Ships – Mother ship – floating landing platform – and harbor – Vessel carrier
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-12
2001-09-18
Avila, Stephen (Department: 3617)
Ships
Mother ship, floating landing platform, and harbor
Vessel carrier
C193S0350SS
Reexamination Certificate
active
06289837
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to conveyor device for supporting and rolling an object form one location to another.
2. Description of the Related Art
Commonly, large, heavy objects must be transferred from one location to a second location, in a factory for instance. In order to accomplish the transfer, conveyor systems are installed. Conventional conveyor systems include a carrier which is the main body portion of the conveyor. The carriers of the conveyors generally manufactured by casting in an elongated form having a circular or square shape. The carrier is provided with a base which is generally a flat platform that is fastened to the carrier by bolts, screws, welding or the like. The base allows the carrier to be freestanding. The conveyor system is further provided with rollers or wheels that are rotatably attached to the carrier and extend above the carrier to contact the heavy objects. The object can then be rolled along the conveyor, transferring the object from the first location to the second location.
To accommodate such rollers, apertures formed in the carrier for the rollers and are often cast as a single aperture. The single aperture is then provided with blocks or spacers that are secured in place between the rollers after the rollers have been fastened to the carrier. The spacers protect the inside of the carrier from environmental concerns, such as collecting dirt which would impede the rotation of the rollers. The spacers also add additional parts to the assembly of the conveyor.
Problems with such conventional conveyor devices having multiple parts to assemble involve the added complexity of manufacturing the device. The manufacturing of the conventional conveyor systems is a complicated process requiring substantial amounts of time and labor. Having multiple parts also creates weakpoints in the assembly. For instance, the base portion must be attached to the carrier by fasteners, welding or the like. The point of attachment between the base and the carrier is a weakpoint in the conveyor such that if the load exceeds the maximum strength of the weld, the conveyor may fail.
What is needed is a conveyor that reduces complexity and the number of weakpoints in a multiple piece assembly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a conveyor component with a unitary support beam for rollers. The unitary support beam is an extruded beam having a lower section similar to an I-beam with a flat base having a stem which is substantially perpendicular to the base. At the opposite end of the stem is a hollow tube having a plurality of slots, each of which being provided with a roller for conveying an article.
Many industries utilize conveyor components for conveying an article. The conveyor component includes a beam having a base portion, a stem extending from the base portion, and a generally hollow portion connected to the base. The hollow portion of the conveyor component includes a plurality of apertures each adapted to receive one of a plurality of wheels. The wheels include an axis that is mounted in the walls of the hollow portion and arranged to rotatably support one of the wheels.
In an exemplary embodiment, the stem of the conveyor component is located between the base and the hollow portion. The hollow portion is generally cylindrical. The wheels extend above the hollow portion and come in contact with the article being conveyed. At the ends of the beam are attachments which are adapted to attach to a second beam. The beam is a unitary extruded beam that may be made from a metal such as aluminum.
In another form, the present invention provides a support structure for a boat having a platform adapted to be connected to a boat and a pair of conveyors mounted on the platform. The conveyors include a metal beam having a base portion, a stem extending from the base portion, and a generally hollow portion connected to the base. The hollow portion is provided with a plurality of apertures each adapted to receive on of a plurality of wheels.
In an exemplary form, the wheels extend above the hollow portion which is generally cylindrical. A pair of conveyor components are aligned substantially parallel so that an article may be conveyed along the conveyor components.
In another form, the present invention provides a boat having a hull and an engine. A support structure includes a platform adapted to be connected to the boat and a pair of conveyor components mounted on the platform. The conveyor components include a metal beam having a base portion, a hollow portion and a stem located between the base and hollow portion. The hollow portion is provided with a plurality of apertures each of which being adapted to receive one of a plurality of wheels.
In an exemplary embodiment, the boat further includes a ramp attached to one end of the conveyor component to facilitate loading of an article from one plane to the platform located above the first plane. The conveyor components are aligned substantially parallel. The wheels extend above the hollow portion which is generally cylindrical.
One advantage of the conveyor component is that it is manufactured from a single beam which allows for simplicity in assembling the device. An additional advantage in reducing the number of parts required to construct the conveyor component is that the number of weakpoints in the assembly are lessened.
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Avila Stephen
Baker & Daniels
Roller Rack Corporation
LandOfFree
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