Accumulating conveyor

Abstract

Disclosed are powered roller, accumulating conveyors incorporating improved friction wheel drive means for transmitting driving forces to any given zone of the conveyor, independently of all other zones, from a single powered endless belt in a first embodiment and from a powered chain in second, third and fourth embodiments. In the first embodiment a pressure roller is pivoted longitudinally and downwardly to a position in which it is wedged between the lower course of a belt and a friction wheel to transmit drive forces from the former to the latter and thus to the load carrying rollers; and in the second, third and fourth embodiments a chain driven pressure roller is pivoted longitudinally and downwardly into driving engagement with a friction wheel to transmit drive forces from the pressure roller to the load carrying rollers in a zone, a plurality of load carrying rollers in each zone being drivingly interconnected by a separate chain system in the second and third embodiments, and being drivingly engaged by a V-belt in the fourth embodiment. In all four embodiments the pressure roller is mounted for pivotal movement about an axis eccentric with respect to the axis of rotation of the friction wheel it engages, and the parts are arranged so that the pressure roller engages the friction wheel at a highly oblique angle to give a wedging action capable of transmitting relatively high drive forces. There is also disclosed a modified drive means for use with endless belts which maintains constant belt length regardless of the number of conveyor zones being powered at one time.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.