Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor system for moving a specific load as a separate unit – System includes a load supported by a conveyor portion which...
Patent
1996-02-09
1998-02-03
Valenza, Joseph E.
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor system for moving a specific load as a separate unit
System includes a load supported by a conveyor portion which...
19880301, B65G 3700
Patent
active
057134553
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention concerns a pendulant storage installation for temporarily storing products, in particular food products, and more particularly for bars of chocolate or the like, these products being placed on shelves arranged horizontally on pendulant product carriers horizontally suspended on two chains mounted on a frame and moving parallel to each other in a closed circuit, this installation comprising a feed section going from a station for loading the products on the shelves, to a product receiving station arranged for unloading the shelves, and a return section in which the shelves are brought back empty from the receiving station to the loading station, in which the pendulant product carriers are provided with means for receiving several removable horizontal shelves arranged parallel to each other as a constant spacing, these shelves each constituting a tray arranged for receiving at least one row of similar products.
Numerous pendulant storage installations are already known, in particular that disclosed in the European Patent application published under number 0 538 742 A1. In food product production lines, for example of bars of chocolate, biscuits, chocolate covered products and other products which are fragile and delicate to handle, it is often necessary to be able to have a temporary storage installation available for these products, given that production is carried out continuously while packaging is carried out in batches and the packaging units of a same line are periodically subject to halts required for maintenance, repair or the placing of packing material.
These storage installations must comply with relatively burdensome specifications. They must allow large storage capacity and assure efficient and careful transport of the products from a loading station no a receiving station, while providing maximum security for the conveyed products, great flexibility of use and variable storage potential as a function of the instant demand.
One of the problems presented by these installations is that of maintenance and regular cleaning of the shelves, in order to satisfy standards of hygiene, in particular when the products to be stored are food products and are capable of dirtying the shelves. In existing installations, this cleaning can only be carried out when the installation is stopped, which imposes significant interruption time on the user and therefore constitutes a particularly inconvenient disadvantage which has a negative effect on the productivity of the installation.
In pendulant storage installations such as that disclosed in British Patent No. 719 696, the shelves, while able to be removed, are not generally reversible or they comprise rims which make storage, cleaning or automatic replacing after cleaning difficult.
Furthermore, the shape and design of these shelves does not generally lend itself to simple and efficient cleaning. Multiple rims constitute as many nooks for accumulating and developing bacteria which require complex and costly cleaning and asepticising methods.
Finally, the asymmetrical shape of the trays creates problems when they are replaced after cleaning, in particular if this replacement is carried out automatically, because it requires indexing the trays or means for marking their position.
The present invention proposes to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages by providing a storage installation of the type defined in the preamble and which enables the trays to be regularly replaced without stopping, or even disturbing the operation of the installation, the shelves being designed to be able to undergo rapid and efficient cleaning, and to guarantee as best as possible the standards of hygiene required when the products to be processed are food products.
These objects are achieved by the storage installation according to the invention, which is characterised in that the removable shelves comprise a closed profile and two end fitting pieces arranged for fitting onto this closed profile, at its longitudinal ends.
In a preferred embodiment, said end fitt
REFERENCES:
patent: 5253745 (1993-10-01), van den Bergh
Aliesch Hans Peter
Hofmann Armin
Walser Hans Heiri
Sapal Societe Anonyme des Plieuses Automatiques
Valenza Joseph E.
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