US1835823A

US1835823A - Conveyer

Info

Publication number: US1835823A
Application number: US220445A
Authority: US
Inventors: William J Taylor
Original assignee: Lamson Co
Current assignee: Lamson Co
Priority date: 1927-09-19
Filing date: 1927-09-19
Publication date: 1931-12-08
Anticipated expiration: 1948-12-08

Description

Dec. 8, 1931.' w, J, TAYLOR 1,835,823

cONvEYER Fild Sept. 19. 1927 2 Sheetsf-Sheet l lIliff/[111111111111111lll/111,111,111r1lllrrlflllzllllllrlll. 11, r

. J. TAYLOR CONVEYER Filed Sept. 19, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 `Patented Dee. s, 1931 UNITED STATI-:s

PATENT 'OFF:ci?. 4

WILLIAM J'. TAYLOR, 0I' WINTHBOP HARBOR, ILLINOIS,' ASSIGNOB T0 THB comm, or sYaAcUsE, NEW Yoax, A CORPORATION or nssacirusmscommm l Application tiled September 19, 1927. Serial No. 220,445.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in conveyers.

Where it is desirable to deflect or shunt boxes or containers from a main conveyer on to a branch track, slding or other conveyer,

particularly in connection with gravity conveyers, the rolls of the gravity conveyer which are arranged-with their axes at right angles to the direction of movement of containers passing along the main -track tend along the main conveyer, such turning movement of the rolls being actuated by the moving containers themselves and as a result conforming substantially to the direct-ion of movement of the containers passing into the branch track whereby any substantial resistance to the deflection of the container from the main conveyer is practically eliminated.

A further object resides in the provision of means for normally maintaining the rolls .or rollers with their axes perpendicular to the direction of movement of containers along the main conveyer and for returning the rolls or rollers to such position after any shifting movement so that normally they will not frictionally resist the free movement of containers along the main conveyer.

@ther objects and advantages relates to the details of the structure and the parts thereof,

all as will more fully appear from the following description, taken in connection with the Figure 4 is a sectional view takenoniline" 4 4, Figure 1. v

Figure 5 is a sectional view through one of the rollers and its supporting mechanism.

Figure 6 is a top plan view of one of the rollers and its supporting mechanism.

The apparatus of this invention is adapted for many and various associations and for the purpose of illustration is here shown'asa. section of a main conveying apparatus.

As shown the gravity conveyer indicated.

generally at -1- is interposed between two belt conveyers -2- and --respectively which may be of any usual and ordinary construction and it will be apparent that vthe interposition of the gravity conveyer'of this invention between two belt conveyers is merely for the purpose-of illustrating one practical useof the invention.

The gravity conveyer -1- may consist of any suitable frame-work 4 including a tloor or bottom wall -5- and.an overhead" -frame -6- carrying a vplurality of deflecting bars -7- forming guide-ways for a pupose to be hereinafter described.

P0 A mounted a plurality of rolls or rollers -8- upon which a container such as the illustrated at 9"- is adapted to move `forwardly due tothe fact that the contact surface de- [ined by the rolls inclines downwardly from the conveyer -2- to the conveyer -3- and this inclination may be easily effected by supporting the bottom wall or iloor -5- in such inclined position.

Ordinarily the conveyer rolls have been supported upon stationary axes disposed at right angles to the direction of movementfof containers -9- along the conveyer and as before suggested such disposition of the rolls frictionally resists their movement into a branch or siding 10- disposed at one side of the main conveyer and, for the purpose of eliminating this resistance and permitt free and easy movement of the containers into a branch conveyer or siding, a number of comparatively narrow rolls -8- are' utilized at least for the contact surfaces at. the end of the gravity conveyer over which the containers must first move in passing into the branch and these rolls are separately mounted for free movement in shifting their axes at various angles to thev direction of movement of containers along the main track 6 `so that the rolls may conform their direction of rotation to substantially the direction of movemet'of a container passing into the branch -10, v-such shifting of their axes of rotation to various angles with respect to lo the direction of movement `of a container along the main conveyer being effected by the movement of the container itself in turnin and moving into the branch 10.

twill be apparent that these rolls may 155l be mounted in various and many manners and by various structure to permit free shifting movement of their axes as actuated by a moving container and for the purpose of illustration thereI is shown a mounting for such rolls 2o which is satisfactory for the purpose.

in the opposite arms -13- and I4- of a yoke '-15-, the bottom wall of which may be secured in any suitable manner as by rivets to a disk -16-constituting one member 'of a ball-retainer, the other member of which may be in the form of an annular convex ring -17- having a substantially flat flange -19- secured to a plate 20 connected to the base or bottom wall 5 in any suitable manner as by bolts -22.

85 Balls -23- are disposed between the one member -16- and the other member -17- of the bearing.

The disk 1G- is separated froml the plate -20- by a suitable ball bearing -24- so that the disk i6-may freely rotate between the balls -25- and the balls -23- but is restrained from other movement.

In order to maintain the rolls -8- with their shafts l1- normally disposed at right angles to the direction of movement of containers along the main track while permittingcomparatively free and easy angular shiftin movement of said axes a spring -26- as one end connected to a post '27- rising from and connected to the bottom wall -5-, the other end of the spring being connected in any suitable manner to the yoke -15, this position of the parts being such that after any angular shifting movement of the axis of a roll -8- its respective spring -26- returns it to a normal position with its axis perpendicular to the direction of movement of containers along the main track.

For the purpose of dellecting containers I0 into a predetermined selected branch track,

such containers, as best illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, are formed at the upper portion of their front and rear ends with a series of laterally disposed holes or sockets -29 for l5 the reception of a guide pin 3()-.

These sockets conform in number with the guideways bet-Ween the deiectin bars -7- and by placing pins -30- in esired sockets so that they will pass between selected deflecting plates the container when' it reaches the gravity conveyer -1 will be guided by the deflectino plates and the -pins so as to pass into a predetermined branch track and as illustrated the guideways for each branch track as formed by the delecting bars -7-, extend in proper disposition above each branch track -10- so as to guide the container properly into the branch track, the container itself shifting the rolls 8 so that their direction of rotation is substantially the same as the direction of movement of the container.

The rolls -3l in the branch track may be mounted upon fixed axes properly inclined and disposed to permit free movement of the containers into the branch track without substantial frictional resistance.

This invention is not concerned with any further disposition of the containers after they have been deflected into a branch track but in Figure 4 there is illustrated a belt conveyer 32- adapted to receive containers deflected into the branch track l0- At the discharge end of the gravity conveyer -l-- and beyond the point where the containers in moving into the branch track l0- will contactwith the rolls it is possible to make the rolls of the same width as the conveyer and to mount them upon Xed axes as illustrated at -33-.

1t is, however, desirable as shown to have all of the rolls over which the container moves along the main track and n'to a branch track so mounted that their axes of rotation may be shifted by a container to substantially conform with the direction of movement of the container and although there is shown a specific structure together with a particular form, association and relation of the parts thereof, I do not desire to restrict myself to any particular association of a gravity conveyer or to the details of the structure shown or the form and relation of the parts thereof as various changes and modiiications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A conveyer comprising a main conveyer portion and a branch portion leading therefrom, means for deilecting articles transported by the main conveyer portion to the branch portion, said main conveyer portion including a plurality of rotatable rolls the plane of rotation whereof is controlled by the passage of articles thereover and variable thereby to conform to the direction of movement of an article passing from the main conveyer portionl into Athe branch portion, and means for automatically returning the rolls to a ticle passing from the main conveyer portion into the branch portion, and means for automatically returning the rolls to a posi-` tion with their axes substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of an article passing along the main conveyer portion after each shifting movement.

3. A conveyer comprising a main conveyer portion and a branch portion leading therefrom, said main conveyer portion including a roll, a yoke in which the roll is journaled, and means for rotatably supporting the yoke, and a spring connected to the yoke and tending normally to maintain the yoke in predetermined position.

a. A conveyer comprising a power driven conveyer, a second power driven conveyer,-

a gravity roller conveyer connecting said power driven conveyers, a plurality of rotatable rolls capable of shifting their axes of rotation in said gravity roller conveyer, and a branch gravity roller conveyer iii communication ivith the gravity roller conveyer.

5. A conveyer comprising a main conveyer portion and a branch portion leading there- -from, said main conveyer portion including a. plurality of rotatable rolls capable of automatically varying their plane of rotation to conform to the direction of movement of an article passing from the main conveyer portion into the branch portion, a plurality of fixed deiiectors above the main track, and means on an article being conveyed Jfor engaging a selected deiector whereby the article beingconveyed will be deiected from the main conveyer portion into a selected branch conveyer portion.

6. A conveyer comprisin a main conveyer portion and a branch portion leading therefrom, said main conveyer portion including a plurality of rotatable rolls capable of automatically vai-yin their plane of rotation to contorni to the irection of movement of an article passing from the main conveyer portion into the branch portion, means for automatically returning the rolls to a position with their axes substantially' per ndicularto the direction of movement oean article assing along the main conveyer portion a ter each shifting movement, a plurality of lixed deiectors above the main track, and means on an article being conveyed for engaging a selected deflector whereby the artic e being conveyed will be deiiected from the main conveyer portion into a selected branch conveyer portion.

v7. A conveyer comprising a main conveyer portion and a branch portion leading therefrom, means for defiecting certain articles transported byfthe main portion to the branch portion, said main conveyer portion includlng a plurality of rotatable rolls having their axes normally substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of an article assin along the main conveyer portion and ing to vary their plane of rotation by engagement of a. deflected article to conform to the direction of movement of such article from the main conveyer portion into the branch portion, and means for automatically returnin the rolls to the normal position after each shifting movement.

8. A conveyer comprising a main conveyer portion and a branch portion leading therefrom, means for deiecting certain articles transported by the main portion to the branch portion, said main conveyer portion includlng a plurality of rotatable rolls having their axes normally substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of an article passing along the main conveyer ortion and being free to vary their plane o rotation independently of each other by engagement of a deflected article to conform to the direction of movement of such article from the main conveyer portion into the branch portion, and means for automatically returning the rolls to the normal position after each shifting movement.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of September, 1927.

WILLIAM J. TAYLOR.

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