US3135355A - Conveyor lubricating apparatus - Google Patents

Description

J1me 1964 J. E. OLSEN ETAL CONVEYOR LUBRICATING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 26, 1962 AIR PRESSURE N m on N WEWH wwop U? I J a r m FMOMW. I smA ,M F M mu o Awm W JL A a e um? umunw a V 0 6 O I w Q G G G a. G n c ll Y l .J. m

-- B [I l m2 m, an f -IL .r. w\ m w w d o a o "u m L5 2 n $3 an 6 w n u 1/ @m 2 m n m W F u T I m i m June 1964 J. E. OLSEN ETAL CONVEYOR LUBRICATING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 26, 1962 gl /l LUBE AI R PRESSURE.

LUBRICAN RESERVOIR June 2, 1964 J, E. OLSEN ETAL CONVEYOR LUBRICATING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 26, 1962 w mmw w s VJR WOW n 5 m a N wM We M m T mm wu n M W JAMES OLSEN June 2, 1964 J. E. OLSEN ETAL CONVEYOR LUBRICATING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 26, 1962 N on m m. s -M H mm N AA. R mm m mmw m :2 A M ljwith the lubricating heads tlier" I tuatin United States Patent CONVEYOR LUBRICATING APPARATUS James E. Olsen and Leonard J. Dutton, Royal Oak, and

William M. Peterson, Clawson, Mich, assignors to Qlsen Manufacturing Company, Royal Oak, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed Mar. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 182,473 Claims. (Cl. 18415) This invention relates to lubricating apparatus and more particularly to lubricating apparatus for automatically lubricating conveyors or the like.

It is an object'of the present invention to provide an improved automatic conveyor lubricating apparatus which is relatively lightweight, simplified in construction and highly versatile in use. I

Another object is to provide an. improved lubricating apparatus of the above character which requires only one lubricating nozzle and yet which is capable of lubricating a continuous succession of. conveyor lubricant fittings moving ata relatively rapidrate. I t A further object is to provide an improved lubricating head which is trunnion :mounted from a support located adjacent the path of travel of the conveyor, the head being balanced so that upon interengagement ,of the nozzle with Papparatus of the above character having a lubricating the conveyor lubricant fitting there is a minimum of Y resistance to movement of the head due to inertia and momentfarms of the apparatus.

, resilient engagement of the nozzle with the lubricant fitting so that the: nozzle can retrac t'slightly as the lubri- Y cant fittingapproaches and moves past the'lubricating apparatus. I V Otherjobjects, features andadvantages of thelubricatirig appa'ratus of the present invention will become appariehtfinthe following descriptionand drawings in which:

if gFIGQ'l is'an elevatiohal view of a lubricatingdevice Patented June 2, 1954 a conveyor rail 10 of a conventional overhead conveyor provided'with trolley wheels 12 each having laterally projecting hydraulic type lubricant fittings '14. As is customary, conveyor wheels 12 are arranged in pairs opposite one another, one on each side of conveyor rail 10 (FIG. 2), and therefore the lubricating apparatus is arranged to straddle conveyor rail It). One lubricating head ismounted on each side of the rail forlubricating the bearings of each pair of Wheels as they travel past the lubricating station.

Thesupporting structure for the lubricating apparatus comprises a'pair of spacer blocks 16 (FIGS. 1 and 7) mounted on the upper surface of rail '19, a center block 18 mounted on spacer blocks 16 and secured to rail 10 by a pair of bolts 20, and a pair of parallel carrier bars 22 mounted in through-bores of block 18 so as to extend transversely of the path of travel of the conveyor above the elevation of conveyor rail 19. A carrier 24 is slidably mounted near the outer ends of each pair of bars 22 (FIG. 2), carrier 24 being biased away from rail 10 by a compression coil spring 26 wound around one of the carrier bars 22 between block 18 and carrier 24. The outer endsof bars 22 are threaded to receive a pair of lock nuts 28 to provide an adjustablestop for each carrier 24.

A complete lubricating head assembly is supported by each carrier 24 and comprises (FIGS. 6 and 7) ayoke 30 consisting of a ring 32 and a shaft 34 extending radially from the outer circumference of ring 32 upward through a center bore 36 of carrier '24; A pair of bearing collars 38 and 40 are adjustably secured to shaft 34 and are peripherally grooved to provide an inner race co-operative with a conventional self-aligning, ball bearing assembly 42 to'support yoke lit) forrotation about the axis of A locking and camming disc 44 is secured tothe upper end of shaft 34 by a cap screw 46 and key pin 48. The periphery of disc 44 has a detent recess 56 adapted'to receive a spring-urged 'detent ball 52 (FIGS. 2 and 6); Ball 52 is mounted inia socket of a bracket 54 bolted to,

t a lug 56 of carrier 24, and a coil compression spring 58 urges ball 52 into rolling contact with theperiphery of constructed-yin accordance withf the present invention Y mounted on top of'a conveyor rail ofla' conventional 'over-' head'conveyor. i

FIGi 21s; a plan view of the lubricating device a FIG.

iofillmtrated'ih their lubricahtlinjectionposition; 1 Y

1G. --3 isa fragmentary plan View taken partially "section on the line 3436f FIG. l-illustrating the dual lubricating heads in their operative pickup position. j

FIG; -4 is. a'scl iematic illustration of the Qpneumaticac g and lubricant supply systemsjof the lubricating devices M ,1 1 TF1 FIG. "is'ase'ctional View taken on the line 55 of section on the line 7--7 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 ista sectional 'vie Referring to FIG; 1, a dual niount automatic conveyor qjlubricator of the present invention is shown mounted on disc 44. Disc 44 is angularly adjustedrelative toyoke' 32 so that the yoke is yieldably locked against rotation by detent 52 when the lubricating head'is aligned in' the angled pick-up position illustrated in FIG. 3'. l

A helical torsion spring 60 is wound around the upper end o f'sh aft 34 and is secured at its upper end in a hole so. taken t the line 's-.-s of I 62 in' the underface of disc 44' and at, the lower end to one of the'bolts 64 of bearing assembly 42. Torsion spring 60 is Wound so as'to exert'a clockwise torqu'eon disc '44 asviewed in FIG. 2,'whilefthe corresponding torsion spring of the opposite lubricating headassembly,

55 is wound to exert alcount'erclockwise"torqueonthecorg respondinglocking disc 66 associated therewith.

Disc 44 has an additional recess 68-. (FIG, 2) in the outer periphery '70 thereof; these peripheral I 'canf ming' surfaces 68, 70 serving to actuate a conventional air valve 72' via a cam follower roller'74 thereofl Valve 72 is supported on a bracket 76 affixed to carrier 24 (FIG. 7 )3 'Each'lubricating' head assembly requires only one air cylinder-80 (FIGS. 6 and 7 which is su s'pended for J pivotal movement within yoke ringg32 by a ring 82 which is supported for rotation about an axis perpendicular to the axes of both cylinder 80 and shaft 34 by a pair of bearing bolts 84 journalled by roller bearings 85in a pair of diametrically opposite ring bosses 86 of yoke ring 32 (FIG. 8). Cylinder 80 is thus supported in the manner of a trunnion for minor pivotal movement in a plane generally transverse to the path of movement of the conveyor and for major pivotal movement about the axis of yoke shaft 34 in a plane generally parallel to the path of the conveyor movement.

Air cylinder 80 is yieldably maintained in a horizontal, centered position by a compression coil spring 90 (FIGS. 7 and 8) which is compressed between the opposite longitudinal ends of arcuate slots 92 and 94 of a pair of parallel spring brackets 96 and 98 secured respectively to yoke ring 32 and cylinder ring 82. Slots 92 and 94 register with one another when cylinder 80 is in the horizontal, centered position thereof, spring 90 being further compressed between the opposite longitudinal ends of slots 96, 98 whenever cylinder 80 is pivoted in either direction out of the centered position.

As best shown in FIG. 8, a piston 100 is arranged within cylinder 80 for reciprocal movement between an end cover plate 102 and a forward stop ring 104. Plate 102 is provided with a fitting 106 for admitting compressed air into cylinder 80 to thereby drive piston 100 towards stop 104, and a coil spring 108 is provided within cylinder 80 for biasing piston 100 back to the re tracted positionthereof adjacent plate 102. A piston rod 110 is joined at one end to piston 100 and extends therefromthrough a bearing sleeve 112 and on out beyond the forward end of cylinder 80.

A lubricating nozzle 114 is threadably secured in an end bore 116 of rod 110. Nozzle 114 has a conically recessed outer end face 118 which is larger in diameter than the conventional ball check of the extended Zerk type lubricant fitting 14 and serves to cam the nozzle into registry with fitting 14 so that the ball check of the fitting seats in a mating semi-circular recess 120 of nozzle 114 even if the fitting is misaligned with respect to nozzle 114. It is to be understood that the outer end face of nozzle 114 may be reversed in form, i.e., pointed, so as to function in the same manner to re-orient the nozzle when the lubricant fittings are of the conventional flush type and hence likewise reversed in form from extended fittings. Lubricant flows under pressureto the end of nozzle 114 via a lubricant supply line fitting 122 threadably 150 connected between a source of compressed air (not shown) pressurized to a minimum pressure of about 60 p.s.i., and an air filter 152 and air line lubricator 154. Air line 150 then branches to a line 156 which supplies air under the control of a pressure regulator 158 to a lubricant reservoir tank 160 so as to pressurize the lubricant stored therein. Another branch air line 162 connects line 150 to a line 164 leading to air valve 72. The outlet of air valve 72 is connected in parallel by a line 166 to a pair of booster cylinders 168 and 170.

Booster cylinders 168, l70are shown in more detail in FIG. 5 and each comprises a relatively large piston 172 biased to the illustrated retracted position by a coil spring 174. A much smaller diameter piston rod 176 extends from piston 172 and is slidably received in a bore 178 of a lubricant metering cylinder 180 threadably joined to cylinder 168. Lubricant under pressure from reservoir 160 is fed via a line 182 to an inlet fitting 184 secured to cylinder 180, the lubricant being admitted to chamber 178 by a ball check 186 urged against fitting 184 by a coil spring 188. When air is admitted to cylinder 168, rod 176 serves as a pressure plunger'and forces the lubricant from chamber 178 past an outlet ball check 190 against the pressure of spring 192. Boosters 168 and 170 thus operate in parallel to simultaneously supply a metered quantity of lubricant under high pressure via lubricant hoses 194 and 200 to the respective nozzle 114 of the two lubricating heads.

Air' supply line 150 is also connected via line 162 to an air line pressure'regulator 202 which controls the pressure of the air supplied via parallel lines 204 and 206 to the respective air cylinders 80 of the two lubricating heads. Normally regulator 202 is adjusted so that the engagement pressure of the lubricating nozzles is from 10 to 20 psi. In the normal inoperative position of the lubricating head, injection nozzles 114 and pick-up fingers 136 are retracted (as indicated in solid lines in FIG. 8

and in dotted lines in FIG. 3) out of the way of the passing trolley wheels 12. When the system is turned on by admitting compressed air to line 150, pistons 100 and their associated rods 110 are driven forward on bars 22 to an extended pick-up position (FIG. 3) in which the secured in a radial bore 124 of piston rod 110, past a ball check 126 which is biased against a conical valve seat 128 by a coil spring 130 located in a bore 132 of nozzle 114, and through a narrow central bore 134 communicating between bore 132 and the center of the spherical end surface 120 of the nozzle. I

A pick-up finger 136 (FIG. 8) is supported on the outer end of piston shaft 110 and comprises a shaft bent at a right angle so as to have a straight portion 138 extending parallel to the axis of piston shaft110 and terminating beyond the end of nozzle 114, and a radial portion 140 joined at the inner end thereof to a collar 142 mounted for rotative and axial adjustmenton piston rod 110 and held in place by a set screw 144. The outer end of pick-up finger 136 may thus be rotated towardsor away from a verticalplane drawn through the axis of piston shaft 110 by loosening set screw 144 and rotating ,collar 142 relative to the piston. a Y

Piston rod 110 is fixed against'rotation relative to cyl inder 80 by a U-shaped bracket 146, (FIGS. 7' and 8) the arms 148 of which are welded to cylinder 80 so as to extend parallel to piston'sha'ft 110. These arms 148 define an opening therebetweenfor receivingsupply line fitting 122 with a close sliding fit, fitting 122 thus serving to key rod 110 to cylinder 80. g 1

Referring to the schematic diagram of FIG. 4 as well as to the assembly views of FIGS. land 2, the pneumatic control of the moving conveyor.

ends of pick-up fingers 136 are positioned in the path of travel of the approaching trolley wheels 12, but in which the injection nozzles 114 are disposed slightly outside the path of travel of lubricant fittings 14.

In operation, with the pneumatic and lubricant supply systems energized as described above, the pick-up fingers 136 contact the leading edge-of the approaching pair of trolley wheels 12, causing the lubricating heads to rotate about the axis of yoke shafts 34 under the Soon afer the lubrieating heads have begun to swing with the moving conveyor wheels, the lubricating nozzles 114 travel into engagement with lubricant fittings 14. As the lubricating 7 r the common axis of nozzle114, piston rod 110 and air actuating andlubricant supply systems of the lubricating cylinder is atright angles to the path of travel of the conveyor, the periphery 70of cam disc 44 depresses follower 74 of air valve 72, thereby connecting air line 164 to'air line'166 to thus pressurize the booster cylinders 168, 170. The forward movement of booster pistons 172 causes a metered amount of lubricant, such as .07 cubic inch, to beforced through injection nozzles 114 .and into the lubricant fittings 14.

Should lubricant fittings 14be misaligned relative. to their normal path of travel, due for instance 'to wear of trolley wheels 12 and conveyorrail 10, the conical camming face -118,-of nozzle 11,4;wi11 engage thejmisaligned fitting 14 and, as the nozzle is forced toward the fitting as it travels :therewith, the conical face 118 will pivot the lubricating head about the axis of trunnion bearings 84 against the pressure of. centering spring 90. This pivotal movement of the head thus permits the misaligned lubricant fitting 14 "to seat properly in the semi-spherical insures a tight seal therebetween when they reach the lubricant injection position.

After the metered charge of lubricant has been injected into fittings 14 of each pair of Wheels, the lubricating heads continue to rotate about the axes of their respective yoke shafts 34 with the moving trolley wheels 12 until l the arcof travel of nozzles 114 and pick-up fingers 1 36 clears the path of travel of fittings 14, thereby permitting disengagement of the nozzles and pick-up fingers from the lubricant fittings. The lubricating heads are then rapidly rotated in a directionopposite to conveyor travel back to their pick-up positions (FIG. 3) by torsion springs '60, the tension of these springs having been increased v during rotation of the lubricating heads by the moving conveyor. As cam disc 44 returns to its normal position with the returnrotation of the lubricating heads, cam folchambers 178 to be recharged with lubricant from the pressurized lubricant reservoir 163. When' it is desired to renderthe lubricating heads inoperative, it is only necessary to shut 0E the supply of compressed air to line 150 and to open line 150 to atmosphere so that cylinders 80 are exhausted. The air cylinder springs 108 thereupon retract the pistons .and associated pick-up fingers, 136 to the inoperative position indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 3.

It'vvill be understood from the above description that theconveyor lubricating apparatus of the present invention provides a simplified'device for automatically lubrieating conveyors. Only one lubricating nozzle 114 is re-,

quired for each lubricatinghead and yet the lubricating head is capable of supplying lubricant'to each of a series of lubricant fittings traveling past the head in relatively rapid. succession. For example, the dualhead apparatus described" herein is capableof lubricating a conveyor hav- We claim: I

1. Apparatus for lubricating a conveyor moving along a predetermined path and provided with lubricant fittings comprising a support mounted adjacent the path of travel of the conveyor, a yoke mounted for rotation on said support, a pneumatic cylinder mounted in said yoke for pivotal movement about an axis, perpendicular to the rotational axis of said yoke, an air operated piston mounted in said cylinder and biased by air pressure to extend one end thereof axially from the cylinder andbeing movable axially away from extended position upon release of pressurein the cylinder, a lubricating nozzle mounted on said one end of said piston, means engageable with the conveyor at a pick-up point inthe path of travel of a lubricant fitting as it approaches the head for causing rotation of said cylinder such that the nozzle engages a lubricant fitting on the conveyor and first and second resilient means for respectively yieldably biasing said" yoke and said cylinder into the pick-up position thereof, the cylinder being movable against the pressure of said resilient means and the nozzle being retractable against the air pressure acting on said piston so as to yieldably seat on the lubricant fitting, the engagement of said nozzle and fitting rotating said head under control ofthe conveyor toa lubricant injection positionwherein said nozzle is generally perpendicular to the path of travel of the conveyor fitting, said head being furtherso rotatable until the fitting moves out of engagement with the head, thereby permitting said resilient means acting on said yoke and cylinder and the air pressure acting on said piston to reverse the movementof said nozzle so that it isrreturned thereby to the pick-up position, said lubricating nozzle being biased axially toward the pick: up position as long as pressure is maintainedin the cylinder and being retracted with the piston to an inactive position upon cut-off of the pressure.

' .2. Apparatus for lubricating a conveyor moving along apr edetermined path and provided with lubricant fittings ing fittings 14 spaced every 12 inches when traveling at T feet per minute. Thetelescoping cylinderand piston assembly provides a yieldable engagement of lubricating nozzle 1114;with each-lubricant fitting "1 4 and in addition serves as" a telescopic support for extending and retracting the lubricating, head between the operative and inoperathelbalanced support of the lubricating head at its center of gravity'fin yoke 30, th ere is a of inertial-re;

*sistance when the nozzle face its normal position to accommodate a misaligned lubrif cant fitting. .This permits the use of the relatively small,

resistance tothe camming movement of'nozz le 114 in either direction of pivotal movement of the head, which in turn contributesto increased life of the nozzle.

ipick-upfinger 136 onpiston shaft 110is another feature tive. positions thereof. 'The trunnion suspension of cyl- I inder 80 permits universal movement thereof to accommodate misalignment oftheconveyor fittings-14; Due to 118' camsfthe head' out of low tension centering spring 90 which provides-.anequal,

of the simplified: construction which, together with the adjustment or carrier 24 m; carrier bars 22, facilitates installationand maintenance of the lubricating apparatus.

- comprising a fluid pressure cylinder having a piston mounted therein, support'meansmounted adjacent the path of travel of the conveyor and having said cylinder trunnion-mounted thereon for pivotal movement of the cylinder in a first plane generally transverse to the path ofjmovement of the conveyorand for rotational movement'in a second plane generally parallel to such path of movement, a lubricating nozzle mounted on one end 7 of said piston, fluid pressure means for movi'ng and yieldably biasing said piston axially towards the conveyor, meansengageablefwiththe conveyor as it approaches said support for causing engagement'of said nozzle with alubricant fitting when, it reaches a predetermined point in its path'of travel, resilient means for rotating said cylinder in said second plane in a direction opposite" to the movement of the conveyor and towards the"- predeter mined point, said cylinder being rotated in saidsecond plane against the pressure 'of said resilient means upon interengagement of said nozzle: and fitting to alubrica'nt injection positionwhereinthe nozzle is disposed perpendicularly to the path of travel of the fitting, saidre silient means returning said cylinderto the pickup posi' tion thereof upon disengagement; of the nozzle 'from the fitting. i 3. The

combination set forthin claim 2 wherein said cylinder issuspended by said support means at substan-f tially the combined center of gravity of the cylinder and piston in the normal operative po'sitionsthereof. 4.: The combination setforth in claim 2 wherein said cylinder has a bracket secured thereto spaced from the centerof gravity thereof, said bracket having aslot there in extending longitudinally, generally in the direction of movement of thelbracket as-it moves with the cylinder, a compression coilspring receivedlin said bracket slot with the opposite ends of the spring abutting the opposite longi 5 tudinal ends' of the slot, and means .fixed with respectto said support means for confining the opposite ends 'of f said spring against movement away from .oneanother whereby the pivotal movement of the cylinder compresses said spring in either direction of such movement;

5. Apparatus for lubricating a conveyor moving along a predetermined path and provided with lubricant fittings comprising a support mounted adjacent the path of travel of the conveyor, a yoke mounted for rotation on said support, a cylinder mounted in said yoke for pivotal move ment about an' axis perpendicular to the rotational axis of said yoke, an air operated piston mounted in said cylinder and biased by air pressure to extend one end thereof from the cylinder, a lubricating nozzle mounted on said one end of said piston, means engageable with the con: veyor at a pick-up point in the path of travel of a lubricant fitting as it approaches the head for causing rotation of said cylinder such that the nozzle engages a lubricant fitting on the conveyor and first and second resilient means for respectively yieldably biasing said yoke and said cylinder into the pick-up position thereof, the cylinder being movable against the pressure of said resilient means and the nozzle being retractable against the air pressure acting on said piston so as to yieldably seat on the lubricant fitting, the engagement of said nozzle and fitting rotating said head under control of the conveyor to a lubricant injection position wherein said nozzle is generally perpendicular to the path of travel of the conveyor fitting, said head being further so rotatable until the fitting moves out of engagement with the head, thereby permitting said resilient means acting on said yoke and cylinder and the air pressure acting on said piston to reverse the movement of said nozzleso that it is re-, turned thereby to the pick-up position, said means engageable with the conveyor at the pick-up point comprising a collar mounted for rotative adjustmenton said piston near the extended end thereof and a pick-up finger secured to said collar and extending towards the path of travel of the conveyor, the end of said finger remote from said piston being spaced radially from the axis of the piston so that rotation of said collar moves the remote end of the pick-up finger towards and away from the pick-up point in the path oftravel of the conveyor fitting.

6. The combination set forth in claim wherein said piston has lubricant supply line means secured thereto communicating with said nozzle and extending outwardly therefrom, said means comprising relatively rigid'material in the portion thereof extending from the piston, and a guide member affixed to said cylinder and having an opening therein extending parallel to the axis of the piston receiving said portion of said lubricant line means to thereby prevent rotation of said piston relative to the cylinder. t

7. The combination set forth in claim 5 wherein said collar is mounted on the piston for movement along the axis thereof to move the pick-up finger towards and away from the path of travel of the conveyor. a

8. Apparatus for, lubricating a conveyor or the like moving along a predetermined path and provided with lubricant fittings comprising a support, a lubricating head journalled on'said support, a lubricating nozzle projecting radially from said head for swinging movement about of which is generally perpendicular -to said journal axis, said cylinder having an'axiall'y reciprocable piston therein, said nozzle being carried by' said piston for axial movement therewith, said piston being arranged to project saidrno zzle axially into the path of travel of the fittings and to hold said nozzle in projected position by pressure in the cylinder, said piston when in said nozzle projecting position being operable to yieldably bias the nozzle towards the conveyor to therebyv permit the nozzle to moveradially with respect to said journalaxis as required by its movement While interengaged with the fitting.

9. Apparatus for lubricatinga conveyor moving along a preedte'rmined path and provided with lubricant fittings comprising a support mounted adjacent the path of travel of the, conveyor,.a yoke mounted for rotation on said support, a'cylinder mounted in said yoke for pivotal movement about an axis perpendicular to the rotational axis of said yoke, an air operated pistontmounted in said cylinder and biased by air pressure to extend one end thereof from the cylinder, a lubricating nozzle mounted on said one end of said piston, means engageable with the conveyor at a pick-up point'in the path of travel of a lubricant fitting as it approaches the head for causing rotation of said cylinder such'that the'nozzle engages a lubricant fitting on the'conveyor and first and second resilient means for respectively yieldably biasing said yoke and said cylinder into the pick-up position thereof, the cylinder being movable against the pressure of said re- :silient means and the nozzle being retractable against the air pressure acting on said piston so as to yieldably seat on the lubricant fitting, the engagement of said nozzle and fitting-rotating said head under control of the conveyorto, a lubricant injection position wherein said nozzle is generallyperpendicular to the path of travel of the conveyorfitting, said head being further so rotatable until the fitting moves'out of engagement with the head, thereby permitting said resilient means acting on said yoke and cylinder and the 'air pressure acting on said piston to reverse the movement of said nozzle so that it is returned thereby to the pick-up position, said yoke and cylinder being arranged relative to the path of travel ofthe conveyor such that the axis of; rotation of said cylinder is disposed generallyparallel to said path of travel in the injection position' of the cylinder and the axis of rotation of said y'oke is disposed substantially perpendicular to a planedrawn through said cylinder axis and said path of travel, said second resilient means associated with said cylinder comprising a compression coil spring, said cylinder having a bracket connected thereto with a slot therein receiving'said coil-spring between the opposite ends of'said slot, at second bracket fixed against the journal axis of said headin an arcuate path-intersecting the path of travel of the lubricant'fitting, means biasing thehead to a pick-up position wherein said nozzle is disposed at an acute angle relative to the path of travel of. the fittings and in a direction generally oppositerto the direction of travel 'of'the fittingspast the head, means for interengaging said nozzle with a fitting as it approaches said nozzle when in said pick-up position to rotate said head and nozzle in said arcuate pathfinder the control of the'conve yor, said biasing means being adapted to swing said head and nozzle 'in "a reverse direction in said arcuate path back to said pick-up position upon diseng'agement of the nozzle from the fitting, said head. ineluding a compressible fluid pressure cylinder the axis rotation relative 'to saidcylinder and also having a slot receiving said spring therein between the opposite ends thereof so that rotational movement of said cylinder about said axis thereof=compresses said spring in either direc tion of suchmovement. if Q j V A 10. Apparatus for lubricatinga conveyor moving along a ,predetarmiiied path and provided with lubricant fittings comprising ajsupport rnounted adjacentthe path of travel ofthe'co'nveyor, a yoke mounted'for-rotationon said support, a'cylin'defmounted "in said yoke for pivotal movementabout'an axisperpendicular to the rotational of said yoke, an air operated piston rnounted in said cylinderand biased-by air pressure'to" extend one end thereof 'f'rom the cylinder, a lubricating nozzle mounted on said oneend of said piston, means engageable with the conveyorat 'a pick-up pointin' thev path of travel of a lubricant fitting as it approaches the .head'for causing rotation of -vlsaid'cylinder such that thernozzlei engages a lubricant fitting'on the conveyor and 'firstand second resilient'means for respectively'yieldably biasing said yoke and said cylinder intothe pick-up position thereof, the cylinder being movable against the vpressure of said resilientrneans and the nozzle. being retractable against the air pressure acting on said piston so as to yieldably seat on the lubricant fitting, the engagement of said nozzle and fitting rotating said head under control of the conveyor to a lubricant injection position wherein said nozzle is generally perpendicular to the path of travel of the conveyor fitting, said head being further so rotatable until the fitting moves out of engagement with the head, thereby permitting said resilient means acting on said yoke and cylinder and the air pressure acting on' said piston to reverse the movement of said nozzle so that it is returned thereby to the pick-up position, said first resilient means associated with said yoke comprising a torsion spring mounted generally concentric with the rotational axis of said yoke and connected at one end to said yoke and at the other end to said support for biasing said yoke in a direction opposite to the travel of the conveyor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

Claims (1)

1. APPARATUS FOR LUBRICATING A CONVEYOR MOVING ALONG A PREDETERMINED PATH AND PROVIDED WITH LUBRICANT FITTINGS COMPRISING A SUPPORT MOUNTED ADJACENT THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF THE CONVEYOR, A YOKE MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ON SAID SUPPORT, A PNEUMATIC CYLINDER MOUNTED IN SAID YOKE FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ABOUT AN AXIS PERPENDICULAR TO THE ROTATIONAL AXIS OF SAID YOKE, AN AIR OPERATED PISTON MOUNTED IN SAID CYLINDER AND BIASED BY AIR PRESSURE TO EXTEND ONE END THEREOF AXIALLY FROM THE CYLINDER AND BEING MOVABLE AXIALLY AWAY FROM EXTENDED POSITION UPON RELEASE OF PRESSURE IN THE CYLINDER, A LUBRICATING NOZZLE MOUNTED ON SAID ONE END OF SAID PISTON, MEANS ENGAGEABLE WITH THE CONVEYOR AT A PICK-UP POINT IN THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF A LUBRICANT FITTING AS IT APPROACHES THE HEAD FOR CAUSING ROTATION OF SAID CYLINDER SUCH THAT THE NOZZLE ENGAGES A LUBRICANT FITTING ON THE CONVEYOR AND FIRST AND SECOND RESILIENT MEANS FOR RESPECTIVELY YIELDABLY BIASING SAID YOKE AND SAID CYLINDER INTO THE PICK-UP POSITION THEREOF, THE CYLINDER BEING MOVABLE AGAINST THE PRESSURE OF SAID RESILIENT MEANS AND THE NOZZLE BEING RETRACTABLE AGAINST THE AIR PRESSURE ACTING ON SAID PISTON SO AS TO YIELDABLY SEAT ON THE LUBRICANT FITTING, THE ENGAGEMENT OF SAID NOZZLE AND FITTING ROTATING SAID HEAD UNDER CONTROL OF THE CONVEYOR TO A LUBRICANT INJECTION POSITION WHEREIN SAID NOZZLE IS GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF THE CONVEYOR FITTING, SAID HEAD BEING FURTHER SO ROTATABLE UNTIL THE FITTING MOVES OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE HEAD, THEREBY PERMITTING SAID RESILIENT MEANS ACTING ON SAID YOKE AND CYLINDER AND THE AIR PRESSURE ACTING ON SAID PISTON TO REVERSE THE MOVEMENT OF SAID NOZZLE SO THAT IT IS RETURNED THEREBY TO THE PICK-UP POSITION, SAID LURBICATING NOZZLE BEING BIASED AXIALLY TOWARD THE PICKUP POSITION AS LONG AS PRESSURE IS MAINTAINED IN THE CYLINDER AND BEING RETRACTED WITH THE PISTON TO AN INACTIVE POSITION UPON CUT-OFF OF THE PRESSURE.

Images