US2170934A - Conveyer - Google Patents

Description

Patented 29, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 5 Claims.

This invention relates'to a conveyer, and an object of the invention is to provide a conveyer having pivotally attached trailing flights for conveying material, with simple but very eflicient means for swinging the flights to a material discharging position adjacent a discharge opening.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improvedwhain and flight'hanger construction for an endless chain conveyer.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinaiter, the novel features and combinations being set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side elvational view of a conveyer comprising my invention, with parts broken away to show in detail the structure of the conveyer chain and flights; I

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevatlonal sectional view of a portion of the conveyer adjacent the top thereof a Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 p of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing the structure of the conveyer chain and flight attaching mechanism.

The conveyer of my invention comprises a frame or casing Ill formed of top section II, bottom section l2 and intermediate sections l3 and I4. It will be understood that the number of intermediate sections l3 and i4 may be varied as desired and may have any desired configuration. In the drawing the frame or casing I0 is generally L-shaped but it will be understood that any other desired shape may be provided.

The bottom section I2 is provided with a material receiving hopper l5 below which is a double partition l6 which forms the top portion of a working leg I1 and the bottom portion of a return leg I! of the frame or casing It. The intermediate section I3 is formed of two spaced-apart substantially totally enclosing housings, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 of thedrawing, and is preferably formed substantially rectangular in crosssection though the shape may be round or any other desired shape. The intermediate section is converges at its top and connects to intermediate section H in which the working leg I! and. return leg it are formed with a common intermediate wall is, best seen in Fig. 3 of the drawing. The wall I! continues into the top section II, as best illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing, and said top section II includes an enlarged housing provided with a discharge openingor nozzleljl.

Within ,the frame or casing it is an endless chain conveyer 2| the working run of which extends through the working leg i1 and the return 5 run of which extends through the return leg IS. The endless chain conveyer 2| is formed of a draft mechanism in the form of a plurality of pivotally attached chain links 22, the structure of which is best seen by reference to Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawing. Each of said chain links 22 is provided with an integral arm 23 at one end of which is pivotally attached a flight 24 by means of a hang rod 25, the hang rod 25 being rigidly attached to the flight 24 and pivoted to arm 23 by pin 26. The hang rod and arm 23 carry co-operating abutments 2! and 28, respectively, (see Fig. 5) which limit the pivotal movement of the flight 24 and hang rod 25 away from the link 22 :so that each flight 24 gradually approaches the housing of the return leg It in proper position, as (clearly illustrated in Fig. 2' of the drawing.

As best illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing, each of the flights 24 approximately fills the cross-section of the working leg as well as the return leg I8. However, to provide free pivotal movement of the flights 24 with respect to the links 22 of chain 2|, each of said flights is can trally notched at 29 which allows a liberal amount of free movement between'said flights 24 and links 30 22. This is particularly important during the travel of the chain conveyer 2| around curves or in case the legs ll or I8 of the housing are not entirely straight. Furthermore, it provides for a free discharge of the material by swinging the flights to a discharge position even though the working leg I1 is substantially vertical at the point of discharge.

As above indicated. the flight 24 approximately fllls the cross-section of the working leg II. By this expression it is meant that material does not form as a continuous column or move as a unitary mass in the working leg ll, but the material being conveyed is separated by the successive flights 24. It is to be understood, however, that the flights 24 may be of a frame-like structure and permit the material which is conveyed sprocket 35 when provided is preferably adjustable to adjust the tension on the chain conveyer To provide for the efficient discharge of mate- 'rial elevated. by the flights 24 as they reach the position adjacent the discharge opening 20, I provide mechanism for tilting said flights 24 at said discharge position preferably in the form of a pair ofcams 36 which are attached to the side walls of the top section I! and to the wall IQ of said top section II, as clearly illustrated in Figs.

2 and 4 of the drawing. As is manifest by reference to said Fig. 2, each flight 24 will be swung outwardly to insure a thorough discharge of any material being conveyed by way of the discharge opening or nozzle 20.

In the operation of the device comprising my invention, the material to be fed, which will generally be in the form of. granular material such as grain, coal, and numerous other granular or bulk materials, will be fed to the hopper l5 and fall on the top portion or partition I6. The fl ghts 24 will scrape the material to the left, as viewed in Fig. 1 of the drawing, until it falls over the end thereof and enters the bottom opening or entrance to the working leg H from where it is conveyed through said working leg IT by the .flights 24 in co-operation with the substantially totally enclosing working leg ll of the frame or casing l0.

As previously indicated, the material between the successive flights 24 will be segregated or separated, but if a frame-like flight is substituted for the flights 24 the material may move substantially in mass in the column of working leg As the material reaches the discharge opening or nozzle 20 it will tend to flow therefrom, due to its granular condition, and to assure a complete discharge of the material from the flights 24 said flights are tipped by being swung outwardly, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

As the flights 24 move over the sprocket 30 their swinging movement is restricted by the co-operating stops 2! and 28 so that said flights move gradually into contact with the outer wall of the casing of return leg I8. It is of course evident that during the conveying of material through the working leg (1 the flights 24 are dragged along in a trailing fashion by the chain 2| and are free to follow the contour of said leg I! by virtue of the fact that they are free to move with respect to the links 22 of chain conveyer 2|. This insures against binding of the flights and reduces wear on the casing and on the flights and as well keeps the amount of power consumed in the operation of the conveyer, at a minimum.

It is furthermore to be noted that the pull on the conveyer chain 2|, particularly around the curved intermediate section I3, is not in any manner assumed by the flights 24 but is assumed by a direct contact between the inner face of the chain 2| and the inner wall of the casing of said intermediate section Hi. This further prevents any binding of the conveyer while. moving through the frame or casing l0.

Obviously those skilled in the" art may make various changes in the details and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims hereto appended, and I therefore wishnot to be restricted to the precise construction herein disclosed.

Having thus described and shown an embodiment of my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a conveyer, the combination with a casing having an upwardly extending substantially entirely enclosing leg and a discharge opening, endless draft mechanism in said casing for conveying material along said casing leg to said discharge opening, trailing pivoted flights carried by said endless draft mechanism and cooperating with said leg to convey material to said discharge opening said flights having openings through which said draft mechanism freely passes while providing for lateral movement of said flights relative thereto, and cam means for swinging said flights to material discharging position adjacent said discharge opening.

2. In a conveyer, the combination with a casing having enclosing side walls forming an upwardly extending substantially entirely enclosing conveying leg, of an endless conveyer chain running through said leg, a discharge opening on said leg, a plurality of flights having hang rods pivotally attached to said endless conveyer chain ahead of'said flights and'having openings through wh ch said chain freely passes, and mechanism comprising duplicate cams on opposite sides of said chain for'swinging said flights away from said endless conveyer into discharging position adjacent said discharge opening.

3. In a conveyer, the combination with a casing having enclosing sidewalls forming an upwardly extending substantially entirely enclosing conveying leg, of an endless conveyer draft means running through said leg, a discharge opening.

on said leg, a plurality of flights having hang rods pivotally attached to said endless conveyer draft means ahead of said flights and having notches through which said draft means freely passes, and a cam for swinging said flights away from said endless conveyer draft means into discharging position adjacent said discharge opening.

4. In a conveyer, the combination with a substantially entirely enclosing casing, of an endless conveyer chain running through said casing, flights having hang rods pivotally attached to said endless conveyer mechanism ahead of said fl ghts and having notches freely receiving said chain, and cooperating abutments on said hang rods and conveyer chain for restricting the swinging movement of said hang rods away from said conveyer chain.

5. In a conveyer, the combination with a substantially entirely enclosing casing, of endless draft mechanism running through said casing, trailing flights having hang rods pivotally attached to sa d endless draft mechanism and having openings through which said draft means freely pass while providing for lateral movement of said flights relative thereto, and cooperating abutments on said hang rods and draft mecha-.

nism for restricting the swinging movement of said hang rods relative to said draft mechanism.

ALBERT F. WHITE.

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