Abstract: This invention pertains to a method and device for loading high-loft materials such as batting into the cargo compartment of a truck, container or railroad car. The high loft batting is rolled and packaged in plastic bags. The device has a number of tubular cells provided to hold said bags, and a support structure having a piston for each cell. The bags are inserted into the cells, and the device is then rolled into the truck. The bags are ejected from the cells by the pistons which push the bags out. The cells are arranged so that they form a shape which is similar to the cross-section of the cargo compartment. As the bags are ejected from the cell they maintain that shape thus insuring optimum loading of the compartment.In order to reduce the volume of the bags, the bags are collapsed by removing some of the air contained within the bags prior to their insertion into the cells.

Abstract: The transport installation comprises a reception station and a transport vehicle between which a load can be displaced in a horizontal plane by movement of the vehicle. To avoid the necessity of raising the transport vehicle or of having recourse to an auxiliary vehicle, an endless conveyor, extending in the direction of displacement of the transport vehicle is provided at the reception station. The endless conveyor comprises a horizontal portion for receiving the load and this portion is preceded by a downwardly inclined portion intersecting the horizontal plane along which the load can be transported. At least one drive wheel, co-operating with a corresponding drive element carried by the transport vehicle, is provided at the reception station for driving the endless conveyor at the same time as the transport vehicle.

Abstract: A workpiece transporting apparatus particularly adapted to allow a rapid transfer of workpieces through a sealable opening between opposite sides of a wall, and thus rapid loading and unloading of vacuum processing or other sealable chambers. In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus employs a walking beam accumulator which comprises a first frame having a beam or rack with a series of locations for supporting a group of substrate holders, and a similar second frame mounted for rotation on an eccentric so that each holder supported by the first frame is removed, moved forward, and placed into an adjacent location on the first frame. The apparatus also employs a mechanism for relatively moving the walking beam accumulator and a workpiece receiver between a first position in which the wall opening can be sealed and a second position in which workpieces can be transferred between the accumulator and the receiver via the opening. In a preferred embodiment, the receiver is a rotatable drum inside a process chamber.

Abstract: An arrangement for supplying unexposed X-ray films to a handling apparatus, such as a cassette unloading and loading apparatus, includes a channel member bounding a channel into which a receptacle unit including an inner receptacle member and an outer tubular casing member can be introduced. The casing member is shiftable relative to the receptacle member so as to respectively cover and uncover a withdrawing opening of the receptacle member in its closed and open relative position. At least one arresting device is provided which arrests the members in their closed position. The arresting device is released by a releasing device mounted on the channel member when the receptacle unit reaches its releasing position in the channel. Then, the casing member is retained in the releasing position, and the receptacle member continues its movement until it reaches its open position.

Abstract: A mechanical transfer system for lifting and transferring parts to load and unload fixtures and pallets in a path which includes vertical and horizontal motions with a rotary input and which includes a cam modifier for the output motion to obtain a modified arcuate motion curve which will have substantially straight sections at the start and finish. This enables a straight lift or lower action for parts that need to be lowered into or lifted out of pallets or fixtures which have receiving receptacles for the parts.

Abstract: An unloading apparatus comprises a housing vertically spaced from the port in the bin containing the material to be unloaded, a shaft defining and rotatable about an upright axis generally at the port, at least one arm extending at least generally radially from the shaft and being sweepable through the material and over the port on rotation of the shaft, a toothed drive wheel centered on the axis and fixed on the shaft, and first and second pairs of actuators each having an outer end pivoted on the housing and an inner end constituted as a pusher engageable tangentially with the teeth of the wheel. These actuators are generally angularly equispaced around the axis and the actuators of the first pair alternate with those of the second pair.

Abstract: An apparatus for clamping pipes and the like to the forks of a forklift truck. A flapper arm is pivotally attached to a frame member which straddles each fork of the truck. A clamp arm is pivotally attached to the opposite end of the flapper arm. A single piston extends between the frame member and clamp arm to cause the clamp arm to move between opened and closed positions.

Abstract: A mechanical transfer system for lifting and transferring work parts to load and unload fixtures and pallets in a path which includes vertical and horizontal motions. Mechanical hands are provided to grasp the parts and deposit them at a new location. A lifting beam carrying these hands is moved horizontally and also shifted by mechanically driven arms to provide a straight lift or lower action for the work parts at the beginning and end of the transfer path. A mechanism associated with the mechanically driven arms is actuated in response to the movement of the arms to change the orientation of the mechanical hands and the supported work part during the transfer motion so that a work part can be lifted in one orientation and deposited in another orientation.

Abstract: A load handling apparatus particularly suited for incorporation into a vehicle for lifting and transporting heavy loads such as steel billets, comprising a main frame to straddle a load, pivotally mounted lift frame assembly providing the lifting capability to raise a steel billet and suspend it during transport, suspended load engaging and clamping members, hydraulic cylinders to actuate the clamping and lifting members and an hydraulically actuated drag link for stabilizing the load while transporting over uneven terrain. The drag link is pivotally connected at its one end to the main frame and at its other end to the suspended load engaging and clamping assembly so that these pivot points, in conjunction with the pivot points of the lift frame assembly, substantially define a parallelogram relationship. By varying the length of the drag link, the clamping assembly is maintained in proper orientation relative to the ground.

Abstract: This invention relates to the draining of bulk materials which are not spontaneously flowable, from a high-rise silo in which the bulk material is fed from the top layer of the bulk material at any instant, into a central gravity shaft having a bottom extraction facility. To this end, the invention consists in a gravity shaft which is combined with the gastight high-rise silo and is rigid, stationary, tubular and closable at the bottom. The shaft is provided with perforations distributed along its height and circumference, of which at least one is situated at each vertical position of the prevailing level of bulk material. The bottom of the shaft can be sealed off with a slider or a plug of the material which is permitted to be built up to a predetermined height.

Abstract: Mixtures of particulate material of widely different particulate sizes segregate on storage, smaller particles falling to the bottom. In the invention mixture is supplied to a bunker in a plurality of layers and subsequently withdrawn so that mixture is taken from each layer simultaneously. Apparatus used comprises a rotor dividing the bunker into several equal compartments. During introduction of a batch of mixture to the bunker the rotor is rotated through several revolutions so that the mixture forms layers in each compartment. The bottom of the bunker is flat. An outlet slot in the bottom extends along a chord. A crew conveyor below the slot carries mixture falling through the slot away from the bunker. The rotor rotates slowly during dispensing in synchronism with the conveyor, pushing mixture to the slot at such a rate that material from every layer in a compartment falls into the slot simultaneously, the compartments being progressively emptied.

Abstract: A lift is provided characterized by its ability to be simply retrofitted into a van or similar vehicle of virtually any style construction without requiring the modification of the existing structure. The unit comes in a small, neat package which is hinged on a vertical axis to a door post adjacent the hinge of one of the doors. The mounting plate of the unit which mounts the hinge also mounts a slide in its distal end which slides in a track in the door, so that as the door is opened the mounting plate is supported at one end by its hinge and at the other end in the slide. A horizontal carrier slides outwardly on tracks on the mounting plate, so that the unit clears the vehicle structure, and then a vertical carrier descends from the horizontal carrier by virtue of a hydraulic actuator.

Abstract: An apparatus for removing newspapers from a container in a newspaper live storage buffer having an indexing unit for moving the containers individually from the buffer's conveying device to an unloading position. In the unloading position a pneumatically controlled paddle is raised to engage the newspapers within the container and at approximately the same time a gate forming the bottom of the container is unlatched to permit it to swing to an open position. The paddle is then lowered and is effective in guiding the newspapers into an arcuated channel from which they are delivered for further processing downstream of the buffer.

Abstract: An elongated object such as a rolled steel section is adapted to be conveyed by means of a trolley supporting it at one end while the other end of the object is supported by a movable platform. The trolley comprises a frame of inverted U-shape to the legs of which are fixed a pair of wheels with a handle being attached to the frame and extending from the plane of the U-shaped frame. A subframe is suspended for rotation from a pivot shaft at the center of the U. The subframe is a square and carries a platform on which the one end of the elongated object rests such that manipulation of the handle facilitates movement and maneuvering of the object.

Abstract: An accumulator conveyor is equipped with sensors which respond to article movement by pivoting about a vertical axis as the result of having a pair of laterally spaced wheels on opposite ends of a shaft with one wheel driven by the propelling member and the other by an article supporting roller. The first wheel is larger than the second wheel and is attached to the shaft while the second wheel is connected to the shaft by a one-way clutch. Pivotal movement of the sensor results from differentiation between the relative speeds of the wheels.

Abstract: A method for unloading bulk freight from a cargo body or container 3 or other storage space provided internally with a foil 4. The bulk freight is unloaded through an under edge of the bottom 10 of the cargo body or container 3. Before filling, a continuous foil web 4 is provided at least over the bottom 10 and a portion of the front wall opposite of the unloading edge or side wall. The foil web 4 is laid down over the bottom in a sequence of folds 5. The foil 4 is pulled outwards over the unloading edge for unloading the cargo.

Abstract: A motorized vehicle has an elongated space between a drivers cab at the front and a garbage compactor at the rear, one side of the space being occupied by a glass collection bin and a can collection bin. The other side of the space is occupied by a newspaper receptacle, between a glass hopper and a can hopper. The collection bins move several feet laterally and then tilt to dump away from the side of the vehicle. The paper receptacle tilts to discharge. The hopper and vertical conveyors are enclosed and the conveyors cannot move unless the access doors are closed. All actuations are hydraulically powered with "dead man" safety control valves.

Abstract: The feeding of batch material to a melting furnace is disclosed. The batch materials are choke fed to keep the total batch crust plus molten glass depth constant. The batch level keeps the arc electrodes submerged and helps promote arc stability and melting efficiency.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for transferring containers having projections horizontally extending from a pair of opposite sides thereof between a vertically moving tray and a pair of generally horizontally disposed transfer tracks which can be moved between (a) an inner position in vertical alignment with the container projections for transferring a container to or from an upwardly or downwardly moving tray, respectively, and (b) an outer position in which the transfer tracks are displaced outwardly and laterally of the container projections, to allow a container on an upwardly or downwardly moving tray to pass unimpeded past the transfer tracks when transfer thereof from the tray is not desired.

Abstract: Disclosed is a wafer handling device for a sputtering system where wafers, used in the manufacture of integrated circuits, are placed in a loading chamber, removed from the loading chamber and conveyed by a conveying device through a transportation chamber where they are individually picked from the conveying device by the wafer handling device and placed on a rotating table within the system sputtering chamber to be sputter processed. Concurrently within the placing of one unprocessed wafer on the rotating table, a processed wafer is picked from the rotating table and placed on a second conveying device or the same conveying device which brought unprocessed wafers to the wafer handling device for return to the loading chamber to be removed from the sputtering system for further handling and processing.