Abstract: Bread loaves 12 are fed by spiked conveyor 13 into a slice cutter 14 and then to a pocket 29 on an indexing turret 16, where the slices are impaled on parallel pins 31. When the turret intermittently rotates a pusher 34 strips the slice group from the pins, and they are transferred to a weighing conveyor 17. The output from the latter controls the feed rate to maintain the weight of each slice group at a predetermined value.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for forming a stack of neatly aligned sheets of microfoam plastic material from a web of microfoam material. The method and apparatus provide for supplying the web of material to a cutting station and transporting an edge of the material a predetermined distance beyond the cutting station, restraining motion of the web and captivating it at a location adjacent to the cutting station, and cutting the web in a transverse direction. The web advancement, restraint and captivation, and cutting are repeated until a predetermined number of sheets of the material have been accumulated in a stack. The stack is then released from captivation and is conveyed from the cutting station.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a device for automatically forming piles out of strips exiting from a machine on which the said strips are produced, comprising at the top, a pair of parallel rods placed downstream with respect to the said cutting device, and supported at their ends by corresponding brackets connected to the base frame, the said rods being provided centrally with a support member for sustaining the packs of strips in a horizontal position and able to rotate, in opposite directions, in order to release the pack of strips which, once freed, falls, suitably guided, on to a collection pallet placed on a driven conveyor, located downstream of the machine, which continues to operate until a number of vertical piles of strips have been formed on the pallet, after which the pallet is sent towards a discharge station.

Abstract: The present invention is concerned with a method of separating and stacking sheets of paper, cardboard and the like, which are delivered from a sheet punching machine and consist of useful and waste portions connected together by small fillets, comprising the steps of laying and separating a specific number of sheets on a severing table of a useful portion separating station; interrupting the supply of sheets; lowering the table with a stack of separated sheets; withdrawing the table from under the stack and laying the stack on a pallet situated therebelow; setting the table in place and raising same; removing the pallet with the stack and introducing a new pallet with simultaneous resumption of the cycle of steps.

Abstract: A car on tracks behind the knives of a shear machine, has a section for receiving product cuttings when the car occupies one position on the tracks, and means are provided for receiving scrap cuttings when said car is moved to another position, the car being capable of additional movement on said tracks to a position to the rear of the machine for convenient disposal of cuttings carried by it. Work support means carried by the car, supports work prior to shearing and, when possessed of magnetic qualities, will magnetically grip the work and enable adjustment thereof for shearing, by movement of the car. In lieu of magnet work supports, roller supports may be provided, and such roller supports may be power driven.

Abstract: A mechanism is provided in a battery grid casting machine for receiving grids one at a time from a grid trimming die and for arranging them in a horizontally stacked arrangement on a pair of pivoted rails. After a predetermined number of grids have accumulated on the rails, the rails are pivoted from a horizontal to a vertical position to deposit the grids as a vertical stack on an intermittently moving conveyor.

Abstract: The motor for the conveyor which removes accumulations of sliced product is controlled in a cycle which includes gradual acceleration and deceleration and higher peak speed.

Abstract: A machine which cuts gaskets and similar parts from a thin strip of material and which arranges the parts in stacks. Feed rollers periodically advance the gasket material through a pair of dies which are forced together by a hydraulic ram. The cut gaskets are carried with the strip to a knockout station at which pneumatic cylinders force knockout dies against the gaskets to separate them from the strip. The gaskets fall onto a rack on which they are stacked until a preselected number is contained in the stack, at which time the machine stops. Power cylinders then extend the rack to a position where the stacked gaskets are readily accessible for removal.

Abstract: According to the invention chip steaks initially deposited on a conveyor in close consecutive order are re-spaced to assume an extended order en route to facilities for stacking the chip steaks in erect piles; the re-spacing being accomplished by accelerating at least one section of the conveyor and as well, by diverting the stream of chip steaks conveyed as aforesaid into two branch streams, at least, respectively directed to separate and separated stackers.

Abstract: An apparatus for stacking two separate lines of cut articles exiting from a cutter equipped with two separate cutting edges, a first and second stacking platform, and an upper and lower conveyor for moving the cut shingled articles from the cutter to the platforms. A portion of the upper conveyor is also reciprocable in the horizontal plane relative to the lower conveyor to allow easy access to the lower conveyor for normal maintenance and repair and for removal of jammed or defective articles.

Abstract: Food patties are severed from logs and fed into magazines. A plurality of logs may be processed simultaneously; and the severed patties may be simultaneously fed in columns into one or more magazines. Under certain conditions columns of patties are moved through a transition means to separate same prior to entering the magazines. Thereafter successive magazines are moved to a position where the patties are sequentially deposited from the magazines onto a divider web and conveyor.

Abstract: A transfer machine for cutting rolled sheet metal comprises a sheet loading arrangement, a feed mechanism for moving a sheet to the blades of guillotine shears, an arrangement for sorting and stacking cut-off blanks, and a program control system. The sheet loading arrangement comprises a receiving table which is fixedly mounted and located on the axis of the transfer machine, and a four-member linkwork with a sheet grip. The linkwork is constructed so as to provide for transferring a sheet from a stack onto the table of the feed mechanism along the axis of the machine, the sheet remaining parallel to the table of the feed mechanism during the transfer. Fitted on the table of the feed mechanism is a sensor responsive to the passage of the rearward sheet edge. This sensor provides for measuring the dimensions of blanks from the rearward sheet edge on the reverse stroke of the feed mechanism.

Abstract: The meat slice stacking apparatus includes a carrier on which meat slices are piled in discrete stacks and means for dropping successive meat slices onto the stacks; said dropping means including a trap which is alternately movable between a closed position in which it takes delivery of a meat slice from a transport and an open position in which it drops the meat slice onto the stack; the movements of the trap being governed by a sensor which senses meat slices on the transport as it carried them past a sensing station located to sense successive meat slices following the leading meat slices on the transport whereby to procure closing of the trap before said leading meat slices are respectively delivered to and seated on the trap.

Abstract: A high speed automatic cold cut feeding, slicing and weighing system which is completely electrical in operation and control to provide cleanliness in operation, high speed, simplified control of all functions of the machine, and extreme accuracy in weight during high speed operation. In the system the rate of feed of the meat feeder is synchronized with the speed of rotation of the slicing blade shaft thereby automatically adjusting the speed of the slicing knife to maintain constant scaling rate.

Abstract: A slicing machine comprising a rotatable circular cutter blade, a reciprocatable feed carriage to carry stock to be sliced by the cutter blade, and a receiving device to receive slices severed by the cutter blade from such stock. The receiving device is coupled to the feed carriage to be angularly displaced in co-ordination with the reciprocation of the feed carriage and is provided with a plurality of spikes to project from a slice receiving surface of the receiving device by an amount sufficient to enable a plurality of severed slices to be stacked on the receiving device, which is further provided with stripper means to strip such stack of slices off the spikes.

Abstract: A method of preparing and stacking sliced food products, such as natural cheese and the like, wherein the surfaces of the slices have non-planar configurations, and the stacked slices are oriented in a manner to effect minimum surface contact between adjacent surfaces to facilitate separation of the stacked slices.

Abstract: An improved fully mechanized sawmill is provided which is composed of structurally independent modules which are removably mounted on a platform composed of a plurality of side-by-side longerons supported horizontally on files of spaced-apart vertical piers and columns. The longerons provide horizontal stress support for the platform along the files of piers and columns perpendicularly to the cutting axis of the sawmill, and the modules mounted thereon provide horizontal stress support for the platform along the ranks of the piers and columns parallel to the cutting axis. In addition, improved mechanisms and techniques are provided for handling and selecting the sawlogs to be cut, for selecting and distributing the pieces cut therefrom according to shape and utility, and for stacking and handling the distributed pieces at preselected locations according to shape and utility.

Abstract: An apparatus for cutting, sorting and stacking paper or the like in sheet form is disclosed which includes means for collecting packets of sheets in tandem on a collecting drum prior to discharging the collected sheets to the stacker. The basic components consist of a sheet cutting section, a sheet collecting section, a sheet slow down section and a stacker unit. In the tandem collect mode of operation, the length of the cut sheets must be less than one-half the circumference of the collecting drum and the drive ratio between the sheet cutting section and the sheet collecting section is set at 2:1. Packets of sheets containing an odd number of sheets are collected in tandem on the collecting drum with the use of air showers that are controlled by microswitches in an air shower control unit that is driven by the cutting drum.