GB2195599A

GB2195599A - Conveyor roller assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2195599A
Application number: GB08720703A
Authority: GB
Inventors: James Murphy
Original assignee: KILCREA ENG Ltd
Current assignee: KILCREA ENG Ltd
Priority date: 1986-09-04
Filing date: 1987-09-03
Publication date: 1988-04-13
Anticipated expiration: 2007-09-03
Also published as: IE58965B1; GB8720703D0; GB2195599B; IE862361L

Abstract

A conveyor roller assembly 1 comprises a centre roller 2 rotatably mounted on a centre roller spindle 3 and a pair of spaced-apart wing rollers 4, (5) hingedly connected to and flanking the central roller 2. The wing rollers 4 (5) are rotatably mounted on respective wing rollers spindles 6 (7). Coupling means 10 for releasably mounting the wing rollers 4 (5) to the centre roller 2 are in one case provided by a female bayonet socket part 11 at the end of each of the wing roller spindles 6(7) for engagement with a male spigot part 12 formed at the adjacent end of the centre roller spindle 3. The bayonet socket part 11 comprises a pair of bayonet slots 13 and the male spigot part 12 comprises a connecting link including a transverse pin 14 mounted between a pair of longitudinal arms 15 which are pivotally mounted to the centre roller spindle 3 by a transverse link pin 16 extending through a hole 17 in the spindle 3 of the centre 2. To engage the male and female parts 11, 12 together a wing roller 4 is turned until the mouth of the bayonet slots 13 are in line with the transverse pin 14. For disengagement the procedure is reversed. The assembly allows for ease of replacement of any roller. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A conveyor roller assembly The invention relates to a conveyor roller assembly, and in particular to a troughing idler roller assembly comprising a generally horizontally arranged centre roller and two oppositely inclined side or wing rollers flanking the centre roller.

Conveyor roller assemblies of this type are generally known. For example, British Patent Specification Nos. 872266 and 916483 describe conveyor rollers of this type which are self-troughing, the wing rollers being supported by a spring or springs to permit the troughing angle of the rollers to increase with load.

Such known rollers however are generally of complex and expensive construction. In particular, maintenance of the roller assembly requires the services of a skilled craftsman.

There is, therefore, a need for an improved conveyor roller assembly of this type which is of relatively simple and inexpensive construction, and which will be relatively easy to maintain.

According to the invention, there is provided a conveyor roller assembly comprising a centre roller rotatably mounted on a centre roller spindle and a pair of spaced-apart wing rollers flanking the centre roller, each wing rollet being rotatable on a respective wing roller spindle, wherein coupling means are provided for releasably mounting the wing rollers to the centre roller.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the coupling means is adapted to permit relative pivotal movement between the rollers, on assembly.

In one embodiment of the invention, the coupling means comprises a male part on one of the centre roller spindle or wing roller spindle for engagement with a corresponding female part on the other of the centre roller spindle or wing roller spindle.

In one embodiment of the invention, the female part comprises a slot means on one of the roller spindles and the male part comprises a pin means for insertion in the slot means.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the pin means extends transversely of the re respective spindle axis.

Preferably the slot means includes a mouth portion through which the pin is inserted and a seat portion in which the pin rests on assembly of the rollers.

In one case the mouth portion of the slot means is provided in an end face of a roller spindle. In this case preferably the pin is engaged in the seat portion of the slot means by a rotational movement. Typically the slot means comprises two bayonet slots.

In another case the mouth portion is provided in a circumferential surface of a roller spindle.

In one embodiment of the invention, the pin is pivotally mounted to the roller spindle. For example, the pin may be provided at the end of a pair of arms which are pivotally mounted to the roller spindle.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the pin is fixedly mounted to the roller spindle.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the female part is provided at the end of the centre roller spindle, and the male part is provided at the adjacent end of the adjacent wing roller.

In one embodiment of the invention, the wing rollers include means for engaging a longitudinal support or stringer. The engagement means may, for example, comprise a hook member forming an extension of the wing roller spindle.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a roller assembly according to one embodiment of the invention, Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of portion of the assembly of Fig. 1, Figure 3 is a perspective view of the portion of Fig. 2, assembled, Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of a conveyor roller assembly according to another embodiment of the invention, Figure 5 is a perspective view of portion of a conveyor roller assembly according to another embodiment of the invention, Figure 6 is a top plan view of portion of a wing roller portion of the assembly of Fig. 5, and Figure 7 is a side view of portion of the wing roller of Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawings, and initially to Figs. 1 to 3 thereof, there is illustrated a conveyor roller assembly according to the invention, indicated generally by the reference numeral 1. The assembly 1 comprises a centre roller 2 rotatable on a centre roller spindle 3, and a pair of spaced-apart wing rollers 4,5 hingedly connected to and flanking the centre roller 2. The wing rollers 4,5 are rotatable on respective wing roller spindles 6,7. Coupling means indicated generally by the reference numeral 10 are provided for assembly so that the rollers may take the troughed configuration illustrated in Fig. 1.

Referring particularly to Fig. 2, the coupling means 10 in this case comprises a female slot means 11 formed at the end of each of the wing roller spindles 6,7, and a male pin part 12 formed at the adjacent end of the spindle 3 of the centre roller. The slot means 11 in this case comprises a pair of facing bayonet slots 13 and the male pin part 12 comprises a connecting link including a transverse pin 14 mounted between a pair of longitudinal arms 15 which are pivotally mounted to the centre roller 5 spindle 3 by a transverse link pin 16 extending through a hole 17 in the spindle 3 of the centre roller 2. To engage the male and female parts 11, 12 together, a wing roller 4 is turned until the mouths of the bayonet slots 13 are in line with the transverse pin 14.The pin 14 is then inserted into a mouth portion 18 of the bayonet slots 13 and the wing roller 4 is rotated until the pin 14 is engaged in a seat portion 19 of the slots 13.

Means are provided for mounting the conveyor roller assembly to a pair of longitudinal supports or stringers 30,31 and in this case the mounting means comprises hook members 20,21 which extend from the wing roller spindles 6,7 to engage the stringers 30,31.

Referring to Fig. 4, there is illustrated portion of another roller assembly according to the invention, in which parts similar to those described above with reference to Figs. 1 to 3 are assigned the same reference numerals.

In this case, the male spigot part of the coupling means is provided by a single transverse pin 25 which is fixedly mounted to and extends through the spindle 3 of the centre roller 2. The pin 25 is used in the same way as the transverse pin 14 of the male coupling part described above with reference to Figs. 1 to 3.

Referring to Figs. 5 to 7 there is illustrated portion 50 of another conveyor roller assembly according to the invention. The assembly is similar to that described above with reference to Figs. 1 to 3 and like parts are identified by the same reference numerals. In this case a slot means 51 for reception of the pin 14 comprises a single garland slot having a mouth portion 52 in the circumferential face of the spindle 6 and a forward leg 53 defining a seat portion in which the pin 14 is located, on assembly. The advantage of this arrangement is that the unit is more easily assembled as a translational movement rather than a rotational movement is required to engage the pin 14 in the seat portion 53 of the slot 51.

Further, the slot 51 is more easily formed than bayonet slots.

One advantage of the invention is in providing a conveyor roller assembly which incorporates a simple, cheap and effective means for coupling wing rollers to the centre roller which allow the conveyor rollers to be easily assembled on site. Any one of the three rollers in the assembly can be easily replaced. Thus, installation and maintenance work does not require the services of a skilled workman, It will be appreciated that while the particular type of male and female coupling means desrcibed above has the advantage of being both simple and cheap to manufacture and is relatively simple to use, any suitable releasable coupling means may be employed for releasably connecting the wing rollers to the central roller. In particular, instead of providing a female part on the wing rollers and a male part on the centre roller the male and female parts may be interchanged.

It will also be appreciated that while the invention has been specifically described with reference to a conveyor roller assembly comprising one centre roller and a pair of wing rollers, the assembly may comprise any suitable number of rollers, for example, two pivotally or fixedly interconnected centre rollers may be provided.

Claims

1. A conveyor roller assembly comprising a centre roller rotatably mounted on a centre roller spindle and a pair or spaced-apart wing rollers flanking the centre roller, each wing roller being rotatably mounted on a respective wing roller spindle, wherein coupling means are provided for releasably mounting the wing rollers to the centre roller.

2. A conveyor roller assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the coupling means is adapted to permit relative pivotal movement between the rollers, on assembly.

3. A conveyor roller assembly as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the coupling means comprises a male part on one of the centre roller spindle or wing roller spindle for engagement with a corresponding female part on the other of the centre roller spindle or wing roller spindle.

4. A conveyor roller assembly as claimed in claim 3 wherein the female part comprises a slot means on one of the roller spindles and the male part comprises a pin means for insertion in the slot means.

5. A conveyor roller assembly, as claimed in claim 4 wherein the pin means extends transversely of the respective spindle axis.

6. A conveyor roller as claimed in claim 5 wherein the slot means includes a mouth portion through which the pin is inserted and a seat portion in which the pin rests on assembly of the rollers.

7. A conveyor roller assembly as claimed in claim 6 wherein the mouth portion of the slot means is provided in an end face of a roller spindle.

8. A conveyor roller assembly as claimed in claim 7 wherein the pin is engaged in the seat portion of the slot means by a rotational movement.

9. A conveyor roller assembly as claimed in claim 8 wherein the slot means comprises two bayonet slots.

10. A conveyor roller assembly as claimed in claim 6 wherein the mouth portion is provided in a circumferential surface of a roller spindle.

11. A conveyor roller assembly as claimed in any of claims 5 to 10 wherein the pin is pivotally mounted to the roller spindle.

12. A conveyor roller assembly as claimed in claim 11 wherein the pin is provided at the end of a pair of arms which are pivotally mounted to the roller spindle.

13. A conveyor roller assembly as claimed in any of claims 5 to 10 wherein the pin is fixedly mounted to the roller spindle.

14. A conveyor roller assembly as claimed in any of claims 3 to 13 wherein the female part is provided at the end of the centre roller spindle, and the male part is provided at the adjacent end of the adjacent wing roller.

15. A conveyor roller assembly as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the wing rollers include means for engaging a longitudinal support or stringer.

16. A conveyor roller assembly as claimed in claim 15 wherein the engagement means comprises a hook member forming an extension of the wing roller spindle.

17. A conveyor roller assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.

18. A conveyor incorporating a roller assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 17.

19. A roller element for a conveyor assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 12 comprising a wing roller rotatably mounted on a wing roller spindle, the spindle having a male or female part at one end for releasably engaging a complementary male or female part provided on a centre roller spindle.

20. A roller element for a conveyor assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 12 comprising a centre roller rotatably mounted on a centre roller spindle, the spindle having a male or female part at one or both ends for releasably engaging a complementary male or female part provided on a wing roller spindle.