Conveying means

A conveying unit for a suspension conveying system having an elevated rail which unit includes two roller supports for rolling on a rail and a supporting element connected to the roller supports, on which the object to be conveyed are to be disposed. A coupling is provided in order to be able to couple the conveying unit to other conveying unit. In order to be able to better adapt the conveying unit to special operating conditions the coupling is arranged directly on the roller support.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The invention relates to a conveying means for a suspension conveying 
system of the type having an elevated rail and, in particular, to 
conveying means in the form of a unit including a pair of roller supports 
for engaging the rail, a support element from which objects to be conveyed 
are disposed, and a coupling element for coupling to other conveying 
units. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Such a conventional conveying means is e.g., revealed by DE-PS 19 40 256. 
The coupling elements are always fastened to the supporting elements 
designed as tie-bars in the known conveying means of this type. However, 
it appeared that the field of application and the usability of the known 
conveying means is restricted by this type of arrangement of the coupling 
elements, since the space required for the coupling is not available for 
the transport of objects. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Thus, the invention is based on the object of providing a conveying means 
or unit which can be better adapted to special needs. 
The object is accomplished in the present invention by disposing the 
coupling elements directly on the roller supports. 
The supporting element can be simple, adapted to the requirements in the 
enterprise, i.e., for instance the working height, the space requirements 
or the capacity, by the arrangement of the coupling elements according to 
the invention on the roller supports. The conveying units can moreover 
also be combined into a common train with different supporting elements. 
The curve-negotiating ability is further improved in vertical curves by 
the decreased distance between the coupling and the elevated track or 
rail, since less distortions occur in the train. 
It is of special advantage if the coupling include a pair of coupling 
elements disposed on each roller support, namely at opposed sides of the 
roller support relative to the direction of conveying. It is possible in 
this fashion to also couple empty conveying units, in which one of the two 
roller supports is released from the rail in customary fashion and is 
downwardly suspended together with the supporting element, to form an 
empty train and to move them jointly. 
The forming of an empty train can be carried out especially advantageously 
if the supporting element is connected to the roller support to be 
pivotably about a horizontal axis. 
It is for instance possible by the arrangement of the coupling elements on 
the roller supports according to the invention, to utilize substantially 
the full train length for the transport of objects, by designing the 
supporting element so that it projects beyond the roller support. The ends 
of the supporting elements can be bent in C-shaped fashion or 
approximately in C-shaped fashion. The latter design has the further 
advantage that empty supporting elements can be suspended in space-saving 
fashion, by suspending them with one of their C-shaped end pieces e.g., 
over a supporting element of a conveying unit movable on a rail. 
It is furthermore possible by the arrangement of the coupling elements 
according to the invention to connect the supporting element in vertically 
adjustable fashion with the roller supports so that the working height of 
the supporting element can be adjusted without having to uncouple the 
train for this purpose. 
A constructionally especially simple solution for such an adjusting means 
is an elongated leg made e.g., of a wire loop where the ends of the 
supporting element are movable along the leg to a position adjacent the 
roller supports. 
The coupling elements can be designed especially simple and robust by the 
arrangement on the roller support, since the horizontal-swing angles of 
the coupling elements with respect to each other, which are necessary for 
correct curve drives, are smaller than in the case of the coupling 
elements arranged on the supporting element. 
However, this constructionally simple adjusting means is not only suitable 
for conveying means which can be coupled, but can also be used e.g., for 
conveying means which cannot be coupled. 
A conveying means can be produced in especially simple fashion using a C- 
or V-shaped strap for the use together with the supporting element and a 
second roller support.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
A conveying means 1 can be gathered from FIG. 1, which comprises two 
identically designed roller supports 2 and a supporting element connecting 
the roller supports 2 in the form of a rod-shaped tie-bar 3, on which 
articles of clothing hanging on hangers can be suspending. The supporting 
element can, however, also have other suited shapes. Each of the roller 
supports 2 contains a V- or C-shaped strap 4 of plastic material (see 
FIGS. 5A and 5B), Which extends perpendicular to the plane of the drawing 
and connects in each case two rollers disposed at an angle to each other, 
only one roller 5 being represented in each case and the other roller 
being located behind it perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. The 
rollers 5 roll in the direction of the double arrow A on a rail 6, which 
also comprises two tracks, in known fashion, which are disposed in 
roof-shaped fashion at the angle of the rollers of each strap and of which 
again only one track is shown. 
Coupling elements 7, 8 each of a commercially available coupling 9 
consisting of two elements and coupling automatically is disposed at two 
transverse sides of each roller support 2 which are opposite to each other 
in the direction of conveying A. Both coupling elements 7, 8 consist of 
plastic material and are preferably produced in one piece with the strap 
4. As outlined in FIG. 1 the coupling 9 serves for coupling the conveying 
means 1 to a further conveying means 1' to form a conveying train. The 
coupling elements 7, 8 consist in known fashion of two identically 
designed hooks 7a or 8a fastened at a distance to the strap 4 
perpendicular to the plane of the drawing and one pivotable strap 7b or 8b 
each, which extends in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the 
drawing such that is engages e.g. over the hook 8a of the conveying means 
1 and the hook 7a' of the conveying means 1'. The strap 7b' of the 
conveying means 1' is analogously designed so that it also engages over 
both hooks. The straps 7b, 8b can be lifted by a inclined surface of an 
adjacent hook of the coupling means so that an automatic coupling is 
possible by a movement of the two conveying means 1 and 1' to be coupled 
towards each other. The hooks of a coupling 9 are displaced relative to 
each other in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing in 
coupled condition so that cornering through horizontal curves (i.e., 
curves in a horizontal plane) is not hindered. During cornering through 
vertical curves the coupling elements are located substantially closer to 
the curve center than in the case of the arrangement on a tie-bar so that 
the curve-negotiating ability is decisively improved. 
Both ends of the tie-bar 3 are connected in each case with a 
deflection-resistant wire loop 10. The wire loop 10 comprises two long, 
linear legs 10a, 10b extending parallel to each other and two 
substantially semicircular wire arches or loop ends 10c, 10d connecting 
the legs 10a, 10b in each case with each other at their ends. The tie-bar 
3 is fastened in each case to the inwardly pointing, long leg 10a, 10b 
distant from its mid point and near the wire loop end 10c. A pivoting 
strap 11 or a detachable fastening clip (spring hook or the like) is 
loosely guided through each of the wire loops 10, which strap is disposed 
on the roller support 2 rotatably about a horizontal axis 12 extending 
perpendicular to the direction of conveying A. The wire loop 10 thus acts 
as an adjusting means for the distance of the tie-bar 3 from the rail 6, 
i.e., the working height of the tie-bar 3. For this purpose, the pivoting 
straps 11 of the conveying means are slightly pressed outwardly and away 
from each other so that it is possible to reverse the wire loop so that 
optionally either the wire loop end 10c or the wire loop end 10d is 
suspended on the pivoting strap 11. If the wire loop end 10c is suspended 
on the pivoting strap 11, the tie-bar 3 has a relatively short distance to 
the rail, while the distance can be enlarged as it is shown by means of 
the conveying means 1', if the wire loop end 10d is suspended on the 
pivoting strap 11. 
The pivoting strap 11 is mounted in a rotary element 13, which is rotatably 
about a vertical axis 14 on the strap 4. If empty conveying means 1 are to 
be transported, one of the two roller supports 2 of each empty conveying 
means 1 can be removed from the rail. Due to the loose arrangement of the 
wire loop 10 on the pivoting strap 11 the tie-bar 3 will be downwardly 
suspended with the roller support 2 being released. Due to the 
rotatability about the axis 14 the released roller supports 2 and the 
tie-bar 3 can be rotated to the side so that they do not hinder coupling 
of the roller supports 2 of the empty conveying means which are now 
located side by side and are still in engagement with the rail 6. In this 
fashion, empty conveying means can also be transported in the train. 
FIG. 2 shows a further conveying means 15 which differs from the conveying 
means 1 of FIG. 1 by a different design of the tie-bar 16 and a modified 
coupling 19. To simplify the explanation, components comparable to the 
first embodiment are provided with the same reference numerals and not 
explained again. The ends of the tie-bar 16 have C-shaped end pieces 16a 
and 16b bent, which end pieces project beyond the respectively associated 
roller supports 2 in the direction of conveying A such that the entire 
space required for the coupling 9 between the conveying means 15 or 15' is 
substantially available for the transport of objects. The free ends of the 
C-shaped end pieces 16a and 16b contain a bore 17 through which a strap 18 
extends loosely. The strap 18 can be designed analogously to the pivoting 
strap 11 and be pivotable on the rotary element 13 of the roller support 
2. However, the strap 18 should be sufficiently long that the tie-bar 16 
can pivot in a vertical if a roller support 2 of the conveying means 15 is 
removed from the rail 6. 
The coupling 19 contains in each case two identically designed coupling 
elements 20 and 21, which are, however, rotated by 180 degrees, on both 
sides of the strap 4 of the roller support 2. Both coupling elements 20 
and 21 point in the direction of conveying A as can be seen from FIGS. 3 
and 4. Coupling 19 is represented in FIGS. 3 and 4, by elements 20 and 21' 
which connects the conveying means 15 with the conveying means 15' of FIG. 
2. For reasons of clearness, the coupling element 20 of this coupling is 
explained at first in greater detail, the corresponding components of the 
coupling element 21' being provided with the same reference numeral, but 
supplemented by an apostrophe. The coupling element 20 consists of a 
U-shaped base element 22 which is disposed detachably or fixedly in a 
vertical direction on the strap 4 of the roller support 2 with its web 22a 
or is injection moulded in one piece if plastic material is used. A hook 
24 is pivotable in a horizontal plane about a pin 23 disposed between the 
upper leg 22b and the lower leg 22c. As is shown by FIG. 4, the hook 24 is 
smaller than the distance between the legs 22b, 22c of the base element 
22. A leg spring 25 is disposed around the pin 23, and is anchored with 
one end in the upper leg 22b and with its other end in the hook 24. The 
leg spring 25 is disposed in such fashion that it can return the hook from 
any pivoted position into the coupling position shown in FIG. 3. The pin 
23 is fastened in a hub 26 of the hook 24. The outer diameter of hub 26 is 
sized in relation to the opening of the hook 24 that it can be encompassed 
with clearance by the opening of the hook 24' of the corresponding 
coupling element 21'. The cross-section of the hook 24 tapers forwardly in 
its front area 24a located on the other side of the axis of rotation 23 
seen from the roller support 2 so that a triangular or trapezoidal plane 
is shown in a longitudinal section. A pressure surface 27 for the hook tip 
24c' of the corresponding coupling element 21, is provided on the hook in 
the rear area 24b in a position between the axis of rotation 23 and the 
web 22a. A pin 28 is likewise disposed on the hook 24 in the rear area 24b 
of the hook 24 between the pin 23 and the web 22a, which projects upwardly 
beyond the surface of the hook and beyond the upper leg 22b and serves for 
releasing the coupling. 
The upper leg 22b of the base element 22 projects forwardly beyond the 
lower leg 22c, at least across part of its width. The front surface of the 
upper leg 22b extends obliquely to the direction of conveying A at least 
across an area 29. The front surface of the lower leg 22c also comprises a 
sloped area 30 at least in the area of the slope 29. In area 30, the upper 
leg 22b does not project beyond the lower leg 22c. A groove 31 is provided 
in the upper leg into which the pin 28 can engage upon a pivoting of the 
hook. 
The corresponding coupling elements 20, 21' are disposed in such fashion on 
their respective roller supports 2, 2' that the pins 23 and 23' are 
located on a straight line 32, which extends parallel to the direction of 
conveying A on the rail 6. The hook tips 24c and 24c' extend beyond the 
straight line 32 so that the respective hubs 26 or 26' can be reliably 
encompassed. The hook tips 24c, 24c' rest against the corresponding 
pressure surfaces 27, 27' in coupled condition. The coupling elements 20, 
21' are dimensioned in such fashion that the hubs 26, 26' have a distance 
a and the slopes 29, 29' have a distance b to each other in coupled 
condition as depicted in FIG. 3. Due to both distances and the tapering 
cross-section of each hook in its front area the coupling elements 20, 21' 
can tilt against each other upon the passing of vertical curves, and it is 
possible to master tilted positions of about 15 degrees from a horizontal 
hook alignment without any problems. If horizontal curves are passed, the 
hook of the roller support leading into the curve is pivoted about its 
axis of rotation, whereby its position is changed with respect to the hub 
of the corresponding coupling element. However, due to the hook tips 24c, 
24c' which are in abutment against the pressure surfaces 27 or 27', the 
hook of the corresponding coupling element is analogously deflected so 
that the coupling cannot be released. Since the roller supports also can 
be adjusted relative to the center of curvature of the curve, horizontal 
swings of the two coupling elements to each other are possible in the 
range between 30 and 45 degrees. 
For the release of the coupling it is sufficient to press the pin 28 or 28' 
of one of the two coupling elements 20, 21' through a suitable guide in 
the direction towards the straight line 32 so that the pin can engage the 
groove 31 or 31'. Due to this action, the actuated hook pivots out of its 
engagement with the hub and also presses the hook of the corresponding 
coupling element out of the engagement with its hub via the pressure 
surface 27 or 27'. The same release effect is achieved if manual pressure 
is exerted on one of the hooks in the direction of the arrow B in FIG. 3. 
The coupling can either be carried out manually by pivoting the hooks or 
automatically by moving the roller supports provided with the coupling 
elements to be coupled against each other. The sloped front surfaces of 
the hooks are pushed against each other and press themselves mutually into 
a position from which they can engage over the respectively opposite hub 
supported by the leg spring 25, 25'. 
Various modifications can be made in the disclosed embodiments without 
departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. The conveying means 
according to FIG. 1 can e.g., be provided with the coupling according to 
FIG. 2 or the conveying means according to FIG. 2 can be provided with the 
coupling according to FIG. 1. The use of other known couplings is also 
possible. If the transport of empty conveying means is not necessary or 
must not be imperatively carried out in space saving fashion, it is 
possible to provide the elements of a coupling in customary fashion only 
at the beginning and at the end of the conveying unit. The adjustment 
means can e.g., contain a rehangable, C-shaped support or a support which 
can be inserted at different height instead of the wire loop. More than 
two adjustment positions can furthermore be provided. The adjusting means 
according to the invention can furthermore also be used for conveying 
units which do not necessarily comprise the arrangement of the coupling 
means or do not comprise any coupling means. U-shaped or other suited end 
pieces can also be used instead of the C-shaped end pieces. Finally, it is 
quite possible to also use the strap-shaped roller supports of plastic 
material with injection moulded coupling elements for other conveying 
means.