Feed chain conveyor
View Patent ↗A feed chain conveyor includes a plurality of slats having rollers on opposite ends of adjacent slats that ride on guide rails of a conveyor to deliver workpieces in a linear manner while reducing friction. The roller and guide rail arrangement ensures that workpieces are accurately delivered to a processing station. The guide rails are connected with upper sides of the conveyor frame and extend parallel to the direction of delivery of the workpieces. The rollers are configured to interact with the guide rails to allow movement of the feed chain in the delivery direction with only limited displacement in a direction orthogonal to the delivery direction.
1 . A feed chain conveyor for delivering a workpiece to a workstation in a first direction, comprising:
(a) a frame having a longitudinal axis extending parallel to said first direction;
(b) a first guide rail connected with said frame defining a guided path and arranged parallel to the longitudinal axis;
(c) a feed chain configured as an endless loop including an upper run which supports the workpiece and a lower return run, said feed chain including a plurality of rollers which engage said first guide rail in mating relation along the upper run of said feed chain, whereby when said feed chain is driven for movement relative to said frame and a workpiece is placed on the upper run of said feed chain, the workpiece is transported in the first direction while the rollers and first guide rail prevent bilateral displacement of said feed chain in directions other than the guided path.
2 . A feed chain conveyor as defined in claim 1 , wherein an upper edge of said first guide rail has a V-shaped configuration and an outer surface of each of said rollers have corresponding V-shaped grooves configured to receive said first guide rail for mating.
3 . A feed chain conveyor as defined in claim 2 , wherein said feed chain includes a plurality of parallel slats which are arranged normal to the longitudinal axis and a plurality of connecting devices which connect ends of adjacent slats, respectively, said slats having first and second ends.
4 . A feed chain conveyor as defined in claim 3 , wherein each slat includes at least one roller positioned to alternate between said first end and said second end of successive slats along said feed chain.
5 . A feed chain conveyor as defined in claim 4 , further comprising a second guide rail connected with said frame spaced from and parallel to said first guide rail, wherein each roller positioned at the first end of its respective slat is engaged with the first guide rail and each roller positioned at the second end of its respective slat is engaged with the second guide rail.
6 . A feed chain conveyor as defined in claim 5 , wherein a pair of rollers are connected with one of said first and second end of each slat.
7 . A feed chain conveyor as defined in claim 6 , and further comprising a drive mechanism connected with said feed chain.
8 . A feed chain conveyor delivering a workpiece to a workstation in a first direction, comprising:
(a) a frame having a longitudinal axis extending parallel to said first direction; and
(b) a feed chain connected with said frame and configured as an endless loop including an upper run which supports the workpiece and a lower return run, said feed chain including a plurality of rollers, wherein the rollers are arranged along alternating sides of the feed chain such that rollers of adjacent portions of the feed chain are arranged on opposite sides of the feed chain.
9 . A feed chain conveyor as defined in claim 8 , wherein the feed chain further comprises a plurality of slats arranged normal to the longitudinal axis, the plurality of rollers being connected with the slats in alternating patterns along the feed chain between first and second ends of the slats.
10 . A feed chain conveyor as defined in claim 9 , further comprising first and second guide rails connected with said frame in spaced relation and parallel to the longitudinal axis to define a guided path, each guide rail including an upper edge having a V-shaped configuration, the rollers including V-shaped grooves to receive their respective first and second guide rails for mating to limit bilateral displacement of the feed chain in directions other than the guided path while permitting movement in the first direction.