US1919175A - Terminal for drag conveyers - Google Patents

Description

July 18, 1933.

M. B. SMITH TERMINAL FOR DRAG CONVEYERS Filed March 14 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Envy/l1 o z MAUR/CF B. .J'M T July 18, 1933. M, sMlTH 1,919,175

TERMINAL FOR DRAG CONVEYERS Filed March 14, 1950 3 SheetsSheet 2 July 18, 1933. M, B. SMITH 1,919,175

TERMINAL FOR DRAG CONVEYERS Filed March 14, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 anvemboz MAURIC 5. .SM/ n1 351 7 1 Qua/mu qmm Patented July 18, 1933 um'rrrn sures B. OI ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR T6 THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CC-RPOR-ATIGN OF NEW YORK TERMINAL FOR DRAG CONVEYERS Application filed March 14, 1930. Serial No. 435,868.

This invention relates to: conveyors tor sheet material such as-l'ett ers, telegrams-,- and the like, in which: the artiolos are transported in aIsn-bstantially fiat or unfolded condition.

5 In central telegraph ofiices it is the customary; practiceto transport telegrams from onepart of the-ofliceor-f-rom one operator or attendant to another, by means of conveyors.

. 'Fhe'se conveyors take a variety of forms depending onthe service to be performed, the

length ofi'the-conveyer, and other considerations, and the conveyor system of a large ofiice may'consi'st oi" a number of conveyors of difi'eront f'orms fe'eding into one another. For instance, for conveyorsof considerahle length and where-vertical or inclined runs are desirable, it is advantageous to employ a drag conveyor; such'as! is described in 'a copond-i'ng" applicatibnof F. dH-umy et all, memes fil ed January 193-0, and entitled Drag; coiiveyori B'riefi'y,, the drag conveyor described in' the above men'- tionodapplication consists of a single endless bel't of a width considerably less than the width oft-he articles to be conveyed', the bolt being dragged along" main or operating run in 'afiac trough having-outwardl flaringfordivergi'nggside walls. The articles are conveyed" between the; belt and the trough with the edges of the articles extending over at least. a part of the flaring sides. v on short horizontal runs,,part icul'arly past telegraph receiving and transmitting operas tor positions, customary to. employ a V-trough conveyor, such as is described in patent ofFQEl dHIimy et al.,. No. 1,80%,906 granted April 21,, L931 and, entitled Belt Q nVoyen, In this; type. oliconveyer the ar- 40 holes are carried. in a suhstantially vertical or onendpesition, softhat. thev address, routing-data, and similar! information, is readily visible and: the. conveyor is constructed so that telegrams may be placed therein or nomoved therefrom, by the operator, at any point alongitsglength.

The present invention is especially concorned-e with a. conveyor 0t thoirdrazgi type but has for one of its objects t'hewprovisionof means fihrttnans ferring sheet material from a) drazg con veycr into a conveyor of the V- t roug h, or other-type.

Another object to provide an improved outlet terminal construction for a drag; conveyor, to facilitate the discharge of tho-sheet articles from the conveyor.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In accordance with one embodiment of my coming engaged between the belt and the feed roller, or from following around the roller with the belt, shoulll' they adhere thereto; as by static. I provide a guide member in the general form of an inverted V, having its apex adjacent the side of the belt away from v the trough, in advance of the roller, and havingthe leg portions disposed at opposite'sidos of the roller. i

The guide member has its corresponding parts substantially parallel to the trough whereby a guidoway is formed from inadvanco of the roller, to the outlet end of the conveyor.

The trough or a portion thereof and the guide member extend vertically downward below'tho end of the belt to direct the articles in their proper downward course, and may terminate within the opening of a tray or other receptacle, or another conveyor, such a a V-trough conveyor.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the outlet end of a drag conveyor discharging into a V-trough conveyor;

Figure 2'is a side elevation of the outlet end of the drag conveyor, showing the V'- trough conveyor in section;

Figure 3 is adetailod perspective view of the discharge end of a modified form of terminal;

Figure 4 is an elevation 01 the guide member employed with the terminal shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 55 of Figure 3, and;

Figure 6 is a section on the line G -(3 of Figure 3.

The drag conveyer shown in Figure 1 comprises a trough 5 having a base 6 and outwardly flaring sides 7, and a belt 8 of a width slightly less than the width of the ba 6, the belt traveling in the trough in friction al contact with the base. The articles to be conveyed, such as telegram blanks T, are disposed in the conveyer between the belt 8 and the trough, the sides of the articles extending over the flaring side walls 7 so as to assume a substantially concave shape. The trough serves as a guide for the belt, and on horizontal runs as a support therefor, and the flaring sides 7 prevent the articles from working out from under the belt at either side thereof.

At the outlet end of the drag conveyer, the trough and belt are directed vertically downward, the belt passing around an end roller 9 and thence by any convenient return path to the opposite end of the conveyer.

The outwardly flaring sides of the trough are flattened out into the plane of the base, at their lower ends, at 12 and the base of the trough is cut away at 11, although this is not essential. The flattened-out side flanges 12 extend vertically downward below the roller 9.

A guide member 13, which may be a wire bent into a hairpin or inverted V-shape, has its apex 14 positioned against the side of the belt away from the trough, above the roller 9 with the downwardly diverging portions 15 of the guide extending across the opposite sides of the roller 9 and downward below the pulley, substantially parallel to and spaced from the ends 12 of the trough. The guide 13 may be supported in any suitable manner from the conveyer frame, not shown, similarly to the guide 28 of Figure 3.

The flattened-out side flanges of the trough permit the telegram blanks to straighten out as they approach the roller 9, and this straightening out process is assisted by the guide 13, which engages the outer ends of the telegrams and forces them backward toward the flanges of the trough. The guide member also precludes any possibility of the ends of the telegram blank becoming bent over against the rear side of the belt and thus be coming engaged between the belt and the roller 9. It also prevents the telegrams from adhering to the belt and passing with the belt around the roller 9.

Beneath the end of the drag conveyer is a conveyer of the V-trough type into which the drag conveyer discharges. The V-trough conveyer comprises a trough having diverging side walls 16 opening at the bottom into a rectangular housing 17 through which a hori zontal flat belt 18 travels. The sheet articles are conveyed through the V-trough conveyer in a vertical or on-end position indicated at T and they may be readily removed from or placed in the conveyer at any point along its length. The ends 12 of the trough and the diverging leg portions 15, of the guide 13, of the drag conveyer, terminate a suflicient distance above the belt 17 of the V-trough conveyer so as not to interfere with the through passage of articles T in the V- trough, Adjacent the discharge end of the drag conveyer, the V-trough conveyer has a pair of flaring extensions 19 projecting upwardly at each side of the ends 12 of the trough and guide member 15, so as to insure the deposition of the article into the V-trough conveyer. I

The straightening of the telegram blanks from the concave form in which they are conveyed, into a substantially vertical plane permits them to discharge in a relatively narrow trough. I have discovered, however, that ii the sheet material is maintained in concave shape, that is, with the vertical sides bent relative to the body portion as they discharge from the conveyer, greater rigidity is obtained and the articles can be projected downwardly at a relatively high speed and for materially greater distances Without un due deflection from air currents and the like, and in Figures 3 to 6 I have shown a modification of the discharge terminal of the drag conveyer in which the material is discharged in this shape.

In Figure 3 the drag conveyer channel 20 is shown supported by a cross brace 21 extending horizontally between two vertical angle irons 22 forming a part of the conveyer frame. The belt 23 travels vertically downward in contact with the channel 20 and around the roller 24 The roller 24 is supported on a bolt 25 carried by a pair of bracket arms 26 supported from a rectangular bracket 27 which in turn is secured to the frame members 22. The channelv 20 extends a slight distance below the roller 24.

The guide member 28 of the shape shown in Figure 4 is supported adjacent the lower end of the channel and parallel thereto by a. stirrup 29 supported from the bracket arms 26 by vertical strips 30. The belt 23 passes between the guide member 28 and the channel 20.

The guide member may be formed from a portion of a channel and comprises a base portion 31 and outwardly flaring side flanges 32', the side flanges and the base tapering inwardly at the upper end to form a narrow top portion 33. The base of the guide memher is cut away at the lower end to permit the roller 2d and the belt 23 to pass between the side flanges 32 and the side flanges ex tend. downwardly below the roller parallel to the channel :20 to form a guideway for the message blanks. 'lhemessages T are carried downwardly in the channel with the vertical edges curved between the outwardly extending flanges of the guide and channel and due to the velocity of travel thereof, it projectcd from between these members at the lower end thereof with considerable force. The flaring flanges of the guide and channel maintain the. paper curved thus in'iparting sufficient rigidity thereto to prevent appreciable fluttering or deflection of the paper due to air currents or air resistances. The guidemelnbers also prevent the edges of the paper from becoming folded over in such way as to become engaged between the belt and the roller 24,- and also prevents the articles from following around the roller with the belt due to static.

It is obvious that numerous changes and modifications may be made in the construction of the terminal of the ra conveyer and in the manner of directing the articles into a V-through conveyer or other receptacle and, therefore, I do not desire to be limited to the details shown and described except in accordance with the appended claims.

What, I claim is:

1. A drag conveyor comprising a stationary support having a base and outwardly ex tending sides, a belt positioned to travel in contact with said support, whereby sheet material may be conveyed intermediate said support andbelt, means for deflecting said belt away from said support and a guide member having portions extending substantially parallel to the sides of said support, and forming with said sides a guideway for directing said material past the point of de-- flec io-n of said belt.

2. A drag convever comprisin a trough having a base and outwardly flaring side flanges, a belt positioned in said trough to tI'flVQl therein, whereby sheet material may be conveyed intermediate said trough and belt with the edges of said material extending over said side flanges and disposed at an angle to its midportion. and a guide member arranged at the opposite side of said belt and having portions extending substantially parallel. to said side flanges to form a guideway for the edges of said material offset fr m the plane of the belt.

3. A drag conveyer comprising a trough having a base and outwardly flaring side flanges, a belt positioned in said trough to travel therein. whereby sheet material may be conveyed intermediate said trough and belt with the edges of said material extending over said side flanges and disposed at an angle to its midportion, and a guide memher comprising a trough arranged at the opposite side of said belt substantially parallel to said first trough, the side flanges of said troughs being spaced apart so as to form a guide channel for the edges of said material, diverging from the plane of the belt.

i. A conveyor for sheet material comprising a pair of trough members having outwardly flaring side flanges, said members ljeing spaced apart in parallel relation, a belt positioned to travel between said trough members in contact with one thereof for conveyin sheet material intermediate said trough and belt, with the edges of said material extending outwardly between said parallel side flanges at an angle to the midportion thereof.

5. A drag conveyor for sheet material comprising a. trough member, a belt positioned to travel in said trough in contact therewith for conveying said sheet material between said belt and trough, said trough having side flanges extending beyond the sides of said belt, a roller adjacent the discharge end of said conveyer around which said belt passes at an angle to said trough, and a guide member arranged adjacent the outer side of said belt and having a forward portion of width than said belt p tioned in advance of the roller and spaced apart leg portions extending to each side of said roller.

6. A drag conveyor for sheet material comprising a trough member, a belt positioned to travel in said trough in contact therewith for conveying sheet material by tween said belt and trough, said trough having side flanges extending beyond the sides of said belt, a roller adjacent the discharge end of said conveyer around which said-belt passes at an angle to said trough, and guide members extending to each side of said rollor substantially parallel to and spaced from said side flanges for forming a guideway past said roller for said sheet material.

7. A drag conveyer for sheet material comprising a trough member, a belt positioned to travel in said trough in contact therewith for conveying sheet material between said belt and trough, said trough having side flanges extending beyond the sides of said belt, a roller adjacent the discharge end of said conveyer around which said belt passes at an angle to said trough, and a guide member having portions extending to each side of said roller substantially parallel to and spaced from said side flanges for forming a guideway past said roller for said sheet material, said guide member terminating in advance of said roller within the confines of said belt.

8. The combination of a trough having a base and outwardly extending sides, a belt positioned to travel in said trough in contact therewith for conveying sheet material intermediate said belt and trough, a roller adjacent the outlet end of said conveyer around which said belt passes, a guide member associated with said belt in advance of said roller, the trough and guide member extending beyond the roller in the direction of travel of the conveyer and serving to guide said sheet material out of said conveyer.

9. The combination of a trough having base and outwardly extending sides, a belt positioned to travel in said trough in contact therewith for conveying sheet material intermediate said belt and trough, a roller adjacent the outlet end of said conveyer around which said belt passes, a guide member associated with said belt in advance of said roller, the trough and guide member extending beyond the roller in the direction of travel of the conveyer and serving to guide said sheet material out of said conveyer, and a second conveyor disposed beneath the outlet end of said drag conveyer to receive said sheet material therefrom.

10. The combination of a drag conveyer comprising a trough having a base and outwardly extending sides, a belt positioned to travel in said trough in contact therewith, whereby said sheet material may be conveyed intermediate said belt and trough, a roller adjacent the outlet end of said conveyer around which said belt passes, a guide member associated with said be t in advance of said roller and a second conveyer having an inlet opening disposed beneath the outlet end of said drag conveyer, said trough and guide extending beyond the roller in the direction of travel of the drag conveyer and terminating within said inlet opening of said second conveyer and serving to guide said sheet material from said drag conveyer into said second conveyer.

11. A conveyer for sheet material comprising a longitudinally extending support, a belt supported upon said support and arranged to travel in contact therewith, whereby sheet material may be conveyed intermediate the belt and support with the sides of the material extending outwardly beyond said belt and a stationary guide member disposed substantially parallel to said support and having means for guiding the outwardly extending sides of said material in a direction such as to deflect the material from the belt in a longitudinal direction at a certain point therealong.

12. A conveyer for sheet material comprising a pair of stationary guide members of less width than the sheets and spaced apart in parallel relation and a belt positioned to travel between said members in contact with at least one thereof for conveying sheet ma terial intern'iediate said guide and belt, said belt being of a width materially less than said sheet material or guides, whereby a portion of the sides of said sheet material extending outwardly beyond said belt is carried between said guides.

13. A drag conveyer comprising a conveyor element, a belt positioned to travel in contact therewith whereby sheet material may be conveyed therebetween, means for deflecting the belt away from said conveyer element, and a guide member disposed substantially parallel to the conveyer element and spaced therefrom, said guide having a forward portion of less width than the belt and spaced apart leg portions extending to each side of the belt.

MAURICE B. SMITH.

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