MXPA97007443A - Apparatus and method for flying and placing articu - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for turning and placing an article characterized in that it comprises: a transport device, a sliding member operative to selectively direct the articles to one of two trajectories in order to slide or flip articles transported therein, the articles being deposited on said transport device after being slid or flipped, and a restriction devices arranged near said transport device, said restriction device being operative to selectively retain the articles that have been turned in a desired position on said transport device, and for releasing the articles that have been turned over at a predetermined time to define a desired separation between the articles that have been flipped and the articles that have been slid, wherein said restriction device comprises a defined placement surface for a m elongated member having a plurality of bolts extending therefrom, said elongated member extending through at least a portion of said transport device, and being rotatably mounted to allow the bolts to be moved selectively from a position of restriction, wherein said bolts make contact with the articles that have been turned, towards a release position, where the articles that have been turned over can be freely transported by said transport device.

Description

APPARATUS AND METHOD PARAVOLTEARY PLACARDS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 - . 1 - Field of the Invention The invention pertains to an apparatus and method for flipping articles, in particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus for flipping articles selected from a stream of such articles, such that articles can be transported into a manufacturing process after have been turned over about 180 °, from an initial position within the stream. The invention is particularly useful in the manufacture of food items, such as sandwich cookies, and the like, where it is necessary to flip each other cookie into another stream of items released from a cooking process in such a way that the automatic cookie process can easily make sandwich cookies. 2 - . 2 - Description of the Related Art In the preparation of food items such as biscuits, sweets and the like, after the articles have been cooked, they are transferred from a furnace to a radially advancing conveyor belt in a manner similar to a current , to be transported like this to a processing station. Where the process is for making sandwich cookies, a filling station is required to deposit a cookie filling substance such as cream, on top of each other cookie in the stream. This was the previous practice in the baking industry to manually remove an unfilled cookie from the conveyor belt and place it on the cookie having the filling substance deposited thereon. Obviously, such a practice is instead labor-intensive and time-consuming. U.S. Patent No. 5,287,953 to Mims, the inventor of the present invention, describes a successfully automated process for producing sandwich cookies. The patented system includes an apparatus for receiving, in a forward section, a stream of distributed articles, such as food items and the like, deposited in rows of similar position; that is, each article has a top and bottom surface, and each row is oriented such that the articles have the top surface facing upwards of a conveyor belt in the advance section. It allows the articles to leave the edge of the advance section towards a transport mechanism, such as an endless conveyor belt and the like. A slip mechanism is used to delay the movement of the articles as they leave the advance section. This device is illustrated in Figure 4. In particular, the sliding mechanism 11 'is capable of moving selectively from a sliding position to an inverted position. In the sliding position, a primary sliding surface of the mechanism is placed directly below the edge of the radially advancing conveyor belt 10 ', such that the surface forms an angle with the horizontal plane of the belt. During the operation, the articles exit the edge of the band and slide through the primary sliding surface and onto a second sliding mechanism 12 'having a secondary sliding surface which is positioned to be in the same plane substantially as the primary sliding surface. The articles continue to slide along the secondary surface until they come to rest on a joint formed by the secondary surface, and a spring buffer bar 13 'which stretches the total width of the secondary sliding surface.

In the tumbling position (see the faded line in Figure 4), the sliding mechanism 11 'is placed directly on the front edge of the conveyor belt. The sliding mechanism has a stop surface facing the edge of the belt when articles are dropped from the conveyor belt. In operation, the sliding mechanism is moved to a turning position for each of the other rows of articles. The articles that are going to be overturned leave the conveyor belt and come into contact with the stop surface. This surface changes the direction of the article as it moves towards the transport mechanism in combination with an inverted sliding surface of the second sliding mechanism 12 '. The articles slide down the inverted sliding surface on their upper surface, thereby turning about 180 ° from their orientation on the radial advancing conveyor 10 '. The overturned article is then held above a conveying surface on the retractable plate 15. The retractable plate 15 'is subsequently retracted to allow the article to fall on the conveying surface at a predetermined time relative to the release of the slipped article. using the spring cushion bar 13 '. A first row of articles is released on the transport mechanism by means of the spring buffer bar and then turned over and a second row is placed on the transport mechanism behind the first row. Therefore, the second row must be quickly flipped over and immediately placed on the transport mechanism for the purpose of maintaining a desired space between the articles at a high continuous laying speed. However, the system described above is limited in speed, due to the relative time distribution for each step because of the interdependence of the different steps. This is especially true for flipped items that must be placed on the transport mechanism quickly. When turned over and dropped on the transport device, and accelerated, the articles are often displaced from their proper position. Also, the articles are handled while undergoing oscillatory movement, due to the turning and the effect of making them fall, and in this way handling errors can occur at high speeds. Finally, because the position of the articles flipped on the transport device is affected by the action of the retractable plate, the jump of the article, and the friction of the transport device, locate errors that occur. The limitations of the known device discussed above are better understood through Figure 5, which is a time table for the different elements of said device. The time chart of Figure 4 represents a 200 item row per minute regime on a machine developed by the inventor. The time table in Figure 5 uses time increments of 1/30 of a second for comparison purposes. However, this increase in time control may vary based on the application. However, any variation in the increase in time control, the relative time values remain essentially the same because the operation of each element is dependent on the other elements. This will become clearer based on the discussion later. As illustrated in curve (A) of Figure 5, a row of articles is released, that is, it reaches the end of the radial advance conveyor every 9 units per interval. At 1/30 of a second per unit of time, the result is 200 rows of items per minute. Specifically, a top article (without flipping) is released at 0 units per interval, a lower (flipped) article is released at 9 units per interval, and so on. In this example, every 2 items is flipped and in this way the sliding mechanism is placed alternately in the sliding and turning positions discussed above. Specifically, as the first upper article leaves the radial advancing conveyor, the sliding mechanism is in the sliding position, as the second lower article leaves the radial advancing conveyor, the sliding mechanism is in the position of turn, and so on, as illustrated by curve B of Figure 5. The first top article slides along the sliding mechanism and comes to rest against the spring buffer bar at 6 units per interval as shown in FIG. illustrated by dotted line X lowercase on curve (D) of Figure 5. This item is maintained by the spring shock absorber bar until 16 units per interval, at which the time of the spring shock absorber bar is high , that is, it is open, and the article slides over the transport device, as illustrated by the curve (D). Meanwhile, the second lower article was released at 9 units per interval, flipped by the sliding mechanism and reaches the retractable plate at 14 units per interval, as illustrated by the dotted line and in curve (c) of Figure 5 15 retractable plate retracts at 15 units per interval, as illustrated by curve (c), to allow this article to fall on the conveyor device to a position behind the first article, which has been released from the spring buffer bar as described above. Of course, this process is repeated to alternately deposit flipped articles and without flipping over the conveyor device with a substantially constant space between each article. It is clear that the operation of the spring buffer bar and the retractable plate are dependent on each other in order to properly record, that is, place the articles. Specifically, the spring buffer bar must remain elevated for a predetermined period of time after releasing an article, approximately 2 units per interval in order to allow the article to slide on the conveyor device. Also, the spring cushion bar must be lowered, that is, closed, very quickly after this period of time to receive or trap the next item. For example, the applicant's device, the second upper cracker reaches the spring damper bar at 24 units per interval (see dotted line x in curve (b) of Figure 5), and the spring damper bar is completely closed at 23 units per interval. This leaves little room for error or increase in speed. In addition, in the applicant's device the lower article reaches the retractable plate at 14 units per interval and must be released at 15 units per interval in order to be placed properly, that is, placed at a constant space with respect to the other articles, on the conveyor device. Therefore, the lower article is retained on the retractable plate by only one unit per interval, as illustrated in curve (c) of Figure 5. This does not allow the time for adequate oscillatory movement of the article to be dissipated. As is apparent from the above discussion and from the curves illustrated in Figure 5, the operations of the different elements are dependent on each other. Specifically, the retractable plate is used to control the position of the articles flipped over the conveying device and thus the retractable plate must be retracted immediately after the article is placed over it in order to allow the tumbled article to follow to the article slipped. Therefore, there is no adequate established interval to allow the oscillating movement of the flipped article, due to inversion, to dissipate. Also, additional oscillatory motion is generated as the article falls on the transport device when the retractable plate is retracted. This is particularly a problem with irregularly shaped items. Everything of this oscillating movement, generated by the turning and falling of the article, as well as by the friction between the transport device and the article, causes errors of placement of the flipped articles and in this way makes it difficult for the handling of the additional automated items.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for controlling the position of a flipped article during a manufacturing process, and for orienting flipped articles and without flipping with respect to one another in a predetermined sequence. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for automatically conveying, flipping and placing articles, such as articles, cookies, sweets and the like, in such a way that irregularly formed articles can be handled and processed during high-speed marches. The present invention achieves the above and other objects by providing an apparatus for receiving, in a radial advancing section, a stream of distributed articles, such as food items and the like, deposited in rows of equal position; that is, each article has a top and bottom surface, and each row is oriented such that the articles have the top surface facing up from a conveyor belt in the radial advance section. The articles are allowed to leave the edge of the radial advancing section towards a transport mechanism, such as an endless conveyor belt and the like. A sliding mechanism is used to direct articles as they are transported out of the radial advance section. In particular, the sliding mechanism is selectively movable from a sliding position to a turning position, in the sliding position, a primary sliding surface of the mechanism is placed directly below the edge of the radially advancing conveyor belt, such that the surface forms an angle with the horizontal plane of the band. In operation, the article is transported away from the edge of the band and slides through the primary sliding surface and onto a second sliding mechanism having a secondary sliding surface which is placed to be in the same plane substantially as the first Sliding surface. The article continues to slide along the secondary surface until it comes to rest on a joint formed by the secondary surface and a spring absorber bar that stretches the full width of the secondary sliding surface. In the tumbling position, the sliding mechanism is placed directly opposite the edge of the conveyor belt. The sliding mechanism has a stop surface facing the edge of the belt when articles are dropped from the conveyor belt. In operation, the sliding mechanism is moved to the turning position for the rows of selected articles, for example, every two rows of articles. Items that are flipped out of the conveyor belt and come into contact with the stop surface. This surface changes the direction of the article as it moves towards the transport mechanism in combination with an inverted sliding surface of the second sliding mechanism. The articles slide down the inverted sliding surface on their upper surface, thus turning about 180 ° from their orientation on the radial advancing conveyor belt. In the preferred embodiment, the article that has been turned about 180 ° comes to rest on a joint formed between a stop bar, which is placed horizontally above the surface of the transport mechanism, and a retractable plate, slidably placed below of the retractable plate. The retractable plate and the spring absorber bar are operated to respectively release the articles flipped and slid over the transport mechanism. A first row of articles is flipped and subsequently maintained on the transport mechanism by a gate, while a second row of transport mechanism is released, in front of the first row. The gate allows the first row to be turned and subsequently held in position for a set period while the second row slides over the transport mechanism. Because of this established period, any oscillatory movement of the article is minimized when it is transferred to the transport mechanism and errors are minimized in this way. The gate is positioned above the transport device and in this way the articles are placed in a desired manner directly on the transport device. As a result, a plurality of parallel rows can be transported at a rapid rate, and in the desired relative orientation, by the transport mechanism to subsequent processing, such as to filling and capping stations of an automatic processing system. sandwich, wherein the rows of alternating food items are oriented with their bottom surfaces facing upwardly from the surface of the transport mechanism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a time or interval diagram of the different elements of the preferred embodiment; Figure 3 illustrates the wrapping gate between "of the preferred embodiment in detail", Figure 4 illustrates the conventional device in partial cross section; and Figure 5 is a tempo or interval diagram of the conventional device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITY Figure 1 illustrates the preferred embodiment of the present invention whereby the selected articles are flipped within a stream of articles at about 180 ° from their original orientation in the stream. The articles hereinafter described are in the form of food items, such as articles, candy, cookies or the like. However, the use of such food items in the following description is for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered a limitation of the present invention. As it will become apparent later, the preferred embodiment adds an element to the example discussed above. This element allows the invention to operate in a manner that is substantially different from the example. A stream of articles 100, such as cookies, are deposited with an upper surface facing up, as a result of the cooking steps or other food processing, in a radial advance section, preferably an endless conveyor belt 10. . The articles 100 are then spaced apart, i.e. placed in a desired relative position, by a separation device such as that described in U.S. Patent 5,535,881, also from Mims, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. reference. The conveyor belt 10 transports the spaced articles 100 to the apparatus of the present invention. Preferably, the apparatus is used in combination with an automated sandwich cookie making system, such as the well-known system for making COOKIE CAPPER (trade name) sandwiches, which requires every two rows of articles 100 to be transported to a filling station ( not shown), with its lower surfaces facing up. The lower surface receives a cookie filling substance deposited on the surface by the filling station. The filling station can be any station as is known in the art. For example, the station may be that shown in U.S. Patent 4,194,443 which is also incorporated herein by reference. After the articles 100 pass the filling station, every two rows, having the upper surface of the cookie facing upward, are raised to a capping station, such as that shown in United States Patent 4,194,443 and subsequently placed in the row of articles that have the filler substance deposited therein. With an automatic biscuit sandwiching system as described above, the apparatus of the present invention cooperates in two positions. In a sliding position, in the position of the sliding mechanism 11 indicated by the faded lines, the sliding mechanism 11 is positioned below the edge of the radially advancing conveyor belt 10. In particular the sliding mechanism 11 has a primary sliding surface 11a which is positioned to form a horizontal angle of the conveyor belt 10, such that when the article stream 100 reaches the edge thereof, row by row of the articles 100 are transported out of the conveyor belt 10 and slide down the sliding primary surface 11A towards a transport mechanism 20. The primary sliding surface 11A guides each biscuit 100 towards a sliding secondary surface 12A formed on a second sliding mechanism 12. The sliding surface 12A is positioned such that it is within the same surface plane as the primary sliding surface 11A. The biscuit 100 then slides down from the surface 12A until its movement is stopped by the damping bar of the spring 13 which forms a junction with the lower edge of the sliding surface 12A. The spring damper bar 13 has a horizontal boundary or extension that spans the full width of the slide mechanism 12 and the transport mechanism 20. The rod 13 is rotatably mounted on a shaft or the like, such that it can be turned in a counter-clockwise direction. When the spring absorber bar 13 is rotated in this manner (towards the position indicated by the faded line), the biscuit 100 which has been registered in position in the joint formed by the rod 13 and the surface 12A, drops by its own weight on the horizontal surface of the transport mechanism 20. The transport mechanism 20 is used to transport the articles 100 to the filling and capping stations; preferably, the mechanism is an endless conveyor belt. However, any appropriate transport mechanism can be used. The spring cushion band 13 provides the control necessary to accurately deposit the biscuits 100 on the transport mechanism. In the tumbling position, the apparatus of the present invention causes or causes the sliding mechanism 11 to rise and to tilt such that the horizontal plane of the conveyor belt 10 penetrates, as shown by the solid line of Figure 1. In this way, the stream of articles reaching the edge of the band 10, will come into contact with the sliding mechanism 11. In particular, the sliding mechanism 11 has a stop surface 11B that is constructed to receive the articles 100, row by row, as these are transported out of the band 10. The stop surface restricts the forward movement of each article 100 and guides it down towards an inverted sliding surface 12B of the second sliding mechanism 12. Each article 100 that is transported outside the conveyor belt and sliding down the inverted sliding surface 12B, it slides on its upper surface. A stop bar 14 is provided in a position directly above the surface of the transport mechanism 20, and it assists as a restraining surface to stop the movement of each article 100 that slides down the inverted sliding surface 12B. In the preferred embodiment, a retractable plate 15 is placed directly below the bar 14 to form a joint with these in the lower position of the inverted slide 12B. Each article 100 that falls down from the slide 12B comes into contact with the stop bar 14 and comes to rest on the joint formed by the bar 14 and the plate 15 in a position above the transport mechanism 20. The retractable plate is able to move slidably in the direction of the arrows A by means of a driving device, such as an air cylinder or the like, such that it can be retracted to a position behind the extension of the stop bar 14. Retracting the plate 15 in this manner, the article 100 placed in the aforementioned joint is released and allowed to fall down on the surface of the transport mechanism 20. The dump gate 50 is placed directly above a surface of the device 20 for stopping and selectively holding the overturned articles 100 while these are arranged on the conveying device 20. Specifically, the turning gate 50 is capable of selectively moving between a folded position in which the rotating positions are stopped. items 100 as well (see the firm line in Figure 1), and an elevated position in which items 100 are allowed to be transported by the transport device 20 (see the faded line in Figure 1). The gate can be operated by known air cylinders, solenoids or the like. The remaining elements of the preferred embodiment can be operated and controlled by known mechanical elements or electrical elements, such as those described in U.S. Patent 5,287,953. As noted above, the dump gate 50 allows the preferred embodiment to operate in a manner substantially different from known devices. Specifically, the invention may utilize a timing control that allows establishing adequate periods for the articles 100 as they are transported. Figure 2 is a time diagram of the present embodiment. The horizontal axis of Figure 2 represents the time in incremental units. For example, each unit can be 1/30 of a second. At this synchronization, 200 rows of items per minute can be handled. The smallest incremental time periods allow the invention to handle up to 300 rows per minute. Unlike the view of the gate 100, the inventive apparatus on which the test is conducted is identical to that of the example discussed above. Accordingly the benefits of the gate 100 can be determined based on the Figure 2. As illustrated in the curve (A) of Figure 2, a row of article 100 is released from the radial advance conveyor 10 every 9 units per interval, i.e. to 9 units, 18 units, 27 units, etc. As shown by the curve (B) of Figure 2, the sliding mechanism 11 is controlled to allow the first row of article 100 is turned in the manner described above, the second row of the articles 100 to be slid on the transport device 20 in the manner described above, with subsequent rows alternating between being folded and slid. A high curve value (B) corresponds to the faded line of the sliding mechanism 11 of Figure 1 and a low value corresponds to the solid line of Figure 1. In this way, the selected article rows 100 are fed to a position wherein these are supported on the retractable bar 15 against the stop bar 14. The curve (c) of Figure 2 illustrates the state of the retractable plate 15, specifically, the retractable plate 15 is retracted, to allow the article 100 held on it falls on the transport device 20, at 16 units per interval. Since the first row of article 100 reaches the retractable bar at 8 units per interval, the flipped article, ie, the lower article, is held on the retractable bar 15 for an established period of 8 units per interval, as illustrated by the curve (c) of Figure 2. This established period allows any oscillatory movement of article 100, due to bending or falling, dissipate. Therefore, when the retractable bar 15 is retracted to 16 units per interval, the article 100 falls softly onto the transport device 20. After each article row 100 is turned over, the sliding mechanism 11 is fixed for the position of slip (the faded line in Figure 1). Accordingly, the rows of alternating articles 100 slide along the primary guide surface 11 A, and the secondary guide surface 12A, and are maintained on the secondary guide surface 12A by the spring buffer bar 13, the which is initially down (ie, at the position indicated by the solid line in Figure 1). The curve (e) illustrates the state of the spring damper bar 13. The second row of article 100 is released at 9 units per interval, and reaches the spring damper bar 13 at 15 units per interval. At 21 units per interval, the spring absorber bar is raised (to the position of the faded line in Figure 1) to release the article 100 slid over the transport device 20. Therefore, the slid article 100 is maintained for a period of 6 units per interval on the secondary guide surface 12A. This allows a uniform release on the conveying device 20. Meanwhile, the rows of previously flipped articles 100 have been transported by the transport device 20, which is continuously moved, to a position where the tumbled articles 100 bear against the turning gate 100, which is initially in the downward position, that is, the position indicated by the firm line of Figure 1). As illustrated in curve (d) of Figure 2, the tumbled articles 100 reach the dump gate 50 to 23 units per interval and the dump gate rises to 29 units per interval (a retention time of 6 units per interval) to allow the tumbled articles 100 to be transported by the transport device 20 to a predetermined space behind the slid articles 100, which were released on the transport device 20 to 21 units per interval, i.e., 8 units by intervals before releasing items 100 flipped. Because the release of the tumbled articles 100 is achieved by the tumbling gate 50, while the tumbled articles 100 are arranged directly on the conveying device 20, the release time can be controlled exactly and the release can be achieved more easily, when opposed to the dropping of an article 100 moving in the transport device 20, to control the release as in the conventional device. It can be seen that the addition of the dump gate 50 allows the device to operate in a manner that is fundamentally different from known devices. Because the test apparatus according to the invention was identical to the apparatus used as a conventional example, with the exception of the gate added, the increased retention time to the flipped article is attributable solely to the use of the gate. Figure 3 illustrates the dump gate 50 as seen from the direction of travel of the articles 100 on the conveying device 20. Specifically, the dump gate 50 includes a shaft 52 supported to rotate above the conveying device 20. plurality of bolt 50 extends radially from the shaft 52 and extends towards the surface of the conveying device 20 when the dump gate 50 is in the downward position. Therefore, the tumbled articles 100 will bear against the adjacent bolts 54, as illustrated, when the dump gate 50 is down. The bolts 50 serves to centralize the items 100 in an appropriate route, i.e., a position in the transverse direction of the transport device 20. The synchronization of the preferred embodiment can be achieved through known means, such as cams and cam followers, or a microprocessor-based device programmed in a desired manner. The different components can be driven by known devices, such as solenoids, motors, air cylinders and the like. The invention can control both the sliding process and the tumbling process of an automatic sandwich system such that the distance between the upper and lower articles. For example, within a stream (ie, corresponding to the items slid and flipped, respectively) can be at a predetermined regular distance, regardless of the speed of the course. Accordingly, an automatic sandwich making system, such as the COOKIE CAPPER sandwich system, can be operated at high speeds without being inhibited by the problems of poor positioning and the like, found in conventional devices. Although the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to its preferred embodiment, it will be understood that various changes in form and detail can be made herein without departing from the scope spirit of the invention. For example, non-essential elements of the apparatus can be removed if desired, without affecting the advantages derived from the single invention described herein. Although the present invention has been described with respect to food items such as biscuits and the like, it is obvious that the novel apparatus can easily be used for similar operations, not only in food processing, but in the handling of any type of articles for operations of manufacture and the like.

Claims (14)

1. An apparatus for flipping and placing an article comprising: a transport device; an operative sliding member for sliding or flipping articles transported therein, the articles being deposited on said transport device after being slid or overturned by said sliding member; and a restriction device disposed near said transport device, said restriction device being operative to selectively retain the articles that have been turned in a desired position on said transport device, and to release the items that have been turned over to a predetermined time to properly orient articles that have been flipped over with respect to items that have slipped.

An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said restriction device comprises at least one positioning surface, which places the articles that have been turned in a desired relative orientation with respect to one another.

An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said restriction device comprises an elongated member having a plurality of bolts extending therefrom, said elongate member extending through at least a portion of said transport device. , and being rotatably mounted to allow the bolts to be moved selectively from a restraining position, wherein said bolts make contact with the articles that have been turned, to a release position, wherein the articles that have been can be freely transported by said transport device.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein adjacent pairs of said bolts, respectively, make contact with the articles that have been turned when said restriction device is in the restriction position, said pairs of bolts constituting said positioning surface.

5. An apparatus for flipping and placing articles comprising: a transport device; a primary sliding member capable of selectively moving to slide or flip, an article transported by a radially advancing transport; an inverted sliding member for receiving a flipped article and guiding the movement of the article as it slides down a surface thereof; a tumble stop for stopping the movement of the overturned article before the article is deposited on said transport and subsequently depositing the article flipped over said transport device; and a secondary sliding member for receiving said slid article and guiding the movement of the article as it slides down a surface thereof; a restriction gate to selectively restrict the movement of the flipped article, which has been deposited on the transport , where the restriction gate is controlled in such a way that the respective positions of both of said slid items and said articles flipped over said transport device are controlled in such a manner that the tumbled and slid items are placed on said transport device in a desired relative orientation.

An apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: a sliding stopping for stopping movement of the article slid down from the surface of the secondary sliding member, such that the article is in a relative given position to the flipped article, wherein the slid item comes to rest in a position registered in a joint or joint between said secondary sliding member and said sliding stopping , said sliding stopping being capable of moving selectively to deposit a sliding article on said transport , said sliding stopping unit being controlled in accordance with said restriction gate to place said tumbled articles and said slid articles in a desired relative manner on said transport device.

An apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: a plate, slidably coupled to said sliding stop unit, said plate forming a plane generally above the forward feed transport unit, wherein tumbled articles come to rest on a joint or joint formed by said sliding stopping unit and said plate

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said articles are food articles.

9. A process for automatically flipping and placing articles, comprising the steps of: transporting a plurality of rows of articles to a first position; selectively flip said items that are transported; a first step of placement to place items without flipping over a transport device; a second step of placement to place turned items on the transport device; and selectively restricting the movement of the overturned articles while arranging the flipped articles on the conveying device, to place the flipped articles in a desired relative orientation with respect to the articles without flipping.

A process according to claim 9, further comprising the step of: keeping the articles turned, after said step of turning in a selective manner, for a predetermined set period to allow the oscillatory movement generated during said step to be dispelled selectively, before said second step of placement.

A process according to claim 10, wherein said selectively turning step comprises flipping a first row of articles and subsequently allowing a second row of articles to be deposited on the transport device; and wherein said step of selectively restricting keeps the first row of articles, which have been turned over, on the transport device and releases the first row of articles at a predetermined time, in such a way that the first row of articles is placed on the transport device behind the second row of articles in a travel direction of the transport device.

A process according to claim 11, wherein said step of selectively restricting is achieved by a gate, which comprises an elongated member having a plurality of bolts extending therefrom, said elongate member extending through at least a part of the transport device, and being rotatably mounted to allow said bolts to be moved selectively from a restraining position, wherein said bolts make contact with the articles that have been turned, to a release position, in where articles that have been flipped can be freely transported by said transport device.

13. A process according to claim 12, wherein said articles are food items.

14. A process for flipping and placing articles, comprising: transporting a first row of articles to a first position; flip the first row of articles; maintaining said first row of articles near a transport device for a predetermined set time; transporting a second row of articles to the first position after said turning step; maintaining said second row of articles in a holding position close to the transport device; depositing the second row of articles on the transport device at a predetermined first time or interval; after said established time has elapsed, deposit the first row of articles on the transport device; restrict the first row of articles to move, after the first row of articles has been deposited on the transport device; and releasing the first row of articles to place the first row of articles in a position behind the second row of articles on the transport device, with respect to a direction of movement of the transport device.