WO1996011141A2

WO1996011141A2 - Box hopper and picker for conveyor line packaging

Info

Publication number: WO1996011141A2
Application number: PCT/US1995/012852
Authority: WO
Inventors: Cory R. Kennedy
Original assignee: Interbake Foods, Inc.
Priority date: 1994-10-06
Filing date: 1995-10-05
Publication date: 1996-04-18
Also published as: WO1996011141A3; AU3949195A; CA2160066A1

Abstract

An apparatus for conveyor line packaging comprising a box hopper assembly for holding a plurality of flattened boxes, a box conveyor assembly for conveying a plurality of unflattened boxes along a substantially horizontal plane; a box picker assembly for gripping one of the plurality of flattened boxes, forcing the gripped box into an unflattened state, and placing the unflattened box on the box conveyor assembly; and a drive assembly for continuously driving the box picker assembly, intermittently driving the box conveyor assembly, and synchronizing the box conveyor assembly with the box picker assembly so as to insure that the box conveyor assembly is not moving when the box picker assembly places the unflattened box thereon.

Description

BOX HOPPER AND PICKER FOR CONVEYOR LINE PACKAGING

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to conveyor line packaging and, more particularly, to a box hopper and picker for conveyor line packaging.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Mass produced articles are generally packaged individually or collectively in boxes in a repetitive fashion. The boxes are usually loaded onto a box conveyor and conveyed to a loading station where the articles are loaded into the boxes. The box flaps are then sealed so that the entire package may be easily handled.

The loading station is typically automated in that the articles are generally pushed or dropped into the boxes via a control arm or lever once the boxes reach the loading station. The position of the boxes at the loading station is critical since the control arm or lever performs on the assumption that the boxes are always in a particular loading position. The box conveyor, which is typically linked to the automated loading station, is responsible for positioning the boxes in this loading position. Thus, the positioning of the boxes on the box conveyor is also critical.

The boxes are often placed on the box conveyor via an apparatus which also opens the boxes. Furthermore, such an apparatus must typically place the boxes on the box conveyor while it is moving. Thus, such an apparatus must perform a box opening function and a moving placement function. Heretofore, box loading apparatus have been double cam operators corresponding to the box opening function and moving placement function. These apparatus required a cam for performing the box opening function and a cam for performing a moving placement function. These two cams had to be synchronous with each other and with the box conveyor so as to insure that the boxes were properly placed on the box conveyor. Furthermore, these two cams had to be separately maintained.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to overcome the disadvantages of having a box loading apparatus which requires two cams.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention contemplates an adjustable box hopper and picker for conveyor line packaging. The present invention is a single cam operator for use with a box conveyor assembly and an indexing gearbox. The present invention comprises and adjustable box hopper assembly and an adjustable box picker assembly.

The adjustable box hopper assembly comprises lengthwise and widthwise guides for containing a stack of flattened boxes. One of the lengthwise guides of the hopper assembly is adjustable through a mechanical arrangement so as to allow boxes of different lengths to be accommodated. Similarly, the widthwise guides of the hopper assembly are adjustable through a mechanical arrangement so as to allow boxes of different widths to be accommodated.

The adjustable box picker assembly comprises a pair of suction levers for gripping a box from the box hopper and a breaker bar for forcing open the box into a parallelepipedon form as it is moved by the suction levers from the box hopper and placed on the box conveyor. The movement of the suction levers is controlled through the movement of a rotatable picker cam. The suction levers are adjustable through mechanical arrangements so as to correspond with the size of the boxes in the box hopper.

The box conveyor assembly comprises a plurality of box flights, a pair of conveyor line drive chains upon which the box flights are mounted and transported, and set pairs of conveyor line drive chain sprockets around which the conveyor line drive chains are wrapped. The drive chain sprockets are supported by a rotatable conveyor drive shaft on one end by a pair of support brackets on the other end. Thus, rotation of the rotatable conveyor drive shaft results in the conveyor line drive chains being driven around the conveyor line drive chain sprockets thereby resulting in the box flights being transported with the conveyor line drive chains.

The rotational movement of the rotatable picker cam, along with the rotational movement of the rotatable conveyor drive shaft, is governed by a drive assembly comprising an indexing gearbox. The indexing gearbox synchronizes the movement of the adjustable box picker assembly with the movement of the box conveyor assembly so as to insure that the adjustable box picker assembly places boxes held in the adjustable box hopper assembly on the box conveyor assembly when the box conveyor assembly is not moving.

Accordingly, the primary object of the present invention to provide an adjustable box hopper and picker for conveyor line packaging wherein the box picker is a single cam operator for use with a box conveyor assembly and an indexing gearbox. The above primary object, as well as other objects, features, and advantages, of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description which is to be read in conjunction with the appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to facilitate a fuller understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the appended drawings. These drawings should not be construed as limiting the present invention, but are intended to be exemplary only.

Figure 1 is a side view of part of the frame of a packaging machine along with an adjustable box hopper assembly according to the present invention attached thereto.

Figure 2 is an end view of the frame and the adjustable box hopper assembly shown in Figure l taken along line 2- 2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side view of part of the frame of a packaging machine along with an adjustable box picker assembly according to the present invention attached thereto.

Figure 4 is a top view of the frame and the adjustable box picker assembly shown in Figure 3 taken along line 4- 4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an end view of the frame and the adjustable box picker assembly shown in Figure 3 taken along line 5- 5 of Figure 4. Figure 6 is an isolated side view of the frame and the adjustable box picker assembly shown in Figure 3 along with a breaker bar assembly according to the present invention attached thereto.

Figure 7 is a side view of part of the frame of a packaging machine along with a drive assembly according to the present invention attached thereto.

Figure 8 is a top view of the frame and the drive assembly shown in Figure 7 taken along line 8-8 of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is an end view of the frame and the drive assembly shown in Figure 7 taken along line 9-9 of Figure 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, there are shown a side view and an end view, respectively, of part of the frame 10 of a packaging machine along with an adjustable box hopper assembly 12 according to the present invention attached thereto. The part of the frame 10 shown comprises a pair of frame panels 14, a stationary strongback 16, an adjustable strongback 17, a pair of frame leg assemblies 18, a pair of box hopper mounting brackets 20, and a plurality of cross-frame supports 22. The adjustable box hopper assembly 12 comprises a box hopper frame 24, a pair of widthwise adjustable box guide assemblies 26, and a lengthwise adjustable box guide assembly 28. It should be noted that the lengthwise adjustable box guide assembly 28 is not shown in Figure 2 for purposes of clarity.

The box hopper frame 24 is secured to the box hopper mounting brackets 20 and thus to the frame 10. The box hopper frame 24 has a rectangular shape and the widthwise adjustable box guide assemblies 26 are secured to the sides of the box hopper frame 24. Each widthwise adjustable box guide assembly 26 comprises a support block and bushing holder 30 secured to the side of the box hopper frame 24, a pair of adjustment shafts 32 which pass through bushings in the support block and bushing holder 30, a cross bar 34 secured to the outer ends of the adjustment shafts 32, a side box guide plate 36 secured to the inner ends of the adjustment shafts 32, and a box flap support bar 38 secured to the side box guide plate 36 by a pair of spacer screws 40.

The widthwise adjustable box guide assemblies 26 are adjustable by sliding the adjustment shafts 32 through the bushings in the support block and bushing holder 30. Thus, since the side box guide plates 36 are secured to the adjustment shafts 32, the distance between the side box guide plates 36 is adjustable by sliding the adjustment shafts 32 through the bushings in the support block and bushing holder 30.

The box flap support bars 38 support the end flaps of the boxes held in the adjustable box hopper assembly 12. The box flap support bars 38 also assist in unflattening the boxes held in the adjustable box hopper assembly 12 as will be described in more detail shortly.

The lengthwise adjustable box guide assembly 28 comprises a plurality of bottom box guide members 42 secured to the bottom of the box hopper frame 24, a cross-frame bracket 44 disposed between the sides of the box hopper frame 24, a plurality of top box guide members 45 secured to the cross-frame bracket 44, a pair of threaded bore adjustment blocks 46 secured to the cross-frame bracket 44, a pair of threaded adjustment shafts 48 mated with and adjustable within the threaded bores of the adjustment blocks 46, a pair of adjustment sprockets 50 integral with the pair of threaded adjustment shafts 48, an adjustment chain 52 linking the adjustment sprockets 50, and a hand wheel 54 secured to the outer end of one of the pair of threaded adjustment shafts 48.

The lengthwise adjustable box guide assembly 28 is adjustable by turning the hand wheel 54 which in turn causes the pair of threaded adjustment shafts 48 to turn correspondingly by virtue of the adjustment chain linkage. As the threaded adjustment shafts 48 are turned, the threaded bore adjustment blocks 46 move up or down the threaded adjustment shafts 48 thereby adjusting the position of the cross-frame bracket 44 and the plurality of top box guide members 45. Thus, the plurality of top box guide members 45 are adjustable, but the plurality of bottom box guide members 42 are fixed in position.

At the bottoms of both the plurality of bottom box guide members 42 and the plurality of top box guide members 45 there are secured box support tabs 56 for supporting the boxes held in the adjustable box hopper assembly 12.

It should be noted that the box hopper frame 24 is secured to the box hopper mounting brackets 20 and thus to the frame 10 at an acute angle above horizontal. Thus, the widthwise adjustable box guide assemblies 26, the lengthwise adjustable box guide assembly 28, and the boxes held by these box guide assemblies 26,28 are maintained at this acute angle.

Referring to Figures 3-5, there are shown a side view, a top view, and an end view, respectively, of the part of the frame 10 of the packaging machine shown in Figures 1 and 2 along with an adjustable box picker assembly 58 according to the present invention attached thereto. 8

None of the components of the adjustable box hopper assembly 12 are shown in these figures for purposes of clarity. In addition to those components of the part of the frame 10 of the packaging machine shown in Figures 1 and 2, a pair of angled frame supports 59 and selected components of a box conveyor assembly 60 are shown in Figures 3-5. The selected components 60 comprise a plurality of box flights 62, a pair of conveyor line drive chains 64 upon which the box flights 62 are mounted and transported, and set pairs of conveyor line drive chain sprockets 66 around which the conveyor line drive chains 64 are wrapped. The drive chain sprockets 66 on the drive end are supported by a rotatable conveyor drive shaft 67 and the drive chain sprockets 66 on the idle end are supported by a pair of support brackets 69. One of the support brackets 69 is secured to the stationary strongback 16 and the other support bracket 69 is secured to the adjustable strongback 17. Thus, rotation of the rotatable conveyor drive shaft 67 results in the conveyor line drive chains 64 being driven around the conveyor line drive chain sprockets 66 thereby resulting in the box flights 62 being transported along a substantially horizontal plane with the conveyor line drive chains 64.

In operation, the boxes held in the adjustable box hopper assembly 12 are removed from the adjustable box hopper assembly 12 by the adjustable box picker assembly 58 and are placed on the box conveyor assembly 60 between the box flights 62. During this operation, the boxes are forced from their flattened state in the adjustable box hopper assembly 12 to an unflattened state on the box conveyor assembly 60. It should be noted that, although not shown, the box flights 62 are of such an amount and are so spaced so as to allow a plurality of boxes to be placed on and conveyed by the box conveyor assembly 60. The adjustable box picker assembly 58 comprises a pair of picker arms 68 each having length-adjustable suction assemblies 70 secured thereto, a picker shaft 72, rotatably mounted between the box hopper mounting brackets 20, to which the picker arms 68 are secured, a shaft lever 74 extending radially outward from the picker shaft 72, a vertical linking rod 76 having end bearings one of which is connected to the shaft lever 74, an angled pivoting lever 78 secured to a frame panel 14 and connected to the other end bearing of the vertical linking rod 76, a horizontal linking rod 80 having end bearings one of which is connected to the angled pivoting lever 78, a linear pivoting lever 82, having a cam roller 84, secured to a frame panel 14 and connected to the other end bearing of the horizontal linking rod 80, and a rotatable picker cam 86 having a cam face upon which the cam roller 84 of the linear pivoting lever 82 rides. The picker shaft 72 pivots about a first axis 88, the angled pivoting lever 78 pivots about a second axis 90, the linear pivoting lever 82 pivots about a third axis 92, and the rotatable picker cam 86 pivots about a fourth axis 94. The picker shaft 72, the shaft lever 74, the vertical linking rod 76, the angled pivoting lever 78, the horizontal linking rod 80, and the linear pivoting lever 82 may all be referred to as linkage means for mechanically linking the rotatable picker cam 86 with the picker arms 68.

Each of the length-adjustable suction assemblies 70 comprises a mounting bar 96 whose position is adjustable within a slot of a corresponding picker arm 68, and a plurality of suction cups 98 mounted on the mounting bar 96 for gripping engagement with the boxes held in the adjustable box hopper assembly 12. The plurality of suction cups 98 may perform the gripping function stand alone, or negative pressure lines may be connected to the suction cups so as to enhance the gripping force. The length-adjustable suction assemblies 70 are movable with the picker shaft 72 and the picker arms 68 between a substantially horizontal position and a position commensurate with the acute angle at which the boxes in the adjustable box hopper assembly 12 are held. This movement is governed by the rotational movement of the rotatable picker cam 86 about the fourth axis 94 as conveyed to the picker shaft 72 through the linear pivoting lever 82, the horizontal linking rod 80, the angled pivoting lever 78, the vertical linking rod 76, and the shaft lever 74. The rotational movement of the rotatable picker cam 86, along with the rotational movement of the rotatable conveyor drive shaft 67, is governed by a drive assembly 100 which will be described in detail shortly.

Referring to Figure 6, there is shown an isolated side view of the frame 10 and the adjustable box picker assembly 58 shown in Figure 3. Also shown in Figure 6 is a breaker bar assembly 102 for assisting in forcing boxes from their flattened state in the adjustable box hopper assembly 12 to an unflattened state on the box conveyor assembly 60. The breaker bar assembly 102 comprises a breaker bar 104, an adjustable breaker bar plate 106, and breaker bar mounting bracket 108. The breaker bar mounting bracket 108 extends between and is secured to a pair of box guide rails 110, which are supported by a corresponding pair of box guide rail brackets 112. One of the box guide rail brackets 112 is secured to the stationary strongback 16 and the other box guide rail brackets 112 is secured to the adjustable strongback 17. The position of the breaker bar plate 106, and hence the breaker bar 104, is adjustable through a horizontal slot in the breaker bar plate 106.

In operation, the picker arms 68 and the corresponding suction assemblies 70 are first in a position commensurate with the acute angle at which the boxes in the adjustable box hopper assembly 12 are held. In this position, the suction cups 98 of the suction assemblies 70 grip the bottom surface of a box 116 held in the adjustable box hopper assembly 12. The picker arms 68 and the corresponding suction assemblies 70 are then lowered to a substantially horizontal position where the box 116 is placed on the box conveyor assembly 60 between the box flights 62. During this lowering motion, as shown in Figure 6, the leading edge of the box 116 comes into contact with the breaker bar 104, thereby assisting in forcing the box 116 from its flattened state in the adjustable box hopper assembly 12 to an unflattened state on the box conveyor assembly 60. It should be noted that the box flap support bars 38 also assist in unflattening the box 116 by engaging the upper end flaps of the box 116 while the bottom surface of the box 116 is being pulled downward.

Referring to Figures 7-9, there are shown a side view, a top view, and an end view, respectively, of the part of the frame 10 of the packaging machine shown in Figures l- 6 along with a drive assembly 100 according to the present invention attached thereto. None of the components of the adjustable box hopper assembly 12, the adjustable box picker assembly 58, or the box conveyor assembly 60, except the rotatable picker cam 86 and the rotatable conveyor drive shaft 67, are shown in these figures for purposes of clarity. In addition to those components of the part of the frame 10 of the packaging machine shown in Figures 1-6, a support platform 118 is shown in Figures 7-9.

The drive assembly 100 comprises a DC motor 120, a clutch/brake 122 coupled to the rotatable output shaft of the DC motor 120, a reducer 124 coupled to the rotatable output shaft of the clutch/brake 122, an indexing gearbox 126 coupled to the rotatable output shaft of the reducer 124 by a chain coupling 128, a first overload clutch 130 coupled to a continuous motion output shaft 132 of the indexing gearbox 126 by a browning coupling 134, a cam drive output sprocket 136 mounted on the rotatable output shaft of the first overload clutch 130, a cam drive idler sprocket 138 rotatably mounted on a first tensioner 140 which in turn is secured to the frame panel 14, a cam drive input sprocket 142 mounted on a rotatable picker cam shaft 144, a cam drive chain 146 wrapped around the cam drive output sprocket 136, the cam drive idler sprocket 138, and the cam drive input sprocket 142, and a hub 148 mounted on the rotatable picker cam shaft 144. The rotatable picker cam 86 is secured to the hub 148 so as to be rotatable with the rotatable picker cam shaft 144.

In operation, the DC motor 120 drives the continuous motion output shaft 132 of the indexing gearbox 126 via the clutch/brake 122 and the reducer 124. The DC motor 120 is typically a 3/4 HP DC motor and the reducer is typically a 30:1 reducer. The clutch/brake 122 operates by engaging or disengaging the output shaft of the DC motor 120 so as to allow the DC motor 120 to run continuously without continuously transferring output torque to the reducer 124 and the indexing gearbox 126. The continuous motion output shaft 132, in turn, drives the cam drive chain 146 around the cam drive output sprocket 136, the cam drive idler sprocket 138, and the cam drive input sprocket 142 via the first overload clutch 130. The driving motion of the cam drive chain 146 around the cam drive input sprocket 142 causes the rotatable picker cam shaft 144 to rotate thereby causing the rotatable picker cam 86 to rotate. The first overload clutch 130 is merely a safety mechanism for disengaging its own output shaft from the continuous motion output shaft 132 of the indexing gearbox 126 when a predetermined output torque is reached. Thus, the rotatable picker cam 86 typically rotates in correspondence with the continuous motion output shaft 132 depending solely on the operation of the clutch/brake 122. It should be noted that an encoder 151 is coupled to the rotatable picker cam shaft 144. It should also be noted that the clutch/brake 122 is controlled by a programmable logic controller (PLC) 150, which accepts input from the encoder 151 as will be described in more detail shortly.

The drive assembly 100 further comprises an indexing output shaft 152 of the indexing gearbox 126, a second overload clutch 154 coupled to the indexing output shaft 152 of the indexing gearbox 126, an conveyor drive output sprocket 156 mounted on the rotatable output shaft of the second overload clutch 154, a conveyor drive idler sprocket 158 rotatably mounted on a second tensioner 160 which in turn is secured to the frame panel 14, a conveyor drive input sprocket 162 mounted on the rotatable conveyor drive shaft 67, and a conveyor shaft drive chain 164 wrapped around the conveyor drive output sprocket 156, the conveyor drive idler sprocket 158, and the conveyor drive input sprocket 162.

In operation, the indexing gearbox 126 rotates the indexing output shaft 152 only for a portion of the time that the continuous motion output shaft 132 is rotating. Typically, the indexing output shaft 152 rotates only for a 180' portion of the 360* total rotation time of the continuous motion output shaft 132. During this 180^* portion, the indexing output shaft 152 drives the conveyor shaft drive chain 164 around the conveyor drive output sprocket 156, the conveyor drive idler sprocket 158, and the conveyor drive input sprocket 162 via the second overload clutch 154. The driving motion of the conveyor shaft drive chain 164 around the conveyor drive 14 input sprocket 162 causes the rotatable conveyor drive shaft 67 to rotate thereby causing the conveyor line drive chain sprockets 66 to rotate. The second overload clutch 154, similar to the first overload clutch 130, is merely a safety mechanism for disengaging its own output shaft from the indexing output shaft 152 of the indexing gearbox 126 when a predetermined output torque is reached. Thus, the conveyor line drive chain sprockets 66 typically rotate in correspondence with the indexing output shaft 152 depending on the operation of the indexing gearbox 126 and the clutch/brake 122.

It should be noted that during the time when the indexing output shaft 152, and hence the conveyor line drive chain sprockets 66, are not being rotated, the boxes held in the adjustable box hopper assembly 12 are being removed from the adjustable box hopper assembly 12 by the adjustable box picker assembly 58 and placed on the box conveyor assembly 60 between the box flights 62. As previously described, this movement of the adjustable box picker assembly 58 is governed by the rotational movement of the rotatable picker cam 86 about the fourth axis 94 as conveyed to the picker shaft 72 through the linear pivoting lever 82, the horizontal linking rod 80, the angled pivoting lever 78, the vertical linking rod 76, and the shaft lever 74. Thus, the movement of the adjustable box picker assembly 58 is synchronized through the indexing gearbox 126 with the movement of the box conveyor assembly 60 so as to insure that the adjustable box picker assembly 58 places the boxes held in the adjustable box hopper assembly 12 on the box conveyor assembly 60 when the box conveyor assembly 60 is not moving, and that once the adjustable box picker assembly 58 has placed a box on the box conveyor assembly 60 the box conveyor assembly 60 will convey the box downstream to a packaging station (not shown) . As previously described, the encoder 151 is coupled to the rotatable picker cam shaft 144. The encoder 151 senses the position of the rotatable picker cam shaft 144 and conveys this information to the PLC 150. In response to the information provided by the encoder 151, and possibly other information provided by other packaging machine sensors, the PLC 150 controls the clutch/brake 122 (i.e. engages or disengages the output shaft of the DC motor 120) . The PLC 150 may also control other functions of the packaging machine.

The present invention is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiment described herein. Indeed, various modifications of the present invention, in addition to those described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in the art from the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Thus, such modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. Additionally, various references are cited throughout the specification, the disclosures of which are each incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An apparatus for conveyor line packaging, said apparatus comprising:

a box hopper assembly for holding a plurality of flattened boxes; a box conveyor assembly for conveying a plurality of unflattened boxes along a substantially horizontal plane; a box picker assembly for gripping one of the plurality of flattened boxes, forcing the gripped box into an unflattened state, and placing the unflattened box on the box conveyor assembly; and a drive assembly for continuously driving the box picker assembly, intermittently driving the box conveyor assembly, and synchronizing the box conveyor assembly with the box picker assembly so as to insure that the box conveyor assembly is not moving when the box picker assembly places the unflattened box thereon.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the box hopper assembly is adjustable so as to allow boxes of different lengths to be accommodated therein.

3. The apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein the box hopper assembly comprises an adjustable lengthwise guide for allowing boxes of different lengths to be accommodated therein.

4. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the box hopper assembly is adjustable so as to allow boxes of different widths to be accommodated therein.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein the box hopper assembly comprises at least one adjustable widthwise guide for allowing boxes of different widths to be accommodated therein.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the box conveyor assembly comprises a plurality of box flights for holding the plurality of unflattened boxes therebetween.

7. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the box conveyor assembly comprises a drive chain and a rotatable drive shaft for driving the drive chain, wherein the rotatable drive shaft is intermittently driven by the drive assembly.

8. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the box picker assembly comprises at least one picker arm pivotal between a gripping position adjacent the plurality of flattened boxes in the box hopper assembly and a placing position coinciding with the substantially horizontal plane of the conveying assembly.

9. The apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein the box picker assembly further comprises suction means mounted on each picker arm for gripping one of the plurality of flattened boxes.

10. The apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein the suction means is adjustable on each picker arm so as to grip boxes of different sizes.

11. The apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein the box picker assembly further comprises a rotatable picker cam and linkage means for mechanically linking the rotatable picker cam to each picker arm, wherein the rotatable picker cam is continuously driven by the drive assembly.

12. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the box picker assembly comprises a breaker bar disposed intermediate the box hopper assembly and the conveyor assembly for forcing the gripped box into the unflattened state.

13. The apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein the unflattened state is a parallelepipedon form.

14. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the drive assembly comprises an indexing gearbox for continuously driving the box picker assembly, intermittently driving the box conveyor assembly, and synchronizing the box conveyor assembly with the box picker assembly.

15. The apparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein the indexing gearbox provides a continuous motion output shaft for continuously driving the box picker assembly and an indexing output shaft for intermittently driving the box conveyor assembly.

16. The apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the drive assembly further comprises a motor having an output shaft for providing torque to the indexing gearbox.

17. The apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein the drive assembly further comprises a clutch/brake for selectively engaging and disengaging the output shaft of the motor, wherein the clutch/brake has an output shaft so as to selectively provide torque to the indexing gearbox.

18. The apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein the drive assembly further comprises a reducer for reducing the speed of the output shaft of the clutch/brake, wherein the reducer has an output shaft so as to provide torque at a reduced speed to the indexing gearbox.

19. The apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein the drive assembly further comprises a programmable logic controller for controlling the motor and the clutch/brake.

20. The apparatus as defined in claim 19, wherein the drive assembly further comprises an encoder for sensing the position of the continuous motion output shaft and conveying this position to the programmable logic controller.