US2180074A - Conveyer - Google Patents

Description

W. H. SMITH Nov; 14, 1939.

CONVEYER 3 Sheets-Sheet l awwzzifff Filed June 30, 1937 Nov. 14, 1939. w. H. SMITH 2 ,07

CONVEYER Filed June 30, 19s? 3 sheets-sheet 2 Fig. 2.

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H. SMITH CONVEYER Filed June 30, 195? 3 Sheets-Sheet l5 ATT g/VEY Patented Nov. 14, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECE CONVEYER William Herbert Smith, East Molesey, England Application June 30, 1937, Serial No. 151,286

g In Great Britain July 21, 1936 19 Claims.

vide an electrically driven conveyer with. a switch which is automatically thrown out by engagement of a member'with a cam placed in its path and which may subsequently be closed by a manual operation for either forward or reverse travel of the conveyer. The member which engages the cam may conveniently comprise a depending arm which is secured to a shaft which extends across the conveyer and on which a three pole change-' over switch is mounted. On engagement of one end of the arm by the cam the shaft is rocked and the switch is thrown out. The switch may be closed again either by returning the shaft to its original position, or if travel in the reverse direction is required, by rocking the shaft further over till the appropriate contacts of the switch are closed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a conveyer comprising a wheeled truck incorporating an electric motor and having a brake drum directly connected to the armature and a reduction gearing through which the wheels of the truck are driven.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a conveyer which incorporates a skip formed in two ha ves which are pivoted together at their upper ends and have mutually inclined bottoms so that the two halves tend to separate and move to a discharging position in the manner of a grab, the two halves of the skip being so slung from the conveyer frame that as they move apart a toggle action is set up which onposes this motion and so limits the size of the discharge opening. 7

The invention will be illustrated by describing a preferred form of conveyer with reference to the accompanying drawings. the new or improved features, arrangements and combinations of which form parts of the invention.-

In the drawings Fig. 1 represents a side elevational view and Fig. 2 a cross section of the conveyer. parts being cut away and parts being omitted for clear- HESS,

Fig. 3 is a plan view of part of the conveyer showing the position of the electrical driving gear,

Figs. 4 and 5 represent front and side elevations respectively of the mechanism which auto- 5 matically switches off the current to the motor and brakes the conveyer, and

Fig. 6 is a detail View of the braking mechanism and associated parts as seen in Fig. 1, but to an enlarged scale.

. 10 Like references denote like parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, the conveyer comprises .a..rectangular chassis frame A having mounted thereon forward and rear axles B, to the 15 5 ends of which are secured wheels 0. One of the axles B is driven by a sprocket D, which is fixed thereto and is itself driven by a chain E from a sprocket F which is fixed to the shaft of an electric motor G. Both the axles may be driven, for

example through a-chain and sprocket drive, if

this'is desirable.

The wheels C are arranged to run on an overhead track a, and rollers 19 depending from the chassis frame A engage the inside of the track to prevent lateral displacement of the conveyer.

Within the chassis frame A. and between the axles B a skip H is mounted. It is formed in twohalves which have opposite y inclined bottoms and are pivoted at their upper edges on pins J provided at each side of the skip. It is. there fore, similar in form to a grab. but it is intended I to be charged from above. One half of the skip H is carried on two pivots K formed on plates L rigidly fixed to each side of the chassis frame A. The mounting of the skip is similar on both sides of the apparatus, and only one side is shown. The other half of the skip H is pivoted on each side at the point M to the base of a link Nwhich is itself pivoted at O to the chassis frame A.

The weight of the skip and its load tends to 4 fixed to the skip at their upper ends, but their lower ends are each provided with a pin R. which engages in a notch formed in the frame Q and a coincident notch formed in a plate V. This plate V is rigidly attached to the frame Q, and its lower edge is formed as a cam surface S.

carry at 4 The engagement of the arm P in the notches prevents relative movement of the arms P, P and holds the skip closed. When it is desired to discharge the load, the frame Q is moved by hand to raise the notches clear of the pin R. This allows the two halves of the skip to separate and the pin R rides over the cam surface S. The frame Q is suspended eccentrically by the arms P and thus tends to fall at its right hand end as seen in Fig. l and the cam surface S bears on the pin R. The skip can be opened either by pushing the right hand end of the frame Q up or by pulling the left hand end down.

A plate U is provided at each side of the skip to cover the joint between its two halves and thereby prevent lateral spillage when discharg- To close the skip a handle T attached to one end of the skip is pulled down until the pin R snaps into the notches in the frame Q and plate V.

The slinging of the skip in the chassis is arranged so that the two halves of the skip will not separate very far when discharging, but will normally take up a position somewhat as shown in chain-dotted lines in Fig. 1: the pivots J, O, M act as the pivots of a toggle linkage which exerts a force in opposition to the gravitational force tending to open the skip.

The motor G which drives the conveyer is housed at the extreme left hand end of the chassis as seen in Fig. 1, the skip being mounted longitudinally eccentrically in the chassis. The motor G is carried by a suitable framework (partly shown at W) depending from, and rigidly fixed to, the chassis frame. A brake drum X is directly attached to the armature of the motor and is positioned outside the motor casing at the opposite end from the sprocket F, which is driven through reduction gearing. By this arrangement the brake drum is driven fast, and good braking is ensured.

Two brake shoes Y, Y are provided (see Fig. 6) and these are fixed to links Z, Z pivoted at their upper ends to a cross bar 0. The link Z, which is slightly longer than the link Z ispivoted at its base to a curved link d which extends upwardly on the inside of the plate 0. The base of the link Z is connected by an adjustable bolt e to the curved portion of the link 11. Theupper end of the link d is pivotally connected through a short horizontal link f to one arm of a bell crank lever g which is pivoted at its angle h to the cross-bar c. The arm of the bell crank lever carrying the link 1 is attached at its upper end, above the link f, to a spring 11' which is fixed to a plate k secured to the chassis frame A. This spring '1' exerts a pull on the arm of the bell crank lever and normally holds it in the position shown in Fig. 6 and the brake shoes are pressed against the brake drum X through the linkage system just described.

In order to release the brake, the arm of the bell crank lever 9 not carrying the spring a and linkage system is pressed downwardly, against the tension of the spring 7', by the movement of a sector-shaped plate Z. A cam surface on the arcuate portion of the plate I engages a roller m provided at the end of the crank lever arm. When the brake is on the roller m engages in a notch n formed in the middle of the arcuate surface, and on rotating the plate Z in either direction the arcuate surface presses the roller downwardly. This movement of the lever 9 draws the link 1 and the attached link d to the right as shown in Fig. 6; the link (1 tends to pivot about a free point between the points of attachment of the links Z and Z and thereby allows the two brake shoes to slack off.

The apex of the plate Z is fixedly mounted on a shaft 0 which extends across the chassis of the conveyer and it is rotatably mounted in bearings in the side frames A. The end of the shaft 0 not carrying the plate Z has fixed thereto two levers p, 11 (see Fi i) to the ends of which are connected ropes or chains passing over pulleys q, q for moving the shaft 0 by hand in either direction.

The plate Z has fixed to it a lever T which extends upwardly and is pivoted at its upper end to an adjustable link 8 which connects it to a lever t fixed to a shaft u.

The shaft 1/. forms the control shaft of a switchbox 11 which controls the supply of current to the motor G. The current passes to the switchbox through rollers x which run on bare copper conductors w. A three pole changeover switch is used, and it may be operated by hand, through the levers 72, 22 to stop, forward or reverse: it is, however, arranged to be stopped automatically at a predetermined point by the operation of a cam on a lever connected to the control shaft The mechanism employed is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The shaft u passes right across the chassis and extends through hearings in the side frames A. Each end of the shaft 1/. has attached thereto a similar linkage mechanism and so only one will be described; their relative positions, however, are shown in Fig. 4 in full lines and in chain-dotted lines respectively. A short lever 1/ has one end fixed to the shaft u and a rod 2 is pivotally suspended from the other end.

Both the upper and lower ends of the rod 2 are bifurcated and the lower end carries a roller l which hangs just clear of the upper surface of the track a.

A cam plate 2 is attached to the track at a point where it is desired to stop the conveyer, and when the roller l reaches the plate 2 it rides up the cam surface thereby rotating the shaft u and moving the control switch to the 01f position. This rotation of the shaft u is transmitted by means of the lever system if, s, 1' (see Fig. 6) to produce a rotation of the brake operating cam plate Z which presses the shoes Y, Y against the brake drum X. The cam plate 2 is shown bolted to the track a; but it may be arranged to swivel out of the path of the roller where it may be desirable for the conveyer to travel on to another station. This cam-operated mechanism is arranged at both sides of the track, one to be operated on the forward and one on the return journey respectively. When the conveyer is stopped, the levers 1 at each side of the skip move to a horizontal position. Suppose now that the conveyers next travel is to be in the reverse direction: the lever 10 will be moved by hand and the link 3 shown in full lines in Fig. 4 will thereby be rotated further upwardly while the other link y will at the same time be lowered to bring its roller in the path of cam plate placed on its side of the track.

A guiding bracket 3 is provided for the rod 2 to prevent it swinging.

It is to be understood that the invention is not restricted to the details which have been described, as they have been given by way of example only, but that it includes such embodiments as come within the spirit of the invention.

ment and an electric driving motor mounted on said chassis, contact means through which current is conveyed to said electric motor, switch means interposed between said contact means and said motor, said switch having contacts to provide forward and reverse movement of said conveyer, a rotatable shaft extending transversely across said chassis, contact means of said switch means rigidly mounted on said shaft, two operating means connected to said shaft one at each end, 'two stop means one positioned at each end of the desired travel of the conveyer in the respective path of each of said operating means for moving said operating means to rotate said shaft and move said contact means to an off position, and manually operable means for returning said switch to a closed position for either forward or reverse travel at will.

2. A conveyer according to claim 1, said two stop means each comprising a removable cam member and said two operating means each comprising an arm and a link connected thereto, 1

said link being secured to said transverse shaft, each of said cam members being operable to lift said arm and move said link to rotate said shaft.

3. A conveyer according to claim 1 including brake means for said conveyer, and brake operating means connected with said switch operating means operative to apply said brake means when said switch is moved to an off position.

4. A conveyer according to claim 1 including a brake drum mounted on the shaft of said electric motor, brake shoes for said brake drum, spring means operative to press said shoes against said drum, linkage mechanism connecting said brake shoes to said transverse shaft normally holding said shoes off said drum but operable by the said movement of said shaft which moves said switch to an off position to allow said spring means to press said brake shoes against said drum.

5. A conveyer for dealing with loads singly comprising a chassis, electric driving means for the conveyer mounted on said chassis, and a load-receiving compartment mounted on said chassis, said load-receiving compartment comprising a skip formed in two parts having upper abutting edges, a pivot on which one of said parts is mounted, said pivot being fixed with respect to the said chassis, a second pivot on which the other of said parts is mounted, an arm in which said second-mentioned pivot is mounted, pivot means by which said arm is mounted in said chassis, pivot means on which the upper abutting edges of said skip parts are mounted, means normally holding said skip closed, said two parts when released separating below said upper edges, said pivot of said upper edges and said two pivot means of said arm forming pivot points of a toggle linkage tending to oppose opening movement of said skip.

6. A conveyer for dealing with loads singly comprising a chassis, a load-receiving compartment and an electric motor for driving the conveyer mounted on said chassis, contact means through which current is conveyed to said electric motor, switch means interposed between said contact means and said motor, said switch having contacts to provide forward and reverse movement of said conveyer, a rotatable shaft positioned transverse to said chassis, contact means of said switch means rigidly mounted on said shaft, operating means connected to said shaft, stop means positioned at the end of the desired travel of the conveyer in the path of the operating means to rotate said shaft and move said contact means to an off position, and manually operable means for returning said switch to a closed position for either forward or reverse travel at will.

'7. A conveyer for dealing with loads singly comprising a wheeled chassis, an electric motor for driving the conveyer and a load receiving compartment mounted on said chassis, a brake drum directly connected to the rotatable shaft of said motor, brake shoes for said drum, reduction gearing between said motor and the driven wheels of said chassis, contact means for conveying electric current from bare conductors to said motor, switch means between said contact means and said motor, operating means for said switch, stop means placed in the path of said operating means at a predetermined position, said stop means engaging said operating means to throw out said switch, and mechanical linkage means between said operating means and said brake shoes serving to apply said brakes when said switch is opened to stop said conveyer.

8. A conveyer for dealing with loads singly comprising a chassis, a load receiving compartment and an electric motor for driving the con- .veyer mounted on said chassis, contact means through which current is conveyed to said electric motor, switch means interposed between said contact means and said motor, said switch having contacts to provide forward and reverse movement of said conveyer, a shaft on which said contacts are mounted, operating means for said shaft, brake means for said conveyer, means urging said brake into braking position, mechanical means connecting said brake means to said rotatable shaft and operable to hold said brake means in inoperative position when said switch contacts are closed and to release them when said shaft is moved to open said switch contacts.

9. A conveyer for dealing with loads singly comprising a chassis, a load receiving compartment and an electric motor for driving the conveyer mounted on said chassis, contact means through which current is conveyed to said electric motor, switch means interposed between said contact means and said motor, said switch having contacts to provide forward and reverse movement of said conveyer, a brake drum directly connected to the rotatable shaft of said motor, brake shoes for said brake drum, operating means for said switch, spring means operative to press said shoes against said drum, mechanical linkage means connecting said operating means and said brake shoes and mechanically holding said shoes off said drum when said switch is on but operable by said operating means to allow said spring means to press against said drum when said operating means moves said switch to an "off" position.

10. A conveyer according to claim 9, said linkage means comprising a link having a curved portion at one end, means for connecting said brake shoes to separated points of the curved end of said link, a bell-crank lever, the opposite end of said link from said curved end being con nected to one arm of said bell-crank lever, said arm also being connected to said spring means, a cam connected to said operating means for said switch, said cam being operable on movement of said switch operating means to move the othe arm of said bell-crank lever.

11. A conveyer for dealing with loads singly comprising a load-receiving compartment, electric driving means for the conveyer, a switch controlling the said electric driving means, a rotatable shaft, contact means of said switch secured to said shaft, an arm, means connecting said arm mechanically to the said shaft, stop means positioned at a desired location in the track of said arm for moving said arm and rotating said shaft to a position to throw out said switch contact means and stop said conveyer, and manually operable means for returning said switch contact means to closed position to restart said conveyer.

12. A conveyer for dealing with loads singly comprising a chassis, electric driving means for the conveyer mounted on said chassis, contact means through which current is supplied to said driving means from bare conductors, and a load receiving compartment mounted on said chassis, said lead receiving compartment comprising a skip formed in two parts having upper abutting edges, support means secured to said chassis for pivctally supporting said two parts of said skip, pivot means in which the upper abutting edges of both said parts of the skip are mounted arranged so that the skip is opened by pivotal movement of said two parts about said supports in the manner of a grab, means normally holding said skip closed, manually operable means for releasing said means holding said skip closed, and means tending to oppose the opening movement of said skip to limit the extent of pivotal separation of the said two parts of the skip.

13. An electrically driven conveyer for dealing with loads singly comprising a chassis frame, wheels carrying said frame, a load-holding skip chargeable from above and formed in separable sections, means pivoting said sections in relation to said chassis frame, means normally holding said sections closed, automatic means operative to cut off the electricity and stop the conveyer at a set location and manually operated means operable to produce separation of said skip sections to a position for gravity discharge.

14. A conveyer for dealing with loads singly comprising a chassis, electric driving means and a load-receiving compartment held in said chassis, said load-receiving compartment being chargeable from above and having discharge means at its base, manually operable means for operating said discharge means, electric circuit interrupting means automatically operable at a set position and manually-operable means for closing said circuit for subsequent movement of the conveyer.

15. An electrically driven conveyer for dealing with loads singly comprising a load-holding skip, brake means on the conveyer, automatic means operative to cut off the electricity of the driving means to stop the conveyer at a set location, mechanical linkage between said automatically operative means and said brake means operating to apply said brakes when the electricity is cut off, manually operated means operable to move said skip to discharging position and manually operated means for restoring the supply of electricity to produce subsequent movement of the conveyer.

16. A conveyer for dealing with loads singly, comprising a load receiving compartment, electric driving means for the conveyer, a switch controlling the said electric driving means, a rotatable shaft, contact means of said switch being secured to said shaft, an arm, means connecting said arm mechanically to the said shaft, stop means positioned at a desired location in the track of said arm and operative to move said arm to produce a simultaneous rotational movement of the said shaft to a position to throw out the switch contact means and stop the conveyer, and manually operable means for returning said switch contact means to closed position to restart the conveyer.

17. A conveyer for dealing with loads singly, comprising a load receiving compartment, electric driving means for the conveyer, a switch controlling the said electric driving means, a rotatable shaft, contact means of said switch being secured to said shaft, operating means connected to said shaft, movable stop means positioned at the end of the predetermined travel of the conveyer in the path of said operating means, the said stop means being operative to produce a movement of said operating means for simultaneous rotational movement of the said shaft and for moving said contact means to an off position, and manually operable means for returning said switch to a closed position for either forward or reverse travel at will.

18. A conveyer for dealing with loads singly, comprising a chassis frame, wheels carrying the said frame, a load holding skip chargeable from above and formed in separable sections, means pivoting said sections in relation to said chassis frame, means normally holding said sections closed, manually operable means to produce separation of said parts to a position for gravity discharge, and toggle means operable to oppose the separating movement of the parts to limit the discharge area produced.

19. A conveyer for dealing with loads singly, comprising a chassis, a load receiving compartment, an electric driving motor mounted on said chassis, contact means through which current is conveyed to said electric motor, switch means interposed between said contact means and said motor, said switch having contacts to provide for forward and reverse movement of said conveyer, a shaft, contact means of said switch rigidly mounted on said shaft, operating means connected to said shaft, two stop means positioned one at each end of the predetermined travel of the conveyer in the path of said operating means for moving said operating means to actuate the shaft and move said contact means into an off position, and manually operable means for returning said switch to a closed position for either forward or reverse travel at will.

WILLIAM HERBERT SMITH.

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