US2715966A - Revolving ball conveyor and supporting device - Google Patents

Description

M. C. TIECK Aug. 23, 1955 REVOLVING BALL CONVEYOR AND SUPPORTING DEVICE Filed Sept. 10 1951 MAX C. TIECK 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

M. 'C. TIECK Aug. 23, 1955 REVOLVING BALL CONVEYOR AND SUPPORTING DEVICE Filed Sept. 10 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

MAX C. TIECK ATTORNEY United States Patent Mil REVOLVING BALL CONVEYOR AND SUPPORTING DEVICE Max C. Tieck, Oroville, Calif.

Application September 10, 1951, Serial No. 245,930

1 Claim. (Ci. 211-94) The present invention relates to a revolving ball conveyor and supporting device and it consists in the combinations, constructions and arrangements of parts herein described and claimed.

Generally there is provided a revolving ball conveyor and supporting device which in each of several forms s which the invention may assume comprises a ball or a pair of balls mounted in a trackway or pair of trackways as the case may be and which in each case supports in a novel manner a hook or the like which depends therefrom. A novel spacer arrangement is provided between the adjacent hooks and the devices are capable of a variety of uses such as supporting kitchen articles as, for example, cups, pots, pans and the like or may be used to support a collapsible curtain or like device.

It is accordingly an object or" the invention to provide a novel ball supported, trackway mounted, conveyor hook.

Another object of the invention is to provide devices of the character set forth which are simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and yet eflective and efiicient in use.

Still another object of the invention is the provision, in devices of the character set forth, of novel trackways forming parts of the invention.

A further object of the invention is the provision, in one form of the invention wherein a pair of balls are utilized, of novel means for supporting a hook therebetween.

A further object of the invention is'the provision, in devices of the character set forth, of novel means for mounting housings forming parts of the invention.

Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the following specification taken in conjunction with the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention shown mounted upon a ceiling,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary exploded perspective View illustrating certain details of construction involved in the device illustrated in Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along line 33 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view illustrating another form the invention may assume,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating still another form the invention may assume,

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along line 66 of Figure 5,

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 but illustrating a housing which may be utilized therewith,

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of Figure 7,

Figure 9 is an exploded perspective view of still another form the invention may assume,

Figure 10 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the device of Figure 9 shown in assembled condition,

2,715,966 Patented Aug. 23, 1955 Figure 11 is a plan view of a completely assembled trackway which may be utilized in the invention, and

Figure 12 is a view similar to Figure 11 but illustrating another shape the trackway may assume.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, there is shown therein, in Figures 1 to 3, inclusive, an elongated tubular trackway 10 the ends of which are closed by means of caps 11 and which is provided along one side with a longitudinal slot 12. Atop the trackway 10 there is mounted relatively small looped handles 13 each of which is adapted to receive therein an arm 14 of a support member generally designated at 15 and illustrated in detail in Figure 2 and which support member is provided with an integrally formed arcuate leg 16 and an integrally formed upwardly extending screw 17 which is adapted to be engaged in, for example, a ceiling 18 or the like.

Revolubly mounted within the trackway 10 is a plurality of balls 19 which may be formed of wood, plastic material or other suitable material and each of which is provided with a diametrically extending opening 20 for the reception therethrough of a horizontally extending axle 21 the free end of which is swedged, as indicated at 22, and the other end of which has revolubly mounted thereon a collar 23.

integrally formed with the unswaged end of the axle 21 is an arcuate downwardly and inwardly extending support arm 24 having integrally dependent therefrom a hook 25. A short vertical section 26 interconnects the members 24 and and spacer bars 27 each provided with clamps 28 at their outer ends, may be engaged over adjacent portions 26 to thereby space the balls 19 and their attendant mechanisms.

In the operation of this form of the invention, it will be apparent that the entire device may be suspended from a ceiling 18 or the like by means of the support members 15 and that the same will be rigidly held in position by means of the bottom portions of the members 14 and 16. From the hooks 25 there may be suspended various articles such as cups, the handles of knives and forks where the same may be provided with eyes or a shower curtain or like device may be suspended upon a plurality of such hooks 25. When it is desired to space the various units composed of the balls 19 and their attendant mechanisms, it is only necessary to interconnect adjacent portions 26 by means of the spacer bars 27, as well illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings. Chains may be utilized instead of the bars 27 when it is desired to provide flexibility in such an assembly.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figure 4 there is provided a housing which is generally indicated at 30 and which is provided with a flattened top portion 31 from either side of which depends an inwardly directed, integrally formed trackway 32 which trackways 32 extend longitudinally and the lower ends of which provide an opening 33 therebetween.

In each of the trackways 32 there is positioned a ball 34 each of which is provided with a diametrically extending opening 35 for the reception of a transversely extending axle 36 the outer ends of which may be swaged when the same are extended through the balls 34. Collars 37 may be mounted upon the axle 36 inwardly of each of the balls 34 to maintain the same in proper alignment. A hook 38 is provided with an upwardly extending shank 39 having an integrally formed eye 40a at its upper end which eye is adapted to encircle the central portion of the axle 36 whereby the hook 38 may extend downwardly through the opening 33. Holes 41a are provided at suitable positions in the flattened portion 31 so that the housing 30 may be attached to a ceiling or the like. The operation of this form of the "ice tion 41.

Again, in this form of the invention, there is provided a pair of balls 45 of any suitable material each of which is revolubly mounted in one of the trackways 42. A hook 46 is provided with an integrally formed eye 47 V which is of a size to receive the inner portions of the balls 45 therein,

In operation, it will be seen that the form of the invention illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 will act identically with those heretofore described and at the same thus may be interconnected by bars or chains to space the same.

In Figures 7 and 8 there is illustrated the device shown in Figures 5 and 6 with the addition of an outer casing 48 which is of inverted U-shaped cross sectional area andwhich has its bight portion aflixed to the upper side of the flattened portion 41 by welding, as indicated at49. One of the dependent legs of the outer casing 48 is provided with key slots 50 whereby the same may be attached to a Wall. The device otherwise is identical with that shown in Figures 5 and 6.

Referring now to that form of the iHVEDfiOIIdHUS',

v trated in Figures 9 and 10, it will be seen that there is provided an elongated tubular housing 60 in which may be mounted a plurality of balls 61 each provided with an inwardly extending circumferential slot 62 which slot leaves a core 63 centrally within the ball 61.

Loosely surrounding the core 63 is an eye 64 from which depends an integrally formed shank 65 having a hook 66 integrally formed at the lower end thereof.

The housing 60 is provided with'a longitudinal slot 67 in its lowennost portion. The operation of this form of the invention will be identical with that heretofore described with the remainder of the illustrations in this 4 application and it will be apparent'that the shank 65 adjoining one another may be interconnected by bars 27 or by chains whereby to space the same from one another.

In Figure 11 there is illustrated a substantially ovular trackway which may be of any of the forms above-,

described and which may be joined together, as indicated at 70. In Figure 12 there is shown a circular trackway which is joined together as indicated at 71,

the trackway being shown as one of those illustrated, for example, in Figure 4, Figure 5 but which may be of any suitable type illustrated herein. a

While only certain forms of the invention have been shown and described herein, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that many minor modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A device of the character described comprising an elongated channel-shaped housing having a longitudinal slot centrally located in the underside thereof, means for supporting said housing, trackways of semicircular cross section forming the sides of said housing, pairs of balls of substantially the diameter of said trackways revolubly mounted therein, an eye member interposed between each of said pairs of balls, said pairs of balls being laterally spaced apart less than the thickness of said eye member, said eye member having a circular opening adapted to receive portions of said 'balls, and a hook member depending from said eye member and extending through the slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 555,603 Harvey et a1 Mar. 3, 1896 581,621 Schenker Apr. 27, 1897 640,723 7 White et a1. Jan. 2, 1900 712,163 White Oct. 28, 1902 1,230,440 Steele June 19, 1917 1,249,972 Kurtz Dec. 11, 1917 1,389,538 Taylor Aug. 30, 1921 1,598,479 Day et al. Aug. 31, 1926 1,650,496 Day Nov. 22, 1927.

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