GB2236294A - Live storage roller conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

The conveyor comprises a plurality of rollers mounted for rotation of respective locations along a track, with the axes of the rollers disposed transversely to the track, wherein, at least one of said locations, there is provided, instead of a conventional such roller, separator means (T) and a roller (R) of reduced length. Thus support is provided at the location for a transverse pallet runner. Separator means (T) and roller (R) may be supported in the same housing (H) (Fig. 7). <IMAGE>

Description

Title: "Improved Conveyor System" Description of Invention This invention relates to a conveyor system, and principally to a conveyor system of the "live storage" type in which articles are fed in succession along a track, from a loading station to an unloading station, on a first-in, first-sut basis, the track being inclined to the horizontal such that, in the absence of constraint, the articles are capable of moving down the track, towards the unloading station, under gravity.

It is an object of the invention to provide a new and improved conveyor system.

According to the invention there is provided a conveyor system comprising a plurality of rollers mounted for rotation at respective locations along a track, with the axes of the rollers disposed transversely to the track, wherein, at at least one of said locations, there is provided, instead of a conventional such roller, separator means and a roller of reduced length.

The problem which the invention is designed to reduce or overcome, and two embodiments of the invention, will now be described by reference to the accompanying drawings.

In Figures I and 2 there are illustrated conveyor systems which in this example are of "live storage" type. In each example, the track is a lowfriction track afforded by a plurality of spaced apart parallel beams 12 each inclined to the horizontal and extending downwardly from a loading station (not shown) to an unloading station 14, with rollers 16 mounted on (Figure 2) or between (Figure I) the beams so as to be freely rotatable about respective axes extending transversely of the track. If an article is ploced on the track so as to rest on the rollers, in the absence of constraint it will move down the track under gravity, on the rollers, in the direction towards the unloading station.

Separator means S is provided such that when one article has reached the unloading station, movement of the other article or articles on the conveyor may be temporarily constrained. When the first article has been removed from the unloading station, the separator means is released to allow the next article to move to the unloading station.

Difficulties arise where the articles are "pal lets" P which themselves carry, or are capable of carrying, goods.

Typically a pallet P comprises a board-like platform, for example of plywood, fixedly mounted on top of a plurality of parallel elongate runners, typically of timber. The areas between the runners, under the board, are accessible to lifting forks of a fork-lift truck, to enable the pallet to be lifted by the truck, which includes lifting of the pallet from the unloading station of a conveyor.

With such a pallet orientated on such a conveyor as shown in Figures I and 2, with its runners parallel to the beams 12, and transverse to the rollers, the pallet has no difficulty in rolling down the track on the rollers. However, this means that the pallet arrives at the unloading station with the areas between the runners presented forwardly or rearwardly of the track, necessitating the pallet to be man-handled through 900 to render said areas accessible to a fork-lift truck which gains access most conveniently from the sides of the track.

However, in Figures I and 2, in order to allow pal lets instead to move down the track with their runners transverse to the track, to facilitate sideways unloading by fork-lift truck, the rollers 16, as illustroted, are provided at substantially closer spacings than is otherwise the case, leading to an acceptably smooth "ride" in spite of the transverse orientation of the pallet runners.

Conventionally, as in Figures I and 2, the separator means comprising movable arms S, which, owing to the close spacing of the rollers, have been accommodated by removing one or more of the rollers 16 and mounting the separator means in the positions so vacated, as shown in Figures I and 2.

This inevitably produces a substantial gap in the otherwise closely spaced arrangement of rollers, which leads to the problem that, in use of the conveyor, one of the transversely orientated pallet runners, typically the front runner, may accidentally drop into the gap, leading to unintended holting of the pallet and general disruption of operation of the conveyor.

In the present invention, as embodied in the conveyors illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, this problem is reduced or overcome by the feature that at at least one of the locations at which a conventional roller would ordinarily be provided, there is instead provided a roller of reduced length, and separator means.

In this manner, it is possible to provide separator means, yet the roller of reduced length (i.e. of reduced extent in a direction parallel to its axis) is able to provide support for a pallet runner, including a transversely orientated pallet runner, passing over the location concerned, thereby avoiding the aforementioned problem. In the conveyors embodying the invention, the separator means are indicated by the reference letter T and the rollers of reduced length are indicated by the reference letter R. Figure 3 illustrates how the Figure 1 conveyor has been modified, while Figure 4 illustrates how the Figure 2 conveyor has been modified, so as to embody the invention.

In Figure 3 the reduced length roller still extends between the beams 12, while in Figure 4 the individual rollers R are each accommodated in their respective beams, alongside the respective separators T The separators are disposed closely adjacent to the axes of the rollers R, as will be apparent from the side and plan views of Figures 5 and 6, which also depict the manner in which the separator means is automatically activated by depression of a paddle 100 when reached by a pallet P. In each example of the invention, a bracket/housing houses the separator and also supports the reduced-length roller so that the separator and reduced length roller are in close proximity.Importantly, the brocketlhousing in each case enables the reduced-length roller to be directly supported, at its axis/shaft, immediately adjacent to the commencement of the load-bearing surface of the roller, thereby minimising any risk of bending of the axis/shaft of the roller due to bending forces which can arise due to the weight of the pallet in use.

In Figure 7 there is illustrated a partial exploded view of a housing H, separator T and roller R of the Figure 3 embodiment. The housing H is bolted onto the adjacent one of the beams 12.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, or a class or group of substances or compositions, as appropriate, may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims (3)

1. I. A conveyor system comprising a plurality of rollers mounted for rotation at respective rotations along a track, with the axes of the rollers disposed transversely to the track, wherein, at at least one of said locations, there is provided, instead of a conventional such roller, separator means and a roller of reduced length.
2. 2. A conveyor system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and/or as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3. 3. Any novel feature or novel combination of features described herein and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings.