Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor section – Unit load conveying surface means moved about an endless or...
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-30
2003-03-18
Olszewski, Robert P. (Department: 3627)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor section
Unit load conveying surface means moved about an endless or...
C198S798000, C198S475100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06533106
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a conveyor for transporting articles such as letters, mail parcels, CDs, and other types of articles, in particular articles of a relatively light weight such as, e.g., of a maximum weight of about 8 kg, in particular a maximum weight of about 5 kg (although it will be understood that the principles of the invention can be utilized also in connection with articles of a higher weight than about 8 kg). In particular, the invention relates to a conveyor which allows a high degree of adaptability to requirements or constraints with respect to the space it can occupy and the path along which the conveyor units can travel.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conveyors for letters, mail parcels, CDs, videotapes, books and other relatively light articles should be designed so that they can relatively easily be installed and operated under widely varying space conditions, both with regard to the amount of space the conveyors can occupy and with respect to the three-dimensional configuration of the space available. Examples of conveyors in which the conveyor units are capable of travelling along a curving path extending between different vertical positions appear from AT Patent No. 347.333 and Swedish published patent application No. 92,026,749-9.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to such conveyors that are highly flexible with respect to their installation and operation and which permit the conveyor units thereof to follow paths in any desired direction; which can be installed and operated in a space comprising more than one floor and/or on walls; in which a loading station can be installed directly above or directly under a discharge station, and/or loading stations or discharge stations can be installed directly above each other; and which can be made economically and yet deliver a highly efficient and flawless operation.
The conveyor according to the invention comprises
a plurality of conveyor units,
an endless carrier means, such as a chain, to which each conveyor unit is connected,
an endless main track in which the carrier means is moving in a transport direction, said track comprising at least a first substantially straight main track section, a second substantially straight main track section, and a curving main track section being connected at a first end to the first main track section and at a second end to the second main track section, the first and second main track sections being arranged in two planes in a vertical level so that their respective transport directions are of opposite direction,
each conveyor unit being connected pivotally to the carrier means so as to allow the conveyor unit to pivot relatively to the chain about a main axis of the conveyor unit, each conveyor unit comprising an article-supporting member that extends away from the vertical plane of the carrier means, a first guide member of the conveyor unit, and
first guiding means arranged in a vertical plane being parallel to the vertical plane of the carrier means and adapted to co-operate with the first guide member of each of said plurality of conveyor units when the conveyor unit moves along at least a part of the at least one curving section of said main track, so as to counteract or prevent the article supporting member from tilting from its position relative to the horizontal plane, the article supporting members of the conveyor units being arranged between the vertical plane of the first guide member and the first guiding means and the vertical plane of the carrier means when the conveyor units are moving along said curving main track section.
The first and the second main track sections will normally be horizontally oriented. The endless carrier means is normally, and in most cases preferably, a chain, but also other means, such as, e.g., a toothed belt or an endless series of connected carriages, which are capable of carrying the conveyor units in the manner disclosed herein are contemplated.
The main axis of each conveyor unit is preferably horizontal or substantially horizontal. In most cases, it will also be preferred that the main axis of each conveyor is substantially perpendicular to the transport direction.
The pivotal connection of each of the conveyor units with its article-supporting member, e.g. a cross-belt unit, extending away from the vertical plane of the carrier means permits a design where sections of the track can be mounted in an open space or on a wall as desired. Curvature of the track in a vertical direction, e.g. a vertical loop connecting two substantially straight track sections and reverting the direction of the track, can be compensated for by the conveyor units pivoting around their main axis, the maintaining or substantially maintaining the article-supporting member, e.g. a cross-belt unit, in its position relative to the horizontal plane, normally a position where the article-supporting surface of the member is horizontal, being achieved through the engagement of the guide member with the first guiding means. In most embodiments, the first guiding means will extend substantially parallel to at least a part of the main track. The first guiding means may in itself be a track with which the first guide member of each carrier unit engages, or it may comprise, e.g., protrusions such as pins or bars, which move along a path which normally extends substantially parallel to at least a part of the main track and which engage with the first guide member of each conveyor unit.
Torque-absorbing means may preferably be arranged in substantially the same vertical plane as the carrier means. This means that the torque-absorbing means will normally not extend further from the main track, normally in the direction opposite to the article-supporting member, than four times the breadth of the main track, preferably not further than three times and more preferred not further than twice the breadth of the main track. In an illustrative, but presently not preferred embodiment, the torque-absorbing means could be a relatively heavy counterweight placed on the opposite side of the carrier means relative to the article-supporting member of the conveyor unit; the counterweight could be adjustable to compensate for variations of the loading on the article-supporting member, the compensation being performed manually or preferably automatically, e.g. in response to a sensor detecting the angle of the article-supporting member of the conveyor unit relative to the horizontal plane and producing an output signal indicating the detected angle.
In practice, the torque absorbing means preferably constitutes an integrated part of the carrier means, such as, for each conveyor unit, at least one wheel or low friction slide part/slide member/slide shoe connected to or forming part of the carrier means and engaging with a track part, preferably a part of the main track, and co-operating with another engaging member, e.g. another wheel on a common axle, in such a manner that the torque is absorbed while permitting free movement of the total arrangement in the transport direction. An embodiment of such a torque-absorbing means is shown in the figures. It will be understood that in principle, to be comparable to the counterweight example above, such a torque-absorbing means consists of the combination of e.g. the wheel pair on the common axle and the track parts with which each wheel engages, and such a combination and similar combinations are covered by the term “torque absorbing means” herein.
The conveyor according to the invention may further comprise a second guiding means that extends substantially parallel to at least a substantial part of the main track, each conveyor unit comprises a second guide member adapted to co-operate with said second guiding means when the conveyor unit moves along at least a substantial part of straight sections of said main track, the second guiding means and the second guide members when co-operating are adapted to counteract or prevent the article-supporting member from tilting from its position relative to the horizon
Crisplant a/s
McAllister Steven B.
Olszewski Robert P.
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