Patent US3565267A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3565267A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Conveying and storage apparatus
Assignee: Individual
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Filing: 1967-12-06
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Granted: 1971-02-23
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Expires: 1987-12-06
Abstract
Abstract An article storage apparatus having one or more elongated lanes defined between rows of vertical posts with pairs of horizontal side rails vertically spaced in each lane and fastened to the posts. On each rail is a row of load rollers having central peripheral grooves receiving the active runs of a cable conveyor comprising an endless cable trained around supporting pulleys located at both ends of each rail. The pulleys are disposed outside the rails, and guide wheels in out-of-the-way positions lead the cable outwardly onto the pulleys, back inwardly into the lane, and, at one end, cause the cable to cross over so that one endless cable forms both active runs for positive correlation of movement. The pulleys for adjacent lanes are mounted side by side in the walls between the lanes, and are provided with coaxial gears exposed at the ends of each wall for driving engagement with pinions on a forklift truck for loading and operating the conveyors. The forklift has an auxiliary belt conveyor for assisting the cable conveyor, and a latch is provided to anchor the truck in place.
Inventors
- 👤 Wallace H Jerome
- 👤 Melvin J Jensen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 23:17
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65G; B65G1/00; B65G1/02; B65G1/04; B65G1/06
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
258 words
In a conveying and storage apparatus, the combination of, a plurality of parAllel rows of vertical posts forming a plurality of elongated lanes between adjacent rows of posts, a plurality of vertically spaced pairs of horizontal rails in each of said lanes, the rails of each pair being fastened to the adjacent sides of two rows of posts level with each other and defining walls of predetermined width between adjacent lanes with spaces between adjacent rails, each of said rails being J-shaped in transverse cross section including a vertical sideplate fastened to a row of posts, an inwardly turned portion, and an upturned flange forming a channel, a row of load rollers on each rail having an axle spanning said sideplate and said flange, the roller being supported on the axle inside said flange and having a peripheral groove, an elongated conveyor for each pair of rails including an endless cable having active runs overlying the two rolls of rollers and received in said grooves, supporting pulleys at the opposite ends of each of said runs offset outwardly therefrom and disposed outside the plane of the associated sideplate, means guiding said cable outwardly from said active runs to pass around said pulleys and then back inwardly inside said sideplates to pass along the latter below the top edges of said flanges, said cable having two crossover runs traversing said lane at one end thereof, and mechanism at least at one end of each conveyor for driving the latter and thereby advancing said active runs simultaneously in one direction.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
258 words
In a conveying and storage apparatus, the combination of, a plurality of parAllel rows of vertical posts forming a plurality of elongated lanes between adjacent rows of posts, a plurality of vertically spaced pairs of horizontal rails in each of said lanes, the rails of each pair being fastened to the adjacent sides of two rows of posts level with each other and defining walls of predetermined width between adjacent lanes with spaces between adjacent rails, each of said rails being J-shaped in transverse cross section including a vertical sideplate fastened to a row of posts, an inwardly turned portion, and an upturned flange forming a channel, a row of load rollers on each rail having an axle spanning said sideplate and said flange, the roller being supported on the axle inside said flange and having a peripheral groove, an elongated conveyor for each pair of rails including an endless cable having active runs overlying the two rolls of rollers and received in said grooves, supporting pulleys at the opposite ends of each of said runs offset outwardly therefrom and disposed outside the plane of the associated sideplate, means guiding said cable outwardly from said active runs to pass around said pulleys and then back inwardly inside said sideplates to pass along the latter below the top edges of said flanges, said cable having two crossover runs traversing said lane at one end thereof, and mechanism at least at one end of each conveyor for driving the latter and thereby advancing said active runs simultaneously in one direction.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
A conveying and storage apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which each of said conveyors has driving mechanism at both ends for selectively operating the conveyor in either direction.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
204 words
In a conveying and storage apparatus, the combination of, a plurality of rows of upright posts forming a plurality of elongated lanes between adjacent rows of posts, a plurality of vertically spaced pairs of elongated rails in each of said lanes, the rails of each of said pairs being level with each other and mounted on the adjacent sides of the posts forming the lane thereby defining walls of predetermined width between adjacent lanes with spaces between the rails on each row of posts, a row of load rollers journaled on each of said rails and projecting into one of said lanes level with the row of rollers on the associated rail and spaced therefrom to leave the central portion of each lane open, an elongated endless conveyor for each pair of rails including upper active runs extending longitudinally of said lanes along the tops of said rows of rollers, supporting wheels for said conveyors adjacent the ends of said rails including pulleys disposed in said walls between the rails of adjacent lanes, first means guiding said upper active runs laterally out of the lanes and onto said pulleys, and means for driving each conveyor to advance said runs thereof simultaneously in one direction.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
204 words
In a conveying and storage apparatus, the combination of, a plurality of rows of upright posts forming a plurality of elongated lanes between adjacent rows of posts, a plurality of vertically spaced pairs of elongated rails in each of said lanes, the rails of each of said pairs being level with each other and mounted on the adjacent sides of the posts forming the lane thereby defining walls of predetermined width between adjacent lanes with spaces between the rails on each row of posts, a row of load rollers journaled on each of said rails and projecting into one of said lanes level with the row of rollers on the associated rail and spaced therefrom to leave the central portion of each lane open, an elongated endless conveyor for each pair of rails including upper active runs extending longitudinally of said lanes along the tops of said rows of rollers, supporting wheels for said conveyors adjacent the ends of said rails including pulleys disposed in said walls between the rails of adjacent lanes, first means guiding said upper active runs laterally out of the lanes and onto said pulleys, and means for driving each conveyor to advance said runs thereof simultaneously in one direction.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
45 words
A conveying and storage apparatus as defined in claim 3 in which the pulleys for adjacent lanes are disposed side by side within said walls, the pulleys for one lane occupying not more than one-half of the lateral width of the space within the walls.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
50 words
A conveying and storage apparatus as defined in claim 3 in which said conveyor runs are integrally joined into a single endless conveyor cable, and including additional means guiding said cable to cross over from one side of said lane to the other whereby both active runs must move together.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
74 words
A conveying and storage apparatus as defined in claim 5 in which said first and additional guiding means comprise guide wheels supported in positions removed from the portions of the lane bounded on the sides by a pair of side rails, on the top by the undersides of two rows of rollers, and on the bottom by the next lower rows of rollers, thereby leaving such space available for full utilization as storage space.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
36 words
A conveying and storage apparatus as defined in claim 3 further including drivable means attached to at least one of said pulleys for each conveyor, said drivable means being located at one enD of the lane.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
53 words
A conveying and storage apparatus as defined in claim 3 in which at least one pulley for each of said conveyors is drivingly associated with a drive gear, said drive gears being exposed for meshing engagement with an outside power source at the end of the associated lane thereby to drive said conveyors.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
37 words
A conveying and storage apparatus as defined in claim 8 in which pulleys at both ends of each conveyor are drivingly associated with exposed drive gears whereby each conveyor is selectively operable from either of its ends.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
29 words
A conveying and storage apparatus as defined in claim 3 in which said driving means include mechanism accessible from both ends of each conveyor for selectively driving the conveyor.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
190 words
In a conveying and storage apparatus, the combination of, a plurality of rows of upright posts forming a plurality of elongated lanes between adjacent rows of posts, and a plurality of vertically spaced storage zones in each of said lanes, each storage zone comprising a pair of elongated horizontal rails level with each other and fastened to the adjacent sides of the posts defining the lane, a row of horizontal rollers journaled on each of said rails level with and spaced laterally from the rollers on the other rail to leave a passageway through the central portion of the zone, each roller having a peripheral groove longitudinally aligned with the grooves in the remaining rollers on the rail, an endless cable, an active run of said cable extending along the top of each row of rollers in said grooves and projecting above the rollers for engagement with articles to be conveyed and stored, a return run of said cable for each active run spaced below the latter, and supporting and driving means for said runs disposed between the planes of the opposite sides of the posts in each row thereof.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
190 words
In a conveying and storage apparatus, the combination of, a plurality of rows of upright posts forming a plurality of elongated lanes between adjacent rows of posts, and a plurality of vertically spaced storage zones in each of said lanes, each storage zone comprising a pair of elongated horizontal rails level with each other and fastened to the adjacent sides of the posts defining the lane, a row of horizontal rollers journaled on each of said rails level with and spaced laterally from the rollers on the other rail to leave a passageway through the central portion of the zone, each roller having a peripheral groove longitudinally aligned with the grooves in the remaining rollers on the rail, an endless cable, an active run of said cable extending along the top of each row of rollers in said grooves and projecting above the rollers for engagement with articles to be conveyed and stored, a return run of said cable for each active run spaced below the latter, and supporting and driving means for said runs disposed between the planes of the opposite sides of the posts in each row thereof.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
56 words
A conveying and storage apparatus as defined in claim 11 further including guide means leading the cable runs laterally outwardly for engagement with said supporting and driving means between said planes, said guide means being disposed substantially in vertical alignment with said rows of rollers thereby to occupy only space that is required for said rollers.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1974-02-22 | 1974-08-24 | 1975-02-23 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-02-22 | 1978-08-24 | 1979-02-23 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-02-22 | 1982-08-24 | 1983-02-23 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |