GB1585830A - Machines for inverting objects in conveyor systems - Google Patents
Machines for inverting objects in conveyor systems Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB1585830A GB1585830A GB3044877A GB3044877A GB1585830A GB 1585830 A GB1585830 A GB 1585830A GB 3044877 A GB3044877 A GB 3044877A GB 3044877 A GB3044877 A GB 3044877A GB 1585830 A GB1585830 A GB 1585830A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- conveyor
- bale
- motor
- conveyors
- discharging
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
- B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
- B65G47/22—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors
- B65G47/24—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors orientating the articles
- B65G47/248—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors orientating the articles by turning over or inverting them
- B65G47/252—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors orientating the articles by turning over or inverting them about an axis substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Specific Conveyance Elements (AREA)
Description
(54) MACHINES FOR INVERTING OBJECTS IN CONVEYOR SYSTEMS
(71) We, MARRYAT HANDLING LIMITED, a British Company, of Lombard House, 10-12 Lombard Road, London SWl9 3XR, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement;
This invention relates to machines useful in conveyor systems for receiving objects in succession, inverting them and then discharging them in succession.
While the invention has many uses, it has been devised primarily for handling bales of raw tobacco. These bales, when delivered are boxed up in ordinary wooden packing cases and the normal method of deboxing the bales is to cut around the four sides of the box with a power saw, the depth of the cut being adjusted so as not to enter the tobacco to any material extent, then to lift off the top half of the box, turn it over and finally to lift off the bottom half of the box. A main object of the invention is to enable this to be done with as little spillage of tobacco as possible because, for economic reasons, it is important to minimize losses of tobacco. Although compressed, the tobacco is relatively fragile and so presents problems in the design of machines for automatically handling the tobacco bales.
According to the invention, a machine for inverting objects comprises a framework having a circular or arcuate track with a horizontal axis and mounted to be rotated about the axis, two conveyors mounted face to face within the framework, mechanism for varying the separation between the conveyors whereby, when an object is received by one conveyor and located beneath the second or discharging conveyor, the separation between the conveyors may be adjusted so that the object is engaged above and below by the conveyors, and controlled power means for actuating the said mechanism so as to engage the object, for inverting the framework, for causing the conveyors to separate, for actuating the discharging conveyor to discharge the object from the machine, and for returning the conveyors to their initial position to receive another object.
The track may most conveniently consist of two coaxial rings at the sides of the framework and mounted on rollers, one pair of coaxial rollers being power driven. In one arrangement the object is received through one of the rings and discharged between the rings, or vice versa. In an alternative the object is discharged in the same direction as that in which it is received. In either event, the object may be fed to the machine by an external conveyor and removed by a further external conveyor. In the case of a tobacco bale, the discharging conveyor in the machine and the external conveyor that receives the inverted bale are preferably belt conveyors in view of the fragile nature of the compressed tobacco. The other conveyors may be roller conveyors.
Preferably the machine comprises means whereby one or each opposite side of this object may be engaged automatically by a member such as as plate to centralize the object in the framework prior to inversion and to stabilize the object during inversion.
The invention also includes a method of deboxing a tobacco bale comprising dividing the box into upper and lower parts, removing the upper part, delivering the lower part with the bale therein on a delivery conveyor to a machine as described above, inverting the unit consisting of the partial box and bale in the machine, and discharging the inverted unit onto a further conveyor, or the delivery conveyor when reversed, which carries the unit to a location at which the partial box is removed from the bale.
In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, tobacco bale handling machinery will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan of a tobacco bale handling system;
Figure 2 is a side elevation showing part of the system of Figure 1 as viewed in the direction of the arrow II;
Figures 3 and 4 are respectively front and side elevations of a tobacco bale turnover machine forming part of the system of
Figure 1;
Figures 5, 6 and 7 are respectively a front elevation, a side elevation and a plan view of a modification of the turnover machine of
Figures 3 and 4;
Figures 8 and 9 are respectively a front elevation and a plan view of a detail of a turnover machine; and
Figures 10 and 11 are respectively front and side elevations of a limit switch.
Referring to Figures 1 to 4, compressed bales 1 of tobacco, which may be of any one of a range of sizes as shown by chain lines in
Figures 3 and 4, are carried by a roller conveyor 2 and delivered thereby to a receiving roller conveyor 3 in a turnover machine 4 by which the bale is turned over and discharged by a discharging belt conveyor described below onto a belt conveyor 5 perpendicular (as viewed in plan) to the roller conveyor 2. However, the turnover machine of Figures 5 to 7 is arranged to discharge the turned over bales in the same direction as that in which they travel along the roller conveyor 2. Otherwise the machine is in many respects the same as that of Figures 3 and 4.
On reaching the roller conveyor 2, each bale has had the top half of its wooden box removed so that it projects upwards from the bottom half (not shown) of the box which ultimately is removed from the bale after passing through the turnover machine 4 and along the belt conveyor 5.
The turnover machines shown in the drawings, each comprise two angle-section rings 6, coaxially spaced by a rectangular framework consisting of chordal members 7, transoms 8 and struts 9, all welded together.
This frame structure is supported by two driving wheels 10 and two freely rotatable wheels 11 on bright mild steel shafts carried by life-sealed ball bearing units. The driving wheels 10 are fixed to a shaft 12 which is connected by a driving chain 13 and sprockets to a totally enclosed fan cooled geared motor 14. Each wheel is 200 mm in diameter with a hard polyurethane tyre. Lateral movement of the turnover frame structure is limited by two 75 mm diameter hard polyurethane tyred wheels 15 with roller bearingjournals on adjustable mild steel stub shafts. The wheels 10, 11, 15 and their associated mechanism are all mounted on a welded and braced mild steel section sub-frame 16.
In the machine 4 of Figures 3 and 4, the receiving roller conveyor 3 is mounted on two of the transoms 8 with the conveyor rollers 17 parallel to the axis of the rings 6.
Selected rollers 17 are driven by a motor 18 by way of sprockets and a chain 19. When the conveyor 3 is in the position of Figure 3 and has received a bale, the bale is conveyed until it contacts a double pole limit switch which stops the conveyor, the bale being brought to rest by a barrier plate 20 which is adjustable on two of the struts 9, according to the size of the bale, which may for example be 102 mm long and 63mm square and weigh about 880 kg. It will be noted that in the machine of Figures 3 and 4 the bale is delivered between the rings 6 and wide side foremost onto the roller conveyor 3 and after inversion as described below is delivered through one ring 6 and square end foremost onto the belt conveyor 5. The plate 20 centralizes the bale and stabilizes it during inversion.
In contradisctinction, in the machine of
Figures 5 to 7 the bale is received square end foremost through one ring 6 onto the conveyor 3 and delivered square end foremost through the other ring 6 from the machine.
Therefore the spacing between the rings 6 is smaller in this construction than in that of
Figures 3 and 4. Moreover, in Figures 5 to 7 the conveyor 3 is supported by two transoms 8 with the rollers 17A transverse to the axis of the rings 6. When the bale enters the turnover machine, it travels between two guide plates 21 until it encounters a limit switch as aforesaid to stop the container. Thereupon, the plates 21 which are mounted on the struts 9 are caused by power driven mechanism (not shown), that replaces the supporting means for the plates shown in the drawings, to approach one another and clamp the bale between them. Somewhat similarly the barrier plate 20 in Figures 3 and 4 may be automatically positioned when different bale sizes are to be accommodated and it is desirable to maintain the bale in a central position.The positioning can be effected either by pneumatically controlled cylinders or electrically driven actuators controlled by a pressure switch mounted on the barrier plate 20. Thus, the barrier plate remains at rest in a retracted position until, at a time determined by the entry of a bale into the turnover machine 4, the plate 20 is advanced until the pressure switch, on engaging the bale, stops the actuators which hold the plate in the position to which it has advanced. Similar pressure switches may be mounted on the guide plates 21 (Figure 5) to stop their power driven mechanism when a bale is damped between them.
When the bale is received by the roller conveyor 3, the bale is located beneath a discharging belt conveyor 22 which is thereupon lowered to bear on the top of the bale and, after the bale has been turned over, serves to deliver the bale from the machine 4. The conveyor 22 comprises a frame 23 projecting at each end through one of the rings 6. A motor 24 for driving the conveyor belt 25 through a chain drive is mounted at one end of the frame 23 and the other end of the frame 23 is arranged to overlap or register with the final belt conveyor, such as the conveyor 5 (Figure 2), when the bale has been turned over. Spillage of tobacco is minimized on takeover when the frame 23 overlaps the conveyor 5. Means may be provided for tilting the belt conveyor so as to align it with the inclination of the conveyor 5, as shown by broken lines in Figure 2.The belt conveyor is omitted from Figures 1 and 7.
The belt conveyor is mounted to travel along the struts 8 with rollers 26 running along rails 27 (Figures 8 and 9) on these struts, the frame 23 being secured to four endless chains 28 respectively embracing four pairs of upper and lower sprockets 29, 30.
Each pair of sprockets 29, 30 is mounted on a respective one of the struts 8. The sprockets in each pair of coaxial upper sprockets 29 are connected by aligned shafts 31 to gearing in a gearing a gear box 32. The shafts 31 and 29 are driven by a fan cooled motor 33 through aligned shafts 34 connected to the gearing in the gear boxes 32. The motor 33 is reversible and the gearing between this motor and the sprockets 29 is irreversible. The motor 33 is mounted on two of the transoms 9.
In operation, when a bale has been located on the receiving roller conveyor 3 and has actuated the aforesaid double pole limit switch this sets into operation further switches such as those shown in Figures 10 and 11, wherein a switch is set to on or off positions by a lever 35 controlled by a rotary cam 36. The resulting sequence is that first the bale is positioned centrally beneath the discharging belt conveyor 22 by the plate 20, if power actuated, or the plates 21. Thereupon, the motor 33 is actuated to lower the belt conveyor 22 onto the bale. This may be effected in 10 seconds. Next the motor 14 inverts the framework and bale. This may take 20 seconds. Next the plate 20 or plates 21 are withdrawn. Then the motor 33 lowers the discharging conveyor 22 to the level of the conveyor 5. This may be effected in 10 seconds.The motor 24 is then operated to cause the discharging conveyor to deliver the bale to the conveyor 5. This can be done in 10 seconds. Finally, the motor 14 is again actuated to return the framework and conveyor 22 to the initial position.
It will be appreciated that, as an alternative, the conveyor 22 may travel in a direction such as to deliver the bale back onto the conveyor 2, which would be reversed to carry the bale away. This would enable the same mechanism to be used for initially lifting off the top half of the box and finally, after inversion, lifting off the bottom half of the box. In this arrangement conveyor 2 is preferably a belt conveyor.
WHAT WE CLAIM IS:
1. A machine for inverting objects comprising a framework having a circular or arcuate track with a horizontal axis and mounted to be rotated about the axis, two conveyors mounted face to face within the framework, mechanism for varying 'the separation between the conveyors whereby, when an object is received by one conveyor and located beneath the second or discharging conveyor, the separation between the conveyors may be adjusted so that the object is engaged above and below by the conveyors, and controlled power means for actuating the said mechanism so as to engage the object, for inverting the framework for causing the conveyors to separate, for actuating the discharging conveyor to discharge the object from the machine and for returning the conveyors to their initial position to receive another object.
2. A machine according to Claim 1, in which the discharging conveyor is a belt conveyor.
3. A machine according to Claim 1 or
Claim 2, in which the track consists of two co-axial, parallel rings at the sides of the framework and mounted on rollers.
4. A machine according to Claim 3, in which said discharging conveyor comprises a frame on which the said mechanism acts to adjust the separation between the conveyors, and in which the power means includes a first motor on the conveyor frame for actuating the said mechanism, a second motor on the conveyor frame for driving the discharging conveyor and a third motor mounted in a fixed position for driving a coaxial pair of said rollers, acting respectively on said rings for inverting said framework.
5. A machine according to Claim 3 or
Claim 4, in which the conveyors are arranged so that the object is received in one direction and discharged in a direction at right angles thereto, one of said directions being between and parallel to the rings and the other direction being through a ring.
6. A machine according to Claim 3 or
Claim 4, in which the conveyors are arranged so that the object is received and discharged alone one straight line.
7. A machine according to Claim 5, in which the receiving conveyor is power driven and in which an adjustable stop is provided for arresting the object in a central position on the receiving conveyor.
8. A machine according to Claim 3 or
Claim 4 or Claim 6, in which power driven members are arranged to engage opposite sides of the object to centralize it when on the receiving conveyor.
9. A machine according to Claim 4, in
**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.
Claims (12)
1. A machine for inverting objects comprising a framework having a circular or arcuate track with a horizontal axis and mounted to be rotated about the axis, two conveyors mounted face to face within the framework, mechanism for varying 'the separation between the conveyors whereby, when an object is received by one conveyor and located beneath the second or discharging conveyor, the separation between the conveyors may be adjusted so that the object is engaged above and below by the conveyors, and controlled power means for actuating the said mechanism so as to engage the object, for inverting the framework for causing the conveyors to separate, for actuating the discharging conveyor to discharge the object from the machine and for returning the conveyors to their initial position to receive another object.
2. A machine according to Claim 1, in which the discharging conveyor is a belt conveyor.
3. A machine according to Claim 1 or
Claim 2, in which the track consists of two co-axial, parallel rings at the sides of the framework and mounted on rollers.
4. A machine according to Claim 3, in which said discharging conveyor comprises a frame on which the said mechanism acts to adjust the separation between the conveyors, and in which the power means includes a first motor on the conveyor frame for actuating the said mechanism, a second motor on the conveyor frame for driving the discharging conveyor and a third motor mounted in a fixed position for driving a coaxial pair of said rollers, acting respectively on said rings for inverting said framework.
5. A machine according to Claim 3 or
Claim 4, in which the conveyors are arranged so that the object is received in one direction and discharged in a direction at right angles thereto, one of said directions being between and parallel to the rings and the other direction being through a ring.
6. A machine according to Claim 3 or
Claim 4, in which the conveyors are arranged so that the object is received and discharged alone one straight line.
7. A machine according to Claim 5, in which the receiving conveyor is power driven and in which an adjustable stop is provided for arresting the object in a central position on the receiving conveyor.
8. A machine according to Claim 3 or
Claim 4 or Claim 6, in which power driven members are arranged to engage opposite sides of the object to centralize it when on the receiving conveyor.
9. A machine according to Claim 4, in
which the said frame of the discharging conveyor is mounted on rollers arranged to run on straight line tracks on the framework towards and away from the receiving conveyor and the mechanism for adjusting the separation between the conveyors comprises irreversible gearing driven by the first motor, this first motor being a reversible motor.
10. A machine for inverting objects substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 1 to 4 and Figure 8 and 9 of the accompanying drawings.
11. A machine for inverting objects substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 5 to 7 and Figures 8 and 9 of the accompanying drawings.
12. A method of deboxing a tobacco bale comprising dividing the box into upper and lower parts, removing the upper part, delivering the lower part with the bale therein on a delivery conveyor to a machine according to any one of the preceding claims inverting the unit consisting of the partial box and bale in the machine, and discharging the inverted unit onto a further conveyor, or the delivery conveyor when reversed, which carries the unit to a location at which the partial box is removed from the bale.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB3044877A GB1585830A (en) | 1978-05-22 | 1978-05-22 | Machines for inverting objects in conveyor systems |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB3044877A GB1585830A (en) | 1978-05-22 | 1978-05-22 | Machines for inverting objects in conveyor systems |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB1585830A true GB1585830A (en) | 1981-03-11 |
Family
ID=10307857
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB3044877A Expired GB1585830A (en) | 1978-05-22 | 1978-05-22 | Machines for inverting objects in conveyor systems |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB1585830A (en) |
Cited By (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2126970A (en) * | 1982-08-12 | 1984-04-04 | British Mathews Ltd | Apparatus for inverting articles such as kegs or drums |
| DE4432352A1 (en) * | 1994-09-12 | 1996-03-14 | Bayerische Motoren Werke Ag | Transporting un-painted car bodies through treatment baths |
| DE102008017420A1 (en) * | 2008-04-03 | 2009-10-15 | Wemhöner Surface Technologies GmbH & Co. KG | Operating method for turning and angle transport of loose workpiece stacks of flat workpieces, involves carrying workpiece stacks from longitudinal conveyor track before turning device into lower level on longitudinal conveyor track |
| US9828189B2 (en) | 2013-02-05 | 2017-11-28 | Windmoller & Holscher Kg | Device for turning over an object |
| DE102019008122A1 (en) * | 2019-11-22 | 2021-05-27 | Keuro Besitz Gmbh & Co. Edv-Dienstleistungs Kg | Turning station for metal sheets or stacks of metal sheets and method for using the turning station |
| CN114947162A (en) * | 2022-06-06 | 2022-08-30 | 河南省烟草公司许昌市公司 | Tobacco leaf turns over basket pre-compaction all-in-one |
-
1978
- 1978-05-22 GB GB3044877A patent/GB1585830A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (11)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2126970A (en) * | 1982-08-12 | 1984-04-04 | British Mathews Ltd | Apparatus for inverting articles such as kegs or drums |
| DE4432352A1 (en) * | 1994-09-12 | 1996-03-14 | Bayerische Motoren Werke Ag | Transporting un-painted car bodies through treatment baths |
| DE102008017420A1 (en) * | 2008-04-03 | 2009-10-15 | Wemhöner Surface Technologies GmbH & Co. KG | Operating method for turning and angle transport of loose workpiece stacks of flat workpieces, involves carrying workpiece stacks from longitudinal conveyor track before turning device into lower level on longitudinal conveyor track |
| DE102008017420B4 (en) * | 2008-04-03 | 2020-09-17 | Wemhöner Surface Technologies GmbH & Co. KG | Working method and device for turning and angular transport of loose stacks of workpieces |
| US9828189B2 (en) | 2013-02-05 | 2017-11-28 | Windmoller & Holscher Kg | Device for turning over an object |
| EP2762427B1 (en) * | 2013-02-05 | 2018-04-11 | Windmöller & Hölscher KG | Device for turning an object |
| DE102013101148B4 (en) | 2013-02-05 | 2020-06-18 | Windmöller & Hölscher Kg | Device for turning an object |
| DE102019008122A1 (en) * | 2019-11-22 | 2021-05-27 | Keuro Besitz Gmbh & Co. Edv-Dienstleistungs Kg | Turning station for metal sheets or stacks of metal sheets and method for using the turning station |
| US11505418B2 (en) | 2019-11-22 | 2022-11-22 | KEURO Besitz GmbH & Co. KG EDV-Dienstleistungs KG | Turning station for metal sheets or metal sheet stacks, and method for using the turning station |
| CN114947162A (en) * | 2022-06-06 | 2022-08-30 | 河南省烟草公司许昌市公司 | Tobacco leaf turns over basket pre-compaction all-in-one |
| CN114947162B (en) * | 2022-06-06 | 2023-10-17 | 河南省烟草公司许昌市公司 | Tobacco leaf turns over basket pre-compaction all-in-one |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| US4349097A (en) | Loading and unloading device to be installed between two consecutive machines | |
| US3342014A (en) | Roll wrapper | |
| US4063632A (en) | Swingable arcuate guide for selectively orienting articles | |
| NO834640L (en) | COMBINED DISTRIBUTION DEVICE FOR UNITS | |
| AU636032B2 (en) | Container erecting system | |
| US3721330A (en) | Article timing and feeding mechanism | |
| US3047123A (en) | Carton rotating and conveying apparatus | |
| US4566833A (en) | Device to bundle rolled bars or rolled sections | |
| GB2126556A (en) | A transfer station for intersecting conveyors | |
| CN107719817A (en) | A kind of inner wrapping automatic bag-breaking streamline | |
| US1305501A (en) | Catching and packing mechanism | |
| GB1585830A (en) | Machines for inverting objects in conveyor systems | |
| US2273689A (en) | Sheet stacker | |
| EP0070399B1 (en) | Turning arrangement for piece- and bagged goods | |
| US2087846A (en) | Article handling apparatus | |
| JPH0656241A (en) | Combination of conveyor and conveyor device | |
| CN1136123C (en) | Coiled stock treatment device | |
| US2517956A (en) | Box handling apparatus | |
| CN206318439U (en) | Product classification device | |
| US2530419A (en) | Can unscrambler | |
| US3627099A (en) | Transferring and stacking elongated members | |
| US4029196A (en) | Device for rotating pieces of lumber | |
| US3570648A (en) | Block feeding apparatus | |
| CN201132702Y (en) | Distributing device of auto-allocating system | |
| GB2040852A (en) | Apparatus for inverting loads |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSNS | Application of which complete specification have been accepted and published, but patent is not sealed |