GB2221885A - Conveyor mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

A conveyor mechanism includes a series of support rollers (16) for progressing a plurality of articles through a chamber or zone. So that the plurality of articles can be transported on the rollers (16) both inwardly and outwardly of the chamber or zone, despite the rollers having passed around a return bend and carriers (24) therefor having been inverted, the mechanism includes means (28) for effecting the transposition of the articles in turn as the spacing between the support rollers widens during the passage of links (18) of a pair of roller chains around conveyor sprockets. In passage from an upper run to a lower run a notched wheel (30) supports the article until the rollers (16) return to their normal spacing. Means may be provided to rotate the articles during passage through the zone when the articles are for example clay pipes. <IMAGE>

Description

Conveyor mechanism.

The invention relates to conveyor mechanism and in particular to conveyor mechanism used to progress a plurality of articles through a chamber or zone in which they are to be acted upon by the environment in said chamber or zone or otherwise subjected to change, for example clayware pipes which need to be progressed individually through a drying kiln before being fired.

It is a particular problem that when clayware pipes are to be dried in a drying kiln, the requirement for the pipes to be only gradually increased in temperature but to be dry on leaving the kiln results in the kiln having to be of relatively great length. This is particularly so if the pipes concerned are of relatively large diameter and of correspondingly great wall thickness.

The invention has for its object to provide conveyor mechanism by means of which this problem can be at least alleviated.

According to the invention, there is provided conveyor mechanism for progressing a plurality of articles through a chamber or zone in which they are to be acted upon by the environment in said chamber or zone, or othewise subjected to change, such that the plurality of articles are transported inwardly and through the length of the chamber or zone along an upper path of movement and outwardly and through the length of the chamber or zone along a lower path of movement,or vice versa, the mechanism including a laterally spaced pair of endless roller chains oppositely disposed links of which carry support members offset from the plane containing pivotal connections by means of which the respective pair of links are connected to other links of said chains, the articles to be transported each being supported by an adjacent pair of the support members, the arrangement being such that as they pass around a return bend in their path of movement the articles are transposed in turn relative to the series of support members so that despite the inversion of the pairs of carriers for said members the articles are again supported by the pairs of support members on which they were transported inwardly of said chamber or zone, means for effecting the transposition of said articles in turn being constituted by guide means for acting on said articles in turn as the spacing between the support members widens during the passage of the links of the roller chains around the conveyor sprockets, said guide means being such as to guide the articles in turn between the support members and to support them in a required position until the support members return to their normal spacing for straight line travel.The support members for supporting the articles to be transported may be constituted by respective rollers rotatably mounted between pairs of the carriers upstanding from oppositely disposed links of the laterally spaced pair of roller chains, and in this case the arrangement may be such that the plurality of articles, being cylindrical or substantially cylindrical in shape, are continuously rotated as they are transported on respective pairs of the support rollers. Means for continuously rotating the plurality of articles may be constituted by rack and pinion means or friction means for rotating the support rollers. Guides may be provided for the links of the roller chains as they progress inwardly and outwardly of the chamber or zone, the correct spacing of the support rollers thus being maintained within close limits during these movements.

In order that the invention may be fully understood and readily carried into effect, the same will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:- Figure 1 is a schematic view of endless conveyor mechanism embodying the invention being used for progressing clayware pipes through a drying kiln, Figure 2 is a view of one end of the conveyor mechanism within the kiln, drawn to a somewhat larger scale than Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but at the other end of the conveyor mechanism.

Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings, the endless conveyor mechanism there illustrated and generally indicated 10 extends along the length of a drying kiln 12. However, it does not extend completely through the kiln but extends to within a short distance from an end wall 14 of said kiln.

The kiln is for the drying of clayware pipes prior to their firing in a further kiln (not shown). The manner in which the clayware pipes are fed to and subsequently discharged from the conveyor mechanism is indicated schematically by the arrows in Figure 1. The mechanism is such that the pipes are transported inwardly and through the length of the kiln along an upper path of movement and outwardly and again along the length of the kiln along a lower path of movement.

Referring now to Figure 2, it will be seen that the clayware pipes P are each supported by an adjacent pair of rollers 16 upstanding (along the ingoing run of the conveyor) from respective links 18 of laterally spaced endless roller chains which encircle respective pairs of driving and driven sprockets 20 and 22 located outside and inside the kiln respectively (see Figure 1). It will be apparent that the pairs of carriers 24 for the rollers 16, which along the ingoing run of the conveyor project upwardly from the respective pairs of links 18, become inverted as they pass around the driven sprockets 22.However, the mechanism illustrated in Figure 2 is such that during their passage around said driven sprockets (or substantially around said sprockets because it will be understood that the pipes are located in a space between the planes in which the pairs of driving and driven sprockets are located) the pipes are transposed so that during their return movement they are again supported by the pairs of rollers 16 on which they were transported inwardly through the length of the kiln along the upper path of movement.

The transposition of the pipes as they pass around the return bend in their path of movement takes advantage of the fact that the spacing of the support rollers 16 increases as the links of the endless roller chains pass around the respective driven sprockets. This increase in their spacing is sufficient to allow the pipes to pass through the spaces between the pairs of support rollers and to contact a first support surface 26. The arrangement is such that each pipe in turn rolls down said first support surface in engagement with the leading one of the pair of rollers on which it was previously supported. As it reaches the end of said first support surface, the pipe moves over centre of said leading one of the pair of rollers so that it is caused to abut against a second support surface 28 which is appropriately curved to bring each of the pipes in turn to the lower path of horizontal movement along which they are transported outwardly of the kiln. It will be seen in Figure 2 that in being brought smoothly to the lower path of horizontal movement, each pipe in turn is guided betweeen the pair of support rollers on which it was carried into the kiln to a position such that, as said pair of support rollers close up, the pipe concerned is once again supported by them.A number of equally spaced notched wheel elements 30 are located, as shown, near the lower end of the second support surface, these being caused to rotate in timed relation to the rotation of the driving and driven sprockets, to lift each pipe, in turn, at the commencement of its travel along the lower path of movement to allow the respective pair of support rollers to come together beneath it. The pipes are thereby prevented from being 'nipped' between the pair of support rollers as the latter come closer together. In other words, the pipes, which it will be understood at this stage are unfired and relatively weak, are prevented from damage which could be caused by the respective pairs of support rollers moving together and acting alone to bring the pipes to their supported positions between them.

Referring now to Figure 3, it will be seen that the pipes are automatically discharged from the conveyor as they emerge from the kiln, again by virtue of the fact that the spacing of the pairs of support rollers increases as the links of the endless roller chains pass around the respective driving sprockets. This increase in their spacing allows the pipes to pass between the respective pairs of support rollers as they engage a run-off surface 32 down which they can roll.

The manner in which the pipes which are to be dried in the kiln are positioned in turn on successive pairs of the support rollers is not shown but will be such that the pipes will be conveyed or allowed to roll or slide or placed into the required position in succession and in timed relation to the rotation of the driving and driven sprockets, substantially as shown in chain-dotted lines.

Thus there is provided conveyor mechanism which can very easily be employed to progress a series of pipes through a drying kiln whereby, in effect, both the upper and lower runs of the endless conveyor can be employed, with the advantage that the drying kiln needs to be only half the length of a kiln through which a conventional conveyor mechanism extends. However, it will be understood that the invention is applicable to the conveying of other articles and not only to pipes through a drying kiln. In its widest aspect the invention is applicable to the progressing of any series of articles through a chamber or zone in which they are to be acted upon by the environment in said chamber or zone or otherwise subjected to change, whereby the length of the chamber or zone can be substantially halved.

Various modifications may be made and it will be understood that the illustrated conveyor mechanism could be operated in the reverse direction. If operated in the reverse direction, the notched wheel elements would not be required but the support surface 28 would need to be continued somewhat higher than shown in Figure 2 and would need to be inclined at its upper end so that it brought the pipes in turn into engagement with the support surface 26. When the conveyor mechanism is used for transporting a plurality of clayware pipes through a drying kiln, as in the illustrated embodiment, the kiln will generally have a dividing wall between the inward and outward runs of the conveyor so that a forced draught of air can be induced to flow in the reverse direction to the movement of the plurality of pipes.It is advantageous, when transporting a plurality of clayware pipes through a drying kiln, for the pipes to be continuously rotated as they progress along the length of the kiln. In the illustrated embodiment this could quite simply be brought about by rack and pinion means or friction means for rotating the support rollers. In a further modification guides may be provided for the links of the roller chains as they progress inwardly and outwardly of the chamber or zone. In this way the correct spacing of the support rollers will be maintained within close limits as they progress along the length of the chamber or zone.

When the articles to be transported are clayware pipes, these need to be rotated as they pass through the kiln so that they become uniformly heated and to maintain their straightness. In this case, therefore, the rollers 16 are essential.

However, in its widest aspect the invention is capable of being used for the conveying of articles other than clayware pipes through a chamber or zone in which they are to be subjected to change and in some instances it may be found that the rollers 16 can be replaced by non-rotatable carrier members.

It will be understood that according to the size of the articles to be carried the geometry of the apparatus may need to be varied, for example by varying the diameter of the support rollers and/or by varying the length of the pairs of carriers 24, and/or by varying the pitch of the roller chain.

It would in fact be possible for each oppositely disposed pair of roller chain links to have two spaced pairs of upstanding carriers for a spaced pair of support members or rollers.

It would be quite possible to arrange two mechanisms substantially as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 one above the other in a somewhat deeper drying kiln , suitable transfer means being provided for guiding the pipes from one to the other. In this way each pipe to be dried would be traversed four times along the length of the kiln and the kiln could thus be made an even shorter length.

Claims (5)

CLAIMS:

1. Conveyor mechanism for progressing a plurality of articles through a chamber or zone in which they are to be acted upon by the environment in said chamber or zone, or otherwise subjected to change, such that the plurality of articles are transported inwardly and through the length of the chamber or zone along an upper path of movement and outwardly and through the length of the chamber or zone along a lower path of movement, or vice versa, the mechanism including a laterally spaced pair of endless roller chains oppositely disposed links of which carry support members offset from the plane containing pivotal connections by means of which the respective pairs of links are connected to other links of said chains, the articles to be transported each being supported by an adjacent pair of the support members, the arrangement being such that as they pass around a return bend in their path of movement the articles are transposed in turn relative to the series of support members so that despite the inversion of the pairs of carriers for said members the articles are again supported by the pairs of support members on which they were transported inwardly of said chamber or zone, means for effecting the transposition of said articles in turn being constituted by guide means for acting on said articles in turn as the spacing between the support members widens during the passage of the links of the roller chains around the conveyor sprockets, said guide means being such as to guide the articles in turn between the support members and to support them in a required position until the support members return to their normal spacing for straight line travel.

2. Conveyor mechanism according to claim 1, in which the support members for supporting the articles to be transported are constituted by respective rollers rotatably mounted between pairs of the carriers upstanding from oppositely disposed links of the laterally spaced pair of roller chains.

3. Conveyor mechanism according to claim 2, in which the arrangement is such that the plurality of articles, being cylindrical or substantially cylindrical in shape, are continuously rotated as they are transported on respective pairs of the support rollers.

4. Conveyor mechanism according to claim 3, in which means for continuously rotating the plurality of articles may be constituted by rack and pinion means or friction means for rotating the support rollers.

5. Conveyor mechanism for progressing a plurality of articles through a chamber or zone in which they are to be acted upon by the environment in said chamber or zone, or otherwise subjected to change, the mechanism being constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

5. Conveyor mechanism according to any one of the preceding claims, in which guides are provided for the links of the roller chains as they progress inwardly and outwardly of the chamber or zone, the correct spacing of the support members thus being maintained within close limits during these movements.