High speed conveyor with movable drive wheel

Abstract

A conveyor has a drive wheel which is driven from a driveshaft and which moves relative motion between the drive wheel and conveyor roller causes movement into and out of driving engagement. In the preferred embodiment, there is a drive gear mounted on the drive shaft, and the drive gear drives a drive wheel, which is mounted on a drive wheel mounting frame that pivots about the axis of the drive shaft, so that the drive wheel is constantly driven from the driveshaft and pivots into and out of driving engagement with the conveyor roller.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

move the drive wheel 64 up and down to engage and disengage it from driving the rollers 14.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show the two positions the housing 38 takes, depending upon whether the diaphragm 74 is filled with air or not. When air enters the diaphragm 74, it pushes the diaphragm 74 upwardly, and the diaphragm pushes the left bottom portion of the housing 38 upwardly, pivoting the housing clockwise, and moving the drive wheel 64 into driving contact with its respective rollers 14 as shown in FIG. 8. When air is exhausted from the diaphragm 74, the weight of the drive wheel support frame 38 causes it to pivot back down, moving the drive wheel 64 out of driving contact with the rollers 14 as shown in FIG. 9. These drawings are exaggerated to show the pivoting motion. Actually, the drive tire 64 only has to move slightly (about 1/8 of an inch) to engage and disengage the rollers 14.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 11, and 15 on the right side rail 21, opposite the rail 19 on which the drive mechanisms are mounted, are a plurality of jump wheels 80. Each jump wheel 80 is mounted so as to contact two adjacent rollers 14, and the function of each jump wheel 80 is to transmit power from one roller to the other. Each jump wheel 80 is mounted in a spring-loaded bracket 82, which pushes the jump wheel 80 upward into contact with the two adjacent rollers 14 while giving the jump wheel enough play to find the center between the adjacent rollers 14.

Thus, as each drive tire 64 drives two adjacent rollers 14, those rollers 14 drive their respective jump wheels 80, which, in turn, drive other rollers 14, so that, for a normal conveyor, is each drive tire 64 will end up driving five rollers 14 (i.e. three jump wheels 80 for every drive wheel 64). The number of rollers to be driven by each drive mechanism will depend upon the weight of the articles to be carried, with fewer jump wheels being used in a conveyor intended to convey very heavy articles.

Assembly of the conveyor is as follows:

The diaphragm 74 is mounted on the diaphragm support bracket 76, which, in turn, is mounted on the main support bracket 26 by extending the legs 77 through the openings 79. The support bracket or support box 26 is bolted to the siderail 19 of the conveyor frame 12, and the housing supports 30 are bolted to the support bracket 26. The drive gears 20 (with their non-cylindrical cores 24) and the pinion adapters 23 are slipped over the drive shaft 10. The pinion adapters 23 are fixed to the driveshaft by means of set screws. The drive gears 20 are slipped over their respective pinion adapters 23 and can slide axially relative to the pinion adapters 23 while still being mounted on the pinion adapters. (When the driveshaft rotates, the pinion adapters rotate, causing the drive gears 20 to rotate.)

The drive shaft is then dropped through the open top of the support bracket 26 into the U-shaped cut-outs 37 in the housing supports 36, with each drive gear 20 located inside its respective support bracket 26.

The drive shaft 10 is mounted to the siderail 19 by means of bearings 17 which are bolted to every other support box 26. (The bearing 17 can be seen in FIG. 1.) The drive shaft 10 is mounted so that there is clearance between the driveshaft 10 and the support box 26.

Next, the housing 38 is assembled and installed. The driven gears 62 and drive tires 64 are assembled together and mounted on their respective bearings 60 and in their respective housings 38 by means of bolts 58. The housings 38 are then rotated 90 degrees, are dropped down over the drive shaft 10, meshing the driven gear 62 with the drive gear 20, and the housings 38 are then rotated back 90 degrees so that they are supported on the projections 36 of the housing supports 30. Each housing 38 can now pivot about the axis of the driveshaft 10 by pivoting on the projections 36 on the housing supports 30, which are coaxial with the driveshaft. The drive wheel frame (or housing) 38 rests on the diaphragm 74 at the bottom of the support box 26. Again, there is clearance between the driveshaft 10 and the housings 38. The axis of the drive wheel 64 is substantially parallel to the axes of the conveyor rollers 14 and substantially perpendicular to the axis of the driveshaft 10.

The purpose of this unusual mounting arrangement, with the support box 26 mounted to the siderail and the housing 38 suspended from the support box 26, is to avoid the problem of having these elements mounted directly to the driveshaft 10, in which case those parts would require high speed bearings to handle their contact with the driveshaft 10. This arrangement provides a clearance fit between the driveshaft and those parts, so no such bearings are required.

In a ten-foot section of siderail 19, there should be four evenly-spaced support boxes 26 with their respective housings and gears. The preassembled ten-foot section of siderail 19, driveshaft 10, support box 26 and housing 38 may be stored in a warehouse as a stock item.

The drive mechanism is thus completely assembled in the section of left siderail 19. To put together the rest of the conveyor 10, the jump wheels 80 are mounted on the right siderail 21, a cross-member 29 is bolted between the left and right siderails 19, 21, defining the width of the conveyor, and the rollers 14 are mounted across the conveyor frame 12 by retracting one of the shaft ends 16 of each roller and placing the shaft ends 16 into the hexagonal holes 18 in the siderails 19, 21.

Sections of the conveyor frame 12 are then bolted together, and sections of driveshaft 10 are connected together with known connectors (not shown). The drive motor (not shown) is attached to the driveshaft, and the conveyor is ready for operation.

The air hoses, valves, and logic for controlling the diaphragms 74 are not shown, but they are standard, as used in known accumulation conveyors.

Operation of the conveyor is as follows:

Whenever the drive motor (not shown) is operating, it causes the driveshaft 10 to rotate, which causes all the drive gears 20 mounted on the driveshaft 10 to rotate. The driven gears 62 are constantly meshed with the drive gears 20, which eliminates any problem with meshing and unmeshing gears, and which means that, whenever the driveshaft 10 rotates, the driven gears 62 rotate.

Because of the connection between the driven gears 62 and their respective drive wheels 64, the driven gears 62 cause the drive wheels 64 to rotate. Thus, whenever the driveshaft 10 rotates, the drive wheels 64 rotate.

The force between the drive gear 20 and the driven gear 62 causes the driven gear to be pushed backward, to be stopped by the back surface of the core 24 of the drive gear 20 pushing against the housing thrust washer 68 mounted on the rear face 44 of the housing 38. The ability of the drive gear 20 to float axially permits the housing 38 to float with the drive gear 20, so that the drive wheel 64 can seek the center between the two rollers 14 it is driving. This ability to seek the center provides latitude in the manufacturing tolerances of the conveyor. It is also possible to fix the drive gear 20 to the driveshaft 10 so that it does not float axially along the driveshaft, by tightening a set screw in the drive gear 20 (not shown), if desired.

The drive wheel mounting frame 38 rests on the diaphragm 74, and the drive wheel 64 lies under two adjacent rollers 14. When the diaphragm 74 is inflated, it pivots the drive wheel support frame 38 upwardly, so that the drive wheel 64 contacts and drives its two rollers 14. When air pressure is exhausted from the diaphragm 74, the drive wheel 64 pivots downward, out of driving contact with the conveyor rollers 14, so the rollers 14 stop rotating and can be used to accumulate product.

Since the axis of the driven gear intersects the axis of the driveshaft as shown, in FIG. 7, those two axes define a plane and are coplanar. As the driven gear moves up and down, pivoting about the axis of the driveshaft, its axis continues to intersect the axis of the driveshaft, and those two axes continue to be coplanar.

Maintenance of this conveyor is very simple. In general, there is very little maintenance. The parts which are most likely to wear are the housing thrust washer 68 and the driven gear 62, which can be replaced by popping out two rollers 14, rotating the drive wheel support frame 38 and lifting it out of the conveyor, removing the worn parts, and replacing them. A spare assembled housing 38 may be kept on hand so that it can be quickly dropped into place to keep conveyor down time to a minimum.

An alternate embodiment of the conveyor could be made by installing springs in the place of the diaphragms 74. This type of installation is shown in FIG. 14. In this arrangement, the spring 101 keeps the drive wheel housing 38 in the raised, driving position at all times. This installation could be made if the customer does not want to use the conveyor for accumulation at the outset but wants the option of converting to accumulation at a later time. The springs 101 are installed on the diaphragm support bracket 76 in order to keep the drive wheel 64 in contact with its rollers 14 at all times. In this arrangement, the rollers 14 rotate whenever the driveshaft 10 rotates, and sections of the conveyor cannot be stopped without stopping the entire conveyor. However, this continues to be a simple, easily-maintained conveyor, and it can be converted to an accumulation conveyor at any time, simply by adding the diaphragms 74, an air compressor, and air hoses running to the diaphragms 74.

A second alternative embodiment, shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, eliminates the conveyor rollers entirely and uses the drive wheels 64 to convey the products. In this case, two parallel driveshafts 10 are used. Left and right drive wheels 64 are located opposite to each other and can be used to drive pallets. In this embodiment, the drive wheels 64 pivot upwardly through holes 210 in a table 212 in order to contact the pallets directly and move the pallets along the conveyor path defined by the table 212. The support boxes 26, housing supports 30, housings 38, and drive gear and driven gear arrangement are identical in this embodiment to the first embodiment. The basic difference is that there are no rollers 14, so the drive tires 64 contact the product directly.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A conveyor, comprising:

a conveyor frame;

a plurality of conveyor rollers mounted on said conveyor frame;

at least one drive wheel rotatable about its axis, said drive wheel being driven from said drive shaft;

a drive wheel mounting frame on which is mounted said drive wheel, said drive wheel mounting frame being movable relative to said conveyor frame, such that, when said mounting frame is moved to a first position, said drive wheel is in driving contact with at least one of said conveyor rollers, and, when said mounting frame is moved to a second position, said drive wheel is out of driving contact with said at least one of said conveyor rollers.

2. A conveyor as recited in claim 1, wherein said drive wheel is continuously driven from said drive shaft, such that, whenever said drive shaft rotates, said drive wheel rotates, regardless of whether said drive wheel is in contact with said at least one of said rollers or whether said drive wheel is moved out of contact with said at least one of said rollers.

3. A conveyor as recited in claim 1, wherein said drive wheel mounting frame pivots in order to move said drive wheel into and out

of driving contact.

4. A conveyor as recited in claim 1, and further comprising:

a drive gear mounted on said drive shaft; and

a driven gear which drives said drive wheel, said driven gear being mounted on said drive wheel mounting frame and meshed with said drive gear, such that, when said drive wheel mounting frame pivots said drive wheel into and out of contact with its respective roller, said drive gear and driven gear remain continuously meshed.

5. A conveyor as recited in claim 4, wherein said driven gear and said drive wheel are mounted for rotation about the same axis, such that, whenever said driven gear rotates, it

causes said drive wheel to rotate.6. A conveyor as recited in claim 3, comprising:

a conveyor frame;

a plurality of conveyor rollers mounted on said conveyor frame;

a drive shaft extending along said conveyor frame and having an axis of rotation;

at least one drive wheel rotatable about its axis, said drive wheel being driven from said drive shaft;

a drive wheel mounting frame on which is mounted said drive wheel, wherein said drive wheel mounting frame is mounted so as to pivot about the axis of said drive shaft, such that, when said mounting frame is pivoted to a first position, said drive wheel is in driving contact with at least one of said conveyor rollers and, when said mounting frame is pivoted to a second position, said drive wheel is out of driving

contact with at least said one of said conveyor rollers. 7. A conveyor as recited in claim 6, wherein said drive wheel mounting frame is

pivotably supported by a bracket mounted to said conveyor frame. 8. A conveyor as recited in claim 7, and further comprising:

a drive gear mounted on said drive shaft; and

a driven gear which drives said drive wheel, said driven gear being mounted on said drive wheel mounting frame and meshed with said drive gear, such that, when said drive wheel mounting frame pivots said drive wheel into and out of contact with its respective roller, said drive gear and driven gear remain continuously meshed.

9. A conveyor, comprising:

a conveyor frame;

a drive shaft extending along said conveyor frame;

at least one drive wheel rotatable about an axis which is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the drive shaft, said drive wheel being driven from said drive shaft;

a drive wheel mounting frame on which is mounted said drive wheel, said drive wheel mounting frame being movable relative to said conveyor frame, such that, when said mounting frame is moved upward, said drive wheel is in driving position, and, when said mounting frame is moved downward, said

drive wheel is out of driving position.

10. A conveyor as recited in claim 9, wherein said mounting frame pivots relative to said conveyor frame.

11. A conveyor as recited in claim 10, wherein said mounting frame pivots about the axis of said drive shaft.

12. A conveyor as recited in claim 9, and further comprising:

a drive gear mounted on said drive shaft; and

a driven gear which drives said drive wheel, said driven gear being mounted on said drive wheel mounting frame and continuously meshed with said drive gear.

13. A conveyor as recited in claim 12, wherein said drive wheel is mounted coaxially with said driven gear such that, when said driven gear rotates it causes said drive wheel to rotate.

14. A conveyor as recited in claim 9, and further comprising a plurality of conveyor rollers mounted on said conveyor frame, wherein, when said mounting frame moves upward, said drive wheel is in driving contact with at least one of said

conveyor rollers.15. A conveyor, comprising:

a conveyor frame;

a drive shaft extending along said conveyor frame;

at least one drive gear mounted on said drive shaft for rotation with said drive shaft;

a bracket mounted on said conveyor frame;

a drive wheel mounting frame pivotably supported from said bracket so as to pivot about the axis of said drive shaft;

a drive wheel and driven gear mounted on said drive wheel mounting frame such that, when said driven gear rotates, said drive wheel rotates, said driven gear being continuously meshed with said drive gear, such that, whenever said drive shaft rotates, it drives said drive gear, which drives said driven gear, which drives said drive wheel, and, such that, when said drive wheel mounting frame is pivoted to one position, said drive wheel is in driving position, and, when said drive wheel mounting frame is pivoted

to a second position, said drive wheel is out of driving position. 16. A conveyor as recited in claim 15, and further comprising:

an actuator for causing said drive wheel mounting bracket frame

to pivot. 17. In a conveyor, comprising:

a conveyor frame

a drive shaft extending along said conveyor frame;

a plurality of rollers mounted on said conveyor frame; and

means for driving said rollers from said drive shaft;

characterized in that said means for driving said rollers includes:

a drive wheel mounted so as to be pivotable about the axis of said drive shaft, such that, in one position, said drive wheel is in driving engagement with at least one of said rollers, and, in another position, said drive wheel is out of driving engagement with said at least one of

said rollers, said drive wheel being driven from said drive shaft. 18. In a conveyor as recited in claim 17, and further comprising:

a drive gear mounted on said drive shaft; and

a driven gear mounted coaxially with said drive wheel so as to drive said drive wheel, said drive gear and driven gear being meshed with each other.

9. In a conveyor as recited in claim 18, and further comprising a bracket mounted on said conveyor frame and a drive wheel mounting frame pivotably supported on said bracket, said drive wheel and said driven gear being

mounted on said drive wheel mounting frame. 20. In a conveyor as recited in claim 19, and further comprising:

an actuator for causing said drive wheel mounting frame to pivot about the

axis of said drive shaft. 21. In a conveyor as recited in claim 19, and further comprising a drive wheel mounting frame support, which holds said drive wheel mounting frame in the position in which said drive wheel is in

driving contact with said at least one of said rollers. 22. A conveyor, comprising:

a conveyor frame;

at least one conveyor roller mounted on said conveyor frame and having an axis of rotation;

a drive shaft extending along said conveyor frame and defining an axis of rotation;

at least one drive wheel rotatable about its axis and driven from said drive shaft, the axis of said drive wheel being parallel to the axis of said conveyor roller and coplanar with the axis of the drive shaft at least when the conveyor roller is being driven;

wherein said conveyor roller and drive wheel are mounted for relative motion between them, such that, in a first position, said conveyor roller is driven from said drive wheel by contact with the outer surface of the conveyor roller, and, in a second position, said one conveyor roller is out of driving engagement with said drive wheel; and further comprising an actuator which automatically provides said relative motion between said conveyor roller and said drive wheel. 23. A conveyor as recited in claim 22, wherein said drive wheel is driven whenever said drive shaft rotates, regardless of whether said drive wheel is in contact with its respective roller or out of contact with its respective roller.

24. A conveyor as recited in claim 22, and further comprising:

a drive gear mounted on said drive shaft; and

a driven gear mounted so as to drive said drive wheel;

said driven gear being continuously meshed with said drive gear, such that, when there is relative motion between said drive wheel and said one conveyor roller, said drive gear and driven gear remain continuously

meshed. 25. A conveyor as recited in claim 24, wherein said driven gear and said drive wheel are mounted for rotation about the same axis, such that, whenever said driven gear rotates, it causes said drive wheel to rotate. 26. A conveyor, comprising:

a conveyor frame;

a drive shaft extending along said conveyor frame;

at least one conveyor roller mounted on said conveyor frame, with the axis of said conveyor roller substantially perpendicular to the axis of said drive shaft;

at least one drive wheel rotatable about an axis which is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the drive shaft, said drive wheel being driven from the drive shaft; and means for causing relative motion between said drive wheel and said conveyor roller for engaging and disengaging said drive wheel from driving said conveyor roller, and further comprising:

a drive gear mounted on said drive shaft;

a drive wheel mounting frame on which said drive wheel is mounted, wherein movement of said drive wheel mounting frame causes said drive wheel to move relative to said conveyor roller, and a driven gear mounted on said drive wheel mounting frame and continuously meshed with said drive gear,

said drive wheel being driven from said driven gear. 27. A conveyor as recited in claim 26, wherein said drive wheel is mounted coaxially with said driven gear such that, when said driven gear rotates

it causes said drive wheel to rotate. 28. A conveyor, comprising:

a conveyor frame;

a plurality of conveyor rollers mounted on said conveyor frame, each of said conveyor rollers having an axis of rotation;

a drive shaft extending along said conveyor frame and defining an axis of rotation;

at least one drive wheel rotatable about its axis, with the axis of the drive wheel being parallel to the axis of rotation of one of said conveyor rollers and coplanar with the axis of the drive shaft at least when said one conveyor roller is being driven, said drive wheel being driven from said drive shaft;

a drive wheel mounting frame on which is mounted said drive wheel, said drive wheel mounting frame being movable relative to said conveyor frame, such that, when said mounting frame is moved to a first position, said drive wheel is in driving contact with at least said one conveyor roller, and, when said mounting frame is moved to a second position, said drive wheel is out of driving contact with said one conveyor roller, and further comprising an actuator for automatically moving said drive wheel mounting frame between said first and second positions. 29. A conveyor as recited in claim 28, wherein said drive wheel is continuously driven from said drive shaft, such that, whenever said drive shaft rotates, said drive wheel rotates, regardless of whether said drive wheel is in contact with said at least one of said rollers or whether said drive wheel is moved out of contact with said at least one of said rollers.

30. A conveyor as recited in claim 28, wherein said drive wheel mounting frame pivots in order to move said drive wheel into and out of driving contact. 31. A conveyor, comprising:

a conveyor frame;

a plurality of conveyor rollers mounted on said conveyor frame;

a drive shaft extending along said conveyor frame;

at least one drive wheel rotatable about its axis, said drive wheel being driven from said drive shaft;

a drive wheel mounting frame on which is mounted said drive wheel, said drive wheel mounting frame being pivotable relative to said conveyor frame about the axis of the drive shaft, such that, when said mounting frame is pivoted to a first position, said drive wheel is in driving contact with at least one of said conveyor rollers, and, when said mounting frame is pivoted to a second position, said drive wheel is out of driving contact with said at least one of said conveyor rollers;

a drive gear mounted on said drive shaft; and

a driven gear which drives said drive wheel, said driven gear being mounted on said drive wheel mounting frame and meshed with said drive gear, such that, when said drive wheel mounting frame pivots said drive wheel into and out of contact with said at least one of said conveyor rollers, said drive gear and driven gear remain continuously meshed. 32. A conveyor as recited in claim 31, wherein said driven gear and said drive wheel are mounted for rotation about the same axis, such that, whenever said driven gear rotates, it causes said drive wheel to rotate.

33. A conveyor, comprising:

a conveyor frame;

a drive shaft extending along said conveyor frame and defining an axis of rotation;

at least one drive wheel rotatable about an axis which is perpendicular to and coplanar with the axis of the drive shaft, said drive wheel being driven from said drive shaft;

a drive wheel mounting frame on which is mounted said drive wheel, said drive wheel mounting frame being movable relative to said conveyor frame, such that, when said mounting frame is moved upward, said drive wheel is in driving position, and, when said mounting frame is moved downward, said drive wheel is out of driving position, and further comprising an actuator for automatically moving said drive wheel mounting frame up and down.

34. A conveyor as recited in claim 33, wherein said mounting frame pivots relative to said conveyor frame. 35. A conveyor as recited in claim 34, wherein said mounting frame pivots about the axis of said drive shaft. 36. A conveyor as recited in claim 33, and further comprising:

a drive gear mounted on said drive shaft; and

a driven gear which drives said drive wheel, said driven gear being mounted on said drive wheel mounting frame and continuously meshed with said drive

gear. 37. A conveyor as recited in claim 36, wherein said drive wheel is mounted coaxially with said driven gear such that, when said driven gear rotates it causes said drive wheel to rotate.

38. A conveyor as recited in claim 34, and further comprising a plurality of conveyor rollers mounted on said conveyor frame, wherein, when said mounting frame moves upward, said drive wheel is in driving contact with at least one of said conveyor rollers.