Cleaning and liquid contact with solids – Apparatus – With means to movably mount or movably support the work or...
Patent
1990-03-07
1992-04-28
Coe, Philip R.
Cleaning and liquid contact with solids
Apparatus
With means to movably mount or movably support the work or...
134157, 366213, B08B 302
Patent
active
051078783
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention concerns an article handling apparatus comprising a holder into which an article can be lowered and from which it can be lifted and which can rotate the article about a substantially horizontal axis.
BACKGROUND ART
One such apparatus is described with reference to and is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 of our copending UK Patent Application No. 8610323 (2174624). There the article is a rectangular frame basket with metal mesh walls which contains metal castings for impregnation and the holder comprises a cylindrical rotary cage in which the basket is pre-mounted, and a pair of yokes for holding and rotating the cage part of which yokes can be pivoted back in the unloading and loading position to provide an unloading and loading opening.
Reference is also made to UK Patent Specification No. 2153863 which describes an apparatus in which a similar type of basket is lowered into an impregnation autoclave such that a lug towards the top of one side of the basket enters a V-shaped support member for the basket. The autoclave is then closed and a vacuum drawn, following which the support member gradually descends into a liquid impregnant bath at the bottom of the autoclave. After impregnation the basket is lifted out of the autoclave. However, there is no provision for rotation of the basket.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Generally stated, the invention provides an automatic catch for holding an article in a rotary holder.
According to the invention, there is provided an article handling apparatus comprising a holder into which an article can be lowered and from which it can be lifted and which can rotate the article about a substantially horizontal axis, the article comprising a projection on at least one side of the article, the holder comprising a member rotatable about the axis and having a radially outwardly open channel for receiving the projection when the article is lowered into position, and catch means for automatically holding the projection in the channel in response to a predetermined rotary movement of the member and the article away from the loading and unloading position such that the article is securely held during rotation. In one embodiment there is a projection on one side of the article and there is a preferably substantially central bearing pin which lies on the rotary axis on the other side of the article, the holder comprising an arcuate upwardly facing bearing surface in which the bearing pin rests when the article is lowered into position.
It is desirable that the article is fixed relative to the rotatable member at more than one point. Although this could be achieved by elongating the projection in the radial direction it is preferred to provide the rotatable member with a vertical channel for receiving the adjacent end of the article. Alternatively the rotary member may have a projection radially inward of the channel for engaging a vertical groove in the article.
In another embodiment, the holder also comprises rotatable support means for supporting the side of the article remote from the rotatable member and the support means comprises a frame into which the article can be lowered, the frame being secured to the rotatable member on one side and being carried by a bearing on the other side.
Normally the projection on the article is displaced upwardly from the rotary axis as this facilitates location of the article during loading but it could be at any other convenient location (including on the axis provided that provision is made for transferring rotary motion to the article). Preferably the catch means is held in its operative position by a cam follower lever which engages a fixed cam track, the cam track being such as to release the catch in the loading and unloading position. For example the catch may be a forked member carried by a horizontal shaft mounted in the rotatable member, the forked member being biased, e.g. by the weight of the cam follower lever which is also connected to the shaft, so that it is upwardly facing when in the loading and unload
REFERENCES:
patent: 881583 (1908-03-01), Hodgkins
patent: 1166833 (1916-01-01), Hazard
patent: 3746316 (1973-07-01), Langen et al.
patent: 4100616 (1978-07-01), Wilson
patent: 4468129 (1984-08-01), McIntosh et al.
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