Low profile conveyor roller

Claim 2

A conveyor roll comprising a substantially horizontally extending support, a disc mounted thereon for rotation in a plane making an acute angle therewith and a plurality of rollers mounted on the face of the disc about the axis thereof for respective rotation about the axes which are respectively normal to a plane passing therethrough radially of the disc, the conveyor roll being free of any attached structure above the height of the rollers.

Claim 3

A conveyor roll as defined in claim 1 further including at least one supporting wheel mounted in supporting engagement with the disc.

Claim 4

A conveyor roll as defined in claim 2 further including means for rotating the disc.

Claim 5

A conveyor roll as defined in cLaim 3 wherein the means for rotating the disc comprises a shaft connected to the wheel for rotating it in frictional contact with the disc.

Claim 6

A conveyor roll as defined in claim 3 wherein the means for rotating the disc comprises gear teeth on the periphery of the disc and means in engagement with said teeth for driving the disc.

Claim 7

A conveyor roll as defined in claim 5 wherein the means in engagement with the gear teeth is a driving pinion.

Claim 8

A conveyor roll as defined in claim 5 wherein the gear teeth are the teeth of a sprocket gear and the means in engagement therewith comprises a sprocket chain.

Claim 9

A conveyor roll as defined in claim 7 wherein the teeth of the sprocket gear extend from the disc at an angle thereto so that the teeth thereof are in a substantially horizontal plane when a point on the disc reaches one of its extreme levels.

Claim 10

A conveyor roll comprising a support, a disc mounted thereon for rotation in a plane making an acute angle therewith and a plurality of rollers mounted in concentric circles about the disc axis on the face thereof for rotation about respective axes normal to a radial plane of the disc passing therethrough.

Claim 11

A conveyor roll comprising a support, a disc mounted thereon for rotation in a plane making an acute angle therewith and a plurality of rollers mounted in concentric circles about the disc axis on the face thereof for rotation about respective axes normal to a radial plane of the disc passing therethrough.

Claim 12

A conveyor roll as defined in claim 9 wherein the rollers in each circle overlap the distance between rollers on the other circle.

Claim 13

A transfer table comprising a network of rolls, a support, and means mounting said rolls for rotation about spaced fixed axes making an acute angle with a normal to the support, said rolls comprising discs having rollers mounted thereon for rotation about individual axes parallel to the disc.

Claim 14

A transfer table comprising a network of rolls, a support, and means mounting said rolls for rotation about spaced fixed axes making an acute angle with a normal to the support, said rolls comprising discs having rollers mounted thereon for rotation about individual axes parallel to the disc.

Claim 15

A transfer table as defined in claim 11 wherein the zone of rotation of some of said rolls overlap the zone of rotation of the others of said rolls.

Claim 16

A transfer table comprising a network of rolls, a support, means mounting at least some of said rolls on the support for rotation about respective fixed axes making an acute angle with a normal to the support and at angles to each other, said rolls each comprising a disc provided with a plurality of rollers rotatable about respective axes parallel to the disc and angularly related to each other.

Claim 17

A transfer table comprising a network of rolls, a support, means mounting at least some of said rolls on the support for rotation about respective fixed axes making an acute angle with a normal to the support and at angles to each other, said rolls each comprising a disc provided with a plurality of rollers rotatable about respective axes parallel to the disc and angularly related to each other.

Claim 18

A transfer table as defined in claim 13 further including means for rotating some of the rolls on their respective axes.

Claim 19

A transfer table as defined in claim 14 wherein the means for rotating comprises a plurality of independent power sources and means for selectively energizing each source.

Claim 20

A transfer table according to claim 14 wherein the means for rotating some of the rolls comprises chain and sprocket means cooperating with each of the rolls to be rotated for rotating it and motive means for driving the chain and sprocket means.

Claim 21

A transfer table according to claim 16 wherein the chain and sprocket means includes a sprocket cooperating with each of the rolls for rotating it, a plurality of sprocket chains, each chain being in driving engagement with a different plurality of sprockets, the motive means comprising a separate driving means for each sprocket chain.

Claim 22

A transfer table according to claim 17 wherein at least some of the driving means are separately controllable.

Claim 23

A transfer table as defined in claim 13 further including means for rotating some of the rolls about their respective axes including a sprocket gear removably mounted on the roll concentric with its axis, said sprocket gear comprising a substantially flat ring having teeth about its periphery projecting at an angle to the plane of the plate such that the teeth at one extreme level of its orbit are in a horizontal plane for engagement with a substantially horizontally extending sprocket chain, and means for removably securing the ring to the roll with a selected side thereof adjacent a face of the disc.

Claim 24

A transfer table according to claim 19 wherein the teeth are horizontal at the uppermost leve of orbit thereof when a first side of the ring is adjacent the disc.

Claim 25

A transfer table according to claim 19 in whicH the teeth are horizontal at the lowermost level of their orbit when the second side of the ring is adjacent the disc.

Claim 26

A transfer table according to claim 19 in which a second like sprocket gear is removably secured to the roll concentrically thereof with a face thereof adjacent the opposite face of the disc.