Cushioned stop for powered conveyor

A hydraulically-cushioned stop mechanism for decelerating and stopping a moving load on a continuously-driving conveyor, comprising:

• a horizontally-elongated housing structure having a base wall and a pair of upstanding side walls which define a channel-like arrangement, said side walls having vertically-elongated guide channels formed therein adjacent one end of said housing structure;
• said housing structure having an upright wall fixed thereto adjacent said one end thereof and defining thereon a fixed stop which extends transversely of said housing structure, said fixed stop defining thereon an enlarged stop surface which faces generally in the elongated direction of the housing structure;
• a slide structure slidably mounted on said housing structure for vertical slidable displacement within said guide channels;
• a vertically-elongated stop lever positioned generally between said side walls and projecting upwardly thereabove, said stop lever being positioned adjacent said one end of said housing structure in the vicinity of said fixed stop, said stop lever having a lower end thereof pivotally supported on said slide structure about a generally horizontal first pivot axis which extends substantially transversely with respect to the elongated direction of said housing structure, said stop lever having an upper free end defining thereon an abutment portion adapted for contact with the moving load, said stop lever also defining thereon a stopping surface on the opposite side thereof from said abutment portion for abuttingly contacting the stop surface on said fixed stop;
• hydraulic shock absorber means cooperating between said housing structure and said stop lever for applying a resistance force to said stop lever which restricts swinging of the stop lever as it is moved toward the fixed stop due to contact of the stop lever with a moving load, said hydraulic shock absorber means including slidably telescopically supported housing and piston members which cooperate to define a liquid-containing pressure chamber therebetween, one of said members being pivotally supported on said housing structure about a second axis which is substantially parallel with said first axis and is spaced horizontally therefrom, the other said member being pivotally coupled to said stop lever at a third axis which is generally parallel with said first axis, said third axis being spaced upwardly from said first axis but downwardly a significant distance from said abutment portion, whereby the mounting of the hydraulic shock absorber means relative to said stop lever results in telescopic movement of said shock absorber means occurring along a line of movement which extends in approximately perpendicular relationship to the elongated direction of said stop lever;
• and
• activating means coupled to said slide means for controlling vertical movement thereof along said guide channels between raised and lowered positions to cause corresponding movement of said stop lever between respective operative and inoperative positions, said stop lever when in said operative position being disposed so that the abutment portion can contact a moving load, said stop lever when in said inoperative position being disposed so that the abutment portion is incapable of contacting a moving load.

An apparatus for supporting and successively moving a series of heavy loads, such as palletized loads, into and through a series of workstations with the individual loads being decelerated and stopped at successive workstations, comprising:

• powered conveyor means for supporting and moving loads along a substantially horizontal predetermined direction, said powered conveyor means including a plurality of continuously driven drive rollers for supporting and moving the loads, said drive rollers being supported on a stationary frame;
• said plurality of drive rollers including a plurality of roller sets disposed in spaced relationship along the predetermined direction of the conveyor means, each said roller set including at least two substantially coaxially aligned drive rollers which are sidewardly spaced a substantial distance apart and are supported on and joined by a transversely-extending through shaft;
• a hydraulically-cushioned stop mechanism mounted on said frame for decelerating and stopping a load at a predetermined position along the conveyor means even though the drive rollers remain in driving engagement with the load, said stop mechanism being disposed sidewardly substantially between the sidewardly spaced drive rollers of said sets and positioned closely adjacent but under said through shafts, said mechanism including:
• a support housing fixedly mounted on said frame at a location disposed sidewardly between the rollers of the sets and under but closely adjacent the through shafts, said support housing defining thereon vertically-extending guide means,
• a fixed stop fixedly secured to said housing structure and projecting upwardly to an elevation close to but spaced slightly below a generally horizontal load-supporting plane defined by uppermost load-contacting points of said drive rolls, said fixed stop defining thereon a generally vertically-enlarged stop surface which faces generally in an upstream direction of the conveyor means,
• a stop structure movably mounted on said support housing for generally vertical movement between raised operative and lowered inoperative positions, and for generally horizontal movement from a load contacting position to a load stopped position, said load contacting position being spaced in the upstream direction from said load stopped position,
• said stop structure including a slide structure slidably supported on said guide structure for vertical slidable support between said operative and inoperative positions, and a vertically-elongate stop lever having a lower end thereof coupled to said slide structure, said stop lever being supported for swinging movement about a generally horizontal pivot axis which extends through the lower end of said stop lever and extends in generally perpendicular relationship to the predetermined direction, said stop lever having an abutment part mounted thereon adjacent the free end thereof for contact with a load when the stop structure is in said operative position, said stop lever also defining thereon a stopping surface which is disposed on the opposite side of said stop lever from said abutment part, said stopping surface being disposed in generally opposed relationship to said stop surface for contacting said stop surface when in said load stopped position, and
• hydraulic shock absorber means cooperating between said housing structure and said stop lever for applying a resistance force to said stop lever which restricts swinging movement of the stop lever as it moves toward the fixed stop due to contact of the stop lever with a moving load, said shock absorber being elongated approximately parallel with said predetermined direction and positioned closely adjacent but under said through shafts so that the resistance force applied by the shock absorber to the stop lever when the latter moves toward the stopped position approaches a perpendicular relationship.

An apparatus for supporting and successively moving a series of heavy loads, such as palletized loads, into and through a series of workstations with the individual loads being decelerated and stopped at successive workstations, comprising:

• powered conveyor means for supporting and moving loads along a substantially horizontal predetermined direction, said powered conveyor means including a plurality of continuously driven drive elements for supporting and moving the loads, said drive elements being supported on a stationary frame in sidewardly spaced relationship;
• a hydraulically-cushioned stop mechanism mounted on said frame for decelerating and stopping a load at a predetermined position along the conveyor means even though the drive elements remain in driving engagement with the load, said stop mechanism being disposed sidewardly substantially between the sidewardly spaced drive elements, said mechanism including:
• a support housing fixedly mounted on said frame at a location disposed sidewardly between the drive elements,
• a fixed stop fixedly secured to said housing structure and projecting upwardly to an elevation close to but spaced slightly below a generally horizontal load-supporting plane defined by uppermost load-contacting points of said drive elements, said fixed stop defining thereon a generally vertically-enlarged stop surface which faces generally in an upstream direction of the conveyor means,
• a stop structure movably mounted on said support housing for generally vertical movement between raised operative and lowered inoperative positions, and for generally horizontal movement from a load contacting position to a load stopped position, said load contacting position being spaced in the upstream direction from said load stopped position,
• said stop structure including a slide structure slidably supported on said guide structure for vertical slidable support between said operative and inoperative positions, and a vertically-elongate stop lever having a lower end thereof coupled to said slide structure, said stop lever being supported for swinging movement about a generally horizontal pivot axis which extends through the lower end of said stop lever and extends in generally perpendicular relationship to the predetermined direction, said stop lever having an abutment part mounted thereon adjacent the free end thereof for contact with a load when the stop structure is in said operative position, said stop lever also defining thereon a stopping surface which is disposed on the opposite side of said stop lever from said abutment part, said stopping surface being disposed in generally opposed relationship to said stop surface for contacting said stop surface when in said load stopped position, and
• hydraulic shock absorber means cooperating between said housing structure and said stop lever for applying a resistance force to said stop lever which restricts swinging movement of the stop lever as it moves toward the fixed stop due to contact of the stop lever with a moving load, said shock absorber being elongated approximately parallel with said predetermined direction and positioned closely adjacent but under said through shafts so that the resistance force applied by the shock absorber to the stop lever when the latter moves toward the stopped position approaches a perpendicular relationship.