Patent GB-849359-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to conveyors
IPC: B65G35/00
Filed: 1958-11-14
Abstract: 849,359. Conveying vehicles. AU. RO S.R.L. Nov. 14, 1958 [Nov. 14, 1957], No. 36779/58. Classes 78 (4) and 104 (2). In a conveyer system in which abutting carriages, each provided with centrally disposed wheels, one propelled along vertically spaced tracks by driving means placed at opposite ends of each track, means transfer the carriage from the upper to the lower track or vice versa and means disengage an end carriage of each track to transfer the disengaged carriage from one track to the other at a speed greater than the linear speed at which the carriages are moved along the tracks, the carriages being accelerated as they leave the track and decelerated just before they are moved on to the other track, the means for increasing the speed of the carriages on leaving the tracks and for decreasing the speed of the carriages as they are moved towards the tracks are combined with the means for transferring the carriages from one track to the other at a speed greater than the linear speed at which the carriages are moved along the tracks. In the arrangement shown carriages 7 are each provided with a pair of centrally disposed wheels 6 to run on the lower flanges of upper and lower channel shaped rail tracks 2 and 1. The carriages 7, when running on the tracks 1 and 2 are interconnected by pins 26, provided on one end of the carriages, engaging sockets 27 provided on the other end of an adjacent carriage. The carriages 7 are propelled along the tracks 1 and 2 by sprockets 28, 29 arranged at each end of each track, engaging pins 25 mounted in and equally spaced along webs 19, 20 depending from the underside of the carriages 7. The sprockets 28 are driven by bevel gears 31 and the sprockets 29 by bevel gears 37 through a worm gear drive 33; 34. The carriages 7 are transferred from the upper to the lower tracks 2, 1 at one end of the apparatus and from the lower to the upper tracks at the other end of the apparatus by supporting members 51, 52 rotatably mounted on the ends of rotatable arms 42. The supporting member 51, and similarly the member 52, is provided on one face with ribs 51a, 51b which form grooves 51<1>, 51<11> to accommodate pins 24<1>, 2411 projecting from the sides of the carriages 7 a greater distance than the wheels 6. The members 51, 52 are held so that the grooves 51<1>, 51<11> are maintained in a vertical position relative to the ground, as the arms 42 are rotated, by levers 55, 56 secured at one end to spindles 53, 54 carrying the members 51, 52 and at the other end secured to arms 59, 60 mounted on a rotatable ring 61 eccentrically mounted relative to the spindle 46 carrying the arms 42. The pins 24<1>, 24<11> are supported in grooves 51<1> or 51<11> during the transfer of the carriage from one track to the other by pins 65 mounted in each member 51, 52 and movable into and out of the operative position by a bell-crank lever 67, Fig. 7, provided with an elongated slot 69 engaging a pin 70 on a slider 71 moved by a pin 72 attached thereto and engaging in a cam track 73 provided in a disc 74 secured to the end of the arm 42. The arms 42 are driven by a worm wheel 48 from a worm 49 mounted on a shaft 35 which shaft 35 also transmits the drive to the worm 34 driving the sprockets 28, 29 to ensure synchronism of the speed of the sprockets 28, 29 relative to the arm 42. Alternatively synchronised motors may be used. In an alternative arrangement, Fig. 7, the grooves 51<1>, 51<11> are maintained in the vertical position relative to the ground by a bevel gear 164 attached to the member 51 or 52 and driven by bevel gears 165, 167 from a bevel gear 168 fixed to a housing 47, supporting the rotatable spindle 46 driving the arm 42. The apparatus operates as follows. The end carriage 7 on the upper track 2 is propelled by the end sprocket 28 on to a narrow extension 5 of the lower web of the upper channel track 2 and when reaching a particular position on the extension 5 a rotating arm 42 causes the support member 51 or 52 to move to a position in which the pins 241, 24<11> enter the grooves 51<1>, 51<11> or 521, 52<11>. The carriage 7 is now moved horizontally away from the remaining carriages on the upper track 1 at a greater linear velocity than the carriages remaining on the track 1 to disengage the projections 26 from the holes 27. When the arm 42 reaches a vertical position the pins 65 are moved into a position across the grooves 511, 51<11> or 52<1>, 52<11> and beneath the pins 24<1>, 24<11> to support the carriage 7. The carriage 7 is now moved vertically downwardly and then horizontally until the wheels 6 of the carriage are moved on to an extension 5 of the lower web of the lower channel member of the lower rail track 1. The pins 65 are now removed from the position across the grooves 51<1>, 52<11> or 521, 52<11> and the carriage 7 is moved towards the carriages on the lower track at a greater linear velocity than that of the carriages on the lower track 2 in order to engage the projections 26 with the holes 27 in the last carriage on the lower track 1. The sprocket 29 now engages the first of the pins 25 on the carriage 7 to move that carriage and the abutting carriages along the lower track 2. The arm 42 continues to rotate until it engages a support member 51 or 52 with the next carriage on the upper tiack and the process is now repeated. A similar operation occurrs at the other end of the tracks 1, 2 to transfer carriages 7 from the lower to the upper tracks 1, 2.