US3344889A

US3344889A - Tobacco elevators

Info

Publication number: US3344889A
Application number: US583899A
Authority: US
Inventors: Sr David C Stewart
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1966-10-03
Filing date: 1966-10-03
Publication date: 1967-10-03
Anticipated expiration: 1984-10-03

Description

0 1967 D. c. STEWART, SR 3,344,339

TQBACCO ELEVATORS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. .3, 1966 cu m INVENTOR:

DAVID C. STEWART, SR.

Oct. 3, 1967 D. c. STEWART, SR 3,

TOBACCO ELEVATORS Filed 001?. 5, 1966 5 Sheetsheet 43 i W" Q 32 T 22 I? 2Q :P 42 H 26 191 45 4s 21G I I '1 45 T I 27 ,1 53 4O 25 25 I s i" l8 DAVID c. STEWAR'LSR.

Oct. 3, 1957 D. c. STEWART, SR 8 TOBACCO ELEVATORS [1 fl 39 Z 53 \NVENTOR: I6 43 1 l DAVID c. STEWART,SR.

United States Patent 3,344,889 TOBACCO ELEVATORS David C. Stewart, Sr., P.O. Box 193, Ellerbe, N.C. 28338 Filed Oct. 3, 1966, Ser. No. 583,899 6 Claims. (Cl. 187-9) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to new and useful improvements in conveyor type lifts or elevators for sticks of tobacco, andin particular the invention concerns itself with certain structural and functional improvements in a lift of the type disclosed in my co-pending United States patent application Serial No. 502,960, filed Oct. 23, 1965, now

Patent No. 3,283,856, dated Nov. 8-, 1966.

The aforementioned application discloses a portable lift or elevator having an upstanding framework supported by a wheeled base, the framework carrying a'pair of transversely spaced, endless conveyor chains with prongs on which sticks of tobacco .may be placed for raising such-sticks to the top of a barn for curing.

The principal object of the present invention is to improve upon the aforementioned lift so that the same may be used not only for elevating sticks of green tobacco to the top of the barn, but also for lowering sticks of cured tobacco from the barn and depositing the same in a substantially horizontal position on a conveyor belt, so that the tobacco may be moved out of the barn for loading on a truck, or the like.

As such, the elevator chains of the improved machine are provided with prongs which are capable of supporting tobacco sticks on both the ascending and the descending runs of the chains, and an important feature of the invention resides in the provision of automatically actuated means for engaging tobacco leaves on descending sticks and translating the leaves from a vertical hangingposition to a substantially horizontal lying position for proper depositing thereof on a conveyor belt at the bottom of the elevator.

Another important improvement involves the provision of means for holding a tobacco stick adjacent the lower end of the ascending run of the elevator so that the stick may be automatically picked up by the prongs on the chains and carried upwardly, thus eliminating the necessity of holding the stick by hand and possibly not placing the stick properly on the prongs. In conjunction with this same improvement, the invention also provides means for guiding the elevator chains and prongs into proper engagement with a tobacco stick supported by the stick holding means, so that engagement of the stick by the prongs i assured.

The elevator chains are motor-driven, and another important feature of the invention resides in the provision of means for automatically interrupting the operation of the chain driving motor when a stick of tobacco approaches the top of the elevator, so that there is no possibility of the tobacco stick being dumped over the 3,344,889 Patented Oct. 3, 1967 top when for some reason it is not manually removed as soon as it reaches its elevated position.

Still another important feature of the invention resides in the arrangement of the elevator framework which includes a pair of transversely spaced uprights provided at their upper and lower ends with sprockets for the elevator chains, each upright comprising two slidably telescoped members so that the framework may be readily collapsed to a compact form for ease of transportation when the elevator is to be moved from one location to another. Also, the invention provides means for sustaining the slidably telescoped upright members in their extended position, such means being adjustable longitudinally of the uprights to facilitate taking up of slack in the elevator chains.

The improved elevator of the invention is simple in construction, dependable in operation, easily portable, and lends itself to economical manufacture.

With the foregoing more important object and features in view and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention will be understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference are used to designate like parts, and wherein:

- FIGURE 1 is an end elevational view showing the improved tobacco stick elevator of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 44 in FIG. 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional detail, taken substantially in the plane of the line 55 in FIG. 4;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary vertical sectional view showing the apron, chain guide and stick holder adjacent the lower end of the ascending run of the elevator;

FIGURE 7 is a-fragmentary side elevational view of the subject shown in FIG. 6; 7

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view,

taken substantially in the plane of the line -88 in FIG. 2,

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged, fragmentary vertical sectional view showing the leaf translating means at the lower end of the descending run;

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary view, similar to that in FIG. 9, but with the translating means in another position;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary elevational view of the translating means, taken in the direction of the arrow 11 in FIG. 9; and- FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary sectional detail, taken substantially in the plane of the line 1212 in FIG. 9.

Referring now 'to the accompanying drawings in detail, the tobacco stick elevator of the invention is designated generally by the numeral 15. The same comprises a substantially rectangular base 16 fabricated from angle -'bars, or the like, one end of the base being provided .with a pair of traveling wheels 17 While it other end .is equipped with a pair of legs or feet 18.

An upstanding framework designated generally by the numeral 19 is mounted on the base 16, the framework including a pair of transversely spaced uprights 20 which are rigidly connected together by a plurality of

transverse braces

21, 22, 23. The upper and lower ends of the uprights 20 support upper and

lower sprockets

24, 25 for a pair of endless conveyor chains 26, the lower sprockets 25 being connected together by a drive shaft 27 which is driven through a chain drive 28 by an electric motor 29 3 equipped with a reduction gearbox 30. The motor 2 9 is conveniently mounted on suitable cross members 31 of the base 16, as shown in FIG. 3.

It will be appreciated that the uprights 20 have been broken away in the drawings and that actually they are of. substantial height, on the order of 20 or 25 feet or more, so that the elevator may extend upwardly to the top of a barn. As is best shown in FIG. 5, each upright 1 consists of two slidably telescoped members 20a, 20b so that when these members are slid together, the overall height of the framework 19 may be reduced to approximately one-half to afford compactness and convenient transportation of the entire elevator from one location to another. Such transportation is effected by simply raising the end of the base 16 equipped withthe legs 18 and wheeling the machine on the wheels 17 in a tilted position in much the same manner as a wheelbarrow.

'Means are provided for sustaining the upright members 20a, 20b in an extended, operative position, suchmeans being designated generally by the numeral 32 in FIGS. 2 and 4,'and being shown in detail in connection with one of the uprights in FIG. 5. The means 32 comprises a pair of angle brackets 33 secured to opposite sides of the upper end portion of the upright member 20a, while a pair of similar brackets 34 are secured to the ends of a transverse pin 35 provided in the upright member 20b. The

brackets

33, 34 are apertured to receive a pair of screw-threaded rods 36 having nuts 37 thereon in abutment with the brackets, it being apparent that in this manner the upright members 20a, 20b are sustained in their extended position as shown. Moreover, since the nuts 37 are adjustable on the rods 36, the adjustment permits the member 20b to be raised or lowered relative to the member 20a, thus providing a facility for taking up slack such as may exist in the conveyor chains 26. At least one of the brackets 34 may be removably secured to the pin 35, as by a screw 38, so that upon its removal the pin may be withdrawn from the upright member 20b to permit the latter to be telescoped into the member 20a for purposes of transportion of the machine as already mentioned.

The lower sprockets 25 of the conveyor chains 26 are spaced upwardly from the base 16 and accordingly, the uprights 20 are supported in an elevated position above the base by angulated

members

39, 40 of the framework 19, as will be apparent from FIGS. 1-4. The framework member 39 is provided with a rigid, upward'extension 41, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described.

The conveyor chains 26 are driven by the motor 29 in one direction as indicated by the arrows 42, so the chains have an ascending run on'one side and a descending run on the relatively opposite side of the framework 19. Transversely aligned prongs 43 are provided at longitudinally spaced points on the chains 26, these prongs being substantially T-shaped and having end portions which project both downwardly and upwardly, so that tobacco sticks shown by the dotted lines 44 may be supported on the prongs at either the ascending or the descending run of the conveyor, depending upon whether the sticks are to be raised or lowered in the barn.

At the ascending side of the conveyor the chains 26 pass through box-like guides 45 which are secured to lower end portions of the uprights 20, the guides 45 being open at the bottom and top thereof to facilitate passage of the "chains and prongs therethrough, but being sufficiently con- 'picked up, as will be presently explained. The guides 45 are formed at the top thereof with notches 46 constituting seats or holders in which a tobacco stick 44 may be positioned for conveyance from the bottom tothetopof the elevator. When the chains 26 are driven in the direction of the arrows 42, the prongs 43 will pass upwardly through the guides 45 as shown in FIG. 6 and will come into engagement with the stick 44 seated in the notches 46, thus picking up the stick and carrying the same upwardly to the top of the elevator. It will be apparent that the provision of the stick holding notches 46 avoids the necessity of holding the stick by hand while waiting for it to be pickedup by the conveyor prongs. A suitable panel or apron 47 is supported in a slanting position between the guides 45 so that tobacco leaves, indicated by the dotted lines 48, may rest against the apron While the tobacco stick supporting the leaves is seated in the notches 46 in readiness to be picked up by the conveyor prongs. The apron 47 maybe conveniently attached to the lower end portions of the uprights 20 and to the framework member 40, with the upper edge portion of the apron being angulated to provide the aforementioned brace 21 between the uprights.

As shown in detail in FIG. 8, means are provided for automatically interrupting operation of the motor 29 when a stick of tobacco approaches the upper end of the elevator, so that the stick'do'es not become dumpedover the top if for some reason it is not manually removed as soon as it reaches its elevated position. These means comprise an electric switch 49 which is mounted near the upper end of one of the uprights 20 and is provided with a swingable actuating member or arm 50 which projects into the path of movement of the tobacco stick 44 when the stick approaches the upperend of the elevator. The switch 49 is normally closed and is wired in series with a main on and on switch 51 for controlling the motor 29. The switch 51 is a manually operated switch which is conveniently installed on the framework 19, and when both switches 49, 51 areclosed, the motor 29 is inoperation and the conveyor chains 26 'are driven. However, when a stick of tobacco 44 approaches the top of the elevator, it comes into engagement with the actuating arm 50 of the switch 49 and causes the switch 49 to open, thusinterrupting the How of current to the motor and automatically stopping the elevator. The arm 50 of the switch 49 is'spring-biased and as soon as the tobacco stick is removed from the top of the elevator, the switch 49 automatically closes and operation of the motor 29 is resumed until the next tobacco stick comes into position at the top of the lift. The position of the switch arm 50 when'engaged by a tobacco stick inthe open position of the switch is indicated at 50a in FIG.'8.

As already noted, the elevator may be used either for raising sticks of green tobacco to the top of the barn or for lowering sticks of cured tobacco from the top. In the latter instance the tobacco sticksare simply placed on the prongs 43 at the top of the descending run of the conveyor chains, so that they may be conveyed downwardly toward the machine base 16. Ordinarily, it is customary to load the lower'ed sticks onto a conveyor belt running to the outside of the barn, where the sticks may then be loaded on a truck, or the like. The conveyor belt does not constitute a component of this invention, but for illustrative purposes is shown by the dotted lines 52, with its end portion overlying the base 16 below the level of the lower chain sprockets 25. Since the tobacco leaves 48 are suspended vertically from the stick 44 which carries them, it is -apparent that it is desirable to translate the leaves to a substantially horizontal lying position before depositing them on the conveyor belt'52.

The invention attains such translation of the tobacco leaves in the lower portion of the descending run of the elevator by providing a horizontal bar or rod 53 which extends transversely under the descending run of the chains 26. One end of the bar 53 is rigidly secured to a slide 54 which is reciprocable in horizontally elongated guide means 55, the guide means being secured at one end thereof to the framework member 39 and extending laterally outwardly therefrom at right angles to the plane of the descending run of the elevator. The bar '53 is'thus capable of lateral translating movement, toward and away from the lower end of the elevator when the slide 54 is reciprocated in the guide means 55.

The slide normally is in a position wherein the bar 53 is under the descending run of the elevator as shown in FIG. 9, so that it is able to engage the vertically disposed tobacco leaves 48 depending from the stick 44. However, as the stick travels downwardly, the slide 54 is caused to slide outwardly in the guide means 55 to the position shown in FIG. 10. The bar 53, moving with the slide 54, pushes the depending tobacco leaves laterally outwardly so that they are translated to a substantially horizontal position for depositing on the conveyor belt 52 by the ltime the tobacco stick 44 is dropped from the prongs 43 at the lower end of the descending elevator run.

The slide 54 is slid from the position shown in FIG. 9 to that in FIG. 10 automatically in coordination with the descending movement of the tobacco stick on the elevator. This is accomplished by the provision of an actuating arm or lever 56 which is pivoted intermediate its ends as at 57 to the aforementioned framework extension 41. One end of the arm 56 has connected thereto one end of a cord or cable 58, passing over a guide pulley 59 at the upper end of the extension 41 and around further guide pulleys 60, 61 provided on the guide means 55, the other end of the cable 58 being anchored to the slide 54 as at 62. The other end portion 56 of the arm 56 is angularly offset so as to lie in the path of movement of the prongs 43 on the ascending run of the elevator, as is best shown in FIG. 2. When the elevator is in operation and one of the prongs 43 on the ascending run comes into engagement with the arm portion 56', the arm 56 will be swung about the pivot 57 to the position shown by the dotted lines 56", which will cause a pulling force to be exerted upon the cable 58 which, in turn, will slide the slide 54 from the position of FIG. 9 to that of FIG. 10. When the arm portion 56 reaches the position 55 it becomes clear of the prong 43 which moved it upwardly, and the arm becomes lowered in readiness for engagement by the next upcoming conveyor prong. The lowering of the arm takes place by gravity and also by the action of a tension spring 63 which extends from the member 39 to the slide 54 and automatically returns the slide to its initial position when pulling action by the cable 58 has ceased in the disengaged position 55" of the actuating arm 56. Of course, it will be understood that the arrangement is such that raising of the lever 56 by a prong on the ascending run of the elevator is coordinated with lowering movement of a tobacco stick on the descending run, so that the translating bar 53 becomes operative to translate the depending tobacco leaves to a horizontal position as the stick approaches the lower end of the elevator, and also that the lever 56 is not released or the slide 54 returned until the tobacco stick in a horizontally lying position has been discharged from the elevator onto the conveyor belt 52.

While in the foregoing there has been described and shown the preferred embodiment of the invention, various modifications may become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Accordingly, it is not desired to limit the invention to this disclosure, and various modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the spirit and scope of the inventi n a c med 7 What is claimed as new is:

1. A portable elevator for tobacco sticks, comprising in combination a supporting base, an upstanding framework mounted on said base and including a pair of transversely spaced uprights, a pair of endless conveyor chains passing around sprockets at the upper and lower ends of said uprights, tobacco stick engaging prongs provided at longitudinally spaced points on said chains, means for driving said chains in one direction whereby the chains have an ascending run at one side and a descending run at the opposite side of said framework, a pair of tobacco stick holders provided on said uprights adjacent the lower end of the ascending run of said chains whereby a tobacco stick resting in said holders may be picked up by said prongs and conveyed upwardly, means for automatically interrupting operation of said chain driving means when a tobacco stick approaches the upper end of the elevator, and means provided adjacent the lower end of the descending run of said chains for engaging tobacco leaves on a descending stick and translating the leaves from a vertical to a substantially horizontal position.

2. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said uprights comprises two slidably telescoped upright members, and means for releasably holding the same in an extended position, wherein said releasable holding means being adjustable longitudinally of the uprights, whereby to facilitate taking up of slack in said chains.

3. The device as defined in claim 1 together with a pair of box-like chain and prong guides provided on said uprights and having said chains extending therethrough, said 'tobacco stick holders being constituted by stick seating notches formed at the top of said guides.

4. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said leaf engaging and translating means includes a horizontal bar extending transversely under said chains, means mounting said bar for translating movement laterally away from and toward the chains, and means for imparting translating movement to said bar.

5. The device as defined in claim 4 wherein said last mentioned means includes a pivotally mounted actuating arm releasably engageable by said prongs, means operatively connecting said arm to said bar for translating the bar away from said chains, and resilient means for translating the bar toward the chains when said arm is disengaged from said pron-gs.

6. The device as defined in claim 4 wherein said means for mounting said bar includes horizontally elongated guide means extending laterally away from the lower end of said framework, and a slide reciprocable in said guide means, said bar being supported by said slide.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,985,430 5/1961 Greenwood 254143 3,043,400 7/ 1962 Blume 1873 3,137,396 6/ 1964 Winstead 214-5.5 3,283,856 11/1966 Stewart 2145.5 3,300,186 1/1967 Lee 254143 EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner.

H. C. HORNSBY, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A PORTABLE ELEVATOR FOR TOBACCO STICKS, COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A SUPPORTING BASE, AN UPSTANDING FRAMEWORK MOUNTED ON SAID BASE AND INCLUDING A PAIR OF TRANSVERSELY SPACED UPRIGHTS, A PAIR OF ENDLESS CONVEYOR CHAINS PASSING AROUND SPROCKETS AT THE UPPER AND LOWER ENDS OF SAID UPRIGHTS, TOBACCO STICK ENGAGING PRONGS PROVIDED AT LONGITUDINALLY SPACED POINTS ON SAID CHAINS, MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID CHAINS IN ONE DIRECTION WHEREBY THE CHAINS HAVE AN ASCENDING RUN AT ONE SIDE AND A DESCENDING RUN AT THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF SAID FRAMEWORK, A PAIR OF TOBACCO STICK HOLDERS PROVIDED ON SAID UPRIGHTS ADJACENT THE LOWER END OF THE ASCENDING RUN OF SAID CHAINS WHEREBY A TOBACCO STICK RESTING IN SAID HOLDERS MAY BE PICKED UP BY SAID PRONGS AND CONVEYED UPWARDLY, MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY INTERRUPTING OPERATION OF SAID CHAINS DRIVING MEANS WHEN A TOBACCO STICK APPROACHES THE UPPER END OF THE ELEVATOR, AND MEANS PROVIDED ADJACENT THE LOWER END OF THE DESCENDING RUN OF SAID CHAINS FOR ENGAGING TOBACCO LEAVES ON A DESCENDING STICK AND TRANSLATING THE LEAVES FROM A VERTICAL TO A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL POSITION.