Method for automatically adjusting a drawer conveyor in accordance with the size of articles to be transported, and conveyor that carries out the method

A conveyor automatically adjusted in accordance with the size of the articles to be transported, said conveyer running along a closed loop path and being equipped with transporting drawers, each drawer comprising a pair of walls, said conveyor including:

• conveying means comprising a first stationary wall and a second wall, the second wall being adapted to take one or another of two different configuration, a first configuration in which the second wall is locked, and a second configuration in which the second wall is released and movable with respect to the first stationary wall;
• operating means for releasing the second wall of a drawer while this drawer is moving through a first section of the closed loop path, to let the second wall move freely while the drawer is moving through a second section of the closed loop path, and for then locking the wall previously released when the drawer reaches a third section of the closed loop path;
• positioning means for locating the second wall at a preset distance from the first stationary wall;
• said operating means having a plate movable along a direction that is transverse to the conveyor direction, an edge of said plate facing said conveying means and being profiled to form a cam extending longitudinally to the conveying direction, such that said edge cooperates with said conveying means, said plate having a cam-follower roller positioned near an edge of said plate opposite to the cam profiled edge, the roller designed for running inside a cam groove made on a drum rotatably supported by a conveyor structure, the roller causing the sliding of said plate transversely with respect to the conveying direction to shift the second wall accordingly.

A conveyor automatically adjusted in accordance with the size of articles to be transported, said conveyor running along a closed loop path and being equipped with transporting drawers, each drawer comprising a pair of walls, said conveyor including:

• conveying means comprising a first stationary wall and a second wall, the second wall being adapted to take one or another of two different configurations, a first configuration in which the second wall is locked, and a second configuration in which the second wall is released and movable with respect to the first stationary wall;
• operating means for releasing the second wall of a drawer while the drawer is moving through a first section of the closed loop path, to let the second wall move freely while the drawer is moving through a second section of the closed loop path, and for then locking the wall previously released when the wall reaches a third section of the closed loop path;
• positioning means for locating the second wall at a preset distance from the first stationary wall, said positioning means including shifting means for shifting the second wall disposed in accordance with a longitudinal direction, the shifting means being movable along a direction transverse to a conveying direction;
• adjusting means for moving said shifting means and for defining a transverse position for the shifting means;
• and
• link means for connecting said shifting means to said adjusting means.

A conveyor automatically adjusted in accordance with the size of the articles to be transported, said conveyor running along a closed loop path and being equipped with transporting drawers, each drawer comprising a pair of walls, said conveyor including:

• conveying means comprising a first stationary wall and a second wall, the second wall being adapted to take one or another of two different configurations, a first configuration which the second wall is locked and a second configuration in which the second wall is released and movable with the respect to the first stationary wall;
• operating means for releasing the second wall of a drawer while the drawer is moving through a first section of the closed loop path, to let the second wall move freely while the drawer is moving through a second section of the closed loop path and for then locking the wall previously released when the drawer reaches a third section of the closed loop path;
• positioning means for locating the second wall at a preset distance from the first stationary wall;
• and
• first sensor means cooperating with said operating means to detect the operation or non-operation of the operating means.

A conveyor automatically adjusted in accordance with the size of the articles to be transported, said conveyor running along a closed loop path and being equipped with transporting drawers, each drawer comprising a pair of walls, said conveyor including:

• conveying means comprising a first stationary wall and a second wall, the second wall being adapted to take one or another of two different configurations, a first configuration in which the second wall is locked and a second configuration in which the second wall is released and movable with the respect to the first stationary wall;
• operating means for releasing the second wall of a drawer while the drawer is moving through a first section of the closed loop path, to let the second wall move freely while the drawer is moving through a second section of the closed loop path and for then locking the wall previously released when the drawer reaches a third section of the closed loop path;
• positioning means for locating the second wall at a preset distance from the first stationary wall;
• and
• spring means for acting on said operating means associated with the movable wall.