual operations, it would be de~irable to provide apporatu~ to perform each of those, opor~tions, 4s well ~c 4ppurntu~ to transport the m~terial from the dep411etizing 4ppAr~tus to the hopper 104ding apparat It is an ob~ect o thi~ invention to provide appara-tU5 and me~hods for automatically unloading material, and e5~ecially stacks of looae m4teri41a such aa newspaper, ~rom ~ ~llet. In some cmbodimsnt~, the mor-t sfficient unlo4din9 ~o~ina with a particul~r msthod of lo~din~ the it which ic conduciYs to e~sr unlo~din~.

- 3 -Anoth~.r o~.~ect. i5 pro~ision of apparatus and ~roceas for d}strlbuting stacks of material to selected ones of a pi~lrality of workstations.
Yet another ob~ect is provision of apparatus and rrocess ~or loading stacks of paper into a hopper.
Finally. it is an ob~ect o the invention to provide a system of apparatus and process for depalletizing mater- . :
lal. transporting lt to a ~ubaequent workstation, which Tnay be selected from a plurality of workatations, and loading it into a hopper at the workatation~

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2~,~21 SI~MMARY OF THE INVENTION
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These and other ob~ect~ are seen to be embodied in -depalletizing apparatus for removing a load of material -~
from a pallet. The apparatus includes, first, means or -: . .
noldin~ a pallet having a load, in a predetermin~d : -location ,3s by ret~ining bars ~nd otopa about the sides and ends of a pallet, on a pallet carrier. Secondly, the ^i , .: -deDalletizing apparatus includes a removal conveyor which is horizontally, and by vertical pro~ectionr ad3acent to the pallet holding means, although the removal conveyor may ba, and usually i8~ in a plane ~ertically above the pallet. ~hirdly, the apparatus includes a pushin~ means, usually a pushing plate, for puahing the materials off the pallet load and onto the removal conveyor means. The pushing means preferably hao finger extenaions spaced along one edge for pro~ection tow~rd the pallet when the pus~ing means is pu~hing materlal off the pallet.
Particulsrly or uae with pallet loada having a plurality of layers, and wherein the load is to be unloaded a layer at ~ time, the apparatus ha~ the capabil-ity for effectin~ vertical movement o the pallet relative ~o the remoYal conveyor. Either the pallet, or the removal conveyor, or both, may move vertically.
Usually~ in convention~l pallet loadin~, 8 slip sheet is uaed under the bottom layer of material and tie sheets ~re ue~d urlder ~11 other layero In pre~erred em~odiment~

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2~,821 cf t}.e invention. the p~llet lo~d incl~des ~peci~l sp~cing sheets of the invention under each layer of material, in place of ~ slip sheet and tie sheets.
There are many known and contemplated embodiment~ and features of the spacinq sheet. It generally has a first upper facinq surface ha~ing ~ relatively low coefficient of friction. The spacing sheet preferably has an overDll ,. . .
minimum thickne~ of at leaat about 0.25 inch, ~t leaat about 0.375 inch being better, with a preferred thickness of about 0.75 inch, and most prefer~bly about 1.0 inch, or reasons which are explained hereinafter. In the preferred embodiments o the invention, the spacing sheet has sufficient thickne~a and rigldity that movement o the sheet may be prevented while a load is being slid off it, by holding a retainer bar, or the like, against the correaponding edge of the spacing ~heet to keep it fr~m sliding with the load.
The sp~cing sheet usually has a plurality of ~eneral-ly par~llel ch~nnels extending generally acro~s~ its upper surfzce and terminating at one of the top edges. The lower surface may also have a plurality of spaced spart surface elements, which may define a pattern having parallel relationships and a second definable parallel direction. It is preferred that the parallel direction defin~d by the pattern of surface elements on the lower surface be substantislly diferent from the direction of ~he channels in the upper surface: most preferably the two '' , ~,, ., ~ j , . j, .. -,. ...... ... ..

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direction~ sre perpendicul~r to e~ch other. In some embodiment6 the lower f~cin~ curfoce h~ more csp~bility to resiat sliding thsn does the upper surface. This m~y t~ke the form of a hlgher coefficient of friction. It msy 5~150 t~ke the for~ of 8 mu~ltiplicity of pro~ections from the lower surf~ce. - . -The ~p~cin~ ~heet ~ay comprise first cnd second aheeta of corrug~ted media f~stened to esch other st e co~on interf~ce, to form the apacin~ sheet, with the corrug~tion~ facing outwardly from the common inter~ace.
In the e e~bodiments the corrug~tions in the ~edis sre aub~t~nti~lly perpendiculsr to esch other, snd o th~ckness of st le~at ~bout 0.375 inch ia preferred. - --In preferred psllet losding of the invention, the ~p~cing sheet i~ oriented in the p~llet lo~d auch that the -ch~nnela in the upper aurfsce sre generslly sligned wlth wh~t will be the remov~l direction of the removcl conveyor in depslleti-ing operstions uaing this inventlon.
Preferred dep~lletizing Jpp~rstus of the invention 20includes a retaining mesns for preventing movement of ~n underlying portion of the psllet load, such ag a sp~cin~
~heet ~nd underlying layer~ of m~terial, while an over~
- lylng portlon of the load ls being removed. It is -preferred th~t the retaining me~ns ia ~ ~r, ~nd th~t it 25be comp~tible with surfsce-to-surface cont~ct with sn edae of the apscing aheet when contents of the psllet losd sre being removed.
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In conjunction with the use of the removal conveyor, the depalletizing apparatus may use a spacing conveyor at the discharge end of the removal conveyor. The spacing conveyor is driven at a faster linear speed than the linear speed of the removal conveyor. Finally, there may be a take-away conveyor at the discharge end of the spacing conveyor. The take-away conveyor has a direction of conveyance generally angular, and preferably perpendicular, to the direction of conveyance of the spacing conveyor.
In a preferred embodiment, the invention comprises a depalletizing apparatus for removing a load of material from a pallet, the load comprising at least one layer having a trailing surface, the trailing surface having a height dimension and a width dimension, the depalletizing apparatus comprising:
(a~ means for pushing the load in a predetermined direction from the pallet one layer at a time at a predetermined feed location, the pushing surface (l) having height and width dimensions generally corresponding with those of the load lay r trailing surface, and, (2) having a lower edge and a plurality of laterally spaced fingers depending from the lower edge, (b) a spacing sheet under each layer of the pallet load, the sheet having an upwardly facing surface provided with a plurality of generally parallel spaced channels :' . ' ~' ~J

r 7 1 325~86 -^:., :, thereacross andwith uppermost sheetportions , ,.: .. ...
therebetween disposed against the bottom surface of a load layer thereon, the channels . .
being disposed in general alignment with the 5predetermined load pushing direction and having a spacing corresponding substantially -~
to that of the fingers, . :
(c) means for positioning the pallet having the .
load in a predetermined load layer removal ;
, lOlocation with respect to the pushing means ~: -to dispose the lower edge of the continuous ::.
pushing surface close to but spaced from the ~
uppermost spacing sheet portions with the .
fingers engaging a minor lowermost portion 15of the layer trailing surface, and with the ;.:.
. , fingers extending into the channels of the .~:.
spacing sheet and beneath the lower surface of the load layer, and (d) means precluding movement of the spacing :~
sheet in thepredetermined pushing direction, -~
whereby the load layer is readily and fully pushed from the pallet to leave the spacing sheet thereon for ;:
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subsequent handling. ~.
Preferred embodiments also include means for removing . -~5the spacing sheet from the top of the remainder of a pallet --load, and means for moving it laterally away from the pallet~
They also include means for removing an empty pallet from the pallet holding area, and pallet collecting means, including a ~ , .
JJ: 8a ' 1325986 carriage and carriage lift means for lifting a pallet from a lower position of the carriage lift means into the bottom of a stack of pallets, whereby the pallet becomes part of the stack, and pallet stack holding means for holding a stack of pallets above the carriage lift means as determined when the carriage lift means is in the lowered position.
Some embodiments of the depalletizing apparatus have a plurality of pallet holders on a pallet carrier, such that a plurality of pallets may be loaded onto the pallet carrier for feeding pallet loads, or parts thereof, through the depalletizer.

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~,8~1 T;ne dsp~lleti~inq ~pp~r~tus m~y ~lso include ~ -~
~iurallty ~f accumulators beyond the discharge locus of tne removal conveyor.
The invention includes methods o~ removing a losd of material from a pallet. The steps include holding the r,allet in ~ predetermined feed location, pushing material, - -wrlic~, is on the pallet, off the pallet load and ontc, a -~
removal conveyor, and conveying the material away from the pallet. ~or most efective operation of the removal, the relative vertical height o the p~llet and remo~al conveyor are ad~usted or effective sliding of a row of the pallet load onto the conveyor. L{kewise, it is aesirable that underlying portions o~ the pallet loacl be `-~ :
held, ~o they are prevented from moving off the pallet 8g ': , the top row is being pushed of~ Typical holding is by means of a retaining bar in surace-to-surf~ce contact with either ~n edge of the spacing sheet or a portion of the underlying layer.
The ~dv~nt~g~s ~nd fautur~s of the inv~ntion ~re most eaaily seen when the invention is applied to a load o~ -material which i~ loosely stacked on the pallet; and particularly loosely stacked newspaper or ne~paper - sections. ~n this ~se, the mo~ement of an entire layer of stac~ed newspaper, for example, requires the p~shing of ~5 the paper by a pusher at every elevation alon~ the r~eight cf 3 st~ck. In ~ convention~l p~shin~, the ~ottom o~oers ~y slip und0r th0 push0r. In this in~ntion, g _ 21 ~
~,eci~l s~cinq aheet is u~ed under the loo~ely atacked mater;al. The sDacing sheet has a plurality of gener~lly .~r~ 1 ch~nnels in its top surf~ce: and the top of the ~Dacinq sheet is su~stantially coincident with the bottom of the overlying layer. The pusher has a plurality of fingers which extend into the channels. -- -. . ~ . .
The bottom~ of the ch~nnels and the ends of the fi~ers are ooth below the ~ottom of the layer being pushed, such that the pusher efectlvely puahes the bottom of the leo stack as well as the middle snd top of the looae stack.
A method of the invention typically includes dis-charging the ~aterial from the remov~l conveyor onto a spacing conveyor which is running at a higher linear speed than the removal conveyor: and finally the material may be ~is~harged from the spucin~ conveyor onto a take-away conveyor for conveysnce in a direction generally angular tG the direction of convey~nce of the sp~cin~ conv0yor, pre~erably in a dlrection perpendicular to the direc-tlon of conveyance of the apacing conveyor.
After re~oval o the contenta of a layer of the load, the underlying spa~ing aheet, now on top of the load is removed by liftin~ the spscing ~heet and moving it laterally ~ay from the pallet. The pallet height may then De ad3usted, as necea~ry, to preaent the next layer at a vertical height cooperative with sliding movement o the neY.t layer onto the removal conveyor. The above steps ~f presenting and unloading layers are repeated until the '~' -'-13259~6 21 ~ -llet is empty, inclu~ing removi~l of the l~t sp~in~
sheet. The empty pallet is then removed laterally from re lec~tic.n to ~ carriage in a pallet collector. There ~he Dallet is lifted on the carriage into the bottom of a 5stack of ~allets whereby the pallet becomes part of the ~;
st~ck. The stack is held there above the carriage by stack holdlng means, In ~nothsr embodimsnt o~ the method, a plurality of ~,ailet ioads may be staged sequentially into tha depallet~
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10lzer ~or partial depalletizing. Specifically, when a ` -portion of a pallet load, such as a layer, has been -removed, the pallet, and its remaining load, are moved :: :,--. :.
from the fead location and a second pallet and its load are brought to the eed location snd any necessary height 15~?l~stment made. MateriMl is then pushed off the second load and onto the removal conveyor. Additional psllet lo~ds or lo~d portion~ are Gequenced into the feed ~ocatlon as desired, preferably by u~e of a p~llet carrier wnich carries the affected pallets to and rom the feed 20location. As material is re~oved from the several pallet loads~ it may be fed to a corresponding number o~ accum~-1 at ors ~
The msthod of the in~ention has its ~eginninq in the loading o~ the material onto the pallet. An important 25~art o;~ the invenlion, as it appliea to u~-e with 1005ely -.' ' `' stacked 3rticles such as newspaper, is in placing one of .he s~eci~l sp~cinq she~t~ of the invention, h~vin~ tho - 11 -- .

2~3~A21 .-rl.~nn~ n ths top fiurf~ce, ~Inder each layer, such th~t the top surface of each spacing sheet is coincident wlth th~ bottom of the corresponding overlying layer. The ~macing sheets on any given pallet load are oriented accoraing to the direction predetermined to ~e the direction of sliding movement when the material on the spacing sheets is removed.
The advantages of the invention are seen in unloading the pallet. The pallet is held in po~ition, is adJ~sted ~or vertical height, and the top layer is pushed of.
Fingers on the pusher extend into the channels, effect- -lvely reaching below the lower-most paper in the stack, such that the entire stack i8 reli~bly removed from the ;
D Zl 1 1 et .
Another em~odiment of the invention is in ~ lo~dad pallet using special spacing sheets of the invention. The pallet is loaded with one or more layer~ of m~terial, and at tne bottom of each layer ia a spacing sheet. The load, -~
th~n, from bottom to top is:
2G (a~ pallet ;~ ~-(b) spacing sheet ~c) layer of material ~d) spacing sheet (e) layer of material alt~rnatin~ spacing sheets with layers of material.
.~noth~r portion of the invention is in a m~thod of nandlinq pallets with a pallet handling device. The fir-~t ~fl,a21 zte~ in the method is liftins a pallet by a carriage from a lower position to a higher position at the bottom o~ a stack of pallets which are being held by a pallet stack nolder. The pallet stack holder has a plurality of flngers for holding the stack. As the pallet is lifted by the carria~e the fingers are withdrawn from the stack and the pallet is lifted into the bottom of the stack thereby becoming a part of the stack. The flngera are then reinserted into the stack, namely into that bottom pallet which has ~ust been lifted into the stack, thus ho1ding the stack once a~ain. The carriage may then be returned to its lower position.
The pallet handling device includes a drive means which has a circular motion member attached to the carriage. The circular motion member ~lso has a cam on it for interaction with the stack holder. The method inclu~es drivin~ the circul~r motion member in on~
direction one rotation to collect ~ pallet rom the carria~e lower position into the atJck, and driving the circular motion means in the opposite direction one rotation to dispense a pallet from the stack onto the carriage and lower the carriage to the lower position.
Another portion o the invention is in a distributor for distributing loose stacks o material. The distri~
butor has a staging area, means for receiving material onto the staging area at a firat elevation, means for chan~ing the st~ging area to a second elevation and 1 325986 ~ 21 rt~tin~ it about ~ vertic~l axis, means f~r chan~in~ the elevation of the staqing area from the second elevation after rotation ~bout the vertical axis, and means for ~iacharqin~ material from the staging area. Typically the means ~or receiving and discharging the material is a two--way conveyor. The procesa for using the distributor is as indicated in the functional description of its varlous parts.
Another portion of the invention i-~ in a hopper lo~der. The loader ha~ receiving mean~ for receiving load of material onto the lo~der. When the loader has A
load of material on it the receiving means is under the load and supports the lo~d. The hopper further has means fnr laterally moving the receiving means out from under the received material, and reatr~ining mean~ for prevent-inq l~ter~l movement o the materinl with the receiving ~eans during the later~l movement of the receiving meana~
Particularly where the hopper loader ia to ~e us~d with looee stscks o papers, the receiving means has a definable top surface, which may be conpoaed of ~ plural-ity of surface elements, having a plurality of chsnnel me~ns therein extendin~ in tho direction of later~l ~ovement of the receiving me~ns. Where the receivin~
me~3ne haa the ch~nnels in it~ top surface, the restraining ~eans may have a plurality o fingers extending into the ch~nnzla. The receiving means typically is a roller conYeyor with the rollers including the above described 2~,821 cr,~nnels. The roller conveyor and the restraining me~na typically are connected to a common framework. The hopper lc,~der m~y include an accumulator, as in the form of a driven conveyor for feeding a load of materi~1 onto th receiving means.
The lo~ding of ~ hopper, u~ing the hopper conv~yor, - -~
begina by receiving a lo~d of material onto the receiving meana. Where the driven conveyor i~ uaed the material is received first onto the driven conveyor and ia delivered from the driven conveyor onto the receiving m~na. Wh~n the material is received on the receiving means it ia -su~ported ~r the receiving means. The recei~ing ~esna i~ -;
then laterally moved out from under the material whil~ ~ -areventing the later 1 movement of m~terial with the ~ -;
receiving means during that lateral movement. The . .;:
material ia prevented from moving ~y the restraining means - -whic}. is properly positioned for r~tr~ining the materi- :
~1. ' :,.-Another portion of the inv~ntion i~ embodied in ~
co~ination of ~pp~ratus for distributing materi31 to a plurality of workst-tions and loading that material into hoppers at the workstations. The apparatus, then, -~
includes a distributor for distributing a plurality of ~ -- lo~s of materi~l to a plurality of work~tations, by ~5 receiving the material onto a ~taging area, and changing ~ `
the elevation of that staging area ~nd rotating it about vertical ax7s in order to present it to the appropriste - 1 325986 :::
2e workst~tion, ~nd adJ~cent disch~rge loci of the di~tribu-tor, hopper loadera c~pable of roceiving ~teri~l dia-charged fro~ the distributor ~nd lo~ding it into th~
re3pective hoppera The bopper lo~dera ~ay co~prise ~ncu~ul~tore between the difftributor and receiving ~re~ of the hoppor lo~der The hopper lo~der~ a~y further include level detector~ for detecting the lev-l o~ a~teri~l in a gi~en hopper The invention i~ also s-on to be eabodied ln ~ ~y~tem of ~tori~l h~ndling ~pparotus which co~priso- ~ dep~llet-lzer, ~ di~tributor for roc-ivlng a~teri~l fro~ the dep~lletizer ~nd distributing it to ~ elect-d one of the plur~lity of workat~tiona, ~nd ~ lo~dor for lo~ding ~torial into ~ hopp-r ~t e~ch of th- workst~tions The ~ystem ~y option~lly includ- ~ccuaul~tor app~r~tua between the dopalletizer ~nd the dl-tributor ~nd between the distributor ~nd the lo~d-r In the proc-r- of u-lng thl- ayst~ t-ri~l ia d~p~llotized fro~ ~ p~llot lo~d by ~osns o~ pushing ele~ents oi the lo~d off tho lo~d snd dolivering the~ to di~tributor The distributor diatribut-- ooch lo~d ele~nt to one of a plur~lity of work st~tions nnd the corro~ponding hopper losder of the work at~tion Th~
correffpondin~ lo~dorc lo~d th- lo~d ele~onts into tho corrosponding hopp~rs The d~p~llotizin~ ~pp~rstus r~y doli~or load olo~onta to one or ~oro sccu~ul~tors betwoon tho dop~ll~tizor ~nd .. , - ~, : . , - ~ - -28,8 the dictributor The load el-~ent~ ~r- th-n r-le~od fro~
the accuaulatora to tho diatributor at tho ~pproprlate ti~e The diatributor ~ay deliver tho load ~I-aents to ~ccu~ul~tora on the reapoctivo hoppor lo~der~ Tho lood ele~on~s arQ thon doliverod froa the accurulator to the .::
hopper loader rec~iving ~o~n- ~t tho appropri~to ti~e ~

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1 325~86 28,~21 ~RIEF ~F~RIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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FIGURE 1 shows ~ top view of an overall layout including material handling ayatem of this invention.
FIGURE 2 shows a side elevation view o a dep~llet~
izer of the invention h~ving a pallet in position for 5unlo~ding a portion o the pallet lo~d.
FIGURE 3 shows a top view of the depalletizer of ;~
FIGURE 2.
FIGURE 4 show~ ~ pictori~l ~iew of ~ spacin~ r-heet of this invention; while FIGURE 4A ahowa ~ pictorial view of 10the ~ottom of ~ portion of the apscing sheet of FIGURE 4.
FIGURE 5 ahows a losded p~llet wherein the load . ::::: . .
includes spacing ~heets of FIGURE 4. `~
FIGURE 6 shows u side ele~ation viaw us in FIGURE 2 with the top layer being pushed of the pallet.
15FIGURE 7 is ~ partial ele~tion YieW taken at 7-7 of - -FIGURE 6.
FIGUkE 8 is a side elevation view as in FIGVRE 6 with ~he pallet having been further rAised for removal of the ;-bottom layer.
20FIGURE~ g ~nd 1~ show ths su~ponsion of p~llets in the vallet collector.
:, FIGURES 11 and 12 show the mech~nical connection ~etween the drive motor, the lifting c~rriage, and the ~allet holding fingers, all in the psllet collector.
25FIGURE llA show~ the method of use of such ~pp~ratus in th~ prior ~rt.

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~IGURE l~ show the side elev~tion view of ~ m~teri~
distributor of thi~ invention.
FI~U~E 14 show ~ p~rtially cut-~w~y side elev~tion ~iew o a hopper loader of the invention.
FIGURE 15 shows the hopper loader of FIGURE 14 taken at 15-15 of FIGURE 14.
FIGU~ES 16, and 17 show the hoppor lo~d0r of FI~URES .
14 and 15 in oper~tion, ~s it receives ~ stack of m~terial and lo~d~ it into the hopper.
. ~.:, FIG~ shows the hopper lo~der in its re~t :~
po~ition during the feeding of the material through the . . .
hopper. :~ -.

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l 325q86 28,821 ~ETAILE~ ~ESCRIPTION OF_SHE lLLU5TRATED E~BO~IMENT
-. ~ ' Th~ ~torial h~ndling ay-t-~ of tho lnv-ntion addr~ssas tho oporations of unlo~ding ~ p~llot, in ~o~o c~e~ aepnrating le~nt~ of th- losd ro~ oach othor, or ~le~ent~ of a plur~lity of lo~da froa e~ch othor, diatri- ;
buting th~ ~ovoral lo~d- to ~ ct~d ono- of ~ plur~lity `~
o~ work~tationa, and lo~ding th- lo~d ~ ents into hoppsre ~t th- workst~tion~ In de~ling with theae ~:
v~riou~ aapects, th- in~entor h~ ~ddro--~d a plur~lity of pro~le~, nnd h~s dovoloped olutions to thoae probl~n-Thue tho do~cription b-roin nddr--s-~ ~ plur~lity of : ............................................................................ ... . .
portiona o thQ inv~ntion Sho ov all inv~ntion i8 illuetr~tod in ~ top viow in FI~URE 1, wh-r-in app~ratu~
'"'-''--' - -of th~ ~terial h~ndling ~yston is g-nor~lly indic~ted 8~
10 Tho ~torial handling sy~ton includ~- thro~ b~ic oo~pon~nt~, n~n~ly ~ depsll-tiz-r 12, a di~tributor 1~, and hoppor lood-r- 16 Sh- y-t-~ optlon~lly includo~
~ plur~lity of accu~ul~tors 18 b-tw--n d-p~lletizQr 12 ~nd di~tributor 14 The g-nor~l flow of n~t-ri~l in the ~aterial handling ~yst-u i- fron tho d-psllotizor 12 to one or ~ore of tho ~ccu~ulotora 18, frou the ~ccurulator 18 to di-tributor 14, fro~ distributor 14 to sn appropri-:,:
~te o~e of tha hopp-r lo~dor~ 16 , -.' ,' :
' ,,'' 1 3 2 5 9 8 6 ~ 21 THE ~EPALLETI~ER

FIGURES 2 and 3 ~how ~ide elevation and top views o the pri~ry component~ of a preferrad depslleti~er of the inven~ion.
The dep~lletizer 12 i~ useful for removin~ st~ckc 20 or other layera, of moterials auch as paper~, from a pallet load 22 ~nd delivering them onto ~ re~oval conveyor : ::- -24 for transport aw~y from the pallet. Spacing conveyor --.
26 is at the dischsrge end of the conveyor 24, n~mely that end of conveyor 24 which is remOtQ from the pallet load 22. T~ke-away conveyor 28 is ~t the discharge end of spacing conveyor 26.
The dep~lletizer 12 includea a fr~me 30 having generally vertic~l members or po~t~ 32~ Po-ts 32 ~re ~onnect~d in the upper portion o~ ~he depalletizer by a plurality of upper horizontal frame member~ 33. The dep311etizer includea a load ret~lner 34 mounted ~dJacent rsmoval conveyor 24. The depslletizer urther includes ~
pusher 36 h&ving finger~ 38. Puaher 36 i~ mounted on the end of rod 40 of retractable cylinder 42. Cylinder 42 i~
~ounted to frame 30 at horizontal member 43. Optionally a s~cond, and comp~nion, cylinder 42 may be used on th~
opposite sid~ of the depolletizer and imilarly connected to ~usher 36. Pu~her 36 i~ rotated about its axis of ~ot~tion by ~ctiv~tion of cylinder 44, een in ~IGURE 3.
A p~ilet c~rrier 46 has o plur~lity of pallet ta~las

4~ ~or receiYin~ p~llet loads ~2. E~ch pallet table has ~

1 325986 ::
2~,~21 plur~lity of p~llet quides 50 for locating the pallet into an appropriate position when it is lo~ded onto the pallet table. Appropriate ones of p~llet guides 50 are retract-able in a nor~al manner, in order to f~cilitate loading o the pallets onto the pallet tables. C~rrier tr~ck 52 is ~
track~ or other ~ppropriately defined means of guiding ths movements of carrier 46.
Each pallet table haa a liting me~ns~ auch ~s the scissor~ ~ck 54 shown.

Removal conveyor 24 i8 preferably compriaed of one or more endless belts 56 which move in a generally horizontal poaition, to pick up and transport material removed from the pallet load 22. Removal conveyor 24 transports the ~aterial tow~rd~ ap~cing conveyor 26 ~ ahown by the arrows in FIGURE 3 ~nd dischargea the m~terial onto spacing conveyor 26. Spacing conveyor 26 is preferubly co~prised o one or more endles3 be}tQ S8. Sp~cing ConVQyOr 26 tr~naporta the msterlsl in ths aame gener~
direction ~s removal conveyor 24~ and at a higher rate of speed, and di~chargea it onto take-away conveyor 28.
Take-away conveyor 28 collects the material and takes it ~ ::. ..
away rom the dep~lletizer ~rea.
Side guides 60 seen in FIGURE 3 on either side o conveyors ~4 and 26 cont~in the m~terial, guide it, and prevent i~ from alling off the sides of conveyors 24 and ~6. -1 325986 28,821 In th~ proferred o~bodi~-nt~ of d-pnll-tizing ~c~ording to th- lnv-ntion, the pallet load 22 a~ n in FIGURE 5 is ~d~ up of ono or ~or- layora 62 of ~4toriol E~ch lay~r Ray includ- ~ plurality of ~taeks, bundlea, or ca~es 20 or the liko, of ~atorlal FIGURE 5 ~howa two --~
14y~r~ 6~ of looae aat-rial, aueh ~- new~p~por, aeh lay-r 62 having tw-l~e tack- 20 Und-r aeh lay-r 62 ia a ~p4cing h--t 66 A~ b~t ~-en in FIGURE 4, ~pacing h-et 66 ha- an upp~r fnclng ~urfaco 68 having 4 plurality of g~n-rally psr41101 ehann-la 70 ~xtonding g-n rally acro~ tha uppor surfaco ~ low0r fsoing surfac- 72 haa a plurality of -~
ch~nnola 74 oxtending g n r~lly aero ~ it- low r urfae~
Th0 upp-r and lower faeing urfae-a of paeing ah--t 66 ~re g~nerally d~fin d at th- oxtr-~iti-- of thos ~urfae a ~ ;-th-y aro farths~t pae d fro~ ach othor Thus th~
upp~r and low-r faeing urfaco~ ar- phy-ically dl eontinu- ~
ou~ ov~r th- nr-a~ of ehann-l- 70 and 74, but ar- gon-ral- ~ -ly doinod a~ tho plano in whieh tho phy-ieal upp~r and lower f~ing urfaea l-a-nt- ro~id- -Channol~ 70 and 74 in th- upp~r nnd lowor urfaeQs reap~etively ~r~ oriont d p rp ndieular to ~eh othQr in tho preforrsd n-thod of using spaelng hoæt~ 66 in the depall~tizing op~ration A~ n in FI6U~E ~ ont- of low~r surfnco 72 ~ay hnvo proJ~ction- 76 th-r-on Tho pro~eGtion- ~y oo~pri~ roughn-s~ of th~ ~urfnc~ of th- ~t~ri~l fro~ ~ -- 23 - ~

~ 1 325986 ~821 which th~ elo~ont~ of the lowcr ~urfuce ar~ ~do It ray altern~tely include rat-rid ~ ~dhorad to tbe olorenta o~
th~ lower surf~ce 72 Typical of such ~ateri~ls would b~
~and, grlt, or the llko, adh~si~ely att~ch~d to the ~urf~ce ele~ent~ -Referring now to FIGURE S, it is ~oen th~t upper ch~nnel~ 70 in tho upp-r ~pacing sh-ot 66 urs orisnted in tho ~e direction ~a upper ch~nn-l- 70 ln tha lower apMcing ~heet 66 It will be ~o-n horein~ftor th~t, in ;;
~o~e e~bodi~ents of the in~-ntion, th- oriQnt~tion of ch~nnel 70 deter~ines th- direction in which th~
l~yerG sre prqfor~bly r-~ov-d ~ro~ th- p~llet Thua when all ~ateri~l ia to be ~o~-d th- sa- dir-ction, ~ll tho ~ -~p~cing ah~et~ 66 hould be orient~d in th- s~o direc-tion The depnllotiz-r 12 furth-r includo- ~ p~llot collsctor 78 so~n in FIGURE~ 9, 10, 11, and 12 Th- -~
p~llet collector has a drivo r~an~ not hown conn ct~d to ~ -a p~ir of diska 80 on eith~r sid- of tho p~llet collector, 2~ one of which i~ ~hown $n FI6URE 11 E~ch di~k has n stud 82 conn-ctod to ~ p~ir of ch~in- 84 which p~a ~round pullcys 86 ~nd aro ~tt~ch0d to p~ll~t c~rri~ge 88 Disk ao also ho~ ~ can 90 which int-rnct-wi~h ca~ follower 92 ~a di-k 80 i- rot~tod ~ ollower 92 i~ ~tt3ched to rod 94 which i- rot~t~bly ~ounted to fr~o 96 of the p~llot coll~ctor Ar~ 98 ~xt nd fro~ rod g4 ~nd hold fingors lO0, which extend through slots 102 1 32 59 ~ 6 28~821 ~nd proJ~ct ov~r ~rri~ge 88 os ~e-n in FIGURE 9 ~s aeen in FIGURE 12, pring 104 exQrts pro-auro b0twe~n br~cket 106 ~nd nr~ 98 such th~t fingor- 100 ~ro nor~lly h~ld, by th~ pr~ssure of tbo spring~ 104, in 8 po~ition proJecting over c~rri~go 88 ~ aeen in FIGURE 9 Aa a~-n in FI6UR~S 9 ~nd 10, tho fingora 100 ~r- thus urg~d into the at~ck of p~llot-, ~nd hold th- poll-ta ~ ~eon in When ~ p~llot is r-cei~-d on ¢arria~- ~8, disk 80 i~
pow~red through o ~ingl~ r-volution in tho diroction shown by th~ arrow on di~k 80 in FIGURE 11 A- the disk rot~t~s, stud 82 lifts on ch4in~ 84 thus lifting carri~g~
8~ toward ing~rs 100 ~a th~y proJ~ct into tho pall~t receiving ~r~ C~ 90 ncount-r~ follow-r 92 a- it r~ch~ tho top of th- disk dur~ng th- dl~k rot~tion At - ~ -about ~h~ ~Q~O ti~o, tud 82 h4s r-~ch-d approxl~at-ly th~
three o'clock position on disk 80, ~- it i~ liftiny c~rringo 88 throu~h choin- 84 ~nd pull-y~ 86 Caa 90 coaprisa~ ~n o~tr~ thlckno-a to di-k 80 ~- c~a 90 int~rsctA with follow-r 92, follow r 92 is forcod outword-ly fro~ diak 80, thua rot4ting rod 94 and th~r~by r-tract-ing fing~r~ 100 through arns 98, fro~ thoir po~ition ovor c~rriage 88 thu~ providing ~ clear p~th for carri~ge 88 to lift the p~llot which i- on it into tho bottoa of ~5 ~h~ ~-t ck of pd lots such ~s th4t which is s- n in FIGUR~S
~ and 10 By tho ti~o atud 82 h~s r~uchad tho top o~ disk B~ ca~ gO i~ no longor inter4ctin~ with co~ ~2, ~nd - 2~ -','~

1 3259~6 2~,~21 ;~ ~
~prin~a 10~ have puahed fingera 100 b~ck into the pall~t stack, thus capturing the lower- ~ost pullet in the atack which has been poaitioned there by carriage 88. With the continued rotation of diak 80, carriage 88 i5 again iowered to it~ lower poaition aa seen in FIGURE 11;
while fingers 100 continue to hold -11 the p~lleta including the p~llet which has ~ust been n~wly lifted into the bottom of the at~ck, thereby ~kin~ it ~ p~rt of th~
st~ck o pallet~.
10The prior art appsr~tus aeen in ~IGURE llA i~
believed to be structurally very simllar to the pallet collector of FIGURES 11 and 12. The primary differenc*

known to the inventor ia in the oper~tion of the appara- ~ ~
,. ,,,, ., i. ., tua; wherein the app~ratua of the prior art was used aa a ~ : ..:-. .....
15 pallet diapenser and wherein the diak operated in a ;

clockwiae ~nner for firat raising the c~rrisge, and while ,!,~
I ' . .'....
the carriDge waa in the r~ised poaition, c~mming the ~ ~
.. . .
~ingers out of the p~llet at~ck ~nd then c~m~ing the~ b~ck .. . . .
in n~ the csrri~ge wsa lowered. In the psllet colle~tor '~

of the invention diak 80 ia rotated counter-clockwise, , . -- . . ..
such that, a~ the c~rriage ia r~iaed, th- fingers 100 are - retracted fro~ the pallet at~ck auch that ~n addition~l pallet can be added to the atsck from the bottom. The pallet fingera are then reinaerted into the pallet atack when the c~rriage is near ita upper~oat poaition accompan-ied by the rot~tion of the diak. ~
.,~, . .
,. : .

'.

1325986 2~.821 : ;-Referring now to FIGURES 1, 2, 6, cnd 8, n ~pacing ::.
aheet removal cpparotus 108 1~ att~ched through cppropri~
ate aupport~ to one or more of upper horizontal frame :
~e~ber~ 33. The epacing ~heet remover 108 include~ M
prlmary re~over rame 110 'and a pickup framework 112 ~ncluding ~uction cup~ 114. Pickup fromework 112 i8 , .
: . ,` ,.
~tt~ched to frame 110 through ch~ins 116 and pulleys 118. ; .
Chalns 116 extend fron ramework 112 over pulleys I18 to ~otor 120. Motor 120 dispenses ~nd winds up chalns 116 lO ln rol~ing and iowering plckup framework 112. Plckup ~::
.: ..
fr~mework llZ, chain~ 116, pulley~ , Dnd motor 120 are ~:~
~lld~bly mounted on fr~me 108 ~uch th~t they can be moved along frome 108 ~uch a~ to the phantom posltion ag ahown ln FIGURE 2.
FIGURE 2 ~howa the dep~lletizer ,wlth ~ loaded pallet :: . ::: -havlng been put in loc~tion on a pallet tcble 48 end .:
.- .
ral~ed ~nto o po~ition for unlo dlng. The pallet l~ held .:-:
.
ln lt~ po~itlon by atop~ 50- The apaclng ~heet 66 under .
the top l~yer 62 of the locd l~ ~g~in~t retainer 34. .
20 Referring now to FIGURE 6, pu~her 36 ha~ been rotated i -~
.. .
downwurdly into contact wlth the lo~d and 1~ puahlng layer .~:
6~ of lGad 22 onto remo~al conveyor 24. A~ best ~een in FI5URE 7, flnger~ 38 on pu~her ~6 extend into the channel~
- ~ . .
70 on the upper ~urf~ce of ~pacing aheet 66, ln~urlng ~
25 that the bottom ~heet~ of ~aterial on l~yer 62 ~re pu~hed .::
along with th~ m~terial ~ it i~ remo~ed from the p~llet and onto con~eyor 24. . ~-~
'.~. :' , :.

A dep~llntiziny opar~tlon will now be de~cribed in a~quence. A looded pcllet la lo~dsd onto o p~llet t~ble.
The p~llet is poaitioned through eng~ge~ent of atopa 50.
If the re~pective p~llet t~ble 48 on whlch the p~llet h~a be~n looded la not horlzont~lly edJ~cent renov~l conveyor 24 auch th~t lt c~n be r~i~e'd to ~ positlon directly ~d~cent the re~ov~l convsyor then c~rrler ~6 18 ~oved ln tho appropri~te dlrectlon to bring the p~llet lnto posltlon horlzont~lly od~cent re~ov~l c~nveyor 24.
"~orizont~lly ~d~cent" refera to a posltlon pro~ected onto the floor without respect to the ~erticul loc~tion of the p~llet ~nd the renovol conveyor. Once the loaded .
p~llet ~nd ita psllet toble h~ve been brought lnto poaitlon horlzont~lly ndJ~csnt re~ov~l conveyor 24 psllet t~ble 48 ~nd the p~llet wlth lts load ~re ralsod lnto poaitlon phyalcolly ~d~ocsnt renovol conveyor Z4 c~ aeen in FI5URE 2. In th~t poaitlon the botton of l~yer 62 1~ ~ore or lea~ level wlth belt 56 on re~ovol conveyor 24~ Preferobly the botto~ o~ the top loyer la sllghtly ~bove the pl~ne of belt 56. Cylinder 44 i~ then ~ctlvsted . .~ .
~ov~ng puaher 36 lnto ~ vertlc~l poaitlon. Cyllnder 42 la ~ctlv~ted withdr~wing rod 40 ~nd dr~wlng pusher 36 with ~t thu pushing the top l~yer 62 off the lo d 22 ond onto r~o~l conveyor 24. As pusher ~6 pushe~ the l~yer off fingera 38 extend below the botto~ of the l~yor ~nd into ch~nne~ 70 to ~n~ure th~t the bottom nen~er~ of the l~yer ~re ~oved concurrently. See FIGURE 7. -Whlle oontents '-~
- 2~ -- .

1 325~86 28 82l of th~ pallet are boing puehed off, retslner 34 abut~
ap.~cing ~h~et 66 ~long one of lta edgea, ~nd prevent~ lt, ~nd the rest of the losd, froa being puahed off the pallet ~t the ~ane tl~e.
Wher~ loo~e ~at~risls, ~uch ~ stacks of new~paper~, ~re ~eing depslletized, it 1~ i~portcnt th~t retainer 3~
b~ ~blo to reatraln nove~ent cf ~sterlala underlylng the ~ateri~l being ~o~ed, by ~eons of ~ sp~cing ~heet. In ordsr for ret~lnor 34 to sct ~pproprl~tely on ~ sp~clng 1~ ~heat, the sp~clng ~heet ~ust hove enough thlckne~s ~nd rlgidlty th~t lt can be poaitloned in aurfcce-to-aurfsce contact with retalner 34, and ~ointsin thst cont~ct whlle - ;
the overlylng l~yer la belng re~oved, wlthout ~llppsge, buckllng, or other d~sgQ to the apaclng aheet or the rat~lner. A ~inl~u~ thlcknesa for apcclng aheet 66 la ~bout 0.25 lnchea. Thlnner apDcing aheets could concel~
~bly be uaed, but the difflculty in properly loc~ting the~
vertlcully with respect to retsiner 34 ~akea their use l~pr~ctlc~l. A ~paclng aheet:hsvlng a thicknea~ of 0.375 inCheB i8 better. 0.75 lnches i8 pre~erred, ~nd thlck-neaaea ~a high na 1 lnch sre contenplsted a~ bsing practical. Thickneas gre~ter than 1 inch will work, but ap~cing aheet~ of tho~e de~lgna would be excen~ively co~tly ~nd would unnsceas~rlly lncres~e th~ over~ll height of the pallet load~ ~n which they sre uaed.
After the top layer ia re~oved, psllet table 48 ia r~ised to ~n ~pproprl~te height for re~ov~l of the ~ . , ~. . . . . . .

1 325986 ~B,821 undsrlying lsyer Pickup fra~-work 112 of ap~cing sh-et r~over 108 co~ea down to op~cing ahoet 66 ~nd picka it up ~y suction cups 114 After spacin~ sh--t 66 is adoquat-ly r~i~d, it i~ mo~ed lsterolly ~w-y fro~ tho p~llet load a~
s~en in ph~nto~ in FIGVRE 2 and ia lower-d onto the t~ck 122 of ~p~cing sh~ete After the p~cing ~h--t h~s bo-n r-nov-d, pu-har 36 pu~he~ tho rs~ining l~yer 62 off the pall-t in a ~nner ~i~ilar to th~ pushing of of the pr-vlous layer Tho re~ining apacing ahoet is ro~ovsd ~a d~cribed ~bov-P~llet t~ble 48 thon r-turna to its low~rod or ho~
height, ~s expr-so-d at 48L for ~ diffor-nt p~ t tobl~
in FIGURE 2 After the psllot t~bl~ 48 has be n r-turnQd to it~ lowsred poaition, ~pty pallet 124 is ng~ged by ~ pop-up conv~yor, not shown, ~nd ~ov-d l~tcr~lly aw~y from p~ t t~bl- 48 by pallet convoyor 126 to pallet collector 78 In the p~ll~t coll ctor, th- pd l-t is lit-d up into the botto~ of ~ fit~ck o~ pallet~ by carri~ge 88, and ~t ck holding fi~ers lOO eng~ge th- pcllet, holding it ao tho bstto~ of tho ~t~k, and ~bov- th- low-r-d height of th~
c~sri~ge 88 high enough to provid- clo~r~nco ~or the next s~pty p~llet fro~ the dsp~ll-tizor ~11 aa doscrib-d hereinabov~ for the operation of th- p~llat coll-ctor As uaterial ia push-d off ~ p~ll-t load, it ia d~poaited onto ro~ov~l convoyor 24 which la ~oving fro~
r ~ht to left ~ seen in FIGURES ~, 6, ~nd B, ~nd ~ccord-1 325986 28,~21 inq to the ~rrowc in FIGURE 3 On conv-yor 24, the ~steri~l is tr~veling ~ore or leas in rows ~croas the width of the conveyor When the ~teri~l r-achea the di~ch~rge end of re~oval conveyor 24 (hidden by po~t 32 ln FIGURES 2, 6, and 8; aeo FIGURE 3), it ia deposited onto ~p~cing co~eyor 26 Spocing conv~yor 26 is driven ~t a higher apeed th~n re~ov~l conveyor 24, thu~ incronsing the diat~nce between subaoquent rowa of ~at-rlol Sp~cing conveyor 2~ diAchsrges tho rstsrial onto tak0-swsy conv~yor 28, which i5 drivsn in 8 dir-ction gonerslly perpendicul~r to the direction of conv-yoro 24 snd 26 Sse FIGURES l ~nd 3 A row of noteriol travorsing 8p~cing conveyor 26 side-by-~ide beco~es a front-to-back line of ~teri~l trcvor-ing tak--swoy conveyor 28 b~c~u~e of the perpondicul~r chsnge in direction Tho incre~ed ~p~cing betwe n rows which ia provid-d by the gre~ter speod of sp~cing conv-yor 26 provide- ti~e for a line of R~t-r~l on ts~ woy convoyor 28 t~ closr the receiving ~rea on conveyor 28 by the tia- tho next row ~rrives fro~ spoclng conveyor 26 Th- rel~tive apo-ds of the conveyors ~ay, of cours-, b~ odJu-tod for the desirod ti~ing~ In so~ c~ses the spscing conveyor 26 ia pre~er-~bly a pop-up conveyor, ~nd it a~y co~prise n plur~lity of O-belt~ ~s the conveying ~eona ~8,821 THE ~ISTRIBUTOR

Diatributor 14 ia ahown in top viow in FIGURE 1 and in Gide elev~tion view ln FIGURE 13 Dlstributor 14 ha- a vertic~l ne~ber 127 to which i~ nount-d a ~taglng ar~a 128 Vertic~l ~eaber 127 is c~pabl~ of rot~tion about it~ vertical ~xia auch that t~ging aroa 128 ~y bo -~
presented to any of a p}urallty of work-t~tion~ 16 R~ferrlng to FIGURE 1 workstations A, B, C, and D hnve : . .
~ccu~ul~tor~ 1~0 for ussociotion with dl-trlbutor 14 The re~inder of workst~tion~ 16 h~vo aecu~ulators 130, not ~hown A~ soon in FIGURE 13 di~trioutor 14 d $o h~ tho cap~bility of changing th~ olsvation or h-ight, of st~ging ~reo 128 In oper4tlon o~ distributor 14, th- at~ging aroa 128 is r~ised to its upp-r~o~t po~ition ahown in phanto~ in FIGURE 13 whoro it r-c-iv-- lo~d- o ~t-rid -, ~uch ~-~t~cks of p~por ~0 fro~ convoyor 132 Aft-r r-c-ivin~
lo~d of ~teri~l fro~ convayor 132, th- at~ging ar-a 128 is lowored Qnd rotAt-d obout its v-rtic~l ~xis to an ~ngul~r poaition for f-oding tho lo~d to ~ work-t~tion such ~ is so~n ln ph~ntou in FIGURE 1 Rototion a~y tako pl~ce any tiae aftcr l~ing tho uppor olovstion and ~foro ~rriving ~t tho low~st ol-v~tion, ~nd ~y includo tho c~so of ~ st~tic int ~di~to lov~tion for tbo ~ot~tion, ~s aaon in FIGURE 13 In th~ Jbodi~snt ~hown 1 325986 ~8~821 ~
in FI~RE 1, which is ~l~o seen in ~IGURES 14 snd 16 - 18, the receiving area of the workat~tion ls ~ccu~ul~tor 130 Di~tributor 14 distribute~ tho load to sccu~ulator 130, after which it returna to ita position ad~scent conveyor 132 for receiving the next lo~d, going through the height ~-ad~u~tment ~nd rot~tion ~bout the vertic~l ~xia in the procasU As ~een in FIGURE5 14 ond 16 - 18, ~taging srea 128 of diatributor 14 ls a convoyor Sp-cific~lly st~ging ~re~ 128 i~ preferred to be s two-w~y driv-n conveyor ~-i .
auch thzt the conveyor is drivon in th~ ~ar- d~roction ~s conveyor 132 when tho ~teri~l i~ roceiv-d fron convsyor 13~ and is driven in the oppo~ite diroction wh-n it distributes ~teri~l to th- ~ccunul~tor 130 ' . ,'' THE HOPPER LOADER -;. ..:~
Hopp~r loader 16 is oon in th- gen-r~ yout of th~

~terial hnndling ~ystev, ~nd showing it- ovorsll r01~-tionahip to the re~t of th- ~y~ten, in FIGURE 1 The hopper lo~d~r h~s a frs~e 134 Ch~nn-ls 136 ~re ~ounted to fr~e 134 through br~ck-ts 138 which ~l-o ~ount the entire hoppQr lo~der to hopper 140 Wheel~ 142 rido in channels 136 ~nd su~pend roceiving conveyor 144 fro~ ~ -ch~nnei~ '~36 and over hopp~r 140 Receiving conveyor 14~

~y be ~ovad l~terolly with rsApect to hopper 140 ~y th0 extension of rod 146 o~ cylindor 148 35 ~een in . .

1 3259~6 2~,8~1 FIG~IRES 17 and l~. 5ylinder 14~ ie mountod to hopper 140. Retainer 150 i~ ~tt~ched to rame 134 by f~steners 151 ~s seen in FIGURES 14 ~nd lS, ~nd h~ fingers 152 disposed from one edge thereof tow~rd receiving conveyor 144, Rollers 154 on conveyor 144 have channela lS6 for~ed into their circumference, such that they accommodate and receive fingers lS2. A detector 158 prefer~bly having a sender 158A and ~ receiver 15~B ia positioned below receiving conveyor 144 ~nd ~bove the top of hopper 140.
Arrows between the sender and receivsr show line-of-sight travel of sign~ls.
Frame 134 h~a been deleted from the hopper lo~der in FIGURES 17 ~nd 18 for cl~rity.
FI6URE 14 show~ a ~tack of m~terial being received from staginy are~ 128 of distributor 14 onto accumulator 130. As shown in FI6~RE 14 the loader rec-iving conveyor 144 is positioned over the hopper loader and in ~ position to receive the atock o m~teriAl rom ~ccumulator 130.

FIG~RE 16 shows the m~terial ~ein~ received onto receiving conveyor 144 from driven conveyor 132 of accumulator 130.

When the ~t~ck of m~teri~l 20 ha~ ~een received fro~
~ccumulator 130, cylinder 148 i~ activated, extending rod l46 and moving receiving conveyor 144 l~terally out from under ~t~ck ~0. St~ck 20 is prevented from movin~
~ith conveyor 144 as it abut~ ret~iner lS0. Finger& 152 ex~end into ch~nnele 156 in conveyor 144 ~nd prevent the b~ttom-mGet l~yers o~ mat~ri~l fro~ e~caping throu~h the clear~nce q~p 16~ ~etwsen retainer 150 ~nd conveyor 14~.

2~,~21 .
As seen in FIGURE 18, conveyor 144 h~s ~een withdr~wn .;
from over hopper 140. Conveyor 144 remains in the position shown in FIGURE 18 until the load in hopper 140 h~s been reduced to the point where ths top of the lo~d ia

5 below the bottom of conveyor 144. At that point detector -`
158 detects that the load in the hopper is below conveyor --~
144 and initi~tea movement of conveyor 144 b~ck over the hopper ~ in FI6~RE 1~ ~uoh that it is ready to recei~e :
~nother lo~d. The normal rest position, then, of conveyor lO 144, while hopper feeding is in operation, is that shown ~: -in FIGURE 1~. When the detector detect~ th~t the top of -the material in the hopper ia below the level indic~ted, .
elevator 144 ia moved to the po~ition ahown iD FIGURE 14 ,~
for receiving another lo~d. Typic~lly u soon as convsyor 15144 reachea the poaition ahown in FI6URE 14 snother load ~-.~.-is pl~ced on it aa ~hown in FIGURE 16 and thst load is ` ~`
then loaded into the hopper a~ in FIGURE 17 snd 18.

20THE MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEM : .
~ ',.' -The o~er~ ystem of h~ndling m~terial ~y at~rt a5 ` ~.
eArly ~s the oper~tion of p~tting the ~sterial on the pallet, wherein the ap~cing ~heeta of the invention ~re used in or~er to provide for appropriate depalletizin~ ~ .
25 op6ration~. Lo~ded p~ll~tc 22 are pl~ce~ on dep~lletizin~ .
." ~

t~Dlez 48. Lo~ded p~lletz 22 ~re ~een prior to being pl~ced on t~blea 48 ln FIGURE 1. Two p~llet~ ~rs aeen h~vlng been pl~ced on the psllet tables in FIGURE 2. One of the p~llet~ h~a been r~iqed to 8 poffitlon for the dep~lletizing oper~tion to proceed. The other p&llet la ~een at the lower level. -As the dep~lletizing operstion ia proceed~ng, pu~her36 rot~tez to itq vertic~l po~ition ~nd pu~hsz ~terisl of~ p~llet lo~d 22 ca aeen ln FIGURE 6. Aa the dep~llet-ized ~teri~l i8 t~ken ~w~y by conveyors 24, 26, ~nd 28, the pallet table 48 i~ further r~i~ed into ~ position for re~ovnl of the next layer of m~terisl from the p~llet lo~d. The ~p~cing ~heet remover dec~nda ~nd removes the apacing 6heet. Puzher 36 then pushes the next l~yer of ~teri~l off the p~llet. After the l~st l~yer of mnteri~lh~s been removed from the lo~d, the ~p~cing sheet remover rC~ovea the l~st zp~cing sheet, t~ble 48 ~ lowered ~nd ths smpty p~llet 124 is deposited onto conveyor 126 ~nd c~rried into the pnllet collector where it i~ received lnto the 6tnck of p~lletz. P~llet c~rrier 46 then moves nnother p~llet t~ble into position for dep~lletizing ~8 in FIGURE 2.
In the me~ntime the dep~lletized m~teri~l h~z been tr~vellng along tnke-~w~y conveyor 26 ~nd ia delivered to the ~ppropri~te ones of ~ccumul~tora l~A through 18D.
Mnteri~l ia rela~zed from ~ccumul~tora 1~ onto conveyor 132 for delivery to diatributor 14, ~ccording to t~e needa - ~6 -,, , ~ ........... . .

-, ":, -- . .. . . .

1 32 5q 86 28,B21 of di~tributor 14 and at workatation~ 16. M~terial rele~ed fro~ ~ccumulator,~ 18 tr~vela along conveyor 132 toward di~tributor 14 snd ia depoalted on diatrlbutor 14.
A~ ~aterlal 1~ recelved onto the ataging srea 128 of diatrlbutor 14 the two-way conveyor of atsging areu 128 i~
activated ln order to receive the m8terial snd poaition it properly on the at~ging sre~. Distributor 14 then change~
the elevation of atsging sres 128, rotste~ to the appro-priate workatatlon, and reveraea dlrectlon of the two-way con~eyor, thua delivering the ~aterisl to the sppropriste work~tation 16 at ita accumul~tor 130. As the material i~
delivered from diatributor 14 by cn activstion of its two-w~y conveyor on at~ging area 128, driven conveyor 132 on ~ccumulator 130 ia likewise activated ln order to receive the m~terlal. The ~aterial i8 then delivered to the hopper loader ~a called for by the hopper lo~der.
The operatlon of the depalletizer as aeen ln FIGURES
2, 6, and 8, ahowa the unlo~ding o ull the m~terlsl from one p~llet. Alternatlvely, less than ~11 of the mater1~1 ~ay be re~oved from one pallet loud, sfter whlch th t ~ -pallet lo~d m~y be removed rom the feed atstion ~een in FIGU2ES 2, 6, ~nd 8, ~nd another psllet lo~d ~ay be pre~ented for unloading. In thi~ way, psrta of pallet h loada ~y be removed-aequenti~lly in order to deliver and -- -dlstrlbute materi~l~ in the order in which they srQ
needed. a~ aeen in FI~URE 1, ~ pal1et lo~d on pallet table 48A ~ay be delivered to the dep~llet~zer feed ;', = --~ . .

`

2~,~21 etation ~s aeen in FIG~RE 2, purti~lly unlo~ded, ~nd p~llet loed on toble 48B then preaented ond aone of it~
lood re~oved. Thua the procesa contenplotes the parti~l unlooding of one or ~ore polleta without totolly unlooding a pallet. Aa the naterial~ are unlo~ded, they ~oy be ~e-quenced into the appropriate ~ccumul~tora. For exa~ple m~teri~la fro~ p~llet t~ble 48A auy be aequenced into ~ccu~ulator 18A, ~teriol from p~llet t~ble 48B ~oy be aequenced into accu~ulotor 18B, etc.. The uppropriate ~teriols nay then be aelected fro~ the accu~ulotor 18 snd d~ ered to distri~utor 14 for distribution to the appropr~cte work~tation ~6. ~-It i~ onticipated thot the dep llstizing oper~tion will typicolly be perforaed ~t o aubatontiAl vertic~l elev~tion, auch oa 6 to lO feet obove the floor. The ~teriol h~ndling ~yate~ a~y be de~igned for bringing the ~-dep~lletiz~d ~ateri~l to within nor~l working height, auch ~ 2-4 ~eet obo~e the floor, ~t ~ny of ~ plurolity of loc~tione. As ~hown in FIGURE 13, the ~ateri~
prefer~bly lowered At diatributor 14.
In connection with tbe depolletizing being done at elevotion, there ore a plur~lity of posaibilitiea for ~equencing p~ll8t looda ond feeding the~ into the depol-letizer feed atation, eapecially when pollet ore being ~aquenced out o~ the feed orea with port of the lood atill on the pallet. For exo~p~e, oll looded pollet toblea could be r~i ed to 4 gener~l unloading height ond held by - , . : . :: ,. . : . . . :

2~,~21 ~n upper c~rrier, ~uch th~t the prim~ry ~o~ement to the dep~lletizer feed ata~ion would be horizont~l. In that e~odim~nt, the p~llet tablea would be lowered for lo~diny ~nd unlooding p~llet~ ~nd their reapective loads, ~a appropri~te. In general, though, in that enbodi~ent, the loaded p~llet t~blea would gener~lly be at the ~ppropri~te elevation for reaoving the pallet load.
Thua it ia ~een that the invention provides ~pparatua and ~ethoda for ~uto~atically unloading ~aterial, ~nd e~pecially stacka of loo~e n~ter~al auch a~ newapoper from a p~llet. It ia seen th~t the RoSt efficient unlo~dlng ~egina with ~ ~ethod of losding the pallet which ia conducive to easy unloading. It ia further aeen that ther~ ia proviaion in the inv-ntion of ~pp~ratus and proceea for diatributing atacks of ~ateri~l to selected one~ of a plur~lity of workatation-.
Further tbere ia providod opparotua and proceaa ~or lo~ding stacka of nateria1 into a hopper.
Fin~lly there ia provided a ayate~ of h~ndling ~teri~l which providea for dep~lleti~ing ~teri~l, tr~naporting it to ~ aubaequent workatation, which ~ay be selected fro~ ~ plurolity of work~tation~, and loading it into ~ hopp~r ~t th~ work~tation.

- 3~ -

Claims (25)

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

1. A spacing sheet for holding a layer of material thereon and for corresponding use with a pallet, said spacing sheet having edges thereabout and comprising a first upper surface having a relatively low coefficient of friction adapted to facilitate sliding removal of the layer of material therefrom, and a second lower surface, said first and second surfaces being spaced apart, said lower surface having a higher coefficient of friction than said upper surface, wherein said upper surface has a plurality of generally parallel channels extending generally across said upper surface in a first direction and terminating at one said edge.

2. A spacing sheet as in Claim 1 wherein said lower surface comprises a plurality of spaced apart surface elements.

3. A spacing sheet as in Claim 1 wherein said lower surface comprises a plurality of spaced apart surface elements defining a pattern having parallel relationships and a second parallel direction, said second parallel direction being substantially different from said first parallel direction.

4. A spacing sheet as in Claim 1 wherein said lower surface comprises a plurality of generally spaced apart surface elements extending generally across said lower surface in a direction generally perpendicular to the direction of said channels.

5. A spacing sheet, comprising:
(a) a top surface, defining a top surface area, adapted to receive a layer of material thereon, said top surface comprising a plurality of spaced apart top surface elements adapted to support the layer of material;
(b) a bottom surface;
(c) a thickness between said top surface and said bottom surface, said thickness comprising at least about 0.25 inch;
(d) edges; and (e) a plurality of spaced apart upwardly open channels extending downwardly from said top surface elements, each said channel extending from one said edge along a straight line generally across that portion of said top surface which is adapted to receive the layer of material, said top surface elements defining surface means adapted to contact and support the layer of material and to facilitate sliding removal of the layer of material from said spacing sheet.

6. A spacing sheet as in Claim 5 wherein said lower surface has a higher coefficient of friction than said upper surface.

7. A spacing sheet as in Claim 5 or 6 wherein the thickness of said spacing sheet between said first and second surfaces is at least about 0.25 inch.

8. A spacing sheet as in Claim 1 or 5, said lower surface having a multiplicity of projections therefrom for impedance of sliding across said lower surface.

9. A spacing sheet for use with a pallet, said spacing sheet comprising:
(a) a first sheet of corrugated media having surface corrugations; and (b) a second sheet of corrugated media having surface corrugations;

said first and second sheets being fastened to each other at a common interface, with said corrugations facing outwardly therefrom, to form said spacing sheet, the corrugations in said first sheet of corrugated media being substantially perpendicular to the corrugations in said second sheet of corrugated media, said spacing sheet being at least 0.375 inch thick.

10. A spacing sheet as in Claim 9, the corrugations in one said media having elements thereof spaced outwardly from said common interface, said elements generally defining a surface, ones of said elements having a multiplicity of projections therefrom for impedance of sliding across said elements.

11. A spacing sheet, comprising:
(a) a top surface, defining a top surface area, adapted to receive a layer of material thereon, said top surface comprising a plurality of spaced apart top surface elements adapted to support the layer of material, said top surface elements having a relatively low coefficient of friction adapted to cooperate in sliding removal of the layer of material therefrom;
(b) a bottom surface;
(c) a thickness between said top surface and said bottom surface, said thickness comprising at least about 0.375 inch;
(d) edges; and (e) a plurality of spaced apart, upwardly open channels extending downwardly from said top surface elements and across said top surface.

12. Depalletizing apparatus for removing a load of material from a pallet, the load comprising at least one layer having a trailing surface, said trailing surface having a height dimension and a width dimension, said depalletizing apparatus comprising:

(a) means for pushing the load in a predetermined direction from the pallet one layer at a time at a predetermined feed location, said pushing surface (1) having height and width dimensions generally corresponding with those of said load layer trailing surface, and, (2) having a lower edge and a plurality of laterally spaced fingers depending from said lower edge, (b) a spacing sheet under each layer of said pallet load, said spacing sheet having an upper surface provided with a plurality of generally parallel spaced channels thereacross and with uppermost sheet portions therebetween disposed against the bottom surface of a load layer thereon, said channels being disposed general alignment with said predetermined load pushing direction and having a spacing corresponding substantially to that of said fingers, (c) means for positioning the pallet having the load in a predetermined load layer removal location with respect to said pushing means to dispose said lower edge of said continuous pushing surface close to but spaced from said uppermost spacing sheet portions with said fingers engaging a minor lowermost portion of said layer trailing surface, and with said fingers extending into said channels of said spacing sheet and beneath the lower surface of said load layer, and (d) means precluding movement of said spacing sheet in said predetermined pushing direction, whereby said load layer is readily and fully pushed from said pallet to leave said spacing sheet thereon for subsequent handling.

13. Depalletizing apparatus as in Claim 12 and including means, independent of said pushing means, for receiving a spacing sheet from the top of a pallet load.

14. Depalletizing apparatus as in Claim 13 and including spacing sheet removal apparatus for simultaneously moving said spacing sheet laterally with respect to both said pallet load and said pushing means.

Depalletizing apparatus as in Claim 12 wherein said spacing sheet is between about 0.25 inch and 1 inch thick.

16. The depalletizing apparatus of Claim 12 and further including retractable pallet guides disposed on opposite sides of said pallet in engagement with vertical faces thereof to retain said pallet at said load removal location against forces urging the pallet against said guides.

17. The depalletizing apparatus of Claim 12 and further including a plurality of vertically stacked load layers on said pallet, and wherein said positioning means effects seriatim removal of said load layers.

18. Depalletizing apparatus as in Claim 12, said apparatus comprising first and second pallet tables, each said pallet table being adapted to present corresponding first and second pallet loads to said predetermined feed location, each such pallet load comprising a pallet and a product contained thereon, said depalletizing apparatus further comprising:
(i) means for unloading a first portion of the first load from the first pallet, at said predetermined feed location whereby the first pallet maintains a second portion of the load thereon, and (ii) a carrier adapted to remove said first pallet table, holding the first pallet and the second portion of the load thereon, from said predetermined feed location, and adapted to place the second pallet load contained on said second pallet table, in said predetermined feed location, whereby at least a first portion of the second pallet load can be removed from the second pallet prior to the removal of the second portion of the first load from the first pallet, such that parts of the first and second pallet loads can be removed sequentially.

19. Depalletizing apparatus as in Claim 18 and including a plurality of accumulators beyond the discharge locus of said removal conveyor means, said plurality of accumulators being disposed such that all said accumulators transport the load material from said removal conveyor, as a common feed, to a common outlet conveyor, whereby a given load element traverses only one of said accumulators between said removal conveyor and said outlet conveyor.

20. A method of removing material from a pallet load using depalletizing apparatus, said pallet load comprising at least one layer having a trailing surface, said trailing surface having a height dimension and a width dimension, said depalletizing apparatus comprising means for pushing the layer in a predetermined direction from the pallet load at a predetermined load removal location, said pushing means having a substantially continuous pushing surface (i) having height and width dimensions generally coextensive with those of said layer trailing surface, and (ii) having a lower edge and a plurality of laterally spaced fingers depending from said lower edge, said pallet load further comprising a spacing sheet under each said layer of said pallet load, said spacing sheet having an upwardly facing surface provided with a plurality of generally parallel spaced channels thereacross and with uppermost sheet portions therebetween disposed against the bottom surface of the layer disposed thereon, said channels being disposed in general alignment with said predetermined layer pushing direction and having a spacing corresponding substantially to that of said fingers, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) positioning the pallet load at said predetermined load removal location with respect to said pushing means to dispose said lower edge of said continuous pushing surface close to but spaced from said uppermost sheet portions with said fingers extending into said channels of said spacing sheet and beneath the lower surface of said layer; and (b) pushing said layer off said pallet load.

21. A method as in Claim 20 and including, after the pushing of said layer off said pallet load and upon the corresponding leaving of a said spacing sheet on the top of said pallet load, removing said spacing sheet from the top of said pallet load and laterally away from said pallet load.

22. A method as in Claim 20 and including the steps of (c) removing a first pallet from said load removal location while said first pallet holds a portion of said pallet load, (d) bringing a second pallet having a second pallet load into said load removal location, and (e) pushing a layer of said second pallet load off said second pallet.

23. A method as in Claim 22 and including conveying the depalletized components of the pallet loads of said first and second pallets to respective first and second accumulator means.

24. A method of removing a load from a pallet, said load having a plurality of layers, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) positioning said pallet in a predetermined load removal location;
(b) adjusting the vertical position of said pallet for cooperative sliding of the top layer of said load onto an adjacent receiving support;
(c) pushing said top layer off said load and onto said receiving support, and thereby exposing a spacing sheet as the subsequent top member of said load;
(d) removing said top layer away from said load;
(e) removing said spacing sheet off said load and away from said pallet, thereby exposing an underlying layer of the load;
(f) raising said pallet, as necessary, for cooperative sliding of said underlying layer onto said receiving support; and (g) repeating steps (c), (d), (e), and (f) to thereby remove one or more additional said layers.

25. A method of handling material on a pallet, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) palletizing said material by (i) loading material on said pallet in layers and (ii) placing a spacing sheet having a top surface under each said layer, such that the top surface of each said spacing sheet is coincident with the lower surface of the corresponding overlying layer, each said spacing sheet having a plurality of generally parallel, spaced apart channels extending generally across-the upper surface thereof, said channels in each said top surface being oriented in a direction predeter-mined to be the direction of sliding movement of said overlying layer of said material when said material is to be slidably removed from said pallet; and (b) depalletizing said material by (i) holding said pallet in a predetermined feed location, (ii) adjusting the height of said pallet for cooperative sliding movement of the top layer of said load onto an adjacent removal conveyor, (iii) engaging the top layer with a pusher, said pusher comprising a plurality of fingers, said fingers extending into said channels of said spacing sheet and beneath the lower surface of said load layer, and thereby pushing said layer off said pallet load and onto said removal conveyor, and thereby exposing the underlying spacing sheet, (iv) conveying the contents of said top layer, on said removal conveyor, away from said pallet load, (v) removing said spacing sheet from said load,

Claim 25 Cont'd.
thereby exposing any underlying layer of the pallet load, (vi) raising the height of said pallet, as necessary, for cooperative sliding movement of an underlying layer onto said removal conveyor, and (vii) repeating steps (iii), (iv), (v), and (vi) to thereby remove one or more additional layers.