Abstract:
A guide for conveying articles includes a first and a second element for guiding and/or routing the articles along a transport path, the elements both having substantially planar portions, a mounting assembly for mounting the first and the second elements to a support bar, the support bar being connected to a frame of a conveyor, wherein the mounting assembly keeps the first and the second elements together, and wherein the planar portions of the first and the second elements are adapted to clamp the support bar there between.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims foreign priority to Italian application number MI2006A001834, which was filed on Sep. 26, 2006. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     Not Applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates in general to the field of conveyors of articles, such as, for instance, belt conveyors and chain conveyors, for example, although not exclusively, of the type employed for transporting bottled drinks and similar products. The invention more particularly relates to guides used in such conveyors of articles for the containment and the routing of the transported articles. 
     In conveyors of articles the use of guides is known to ensure the containment and the correct routing of the transported articles. Such guides are particularly necessary in correspondence of curves and bifurcations of the transport line, for instance in correspondence of accumulation stations, where a single flow of transported articles needs to be separated into two or more separate flows, for example to prepare the articles to the packaging. 
     The use of roller guides is very diffused, in which, for the engagement with the transported articles, freely rolling elements are provided for, typically arrays of idle rollers. 
     In particular, “bilateral” roller guides are known, having a double face, with two opposite operative surfaces, both intended to engage the transported articles: such guides are intended to be used as dividing central walls, to divide a single flow of transported articles into two or more separate flows, for instance generically parallel. In general, the known bilateral roller guides are made up of two arrays of idle rollers, set close to each other: a first and a second ideal surfaces, tangent externally to the rollers of the first and, respectively, the second array, form the first and the second operative surfaces of the guide. Examples of bilateral guides are provided in the European patent applications EP 0 888 985 and EP 0 893 373, and in the Swiss patent 637 084. 
     The roller guides are generally preferred to another type of guides, that could be defined as “static”, not having rolling elements and constituted of bars, tubular elements or longitudinally extended profiled elements, for instance of steel; in fact, roller guides, differently from static guides, allow a contact substantially without sliding with the transported articles, and this avoids possible decelerations, jams or falls of the transported articles or superficial damages (for example, small abrasions). Particularly, a problem exhibited by static guides resides in the inevitable braking action that they exert, due to the friction, on the transported articles they guide; such braking action translates into an undesired effect of bridging of the front of the flow of transported articles, that hinders the regular advancement of the articles along the transport path. 
     Typically, the guides, particularly the central guides, are mounted in overhanging way, by means of clamps, to respective support bars that extend vertically and that are in turn fixed to the frame of the conveyor. 
     A problem affecting the guides for conveyors of articles is constituted by the twisting that the guides can suffer in consequence of lateral forces, transversal to the extension of the transport path, that in use are exerted on them by the transported articles. Particularly, the central guides, due to the stresses received by the transported articles, can suffer from undesired side bendings, that jeopardize the regular operation of the conveyor, originating for example phenomena of bridging of the flow of transported articles. It is therefore important that the guides are sufficiently rigid, particularly to withstand transversal stresses without deforming. 
     In view of the state of the art outlined above, the inventor has faced the problem of devising a guide for conveyor of articles that exhibited an improved resistance against bendings. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, a guide incorporating the present invention includes: a first element longitudinally extended and intended in use to be arranged along a transport path for the containment and/or the routing of the transported articles, said first element comprising a substantially planar portion; at least one second element comprising a substantially planar portion and adapted in use to be put close to at least a longitudinal portion of the first element; and means associable to the first and the second elements and actuatable to urge the first and the second elements one towards the other, said means being adapted, in use, to clamp, between the planar portions of the first and the second elements, a support bar for the support of the guide to a frame of the conveyor. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The features and the advantages of the present invention will be made apparent from the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof, provided purely by way of non-limitative example, description that will be conducted with the aid of the attached drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1A  is an axonometric and exploded view of a portion of a guide for conveyor of articles, particularly a roller guide, according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 1B  is an axonometric and exploded view of an idle-roller module of the guide of  FIG. 1A ; 
         FIG. 2  shows, always in axonometry but assembled, the guide of  FIG. 1A , fixed to a respective support element for mounting it to the frame of a conveyor of articles; 
         FIG. 3  is a side view, from the left, of the guide shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view according to a transversal plane of the guide of  FIG. 2 ; and 
         FIG. 5  show schematically, in front view, an exemplary application of the guide of the preceding figures to a conveyor of bottles for drinks. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Making reference to the drawings, there is shown in different views sights (exploded axonometry, axonometry after the assemblage, side view and transversal cross section) a portion of a guide for conveyor of articles according to an embodiment of the present invention, particularly a roller guide adapted to be used as a central guide for a conveyor of articles, i.e. as a dividing wall, for the partition of a single flow of transported articles into two separate flows. 
     The conveyor of articles, an example of which is schematically shown in  FIG. 5 , can be any conveyor known in the art, for instance a chain or a belt conveyor, for transporting articles such as, for instance, glass or plastics bottles for drinks, or jars or pots of preserves, and the like. The type of conveyor and the nature of the articles that the conveyor is intended to transport are not to be regarded as limitative for the present invention. 
     The (portion of) guide of the exemplary embodiment of roller guide here considered, overall identified with the reference numeral  100 , comprises a pair of support elements  105  having a longitudinal development, for instance constituted by profiled elements. Particularly, the profiled element  105  can be in metal, for instance in aluminum or other suitable material, to confer a suitable degree of rigidity to the guide  100 . The support elements  105 , which can be made available in sections of different lengths, for instance of some meters, are additionally preferably plastically deformable, for instance by rolling, so as to be capable of adapting also to curved sections of the articles&#39; transport path. 
     Each support element  105  is adapted to support one or more idle rollers module  110 , arranged in longitudinal succession to form a queue without substantial discontinuity. The structure of the generic idle rollers module  110  is more clearly visible in  FIG. 1B , and it is composed of a roller-carrying frame  115 , comprising a plurality of housings  120  for the rollers, arranged in longitudinal succession. The roller-carrying frame  115  can be for instance made in plastic material, for example acetalic resin. Each housing  120  is adapted to accommodate a respective roller, that, in the example here considered and shown, comprises a cylinder  125  mounted in freely rotatable way on a shaft  130  whose ends protrude with respect to the cylinder  125 ; the cylinders are for instance in plastic material, particularly but not limitatively polyethylene, acetalic resin or polyamide; the shafts  130  may in turn be made in plastic material, for instance of the same material as the roller-carrying frame  115 . The housings  120  include, above and below, seats  135  adapted to receive by insertion, for example by snap-fit, the ends of the shaft  130  that protrude from the cylinders  125 . The roller-carrying frame  115  is shaped in such way that, when the rollers are mounted thereon, the cylinders  125  are exposed from one side, and can freely rotate around the axes of the respective shafts. The use of rollers in which the rotating elements are formed by cylinders is however not to be consider limitative: in alternative embodiments of the invention, the rollers can have different shapes, for instance they may each comprise two or more spherical rotating elements, inserted in freely rotatable way on a shaft. 
     The support element  105  is in particular shaped so to have a generically “C”-shaped transversal section, with a substantially planar part  140  of prevalent extension and two opposed appendixes  145   a  and  145   b , bent on the same side. The roller-carrying frame  115  of the generic idle rollers module  110  has dimensions such as to be able to be associated with the support element  105  by insertion between the two bent appendixes  145   a  and  145   b  from one or the other of the two ends of the support element  105 , with the rollers placed on the opposite side with respect to the planar part  140  of the support element  105  and, once inserted, to be held in place by the bent appendixes  145 , as visible in  FIG. 2 . The rollers may in any case be mounted onto the roller-carrying frame  115  of the generic idle rollers module  110  after the latter has been inserted into the support element  105 . 
     The two support elements  105  are mounted, with the backs of the respective planar parts  140  facing to each other, to a bar  150 , adapted in turn to be fixed to a frame of the conveyor of articles on which the guide  100  has to be installed, as shown schematically and in simplified way in  FIG. 5 . In the shown example, the bar  150 , for instance made of metal, has rectangular cross section, however the specific shape of the bar  150  is not to be considered limitative for the present invention, being preferable, as it will appear from the following description, that the bar  150  has a flat portion of sufficient extension. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, for assembling the two support elements  105  to the bar  150 , a mounting assembly  151  including a pair of properly shaped plate-like first and second jaw elements  155   a  and  155   b  are provided for, as described hereafter, adapted to be arranged along corresponding portions of the bent appendixes  145   a  and, respectively,  145   b  of the two support elements  105  put close to each other. The two plate-like elements  155   a  and  155   b  are shaped in such a way that they have generically “C”-shaped transversal section, and more particularly in such a way that each of them has a substantially planar central portion  157  and two side wings  160  bent on the same side, so as to form, with the central portion  157 , angles approximately complementary to the angles formed by the bent appendixes  145   a  and  145   b  with the planar part  160 . The two plate-like elements  155   a  and  155   b  are each one provided, in the central portion  157  thereof, of a through slot  165 , located in a position substantially intermediate along the prevalent dimension of the plate-like element, and of two through holes  170 . The slot  165  has length and width such as to allow the passage of the bar  150 ; the holes  170  have diameter such as to allow the passage of the stems of two screws  175 , in turn having diameter preferably slightly lower than the thickness of the bar  150  (for instance, in case the bar has thickness of 6 mm, it is preferable to use M6 screws, in case the thickness of the bar is of 8 mm, it will be preferable to use M8 screws). 
     For assembling the guide  100 , after having inserted into the two support elements  105  the desired number of idle rollers modules  110  (corresponding for instance to the longitudinal extension of the support elements  105 ), the two support elements  105  are put close the each other from the side of the backs of their planar parts  140 . The two plate-like elements  155   a  and  155   b  are then placed on corresponding portions of the bent appendixes  145   a  and, respectively,  145   b  of the two support elements  105  put close to each other, so that the through slots  165  formed therein are vertically aligned. Then, the screws  175  are inserted into the holes  170 , and screw nuts  180  are screwed on their free threaded ends, without however tightening them, i.e. leaving the nuts loose. In this way, the two support elements  105  are kept properly spaced apart, but the two plate-like elements  155   a  and  155   b  can still be made to slide along the support elements  105 , to bring them in the desired position, where a bar  150  is mounted to the frame of the conveyor. 
     The bar  150  is then inserted into the slots  165  of the two plate-like elements  155   a  and  155   b , and the two nuts  180  are tightened. The action of axial traction exerted by the heads of the screws  175  and by the nuts  180  in consequence of the tightening of the nuts  180  on the two plate-like elements  155   a  and  155   b  causes the latter to behave as jaws, clamping therebetween the two support elements  105 . Particularly, the peculiar shape of the plate-like elements  155   a  and  155   b , with the side wings  160  bent in the way described above, creates a system of slanted planes with the bent appendixes  145   a  and, respectively,  145   b  of the two support elements  105  put close to each other, that transforms the action of traction exerted by the screws and by the nuts in a transversal action of compression on the two support elements  105 . 
     In this way, when the nuts are fully tightened, a portion of the bar  150  result tightly clamped between the backs of the planar parts  140  of the two support elements  105  put close to each other. It is observed that, thanks to the fact that the screws  175  have slightly smaller diameter compared to the thickness of the bar  150 , the backs of the planar parts  140  of the two support elements  105  abut onto the bar  150 , and not onto the screws  175 . As a result, it is possible to exploit the significant rigidity of the bar  150  to confer resistance against twisting and side bending of the guide  100 . 
     In  FIG. 5  there is schematically shown, in front view, a conveyor  900  for the transport of bottled drinks  905 , for instance plastic bottles. The bottles are transported while resting on a transport plane  910 , that is made to advance along a transport path by known moving means (not shown). A central guide  100  is provided, of the type previously described, mounted to a frame of the conveyor, schematized with  925 , to initially separate a single flow of bottles into, in the example, two parallel flows  915   a  and  915   b . Lateral guides  920  having a single operative surface are used for the lateral containment of the bottles. Preferably, the central guides  100  are provided, in correspondence of one of their ends, of suitable flow-breaker terminals (not shown) for breaking the flow of the transported articles, so as to facilitate the separation of the flow of articles. 
     The invention has been here described making reference to one exemplary embodiment thereof, however those skilled in the art can easily devise variations to the shown embodiment, or new embodiments, for meeting contingent needs, without departing from the scope of protection defined by the appended claims. 
     For example, instead of the screws  175  other means can be used, such as for example elastic springs to be applied to the two sides of the two plate-like elements, and adapted to exert a sufficient force on the latter. It is in general possible to use any suitable member adapted to exert an action of traction of the two plate-like elements one towards the other. 
     Instead of the two plate-like elements  155   a  and  155   b  with slot for the passage of the bar  150 , four plate-like elements may be used, to be applied in pair to the support elements at the two sides of the bar  150 . It is in general possible to use any member adapted to exert, on the two support elements  105  put close to each other, a urging action of the one towards the other, so as to tightly clamp the bar  150  therebetween. 
     The slot  165  provided in intermediate position in the two plate-like elements  155   a  and  155   b  might have greater longitudinal extension compared to the width of the bar  150 , so as to allow the tilted mounting of the support elements  105  to the bar; this can be useful to realize guides for non-planar sections of the transport path of the articles. 
     The wings  160  of the two plate-like elements  155   a  and  155   b  can also be constituted by a bent edge, bent according to an arc of circle, being sufficient that the side wings of the jaws are shaped in such a way as to transmit to the bent edges  145   a  and  145   b  of the support elements  105  an action with vertical component correspondent to the action of the screws  175  that, as a consequence of the slanted plane of contact, develops a horizontal component necessary for the action of compression of the back of the support elements on the bar  150 . 
     Moreover, although described making reference to a roller guide, nothing prevents from applying the present invention also to static guides, not provided with rolling elements for the contact with the transported articles, and made for instance of extruded profiled elements in metal or synthetic material. For example, although not limitatively, the support elements  105  could be intended to support elements of engagement with the transported articles, such as bars, tubular elements or profiled elements extended longitudinally, or the support elements  105  could be shaped in such a way as to constitute by themselves the elements of engagement with the transported articles. 
     Another possibility consists in exploiting the present invention for the realization of lateral guides, rather than central guides as the one previously described by way of example. For instance, one of the two support elements  105  could be used only for tightly clamping the bar  150 , and not be intended to support idle roller modules or other elements of engagement with the transported articles; in such case, such support element which is not intended to support idle rollers modules or other elements of engagement with the transported articles could be constituted by one or more sections, of reduced longitudinal extension limited to a length sufficient to achieve the tight clamping of the bar  150 . 
     Although in the present description reference has always been made to support bars of generally rectangular section, this should not be considered a limitation: the support bar could be also cylindrical, or have other forms; in such a case, substantially planar portions could be formed on the bar, for instance for milling, for the abutment of the support elements.