Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor section – Endless conveyor having means for suspending load
Patent
1998-03-18
2000-10-17
Ellis, Christopher P.
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor section
Endless conveyor having means for suspending load
198606, 1986261, 198817, B65B 1732
Patent
active
061317241
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an apparatus for conveying hollow vessels and, in particular, to a conveyor chain apparatus for conveying hollow vessels in a suspended state after blow molding thereof has ended.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In a production line for fabricating hollow vessels, which are bottles or the like formed by blow-molding a synthetic resin or plastics, a belt conveyor or air conveyor is often used in the art as an apparatus for conveying the molded bottles.
However, a problem occurs during the conveying of bottles by a belt conveyor in that, if the conveyor apparatus is started or halted while the bottles are being conveyed, the bottles frequently fall over, and these bottles are particularly likely to fall over at a feed-screw inlet portion thereof, forcing the mechanism of the manufacturing line to halt.
The conveying of bottles by an air conveyor involves a problem in that, although it is possible to prevent the bottles from falling over because the neck portions of the bottles are suspended from rails provided in an opening in a lower surface of the wind tunnel box and an airflow from an air blower is blown against the mouth portions of the bottles to convey them, friction between the rails and the bottle necks occurs along the entire length of the bottle conveyor path, which tends to damage the bottles.
Another problem occurs because the bottles are conveyed by an airflow, in that the conveyor speed can easily become unstable due to variations in the air pressure or the like, and this causes bottles that have been halted to be hit by bottles coming from behind, deforming them.
A further problem occurs in that there is likely to be dust in the airflow from the air blower, leading to the danger that this dust will be mixed into the interior of the hollow vessels, such as bottles.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was devised with the aim of solving the above described problems with the prior art and has as its objective the provision of a suspended-bottle type of conveyor chain apparatus that has none of the above problems, such as bottles falling over or becoming damaged.
In order to achieve the above objective, the present invention configures a conveyor chain apparatus as a conveyor chain apparatus for bottles in such a manner that a conveyor chain formed integrally of a main link member and a bottle conveyor member is disposed on both sides of a conveyor path for bottles, and bottles are conveyed suspended thereby with neck portions thereof held by bottle conveyor members on both sides.
In addition, the conveyor chain is formed by linking chain links by connector pins, where each chain link is formed integrally of a bottle conveyor member that is provided with a bottle holder plate and a main, link member that is equipped with a pin connection link, a bushing, and a conveyor member attachment portion, as specific means for the conveyor chain apparatus; the conveyor chain apparatus is configured by supporting this conveyor chain on sprocket wheels and intermediate guidance members on either side; the thus configured pair of conveyor chain apparatuses are disposed on either side of the conveyor path for bottles in such a manner that neck portions of bottles are held by bottle holder plates on both sides; and bottles are conveyed by the driving of chain-driving sprocket wheels in a state in which the bottles are suspended.
Furthermore, the bottle conveyor member provided with the bottle holder plate is formed of a low-friction material as the bottle conveyor member, side surfaces on both sides of the bottle holder plate are formed in such a manner that lower edges thereof are inclined forward in the conveyor direction, so that, when bottles are delayed, the bottles are maintained in a suspended state and slide over the bottle holder plate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conveyor chain apparatus in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side view, schematically showing a state in which bottles are
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patent: 3934993 (1976-01-01), Bowman et al.
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patent: 5094340 (1992-03-01), Avakov
patent: 5353908 (1994-10-01), Wihlidal
patent: 5553698 (1996-09-01), Patois et al.
Hirasawatu Tadao
Oshida Mamoru
Crawford Gene O.
Ellis Christopher P.
Yoshino Kogyosho Co. Ltd.
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