GB2189758A

GB2189758A - A feed bench for feeding articles on to a main conveyor belt at an angle thereto

Info

Publication number: GB2189758A
Application number: GB08610669A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Francesco Canziani
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1985-04-02
Filing date: 1986-05-01
Publication date: 1987-11-04
Also published as: DE8608512U1; DE3610544A1; IT8521310V0; DK146486A; GB8610669D0; DK146486D0

Abstract

A feed bench is described for use in a transport and sorting plant, having a rotatable belt (1) mounted on a first group of rolls (2,4,6) having parallel axes, a centering roll (10) forming an angle beta with said first group rolls and a pair of fixed bars (8) forming with said first group rolls an angle alpha smaller than beta . The feed bench is able to feed articles to be sorted onto a main conveyor belt, letting these articles in at an angle onto the main conveyor belt. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Afeed benchforfeeding articles on to a main conveyor belt at an angle thereto This invention relates to a feed bench for feeding articles, such as in transport and sorting plants, onto a main conveyor belt at an acute or obtuse angle to the direction of motion of the main conveying belt, for sorting purposes.

Such a feed bench can be used to advantage in loading stations present in selecting and sorting plants and it can be in particularthe head or end element of a series of belt feed benches, each provided with independent drive and tensioning members to give the respective belts different speeds, to suit the delivery speed of the article to be fed to the speed of the main conveying belt.

Transport and sorting apparatus are known consisting of a belt and conveying members moving along a fixed path, on to which is fed a plurality of items that are then discharged at predetermined collection areas.

Apparatus ofthis kind are used, for instance, in post offices in order to sort correspondence and parcels into collections bags destined for different places, or in airports to sort passengers' luggage.

In such instances the articlestobe sorted are not put onto the main conveying belt directly, but are placed by the operators onto a series of auxiliary conveying orfeed belts, located in correspondence to the number of loading stations and these auxiliary feed belts deliver the articles onto the main conveyor.

These feed belts move generally in a direction at right angles to that of the main conveyor. Therefore it is necessary to limit the speed of the latter both in orderto prevent overturning of the articles when fed onto the main conveyor belt and to assure their exact positioning on the conveyor belt.

Thus, in order to facilitate the feeding onto the main conveyor belt of the articles to be sorted and to allow greater plant utilization and increased belt speed, it is desirable that the speed and the direction of movement of the articles being fed differ as little as possible from those of the main conveyor belt.

Tosolvethis problem there have been proposed feeding benches with rolls supporting the belt located so asto allow the anguiar positioning ofthe bench with respect to the conveyor.

These proposed devices, however, are subject to inconveniences. Forexamplethe belt, running over rolls with non-parallel axes, tends to seize jamming the entire mechanism, or is subject to deformation causing at least poor working thereof.

According to the present invention there is provided a feed bench for feeding articles onto a main conveyor belt at an angle to the direction of movement of the main conveyor belt, including a rotatable continuous belt mounted on and passing over a first group of rol Is håvi ng parallel axes, a second roll forming with saidfirstgroup rolls an angle ss and a pair of fixed bars forming with said first rolls and angle smallerthan p.

Such a bench allows the belt to run without inconvenience and permits adjustments to be made to maintain the operative effectiveness of the bench.

For a better understanding ofthe present invention, and to show now the same may be carried into effect, referencewill now be made, byway of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure lisa perspective view of the parts making up a feed bench according to a first embodiment of the invention; Figure2 is a view from above ofthe parts of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view of Figure 2; Figure4 is a front view of Figure 2, and Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of a detail of the feed bench of Figures 1 to 4, to an enlarged scale.

Afeed bench according to the invention includes a bed (not shown in the figures, since it can be made in known manner in different shapes, according to the function of the support structures used forthe main plant), and an upper part forming the feed bench proper. The latter includes a continuous feed conveyor belt 1 driven buy a roll 2 forming part of a first group of rolls having substantially parallel spaced axes. The roll 2 is rotatably driven by a permanentmagnetd.c. motor 8.

Belt 1 runs around atensioning (stretching) roll 4, movable by means of a linear actuator 5 laterally towards or awayfrom a second tensioning roll6 having a smaller diameter. The belt 1 passes around the rolls 2,4,6 in an at least serpentine mannerto form two spaced, superimposed runs forthe belt movable in opposite directions. The roll 6 can be located adjacent the discharge end of a contiguous feed conveyor belt 7 as shown in Figure 1 with little discontinuity of run.

The bench includes a pair of laterally spaced parallel fixed bars 8 around which bars the two runs of the belt 1 are passed and turned laterally inwardly ofthemselves at an angle to allow the belt passing around the bars to be located adjacent and substantially parallel to a main conveyor belt lateral edge to feed articles thereon. The bench also includes a lateral idle roll 10 which has known devices 11 to adjust its position to centre the belt thereon. The rolls 2, 4, and 6 are arranged with their rotational axes parallel to one another.

With respect to this direction, bars 8 and roll 10 form angles indicated respectively by a and p.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1 the bars8 are inclined atan acute angleaof substantially45 , while roll 10forms with the other rolls an angle p of substantially 90 .

The bars 8 are each around rod of a few millimetres diameter made of a hard chromium plated material attached to a stiffening plate or sheet metal plate 9.

The use of these small diameter bars causes the belt, during running,todetachslightlyfromthem when itfolds to change direction, so as to avoid seizing orjamming on the bars.

The chromium plating ofthe bars reduces almost totally friction due to the running of the belt thereover.

Preferably, the feed bench of the invention is the end portion of a feed bench arrangement formed by a piurality of conveying belts arranged in succession, each actuated by an independent permanent magnet motor so that it is possible to vary and adjustthe speed of each belt independently from thatofthe others, to give the articles being fed such acceleration ordeceieration asto bring the speed thereof to that of the main conveyor belt on to which theyareto befed.

The use of a permanent magnet d.c. motor enables the particular beneficial acceleration and speed control characteristics of this type of motor to be employed. The shaft ofthe tensioning roll 4 is hinged at one end to a fixed point and, atthe other end, is fixed to an electric linear actuator 5 which controls the position of the roll axis. This actuator 5 operates when the belt is at a standstill at the end of a work period and when after subsequent overheating, some swelling or stretching mayform in the belt, especially at the areas of reversal of direction in contact with the bars 8. The actuator, displaces the roll 14 sufficiently to retension the belt, to take up stretch and relieve the swelling.

Centering adjusting means 11, on the other hand, serves to return the belt to the correct work position after its position has shifted, by varying the relative position of the roll 10.

In the feed bench ofthe invention it is sufficient to varythe angle of bars8 and, consèquentlyof roll 10, to allowthefeed bench to be set up in the most opportune direction relative to the main conveyor belt.

This allows articles to be fed from the feed bench onto the main conveyor belt in a direction not very removed from that ofthe main conveyor belt, thus allowing the whole apparatus to be operated at a higher speed.

Claims

1. Afeed bench forfeeding articles on to a main conveyor belt at an angle to the direction of movement ofthe main conveyor belt, including a rotatable continuous belt mounted on and passing over a first group of rolls having parallel axes, a second roll forming with said first group rolls an angle panda pair offixed bars forming with said first rolls an angle of smallerthan p.

2. Afeed bench according to claim 1,wherein the first group of rolls includes a driving roll operated by a permanent magnet d.c. motor, a tensioning (stretching) roll provided with a linear electric actuatorforadjusting the position offree end ofthe tensioning roll, and an Idle roll.

3. Afeed bench according to ciaim 2, wherein the idle roll has a small diameter, in order to allowthe belt passing overthe idle roll, to be located close to the end of a feeder convey belt, with little discontinuity of run from the feeder conveyor beltto the feed bench belt.

4. Afeed belt according to anyone of claims 1 to 3, wherein each fixed bar is a small diameter chromium plated,fixed to a sheet metal or other stiffening support.

5. Afeed bench according to any one of claims 1 to 4, including means, associated with the second roll for adjustable centering ofthe belt.

6. Afeed bench according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the angle a is substantially 45Q and the angle pls substantially 90".

7. Afeed bench for feeding articles on to a main conveyor belt from a feeder conveyor belt at an acute angletothe main conveyor belt, including a rotatable continuous belt, a first group of laterally spaced rotatable rolls having substantially parallel axes around which the belt is passed in an at least serpentine manner to provide two superimposed, spaced apart oppositely movable runs, with one of the rolls in said fist group being locatable parallel and adjacent to the discharge end of a feeder conveyor belt to enable the belt passing over said one of the rolls to receive articles therefrom, a pair of laterally spaced fixed bars parallel to one another and making an acute angle of with the axes ofthefirst group of rolls, around which pair of bars the two runs of the belt are passed and turned laterally inwardly of themselves at an angle to allow the belt passing around the bars to be located adjacent and substantially parallel to a main conveyor belt lateral edge to feed articles thereon, and a lateral rotatable roll whose longitudinal axis is at an angle p greater than ato the first group roll axes and around which the turned runs of the belt passes.

8. Afeed benchforfeeding articles on to a main conveyor belt, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.