CONVERTIBLE ROLLER WAY CONVEYOR

• US 3,768,614 A
• Filed: 03/10/1972
• Issued: 10/30/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Charles P. Tabler
• Original Assignee: Charles P. Tabler
• Inventors: Tabler, Charles P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Aegerter, Richard E.
• Application Number:
  US05/233,691
• Time in Patent Office: 599 Days
• Field of Search: 198/202,127 193/35-37
• US Class Current: 193/37
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 13/00 Roller-ways storage devices comprising roller-ways B65G1/02; endless-chain conveyors comprising load-supporting rollers B65G17/00; rollers or arrangements thereof B65G39/00
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 13/075 Braking means
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 39/09 Arrangements of bearing or sealing means

Abstract

The roller way conveyor system of the present invention provides for the transport of articles supported on two inclined runs of freely rotatable horizontal axis rollers from one end to the other end, and the conveying of articles unsuited for support between the roller runs on a plurality of pipes freely supportable on and extending between the roller runs. Preferably, the pipes and rollers are freely journaled to provide solely for gravity conveying of articles carried thereon, and axial restraint means or confining means are provided to limit the axial movement of the pipes when supported on the rollers and to correspondingly limit the axial movement of articles supported on either the rollers or pipes. The rollers are equipped with elastomer tires having hysteresis properties so that there will be a controlled speed for conveyed articles, an accommodation of uneven article surfaces, quieter operation, and a firm adapting support of the pipes.

Claims

1. A gravity conveyor roller way, comprising:

at least two parallel support rails horizontally spaced from each other a predetermined distance and inclined a small acute angle with respect to the horizontal;

a plurality of parallel, horizontal axis undriven wheels journaled for free rotation along each of said support rails, each of said wheels having an outer annular elastomeric tire with high hysteresis and low coefficient of restitution properties;

means for transferring the load of articles between said rails to said wheels and the free rotation of said wheels to the articles including a plurality of generally parallel cylindrical rolls of substantially the same length at least greater than the predetermined distance between said support rails, each of said rolls being solely supported at one end between a pair of adjacent ones of said freely journaled wheels on one of said support rails and being solely supported at its opposite end between a corresponding pair of adjacent ones of said freely journaled wheels mounted on the other of said support rails, and each of said rolls being solely supported by direct engagement with said high hysteresis elastomeric tires;

the top surfaces of said rolls generally lying in a support plane inclined at said acute angle with respect to the horizontal; and

means confining the axial movement of said rolls to a predetermined range sufficiently small to maintain said rolls fully supported at both ends on said wheels;

said rolls and said wheels constituting means for moving articles soley by gravity horizontally and downwardly generally parallel with said rails;

speed control means including said high hysteresis elastomeric tires for increasing the speed of articles being gravity conveyed on said rolls up to a predetermined narrow speed range;

said speed control means further decreasing the speed of articles being gravity conveyed on said rolls to said predetermined speed range by converting the kinetic energy of the articles above said predetermined narrow speed range to heat by the high hysteresis properties of said tires; and

said speed control means further decreasing the speed of articles within said predetermined narrow speed range as the weight of the articles increases.

2. The gravity conveyor of claim 1, wherein said rolls are each of uniform diameter and thickness throughout their entire length.

3. The gravity conveyor of claim 1, wherein said tires have shore durometer hardness of from 60 to 85A.

4. The gravity conveyor of claim 1, wherein said confining means include opposed side rails substantially parallel to each other and said support rails, and each of said rails abuttingly overlapping, in the vertical direction, each of said rolls and extending upwardly beyond said pipes a sufficient distance to guide articles carried on said rolls.

5. The gravity conveyor of claim 4, including a plurality of vertical axis free rollers mounted in alignment with each other completely above said rolls and in said side guide rails to extend inwardly therefrom for engaging the sides of articles carried on said rolls.

6. The gravity conveyor of claim 1, wherein said confining means includes an outer annular groove within each of said rolls at each end thereof and spaced to coincide wIth the spacing of the supporting wheels so that the wheels riding in the grooves act to prevent lateral movement of the rolls.

7. The gravity conveyor of claim 6, wherein said side support rails each includes parallel and outwardly horizontally opening U-shaped side channel members mounting therebetween said wheels, and at least one U-shaped horizontally opening mounting channel receiving therein one of said side channel members;

and elastomeric means supportingly between said one side channel and said mounting channel.

8. The gravity conveyor of claim 1, wherein said confining means include an annular flange integrally on each end of each of said rolls, each of said annular flanges extending downwardly to cooperate with one side of each of the supporting wheels.

9. The gravity conveyor of claim 1, wherein said speed control means produces the narrow speed range of three feet per minute for a 9,000 pound load and 30 feet per minute for an empty pallet load.