Modular article conveyor
OwnerCarl Gilbert Richard Ossbahrinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An article conveyor comprises a pair of belts, each trained around a pair of pulleys, with straight stretches between said pulleys. The four straight belt stretches are coplanar and parallel. One pulley for each belt is so driven that the belts move in opposite orbital directions. Corresponding stretches of the two belts are confined to lengthwise motion, as by additional freely rotatable pulleys or by a rail-like member for each of said stretches having a groove in which the belt is slidingly received. Each article carrier has belt engaging portions with long, laterally oppositely opening grooves in which said belt stretches are received, so that said stretches support and drive the carrier.
Claims4
A conveyor system whereby an article can be transported along a defined path in which the article undergoes a change in the direction of its transporting movement, said conveyor system comprising:
- A. a pair of supporting members, one which is movable in opposite directions relative to the other, each of said supporting members having thereon
- 1. a pair of elongated endless belt elements;
- 2. two pairs of pulley-like members, one pair for each of said belt elements and around which the belt element is trained;
- 3. means on each supporting member constraining its pulley-like members to rotate on spaced apart substantially parallel axes and fixing their locations in such relation to one another and to the supporting member that
- a. each of said belt elements has straight inner and outer stretches extending lengthwise between its pulley-like members,
- b. all portions of the two belt elements are disposed substantially in a single plane, and
- c. at least one stretch of each belt element is parallel to its corresponding stretch of the other belt element and is laterally spaced a substantial distance therefrom;
- and
- 4. means for rotatably driving one of the pulley-like members of each of said pairs thereof, said means constraining said driven pulley-like members to rotate at substantially equal circumferential speeds but in opposite directions so that said parallel stretches of the two belt elements move lengthwise in the same direction;
- B. means for moving said one supporting member to and from a position relative to the other at which said parallel stretches of the belt elements on the respective supporting members are in endwise adjacent lengthwise aligned relationship with one another;
- and
- C. a carriage comprising
- 1. a carrier portion that is at least as wide as the distance between the inner stretches of laterally adjacent belt elements and which is substantially entirely spaced in one direction from said plane and has means thereon for carrying an article at its side remote from said plane, and
- 2.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.