GB2125354A - Apparatus for handling rod-like or elongate package articles - Google Patents

Abstract

A buffer storage system for rod-like or elongate package articles comprises an endless conveyor band 1 along which the articles are conveyed continuously in a substantially horizontal direction. Elevator means 5, 6 effect removal of said articles from said conveyor band by movement of said elevator means with said conveyor band in the direction of movement thereof in synchronism with said conveyor band and, simultaneously with the horizontal movement, upwards to lift said articles to a position away from said conveyor band, from which position the articles are transferable to a storage position. The elevator means are capable of effecting placement of said articles onto said conveyor band by movement of said elevator means in the direction of movement thereof in synchronism with said conveyor band and, simultaneously, by a movement downwards to lower said articles onto said conveyor band. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Apparatus for handling rod-like or elongate package articles The invention relates to an apparatus for handling rod-like or elongate package articles and more especially to buffer storage reservoir which may be sited between two stages of manufacture or process linked together by means of a purpose made conveyor; including means of removal, holding, transferring, diverting and returning articles singly or in bulk.

Where two stages of manufacture or process are carried out on two separate machines, or sets of equipment, linked by means of a conveyor, it is desirable to draw products off the direct link system if the second unit of manufacture (downline) stops for any reason thus enabling the first unit to continue operating. Conversely, if the first unit stops, the second unit may continue operating if articles are introduced to the direct link conveyor.

The retrieval and feeding of articles from and to such conveyors may be carried out manually, with semi, or with fully automatic equipment. Articles removed from conveyors are usually placed into containers and, if need be, taken away to a storage area. Later they are returned to the feeding point and are loaded onto the direct link system. Some containerless systems employ by-pass conveyors of varying lengths and degrees of complexity travelling over distances in straight lines, with returns, alongise or in tiers. Some are arranged at processing machine level, others are elevated and using a combination of horizontal, vertical and semi-circular lengths of conveyor generally storing articles on lengths arranged horizontally. Articles are supported singly, in layers or in bulk, with or without the aid of additional chamber-like side members.

According to this invention, an apparatus for handling rod-like or elongate package articles comprises an endless conveyor band along which the articles are conveyed continuously in a substantially horizontal direction transverse to their longitudinal axes, and elevator means for effecting removal of said articles from said conveyor band by movement of said elevator means with said conveyor band in the direction of movement thereof in synchronism with said conveyor band and, simultaneously with the horizontal movement, upwards to lift said articles to a position away from said conveyor band, from which position the articles are transferable to a storage position, said elevator means being capable, alternatively or additionally, of effecting placement of said articles onto said conveyor band by movement of said elevator means with said conveyor band in the direction of movement thereof in synchronism with said conveyor band and, simultaneously with the horizontal movement, by a movement downwards to lower said articles towards said conveyor band to deposit said articles onto said conveyor band. The apparatus is preferably used as a buffer storage in which the articles can be removed and then replaced on the conveyor band according to demand at the output.

Preferably, articles are fed, placed or deposited on a conveyor band incorporating dividers. The conveyor band is preferably narrower than the length of the articles being conveyed thus enabling said articles to straddle the conveyor band. Multiple pairs of carriers, with or without dividers, may be positioned alongside the conveyor band (one of each pair on each side of the conveyor). The pairs of carriers are maintained preferably in a horizontal position by said elevator means in turn being guided in tracks fixed alongside both sides of the conveyor band which enable the elevator means to travel up and down said tracks.

This invention differs from known storage systems in that the articles are raised clear and stored immediately above, and preferably in line, with a continuously moving conveyor band and the articles are removed and returned from and to the band (with utmost gentleness with considerably less impact on the articles than in any other known system). The present invention avoids the use of secondary conveyor bands or the need for trays or other containers. The present apparatus differs in that the carriers for raising the articles clear of the conveyor band may also serve as storage containers and that these pairs of carriers may also be caused to travel over distances to other sets of manufacturing units (which may have run out of stored articles) or to central storage positions serving a large number of pairs of manufacturing units.

The preferred apparatus consists of a conveyor band incorporating dividers of a height and pitch to suit the mass or bulk of products being conveyed. The pairs of carriers are of a length equivalent to the pitch from one conveyor divider to another or multiples of pitches. The pairs of carriers are positioned along each side of the conveyor band in such a manner that until buffering is required the articles travel unimpeded from one manufacturing unit to another. When commanded to go into action, say to remove articles, a pair of carriers positioned immediately below the conveyor band commence to move in both an upwards and horizontal fashion, the ends of the carriers coinciding with conveyor dividers.

The carriers thus lift the products clear of the conveyor band by the ends of the articles which overhang the band. Once the carriers have raised the articles clear of the band they move horizontally to a point suitable for the commencement of a return operation which involves lowering the carriers and allowing them to move horizontally with the conveyor band thus returning the articles on to the band, the carriers continuing downwards to a point which enables the articles on the conveyor to travel freely.

Multiple pairs of carriers are employed to enable a considerable store of articles removed from the conveyor to be made. The pairs of carriers containing products may be stacked immediately above and in line with the conveyor to a height as high as a factory ceiling permits. Empty, or unused pairs of carriers may be arranged below the article lifting/returning point. To cope with the number of pairs of carriers required to suit the storage capacity of the system, empty carriers travel downwards, back and up behind the structures positioned alongside the conveyor band or vice versa.

The purpose of the dividers on the conveyor band and coinciding with the dividers on the carriers is twofold. The first is to enable articles to be raised from the conveyor without damaging them or twisting them out of position or knocking them off the conveyor. The second is to enable a quantity of articles which is less than the full capacity (or length) of the carriers to cope with in one movement, which is required when smaller quantities of articles have to be removed or returned to the conveyor band during stops and start-ups, to be handled. This also enables long carriers to be employed, i.e., longer than would otherwise be possible.

The width of the conveyor band is sized to suit the articles being carried. The height of the dividers may be to suit the size of an individual article such as a package or a mass of smaller articles. The system is designed to handle an infinite variety and size and shape of products which, ideally, should be cylindrical, square, oblong in order to be able to straddle the conveyor uniformly - e.g., square packages, cigarettes in bulk.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figures 1 a, 1 b and 1 C show side elevation, plan view and an end elevation respectively of the conveyor band and a single pair of carriers; Figure 2 is a part perspective view of the conveyor band and a pair of carriers (illustrated without back or side cheeks or means of hanging or connecting); Figure 3 is a part perspective view of a pair of carriers complete with back or side cheeks and means of hanging or connecting them on the elevator means; Figure 4 is a schematic drawing of the conveyor band, multiple pairs of carriers, one of which is shown in its position immediately after raising articles clear of the conveyor, and articles within dividers on the conveyor band prior to entering the storage area proper;; Figure 5 is partial schematic drawing and end elevation of the conveyor band, multiple pairs of carriers containing stored articles, and elevator means for raising and lowering said carriers; Figure 6 is a part side elevation of the elevator means; Figure 7 is an end elevation of a pair of elevator projections, and a pair of carriers containing articles; Figure 8 is a (lower) part end elevation of the elevator means for raising and lowering carriers up, down and/or around tracks; Figure 9 is a (lower) part side elevation of Figure 8; Figure 10 is a part perspective sketch of a conveyor divider incorporating timing slots and pegs fitted to sides of the carriers and finger slots to aid transfer of articles to a hopper or the like; Figure 11 is a part perspective of a scheme for transferring pairs of carriers containing articles to secondary tracks;; Figure 1 2 is a part perspective sketch of a means for transferring a piurality of pairs of carriers to a mass container; Figure 1 3a is a perspective schematic view of an alternative construction in which the conveyor band is formed by a plurality of spaced apart belts, a lift device being formed with plates which can be raised and lowered between the belts to engage the articles; Figure 1 3b is an end elevation showing the conveyor band, lift device and elevator belts, and Figure 14 is a perspective view of the alternative embodiment showing operating mechanism for the lift device arranged beneath the conveyor.

The buffer storage apparatus (see Figures 1 to 7) comprises a conveyor band 1 made of flexible material reinforced with steel wires or similar or articulated segments driven by one or two wheels, or drums, 2. This conveyor band transports articles from the up-line to the down-line manufacturing or process unit. The conveyor band 1 incorporates dividers 3 which ensure that articles being transported remain at right angles to the conveyor and enable carriers 6 to rise through a mass of articles without disorientating them.The carriers are also fitted with dividers 5. (The carriers shown in Figures 1 and 2 are illustrated without side, or back, cheeks or hanging or connecting means for the sake of clarity.) Pairs of carriers 6 are moved upwards or downwards by means of elevator members 9 which are fitted with bearings 11 running in static closed circuit tracks 21 arranged parallel to each other. one at each side of the conveyor band. The carriers are provided with means 7 for hanging or connecting them to projections 9' on the elevator members 9. Such means of hanging or connecting enable the carriers to be inserted or withdrawn from the elevator members, when need be, by horizontal movement. The closed circuit tracks 21 (two or more tracks on each side of the conveyor band 1) are supported by structures (not illustrated) on each side of the conveyor band.

The elevator members 9 and carriers 6 remain static until articles travelling along the conveyor band 1 have to be lifted off, or articles being stored above the conveyor band have to be lowered and placed back on the conveyor band in accordance with the demand for the articles at the output end of the apparatus. In order to raise articles clear of the conveyor band, a pair of elevator members 9 and carriers 6 are moved upwards from position 22 (see Figure 8) to position 24 thereby picking up articles at position 23 onwards. From the moment carriers 6 leave position 22 in their upward movement they also move horizontally (at conveyor speed) by engaging pegs 25 (see Figure 10) in slots 4 cut in the sides of the dividers 3 or by other simple mechanical or hydraulic means.

Once clear of the conveyor 1, the carriers, with the articles, move horizontally rearwards to a storage position (see Figure 4).

The elevator members 9 and empty carriers 6 are moved upwards from positions below the level of the conveyor band 1 by means of indented wheels 1 3. These wheels 13 also control the descent of the elevator members and the carriers when stacked at the rear of the tracks. Bumpers, or spacers 26 are fitted to the projections. The members 9 reaching position 22 are moved upwards by means of timed chains or belts 14 incorporating lugs or indentations 1 6 until the members reach position 24 from where they are raised by means of timed chains or belts 17 also fitted with lugs or indentations 1 9. Pairs of carriers containing articles travel upwards until they reach the top of the vertical run of tracks 21.When reaching this point the buffer storage apparatus is deemed to be full and unable to accept further articles off the conveyor band if the second, or down line, manufacturing unit has to stop.

Conversely, the apparatus has to stop when pairs of carriers travelling downwards (feeding the conveyor) run out.

The storage apparatus may however continue to remove, or feed, articles from or to, the conveyor belt after the apparatus is fully loaded, or empty, if pairs of carriers containing articles are off-loaded to, or empty carriers are drawn from, a secondary handling and storage system also, preferably, arranged above manufacturing machine level. In essence, single pairs or a plurality of pairs of carriers with or without articles are shunted out of or into the buffer storage apparatus so far described. This operation takes place at the top of the insides of tracks 21 when it is necessary to load or off-load full carriers and, preferably but not necessarily, and the outside vertical sections of tracks 21 when it is necessary to load or off-load empty carriers.

Figure 11 shows pairs of carriers 6 being pushed off projections 9 which have reached the top of tracks 21 by transfer mechanism, not shown. In this example the carriers are shunted into or onto holders 29 which support and space the carriers appropriately. The carrier hangers 7 are used for this purpose. The holders 29 are, in this example, then caused to move laterally making way for the next holder to be positioned to accept another pair of carriers. The reverse operation takes place when full carriers are to be fed back to the conveyor band. A similar arrangement is used to accept or feed empty carriers to the storage apparatus. Furthermore, a plurality of levels of holders 29 may be arranged in columns one on top of another in order to increase the storage capacity of the secondary handling and storage system.

Figure 12 illustrates a means of shunting a plurality of vertical pairs of carriers out of or into the handling apparatus into a plurality of holders 29. The groups of holders 30 are secured to one another and hung from an orthodox monorail system or the like 31. On command, a group of holders, say a gondola, is moved in to a docking position by means of an individual reversible motor. This motor may be controlled directly or remotely (e.g., radio) and receives its power from busbars or a battery or the gondola may be moved by other existing overhead materials handling methods. A similar arrangement is provided for receiving and feeding empty carriers.

By means of arrangements thus described, empty and full carriers may be transferred to other groups of manufacturing units or to centralised storage areas designed to cope with overflows.

Monorail or such like conveyors may carry the gondola described above to and from any number of pairs of manufacturing units and storage areas using simple switches. It is visualised that the whole system would be controlled by state of the art electronic and computer methods. All equipment described is contained and supported by appropriate structures and fabrications as necessary, driven by existing motors and controls and using orthodox engineering techniques required to push, pull, turn and so forth. It is also visualised that some of the actions required to raise, lower, push and pull the carriers and elevator belts described in this application could be carried out by robotic means.

The invention described above in its basic form utilises pairs of carriers 6 to raise articles from conveyor 1, or to lower articles onto the conveyor belt. An alternative means of effecting this operation, illustrated in Figure 13a,13b and 14, comprises a single lift device 32, which lifts articles clear of the conveyor band 33 to a position 34. At this position 34 articles are carried upwards by an elevator formed by a pair of elevator bands, chains of the like 35 incorporating slats 36 on which rest the ends of the articles. The transfer of articles from conveyor 33 to bands 35 with slats 36 is achieved in an appropriately timed fashion by means of cams 41, or by robotic methods, which actuate the lift device 32 both upwards and forwards at the same speed of the conveyor. The width of the conveyor is less than the length of the articles being carried. During the transfer of articles pushers 37 and 38 move forwards at the same speed of the conveyor (and subsequently rearwards). Articles being carried up in between bands 35 are prevented from falling outwards by means of static plates 39 and 40.

Claims (20)

1. An apparatus for handling rod-like or elongate package articles comprising an endless conveyor band along which the articles are conveyed continuously in a substantially horizontal direction transverse to their longitudinal axes, and elevator means for effecting removal of said articles from said conveyor band by movement of said elevator means with said conveyor band in the direction of movement thereof in synchronism with said conveyor band and, simultaneously with the horizontal movement, upwards to lift said articles to a position away from said conveyor band, from which position the articles are transferable to a storage position, said elevator means being capable, alternatively or additionally, of effecting placement of said articles onto said conveyor band by movement of said elevator means with said conveyor band in the direction of movement thereof in synchronism with said conveyor band and, simultaneously with the horizontal movement, by a movement downwards to lower said articles towards said conveyor band to deposit said articles onto said conveyor band.

2. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said elevator means comprises endless conveyors disposed parallel to each other, one on each side of the conveyor band, and pairs of carriers, the carriers of each pair being provided one at each side of the conveyor band, said endless conveyors having elevator elements projecting therefrom which corporate with said carriers to raise or lower the latter according to demand.

3. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said carriers are provided with projections which are engageable with upwardly extending recesses formed on said conveyor band, whereby as each pair of carriers is raised or lowered by the conveyors the projections enter the recesses so that the carriers are driven horizontally with the conveyor band for a short distance until the pair of carriers reach a predetermined level at which they are clear of the level of the conveyor band and the carrier projections leave the recesses.

4. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 or 3, wherein a pair of endless tracks is provided at each side of the conveyor band, said tracks serving to guide said elevator elements along a first vertical path passing close to said conveyor band and along a second vertical path parallel to said first vertical path, said elevator elements having said carriers associated therewith which are disengaged from the elevator elements after lifting said articles from the conveyor band by axial movement in one direction or which engage the elevator elements by axial movement in the other direction prior to lowering the articles on to the conveyor band.

5. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 4, wherein an indented wheel is associated with an arcuate portion of the track connected between the first and second vertical paths at the lower ends thereof, said wheel serving to drive the elevator elements and their associated carriers at spaced intervals towards or away from said conveyor band.

6. An apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the conveyor band is provided with dividers spaced equally apart.

7. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 6, wherein said carriers are of a length equal to the pitch (or a multiple of) of the dividers on the conveyor band.

8. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the carriers are provided with dividers having a pitch equal to the pitch of the dividers on the conveyor band.

9. An apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 8, wherein a storage device is provided which comprises a plurality of holders each of which can be selectively aligned with a delivery and retrieval docking position to which said pairs of carriers can be raised, whereby said carriers are transferable between said elevator members and said holders.

10. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 9, when appended to Claim 4, wherein said docking position is located at the top of the tracks.

11. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 9 or 10, wherein said holders are arranged in a plurality of rows and columns, said holders being selectively positioned at the docking position by a controllable drive mechanism.

12. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 11, wherein the holders are suspended on rails in the form of a gondola, said drive mechanism including a reversible motor.

13. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said conveyor band comprises a number of spaced parallel belts and said elevator means includes a lifting device disposed beneath the belts having plates which pass between said belts to raise the articles simultaneously with a horizontal movement with the belts to a position clear of the belts.

14. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 13, wherein endless conveyors are disposed parallel to each other one on each side of the conveyor band, said endless conveyors being provided with complementary slats which engage beneath the ends of the articles to lift them from the plates when the latter have lifted the articles clear of the belts.

1 5. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 13 or 14, wherein the endless conveyors are movable in the reverse direction to deposit the articles on to the plates, with the latter in the raised position, said articles being lowered on to the belts by the plates which move simultaneously horizontally with the belts.

1 6. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 13, 14 or 15, wherein a pair of pushers are provided one at each end of the article transfer position considered in the direction of movement of the conveyor band, said pushers being arranged to move in the direction of the conveyor band at the same speed as the articles whilst the latter are being lifted or lowered by said plates, and to effect a return stroke after each transfer movement of the lifting device.

17. An apparatus as claimed in of Claim 13, 14 or 1 5, wherein the lifting device is driven by cams.

18. An apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1 3 to 17, wherein fixed vertical plates are provided to close the space between the two endless conveyors to retain the articles.

19. An apparatus for handling rod-like or elongate package articles substantially as described with reference to the example shown in Figures 1 to 12 of the accompanying drawings.

20. An apparatus for handling rod-like or elongate package articles substantially as described with reference to Figures 13a,13b and 14 of the accompanying drawings.