GB2087821A - A conveyor device - Google Patents

Abstract

A conveyor device for conveying rolled, drawn or formed articles advantageously but not exclusively of small thickness, laterally by means of a plurality of longitudinally arranged side-by- side vertically moving sliders (13, 14) sliding between two vertical surfaces (11, 25). The sliders are supported asymmetrically, that is at a point laterally displaced from the centre of gravity, so that they tend to move under their own weight to close the gap between their vertical surfaces and an adjacent vertical surface. The sliders (13, 14) are displaced by a rocker lever (19) controlled by a control shaft (18). Each end of the rocker lever (19) carries an associated slider (13, 14) so that upon rocking of the lever (19) linear alternate reciprocating movement of the sliders takes place. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A conveyor device The present invention relates to a conveyor device specifically adapted for transferring rolled products, particularly those of light weight and which are of small cross section, transversely of their length onto a delivery table by means of sliders capable of manipulating even the lightest of products.

One known type of delivery table has sliders with saw tooth upper surfaces which cooperate with intercalated fixed plates having similar upper surfaces. In operation the sliders are periodically displaced vertically and horizontally in a cyclic motion in order to translate the rolled material laterally; such delivery tables may have an associated roller track or a translator or a longitudinal entrainer, or even one or more runner channels arranged thereabove to feed the rolled products onto it. When a translator or entrainer is provided, advantageously but not necessarily, the roller conveyor may be omitted.

It is known that roller conveyors and other conventional conveyor systems have certain disadvantages, the main one of which is that after a certain period they are so worn that they are no longer suitable for conveying very small rolled items, which latter can become jammed between the moving parts of the conveyor or between the conveyor and a reception plate; furthermore in the known systems, the stresses involved are considerable.

This causes considerable problems to the end user in terms of maintenance and the loss of working time.

To obviate this disadvantage and in order to allow the possibility of manipulating any type of rolled products with vertically moving sliders the present invention seeks to provide a conveyor having vertically movable sliders in which wear caused by use will not lead to substantial spaces in which the rolled products being conveyed could jam.

According to this invention, there is provided a conveyor device suitable for transferring items laterally onto delivery or cooling table, comprising at least two vertically displaceable sliders having upper faces inclined to the horizontal in the same direction, the sliders being constrained to move between two oppositely facing substantially vertical walls and being supported on means for imparting alternate vertical linear reciprocating motion to the sliders.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the means for imparting vertical linear reciprocating movement to the sliders act to raise one slider and lower the other and then to raise the said other slider and to lower the said one slider.

Preferably the sliders are each supported at points displaced from their respective centres of gravity so that its own weight causes the slider continuously to lie in contact with the vertical surface on one side or the other of the longitudinal axis of the slider, that is the end face on the adjacent side of the cooling or delivery table, or with the vertical surface of the adjacent slider or with the vertical surface of a reception table on which items to be conveyed by the conveyor are received.

Embodiments of the present invention can operate more rapidly than known devices of this general type, with faster braking times, better general manoeuvrability, less wear and consequently lower maintenance cost.

Preferably the contact line or lines between adjacent sliders and/or between each slider and the adjacent fixed part of the device, as seen in plan view, is or are not straight, but rather incorporate corrugations. These corrugations prevent rolled products from becoming trapped between the sliders or between a slider and the adjacent fixed part of the device, with respect to which the slider moves.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention there are provided a plurality of pairs of sliders mounted on opposite ends of respective centrally pivoted rocker arms which act as the means for causing reciprocating linear movement of the sliders. These rocker arms preferably have associated lever arms which are reciprocated by respective hydraulic or pneumatic actuators.

These actuators may be actuated simultaneously or in sequence which gives a wide range of possibilities of different operating routines.

The delivery or cooling table can also be provided with a known type of single or double channel bar discharging device, for bars which are not suitable to be transported over the rocking conveyor. Such single or double channel bar discharging device would be installed over the first three teeth of the delivery or cooling table, since for applying the bar brake with which such devices are usually provided a part of the table with slider must be laterally displaceable, for which purpose it can be mounted on a special carriage.

One embodiment of the present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure lisa cross sectional view of the embodiment together with a part of an associated delivery or cooling table; and Figure 2 is a plan view from above of the embodiment shown in Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawings, the device as a whole is generally indicated 10. The device has a material arrival table or platform 11 on which is shown an example of a rolled bar 12 which may be of a large or small section, of any shape or form, and which may be any form of drawn or extruded bar or similar. A first group of aligned reciprocable sliders 13 lies adjacent the arrival platform 11; these sliders have an angle section with an upper portion the upper surface of which is inclined to the horizontal and a sidewall or web which constitutes in effect an upright leg which carries, in the example shown, a roller at the lower end thereof. A second group of aligned reciprocable sliders 14 lies adjacent the first group; the sliders of this second group are an inverted U-shape in cross section with two parallel sides joined by an upper web which is inclined to the horizontal.The side or leg furthest from the slides 13 of the first group is longer than the side or leg nearest the sliders 13 of the first group and carries a roller 17.

There are three interference zones 15,115,215, theat is to say three zones in which a slider is in sliding contact with an adjacent surface. The two sets of sliders reciprocate vertically and serve to convey bars such as the bar 12 laterally without the risk of these bars being jammed between the sliders, in particular due to the corrugated form of the contact lines between the sliders and between the sliders and the arrival platform 11, as can be seen in Figure 2.

The two sets of sliders 13, 14 are supported by the rollers 16, 17 (one ortwo on each slider) on respective ends 20 of a rocker arm 19 which is carried on a central shaft 18. The shaft 18 is carried in a plurality of supports 27. The rocker lever 19 is connected buy a bush 21 to a lever 21a pivotally connected at its free end 22 to the operating arm of a linear hydraulic or pneumatic actuator 23.

Since there may be provided more than one shaft 18, more than one actuator 23 can be provided so that the shafts 18 can be actuated together or in a suitable sequence.

In Figure 1 the rocker lever 19 is shown in a position wherein a rolled bar can be transferred from the slider 13 to the slider 14. By turning the shaft 18 by means of the levers 21a the sliders can be made to take up the positions indicated 113 and 114 (shown in broken outline in Figure 1) which allows an item to roll or slide from the arrival platform 11 onto the first slider 13, and an item on the second slider 14 to transfer onto the delivery or cooling table 25. This delivery or cooling table 25 includes a first part 25 comprising a plurality of surface elements which have longitudinal corrugations forming chan nels therein; these corrugations have triangular cross section so that the surface elements have a saw-tooth profile. The surface elements 25 are separated from one another by narrow slits in which are housed respective movable blades 24 of the cooling table.The blades 24 also have a saw-tooth upper edge the pitch of this saw-tooth being the same as that of the surface elements of the fixed first part 25. In operation of the cooling table the movable blades are caused to move up and down and from side to side in a cyclic motion thereby lifting an item out of a channel, carrying it one tooth pitch to the right (as viewed in Figure 1) and lowering it into the next adjacent channel to the one in which it was initially located. The lowered blades 24 then move to the left one tooth pitch and the cycle recommences.

Successive cyclic movements of the movable blades 24 thus cause successive lateral displacements of the items in the channels of the cooling table.

In operation of the conveyor device the two groups of sliders 13 and 14 lie against each other at the interface 15 and are supported by the rocker lever 19 of shaft 18. Reciprocating linear motion of the actuators 23 causes rocking ofthe rocker 19 and consequently reciprocating alternate linear vertical motion of the sliders 13, 14to position them to receive and pass on rolled items such as the bar 12 illustrated in Figure 1. Because of their asymmetric construction the sliders 13, 14 are moved by their own weight to take up any slack between them which might develop due to wear.

A preferred embodiment has been described hereinabove, but alternative embodiments are possible.Thus it is possible to change ratios and dimensions; it is possible to provide pads instead of rollers 16 and 17 and it is possible to form the arrival table 11 instead as a roller conveyor. Likewise instead of the actuator 23 any other suitable system such as an eccentric, a cam arrangement or the like can be employed to cause movement of the sliders.

Claims (10)

1. A conveyor device suitable for transferring items laterally onto a delivery or cooling table, comprising at least two vertically displaceable sliders having upper faces inclined to the horizontal in the same direction, the sliders being constrained to move between two oppositely facing substantially vertical walls and being supported on means for imparting alternate vertical linear reciprocating motion to the sliders.

2. A conveyor device as claimed in CLaim 1, in which the sliders are supported at points laterally displaced from their respective centres of gravity.

3. A conveyor device as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which there are provided at least two rows of siiders in aligned flanked face-to-face arrangement, the sliders being supported along their edges remote from the adjacent sliders so that the sliders tend to lean towards one another.

4. A conveyor device as claimed in Claim 1, Claim 2 or Claim 3, in which there are provided rollers for supporting the sliders on the said means for imparting reciprocating motion to the sliders.

5. A conveyor device as claimed in any preceding claim in which each pair of sliders is supported at respective ends of a rocker lever carried by a shaft extending parallel to the length of the sliders and transverse the direction of conveying movement of the conveyor.

6. A conveyor device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the contact line or lines between the sliders and/or between the sliders and an adjacent fixed part of the device, as seen in plan view, are not straight.

7. A conveyor device as claimed in Claim 5, in which the said contact line or lines is or are corrugated as seen in plan view.

8. A conveyor device as claimed in Claim 5, 6 or 7, in which there are provided a plurality of control shafts individually and selectively actuable.

9. A conveyor device as claimed in Claim 5, 6 or 7, in which there are provided a plurality of control shafts all simultaneously actuable.

10. A conveyor device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.