Jephcott, David Lynton (High Trees, Newcastle Road Ashley Heat, Market Drayton Shropshire TF9 4PH, GB)
| 1. | A drive transferring apparatus comprising: a first constraining guide defining a drive transfer path ; a plurality of drive transferring members moveably captive in the constraining guide and being capable of transferring drive between discrete parts of the constraining guide by means of compressive interconnection ; the first constraining guide, and the drive transferring members being situated in a first zone; the first constraining guide including one or more apertures permitting connection of one or more of the drive transferring members with one or more further members in a drive transferring manner ; one or more of the drive transferring members being engageable, via the one or more apertures, with one or more further members, whereby to cause motion of the further member. characterised in that the first zone is separated from the one or more further members, which further members are connectable to one or more drive transferring members via the one or more apertures. |
| 2. | An apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein the first zone is separated from the one or more further members by a substantially flat divider. |
| 3. | An apparatus according to Claim 2 wherein the divider comprises a floor. |
| 4. | An apparatus according to Claim 2 wherein the divider comprises a freight area. |
| 5. | An apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein the divider comprises a wall. |
| 6. | An apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein the divider comprises a ceiling. |
| 7. | An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each further member is adapted to support an object. |
| 8. | A drive transferring apparatus comprising : a first constraining guide defining a drive transfer path; a plurality of drive transferring members moveably captive in the constraining guide and being capable of transferring drive between discrete parts of the constraining guide by means of compressive interconnection; the first constraining guide, and the drive transferring members being situated in a first zone ; the first constraining guide including one or more apertures permitting connection of one or more of the drive transferring members with one or more further members in a drive transferring manner ; one or more of the drive transferring members being engageable, via the one or more apertures, with one or more further members, whereby to cause motion of the further member, characterised in that the one or more further members comprise object supporting means. |
| 9. | An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims comprising a plurality of further members. |
| 10. | An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims comprising equal numbers of drive transferring members and further members. |
| 11. | An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a drive for the drive transferring members, the drive being positioned in the first zone. |
| 12. | An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims further comprising at least one connector engageable with both a drive transferring member and a further member, for connecting a drive transferring member to a further member. |
| 13. | An apparatus according to Claim 12 wherein the at least one connector comprises an elongate member, and at least some of the drive transferring members and the further members each comprise a first recess shaped to receive the connector. |
| 14. | An apparatus according to Claim 12 or Claim 13 wherein the at least one connector is formed integrally with a drive transferring member. |
| 15. | An apparatus according to Claim 12 or Claim 13 wherein the at least one connector is formed integrally with a further member. |
| 16. | An apparatus according to any one of Claims 12 to 15 wherein the at least one connector is substantially square in crosssection. |
| 17. | An apparatus according to any one of Claims 12 to 15 wherein the at least one connector is substantially circular in crosssection. |
| 18. | An apparatus according to any one of Claims 12 to 15 wherein the at least one connector is substantially triangular in crosssection. |
| 19. | An apparatus according to any one of the Claims 12 to 18 wherein the first recess in a further member is formed in a first face of the at least one member, the at least one member further comprising an opposite face. |
| 20. | An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the opposite face of a further member comprises a second recess adapted to receive a portion of the object. |
| 21. | An apparatus according to Claim 20 wherein the opposite face is an upper face, the first zone being a lower zone. |
| 22. | An apparatus according to Claim 21 wherein the motion imparted to the at least one further member is generally in a first direction, and the opposite face of the at least one further member lies substantially in a first plane and is shaped to allow removal of the object in a direction substantially at right angles to the first direction, and substantially in a plane coincident with, or parallel with the first plane. |
| 23. | An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein one or more of the drive transferring members and/or further members comprises an identification means. |
| 24. | An apparatus according to claim 23 wherein the identification means comprises an R. F tag. |
| 25. | An apparatus according to Claim 22 wherein the object comprises an identification means. |
| 26. | An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims forming part of a conveyor system. |
| 27. | An apparatus according to Claim 27 wherein the object comprises part of the conveyor system. |
| 28. | An apparatus according to Claim 27 wherein the object comprises a work tray. |
| 29. | An apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 254 forming part of a vehicle. |
| 30. | A method of transferring drive comprising imparting motion to an object by imparting motion to a plurality of drive transferring members loosely captive in a constraining guide, whereby to cause compressive interconnection of a plurality of said drive transferring members and thereby transfer drive in the constraining guide, characterised in that one or more of the drive transferring members are connected to one or more further members, which one or more further members are adapted to support the object, whereby the drive transferred in the constraining guide imparts motion to the object. |
| 31. | A method of transferring drive using the drive transferring apparatus as claimed in any one of the Claims 1 to 29. |
| 32. | An apparatus substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings. |
| 33. | A method substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings. |
However, in many branches of industry it is commonly required to transfer objects over comparatively large distances and to apply drive at locations remote from eg a motor. It therefore is well known to employ drive- transferring apparatuses such as belts, chains and gear trains in order to achieve these aims.
However, all known drive-transferring technologies are associated with significant disadvantages.
For example, drive belts and drive chains rely on the imparting of tensile forces in order to transfer drive. In drive belts, the use of such forces causes gradual stretching of the belts. Similar effects are observed in drive chains over time.
Prolonged use of belts and chains leads to failure, as a result of friction and wear in the belt/chain members. Failure of a drive belt usually necessitates replacement of the entire belt; or at best a repair that significantly reduces the performance of the belt. Some belt and chain failures are dangerous, especially when fragments of such members are thrown from an apparatus at speed.
It is possible to replace individual links of a drive chain, but this is often a time-consuming process. Hitherto it has not been possible to automate the repair of a broken link in a drive chain.
Gear trains do not suffer from the same disadvantages as belts and chains; however, they are sill prone to wear; they are expensive to manufacture ; and they generally require permanent installations including bearings secured to fixed datum points. Also, gear trains generally employ only rigid members and hence they lack some of the versatility inuring to belts and chains, that employ flexible members.
A method and apparatus for transferring drive is known from European patent No. EP 0958209 the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The method and apparatus disclosed therein comprises a constraining guide defining a drive transfer path, and a plurality of drive transferring members moveably captive in the constraining guide. The constraining guide includes one or more apertures permitting access to one or more of the drive transferring members. The drive transferring members are capable of transferring drive between discrete parts of the constraining guide by means of compressive interconnections.
The system disclosed in EP 0958209 overcomes the problems of using traditional drive transferring technology such as drive belts and drive chains. Such apparatus can be used for a wide range of applications, for example in warehouses, and in vehicles such as trucks, lorries, containers etc.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a first constraining guide defining a drive transfer path;
a plurality of drive transferring members moveably captive in the constraining guide and being capable of transferring drive between discrete parts of the constraining guide by means of compressive interconnection ; the first constraining guide, and the drive transferring members being situated in a first zone; the first constraining guide including one or more apertures permitting connection of one or more of the drive transferring members with one or more further members in a drive transferring manner ; one or more of the drive transferring members being engageable, via the one or more apertures, with one or more further members, whereby to cause motion of the further member; characterised in that the first zone is separated from the one or more further members, which further members are connectable to one or more drive transferring members via the one or more apertures.
The drive transferring members may thus be separated from the environment in which the one or more further members are located.
This can be extremely useful if the environment is, for example, a work area where people and objects are moving around within the area. Such people and objects could cause damage to the drive transferring mechanism if for example an object is placed on the constraining guide, or a piece of debris is accidentally dropped into the constraining guide.
By separating the first zone containing the drive transferring members, and the first constraining guide, from the one or more further members, the drive transferring mechanism is protected from potentially hazardous environment.
Preferably the first zone is separated from the further members by a substantially flat divider. The flat divider may be in the form of a floor in for example a warehouse. This means that, in practice, the first zone containing the first constraining guide and the drive transferring members will not be visible to people standing or sitting on the floor except via the one or more apertures. The one or more further members will protrude above the floor.
Alternatively the divider may comprise a freight area in, for example, a lorry.
In other embodiments the divider may comprise a wall or ceiling.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a first constraining guide defming a drive transfer path; a plurality of drive transferring members moveably captive in the constraining guide and being capable of transferring drive between discrete parts of the constraining guide by means of compressive interconnection; the first constraining guide, and the drive transferring members being situated in a first zone; the first constraining guide including one or more apertures permitting connection of one or more of the drive transferring members with one or more further members in a drive transferring manner; one or more of the drive transferring members being engageable, via the one or more apertures, with one or more further members, whereby to cause motion of the further member, characterised in that the one or more further members comprise object supporting means.
The one or more further members may be used to support objects such as partially assembled products being conveyed along an assembly line. This is advantageous because the objects supported by the one or more further members will not come into direct contact with the drive transferring members and thus there is less risk that the objects being supported will interfere with the drive transferring mechanism.
Preferably, the apparatus further comprises a drive for the drive transferring members, the drive being positioned in the first zone.
Preferably, the apparatus comprises a plurality of further members.
Advantageously the apparatus comprises equal numbers of drive transferring members and further members. However, in some embodiments, this may not be the case, and there could be fewer further members than drive transferring members, or vice versa.
The drive may be in the form of, for example, a star wheel and motor, and is protected from a possibly hazardous environment by being positioned within the first zone.
Preferably the apparatus further comprises at least one connector, engageable with both a drive transferring member and a further member, for connecting a drive transferring member to a further member. By means of the connector it is not necessary for each of the further members to be integrally formed with each of the drive transferring member although this may be advantageous under certain circumstances.
By means of the connector it is possible to interconnect a further member to a drive transferring member as required for a particular application of the
apparatus. It is then possible to disconnect the further member from the drive transferring member, for example to repair the further member or the drive transferring member, or to connect the further member to a different drive transferring member.
Preferably the apparatus comprises a plurality of connectors, and each connector comprises an elongate member. At least some of the drive transferring members and the further members each comprise a first recess shaped to receive a connector.
Each connector may be formed integrally with a drive transferring member, or with a further member, or may be formed separately from both the drive transferring members and the further member, A connector may have any desirable cross-section. For example it may be square, circular or triangular in cross-section.
Advantageously the first recess in the further member is formed in a first face of the further member, the further member comprising an opposite face.
Conveniently the opposite face of the further member comprises a second recess adapted to receive a part of the object to be supported.
Preferably, the opposite face is an upper face, and the first zone is positioned below the divider.
The apparatus may thus be formed in the floor of an area such as a warehouse, the first zone being under the floor, and the further members being above the floor.
Alternatively the opposite face is a front face, and the first zone is positioned behind the divider. Such an arrangement can be used when it is desired to position the apparatus on a wall of an area such as a warehouse.
The further members will then be positioned in front of the wall, and the first zone will be positioned behind the wall.
Preferably, the motion imparted to the at least one further member is in a generally first direction, and the opposite face lies generally in a first plane and is shaped to allow removal of the object in a direction substantially at right angles to the first direction, and in a plane coincident with, or parallel to the first plane.
According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of transferring drive, comprising imparting motion to an object by imparting motion to a plurality of drive transferring members loosely captive in a constraining guide, whereby to cause compressive interconnection of a plurality of said drive transferring members and thereby transfer drive in the constraining guide, characterised in that one or more of the drive transferring members are connected to one or more further members, which one or more further members are adapted to support the object, whereby the drive transferred in the constraining guide imparts motion to the object.
The invention will now be further described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which : Figure 1 is a schematic representation of part of an apparatus according to the present invention installed in a lorry ;
Figure 2 is a detail of the apparatus of Figure 1 showing the drive transferring members and further members in more detail ; Figure 3 is a schematic representation showing the position of the drive in the apparatus of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a schematic representation of a second embodiment of the invention incorporated into a wall of a building; Figure 5 is a detail of a further member forming part of the apparatus in Figure 1 ; Figure 6 is a schematic representation of part of the second embodiment of the invention installed in a warehouse and forming a conveyor system; Figure 7 is a detailed representation of part of the apparatus in Figure 6 showing a work tray forming part of the conveyor system.
Referring to Figure 1 an apparatus according to the present invention is designated generally by the reference numeral 2. The apparatus comprises a constraining guide 4 containing drive transferring members 6. The constraining guide 4 comprises an aperture 8 which allows access to the drive transferring members.
The apparatus further comprises further members 10 which are attachable to the drive transferring members 6. The constraining guide 4 and drive transferring members 6 are contained within a specific area or zone 12, which zone is separated from the further members 10 by a divider, in this case in the form of a floor 14 forming the freight area in a lorry 16.
The drive transferring members 6 and the further members 10 are in the form of beads.
Each of the further members 10 is connectable to a drive transferring member 6 by means of a connector 18 shown in more detail in Figure 2.
The connector is in the form of an elongate member which in this case has a substantially square cross section.
Each of the drive transferring members and further members comprises a first recess 20,22 respectively in which the connector is locatable. By means of the connector 18 therefore each drive transferring member may be connected to a further member.
Each further member further comprises a second recess 24 into which an object to be supported may be received. The objects to be supported may be a pallet 26 in which case the recess 24 is adapted to receive a pallet lug.
The recess 24 can be any desirable shape, depending on the cross-sectional shape of the portion of the object, such as the pallet lug to be received.
The connector 18 may have any convenient cross sectional shape for example it may be round, square or triangular and can be shaped for either a tight fit with the drive transferring members 6 and the further members 10, or for a loose fit with these members 6,10. A loose fit may be achieved by using a steel pin having a substantially circular cross section encased in a sleeve. Such a fitting would allow the further members to rotate about an axis extending through the connector 18 relative to the drive transferring members 6.
Referring now to Figure 3, a drive mechanism for the apparatus 2 is shown.
The drive mechanism comprises a star wheel 28 powered by a motor (not shown).
Turning now to Figure 6, a second embodiment of the apparatus is designated generally by the reference numeral 32. The apparatus 32 is shown incorporated into a conveyor system. The apparatus 32 comprises a constraining guide for drive transferring members 6, aperture 8 and further members 10 as shown in Figure 1. In this embodiment of the invention the divider comprises an upper surface 34 of the conveyor system 36.
The connectors 18 are in the form of steel pins each having substantially circular cross section. The connector 18 is shaped to have a loose fit with the both the drive transferring members 6 and the further members 10. This means that the further members 10 are able to rotate about the axis of the connector 18 relative to the drive transferring members 10.
As shown in more detail in Figure 5, each further member 10 comprises grooves 38. A part of an object to be supported such as a leg 40 of a work tray 42 is receivable within a recess 24 formed in a face 44 of the further member 10. The face 44 lies substantially in a plane.
The grooves 38 allow an object such as a work tray 42 to be removed from the conveyor system 32 by for example sliding the work tray 42 in the direction of arrow 46.
Referring again to Figure 6, it can be seen that at work station 48, the conveyor is travelling in a general direction indicated by arrow 50. An operator 52 who wishes to work on the object being carried by work tray 42 able to remove the object by pulling the work tray 42 in the general
direction of allow 54. It is thus possible for the operator to remove the work tray 48 in a direction which is substantially at right angles to the general direction of flow 50 and also which lies generally in a plane coincident with or parallel to the plane of face 44. Once the work tray 48 has been removed from the conveyor system, a gap is left in the conveyor where the work tray 48 had been positioned. By removing the work tray from the conveyor, an operator 52 is able to work on a unit being carried by the work tray 48. Once the operator has finished working on a unit he can return the work tray back into the conveyor system. In this way a unit can be worked on without having to halt the flow of the conveyor 32 in order to gain access to the unit.
One or more of the drive transferring members, further members or the object 42 may contain an RF tag 54 or a bar code I. D in order that objects being conveyed on the system 32 may be identified and located.
Preferably the load tray includes an RF tag 54 or a bar code ID or other form of tagging unit in order that movement of the load tray during a particular working sllift may be monitored.
The work tray 42 thus forms a discreet part of the conveyor surface, and is removable in order to allow a unit to be worked on.
The invention may also be used in a conveyor system of the type shown in Figure 7 in which an object such as a table is locatable directly into the upper beads 10 rather than via a work tray 48.