EP0237299A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Feed apparatus
Assignee: Cambridge Consultants (systems Engineering) Limite
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Filing: 1987-03-06
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2007-03-06
Abstract
Abstract A feed apparatus for feeding workpieces from a feed conveyor (l3) to a belt conveyor (l0) of a processing machine comprises a transfer belt (l4) which is driven by a variable speed drive motor (l5). The speed of the transfer belt (14) is varied so that at transfer the article is received onto the transfer belt (14) while the latter is running at the same speed as the feed conveyor (13) and is delivered to the belt conveyor (10) while the transfer belt (14) is running at the same speed as the belt conveyor (10). The speed changes of the transfer belt (14) are arranged so that the article is deposited on the belt conveyor (10) at a predetermined position.
Inventors
- 👤 Thomas William Greeves
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 18:03
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65G; B65G47/00; B65G47/22; B65G47/26; B65G47/30; B65G47/31; B65G2203/00; B65G2203/04; B65G2203/042
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
185 words
An apparatus for feeding workpieces to a processing machine comprising a belt conveyor for feeding articles into the working zone of the processing machine, a feed conveyor for delivering articles, a transfer belt which receives articles from the feed conveyor and supplies them to the belt conveyor, variable speed drive means for the transfer belt, control means for said drive means, first means responsive to the position of said belt conveyor, second means responsive to the delivery of an article onto the transfer belt, said first and second means supplying signals to said control means, said control means controlling the operation of said drive means so that when the article is received onto the transfer belt the speed of the transfer belt corresponds to the speed of the feed conveyor and when the article is supplied to the belt conveyor the speed of the transfer belt corresponds to that of the belt conveyor, said transfer belt while the article is located thereon undergoing a speed change so that when the article is deposited on the belt conveyor it will be deposited at a predetermined position.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
185 words
An apparatus for feeding workpieces to a processing machine comprising a belt conveyor for feeding articles into the working zone of the processing machine, a feed conveyor for delivering articles, a transfer belt which receives articles from the feed conveyor and supplies them to the belt conveyor, variable speed drive means for the transfer belt, control means for said drive means, first means responsive to the position of said belt conveyor, second means responsive to the delivery of an article onto the transfer belt, said first and second means supplying signals to said control means, said control means controlling the operation of said drive means so that when the article is received onto the transfer belt the speed of the transfer belt corresponds to the speed of the feed conveyor and when the article is supplied to the belt conveyor the speed of the transfer belt corresponds to that of the belt conveyor, said transfer belt while the article is located thereon undergoing a speed change so that when the article is deposited on the belt conveyor it will be deposited at a predetermined position.
Claim 3
Independent Claim
31 words
An apparatus according to Claim l including clamping means for clamping the article to the transfer belt to minimise the risk of slippage of the article relative to the transfer belt.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
61 words
An apparatus according to Claim 2 in which the belt conveyor runs at a higher speed than the feed conveyor and the rate of acceleration and/or the instant at which the transfer belt is accelerated while the article is carried by the transfer belt, is controlled to ensure that the article is deposited on the belt conveyor at the predetermined position.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
113 words
A method of feeding workpieces to a processing machine which has a belt conveyor for feeding workpieces into the working zone of the machine, from a feed conveyor comprises providing a transfer belt positioned intermediate the conveyors, operating the transfer belt at a speed corresponding to that of the feed conveyor to allow an article to be transferred to the transfer belt, altering the speed of the transfer belt to correspond with that of the belt conveyor to allow the article to be transferred to the belt conveyor without slippage, the alteration of speed of the transfer belt being such that the article is positioned on the belt conveyor at a predetermined location.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
113 words
A method of feeding workpieces to a processing machine which has a belt conveyor for feeding workpieces into the working zone of the machine, from a feed conveyor comprises providing a transfer belt positioned intermediate the conveyors, operating the transfer belt at a speed corresponding to that of the feed conveyor to allow an article to be transferred to the transfer belt, altering the speed of the transfer belt to correspond with that of the belt conveyor to allow the article to be transferred to the belt conveyor without slippage, the alteration of speed of the transfer belt being such that the article is positioned on the belt conveyor at a predetermined location.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
31 words
A method according to Claim 4 including clamping the article to the transfer belt to minimise the risk of slippage of the article while it is carried by the transfer belt.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
52 words
A method according to Claim 5 in which the feed conveyor runs at a lower speed than the belt conveyor and the rate of acceleration and/or the instant at which the transfer belt is accelerated is controlled to ensure that the article is deposited on the belt conveyor at the predetermined position.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
20 words
An apparatus according to Claim 2 in which said clamping means comprises a suction unit disposed below the transfer belt.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
24 words
An apparatus according to Claim l in which said second means comprises a sensor positioned downstream of the upstream end of the transfer belt.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
40 words
An apparatus according to Claim l in which said first means comprises a sensor responsive to spaced markings on a strip of material which is fed to the processing machine and which has a running relationship with the belt conveyor.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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