GB2416751A

GB2416751A - Stacking apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2416751A
Application number: GB0417644A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Koorosh Khodabandehloo; Barry Millin
Original assignee: ROBOTIC SOLUTIONS PLC
Current assignee: ROBOTIC SOLUTIONS PLC
Priority date: 2004-08-07
Filing date: 2004-08-07
Publication date: 2006-02-08
Anticipated expiration: 2024-08-07
Also published as: GB0417644D0; GB2416751B

Abstract

The apparatus includes a support platform 4 having a support surface 5 and a cylinder 6 for moving the support platform generally perpendicular to the support surface. The products to be stacked are fed onto the support platform 4 in a direction generally parallel to the support surface 5, and control means is arranged to incrementally move the support platform down whenever a product is added to the stack. In a preferred form of the apparatus an optical or other non-contact sensor 8 is provided to detect movement of the products onto the stack, and the support platform is moved until the product is clear of the sensor. To ensure accurate location of the products, the support platform 4 is flanked by a pair of angularly-disposed locating walls 1 and 2. Products may be fed onto the stack directly from the end of the upper run of a belt conveyor (12, Figure 2).

Description

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241 675 1 - 1

STACKING APPARATUS

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to stacking apparatus which may be used for stacking food products.

BACKGROUND

In the food manufacture it is often necessary to stack food products such as burgers or fish cakes ready for packaging and distribution. Due to production methods, the products may vary somewhat in size from one to another. In other cases it may sometimes be necessary to change the size or kind of product being stacked at frequent intervals, necessitating repeated re-adjustment of the stacking equipment.

The present invention seeks to provide a new and inventive form of stacking apparatus which is capable of accurately stacking products irrespective of possible variations in their size, and particularly in their thickness.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION - 2

The present invention provides stacking apparatus which includes: - a support platform having a support surface; - means for moving the support platform generally perpendicular to the support surface; and - means for feeding products to be stacked onto the support platform in a direction generally parallel to the support surface.

Preferably control means is arranged to incrementally move the support platform whenever a product is added to the stack. In a preferred form of the apparatus, sensor means is provided to detect movement of the products onto the stack. An optical or other non-contact sensor is preferred. The control means is preferably arranged to move the support platform until the product is clear of the sensor.

To ensure accurate location of the products, the support platform is preferably flanked by a pair of angularly-disposed locating walls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description and the accompanying drawings referred to therein are included by way of non-limiting example in order to illustrate how the invention may be put into practice. In the drawings: Fiqure 1 is a general view of a stacker for use in stacking apparatus in accordance with the invention; and Figure 2 is a diagrammatic side view of the stacking apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The stacking apparatus to be described by way of example incorporates a stacker device S which is shown in Fig.1. The stacker has a pair of angularly disposed generally planar locating walls, 1 and 2, which meet at a common rear edge 3. A wedge-shaped stacker platform 4 is mounted between the walls 1 and 2 with its upper support surface 5 disposed generally perpendicular to the locating walls. The platform is movable in a direction parallel to the locating walls by means of a pneumatic (or hydraulic) cylinder 6, the platform being secured to the upper end of a projecting piston rod 7. Above the platform 4, a photo-electric sensor 8 is mounted on one of the locating walls 2, positioned to detect movement within a relatively narrow sensor beam 9 which is directed towards an optical target surface 10 on the opposing support wall 1. The stacker is normally mounted with a slight inclination to vertical such that the support surface 5 slopes downwards towards the rear edge 3.

Referring to Fig. 2, a belt conveyor 12 or similar carrier system for moving products P is arranged to carry the products one-by-one towards the open front of the stacker S. The feed section 13 of the conveyor which is disposed immediately adjacent to the stacker is inclined to move the products substantially parallel to the support surface 5 into the sensor beam 9. The signal from the sensor beam is passed to a control unit 14, e.g. a computer or dedicated microprocessor, which is also arranged to operate the pneumatic cylinder 6 via a high-speed pneumatic control valve 15. The valve may supply pneumatic pressure to the top or bottom of the cylinder, venting the opposite end, so as to rapidly and accurately move the platform in opposite directions.

In stacking products such as burgers or other food products of generally planar shape, and which are generally, but not necessarily, substantially circular, the control unit first moves the cylinder upwards until the platform breaks the beam 9, which is signalled by the sensor 8. The platform is then moved downwards until it clears the beam, or by a predetermined fixed amount, ready to receive the first product. This initial step ensures that the stacker always starts from a known datum position. When the conveyor moves the product P onto the support platform 4 the beam 9 is broken, signalling the arrival of the product to the control unit 14.

Accurate location of the products in their direction of movement is ensured by contact with the angularly disposed walls 1 and 2, assisted by the tilting of the stacker, even though the products may be of varying and/or irregular outline.

The control unit then moves the support platform in a downward direction until the product clears the beam 9, whereupon the control unit immediately signals the valve 15 to halt the cylinder so that the platform is now accurately positioned ready to receive the next product. This process is repeated until the required number of products have been stacked, as counted by the control unit 14, or until the control unit determines that the platform has been moved by the required amount, whereupon the stack is removed from the support platform for packaging, e. g. by driving the cylinder upwards and feeding the stack of products into a gripper or similar device operated by automatic handling equipment.

When the stacker is emptied the platform moved down until it clears the beam 9, ready to receive more products. - 5

Two stackers may be arranged to alternately receive the products so that one stacker is filled while the other is being emptied.

The stacking apparatus is thus capable of automatically and instantaneously adjusting itself to handle products of varying thickness so that manual re-setting is not necessary.

It will be appreciated that the features disclosed herein may be present in any feasible combination. Whilst the above description lays emphasis on those areas which, in combination, are believed to be new, protection is claimed for any inventive combination of the features disclosed herein.

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Claims

1. Stacking apparatus which includes: - a support platform having a support surface; - means for moving the support platform generally perpendicular to the support surface; and - means for feeding products to be stacked onto the support platform in a direction generally parallel to the support surface.

2. Stacking apparatus according to Claim 1 in which control means is arranged to incrementally move the support platform whenever a product is added to the stack.

3. Stacking apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2 in which sensor means is provided to detect movement of the products onto the stack.

4. Stacking apparatus according to Claim 3 in which the sensor means includes a non-contact sensor

5. Stacking apparatus according to Claim 3 or 4 in which the sensor means includes an optical sensor.

6. Stacking apparatus according to Claim 2 and Claim 3, 4 or 5 in which the control means is arranged to move the support platform until the product is clear of the sensor means.

7. Stacking apparatus according to any preceding claim in - 7 which the support platform is flanked by a pair of angularly-disposed locating walls.

8. Stacking apparatus substantially as described with reference to the drawings.

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