US1028751A - Conveyer. - Google Patents

Description

C. W. LEVALLEY.

coNvBYBR. APPLOATION FILED NOV. 28, 1908.

Patented June 4, 1912.'

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Wim/ESSE COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH cu.. wAsHlNnroN. D. c.

G. W. LEVALLEY.

GONVEYEE.

APPLIOATION FILE-D Nov. 2a, 1908.

Patented June 4, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

C. W. LEVALLEY.J

OONVEYBR. I

APPLIGAHON FILED Nov. za, 190s.

Patented June 4, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

[Nl/ENTOR W [TNESSES lao .. or approximately'so, and the axes of articuf CHRISTOPHER W. LEVALLEY, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

GONVEYER.

Patented June 4, 1912.

Application filed November 28, 1908. Serial No. 464,970.r

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I,v` CHRISTOPHER W'. LEVALLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in and Relating to'Conveyers, of which the following is a specification. y

My invention relates to conveying apparatus and is directed particularly to the production of a conveyer that is especially adapted for use in the making of pies in large bakeries, 'although it is adapted for many vother uses, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

- In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a practical form of the invention, referring to which,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a conveyer embodying my improvements; Fig. 2 isa side elevation of the same, lparts being broken away; Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a central, longitudinal, vertical sectional view taken through one end of the conveyer.

The conveyer is of the endless variety and comprises'a pair of wheels 2 2 about which passes an endless belt 3. The conveyer is in substantially a horizontal plane, that is to say, the aXes of the wheels are vert-ical,

lation of the belt 3, when that is in the form of a sprocket chain, as represented in the present instance, are also vertical. lIhen the conveyer belt is of sprocket chain construction at least one of the wheels, 2 2',

should be a sprocket wheel and be connected with a suitable driving mechanism. I

have represented the wheel 2 as the driv-` ing wheel and as being connected with a 1 driving rshaft 4 which 'extends upward therefrom, being mounted at its upper end in a bracket 5 and provided with a worm wheel 6 with which meshes a worm 7 on the shaft 8, to which power is applied from any suitable'motor. This form of driving gear is adopted when it is desired thatthe conveyer should have a slow motion, as is the case when it is used to convey pies. The parts thus far generally-described may be of any usual or preferred construction.

I prefer for purposes that will be hereinafter explainedthat the `wheels 2 2 should be in the form of disks having plane upper surfaces extending fromV ytheir hubs to or nearly to their peripheries. Y

'ing position.

The wheels 2 2l are supported at the upper ends of standards or columns 9 which are ordinarily arranged to rest upon the flooring and to be of a height to bring the horizontal conveyerto aconvenient work- In the upper end of each standard there is formed a socket l0 into which extends a short shaft 11 that is keyed to the wheel. .The hub 12 of the wheel 2 is somewhat elongated and receives the lower end of the driving shaft 4, such shaft- `being independent of the shaft 11 and the adjacent ends of these two shafts being siturangement is found to be desirable when the conveyer is supported upon one Hoor and the driving gearing .is supported from another floor, as is represented in the drawings, as the change in floor levels is compensated for by this'slip joint and the working 'of the conveyer is not thereby impaired.

As already stated, the endless belt of the Conveyer is formed of'articulated sprocket links, and certain of these, as everysiXth one, are formed with att-aching means, which are represented as being` in the form of transversely arranged plates 14. To these plates are attached cross bars l5, to the ends of which are secured -the supports for the `articles to be conveyed. When such articlesv are pie-plates, as represented in the drawings, each support consists of a pair'of crossed bars 16 having their ends turned up,

as at 17, to form retaining means for holding the plates. I prefer that each platevholder should rest above the bar 15 so that the over-hanging pie crust` shall not come in engagement with any part of the conveyor, as is represented in Fig. 2, to secure which result I mount the plate-holders on risers or standards 1S.

Should the pie crust be trimmed off before the plates are put upon 4 the conveyer, this elevating of each of the plate-holders would not be so important, though it would still be -of advantage ybecause it would give the-workmen more freedom in placing and removing the pie-plates.y

As represented in Fig. 1, the cross bars 15 are arranged at such distances apart as will bring the pie-plates close together edge t-o edgewhen moving along iaistraight run of the conveyer. From this it follows that when a portion o-f the conveyer passes one of the turning wheels, those plates that are supported by the inner extending arms vof the cross bars 15 'will be brought closer together and would interfere one with another if all were arranged in the same horizontal plane. To prevent this result vI mount the alternate plate supports in different horizontal planes so that when passing the turning wheels they may overlap, as shown in Fig. 1, without interfering with each other. This result is secured by making certain of the standards for the supports higher than others, the higher set being designated 18.

In order to impartfsteadiness to the conveyer and to insure that it shall be main-k tained in a practical horizontal position throughout its entire run, I provide means for supporting and steadying the outer ends of the cross bars 15. Vhile this result could be attained in many ways, I have adopted a very simple expedient which consists in turning down the outer ends of the cross bars, as indicated at 19, and causing them to run in engagement with supporting rails 20. These rails are preferably of angular form in cross section, the vertical portions 21 of such angular rails constituting guards that tend to prevent the clothing of the workmen or other objects getting into the path of the cross bars 15. Along each straight run of the conveyer there are two of these supporting rails, an outside and an inside one. Where the pathI of the conveyer curves in passing one of the turning wheels I empl-oy only an outside rail, which I designate 22. In using bars 15 that extend across the belt,- both inward and outward, which is manifestly the most desirable arrangement, it is apparent that only the outside ends of the bars can be supported upon a trac'k that is a continuation of one of the straight tracks 20, as the turning wheel is in the path vof the inner track.l However, by making 'the upper face of each turning wheel plane and disposing it in the horizontal plane of the inner track 20 I utilize such face as a support for the inner ends of the l`cross bars, thek down-turned ends 19 of the cross bars resting upon the wheel as the conveyer passes it.

In order to support and sustain the laterally vextending bars 15 as described, it is desirable that they should be arranged in a, common horizontal plane; and to prevent them from interfering .one with another while passing the turning wheels of the apparatus they are made relatively narrow. There must necessarily be a space between the end of the inner rail 20 and the upper plane face of the sprocket wheel, equal at least in distance to the Width rof the sprocket teeth; In order to bridge this space and prevent the inner ends 19 of the cross bars from catching upon the sprocket teeth or against the periphery of the wheel I employ bridge pieces 23. The ends of these bridge pieces that lie over the wheel are beveled or turned down and lie close to the upper face thereof so that the cross bars pass `smoothly and easily over the bridge piece and on to the wheel on one side of the conveyer and from the wheel over the .bridge to the inner rail o n the other side.

The rails 20 are supported by standards 24 formed at their upperV ends with cross arms 25 to which the rails are directly se- 1 cured. The inner arms 25 of the standards next to the wheels are utilized as supports for the bridge pieces 23; Y Y

Near the upper end of the columns or standards 9, upon which the turning wheels are mounted, and directly below such wheels, are supported the spiders 26, on the outer ends of the arms of'which areY supported the curved rails 22. Each spider is formed with a hub portion 27 that is adapte ed to fit a. reduced cylindrical part 28 of a column and rest upon a shoulder 29 there# of. Each column 9 is formed with a base plate or foot 30 that rests in a shoe-plate 31 secured to the floor. The lattery is provided with guide-ribs 32 by which the'foot of the column is 'conned' One of the parts, either the shoe-plate. or the foot of lthe column, is provided with slots and the other with holes through which the connecting l'.

bolts 33 are passed, this arrangement permitting the longitudinal adjustment `of the end portion-wheel and curved trackof the conveyer in order to take up the slack which may come from the wearing of the il? l parts or stretching of the belt.

I have shown a form of conveyer in which the two straight runs are as close together as is practicable. They might, however, be

separated if the apartment in which the if conveyer is used be of Va size vand shape to make this desirable.V In such case more than two turning wheels would be employed, as is apparent without further eX- planation.

What I claim is:

1. In a conveyer, the combination of an endless driven belt, a series of narrow bars disposed in a common horizontal plane and a series of supports for the material to be conveyed carried by the said bars and arranged alternately in different horizontal planes, whereby the supports are allowed to overlap, substantially as set forth.

2. In a conveyer, the combination of an Y.

endless driven belt disposed in a horizontal plane, narrow bars carried thereby and eX- tending laterally outward from the line of conveyer, and supports' for the material-to be conveyed carried by 'said bars than which f7.9

they are broader and arranged `alternately in. higher and lower horizontal planes, substantially as set forth.

3. In a horizontal conveyer, the combination of an endless driven belt, turning wheels around which the belt passes supported on vertical axes, cross supports for the material to be conveyed secured to the belt, supporting and steadying tracks for the cross supports arranged between the turning wheels, such wheels being also ar- 10 ranged to support and steady the cross supports as they pass 'around the wheels, and bridge pieces between the tracks and the turnlng wheels, substantially as set forth.

CHRISTOPHER W. LEVALLEY. Witnesses:

VLASTA I. KLOFANDA, W. C. SARGENT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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