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US 5,076,422 AGranted
Side-flexing chain with wheels
AssigneeTekno, Inc.
InventorRobert T. Clopton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A chain link has load-carrying wheels and at least one guide wheel, and the axis of rotation of the load-carrying wheels intersects the axis of rotation of the guide wheel at a single point.
Claims20
A chain link, comprising:
- a link body, including a rear portion having first and second parallel, spaced-apart arms, each of said arms defining a horizontal hole which is aligned with the horizontal hole in the other of said arms;
- a forward projection, defining a vertical bore and a horizontal bore which intersect each other, said forward projection being sized to fit between the spaced-apart arms of an identical adjacent link;
- first and second load-carrying wheels, each of said load-carrying wheels defining a central bore and lying adjacent to its respective spaced-apart arm;
- a chain pin extending horizontally through the central bores of said first and second load-carrying wheels and through the aligned horizontal holes in said spaced-apart arms, so that said load-carrying wheels rotate about a horizontal axis;
- at least one guide wheel, defining a central bore;
- a vertical pin extending through the vertical bore of the forward projection and through the central bore of the guide wheel, said vertical pin defining a vertical axis such that said guide wheel can rotate about said vertical axis.
3 more elements
A chain, comprising:
- a plurality of chain links, each of said chain links including a link body which includes a rear portion having first and second parallel, spaced-apart arms, each of said arms defining a horizontal hole which is aligned with the horizontal hole in the other of said arms;
- a forward projection, defining a vertical bore and a horizontal bore which intersect with each other;
- first and second load-carrying wheels, each of said load-carrying wheels defining a central bore and lying adjacent to its respective spaced-apart arm;
- and
- at least one guide wheel defining a central bore;
- wherein the forward projection of one link fits between the spaced-apart arms of its identical adjacent link, with its horizontal bore aligned with the horizontal holes in the arms of the adjacent link;
- a plurality of chain pins, each of said chain pins extending through the central bores of the first and second load-carrying wheels of one link, through the aligned horizontal holes in the spaced-apart arms of the one link, and through the horizontal bore in the forward projection of an identical adjacent link, so that said load-carrying wheels rotate about a horizontal axis;
- and
- a plurality of vertical pins, each of said vertical pins extending through the vertical bore of the forward projection of one chain link and through the central bore of the guide wheel for that one link, wherein the axis of each vertical pin intersects the axis of the chain pin which extends horizontally through the same forward projection.
6 more elements
A conveyor, comprising:
- a conveyor frame, including a substantially flat support surface adapted to support the weight of a chain;
- and a guide surface lying substantially perpendicular to the support surface;
- a chain, comprising
- a. a plurality of chain links, each of said chain links including
- i. a rear portion, including first and second parallel, spaced-apart arms, each of said arms defining a horizontal hole which is aligned with the horizontal hole in the other of said arms;
- ii. a forward projection, defining a vertical bore and a horizontal bore which intersect with each other;
- iii. first and second load-carrying wheels, each of said load-carrying wheels defining a central bore and lying adjacent to its respective spaced-apart arm;
- and
- iv. at least one guide wheel defining a central bore;
- wherein the forward projection of one link fits between he spaced-apart arms of its identical adjacent link, with its horizontal bore aligned with the horizontal holes in the arms of the adjacent link;
- b. a plurality of chain pins, each of said chain pins extending through the central bores of the first and second load-carrying wheels of one link, through the aligned horizontal holes in the spaced-apart arms of the one link, and through the horizontal bore in the forward projection of an identical adjacent link, so that said load-carrying wheels rotate about a horizontal axis and ride on said support surface;
- and
- c. a plurality of vertical pins, each of said vertical pins extending through the vertical bore of the forward projection of one chain link and through the central bore of the guide wheel for that one link, so that the guide wheel rotates about a vertical axis and rides on said guide surface;
- and
- means for driving said chain along said conveyor frame.
12 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.