GB2260305A

GB2260305A - Article transport assemblies

Info

Publication number: GB2260305A
Application number: GB9220755A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Calladine; David Lynch
Original assignee: Defabs Engineering Systems Ltd
Current assignee: Defabs Engineering Systems Ltd
Priority date: 1991-10-09
Filing date: 1992-10-02
Publication date: 1993-04-14
Anticipated expiration: 2012-10-02
Also published as: GB2260305B; GB9121333D0; GB9220755D0

Abstract

An assembly for transporting articles from a first location to a second location. The assembly comprises means 12 defining a low friction zone to move the articles to a conveyor 14 from a first arrangement at the first location to a predetermined second arrangement at the conveyor. The conveyor 14 comprises a plurality of lanes 28 adapted to receive the articles in the predetermined second arrangement and at least one movable elongate flexible member for each lane 28 to convey the articles along the lanes. The assembly is particularly useful for conveying biscuits from, for example, an oven to wrapping machines 34. <IMAGE>

Description

Improvements in or relating to Article Transport Assemblies This invention relates to article transport assemblies and in particular to such assemblies for conveying articles such as biscuits.

Known methods of transporting biscuits from an oven or a cooling apparatus involve the use of a series of conveyors, the first of which feeds the biscuits from the oven or cooling apparatus to a second conveyor. The feed conveyor has a tendency to track from side to side which causes problems with its alignment with the second conveyor. Prior art methods of overcoming this problem have been by the use of photo electric cellsFwhich sense the position of the biscuits being fed to the second conveyor. This actuates a computer and moves the second conveyor from side to side in line with the first conveyor.

The problem with such a system is that it can easily fail, resulting in the biscuits not being fed to the second conveyor correctly. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the second conveyor is comprised of a series of lanes.

Usually, the feed conveyor comprises for example, seventeen lanes. The second conveyor is typically used to reduce the number of lanes down to, for example twelve. A series of gates placed along the lanes are used to divert the biscuits from one lane to another to reduce the number of lanes. The twelve lanes feed the biscuits to wrapping machines; there are usually four wrapping machines and, consequently, three lanes to each wrapping machine.

Due to the fact that the wrapping machines may break down or may need to be serviced or cleaned, it is necessary to close off the lanes to these wrapping machines. This means that the biscuits on the second conveyor have to be diverted away from these lanes and this further increases the problems associated with the reduction in the number of lanes from the feed conveyor.

Moreover, since any one of the wrapping machines can stop at any time the system has to have the facility to divert the biscuits at any desired time. This is done by a series of sensors positioned at each wrapping machine which control the associated gates when the machine has stopped.

Another problem associated with handling of biscuits is that it is necessary for operators manually to move the biscuits from one level to another so that they can be wrapped; the wrapping machines are often placed higher than the conveyors. This has resulted in injury such as tendonitis.

It is an object of the invention to overcome or mitigate the above mentioned problems.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an assembly for transporting articles from a first location to an end location, comprising means defining a low friction zone to move the articles in a first arrangement at the first location into a predetermined second arrangement at a conveyor, the conveyor comprising a plurality of lanes adapted to receive the articles in said predetermined second arrangement and at least one movable elongate flexible member for each lane to convey the articles along the lanes.

Advantageously, the assembly is adapted to arrange the articles in a predetermined orientation on the conveyor. In the preferred embodiment, each conveyor lane comprises a first channel and a second channel downstream of the first channel, at least one of the elongate flexible members being provided for each channel, and the or each flexible member in the second channel being arranged to move slower than the or each flexible member in the first channel, whereby as the articles move from the first channel to the second channel, the articles move automatically to said predetermined orientation.

The assembly may comprise guide means for the low friction zone, the guide means defining an entrance to receive a plurality of articles from the first location, and an exit to deliver the articles to the conveyor in said predetermined second arrangement, wherein the guide means is adapted to guide the articles across the low friction zone from the entrance to the exit.

Preferably, the low friction zone is provided with randomising means adapted to randomise the articles on the low friction zone. The randomising means may comprise oscillation means which may include first and second arms arranged at opposite sides of the entrance to the low friction zone to strike at least some of the untides to cause them to move to a more random arrangement.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus for moving articles from a first location to a second location, comprising means defining a low friction zone, and guide means defining an entrance to receive a plurality of articles from the first location, said articles being in a first arrangement, and an exit to deliver the articles to the second location in a predetermined second arrangement, wherein the guide means is adapted to guide the articles from the entrance to the exit.

The entrance and the exit may be of different widths and, preferably, the entrance is wider than the exit.

The apparatus may be used with a conveyor to be arranged at the second location, the conveyor having a plurality of lanes to receive the articles from the exit.

In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus comprises closure means adapted to close one or more selected lanes of the conveyor to prevent the articles from being delivered thereto. The closure means may comprise a plurality of gates, each being arranged across a respective one of the lanes.

Preferably the low friction zone comprises an air bed which may be arranged at an angle to the horizontal such that the entrance is higher than the exit. The angle may be between 50 and 25 and is preferably substantially 150.

The guide means may comprise walls extending along the sides of the low friction zone.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a conveyor for conveying a plurality of articles, comprising a plurality of elongate lanes and at least one movable elongate flexible member for each lane to convey the articles along the lanes, and drive means to drive the flexible members along the lanes.

Preferably, the conveyor is capable of moving the articles from a first orientation to a second orientation. Each flexible member-may be in the form of an endless member, a portion of each of which extends along the length of its respective lanes.

Preferably, each lane includes a U-shaped crosssection. The conveyor may comprise two of said flexible members for each lane, and each lane may be provided with two elongate recesses extending the length thereof to receive said portions of the flexible members.

In the preferred embodiment, each lane has an inlet region to receive the articles to be conveyed, whereby the articles contact the flexible members at the inlet region. A raised portion between the recesses may extend from a point beyond the inlet region to the outlet region of the conveyor, the raised portion being adapted to prevent the articles beyond the inlet region from contacting the flexible member. With this arrangement, the articles beyond the inlet region are conveyed along each lane by pressure applied thereto from the articles in the inlet region. In another embodiment, said raised portions may be adjustable away up or down thereby to bring the articles into contact with the flexible member to increase the driving force on the articles.

Each lane may comprise a plurality of channels extending one after the other, whereby each channel may be angled with respect to the previous channel. With this arrangement, the article conveyed can be caused to change direction, for example to ascend or descend. A pulley arrangement may be provided about which the flexible member extends, thereby to ensure that the flexible members are received in the respective recesses at each junction between adjacent channels.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example, in which: Fig. 1 is a plan view of an assembly for transporting articles according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of the assembly shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view of apparatus forming part of the assembly of Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 is a side view of the funnelling apparatus shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a side view of a conveyor forming part of the assembly of Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 6 is a plan view of the conveyor shown in Fig. 5; and Fig. 7 is a view along the lines VII-VII of Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2 show an assembly for transporting articles, generally designated 10 which comprises apparatus 12 comprising an air bed 20 and a conveyor 14. The apparatus 12 receives articles in the form of biscuits 16 from a feeder 18 which delivers the biscuits 16 from, for example, an oven (not shown) or a cooler (not shown).

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the air bed 20 has an entrance 22 for receiving the biscuits 16 and an exit 24 for introducing the biscuits 16 onto the conveyor 14.

The bed 20 has a plurality of apertures 21 over the surface thereof through which air can pass upwardly in jets in a known way from a supply to provide an air cushion.

The apparatus 12 has upstanding side walls 26, 27 to guide the biscuits 16 over the bed 20 from the entrance 22 to the exit 24.

A pair of arms 25 are arranged at either side of the air bed 20 at the entrance 22. The arms 25 are adapted to oscillate in the directions indicated by the double headed arrows X and Y. The arms 25 strike the outermost ones of the articles 16 to cause them to move against the adjacent articles 16 thereby causing the articles 16 to bounce against one another. Thus, the arms 25 create a randomising effect of the articles 16.

As seen in Fig. 4, the air bed 20 is sloped downwardly towards the exit 24 at an angle to the horizontal of substantially 150. It will be appreciated that this angle can be varied depending upon the weight of the biscuits.

The incoming biscuits 16 on the feeder 18 are arranged in lanes, and in the embodiment shown there are seventeen lanes of biscuits 16 on the feeder 18. The conveyor 14 has less lanes than the feeder 18 and in the embodiment shown there are twelve lanes 28 on the conveyor 14. Thus, the entrance 22 has to be wide enough to receive biscuits 16 from all the lanes on the feeder 18, and the exit 24 has to be of such a width that it introduces the biscuits 16 onto the lanes 28 of the conveyor 14. Clearly, the exit 24 should have a width which is substantially equal to the total width of all the lanes 28. In this way the number of lanes of biscuits is reduced from seventeen at the feeder 18 to twelve at the conveyor 14.

In addition, the entrance 22 has to be slightly wider than the width of the feeder 18. The reason for this is that the feeder 18 tends to move from side to side in the directions indicated by the double headed arrow A. This side to side movement is not very great and does not exceed the width of the entrance 22.

In operation, biscuits 16 are fed to the air bed 20 by the feeder 18. On reaching the air bed 20 the biscuits are lifted by the cushion of air off the air bed 20 and then slide down under the force of gravity towards the exit 24. Due to the fact that there is negligible friction-between the air bed 20 and the biscuits 16, the biscuits 16 tend automatically to rearrange themselves at the exit 24, so that they can be distributed evenly among the lanes 28 of the conveyor 14.

The apparatus 12 is also provided with gates 30 which are operated by computer to close a desired one or more of the lanes 28. When for example, wrapping machines further downstream of the conveyor 14 is closed down for cleaning. When the gates 30 are operated to close the lanes 28A, 28B, 28C, as shown in Fig. 3, the biscuits 16 rearrange themselves at the exit 24 so that they are evenly distributed amongst the remaining lanes 28. It will be appreciated that the biscuits 16 will similarly rearrange themselves should the gates 30 be operated to close any other of the lanes 28.

Referring to Fig. 1, groups of three of the lanes 28 of the conveyor 14 are arranged to convey the biscuits 16 from the funnelling apparatus 12 to respective wrapping apparatuses 34.

Each of the lanes 28 is provided with two endless flexible cords 36, 38 (Figs. 5 to 7) and has an upper part substantially U-shaped in cross-section as seen in Fig. 7. The cords 36, 38 are movable in the lane and, in an upper pass, sent in respective elongate recesses 40, 42 in the base of the upper part. A raised portion 44 on the base is disposed between the recesses 40, 42.

A motor (not shown) is provided which drives a wheel 46 around which the cords 36, 38 are wrapped. An arrangement of pulleys 48 is provided to ensure that the cords 36, 38 retain a required degree of tension and to define a pathway for movement of the cords 36, 38 in their lower pass.

In order that the biscuits 16 can be conveyed to a respective one of the wrapping machines 34, it is necessary that the biscuits are raised in the lanes from the lower level shown in Fig. 5 to the higher level.

Where the orientation of the cord changes from being horizontal to being at an angle to the horizontal a pulley 48A is provided to maintain the cords 36, 38 in the recesses 40, 42.

The conveyor 14 is divided into a fast section 50 and a slow section 52 (see Fig. 1). The slow section 52 is illustrated in Fig. 5. The reason for the change in speed is to change the orientation of the biscuits 16 from a flat orientation on the fast section 50 to an upright orientation (see Fig. 7) in the slow section 52 of the conveyor 14. The change in orientation is caused when the biscuits on the fast section 50 effectively run into the biscuits on the slow section 52 so that the biscuits 16 just entering the slow section 52 are lifted from the horizontal to the upright orientation.

Fig. 7 shows a cross section of a lane 28 at an end region 54 of the slow section 52 of the conveyor 14.

At the end region 54, the raised portion 44 is not in contact with the biscuits 16, and thereby the biscuits 16 are directly driven by the cords 36, 38. In the region beyond the end region 54, for example beyond the point 56, as shown in Fig. 5, the raised portion 44 is higher than at the end portion 54. The higher raised portion is such that it lifts the biscuits 16 off the cords 36, 38 so that the biscuits 16 are not directly driven by the cords 36, 38. By this arrangement, the biscuits 16 beyond the point 56 are pushed along the conveyor by pressure applied thereto from the biscuits at the end region 54 which are directly driven by the cords 36, 38. This is an advantage in that the lack of direct drive in the biscuits 16 entering the wrapping machines 34 means that less damage is caused to the wrapping machines 34.

The cords 36, 38 are made of a suitable good quality plastics material which is resistant to longitudinal stretching. For example, a suitable such cord is available under the Trade Mark POLYCORD PUS from Charles Walker Limited.

In an alternative embodiment the raised portion 44 can be adjusted up and down so that the biscuits 16 can be selectively lifted off the cords 36, 38 or lowered onto the cords 36, 38 thereby decreasing or increasing the pressure thereon.

The conveyor shown in Figs. 5 and 6 also form an advantageous aspect of the invention in that it can be used on its own to convey the biscuits 16 to one of the wrapping machines. In this aspect, the conveyor 14 can be disposed adjacent a feed arrangement (not shown) on which the biscuits 16 are in rows and are oriented on their edges. An operator picks up a plurality of biscuits 16 in a row and places the biscuits 16 on the conveyor 14 whereby they are conveyed up to the level of one of the wrapping machines.

This aspect has the advantage that it obviates the need for the operator physically to lift the biscuits 16 to the level of one of the wrapping machines. Thus, the incidence of injuries, such as tendonitis, will be reduced.

Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the number of lanes of the conveyor could be varied and the arrangement of the pulleys could also be altered.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing Specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

Claims:-

1. An assembly for transporting articles from a first location to an end location, comprising means defining a low friction zone to move the articles to a conveyor from a first arrangement at the first location to a predetermined second arrangement at the conveyor, the conveyor comprising a plurality of lanes adapted to receive the articles in said predetermined second arrangement and at least one movable elongate flexible member for each lane to convey the articles along the lanes.

2. An assembly according to Claim 1, wherein each conveyor lane comprises a first channel and a second channel downstream of the first channel at least one of the flexible members provided for each channel and the or each flexible member in the second channel being arranged to move slower than the or each flexible member in the first channel, whereby as the articles move from the first channel to the second channel, the articles move automatically to said predetermined orientation.

3. An assembly according to Claim 1 or 2 comprising guide means for the low friction zone, the guide means defining an entrance to receive a plurality of articles from the first location, and an exit to deliver the articles to the conveyor in said predetermined second arrangement, wherein the guide means is adapted to guide the articles across the low friction zone from the entrance to the exit.

4. An assembly according to Claim 3, wherein the guide means comprises walls extending along the sides of the low friction zone.

5. An assembly according to Claim 3 or 4 wherein the entrance and the exit are of different widths.

6. An assembly according to Claim 5, wherein the entrance is wider than the exit.

7. An assembly according to any preceding Claim, wherein the low fricton zone is provided with randomising means adapted to move the articles on the low friction zone to a more random arrangement.

8. An assembly according to Claim 7, wherein the randomising means comprises oscillation means, including first and second arms arranged at opposite sides of the entrance to the low friction zone to oscillate and to strike at least some of the articles to cause the articles to move to a more random arrangement.

9. An assembly according to any preceding Claim comprising closure means adapted to close one or more selected lanes of the conveyor to prevent the articles from being delivered thereto, the closure means comprising a plurality of gates, each being arranged across a respective one of the lanes.

10. An assembly according to any preceding Claim, wherein the low friction zone comprises an air bed arranged at an angle of between 50 and 250 such that the entrance is higher than the exit.

11. An apparatus for moving articles from a first location to a second location, comprising means defining a low friction zone, and guide means defining an entrance to receive a plurality of articles from the first location, said articles being in a first arrangement, and an exit to deliver the articles to the second location in a predetermined second arrangement, wherein the guide means is adapted to guide the articles from the entrance to the exit.

12. An apparatus according to Claim 11, wherein the entrance and the exit are of different widths.

13. An apparatus according to Claim 12, wherein the entrance is wider than the exit.

14. An apparatus according to Claims 11, 12 or 13, wherein the low friction zone is provided with randomising means adapted to move the articles on the low friction zone to a more random arrangement.

15. An apparatus according to Claim 14, wherein the randomising means comprises oscillation means, including first and second arms arranged at opposite sides of the entrance to the low friction zone to oscillate and to strike at least some of the articles to cause the articles to move to a more random arrangement.

16. An apparatus according to any of Claims 11 to 15, which is adapted to be used with a conveyor arranged at the second location, the conveyor having a plurality of lanes to receive the articles from the exit, the apparatus comprising closure means adapted to close one or more selected lanes of the conveyor to prevent the articles from being delivered thereto, the closure means comprising a plurality of gates, each being arranged across a respective one of the lanes.

17. An apparatus according to any of Claims 11 to 16, wherein the low friction zone comprises an air bed arranged at an angle of between 50 and 250 to the horizontal such that the entrance is higher than the exit.

18. An apparatus according to Claim 17, wherein the angle is substantially 150.

19. An apparatus according to any of Claims 11 to 18, wherein the guide means comprises walls extending along the sides of the low friction zone.

20. A conveyor for conveying a plurality of articles, comprising a plurality of elongate lanes and at least one movable elongate flexible member for each lane to convey the articles along the lanes, and drive means to drive the flexible members along the lanes.

21. A conveyor according to Claim 20, wherein each flexible member is in the form of an endless member, a portion of each of which extends along the length of its respective lanes.

22. A conveyor according to Claim 21, wherein each lane is of a U-shaped cross-section, and each lane being provided with two elongate recesses extending the length thereof to receive said portion of one of the flexible members in each recess.

23. A conveyor according to Claim 22, wherein each lane has an inlet region to receive the articles to be conveyed, whereby the articles contact the flexible members at the inlet portion, a raised portion between the recesses extends from a point beyond the inlet region to the outlet region, the raised portion being adapted to prevent the articles beyond the inlet region from contacting the flexible members.

24. A conveyor according to Claim 23, wherein the raised portion is adjustable up or down thereby to lift the articles off the flexible member or to bring them into contact therewith to increase or decrease the driving force on the flexible members.

25. A conveyor according to any of Claims 22, 23 or 24, wherein each lane comprises a plurality of channels extending one after the other, whereby each channel is angled with respect to the previous channel, the conveyor further comprising a pulley arrangement about which the flexible members extend, thereby to ensure that the flexible members are received in the respective recesses at each junction between adjacent channels.

26. An assembly substantially as herein described, with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

27. Apparatus substantially as herein described, with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

28. A conveyor substantially as herein described, with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

29. Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter disclosed in the foregoing Specification or Claims and/or shown in the drawings, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding Claims.