Apparatus For Conveying Articles

What is this patent about?

'005 is related to the field of conveyor systems, specifically addressing the transfer of articles between two conveyors operating at potentially different speeds or requiring specific article spacing. The background highlights the challenges of maintaining article formation and accommodating speed variations in automated processing lines where articles need to move between different operating stations.

The underlying idea behind '005 is to use a connecting conveyor that can move freely between two main conveyors. This connecting conveyor has drive wheels that interact with both main conveyors. By selectively coupling or decoupling these drive wheels, the connecting conveyor can either move in dependence on the speeds of both conveyors or be locked to one conveyor, allowing for gap creation or closure between articles.

The claims of '005 focus on an article conveying apparatus comprising a first conveyor defining a discharge location, a second conveyor defining a receiving location, and a connecting conveyor positioned between them. The connecting conveyor includes two drive wheels in interengagement with the first and second conveyors, and a coupling means for selectively coupling the drive wheels so that they are rotatable together, or rotationally fixing one drive wheel while permitting the other to freely rotate.

In practice, the connecting conveyor acts as a dynamic buffer. When the drive wheels are coupled, it moves at a speed that is a function of both main conveyors' speeds, maintaining article spacing. When one drive wheel is locked, the connecting conveyor moves at the speed of the other conveyor, effectively closing or creating gaps in the article stream. This allows for flexible handling of articles even when the main conveyors have different throughputs.

This approach differs from prior solutions that rely on variable conveyor lengths or complex control systems to manage article spacing. By using a freely moving connecting conveyor with selectively controllable drive wheels, the invention provides a simpler and more versatile way to buffer and re-space articles between conveyors, maintaining article formation while accommodating variations in conveyor speeds.