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US 6,062,378 AGranted
Accumulating conveyor chain with controlled friction
AssigneeTekno, Inc.
InventorRobert T. Clopton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A conveyor system is provided, in which the drive chain which drives products along the conveyor has features that permit control of the threshold driving force that will be reached before the chain's carrier rollers begin to rotate to permit accumulation of product on the conveyor. The threshold driving force is controlled by friction members which are located between split portions of the carrier rollers and by the angle of the outer surface of the carrier rollers. The steeper the angle, the greater the threshold force.
Claims12
A chain, comprising:
- a plurality of links, each link including left and right sidebars;
- and chain pins extending through the sidebars;
- left and right support rollers and at least one split carrier roller rotatably mounted on one of the chain pins, said split carrier roller comprising two separate roller pieces located between and projecting above the left and right support rollers;
- a friction member mounted between and in friction contact with said carrier roller pieces which restricts rotation of the carrier roller pieces.
1 more element
A chain link, comprising:
- left and right sidebars;
- a forward pin extending through the left and right sidebars;
- a rear pin extending through the left and right sidebars;
- a split carrier roller including two carrier roller portions mounted on the forward pin;
- a friction member mounted on the forward pin between the carrier roller portions and projecting to the rear pin and at least partially encircling the rear pin which prevents the friction member from rotating.
2 more elements
A conveyor, comprising:
- a support frame;
- a carriage, including rollers which roll on said support frame;
- said carriage including a spring-biased drive member;
- said drive member defining a V-shaped drive surface;
- and
- a drive chain mounted on said support frame, said drive chain including left and right sidebars;
- forward pins;
- rear pins;
- split carrier rollers each including two carrier roller portions mounted on the forward pins, said carrier rollers defining a complementary V-shaped drive surface;
- and friction members mounted on the forward pins between the respective carrier roller portions.
7 more elements
A chain, comprising:
- a plurality of links;
- and a plurality of horizontal chain pins connecting the links together;
- wherein at least one of said links includes left and right carrier roller portions rotatably mounted on one of said chain pins, said left and right carrier roller portions each having a tapered outer drive surface so that, together, they form a substantially V-shaped outer drive surface;
- and a friction member mounted between and in friction contact with said left and right carrier roller portions which restricts the rotation of the carrier roller portions, wherein said friction member does not project above said V-shaped outer drive surface.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.