Inventors:
James J. Diver - South Holland IL
Henry A. Heide - Addison IL
Basil J. Masse - Carrollton TX
Assignee:
Velten & Pulver, Inc. - Chicago Ridge IL
International Classification:
B65G 1724
B65G 4730
Abstract:
An apparatus for accumulating into a group a series of spaced-apart loaves of bread in a bakery conveying line comprises an entry conveyor and an exit conveyor each including a driven belt of interconnected free rollers. Upon the arrival of the first loaf at the exit end of the exit conveyor, the exit conveyor is stopped, with succeeding loaves accumulating behind the first loaf under the continued action of the entry conveyor to form a contiguous group which fills first the exit conveyor and then successive zones of the entry conveyor. As each zone is filled, a corresponding shoe is moved into engagement with the rollers passing through that zone for rotating them to counteract the movement of the entry conveyor belt and relieve pressure on the accumulated loaves. When downstream equipment calls for more loaves, the exit conveyor is restarted and the shoes are removed from the rollers in all but the last zone, and simultaneously another shoe momentarily engages those rollers to stop the counter-rotation thereof and the accumulated group is conveyed from the accumulator. Subsequently the shoe in the last zone is disengaged to restart the cycle.