USRE20269E - Traveling work table - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 16, 1937. H. A. GREEN I 20,269

TRAVELING WORK TABLE Original Filed Dec. 30, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 &

INVENTOR fi/dl'l'7 d 61?;

ATTORNEY Feb. 16, 1937. H. A. GREEN TRAVELING WORK TABLE Original Filed Dec. 30, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Her/7.46M ATTORNETY Feb. 16, 1937. H. A. GREEN TRAVELING WORK TABLE Original Filed Dec. 30, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 hull-2 1 Reissued Feb. 16, 1937 UNITED STATES TRAVELING WORK TABLE Harry A. Green, Portland, Oreg.

Original N0. 1,928,334,

dated October 3, 1933,

Serial No. 583,901, December 30, 1931. Application for reissue April 6, 1935, Serial No.

4 Claims.

My invention relates to traveling work tables and the like.

In the assembling of articles of manufacture, for example furniture, it has been found most efiicientand economical to place the work on a, carrier mounted on an endless conveyor by which the steps in the work are distributed over a number of successive stations, at each of which a workman is stationed, to perform a particular part of the work, and by the time the carrier has reached the end of its travel, the article has been completely assembled and finished, ready for'the market.

In the manufacture of furniture, as mentioned, there is not only the assembling of the sections of the frame to be done, but also varnishing and finishing; and in the case of chairs, davenports, couches and the like, the upholstering of them.

Furthermore, I have found in the use or such conveyors, that in order for the workmen to perform their work with the greatest facility, means must be provided for giving them reach access to all sides of the work without moving from their places; and in the varnishing and finishing of the furniture, to support the article in a suitable position, giving access to all the surfaces without having to hold the article or touch the surfaces freshly varnished.

The object of my invention is to provide an endless conveyor on which are mounted rotatable workholding tables, adapted to permit the workman to move the work before him into all desired positions facilitating his work, without moving from his place.

Y A further object of my invention is to provide an endless conveyor on which are mounted rotatable workholding tables, the spacing of which are readily adjustable, in accordance with the time estimated necessary for each man to complete his portion of the work.

A further object of my invention is to provide a conveyor, the workholding tables of which are provided with work supporting means for articles of different dimensions, and for holding the work in different positions as it is carried forward by the conveyor.

A further object is to provide simple, but efficient driving means for an endless conveyor of the character described, even several thousand feet in length and operating over a tortuous path; to require but a minimum of power for the operation of the conveyor.

These and other features of my invention, the details of construction and mode of operation are hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a diagrammatic plan view of my conveyor and illustrates the relative spacing of the work carrier and the revoluble work tables carried thereby;

Fig. 2 shows a section taken on the line 22 of Fig. l and illustrates the construction and arrangement of the driving means;

Fig. 3 shows a fragmentary enlarged view of one of the work carriers and illustrates the revolvable work table mounted upon it;

Fig. 4 shows alongitudinal section of the same and illustrates how the work table is revolubly mounted thereon;

Fig. 5 shows a fragmentary end view of a work carrier as illustrated in Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of the revolvable work table and illustrates an article of furniture secured thereto in an upright position;

Fig. 7 shows an enlarged fragmentary plan view of my conveyor and illustrates the construction and operation at the turns;

Fig. 3 shows a fragmentary elevation of the same, as shownv in Fig. '7;

Fig. 9 shows a fragmentary longitudinal section taken onthe line 9-9 of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 10 shows a section taken on the line I0I0 of Fig. 9.

Referring to the drawings: My conveyor, see Fig. 1, comprises channel tracks a arranged in a more or less tortuous path in order to provide maximum length withina room of given dimensions. A number of work carriers b are provided comprising a base 0, see Fig. 4, having caster-like rollers d at each corner which ride in said tracks a.

A revoluble work table 2 is mounted on the base 0 on a centrally arranged vertical shaft 3 so that the work placed thereon may be turned to permit the workman to conveniently reach all sides of it.

The table 2 may or may not be provided with longitudinally arranged elongated slots 4, having grooves in their sides in which elongated sections 6, having complementary tongues are slidably mounted as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. The sections 6 on the table 2 are provided with a plurality of series of holes 8 adapted toreceive' pins, not shown, which may be provided in the legs of a piece of furniture, for holding, as illustrated in Figure 6, one end of a bedstead a: upright while being varnished or the like. These series of holes provide means for securing work elements of various sizes and lengths to the work table 2.

Although I have shown the table 2 formed with extensible members adapted to support relatively large pieces of furniture, it is to be understood that these extensible members may be dispensed with by merely providing tables of greater length than those illustrated. The longer tables thus provided may be of suflicient length to support the larger pieces of furniture which would otherwise have to be supported by extensible members on the short tables.

Sheaves e mounted on vertical shafts f journaled in standards I are provided at the turns of the track a over which an endless cable 9 is carried. The sheaves e located at the 180 degree turn of the track a, see Fig. 9, are adjustable longitudinally of the cable to permit the same to be tightened, by providing their standards I! with transverse angle irons h which extend beyond the sides of the standards and rest upon parallel longitudinally arranged members i. An adjusting screw k is rotatably mounted in an angle iron section I secured to the floor and is threaded into the adjacent angle iron h. The outer rail portion of the track a at such turns is supported on the standards 12 and is movable with the sheaves, slip joints as a. being provided for this purpose.

The bases c of the work carrier b are attached to the cable g by tongues Ill, pivotally connected to the forward end of the base 0, as at I l, and to the cable g by a clamping member l2 which permits a limited free movement of the tongue relatively to the cable on the turns. By these means the work carrier 17 may be adjusted on the cable g to provide any desired spacing the class of work being done may require.

The sheaves e are of substantial diameter, approximately 6 feet in order to provide low degree curves at the turns, thus reducing resistance to the operation of the conveyor by reducing the bending strains on the cable g. Such low degree curves also permit the work carriers to pass the curves without danger of being thrown from the tracks a.

The caster-like roller 1% of the work table units 1) rides in the tracks a, as mentioned, but at the turns the inner track a is displaced by the upper surfaces of the sheaves e which are provided with wear plate p, so that the rollers 41. at the beginning of the turn ride off the ends of the track onto the said wear plate, see Fig. '7, and at the end of the turn the inner rollers are brought into alignment again with the inner track by the outer rollers, which remain in the outer track, and thus ride oil the surface of the sheave onto the inner track again.

The cable 9 is driven in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 1 by a suitable motor 20 and transmission 2 l, which drives a worm 22 meshing with a worm gear 23 mounted on the shaft 24 of a conveniently located double sheave, as e.

Driving force from the sheave e is also transmitted to a conveniently located double sheave e2, more or less centrally disposed of the conveyor, relatively to the sheave e so as to distribute the driving force and relieve the strain upon the cable g to which it would be subjected, were it only driven from the one as sheave e. To this end the sheave e also has passed around it a cable 1', which is in turn passed around the sheave e2. A tightener member s is provided for the cable 1.

The work table units bare thus driven about the circuit of the tracks a at a predetermined speed, slow enough to permit each workman to perform his task. The work table 0 being revoluble, each workman may turn the work to bring it into the most convenient position, and in the case of a workman whose task normally consumes more time than some of the others, he is given suflicient space to take several steps laterally as the work moves before him.

I claim:

1. In a traveling endless conveyor a series of individual work carriers, 9. revoluble work table mounted on each carrier, said table provided with longitudinally extensible members adapted to have the work secured thereto.

2. In. a traveling endless conveyor a series of individual work carriers, a revoluble work table mounted on each carrier, said table provided with longitudinal slots, members slidably mounted in said slots and provided with means forbeing secured to the work.

3. In a traveling endless conveyor a series of individual work carriers, each work carrier provided with a centrally located pivot post, a work table revolubly mounted on said post, said table provided with longitudinal slots, members slidably mounted in said slots and provided with means for being secured to the work.

4. In an endless conveyor having a trackway and a running cable, the combination of a plurality of cars movably mounted on the trackway and operatively and adjustably interconnected with said cable, a work table rotatably mounted on each of said cars, said work table adapted to be freely rotated in any direction by an operator and having a plurality of series of holes for fixing work elements of various sizes to said Work table.

HARRY A. GREEN.

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