CONVEYOR HOOK INTENDED FOR AN OVERHEAD CONVEYOR

Abstract: Conveyor hook of the snap hook type comprising a housing (10) having suspension means (5) for connection to an overhead conveyor (2), said housing pivotally supporting a hook member (4) and a closing lip (1), said hook member showing a bottom part (3) with a tip (24), said lip which is spring-urged to close the hook, has a free end (9) cooperating with the tip of the bottom part of the hook member, one of cooperating elements (tip or free end ) being wider than the other and straddling said other element.

Description: The invention relates to a conveyor hook of the snap hook type, intended in particular for use in a plant in which products are picked up from a supply or a stock by a conveyor, then conveyed and, finally, selectively discharged into one of a number of discharge stations of the plant, said hook being provided with a closing lip capable of being turned inwards against spring tension, and the free end of which interacts with the tip of a displaceable bottom part of the hook. Such a hook is known from Netherlands Patent Application 70 08371. In that case it concerns a plant for conveying and selectively discharging items of clothing, which are themselves carried by a clothes hanger, said hanger then bearing upon the above-mentioned bottom part of the conveyor hook. In practice, it has occasionally happened that the clothes hanger penetrated between the bottom part of the hook and the free end of the lip. This phenomenon was mainly found during a swinging movement of the clothes hanger or while the conveyor was passing through a sloping part of the journey. Sometimes the air flow in the handling room (caused, for example, by the air conditioning) was also at the origin of such an unpleasant occurrence. For, there is then a risk of the hanger with the garment falling down onto an undesirable place, and not onto its predetermined destination. The object of the invention is to provide an improvement which prevents the occurrence of the above-described phenomenon. This object is achieved according to the invention in that one of the two interacting parts of the hook (lip or hook bottom) is wider than the other part in such a way that the wider part grips over the other part in a straddling position (see Document WO-A-7 900 396), and in that the lip is provided with a stop which in the rest position of the lip interacts with the body of the hook in such a way that no contact occurs between the lip and the tip of the hook bottom. Through these measures, a clothes hanger is prevented in a satisfactory manner from "worming through" between the lip and the hook bottom, while the lack of contact pressure of the lip on the bottom part of the hook also means that a very light actuation of the lip (in the case of a new clothes hanger to be taken up) becomes possible. The invention will be explained in greater detail with reference to the drawing, which shows an embodiment of the conveyor hook. Further special features and characteristics of the invention will also be discussed. Fig. 1 is a front view of the conveyor hook, viewed in the travelling direction of the conveyor. Fig. 2 is a side view in the direction of the arrows II-II of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 each give a front view of a variant of the lip and the bottom part of the hook. Fig. 5 is a side view in the direction of the arrrow V in Fig. 3. As can be seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the conveyor hook shown therein is of the snap hook type, i.e. it is provided with a closing lip 1 which can be turned inwards against spring pressure. The conveyor hook shown is intended in particular for use in a plant of the type described in the above-mentioned Netherlands Patent Application 70 08371, in which plant products (garments) carried by clothes hangers are picked up from a supply or a stock by a conveyor 2, said hangers then being conveyed and, finally, selectively discharged. The lip 1 interacts with a displaceable bottom part 3 of the hook 4. The conveyor hook is provided with a T-shaped mounting element 5 with trolley wheels 6. These wheels 6 run in an inverted U-shaped channel 7 and are moved along by means of a cable 8. The interaction between the lip 1 and the hook 4 is limited to the free end 9 of the lip and the tip 24 of the bottom part 3 of the hook. Up to this stage the conveyor hook corresponds broadly to the above-mentioned state of the art. As can best be seen in Fig. 3, one part (e.g. the free end 9 of the lip 1) of the interacting parts 9 and 24 is made a number of times wider than the tip 24 of the bottom part 3 of the hook 4. In this case said end 9 grips over said tip 24 in a straddling position. Fig. 4 shows the inverse, in that the other interacting part, namely the tip 24, is made wider than the end 9 of the lip 1, and thus straddles said end. Both the lip 1 and the hook 4 are accommodated in a C-shaped plastic hook housing 10, provided with a moulded-on mounting head 11. The T-shaped element 5 is mounted on this head 11. The housing 10 is also provided with two hinge pins 12 and 13 for carrying the hook 4 and the lip 1 respectively, in such a way that the hook is displaceable for discharging the carried product (the clothes hanger). The lip 1 interacting with the bottom part 3 of the hook 4 is designed as a two-armed lever 14 (see Fig. 4). One arm 1 forms the actual lip, and the other arm 15 is provided with a stop 16, which determines the rest position of the lip. Said stop 16 in fact runs against the body of the hook housing 10. As can be seen in Fig. 5, the longitudinal axis 17 of the lip 1, in the closed position of the hook 4, forms an angle α with the top face 18 of the bottom part 3 of the hook 4. Through the presence of the stop 16, the lip 1 interacts in such a way with the hook 4 or with the hook housing 10 that there is no contact between the free end 9 of the lip 1 and the tip 24 of the bottom part 3 of the hook 4. The hook 4 is provided with an arm 19 which is secured thereto and bears a roller 20 at the end. The mounting head 11 of the plastic hook housing 10 is hollow for the accommodation therein of a hairpin spring 21. Said spring can exert pressure on the hook 4, in such a way that the bottom part 3 of said hook is held in the closed position. The mounting head 11 also forms a supporting point 22 for a tension spring 23 which is connected to the second arm 15 of the lip 1. This tension spring 23 makes it possible for the lip 1 to turn inwards against spring pressure to admit an object, for example the curved hook of a clothes hanger into the hook. It is pointed out that the axis 17 of the lip 1 forms an angle β with the extension of the second arm 15 of the lever 14. The angle α is greater than 90°, and the angle β is smaller than 90°. As is known from the state of the art, the roller 20 of the conveyor hook at a discharge station interacts with a sloping surface (not shown ) which is activated as soon as a product brought along in the conveyor hook concerned has to be discharged. The roller 20 runs up against the sloping face and in doing so turns the hook 4 about the hinge 12 for opening of the hook and discharging the product. It is pointed out that the above-described interaction between the free end 9 of the lip 1 and the tip 24 of the bottom part 3 of the hook 4 ensures that no products can fall out of the conveyor hook prematurely.

Claims: Conveyor hook of the snap hook type, intended in particular for use in a plant in which products are picked up from a supply or a stock by a conveyor, then conveyed and, finally, selectively discharged, said hook being provided with a closing lip (1) capable of being turned inwards against spring tension, and the free end (9) of which interacts with the tip (24) of a displaceable bottom part of the hook, characterized in that one of the two interacting parts (9 or 24) of the hook (4) is wider than the other part (24 or 9), in such a way that the wider part grips over the other part in a straddling position, and in that the lip (9) is provided with a stop (16) which in the rest position of the lip interacts with the body of the hook in such a way that no contact occurs between the lip and the tip (24) of the hook bottom (3). Conveyor hook according to Claim 1, characterized in that the free end (9) of the lip (1) is made a number of times wider than the tip (24) of the bottom part (3) of the hook (4). Conveyor hook according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that in the closed position of the hook (4) the longitudinal axis (17) of the lip (1) forms an angle (α) greater than 90°C with the top face (18) of the bottom part (3) of the hook. Conveyor hook according to any of the preceding claims, provided with a T-shaped mounting element with trolley wheels, characterized by a C-shaped plastic hook housing (10) with a moulded-on head (11) on which the element (5) is mounted, said housing being provided with two hinge pins (12, 13) for carrying the hook (4) and the lip (1) respectively, in such a way that the hook is displaceable for discharging the product carried, while the lip (1) interacting with the bottom part (3) of the hook (4) is designed as a two-armed lever, one arm of which forms the actual lip (1), and the other arm (15) of which is provided with the stop (16) which determines the rest position of the lip. Conveyor hook according to Claim 4,, characterized in that the mounting head (11) of the plastic hook housing (10) is hollow for the accommodation therein of a hairpin spring (21) which can exert pressure for holding the bottom part (3) of the hook (4) in the closed position, while the mounting head also forms a supporting point (22) for a tension spring (23) which is connected to the second arm (15) of the lip (1).

Inventors: GEERTS, GERHARDUS CHRISTIANUS
Applicants: PROMECH SORTING SYSTEMS B.V.
Application year: 1990
Main classification: B65G47
IPC codes: B65G17, B66C1, F16B45, B65G9, B65G47, B65G35