US1520000A - Safety device for conveyer mechanisms - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 23,1924. 1,520,000

RE. BAKER ET AL SAFETY DEVICE FOR COIEYER HECHANISMS Original Filed March 21, 1.917 2 Sheets-Sheet l IX 23 Z7 Z9 16 ff 4 36 Dec. 23, 1924. 1,520,000

l R. E.' BAKER ET AL SAFETY DEVICE FOR CONVEYER MECBANISMS lOriginal Filed llarch 21, 19.137.A 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'reame-d Dee 23, .1924. n 1,520,000

UNITED sTATEs- PATENT OFFICE.

:ROBERTV ELMER BAKER, F BRONXVILLE, AND ARTHUR FRANCIS CUMMINS, 0I' WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, AND EARDLEY- HARRY FORD, OF LOS ANGELES, CALI- I FORNIA, ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0 JOSEPH BAKER SONS PER- SKINS COMPANY, INC., 0F WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR CONVEYER MECHANISHB.

Original application led March 21, 1917, Serial No. 156,275. Divided and this application illed November 12, 1920. .Serial No. 423,728.

To all/whom t may concern# This ap lication is a division of an ap- Be it known that we, ROBERT ELMER lication or Letters Patent of the United BAKER, a resident of Bronxville, in the countates, filed by us March 2l, 1917, Serial No. ty of Westchester and State of New York, 156,275, which has matured into Letters 5 ARTHUR FRANCIS CUMMINs, formerl of Patent No. 1,412,444 dated April 11, 1922. 65

Nutley, in the county of Essex and tate For the better explanation of our invenof New Jersey, butnow a resident of White tion, we will now proceed to describe in de- Plains, in the county` of Westchester and tail a typical embodiment thereof, as repre- State of New Yorli, and `EARDLEY HARRY sented in the accompanying drawings, in FORD, formerly of Brooklyn, in the county which Fig. 1 is an end elevat1on of a portion 60 of Kings, city and State of New York, but of the proving chamber with p-art of the now a resident of Los Angeles, in the county conveyer, of the discharge device, and of the of Los Angeles and. State of California, driving arrangement; Fig. 2 is a side elevaall three subjects of the King of Great. Brittion, with parts in section, showing chiefly ain, have jointly invented certain new and the arrangement of the discharge device 65 useful Improvements in Safety Devfiees for and of its drive; Fig. 3 is a partial vertical Conveyer Mechanisms, of which the followsection, taken substantially on the plane ining is a specification. dicated by the line 3--3 of Fig. 2, but with Our invention relates to safety devices for certain parts in a different position; and

use in conjunction with conveyer mechanism Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view showing, 70 co-operatingwith a dischargedevice, and is upon an enlarged scale, certain parts indidesigned particularly for use in machines cated at the rlght-hand portion' of Fig. 3, for proving dough before bakin it. In together with the electrical connections and the type of proving machine to w ich our appliances for controlling the drive of the invention is intended to be applied pridischarge device and of the conveyer. 75 marily,conveyers are employed for carrying In Fig. 2 we have indicated at 10 one through the proving chamber, the trays, of the walls of the provinof chamber, with tins, or other containers in which the dough an opening 11 through whic the trays, tins, has been placed, and at the outlet of said or other containers 12 are adapted to be chamber, such containers are removed from pushed out of said chamber, to reach a table so the conveyer by a discharge device operating or support 13, by the action ofthe discharge transversely of the conveyer path. The device designated, in its entirety, by the letsafety device which forms the subject-matter A. These containers 12 travel through ter of our present application is employed the proving chamber, being carried therein connection with the discharge mechanism through by a conveyer which may beY of any g5 to insure a stoppage of the entire machine suitable construction and therefore need (and particularly-of the conveyer) in the not be described in det-ail herein. The conevent of an obstructions interfering with tainers 12 rest on carriers 14, connected with the proper operation of 'the discharge dethe conveyer in such a manner as to keep the y 40 vica This safety device preferably concarriers and containers horizontal during 90 sists of a pin or other member adapted to their travel. Thus, the carriers may be segive readily in case of an abnormal strain, cured rigidly to rods 15 connected by. cranks and forming part of the driving means of 16 on short shafts 17 which Aare also prosaid discharge mechanism. We also prefer vided with other cranks 18 engaging stato provide a supplementary device, generally tionary lguides 19. The shafts 17 form the 95 operated electrically, for insuring, under the pivot connections of the conveyer chains 20, circumstances referred to above, not only a guided and supported at suitable points by stoppage of the discharge mechanism, but a suitable parts, amon which are the driving stoppage of its drive as well, and of the sprockets 21 mounte rigidly on the shaft 22.

I0 'drive of the conveyer. This shaft also carries a gear Wheel 23, in -100 mesh with a pinion 24 on a shaft 25, which also carries a gear wheel 26 in mesh with a pinion `27 on a shaft 28. This shaft also carries a ear wheel 29, meshing with a gear 30 on a s aft 31, said gear 30 being also in mesh with a pinion 32 on a shaft 33, which is driven infany suitable manner, but preferably by means of an electric motor, indicated at 34.

At 35 we have indicated guides, adapted to be engaged by portions o the conveyers, say by rollers 36 mounted loosely on the conveyer pivots 17, to 'steady the conveyer laterally adjacent to the outlet 11, agalnst the pushing action of the discharge device A. which operates transversely of the path of the longitudinally-moving conveyer. The tins or other containers 12, when brought into registry with the opening 11 by the movement of the conveyer, are arrested by stationary lingers or supports 37, and as it were lifted off said carriers (see F ig. 2), whereupon the discharge device will push such containers from the supports 37 through the opening 11 and transfer them to the table or other support 13; this support might be a conveying belt from which the containers. 12 would pass to the baking oven (not shown). The detail construction of the discharge device is set forth more fully in another application filed by us simultaneously herewith, Serial No. 423,722, and a brief description will suilice at this point: On the shaft 28 is secured rigidly a sprocket wheel 38,con nected by a. chain 39 with a larger sprocket 40 on the main shaft 41 of the discharge device, the connection of said shaft 41 with its sprocket 40 being rigid under ynormal conditions. The shaft 41 is journaled in standards 42, and carries rigidly a mutilated gear 43, meshing at times with a mutilated inion. 44 rigidly secured to a counter-sha t 4,5, so that an intermittent motion is imparted to said counter-shaft during a continuous motion of 'themain shaft 41, corresponding to the continuous travel of the conveyer. On the counter-shaft 45 is further secured rigidly a. disk 46 from which projects a crank pin 47 entendincr loosely through a slide 48 movable in an out along a radial guide Way 449' of atoothed sector 49 which is mounted loosely on the main shaft 41, so that it may rock thereon. This sector is in mesh with a pinion 50, mounted rigidly on a shaft 51 which extends across the machine and also carries rigidly, two pinions 52 in mesh with racks 53 suitably guided in the standards 42, to slide towards and from the discharge opening 11. These two racks are connected at their forward vor outerl ends by a cross bar or pusher 54 of such length and position that it may pass between the two chains of the proving conveyer. Fig.

2 shows the pusher in its inner or retracted position.l It will be understood that the mutilated gears 43, 44 will produce an in termittent operation of the pusher, and this 4should be so proportioned in time to the continuous motion of the traveling con- (conveyer) might result in seriousdf injury to the mechanism. As a safety device to prevent such injury, we have provided a f yielding connection and certain other instrumentalities which, in the specific embodiment illustrated, are constructedias folloWs:-The sprocket 40, while normally held to turn with the main shaft 41, may become loose or free under certain conditions, since its connection with a collar 41', rigid with the `shaft 41, is effected through the medium of a pin 55 having a weakened portion, so that while the pin is strongv enough to transmit thepower normally vrequired for the operation of the pusher, such pin will break if for any reason the resistance to the movement of the pusher becomes abnormal. Thus, should a container fall off the conveyer and become wedged or otherwise lodged in the path of the pusher so as to interfere with its operation, or should any other obstruction be- `co1ne lodged either in the ath of the pusher or of any member of its riving mechanism shown in Fig. 3, the pin 55 will break, and the drive of the pusher will be arrested', so that the pusher (or the jammed member of its driving mechanism) will no longer be pressed against the obstruction, and thus an injury which might result to the'pusher and possibly to the conveyer, will be avoided.

Wealso consider it advisable that in the vevent of the breaking of the pin 55, the motive power should be disconnected not only from the pusher but from the proving conveyer as well, thus stopping the latter, and guarding against the possibility of injury to the conveyer should it continue to travel while an obstruction is lodged not only in the path of the pusher, but in that of the'conveyer as well, this being the place where obstructions are most likely to lodge. j For the purpose of thus stoppin" the con@ veyer, we have illustrated the followin arrangement: A pin 56, mounted to sli e in .the sprocket 40 in a direction arallel to the shaft 41, isipressed by acoi ed spring 57 toward the collar 41', and as long as the pin 55 is unbroken, that is to sa under normal driving conditions, one en of said pin 56 is pressed by said spring into a small socket in the collar 41', so that an elastic contact member 56 carried by the other end 'of said pin 56 will be out of engagement with two insulated rings 58, 59 which are stationary. When the pin 55 breaks the sprocket 40, becomingdoose on the shaft 41, will continue toebe turned for a while by the chain 39, and this rotation of the sprocket relatively tol the collar 41 (which has stopped owing to the jamming of the pusher or of its driving mechanism) will force the one end of theI pin 56 out of its socket in the collar 41 and bring the `contact member 56 against the stationary this magnet would normally, under the influence of a spring 65, close the circuit 66 of the electric motor 34, but when attracted by the magnet upon the energizing of the latter by the member 56 coming against the contact rings 58, 59, the armature 64 would open said circuit 66 and cause the motor 34 to stop. As the momentum of the conveyer might keep it in motion for a short time, causing the sprocket 40 to revolve for a few revolutions after the pin 55 had become broken, the pin 56 would at each of these revolutions for a moment reach the position shown in Fig. 4 and cause the circuit of the coil 63 to become interrupted. This would tend to allow the armature 64 to swing back to the circuit-closing position indicated by full lines in Fig. 4, so that the motor 34 would receive a shortl current impulse, tending to throw the apparatus in motion, in a jerky fashion. To avoid this, we have shown a hook catch 67, fulcrumed at 67 and normally pulled against a stop 68 by a spring 69.l When the armature 64 is attracted against the stop 70, the catch 67 yields to let the armature pass, and then snaps back to lock the armature in the position 'indicated by dotted lines, so that said armature cannot swing back to the circuitclosing position when the coil 63 is temporarily currentless, as described above. Gf course, the hook lcatch 67 would also hold .the armature 64 in the circuit-breaking position in the unlikely but not impossible event of the sprocket 40 stopping (after the breaking of the pin 55) in a position in which the pin 56 would register exactly with, and enter, the socket in the collar 41', so that the circuit energizin the coil 63 would remain interrupted. T e motor-controlling circuit 66 will therefore remain open after the breaking of the pin 55.

en proper repairs have been completed,` and a new pin 55 has been substituted for the broken one, the operator would lift the hook end of the catch 6T, allowing the armature 64 to be returned to its normal, circuitclosing position, by the action of the spring 65. The armature 64may control a motor other than an electric motor.

Various modifications may be made without departing from the nature of our invention as set forth in the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. ln a convyer mechanism, a conveycr,

stoppage of the discharge device resulting from the breakage of said member, for arresting the drive of the conveyer. p

2. In a conveyermechanism, a conveyer, a discharge device movable relatively to said conveyer to remove articles therefrom, driving mechanism for said conveyer, a

lll() yielding drive for said discharge device, to 4 allow said device to stop in the event of its meeting an obstruction, and means, operated by the movement of said yielding drive caused by the -stoppage of the discharge device, for arresting the driving mechanism of the conveyer.

3. The combination of driving means, an operated device, a connection for transmitting power from said driving means to said operateddevice, said connection including a weakened member adapted to break if said device is stopped by an obstruction, a circuitcloser adapted to be brought from the open position to the closing position when said weakened member breaks, and a stop device, controlled electrically by the operation of said circuit-closer, for shutting off said driving means.

4. The combination of driving means, an operated device, a connection for transmitting power from said driving means to said operated device, said connection including a weakened member adapted to break if said device is stopped by an "obstruction, and electrically-controlled kmeans for shutting off said driving means when said weakened l'member breaks.

an operated device, a connection for transmitting power from said motor to said device, said connection including a weakened member adapted to break if said device 1s stopped by an obstruction, a. switch controlling the sup ly of current to said motor, and means, a a ted to be brought into operation by the breaking of said weakened member, for bringing said switch to the open position.

6. The combination of an electric motor, an operated device, a connection for transmitting power from said motor to said device, said connection including a weakened member adapted to break if said device is stopped by an obstruction, a switch controlling the supply of current to said motor, and constructed of magnetizable material, an electro-magnet for which said switch forms an armature, and a Ac1rcuit-closure in circuit with a source of electricity and with said electro-magnet, and adapted to be moved automatically to the circuit-closing position when the said weakened member breaks, to throw the switch to the open position.

7. The combination of driving means, an operated device, a connection for transmitting power from saiddriving means to said operated device, said-connection including two adjacent rotary members and a pin connecting them and having a weakened portion adapted to break when the mechanism encounters unusual resistance, and a device, brought into operation by the turning of one of said rotary membersv relatively to the other, upon the breaking of the pin, for shutting oif said driving means.

8. The combination of driving means, an operated device, 'a connection for transmitting power from said driving means to said operated device, said connection including two co-axial rotary members and a connecting member normally compelling them to move in unison, said connecting member having a weakened portion adapted to break when the mechanism encounters unusual resistance, and a device, brought into operation by the relative turning movement of said rotary members which ensuesiupon the breaking of said connecting member, for shutting off said driving means.

9. The combination of drivin means, an operated device, a connection or transmitting power from said driving means to said operated device, said .connection ineluding two co-axial rotary members and a connecting member normally compelling them to move in unison, said connectin member having a weakened portion a apted to break when the mechanism encounters unusual resistance, a circuit-closing member movably carried by one of said rotary members, means brought into operation by the relative turning movement of said rotary members which ensues upon the breaking of said connecting member, for causing said circuit-closing member to move relatively to the rotary member on which it is carried, and means, operated by such movement of the circuit-closing member, for shutting off said driving means.

10. The combination of driving means, an operated device,a connection for transmittin power from said driving means to sai operated device, said connection including two co-axial rotary members and a connecting member normally compelling them to move in unison, said connecting member having a weakenedportion adapted to break when the mechanism encounters unusual resistance, a circuit-closing member carried by one of said rotary members and'mounted to i slide thereon lengthwise of the axis of rotation, a spring for pressing said circuitclosing member toward the other rotar. member and normally into a recess thereoi, whereby, upon the Ibreaking of the weakened connecting membcr, the turning of one rotary member relatively to the other will force the said circuit-closing member out of its socket and move it lengthwise of the axis of rotation and means, operated v by such longitudinal movement of said circuit-closing member, for shutting off said driving means.

11. The combination of driving means, an operated device, a connection for transmitting power from said driving means to said operated de'vice, said connection including two co-axial rotary members and a connecting member normally compelling them to move in unison, said connectin member having a weakened portion adapted to break when the mechanism encounters unusual resistance, a circuit-closing member mounted to slide on one of said rotary members lengthwise of the axis of rotation, Said member having two contact-making portions, stationary insulated contact rin adapted to be engaged by said contact-ma ing portions, a spring tendin to press the circuit-closing member towar the'other rotary member and to normally hold said contact-making portions away fromtheir contact rings, said other rotary member having an actuating surface en aging a portion of the circuit-closing member and adapted to force said member lengthwise of the axis of rotation and into engagement with said contact rings, by the relative turning movement of such rotary members which ensues upon the breakin of said weakened connecting member, an means, operated when said circuit-closing member engages said contactrings, for shutting off said driving means.

12. In a conveyer mechanism, a conveyer, a discharge device movable relatively to said conveyer, driving mechanism for said conveyer a drive for said discharge device comprising a pair of relatively movable members, a member, adapted to give Way readily in case of an abnormal strain, connecting said pair 0f members t0 cause them to move normally in unison, and means operated by relative mvement of said members for arresting the drive of said conveyer.

In testimony whereof We havev signed this 10 specification.

ROBERT ELMER BAKER.- ARTHUR FRANCIS CUMMIN S. EARDLEY HARRY FORD.

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