GB2174969A

GB2174969A - Means diverting articles to one of two take-away conveyors

Info

Publication number: GB2174969A
Application number: GB08611264A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ronald Jackson
Original assignee: JACKSON SERVICES Ltd RON
Current assignee: JACKSON SERVICES Ltd RON
Priority date: 1985-05-11
Filing date: 1986-05-08
Publication date: 1986-11-19
Also published as: GB8511990D0; GB8611264D0

Abstract

Conveying apparatus comprises two conveyors (10, 12) which diverge in a region (14) to feed articles to one or other of two take-away conveyors (18, 20). In the diverging region (14) a roller 22 is rotatably mounted about a horizontal axis, so as to engage the underside of articles supplied by the moving conveyors (10, 12). The direction of rotation of the roller 22 causes the articles to be fed to one or other of the take-away conveyors (18, 20). The roller 22 is frictionally driven by a wheel 24 which may project above the surface of the roller to assist in the diverting action. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Conveying apparatus Field of the invention This invention relates to conveying apparatus and in particular to such apparatus which conveys articles from a supply path into one or other of two alternative delivery paths. Such apparatus is sometimes called a two lane diverger.

Background to the invention In known divergers, articles moving along a supply path are diverted to one or other of the alternative delivery paths by a device called a plough which has a movable arm for diverting the articles to one or other delivery path. If both delivery paths become full in the sense that they cannot accept any more articles, the diverger cannot cope with the continuing supply of articles arriving by the supply path. The result is an accumulation or backup of articles which jams the diverger. The invention aims to solve this problem by providing an improved form of diverger.

Summary of the invention According to the invention conveying apparatus for conveying articles from a supply path into one or other of two alternative delivery paths comprises two conveyors which run beside one another along the supply path and then separate in a region of divergence to form the alternative delivery paths, and a member rotatably mounted in said region such that the undersides of articles, straddling the two conveyors along the supply path, engage the rotating member and are diverted to one or other delivery path in dependence on the direction of rotation of the member. Because the member engages the undersides of the articles, an accumulation of articles does not jam the member, the rotation of which can be stopped or reversed in direction at any time.

The member is preferably a roller rotationally mounted about its central axis and positioned so that the upper surface of the roller is higher than the surface of the adjacent conveyors. In the preferred embodiment, the roller is rotationally mounted about a substantially horizontal axis and the supply path and the two delivery paths are also horizontal. In this case, the rotational axis of the roller conveniently bisects the angle of divergence to provide a symmetrical arrangement.

The roller is preferably frictionally driven, for example by means of a wheel which is driven about a substantially vertical axis and which frictionally engages the surface of the roller to drive the latter.

The wheel may be driven by a bi-directional air motor. This arrangement enables the roller and wheel to be exposed without danger of entanglement, because if the roller or wheel experiences any resistance it simply stops.

The motor may be controlled in rotational direction in order to deliver the articles into the appropriate delivery path in accordance with a predetermined supply pattern, or in dependence upon the capacity of the paths. For example, the motor may be controlled by sensors, eg optical sensors, which detect the passage of articles along the delivery paths.

The wheel preferably projects above the roller and frictionally drives the upper surface of the latter so that any articles not given sufficient diverting movement by the rotating roller engage the rotating wheel which ensures that they move into the appropriate delivery path. If both delivery paths are unable to accept more articles, the motor may be stopped to cease rotation of the roller, and in these circumstances the wheel acts as a stop or abutment holding up the queue of articles fed along the supply path, the two conveyors continuing to move and sliding beneath the queue of articles held at the forward end by the wheel. When one or other path is able to accept articles, the motor is started to drive the wheel, and thus the roller, in the appropriate direction.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of conveying apparatus constituting the preferred embodiment, Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line ll-ll of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a plan view of part of Figure 1, to an enlarged scale, and Figure 4 is a sectional view, with certain parts shown separated, in the direction of arrow IV in Figure 3.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiment Referring to Figure 1, the conveying apparatus comprises two conveyors 10, 12 each in the form of bi-planar slats driven by a common drive. Each conveyor moves around a continuous path and the term bi-planar is used because the conveyor is capable not only of flexing to pass around the continuous path but also of flexing in the plane of Figure 1. This latter flexing enables the two conveyors to diverge in a region of divergence 14. An in-feed conveyor 16 is provided to supply articles to the conveyors 10, 12 and two take-away conveyors 18, 20 receive articles from the respective diverged conveyors 10, 12.

A roller 22 is rotationally mounted about a horizontal axis in the region of divergence 14, and the horizontal rotational axis of the roller bisects the angle of divergence. The roller 22 is frictionally driven by a wheel 24 rotationally mounted about a vertical axis and driven by a bi-directional air motor 26 (Figure 4). The wheel 24 is rubber coated and its underside frictionally engages the upper surface of the roller 22 to drive the latter in one or other rotational direction, dependent upon the direction of rotation of the air motor 26. It can be seen from Figures 3 and 4 that the end of the roller 22 pointing into the diverging region is tapered at 28 and that the remaining length of the roller has its upper surface proud of the upper surface of the slats of the two conveyors 10, 12.

In Figure 4, the wheel 24 is shown lifted off the upper surface of the roller 22. In use, a weight 30 above the wheel assists in urging the latter against the roller 22. The air motor 26 drives a vertical shaft 32 rotatably mounted in spaced bearings 34, 36. Rotational drive from the shaft 32 is transferred to the wheel 24 by means of a transverse peg 38 engaging in a vertically elongated slot 40 in the wheel 24. This allows the wheel 24 to rest loosely on the roller 22 and to be capable of being lifted therefrom if anything obstructs the nip between the wheel 24 and the roller 22. The roller 22 is accommodated in a rectangular aperture 42 in a horizontal plane 44, and a bracket 46 carries the upper bearing 36.

The described conveying apparatus was designed to convey empty bread tins to two dough filling stations served by the respective take-away conveyors 18, 20. Bread tins straddling the two conveyors 10, 12 pass onto the rotating roller 22, the tapered end 28 of the roller 22 preventing a sudden jolt or shock being applied to the tins.The rotating roller progressively engages the underside of each tin and moves it with a smooth diverging motion towards one or other of the diverged conveyors 10, 12 which then feed the tins to the corresponding take-away conveyor 18, 20. The roller 22 has an axial length at least half the length of the bread tins, and this ensures that the diverting movement of the roller 22 is sufficient to transfer each tin wholly to the conveyor 10 or the conveyor 12, depending on the direction of rotation of the roller 22. Any tin which is not given sufficient diverting motion by the rotating roller 22 will engage the rotating wheel 24 which will apply to the tin a lateral movement sufficient to transfer the tin to the conveyor 10 or the conveyor 12. The passage of the tins in the two delivery paths is monitored by sensors, eg optical sensors.The sensors are linked in a control system with the air motor, the direction of rotation of which can be selected to feed the tins to one or other delivery path dependent on the capacity of that path. For example, if a fault occurs in one filling station, the queue of tins in that path will be detected by the sensor, and the control system can reverse the direction of rotation of the air motor to divert the tins to the other path.

If both paths become full of tins, the control system stops the air motor rotating and the supply of tins back up against the stationary wheel 24 which acts as a stop. The conveyors 10, 12 continue to run and slide beneath the queue of tins lined up behind the wheel. When one or other delivery path can accept more tins, the motor is energised to rotate the wheel and the roller which direct the tins to one or other path. No jamming or blockage occurs since the supply of tins is merely held up in the line by the stationary wheel if neither delivery path can accept tins. In the preferred embodiment the roller is about 5mm above the upper surface of the slats forming the conveyors 10, 12 and the latter have a speed of about 90ft/min. The roller 22 is rotated at a speed such that the surface speed of the roller is similar to the speed of the conveyors.

Conveying apparatus according to the invention may be used in series in order to provide successive diverging.

Claims

1. Conveying apparatus for conveying articles from a supply path into one or other of two alternative delivery paths, comprising two conveyors which run beside one another along the supply path and then separate in a region of divergence to form the alternative delivery paths, and a member rotatably mounted in said region such that the undersides of articles, straddling the two conveyors along the supply path, engage the rotating member and are diverted to one or other delivery path in dependence on the direction of rotation of the member.

2. Conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the member is a roller rotationally mounted about its central axis and positioned so that the upper surface of the roller is higher than the surface of the adjacent conveyors.

3. Conveying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the roller is rotationally mounted about a substantially horizontal axis and the supply path and the two delivery paths are also horizontal.

4. Conveying apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the rotational axis of the roller bisects the angle of divergence to provide a symmetrical ararrangement

5. Conveying apparatus according to any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the end of the roller pointing towards the supply path is tapered.

6. Conveying apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the member is frictionally driven by means of a drive wheel which frictionally engages the surface of the roller to drive the latter.

7. Conveying apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the wheel is driven by a bi-directional air motor.

8. Conveying apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the wheel projects above the roller and frictionally drives the upper surface of the latter so that any articles not given sufficient diverting movement by the rotating roller engage the rotating wheel which completes the diverting action.

9. Conveying apparatus constructed and arranged substantially as herein particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings.