US1679717A

US1679717A - Conveyer

Info

Publication number: US1679717A
Application number: US748910A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jesse W Greer
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1924-11-10
Filing date: 1924-11-10
Publication date: 1928-08-07
Anticipated expiration: 1945-08-07

Description

' J. W. GREER CONVEYER Filed Nov. 10, 1924 2 Sheets-Shet 1 ATTORNEY Aug. 7, 1928.

J. W. GREER CONVEYER Filed Nov. 10, 1924 2 Sheets$he et 2,

ATTORNEY UNITED STATE n 1,679,717 PATENT OFFICE.

.ms'snw. GREEK. or omnmnenmsssnciiusnr'rs.

Application filed November This invention relates to a conveyer in the form of a metal belt for carrying articles thru a heated oven, and to the construction by which articles of food in their uncooked condition may be deposited directl upon the metal conveyer and carried there y thru an oven so that they will be cooked while passing thru the oven.

Various forms of traveling carriers and conveyers' have been proposed heretofore, but the well" known types of conveyers will not meet the requirements of' the present case, due to the injurious effect of the heat of an oven upon the mechanism of a traveling carrier, and duealso to the nature of the supporting surface required to receive the articles of food ttrjbe baked; 7

Heretofore cakes, crackers, biscuits and otherarticles of'food have been placed in I belt.

pans for baking. In accordance with the present invention the use of these pans is no longer necessary, and an important feature of the present invention resides in an endless sheet metal belt having a smooth surface upon which the cakes, crackers, biscuits or other articles of food, in their uncooked condition, may be directly placed and conveyed thereby *thru the baking oven. The

conveyer should travel at such a speed that the articles of food thereupon will be sufliciently bakedduring their passage thru the oven. Another feature 0 .-the invention therefore resides in means for supporting the sheetmetal belt and for driving it at various different speeds, dependin upon the length of time the articles upon t e-belt are to remain in the oven.

Other features of the invention reside in means for brushing from the belt the crumbs which may adhere thereto after the articles of food have been removed; in means for greasing the food receiving surface of the belt; in a cooling chamber thru which the articles of food pass upon leaving the oven; and in The various features of the invention and novel combination of parts will be best understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating one good practical form of the invention.

'. In the drawings 1 V rFig. 1 is a side elevation of theconveyer of the present invention shown supported 50 that its upper run will pass thru an oven.

packing tables disposed along the coNvnYEn.

Fig. 2 is a continuation of Fig. 1 and; shows the upper run of the conveyer p ssing thru a cooling chamber and extending along a packing table."

Fig. 3 is a sectional .view taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 2; and.

' Fi 4 is apersp'e'ctive view of the sheet meta belt of the present invention and the supporting drums around which it passes.

The metal. conve er belt of the present invention is well adapted to convey various articles thru'an oven, but it is designed more particularly for. use by. manufacturers of biscuits, cakes, crackers and other articles of food. And in accordance with the present invention,the uncooked biscuits or the like may be deposited directly upon. the smooth surface of the sheet metal belt at one side of the oven to be conveyed slowl thethru the oven by the belt so thatthey wi l be sufliciently baked upon leaving the oven.

They may then be carried by the belt thrua" cooling chamber, and upon leaving this lrihamber they are ready to be packed in oxes.

In the drawing, 10 is an oven of any suit-c pass. The size of' the openings 12 may be varied by adjusting the sliding doors 14. 1

The entire belt 18 may be formed of a long strip of thin sheet metal that passes around the spaced

drums

15 and 16, and the upper and lower runs of the belt are supported. at various points between the drums 15 and '16. The entire belt conveyer may be many feet in length so that the uncooked biscuits, or the like, may be placed upon the upper run of the belt near one drum 15,and be baked and cooled ready for packing in boxes as they approach the other drum 16. s

The conveyer is provided with a supporting frame, conveniently formed of upper rails 17 extending a short distance from the left-hand side of the oven 10, and which are held'in their elevated position by the uprights 18, and the frame is provided with lower rails 19 which may extend under-the furnace, as shown. The long conveyer sup- The upper of the belt 13 travels thru the furnace in the direction indicated by the arrows, and at the left-hand side of the oven is shown a hopper or depositor 22 which isbconstructed to place the uncooked biscuits, small cakes, or the like, upon the traveling belt so that they will be conveyed thru the oven 10, and the conveyor is operated by means to be described at such speed that the biscuits or the'like will be sufficientlybaked by the time they pass out of the oven at the right-hand end thereof. ,The

' belt with the hot biscuits or the like thereupon then passes into the cooling chamber 23, thru which, if desired, a current of air may be passed to cool the articles of food on the belt 13. As the biscuits or the like leave'the cooling chamber 23', they are sufficiently cool to be packed in boxes, and packing tables-24 are-therefore provided upon one or both sides of the traveling belt and extend from the right-handend of the cooling chamber to a position near the drum 16. As the upper run of the belt passes along the tables 24 the biscuits, cakes, or the like'may be removed from the belt by girls the end uprights 21, and the drum 15 at the left-hand end of the su porting frame 1s rotatably supported by t 'e uprights 18. It may be desirable to vary the tension of the endless belt 13, and to this'end, in the construction shown, the supporting shaftrof the drum 15 is rotatably mounted in blocks 25, whlch are slidablv mounted in the guideways 26, and the blocks 25 may be moved to or from the belt tightening position by the operatin screws 27. It is'necessary to sup- I port hot the upper and lowerrun of the elt at var1ous points, and in the construction shown this-is accomplished by rollers 28 positioned along the upper and lower runs of the belt.

Yarious means may be provided for driving the conveyer belt of the present invention, and since the belt is relatively long,

the same should be driven at a plurality of points, and in the construction shown s rocket chains are employed to 'drive the rum 16 and also the supporting rolls 28. It may be desirable'to drive the belt 13 at difierent speeds to vary the. length of time required to convey articles 'upon the belt through the oven 10. Any suitable variable speed drive may be employed to this end,

and in the construction shown an electric motor 29 is mounted below the cooling chamaevaviv ber 23, and this motor, by means of a belt.

30, drives a pulley 31 of the speed varying device '32, and a driving pinion 33 of the speed varying device meshes with and drives a large gear at rigidly secured to a transversely extending shaft 35.

sprocket chain 37- passes about the sprocket. 36 and about I the sprocket 38 rigidly se cured to the drum 16, so that the chain'37 is driven by the sprocket-36 and drives the drum 16. The sprocket chain 37 serves also to rotate a number of supporting rollers 28, and to this end the rollers are provided with small sprockets 39 which} are engaged and The shaft 35. is provided with asprocket 36, and adriven by the chain 37. It may be desirable to drive the supporting rolls 28 which are disposed at the left hand side of the driv-.

ing shaft 35, and to this end a second sprocket 40 is secured to the shaft 35 and this sprocket drives a chain 41, the lower run of which passes below the oven to rot-ate the rollers which support the lower,

run of the belt 13. This chain then passes upwardly around the sprocket 42 to the sprocket of an'upper. roller 28, whereupon the upper run of the chain 41 passes through the oven to rotate theisupporting rolls therein and returns to the driving sprocket 40. By, providing the two; driving chains just described, one of which extends in a right hand direction from the driving shaft 35, and the other extends in a left-hand'direction from this shaft, as many'of-the supporting rolls 28 as; desired may be positively driven by these chains, so-that the supporting rolls will help drive the endless belt 13 as well as support the same.

After the biscuits, cakes,- or the like, have i i been removed from the upper run of the belt 13, crumbs and other small particles may stick to the belt. It is desirable to clean the belt before uncooked biscuits or the like are a again deposited upon this belt, and to this end in the construction shown a rotating brush 43 is provided which maybe mounted below the lower run of the belt, as shown in Fig. 1, to brush the lower surface of the same and thisbelt may be driven by an electric motor 44 having a driving belt 45. In many cases it will be desirable to grease or oil the biscuit receiving surface of the endless belt, and this is accomplished in the present case by a brush 46 rotatably mounted below the drum 15. Oil or grease 1s supplied to this brush by the rece tacle 47 and the brush 46 may be driven min the sprocket 42 by a chain 48. I

From the foregoing it will be seen that the baking operation may be carried on continuously, and that the biscuits, cakes, or the like, when placed upon the traveling belt 13 by the hopper 22, are passed thru the oven 10 which bakes them, after'which they are passed thru the, cooling chamber 23,

which cools them ready for packing, and as they are conve ed along the tables 24, they are removed rom the belt and placed in power shaft positioned between the upper and lower runs of the belt intermediate the ends of a belt run, and drivingchains ex-' tending in opposite directions from said shaft lengthwise of the upper run of the belt and operable by the shaft to drive said rollers from a single source of power disposedintermediate the ends of a belt run.

2. In a machine of the class described, in

combination, a long sheet metal belt for conveying articles of food successively through a baking and cooling chamber and having an upper and a lower run, an oven and a cooling chamber arranged along the upper run of the belt, rollers disposed at intervals along the upper run of the belt to support and drive the same as it passes through the oven and cooling chamber, a power shaft positioned between the upper and lower runs the belt to extend transversely thereofinter: mediate the" ends of a belt run, endless driv ing chain extendin in o posite directions from sai run'extendmg outsi e of the oven, and the chains being operated by said shaft to drive said rollers from a single source of power disposed intermediate the ends of a beltrun.

3. In a machine of the class described, in combination, a long sheet metal belt for con shaft an one aving an upper run exten g throu h the oven and a lower,

veying articles oi. food successivel through a baking and cooling chamber and avingan upper and a lower run, an oven and a]cool-' ing chamber arranged along the upper-run of the belt, rollers disposed at intervals along the upper run of the belt to support and drive the same as it passes through the oven'and cooling chamber,-belt su porting drums at the opposite ends of the belt run,

I a power shaft positioned between the upper and lower runs of the belt to extend transversely thereof intermediate the ends of a belt run, and endless drivin chains extend-- ing in opposite directions rom said shaft lengthwise of the upper run of the belt and operable to positively drive one of the drums and the rollers from a single source of power disposed intermediate the ends of a v belt run.

a In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

JESSE W.- GBEER.