Workpiece carrier assembly
AssigneeCarl Strutz & Co., Inc.
InventorMark Tweedy
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An adjustable workpiece carrier assembly for carrying workpieces on a conveyor system. Upstanding V-blocks used for supporting workpieces on the assembly, and are changeable so as to allow workpieces of different configurations to be supported thereon. By attaching a plurality of workpiece carrier assemblies to a conveyor system, an automatic conveyor system for conveying a plurality of workpieces in a desired orientation is possible. By simply changing the upstanding V-blocks to conform to the configuration of workpieces, workpieces of different configurations may be conveyed by the same conveyor system.
Claims10
A workpiece carrier assembly for carrying a workpiece on a conveyor from an entry location to a work station and thence to a discharge station with said workpiece being positioned at a desired orientation relative to the work station, said assembly including:
- upstanding V-blocks having V-shaped workpiece support surfaces for supporting the workpiece thereupon;
- support means extending transversely of the conveyor for receiving said V-blocks for support by conveyor;
- resiliently operable connecting means for removably connecting said upstanding V-blocks to said support means, said resiliently operable connecting means comprising a screw or bolt supporting each V-block on said support means and a spring biasing one of said V-block and screw or bolt to resiliently clamp said V-block on said support means.
A workpiece carrier assembly for carrying a workpiece on a conveyor from an entry location to a work station and thence to a discharge station with said workpiece being positioned at a desired orientation relative to the work station, said assembly including:
- a base plate having a lengthwise direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel of said conveyor, and carrier arms fixedly connecting the base plate to the conveyor;
- first and second spaced apart upstanding V-blocks for supporting the workpiece thereupon with each of said V-blocks containing bore hole extending through the bottom portions thereof;
- a first carrier rod and a second carrier rod positioned side-by-side and spaced apart by a certain distance, with the longitudinal directions thereof substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel of said conveyor;
- a first chuck member and a second chuck member, said first and second chuck members positioned at a first end and a second end, respectively, of the carrier rods, said first and second chuck members are fixedly connected to said carrier rods and to said base plate to thereby support said carrier rods in an aligned relation to the base plate and wherein said first chuck member includes a projection extending beyond the carrier rods, said projection containing bore holes corresponding to said bore holes extending through said first upstanding V-block to allow spring biased screw members to engage the first chuck member with the first upstanding V-block;
- a slidable chuck member slidably connected to said carrier rods and positioned along the length thereof, said slidable chuck member containing a projection extending beyond the carrier rods, said projection containing bore holes corresponding to said bore holes extending through said second upstanding V-block to allow spring biased screw members to engage said second upstanding V-block and said slidable chuck member;
- and a downwardly extending bore hole extending through the slidable chuck member;
- and
- a downwardly extending screw member extending through said downwardly extending hole of the slidable chuck member and a nut member threadedly engaged with the downwardly extending screw member, said nut member further engaged with portions of said carrier rods to thereby allow fixing in position of the slidable chuck member at a desired location along the length of the carrier rods.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.