Monitor car transportation and storage conveyor system
AssigneeAutomated Conveyor Systems, Inc.
InventorsRay A. Dooley, Frank R. Wood
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An accumulating conveyor system for transporting and storing plural loads, formed of a pair of laterally spaced parallel lines of non-powered rollers and an intervening load advancing car reciprocative along advance and return strokes between the ends of the roller lines. The load advancing car has a load advancing friction pad movable vertically from a raised load engaging position to a retracted inactive position under control of a monitor wheel which also moves vertically, to retract the pad from load engaging position responsive to contact of the wheel with loads along the lines of rollers.
Claims14
A roller conveyor of the non-powered roller type for transporting loads between a loading station and an unloading station and for storing a plurality of such loads thereon in closely adjacent serial relation, comprising means defining a roller conveyor line paralleling a conveyance path between said stations, the conveyor line comprising a plurality of rollers disposed for rotation about parallel transverse axes perpendicular to the conveyance path in a substantially horizontal plane for travel and storage of loads along the line of rollers, track means disposed adjacent the roller conveyor line defining a trackway extending the length of the conveyor line, a wheeled load-advancing monitor car guided by said track means for reciprocative movement along advance and return strokes between said stations, said monitor car having a main frame located below a reference level defined by the level of the upper surfaces of the conveyor rollers and a friction pad shoe extending thereabove supported for movement between a lower retracted position below said reference level and below any loads on the rollers and an upper active position slightly above said reference level to engage the bottom of loads on said rollers and advance them toward said unloading station, a load-engaging wheel supported on a movable arm carried by the car and coupled to the friction pad shoe to control the position of the shoe, means normally urging said arm and load-engaging wheel to a position extending slightly above said reference level and spaced toward the unloading station from said shoe to engage the bottom portions of any loads in the path of movement of the uppermost portion of said wheel causing the latter to be depressed thereby for activating the shoe to retract the shoe from contact with any load thereabove, whereby engagement of the wheel with loads being stored at positions in an advancing direction relative to the car effects retraction of the shoe from advancing contact with any load being currently advanced thereby to leave the latter space closely adjacent the load engaged by the wheel a distance determined by the spacing between said wheel and shoe, and reversible drive means for driving said monitor car through said advance and return strokes.
A roller conveyor of the non-powered roller type for transporting loads between a loading station and an unloading station and for storing a plurality of such loads thereon in closely adjacent serial relation, comprising a laterally spaced pair of roller conveyor lines extending parallel to a conveyance path between said stations, each conveyor line comprising a plurality of rollers disposed for rotation about parallel transverse axes perpendicular to the conveyance path in a substantial horizontal plane for travel and storage of loads along the lines of rollers, track means disposed between the pair of roller conveyor lines defining a trackway extending the length of the lines, a wheeled load advancing monitor car guided by said track means for reciprocative movement along advance and return strokes between said stations, said monitor car having a friction pad shoe supported on a pivoted shoe supporting arm for movement between a lower retracted position below a reference level defined by the level of the upper surfaces of the conveyor rollers spaced below any loads on the rollers and an upper active position slightly above said reference level to engage the bottom loads on said rollers and advance them toward said unloading station, shoe positioning means including a load engaging wheel supported on a movable lever pivoted on the car and linked to the shoe supporting arm to control the position of the shoe, means normally urging said lever and wheel to a position extending slightly above said reference level and spaced toward the unloading station from said shoe to engage the bottom portions of the last of any loads already advanced toward the unloading end still supported on said rollers and be depressed thereby for activating the shoe support arm to retract the shoe from advancing contact with any load being currently advanced thereby and leave the latter spaced closely adjacent the load engaged by the roller a distance determined by the spacing between said wheel and shoe, said shoe positioning means causing the shoe to be retracted below said reference level out of load engaging position by engagement of said wheel with a load during return stroke movement of the car and causing the shoe to rise into load advancing contact with the bottom of a load unit thereabove immediately upon passage of the wheel out of engagement with said load unit during advance stroke movement of the monitor car, and reversible drive means for driving the car through its advance and return strokes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.