摘要 |
Articles are fed in a plurality of lanes from an infeed conveyor, across a deadplate, and into a grid which has lane defining structure adapted to expand and to hold the articles while the grid is inverted. After a charge is formed in the grid, means is provided for holding back articles on the deadplate and for retracting the grid slightly to separate articles in the grid from those on the deadplate. Riding strips, or rails, support the articles in the grid, and latch means provided in part on a vertically reciprocable yoke, and in part on these rails is latched by rotation of the grid and unlatched in response to reset or return motion of the retractable grid. After rotation and retraction of the grid, the articles are released, and the yoke and the rails push the articles out of the grid. The rails and grid are then reset, the unlatched yoke raised, and the holdback releases the articles for loading a succeeding charge without the necessity for return rotational motion of the rails and grid.
|