GB1208893A - Improvements relating to endless conveyors - Google Patents

Abstract

1,208,893. Endless conveyers for sorting parcels &c. SOVEX Ltd. 19 June, 1968 [26 June, 1967], No. 29403/67. Heading B8A. An endless conveyer having a surface 1 which is disposed in a tilted attitude at least at discharge stations has discharge controlling gates 10 which travel with the conveyer. As shown in Fig. 1, a series of load carrying slots 1 each bave wheels 4, 4, running in rails 5, 5, and are connected to an endless traction chain 2. A gate 10 is pivotally mounted on each slat 1 at 8 and is normally held in the position shown by a roller 11 engaging a slot 12 in a plate 13 rigid with the gate 10. The roller 11 is displaceable at a discharge station by a roller 19 acting on a ramp 18. This permits the gate 10 to drop as a roller 23 follows a ramp 25. The latter has a flexible tail 28 which permits the lowered roller 23 associated with previously opened gates 10 to pass by the ramp 25. The gates retum to closed position under the action of gravity as the endless chain passes around a return sprocket. Alternatively a ramp may be provided to deflect the roller 23 back to its higher level. In Figs. 3 and 5, pairs of slats 43, 43 are hinged together at 44, and in their normal position are inclined (Fig. 3) to provide a V-shaped receptacle for articles (not shown). Rollers 53 are each carried by a parallel linkage of which the appropriate slat 43 forms one side. At a discharge station, the roller 53 appropriate to the side on which discharge is intended to take place, is permitted by the retraction of a track section 55 to drop down to a rail 46 at a lower level. The section 55 is operated by a solenoid 56 (Fig. 5) by pin wheel or other mechanism. To permit discharge of a long article a number of successive gates may be opened simultaneously.