Improvements in Conveyers.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 15th July, 1899
Complete Specification Left. 16th May 1900-Accepted 23rd June 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Conveyers.
I, GRIFFITH ARTHUR RICHARDSON, of 19, Annesley Park, Rathmines, Dublin,
Ireland, Business Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in conveyers and the object is to
provide means for carrying materials in pans, trays or the like so as to involve
little friction to the material carried and also to permit of the contents being
automatically emptied at any predetermined point of the journey or of being
carried the whole distance. In carrying my invention into effect I employ a
pair of endless chains passing round wheels and between those chains place
a number of pans, trays or the like attached to the chains by means of bars
extending from one chain to the other and acting as axles for the said pans
or the like. The pans are to be attached to the axles in such manner as to
permit of the revolution or partial revolution of the pans on the connecting
axles, or the revolution or partial revolution of the pans and the connecting
axles in the chains. I prefer to connect the pans to the chains by placing the
axles at or near one end of the pans so as to take advantage of gravity in
depressing the other end. The pans are provided with wheels running on per-
manent rails and are maintained in equilibrium by a guide wheel or slide or
by guide wheels or slides running or sliding on another rail or pair of rails
or sliding in a groove or pair of grooves within the space between the permanent
rails. The inner rails are made in sections and so constructed and fitted that
any given section or number of sections may be removed at the point where
the emptying of the pans is required to take place. Where the required section
is removed I introduce a drop rail or drop rails or a groove or grooves of such
shape that one end of the pan hitherto maintained in equilibrium by the guide
rail or rails is caused or permitted to descend in such manner as to discharge
its contents and then caused to ascend when its contents are emptied and to
be again placed in equilibrium as before. This change of position in the pans
is brought about by the peculiar shape of the drop rail or rails or equivalent.
Each drop rail has a downward incline at each end the lower ends of each
incline being joined by a curved part. The inclination of that end nearest the
place from which the pans are travelling is steeper than that of the other end,
the result being that the pans are comparatively suddenly tilted and gradually
restored to their horizontal position. The drop rails can be removed and placed
at any part of the line of conveyance by removing a section of the guide rails
at the required place, the part from which the drop rail is removed having a
piece of straight continuating rail put in. Whenever the pans are required
to go the whole distance without tilting the drop rail or rails or equivalents
are not used.
Dated this 19th day of July 1899.
HUGHES & YOUNG.
23, Coleman Street, E.C., Agents.

page_text: I, GRIFFITH ARTHUR RICHARDSON, of 19, Annesley Park, Rathmines, Dublin,
Ireland, Business Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in conveyors the object being to
provide means for carrying materials in pans, trays and the like so as to involve
Ittle friction to the material carried and also to permit of the contents being
automatically emptied at any predetermined part of the journey or of being
carried the whole distance. In putting my invention into practice I proceed
in or in about the following manner making reference to the accompanying
drawings in which Fig. 1 is a plan and Fig. 2 a side view, Fig. 3 showing cross-
section of rails. I provide a pair of permanent rails a having grooves bon the
inside in which slide the sections of the movable rails e the rails of each section
being connected by cross-bars d. The sections e can be slid to and fro so as to
leave a space at that part where a pan is to be emptied. The pans e to carry the
material may be of any suitable shape and are provided with pair of wheels f
to run on the permanent rails a and with another pair g to run on the movable
guide rails c a hood h at one end of each pan being curved over the space between
itself and the next one so as to prevent waste when loading the pans. The
pans are hinged at or near their forward ends to cross rods i. The ends of the
rods are carried by the endless chains outside the permanent rails a and
by these chains which are moved by suitably operated wheels, the pans are
propelled along the rails. If desired the pans may be fixed to the rods and
the ends of the rods be free to turn in bearings on the chains. The object is
to permit of the pans either swinging on the rods or the pans and rods swinging
on the chains. When it is required to empty a pan at any particular point
one of the sections c is removed at that point and special "drop rails" brought
under the opening thus provided. The drop rails have an incline at each end
one of the inclines being steeper than the other of them 7 the lower ends of
the inclines being connected by a curved portion m. The drop rails have
legs n pivotted to them at o and provided at their lower ends with wheels p
to run on rails y situated at such a distance below the removable rails c as will
permit the drop rails to pass freely to and fro thereunder. In order to strengthen
the drop rails I provide side bars r and for the purpose of raising the drop
rails into position within the space provided by the removal of the movable
section I pivot to each leg n one end of a lever s the inner ends of the lever s
being connected by a central part t the centre of which is pivotted at u to the
bottom of the drop rail. By turning the central part t vertical the legs are
drawn together and the drop rails raised into position. I propose to make one
side of the central part longer than the other so as to act as a handle and I
also propose to provide means such as a pin or clutch whereby the central part t
can be kept vertical when so placed and not fall horizontally of its own accord.
When the material is to be run along the whole distance without tipping
temporary rails are used to bridge over the gap in the removable rails. The
two temporary rails (Fig. 3) have pivotted to them the levers the inner
ends of which are pivotted to a rod by bringing which into the horizontal
or more or less so position the rails are forced in the grooves in the rails a.
A single wheel or a slide or a pair of slides may be substituted for the pair
of guide wheels g suitable modification being made to carry the substituted
C

page_text: parts as by providing a single rail or slide or slides inside the permanent rails
for the slides to run in.
The drop rail itself instead of having rails to run on may be made portable
and carried to the required spot and bolted to the permanent rails or it may
be made to run in a second groove y in the permanent rails a provision being
made for raising the drop rail into the same level as the movable rail. Each
drop rail might also be made independent of its fellow and the two connected
after they have been put into position.
The action of the conveyor is as follows assuming the pans to be travelling
in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 2. When the pan e passes the
first and steeper incline of the drop rail the tail end of the pan will run down
the incline the other end of the pan e swinging on the bar i
As the pan
travels along it will hang vertical when on the bottom of the drop rail, and
then empty its contents further progress causing the tail end to slide up the
flatter incline and finally to pass on to the rails e again and so continue its
journey. Thus each pan as it comes to the drop rail lets down its tail end,
empties its contents and passes again on to the guide rails c.
As already mentioned a temporary rail is used to occupy the place of the
drop rail when the latter is not used owing to the material not having to be
tipped during its. journey.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. Improved conveyors consisting essentially of a series of pans or the like
having front wheels running on permanent rails and rear wheels running on
removable sectional guide rails situated between the said permanent rails, the
forward end of each of the said pans being arranged to hinge or swing on or
with a cross bar the outer ends of which are rotatably or otherwise connected
with the endless chains which propel the pans, provision being made for empty-
ing the pans as they reach a pre-determined point, by removing a section of
the guide rails and substituting therefor drop rails having inclined ends by
which the tail or rear end of each pan is gradually lowered into a vertical and
emptying position and gradually raised to the guide rails again, without inter-
rupting the onward movement of the series of pans or the like the whole con-
structed and operating suitably as described in the above specification and
exemplified in the accompanying drawings.
2. In conveyors such as are claimed in the above Claim 1, the substitution
of slides or a slide or a wheel for the rear wheels on the pans and guiding
slides or a guiding slide or rail for the guiding rails substantially as described.
3. In conveyors the combination of a series of moving pans or the like having
hinged or swingable forward ends: endless chains for propelling the said pans :
permanent rails for the forward ends of the said pans to run on: sectionally
removable guide rails within the said permanent rails for the rear ends of the
pans to run on drop rails or guides to be substituted for a sectional part of
the guide rails at the pre-determined spot where the pans are to be emptied
as they pass along substantially as described in the above specification and
exemplified by the accompanying drawings.