GB736500A - Improvements in or relating to conveyor systems - Google Patents

Abstract

736,500. Endless-belt conveyers. CONVEYORS CAFETERIAS, Ltd. April 13, 1953 [April 23, 1952; Feb. 16, 1953], Nos. 10225/52 and 4236/53. Class 78 (1). In a conveyer in which a conveying run of slats is supported by rollers and a return run of slats underneath the conveying run is also supported by rollers, the rollers supporting the conveying run of slats are themselves supported directly or indirectly by the slats of the return run. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4, the conveyer comprises slats 1 provided with box girders 2 which run on the rollers of stationary roller chains 3 which are anchored at each end to a girder 10, the slats being secured at each side to an endless chain 4 by a pin 5. Along the return run of the conveyer, the slats support the rollers of the chains 3 and are themselves supported on the upper run of three endless roller chains 7, the upper runs of these chains running on tracks 8, whilst their lower runs extend along channels 9. The chains 4 pass round sprockets 11, 12, 13 at each end. Beyond the end of the chains 3, rollers 6 on each slat drop on to rails 14 and then on to spring-loaded levers 15. These levers are then pivoted downwards and transfer the rollers 6 to rails 16 and the slats are then run on to the roller chains 7 extending around end sprockets 17. The sprockets 11 are driven by chains 18 from a driving shaft 19. The slats may be guided along their runs by rollers rotatably mounted about vertical axes on the slats and adapted to engage a fixed guide rail extending along the conveying run. Alternatively the guiding may be effected by flanged wheels mounted in the chains 4 engaging guide rails along the conveying and return drums. In a modification, Fig. 9, the slats are secured to the pulling chains by pins 24a, 24b which are displaced relatively to one another along the conveyer a distance equal to the radius of the sprocket wheels 25, 26. These latter are spaced longitudinally the same distance, whereby the slats are maintained horizontal while being carried around the sprockets 25, 26. In another embodiment (Figs. 10 to 14, not shown), the conveyer comprises a plurality of separate slats which are propelled along the return run by an endless chain located centrally beneath the return run and provided with laterally spaced rollers between which are bars which engage dogs projecting downwards from the lower face of the slats. The slats are transferred between the conveying and return runs by pivoted rocker arms which are provided at their ends with rollers for supporting the slats and are operated from a counter-balanced beam which is intermittently driven downwards and released, the downward movement being used to rotate the arms through 180 degrees.