Importance

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Abstract

A belt conveyor system carrying bagged product toward a packing station is interrupted and offset downward to form the basis of an automatic collating station for placing the bags in a column, side-by-side and upright, for easier packing into a carton. A rearwardly inclined guide surface at the offset between the upper and lower conveyor portions begins the erection of each bag as it is discharge by the upper conveyor portion and slides down into contact with the lower conveyor portion. Automatic sensing of a bag in this position actuates a reciprocating erector platen which emerges from the guide surface and tilts the bag forward against a previously erected bag. Further automatic sensing of this new forward tilted position of the bag actuates forward indexing of the lower conveyor to make room for the next bag. Then automatic retraction of the erector permits the next bag to be delivered into the collating station.

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First Claim