Invertable pan conveyor and material carrying pan therefor
AssigneeProctor & Schwartz, Inc.
InventorKurudamannil A. George
Life of this patent
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Abstract
There is provided an endless conveyor characterized by a plurality of invertable material carrying pans. The invention is particularly concerned with simplified means for effecting inversion of the pans whereby both the upper and lower reaches of the endless conveyor may be utilized to carry material as for example in a dryer. Each of the material carrying pans is provided with a cam for coaction with stationary cam followers to effect inversion of the pan as it approaches the end of the conveyor for reversal of direction, and stabilizing cam followers for controlling the position the pan as it courses around the direction changing apparatus and enters another reach.
Claims12
A conveyor comprising a horizontally arranged series of traveling material carrying pans adapted to course between and around terminal sprockets, each said pan having a single material carrying surface, means for inverting said pans sequentially as they approach a terminal sprocket at the end of one reach of horizontal travel, said pans being reinverted in sequence as they approach the other terminal sprocket, said pan inverting means including a vertically disposed plate-like cam located at an end of each of said pans, said plate-like cam comprising a first portion extending above the material carrying surface of the pan and a second portion coplanar with said first portion and extending below said pan, said first and second portions including oppositely inwardly extending cam follower intercepting notches defined by cam follower engaging edges, for engaging spaced stationary pan-inverting cam followers located adjacent each reach and prior to the terminal sprocket in the direction of pan travel, said cam and cam followers configured for and coacting respectively to invert said pans sequentially on approach to said terminal sprocket in response to pan inverting engagement between a said notch and a cam follower during movement in the direction of travel along a reach of horizontal travel, to discharge material carried on said material carrying surface for transfer to a lower traveling pan moving in the opposite direction on a lower reach, said discharge being in a direction inwardly of the sprockets and toward a point intermediate said sprockets.
An invertable material carrying pan for an endless conveyor comprising a rectangular plate having a material carrying surface adapted to be pivotally supported by and between parallel endless chains for movement along a generally horizontal path, said plate having a leading edge and a trailing edge, each of said edges including a marginal portion displaced out of the plane of said plate toward the same side of the plate and being configured for nesting coaction with the opposite confronting marginal portion of an adjacent pan during travel along said generally adjacent pan during travel along said generally horizontal path, said plate having a vertically disposed plate-like cam at at least one end thereof, said cam having cam follower engaging edges for engaging stationary pan-inverting cam followers, said cam comprising a first portion extending above said material carrying surface and a second portion extending below said material carrying surface, said first and second poritons defining oppositely directed inwardly extending cam follower intercepting notches configured for inverting said pan in response to pan inverting engagement with an inverting cam follower during movement along said horizontal path, and said first portion including an upper edge surface having a generally triangular configuration and adapted for coaction with pan attitude controlling cam follower means and said second portion including a bottom edge surface adapted for coaction with other pan attitude controlling cam follower means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.