Apparatus for replenishing the supply of commodities in a reservoir

US6290452A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Topack Verpackungstechnik GmbH · DE

Inventor

• Michael Wachter · Lankau, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Aug 17, 1999
• Grant date: Sep 18, 2001
• Expiry date: Aug 17, 2019

Classification

• Technology area (CPC B): Performing Operations; Transporting
• CPC primary: B65H2511/22
• WIPO field: Handling
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

A conveyor delivers successive stacks of blanks to a position at a level above a single magazine or to positions at levels above discrete plural magazines for stacked blanks. In order to avoid misalignment of blanks during replenishment of supplies of such blanks in the magazine or magazines, the level of the uppermost blank in each magazine is monitored and the thus obtained signals are utilized to release stacks of blanks for gravitational descent onto the remnant(s) of blanks in the magazine or magazines when the lowermost blank of a stack is located at a preselected distance from the uppermost blank(s) of the remnant(s) of the supply or supplies of blanks in the magazine(s). This can be accomplished by causing a stack of blanks above a magazine to descend relative to the dwindling supply of blanks in the magazine until the lowermost blank of the descending stack reaches a position at the selected distance from the topmost blank in the magazine.