Conveying system
AssigneeSFT AG Spontanfordertechnik
InventorJacques Meier
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Conveying system with one or more driving members, conveying chains in operative connection therewith and mechanism arranged on said chains and receiving the conveying loads, the conveying chains being guided in chain channels, one or more tracks connecting satellites with one or more central stations. A track comprises a driving station with an associated track and a conveying chain (drag chain) without a return strand running parallel to the track and on whose one end is arranged a conveyed product-receiving mechanism whilst the other end is freely movable. The track connects the driving station (satellite) with a central station or another driving station (satellite).
Claims22
A conveying system comprising the combination of
- a central station;
- a plurality of satellite stations;
- guide means defining a plurality of paths, each path extending between one of said satellite stations and a selected one of said central station and satellite stations;
- a plurality of elongated, single-strand, transfer chain members, each of said chain members being longitudinally movable in said guide means along one of said paths;
- a plurality of drive means for longitudinally bidirectionally driving said chain members, each of said drive means being housed at one of said satellite stations and being coupled to only one of said chain members so that a single drive means bidirectionally drives a single chain member along a predetermined one of said paths, extending and retracting a distal end thereof;
- and
- a plurality of load conveying means, one of said load conveying means being coupled to each of said chain members near said distal end thereof whereby each of said load conveying means is moved toward and away from an associated one of said satellite stations as the drive means in said one of said satellite stations retracts and extends a chain member coupled thereto.
A method of operating a conveying system of the type including a central station, a plurality of satellite stations, guide means defining a plurality of paths, each path extending between one of the satellite stations and one of the satellite stations or the central station, a plurality of elongated, single-strand, transfer chain members longitudinally movable in the guide means along one of the paths, and load conveying means coupled to each of the chain members near the distal end thereof, comprising the steps of
- providing a chain drive at each one of the satellite stations,
- coupling each chain drive to only one of the chain members so that a single drive bidirectionally and longitudinally drives a single chain member along a predetermined path, extending and retracting a distal end thereof relative to its associated satellite station,
- whereby each of the load conveying means is moved toward and away from the associated satellite station and away from and toward another selected satellite station or the central station as the chain drive in said one of said satellite stations retracts and extends the chain member coupled thereto.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.