Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor arrangement for selecting among plural sources or... – Plural laterally spaced locations fed to or received from a...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-09
2001-08-28
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor arrangement for selecting among plural sources or...
Plural laterally spaced locations fed to or received from a...
C198S465400, C198S370010, C198S860100, C198S832000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06279735
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an arrangement for feeding product carriers which are movably resting on a rail. Such arrangements are usually present in textile factories in connection with, for example, production of shirts wherein different cloth-pieces are suspended in a product carrier which moves on a rail to a working station, which pieces are to be sewn together at this station. The invention is however not only related to the production of shirts or the textile industry but is commonly applicable for feeding all product carriers.
PRIOR ART
The product carriers in which, for example, the cloth pieces are to be hung if they are used within the textile industry, are usually intended to roll forward on a main rail suspended from the ceiling or at a high level in the factory space. From the main rail a number of branching rails depart into which the product carriers are fed in a certain order wherein these branching rails bring the product carrier down to a lower level at a work station, wherefrom, after the cloth piece has been subjected to a working operation, the product carrier again is lifted up and fed in onto the main rail. A computer conducts the movement of the product carriers on the main rail and the branching rails and arrangements are made for transferring the product carriers to and from the branching rails. A number of work stations and branching rails are arranged along the main rail for working with the products and finally a finished product will be conveyed on the main rail and removed therefrom. The main rail and the branching rails cooperate with endless bands for driving the product carriers.
An example of such a driving band within the textile industry is described in the British patent 2105284. This band lies in a rail and drives the product carriers lying thereon, which product carriers run on two wheels. The band is made of two folded bands lying adjacent to each other, which bands are united with each other, or it can be made in one piece. The bands can be driven by means of a driving cog-wheel which engages in the folds of the band from one side. The band is flexible; it can be bent in all directions but it has nevertheless such a high rigidity that the cog-wheel both can push it forward and pull it. To make the cog-wheel engage in the folds of the band a recess is arranged in the side of the rail. The band may be long, up to several hundred meters, but it usually has a length of about fifty meters.
TECHNICAL PROBLEM
The feeding arrangements according to the prior art have as such worked well, but since the driving band for the main line lies in the main rail, this driving band is not accessible from the side but only at certain places where recesses for the driving motors have been made in the rail before mounting. Since the band lies in the rail and has its product carriers on the upper side, a rail which slopes downwardly towards the band has been arranged for feeding all product carriers. These are released by a barrier and are allowed to fall in and down on the main rail by means of gravity. When operational disturbances occur a product carrier may therefore be delayed and come in front of a later carrier than the one intended. It is therefore necessary to have a long distance between the carriers. It has therefore long been a desire to bring about a main line in which it is possible to make branchings and arrange driving motors anywhere along the line and have a synchronized in and out feeding of the product carriers, which should make it possible to have shorter distances between the carriers and consequently give the whole arrangement a higher capacity.
THE SOLUTION
To solve the above problems, an arrangement has been brought about according to the invention for feeding product carriers which are movably resting on a main rail which has branchings for supply to and removal from the main rail for product carriers, wherein the movement is intended to be carried out by means of an endless band or chain, which arrangement is characterized in that the band is movably suspended in a second rail above the main rail and is accessible for driving on the downwardly hanging sides has.
According to the invention, the band should have recesses in the sides intended to cooperate with the driving or driven cog-wheels.
According to the invention, the band shall be provided with downwardly extending carriers for movement of the product carriers in their rail.
According to the invention, change-over devices are arranged at each branching for feeding in and feeding out of the product carriers to and from the main rail, which change-over devices comprise cog-wheels which are driven by the band.
According to the invention, the cog-wheels are intended to drive an endless band for feeding or removing product carriers to and from the main rail from or to the branching rails.
According to the invention, the band is arranged close to the branching rail and comprises a plug-shaped carrier for the product carriers, which protrudes against the branching rail.
According to the invention, for coupling of the branching rails to or from the main rail, end pieces which are swingable to or from the main rail are arranged on the branching rails and swingable intermediate pieces are arrranged on the main rail adjacent to and at a level under these end pieces.
According to the invention, it is suitable that, at the branching rail for feeding product carriers to the main rail, the endpiece or the intermediate piece is swung into the correct position by means of the passing product carrier.
According to the invention, it is also suitable that at the branching rail for removing product carriers from the main rail the endpiece is swung into a correct position by means of an adjustment device while the carrier on the main band reinstalls the direct route on the main rail for the next coming product carrier.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3415352 (1968-12-01), Gerisch
patent: 3807314 (1974-04-01), Slemmons
patent: 4351241 (1982-09-01), Brems et al.
patent: 5056438 (1991-10-01), Nozaki et al.
patent: 5072822 (1991-12-01), Smith
patent: 5449062 (1995-09-01), McTaggart
patent: 5450942 (1995-09-01), Johann et al.
patent: 5567386 (1996-10-01), Markin
patent: 5769949 (1998-06-01), Cienkus et al.
patent: 5788056 (1998-08-01), Clopton
patent: 5799769 (1998-09-01), Heer et al.
patent: 5800780 (1998-09-01), Markin
patent: 5947361 (1999-09-01), Berger et al.
patent: 2 105 284 (1981-09-01), None
Davidsson Dan
Davidsson Mats Ingvar
Davidsson Mikael
Ellis Christopher P.
Eton Systems AB
Lerner David Littenberg Krumholz & Mentlik LLP
Ridley Richard
LandOfFree
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