1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for pushing stacks or packs, particularly packs of tubular film sections, from a support, preferably from a pallet, on which said stacks or packs have been deposited in a plurality of layers, comprising a pusher, which is movably mounted in a frame and moved by a drive.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the manufacture of sacks, a tube-making apparatus is operated to eject tubular film sections at a rate which is much higher than the rate at which said tubular films can be processed by the succeeding end-forming machine. Even if a tube-making machine is succeeded by a plurality of end-forming machines it may be necessary to effect an intermediate storage of the tubular film sections which have been ejected by the tube-making machine and have been stacked to form packs. Such intermediate storage is usually effected by means of a storage belt conveyor. As such belt conveyors also have only a limited capacity it may be necessary to deposit packs of tubular film sections on pallets.
The packs of tubular film sections which have been deposited in a plurality of layers on pallets must be returned to the production process and the tubular film sections must be singled and then supplied to the end-forming machine.
Singling may be effected, e.g., by so-called rotary feeders, which comprise stack magazines to which the packs of tubular film sections are supplied. Such rotary feeder which serves to single the tubular film sections and comprises a conveyor for supplying the packs of tubular film sections and for introducing them into the stack magazine of the rotary feeder is known from Published German Application No. 30 46 280. The apparatus known from Published German Application No. 30 46 280 is also provided with a pusher, by which the packs of tubular film sections supplied by a storage belt conveyor are pushed onto the receiving end of the conveyor which forwards them to the stack magazine.
In apparatus of the kind disclosed in German Patent Specification No. 31 05 154 an intermediate storage of packs of tubular film sections is effected on carrying grates, which are vertically spaced apart to form a plurality of tiers, and said packs are pushed from such grates by means of a pusher onto a conveyor in case of need; the latter conveyor serves to return the packs of tubular film sections into the production process.
The known apparatus can only be used to push packs of tubular film sections from a conveyor or a storage location onto another storage location or a conveyor. But when storage space is no longer available for an intermediate storage of juxtaposed packs of tubular films, then it will be necessary to stack the packs of tubular film sections in a plurality of vertically spaced apart planes, for instance, on pallets. Thus far, the removal of packs of tubular film sections stacked, e.g., on pallets and the deposition of said packs on a conveyor for returning said packs to the production process had to be effected by hand.