Abstract: The invention relates to a machine for forming groups of products that arrive in a line, separated on a feeding conveyor (2), which includes vertically separated collectors (4) connected to chutes (8) that are arranged transversely relative to the feeding axis, said chutes (8) each comprising a mobile carriage (7) that supports a collector (4) by means of an actuator (11), said carriages (7) and actuators (11) being vertically adjacent and controlled by a programmable automaton (17) suitable for controlling the cyclic polygonal movement of each collector (4). The means for controlling the collectors (4) offer the possibility of organizing the capture of the products and, in particular, of selecting a number of collectors (4) suited to the group forming rates and/or the type of products (1) to be formed into groups.

Abstract: The invention relates to a machine for products having a non-circular cross-section, such as ovoid containers or bottles. The machine includes: a collector having cavities arranged obliquely relative to the XX' axis of the conveyor used to supply said products; a means for transferring the batch of products formed into groups by said collector to a depositing station, on a table arranged along said feed conveyor; a means for dropping the batch of products by a reversing movement in an oblique direction; and a means for returning said collector to the starting point, that is, level with the first product on said feed conveyor.

Abstract: A work conveying apparatus including at least one movable work conveying device to support a work, a drive device capable of reciprocating by a predetermined distance in a predetermined direction, and a latching portion formed on at least one of the working conveying device and the drive device and configured to latch the working conveying device with the drive device and move the work conveying device when the drive device is moved in one direction in the reciprocating direction.

Abstract: A drag chain conveyor for use in underground mining, including interconnected, profiled conveyor chutes in which are guided conveyor chains of metallic material. Plastic carriers are attached to the conveyor chains, with attachment being effected via a molding around of annular chain links of the conveyor chains with plastic, wherein the plastic, which is molded for a simultaneous production of the plastic carriers monolithically with connecting regions that hold the chain links, penetrates and surrounds the chain links. At least one drive is provided for the conveyor chains.

Abstract: The combination of a rip fence and a workpiece pusher are provided for a table saw or shaper. A preferred workpiece pusher moves along a track having a central portion aligned with the feed direction and having two end portions skewed with respect to the feed direction so that the workpiece pusher retracts into the rip fence at both limits of its travel. This allows a sawyer to retract the workpiece pusher on the infeed side of a table saw and begin a ripping operation in which he or she manually pushes the workpiece into the saw blade until the trailing end of the workpiece is close enough to the saw blade that the workpiece pusher can be moved out of the fence to engage the trailing end of the stock. The pusher can then be used to push the workpiece the rest of the way past the blade. This apparatus also allows a woodworker to operate a table-mounted cutting tool without using a workpiece pusher of the invention that is installed on that table.

Abstract: A scraper for removing debris from the floor of an animal stall includes a central frame member oriented generally parallel to the direction of movement of the scraper assembly and a cross frame member integral with the central frame member, the cross frame member having opposed first and second ends. First and second beams are pivotally supported on the first and second frame member ends and are generally parallel to the cross frame member. First and second scraper blades are pivotally supported, respectively, by the first and second beams, the blades being pivotal from a vertical orientation adapted for scraping a floor surface during advancement of the blade assembly in a first direction and pivotal to elevated, non-scraping orientation for retraction of the assembly in a direction opposite from the scraping direction. Preferably, a pair of end scrapers are supported by the outer ends of each of the two beams and hingedly connected thereto by a vertical hinge.

Abstract: A container rejecting apparatus is used for rejecting a container filled with a liquid such as beverage from a feed conveyor to a discharge conveyor adjacent thereto. The container rejecting apparatus has a pusher for pushing the container from the feed conveyor onto the discharge conveyor. The pusher has a front face comprising a plurality of tubes of synthetic resin.

Abstract: A pusher mechanism for transferring a selected number of containers from a dead plate of an I.S. machine to a conveyor. The mechanism has a finger assembly including a back support portion and a finger portion, with the back support portion and the finger portion defining a pocket having a corner at their juncture. The finger portion has an air jet with the center line thereof making an acute angle with the finger portion and selectively located so that a bottle placed on the deadplate within the pocket will be located on the side of the center line remote from the corner of the pocket, and the back support portion is selectively inclined to the finger portion to substantially prevent the bouncing of a bottle, drawn into the pocket by the air jet, off the finger portion in the direction of the air jet.

Abstract: A scraper (14) arranged between two parallel side members (12) of a scraper frame, having a metal structure (51) in the shape of a comb (52) with teeth facing downwards and a flexible blade (59) covering the teeth (52) and bonded to the structure (51). A first portion (51a) of the structure (51) is perpendicular to the longitudinal members (12) and at least a second portion (51b) integral with an end of the first portion (51a) forms an elbow with the latter, the flexible blade (59) being bonded to the elbows's inward facing surface. The invention is for use especially in blasting plants using powder or granular materials.

Abstract: Material handling equipment includes an in-feed conveyor having a sweep arm for traversing across the in-feed conveyor to thus sweep off the conveyor units of material disposed thereon. The sweep arm includes a brush, having bristles extending downwardly into spaces between the carrying elements of the conveyor, whereby thin-section materials on the conveyor are engaged by the bristles and swept off the conveyor. The sweep arm can optionally also sweep the materials onto and across the in-feed station of a palletizer positioned adjacent the in-feed conveyor. The in-feed station can have channels in its upper surface, extending in the direction of sweep of the sweep arm.

Abstract: Component feeder for feeding comonents (8) from a tube magazine (2) comprises a pusher (44) on the end of a flexible steel tape (48) which extends from a tape housing (52). A filled tube (2) is supported on retractable pins (30, 30') in alignment with the pusher (44) and in alignment with a pickup station. The tape (48) is fed by feed rolls (50) so that the pusher (44) moves through the tube magazine (2) and feeds the components (8) along a guide track (36) to the pickup station. When the tube supported on pins (30, 30') is empty, the pusher (44) is retracted to its housing, the pins (30, 30') are retracted, and the empty tube falls on a conveyor belt (88) which carries it from the machine. A full tube (2) is then dropped onto the pins (30, 30') by a further pair of pins (32, 32') and (34, 34') which are moved between extended and retracted positions to control the movement of the filled tube which is supplied from an inventory of filled tubes supported on the pins (32, 32').

Abstract: A large round baler is equipped with a pick-up and a feed fork apparatus which work together to gather crop from the ground and deliver it to the inlet of the bale forming chamber of the baler. The feed fork apparatus includes a plurality of teeth which are mounted to an eccentric located beneath a chute of the apparatus and are caused to sweep along an oval path in the direction of desired crop movement, the tines moving through respective slots provided in the chute. Leading edges of the tines are stair-stepped so that they engage the crop and carry it along the chute to the inlet to the bale forming chamber.

Abstract: An incinerator is disclosed which includes apparatus for removing ash from an incinerating chamber and which comprises hydraulically operated plows that slide along the floor of the chamber to push the ash towards an ash trough. Ash removal efficiency is improved in accordance with the present invention by the hinged suspension of a brush from the plow face. An auxiliary plow is added to the waste material loading device to clear ash from the highest of several stepped floor levels even in the absence of no new load being entered. The auxiliary plow further includes a clevis assembly which pivots the brush away from the incinerator floor during reverse plow travel.

Abstract: Apparatus for moving a load along a floor in the course of loading and unloading vehicles. The apparatus includes a pull bar movable along a floor surface, winch driven cable drums, and cable connected between the drums and the pull bar so as to provide a pair of substantially parallel cable runs extending along each side of a load to be moved. Operation of the winch moves the pull bar against a load on the floor to slide the load as desired.The cable may comprise a single length of cable passed through rollers at the ends of the pull bar such that as the cable runs are drawn taut, the cable may run through the pulleys to automatically adjust the length of each cable run and equalize tension between the runs.

Abstract: A takeoff-delivery mechanism for cup-like containers is provided with a pusher device that is operated repeatedly to remove stacks containing a predetermined number of containers from the front of a horizontal supply stack while containers are being fed to the rear thereof. Initially, each removed stack is fed to a horizontal delivery device which is then pivoted by moving its front end upward until the delivery device is generally vertical. The removed stack is discharged from the delivery device through the now downwardly facing rear thereof into a receiving device where the removed stack remains generally vertical.

Abstract: A cable or chain actuated chip conveyor for moving chips along a trough is disclosed. A trough is employed to collect chips from various operations and a harpoon is employed to move the chips along the trough to a point where they are collected for disposal. The harpoon is shaped so that when moving in a second direction through a pile of chips it passes through the chips without displacing the chips in the direction of movement of movement of the harpoon, and when moving in a first direction the harpoon displaces the chips in the direction of movement of the harpoon. A cable or chain driven by a capstan is employed for urging the harpoon in the first direction and in the second direction.

Abstract: A T-shaped scraper assembly is operatively connected to a drive unit via a cable assembly and is adapted to be pulled along the floor in one direction thus scraping manure or debris from the floor, and in the opposite direction to return the scraper assembly to the starting position. When moving in the non-scraping direction, means are provided to elevate the scraper blades slightly above the floor level. The scraper blades are floatably mounted vertically thus allowing them to follow the floor contours within limits and the width is adjustable within limits also. The drive unit includes a resilient or nonmetal main, grooved cable pulley and a resilient or nonmetal idler pulley situated at an angle so that the cable engaging around these pulleys runs relatively freely aligned in the cable grooves. The angling of the idler pulley relative to the main drive pulley reduces side friction between the cable and the grooves and between the cable portions where same cross one another.

Abstract: Apparatus for arraying randomly distributed ampoules, bottles or like objects has a longitudinally grooved vibratory conveyor which receives randomly distributed objects from a magazine and converts the objects into files of aligned objects. The discharge end of the vibratory conveyor, or an intermediate conveyor, delivers the objects into a vertical duct having several longitudinally extending sections one of which is adjustable horizontally toward or away from the other section or sections to define a passage of optimum width for the selected objects. The lower end of the duct delivers successive objects onto a platform, and such objects are transferred sideways out of register with the duct by a reciprocable pusher. If the objects are bottles or the like, an orienting device is placed adjacent to the upper end of the duct to insure that the orientation of each bottle which enters the duct is the same.

Abstract: In a reciprocating harpoon-type conveyor operated by a hydraulic circuit, a control system for the conveyor which includes pressure sensitive switches in the hydraulic circuit operated in response to increases in hydraulic pressure indicative of stoppage of the conveyor. The control system is responsive to operation of pressure switches to reverse the conveyor and to sense whether the conveyor is jammed, whether the jam is cleared, and if not, terminates operation of the conveyor.

Abstract: A device for moving bulk material collected along the length of a chute to a container located outside and below one end of the chute, comprises in combination a scraper means which is brought to reciprocate along the chute the scraper means being arranged to transport the bulk material during its forward motion against said container, the arrangement being such that the scraper means is adapted to project cantilever-wise outside the chute before its forward motion is concluded, means being provided to let the scraper means be lowered during the end period of the forward motion to a level below the chute, further means being arranged to place the scraper means in a position where it will be free during the return movement away from the container to move at a level above material residing in the chute and thereby not moving the the bulk material in both directions.

Abstract: A shuttle conveyor for moving articles fore and aft on a cargo support, such as the baggage area in an aircraft cargo compartment, comprises a trolley assembly moved fore and aft by a cable means travelling in downwardly canted tracks and a means to raise and lower selectively one of two cargo-engaging pawls adapted to move cargo forward or aft of the compartment and operated by cable or chain operators.

Abstract: A transport device for displacement of filter plates embodying a transport pawl pivotally mounted on a drawing element disposed to move the plates in the direction of opening. The pawl has a recess which cooperates with upwardly extending catches and a forward deflector surface which cooperates with the catch of an adjacent plate in a stack of plates to prevent the pawl from dropping into operative position. At least one additional pawl is pivotally mounted on the drawing element and has an additional deflector surface rearwardly of the recess therein which cooperates with the catch of an adjacent plate. The recess in the pawl may be of a length to engage two catches carried by two adjacent plates.