Title: Loading tongue

The present invention relates to an apparatus for loading and stacking products, in particular patterns of products, on a supporting surface.

Such an apparatus is known from DE4141314. In particular described therein is the manner in which a generally known extendible loading floor or loading tongue can be divided into parts to thus, as required, limit the width. Such a floor or tongue functions as a bridge rather than as intermediate location for the load to be conveyed. With it, carefully placing and sliding off, especially, patterns of products is impossible. Placing such patterns on a floor or tongue not only provides a great risk of disturbing the pattern, but there is also no monitoring during removal from the floor or tongue.

A loading tongue is further known from FR1531662, which serves in particular for moving and loading, for instance, sheets of paper or magazines. Conveying such products via the described extendible tongue is effected with the aid of, inter alia, an air cushion obtained through the described construction of the upper layer of this loading tongue. With the aid of pusher elements, the products are carefully slid on, over and away from the loading tongue.

Not only is such a construction for moving products such as boxes, crates or further packaging units far too complex, it would also require very heavily designed pneumatics.

In order to remedy the drawbacks of the described techniques, the invention provides an apparatus for loading and stacking products, in particular patterns of products, on a supporting surface, wherein the products are supplied in a conveying direction by a conveyor into the proximity of a stacking location, with, at the downstream end of the conveyor, a loading tongue which is reciprocally movable, including extendible, in its longitudinal direction, more particularly parallel to said conveying direction, wherein the products are placed from the loading tongue onto the supporting surface, while

the apparatus further comprises a control which coordinates the movement of said conveyor, loading tongue and supporting surface, while at least upon loading of the loading tongue, the speed of the conveyor is approximately as great as the speed of extension of the loading tongue. What is thus achieved in a suitable and advantageous manner is that, when loading the floor or tongue, the patterns are not touched at all, and are therefore not disturbed. This is of importance also with regard to the stability of the stack, the separate layers can differ, for instance be each others' mirror image, to thus avoid continuous vertical seams, while especially such a manner of stacking can be advantageously effected with the greatest accuracy.

In further elaborations of the invention, the apparatus is characterized in that the conveyor comprises a surface of rollers which rotate freely about axles perpendicular to the conveying direction T with a pusher thereabove, while the pusher is reciprocally movable in accordance with the loading tongue; the supporting surface is formed either by a bottom piece of a stack supporting system, such as, for instance, a floor of a pallet, or by a layer of a previously applied pattern; the apparatus further comprises a lift for moving the stack supporting system in vertical direction, while, when loading, the supporting surface is positioned closely beneath the loading tongue; the products are stacked on a collecting trolley while the collecting trolley is positioned by the lift; that the collecting trolley comprises a frame for supporting and keeping together a stack of patterns with a stack holder, such as for instance a pallet or a display, or a combination thereof; the apparatus for building up stacks of patterns of products P comprises a positioning apparatus for a forkliffc truck; and

the apparatus for building up stacks of patterns of products P comprises a lifting table.

With such a design, in a suitable manner, layers of patterns are efficiently loaded on a pallet or in a display while further required monotonous and hard manual labour becomes superfluous.

Further details and particulars of the apparatus according to the present invention will be further elucidated in the following on the basis of a few Figures, wherein Figs. 1, 2 and 3 show schematic side views of successive situations of loading, moving and withdrawing the loading tongue; wherein Fig. 4 schematically gives a side view of a lift and a supporting system for the supporting surfaces according to the invention, and wherein Fig. 5 shows, in perspective, the situation according to Fig. 4. In the different Figures, the same pieces and parts are indicated and numbered identically.

Figs. 1, 2 and 3 schematically give a side view of a conveyor 1, a loading tongue 2 and a supporting surface 3. The conveyor 1 comprises a supporting surface of freely rotating rollers 11 and a pusher 10. With the loading tongue 2, products P having been formed into a pattern are brought above the supporting surface. More particularly, the products P are slid away from the conveyor by the pusher 10, onto the loading tongue 2 sliding therebeneath, while the speeds of sliding of the pusher 10 and the extending loading tongue 2 are substantially equal. Extending the loading tongue 2 takes place such that the loading tongue 2 is positioned above a supporting surface 3. Disturbing the patterns is thus prevented.

Then, the products P are retained by the pusher 10 when the loading tongue 2 is pulled away from under the products P, while the pattern is slid onto the supporting surface 3. Furthermore, in Fig. 3, it is indicated that the loading tongue 2 with a tilting device 21 is slightly tilted when sliding off the

products P. Extending and withdrawing again is carried out with a loading tongue drive 20, for instance a slide driven by a motor.

The products P are, for instance, egg boxes placed in a manner such that they form a pattern. The situations shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 form a large part of a loading cycle of loading, moving and withdrawing, carried out with the loading tongue 2, with such layers of transferred groups of products P forming layers. For a subsequent group of products such a cycle can be repeated. Such a subsequent layer is then slid on the previous one in a manner similar as hereinabove. In the following, on the basis of Figs. 4 and 5, it will be elucidated how stacks are realized. In Figs. 4 and 5, schematically, a stack supporting system 4 is shown, with, in particular, a housing 41, while in the uprights a system for a lift is provided, allowing vertical upward and downward movement of a collecting trolley 5. Such a trolley 5 comprises, for instance, a mobile substructure 51, with a frame 52 mounted thereon. It will be clear to any person skilled in the art that with the lift, the trolley 5 with layers of patterns of products P thereon can be brought to the correct height to thus obtain the desired supporting surface 3. The products P can be stacked directly on pallets carried by the collecting trolley, or also in displays D which, in turn, rest on a pallet and may be open at the slide-in side. In Figs. 4 and 5, such a display D is shown, while for one of the sides, only a part is shown to thus illustrate the manner of stacking.

In a further elaboration, the apparatus comprises a positioning apparatus for a forklift truck, for instance a stack supporting system 4 as hereinabove, which is provided with a centring rails, between which the forklift truck can be positioned. Also, for building up stacks of patterns, a lifting table can be used. It is clear that then, the display is on this truck or on this lifting table.

It will be clear to any person skilled in the art that minor modifications of the exemplary embodiments as described hereinabove are understood to fall within the scope of the appended claims.