GB1072451A - Improvements relating to mechanical handling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

1,072,451. Discharging from endless conveyers. STEIN ATKINSON STORDY Ltd. March 26, 1964 [March 28, 1963], No. 11281/63 Heading B8A. An apparatus for pushing bottles from a supply conveyer 46 transversely on to an annealing furnace feed conveyer comprises a pair of parallel pusher bars 14, 15 arranged generally in end-to-end formation but laterally spaced apart, each bar being driven linearly in a direction transverse of its length from first to second positions and then lifted from its second and lowered into its first position. The pusher bars 14, 15 are pivotally mounted to the lower ends of pairs of links 16, 17 and 18, 19, the upper ends of which are secured to a main shaft 6 and two side shafts 12, 13. The three shafts 6, 12, 13 are coupled together by a yoke 20 which allows rotation of the shafts passing therethrough but prevents axial movement of the shafts relative to the yoke. The main shaft 6 is slidably mounted in bearings 4, 5 fitted into two parallel spaced-apart bridging pieces 2, 3 of the framework 1 of the apparatus. Both ends of the pieces 2, 3 carry freely rotatable pairs of rollers 8, 9 formed with grooves 11 so that each side shaft 12, 13 may be slidably supported therebetween at the end of each bridge piece 2, 3. The yoke 20 and hence bars 14, 15 are caused to reciprocate by cam driven pair of links 21, 23 pivotally fixed to the yoke 20 and to the framework at 24. A cam follower 26a on the lower end of link 23 is held in engagement with the cam 28 by a spring mechanism 32. The rear end 33 of the main shaft 6 is splined and carries a sprocket 34 which is mounted on the splines to be rotatable therewith but not axially movable therewith. One end 35 of a chain 36 is fitted to the sprocket 34 and the chain passes around the sprocket, over an idler 37 and has its other end connected via an adjuster 38 to one end of a horizontal lever 40, which has its other end pivoted to the frame 1. A cam follower 42 mounted intermediate the length of the lever 40 engages a cam 44 which is driven by a shaft 29 from which the cam 28 is driven. The shapes of the cams and drive arrangement to the sprocket 34 are such that for each revolution of the driving shaft 29, the shafts 6, 12, 13, with pusher bars 14, 15 are moved forwards, the main shaft 6 is rotated to swing the links 16, 17, 18, 19 and bars 14, 15 to an upper position, the shafts 6, 12, 13 are moved back to their original position and the shaft 6 is reversely rotated to return the pusher bars 14, 15 to their original position. In operation a gate (not shown) over the supply conveyer 46 upstream of the pusher bars 14, 15, is set so that a predetermined batch of bottles passes behind the upstream bar 14 and in front of the downstream bar 15 whereupon the gate position is altered to divert the next batch of bottles in front of the upstream bar 14. When this batch has passed, the gate is altered to its first position. When both bars 14, 15 have batches of bottles in front of them, the bars push them on to the furnace conveyer. A single pusher may replace the two pushers or the latter may be rigidly connected to form one pusher.