US2700453A - Conveyer - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 25, 1955 D. BURBIDGE ET AL CONVEYER 2 Shets-Sheet 1 File d March 12. 1953 wa ww ,6

Jan. 25, 1955 'A. D. BYUIRBIDGE ETAL 2,700,453

' CONVEYER Fiied March 12, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 62 d8 ZENVEZTQRS.

*Jzw'id z United States. Patent CONVEYER Arden D.. Burbi'dge, ParkRiver, and Julius M.- Hetland, Fargo, N. Dak.

Application March 12, 1953', S'eria'l'No. 341,966

10* (Claims; (Cl. 198-485) This invention relates to; a conveyor and more particularly to a conveyor whichis adapted foruse in a sorting operation.

Many present day businesses involve a sorting operation of one kind or another, in which alarge quantity ofi objects are sorted orgradedon. the basis of one or more of their characteristics; For example, vegetables and fruits must be sorted from undesired objects such as. clods of dirt, stones, rocks and the like and are generally. graded on'the basis of size. Many manufacturing procedures involve a sorting operation based on one or more of the characteristics of the manufactured object. Generally, these sorting and grading operations are carried on by moving the objects past one or. more: sorting or grading points on aconveyor of some sort. Means are: provided for removing selected objects. from the conveyor either at the sorting point or at some other predetermined point. These meansmay takevariousforms; for example, a stream of air, may be. used to blow the selected objects from the: conveyor or arm may be employed tov push the selected objects from the conveyor. This invention is concerned with a new conveyor structure made up of, a. plurality of members; which maybe released to drop: the. selected objects from theconveyor;

One featureof this conveyor is that it includes a moving element, a plurality of releasable members carried by the moving' element and adapted to support articles, means for releasing only selected? members to drop; the: articles carried thereby and means for returning; the released members to their original position. Another. feature is thatthe releasable members. are fingers pivotally: carried onthemoving element and each having an elongated portion normally extending substantially horizontally and a base portion having a. slot therein adapted: to receive the pivot on; the moving. element and in which the releasing means effects transl'atory movement of; the sl'otted' portion relative. to the pivot whereby the: finger member.- rotated about the pivot and-1 hangs freely; A. further featureis: that' a bracket is: attached to t-he. moving element. andv carriesr'the pivotwhichsupports the finger members. And another feature is that the: fingers are; normally carried on the'pivot' with the.

elongated.pontion extending. substantially horizontally and With-the base portion bearing against the bracket. And as fiurther feature is that an inclined rail is provided beneath the tips. of. the fingers at the point of release for controlling the rate of fall of the released fingers.

Further'features and advantages of our invention will be apparent from the specification and drawings, in which;

Figure lis a side elevational view ofa conveyor embodyin'g our invention;

Figure 2 is a topplan view of the conveyor of Figure 1;

Figure; 3 is. a: fragmentary top plan View of: a portion ofi'the' conveyor;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 oft-Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5'-'5 ofi Figure 3L In the particular embodiment illustrated, and referring now to- Figures 1 and 2, the conveyor is supported on aL'framework made up of base members and 11 and uprights 12, 13*, 14v and 15 which are disposed in pairsat either" end of the base'members; The: upper ends of the uprights are braced by longitudinal members-115 and 2,700,453 Patented Ja m 25, 1955 ice 17 which extend. between uprights: 1-2: and- 13,. and. 14 and 15, respectively, and. which are: preferably la-shaped; An: axle 18' is journalled on uprights 1 2 and- 14 and carries a pair of. spaced, toothed. wheels; 19 and 20, keyed thereto- Anaxle 23 journalled on uprights 1-3 and: 153 carries. a second pair of. spaced,,toothed wheels 24 and 25-.

A pair of endlessschainsi 26% and 27 are' supported by corresponding. wheels at either endv of the: structure; wheels 19 and: 2.4 supporting; chain 26 and. wheels- 20 and ZSsupporting chain 27 Thechains 26 and 27 form the basis of the conveyor and. preferably lie: along: the horizontal portion: 161: and; 1-7a,, respectively, of. the longitudinal members: 16 and 17.

A drive shaft 28 is. journalled; on: theupright; 14- and carries a spur gear 29 Whichengages the gear:30. mounted on! wheel 20. A source of. rotary, power (not: shown), turns. the drive shaft 28:and through the gears 29'and30 drives the wheels.19 andi20-. This motionis transmitted to the linkchains 26 and 27 which move in a clockwise path as seen; in. Figure; l.

The link chains 26 and 27 are of any suitableztype and are preferably made up. of a series of pivotally interconnected plates 33; Secured. to alternate: plates are U-shaped brackets 34,, held. in place by means; of screws 35 (Figure 3). These brackets aremountedi on facing. edges of the two chains. 26: and; 27 and: eaclt one extends substantially the: length of an individual side plate 33'. Garried between. the. extending arms 3.4a. of the Ushaped brackets 3.4=is a pivot member 36.. Carried on-this-pivot' member are two releasable: finger. members 37.- separated by a: spacer 38..

As. may, best. be seen" in. Figures 4-- and 5;. fingers. 37 have; an elongated portion 37a and. an. enlarged? base portion 37b. substantially at right angles thereto. The

base portion 3712 has a slot 39 therein, adaptedztoyreceive the-pivot; 36': When: the fingers. are. in normalconveyor position, Figure 5,.tl1e-pivot 3.6:is:at;the:top' 39a ofthe slot 39 and the lower. portion. 31c: of: the base 37b of the finger bears; against the: bracket 34', maintaining. the elongated: portion 37a of. the finger: in an outwardly. dis posed or substantially horizontal attitude; The. distance fromrthepivot 3.6' to the bracket: 34' must be less than the: distance from the top 39a of? the: slot39. to the.bot+ tom 37d of the base portion of the finger so that" the bflSGr'POlfiOIl will contact. the bracket and maintain. the finger in. the desired position. The elongated portionstof the fingers carried by the two: link chains 26. and127 extend inwardly from the chaihs, toward each. other and form at substantially: complete surface for supporting the. articles to be? carried by the conveyor; Preferably: the dimensions ofthebracket 34,.pivot 36,.base': portion" 375. and slot 39 are so related that. the elongated. portions 37a. of the fingers incline slightly downwardly: toward the: center oh the conveyor to facilitate. centeringof the objects canrieda thereon.

The tripping operation by means of which. certain of the articles carried by the conveyor-may be sorted from: the: other articles carried thereby iszac'complishedin the followingmanner; As may be seenain'Figures 1' and 2', a tripping wheel 42. ispivotally carried at one end of a centrally mounted? lever' arm 43: carried on the longitudinal member I7. The tripping wheel. is so mounted that it is directly beneath the base portion 37b ofthe fingers 37 carried by chain: 27 asthe conveyor moves along. A. similar tripping. wheel 44 and lever arm 45v are mounted under the fingerscarried; by the chain: 26, the other'side of the conveyor.

In order totripor release the selected fingers, meansare provided which cause the tripping Wheels 42 and 44 to move upwardly, effecting translatory upward niove mentof thesl'otted portion 39 aboutrthe'pivot36, as shownin broken lines in Figure 4. This allows the entire finger to turn about the pivot 36" and hang downwardl'y, as shown in full lines in Figure 4-. The distance from the pivot 36 to the bracket 34 must be greater'than the thicknessof the lower end of the base 37b of'the finger, that is the. distance from the lower end' 395 of'thesl'ot tothe bottonr 37'dof the: base, inord'er 'th'atithe. finger will. pivot properly and hang downwardly: articles carried by the selected finger at the time they are tripped or released may fall into a receptacle of any suitable sort placed beneath the conveyor or onto another conveyor or the like (not shown).

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the lever arm 43 has the core 46a of a solenoid 46 pivotally secured to the end thereof opposite the end at which the tripping wheel 42 is attached. The solenoid 46 is mounted on a bracket 47 suspended from the longitudinal member 17. When the solenoid 46 is energized, the core thereof is pulled downwardly causing the tripping wheel to be moved upwardly, eifecting upward translatory movement of the base portions 37!) of the fingers 37 which pass over the wheel during the time it is raised; when the solenoid is deenergized, the tripping wheel returns to its original position. The solenoid coil 46 may be energized from a source of electrical power (not shown) by the manual operation of a switch or by any suitable sorting control device. See for example, copending Burbidge and Hetland application, Serial No. 333,096, filed January 26, 1953, which discloses an electronic sorting control circuit. A similar solenoid control arrangement may be provided for the other tripping wheel 44-.

A pair of inclined rails 47 and 48 may be placed under the tips of the fingers carried by each of the chains 26 and 27 at the release point. These rails are inclined downwardly in the direction of travel of the conveyor and control the rate of fall of the tips of the released fingers. Their use is particularly advantageous to prevent a sudden drop of easily bruised articles such as fresh vegetables, fruit and the like.

Although this invention has been described in connection with a conveyor having only a single release point, it is to be understood that a plurality of release points may be provided along the length of the conveyor. For example, a sorting apparatus with a plurality of release points would be used where articles were being graded into various classifications on the basis of size or color or the like; the articles of one standard would be released at the first point, those of a second standard at a second point and so on.

In operation the articles to be sorted would be fed to the conveyor from suitable means such as a gravity feed hopper (not shown) at the left end thereof as viewed in Figures 1 and 2. The articles would be moved along by the conveyor to the right in Figures 1 and 2 past the selection point where the selected articles are dropped from the conveyor while those articles which are not selected would move on and fall from the end of the conveyor at the far right.

The chains 26 and 27 pass over the wheels 24 and 25 and then back under the main run of the conveyor to the wheels 19 and 20. As the chains 26 and 27 pass around the wheels 19 and 20 it is necessary to insure that the fingers 37 will return to their normal outwardly extending position, so as to form the surface of the conveyor. In order to accomplish this, a pair of curved guide rails 50 and 51 are provided. These guide rails are mounted on the base members 11 and have an upwardly extending port-ion sea and 51a respectively which extends up wardly to a point slightly above the lower edge of the wheels 19 and 2%. A second portion 56b and 51b of the guide members extends gradually inwardly toward the center of the conveyor in a generally vertical plane to a point opposite the horizontal axis of the wheels 19 and 20. A third portion 500 and 510 extends on inwardly toward the center of the conveyor and generally follows the curvature of the wheels 19 and 20; while a fourth portion 50d and 51d extends along the top of the tips of the fingers and follows the curvature of the wheels 19 and 20. The guide rails 50 and 51 engage the fingers 37 as they pass around the wheels 19 and 20 and cause them to return to their desired conveyor position. A pair of discs 52 and 53 are mounted on the axle 18 and are of such a diameter that the tips of the fingers 37 rest on the peripheral edges of the discs as they are returned to their normal conveyor position. This prevents the fingers from hanging downwardly as they return to the main run of the conveyor and insures that the base 37b of the fingers will assume its proper relationship with the pivot 36 and bracket 34.

In some instances, it will be desirable to cause all of the fingers 37 to hang downwardly during the return run of the conveyor. Fingers which have not been released may do this automatically, while those which have been released will not do so, but rather will engage the bracket and extend outwardly during the return run. During many sorting operations weeds, vines and the like may be mixed in with the articles being sorted and it is desirable to cause them to .be dropped from the conveyor during the return run. In order that of all the fingers 37 will hand downwardly during the return run, a roller 54 is provided along the lower portion of the periphery of wheel 25. This roller is mounted on a bracket 55 extending upwardly from the base member 11 and is so positioned that it bears against the top of the base portion 37b of the fingers and causes them to move so that the pivot 36 is at the top of the slot 39. Thus, the fingers are free to hang downwardly during the return run. A similar roller may be provided adjacent the wheel 24.

While we have shown and described certain embodiments of our invention, it is to be understood that it is capable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A conveyor of the character described, comprising: a moving element; means for driving said moving element; mounting means including a pivot on said moving element; a plurality of releasable fingers pivotally carried by said mounting means, each finger having an elongated portion normally extending substantially horizontally and a base portion having a slot therein adapted to receive said pivot; and means for releasing only selected fingers by effect-ing translatory movement of said slotted portion relative to said pivot whereby they rotate about said pivot and hang freely.

2. A conveyor of the character described, comprising: an endless moving element; means for driving said moving element; mounting means including a pivot on said moving element; a plurality of releasable fingers pivotally carried by said mounting means, each finger having an elongated portion normally extending substantially horizontally and a base portion having a slot therein adapted to receive said pivot; means for releasing only selected fingers by elfecting translatory movement of said slotted portion relative to said pivot whereby they rotate about said pivot and hang freely; and guide means for returning said released members to their original position.

3. A conveyor of the character described, comprising: an endless link chain; means for driving said chain; bracket means attached to the links of said chain; pivot means carried by said brackets, parallel to and alongside each link; a plurality of spaced releasable finger members pivotally mounted on said brackets, said finger members having an elongated portion normally extending substantially horizontally from said links and a base portion havmg a slot therein to receive said pivot means, said base portion bearing against said bracket; camming means operable to move the base portion of selected finger members upwardly whereby said selected finger members rotate about said pivot and hang freely; and guide means for returning said selected finger member to their normal position.

4. A conveyor of the character described, comprising: a pair of spaced parallel endless moving elements; means for driving said moving elements; mounting means including a pivot on the facing edges of both of said moving elements; and a plurality of releasable fingers carried by said mounting means, each finger having an elongated portion normally extending substantially horizontally and a base portion having a slot therein adapted to receive said pivot; and means for releasing only selected fingers on both of said moving elements by effecting translatory movement of said slotted portion. relative to said pivot whereby they rotate about said pivot and hang freely.

5. Apparatus of the character described in claim 4 in which the tips of the elongated portions of the fingers carried by one of the moving elements are adjacent the tips of the fingers carried by the other moving element and said tips are below the level of the top of said base portion.

6. A conveyor of the character described, comprising: a moving element; means for driving said moving element; mounting means including a pivot on said moving element; a plurality of releasable fingers pivotally carried by said mounting means, each finger having an elongated portion normally extending outwardly and a base portion having a slot therein adapted to receive said pivot; means for releasing only selected fingers by effecting translatory movement of said slotted portion relative to said pivot whereby they rotate about said pivot and hang freely; and means for controlling the rate of fall of said released fingers.

7. A conveyor of the character described, comprising: an endless moving element; means for driving said moving element; mounting means including a pivot on said element; a plurality of releasable fingers pivotally carried by said mounting means, each finger having an elongated portion normally extending outwardly and a base portion having a slot therein adapted to receive said pivot; means for releasing only selected fingers whereby they rotate about said pivot and hang freely and an inclined rail under the tips of the fingers at the point of release to control the rate of fall of said released fingers.

8. A conveyor of the character described, comprising: an endless link chain; means for driving said chain; bracket means attached to the links of said chain; pivot means carried by said brackets, parallel to and alongside each link; a plurality of spaced releasable finger members pivotally mounted on said brackets, said finger members having an elongated portion normally extending substantially horizontally from said links and a base portion having a slot therein to receive said pivot means, said base portion bearing against said bracket; camming means operable to move the base portion of selected finger members upwardly whereby said selected finger members rotate about said pivot and hang freely; and an inclined rail under the tips of said fingers at the point of release for controlling the rate of fall of said released fingers.

9. In an endless conveyor, releasable means of the character described, comprising: mounting means adapted to be attached to said conveyor and including a pivot; at least one releasable finger pivotally carried by said mounting means, said finger having an elongated portion normally extending substantially horizontally and a base portion having a slot therein adapted to receive said pivot; and release means for effecting translatory movement of said slotted portion relative to said pivot whereby said finger rotates about said pivot and hangs freely.

10. In an endless conveyor, releasable means of the character described, comprising: a bracket adapted to be attached to said conveyor; a pivot carried by said bracket; at least one releasable finger member pivotally mounted on said bracket, said member having an elongated portion normally extending substantially horizontally and a base portion having a slot therein transverse of said elongated portion and adapted to receive said pivot, said base portion bearing against said bracket; and release means for camming said base portion upwardly whereby said member turns about said pivot and said elongated portion hangs freely.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,351,215 Olson Aug. 31, 1920 2,471,711 Altenpohl May 31, 1949 2,505,677 Krupp Apr. 25, 1950 2,594,589 Runton Apr. 29, 1952

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