Hk Systems, Inc.

Western Atlas Inc.

The E. W. Buschman Company

Litton Industrial Automation Systems, Inc.

The Buschman Company

John J Wilkins

Martin A Heit

Walter L Steffens

William C Rau

Robert K Vogt

Thomas C Yu

Timothy A Koeninger

Randall P Coons

Joseph F Franklin

Cynthia E Reinhardt

John D Perez

John E O'Brien

Paul A Davis

Phillip W Edwards

Antonio Martinez

M Horace Lee

An article turner assembly for use with an article handling system such as a palletizer. The article turner assembly selectively turns articles conveyed in a single lane along a particular path so that each article may be turned or not as it is conveyed along that path. The article turner assembly includes a conveyor mechanism, an article turner, and a selector mechanism that acts on either the article turner itself, the conveyed articles, or both. The article turner is designed so that articles are turned without impact against their front or side surfaces or a reduction in their speed. The article turner includes two or more adjacent conveyors, which are run with a speed differential to turn articles. The orientation of and spacing between the conveyors can be adjusted to accommodate articles of different sizes and/or weights. The article turner assembly is well-suited for use with high speed palletizers because it can help form patterns of virtually any desired configuration at very high speeds.

Apparatus for the in-line turning of selected articles

A diverter is capable of selectively and alternatively operating in an in-line mode in which it conveys articles along a primary conveyor and in a diverting mode in which it swivels and pops-up to smoothly ramp articles vertically from the primary conveyor and to divert the articles at an angle from the primary conveyor and onto a secondary conveyor or the like. In addition to popping-up and swiveling, the diverter helps to turn the diverted article onto the secondary conveyor by conveying one side of the article faster than the other side. The diverter includes a plurality of laterally spaced diverter wheel assemblies each of which can be swiveled from an in-line orientation to a skewed orientation. The outer peripheral surfaces of the diverter wheels run at the primary conveyor's in-line speed when the diverter wheels are in their in-line orientation and change speeds when the diverter wheels swivel to their skewed orientation so that their speeds increase progressively from wheel-to-wheel as one moves laterally across the diverter to create a speed differential across the primary conveyor. Speed changeover is effected via a multi-grooved spool coupled to the diverter wheel by an O-ring belt. Diverter wheel swiveling causes the belt to twist and to traverse a generally helical or flattened-S-shaped crossover groove forward in a flange separating the adjacent pulley grooves of the spool. The spools and diverter wheel assemblies move together during a pop-up operation to reduce belt stretching.

Conveyor assembly incorporating a pop-up swivel wheel diverter

A zero-pressure accumulating conveyor including a bed defined by rotatable rollers mounted in parallel sidewalls and powered by an endless drive chain. Pneumatic actuators lift the drive chain into engagement with the rollers to empower same. Sensor rollers divide the bed into distinct zones. Sensor rollers are retained in operative position relative to the conveyor bed by unique sensor brackets. A primary sensor roller bracket includes a bore with a piston movable there within; the cooperating secondary sensor roller bracket is spring biased in a first direction. Valves, and pneumatic circuitry controlled by such valves, extend along the length of the conveyor. Such valves are operated by the primary sensor roller brackets to regulate the flow of air pressure into the bores of the brackets and into the actuators. The actuators, when the pressure therein is bled-off, allow the chain in a particular zone to drop out of contact with the rotatable rollers. When the bore in the primary sensor roller bracket is pressurized, the bracket moves in an arc that forces the sensor roller below the plane of the conveyor. In such position, the sensor roller is not actuated as items travel thereover, and the life of the accumulating conveyor is significantly extended.

Zero pressure accumulation conveyor

A palletizer has an improved slide plate assembly and an improved indexing hoist. The slide plate assembly incorporates measures to reduce friction between it and the bags or other articles being handled by it. The orientation of the slide plates of the assembly are altered ninety degrees with respect to traditional slide plate orientation to eliminate the deadplate encountered by articles sliding along the slide plates. An air assist mechanism also is incorporated into the slide plate assembly to produce an air cushion between the articles and the top surface of the slide plates. The hoist, which is designed to index upwardly after receiving a layer of articles to compress that layer against the bottom surface of the slide plate assembly to flatten the articles and to force air out of them, incorporates an improved controller that causes the hoist to assuredly impart the desired compressive force to the articles without over-compressing the articles or overloading the hoist's lift motor.

Palletizer with air assisted slide plate assembly and indexing pallet

A slat sorter having a series of platens slidably mounted on an array of slats driven by an endless chain with each platen having a diverter pin for enabling it to be diverted between a straight-through track and at least one divert track. A switch having an elongated arm having a pivot end and a tip opposite and upstream the pivot end which is urged by a prime mover, that preferably is a limited angle torque electric motor, between a straight-through position directing a diverter pin to travel along the straight-through track and a divert position directing the diverter pin to travel along the divert track. The arm has a cutout which allows the arm to be urged from one position to the another position before the diverter pin is completely downstream and cleared of the arm. Operably associated with the arm is a brake for enabling the arm to be urged toward either the straight-through or divert position by an oncoming divert pin to prevent the divert pin from colliding head-on with the arm. Each slat is adjacent a wheel-like bearing on a track of the sorter with the bearing being attached to a boss extending outwardly from the slat. The boss is part of a bushing pressed into the end of the slat which accepts a ball detent pin that can be withdrawn from the bushing and boss to permit removal of the slat.

Slat sorter

A linear actuator divert switch, a limited angle motor driven divert switch and a limited angle motor driven cross-over switch are provided for sortation conveyors. In addition conveying members of inverted substantially 'U' shaped having spaced relatively hollow legs spanned by a bridge that is either hollow or not are also provided for sortation conveyors. A package diverter is formed with a cavity extending therethrough to surround the conveying member and so as to carry a divert/guide pin and cam follower part of which is disposed in the space between the conveying member legs to provide a relatively high positioning for divert/guide pin and cam follower with respect to the conveying members. Special lands extend out from the walls of the cavity to cock each package diverter on its conveying members in the direction of conveyor movement. The divert/guide pins are formed with a generally football shaped cross-sectional configuration to facilitate passage thereof through the various switches.

Sortation conveyor and devices

A sortation conveyor includes elongated slats, of rectangular configuration, travelling in pairs along an endless path. The conveyor is characterized by unique diverters, and mounting assemblies therefor. The diverters are formed of a durable plastic, with an additive for lubricity. The additional lubricity allows the bearing surfaces of the diverter to slide laterally along the adjacent pair of slats, with reduced friction. A metal I-beam insert strengthens the web of the diverter, while reducing the thickness thereof; the reduced thickness allows the web of the diverter to pass easily between adjacent pairs of slats. The diverter pin has flat sides, in horizontal cross-section, for cooperation with pin guides and switches. Two urethane blocks fill the hollow shell at the upper end of the diverter, and the protruding edges of the blocks are angled to impart a downward force to a package striking same. The sides of the web are angled to lift, and sweep out, debris that may fall into the narrow gap defined between adjacent slats of each pair. The leading edge of the diverter is curved downwardly to prevent thin parcels, such as envelopes, from slipping thereunder. End caps are bolted into engagement with central apertures in each slat of a pair of slats, and the heads of the bolts are received in slots in a side carriage plate. The carriage plate is secured, in turn, to one of the endless drive chains that advances the sortation conveyor along its path of travel. The bolts enable the quick assembly, and disassembly, of the mounting assembly, so that the slats and diverters can be repaired and/or replaced, as needed, with simple manual tools.

Sortation conveyor

A slat sorter includes a plurality of platens each supported by two slats. The slats are driven by hollow pin chain and are fastened to the chain by a ball detent pin which passes through the hollow pin of the chain into the slat end. The head of each ball detent pin acts as a bearing surface against a wear strip which confines lateral motion of the slats. The divert switches in the sorter use a switch arm driven by a motor. The arm is configured to allow rapid switching and a brake on the motor prevents rotation of the motor in the event of power failure to prevent the arm from drifting into an intermediate, potential crash, position.

Drive chain for accumulation conveyor

In a package sortation conveyor comprising an endless apron supported for movement on a frame defining a main line and one or more side outlets therefrom, and a plurality of pusher elements mounted for sliding movement on the apron from one side thereof to the other to push a package through one of the side outlets, each pusher element has a guide pin depending therefrom and an anti-friction bearing on the upper part of the guide pin for cooperation with a switching mechanism and a camming bar in such manner that when a pusher element is diverted from its rest position at one side of the apron, the bearing thereon will engage the camming bar during the balance of its travel across the apron. In addition, special guide members are provided for preventing any incompletely diverted pusher element from jamming against a stationary part of the conveyor and for preventing any pusher element from jamming against a package which has been held against forward movement on the apron.

Package sortation conveyor

A live roller accumulator conveyor has a plurality of zones between its inlet and discharge ends which are arranged in groups. Each zone has a sensor which reacts to the presence of an article therein by deactuating the drive for the adjacent upstream zone in order to provide for accumulation of multiple articles on the conveyor. When the accumulated articles are to be discharged, however, these controls are overriden so that when the zone immediately downstream from a group of zones is cleared, the drives for all of the zones of the next upstream group are actuated simultaneously so that all of the group of articles accumulated therein advance in unison.

Accumulator conveyor

A drive wheel and sprocket assembly for use in the power transmission of a conveyor device such as a roller conveyor comprises a drive wheel which is mounted on the hub of a sprocket assembly. The drive wheel mounts the hub with a modified spline connection in which a plurality of radially overhanging teeth on the drive wheel are resiliently interlocked with shoulders formed in the assembly hub. In a preferred embodiment, the drive wheel is molded of polyurethane.

Growing community of inventors

Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

John J Wilkins