CONVEYOR UNIT WITH TRACK-CONTROLLED TROLLEYS WITH PIVOTABLE SUSPENSION ELEMENT

Abstract: A conveyor unit with two parallel trolley tracks (3) extending at a distance from each other has a carrier chain (2) disposed in the centre plane between the tracks. Four trolleys support a trolley plate (9) which comprises a carriage having a central, pivotable and load-bearing element (11) which is manoeuvred by means of arms (15) with rollers (16). The turning is effected by a turning station (22, 23) which turns the pivotable part (11) when a locking element is decoupled by lifting rails (24). The carriage can support eccentrically-suspended loads, e.g. in a support boom secured to the pivotable part (11), in that the moment from such loads can be transferred to the trolley track (3) without this giving rise to problems.

Description: CONVEYOR UNIT WITH TRACK-CONTROLLED TROLLEYS WITH PIVOTABLE SUSPENSION ELEMENT The invention relates to a conveyor unit of the kind presented in the preamble to claim 1. There are known many different conveyors of this kind, arranged for the conveyance of items to, from and between working machines and the like, for exam- pie in large production concerns. If, for example, the items involved are large, such as frames, doors, windows and the like, which are being conveyed from one position to another in a production concern, for example from a store or assembly shop to a paint shop, the items are conveyed hanging under the trol¬ leys. Each trolley is normally provided with- a piv- otable suspension element, e.g. an oblong boom, on which one or more items are suspended and conv •_eyed e.g. through spraying booths, drying tunnels etc. Because of their large extent, the items must be suspended quite precisely in the known units, the reason being that these are not arranged to transfer moments from eccentrically-suspended loads to the trolley track. If the load is suspended eccentrical- ly, the boom's turning system functions poorly, and the trolley can tip in the track, the result being increased friction, poor coupling with the carrier chain and other drawbacks as a consequence. For large items it is usually necessary for the suspen- sion boom to be coupled to the trolley in relation to the direction of conveyance. The items shall, for example, be conveyed longitudinally through a spray¬ ing booth, but thereafter turned 90 transversely before being accumulated in a drying cabinet, or for other reasons they have to be turned in order for the capacity of the unit to be maximized. A conveyor for the transport of- very long items which have to be positioned transversely and hereafter again longitudinally for further transport is known from the description of USA patent no. 4,561,358. For this purpose, the oblong items are suspended at the ends and in each their individual trolleys. The trolleys are each led to one of two parallel tracks and back again to a common track via change-over mechanisms, the result being a very complicated trolley track with change-over mechanisms which have to be controlled in a certain manner. The individual trolleys can not transfer moments from the load to the trolley track which, moreover, purely mechanic¬ ally must previously have been constructed specially for the dimensions of the items, and therefore a given unit can only transport items of one certain size. The object of the invention is to present a conveyor unit of the said kind, this being arranged in such a manner that the items can be suspended eccentrical- ly, e.g. in a boom, in that the construction of the unit makes possible the transfer of moments to the trolley track from, for example, a suspension boom under the trolley. This is achieved by designing the unit according to the invention as characterized in claim 1. It is hereby avoided that eccentrically-suspended loads in the load-bearing element result in the turning or tipping of the trolley and, moreover, the load is 03507 PCT/DK87/00137 distributed uniformly on the trolleys in each their trolley track. In this manner, a very stable suspen¬ sion system is achieved, and the trolley carriage is given a very smooth driving motion, without the sus- pended load being subject to any significant swing¬ ing movements. Such a unit can convey items of great¬ ly varying size and weight, without the need to und¬ ertake any unit conversions. By constructing the conveyor unit according to the invention as characterized in claim 2, a further stabilization of the trolley carriage is achieved, and which in this way can bear imbalances of 200 - 250 Nm without problems. With the known units, op- eration with such imbalances is impossible. Further¬ more, the turning function operates completely with¬ out problems, even with great imbalances. A preferred embodiment of the conveyor unit accord- ing to the invention is as characterized in claim 3, by which one achieves some fixed positions for the pivotable part, and therewith for the boom, so that the items suspended herein are always firmly posi¬ tioned in relation to the direction of conveyance. By constructing the conveyor unit according to the invention as characterized in claim 4, one can, for example, have the fixed positions parallel with and at right-angles to the direction of conveyance. The conveyor unit according to the invention is preferably constructed as characterized in -claim 5, whereby by means of guide rails mounted in a station¬ ary manner one can determine the turning movements . For example, a turning station can be mounted in front of those places where the trolley carriages are desired to be accumulated, so that the boom is turned transversely to the direction of travel, whereby the carriages can be accumulated closely after each other. By constructing the conveyor unit according to the invention as characterized in claim 6, a fixed and reliable manoeuvring of the turning movement is achieved, and one can ensure that the turning mech¬ anism only turns the boom 90 at a time. By constructing the conveyor unit according to the invention as characterized in claim 7, it is suffi¬ cient with two oppositely-directed manoeuvring arms, in that one of the arms will always be in a position from which it can turn the boom. The conveyor unit according to the invention is preferably constructed as characterized in claim 8, whereby a simple mounting and suspension of the trol¬ ley tracks and the associated chain track is achiev¬ ed. Moreover ' , in a simple manner one can obtain a fixed distance between the two parallel-running trolley tracks. The invention will now be described in closer detail with reference to the drawing which shows a prefer- red embodiment of the invention, and where fig. 1 shows the conveyor unit partly in section seen from the side. fig. 2 shows the same as fig. 1, but seen from the end, at right-angles to the direction of travel, and fig. 3 shows the conveyor track seen at an angle from below, but where a part of the load -bearing element has been removed. In figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing are seen the trolley tracks 3 with trolleys 4 and carrier chain 2 with carrier hook 7 suspended by means of two brackets or support yokes 5, so that the two trolley tracks 3 extend parallel with each other and with the carrier chain disposed in the centre plane between the tracks From each trolley a support bracket 6 extends down¬ wards and out through a longitudinal slot in the otherwise closed trolley track, and the support brackets 6 are secured to a plate 9 which, together with the four trolleys, comprises a carriage. Dis¬ posed under the carriage is a pivotable load-bearing element 1 , and on top of the carriage plate 9 there is welded a clevis 8 which can be caught by a car¬ rier 7 in the normal manner. An element 7', see fig. 1 , can be used in the normal way to decouple the carrier 7 from the clevis 8. The pivotable, load-bearing element 1 consists of a fixed part 10, which is a square or rectangular metal or steel clamp fixedly welded to the plate 9, and a pivotable part 11 which is coupled, e.g. via ball bearings 21 or similar swivel joint, to the fixed part 10 and can be turned in relation hereto, for example via a central axle 20 secured to the plate 9. The pivotable part 11 is also square and has the same external side dimensions as the fixed part 10. A rockable locking element 12 is secured to the fixed part 10 and has a free end which can rock as shown by the arrow 14. With the locking element 12 in the position shown in the drawing, the pivotable part 11 is blocked. If the free end of the locking element 12 is lifted, for example by the transversely extending manouevring element 13 being influenced upwards, e.g. by a lifting rail 24, see figs. 2 and 3, the pivotable part 11 is released. Since the pivotable part 11 is square, this makes it possible for a boom 18 secured in a support arm 17 to be placed in posi¬ tions either parallel with or at right-angles to the direction of travel 25, if the side of the square part 10 is parallel with the direction of travel. The turning of the boom 18 in steps„of 90 , as shown by the arrow in fig * 2, is effected by means of turning arms 15 welded to the pivotable part 11, the ' ends of said turning arms being provided with rollers 16 which have a vertical axis of rotation parallel with the axis of the pivotable part 11 when control¬ led by a turning station 22,23 which comprises a gate 22 and a guide rail 23, see figs. 2 and 3. In fig. 3, most of the load-bearing element 1 has been removed for the sake of clarity. Before the turning of the part 11 can commence, the locking element 12 is de¬ coupled by release— and lifting-rails 24, which lift the free end of the locking element 12. When a roller 16 reaches into the guide rail 23 itself, the rail 24 comes to an end, and as soon as a 90 turn has been carried out, the locking element 12 will drop down into place and again lock the pivotable part 11 and prevent further turning movement until the locking element is lifted again. The turning arm 15 is turn¬ ed in the direction shown by the arrows 26 in fig. 3. In the locked condition, the turning arms 15 form an angle of 45 to the direction of travel. Both the lifting rails 24 and the turning mechanism 22,23 are secured to the support yokes 5, which thus both support the whole of the conveyor unit and en- sure that parallel trolley tracks 3 extend at a con¬ stant distance.

Claims: C L I S 1. Conveyor unit with track-controlled, load-bear¬ ing carriages in the form of a number of trolleys in two parallel trolley tracks extending at a distance from each other, and where the carriages are drawn by a carrier chain with carriers which are arranged to engage with the carriages, and also where the carriers and the carriages are arranged so that coup- ling and decoupling can be effected, c h a r a c t ¬ e r i s t i c in that trolleys (4) from both tracks (3) are coupled to a carriage (9) , and in that a pivotable, load-bearing element (1) is secured to the carriage. 2. Conveyor unit according to claim 1, c -a r a c- t e r i s t i c in that the carriage (9) comprises two trolleys (4) in each trolley- track (3) and dis¬ posed at each its corner of the carriage, and in that the load-bearing element (1) is suspended substan¬ tially centrally on the carriage (9) . 3. Conveyor unit according to claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i s t i c in that the load-bearing element (1) comprises a fixed part (10) in relation to the carriage (9) , and in relation hereto a pivot¬ able part (11) and a locking element (12) arranged in such a manner that the pivotable part can be set in relation to the fixed part, and that a suspension boom (18) is secured in the pivotable part. 4. Conveyor unit according to claim 3, c h a r a c¬ t e r i s t i c in that both the fixed part (10) and the pivotable part (11) have a square or rectangular cross-sectional profile, and in that the locking el¬ eemmeenntt ((1122)) iiss aar.ranged to fix the pivotable part at S 5. Conveyor unit according to claims 3 and 4, c h a r a c t e r i s t i c in that the locking el¬ ement is manoeuvrable by means of lifting rails (24) mounted in a stationary manner in the unit. 6. Conveyor unit according to any of the claims 1-3, c h a r a c t e r i s t i c in that the pivotable, load-bearing part (11) is provided with at least one manoeuvring arm (15) with a roller (16) with axis of rotation at right-angles to the trolley track's nor- mal direction of conveyance, said roller (16) being arranged to engage with a stationary-mounted- turning station (22,23) ' formed as a track which grips and controls the roller (16). 7. Conveyor unit according to claim 6, c h a r a c¬ t e r i s t i c in that when the pivotable part (11) is fixed by the locking element (12) , the manoeuvring arm (15) forms an angle of substantially 45 with the longitudinal axis of the trolley track. 8. Conveyor unit according to any of the claims 1-6, c h a r a c t e r i s t i c in that the trolley tracks (3) are secured in a two-armed support yoke (5) which bears the chain track (2) with carrier chain in the centre line between the trolley tracks, and that the carriages (9) are a metal or steel plate which extends from trolley track (3) to trolley track (3) , and that possible lifting rails (24) and turning stations (22,23) are also suspended in the yokes (5).

Inventors: JENSEN HANS DEJBJERG, JENSEN, HANS, DEJBJERG
Applicants: JE HA I S, JE-HA I/S
Application year: 1987
Main classification: B65G17
IPC codes: B61B10, B65G47