US3666077A — Power driven conveyor

Claim 1

Independent Claim 179 words

A conveyor of the power driven type, comprising: a. a frame; b. a guide supported by said frame and extending longitudinally of said conveyor at one side thereof; c. means for moving articles along said conveyor and for maintaining said articles in engagement with said guide, whereby said articles are positioned laterally of the conveyor by co-operation of the article moving means and the guide; and d. means for halting articles on said conveyor at a plurality of locations therealong, each said means comprising stop means elevatable to a position above the means for moving articles and retractable to a position in which they do not interfere with the movement of articles along the conveyor and a fluidoperated motor for elevating and retracting each of said stop means, solenoid valve means for controlling the flow of operating fluid to and from said motors, and timing means including switch means connected in series with the valve solenoids for controlling the energization and de-energization of said solenoids and thereby controlling the sequence of elevation and retraction of the said stop means.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 179 words

A conveyor of the power driven type, comprising: a. a frame; b. a guide supported by said frame and extending longitudinally of said conveyor at one side thereof; c. means for moving articles along said conveyor and for maintaining said articles in engagement with said guide, whereby said articles are positioned laterally of the conveyor by co-operation of the article moving means and the guide; and d. means for halting articles on said conveyor at a plurality of locations therealong, each said means comprising stop means elevatable to a position above the means for moving articles and retractable to a position in which they do not interfere with the movement of articles along the conveyor and a fluidoperated motor for elevating and retracting each of said stop means, solenoid valve means for controlling the flow of operating fluid to and from said motors, and timing means including switch means connected in series with the valve solenoids for controlling the energization and de-energization of said solenoids and thereby controlling the sequence of elevation and retraction of the said stop means.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 64 words

The conveyor of claim 1, wherein each said stop means comprises: a. a vertically displaceable support extending transversely of said conveyor; b. means for guiding the vertical displacement of said support; and c. a plurality of stop members fixed to and extending upwardly from said support, said stop members being located at intervals along said support, whereby they are spaced transversely of the conveyor.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 51 words

The conveyor of claim 2, wherein said stop members are adapted to extend upwardly through a gap between adjacent ones of said rollers and including a Plate spanning the gap between said rollers, said plate being apertured to accommodate the upward movement of said stop members as said support is elevated.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 77 words

The conveyor of claim 2, wherein each said motor means comprises: a. a cylinder component and a connecting rod component extensible from and retractible into said cylinder component, one of said components being fixed to said frame and the other of said components being fixed to said stop member support; and b. means for effecting extension and retraction of the connecting rod component relative to said cylinder component to thereby raise and lower the stop member support.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 97 words

The power driven conveyor of claim 1, wherein the means for moving articles along the conveyor and for maintaining articles in engagement with said guide comprises a series of transversely extending rollers rotatably supported from said frame in parallel spaced apart relationship and drive means for rotating said rollers, said rollers being oriented with their axes of rotation at an acute angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the conveyor, whereby articles carried along said conveyor by said rollers are moved toward the side of the conveyor at which the trailing edges of said rollers are located.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 45 words

The power driven conveyor of claim 5, wherein said rollers are disposed in a plurality of groups and wherein there is a stop means as aforesaid located between each of said groups, whereby articles may be halted at a plurality of locations along said conveyor.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 34 words

The conveyor of claim 6, together with means for simultaneously actuating the motor means associated with a plurality of said stop means, whereby a plurality of articles may be simultaneously halted on said conveyor.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 51 words

The power driven conveyor of claim 5, wherein the fluid-operated motor is a vacuum motor and including a vacuum pump for controlling the operation of the vacuum motor and a single motor drive-connected to said drive means and to said vacuum pump for rotating said rollers and for operating the pump.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 48 words

The conveyor of claim 8, wherein said motor and said vacuum pump are supported on said frame and including a vacuum tank mounted on the frame and means providing fluid communication between said vacuum pump and said vacuum tank and between said vacuum tank and said vacuum motor.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 55 words

The power driven conveyor of claim 5, wherein the drive means for rotating the rollers comprises a motive power source, a first means drive-connecting said motive power source to the first in said series of rollers, and a second means drive-connecting the first in said series of rollers to the remaining rollers in said series.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 73 words

The power driven conveyor of claim 5, together with a second guide for turning articles carried along said rollers and engaged by said first guide relative to said rollers to thereby change the orientation of the articles relative to the rollers, said second guide overlying a plurality of said rollers at the trailing edges thereof, whereby said rollers keep the articles being turned in contact with said second guide as they are turned.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 39 words

The conveyor of claim 11, wherein said second guide has a curved configuration and wherein one end is juxtaposed to said first guide and the other end of said second guide is displaced laterally relative to said first guide.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1975-05-30	1975-11-29	1976-05-30	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1979-05-30	1979-11-29	1980-05-30	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1983-05-30	1983-11-29	1984-05-30	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Power driven conveyor

Abstract

Inventors

Bibliographic Details

Claims Analysis

References Cited (Backward Citations)

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Assigned Categories & Tags

Assign Category Tag