Apparatus for transferring containers to a moving conveyor

摘要

A mechanism is provided for simultaneously transferring a plurality of containers onto a continuously moving conveyor from a surface located adjacent to the conveyor. A pair of pusher plates are positioned along the surface, opposite the conveyor. The pusher plates extend towards the conveyor to simultaneously transfer a predetermined number of containers onto the conveyor. A shuttle plate is positioned above the conveyor and has compartments positioned to receive the cartons as they are pushed onto the conveyor. Once the cartons are loaded into the compartments, the shuttle plate is moved along the conveyor to accelerate the batch of containers up to the speed of the conveyor. Once the cartons reach the speed of the conveyor, the shuttle plate retracts out of the path of the conveyor and the containers continues to move along the conveyor. The shuttle plate then returns to its original to accept the next batch of containers.