WO1990000508A1

WO1990000508A1 - Roller conveyor with vertically adjustable rollers

Info

Publication number: WO1990000508A1
Application number: PCT/DK1988/000115
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mike Williams
Original assignee: J. Van Eck & Zn. Bv
Priority date: 1988-07-07
Filing date: 1988-07-07
Publication date: 1990-01-25

Abstract

Roller conveyor with vertically adjustable rollers (1) which can be raised and lowered pneumatically by the inflation of tubes (5) inserted under the rollers' trunnions (4) in longitudinal side members (2), in which there is also disposed a manoeuvring rail (6). Each side member has a longitudinal, removable top channel part (9) which is arranged to retain the trunnions in the longitudinal direction, a U-shaped bottom channel part (8) with a longitudinal part (8'') which defines and surrounds the area for the trunnions and the manoeuvring rail and is arranged to secure the top channel part (9).

Description

ROLLER CONVEYOR WITH VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE ROLLERS

The invention relates to a roller conveyor of the kind disclosed in the preamble to claim 1.

Roller conveyors of this kind are used, for example, built into the loading surfaces of lorries and trucks which convey goods on pallets or in contain¬ ers, for example air freight containers, which l.iust be loaded and unloaded quickly without use of aux¬ iliary equipment such as cranes or lift-trucks. The raising and lowering of the rollers in the roller conveyor is effected with compressed air, prefer¬ ably from the vehicle's compressed-air system and usually using a pressure container which is filled automatically when the vehicle's engine is running. When the rollers are raised, the goods (the pallets/ containers) can be moved, and when the rollers are lowered the goods rest immobile on the loading sur- face of the vehicle.

From English patent no. 1,002,355 is known such a roller conveyor with longitudinal side members on each side of the rollers, the trunnions of said rollers extending through vertical elongated holes in both of the side members. This construction has a number of drawbacks, which other known construc¬ tions are also encumbered with. The whole construc¬ tion must be dismantled if a damaged or defect rol- ler is to be replaced. When the rollers are lowered, i.e. in that position in which the vehicle conveys the goods from one place to another, the rollers' trunnions lie loosely in the side members, which during conveyance on rough roads results in intense noise and wear on the roller conveyor construction. The construction according to the English patent is not at all suitable for use in lorries or trucks, but only for stationary application. If it is des- ired to change the conveyor to another number (e.g. a greater number) of rollers per running meter of roller conveyor, for instance because the vehicle is now to be used for larger and heavier containers, the longitudinal side members must be replaced with side members having elongated holes at shorter dis¬ tances. In reality, all of these drawbacks are due to the fact that the known roller conveyors are dif¬ ficult to adjust to the relevant vehicles' special transport requirements.

The object of the invention is to provide a roller conveyor with vertically adjustable rollers which can be raised and lowered pneumatically, but which is arranged in such a manner that what is involved are side members of a modular type, from which rol¬ ler conveyors can be built without requiring any changes for many different purposes and with var¬ ious breadths and roller distributions, and as a consequence hereof the possibility of adjusting the roller conveyor according to the loading and build- ing-in conditions and, moreover, arranged in such a way that all of the drawbacks and shortcomings of the known roller conveyors are avoided.

This is achieved by configuring the roller conveyor according to the invention as disclosed and char¬ acterized in claim 1. The longitudinal side members are composed of two channel parts in such a manner that the one part (the bottom channel) is arranged to have sufficient strength to support and lift the load and to transfer the forces from here to the vehicle's supporting parts, and thus that a second part (the top channel) is arranged to hold and pos- ition the rollers and to transfer the forces to the bottom channel part when the rollers are lowered. This configuration also provides the possibility of arranging the manoeuvring rail in the longitudinal channels so that the trunnions are secured hereto, thus preventing them from rattling and creating noise during the transport. However, the rollers can still be replaced merely by removing one top channel part and turning that roller which is to be replaced in such a manner that the trunnion in the side from which the top channel has been removed is turned away from the position at right-angles to the channels. The modular construction of the longitud¬ inal standard side members is achieved at the same time as a minimum building height is maintained.

The side channels with tubes and manoeuvring rails are produced in long lengths and, of course, in cer¬ tain standard lengths, from which roller conveyors of various lengths can be configured in different breadths and with various types of rollers, merely by inserting those rollers which are most suitable for the desired task.

By configuring the roller conveyor according to the invention as disclosed and characterized in claim 2, it becomes possible to arrange the side channels with a very large number of vertical elongated holes, hereby enabling free positioning of the rol¬ lers and roller distribution according to require- ents. For example, the rollers can be brought clo¬ ser together at the start of the roller conveyor than along the remainder of the conveyor. Normally, the positioning of the rollers will be effected by providing the top channel parts with elongated holes for the trunnions at those places where the rollers are to be positioned in connection with the mounting of the roller conveyor in the vehicle.

The configuration of the roller conveyor according to the invention is also characterized in that with the exception of the elongated holes, the longitud¬ inal side channels are completely closed. The elong¬ ated holes are provided only in the sides facing the rollers, and thus no form of outer covering of the side members is necessary.

If the vehicle in which roller conveyors are to be mounted does not have a plane area for the mounting, the roller conveyor according to the invention is configured as disclosed and characterized in claim 3. The side members can be secured to the baseplate by welding or by means of screws, depending on the materials of which the individual parts are made.

By configuring the roller conveyor according to the invention as disclosed and characterized in claim 4, a side member may be opened for the replacement of one or more rollers, changing-over of the. rollers or changing of the number of rollers, all from above, i.e. very quickly and without any equipment other than normal hand tools. This configuration provides a very high degree of flexibility and ease of ser¬ vice and, for example, results in the roller con- veyor being able to be used even if one of the rol¬ lers is accidently totally ruined and there is no reserve roller available, in that the remaining rollers are simple distributed over the whole of the conveyor.

βy configuring the roller conveyor according to the invention as disclosed and characterized in claim 5, the possibility is provided of changing an existing roller conveyor or of building up roller conveyors upon which movement is possible, also with vehicles such as, for example, forklift trucks, which can be relevant with vehicles arranged for the transport of mixed goods.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawing, in that

fig. 1 shows a portion of a roller conveyor accord- ing to the invention in a first embodiment,

fig. 2 shows a vertical section through fig. 1, centrally through a roller,

fig. 3 shows a section corresponding to fig. 2, but in a second embodiment of the invention.

The roller conveyor seen in figs. 1 and 2a is made of profiled plate parts, namely a baseplate part 3 upon which are arranged two identical side members 2, each comprising a bottom channel part 8',8" hous¬ ing a pneumatic tube 5 and a manoeuvring rail 6 for the trunnions 4 of the rollers 1 , and a top channel part 9 which, on a folded-down side 16 in towards the rollers, has elongated holes 7 in the vertical direction and right out to the edge. The baseplate can have bends 11 which determine the breadth of the roller conveyor.

In fig. 2a the rollers 1 are seen raised in the left side and lowered in the right side.

In this embodiment, the trunnions 4 are provided with an axial groove which is arranged to enter into engagement with a folded flange 14 on the manoeuvring rail 6.

The bottom channel part 8 has a completely closed side 8" and an inwardly-bent top edge on which the top channel part 9 can be secured, for example as shown with screws. Moreover, the screws 10 are the sole assembly elements for the side members 2.

If the spaces between the rollers are required to be covered from above, and if the conveyor is desired to be driven over, for example with a lift-truck, the two top channel parts 9 can be replaced by a throughgoing cover-plate 15, shown in fig. 2b, pro- vided with blanked-out rectangular holes 18 for the rollers. This supporting plate between the rollers is adapted to the roller distribution and is dimen¬ sioned following the loads from the wheel-pressure of a fork-lift truck. On the underside are secured lengthwise angle profiles 16' with elongated holes for the positioning of the trunnions 4, instead of the top channel parts 9 shown in fig. 2a.

The embodiment seen in fig. 3 is arranged to be made of aluminium, in that three extruded aluminium pro¬ files are brought together to form a side member. Each side member thus consists of the bottom channel part 8' ,8", the top channel part 9' and the an- oeuvring rail 6', all produced in the form of alum¬ inium profile sections. With this embodiment, the top channel part 9' can be configured with a hinge link assembly towards that part of the bottom chan¬ nel part which is arranged to face towards the rol- lers. Moreover, the parts are arranged to be as¬ sembled with screws and to be secured to a baseplate 3' , also with screws, or to side stiffening elements (not shown). Fig. 3b shows a cover-plate 15' corres¬ ponding to that shown in fig. 2b.

The manoeuvring rails 6,6' have a bearing surface 12,12' for the trunnions 4 and can, in fig. 3a, if a key surface is milled or ground on the trunnions, be given a larger bearing surface than that shown in the construction in fig. 2a, so that the retaining flange 14' in fig. 3a can be configured as shown instead of being configured as shown in fig. 2a.

Claims

C L I S

1. Roller conveyor with vertically adjustable rol¬ lers (1), where the rollers are raised and lowered pueumatically by the inflation of tubes (5) insert¬ ed under the rollers* trunnions (4), which are sus¬ pended within longitudinal side members (2) compris¬ ing a manoeuvring rail (6,6') for the rollers and disposed over the tube , c h a r a c t e r - i z e d in that each side member comprises a long¬ itudinal, removable top channel part (9,9') arranged to secure the trunnions in the side members' long¬ itudinal direction; a U-shaped bottom channel part (8,8*) for the tube (5), and with a longitudinal part (8") which defines and surrounds the area for the trunnions and the manoeuvring rail (6,6'), and which is arranged to secure the top channel part (9,9'); also in that the longitudinal manoeuvring rail (6,6') comprises a profile edge (14,14') which is arranged to retain the trunnions (4) in the ver¬ tical direction.

2. Roller conveyor according to claim 1, c h a r ¬ a c t e r i z e d in that the top channel part (9, 9'), on that side which faces towards the rollers, is provided in the longitudinal direction with a number of guide holes (7) for the trunnions (4) , said holes being mainly disposed at intervals and configured as elongated holes from the edge of the top channel part and upwards in the vertical direc¬ tion.

3. Roller conveyor according to claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the bottom chan- nel part (8,8') of the side members is secured to a baseplate (3,3') which defines the distance between the side members (2) and herewith the total breadth of the conveyor.

4. Roller conveyor according to claim 2, c h a r ¬ a c t e r i z e d in that the top channel part (9, 9') is secured to the bottom channel part (8") by means of screws (10,10') which are accessible from the top side.

5. Roller conveyor according to any of the claims 1-4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the top channel part (9,9') is arranged to be replaced by a solid, common coverplate (15,15') for the roller conveyor, said coverplate being arranged in such a manner that it also covers the area between the rollers (1) and comprises longitudinal flanges (16") with elongated holes for the trunnions.