Roller conveying device

Abstract

The invention provides a roller conveying device which comprises a plurality of roller modules, each roller module comprises a plurality of rollers, and each roller comprises a rim and a first motor used for driving the rim to deflect around a first axis; all rollers of the plurality of roller modules are coplanar in the direction perpendicular to the first axis and are arranged in a plurality of parallel rows, and the rollers in two adjacent rows in the array are staggered in the direction perpendicular to the rows; all the rollers of the same roller module are distributed in at least two rows and / or two columns of the array, all the rollers of the same roller module operate synchronously, and modular control over the roller array is achieved; besides, the rollers in the two adjacent rows in the formed roller array are arranged in a staggered mode in the direction perpendicular to the rows, gaps between the rollers can be effectively filled, the whole roller array is arranged more densely, and conveying of objects is facilitated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of logistics sorting equipment technology, and in particular to a roller conveyor device. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, most logistics companies use roller sorting equipment for the diversion and sorting of goods. Roller sorting equipment typically consists of several rollers arranged in a square array. The distance between adjacent rollers is relatively large, and the number of rollers that can simultaneously handle an item is relatively small, which is not conducive to the transfer of items. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of this, the purpose of this application is to provide a roller conveying device that can effectively improve the density of its roller arrangement.

[0004] This application provides a roller conveying device, including a plurality of roller modules, each roller module including a plurality of rollers, each roller including a rim and a first motor for driving the rim to deflect around a first axis; all rollers of the plurality of roller modules are coplanar in a direction perpendicular to the first axis and are arranged in a plurality of parallel rows, the rollers of adjacent rows in the array being staggered in a direction perpendicular to the row; all rollers of the same roller module are distributed in at least two rows and / or two columns of the array.

[0005] In the roller conveying device of this application, multiple rollers together constitute a roller module. All rollers in the same roller module operate synchronously to realize modular control of the roller array. In addition, the rollers in adjacent rows of the formed roller array are staggered in a direction perpendicular to the row, which can effectively fill the gaps between the rollers, making the overall arrangement of the roller array more dense, which is beneficial to the conveying of items. Attached Figure Description

[0006] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the roller conveying device of this application.

[0007] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Top view of the roller conveyor shown.

[0008] Figure 3a for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of one embodiment of a roller module of the roller conveying device shown.

[0009] Figure 3b for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of another embodiment of one of the roller modules of the roller conveying device shown.

[0010] Figure 4 This is a circuit diagram of the roller conveyor device of this application.

[0011] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a single roller in the roller conveying device of this application.

[0012] Figure 6 for Figure 5 The roller shown is a cross-sectional view. Detailed Implementation

[0013] To facilitate understanding of this application, a more complete description will be provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings. One or more embodiments of this application are exemplarily shown in the drawings to provide a more accurate and thorough understanding of the technical solutions disclosed herein. However, it should be understood that this application can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described below.

[0014] In the accompanying drawings of this application, the same or similar reference numerals correspond to the same or similar components. In the description of this application, it should be understood that if terms such as "upper," "lower," "left," "right," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, they are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, the terms used to describe positional relationships in the drawings are only for illustrative purposes and should not be construed as limiting this application. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0015] Furthermore, if the embodiments of this application involve descriptions such as "first" or "second," these descriptions are for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, features defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of those features. Additionally, if "and / or" or "and / or" appears throughout the text, its meaning includes three parallel solutions. For example, "A and / or B" includes solution A, solution B, or a solution where both A and B are satisfied simultaneously.

[0016] Furthermore, the technical solutions of the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but this must be based on the ability of those skilled in the art to implement them. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be considered that such combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0017] This application provides a roller conveyor device, preferably used in the logistics industry for sorting goods. Figure 1-4The present invention illustrates a specific embodiment of the roller conveying device 100, which includes a plurality of roller modules 20 and a controller 30 electrically connected to each of the roller modules 20.

[0018] The plurality of roller modules 20 are arranged in a certain manner to form a roller array, such as... Figure 2 As shown. Each roller module 20 includes a plurality of rollers 21, which are located in at least two different rows and / or two different columns in the array; and the rollers 21 in adjacent rows of the array are staggered relative to each other in a direction perpendicular to the row (or in the direction of the column). In this way, the gap between two adjacent rollers 21 in the same row of the array can be partially or even completely filled by the rollers 21 in the adjacent row, making the overall arrangement of the roller array more compact. Thus, when an item is conveyed by the roller conveyor 100 of this application, it can contact a larger number of rollers 21 simultaneously, not only receiving a greater driving force, but also making the distribution of the driving force more balanced.

[0019] In some embodiments, the number of rollers 21 in each roller module 20 is an odd number, such as three, five, seven, etc. Figure 3a As shown, each roller module 20a may include three rollers 21, which are distributed across two rows / columns of the array, arranged in a triangular pattern, preferably an equilateral triangle; as shown Figure 3b As shown, each roller module 20b may include seven rollers 21, which are arranged in three rows / columns of an array, including one roller 21 located at the center and six other rollers 21 arranged in a hexagonal pattern around the center roller 21, preferably in an equilateral hexagonal pattern. It should be understood that the rollers 21 of the roller modules 20 / 20a / 20 / b described in this application may also have other arrangements, and are not limited to the illustrated embodiments.

[0020] Figure 3a The roller module 20a shown and Figure 3b The roller modules 20b shown can be arranged according to a certain pattern to form... Figure 2 The roller array shown is an 8x12 array, generally elongated, with its length direction typically representing the direction of item transport. Specifically, the rollers 21 in the odd-numbered rows (e.g., R1, R3, R5…) are aligned with each other across the width of the array; the rollers 21 in the even-numbered rows (e.g., R2, R4, R6…) are aligned with each other across the width of the array; and the rollers 21 in the odd-numbered rows (e.g., R1, R3, R5…) and the rollers 21 in the even-numbered rows (e.g., R2, R4, R6…) are staggered across the width of the array.

[0021] It should be understood that the pattern of the roller array formed by the plurality of roller modules 20 / 20a / 20b, such as the specific number of rows and columns, can be adjusted as needed. They can be the same or different, as long as adjacent rows are staggered, the resulting roller array will be denser. When an item is conveyed through the roller array, it can simultaneously contact more rollers 21, resulting in greater and more balanced force, enabling the item to be quickly and smoothly moved towards the target position. Figure 2 As shown, a small item W1 can interact with multiple rollers 21 in two rows simultaneously; a large item W2 can interact with multiple rollers 21 in three rows simultaneously; and a large item W2' can also interact with multiple rollers 21 in three rows simultaneously when it is deflected at a certain angle.

[0022] like Figure 4 As shown, each roller module 20 is electrically connected to the controller 30 via a control line to form a control loop, thereby enabling the controller 30 to send control commands to each roller module 20 individually. All rollers 21 of the same roller module 20 receive the same control signal and synchronously rotate and / or deflect under the action of the signal, realizing modular control of the rollers 21; the commands received by different roller modules 20 can be the same or different. In some embodiments, each roller module 20 is provided with a sensor to sense whether there is an object on the roller module 20 and feed the sensing result back to the controller 30, so that the controller 30 can plan the forward route of the object in real time according to the real-time position of the object and the target position to be delivered to, ensuring that it can reach the target position.

[0023] Preferably, the controller 30 includes a storage module for storing the IDs of the roller modules 20. The IDs of the plurality of roller modules 20 are all different, and the controller 30 can send control signals to the corresponding roller module 20 according to the ID of the roller module 20.

[0024] In one specific embodiment, such as Figure 5 , Figure 6As shown, each roller 21 includes a rim 22, a first motor 24 that drives the rim 22 to deflect around a first axis X1, and a second motor 26 that drives the rim 22 to rotate around a second axis X2. The rims 22 of all rollers 21 in the roller module 20 are coplanar in a direction perpendicular to the first axis X1. Each roller 21 rotates under the action of the second motor 26, propelling the object forward; each roller 21 deflects left and right under the action of the first motor 24, changing the direction of the object's movement. The controller 30 is connected to the control terminals of the first motor 24 / second motor 26 of all rollers 21 in the roller module 20 via the same control line, enabling the first motor 24 / second motor 26 of all rollers 21 in the same roller module 20 to operate synchronously, thereby enabling all rims 22 of the same roller module 20 to rotate and deflect synchronously.

[0025] The second motor 26 is preferably an external rotor motor, and the wheel rim 22 is fitted onto the rotor of the second motor 26. When the second motor 26 is started, the wheel rim 22 rotates around the second axis X2 along with the second motor 26, and the direction of the item's forward movement is perpendicular to the extension direction of the second axis X2. In this embodiment, the second motor 26 is rotatably mounted in a bracket 28, preferably with an opening at the top of the bracket 28, through which the wheel rim 22 extends at least partially beyond the bracket 28. During transport, the item is driven forward by rolling friction with the wheel rim 22.

[0026] The first motor 24 is preferably an external rotor motor, which is connected to the bracket 28 via a drive shaft 28, driving the bracket 28 and the second motor 26 mounted on the bracket 28 to rotate together around a first axis X1. The first axis X1 typically extends vertically and is perpendicular to the second axis X2. When the wheel rim 22 rotates around the first axis X1, its axis of rotation, i.e., the second axis X2, deflects at a certain angle relative to the length and / or width of the roller array, thereby changing the direction of movement of the items and realizing automatic diversion of the items.

[0027] In one embodiment, the support 28 is constructed as a hexagonal columnar structure, and the sides of the supports 28 of adjacent rollers 21 can be spliced ​​face to face to form a structure similar to the surface of a soccer ball (see...). Figure 2 This design completely eliminates the gaps between the rollers 21, maximizing space utilization. This not only allows for a denser arrangement of the rollers 21, facilitating rapid transport of items, but also enables the rollers 21 to be positioned relative to each other, simplifying assembly. It should be understood that the bracket 28 can also be of other shapes, and gaps can exist between brackets 28; this application does not impose any limitations on this.

[0028] When the roller conveyor device 100 of this application is in use, the controller 30 can plan the specific forward route of the item to be conveyed according to the target position of the item, and then control the operation of each roller module 20 according to the forward route. For example, for a section of the forward route that requires straight-line movement, the controller 30 generates a corresponding control signal S1 to sequentially start each roller module 20 corresponding to the section of the route, so that all the rollers 21 of the roller module 20 rotate and push the item forward in a straight line; when the item moves to a section of the forward route that requires a change of direction, the controller 30 generates a control signal S2 to sequentially start each roller module 20 corresponding to the section of the route, so that all the rollers 21 of the roller module 20 rotate and deflect simultaneously, so that the item deflects in the direction of deflection and continues to move forward in the direction of deflection until it reaches its target position, thereby realizing the automatic diversion of items.

[0029] It should be noted that the above embodiments only illustrate preferred embodiments of this application, and their descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, but they should not be construed as limiting this application. It should be pointed out that those skilled in the art can make several modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of this application, such as combining different features in various embodiments, and these should all fall within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A roller conveying device, comprising a plurality of roller modules, each roller module comprising a plurality of rollers, characterized in that, Each roller includes a rim and a first motor for driving the rim to deflect about a first axis; all rollers of the plurality of roller modules are coplanar in a direction perpendicular to the first axis and are arranged in a column, the array including a plurality of parallel rows, all rollers of the same roller module being distributed in at least two rows of the array, and the rollers of adjacent rows in the array being staggered relative to each other in a direction perpendicular to the row.

2. The roller conveying device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The roller module includes an odd number of rollers; among all the rollers in the same roller module, the number of rollers distributed in adjacent rows of the array is different.

3. The roller conveying device as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The roller module includes three rollers arranged in a triangular pattern.

4. The roller conveying device as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The roller module includes seven rollers, six of which are arranged in a hexagonal pattern around another roller.

5. The roller conveying device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the roller modules also includes a sensor for sensing whether there is an object on the roller module and feeding the sensing result back to the controller.

6. The roller conveying device according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, Each roller also includes a second motor embedded in the rim, the second motor being used to drive the rim to rotate around a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, and the second motors of all rollers in the same roller module being connected to the controller via the same control line.

7. The roller conveying device as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The second motor is rotatably mounted in the bracket, and the first motor is connected to the bracket for transmission. The bracket is a hexagonal columnar structure, and the brackets of two adjacent rollers are spliced ​​together face to face.

8. The roller conveying device as described in claim 6, characterized in that, Both the first motor and the second motor are external rotor motors.

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