Abstract: In a gravity rollerway conveyor having a plurality of resilient tired rollers with low frction bearings, the resilient tires are selected for various properties desired for the overall conveyor and are permanently preassembled on metallic cylindrical tubes for stockpiling, so that thereafter they may be selected for a particular job and mechanically force fit or cemented onto the outer race of a standard roller subassembly that has the bearing. In this manner, the secure assembly of the tire can be accomplished without contaminating or deteriorating the bearing or other parts of the roller subassembly.

Abstract: A building that can be constructed quickly in a wide variety of configurations has a sill beam that runs along the perimeter of the building. The plumbing, electrical and other utility needs for the building are channeled through a cavity provided for in the sill beam. Columns are removably mounted on the sill beam according to the desired configuration with exterior and interior panels extending between the columns. Overhead, roof beams extend between columns with roof panels extending between the roof beams. Similarly, the floor is constructed of a plurality of floor panels. The panels forming the exterior walls of the building are pre-finished on both sides.

Abstract: A multi directional wheel, particularly for use with guide structures and conveying structures, driven or undriven, consists of only two different parts, namely an integral one piece molded synthetic resin hub and an integral one piece molded synthetic resin roller. A plurality of such rollers are mounted about the periphery of the hub so that the axes of the rollers are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the axis of the hub, with bearings being provided by the inherent structure of the hub and rollers. Bearing supports extend outwardly from the hub and engage between subrollers that make up the rollers, so that the rollers may be closely spaced to each other without any intervening structure, to lessen flat spots between adjacent rollers. Rollers are snap fit into the bearing supports in the axial direction, so that two wheels may be mounted together as mirror images to prevent withdrawal of the rollers on the snap fit assembly.

Abstract: An endless rigid slat conveyor is provided with pivotal connections between adjacent slats that are formed by pivotally interengaging arcuate surfaces with abutting planar surfaces between the connections and the flat surface of the formed belt. The connection has an arcuate outer surface facing inwardly of the closed loop belt to engage drive apertures in the sprockets and further to engage a cantilevered support surface of an adjacent belt. The cantilevered support surface has a roller, aligned with the adjacent connection that is supported on a stationary track, so that the connection is directly supported to a stationary track or rail. The rigid slats are constructed in one piece with identical cross sections throughout their axial extent, including reinforcing ribs.

Abstract: An undriven gravity roller conveyor is disclosed in which a first plurality of idler conveyor rollers having a rigid outer annular wheel surface and an annular tire of an elastomeric material with an inner annular bearing surface of complementary shape, mounted on each rigid outer annular wheel surface, are arranged in successive rows for conveying loads of cargo. The elastomeric tires, as mounted on the wheel surfaces, have substantially equal radial thicknesses providing outer annular bearing surfaces with a first radial dimension and a first circumferential surface area, and are made of a material having an elastic limit by which each of the tires acquires a permanent deformation known as compression set when radially depressed.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method is disclosed for continuously producing an indefinite length strip of material in a mold with monitoring of such operating characteristics as product temperature, product pressure, product quantity, film temperature, film pressure, film quantity, reaction time, processing time, product through speed, and the like, together with comparing such monitored values with "profiles" of the desired characteristics to provide for close and quick control of such characteristics. The profile is a comparison standard for each characteristic and defined as a fixed curve representing the desired change of such characteristic with respect to another characteristic, for example, the desired variable temperature along the length of a molding apparatus. Most preferably, foam products are produced.

Abstract: A tilting shelf type vertical conveyor wherein a plurality of shelves are pivotally mounted between two endless chains that are driven by pairs of upper and lower sprockets, is provided with a shelf control system having effectively a single track formed by a first track half adjacent one chain and a second track half adjacent the other chain. One side of the shelf is provided with two rollers for engaging in one of the tracks, whereas the other side of the shelf is provided with two rollers, generally at right angles to the first two rollers, for engagement with the other track. The shelf position is controlled during the conveying run by one set of rollers and track, and during the return run with the other set of rollers and track.

Abstract: One or more of the rollers of a gravity rollerway conveyor has an annular outer tire forming the load support surface, which tire is assembled on the hub of the roller by first being turned inside out from its normal relaxed position and then being stretched over the hub that has a larger outer diameter than the tire inner diameter, so that the tire is pretensioned at its outer surface and precompressed at its inner surface to result in a significant decrease in the rolling resistance at substantially zero speed over a wide range of load values. The assembled tire has a central inner flange clamped in complementary recesses in the hub halves to prevent tire rotation.

Abstract: Material such as panels, boards, and flexible sheets are produced and processed while passing between two or more surfaces at least one of which has a thin layer of pressurized fluid in direct contact with the product. While in this process zone, the item is shaped, coated, smoothed, textured, heated, cooled, compressed, dried, and/or impregnated. For example, expandable resin is deposited in a continuously formed bag of upper and lower sheet material so that the resin may expand and cure as it is drawn in through a fixed rigid mold having upper and lower (and perhaps side) porous material walls through which pressurized fluid is passed to provide a fluid bearing support and molding surface. The temperature, pressure and flow of the fluid is monitored and controlled separately at spaced locations along the length of the mold to control curing rate, foaming rate, surface characteristics and resistance of material moving through the mold.

Abstract: A conveying and supporting surface is provided with a plurality of coanda effect nozzles for providing a directional film of gas along the surface to support and/or convey a plurality of articles, in indefinite length web, or material along the surface. The directional coanda effect nozzles will produce a conveying film of gas and a film of gas that will produce a suction spaced from the surface to hold the articles closely adjacent the surface while at the same time produce an air bearing to prevent the articles or web material from contacting the surface.

Abstract: Rigid synthetic foam is expanded, molded and cured in an endless mold formed by opposed spaced horizontal belt conveyors with side dams. To obtain a smooth finish on the products, a top cover belt and a bottom cover belt are employed to span the rigid slats of the conveyors, respectively. The top cover belt is stretched tightly and smoothly when the endless conveyors approach each other at the entrance to the pressure mold, by means of a downwardly depending continuous wedge shaped member along each side margin of the cover belt that cooperates with an upwardly opening correspondingly wedge shaped recess in the side dam. To obtain different thickness products, spacer blocks may be employed between the side dam and the lower conveyor.

Abstract: In a molding apparatus employing opposed endless belt conveyors to mold a non-rigid material into a rigid material, the problem of one conveyor being driven at a slightly greater speed than the other conveyor to produce harmful shear stresses within the molded product is avoided by driving both conveyors at generally the same speed during start-up until the rigid product extending between the two conveyors will tend to drive the slower conveyor at the speed of the faster conveyor, at which point the drive for the slower conveyor will be disconnected. One-way clutches may be placed in the drive of both conveyors so that it does not matter which conveyor is slower, or a one-way clutch may be placed in the drive of only one conveyor and the other conveyor constructed so that it will inherently tend to run faster than the one conveyor, or a selectively releasable coupling, such as a clutch, may be placed in the drive of one conveyor so that the drive of the one conveyor may be disconnected.

Abstract: The pour plate that is inclined downwardly between the side conveyors of a U-shaped continuous molding tunnel is adjustable in width between the correspondingly adjustable side conveyors so as to selectively produce flat-top buns of foamed synthetic resin of a desired width within the range of adjustment. Interdigitating T-shaped fingers are transversely expandible to form the pour plate and have the gaps between the fingers closed by a cover sheet extending completely over the pour plate with sides being folded downwardly between the pour plate and side conveyors where they are attached to a bias that holds the cover sheet in stretched condition over the pour plate. The bottom cover web that travels with the foam may be folded or cut to the adjusted width of the pour plate. The interdigitated finger construction of the pour plate permits adjustment of the pour plate profile so as to correspond to the rise/time curve of the foam as it expands on our pour plate.

Abstract: Two foamable chemicals are diverted from a recirculation path by simultaneously operable pivoting ball valves to respective separate paths through respective one way valves, pressure responsive normally closed poppet valves, and a common conduit to a common mixing chamber wherein they are mixed by identical counter rotating shafts having roll pins extending through diametric bores, before the thus mixed chemicals are discharged into a suitable mold. Solvent and air are supplied under the control of selectively operable valves through pressure responsive poppet valves to the same common conduit as the chemicals for washing the chemicals from the conduit, from the outer face of the chemical poppet valves, and for further washing the mixing chamber.

Abstract: For cold temperature storage on a gravity rollerway conveyor, the parallel flights of rollers of the rollerway conveyor each have a first group of rollers engaging the pallets in their storage position with surfaces having no appreciable compression set characteristics and a second group of rollers not in engagement with the pallets in their storage position but engaging the pallets when moving from one storage position to another storage position with elastomeric surfaces having appreciable compression set. The first group of rollers may be constructed with support surfaces that are rigid, while the second group of rollers may be constructed with support surfaces that are elastomeric with substantial hysteresis properties.

Abstract: A gravity undriven roller conveyor is provided with speed control so as to maintain articles travelling thereon within a narrow speed range generally independent of the length of the conveyor, the starting speed of the article, and the load of the conveyor by providing an elastomeric tired wheel on a bracket beneath the cylindrical rolls of a conveyor so as to engage two adjacent cylindrical rolls and absorb kinetic energy through hysteresis properties of the material of the elastomeric tire on the wheel. Vertical adjustment is provided with a rigid screw mounting or a biased spring mounting, and flanges radially overlapping the tire are provided on the wheel so as to limit the compression of the tire through such vertical adjustment to within the elastic limit of the elastomeric material.

Abstract: Two foamable chemicals are diverted from a recirculation path by simultaneously operable pivoting ball valves to respective separate paths through respective one way valves, pressure responsive normally closed poppet valves, and a common conduit to a common mixing chamber wherein they are mixed by identical counter rotating shafts having roll pins extending through diametric bores, before the thus mixed chemicals are discharged into a suitable mold. Solvent and air are supplied underthe control of selectively operable valves through pressure responsive poppet valves to the same common conduit as the chemicals for washing the chemicals from the conduit, from the outer face of the chemical poppet valves, and for further washing the mixing chamber.

Abstract: Composite panelling of upper and lower metal skins with side configurations for interlocking and a rigid foam core are continuously made by feeding separate upper and lower skin panels secured together by preassembled rigid foam end dams continuously past a foam station having a small height mixing head mounted on cross slides to lay down a zigzag pattern of foam between the skins, with the first and last transverse run of foam being parallel to the ends of the skins. A mixing head is such that valves are located within the head so that the two foamable chemicals do not contact each other until they are fed into the mixing chamber wherein a mechanical mixer mixes them immediately prior to being deposited, which mechanical mixer and valves are of minimum height and fully insertable within the molding space between the skins. A drive motor for the mixer is located in the main body supporting the mixing head, which main body does not enter into the mold cavity.

Abstract: A flanged wheel for a roller conveyor is provided with a substantially solid elastomeric tire narrower than and surrounding the wheel without bonding thereto, the tire normally extending radially beyond the flanges. Compression set of the elastomer and consequent flat spots under excessive load are avoided by the load coming to rest on the rims of the flanges.

Abstract: Plastic is foamed in a pressure tunnel portion of a molding conveyor formed by opposed endless conveyor runs with side pieces defining the product cross section. One or both employed the endless runs, preferably the bottom conveyor run is laterally split into at least two separate endless shiftable conveyors respectively carrying the side pieces forming the sides of the pressure tunnel, which shiftable conveyors are laterally movable, with respect to the conveying or molding direction, at the tunnel entrance and the tunnel exit for clamping and unclamping respectively, that is for bringing the side pieces horizontally toward each other transverse to the molding direction to form the final configuration for the tunnel cross section and away from each other at the molding tunnel exit to release the sides of the molded product.