US395883A - Chain conveyer - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

J. M. DODGE.

f' CHAIN GONVEYBR.

' l No. 395,883. Patented Jan, 8, 1889.

ATTORNEY UNITED STATES ATENT Finca JAMES M. DODGE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE EIVART MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF ILLINOIS.

CHAIN CONVEYER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 395,883, dated January 8, 1889.

Application filed October 6, 1887. Serial No. 251,565. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it' may concern.-

'Be it known that l, .IAMEs M. Denon, ot' Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State otl Pennsylvania, have invented a new and uset'ul In'iproveinent in Chain Conveyers; and I do hereby declare that the t'ollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, rclerencc being had to the accompanying drawings,making part ol this application.

My invention relates to chain conveyors ol' that type in which an endless chain provided with projecting l'lights is mounted to travel tendency ot' the lower run of the chain as it passes down from the driving chain-wheel to accumulate more or less slack, thus impairing the etticiency olf the eonveyer by reason ot' the incapacity ol' the tlights which project downwardly from the flexible chain to properly push along the material to be conveyed when the lower run ot the chain is not maintained in a comparatively taut condition. It is not ditlicult where the double run ol the chain is o't' suitable length and weight to have the upper run properly supported at intervals by idlers, which operate to prevent any undue slack in this run ot thc conveyor-chain; but as the lower run has to co-operate with the convcycr-trougli it is rather impracticable, if not impossible, lo take up or avoid any undue slack occurring in said. lower run by means of any ot the expedients which may be easily applied to take up the slack in the upper run ot' thc chain.

I propose by my invention to provide a simple and ellicit-nit means lor always keeping the lower run of the chain under sufficient tension to prevent any undue slack therein, thus woidine,` any impaired or imperfect action oli' the .iights projecting from said lower run of the chain and that have to work within the trough of the conveyer; and to this main end and object my invention may be said to consist in the combination, with the usual run of chain and the usual d rive-wheel and driven wheel arranged, respectively, at the ends ot' the conveyor, ot a third chain-wheel which acts after the At'ashion of an idler, but which is mounted to move \f'ertically or nearly vertically, and the weight ot' which, together with that ot its journal-supporting frame or carriage, acts by gravity on the lower run of the chain and at a point beneath the drivewhcel ot' the conveyor, so as to keep the chain distended or in a taut condition from the point at which it leaves the drive-wheel to that at which it passes onto the driven wheelv or idler at the other end of the conveycr.

To enable those skilled in the art to which my invention relates to make and use the same, I will new proceed to more t lilly explain my improvement, referring by letters vto the accompanying drawinos, which forni part ot" this specication, and in which I have illustrated my invention carried out in that form of machine or contrivance in which I have so tar successfully practiced the same.

In the drawings, vFigure l is a side view or elevation of so much ot a chain-conveyer apparatus as it is necessary to show for the purpose of illustrating the embodiment therein of inyinvention. Eig. 2 is an end view of the same, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow at Fig. 1. v

In both figures the saine parts ot the apparatus will be found designated by the saine letters of reference.

A is the chain. ot an ordinary chain conveyer ot that type in which the cable form. oi chain is employed, and trom which project in the' usual manner a series of flights, l), adapted to push or convey alon any material conveyed or discharged into the trough of the conveyer. This conveyer-chain is mounted to run upon or in connection with two chain-wheels, C and E, which are mounted, respectively, and in the usual manner, in suitable supportin glraines, D and F, one of said chain-wheels, E, operating as a driving-wheel. The other one,

C, operates (as usual) as the driven wheel or IOO idler for keeping the double run of chain distended.

G is the trough of the convey/Yer, which 'in the case shown is an ascending` conveyertrough for earryin g obliquely upward and discharging in a horizontal direction the material to be operated upon. The driven wheel C is preferably provided with the usual takeup device (seen at f) for the purpose of taking up in the usual manner any slack in the chain; but the said chain, instead of simply passing, after the fashion of an endless band or drive-belt, over the drivin or driven chainwheels, passes beneath and Iixartially around a sprocket-wheel, I, which is preferably located, as shown, a short distance below and immediately under the drive-wheel E, said wheel l having its axle mounted in a sliding j and gravitating carriage, l, which is arranged l to slide freely up and down on suitable wa s l within the main lframe-work F of the conw veyer, all as clearly' shown at Fig. l, in such manner that the gravity of the wheel l and its carriage l( will opera-ie to keep taut or in a of the chain, where the flights l1 have, so to speak, to operate to push along the contents ot' the trough G.

At a'. is shown one/of the usual idlers employed for properly suspending or taking up the slack in the upper run of the conveyer.

lt will be understood that the details of eonstructimi, as well as all of the proportions and relative arrangements ot' the parts of the conveyer apparatus shown, may be varied more or less without departing `from the spirit of my invention, so long` as there be employed in connection with or be combined with the chain of the conveyor a gravitating wheel or tijgfhtener` l, which is properly located relatively to the drivewheel to keep the chain i taut at the localitav where it passes from the drive-wheel and throughout the lower run of the chain in substantiallyvv the manner herein explained. l therefore wish itto be under stood that l do not consider my invention as restricted to any details ot' construction or to any specific form and arrangement of the i parts, so long as the construction ot' the apdistended condition the short (flescending run of the chain that passes from the periphery of the wheel Eonto that of the wheel l, and to also i matically taken up or prevented by a gravikeep in a strained or taut condition that portion (or the lower run)ol' the chain which passes from the periphery of wheel l obliquely npward to the wheel (l, and from which project the flights l), that work within the conveyertrough G. lt will be understood, ot' course, that this tighteningI gravitating wheel I is preferably located relatively to the receiving` end of the trough G soas to permitaslight or the necessary downward movement of the lower run of the chain at the vicinity of the rect-living end of the trough without causing any undue strain on the working or lower etllges of the flights l) as they enter the lower end of the trough G. Of course the wheel l and its carriage K maybe either made of sufficient weight, (or should be properly weightech) according to circumstances, so as to always produce the desired effect ot' keeping sufficiently taut or strained the lower run of the chain A to insure the perfect working of the flights in the conveyer-trough, and it will be understood that, while the usual take-up device, f, is enr ployed and arranged so as to set the conveyerchain and keep it in substantially the proper average degree of tightness, the automatically-operating tighteners (so to speak) I will perform the function of takin up or preventing any undue slack of the chain after it leaves the drive-wheel E and during the lower run paratus be such, as shown, that any slack in the lower run of the chain tendin to impair the efficient operation of the flights is autotating wheel or its equivalent. i

lVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

ln a chain conveyer of the type shown and described, the comljiination of the following instrumentalities, to wit: first, the endless chain A, provided with t-he usual tlights, h; second, the stationary d ri v i n sprocket-wheel E and the adjustable driven spiiocket-wheel (l, around which said endless chain passes; third, the usual conveyer-trough, G, arranged or located to permit the action therein of the tiights ot' the lower run of the chain, and, fourth, the automatic or gravitating take-up sprocket-wheel I, arranged beneath the drivingwheel within. the double run of the tlighted conveyer-chain and in the vicinity of the point of co-operation between the iiights and the trough, the said instrum entalities all arranged and operating together sulJstantially in the manner and Vfor the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

In witness whereof lha-vo hertiuinto set my hand this Sd day of (')ctolfieig i887.

JAMES M. DODGE.

Witnesses:

)L G'ETZ, ll. Ricos'.

IOO

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