Conveyor roller

Abstract

A conveyor roller (2) comprising a metal tube (21) rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation (A) and providing a contact surface (21a) on an outer circumferential surface for a conveyed material and / or a conveyor belt; the conveyor roller (2) comprises a communication arrangement (4) configured for wireless communication, in particular a NFC arrangement or an RFID arrangement, wherein the communication arrangement (4) is in particular configured for providing information in a wireless manner to a reader (5) located in the surrounding environment.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to a conveyor roller, and more specifically, to a motor-driven conveyor roller.

[0002] WO 2018 / 109165 A1 discloses an electrically driven conveyor roller. The conveyor roller includes a tubular component, typically made of metal. The tubular component is mounted on a frame for rotation about a rotation axis. The metal components of the conveyor roller or metal components near the conveyor roller constitute an electromagnetic shield.

[0003] For maintenance purposes, identifying the conveyor rollers can be useful. For example, it can determine the type of conveyor rollers or their age, the version of the installed software or hardware, the operator's manual, and from this information, specific maintenance measures can be derived.

[0004] The object of this invention is to provide an easy-to-use method for identifying conveyor rollers. The identification of the conveyor rollers should be reliable and should not interfere with the function of the rollers. Preferably, identification can be performed while the conveyor rollers are installed in the conveyor arrangement. Identification should be achieved through a reader that is not part of the control of the conveyor rollers or a higher level of the conveyor arrangement.

[0005] The object of the present invention is achieved by the conveyor rollers, conveyor arrangement and uses described in the present invention; the embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims and the description.

[0006] This invention proposes a communication arrangement for conveyor rollers. The communication arrangement can provide information to a reader near the conveyor rollers. Specifically, the provided information may include: - A unique identifier, specifically a serial number; - Information on installed software (including firmware); - Information about the hardware that has been installed.

[0007] In one embodiment, the communication arrangement is a passive arrangement. In this case, the communication arrangement does not require its own power supply. The energy required for communication can be provided by sensing during the reader's use.

[0008] The communication arrangement is specifically an NFC arrangement or an RFID arrangement. In one embodiment, the communication arrangement accordingly includes, specifically, an RFID badge or an NFC badge.

[0009] Specifically, the communication arrangement is adapted to communicate according to RFID or NFC standards. Specifically, the HF ISO 14443 1-10 cm standard with a frequency of 14443 is used.

[0010] The badge should be understood to specifically refer to the everyday term "label".

[0011] Specifically, the badge includes a communication chip with data processing capabilities and an antenna for wirelessly transmitting the data provided by the communication chip.

[0012] Specifically, this invention is applicable to conveyor rollers with a maximum diameter of 60 mm, because in this case, the lateral coverage of the longitudinal members is relatively large. This prevents the reader from making a reading when it is axially close to the conveyor trough.

[0013] Drum motors can also be considered as conveyor rollers, but their diameter is typically at least 80 mm. For larger diameter drum motors, the lateral shielding of the side members is relatively small; alternatively, the RFID chip can be integrated into a relatively large shaft coupling. In this case, the reader can also read data from the side / axial direction.

[0014] In the context of this invention, axial and radial directions refer to the axis of rotation of the conveyor rollers.

[0015] Despite the presence of shielding components in or near the conveyor rollers, the present invention can still read information from the conveyor rollers in the intended manner. Reading can be performed during the installation of the conveyor rollers, specifically, during their operation.

[0016] The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings; wherein: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the conveyor arrangement according to the present invention; Figure 2 It shows according to Figure 1 The cross-section of the conveyor arrangement; Figure 3 It is based on Figure 1 A plan sectional view of the conveyor arrangement, showing several conveyor rollers; Figure 4 It is based on Figure 1 A side view of the conveyor rollers arranged in a conveyor configuration; Figure 5 It is based on Figure 4 The diagram is used to illustrate the degree of shielding.

[0017] Figure 1 A conveyor arrangement 1 with conveyor rollers 2 according to the present invention is shown. The conveyor rollers are mounted on a frame 3. The frame has several legs 31 and two longitudinal beams 32 extending parallel to each other. The longitudinal beams 31 are aligned parallel to the conveying direction F.

[0018] The conveying rollers 2 are arranged laterally between the longitudinal members 32 in the conveying direction F. Figure 1Only one conveyor roller 2 is shown. In one embodiment, several conveyor rollers 2 are part of a roller conveyor section. In one embodiment, the conveyor rollers according to the invention serve as support rollers and / or deflection rollers for the conveyor belt.

[0019] The conveyor roller 2 is rotatably mounted around the axis of rotation A. The axis of rotation A is laterally aligned with the conveying direction F.

[0020] Figure 2 A cross-section of the conveyor is shown in the area where the conveyor rollers connect to the side members.

[0021] The conveyor roller has a metal tube 21 that forms a contact surface 21a with the conveyed object or conveyor belt. The axial end of the metal tube 21 is closed by an end cap 22. The end cap 22 is connected to a fixed shaft 24 via a pivot bearing 23. The shaft may be a short shaft and does not extend along the entire axial length of the conveyor roller 2. The shaft 24 is attached to a longitudinal member 31. The cross-section of the shaft 24 may be non-circular, allowing for a shape-dependent pivot lock relative to the longitudinal member 31.

[0022] The side member 32 is made of metal.

[0023] The longitudinal beam 32 and the metal tube 21 together form an electromagnetic signal shield.

[0024] The conveyor roller 2 has a communication arrangement 4. The communication arrangement 4 can be read by a reader 5. The communication arrangement 4 may contain information about the conveyor roller 2, specifically, such as model identification, serial number, production date, etc. Alternatively, the communication arrangement 4 may contain a single link to a database entry, the contents of which can be retrieved via the Internet.

[0025] Communication arrangement 4 can be read in the installed state or during operation, that is, when the conveyor rollers are rotating.

[0026] From the above ( Figure 3 The communication arrangement 44 is positioned within the gap 33 between the metal tube and the longitudinal member 31. The dominant radiation direction V of the communication arrangement 4, particularly the dominant radiation direction V of one or more antennas of the communication arrangement, is radial relative to the axis of rotation A. Therefore, the communication arrangement 4 uses the undisturbed gap 33 to transmit data from the conveyor roller 2 to the reader 5.

[0027] The dominant radiation direction V of a communication arrangement or antenna should be understood as the direction in which the communication arrangement, specifically its antenna, provides higher transmission power than in another direction.

[0028] Specifically, the transmission power of the communication array is greater in the radial direction than in the axial direction.

[0029] In the side view, the communication arrangement 4 is completely arranged within the diameter D of the contact surface 21a. Therefore, this arrangement is protected by the metal tube and is not affected by the conveyed object or the conveyor belt.

[0030] This invention is particularly suitable for conveyor rollers with relatively small diameters. For example... Figure 4 As shown, viewed from the side, the small conveyor rollers are likely to be completely or mostly covered by the shielding side member 31.

[0031] Figure 5 The meaning of the lateral shielding level is illustrated. Viewed from the side, the longitudinal member 31 covers the roller, indicated by dashed lines. The area covered by the side member is, for example, 90%, since only 10% of the roller is visible from the side. Therefore, the lateral shielding level is 90%. The higher the lateral shielding level, the lower the probability that the reader will reliably receive lateral (i.e., axial) transmitted data. With such a laterally shielded conveyor roller, the reader cannot simply maintain close proximity to the conveyor roller in the axial direction to communicate with the communication arrangement.

[0032] To achieve radiation in several radial directions, various possibilities can be envisioned.

[0033] The antenna of a single communication chip can be designed to emit quasi-omnidirectional radiation.

[0034] In another variation, the communication arrangement may have multiple individual communication badges, each communication badge having a dominant radiation direction V in one direction, for example, each communication badge in Figure 4 In the direction of one of the arrows V shown. If, for example, eight such independent individual communication badges are arranged in a circumferential distribution in this arrangement, these badges together can provide radial radiation in all directions.

[0035] In this way, the communication setup can be read independently of the current rotational position of the conveyor rollers.

[0036] The communication arrangement 4 can be in a ring shape and arranged coaxially around the axis.

[0037] The communication arrangement 4 can be in the form of a sticker and can be attached to the end cap 22.

[0038] List of reference numerals 1. Conveyor Layout 2 Conveyor Rollers 21 Metal Pipe 21a contact surface 22 end caps 23 Pivot Bearing 24-axis 3-frame 31 legs 32 Longitudinal members 33 gap space 4. Communication Arrangement 5. Readers (e.g., mobile phones) A axis of rotation F Conveying direction S-gap width V-dominant radiation direction D outer diameter

Claims

1. A conveyor arrangement (1) for conveying a conveyed object along a conveying direction (F), the conveyor arrangement (1) comprising: - Frame (3), the frame (3) includes at least one longitudinal beam (31) aligned parallel to the conveying direction (F); as well as - At least one conveyor roller (2) is fastened to the longitudinal beam (31) transversely to the conveying direction (F), the at least one conveyor roller (2) comprising: The metal tube (21) is rotatably mounted about the axis of rotation (A) and provides a contact surface (21a) on its outer circumferential surface for the conveyed object and / or the conveyor belt. Communication arrangement (4), said communication arrangement (4) being adapted for wireless communication; and A gap, the gap being axially formed between the metal tube (21) and the longitudinal beam (31), and The communication arrangement (4) is arranged on the conveyor arrangement (1) such that the dominant radiation direction (V) of the communication arrangement (4) is arranged in the gap (33) and radially aligned with the rotation axis (A).

2. The conveyor arrangement (1) according to claim 1, wherein, The communication arrangement (4) is adapted to provide information wirelessly to a reader (5) located nearby.

3. The conveyor arrangement (1) according to claim 1 or 2. in, In the side view, the conveyor roller (2) is shielded by the longitudinal beam by at least 60%.

4. The purpose of the conveyor arrangement (1) according to claim 1, in, Used to establish a communication link between the reader (5) and the communication arrangement (4).

5. The use of the conveyor arrangement (1) according to claim 4, in, The communication link is adapted to read the communication arrangement (4), and the reader (5) is arranged vertically above the communication arrangement (4).

6. The use of the conveyor arrangement (1) according to claim 5, in, For reading, the reader (5) maintains a distance of 1 cm to 10 cm from the communication arrangement (4).

7. The use of the conveyor arrangement (1) according to claim 5, in, During the reading, the conveyor roller (2) rotates about the axis of rotation (A).

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