Apparatus for the in-line turning of selected articles

摘要

An article turner assembly for use with an article handling system such as a palletizer. The article turner assembly selectively turns articles conveyed in a single lane along a particular path so that each article may be turned or not as it is conveyed along that path. The article turner assembly includes a conveyor mechanism, an article turner, and a selector mechanism that acts on either the article turner itself, the conveyed articles, or both. The article turner is designed so that articles are turned without impact against their front or side surfaces or a reduction in their speed. The article turner includes two or more adjacent conveyors, which are run with a speed differential to turn articles. The orientation of and spacing between the conveyors can be adjusted to accommodate articles of different sizes and/or weights. The article turner assembly is well-suited for use with high speed palletizers because it can help form patterns of virtually any desired configuration at very high speeds.