Patent GB-498473-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to conveyors
IPC: B23K35/40
Filed: 1937-07-05
Abstract: 498,473. Endless - chain conveyers ; making welding electrodes. MORRISON, J. R. July 5, 1937, Nos. 18660 and 18661. Convention dates, Nov. 16, 1936 and Jan. 9, 1937. [Class 78 (i)] [Also in Group XXII] Articles such as welding electrode rods 150 issuing axially from the die 151 of an apparatus for coating them with plastic material by extrusion are conveyed laterally by a conveyer through apparatus for further processing them and are then passed by a further conveyer through an oven for baking the coating, the conveyer traversing series of vertical reverse flights within the oven. The forward end of each extruded rod drops on to a conveyer 152 travelling faster than the rod whereby each rod is detached from and becomes longitudinally spaced from the following rod to which it was hitherto attached by the coating material. The rod shoots off the conveyer 152 over a transversely moving conveyer 165 and abuts against a stop which arrests its forward motion and permits it to fall on to the conveyer 165 so that the rods lie substantially directly across the conveyer and are substantially regularly spaced thereon. Two chains 179 having projections 182 are positively driven along the edges of the conveyer so that towards the return pulley of the conveyer the projections are above the plane of the upper flight of the conveyer to engage the projecting ends of the rods so as to position and space them exactly. The rods drop off the conveyer 165, roll down an inclined table 176 and are drawn therefrom by projections 193 on a pair of positively driven chains 185 arranged along the edges of the upwardly inclined flight of another conveyer 184, the chains gradually sinking to below the plane of the conveyer face. During their upward passage the ends of the rods engage guides 194, 195 whereby the rods become accurately aligned. The table 176 may be provided with a lip whereby only one rod may be picked up by the chains 185 at a time. The rods now pass under the lower flight of an endless belt conveyer 196 travelling more rapidly than the conveyer 184 whereby the rods are rotated on their axes and the coating material is removed from their surface adjacent one end by a rotating brush 213 and any material that has accumulated on their other ends is removed by another brush. Chains 233 having projections 234 are positioned at each end of the return drum of the conveyer 184 and are driven at such speed that the rods are received in the spaces between the closely arranged projections 234 and are carried forward by this conveyer to the special conveyer which traverses the oven. This conveyer comprises links having retaining means for the rods, this conveyer being initially beneath the chains 233 and gradually rising so as to become higher than these chains and so remove the rods. Several forms of this conveyer are described, that shown in Fig. 2 having slightly inwardly inclined projections 10, 18 carried by each link or each link may have a single lug 65 shaped as shown in Fig. 5. In each of these forms the transition from downward to upward flight is effected by a plain pulley 19 with which the projections or lugs engage. In Fig. 7 each alternate link is provided with a pair of projections 87, 88 and the transition effected by a pair of sprockets 81, 82 engaging the links of the chain, the pulley 19 being omitted. In Fig. 8 the conveyer comprises a pair of cables 100 to which the carriers 103 are secured. Each carrier comprises a hook-shaped element of the form shown which engages a plain pulley at the upper points of transition whilst at the lower points of transition sprockets 111 are provided. The rods automatically fall out of their carriers as the oven conveyer starts its return flight. All the conveyers and accessories are driven from a single motor at the appropriate speeds.