Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor section – Live roll
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-31
2001-02-27
Hess, Douglas (Department: 3652)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor section
Live roll
C198S781090, C198S833000, C198S840000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06193054
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to endless conveyors for transfer of articles, such as in a manufacturing environment, and more particularly, to an endless conveyor system for spacing and accumulating articles, especially in the context of articles having contents, bottom or end faces subject to distortion or damage due to rough handling.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is well known to provide conveyors that space articles, or in addition provide accumulation of articles in a conveyor system where a plurality of individual zones for separating articles are provided. The standard in the industry for such conveyors utilizes powered rollers to provide the conveying surface for the articles. One known arrangement is for the rollers to be idlers, with each group of idlers being driven by individual drive belts that engage the underside of the rollers. One approach of this type of spacing/accumulating conveyor system is the Hardwick U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,004.
While this type of conveyor system has proven to be successful, one major shortcoming is that the movement of articles is subjected to considerable vibration due to the bottom of the article bumping across the individual rollers during the conveying movement. Especially where the rollers are relatively widely spaced in order to help control the costs of such conveyors, many articles are subjected to considerable distortion or damage. This is especially prevalent with respect to electronic products or other packages with delicate contents. Also, damage due to distortion of the underside of certain articles as each of the rollers is engaged and bumped during conveying, such as occurs with paperboard drink can carriers, is intolerable and a different approach is clearly needed. Another example of this type of prior art conveyor system is illustrated in the Garrity U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,785.
In some article conveyor systems, such as for transferring and storing of luggage and baggage in airline terminals and the like, there has been some useful development in the use of conveyor belts, rather than powered rollers, as set forth in the Malavenda U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,607. Since this type of article is understood by the public to include rough handling, these systems have not been refined with a view to handling articles that are subject to distortion or damage. Thus, for example, these conveyor systems in most instances do not depart from the usual approach of allowing the articles to bump and vibrate during the conveying operation. Furthermore, the cost of such systems is exaggerated due to the need to employ individual motors for each of the sections or zones in the conveyor system.
A more recent approach than is represented by the '607patent is illustrated in the patent to Saar, U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,225. In this arrangement, a relatively narrow driven belt is powered by a circular
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-ring drive belt that must be shifted laterally so as to be fully tensioned around a drive roll for a narrow belt. In the neutral position, the
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-ring belt is laterally shifted and positioned so as not to be tensioned, and thus to eliminate the driving function. The nature of the
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-ring drive belt and the relative narrow width of the belt in the '225 patent seriously limits the use of a conveyor system constructed in accordance with this disclosure.
With the above analysis in mind, what is missing in the art is broadly defined as a spacing conveyor system, and more specifically in accordance with the preferred embodiment, a multiple zone accumulation conveyor system that overcomes these problems. The need that exists is for a conveyor system for spacing/accumulation especially adapted for articles that must be protected from jarring during handling and which makes use of a simplified drive mechanism. In the preferred embodiment, a particular advantage is sought for a conveyor system having a drive mechanism employing a single drive belt to power the plurality of belt conveyors making up a spacing and/or accumulation conveyor system. As an adjunct to this improved arrangement, the system is to be simplified and reduced in cost substantially over the prior art arrangements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Keeping in mind the above needs for a new type of spacing/accumulation conveyor, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a conveyor system that makes use of a driven belt or belts for conveying having contents, bottom or end faces subject to distortion or damage by rough handling, but not necessarily limited thereto.
It is another object of the invention to provide a simplified drive mechanism featuring a single drive belt, including for selectively driving multiple belts, when an accumulation conveyor system is provided.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a conveyor system utilized for spacing and/or accumulating articles along a flow path that is simple in mechanical, as well as electrical control design, and is low cost to produce and maintain.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a conveyor system wherein an endless transfer belt, singularly or in combination with others, is driven by a drive belt by frictional driving engagement in such a manner as to provide smooth, distortion-free article transfer and controlled acceleration/ deceleration of the articles.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an accumulation conveyor system of the type described wherein there is a plurality of transfer belt modules that are positioned in alignment and are driven from a single, continuously driving drive belt.
Another related object is to provide a conveyor system with a single drive belt that engages and drives the transfer belt(s) so as to provide the most efficient component use for the least cost and at the same time substantially eliminates damage to the articles being conveyed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an accumulation conveyor system utilizing one or more endless conveyor belts for support of the articles, and a drive belt that is cooperative with the return run of the driven belt in order to allow smooth transfer and controlled acceleration and deceleration with respect to the transfer speed.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a conveyor system that best utilizes individual accumulation zones to provide zero pressure conditions for the articles, and a related object to utilize the system to provide incline/decline zones implementing a change in elevation along the conveyor line.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a conveying system having a drive belt/transfer belt driving interface that is particularly adapted for use in either the simple, article spacing environment, or in the preferred and related field of an accumulation conveyor system.
Additional objects, advantages, and other novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned with the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
To achieve the foregoing and other objects, and in accordance with the purposes of the present invention as described herein, a conveyor system is provided with an endless transfer belt for conveying articles and an endless drive belt extending substantially parallel in the longitudinal direction, and wherein the transfer belt is driven by the engagement of the drive belt along the lower return run thereof. As a result of this arrangement, the articles are efficiently transferred, and are protected from distortion or damage, especially those articles that have contents, bottom or end faces subject to distortion or damage from jarring or rough handling. The arrangement provides for rapid, spaced transfer of the articles and in a preferred embodiment allows accumulation of the artic
Henson Mark W.
Robertson, Jr. Floyd
FKI Industries, Inc., Mathews Conveyor Division
Hess Douglas
King and Schickli PLLC
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