Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to omni-directional rolls for conveyors.
In omni-directional rolls for conveyors, it is known to have the
roll comprising a disc which rotates about its own axis and has a plurality ;~
of barrel-shaped rollers~ mounted around its periphery, rotating about axes
arranged at right angles to the axis of said disc, the outer peripheries of ^-
the said barrel-shaped rollers all lying upon a common cylindrical surface.
Qmni-directional rolls of this kind are arranged in frames and have
the property of allowing flat-bottomed objects to roll in all directions over
the plane of the conveyor. The said roll can rotate as a whole about the i-
axis of the disc. In addition to this, the barrel-shaped rollers can rotate,
within the said disc, about axes arranged at right axles to the axis of the
disc, thus allowing the objects being conveyed to move parallel with the axis
of the said disc.
The term "dise" does not mean in this ease a cireular plate, but
merely indicates the configuration of the element carrying the barrel-shaped
rollers. The said disc has bearing brackets, arranged parallel to its axis,
for the aecommodation of the axes of the barrel-shaped rollers, all designs
of the said disc therefore being split. Examples appear in British Patent
. ~ . .
1,225,609, United States Patent 3,363,735-, and German Disclosure Text 2,229,176. -
Soviet Union Patent 284,220 diseloses an example of an application of omni-
directional rolls of this kind in a conveyor table which allows displacement
in all directions.
, In the case of conveyors for square or box-shaped objects, it fre-
I quently happens that these objects to some extent retain their orientation.
¦~ This raises problems in the case of deflectors, i.e. elements which change the
direction of travel through 90 , for example.
In the case of known conveyor rolls having smooth barrel-shaped
rollers, undesirable changes in the orientation of the objects being conveyed
-- occur under certain cireumstances.
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It is the purpose of the invention to design an omni-directional
roll of the type mentioned in the beginning hereof in such a manner that it
provides improved guidance for the objects being transported.
The present invention provides an improved universal roller assem-
bly of the type having a generally disc-shaped body rotatable about its
central axis and a plurality of roller members having arcuate outer surfaces `
rotatably mounted on said body for rotation about axes perpendicular to said ;~ -
central axisJ wherein the improvement comprises a plurality of ribs protrud-
ing outwardly from the outer surface of each of said roller members, all of ~ -
said ribs extending peripherally around each said roller member in planes ~~ ~
perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said member, the radial height of - ;
said ribs being significantly smaller than the diameter of said roller mem-
bers and the axial width of said ribs being significantly smaller than the
axial length of said rollers. ;
The ribs surround the barrel-shaped rollers like barrel hoops. It ,
was found, surprisingly enough~ that these ribs substantially increase the
directional stability of the objects being conveyed. The reason for this .,
may be that the said objects no longer rest upon the smooth surfaces of the
original barrel-shaped rollers, but wholly or mainly upon the linear peripher-
al ribs, which possibly dig slightly into the under-surfaces of the said
objects, thus preventing them from twisting and slipping. This is especially
to be expected in the case of cartons which have relatively soft under- `
surfaces, into which the ribs may easily be pressed. ;;
The ribs form a kind of incising supporting surface, although they
do not actually cut into the objects being conveyed, since the ribs are
narrow and low enough to allow the said objects to come to rest almost
immediately upon the peripheral surfaces of the said barrel-shaped rollers
immediately adjacent the relevant ribs.
In the case of rollers of conventional diameter, it has been found ``-
desirable for the width and height of the cross section of the peripheral ribs ;~ -
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to be about 0.5 to 1.5 mm.
A satisfactory axial spacing of the peripheral ribs from each other
is about 2 to 5 mm. These dimensions produce the best directional effects.
It is preferable for the cross section of the said peripheral ribs
to be approximately semi-circular, since this provides the best resistance to
wear together with a satisfactory directional effect.
In drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention: -
Figure 1 is a plan view of an omni-directional roll according to
the invention;
Figure 2 is a front elevation of the omni-directional roll; and
Figure 3 is a front elevation of a single barrel-shaped roller.
With reference to the drawings, the omni-directional roll 10 com- -
prises a disc 1 adapted to rotate upon a shaft 2 about an axis 3. Disc 1
carries upon each side three barrel-shaped rollers 4~ each of which is adapted
to rotate upon a shaft 5 about an axis 6 at right angles to axis 3. The
rollers on one side of the disc are 120 apart while those on the other side
are 60 from adjacent rollers.
Disc 1 carries on both sides bearing cheeks 7 each forming a kind of
bearing bracket for shafts 5 of rollers 4.
The outer surfaces of the barrel-shaped rollers lie upon a common ~
cylindrical surface 8. Adjacent rollers on opposite sides of disc 1 overlap `~ ,slightly, so that the whole periphery of roll 10 is covered by rollers 4 in
relation to axis 3.
Omni-directional roll 10 is thus rotatable as a whole about axis 3
and can roll smoothly upon a base on the said outer surfaces of rollers 4. As
shown in Figure 1, this allows any objects being conveyed to move in a trans-
verse directionO At the same time, the said objects may be rolled in the top-
to-bottom direction shown in Figure 1, in relation to roll 10, in which case
rollers 4 rotate about their own axes 6.
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The surfaces of rollers 4 are not smooth but have a plurality of
peripheral ribs 11, as shown in Figure 3. These ribs surround the said roll- -~
ers uninterruptedly in the manner of barrel hoops and are relatively narrow ~J~;' `'
and flat. For example, a barrel-shaped roller 4, measuring about 40 mm in
length can accommodate about nine peripheral ribs about 0.8 mm in height and
about 1.2 mm in width. The cross section of each peripheral rib is approxi-
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mately semi-circular, but the said rib may be somewhat more pointed, so that ~ -~
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it is more in the form of a cutting edge.
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All rollers 4 in omni-directional roll 10 have peripheral ribs 11,
thus achieving particularly good directional control of objects such as cartons ~ -
boxes and the like moving in the top-to-bottom direction shown in Figure 1. ;
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