Wheeled luggage tipper

Abstract: The present invention relates to a conveyor (10) that ensures the orientation of an item in a prone position when the item is fed onto a main conveyor. By ensuring the orientation of an item in a prone position, the invention can be used to transport luggage or equipment, such as wheeled luggage or golf bags, to an end distribution area. The conveyor (10) provides for an in-feed section (22), an intermediate section (26) and a discharge section (24) of a conveyor. The in-feed and discharge sections (22,24) both run parallel to the main support frame (14) of the conveyor (10) and provide a flat area to receive and discharge the material to be transported. The intermediate section (26) extends between the receiving and delivery section (22) and discharge section (24) of the conveyor (10) and has a V-shaped contour (32) so as to tip the item being transported into a prone position.

Description: The present invention relates generally to a conveyor. More particularly, the present invention relates to a conveyor for tipping items, such as wheeled luggage, to a prone position onto a conveyor. Conveyors having a continuous belt for transporting items from a receiving point to a dispensing point are well known. Previous continuous belt conveyors disclose a continuous belt conveyor for transporting cement and other fine-grained particles. Edges of the belt are joined together to form a tubular conveyor to support the cement during transport to a discharge station. A troughing type conveyor may be used to transport granular material, such as coal. For instance, a belt conveyor having a U-shaped trough may be equipped with vibrating troughing idler rollers to impart a steady vibration to the conveyor belt causing the coal to migrate toward the center of the belt during conveyance. These types of conveyors are not well suited for many types of items, such as boxes and luggage. Also known are belt conveyor systems for use in airport terminals to deliver luggage to and from passages. In such systems, the luggage is frequently carried sequentially by a number of belts. The luggage is placed on the conveyor system in an upright position by a baggage handler. However, luggage, particularly wheeled luggage, has a tendency to move out of alignment as it is being transferred from belt to belt or fall of the belt while it is being transported through the belt conveyor system. Thus, it would be advantageous to have a conveyor system which would prevent the misalignment or movement of the luggage off the belt. DE 1072535 discloses a conveyor which has a generally U-shaped transverse cross-sectional trough with a flat base region for supporting items conveyed by the conveyor. US 1905700 discloses a complex conveyor comprising two belts angled to each other and in one location forming a V-shaped trough for the movement and handling of biscuits. The aim of the present invention is to provide a conveyor system that orientates an item such as a piece of luggage, in a face-down or prone position before the item is fed onto a main conveyor system. The conveyor acts to tip items which are in a relatively unstable position because of a high center of gravity, to a more stable position with a lower center of gravity. Such a conveyor is particularly useful in transporting luggage through airports. According to the present invention there is provided a conveyor for transporting an item comprising a belt, a frame and a means for driving the belt about the frame, characterized in that said frame has an intermediate section having a support structure for said belt, said support structure forming a V-shaped trough in said belt such that said item being transported on said belt is tipped to a prone position. Preferably the frame of a conveyor constructed according to the present invention has first and second end sections on opposite ends of said intermediate section, and wherein said intermediate section is located at a lower elevation than the elevation of at least one of said end sections. Further, said frame preferably comprises first and second generally parallel side supports and a parallel trough support located between and below said side supports, and wherein said trough portion comprising a first roller connected between said first side support and said trough support and a second roller connected between said second side support and said trough support. Also said first roller is preferably connected to said trough support at a first location and said second roller is preferably connected to said trough support at a second location, said first location being offset from said second location in the direction of travel of the belt. The present invention can thus provide a belt conveyor which includes a frame having a single frame supported belt for transporting items such as luggage, the conveyor having a V-shaped intermediate section which extends between a generally planar receiving and a generally planar discharge section of the conveyor. In the intermediate section, the items on the conveyor are carried at an angle because of the V-shaped trough. Items of luggage which are taller than wide are in an unstable position when supported from below at an angle. Accordingly, such items tip over to the prone or face-down position when travelling through the intermediate section. Pairs of idler rollers are mounted to the frame and angled with respect to each other so as to form the V-shaped trough. The item is then fed to a discharge section in a prone position and transferred onto the main conveyor system in this same position. By tipping the items into a prone position, the user is ensured that the material is discharged onto the main conveyor system in a stable prone position which eliminates misalignment or careening off the side of the conveyor of the items. Other advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The present invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:- Fig. 1 is a perspective plan view of an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view showing the area of the conveyor system of Fig. 1 that forces the orientation of material in a prone position onto a main conveyor system; Fig. 3 is a side of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the embodiment of Fig. 3. With reference to Fig. 1 a conveyor 10 particularly suited for tipping an item 40, such as a piece of luggage, is thereshown. The conveyor system 10 includes a main frame 14 having a pair of longitudinally extending parallel spaced rails 16. The conveyor system 10 further includes a continuous belt 18 extending between the parallel spaced rail 16. A power driving assembly is provided within the main frame 14 for moving the belt 18 horizontally about the main frame 14. Although the system shown is particularly suited for luggage, the system may be used for any item which has a relatively high center of gravity in one alignment and a lower, more stable, center of gravity in a second alignment. The power driving assembly includes a motor (not shown) for driving a drive wheel 20. The drive wheel 20 frictionally engages belt 18 to move the belt about the main frame 14. The belt 18 is supported along a path of conveyance 48 by idler roller assemblies 28 and drums. The drums rotate freely to guide belt 18 as it is being driven by drive wheel 20. A take-up assembly is provided opposite the drive wheel 20 along the conveyor path 48. The take-up assembly includes three drums, each freely rotatable. The take-up assembly provides tension to belt 18. If the belt 18 becomes stretched through use and does not frictionally engage drive wheel 20, a take-up assembly drum is moved inwardly toward drive wheel 20 to tighten the slack in belt 18. A take-up assembly drum may also be moved outward away from drive wheel 20 to increase the slack in belt 18, thereby increasing the frictional engagement of belt 18 along the idler roll assemblies 28. Increasing the slack of belt 18 may be necessary to create the V-shaped profile desired to allow material 40 to fall into a prone position. As shown in Fig. 1, the conveyor includes an in-feed conveyor section 22 extending from one end of the frame 14 for receiving an item 40. Preferably, the in-feed conveyor section 22 extends along a horizontal plane 34 parallel to spaced rails 16. The conveyor also includes a discharge conveyor section 24 extending from an opposite end of the main frame 14 for delivering luggage 40 onto a main conveyor system 12 after the luggage has been tipped to a more stable configuration. The discharge conveyor section 24 also extends along a horizontal plane 36 parallel to the spaced rails 16. An intermediate conveyor section 26 extends between the in-feed conveyor section 22 and the discharge conveyor section 24. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the intermediate conveyor section 26 operates to ensure the item 40 is transferred from the belt conveyor system 10 to the main conveyor system 12 in a prone position by providing a V-shaped section of the belt 18. The V-shaped section has two longitudinal portions which are angled at approximately 140° to each other. The longitudinal portions are supported on a series of troughing roller idler assemblies 28 as shown in Fig. 3. With reference to Figs. 2 and 4, each idler assembly 28 includes a pair of idler rollers 30. One end of each roller 30 is rotatably mounted in bracket 42 mounted to a side portion of the main frame and an other end is mounted in a lower bracket 44 which is supported on a crosspiece 46 extending perpendicularly between the spaced rails 16. The rollers 30 are mounted on an inclined axis 38 of approximately 20 degrees from the horizontal plane. For items such as luggage the 20 degree angle from horizontal ensures that the troughing roller idler assembly 28 will support the continuous belt 18 in a V-shaped contour 32. With reference to Fig. 1, the preferred embodiment of the conveyor 10 of the present invention is shown in use. The item 40, such as wheeled luggage, is set upon the conveyor 10 at the in-feed section. The wheel luggage 40 has been set upon the conveyor 10 in an upright position or relatively unstable position. As the item approaches the intermediate section 26 of the conveyor 10, the continuous belt 18 forms a V-shaped contour 32 defined by the troughing roller idler assemblies 28 due to gravity and the weight of the wheeled luggage 40. Luggage which is unstable because of a high center of gravity will fall to either side of the V of the belt and thus travel in a prone position to the discharge section 24. As the luggage 40 approaches the discharge section 24 of the conveyor, the luggage 40 has a tendency to stay in the prone position as it enters the horizontal plane 36 defined by the discharge section 24. As such, luggage 40 is fed onto a main conveyor system 12 in a prone position.

Claims: A conveyor for transporting an item comprising a belt (18), a frame (14) and a means for driving the belt about the frame, characterized in that said frame (18) has an intermediate section (26) having a support structure (28) for said belt (18), said support structure (28) forming a V-shaped trough (32) in said belt such that said item being transported on said belt (18) is tipped to a prone position. A conveyor as claimed in claim 1, wherein said support structure (28) comprises at least one pair of idler rollers (30) mounted to said frame (14), each of at least one pair of idler rollers (30) being angled with respect to each other to support said belt (18) in said V-shaped trough (32). A conveyor as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an in-feed sector (22) disposed upstream from said intermediate section (26), said belt (18) being generally planar in said in-feed section (22). A conveyor as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a discharge section (24) disposed downstream from said intermediate section (26), said belt (18) being generally planar in said discharge section (24). A conveyor as claimed in claim 2, wherein said frame (14) has a longitudinal axis and each of said at least one pair of rollers (30) is mounted at an angle of 20 degrees to a horizontal plane extending through said axis. A conveyor as claimed in claim 1, wherein said frame (14) further comprises a pair of spaced apart parallel rails (16). A conveyor as claimed in claim 2, wherein said at least one pair of rollers (30) comprises a plurality of pairs of rollers. A conveyor as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rollers (30) of said at least one pair of rollers are offset from one another in the direction of travel of said belt (18). A conveyor as claimed in claim 1, wherein said V-shaped trough (32) comprises a first set of rollers (30) forming a first side of said trough (32) and a second set of rollers (30) forming a second side of said trough (32), and wherein at least some of said rollers (30) in said first set of rollers are offset from said rollers (30) in said second set of rollers in the direction of travel of said belt. A conveyor as claimed in claim 1, wherein said frame (14) includes first and second end sections (22,24) on opposite ends of said intermediate section (26), and wherein said intermediate section (26) is located at a lower elevation than the elevation of at least one of said end sections (22,24). A conveyor as claimed in claim 1, wherein said frame (14) comprises first and second generally parallel side supports (16) and a trough support located between and below said side supports (16), and wherein said support structure (28) comprises a first roller (30) connected between said first side support (16) and said trough support and a second roller (30) connected between said second side support (16) and said trough support. A conveyor as claimed in claim 11, wherein said first roller (30) is connected to said trough support at a first location and said second roller (30) is connected to said trough support at a second location, said first location being offset from said second location in the direction of travel of the belt (18).

Inventors: SHAVER ROBERT, SHAVER, ROBERT
Applicants: WEBB INT CO JERWIS B, JERVIS B. WEBB INTERNATIONAL COMPANY
Application year: 1995
Main classification: B65G47
IPC codes: B65G47