Description

The present invention has as subject a lifting station in a conveyor for transporting elements such as skids, pallets, box-like pallets and the like, comprising, for actuating such lifting, rotating rods controlled in the rotation, whereon lifting wheels are mounted, having a peripheral edge.

By way of example, the skids are used for transporting articles of various nature, such as for example vehicle bodies, between different working stations in a factory, or still luggage inside a system for sorting luggage and so on .

The conveyor mainly consists in a roller conveyor of known type, comprising idle rollers and motorized rollers for moving the skids sliding on such rollers. The rollers generally are arranged perpendicularly to the feeding direction of the skids.

In a system of conveyors, it is common that different transportation lines intersect on different paths, with the need of distributing the skid onto the correct line at the intersection between the lines. To this purpose, stations for lifting the skids are required, so that they can pass from the drawing effect of a driving roller of a line at lower level to the drawing effect of a driving roller of a line of higher level, or viceversa, by including a possible change in direction.

The lifting and lowering stations generally comprise a lifting table whereon lifting means acts, for example of the cam-like type, as described in the European patent No. 1, 428, 774 Bl .

However, these solutions result to be mechanically complex and not simple to be implemented, even due to the several accessory apparatuses they require. The US patent 3,782,527 A describes instead a lifting system for a conveyor of elements such as boxes or parcels, having lifting wheels with a pair of idle complementary members and hingedly articulated to the axis of the lifting wheels, dragged into rotation by said wheels thanks to pins thereof, projecting laterally to fill-in an empty space cut out onto the edge of said wheels, thus by causing a slight increase in the sliding level .

Such solution, although mechanically simple, is suitable only to lift light articles, so as not to force excessively said pin.

The technical problem underlying the present invention is to provide a lifting system allowing to obviate the drawback mentioned with reference to the known art.

Such problem is solved by a lifting station as specified above characterizing in that it comprises rotating rods, controlled in rotation, whereon lifting wheels are mounted having a peripheral edge thereat at least a respective roll-up member is hingedly hooked or articulated which is wound onto or is separated by gravity from the peripheral edge of the corresponding lifting wheel based upon the rotation of the rods, said at least roll-up member by determining, when it is in a roll-up configuration around the peripheral edge of the respective lifting wheel, an increase in the diameter of such lifting wheel, the lifting wheels being arranged in a receiving area to lift or lower the skid sliding thereon .

The main advantage of the lifting station according to the present invention lies in the fact of being simple but very much reliable and capable of lifting even very significant weights, and not requiring complex accessory apparatuses .

The present invention will be described hereinafter according to some preferred embodiment examples, provided by way of example and not for limitative purposes with reference to the enclosed drawings wherein:

* figure 1 shows an axonometric view of a first example of simplified element of the lifting station according to the present invention, which illustrates the operation thereof;

* figure 2 shows a side view of a lifting station according to said first invention example;

* figure 3 shows a plan view of the lifting station of figure 2;

* figure 4 shows a front view (left) and a side view (right) of a second example of simplified element of the lifting station according to the present invention; and * figure 5 shows an axonometric view of a lifting station of said second invention example.

With reference to figures 1 to 3, a lifting station is designated as a whole with 10.

It comprises a frame, for example made of electro-welded steel, with rectangular shape. The frame is rested upon a series of feet adjustable in height, to adjust the right working position. The frame can even have walkable covering sheets.

It comprises an area for receiving skids along a roller conveyor and, to this purpose, it comprises supporting rollers of idle type, not represented in the figures.

The station comprises, transversely with respect to the receiving area, a series of rotating rods 3, mounted onto horizontal supports 2 which are mounted onto said frame at the larger sides thereof. Each rod 3 constitutes an axis which is controlled in rotation by a pinion 1 connected to an electric motor 11 of the stepping type, by means of a chain 12 or a belt. A geared motor can be present between motor and pinions, which could be actuated by a single motor with an in-cascade kinematic connection .

On each rod 3 at least a pair of lifting wheels is mounted 4, that is wheels having a shape so as to be able to roll up a flexible member 5 hooked thereto.

In particular, the lifting wheels 4 have a circular peripheral edge 14 and, at such peripheral edge 14, a flexible member 5 is hingedly hooked acting as a roll-up member, capable of rolling up onto the peripheral edge 14 of the corresponding lifting wheel 4 or capable of being separated by gravity from the peripheral edge 14 of the corresponding lifting wheel 4, according to the rotation angle of the rods 3.

The rolling up or the separation of the flexible member 5 determines an increase or a decrease respectively in the diameter of the respective lifting wheel 4.

It is to be noted that, in the separated configuration, the profile of each wheel 4 is below the sliding plane 13 of the skids and it does not interfere therewith.

The flexible member 5 of the present example is connected to the respective wheel by means of a possibly articulated hook 15 and, by rotating the wheel 4 in the suitable direction, it rolls up around the circumference thereof. The flexible member 5 acting as roll-up member, by way of example, can be constituted by a roller chain: the rollers thus constitute a sliding contact surface. However, it is meant that the flexible member 5 could assume different shapes.

The station 10 comprises in particular four rotating rods, spaced out regularly, capable of receiving a skid in the receiving area and supporting it on the whole length thereof. One thereof is directly connected to the motor 11, whereas the other ones are connected in cascade, so that they can be rotated simultaneously. When the station 10 is inactive, the sliding plane does not interfere with the lifting wheels 4. On the contrary, when one wants to implement a lifting, the rods 3 are rotated, by rolling up the element 5 onto the wheels 4, thus by determining an increase in diameter which intersects the lower surface of an above skid, determining the lifting thereof.

In this lifted position, the skid will be suitably translated until the destination position.

At this point, the rods 3 are rotated in opposite direction, by returning to the original diameter. The same process can be actuated in opposite direction, by determining the lowering of a skid.

It can be noted that the wheels 4 and the roll-up members can even have different embodiments, which however all meet a basic criterion, which is the one to implement a lifting action following the simple rotation of the wheel, which determines an increase in its own diameter.

With reference to figures 4 and 5, an additional embodiment version of the present invention is described; in the drawings the portions analogous to those described previously keep the same reference numerals.

In the two drawings of figure 4 a wheel 4 is represented having, at its own peripheral edge, an articulated cap 25 performing the function of roll-up member, in this case no more flexible, but stiff, intended to rotate with respect to a point arranged onto the peripheral edge 14 of the wheel 4. The articulation is implemented by a hinge 21.

Thanks to the shape thereof, the roll-up member 25 can assume a first configuration not adhering to the peripheral edge 14 of the lifting wheel 4; and a second roll-up configuration wherein it is rested onto the peripheral edge 14 of the lifting wheel 4, by determining the increase in the diameter. The wheel 4 comprises even a complementary member 22 to implement, together with the articulated cap 25, a circular profile. Furthermore, there is a latch 23 which releases the roll-up member when it returns from the second to the first configuration.

At last, the caps 25 and the complementary members 22 have projections 24 on the side margins thereof having the purpose of constituting a guide for the skid.

In figure 5 a table-like lifting structure 10 is represented, equipped with the wheels of the second embodiment example.

To the above-described lifting station a person skilled in the art, in order to satisfy additional and contingent needs, could introduce several additional modifications and variants, all however comprised within the protective scope of the present invention, as defined by the enclosed claims.