GB2312409A

GB2312409A - Loading articles into boxes

Info

Publication number: GB2312409A
Application number: GB9608387A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Ian Haith
Original assignee: Tickhill Engineering Co Ltd
Current assignee: Tickhill Engineering Co Ltd
Priority date: 1996-04-23
Filing date: 1996-04-23
Publication date: 1997-10-29
Anticipated expiration: 2016-04-23
Also published as: GB9608387D0; GB2312409B

Abstract

In loading articles such as root vegetables into open topped boxes, the articles are transported along a conveyor (17) to a discharge station (27) which is able to be lowered into a box so that when the box is empty the articles do not fall a long way to the bottom of the box. A detector (35) may control raising of the conveyor (17) as the box fills. Two such conveyors (17,18) may be fed by a single feed conveyor (33).

Description

Title: LOADING ARTICLES INTO BOXES Description of Invention This invention relates to a method and apparatus for loading articles into open-topped containers such as, and herein referred to for convenience as, boxes. The invention has been devised in relation to the loading of root vegetables (e.g. potatoes) into boxes, but it is to be appreciated that the invention will be applicable in relation to the loading of other articles, where similar or analogous requirements to those pointed out hereafter arise.

It is important when handling root vegetables that they should not be dropped through more than a minimal distance. If a box of the order of, for example, a metre deep is filled with root vegetables by dropping the vegetables into the box from a position above the top of the box, the distance through which the vegetables fall to the bottom of the box when the box is empty is sufficient to cause damage. Accordingly box filling devices have been developed in which the vegetables are lowered to the bottom of the box in a controlled manner. Such devices reduce or prevent damage to the vegetables but are slow in operation and not versatile in terms of being able to deal with boxes of different sizes.

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for loading articles such as root vegetables into boxes.

According to one aspect of the present invention, we provide apparatus for loading articles into a box, comprising conveyor means for transporting the articles and having a discharge station from which the articles fall, anijnne8ns.

supporting the conveyor means for movement relative to a box to be loaded such that the discharge station is able to be lowered into the box towards the bottom of the box.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention we provide a method of loading articles into a box, comprising conveying the articles along a conveyor means to a discharge station thereof from which the articles fall, and adjusting the position of the conveyor means in relation to the box such that the discharge station is lowered towards the bottom of the box.

Preferably as the box is filled the discharge station of the conveyor means is progressively raised to enable the box to be filled.

In accordance with the invention, the lowering of the discharge station of the conveyor means towards the bottom of the box means that when the box is empty or near empty the articles fall into the box through a much shorter distance than would be the case if the discharge station of the conveyor remained at a fixed position necessarily above the top of the box. Thereby damage to articles such as root vegetables through falling uncontrollably through an excessive distance is substantially avoided.

Preferably the method further comprises the step of detecting the level within the box of the articles loaded therein, and controlling the level of the discharge station of the conveyor means within the box during filling thereof in accordance with the detected level of the articles.

Preferably the apparatus comprises detector means for such detection, and control means for controlling the movement of the conveyor means relative to the box in accordance with such detection.

Preferably the conveyor means is supported for both linear movement in the direction of its length relative to the box and also for angular movement causing the inclination of the conveyor means to vary so that its discharge station is raised or lowered. Preferably the conveyor means is supported by means including guide means so that the movement of the conveyor comprises a first part comprising substantially only said linear movement and a second ssrt in which said angular movement takes place, possibly in combination with some linear movement.

The apparatus preferably comprises a second conveyor means for delivering articles to the first said conveyor means. Each conveyor means preferably is a conveyor belt.

The apparatus may comprise two of the first said conveyor means for loading articles into respective boxes. Preferably the two conveyor means are disposed in back-to-back relationship with their discharge stations remote from one another for discharging articles into boxes positioned at box-loading stations at opposite ends of the apparatus.

Conveniently a single second conveyor means may be arranged to deliver articles to one or other of the first conveyor means as required, and to this end the second conveyor means may be reversible in respect of its direction of operation.

These and other features of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of an embodiment of apparatus in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the apparatus of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an end elevation of the apparatus of Figures 1 and 2; Figures 4 to 8 are views of the apparatus in successive stages in the course of filling a box with articles.

Referring firstly to Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings, these show an apparatus comprising a framework which includes a lower portion 10 and an upper portion indicated generally at 11. The lower portion 10 of the framework, which is of elongate configuration, has opposite end portions 12, 13 which provide box-receiving stations as described hereafter.

The upper framework 11 supports laterally spaced parallel upper guide rails 14 and laterally spaced parallel lower guide rails 15. Opposite ends of the upper guide rails 14 have inclined downwardly extending portions 16.

The guide rails 14, 15 carry, in back-to-back disposition, two first conveyors 17, 18. The conveyor 17 has guide wheels or rollers 19, 20 which respectively engage the guide rails 14, 15 and the conveyor 18 is similarly provided with means for engaging the guide rails. Thus the two conveyors 17, 18 are supported for movement relative to the framework 17 linearly when the straight parallel portions of the guide rails are engaged, followed by a superimposed angular movement when the downwardly inclined portions 16 of the guide rails are engaged, causing the conveyors to become inclined such that their outermost ends are lowered, as is shown in full lines for the conveyor 17 in Figure 1. For thus moving the conveyors 17, 18, there are respective electric motors 21, 22 which cooperate with chains 23, 24 entrained around sprockets including remote sprockets 25, 26 respectively supported by the framework 11.

The motors 21, 22 are, of course, reversible according to which way the conveyors are to be moved. In Figure 1, the conveyor 18 is shown in its fully retracted position, and intermediate position of both conveyors 17, 18 in which they have been moved outwardly of the framework 11 but not inclined and lowered relative thereto, are shown in chain-dotted lines.

The conveyors 17, 18 are each conventional belt conveyors wherein an endless belt is entrained around rollers at opposite ends of the conveyor. The positions of such rollers at the outermost ends of the conveyors 17, 18 are indicated at 27, 28, and motors for driving such conveyors are shown at 29, 30, respectively. The normal direction of operation is such as to deliver articles to the outermost end of each conveyor, i.e. to the end having the roller 27 or 28 which thus constitutes a discharge station for the conveyor, from which the conveyed articles fall.

In the upper framework 11 above the belts of the conveyors 17, 18 there is a further conveyor 29 comprising a belt entrained around opposite end rollers 30, 31 and drivable by a motor 32. The conveyor 29 is able to deliver articles to the belt of either of the conveyors 17, 18, the motor 32 being reversible to operate in whichever direction is required.

Each of the conveyors 17, 18 has a detector probe at its discharge end, for detecting the presence of articles at a point just above the end of the conveyor from which articles are discharged in use. Such a detector probe is indicated at 35 for the conveyor 17, and at 36 for the conveyor 18. Optical detector probes may be utilised, or possibly some other type.

A feed conveyor is indicated in broken lines at 33 for feeding articles to the conveyor 29.

Also shown in Figure 1 is a control panel 37, which controls the operation of the various parts of the apparatus as described hereafter.

The mode of operation of the apparatus as above described will now be described with reference to Figures 4 to 8 of the drawings.

In Figure 4, the conveyor 17 is shown in a starting position wherein the conveyor is horizontally oriented and in its fully retracted position. The boxreceiving station 13 has no box present.

A box 40 is shown in position in Figure 5 of the drawings. The presence of the box 40 is detected by a suitable detector or detectors, e.g.

operated by contact with the box or by optical detection thereof.

This causes the conveyor 17 to be moved, by the motor 21 and chain 23, to the position shown in Figure 6 wherein the conveyor is inclined downwardly so that its discharge end is close to the bottom of the box. With the conveyor thus positioned, operation of the feed conveyor 33 and the second conveyor 29 causes articles such as root vegetables to be delivered to the conveyor 17 and then by operation of the conveyor 17 to be loaded into the box as indicated at 41.

As the box fills, the detector 35 detects the rising level of the articles in the box and this causes the conveyor 17 to be lifted and moved rearwardly as shown in Figure 7. In the course of such movement of the conveyor, as soon as it is clear of the articles in the box the movement is ceased so that at no time do articles have to fall more than a minimal distance to the bottom of the box or to the pile of articles already in the box.

When the conveyor 17 has reached its fully raised position as shown in Figure 8, it is moved backwardly across the top of the box thus filling the box evenly. When the box is completely full, the movement of conveyor 17 is ceased and the belt of the conveyor is stopped, thus delivering no more articles to the box.

If an empty box has been positioned in the box-receiving station 12, the conveyor 18 is deployed and operated as above described to fill such box, the conveyor 29 being reversed in its direction of operation to deliver articles to the conveyor 18. While this further box is being filled, the full box 40 can be removed and replaced by a fresh empty one.

The invention thus provides apparatus which enables boxes to be rapidly and effectively filled with articles such as root vegetables, whilst avoiding or at least minimising the chance of damage to the articles from falling through too large a distance.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

1. Apparatus for loading articles into a box, comprising conveyor means for transporting the articles and having a discharge station from which the articles fall, and means supporting the conveyor means for movement relative to a box to be loaded, such that the discharge station is able to be lowered into the box towards the bottom thereof.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1 further comprising detector means for detecting the level within the box of articles loaded therein, and control means for controlling movement of the conveyor means relative to the box in accordance with the detected level of the articles.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 comprising means supporting the conveyor means for linear movement in the direction of its length relative to the box and also for angular movement causing the inclination of the conveyor means to vary, so that its discharge station is raised or lowered.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 3 wherein said means supporting the conveyor means includes guide means providing for movement of the conveyor in a first part comprising substantially only said linear movement and a second part in which said angular movement takes place.

5. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims further comprising a second conveyor means for delivering articles to the first said conveyor means.

6. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the or each conveyor means comprises a conveyor belt. ,..

7. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims comprising two of said or the first said conveyor means, for loading articles into respective boxes.

8. Apparatus according to Claim 7 wherein said two conveyor means are disposed in back-to-back relationship, with their discharge stations remote from one another for discharging articles into boxes positioned at respective boxloading stations.

9. Apparatus according to Claim 7 or Claim 8 as appendant to Claim 5, comprising a single said second conveyor means arranged to deliver articles to one or other of the two first said conveyor means as required.

10. Apparatus according to Claim 9 wherein said second conveyor means is reversible in respect of its direction of operation.

11. A method of loading articles into a box, comprising conveying the articles by a conveyor means to a discharge station thereof from which the articles fall, and adjusting the disposition of the conveyor means in relation to the box such that the discharge station is lowered towards the bottom of the box.

12. A method according to Claim 11 comprising progressively raising the discharge station of the conveyor means as the box is filled.

13. A method according to Claim 12, further comprising detecting the level within the box of the articles loaded therein, and controlling the level of the discharge station of the conveyor means within the box during filling thereof, in accordance with the detected level of the articles.

14. Apparatus for loading articles into a box, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

15. A method of loading articles into a box by use of apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 10 or Claim 14.

16. Any novel feature or novel combination of features described herein and/or in the accompanying drawings.