Trough for open modular chute

A trough and trough support for conveying liquids along open modular chuting is disclosed. The trough support is releasably secured to the sidewall of the open modular chute. The trough, in a preferred embodiment, is pleated to allow the trough to curve.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
I. Field of the Invention 
The present invention generally relates to material handling devices and, 
in particular, the present invention is concerned with a trough for open 
modular chuting for moving workpieces from one piece to another under 
gravity and along the chute. 
II. Description of the Prior Art 
Chutes, both linear and curved, for conveying parts from one location to 
another are well known in the art. A variety of methods have been proposed 
for joining and supporting chutes as well as for providing chutes with 
projections and supports along their inside walls to aid in part 
conveyance. Examples of chutes and chute systems in the prior art are 
disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,252,616; 971,087; 2,218,444; 2,284,488; 
4,198,043 and 3,915,275. Examples of chutes and chuting systems having a 
non-linear form are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 424,271; 790,776; 
1,013,292; 1,256,724; 1,720,843; 1,802,089; 3,343,793; and 3,837,452. 
These patents are relevant to the Applicant's invention in that they 
represent the closest prior art for utilizing chutes to convey parts from 
one location to another under gravity. They do not, however, disclose or 
anticipate the device of the present invention of a trough releasably 
secured to the chute for catching liquids that ay drop from parts carried 
by the chute and conveying the liquid under gravity to a collection point. 
III. Prior Art Statement 
The aforementioned prior art, in the opinion of the Applicant and the 
Applicant's attorney, represents the closest prior art of which the 
Applicant and his attorney are aware. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention, which will be described in greater detail 
hereinafter, comprises a modular chute for passing a workpiece therealong 
which includes a plurality of lengths of chute having spaced apart 
sidewalls held in a spaced relationship by a plurality of transverse clips 
attached to the upper and lower edges of the sidewalls. Grooves or 
recesses formed along sidewalls of the chute are utilized to selectively 
attach a variety of wear-resistant members to the walls of the chute to 
minimize wear and to assist in the movement of the workpieces along the 
chute. The grooves or recesses are utilized to secure a trough under the 
chute for collecting liquids that may drop from the workpiece. 
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention discloses a sidewall 
supported continuous trough suspended below the chute for collecting and 
conveying liquids that drop from parts carried by the chute. 
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a new 
and improved modular chute system utilizing a side wall supported trough 
to collect and convey liquids that drop from parts carried by the chute. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a liquid 
conveying trough for a modular chute system which is capable of being 
formed into an arcuate to follow the curvature of the chute. 
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide pleats or 
convolutions along the trough to allow the trough to curve without 
puckering. 
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved 
liquid conveying trough for chute systems which may be readily and 
inexpensively installed. 
Further objects, advantages and applications of the present invention will 
become apparent to those skilled in the art of conveyors and chute systems 
when the accompaying description of one example of the best mode 
contemplated for practicing the invention is read in conjunction with the 
accompanying drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawing, and in particular, FIG. 2, there is 
illustrated at 10 a device adapted for use with open modular chuting for 
conveying liquids that may drop from workpieces carried by the chute. The 
device 10 comprises a trough 11 carried by a support means 12 which is 
releasably secured to a trough sidewall 14. 
The trough 10 comprises pair of spaced apart upright walls 16, 18 and a 
bottom wall 20 integral with the upright walls and extending therebetween. 
A recessed channel 22 is formed in the bottom wall 20 to collect and 
convey liquids and completely drain the bottom wall 20. The bottom wall 
20, in a preferred embodiment, slopes gently from where it joins the side 
walls 16, 18 downward and inward to join the recessed channel 22 at a 
center portion. 
FIG. 4 of the drawing illustrates at 24 a modified trough having a bottom 
wall 26 that is designed to flex and enable the trough to follow the 
arcuate curvature of the chute to which it may be attached. The bottom 
wall 26 includes a plurality of transverse depressions 28 formed in the 
bottomm wall with the depressions 28 in communication with the recess 
channel 22 to allow an unobstructed flow of liquid into the recess 
channel. The transverse depressions 28 provide lateral stiffness for the 
bottom wall 26 and allow the outside portion of the bottom wall which is 
traversing a curve to stretch and the inside portion of the bottom wall to 
contract and traverse its curve without puckering. 
As shown in FIG. 7 of the drawing, there is illustrated at 30 a second 
modified trough having a plurality of vertical depressions 32 formed in 
the upright wall 18 and blending with and extending into the plurality of 
transverse depressions 28 to provide a smooth flow of liquid into the 
recess channel 22. In a preferred embodiment the plurality of vertical 
depressions 32 are formed continuously with the plurality of transverse 
depressions 28 and smoothly communicate with the recess channel 22 to 
provide unobstructed flow of liquid into the recess channel. It is obvious 
to the skilled artisan that the plurality of vertical depressions 32 
combined with the plurality of transverse depressions 28 allow 
considerable flexibility in the trough 30 so that it can be formed in an 
arcuate to curve with the trough to which it is attached. The spaced 
upright walls 16, 18, because of the pleating effect of the transverse and 
vertical depressions, allow the spaced upright walls 16, 18 to stretch and 
contract to conform to the desired curvature. It is also obvious that the 
transverse depression 28 and the vertical depression 32 stiffen the trough 
38 in a transverse manner which allows the trough to be formed from thin 
plastic material thus saving considerable weight and material costs. 
Referring now to FIG. 5 of the drawing, there is illustrated at 34 a third 
modified trough having a bottom wall 36 which includes a plurality of 
longitudinal overlapping pleats 38. The longitudinal pleats 38 provide 
longitudinal stiffness for the bottom wall 36 while allowing the bottom 
wall to form an arcuate without puckering. In a preferred embodiment the 
bottom wall 36 slopes gently toward a center portion to communicate with 
the recess channel 22 and allow unobstructed flow of liquid into the 
channel 22 for complete draining of the trough. 
Referring again to FIG. 2 of the drawing, the channel 10 in a fourth 
modification can be made from a can be gently heated and stretched to form 
an arcuate conforming to the curvature of the chute to which it is to be 
attached. Once the curve is set the trough is allowed to cool to ambient 
temperature and retains its desired shape. A thermal plastic trough is not 
limited to the use of poly vinyl chloride. Rather, any of a wide selection 
of thermal plastic materials may be utilized to form the trough depending 
upon economic and environmental considerations. 
FIG. 8 of the drawings illustrates at 40 a trough formed from co-extruded 
materials. In some instances it may be necessary to convey liquids that 
are not necessarily compatible with the most economical trough materials. 
For example, it may be necessary to convey acid or caustic materials that 
may attack, for example, poly vinyl chloride. In a coextruded trough as 
illustrated in FIG. 8, an inner layer 42 of the trough includes a thin 
layer of plastic material impervious to the liquid to be conveyed. A heavy 
center layer 44 of an expensive plastic material forms the bulk of the 
trough, and a bottom layer 46 of plastic compatible with the ambient 
conditions is bonded to the center layer 44. Utilizing the coextruded 
trough 40, a wide variety of physical attributes for the trough is 
possible at an economical cost. 
As shown in FIG. 2 of the drawing, the liquid conveying device 10 includes 
a support means 12 for releasably securing the trough 10 to the side wall 
14. The support means 12 comprises a support bracket 41 including a 
vertical flange 42 releasably engageable with an opening 44 formed in the 
side wall 41. A lower end 46 of the vertical flange 42 rests on a lower 
edge 48 of the opening 44. A lip 50 extends downward from the vertical 
flange 42 and abuts an outer surface of the side wall 14. An upper end 52 
of the vertical flange 42 extends past the opening to abut an inner 
surface of the side wall and secure the vertical flange to the side wall 
14 in a releasable manner. An outward projecting arm 54 is formed integral 
with the vertical flange and extends outward and upward a distance to 
project beyond the chute side wall 14 and accommodate a trough wider than 
the chute in a manner which will be described subsequently. The outward 
projecting arm 54 extends downward at an outer end thereof to form a 
vertical wall 56. The vertical wall 56 extends inward at a lower end to 
form a bottom wall 58. The bottom wall 58 includes a downward extending 
recess 60 adapted to clear the recess channel 22. The vertical flange 42 
engaging the opening 44 with the upper end abutting the inner surface of 
the chute sidewall 14 and the lip 50 abutting the outer surface of the 
chute side wall 14 defines a means for releasably securing the support 
means 12 to the chute side wall 14, and supporting a trough wider than the 
chute. 
As illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawing, the bracket 41 includes a means 62 
for releasaby securing the trough 10 to the bracket 41. The means 62 
comprises a projection 64 extending inward and downward from the vertical 
wall 56 and overlaying the trough side walls 16, 18 to snugly retain the 
trough in abutment with the bracket 41. 
In an alternate embodiment as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawing, there is 
illustrated at 66 an alternate means for releasably securing the trough 10 
to the chute side wall 68. The means 66 comprises a plurality of grooves 
75 formed horizontally along the chute side wall 68. A support bracket 70 
includes a pair of upward extending spaced legs 72, 74 at each end of a 
bottom wall 76. The spaced legs 72, 74 having projections complimentary to 
the plurality of grooves 75 to snugly retain the bracket 70, to the side 
wall 68. 
FIG. 36 of the drawing illustrates at 80 an additional embodiment of the 
present invention with a trough support means releasably engageable with 
the chute. The trough comprises a channel 82 formed centrally in the 
bottom wall 84. The channel 82 is formed from an extension of the bottom 
wall 84 which extends downward and outward a distance then curves 
arcuately inward then curves upward and inward to meet the bottom wall 84 
in a continuous manner to form a channel that has a pinched-in neck 
section 86 in communication with the bottom wall of the trough. A bracket 
88 is adapted to be releasably engageable with the chute 81. The bracket 
88 includes a bottom portion 90 in abutment with the channel 82 and 
includes a recess 92 in complimentary abutment with the channel 82, the 
recess extending downward and outward then curving inward in an arcuate 
manner, then curving upward in an arcuate manner to meet the bottom 
portion 90 in a continuous manner. The reces 692 having a recess neck 94 
to releasably engage the neck portion 86 to releasably engage the trough 
81 to the bracket 88. 
Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawing there is illustrated a trough 100 
carried along the bottom portion of the chute to convey liquids and fluid 
drained from the workpiece from the trough. The trough 100 includes a 
plurality of transverse convolutions 102 extending across the trough. The 
convolutions 102 give the trough flexibility enabling it to conform to any 
curvature in a chute and still provide a continuous seamless conveyance 
for liquids. The convolutions 102 meet at the center of the trough a 
central depression 104 which is the low point of the trough and provides 
for complete drainage of the convolutions 102 and thus completes drainage 
of the trough 100. Preferably the convolutions are inclined from the 
sidewall in a direction toward the drainage point. This produces a herring 
bone effect that aids in drainage of the trough. An overhanging lip 106 is 
provided to secure the trough 100 between sidewalls of the chute. 
Alternately, (clips not shown) may be attached to the sidewall to secure 
the trough 100 in place. Rollers 103 are provided to support a workpiece 
that is moved along the trough. 
Referring now to FIG. 9 of the drawing there is shown at 110 a trough 111 
having a co-extruded stiffener bar 112 running longitudinally along the 
trough. Preferably, the trough 111 is made from plastic which surround and 
retains the stiffener bar 112. The stiffener bar 112 may be made from 
rigid plastic, thermoplastic plastic, or steel. The stiffener bar 112 
provides longitudinal stiffness to the trough and can be bent to form an 
arcuate for directing the trough around corners following the chute to 
which it is attached. 
FIG. 10 illustrates at 120 an alternate configuration of a trough 122 with 
a stiffener bar 124 attached to the trough by insertion into a groove 126. 
This trough configuration allows the stiffener bar 124 to be selectively 
added to the trough when needed and where needed. For example, the 
stiffener bar 724 can be prebent to an arcuate form and inserted into the 
groove 126 to form the trough 122 in an arcuate where the curvature is 
desired. Also, the stiffener bar 126 can be added to prevent sagging of 
the trough between supports, but eliminated where sufficient support is 
available. 
It can thus be seen that the present invention has provided a new and 
improved device for passing a workpiece along a chute and for catching and 
conveying liquids that drain from the workpiece. It is obvious to the 
skilled artisan that the trough and its support can be made from a variety 
of materials including injection molded plastic, extruded plastic etc. It 
is contemplated that the support member can be made economically from 
reinforced Nylon, PVC or Delrin, although the teachings of the invention 
are not limited to these materials. 
It is also obvious to the skilled artisan that, in the preferred 
embodiment, the chute may be assembled in a curved or serpentine manner 
with the clips maintaining the sidewalls in a properly spaced and vertical 
position for the movement of the workpiece under gravity. In a serpentine 
open chute configuration it is recommended that the trough described and 
claimed be used to catch and convey any liquid that may drain from the 
parts. 
It should be understood by those skilled in the art of modular chutes that 
other forms of the Applicant's invention may be had, all coming within the 
spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.