US3015379A - Carrier supports for sorting machine - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 2, 1962 1. J. E. M. SCHOCKAERT 3,015,379

CARRIER SUPPORTS FOR SORTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 15, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor J. J.E.M. SCHOCKAERI Attorney 2, 1962 .1. J. E. M. SCHOCKAERT 3,015,379

CARRIER SUPPORTS FOR SORTING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 15, 1958 FIGZ.

Inventor are - Patented Jan. 2, 1962 ice CARRIER SUPPORTS FGRSQRTEQG MACHH'QE Jules Jean Emmanuel Marie Schocitaert, Antwerp, Belgiurn, assignor to International Standard Electric Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 15, 1958, Ser. 1 '0. 761,227 Claims priority, application Netherlands Nov. 4, 1957 2 Claims. (Cl. 198145) The invention relates to carrier supports for, a sorting machine, and more particularly a mail sorter of the type disclosed in US. Patent 2,689,657, issued September 21, 1954, to G. X. Lens.

In this patent, individual carriers, regularly spaced, are provided to take a letter to its destination, and these carriers are located between and driven by two endless conveying chains. These conveying chains move in a serpentine manner through various horizontal levels along all of which but one are arranged destination bins to which the letters will be delivered by gravity eifects. For this purpose, it is desirable that the carrier which is in the form of a flat rectangular box should be permanently tilted during its travel past the destination bins, so that by opening a flap at the bottom of the carrier when the latter has reached the destination bin corresponding to the address of the letter, the latter should slide towards the bin in the most efficient manner. inclining the carriers at a trailing angle of 45% has been found quite satisfactory. To maintain this trailing angle of 45% when going from one level to the next, implying a bend of the serpentine path of 180, guiding and supporting wheels associated with each carrier have been used in order to secure a rotation of the latter equal to 270. This takes into account the fact the carrier is symmetrical, being provided with flaps at both ends so that in one level one flap will open to deliver the letter whereas in the next level, it would be the opening of the other flap which would permit the letter to fall to its destination. Additionally, the horizontal level which does not correspond to a set of destination bins, is the one which is associated with the input letter feeding devices which will fill each carrier with a letter. For this purpose, a set of intermediate carriers is used at each-input position of the letter sorting machine and these intermediate carriers come into temporary association with the carriers of the main endless chain. The transmitting intermediate carrier and the receiving main carrier come only together for a short interval of time and if the letter is again to be delivered by gravity elfect, it is advisable that at that moment both carriers and particularly the main carrier should be in the upright position.

As shown in FIG. 3 of said patent, in order to support the main carriers in their three different positions according to the level of the machine through which they travel, the known system proposes the use of four idling wheels associated with each carrier. The first two wheels 14 are located on opposite sides of the carrier and are designed to take oil the load of the latter from the driving chains. They are mounted on a single axle 40 perpendicular to the direction of the chains and having its two ends mounted on the latter, the supporting wheels being located between each chain and the carrier. On one side of the latter, there are two further idling wheels 16 and 17 fixed to the carrier and located in a plane between the carrier and the corresponding supporting wheel on that side. The centres of the three wheels on the one side of the carrier form a right-angle isosceles triangle when projected in a plane perpendicular to the axles of the wheel, with the centre of the outside supporting wheel at the right angle.

In all the levels, the two outside supporting wheels 14 always roll on horizontal guides parallel to the endless chains. In the single level corresponding to the feeding position (the lowermost level shown in FIG. 2 of said patent), one of the two additional guiding wheels on the side of the carrier rolls along a second horizontal guiding rail underneath the main supporting rail and in such a position with respect to the latter that the two additional guiding wheels are vertically on top of one another corresponding with an upright position of the carrier. The other additional guiding wheel prevents toppling of the carrier arrangement by being restrained in its upward displacement by yet another horizontal guiding rail which is directly above its circumference with a slight amount of play. In the remaining horizontal levels, corresponding to the destination bins, either one or the other of the two additional guiding wheels rolls on the same guiding rail which is used for the main supporting wheel on that side of the carrier, and which guiding rail is therefore made wide enough to support both wheels. The other additional guiding wheel is located vertically on top of the main supporting wheel. In order that the arrangement should be adequately stable and that the weight of the inclined carrier should not tend to topple the arrangement, a further guide rail is provided directly on top of the one supporting the two wheels and at a distance above the latter which is just sufiicient to allow the two wheels to roll inside the channel thus formed.

While the two horizontal guiding rails for the two additional guiding wheels represent an entirely satisfactory arrangement for maintaining the carrier in an upright position while a letter is being delivered into it, the two horizontal guiding rails forming a channel accommodating a supporting wheel and a guiding wheel, to maintain the carrier in an inclined position, presents a possible disadvantage. Indeed, when the carrier is being maintained in an upright position, if both guiding wheels simultaneously roll along their respective guiding rails, i.e the one below one wheel and the one above the other wheel, this is not an inconvenience, but when the two wheels rolling on the same level to maintain the carriers in inclined positions, happen to come against their upper guiding rail for a certain length of travel, severe friction might occur leading to wear of the outside periphery of the wheels. This can only be taken care of by careful adjustment of the position of the guiding rails and by avoiding any irregularities in the surface of the latter which come into contact with the wheels, as well as the presence of any solid particles.

An object of the invention is to simplify the manner in which the carriers are supported in their inclined positions and at the same time avoid the above mentioned possible inconvenience.

Another object of the invention is to be able to use wheels of a greater radius, thereby insuring smoother rolling and less wear, for a given stability of the upright position of the carrier.

Yet another object of the invention is to permit a closer spacing between adjacent carriers for a given radius of the supporting and guiding wheels.

In accordance with a characteristic of the invention, carrier supports for a sorting machine, e.g. a mail sorter, comprising two supporting wheels, one on each side of the carrier, and with their aligned axles transverse to the direction of endless chains on both sides of the carriers and driving said carriers through various horizontal levels in a serpentine fashion, and comprising also two additional guiding wheels mounted in the same plane on the same side of the carrier and integral with the latter so that said four Wheels, may be used in conjunction with guiding rails parallel to the chains to support and guide the carriers in upright or inclined positions, is characterised by the fact that when both the outside supporting wheels and one of the additional guiding wheels are rolling at the i in an upright position;v

same level to support'the carrier in a well defined position, e.g. inclined at a trailing angle of 45 with respect.

to the horizontal direction of the advancement, the other additional guiding wheel rolls on top of the supported guiding wheel of the preceding carrier, thereby restraining any displacement of the carrier from its predetermined required angular position. '7 1 1 The above and other objects and characteristics of the invention and the best manner of attaining them will be better understood from the following description of an embodiment of the invention to be read in conjunction with the appended drawings which represent:

FIG. 1, a schematic front view of a carrier supported FIG. 2, a schematic side view of successive carriers in the position of FIG. 1; FIG. 3, a schematic front view of a carrier supported in an inclined position.

FIG. 4, a schematic side view of successive carriers in the position of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5, a diagrammatic showing of the overall organization illustrating the carriers in different positions.

The carrier 1 whichhas the shape of a fiat rectangular box and which is only schematically represented since its details are to be found in the above mentioned patent is supported by means of the two idler rollers 2 and 3 which roll around axles 4 and 4' fixed to a triangular-shaped ex tension plate 3:: (FIGS. 2 and 4) of the carrier 1.. The axles 4 and 4' may, in fact, constitute a common supporting axle, the opposite ends thereof being external to the supporting wheels 2 and 3 and being fixed to the chains 5 and 5' '(FIGS. 1 and 3). The supporting wheels 2 and 3 respectively roll on the guiding rails 6 and 6' to take off the load of the carriers from the driving endless chains. Two additional idling wheels 7 and 8 are mounted between idler roller 2 and carrier 1 by means of the respective axles 9 and 10 connected to the triangular extension 3a of the carrier 1.

As shown by FIGS. 1 and 2, guiding wheel 8 rolls on the guiding rail 11 which permits the carriers 1 to occupy an upright position since the vertical distance between the rails 6 and 11 has been chosen to be about equal to the common radius of the wheels. As shown by FIGS. 1 and 2, the carrier is evidently prevented from rotating in a clockwise manner. Any anti-clockwise rotation is prevented by friction between the wheel 7 and the guiding rail 12.

FIGS. 3 and 4 represent the inclined positions of the carriers 1 which are then at.45 with respect to the hori-' zontal. At that moment, there is only a single guiding rail 13 replacing rail 6 but which has an extended width to enable both wheels 2 and 8 to be supported. This guiding rail 13 similarly prevents a clockwise rotationof the carriers from their predetermined inclined position,

but counter-clockwise rotation is prevented by the upper (FIG. 4) guiding wheel 7 rolling against-the supported guiding wheel 8 of the preceding carrier.

In rounding the bend of 180 to pass from one level to the next, curved guiding rails will be provided as shown in the said patent to cause the carrierarrangement to rotate by 270 so that the guiding wheel 7 will now roll together with the supporting wheel 2 on a double width guiding rail 13 while guiding wheel 8 will now be located above the supporting wheel 2.

In the manner disclosed, a rail such as 14 indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 4 is no longer needed to avoid an anti-clockwise rotation of the inclined carriers since this is now prevented by one carrier producing a rolling restraining action on the preceding one, each wheel 8 being in rolling contact with the wheel 7 of the adjacent carrier, Hence, there are no longer any possibilities for the wheels 2 and 8 to be squeezed in the channel formed by the rails 13 and 14.

Moreover, the omission of the guiding rail 14 permits the placement of the centre 15 of wheel 7 at a distance from the centre of wheels 2 and 3 which is substantially less than the diameter of the wheels, assuming that all three wheels have the-same diameter; Indeed, with the guide rail 14 and since the wheels 7 and 8 are in the same plane, the spacing between the two centres would necessarily have had to be larger than this diameter. With the arrangement shown, particularly by FIG. 4, it is now the distance between the centres of the two guiding wheels 7 and S which must be greater than the diameter of the wheels. In fact, as shown, a slight clearance is needed, to avoid additional frictional eifects, particularly since when rounding bends it is the wheels 7 and 8 which will be guided by outside curved rails to produce the rotation of the carrier 1. These curved rails have diflferent radii of curvature causing differences in the peripheral speeds of the wheels which make it undesirable that the wheels 7 and 8 of the same carrier should touch one another.

One may note that-the distance d indicated in FIGS. 2 and 4, between the centre 16 of wheels 2 and 3, and the line joining the centres 15 and 17 of wheels 7 and 8 is a measure of thedegree of stability of the carriers 1 in the uprightposition. Indeed, considering FIG. 1, as this distance is reduced, the stability of the carriers will diminish.

With the arrangement shown, it is clear thatthe diameter of the wheels may be as large as twice this distance, whereas with the previous arrangement involving'the use of the guide rail 14 (FIG. 4), the diameter of the wheels would be limited to d /2. Hence, larger wheels ensuring a smoother rolling action and less wear may now be used for the same degree or" stability of the vertical position of the carrier. 7

Also, FIG. 4 clearly indicates that the minimum dis.- tance between adjacent carriers, i.e. 1616', must only be larger than D 2 where D is the diameter of the wheels, assuming that the diameter of the axles such as 4, is not larger than D(\/2-l). .With the previous arrangement involving the use of the guide rail 14, the distance between adjacent carriers would necessarily have to be greater than 3D/ 2 plus the radius of the axle 4. Hence, there is also an improvement with respect to the close spacing possibilities of the carriers.

FIG. 5 shows a diagrammatic view of the overall organization of the sorting machine. This figure clearly illustrates the carriers in the various positions that can be assumed in the machine. Chain 5' is shown at each level of its serpentine path with the guide-rail 6' shown in detail at one level. The guide rail 11 is shown in conjunction withguide rail 6 at the bottom of FIG. 5 thereby permitting the carriers to remain in an upright position.

While the principles of the invention have been described above in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation on the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In combination, an article carrier for a continuous conveyor system of the type having a pair of parallel spaced chains which reeve back and forth in different horizontal directions and a pair of spaced tracks each of which is adjacent a difierent one of said chains and parallel therewith, each of said carriers comprising an object holder, a pair of parallel extension plates extending from said holder, axle means extending outwardly from said plates and coupled to said chains, a pair of spaced axles attached to one of said plates, said axles lying in a common plane, said common plane spaced from the plane of said axle means, a pair of idler rollers rotatably mounted on said axle means on opposite sides of said holder adjacent said chains whereby to support said carrier on said tracks, a pair of guide rollers, each one rotatably mounted on a difierent one of said spaced axles, all of said rollers being of a uniform diameter, the spacing between said axles being slightly larger than said diameter, the distance between said common plane and the plane of said axle means being slightly larger than the radius of any of said rollers, one of said guide rollers adapted to abut against a guide roller of an adjacent carrier in the system, whereby a predetermined angular displacement of each carrier is maintained with respect to said tracks.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of said tracks is of a width which is substantially References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Lens Sept. 21, 1954

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