DESC:COLLATION SYSTEM FOR PACKAGING OF PRODUCTS ,CLAIMS:1. A system (100) for collating packaged products for secondary packaging, the system (100) comprising:
a conveyor belt (104) to carry the packaged products;
a stopper (134), provided on the conveyor belt (104), to stop the packaged products moving on the conveyor belt (104);
a push and retraction assembly (106) comprising:
a pusher plate (114), a plane of the pusher plate being substantially perpendicular to a plane of the conveyor belt (104);
a first piston (110) coupled to the pusher plate (114), wherein the first piston (110), in a push stroke, is operated to move the pusher plate (114) from an initial position, such that a predefined number of packaged products are pushed in a direction transverse to a direction of motion of the packaged products on the conveyor belt (104); and
a second piston (117) coupled to the first piston (110), wherein the second piston (117), in a lift stroke, is operated to lift the first piston (110) and the pusher plate (114) by a predefined distance from the conveyor belt (104), and wherein, in a retraction stroke, the first piston (110) and the second piston (117) are retracted to bring the pusher plate (114) to the initial position; and
a collation tray (108) to receive the predetermined number of packaged products pushed by the pusher plate (114).
2. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first piston (110) and the second piston (117) are substantially orthogonal to each other, when the first piston (110) and the second piston (117) are in a non-operative condition.
3. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pusher plate (114) has a length depending on the predetermined number of the packaged products to be pushed for collation.
4. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein timings of the push stroke, the lift stroke, and the retraction stroke depend on a speed of the conveyor belt (104) on which the packaged products are moving.
5. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a cover plate (146), provided on the conveyor belt (104), to prevent vertical staking of the packaged product moving on the conveyor belt (104), wherein the cover plate (146) is provided over an area of the conveyor belt (104) before the pusher plate (114) of the push and retraction assembly (106).
6. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a sensor (140) to count number of packaged products being received on the conveyor belt (104).
7. The system (100) as claimed in claim 6, comprising a control unit to stop operation of the push and retraction assembly (106) if the counted number of packaged products, received on the conveyor belt (104), is less than the predetermined number of packaged products to be pushed for collation.
8. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, the conveyor belt (104) is made of polyurethane (PU) grade polymer.