Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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The present invention r~lates to a transport conveyor
to move ~allen bowling pins from a bowling pin pit to a pin
spotter apparatus, and more particularly to remove fallen
bowling pins from a pit to a pin elevator~
Transport conveyors to remove fallen bowling pins
usually have about the width of a bowling pin alley, thus are
quite wide; their length, however, is limited. Usually~ an
endless web is provided running over two end rollers~
Bowling pins which impinge on this web, or fall thereon, may
introduce lateral forces thereto so that the relatively
` wide transport web - for example about 15 meters wide -
does not run centered with respect to its operating ro~ers
but rather tends to skew and run to one side. It is not
desirable to provide lateral guides for the web since these
guides damage the edges of the transport web even after a
; ~ comparatively short operating time.
It is an object o the present invention to provide a
transport conveyor web of substantial width, and which is
subject to lateral deflecting ~orces, and more particularly
to a transport conveyor web for fallen bowling pins which runs
centered~ and ~ which damage to the edge zonesof the web is
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- essentially eliminated.
Subject matter of the presentinvention: Briefly, a
pair of auxiliary rollers are provlded, one ~ch of the pair
being located adjacent a side of the web and engaging the web
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at an angle with respect to ~he major plane thereof to elastically
deform the edge zones of the web to introduce a restoring force
thereto, so ~hat ~he web will run cen~ered.
In its broadest forn~ the inve~tion may accordingly be
defined as providing bowling pin transport conveyor to transport
fallen pins from a pin collection location to a transpor~ location
comprising an endless transport web located in a plane having a
major horizontal vector, two rollers located adJacent said res-
pective locations having said web looped therearound, means center-
ing the transport web on said rollers including a pair of freelyrotatably auxiliary rollers in continuous engagement with the
lower, or return portion of the endless web and being rotated there-
by, each roller of the pair being in continuous engagement with
the web when the web is centered, the auxiliary rollers being
positioned symmetrically with respect to the web, means securing ~
the auxiliary rollers at one end adjacent the lower, or return
run of the web, the free ends of the auxiliary rollers pointing
towards each othex at a~ upward inclination with respect to the
~ plane of the web to elastically deform the edge zone of the lower,
2Q or return run of the web to thereby center the web.
The invention will be described by way of example with
: ~ reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of a bowling pin transport
conveyor;
Fig. 2 is a top view of the conveyor of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section of one side of
~: ; the conveyor; and
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Fig. 4 is a ver~ical sectional view, to a greatly
enlaryed scale, through an auxiliary roller.
An endless transport web 1 (Figs. 1, 2) is located
in a bowling alley pit to remove fallen bowling pins and
to transport them from the pit to a bowllng pin spotter
apparatus, typically to an elevator apparatus to lift the
pins to the pin spotter itself. The fallen pins are swept
towards the pit by means of a bowling pin sweeper. The
width of the transport web 1 is appro~imately the same
as that of a bowling pin alley. The web 1 is made of a
tough, wear-resistant, elastic material, such as rubber
or a plastic, which preferably is additionally reinforced,
for e~ample by flexible fibers, fiberglass, webbing, or
the like. The transport web 1 is looped over two cyl-
indrical end rollers 2, 3; one of the end rollers is
driyen, ~or e~ample by a chain
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drive from a motor ~not shown), so that tha web l will move
in the direction of the arrow A. The rollers 2, 3 are
secured in longitudinal rails 8, wh~h rails 8 are located at
an inclination. Rails 8 are supported on brackets or support
angles 4. The rearward support angle is lower than the lead~
one, to provide for the inclination of the transport
conveyor. Cross bars or rods lO are located between the
rails or the brackets to hold them apart, rod lo being
illustrated between the forward brackets 4.
To keep thé web centered, two end-mounted,inclined
auxiliary rollers 5 are located at the edge region of the
lower run of the transport web l. The bearings 11 (see Fig.3)
for the auxiliary rollers 5 are so arranged that the rollers
~: 5 extend at an angle of about 4 to 6~ upwardly. The inclined
rollers 5 thus press from the inside against the endless
transport web 1, to deflect the edge zone 20 (Fig. 4) of the
transport web. This edge zone 20 will be bent outwardly, as
seen in Figs. 3 and 4. The ax~s of the rollers 5
: additionally are slightly inclined with respect to the
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transport direction, as seen in Fig. 2, which is a top view.
They ~orm a slightly acute angle with respect to the transport
:; direction, that is, the tipsof the rollers 5 are directed
counter the running direction o~ the engaged run of the web.
The auxiliary rollers 5 (see Fig. 4) are retained on a
shaft 1:2 which is rigidly secured in a bearing holder l3 by
means of a screw l4. The shaft 12 has a cylindrical tube l5
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secured thereover, rotatably held in ba1l bearings 16.
searingS 16 are retained in position by c-rings 17 The
bearing holder 13 is located in bracket 8 by means of screw~
18, passing through elongated slots so that the position of
the bearings with respec~ to the web 1 is adjustable,
particularly with respect to the height of engagement of the
rollers with respect -to the web.
If the transport web is in its normal, centered
position, it will be spaced approximately evenly from the
two side rails or brackets 8, and hence also from the walls
g of ~e bowling pin pit, or transport area. T~e two
a~xiliary rollers 5 will exert the same, and hence uniform
pressure on the two edge zones 20 of the transport web 1~
If the transport web 1 should, however, skew somewhat and
tend to move to the one side or the other, a wider edge zone
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will run up on the respective roller on one side, and a
narrower one on the roller 5 opposite thereto. The tension
; ~ of the web at the wider zone will increase over the normal,
uniform tension, and that at the narrower edge zone will
decrease, thus resulting in an unbalanced restoring force,
; tending to move the transport web back towards centered
posltlon. The edges of the transport web themsel~es are not
~; ~ontacted, and not damaged thereby.
~; More than one pair of inclined rollers may be used,
and the rollers may, also, be located to engage either run of
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the web; i-t is preferred, howevex, to locate the rollers at
the run of the web which is not subject to carrying loads,
since damage to the auxiliary rollers, and to their bearings
and ~earing supports is avoided in case of impingement of
5 articles on the rollers during kransport.
Various changes and modi~ications may be made within
the scope of the inventive concept.
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