GB2156311A - Mechanical handling device - Google Patents

Abstract

A mechanical handling device 1 for handling a mattress 25 is mounted on a trolley 3. A first platform 19 is secured at one edge 20 to a shaft 17, and at its opposite edge 21 it is secured by a hinge 22 to an edge 23 of a second platform 24. Attached to the second platform are brackets 28 extending forwardly and rearwardly thereof. The forward parts are pivotally connected to one end of an actuator 30, the other end of which is secured to the shaft 17. The rearward parts are connected to an actuator 31, the other end of which is pivoted to the frame 3. Operations of the actuators enable the disposition of the platforms relative to each other and relative to the frame to be adjusted. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Mechanical handling device This invention relates to a mechanical handling device which is especially suitable for handling mattresses.

During the manufacture of a mattress, assembly of the carcass takes place on convenient tables. At least one of these may have a moving sewing machine to close the mattress and another, for example, may form part of a machine to insert tufts. It is usually necessary to lift and carry a mattress by hand from one location to the next. At some locations the mattress may also need to be inverted.

Proposals have been made to employ mechanical conveyors. These have been a flat conveyor, an inclined conveyor on which the mattress is supported on one edge or an overhead conveyor.

Such conveyors have several disadvantages; they can take up valuable production space; they make for an inflexible factory layout and they seldom solve the problem of moving a mattress to one machine from another including where necessary, inverting the mattress.

According to the present invention there is provided a mechanical handling device for a mattress comprising first and second platforms, the first platform being hinged to a fixed support at one edge and being hinged to the second platform at a parallel edge, first drive means acting to move the platforms relative to one another between a first position in which they are substantially aligned and a second position in which they are substantially at right angles and second drive means acting to pivot both platforms about the fixed support. Preferably the drive means are each piston and cylinder fluid motors.

The device is preferably mounted on a wheeled trolley with the fixed support forming part of the structure of the trolley.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a mattress handling device with parts omitted for clarity and showing the rear of the second platform, and Figures 2 to 5 are sections on the line 'A'-'A' of Figure 1 showing the device in various operational positions with some parts removed for clarity.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2 a mattress handling device indicated generaliy at 1 is mounted on a manually movable trolley 2. The latter comprises a rectangular base frame 3 carrying four upright corner posts, three of which are shown at 4, 5 and 6. The corner posts are variously braced by struts such as 7 extending between the posts and the base frame. At their upper ends the posts 5 and 6 (the post 5 is not shown in Figure 2) are joined by a handle 8.

Two castors 9 are disposed centrally beneath the ends of the base frame 3 and a pair of wheels are disposed centrally beneath the sides of the base frame 3. The wheels 10 are carried by forks 11 supported in bearings (not shown) to be rotatable about a vertical axis. As shown in Figure 1 the castors 9 are clear of the ground 12 when the base frame 3 is horizontal.

Each fork 11 carries a sprocket wheel (not shown) around which is wrapped a roller chain 13 arranged so that the wheels 10 are similarly oriented relative to the base frame. The ends of the chain 13 are respectively attached to opposite ends 14 of the piston rod 15 of a double acting piston and cylinder motor 16 mounted on the base frame 3. The stroke of the piston of the motor 16 is arranged to be exactly one quarter of the pitch circle circumference of the sprocket wheels so that when fluid pressure is applied to one end of the motor 16 the wheels 10 are aligned as shown in Figure 2 and the trolley can be moved sideways. By reversing the fluid supply to the motor 16 the wheels 10 are turned through 90 to the position shown in Figure 1 whereby the trolley can be moved forwards and backwards and readily turned in its own length.

A shaft 17 is mounted in bearings such as 18 between the upper ends of the posts 4 and 5. A first rectangular platform 19 is secured at its one side edge to the shaft 17 and its opposite side edge 21 is secured by a hinge 22 to an edge 23 of a second rectangular platform 24. The platform 24 is of a size to accommodate the flat face of the largest sized mattress likely to be required and the platform 19 is of a size and shape to accommodate a side edge of such a mattress. At its edge 26 the second platform has a fixed wall 27.

At each of its ends the second platform 24 carries brackets 28 extending both forwardly and rearwardly thereof. The forward parts of the brackets are pivotally connected to one end of short stroke piston and cylinder motors 29 the other ends of which are secured to the webs of shaped brackets 30 the limbs of which are freely pivotable on the shaft 17 between the ends of the platform 19 and the shaft bearings 18. The rearward parts of the brackets are pivotally connected to one end of longer stroke piston and cylinder motors 31 the other ends of which are pivoted at 32 to the base frame 3.

If the working fluid for the motors 29 and 31 is compressed air, it can be drawn from a reservoir 33 mounted on the base frame 3. This reservoir can be recharged from time to time from a suitable high pressure air line or the frame 3 could carry a motor driven compressor (not shown). A control panel 34 for the various piston and cylinder motors is mounted on the handle 8 to permit an operator to handle mattresses, as follows.

In the position marked -A-in Figure 2 the platforms are in their loading position with pressure released from the motor 31 and applied to the motor 29 to move the platforms 19 and 24 into approximate alignment. In this position a mattress 25 may readily be slid on to the platforms from an associated work table (not shown) of appropriate height.

In the position marked -B- in Figure 2 the fluid supply to the motors has been reversed so that the piston rod of motor 29 is fully retracted and that of motor 31 partially extended. Thus the angle between the platforms 19 and 24 becomes approximately 90O and the platform 24 is disposed at about 60 to the horizontal. This is the 'carry' position and the trolley can be moved as required to deliver the mattress to a new location.

Figure 3 shows how by further application of fluid pressure to the motor 31 in the sense to extend its piston rod when the trolley is adjacent another work table, not shown, the top edge of the mattress will start to topple over in the direction of the arrow -C-.

When the position in Figure 3 is reached, a cam (not shown) fixed to the end of shaft 17, will actuate a valve (not shown) which automatically reverses the supply of pressure fluid to the cylinder of motor 29, causing it to fully extend. This extension plus the full extension of the piston rod of motor 31 will cause the platforms 19 and 24 to take the position shown in Figure 4.

The sudden opening out of the angle at the hinge 22, between platforms 19 and 24, will push the lower edge of the mattress forwards in the direction of the arrow -D-, so that the mattress falls clear of the trolley and at the same time turns over.

From the carrying position -B- of Figure 2, and if it is not desired to turn the mattress over, the operator will first reverse the control valve for cylinder 29, so that when further supply of pressure fluid is made to the two cylinders, the piston-rod of cylinder 29 becomes fully extended. This action opens up the angle at the hinge 22, between platforms 19 and 24, so that the goods slide off in the direction of arrow -E- as shown in Figure 5.

Claims (4)

1. A mechanical handling device for a mattress comprising first and second platforms, the first platform being hinged to a fixed support at one edge and being hinged to the second platform at a parallel edge, first drive means acting to move the platforms relative to one another between a first position in which they are substantially aligned and a second position in which they are substantially at right angles and second drive means acting to pivot both platforms about the fixed support.

2. A device according to claim 1 in which the drive means are each piston and cylinder fluid motors.

3. A device according to claim 1 or claim 2 mounted on a wheeled trolley with the fixed support forming part of the structure of the trolley.

4. A mechanical handling device substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 1 and Figures 2 to 5 of the accompanying drawing.