GB1248991A - Improvements in or relating to the loading or unloading of ship's holds - Google Patents

Abstract

1,248,991. Loading ships; endless belt conveyers. FLEXIBLE CONVEYER CO. Ltd. 11 Feb., 1970 [11 Feb., 1969], No. 7278/69. Headings B8A and B8E. To load articles such as bagged products into a ship's hold through a hatch 4, a vertical flexible elevator 38, 39 extends into the hold and receives articles from a de-palletizing unit 12 via conveyers 24, 29, 43 for delivery to a turn-table 44 and discharge conveyers 48, 49. The frame 36 of the flexible elevator is supported by drivable rollers 35 in a support frame 34 so that it can be raised and lowered to adjust the height at which the telescopic conveyers 48, 49 deliver the articles. The elevator comprises an endless band conveyer 38 co-operating with a series of band conveyers 39, some at least of which can be swung outwards by rams 37 acting on frames 40 so as to provide an entry point adjacent the conveyer 43 at whatever height the frame 36 is positioned. To load a hold pallets 14 are moved from a table 13 to a tilting lift table 16 which is tilted and raised until bags 15 successively slide over a roller 22 on to the conveyer 24 from which they are fed by conveyers 29, 43 to an outwardly adjusted entry conveyer 39 and thence by the flexible elevator through a shoot 45 to the turntable 44 from which they are diverted by a belt 50 to the delivery belts 48, 49, which can be moved about a pivot 46 to direct the bags to the desired point in the hold. As the hold fills the frame 36 may be raised to deliver the bags at a greater height using lower entry conveyers 39 in turn. By suitable adjustments the conveyers may be reversed to use the arrangement for unloading a hold. The elevator is mounted on a gantry comprising side frames 9 and beams 10 and the gantry runs by wheels on rails at either side of the hatch 4. The wheels may be adjusted heightwise to level the beams 10 and to ensure that the elevator is vertical.