Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor arrangement for selecting among plural sources or... – By loading or unloading section at selected one of a...
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-07
2003-09-16
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor arrangement for selecting among plural sources or...
By loading or unloading section at selected one of a...
C198S361000, C193S0350SS, C193S0350MD
Reexamination Certificate
active
06619465
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to a switch for a transport system, in particular for a gravity roller table, wherein the switch is susceptible between a straight position and a deflection position for deflecting of transport materials from a main conveyor to a side conveyor branching of the main conveyor.
STATE-OF-THE-ART
A transport device with a switch is known from the European patent application EP 0311699 A1, which transport device exhibits modules of roller bodies. The roller bodies here form a plane with the remaining transport rollers and can on the one hand form a linear transport unit together with the predisposed to transport rollers, on the other hand can be rotated by rotation around their own vertical axes relative to the linear transport unit. If the transport material is to be deflected to the branching lateral conveyor, then the roller bodies of the switch are turned corresponding to the outward transfer angle. In case transport materials with a large floor face are transported, then only a small part of the weight of the transport material is supported on the roller bodies of the switch, such that the deflection forces cannot prevail or cannot reliably prevail relative to the forces of the main conveyor operating in the transport direction. Either a failure of the switch or an uncontrolled rotation of the transport material can result therefrom, which in turn can lead to a back-up of the transport, in case the transport material cants at an unfavorable position of the roller track.
A transport device has become known from the European printed patent document EP-A-0251391 exhibiting a fork, where a roller body with a vertical rotation axis is supported in the fork. A vertically running bearing bolt is disposed at the fork wherein the bearing bolt is introduced into a bearing bush, such that the fork is rotatable around the axis of the bearing bolt. The front face of the bearing bush on the side of the fork exhibits at recess. The bearing bolt exhibits a horizontally projecting cross bolt below the fork, wherein the cross bolt carries a roller rotatable around the cross bolt, wherein the roller engages into the recess of the bearing bush upon a certain position of the fork such that the fork is lowered in this position and is lifted up of this position upon a rotation of the fork.
A deflection device for a transport band has become known from the U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,815 A, which comprises the series of driven swivelable rollers. The deflection device is furnished with a lift mechanism, wherein the lift mechanism can lift and lower the rollers, and a swivel mechanism synchronized with the lift mechanism, wherein the swivel mechanism swivels the rollers during each lift process into a deflection position and during each lowering process into a straight position.
It is an object of the present invention to furnish a good and reliably functioning switch for a transport system, wherein the switch can be produced cost favorable and wherein a retrofitting of existing transport systems with this switch is possible in a simple matter.
This object is obtained according to the present invention by a switch for a transport system in particular for a gravity roller table, wherein the switch is transposable between a straight position and a deflection position for deflecting of transport materials from a main conveyor to a lateral conveyor branching from the main conveyor, comprising a group of roller bodies with horizontally running rotation axes, wherein the roller bodies are disposed rotatable at in each case one fork around their rotation axes and wherein each fork exhibits a bearing bolt disposed projecting vertically downwardly from the fork, wherein the bearing bolt is introduced from the top into a vertically disposed bearing bush open on the top of a bearing block not participating in the swivel motion, such that the fork is the swivelable between a first position and a second position around the vertical swivel axis, wherein the switch is disposed in the straight out position in case the forks are in each case disposed in the first position, and wherein the switch is disposed in the deflection position when the forks in each case are disposed in the second position, wherein the forks are lifted such by a lift mechanism during the swiveling from the first position into the second position such that the transport materials during passage of the switch are lifted by at least one of the roller bodies at least partially relative to the transport system, characterized in that
either the fork exhibits a head plate disposed in the upper end region of the bearing bolt and exhibiting recesses at the bottom side of the head plate and wherein the wall of the bearing bush (
24
) is limited on the top by an upper front face exhibiting projections, wherein the bearing bolt is introduced from the top into the bearing bush for a swivelable support of the fork around a vertical axis and wherein the lower side rests on the upper front face, wherein the projections and the recesses are disposed such that projections engage into the recesses into the first position of the fork and do not engage into the recesses in the second position of the fork such that the fork is disposed in a lifted position by the depth of the recesses or the height of the projections in the second position relative to the position of the fork in the first position,
or the fork exhibits a head plate disposed in the upper end region of the bearing bolt, wherein the lower side of the head plate is planar and inclined relative to the horizontal, and wherein the wall of the bearing bush is limited on the top by a plane front face disposed inclined relative to the horizontal, wherein the bearing bolt is introduced into the bearing bush from the top relative to the support of the fork swivelable around a vertical axis and wherein the lower side rests on the upper front face, wherein the spatial position of the lower side and of the upper front face are such oriented relative to each other that the fork is disposed in the second position in the lifted position relative to the position of the fork in the first position,
or the bearing block exhibits recesses and the fork exhibits a rotary plate with the projections, wherein the rotary plate rests on the upper front face of the bearing bush and wherein the projections engage the recesses in the first position of the fork and wherein the projections rest outside of the recesses on the bearing block in the second position of the fork such that fork is disposed in the lifted position in the second position relative to the position of the fork in the first position by the depth of the recesses or by the height of the projections.
The rotation axes of the roller bodies are disposed perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the main conveyor in the straight out position of the switch according to the present invention, wherein the roller bodies are disposed preferably in the plane together with the remaining transport plane of the main conveyor and serve for the straight line transport of the transport material along the main conveyor.
However the rotation axes of the roller bodies run in the deflection position such that transport material is deflected on the lateral conveyor. The roller bodies are here lifted relative to their position in a straight out position of this switch according to the present invention and the roller bodies project upwardly above the remaining transport plane of the main conveyor according to the present invention such that the transport material is at least in part lifted upon passage of the switch, wherein advantageously an increased support forces generated between transport material and roller body relative to the straight out position and wherein thus deflection force of the roller bodies becomes effective in this position of the switch to an extended measure.
The result is a direction precise deflection of the transport material even in case of high transport speeds.
The forks with the roller bodies carried by the forks are brough
Deuble Mark A.
Ellis Christopher P.
Gebhardt Fördertechnik GmbH
Kasper Horst M.
LandOfFree
Points for a feeding system, especially a gravity roller table does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Points for a feeding system, especially a gravity roller table, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Points for a feeding system, especially a gravity roller table will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3085375