Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor section – Reciprocating conveying surface
Patent
1982-12-09
1985-09-03
Valenza, Joseph E.
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor section
Reciprocating conveying surface
1984689, B65G 2500
Patent
active
045387214
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to a conveyor in which a driven conveyor means is movable essentially in a horizontal plane between two spaced, driven support means movable in synchronization with the movement of said conveyor means, said support means being arranged, prior to and after, respectively, the conveyance of an object by means of the conveyor means, to fix said object in a stationary starting position and in a stationary end position, respectively.
In sheet metal working for example, several presses work in a sequential series, making it sometimes desirable to reduce the manual servicing to a minimum. It is then necessary to place automatic conveyors between the presses. To achieve trouble-free operation it is desirable that the objects to be processed always arrive at their press with a uniform spacial orientation, so as to assure correct feeding into the press. The shape of the objects often makes it difficult however to achieve the desired precision in the conveyance with a continuously moving conveyor for example. Intermittently operating conveyors can change the position of the objects when starting and stopping, resulting in defective products.
The purpose of the invention is to eliminate said disadvantages and to achieve a conveyor which makes reliable conveyance possible of objects with good precision.
This is achieved according to the invention by virtue of the fact that the conveyor means is of reciprocating type, that the support means are movable essentially vertically to lower objects onto and lift objects up from the conveyor means, that the conveyor means and the support means have a common drive motor, and that the movements of the conveyor means and of the support means are synchronized with each other so that the conveyor means interrupts its movement while the support means carry out their movement.
By using a single drive motor, reliable synchronization is achieved between the conveyor means and the support means. The pattern of movement of the support means also makes it possible to deposit and remove objects with good precision while the conveyor means itself is moving. Any positional changes of the object during conveyance on the conveyor means can be easily corrected with the aid of the support means.
The invention will be described below in more detail with the aid of an embodiment shown on the accompanying drawings, of which
FIG. 1 shows a side view of a conveyor according to the invention,
FIG. 2 shows a view from above of the conveyor in FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 shows an end view of the conveyor in FIGS. 1 and 2,
FIG. 4 shows an enlarged partial section of a portion of the conveyor in FIG. 2,
FIG. 5 shows a section along the line V--V in FIG. 4, and
FIG. 6 shows a section along the line VI--VI in FIG. 4.
As can be seen from FIGS. 1-3, a conveyor 1 according to the invention is provided with a frame 2 which is suitably adjustable to various heights and can be portable. A conveyor means 3 moves horizontally between the ends of said frame. The conveyor means 3 is in this case a carriage mounted in side pieces 4 and 5 in the frame. With the aid of a drive device 6, the carriage can be moved between a starting position (to the left in FIGS. 1 and 2) and an end position (to the right in FIGS. 1 and 2).
At the starting position there is a first support means 7, and at the end position there is a second support means 8. Both of these support means are movably mounted in the frame 2 and are movable essentially vertically between an upper position, shown with solid lines in FIG. 1, and a lower position, shown with dashed lines in FIG. 1.
As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, the two support means 7 and 8 have at least one support portion on either side of the carriage 3. The support means 7 and 8 are both connected to the drive device 6 and move relative to the carriage 3 in a manner which will be described below.
The design of the drive device 6 is revealed in FIGS. 4-6. A motor 9 (FIG. 4), which is suitably an electric motor, is fixed to the frame 2 and drives a shaft 10 which extends into a housin
REFERENCES:
patent: 3473643 (1969-10-01), Janiske
patent: 3719270 (1973-03-01), Buddris et al.
patent: 3753489 (1973-08-01), Tomioka et al.
patent: 4151907 (1979-05-01), Doty
patent: 4236626 (1980-12-01), Noe
AB Volvo
Shane Kyle E.
Valenza Joseph E.
LandOfFree
Conveyor does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Conveyor, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Conveyor will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-609303