Tolerance adjuster and wear device for sortation system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11958697-B2
Application number	US-202217877491-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 29, 2022
Priority date	Jul 29, 2021
Publication date	Apr 16, 2024
Grant date	Apr 16, 2024

Abstract

A tolerance adjuster and wear device, e.g. spring clip, is provided for automatically adjusting the tolerance or clearance between a pusher shoe surface and an adjacent surface of a linear slat of a positive displacement sorter. The spring clip includes an engagement portion to couple the clip to a pusher shoe and a wear portion to automatically bias or adjust a tolerance between the pusher shoe and a corresponding slat. The engagement portion includes a retainer, in the form of a pair of opposing elastic grips or teach that are insertable through a receiver in a surface of the shoe. The wear portion includes a wear surface and spring element, such as a spring arm or convex dome. The spring element is elastic to provide a consistent and automatic bias against the slat surface. Preferably, the spring clip is extruded from a resilient, wear-resistant self-lubricating polymer.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A tolerance adjuster and wear device for a pusher shoe of a positive displacement shoe and slat sorter, said tolerance adjuster and wear device comprising:
a unitary body comprising:
an engagement portion for releasably coupling said tolerance adjuster and wear device with the pusher shoe; and
a wear portion configured to automatically adjust a tolerance between the pusher shoe and a slat of the shoe and slat sorter.

2. The tolerance adjuster and wear device of claim 1 , wherein said engagement portion comprises a retainer that is insertable through a receiver in an interior surface of the shoe to couple said tolerance adjuster and wear device with the shoe.

3. The tolerance adjuster and wear device of claim 2 , wherein said retainer comprises a set of teeth each configured to releasably engage an underside of the interior surface of the shoe.

4. The tolerance adjuster and wear device of claim 1 , wherein said wear portion comprises a spring element configured to bias the portion of the shoe having said tolerance adjuster and wear device away from the slat.

5. The tolerance adjuster and wear device of claim 4 , wherein said spring element comprises a plurality of spring arms each of which, extend from an outer central portion of said unitary body away from the shoe and toward a middle portion of said tolerance adjuster and wear device.

6. The tolerance adjuster and wear device of claim 4 , wherein said spring element comprises a convex dome extending upwardly from said engagement portion.

7. The tolerance adjuster and wear device of claim 1 , wherein said unitary body comprises a self-lubricating polymer.

8. The tolerance adjuster and wear device of claim 1 , wherein said wear portion configured to bias a portion of the pusher shoes away from an adjacent surface of the slat, said engagement portion configured to releasably couple said tolerance adjuster and wear device to the pusher shoe proximate a surface of the pusher shoe that is adjacent to the slat.

9. The tolerance adjuster and wear device of claim 8 , wherein said wear portion comprises a spring element configured to contact the surface of the slat adjacent to the pusher shoe to continuously and automatically bias the surface of the pusher shoe away from the adjacent surface of the slat, and said engagement portion comprises a set of opposing grips that cooperate to retain said tolerance adjuster and wear device within a receiver hole formed through the surface of the pusher shoe adjacent the slat, wherein said set of opposing grips are selectively releasable from the receiver hole for removing said tolerance adjuster and wear device from the pusher shoe.

10. The tolerance adjuster and wear device of claim 9 , wherein said spring element comprises a set of spring arms, each of which, extend from an outer central portion of said unitary body away from the shoe and toward a middle portion of said tolerance adjuster and wear device.

11. The tolerance adjuster and wear device of claim 9 , wherein said spring element comprises a convex dome extending upwardly from said engagement portion.

12. A positive displacement sorter comprising:
a plurality of interconnected slats defining an endless web, said web defining a conveying surface;
a plurality of pusher shoes gliding along at least some of said slats to laterally displace articles on said conveying surface; and
a plurality of tolerance adjustment and wear clips disposed between at least some of said slats and some of said pusher shoes, each of said clips releasably coupled to one of said pusher shoes.

13. The sorter of claim 12 , wherein each of said clips comprises a unitary body having an engagement portion for releasably coupling said clip with said pusher shoe and a wear portion configured to bias the portion of said pusher shoe having said clip away from said slat.

14. The sorter of claim 13 , wherein at least one of said pusher shoes comprises four receivers in spaced arrangement at an upper portion of a lower interior surface of said pusher shoe, each of said receivers defined by a hole through the lower interior surface of said shoe and configured to receive a portion of said engagement portion of said clip.

15. The sorter of claim 12 , wherein each of said clips defines a wear part of said sorter that is readily removable from said pusher shoe and replaceable with another clip.

16. The sorter of claim 12 , wherein each of said clip comprises:
a unitary body having an upper portion configured to bias a portion of one of the pusher shoes away from an adjacent surface of a corresponding one of the slats, and a lower portion configured to releasably couple said clip to one of the pusher shoes proximate a surface of the pusher shoe that is adjacent to the corresponding slat;
said upper portion comprising a spring element configured to contact the surface of the slat adjacent to the pusher shoe to continuously and automatically bias the surface of the pusher shoe away from the adjacent surface of the slat; and
said lower portion comprising a set of opposing grips that cooperate to retain said clip within a receiver hole formed through the surface of the pusher shoe adjacent the slat, wherein said set of opposing grips are selectively releasable from the receiver hole for removing said clip from the pusher shoe.

17. The sorter of claim 16 , wherein said spring element comprises a set of spring arms, each of which, extend from an outer central portion of said unitary body away from the shoe and toward a middle portion of said clip.

18. The sorter of claim 16 , wherein said spring element comprises a convex dome extending upwardly from said lower portion.

19. A method of biasing a pusher shoe to maintain a desired tolerance between the pusher shoe and a linear slat of a positive displacement sorter, said method comprising:
providing a positive displacement sorter having a plurality of interconnected slats defining an endless web further defining a conveying surface of the sorter, and a plurality of pusher shoes configured to glide along at least some of the slats to laterally displace articles on the conveying surface;
providing at least one biasing and wear device between at least some of the pusher shoes and at least some of the linear slats, wherein the biasing and wear device is removably coupled to the pusher shoe; and
automatically biasing an interior surface of the pusher shoe away from an adjacent exterior surface of the linear slat with the biasing and wear device.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising removing the biasing and wear device from the pusher shoe and installing a different biasing and wear device at the pusher shoe to replace the removed device.

21. A pusher shoe for a positive displacement sorter in which the pusher shoe is configured to move along a slat of the sorter, said pusher shoe comprising:
a base, wherein said base includes an interior surface at least partially defining an opening in said base for receiving a slat, and wherein said interior surface includes a receiving hole; and
a clip removably inserted in said receiving hole;
wherein an end portion of said clip extends from said receiving hole when said clip is inserted in said receiving hole, and wherein said end portion of said clip is configured to contact an outer surface of the slat when said pusher shoe moves along the slat.

22. The pusher shoe of claim 21 , wherein said receiving hole comprises a plurality of receiving holes and said cl

Assignees

• Dematic Corp

Inventors

• Devries Jeffrey S
• Triesenberg Thomas H

Classifications

• B65G2207/36

  Pushing shoes on conveyors · CPC title

• B65G47/82 Primary

  Rotary or reciprocating members for direct action on articles or materials, e.g. pushers, rakes, shovels {(means for pushing glass articles onto a conveyor C03B9/453)} · CPC title

• B65G43/00

  Control devices, e.g. for safety, warning or fault-correcting · CPC title

• B65G47/84

  Star-shaped wheels or devices having endless travelling belts or chains, the wheels or devices being equipped with article-engaging elements · CPC title

• B65G2207/48

  Wear protection or indication features · CPC title