The use of automated article handling equipment is becoming more widespread in many industries. Article handling equipment includes conveyance devices both overhead and suspended conveyors, as well as floor mounted conveyors. Floor mounted conveyors typically have a base structure which rests on, or is secured to, a floor or other structure. The conveyor base structure supports conveying elements which move articles along a conveyor path. The conveyor path may be straight, curved, or inclined up or down.
Floor mounted conveyors generally provide an uninterrupted conveyor path past and between processing stations, for example, cleaning stations, machining stations, assembly stations, inspection stations, packaging stations, and loading and unloading stations. Therefore, the conveyor path in combination with the processing stations may extend over an uninterrupted length or path of hundreds of feet. However, during the course of normal manufacturing operations and in the course of maintenance of the various pieces of equipment, it is often desired to cross from one side of the conveyor to the other. To accomplish this, bridges are often built over the conveyor. The bridge is generally of a metal construction, requires stairs at both ends and handrails and guarding, all of which results in an expensive construction simply to pass from one side of the conveyor to the other. Without a bridge, the only other practical option is to walk around one or the other of the ends of the conveyor which, of course, is time consuming.
To overcome the above disadvantage of not having access across the conveyor, it is known to take a section of conveyor and bridge that conveyor section, or gate, between the adjacent ends of two fixed conveyors, each of which is mounted on its own base structure. One end of the bridging conveyor gate is pivotally attached to an end of one of the fixed conveyors. Therefore, when it is desired to pass across the conveyor line, the other end of the bridging conveyor gate is lifted, thereby pivoting the bridging conveyor gate with respect to the one of the fixed conveyors. The bridging conveyor gate is held in its elevated position by means of a latch or locking pin that is engaged on one side of the conveyor.
While the above construction is an improvement over situations in which there is no access from one side of the conveyor to the other, it does have some disadvantages. First, the bridging conveyor gate uses gravity fed rollers which require that either the conveyor be mounted on an incline to transport articles thereacross, or the articles are pushed across the conveyor in a continuous line by the articles feeding behind them. Some, small or light weight articles either, do not have sufficient weight to be gravity fed along the rollers, or, are shaped such that they may become entangled in the rollers. Therefore, such small or light weight articles are not suitable for roller gravity feed conveyors and cannot reliably be transported across the bridging conveyor gate. Second, known bridging conveyor gates may have springs to assist in the raising of the bridge section. However, those springs will not hold the conveyor in the raised position; and the bridging conveyor gate must be manually locked in the raised position. The locking pin which is on the one side of the conveyor must be operated from that side as well as the opposite side of the conveyor. Consequently, engaging and disengaging the locking pin from the opposite side of the conveyor is highly inconvenient.