A conveying system for lifting and orienting bottle caps comprises a conveyer belt of articulated sections and with guide rollers with an upper lifting section having an essentially vertical path of travel and a lower loading section with an angled path of travel. sprockets on the guide rollers effect movement of the belt in an upward path of travel through the lower section and then the upper section. Cleats are secured to the exterior surface of the conveyer belts belt. supporting surfaces of the cleats extend at right angles from the exterior surface of the conveyer belt for retaining bottle caps thereon when the upper top surface of the bottle cap is in contact with the conveyer belt and the lower edge thereof generally cylindrical perimeter of the bottle cap is supported in a trough of on the supporting surfaces of the cleats but to effect. The trough effects the dropping thereof when the of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation.
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0. 31. A cleat for lifting and orienting a bottle cap along a conveyor, the cleat comprising:
an upper supporting surface and a generally opposing lower face, and a front face and a generally opposing rear face, such that said cleat has a generally rectangular cross section;
wherein said upper supporting surface extends outwardly at a generally right angle from a surface of said conveyor,
and wherein said upper supporting surface includes a lower curved region and a trough with a sloped interior recess in contact with said lower curved region for retaining said bottle cap thereon in a proper orientation, the lowermost extent of said lower curved region being closer to said front face than to said rear face,
wherein said proper orientation is characterized in that a top surface of said bottle cap is in contact with said conveyer and the generally cylindrical perimeter of said bottle cap is in contact with said upper supporting surface of said cleat,
and wherein said upper supporting surface effects the dropping of said bottle cap if it is not in said proper orientation.
0. 3. A conveying system for lifting and orienting bottle caps comprising:
a conveyer belt driven by sprockets on guide rollers to effect movement of said belt along a generally upward path of travel; and
a plurality of cleats secured to the exterior surface of said belt, each cleat having a generally rectangular cross section, an upper supporting surface and a generally opposing lower face, and a front face and a generally opposing rear face,
wherein said upper supporting surface of extends outwardly at a generally right angle from said exterior surface of said belt,
and wherein said upper supporting surface includes a lower curved region and a trough with a sloped interior recess in contact with said lower curved region for retaining a bottle cap thereon in a proper orientation wherein a top surface of said bottle cap is in contact with the conveyer belt and the generally cylindrical perimeter of said bottle cap is in contact with said upper supporting surface of said cleat, and wherein said trough effects the dropping of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation, the lowermost extent of said lower curved region being closer to said front face than to said rear face.
0. 16. A method of lifting and orienting bottle caps comprising:
conveying said bottle caps along a conveyer belt driven by sprockets on guide rollers to effect movement of said belt along a generally upward path of travel;
retaining said bottle caps on a plurality of cleats secured to the exterior surface of said belt, each cleat having a generally rectangular cross section, an upper supporting surface and a generally opposing lower face, and a front face and a generally opposing rear face, wherein said upper supporting surface of extends outwardly at a generally right angle from said exterior surface of said belt, and wherein said upper supporting surface includes a lower curved region and a trough with a sloped interior recess in contact with said lower curved region for retaining a bottle cap thereon, the lowermost extent of said lower curved region being closer to said front face than to said rear face; and
orienting said bottle caps in a proper orientation on said plurality of cleats, wherein said proper orientation is characterized in that a top surface of each bottle cap is in contact with said conveyer belt and the generally cylindrical perimeter of each bottle cap is in contact with said upper supporting surface of said cleat, such that said trough effects the dropping of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation.
0. 10. A conveying system for lifting and orienting bottle caps comprising:
a conveyer belt driven by sprockets on guide rollers to effect movement of said belt along a generally upward path of travel;
a plurality of cleats secured to the exterior surface of said belt, each cleat having a generally rectangular cross section, an upper supporting surface and a generally opposing lower face, and a front face and a generally opposing rear face,
wherein said upper supporting surface of extends outwardly at a generally right angle from said exterior surface of said belt,
and wherein said upper supporting surface includes a lower curved region and a trough with a sloped interior recess in contact with said lower curved region for retaining a bottle cap thereon in a proper orientation wherein a top surface of said bottle cap is in contact with the conveyer belt and the generally cylindrical perimeter of said bottle cap is in contact with said upper supporting surface of said cleat, and wherein said trough effects the dropping of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation, the lowermost extent of said lower curved region being closer to said front face than to said rear face; and
a supplemental sprocket in contact with the interior face of said conveyer belt to form an outwardly directed bow in said belt and thereby effect the removal, by gravity, of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation.
0. 24. A method of lifting and orienting bottle caps comprising:
conveying said bottle caps along a conveyer belt driven by sprockets on guide rollers to effect movement of said belt along a generally upward path of travel;
retaining said bottle caps on a plurality of cleats secured to the exterior surface of said belt, each cleat having a generally rectangular cross section, an upper supporting surface and a generally opposing lower face, and a front face and a generally opposing rear face, wherein said upper supporting surface extends outwardly at a generally right angle from said exterior surface of said belt, and wherein said upper supporting surface includes a lower curved region and a trough with a sloped interior recess in contact with said lower curved region for retaining a bottle cap thereon, the lowermost extent of said lower curved region being closer to said front face than to said rear face;
orienting said bottle caps in a proper orientation on said plurality of cleats, wherein said proper orientation is characterized in that a top surface of each bottle cap is in contact with said conveyer belt and the generally cylindrical perimeter of each bottle cap is in contact with said upper supporting surface of said cleat, such that said trough effects the dropping of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation; and
forming an outwardly directed bow in said conveyor belt to assist in the removal, by gravity, of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation.
2. A conveying system for lifting and orienting bottle caps comprising:
a conveyer belt formed of articulated sections and with guide rollers to support the belt with an upper section having an essentially vertical path of travel and a lower section with having an angled path of travel;
sprockets on the guide rollers to effect movement of the belt in a path of travel through the lower section and then the upper section;
a plurality of cleats secured to the exterior surface of the conveyer belts belt, the cleats each cleat having an upper supporting surfaces surface extending outwardly at a generally right angles angle from the exterior surface of the conveyer belt, each cleat being of a generally rectangular cross section with an upper face supporting surface and a lower face and with an interior face therebetween a front face and a rear face wherein the upper cap supporting surface having has a trough for retaining bottle caps thereon in a proper orientation when the upper a top surface of the bottle cap is in contact with the conveyer belt and the lower edge thereof supported on generally cylindrical perimeter of the bottle cap is in contact with the upper supporting surfaces surface of the cleats but to effect cleat and wherein the trough effects the dropping thereof when the of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation, each cleat having a trough with a sloped interior recess in contact with the lower curved region with the lowermost etent extent of the curved region being closer to the front face than to the rear face of the cleat; and
a supplemental sprocket in contact with the interior face of the conveyer belt in the lower extent of the upper section to form an outwardly directed bow in the belt and effect the removal, by gravity, of bottle caps not in the proper orientation.
1. A new and improved conveying system for lifting and orienting bottle caps comprising, in combination:
a conveyer belt formed of articulated sections and with guide rollers to support the belt with an upper lifting section having an essentially vertical path of travel and a lower loading section with having an angled path of travel;
sprockets on the guide rollers to effect movement of the belt in an upward path of travel through the lower section and then the upper section;
a plurality of cleats secured to the exterior surface of the conveyer belts belt, the cleats each cleat having an upper supporting surfaces surface extending outwardly at a generally right angles angle from the exterior surface of the conveyer belt, each cleat being of a generally rectangular cross section with an upper face supporting surface and a lower face and with an interior face therebetween a front face and a rear face wherein the upper cap supporting surface having has a lower curved region and a trough with a sloped interior recess in contact with the lower curved region for retaining bottle caps thereon in a proper orientation when the upper a top surface of the bottle cap is in contact with the conveyer belt and the lower edge thereof supported on generally cylindrical perimeter of the bottle cap is in contact with the upper supporting surfaces surface of the cleats but to effect cleat and wherein the trough effects the dropping thereof when the of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation, the lowermost extent of the lower curved region being closer to the front face than to the rear face, the each cleat also having a plurality of bores extending from the front face to the rear face where they the cleat can be coupled to the conveyer belt by means of a screw;
a supplemental sprocket in contact with the interior face of the conveyer belt in the lower extent of the upper section to form an outwardly directed bow in the belt and effect the removal, by gravity, of bottle caps not in the proper orientation;
adjustment means to vary the extent of the bow as a function of the particular bottle cap being conveyed;
a plate positioned in close proximity to the cleats in the region of the conveyer belt beneath the bow whereby bottle caps on the conveyer belt may drop under gravity into the hopper due to the orientation of the bow;
a source of pressurized air adjacent to the upper extent of the upper section at one lateral side of the belt to pneumatically urge bottle caps to the opposite lateral side of the belt with a chute to receive the pneumatically conveyed bottle caps while maintaining their proper orientation;
a hopper for a quantity of randomly oriented bottle caps adjacent to the lower section of the conveyer belt for the initial positioning of bottle caps on the conveyer belt prior to movement to toward the bow; and
a baffle having a raised central extent parallel with the direction of flow of the conveyor belt and positioned over the lower loading section whereby bottle caps dropped thereon will limit movement of the caps onto the conveyor except at the leading edge of the plate.
0. 4. The conveying system of claim 3, further comprising:
a supplemental sprocket in contact with the interior face of said conveyer belt to form an outwardly directed bow in said belt and thereby effect the removal, by gravity, of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation.
0. 5. The conveying system of claim 4, further comprising:
adjustment means to vary the extent of the bow as a function of the particular bottle cap being conveyed.
0. 6. The conveying system of claim 4, further comprising:
a plate positioned in close proximity to said plurality of cleats in the region of said belt beneath said bow, whereby bottle caps on the conveyer belt may drop under gravity into a hopper due to the orientation of said bow.
0. 7. The conveying system of claim 3, further comprising:
a source of pressurized air adjacent to the upper extent at one lateral side of said belt, said source having a pressure sufficient to pneumatically urge said bottle caps to the opposite lateral side of said belt, with a chute to receive said pneumatically conveyed bottle caps while maintaining their proper orientation.
0. 8. The conveying system of claim 4, further comprising:
a hopper for a quantity of randomly oriented bottle caps adjacent to the lower section of said conveyer belt for the initial positioning of bottle caps on said conveyer belt prior to movement toward said bow.
0. 9. The conveying system of claim 6, further comprising:
a baffle having a raised central extent parallel with the direction of flow of said conveyor belt and positioned over a lower loading section whereby bottle caps dropped thereon will limit movement of said caps onto said conveyor except at the leading edge of said plate.
0. 11. The conveying system of claim 10, further comprising:
adjustment means to vary the extent of the bow as a function of the particular bottle cap being conveyed.
0. 12. The conveying system of claim 10, further comprising:
a plate positioned in close proximity to said plurality of cleats in the region of said belt beneath said bow, whereby bottle caps on the conveyer belt may drop under gravity into a hopper due to the orientation of said bow.
0. 13. The conveying system of claim 10, further comprising:
a source of pressurized air adjacent to the upper extent at one lateral side of said belt, said source having a pressure sufficient to pneumatically urge said bottle caps to the opposite lateral side of said belt, with a chute to receive said pneumatically conveyed bottle caps while maintaining their proper orientation.
0. 14. The conveying system of claim 10, further comprising:
a hopper for a quantity of randomly oriented bottle caps adjacent to the lower section of said conveyer belt for the initial positioning of bottle caps on said conveyer belt prior to movement toward said bow.
0. 15. The conveying system of claim 12, further comprising:
a baffle having a raised central extent parallel with the direction of flow of said conveyor belt and positioned over a lower loading section whereby bottle caps dropped thereon will limit movement of said caps onto said conveyor except at the leading edge of said plate.
0. 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
forming an outwardly directed bow in said conveyor belt to assist in the removal, by gravity, of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation.
0. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein said bow is formed by a supplemental sprocket in contact with the interior face of said conveyer belt.
0. 19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
varying the extent of the bow as a function of the particular bottle cap being conveyed.
0. 20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:
positioning a plate in close proximity to said plurality of cleats in the region of said belt beneath said bow, such that bottle caps dropping off said conveyer belt fall into a hopper.
0. 21. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
pneumatically urging said bottle caps using a source of pressurized air positioned adjacent to the upper extent at one lateral side of said belt, said source having a pressure sufficient to urge said bottle caps to the opposite lateral side of said belt toward a chute positioned to receive said pneumatically conveyed bottle caps while maintaining their proper orientation.
0. 22. The method of claim 17, further comprising:
positioning a hopper adjacent to the lower section of said conveyer belt to hold a quantity of randomly oriented bottle caps for the initial positioning of said bottle caps on said conveyer belt prior to movement toward said bow.
0. 23. The method of claim 20, further comprising:
positioning a baffle over a lower loading section of said belt, said baffle having a raised central extent parallel with the direction of flow of said conveyor belt and positioned whereby bottle caps dropped thereon will limit movement of said caps onto said conveyor except at the leading edge of said plate.
0. 25. The method of claim 24, wherein said bow is formed by a supplemental sprocket in contact with the interior face of said conveyer belt.
0. 26. The method of claim 24, further comprising:
varying the extent of the bow as a function of the particular bottle cap being conveyed.
0. 27. The method of claim 24, further comprising:
positioning a plate in close proximity to said plurality of cleats in the region of said belt beneath said bow, such that bottle caps dropping off said conveyer belt fall into a hopper.
0. 28. The method of claim 24, further comprising:
pneumatically urging said bottle caps using a source of pressurized air positioned adjacent to the upper extent at one lateral side of said belt, said source having a pressure sufficient such to urge said bottle to the opposite lateral side of said belt toward a chute positioned to receive said pneumatically conveyed bottle caps while maintaining their proper orientation.
0. 29. The method of claim 24, further comprising:
positioning a hopper adjacent to the lower section of said conveyer belt to hold a quantity of randomly oriented bottle caps for the initial positioning of said bottle caps on said conveyer belt prior to movement toward said bow.
0. 30. The method of claim 27, further comprising:
positioning a baffle over a lower loading section of said belt, said baffle having a raised central extent parallel with the direction of flow of said conveyor belt and positioned whereby bottle caps dropped thereon will limit movement of said caps onto said conveyor except at the leading edge of said plate.
0. 32. The cleat of claim 31, wherein said upper supporting surface retains said bottle cap in said proper orientation when said conveyor is moving along a generally vertical path of travel.
0. 33. The cleat of claim 31, wherein said upper supporting surface effects the dropping of said bottle cap if it is not in said proper orientation when said conveyor is moving along a generally vertical path of travel.
0. 34. The cleat of claim 31, wherein said upper supporting surface effects the dropping of said bottle cap if it is not in said proper orientation and if said conveyor is moving along a path of travel that exceeds vertical at least momentarily.
0. 35. The cleat of claim 31, wherein said upper supporting surface effects the dropping of said bottle cap if it is not in said proper orientation, but only if said conveyor is moving along a path of travel that exceeds vertical by a sufficient degree, at least momentarily, wherein said degree is a function of the particular size and shape of the bottle cap being conveyed.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a conveyor system for lifting and orienting bottle caps and more particularly, to lifting and orienting bottle caps through a conveyor with a lower loading zone and a vertical lifting zone which is this inventionand had,shield baffle to preclude the direct dropping of caps onto the belt, and a plate to preclude falling caps from inadvertently removing properly oriented caps. Such components are specifically configured and correlated with respect to each other to attain the desired objectives.
More specifically, the main component of the system is a housing 10 adapted to support a conveyor belt 12 constrained for movement in a predetermined path of travel. The conveyor belt 12, shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 is formed of articulated sections 14 coupled with respect to each other along lines perpendicular to the path of travel. Rotatable rollers and ultra-high molecular weight guides 16, 17, 18 and 19 support the belt in a configuration to constitute an upper lifting section 22 having an essentially vertical path of travel and a lower loading section 24 with having an angled path of travel slightly offset from the horizontal. An intermediate section 26 is located between the upper and lower sections. The upper guide roller 16 is driven by a motor 30 while the remaining guide rollers and ultra high molecular weight guides are idlers 17, 18, 19 for go movement as caused by the belt 12 being driven by the drive roller 16.
An adjustment device 32 is secured to the housing 10 and is coupled with regard to the roller 19 beneath the lower section 24, as shown in FIG. 2, to maintain a proper tension on the belt 12 during operation and use.
A pair of sprockets 34 are located on each of the guide rollers 16, 17, 18, 19 to effect movement of the belt 12 in an upward path of travel through the lower section 24, intermediate section 26, and then the upper section 22.
Located on the exterior surface of the conveyor belt 12 are a plurality of cleats 80. Each cleat 80 extends laterally across essentially the entire width of the belt 12. They The cleats 80 are spaced in the direction of the path of travel to receive a bottle cap 38 thereon. Each cleat 80, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, has a supporting surface 82 extending at a right angles angle from the exterior surface of the conveyor belt 12. It is this surface 82 which retains bottle caps 38 thereon by gravity in a proper orientation when the upper top surface 37 of the bottle cap 38 is in contact with the conveyor belt 12. In such proper orientation, the generally cylindrical edge perimeter 39 of the cap 38 is in contact with the horizontal supporting surface 82 of the cleat with 80 while the closed flat face top surface 37 of the cap 38 is in contact with the belt 12. When so properly oriented, the caps 38 may be elevated through the upper section 22 of the belt 12 in a vertical orientation. When not properly oriented, the bottle caps 38 will simply fall by gravity from the surface of the belt 12 away from the cleat 80 when entering the upper lifting section 22 of the conveyor.
In order to ensure proper orientation of the bottle caps 38 on the conveyor belt for 12 while being elevated, supplemental sprockets 34 are provided at the lower most lowermost extent of the upper lifting section 22. Such sprocket 34 is in contact with the interior face of the conveyor belt 12 to form an outwardly outward bow 44 in the belt 12. It is this bow 44 which ensures that there is effected the removal, by gravity, of bottle caps not in the proper orientation. An adjustment assembly 20 is provided to vary the extent of the bow 44 as a function of the particular bottle cap being conveyed.
Such The adjustment mechanism assembly 20, shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, is in the form of a U-shaped bracket 46 with parallel vertical walls and a lower horizontal wall therebetween. The bracket 46 is supported for rotational motion about the axis of a supporting rod 48 at the upper extent of the vertical walls. The rod 48 extends through the vertical brackets with one end 50 being provided with an adjustment lever 52 for manual rotation. Rotation of the lever and 52 about the rod which 48 functions to vary the angular position of the sprockets 34 with respect to the housing 10 and, hence, vary the extent of the bow 44.
As can be best seen in
Supplemental collars 59, 69 are on the exterior surfaces of the vertical plates of the U-shaped member bracket 46. The rod shaft 61 for the supplemental sprockets 34 extends therethrough. It The shaft 61 is mounted in bearings for free rotation thereof. A conventional plastic keeper on the vertical side walls of the housing 10 in sliding contact with the exterior face of the belt ensures that the bow 44 will maintain its proper curvature during operation and use.
Located at the upper extent of the upper lifting section 22 is a source 60 of pressurized air. Such source is located at one lateral edge of the conveyor belt 12, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, and tends to pneumatically eject supported bottle caps 38 to the opposed lateral edge of the conveyor. The opposite lateral edge is provided with a guide chute 65 whereby caps 38 moved laterally by the flow of air will enter the guide chute 65 for further movement. Such caps 38 are then in an elevated orientation for rolling along the chute 65. They are also oriented for proper receipt at the next station of the system for further processing. In association therewith, a plate 67, preferably a transparent plate, is in close proximity to the bottle caps 38 and flights to ensure the proper movement of the raised and oriented caps from the flights to the chute 65 for further handling.
Located in the path of travel of the conveyor, beyond the hopper 64, is a plate 62. Such plate 62, shown in FIG. 1, is positioned in close proximity to the cleats 80 in the region of the conveyor belt 12 beneath the bow 44. In this manner, bottle caps 38 on the conveyor belt 12 which are dropped by gravity therefrom at the bow 44 will fall back into the hopper 64 under the influence of gravity. The falling caps, however, will not contact and improperly drive caps from the cleats 80 which are already properly positioned. Such improper contact is precluded by the plate 62.
Next, located adjacent to the lower loading section 24 of the conveyor is a hopper 64. The hopper 64 is formed as a part of the housing 10. The housing 10 functions to allow a quantity of caps 38 to be dumped to a location over the lower loading section 24 of the conveyor so that they may be entrained by the cleats 80 and moved in the upper path of travel. This is prior to movement of the caps 38 vertically in the upper lifting section 22. Note
The last component of the system is a baffle 66. The shield baffle 66, as shown in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10, is a plate in a tent-like configuration. It has a bend 70 at a slight angle along the longitudinal center thereof in the -direction of flow of the conveyor belt 12 and bottle caps 38 being conveyed. It then has four corner legs 72 depending downwardly therefrom and secured to the housing 10 on the sides of the conveyor adjacent to the lateral edges of the conveyor. In this manner, a space is created above the conveyor at the lower loading section 24 and beneath the lower surface of the baffle 66. In this manner, bottle caps 38 dumped in the conveyor remain above the shield baffle 66 and are deposited on the conveyor belt 12 only at the leading edge of the loading section 24 immediately in anticipation of the intermediate section 26.
In summary then, the bow adjusting adjustment assembly 20, shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, consists of sprockets 34 mounted on a shaft 61 which is mounted in bearings. These bearings are mounted to a bracket 43 46 which is in turn mounted to a second rod or shaft 48. This rod 48 is mounted in collars or bearings 54 and 56 54, 56 which are in turn mounted to the sides of the housing 10. One end 50 of this second shaft the rod 48 extends through the conveyor side. A shaft rod position clamp mechanism is fixed to the external conveyor side. A lever 52 and dial indicator are attached for ease of use as the shaft rod 48 is turned, the sprockets 34 rotate in an arc about the center of the shaft rod 48. This allows the sprockets 34 to come in contact with the back of the conveyor belt 12. This in turn displaces the conveyor belt 12 away from its normal path. The conveyor belt 12 is restrained on the opposite side by low friction guide material or keeper. A machined arc in the guide material at the area of the sprocket 34 causes the conveyor belt 12 to follow the arc of the sprocket 34. This in turn allows an angle change of greater than 20 twenty degrees for a short space on the conveyor. In practice, instead of a final angle of 5 five degrees from vertical, it is possible to have an angle past vertical for this short space. This allows the center of the cap to fall from the cleated conveyor while correctly oriented caps remain.
The present disclosure includes that contained in the appended claims, as well as that of the foregoing description. Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Evers, Jr., Fred W., Aury, Marc, Lorange, Stephane
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| Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
| Dec 10 2004 | Gebo Corporation | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / |
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