U.S. patent number 3,929,078 [Application Number 05/475,954] was granted by the patent office on 1975-12-30 for drop finger conveyor, hanger and method.
Invention is credited to Richard J. Sears.
United States Patent |
3,929,078 |
Sears |
December 30, 1975 |
Drop finger conveyor, hanger and method
Abstract
A unique drop finger conveyor, hanger and method of assembling
the same wherein a supporting beam has a drop finger conveyor chain
running longitudinally spaced therebelow on guides supported by a
drop finger which is attached to the underside of the beam and
carries a trolley track. The hanger has a track-supporting leg
depending from a horizontal head plate extending across and under
the supporting beam and secured thereto by attaching clips. At one
side of the conveyor chain, the guide therefor is mounted directly
on the hanger leg. At the opposite side of the chain, the chain
guide is mounted on a bracket provided separate from the head plate
and fastened by means of securing screws to the head plate. Thereby
the hanger is adapted to be installed by inserting the head plate
into position between the beam and the conveyor chain and its
guides without dismantling the chain or the guides, and the bracket
thereafter secured in place on the head plate and in mounted
relation to the chain guide.
Inventors: |
Sears; Richard J. (Elk Grove
Village, IL) |
Family
ID: |
23889882 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/475,954 |
Filed: |
June 3, 1974 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
104/111; 16/94R;
104/93; 104/110; 248/228.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65G
9/008 (20130101); Y10T 16/373 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
B65G
9/00 (20060101); E01B 025/24 () |
Field of
Search: |
;104/89,91,93,106,110,111,115,172S,94,95,107,109,172C
;16/87R,94R,90 ;105/155 ;248/72,200,228,323 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Wood, Jr.; M. Henson
Assistant Examiner: Reese; Randolph A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hill, Gross, Simpson, Van Santen,
Steadman, Chiara & Simpson
Claims
I claim as my invention:
1. In a drop finger conveyor assembly including a supporting beam,
a drop finger conveyor chain disposed to run longitudinally in
limited spaced relation below the beam, horizontally spaced
longitudinally extending track means supporting and guiding the
conveyor chain, therebetween, a longitudinal track rail
substantially spaced below the chain and the track means, and means
for attaching a hanger to said beam, the improvement
comprising:
a hanger having a track rail supporting leg depending from one end
portion of a horizontal head plate thinner than the width of the
space between the beam and the chain and track means and extending
across and under the beam and secured thereto by said attaching
means, an opposite end portion of the head plate being free from
any obstruction which would interfere with moving said opposite end
of the plate into position under the beam by passing it freely
through the space between the beam and said chain and track
means;
means securing the rail to a lower portion of said leg;
means on an upper portion of said leg mounting the chain guiding
track means at one side of the conveyor chain;
a bracket provided separate from said plate and mounting the chain
guiding track means at the opposite side of the chain;
and securing means fastening the bracket to said opposite end
portion of the head plate; whereby the hanger is adapted to be
installed by inserting said head plate into position between said
beam and the conveyor chain and then attached to the beam without
dismantling the chain or the guiding means, and the bracket is
adapted to be thereafter secured in place on the installed head
plate and in mounting relation to the chain guiding means.
2. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein said securing means
includes a bolt comprising part of said attaching means.
3. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein said securing means
comprise screws clamping the bracket to said head plate
supplemental to said bolt.
4. An assembly according to claim 3, wherein said bolt has its head
engaging the bracket and the shank of the bolt extending upwardly
and provided with a fastening nut engaging a clamp resting in part
on the head plate and clampingly engaging a flange of the beam
against which the head plate engages, and said screws having heads
engaging said head plate under said clamp and shank extending
downwardly through the head plate and the bracket and having
attaching nuts on lower portions of the screw shanks which depend
below the bracket.
5. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein said bracket is of
generally L-shape having a horizontal flange engaging said head
plate, and a depending flange having thereon a guide track means
mounting lug.
6. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein said head plate
comprises a steel member and said leg comprises a steel member,
said leg having an upper end welded to the head plate, said means
on the leg mounting the chain guide means comprising a steel lug
welded to the leg, said bracket being a steel member, and a steel
guide means mounting leg welded to the bracket.
7. A hanger for use in a drop finger conveyor assembly including a
supporting beam, a drop finger conveyor chain running
longitudinally spaced below the beam, spaced track means for
guiding the conveyor chain therebetween, a trolley track rail, and
means for attaching a hanger to said beam, the hanger
comprising:
a track-supporting leg depending from a horizontal head plate
adapted to extend across and under the supporting beam so as to be
secured thereto by said attaching means;
means on said leg for mounting the chain guiding track means at one
side of the conveyor chain;
a bracket provided separate from said head plate and adapted for
mounting the chain guiding track means at the opposite side of the
chain;
and securing means for fastening the bracket to said head
plate;
whereby the hanger is adapted to be installed by inserting said
head plate into position between the beam and the conveyor chain
and attached to the beam without dismantling the chain or the
guiding means, whereafter the bracket is adapted to be secured in
place on the installed head plate and in mounting relation to the
chain guiding means.
8. An assembly according to claim 7, wherein said securing means
includes a bolt comprising part of said attaching means.
9. An assembly according to claim 8, wherein said securing means
comprise screws clamping the bracket to said head plate
supplemental to said bolt.
10. An assembly according to claim 9, wherein said bolt has its
head engaging the bracket and the shank of the bolt extending
upwardly and provided with a fastening nut engaging a clamp resting
in part on the head plate and clampingly engaging a flange of the
beam against which the head plate engages, and said screws having
heads engaging said head plate under said clamp and shanks
extending downwardly through the head plate and the bracket and
having attaching nuts securing the screws on lower portions of the
screw shanks below the bracket.
11. An assembly according to claim 7, wherein said bracket is of
generally L-shape having a horizontal flange engaging said head
plate, and a depending flange having thereon a guide track means
mounting lug.
12. A hanger according to claim 7, wherein said head plate
comprises a steel member and said leg comprises a steel member,
said leg having an upper end welded to the head plate, said means
on the leg mounting the chain guide means comprising a steel lug
welded to the leg, said bracket being a steel member, and a steel
guide means mounting lug welded to the bracket.
13. A method of installing a hanger in a drop finger conveyor
assembly including a supporting beam, a drop finger conveyor chain
running longitudinally spaced below the beam, spaced track means
for guiding the conveyor chain, a trolley track rail, and means for
attaching a hanger to said beam, the steps comprising:
installing a horizontal head plate of a hanger across and under the
supporting beam and attaching it to the beam by said attaching
means;
effecting support of the track by a leg depending from said
horizontal head plate;
mounting the chain guide means at one side of the conveyor chain on
said leg;
and after the head plate has been installed, securing a separately
formed bracket to the head plate and mounting the chain guide means
at the opposite side of the chain on said bracket.
14. A method according to claim 13, wherein said bracket comprises
an L-shaped member having a horizontal flange and a depending
flange equipped with a chain guide channel mounting lug, comprising
moving the bracket laterally into position with said horizontal
flange parallel under the head plate until said lug engages in the
guide channel, and then securing said horizontal flange to the head
plate.
15. A method according to claim 13, comprising fabricating said
head plate from a piece of flat steel, forming said leg from an
elongated piece of steel, welding an upper end of the leg to the
underside of one end portion of said plate, forming said bracket to
provide a horizontal flange and a depending flange, securing said
horizontal flange to the underside of the opposite end portion of
said plate, and mounting said chain guiding means on the depending
flange of the bracket.
Description
This invention relates to drop finger conveyor, hanger and method
especially suitable for heavy-duty conveyor systems, such as are
used in slaughter-houses and meat packing plants.
Drop finger conveyors are widely used in slaughter-houses and meat
packing plants for conveying carcasses. For this purpose, the
conveyor assemblies are of a rugged construction to carry heavy
loads. A common configuration of such conveyors includes a
supporting beam structure with drop finger conveyor chain running
longitudinally spaced below the beams, chain guides supported by a
hanger secured by clips to the underside of the supporting beam,
and a track carried by the hangers on which carcass-supporting
trolleys run propelled by the drop fingers of the conveyor. In a
typical arrangement, the hangers are mounted at about two-foot
intervals along the supporting beam. Heretofore, the hangers have
always, so far as I am aware, been constructed as one-piece cast
iron members, such that the trolley track-supporting leg, the head
plate and the chain-guiding channel mounting lugs have all been
made in one solid piece. Such a construction is excellent for new
installations. However, when a hanger breaks, which occurs with
sufficient frequency to be a major maintenance problem, replacement
of a hanger requires long shut-down of the conveyor and consumes
much labor. To replace even one hanger may take two workmen as much
as four hours. This comes about because in order to install a
replacement hanger, the chain and the chain guides must be
dismantled sufficiently to permit the mounting lug structure at the
opposite side of the hanger from the trolley track carrying leg to
clear the chain and chain guides during mounting of the replacement
hanger. It is to the alleviation of this problem that the present
invention is particularly directed.
An important object of the present invention is to provide a drop
finger conveyor assembly having a new and improved hanger
structure.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved
hanger structure for drop finger conveyor assemblies which will
enable quick hanger replacements to be made.
A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved
drop finger conveyor hanger which can be installed rapidly without
dismantling the drop finger conveyor chain or the chain guides of
the conveyor assembly.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and
improved method of assembling hangers in drop finger conveyor
constructions.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be
readily apparent from the following description of a preferred
embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying
sheet of drawings, although variations and modifications may be
effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel
concepts of the disclosure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a drop finger conveyor
assembly embodying features of the invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional and
elevational view taken substantially along the line II--II of FIG.
1;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary exploded assembly view showing important
features of the invention; and
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional elevational view taken
substantially along the line IV--IV of FIG. 2.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In a typical drop finger conveyor assembly embodying features of
the invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a generally horizontal
supporting beam 5 of I-beam shape has an upper flange 7 by which
the beam is adapted to be secured to a suitable supporting frame or
ceiling in a slaughter-house, packing house, and the like, where
the conveyor is used in a handling system, such as for transporting
animal carcasses. On its lower side, the beam 5 has a horizontal
supporting flange 8 with which are engageable means in the form of
clips or clamps 9 for attaching a hanger 10 to the beam. One
function of the hanger 10 is to support a drop finger conveyor
chain 11 to run longitudinally in limited spaced relation below the
beam 5 on and between guide means in the form of a pair of
horizontally spaced parallel tracks 12. Another function of the
hanger 10 is to support, in substantially spaced relation below the
chain 11 and the tracks 12, a trolley track rail 13 on which
load-supporting carriers or trolleys 14, one of which is
exemplified in FIG. 1, are adapted to run. Each trolley 14 has a
trolley wheel 15 engaging on the rail 13 and an upwardly extending
head 17 which is engageable by one of a series of depending drop
fingers 18 carried at suitable intervals by the conveyor chain 11.
Thereby the trolley 14 and a load which may be carried by a
depending hook 19 on the trolley are moved along the rail 13. A
trolley guide buffer strip 20 is desirably carried by and between
the hangers 10 generally co-extensively with the rail 13. It will
be understood, of course, that the length of the conveyor assembly
will be as required and that as many of the hangers 10 will be
employed therealong as necessary to accommodate load requirements
for the system. In a typical installation, the hangers 10 may be
placed at about two-foot intervals.
According to the present invention, the hanger 10 is constructed
and arranged to adapt it to be installed in the conveyor assembly,
either as original equipment or as a replacement, and the structure
of the hanger is especially suitable for replacement purposes
without requiring any dismantling of the conveyor chain 11, the
conveyor guides 12, the rail 13 or the trolley guide 20. To this
end, the hanger 10 comprises a track-supporting leg 21 depending
from a horizontal head plate 22 which is thinner than the width of
the limited space between the beam flange 8 and the chain 11 and
the tracks 12 and in the assembly extends across and under the
supporting beam and is secured thereto in flat face-to-face
abutment with the underside of the flange 8 by the clamps 9
fastened as by means of bolts 23 extending through respective
opposite end portions of the plate 22 which project a sufficient
distance beyond the opposite edges of the beam flange 8 for this
purpose. For mounting one of the rails 12, the leg 21 depends from
one end portion of the plate 22 along the outer side of the
associated rail 12 which is in the form of a channel to receive
carrying means in the form of a rugged lug 24 on the leg and to
which the rail is secured as by means of one or more, and
preferably two, screws 25. An intermediate lower portion of the leg
21 below the drop fingers 18 carries the trolley guide 20 secured
thereto as by means of screws 27. Therebelow, the hanger leg 21 has
an integral rail seat portion 28 offset into generally underlying
relation to the chain 11 to support the rail 13 substantially
centered below the conveyor chain. Means, such as a screw 29,
secure the rail 13 to the seat 28.
In order to adapt the hanger 10 for replacement installation in the
conveyor assembly, the head plate 22 on its opposite end portion
from the leg 21 is initially flat and free from any obstruction to
movement into position through the limited space between the beam
flange 8 and the conveyor chain 11 and the chain guides 12. After
the head plate 22 has been thus moved into operative supporting
relation to the associated chain guide 12, the trolley guide 20 and
the trolley rail 13, a chain guide supporting bracket 30, which is
provided separate from the head plate 22, is secured in place for
mounting the chain guide 12 on the opposite side of the chain 11
from the leg 21. For this purpose, the bracket 30 is of generally
L-shape, having a horizontal flange 31 which engages the lower flat
face of the adjacent end portion of the head plate 22 and to which
the flange 31 is secured by means of a pair of machine screws 32
extending vertically through aligned screw holes 33 and 34 at the
respective opposite sides of the plate 22 and the flange 31 so as
to place the screws 32 in clearance relation to the associated
clamp securing bolt 23. In a preferred arrangement, the bolt 23 has
its head on its lower end engaging against the flange 31 and with
its shank extending upwardly successively through a generally
centered hole 35 in the flange 31, an aligned hole 37 in the plate
22 and an aligned hole 38 in the clamp 9, with a nut 39 on the bolt
accessible at the top of the clamp 9 for tightening the bolt. On
the other hand, the screws 32 have their heads on top of the plate
22 under the clamp 9 in non-turning engagement with the beam flange
8 or the fulcrum lug of the clamp 9, or both, and with the lower
ends of the screw shanks extending below the flange 31 and carrying
respective nuts 40, tightened against respective lock washers 41,
thereby clamped by the nuts against the underside of the flange 31
for tightly securing the flange 31, and thereby the bracket 30 in
cooperation with the bolt 23 securely onto the head plate 22.
On its inner end, the bracket 30 has a depending flange 42 provided
with a lug 43 engaging within the channel of the associated chain
guide 12, the same as the leg lug 24. Securing means comprising a
pair of screws 44 secure the associated chain guide 12 fixedly to
the lug 43.
In a preferred construction, the hanger 10 is constructed from
steel, thereby providing a stronger structure than can be attained
by making the same from cast iron. In addition, steel may be more
readily available than castings for various reasons, among which
may be mentioned, the environmental clean air requirements which
strongly militate against foundry practices where cast iron parts
are generally produced. In producing the hanger 10 from steel, the
hanger leg 21 is formed as one piece to which the lug 24 formed as
another piece is welded and the upper end of the leg is welded to
the head plate 22 thereby uniting these parts into an integral
unit. The bracket 30 is formed as a separate piece and is
preferably separably secured to the head plate 22 by means of the
associated bolt 23 and the screws 32. The lug 43 is secured as by
welding to the flange 42 of the bracket 30.
Installation of the hanger 10 is, as has already been indicated,
easily effected simply by inserting the head plate 22 into position
between the beam flange 8 and the conveyor chain 11 without
dismounting the chain 11 or the guides 12, or the track 13 or the
guide 20. As a preliminary attachment after the head plate 22 has
been moved into position, the clamp 9 at the leg end of the plate
22 may be at least preliminarily secured by its bolt 23, the lug 24
secured to its chain guide 12, the track 13 secured to the seat 28
and the guide 20 secured to the leg 21. At any time after the head
plate 22 has been moved into position, the separately formed
bracket 30 may be assembled therewith by moving the bracket into
position as shown on comparison with the full and dash line
positions in FIG. 3, and secured in place by means of the bolt 23
and the screws 32, and the lug 43 secured to the associated guide
12 by the screws 44. All of this can be accomplshed in a few
minutes by one or more workmen, thus greatly minimizing conveyor
down time as compared to prior practice where the chain guide
mounting lugs are provided in a one-piece hanger structure. The
economic advantages of the present invention are, therefore, quite
evident.
It will be understood that variations and modifications may be
effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel
concepts of this invention.
* * * * *