US3589497A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Means for spacing articles on a conveyor
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1969-04-17
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Granted: 1971-06-29
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Expires: 1989-04-17
Abstract
Abstract The present invention provides a process and apparatus for conveying individual articles along a path which changes substantially vertically from one elevation to another and at a high speed where desired, and also receiving articles random spaced and moving them into a uniform spacing pattern so that they can be accurately fed into a further moving operation in a different direction without ever being stopped or having the relative travel positions of the articles changed.
Inventors
- 👤 John M Leach
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 22:45
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65G; B65G47/00; B65G47/22; B65G47/26; B65G47/28; B65G17/00; B65G17/12; B65G17/123; B65G2201/00; B65G2201/02
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 7
Claim 1
Independent Claim
212 words
A conveying system comprising an article conveyor, means for driving said conveyor at a definite speed of movement, means for delivering articles to said conveyor with open spacings between them to provide access to the rear vertical surfaces thereof, an endless strand, means mounting said strand for movement parallel to and in the same direction as the movement of said conveyor, means for driving said strand at a higher speed of movement than said conveyor, a series of equally spaced-apart space pattern forming article pushers carried by said strand in position to contact articles on said conveyor, each of said article pushers comprising a spring biased depressible arm which will be depressed when an arm comes in contact with an article on said conveyor on any contactable surface thereof except the rear vertical surface, and will remain depressed until the arm moves out of contact with the slower moving article at which time said arm will move into position to contact the rear vertical surface of any uncontacted article immediately ahead of the article formerly contacted and move the said immediately ahead article at the speed of movement of said endless strand and in the space pattern formed by said pushers, and means for receiving space pattern conformed articles from said conveyor.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
212 words
A conveying system comprising an article conveyor, means for driving said conveyor at a definite speed of movement, means for delivering articles to said conveyor with open spacings between them to provide access to the rear vertical surfaces thereof, an endless strand, means mounting said strand for movement parallel to and in the same direction as the movement of said conveyor, means for driving said strand at a higher speed of movement than said conveyor, a series of equally spaced-apart space pattern forming article pushers carried by said strand in position to contact articles on said conveyor, each of said article pushers comprising a spring biased depressible arm which will be depressed when an arm comes in contact with an article on said conveyor on any contactable surface thereof except the rear vertical surface, and will remain depressed until the arm moves out of contact with the slower moving article at which time said arm will move into position to contact the rear vertical surface of any uncontacted article immediately ahead of the article formerly contacted and move the said immediately ahead article at the speed of movement of said endless strand and in the space pattern formed by said pushers, and means for receiving space pattern conformed articles from said conveyor.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
A conveyor system as specified in claim 1 in which the article conveyor comprises at least two parallel moving strands which support the articles.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
19 words
A conveyor system as specified in claim 2 in which the moving strand is positioned between the other strands.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
49 words
A conveying system as specified in claim 3 in which the spring biased arms are positioned so that each will be depressed when a pusher comes up under an article on said strands and will remain depressed until the pusher rides out from under and ahead of said article.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
50 words
A conveying system as specified in claim 1 in which the means for receiving the uniformly spaced articles from said conveyor comprises a series of article supporting and moving compartments, means for supporting and moving said compartments gradually towards the vertical, ten vertically, then gradually towards the horizontal, then horizontally.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
22 words
A conveying system as specified in claim 5 in which said compartments while moving said articles remain constantly in relative parallel positions.
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) | 1974-06-28 | 1974-12-28 | 1975-06-29 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-06-28 | 1978-12-28 | 1979-06-29 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-06-28 | 1982-12-28 | 1983-06-29 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |