The disclosure illustrates and describes a machine (10) for handling and unstacking dollies (14) loaded with stacks (16) of cross-nested baskets (18) wherein the front and rear walls of the individual baskets are positioned at random. The machine includes an inlet section (12) and an orienting section (20). In the former, lift and pusher elements (36, 42, 44, 46, 51) are provided for separating a stack from its dolly, and in the latter, lift and turn elements (52, 62, 64, 66, 100, 106, 108) are ...

An unstacking feeder capable of unstacking sheet materials efficiently from a sheet stack has a sheet stack transfer device (3) for transferring a sheet stack, which consists of a plurality of stacked sheet materials (1a), along a circulating transport configuration extending across a predetermined unstacking position (A). In order to separate individual sheet materials from a sheet stack in order, a floater (6) is selected and supplied automatically in accordance with the configuration of the s...

A machine for handling stacked articles, such as concrete masonry blocks, has two trolleys fitted with gripping attachments. One gripping attachment is used to lift the articles from a stack and deposits them on a conveyor. The other trolley and gripping attachment removes the articles from the conveyor and places them on a second conveyor. From the second conveyor, the articles may be fed to a required destination which, in the case of concrete masonry blocks, may be a splitting machine.

A device for unstacking and opening envelopes from a stack of envelopes is provided. The device includes a frame having a receptacle area for receiving the stack. At least one, but preferably two, endless belts are located at the bottom of the receptacle area for extracting an envelope from the bottom of the stack, the flap of the envelope folded and oriented upwardly and in a forward direction. At least one set, but preferably two sets, of cooperating drive rollers rotating in opposite directio...

An arrangement (1, 1') for automatically unstacking containers (6, 6') nested in each other in lying posture, by depositing them on a support, e.g. a conveyor (3a), with the container opening (6a) facing upwards, the arrangement comprising a gripping device (5) for gripping and moving out the respective first container (6) of a lying container stack (2, 2'), the gripping device (5, 5') being arranged on holding elements (8a, 8b) movable in stacking direction, and further comprising a clamping de...

A device for unstacking flat objects comprises an unstacking head (2) provided with a suction cup (88) for grasping the first flat object in a stack of such objects presented thereto and for moving a grasped flat object towards an exit position (40) in which the object is released. The suction cup (88) is a bellows suction cup made of a flexible material such that when it grasps the first flat object in the stack, it retracts under the effect of the suction and entrains at least the surface of t...

An apparatus which can be converted to either a stacker or an unstacker of relatively heavy objects, such as bins of fruit, that are delivered to and from the apparatus by means of a conveyor. The bins are supported upon dogs which are pivotally mounted upon a pair of carriages positioned at each side of the conveyor. The carriages are slidably mounted upon upright posts and are arranged for joint switch-controlled vertical movement on the posts. This joint movement is provided by vertically ext...

An unstacking device for objects such as mail envelopes is of the type comprising a magazine for storing and feeding stacked objects and a discharge head for separately removing jogged objects from a stack. The device is provided within the terminal portion of the magazine with a transition edge guide which serves to restore inclined objects to a practically upright position for subsequent discharge and is inclined with respect to the direction of feed motion of stacked objects and with a joggin...

Apparatus for unstacking planks from a stack with a traverser truck equipped with cams movable over the entire length of the stack. In each case the top layer of the stack can be raised to a predetermined working level, wherein the cams can then be moved up and down with a lifting unit arranged on the traverser truck. The cams are movably secured in the vertical direction relative to the lifting unit. A plant holding down device extending in the feed direction is pivotally connected to the cam a...

An unstacking apparatus comprises one or more sheet-entraining drums each having a peripheral depression, lying behind a rising forward edge, onto which the first sheet of a confronting stack is pulled by suction cups during every drum revolution. A counterpressure roller osscillatable about the drum axis is then swung from a position downstream of the depression past its forward edge, against the sense of rotation of the drum, to engage the pulled-off sheet and deliver it to a conveyor. Each co...