US2911087A - Article-handling device for racks - Google Patents

Description

Nov.v 3, 1959 F. M. BALUCK ETAL ARTICLE-HANDLING DEVICE FOR RAcxs 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 26, 1954 Nov. 3, 1959 F. M. BALUCK ETAL ARTICLE-HANDLING DEvIcE FOR RAcxs 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 2e, 1954 Nov. 3, 1959 F. M. BALUcK ET AL 2,911,087

l ARTICLE-HANDLING DEVICE FOR RAcKs Filed Nov. 26, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United Staf@ Pate-m 2,911,037 .i ARTICLE-HANDLING nEvicE Fon RACKs Francis IM. Baluclr, Oak"ark,' nton J. Brunner, Con- '-'g1 ess Park, and Heinz F. Runge, Chicago, Ill., assignors fo Western Electric f Company,- Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation oi New York Application November 26, '1954, serial No. 471,232' s Claims. (cl. lss-26) This invention relates to conveyors, and more Aparticularly to escapement devices for conveyors of racks carrying wire spring ,relay combs.

An object of the invention is to provide new and improved conveyors Vforwire spring relay combs.

' Another object of the `invention is to provide apparatus for automatically* transferring racks of articles lfrom chutes orslidevs to conveyors.

"Another object ,of the invention is to providel a new and improved apparatus forfeeding racks seriatim from slides to a trackway.

An article-handling device illustrating certain features of the invention may include a slide down which article- 4may include a` plurality of racks for holding and masking portions of wire spring relays and a gritblaster for blast- Ying' flash from the wire spring relay combs.` A pai'r of railsfare provided along which krollers on the racks rest to transport the racks. through the grit blasten'and' an inclined ramp orzslide having an indexing orV escapement mechanism at the 'lower end thereof which is provided for supplying the racksQone at a time to the guide rail. The escapement mechanismmay include threepairs of stops spatzedalong the ramp so .operable that when the .intermediate pairof' stops are .nretracted positions the .end

pairs'of stops'block movement ofthe racks vdown the slide, and whenthe end pairs of stops are retracted, the

intermediate pair of stops is in blocking position to let only one rack move "off the slide at one time. The slide may .be so constructed and-arranged that the racks tilt as they slide down the slide, and means are provided at the Y n lower .end offtheV slide .to permit the racks ,to swing to 'vertical positions and tofdamp swinging .of the racks. A complete understanding of the invention may be obt-ained fromthe following detailed description of aconveyorforminga specific embodiment "thereof when read v4 in conjunction 'with the appended drawings, in which;

Fig. 1 lis a fragmentary, Vertical section `of a portion -ofjA a conveyor forming a'specifc embodiment of the invention; 7

Fig. 2iis aV fragmentary vertical section taken along rline 2-2 of Fig; l;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, partiallyA sectional, top plan -view taken along line y3a-310i Fig. 1; i

Fig'. '5 is a vertical section taken along line 5 -5 in naar; j.

Fig, 6 is an `enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken along-line 646Qof Fig..1;..'.1V f

Fig. 4 isa fragmentary vertical section similar t'o-Fig. 2;

2,911,087 y lfif'atented Nov. 3, 1959 f Fig. a vertical section taken along line 7-j7 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8f is an enlarged elevation of a portionof the apparatus shown in Fig. 1; and v Fig. 9 is 'a vertical section taken along line 9-"9 of Fig.8. Referring now in detail to the drawings, there is shown thereina machine for grit blasting wire spring relay combs 10I (Fig.` 8) to remove flash from wires 11 of the combs adjacent to plastic blocks 12 molded around the wires. The combs are placed on carrying fixtures or racks 21, each of which is provided with a carrying rod 22 fastened rigidly to the top of a frame 19, and pairs of rollers 23 and 24 are mounted on the frame below the rods 22. The combs 10 are clamped on the frame by an apertured door 26 mounted pivotally on a springmounted pin 27 and latched in position by a latch 28.

The door 2 6' is provided with aj groove 29 and the frame 19`with a groove 30 for receiving andmasking a molded bar 3.2 .of th'e` c omb 10 to protectthe 'bar 32 during l blasting. The door 26 also is provided with va groove 33 for'masking Vdowelpins 34 secured to the block 12. When the door is not secured by thelatch 28, the pin 27 urges itto an open position slightly greater than 90 from its closed position. The racks 21 are placed on guide'rails 55 of a chute 56 (Figs. 1 and 3) supported by posts 61 extending upwardly from a plate 62 mounted on a. column 63. As the racks 21 travel down the chute 56 they pass under upper guides 77 and come to escape'- ment bars 78 .of an escapement unit 79 (Figs. 2 and 6), drivable through racks 80 and 81 and pinions 82 xed to a shaft .8 3. The shaft..83 is mounted ,rotatably in fixedv supports and 86, which'lalso support rotatably a shaft.87 having pinions 88 keyed thereto and 'gare connected by a plate 84. The shaft 87 is connected through gearing 89 in a xedhousing 90 to a shaft 91fhaving a lever 92`keyed thereto and supporting a roller 93 at its freeuend. The lever 92 normally is biased to the position vthereof shown in Fig. 6 by a torsion spring 94 secured vatits ends to the shaft 87 and to the support 8 6.

However,` when the'lever 92 is swung in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 6, the shaft 87 turns the pinions 88 keyed thereto in a direction lifting stop bars 97 hav- Yinggearrack portions. 98 relative-to the supports 85 and86 and the chute 56. The Vpinions 83 also engage rack portions of stop bars 99-to move the bars 9 9 downwardly into the path of the article-carrying racks 21 on the chute 56, and gear rack portions 100 on the bars 99 turn the pinions 82 to raise the stop bars 78 out'of the paths of the rods 22 of the racks 21 onthe springs 105. Pins 106 limitcounterclockwise movementl of the levers 113,'and end portions 107 of' the levers-113 act as stops tov limit swinging'of` the racks 21 in a clockwise direction. This rack 21 then hangs vertically. i A resilient p'ad 114 composed of polytetrauoroethylene is mounted on a vertical stop plate 1 15 supported by the plate 62 for taking the impact of the swing of the rack 21' as it comes olf the rods 112.

The lever 92 is swung against the action of the spring i l 9 4, as described above, by a cam lug 116 carried by` Y a bltttegtseveyof Chain 117 @fs- 11C-swingen lever 92, the spring 94 returns the lever 92( and the bars J8, 97 and 99 to their former positions in whichthe :bars 78 land `97 stop movement of the racks 21 down .the chute 156,; and the bars 99 are retracted to release the rack 21 held thereby, which slides on down to the bars 9,7. The motion of the bars 78 and `97 relative to the bars '99 is such that the bars 7S and 97 are in rack-,blocking positions before the bars 99 are withdrawn from rackblocking positions. The chain 117 has rollers 119 having peripheral ribs 120 which travel along .grooves 12 in C- guides .'1'24 and -125 supported by-standards 126.

As each rack 21 is released by the bars 97, it slides .down the chute 56 and drops o the yend thereof Vonto supporting rollers 12.1 and onto a guide rail 122 .over which the rollers 23 `and 24 project. An end 123 of the guide rail 55 prevents the upper portion of the rack 21 from bouncing back to the right, as viewed in Fig. 5. Then, as the next lug 116 comes along to the chute 5,6,

the lug engages the rod 22 of the rack10 just releasedby the bars 97 and pushes the rack edgewise along the guide rails 122 =`and128 (Figs. 2 and 3), the guiderail 128' having acamming portion 129 which centers the rack l21 between the guide vrails '122 and 128 as the rack 121 is moved edgewise therebetween.

Vlrl`he lugs '116 push the racks 21 edgewise along the guide rails 122 and y122 through a grit blaster (not shown) of a well known type, in which grit is blown against the portions of the wires 11 adjacent to lthemolded blocks 12 and 32 (Fig. 10) to clean flash formed in molding the blocks from the wires. The door-26 and the body `19 bf the rack 21 mask the blocks 12 and 32 from the grit while the ash is removed from the portions of the wires adjacent thereto. f

The above-described apparatus serves to leieetively feedthe racks 21 from the chute 5-6 to the tracks 122 and |128 without possibility of jamming thereof, and feeds the Vracks surely. Certain features of the apparatus described above are disclosed and claimedin-copending application Serial No. 471,201, led November 26, 1954, by A. I. Brunner-and J. R. Marcus for Article-Handling Devices. l

I-t is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are simply illustrative ofthe application of theV `principlesof this invention.

' ments may be readily devised by those skilledin the art rack from ythe rails and' slide down the1'ails`,-means;forv

Numerous other arrangethe escapement, a spring-pressed damping lever positioned so as to be moved bythe rack as the rack swingsv'away from the tilting means and prevent swinging of the rack back to the' tilting means, a trackway for receiving the racks fromlthe rails, anda resilient bumper positioned at the trackway for damping swinging of the racks.

3. An article-handling device, which comprises a pair of inclined rails, a plurality of racks each of a predetermined height and having portions Vvextending from opr`posite edges Vat the upper 'end thereof for v-.ngaging `the rails to suspendthe rack from the rails and slide down -the rails, a trackway positioned lat the lower ends .of the rails for receiving the racks therefrom, means for tilting the racks as the racks slide down the rails, said tilting means serving to release each rack as that rack approaches the trackway, and a movably mounted swing damping means positioned so as to be engaged and moved by a rack as the rack is released from the tilting means and prevent yswinging of the rack back tothe tilting means.

4. An article-handling device, which comprises a plurality of racks each of a predetermined height and having slide portions extending from opposite edges near the upper end thereof, a trackway, a pair of inclined rails sloping downw-ardly to the trackway for supporting the racks from the slide portions, means for lretarding the lower ends ofthe racks relative to the upper lends thereof as the racks slide down the rails, said retarding jmeans serving to release each rack as that rack moves to the lower ends of the rails, a spring-pressed arm `positioned so as to bevmoved by Aa rack as the rack swings away `from the retarding nieans to lessen swinging of therack, and a resilient bumper positioned at the trackway'for damping swinging of the racks. i

5. lAn article-handling device, which comprises a plurality of racks each having pins projecting from the ends thereof, a pair of inclined guide rails down which thepins may slide, a rst pair of stops, a second pair of stops, ka third pair of stops, means for mountingzthe pairs of stops at the lower end of the guiderails movably between forward positions extending into the path of the racks and retracted positions out of the path ofthe racks and in positions Vin which the secondpair of stops is positioned -between the other pairs of stops, rack and pinion 'means for moving the pairs of stops so that the second pair of. stops is inits retracted position when the other pairs of stops are in 'forward positions and the second pair, ofstops is in its forward position when the ,other Apairsof stopsrare in their retracted positions, guide means spaced from the inclinedguide rails for tilting the racks approaching thefirst of the rst pair of stops to permit swinging of the racks to a vertical position as the racks pass said first pair of stops,

v posite edges thereof, a pair of` inclined guide rails down tilting the racks as the racks' slide on the rails, a movably mounted swing-damping bellcrank supported lin a normal position, one arm of said bell crank providedwith a cam `surface so as to vbe engaged and moved-by each rackras the rack swings away from the'tilting means, and means lfor biasing the bell crankl to said normal position so as to prevent rebound of the aforementioned racks. 2.An article-handling device,`kwhich comprises a Vpair of inclined rails, a plurality of racks each of a predetermined height and having slide portions extending from y opposite edges at the upper end of the rack. forengaging -ends ofthe rails for permitting the racks to slide off the rails one at a time, means for tilting the racks as the means servingto 'release'each rack to permit the rack to vswingto a vertical position as the rack moves. through Y racks slide down the rails to the escapernent,A said tilting i which the supports may slide, escapement means mounted at the lower en d of the guide railsmovable between a rack-blocking position and a retracted position out of the path of the rack, guide meanspositioned below the guide railsifor tilting each rack as it Aapproaches the escapement means to prevent swinging of the racks as the rack engages the escapement means, said guide means terminating in the vicinity of the escapement to permit swinging of a rackvpassing through the escapement, and' spring-biased levers positioned to engage and retard swinging of a rack passing through the escapement.

7. An article-handling device, which comprises a plurality ofracks each Yhaving p ins `projectingfrom vthe ends thereof, a pair of inclined guide railsrdown which the pins may slide, a first pair of stops, a second pair of stops,'a third pairof stops, means for mounting thepairs of stops at the lower end of the guide rails-movably between forretracted positions out of the path of ythe racks and in positions in which the second pair of'stops is positioned between Ithe other pairs o-f stops, rack and pinion means for moving the pairs of stops so that the second pair of stops is in its retracted position when the other pairs of stops are in forward positions and the second pair of stops is in its forward position when the other pairs of stops are in their retracted positions, guide means positioned below the guide rails for tilting eachrack as it approaches the rst pair of stops to prevent swinging of the rack, said guide means permitting each rack to swing therefrom as the rack moves from the rst pair of stops to the second pair of stops, a pair of ieversurged into the path of each rack as the rack swings from the guide means to slow the swinging of the rack and to 'limit the return swing of the rack.

8. An article-handling device, which comprises a p1urality of racks each having pins projecting from the ends thereof, a pair of inclined guide rails down which the pins may silde, a first pair of stops, a. second pair of stops, a third pair of stops, means for mounting the pairs of stops at the lower end of the guide rails movably between forward positions extending into the path of the racks and retracted positions out of the path of the racks and in positions in which the second pair of stops is positioned between the other pairs of stops, rack and pinion means for moving the pairs of stops so that the second pair of stops is in its retracted position when the other pairs of stops are in forward positions and the second pair of stops is in its forward position when the other pairs of stops are in their retracted positions, guide means positioned below the guide rails for tilting each rack as it approaches the stops to prevent swinging of the racks, and a latch for permitting each rack to swing therepast in one direction and preventing swinging movement of the rack thereback.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 465,018 Foote Dec. 15, 1891 1,923,663 Coda Aug. 22, 1933 2,191,153 Harmon Feb. 20, 1940 Fedorchak et al Feb. 15, 1944

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