Conveyor assembly

Abstract

A conveying system for lifting and orienting bottle caps comprises a conveyer belt of articulated sections and with guide rollers with an upper lifting section having an essentially vertical path of travel and a lower loading section with an angled path of travel. Sprockets on the guide rollers effect movement of the belt in an upward path of travel through the lower section and then the upper section. Cleats are secured to the exterior surface of the conveyer belts belt. Supporting surfaces of the cleats extend at right angles from the exterior surface of the conveyer belt for retaining bottle caps thereon when the upper top surface of the bottle cap is in contact with the conveyer belt and the lower edge thereof generally cylindrical perimeter of the bottle cap is supported in a trough of on the supporting surfaces of the cleats but to effect. The trough effects the dropping thereof when the of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A new and improved conveying system for lifting and orienting bottle caps comprising, in combination:
 a conveyer belt formed of articulated sections and with guide rollers to support the belt with an upper lifting section having an essentially vertical path of travel and a lower loading section with having an angled path of travel; 
 sprockets on the guide rollers to effect movement of the belt in an upward path of travel through the lower section and then the upper section; 
 a plurality of cleats secured to the exterior surface of the conveyer belts belt, the cleats each cleat having an upper supporting surfaces surface extending outwardly at a generally right angles angle from the exterior surface of the conveyer belt, each cleat being of a generally rectangular cross section with an upper face supporting surface and a lower face and with an interior face therebetween a front face and a rear face wherein the upper cap supporting surface having has a lower curved region and a trough with a sloped interior recess in contact with the lower curved region for retaining bottle caps thereon in a proper orientation when the upper a top surface of the bottle cap is in contact with the conveyer belt and the lower edge thereof supported on generally cylindrical perimeter of the bottle cap is in contact with the upper supporting surfaces surface of the cleats but to effect cleat and wherein the trough effects the dropping thereof when the of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation, the lowermost extent of the lower curved region being closer to the front face than to the rear face, the each cleat also having a plurality of bores extending from the front face to the rear face where they the cleat can be coupled to the conveyer belt by means of a screw; 
 a supplemental sprocket in contact with the interior face of the conveyer belt in the lower extent of the upper section to form an outwardly directed bow in the belt and effect the removal, by gravity, of bottle caps not in the proper orientation; 
 adjustment means to vary the extent of the bow as a function of the particular bottle cap being conveyed; 
 a plate positioned in close proximity to the cleats in the region of the conveyer belt beneath the bow whereby bottle caps on the conveyer belt may drop under gravity into the hopper due to the orientation of the bow; 
 a source of pressurized air adjacent to the upper extent of the upper section at one lateral side of the belt to pneumatically urge bottle caps to the opposite lateral side of the belt with a chute to receive the pneumatically conveyed bottle caps while maintaining their proper orientation; 
 a hopper for a quantity of randomly oriented bottle caps adjacent to the lower section of the conveyer belt for the initial positioning of bottle caps on the conveyer belt prior to movement to toward the bow; and 
 a baffle having a raised central extent parallel with the direction of flow of the conveyor belt and positioned over the lower loading section whereby bottle caps dropped thereon will limit movement of the caps onto the conveyor except at the leading edge of the plate. 
 
     
     
       2. A conveying system for lifting and orienting bottle caps comprising:
 a conveyer belt formed of articulated sections and with guide rollers to support the belt with an upper section having an essentially vertical path of travel and a lower section with having an angled path of travel; 
 sprockets on the guide rollers to effect movement of the belt in a path of travel through the lower section and then the upper section; 
 a plurality of cleats secured to the exterior surface of the conveyer belts belt, the cleats each cleat having an upper supporting surfaces surface extending outwardly at a generally right angles angle from the exterior surface of the conveyer belt, each cleat being of a generally rectangular cross section with an upper face supporting surface and a lower face and with an interior face therebetween a front face and a rear face wherein the upper cap supporting surface having has a trough for retaining bottle caps thereon in a proper orientation when the upper a top surface of the bottle cap is in contact with the conveyer belt and the lower edge thereof supported on generally cylindrical perimeter of the bottle cap is in contact with the upper supporting surfaces surface of the cleats but to effect cleat and wherein the trough effects the dropping thereof when the of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation, each cleat having a trough with a sloped interior recess in contact with the lower curved region with the lowermost etent extent of the curved region being closer to the front face than to the rear face of the cleat; and 
 a supplemental sprocket in contact with the interior face of the conveyer belt in the lower extent of the upper section to form an outwardly directed bow in the belt and effect the removal, by gravity, of bottle caps not in the proper orientation. 
 
     
     
       3. A conveying system for lifting and orienting bottle caps comprising:
 a conveyer belt driven by sprockets on guide rollers to effect movement of said belt along a generally upward path of travel; and   a plurality of cleats secured to the exterior surface of said belt, each cleat having a generally rectangular cross section, an upper supporting surface and a generally opposing lower face, and a front face and a generally opposing rear face,   wherein said upper supporting surface of extends outwardly at a generally right angle from said exterior surface of said belt,   and wherein said upper supporting surface includes a lower curved region and a trough with a sloped interior recess in contact with said lower curved region for retaining a bottle cap thereon in a proper orientation wherein a top surface of said bottle cap is in contact with the conveyer belt and the generally cylindrical perimeter of said bottle cap is in contact with said upper supporting surface of said cleat, and wherein said trough effects the dropping of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation, the lowermost extent of said lower curved region being closer to said front face than to said rear face.   
     
     
       4. The conveying system of claim 3, further comprising:
 a supplemental sprocket in contact with the interior face of said conveyer belt to form an outwardly directed bow in said belt and thereby effect the removal, by gravity, of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation.   
     
     
       5. The conveying system of claim 4, further comprising:
 adjustment means to vary the extent of the bow as a function of the particular bottle cap being conveyed.   
     
     
       6. The conveying system of claim 4, further comprising:
 a plate positioned in close proximity to said plurality of cleats in the region of said belt beneath said bow, whereby bottle caps on the conveyer belt may drop under gravity into a hopper due to the orientation of said bow.   
     
     
       7. The conveying system of claim 3, further comprising:
 a source of pressurized air adjacent to the upper extent at one lateral side of said belt, said source having a pressure sufficient to pneumatically urge said bottle caps to the opposite lateral side of said belt, with a chute to receive said pneumatically conveyed bottle caps while maintaining their proper orientation.   
     
     
       8. The conveying system of claim 4, further comprising:
 a hopper for a quantity of randomly oriented bottle caps adjacent to the lower section of said conveyer belt for the initial positioning of bottle caps on said conveyer belt prior to movement toward said bow.   
     
     
       9. The conveying system of claim 6, further comprising:
 a baffle having a raised central extent parallel with the direction of flow of said conveyor belt and positioned over a lower loading section whereby bottle caps dropped thereon will limit movement of said caps onto said conveyor except at the leading edge of said plate.   
     
     
       10. A conveying system for lifting and orienting bottle caps comprising:
 a conveyer belt driven by sprockets on guide rollers to effect movement of said belt along a generally upward path of travel;   a plurality of cleats secured to the exterior surface of said belt, each cleat having a generally rectangular cross section, an upper supporting surface and a generally opposing lower face, and a front face and a generally opposing rear face,   wherein said upper supporting surface of extends outwardly at a generally right angle from said exterior surface of said belt,   and wherein said upper supporting surface includes a lower curved region and a trough with a sloped interior recess in contact with said lower curved region for retaining a bottle cap thereon in a proper orientation wherein a top surface of said bottle cap is in contact with the conveyer belt and the generally cylindrical perimeter of said bottle cap is in contact with said upper supporting surface of said cleat, and wherein said trough effects the dropping of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation, the lowermost extent of said lower curved region being closer to said front face than to said rear face; and   a supplemental sprocket in contact with the interior face of said conveyer belt to form an outwardly directed bow in said belt and thereby effect the removal, by gravity, of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation.   
     
     
       11. The conveying system of claim 10, further comprising:
 adjustment means to vary the extent of the bow as a function of the particular bottle cap being conveyed.   
     
     
       12. The conveying system of claim 10, further comprising:
 a plate positioned in close proximity to said plurality of cleats in the region of said belt beneath said bow, whereby bottle caps on the conveyer belt may drop under gravity into a hopper due to the orientation of said bow.   
     
     
       13. The conveying system of claim 10, further comprising:
 a source of pressurized air adjacent to the upper extent at one lateral side of said belt, said source having a pressure sufficient to pneumatically urge said bottle caps to the opposite lateral side of said belt, with a chute to receive said pneumatically conveyed bottle caps while maintaining their proper orientation.   
     
     
       14. The conveying system of claim 10, further comprising:
 a hopper for a quantity of randomly oriented bottle caps adjacent to the lower section of said conveyer belt for the initial positioning of bottle caps on said conveyer belt prior to movement toward said bow.   
     
     
       15. The conveying system of claim 12, further comprising:
 a baffle having a raised central extent parallel with the direction of flow of said conveyor belt and positioned over a lower loading section whereby bottle caps dropped thereon will limit movement of said caps onto said conveyor except at the leading edge of said plate.   
     
     
       16. A method of lifting and orienting bottle caps comprising:
 conveying said bottle caps along a conveyer belt driven by sprockets on guide rollers to effect movement of said belt along a generally upward path of travel;   retaining said bottle caps on a plurality of cleats secured to the exterior surface of said belt, each cleat having a generally rectangular cross section, an upper supporting surface and a generally opposing lower face, and a front face and a generally opposing rear face, wherein said upper supporting surface of extends outwardly at a generally right angle from said exterior surface of said belt, and wherein said upper supporting surface includes a lower curved region and a trough with a sloped interior recess in contact with said lower curved region for retaining a bottle cap thereon, the lowermost extent of said lower curved region being closer to said front face than to said rear face; and   orienting said bottle caps in a proper orientation on said plurality of cleats, wherein said proper orientation is characterized in that a top surface of each bottle cap is in contact with said conveyer belt and the generally cylindrical perimeter of each bottle cap is in contact with said upper supporting surface of said cleat, such that said trough effects the dropping of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation.   
     
     
       17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
 forming an outwardly directed bow in said conveyor belt to assist in the removal, by gravity, of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation.   
     
     
       18. The method of claim 17, wherein said bow is formed by a supplemental sprocket in contact with the interior face of said conveyer belt. 
     
     
       19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
 varying the extent of the bow as a function of the particular bottle cap being conveyed.   
     
     
       20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:
 positioning a plate in close proximity to said plurality of cleats in the region of said belt beneath said bow, such that bottle caps dropping off said conveyer belt fall into a hopper.   
     
     
       21. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
 pneumatically urging said bottle caps using a source of pressurized air positioned adjacent to the upper extent at one lateral side of said belt, said source having a pressure sufficient to urge said bottle caps to the opposite lateral side of said belt toward a chute positioned to receive said pneumatically conveyed bottle caps while maintaining their proper orientation.   
     
     
       22. The method of claim 17, further comprising:
 positioning a hopper adjacent to the lower section of said conveyer belt to hold a quantity of randomly oriented bottle caps for the initial positioning of said bottle caps on said conveyer belt prior to movement toward said bow.   
     
     
       23. The method of claim 20, further comprising:
 positioning a baffle over a lower loading section of said belt, said baffle having a raised central extent parallel with the direction of flow of said conveyor belt and positioned whereby bottle caps dropped thereon will limit movement of said caps onto said conveyor except at the leading edge of said plate.   
     
     
       24. A method of lifting and orienting bottle caps comprising:
 conveying said bottle caps along a conveyer belt driven by sprockets on guide rollers to effect movement of said belt along a generally upward path of travel;   retaining said bottle caps on a plurality of cleats secured to the exterior surface of said belt, each cleat having a generally rectangular cross section, an upper supporting surface and a generally opposing lower face, and a front face and a generally opposing rear face, wherein said upper supporting surface extends outwardly at a generally right angle from said exterior surface of said belt, and wherein said upper supporting surface includes a lower curved region and a trough with a sloped interior recess in contact with said lower curved region for retaining a bottle cap thereon, the lowermost extent of said lower curved region being closer to said front face than to said rear face;   orienting said bottle caps in a proper orientation on said plurality of cleats, wherein said proper orientation is characterized in that a top surface of each bottle cap is in contact with said conveyer belt and the generally cylindrical perimeter of each bottle cap is in contact with said upper supporting surface of said cleat, such that said trough effects the dropping of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation; and   forming an outwardly directed bow in said conveyor belt to assist in the removal, by gravity, of bottle caps that are not in the proper orientation.   
     
     
       25. The method of claim 24, wherein said bow is formed by a supplemental sprocket in contact with the interior face of said conveyer belt. 
     
     
       26. The method of claim 24, further comprising:
 varying the extent of the bow as a function of the particular bottle cap being conveyed.   
     
     
       27. The method of claim 24, further comprising:
 positioning a plate in close proximity to said plurality of cleats in the region of said belt beneath said bow, such that bottle caps dropping off said conveyer belt fall into a hopper.   
     
     
       28. The method of claim 24, further comprising:
 pneumatically urging said bottle caps using a source of pressurized air positioned adjacent to the upper extent at one lateral side of said belt, said source having a pressure sufficient such to urge said bottle to the opposite lateral side of said belt toward a chute positioned to receive said pneumatically conveyed bottle caps while maintaining their proper orientation.   
     
     
       29. The method of claim 24, further comprising:
 positioning a hopper adjacent to the lower section of said conveyer belt to hold a quantity of randomly oriented bottle caps for the initial positioning of said bottle caps on said conveyer belt prior to movement toward said bow.   
     
     
       30. The method of claim 27, further comprising:
 positioning a baffle over a lower loading section of said belt, said baffle having a raised central extent parallel with the direction of flow of said conveyor belt and positioned whereby bottle caps dropped thereon will limit movement of said caps onto said conveyor except at the leading edge of said plate.   
     
     
       31. A cleat for lifting and orienting a bottle cap along a conveyor, the cleat comprising:
 an upper supporting surface and a generally opposing lower face, and a front face and a generally opposing rear face, such that said cleat has a generally rectangular cross section;   wherein said upper supporting surface extends outwardly at a generally right angle from a surface of said conveyor,   and wherein said upper supporting surface includes a lower curved region and a trough with a sloped interior recess in contact with said lower curved region for retaining said bottle cap thereon in a proper orientation, the lowermost extent of said lower curved region being closer to said front face than to said rear face,   wherein said proper orientation is characterized in that a top surface of said bottle cap is in contact with said conveyer and the generally cylindrical perimeter of said bottle cap is in contact with said upper supporting surface of said cleat,   and wherein said upper supporting surface effects the dropping of said bottle cap if it is not in said proper orientation.   
     
     
       32. The cleat of claim 31, wherein said upper supporting surface retains said bottle cap in said proper orientation when said conveyor is moving along a generally vertical path of travel. 
     
     
       33. The cleat of claim 31, wherein said upper supporting surface effects the dropping of said bottle cap if it is not in said proper orientation when said conveyor is moving along a generally vertical path of travel. 
     
     
       34. The cleat of claim 31, wherein said upper supporting surface effects the dropping of said bottle cap if it is not in said proper orientation and if said conveyor is moving along a path of travel that exceeds vertical at least momentarily. 
     
     
       35. The cleat of claim 31, wherein said upper supporting surface effects the dropping of said bottle cap if it is not in said proper orientation, but only if said conveyor is moving along a path of travel that exceeds vertical by a sufficient degree, at least momentarily, wherein said degree is a function of the particular size and shape of the bottle cap being conveyed.