US3744649A - Squaring and bundle counting machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A modern fully automated squaring and bundle counting machine that is used in the corrugated board box industry is provided to stack, square, count and eject, in bundles, folded and glued boxes that are being discharged at high speed from printing, scoring, folding and gluding type machines. This squaring and bundle counting machine consists of a flat bed frame with feed rollers at one end, where the glued, flat board boxes enter into a first hopper and are stacked, squared, and compressed therein. A regulated speed belt removes the folded and glued boxes from the bottom of the stack in the first hopper, one by one. The flat boxes are then counted by an electric eye beam and guided up onto a multi-belt conveyor where they are stacked again in a second hopper, from the bottom to a preset number per bundle. A unique arrangement of a moveable bar, and a pusher bar mechanism, operating together with electric eye switches and associated circuits, separate the bundles and ejects them onto a second multi-belt discharge conveyor. The cycle is then repeated without interruption to the flow of the boxes.

Description

i United States Patent [151 Ward,Jr. v I

[ 11 3,744,649 July 10, 1973 [75] Inventor:

1 SQUARlNG-AND BUNDLE COUNTING MACHINE Henry D. Ward, Jr., Phoenix, Md.

. [73] Assignee: The Ward Machinery Company,

Cockeysville, Md. 221 Filed: May 5,1972

21 Appl. No.: 250,650

[52] [1.8. CI. 214/6 BA, 27l/D1G. 7, 271/6, 1 271/80, 271/87 [51] Int. Cl. 865g 57/30 [58] Field of Search 214/6 BA, 7, 6 N; 271/87, DIG. 7, 6, 80

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,030,867 4/1962 Wright 214/6 BA 3,194,127 7/1965 Larsson... 214/6 BA 3,420,387 1/1969 Baum 27l/DIG. 7

Primary Examiner-Robert J. Spar Attorneywalter G. Finch [57] ABSTRACT A modern fully automated squaring and bundle counting machine thatis used in the corrugated board box industry is provided to stack, square, "count and eject, l

in bundles, folded and glued boxes that are being discharged at high speed from printing, scoring, folding and gluding type machines. This squaring andbundle counting machine consists of a flatbed frame with feed rollers at one end, where the glued, flat board boxes enter into a first hopper and are stacked, squared, and a compressed therein.

A regulated speed belt removes the folded and glued boxes from the bottom of thestack in the first hopper,

one by one.

The flat boxes are then counted by an electric eye beam and guidedup onto a multi-beltconveyor where they are stacked again in a second hopper, from the bottom to a preset number per bundle. A unique arrangement of a moveable bar, and a pusher bar mechanism, operating together with electric eye switches and associated circuits, separate the bundles and ejects them onto a second multi-belt discharge conveyor. interruption to the flow of the boxes.

19 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures The cycle is then repeated without PATERTEU JUL 1 0191s HENRYD. WARD, JR.

//vv/v we ATTORNEY PATENTEB L 7 01975 amnesia F a. 2b

PAIENIE JUL v 0 ms misuse FIG. 2a

sion.

of use in the corrugated box industry for stacking,

squaring, counting, and ejecting, in bundles, flat corrugated board boxes that are being discharged at high speeds from printing scoring, folding and gluing type machines. a i

There is a great need for a machine to solve the acceptance of newly glued and folded sheets or boxes coming out of a folder-gluer and receiving them into a hopper or area where they can be squared up, thus eliminating any folding errors which may have occurred and proceeding after that to count them into an exact bundle of a predetermined number. i

i The ability to handle sheets or boxes which are flap cut or may have some other odd shape and the requirement to positively separate the flow of sheets or boxes out of the machine in precisely counted bundlesare two essential requirements of such a machine.

It is also desirable to have a machine where the flow of the bundles out of the machine is directed along the center line, generally speaking, of a folder-gluer. In

other words, it is desirablein order to create an easy material flow and conserve space that the printing, folding, and counting and bundling operations all be done in a direct straight line.

These operations. are usually done in two distinct stages with conventional machines. One, which is the straight line direction directly along the center line of the folder-gluer.

Thus, a need exists in the corrugated board box industry for a modern, automated machine, to be used to stack, square, count and eject, in bundles, flat board boxes that are being discharged at high speed from the printing, scoring, folding and gluing machines.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a squaring andbundle counting machine, of the counter-ejector type.

Another object of this invention is to provide a squaring and bundle counting machine which performs all of the needs described above, its operation is automatic and reliable, and which requires a minimum of supervi- A further object of this invention is to provide a squaring and bundle counting machine that, by the action of an automatic variable speed control device, allows the machine to operate independently of the speed or intervalat which the boxes or sheets are being fed into it from anexternal source.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a squaring and bundle counting machine that is compatible with existing modern companion machinery presently being used in the corrugated board box industry. An object of this invention is to provide a squaring and bundle counting machine for the acceptance of Still another object of this invention is to provide a squaring and bundle counting machine which has the ability to handle boxes or sheets. which are flat cut or may have some other odd shape and to positivelyseparate the flow of boxes or sheets in precisely counted bundles.

Still even another object of this invention in order to save space in a box plant and in orderto create an easy material flow, to provide a squaring and bundle counting machine in which the printing,,folding, stacking,- squaring counting, and bundling operations are all done in a direct straight line.

Other objects and attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent and understood from the following detailed specification and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a squaring and bundlecounting type machine invorporating features of this invention;

FIGS. 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, and 2c are side elevation sche matic views showing schematically the sequence of operation of the squaring and bundle countingmachine of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3a and 3b are side elevation schematic views FIG. 3c is a top plan view of the squaring and bundle counting machine of FIG. lshowing schematically the belt arrangements and the adjustment of the carriage for the various size sheets of the corrugated board boxes or sheets;

FIG. 4a is a partial sideelevation view showing an al ternate belt arrangement of the input end of the squaring and bundle counting machine; i

FIG. 4b is a partial top plan view of FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic of a modifcation of the bundle counting machine.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a complete squaring andbundle counting machine 10, while FIGS. 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, and 2e and FIGS. 3a, 3b, and 3c show schematically the sequence of its operation.

As shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2a, folded flat, glued, board boxes indicated generally byreference numeral 22 and specifically by reference numeral 22a (positions the squaring and bundle counting machine of FIG.

of boxes or sheets will be indicated by the numeral 22hopper 23. Thelower feed roller 46 is knurled to aid in obtaining a positive grip of the end of eachbox 22. As theboxes 22 are deflected into thehopper 23,

small springs 48 will lead the boxes 22a inwards and downwards into thehopper 23 under a sensing orcontrol roller 50.

Spanking panels or guides 44b are provided to help, guide the incoming boxes 22a squarely into the top of the pile ofboxes 22 inhopper 23 so as to maintain a neat pile of boxes in that area. These spanking panels or guides 44b may be adjusted inwards or outwards to accommodate boxes of different sizes.

4a; and j The flat board boxes 22b progressively accumulate into a pile in thehopper 23. As the pile of boxes 22b in thehopper 23 reaches a height of approximately the center line of thelower feed roller 46 as shown in FIG. 2a, the control orsensor roller 50 actuates a switch which starts the drive to thevacuum belt 14, which as previously mentioned, forms the floor of thefirst hopper 23.

The boxes 22b are attracted to thebelt 14 by means of a vacuum box orchamber 36 which is located directly under thebelt 14.

Thisbelt 14 is provided with two rows of holes running lengthwise of it, so that as the belt travels, these holes pass over thevacuum box 36. The vacuum pull from thevacuum box 36, together with the pull of thebelt 14, remove theboxes 22c one at a time from the bottom of the stack of boxes 22b.

Theboxes 220 are then fed one at a time out and along the surface of thevacuum belt 14 through a gap between the gate assembly or stoppanel 42 and thebelt 14. The boxes 22a are fed into thehopper 23 at substantially the same rate thatboxes 22c are fed out the bottom of thehopper 23, onto thebelt 14.

To insure that the pile height ofboxes 22 in thehopper 23 stays within a fairly narrow range, the control orsensor roller 50 controls a switch to start thebelt 14, as well as a rheostat control which controls the speed of thebelt 14. This operates so that as the pile ofboxes 22 in thehopper 23 approaches its low limit, thebelt 14 will slow down so thatfewer boxes 220 are being fed out of thehopper 23 than the boxes 22a that are being fed into thehopper 23. The pile height ofboxes 22 then beginsto fill up again in thehopper 23.

When the height of the pile ofboxes 22 approaches the desired upper limit, the rheostat increases the speed of thebelt 14 progressively and the flow of theboxes 220 out of the bottom of thehopper 23 will match or perhaps exceed the rate in which the boxes 22a are being fed into thehopper 23.

This is a means by which this squaring and bundle counting machine can track the flow of boxes orsheets 22 outof the folder-gluer machine. The operation of a foIder-gluer is such that it will operate over a range of speed and thus the squaring andbundle counting machine 10 must maintain a fixed pile height ofboxes 22 in thehopper 23 in order to allow the control orsensor roller 50 cooperating withlower feed roller 46 to create a certain downward pressure on that pile which creates a compressive load in the sheets and as well as time to set the freshly glued joints of theboxes 22.

While theboxes 22 are sifting down through the pile, their leading or folding edges are located and defined by thegate assembly 42. The trailing edge of the pile ofsheets 22 rests against theoscillating plate 44a which is squeezed about its lower point and it is swinging back and forth at its upper level to squeeze the upper part of the pile where the glued joint of abox 22 is being set. If there happens to be a freshly folded panel which is not square with thebox 22, theoscillating plate 44a will squeeze that panel in square with the rest of the box until the glue finally sets and holds it there.

Oscillating plate 44a is driven by a shaft with a cam on it.A link is looped around the cam which, in turn, is connected then to the plate.

' The gate assembly or stoppanel 42 is arranged to be shifted longitudinally either towards or away from theoscillating plate 44a to accommodateboxes 22 of different lengths, as shown by the position of themovable carriage 20 in FIGS. 3a and 3b. Thiscarriage 20 is adjustable for the various size lengths of the flat board boxes orsheets 22. FIG. 3a shows thecarriage 20 adjusted in the direction of thearrow 40a for small size boxes orsheets 22h, and FIG. 3b shows thecarriage 20 adjusted in the direction of thearrow 40b for large size boxes orsheets 22i. Automatic alignment is provided for the centering of the squaring andbundle counting machine 10 as indicated by thecenter line 30 in FIG. 3c to the center of the flat board boxes or-sheets 22 which are being fed into it.

If it is not desired to count the flow ofboxes 22 into bundles, it is, of course, quite feasible to simply use this part of themachine 10 as a squaring device. For example, theboxes 22 can be fed out one at a time from thehopper 23 and laid on'a conventional stacker which would build a stack of predetermined height.

The lower belt assembly under thehopper 23 is composed of thevacuum box 36, twodrums 39 and 41, about which theconveyor belt 14 is looped and led over thevacuum box 36. Thevacuum box 36 is designed in such a way that the vacuum is only applied to about 4 to 6 inches of the leading edge of thebox 22c where it is stacked in thecompression hopper 23. It was found by experimentation that if this is not done, an alternate method can be used in providing a belt with a high friction surface on it. A drag is applied on thenext box 22 to be fed as thebottom box 220 is drawn partially out of thehopper 23. I

In other words, as shown in FIG. 2a, abox 220 is just beginning to leave thehopper 23 through the gap betweengate assembly 42 and thebelt 14. As thatbox 220 continues onward, more and more of the trailing edge of the next box in thehopper 23 is exposed to thebelt 14. Of course, there is quite a bit of weight in thehopper 23 and there is a downward driving force from the weight of the control orsensor roller 50 and also from the turning of the lower roller of the tworollers 46 to press the whole upper load ofboxes 22 down against thevacuum belt 14.

The friction drive on the next box to be fed will drive it into thegate 42 and cause it to hang up on the gate so it will not fall freely into feeding position when its turn comes. So, by limiting the vacuum to the leading edge of the box and by using a belt with a lower slick surface on it, it has been possible to use a vacuum to attract thebox 22 to thebelt 16 to give it enough traction to pull out without disturbing the next box up in the pile. The box awaits its turn until thefirst box 22c is out of the way and as it drops down, it is then exposed to the vacuum and adheres to thebelt 14 and continues on its way.

A more versatile method of pulling the boxes from under the pile ofboxes 22 in thehopper 23 is shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b. In this system, thevacuum box 36 is eliminated to reduce the cost of themachine 10 considerably. Thefull width belt 14 is replaced by a multi-belt unit consisting of a series of parallel belts as shown best in FIG. 4b. The muIti-belt unit 100 consists of a series of narrow belts running parallel and spaced across themachine 10.

The tworollers 39 and 41 which form the head and tail rollers carrying themulti-belt unit 100 in FIG. 4a are retained, Thevacuum box 36 is replaced by a group of three rollers 101,103, and 105. Themulti-belt unit 100 will come forward off of the top of thetail roller 41 in the direction as indicated by the arrow. The level of the rnulti-belt unit 100 at this point under the pile orboxes 22 will be an inch or two below the bottom of the pile but thebelt unit 100 will be parallel to the bottom of the pile of boxes. I

Thebelt unit 100 is then looped around asmall roller 105 which will be about 6 or 8 inches back from the leading edge of the pile and it will then go downwards and around asecond roller 103 which is below the first roller105. Thebelt unit 100 will then go up around athird roller 101 which is located substantially under the leading edge of the pile ofboxes 22 in thecompression hopper 23.

The trailing edge of the pile ofboxes 22 in thecompression hopper 23 is supported by a smallangular plate 103 set at an angle of about 45 degrees and located right at the trailing edge of the pile and just above themulti-belt unit 100.

Under these conditions, the pile ofboxes 22 will sit on thatangular plate 103 and at least half of the total weight of the pile will be bearing on the belts of the multi'belt unit running up over thethird roller 101 positioned at the leading edge of the pile ofboxes 22.

The belts of the multi-belt unit l00are designed to have a high coefficient of friction on the surface mate rial so thatthe coefficient of friction of the moving belts will be at least twice the coefficient of friction of two boxes rubbing together so that half of the load of the pile of boxes will have a sufficient driving force to carry thebottom boxes 22c through the gates and out of thehopper 23.

The box22c which is next to be fed will not be disturbed untilthe first box is completely cleared of the.

hopper 23 because that next box to be fed will not be touching the belts of themulti-belt unit 100 anywhere on its, surface until the first box is cleared and allows the secondbox to drop down onto the belts of themulti-belt unit 100 right at the leading edge thereof. This is the reason for depressing the belts of the muIti-belt unit 100 under the trailing edge of thehopper 23.

After theboxes 22 have been fed out of thehopper 23, the problem of counting theboxes 22 and separating the flow of boxes into properly counted bundles of boxes is presented.

T he technique; of using an electric eye or other type of sensor to count the boxes or spaces between boxes is not new and it quite common in all kinds of counting operations. The problem has always been, however, to actually separate the flow of boxes into accurately counted bundles once the count has been determined.

Now, in this particular case, theboxes 22d are being fed into asecondhopper 45 as shown in FIG. 2a by means of bolts of amulti-belt conveyor 16 located at l the forward end ofbelt 14, as shown best in FIGS. 1,

. edge of thebox 22d breaks the beam of theelectric eye 28, it is counted.

As the oncomingboxes 22 flow into thehopper 45,

they are carried forward by thebelt conveyor 16 until they hit a fixedstop bar 24, as indicated in FIG. 2a.

Each succeedingbox 22d follows the same path and the pile of boxes is being built up from below in the hopper The pile of boxes is built from below because the coefficient of friction of the belts of theconveyor 16 is higher than the coefficient of friction of two boxes rub bing one against the other. The weight of the pile of boxes itself is sufficient to cause the oncoming boxes to adhere to the belts l6 and then have enough drivingoncoming boxes 22f stop, at the face of thatstop bar 26b instead at the face ofstop bar 24, as shown in FIG. 20. This means that thebox 22f which has been stopped short by thestop bar 26b is now the first box in the next bundle and allboxes 22e above it can be ejected as being part of the bundle just counted by theelectric eye 28.

Three or four more boxes are allowed to continue to enter thehopper 45 as shown in FIG. 20. As theseboxes 22f accumulate, they finally build up to a point where they touch the bottom of apusher bar 34b. Thepusher bar 34b is free to slide vertically in its mounting assembly. 7

As more andmore boxes 22f continue to enter thehopper 45 as shown in FIG. 2d, the lifting of thepusher bar 34c triggers anotherelectric eye 54. Thiselectric eye 54 then indicates to themachine 10 thatseveral boxes 22f have been accumulated in the next bundle and it is safe to remove the first bundle ofboxes 22e by means of theconveyor system 18, as shown in FIGS.l,2d and 2e.

This causes two things to happen. First of all,bar 26b continues to lift another step as indicated in FIG. 2d by bar 260. As soon asbar 26c is lifted into its upper position, this triggers a signal to cause thepusher bar 34c to push forward about 10 or 12 inches to push the bundle ofboxes 22e onto a set ofconveyor belts 18. This bundle ofboxes 22e is then free to continue out of themachine 10 on the conveyor system l8 as shown bythe direction of thearrow 58 in FIG. 2e.

As soon as thepusher bar 340 reaches the end of its travel, it triggers another sensor, in this case it is usually a limit switch, which causes the intermediate stop her 26c as shown in FIG. 2d to drop down intothe down position of thestop bar 26a as shown in FIG. 2e.

It also causes thepusher bar 34d to retract into a position about an inch and a half or 2 inches behind the normal point in whichboxes 22f are collected.

At this time, one of two things may happen. Either the boxes which have been accumulated in the next bundle of boxes 22fmay. shift forward on thebelts 16 win some cases they will remain in their rear position, that is, their leading edges will still be aligned with the face of the intermediate stopbar 26. Now, the next on- .coming boxes will go all the way home to the face of fixedstop bar 24. This causes the pusher bar 34 to retract until it is behind any boxes which may have not moved in the forward position. Pusher bar 34 then takes a short step forward to insure that all of theboxes 22f in the second pile of boxes are aligned with the face ofstop bar 24, and the cycle of operations is repeated.

FIG. shows an alternate method of operation of the movable stop bar 26 over that discussed in connection with FIGS. 2a through 2e. When a predetermined number ofboxes 22 are counted into the bundle by theelectric eye 28, as previously described, aroller assembly 110 lowers theconveyor 16 in the direction of thearrow 112 instead of the movable stop bar 26 being raised as shown in FIG. 2b. The effect is the same, that is, lowering theconveyor 16 so that thestop bar 26a without moving stops the first several boxes in the succeeding bundle. Thestop bar 26a is then moved to the position shown in FIG. 2d to raise the first mentioned bundle as previously described. The stop bar 26 andconveyor 16 are subsequently moved to their inti'al positions so that the cycle of operation can be repeated.

The squaring and bundle counting machine is controlled and preset from acontrol box 12, as shown in FIG. 1, and ahandwheel 56 which controls the adjustment for the various thicknesses of the flat board boxes orsheets 22.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

l. A system for counting and for separating the flow of flat stiff articles into counted bundles of articles of a predetermined number, comprising, a fixed abutment, a movable pusher means spaced from said fixed abutment, a movable abutment positioned intermediate and below said fixed abutment and said movable pusher means, said abutments being in the line of flow of said articles, conveyor means for advancing successively articles in the direction of the face of said fixed abutment, said fixed abutment being adapted to limit the advance of the lowermost article so as to build up at said face a bundle of articles from below, with one article entering the bundle lifting the other articles "comprised in the bundle, means for counting a predetermined number of articles advanced by said conveyor means and stacked in said bundle adjacent the face of said fixed abutment, means for raising said movable abutment after a predetermined number of articles have been stacked in said bundle adjacent said fixed abutment so that the next oncoming article stops at the face of said movable abutment instead of the face of the fixed abutment to start a succeeding bundle below and offset laterally from said first mentioned bundle of articles stacked by said conveyor means from below, means operatively coupled to said pusher means for sensing that said several articles have accumulated in said succeeding bundle and for causing said movable abutment to raise higher to separate said first bundle of articles, means for causing said pusher means to move forward to push said first mentioned bundle from said machine, and means for causing said pusher means to return to a retracted position and arranged so as to push said accumulating bundle to the face of said fixed abutment to complete the stacking of a predetermined number of said articles in said succeeding bundle by said conveyor means and to cause said movable abutment to return to its initial position.

2. A system for counting and separating the flow of flat stiff articles into counted bundles of articles of a predetermined number as recited in claim 1, and additionally a spaced hopper mechanism for receiving said fiat stiff articles for stacking and squaring thereof before being conveyed by said conveyor means to be counted by said counting means.

3. A system for counting and separating the flow of flat stiff articles into counted bundles as recited in claim 2, and additionally means for feeding said flat stiff articles to said hopper mechanism for stacking and squaring in said hopper mechanism.

4. A system for counting and separating the flow of flat stiff articles into counted bundles as recited inclaim 3, and additionally means for squaring said flat stiff articles fed into said hopper mechanism.

5. A system for counting and separating the flow of fiat stiff articles into counted bundles as recited in claim 4, and additionally means for compressing said flat stiff articles fed into said hopper mechanism simultaneously with the squaring of said articles fed into said hopper mechanism.

6. A system for counting and separating the flow of flat stiff articles into counted bundles as recited inclaim 3, wherein said feeding means for feeding said articles into said hopper mechanism consists of a pair of spaced rollers, one of which is knurled to grip said articles being fed into said hopper mechanism.

7. A system for counting and separating of flat stiff articles into counted bundles as recited in claim 1, and additionally means for controlling the rate of flow of said articles fed by said hopper mechanism.

8. A system for counting and separating of flat stiff articles into counted bundles as recited in claim 1, and additionally means for removing said bundle of articles of a predetermined number pushed by said pusher means from said machine.

9. A system for counting and separating of flat stiff articles into counted bundles as recited in claim 1, wherein said conveyor means for feeding said stiff arti-,

cles for counting consists of a vacuum belt.

10. A system for counting and separating of flat stiff articles into counted bundles as recited in claim 1, wherein said conveyor means consists of a multi-belt feeding device.

11. A system for counting and for separating the flow of fiat stiff articles into counted bundles of articles of a predetermined number, comprising, a fixed abutment, a movable pusher means spaced from said fixed abutment, a movable abutment positioned intermediate and below said fixed abutment and said movable pusher means, said abutments being in the line of flow of said articles, conveyor means for advancing successively articles in the direction of the face of said fixed abutment, said fixed abutment being adapted to limit the advance of the lowermost article so as to build up at said face a bundle of articles from below, with one article entering the bundle lifting the other articles comprised in the bundle, means for counting a predetermined number of articles advanced by said conveyor means and stacked in said bundle adjacent the face of said fixed abutment, means for lowering said conveyor means after a predetermined number of articles have been stacked in said bundle adjacent said fixed abutment so that the next oncoming article stops at the face of said movable abutment instead of the face of the fixed abutment to start a succeeding bundle of articles below and offset laterally from said first mentioned bundle of articles stacked by said conveyor means from below, means operatively coupled to said pusher means for sensing that said several articles have accumulated in said succeeding bundle and for causing said movable abutment to elevate to separate said first bundle of articles from said succeeding accumulating bundle or articles, means for causing said pusher means to move forward to push said first mentioned bundle from said machine, and means for causing said pusher means to return to a retracted position and arranged so as to push said accumulating bundle to the face of said fixed abutment to complete the stacking of a predetermined number of' said articles in said succeeding bundle by said conveyor means and to cause said movable abutment and conveyor means to return to their initial positions. i

12. A fully automatic squaring and bundle counting machine, comprising, a pair of spaced hopper mechanisms, the first of said hopper mechanisms receiving in the top thereof substantially flat stiff articles for stacking and squaring thereof, means for feeding said stacked and squared articles from the bottom of said first hopper mechanism to the second of said hopper mechanismsso as tobuild up a first bundle of articles from belowin said second hopper mechanisms, means for counting apredetermined number of said squared articles fed to said second hopper mechanism, means for forming a start of several articles of a succeeding bundle of articles adjacent to and offsetlaterally from said first bundle of articles in said second hopper mechanisms, means for separating said first bundle of articles from the adjacent succeeding bundle of articles after several articles have accumulated in the succeeding bundle, meansfor moving said first bundle of articles from said second hopper mechanism, and means for moving the succeeding bundle of several articles into the position previously occupied by the first bundle of articles in said second hopper mechanisms to complete the succeeding bundle of articles having a predetermined number of articles in said bundle.

13. A fully automated squaring and bundle counting machine as recited inclaim 12, and means for squaring said articles fed into said first hopper mechanism.

14. A fully automated squaring and bundle counting machine as recited in claim 13, and means for compressing said articles fed into said first hopper mechanism simultaneously with the squaring of said articles fed into said first hoppermechanism.

15. A fully automated squaring and bundle countin machine as recited inclaim 12, wherein said feeding means for feeding articles into said first hopper mechanism consists of a pair of spaced rollers, one of which is knurled to grip said articles being fed into said first hopper mechanism.

16. A fully automated squaring and bundle counting machine as recited inclaim 12, means for controlling the rate of flow of said stacked and squared articles fed from said first hopper mechanism by said feeding means to said second hopper mechanism.

17. A fully automated squaring and bundle counting machine as recited inclaim 12, and means for squaring said articles fed into said first hopper mechanism simul- UNIT D STATES PATENT OFFICE V CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION P atc ant No. 3,744 649 Y DatedJul 10, 1 973 Inven for(s) WARDQ, HENRY' 15.; JR. v it is cer fi fied that error appears in the above-idntified ptent and that said Letters; Patent are hereby corrected as shown below;

column 10,line 32, "22" should read 12 Signed and sealed this 25th day Of 13806 156 973 (SEAL Attest:

EDWARD M. 'FLETCHERJR.

v RENE D. TEGTMEYER Attesting Officer- Acting COmmissionep of Patenbs FORM PO-1050 (10-69) v uscoMM-Dc wan-Poo U,S. GOVEINMENT PRINTING OFFICE: IQ! OI'P'SSI.

Claims (19)

1. A system For counting and for separating the flow of flat stiff articles into counted bundles of articles of a predetermined number, comprising, a fixed abutment, a movable pusher means spaced from said fixed abutment, a movable abutment positioned intermediate and below said fixed abutment and said movable pusher means, said abutments being in the line of flow of said articles, conveyor means for advancing successively articles in the direction of the face of said fixed abutment, said fixed abutment being adapted to limit the advance of the lowermost article so as to build up at said face a bundle of articles from below, with one article entering the bundle lifting the other articles comprised in the bundle, means for counting a predetermined number of articles advanced by said conveyor means and stacked in said bundle adjacent the face of said fixed abutment, means for raising said movable abutment after a predetermined number of articles have been stacked in said bundle adjacent said fixed abutment so that the next oncoming article stops at the face of said movable abutment instead of the face of the fixed abutment to start a succeeding bundle below and offset laterally from said first mentioned bundle of articles stacked by said conveyor means from below, means operatively coupled to said pusher means for sensing that said several articles have accumulated in said succeeding bundle and for causing said movable abutment to raise higher to separate said first bundle of articles, means for causing said pusher means to move forward to push said first mentioned bundle from said machine, and means for causing said pusher means to return to a retracted position and arranged so as to push said accumulating bundle to the face of said fixed abutment to complete the stacking of a predetermined number of said articles in said succeeding bundle by said conveyor means and to cause said movable abutment to return to its initial position.

2. A system for counting and separating the flow of flat stiff articles into counted bundles of articles of a predetermined number as recited in claim 1, and additionally a spaced hopper mechanism for receiving said flat stiff articles for stacking and squaring thereof before being conveyed by said conveyor means to be counted by said counting means.

3. A system for counting and separating the flow of flat stiff articles into counted bundles as recited in claim 2, and additionally means for feeding said flat stiff articles to said hopper mechanism for stacking and squaring in said hopper mechanism.

4. A system for counting and separating the flow of flat stiff articles into counted bundles as recited in claim 3, and additionally means for squaring said flat stiff articles fed into said hopper mechanism.

5. A system for counting and separating the flow of flat stiff articles into counted bundles as recited in claim 4, and additionally means for compressing said flat stiff articles fed into said hopper mechanism simultaneously with the squaring of said articles fed into said hopper mechanism.

6. A system for counting and separating the flow of flat stiff articles into counted bundles as recited in claim 3, wherein said feeding means for feeding said articles into said hopper mechanism consists of a pair of spaced rollers, one of which is knurled to grip said articles being fed into said hopper mechanism.

7. A system for counting and separating of flat stiff articles into counted bundles as recited in claim 1, and additionally means for controlling the rate of flow of said articles fed by said hopper mechanism.

8. A system for counting and separating of flat stiff articles into counted bundles as recited in claim 1, and additionally means for removing said bundle of articles of a predetermined number pushed by said pusher means from said machine.

9. A system for counting and separating of flat stiff articles into counted bundles as recited in claim 1, wherein said conveyor means for feeding said stiff articles for counting consists of a vacuum belT.

10. A system for counting and separating of flat stiff articles into counted bundles as recited in claim 1, wherein said conveyor means consists of a multi-belt feeding device.

11. A system for counting and for separating the flow of flat stiff articles into counted bundles of articles of a predetermined number, comprising, a fixed abutment, a movable pusher means spaced from said fixed abutment, a movable abutment positioned intermediate and below said fixed abutment and said movable pusher means, said abutments being in the line of flow of said articles, conveyor means for advancing successively articles in the direction of the face of said fixed abutment, said fixed abutment being adapted to limit the advance of the lowermost article so as to build up at said face a bundle of articles from below, with one article entering the bundle lifting the other articles comprised in the bundle, means for counting a predetermined number of articles advanced by said conveyor means and stacked in said bundle adjacent the face of said fixed abutment, means for lowering said conveyor means after a predetermined number of articles have been stacked in said bundle adjacent said fixed abutment so that the next oncoming article stops at the face of said movable abutment instead of the face of the fixed abutment to start a succeeding bundle of articles below and offset laterally from said first mentioned bundle of articles stacked by said conveyor means from below, means operatively coupled to said pusher means for sensing that said several articles have accumulated in said succeeding bundle and for causing said movable abutment to elevate to separate said first bundle of articles from said succeeding accumulating bundle or articles, means for causing said pusher means to move forward to push said first mentioned bundle from said machine, and means for causing said pusher means to return to a retracted position and arranged so as to push said accumulating bundle to the face of said fixed abutment to complete the stacking of a predetermined number of said articles in said succeeding bundle by said conveyor means and to cause said movable abutment and conveyor means to return to their initial positions.

12. A fully automatic squaring and bundle counting machine, comprising, a pair of spaced hopper mechanisms, the first of said hopper mechanisms receiving in the top thereof substantially flat stiff articles for stacking and squaring thereof, means for feeding said stacked and squared articles from the bottom of said first hopper mechanism to the second of said hopper mechanisms so as to build up a first bundle of articles from below in said second hopper mechanisms, means for counting a predetermined number of said squared articles fed to said second hopper mechanism, means for forming a start of several articles of a succeeding bundle of articles adjacent to and offset laterally from said first bundle of articles in said second hopper mechanisms, means for separating said first bundle of articles from the adjacent succeeding bundle of articles after several articles have accumulated in the succeeding bundle, means for moving said first bundle of articles from said second hopper mechanism, and means for moving the succeeding bundle of several articles into the position previously occupied by the first bundle of articles in said second hopper mechanisms to complete the succeeding bundle of articles having a predetermined number of articles in said bundle.

13. A fully automated squaring and bundle counting machine as recited in claim 12, and means for squaring said articles fed into said first hopper mechanism.

14. A fully automated squaring and bundle counting machine as recited in claim 13, and means for compressing said articles fed into said first hopper mechanism simultaneously with the squaring of said articles fed into said first hopper mechanism.

15. A fully automated squaring and bundle counting machine as recited in claim 12, wherein said feeding means for feeding articles Into said first hopper mechanism consists of a pair of spaced rollers, one of which is knurled to grip said articles being fed into said first hopper mechanism.

16. A fully automated squaring and bundle counting machine as recited in claim 12, means for controlling the rate of flow of said stacked and squared articles fed from said first hopper mechanism by said feeding means to said second hopper mechanism.

17. A fully automated squaring and bundle counting machine as recited in claim 12, and means for squaring said articles fed into said first hopper mechanism simultaneously with the compressing of said flat sheets fed into said first hopper mechanism.

18. A fully automated squaring and counting machine as recited in claim 12, wherein said feeding means for feeding said stacked and squared articles to said second of said hopper mechanisms consists of a vacuum belt.

19. A fully automated squaring and counting machine as recited in claim 22, wherein said feeding means for feeding said stacked and squared articles to said second of said hopper mechanisms consists of a multi-belt feeding device.

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