US3734264A

US3734264A - Conveyor-magazine adapted for being interposed between a folding machine and stations where subsequent operations are effected

Info

Publication number: US3734264A
Application number: US00163685A
Authority: US
Inventors: G Stumpf
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1970-08-21
Filing date: 1971-07-19
Publication date: 1973-05-22
Anticipated expiration: 1990-05-22
Also published as: DE2041686B2; GB1322154A; DE2041686C3; DE2041686A1

Abstract

At the outlet of a folding machine, there is positioned a magazine conveyor apparatus for receiving ''''packages'''' of stacked material from the folding machine to hold such packages and selectively deliver the same for subsequent operations on the packages. The magazine conveyor apparatus comprises a plurality of magazine conveyor belts arranged one above the other and pivotal conveyor belts at opposite ends of the apparatus respectively for delivering a package to a selected magazine conveyor belt and removing a package from a selected belt.

Description

United States Patent 1 Stumpf 1 May 22, 1973 [54] CONVEYOR-MAGAZINE ADAPTED FOR BEING INTERPOSED BETWEEN A FOLDING MACHINE AND STATIONS WHERE SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONS ARE EFFECTED [76] Inventor: Giinter Stumpf, 7421 Mehrstetten,

Kreis Munsingen, Germany 22 Filed: July 19, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 163,685

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Aug. 21, 1970 Germany ..P 20 41 686.8

[52] US. Cl. ..l98/20 T [51] Int. Cl ..B65g 47/00 [58] Field of Search ..l98/20 T [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Richter ..198/20 T 2,724,486 11/1955 Hatch et al 198/20 T X 644,520 2/1900 Jones 959,996 5/1910 Cole ..198/20 T X Primary ExaminerEvon C. Blunk Assistant Examinerl-Iadd Lane Attorney-Eric H. Waters et al.

[57] ABSTRACT At the outlet of a folding machine, there is positioned a magazine conveyor apparatus for receiving packages of stacked material from the folding machine to hold such packages and selectively deliver the same for subsequent operations on the packages. The magazine conveyor apparatus comprises a plurality of magazine conveyor belts arranged one above the other and pivotal conveyor belts at opposite ends of the apparatus respectively for delivering a package to a selected magazine conveyor belt and removing a package from a selected belt.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Patented May 22, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 EliEiHi Patented May 22,1973

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 CONVEYOR-MAGAZINE ADAPTED FOR BEING INTERPOSEI) BETWEEN A FOLDING MACHINE AND STATIONS WHERE SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONS ARE EFFECTED BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In present cloth folding machines, the sequence of operations is such that the folding of a layer package requires substantially less time than the subsequent marking, cutting out, stamping, etc., whereas the waiting time necessarily resulting therefrom is too short to allow the operator of the folding machine to occupy himself profitably with some other task.

It is an object of the invention to provide a conveying or transport magazine which makes it possible to stack the layer package" produced by a folding machine for a relatively short period of time, before it is fed for further processing, so that a buffer zone is established between the folding operation and further processing operations.

Such a conveying magazine makes it possible to produce in advance and stack a plurality of cloth or fabric layers, so that during the time which is now available, the operator of the folding machine may effect fill-in operations, such as, for example, bringing cloth rolls from storage to the folding machine, auxiliary work during cutting, etc.

The problem to which the invention is addressed is solved by the arrangement wherein the conveying magazine includes a plurality of magazine conveyor belts arranged in spaced relationship one below the other in a framework with a pivotal conveyor belt attached at each end of the framework, one thereof serving for the selective feeding and stacking of cloth layer packages, for example directly from the conveyor belt of a folding machine, onto one of the magazine belts, whereas the other pivotal conveyor belt serves for the selective delivery of the stacked cloth layer packages to another device, for example to a table for further processing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a conveying magazine according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view which shows the front portion of the conveying magazine; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a detail of the point of transition from the pivoting belt to the magazine belt.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 shows a conveying and storing mechanism C for receiving packages of material produced in a folding machine. At the left of the conveying mechanism C in FIG. 1 there is seen, in chain-dotted lines, a conveyor device 38 on which are transported the layers of material or packages produced by the folding machine. On the right-hand side of FIG. 1 there is shown in chain-dotted lines a conveyor device 39 for transporting the packages to further-processing stations for effecting marking, cutting, stamping operations and the like, on the packages.

The conveying magazine C comprises at least three conveyor belts l, 2 and 3 which are arranged one above the other with a spacing greater than the maximum height of the package. The conveyor belts travel on tables 4, 5 and 6 coated with a material having a low coefficient of friction. In the present case, the conveyor belts are strip conveyor belts, i.e. the total width of the belt is constituted by a plurality of narrow belt strips disposed side-by-side in predetermined spaced relationship. The subdivision permits minimum drum diameters and advantageous design of the critical transition points from one belt to another. Fundamentally, however, it is also possible to use standard, correspondingly wide belts.

The framework 7 of the conveying magazine is prolonged beyond the horizontally extending belts proper, so as to constitute bearing supports for two short pivotal or rocking

belts

8 and 9 arranged at the ends of the magazine. The upper run of each of the

pivotal belts

8 and 9 corresponds to the level of the

conveyor units

38, 39 and the

belts

8 and 9 are pivotal so that their inner ends are adjustable to the level of the belts 1, 2 or 3 as desired in each particular case.

The shafts of the outer drums l0 and l 1 of the

pivotal belts

8 and 9 bear, via bearing pedestals l2 and 13, on the framework and serve simultaneously as bearing points for bell crank levers 14 and 15 arranged on both sides of the pivoting belts and which carry

pivotal drums

16 or 17 at one end and, at the other end, in each case chains or

cables

18 and 18 by which the pivotal belts may be angularly rocked to the level of the magazine belt 1, 2, or 3 as desired in each particular case. The chains or cables 18, 18' travel from the bell crank levers to the center of the conveying magazine, where they are wound on a drum or sprocket wheel 19 so that rotation of the drum or sprocket wheel 19 results in winding-off or winding-on of the chains 18, 18' which is uniform towards both sides, whereby the two pivotal belts are adjusted in the same sense or direction. The rotation of the drum is effected by means of a hand crank 20 via a geared-down chain drive 21, but it could also be effected by motor means.

The drive of belt 8 is achieved by a motor 22. A motor 23 serves for the drive of pivotal belt 9 and also simultaneously for the magazine belts l, 2, and 3. For the latter purpose, an electromagnetic clutch 24 is associated with each magazine belt. All these clutches are interconnected by a chain 25 driven by a chain 26 from the motor 23. A sprocket wheel associated with each clutch is connected, via a chain 27, with a sprocket wheel on each of the three belt drums 28, so that when the motor 23 is operative in each particular case only that magazine belt is driven whose electromagnetic clutch has been actuated. The motors may be variablespeed motors for synchronizing the belt volocities, or they may be a sequentially connected speed transmission.

The mode of operation is such that, by means of the hand crank 20, for example in accordance with a marking or detent position, the

pivotal belts

8 and 9 are adjusted to face the desired magazine belt, whereby simultaneously, via a correspondingly arranged switch (not shown), the electromagnetic clutch of the associated magazine belt is put into engagement. After switching on the installation, a layer package may then be introduced into the magazine or removed therefrom. All the remaining magazine belts are at a standstill, since they are separated from the drive by their disengaged electromagnetic clutches.

FIG. 1 shows the two lower magazine belts 5 and 6 carrying respective packages 28 and 29, whereas a package 30 from the table of the folding machine is conveyed, via the pivotal belt 8 (in its uppermost tilted position) to the magazine belt 1. A limit switch (not shown) attached at the right-hand end of the magazine belt switches off the drive when the package" extendsover its entire length on the magazine belt. Corresponding limit switches are provided also in association with the remaining magazine belts. In order to be able to transport the conveying magazine C to other cutting lines, the framework is provided with a plurality of adjustable pivoting or rocking rollers 31.

Due to the transportable construction of the magazine C, it becomes possible to satisfy a short-notice demand for additional quantities of cut-out elements of the same type of cloth by bringing the magazine to another cutting line, so that at least for a short period of time the packages of one folding machine and one type of cloth may be processed on a plurality of cutting lines. Hitherto, in such cases it was necessary to manually transport the corresponding packages" and the result of this was displacements in the layers of the package.

FIG. 2 shows the front portion of the device and principally the belts in the form of strip conveyor belts 32 (only four thereof being shown).

FIG. 3 shows in detail the transition point from the pivotal belt to a magazine belt, both belts being constituted as strip conveyor belts. The belt drum l6 and the belt drum 33 are machined to a smaller diameter between the individual belt strips 32. Secured at the two bearing points of the belt drum 16 is an angle strip 34 whose length corresponds to that of the drum and which is bent in such manner that longer tongues 35 engage forwardly into the reduced diameter portions of the belt drum l6 and shorter tongues 36 bent downwardly to a lower level are in closely spaced relationship to the bearing surface of the drum 16. In this way, during the conveying of a package, the lowermost cloth layers thereof will not be pulled downwardly with the belt. The angled strip 34 travels with the pivotal belt into the operational positions adjacent each belt 1, 2, 3 as can best be seen in FIG. 1 at the left side thereof. A strip 37 constructed in the same manner as strip 34 is secured to each of the three drums 33 of the magazine belts. However, in order to exlude any possibility of the strip 34 from impinging against the strips 37 of the magazine belts and nevertheless to keep the two opposite edges of these plates in the closest possible spaced relationship, as FIG. 1 shows, the shafts and therewith also the plates 37 of the belt drums 33 of the magazine belt are arranged on an arc of a circle. Similar strips are provided between the magazine belt and the right-hand pivotal belt 9.

What is claimed is:

1. A conveying magazine comprising a plurality of magazine conveyor belts arranged in spaced relationship one above the other and having opposite aligned ends, a pivotal conveyor belt at each of said ends of the magazine belts for selectively being aligned with said magazine belts, one pivotal conveyor belt serving for the selective delivery of material to the magazine belts, whereas the other pivotal belt serves for the selective delivery of the material for the magazine belts, each said pivotal conveyor belt comprising a drive drum, a shaft for said drive drum, a lever means coupled to said shaft and pivotal thereabout, a second drum connected to said lever means to be pivoted therewith, and a belt wound on said drums, a flexible connector attached to said lever means, and means acting on the flexible connectors of both pivotal belts to move the same into alignment with a selected magazine conveyor belt.

2. A conveying magazine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said magazine conveyor belts are spaced one above the other by a distance exceeding the maximum height of the material.

3. A conveying magazine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means acting on the flexible connectors is disposed midway between the pivotal belts and includes a common drum means on which said connectors can be conjointly wound and unwound.

4. A conveying magazine as claimed in claim 1 comprising one drive motor for said one pivotal conveyor belt and a second drive motor for the other pivotal conveyor belt and also for the plurality of magazine conveyor belts.

5. A conveying magazine as claimed in claim 4 comprising clutch means in the drive from the second drive motor to each of the magazine conveyor belts.

6. A conveying magazine comprising a plurality of magazine conveyor belts arranged in spaced relationship one above the other and having opposite aligned ends, a pivotal conveyor belt at each of said ends of the magazine belts for selectively being aligned with said magazine belts, one pivotal conveyor belt serving for the selective delivery of material to the magazine belts, whereas the other pivotal belt serves for the selective delivery of the material from the magazine belts, said pivotal belts and the magazine conveyor belts comprising a plurality of narrow belt strips disposed side-byside with predetermined spacing, each said belt passing on a drum at opposite ends thereof, said drums having sections of smaller diameter between said individual belt strips, and a strip element secured to each of the pivotal belts and to the drums of the magazine conveyor belts, said strip elements extending the entire length of the drums of the respective belts and serving to provide smooth transfer of material from one belt to another, said strip elements being of angle shape and including one leg with long tongue portions extending in the smaller diameter sections of the associated drum and shorter tongue portions bent further downwardly and extending proximate the larger diameter sections of the same drum.

7. A conveying magazine as claimed in claim 6 comprising a table with surfaces coated with a material having a low coefficient of friction, said magazine conveyor belts traveling on said surfaces of the table.

Claims

6. A conveying magazine comprising a plurality of magazine conveyor belts arranged in spaced relationship one above the other and having opposite aligned ends, a pivotal conveyor belt at each of said ends of the magazine belts for selectively being aligned with said magazine belts, one pivotal conveyor belt serving for the selective delivery of material to the magazine belts, whereas the other pivotal belt serves for the selective delivery of the material from the magazine belts, said pivotal belts and the magazine conveyor belts comprising a plurality of narrow belt strips disposed side-by-side with predetermined spacing, each said belt passing on a drum at opposite ends thereof, said drums having sections of smaller diameter between said individual belt strips, and a strip element secured to each of the pivotal belts and to the drums of the magazine conveyor belts, said strip elements extending the entire length of the drums of the respective belts and serving to provide smooth transfer of material from one belt to another, said strip elements being of angle shape and including one leg with long tongue portions extending in the smaller diameter sections of the associated drum and shorter tongue portions bent further downwardly and extending proximate the larger diameter sections of the same drum.