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US 5,960,938 AGranted
Conveyor for cantilevered loads
AssigneeTekno, Inc.
InventorRobert T. Clopton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A conveyor is provided for conveying cantilevered loads on wheeled carriages. The frame of the conveyor includes carriage roller support surfaces, which support the weight of the carriage and the load and guide the carriage along the conveyor. There is a belt along the frame which drives the carriages. Since the belt does not support the weight of the carriage, the force between the carriage and the belt need only be sufficient to drive the load. This reduces the energy used by the conveyor, reduces the wear on the conveyor, and reduces jostling of the products being conveyed.
Claims26
A conveyor for carrying cantilevered loads, comprising:
- an elongated frame element, defining first and second elongated carriage roller support surfaces lying in different, non-parallel imaginary planes which intersect at an obtuse angle;
- a drive belt extending along said elongated frame element;
- a plurality of independent carriages mounted on said elongated frame element;
- each of said carriages including first and second carriage rollers supported on said first and second carriage roller support surfaces, respectively, so that said elongated frame element supports the weight of the carriage and guides the carriage as it travels along the frame;
- and a belt follower mounted on said carriage such that motion of the belt drives the belt follower, causing said carriage to move along with said belt, wherein each of said independent carriages can be removed from said elongated frame element simply by rotating the carriage and lifting it straight up, without having to disassemble any part of the conveyor.
2 more elements
A conveyor frame for supporting a carriage with a cantilevered load, comprising:
- an elongated frame member defining a vertical axis, and having first and second elongated, carriage roller support surfaces;
- said first carriage roller support surface lying to the left of the vertical axis and at an acute angle to the vertical axis;
- said second carriage roller support surface lying to the right of the vertical axis and at an acute angle to the horizontal, sloping downwardly away from the vertical axis, so that, when a carriage having first and second rollers and a cantilever load on the right of the vertical axis is mounted on said frame member with the first and second rollers rolling on the first and second roller support surfaces, respectively, the first carriage roller support surface will prevent the cantilevered load from lifting the carriage up, off of the frame, and the second carriage roller support surface will support the weight of the carriage;
- and
- a belt extending along said frame for driving a carriage mounted on the frame.
2 more elements
A carriage for a conveyor for carrying cantilevered loads, comprising:
- a carriage body, defining an outer surface and an inner surface;
- first, second, and third carriage rollers mounted on said carriage body and projecting from the inner surface of said carriage body, said first, second, and third carriage rollers having three different, non-parallel axes of rotation, wherein, when the carriage is placed on a support frame adjacent to the inner surface of the carriage body and a cantilevered load is placed on said carriage body, at least one of said carriage rollers supports the weight of the cantilevered load, and at least another of said carriage rollers prevents the cantilevered load from lifting the carriage up off of the support frame;
- and a spring-loaded shoe projecting from the inner surface of said carriage.
A conveyor, comprising:
- an elongated frame element, defining first and second elongated carriage support surfaces lying in different, non-parallel planes;
- a roller chain extending along said elongated frame element, said roller chain including rollers supported on said elongated frame element and drive members carried by said rollers;
- a plurality of independent carriages mounted on said elongated frame element;
- each of said carriages supported on said first and second carriage support surfaces, respectively, so that said elongated frame element supports the weight of the carriage and guides the carriage as it travels along the frame;
- each of said carriages including a spring-loaded shoe, projecting toward said roller chain so as to contact the respective drive member adjacent to the shoe, so that, as the roller chain rolls along said elongated frame element, friction between said spring-loaded shoe and said drive member causes the carriage to move along with the roller chain, and wherein, when an external force is applied to one of the carriages to stop that one carriage, the chain continues to run, continuing to drive the other carriages;
- and
- wherein each of said independent carriages can be removed from said elongated frame element simply by rotating the carriage and lifting it straight up, without having to disassemble any part of the conveyor.
4 more elements
A carriage for a conveyor for carrying cantilevered loads, comprising:
- a carriage body, defining an outer surface and an inner surface;
- first and second carriage rollers mounted on said carriage body and projecting from the inner surface of said carriage body, said first and second carriage rollers being mounted so as to permit them to roll on support surfaces lying on planes that intersect at an obtuse angle, wherein, when the carriage is placed on a support frame adjacent to the inner surface of the carriage body and a cantilevered load is placed on the carriage body, at least said second carriage roller supports the weight of the cantilevered load, and said first carriage roller prevents the cantilevered load from lifting the carriage up off of the support frame;
- and
- a spring-loaded shoe projecting from the inner surface of said carriage.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.