Claims
- 1. A mechanism for conveying articles along an arcuate path, said mechanism comprising:
- a first and a second assembly each presenting a plurality of article-supporting elements,
- the elements of the first and second assemblies being intercalated along said curved path of travel;
- tubular structure operatively coupled with at least one of said assemblies for simultaneous vertical movement and rotational movement about an upright axis of the elements of said one assembly relative to the elements of the other assembly; and
- rotatable means in engagement with said tubular structure for imparting motion to said tubular structure and said one of said assemblies,
- the motion of said elements of said one of said assemblies, when resolved into vectors, providing vector components in three orthogonal directions.
- 2. A mechanism for conveying articles as set forth in claim 1, said elements of said other of said assemblies being stationary relative to the elements of said one assembly.
- 3. A mechanism for conveying articles as set forth in claim 2, said tubular structure including structure defining a first hole in said tubular structure for operative engagement with said rotatable means to provide vertical oscillation of said tubular structure.
- 4. A mechanism as set forth in claim 3 wherein said rotatable means includes a first rotor eccentrically mounted on said shaft and positioned in said oblong hole for engagement with said tubular structure.
- 5. A mechanism for conveying articles as set forth in claim 4, said tubular structure including structure defining a second oblong hole in said tubular structure for operative engagement with said rotatable means to provide rotational oscillation of said tubular structure about an upright axis.
- 6. A mechanism for conveying articles as set forth in claim 5, wherein said rotatable means includes a second rotor eccentrically mounted on said shaft and positioned in said oblong hole for engagement with said tubular structure.
- 7. A mechanism for conveying articles as set forth in claim 1, including means for inverting said articles during their movement along said arcuate path.
- 8. A mechanism for conveying articles as set forth in claim 1, wherein said article-supporting elements of said one assembly extend radially from said tubular structure.
- 9. A mechanism for conveying articles as set forth in claim 1, wherein said article-supporting elements are mounted on structure radially spaced from said tubular structure and extend radially inwardly toward said tubular structure.
- 10. A mechanism for conveying articles along an arcuate path, said mechanism comprising:
- a first, stationary outer tubular member oriented on a substantially upright axis;
- a second, inner tube positioned within said outer tube, said inner tube being reciprocal about said upright axis;
- means for oscillating said inner tube about its upright axis of reciprocation;
- means for oscillating said inner tube in a vertical direction;
- a first stationary article-supporting assembly; and
- first means connected to said inner tube and intercalated with said stationary article-supporting assembly for movement relative to said stationary article-supporting assembly for intermittently supporting said articles during advancement thereof along an arcuate path.
- 11. A mechanism for conveying articles along an arcuate path as set forth in claim 10, wherein said means for oscillating said inner tube about an upright axis comprises a first rotatable member in engagement with said inner tube.
- 12. A mechanism as set forth in claim 11, wherein said means for oscillating said inner tube in a vertical direction comprises a second rotatable member in engagement with said inner tube.
- 13. A mechanism for conveying articles as set forth in claim 12, wherein said first rotatable member and said second rotatable member are oriented for rotation about a common axis.
- 14. A mechanism for conveying articles along an arcuate path as set forth in claim 13, including a structure for inverting said articles during movement along said path.
- 15. A mechanism for conveying articles along an arcuate path as set forth in claim 14, wherein said inverting structure comprises a second article supporting assembly for supporting an article to be conveyed and second means connected to said inner tube and intercalated with said second article-supporting assembly for movement relative to said second article-supporting assembly, said second article-supporting assembly and said second movement means being oriented generally lower and downstream along the path of said articles relative to said first article-supporting assembly and said first movement means.
- 16. A mechanism as set forth in claim 12, wherein said first article-supporting assembly is supported separately from said said first means connected to said inner tube for intermittently supporting said articles.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/266,671 filed Nov. 3, 1988 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,342, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/082,835 filed Aug. 6, 1987 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,745 issued Jan. 10, 1989, which is a division of application Ser. No. 06/802,705 filed Nov. 29, 1985, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,894.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
802705 |
Nov 1985 |
|
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
266671 |
Nov 1988 |
|
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
82835 |
Aug 1987 |
|