Conveyors: power-driven – With means to facilitate working – treating – or inspecting... – Means engaging conveyor or load on a conveyor to align load...
Reexamination Certificate
1997-05-30
2001-02-27
Valenza, Joseph E. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
With means to facilitate working, treating, or inspecting...
Means engaging conveyor or load on a conveyor to align load...
C198S345300, C198S346000, C198S860300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06193047
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a conveyor apparatus and method for performing work. More particularly, the invention concerns a conveyor of the powered, slippable roller type in which the rollers are individually driven, and which is designed to serve as a workstation at which a human operator sits.
Powered conveyors are used extensively in manufacturing operations to convey objects. The conveyors may be powered or unpowered, and among those that are powered, there are conveyors that are both positively driven and those that are slippable. The latter rely on friction between conveyor elements to propel the objects, and slippage between those same elements to permit the objects to stand still when necessary. Among those conveyors that are slippable, there is a further subdivision between those that have a single roller element spanning the width of the surface path, and those that have multiple roller elements. Examples of powered, slippable roller conveyors are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,255 issued to J. Shuttleworth and Sprague; 4,053,039 issued to H. Shuttleworth; 4,067,428 issued to H. Shuttleworth; and 5,107,982 issued to Walter; all of these patents are incorporated herein by reference.
The conveyors move the objects to a location where work is performed, such as assembly, test, inspection, or packaging of the objects. This work may be performed by a collection of machines with no need for continual human intervention, or by a human operator that stays at the location more or less full time. Conveyors with multiple slippable rollers are uniquely suited to locations at which a human operator sits and works. The rollers are slippable, and therefore unlikely to pinch or grab the operator's fingers or clothing. The slippable nature of the rollers also makes them ideal for use on products which would otherwise be damaged by non-slippable rollers.
Often such products are removed from a feeder conveyor by a human operator and then placed on a different surface at which the additional work is performed. This additional turning and reaching by the operator places additional stress on the operator, thus lowering his productivity and increasing the manufacturing cost of the product. The use of slippable rollers eliminates the need to transfer the object from the conveyor to the workstation. Instead, the work can be accomplished on the conveyor. In the latter situation, it is desirable that the location be setup as an ergonomically designed workstation, minimizing non-productive tasks and improving productivity.
Ergonomic design techniques include incorporating anthropometric criteria into the layout of the location. This anthropometric data includes statistically based measurements of various aspects of the human body. Examples of this criteria and data can be found in ANSI/HFS Standard No. 100-1988 published by the Human Factors Society of Santa Monica, Calif.; the IAC Workstation Adjustment Calculator Wheel made by IAC Industries of Brea, Calif.;
Evaluation of human work
by Wilson and Corlett and published by Taylor & Francis; and
Designing for Human: The Human Factor in Engineering
by Burgess and published by Petrocelli Books; all of these references are incorporated herein by reference.
With knowledge of anthropometric measurements, an area can be designed in which the human sits comfortably and safely, with the objects situated well within his reach. The following is an example of the range and type of anthropometric data that can be incorporated into this workstation:
5th % Female
95th % Male
Dimension
(inches)
(inches)
working/elbow height
20.8
29.5
seat height
13.8
18.8
minimum thigh clearance
19.4
26.2
functional horizontal reach
24.9
32.0
optimum horizontal work envelope
11.8
15.4
minimum horizontal knee clearance
12.8
15.8
(from edge of conveyor)
minimum horizontal toe clearance
19.6
24.7
(from edge of conveyor)
For applications where the conveyor surface is used as the work surface, the vertical height of the conveyor should be adjustable to permit raising the conveyor for taller workers and lowering the conveyor for shorter workers. This type of ergonomic data is useful accommodating a range of people.
What is needed is an improved conveyor incorporating ergonomic concepts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly describing one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for a human operator to work on objects. The method includes providing a powered conveyor with a plurality of roller shafts and a plurality of slippable rollers on some of the roller shafts. The rollers define a surface path along which the objects are conveyed. A portion of the driving and support assemblies of the conveyor are enclosed for the protection of a human operator sitting with legs underneath the surface path. The operator sits adjacent to the conveyor with a portion of the operator's legs being underneath the surface path. The operator can safely and comfortably sit adjacent the conveyor, reach onto the surface path, and perform work on an object.
Another aspect of the present invention concerns an apparatus for conveying objects, the apparatus being within a workstation for a human operator. The apparatus comprises a plurality of roller shafts and a plurality of slippable rollers driven by said roller shafts, the rollers defining a surface path along which objects are conveyed. The conveyor includes a driving mechanism for driving the roller shafts. There is also a first enclosure of the driving mechanism for protection of the human operator. A roller shaft support assembly rotatably receives the roller shafts. There is a second enclosure for the support assembly for protection of the human operator. Another aspect of the present invention concerns a product stop assembly for stopping an object on the surface path within the workstation area.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of working on objects conveyed by a powered conveyor with slippable rollers such that the human operator can sit adjacent the conveyor and perform work on the objects conveyed.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a powered conveyor with slippable rollers that is of compact vertical height from the bottom surfaces of the conveyor to the top surfaces of the conveyor.
It is another object of the present invention to enclose the driving and support assemblies of the conveyor so that a human operator sitting in proximity to the conveyor is protected from harm.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the preferred embodiments and the claims.
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Brumm Christopher A.
Cramer Christopher L.
Howard Brent R.
Liner Robert E.
Shuttleworth Inc.
Valenza Joseph E.
Woodard Emhardt Naughton Moriarty & McNett
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