Vibratory conveying device with a conveying trough and dosing device with a vibratory conveying device

Abstract

A vibratory conveying device (1) with a conveying trough (2), with a drive device (3) which is operatively connected to the conveying trough (2) in such a way that the conveying trough (2) can be vibrated by the drive device (3) during conveying operation in such a way that objects resting on an output area (5) of the conveying trough (2) are conveyed by a vibratory movement of the conveying trough (2) in the direction of a target area (6) of the conveying trough (2) spaced apart from the output area (5), and with a frame (16) on which the drive device (3) and the conveying trough (2) operatively connected thereto are mounted via a bearing device (8), characterized in that the conveying trough (2) is mounted directly on the bearing device (8) via a positive guidance device (7), and that the drive device (3) is mounted directly on the bearing device (8) via a vibration device (9).so that during conveying operation both the conveying trough (2) and the drive device (3) each perform at least temporarily oppositely directed oscillatory movements relative to the bearing device (8).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a vibratory conveying device comprising a conveying trough, a drive unit connected to the conveying trough in such a way that the conveying trough can be vibrated by the drive unit during conveying operation, such that objects resting on an output area of ​​the conveying trough are conveyed by a vibratory movement of the conveying trough towards a target area of ​​the conveying trough spaced apart from the output area, and a frame on which the drive unit and the conveying trough connected thereto are mounted via a bearing arrangement. The invention also relates to a metering device comprising such a vibratory conveying device.

[0002] Such vibratory conveying devices are known in various designs from practical experience.

[0003] From DE 10 2011 089 050 A1, for example, a vibratory conveyor is known which comprises a conveying channel, a base frame, a counterweight, a vibration exciter, and first and second springs. The first springs connect the base frame to the conveying channel, and the second springs connect the base frame to the counterweight. The conveying channel, base frame, and first springs form a first two-mass system, while the counterweight, base frame, and second springs form a second two-mass system with an identical resonant frequency.

[0004] DE 30 43 009 A1 further discloses a vibratory feeding system with a payload, a spring arranged between the payload and a counterweight, and a drive for generating vibrations for the conveying movement of the payload, wherein the payload is subject to a forced guidance that allows only one clearly desired conveying movement.

[0005] From AT 191 329 B, a drive for vibrating machines with two counter-rotating masses is known, wherein each mass is connected to a crankshaft by one or more connecting rods, and the weight of the drive is absorbed solely by one or more springs attached to one of the vibrating masses.

[0006] Furthermore, WO 2017 158 496 A2 shows a vibratory conveyor with a vibrating support arrangement for a conveying element in which material is conveyed, a drive arrangement and a bearing arrangement, wherein leaf springs or links are provided which couple the front end of the conveying element and the rear end in such a way that there is no deviation with respect to the vertical vibration component.

[0007] Vibratory conveyors are used, for example, as part of a dosing system, with which a predetermined quantity of bulk material or individual items is fed from a storage container to a further processing or handling point via the conveyor trough. The individual objects lie on the surface of the conveyor trough and are transported by vibratory movements of the conveyor trough, directed in a predetermined conveying direction, from the source area towards the destination area of ​​the conveyor trough, bouncing across the surface.The starting point for the objects is typically located at one end of the conveying trough, while the destination point is at the opposite end. The objects conveyed there are either lifted from the trough and transported further, or typically fall off the trough over an edge at the other end. By recording the decrease in the total weight during conveying, which includes the slowly emptying hopper, the conveying trough, and the objects transferred from the hopper onto the trough, the conveying rate can be determined and appropriately controlled.The weight loss recorded, for example, using load cells in a unit of time corresponds to the weight of the objects that are conveyed across the conveyor trough to the target area in that unit of time and leave the conveyor trough there, for example by falling over the edge of the conveyor trough.

[0008] The load cells used to detect weight loss are continuously subjected to the total weight of the system—consisting of the filled hopper and the vibratory conveying unit—during operation. The weight loss relevant for dosing, and measured by the load cells, corresponds to the weight of a few objects falling from the conveyor trough within a given time period. For many applications, the total weight of the system loaded with a large number of objects is at least one order of magnitude, and often more than two orders of magnitude, greater than the weight of the few objects being conveyed out of the system, thus causing the weight loss.

[0009] To achieve the highest possible dosing accuracy, it is therefore considered advantageous if the overall weight can be specified as low as possible. At the same time, vibrations that must be generated to convey the objects along the conveyor trough should, as far as possible, be confined to the conveyor trough and the drive unit that generates and transmits the vibrations to the conveyor trough, and should not propagate to the surrounding area via the frame.

[0010] This problem is solved according to the invention by providing a vibratory conveying device with the features listed above in which the conveying trough is mounted directly on the bearing assembly via a positive guidance device, and the drive unit is mounted directly on the bearing assembly via a vibration unit, so that during conveying operation both the conveying trough and the drive unit perform at least temporarily opposite vibration movements relative to the bearing assembly. In contrast to conventional vibratory conveying devices, the drive unit is not mounted directly and rigidly or indirectly via damping elements on the frame, but is mounted directly on the bearing assembly via the vibration unit in such a way that the drive unit can perform vibrations relative to the bearing assembly during conveying operation.These vibrations of the drive unit are superimposed during conveying operation on the forced movement of the conveying trough, which is guided by the positive guidance device. The movement of the conveying trough is caused by the operative connection between the drive unit and the conveying trough. By superimposing the vibrations of the drive unit on the opposing movements of the conveying trough, two advantageous properties can be achieved during conveying operation.It is considered a significant advantage of the present invention that the conveying trough and the drive device form a vibrating structure which can be suitably excited to vibrations during conveying operation, which have a large amplitude in the area of ​​the conveying trough and the drive device, while the vibrations in an area between the conveying trough and the drive device have only a very small amplitude, and that the bearing device in this area is connected to the conveying trough and the drive device with only very small amplitudes of vibrations during conveying operation.

[0011] The operative connection between the drive unit and the conveyor trough can be efficiently designed so that, even without the significant weight of a conventionally almost stationary drive unit, a positively guided movement of the conveyor trough with a sufficiently high amplitude for the desired conveying of the objects resting on the conveyor trough can be achieved by using a drive unit mounted on a vibration-damping bearing with a comparatively low weight. Furthermore, the superposition of the vibration of the drive unit with the opposing movement of the conveyor trough leads to at least partial compensation of the forces acting on the bearing assembly, thereby reducing the vibrations transmitted to the bearing assembly and thus to the frame via the bearing assembly.Therefore, with a suitable design of the vibratory conveying device, it is not necessary to mount the drive unit on a frame via a complex damping device in order to continuously convert vibration energy and extract it from the vibrating system. In the vibratory conveying device designed according to the invention, unwanted vibrations of the frame can be reduced or avoided without a damping device, and thus the energy converted into vibration energy by the drive unit can be used essentially for the desired vibrations of the conveying trough.A vibratory conveying device designed in this way is particularly advantageous for use in a dosing device, since, due to the significantly reduced vibration movements that are transmitted to the frame via the bearing device, a particularly high precision of the dosing can be achieved during a conveying operation.

[0012] The objects can be virtually any type that can be conveyed using a vibrating conveyor. Depending on the application, these can include powders or small particles, but also larger objects such as coffee beans or plastic parts, or even prefabricated product components or entire products, provided these objects have suitable flow properties for conveying on a vibrating conveyor.

[0013] The functional connection between the drive unit and the conveyor trough can involve mechanical contact between the drive unit and the conveyor trough. For example, a spring assembly between the drive unit and the conveyor trough can be arranged and designed such that a constantly changing spring action is transmitted from the drive unit to the conveyor trough by means of a vibration of the spring assembly, enforced by an exciter. The functional connection can also be contactless and transmitted, for example, via electrical or magnetic attractive or repulsive forces between the drive unit and the conveyor trough. Thus, the drive unit can include an electromagnet whose magnetic field acts on a magnet or a magnetizable magnetic element on the conveyor trough.By applying a suitable current to the electromagnet of the drive unit, an attractive or repulsive force can be exerted on the conveyor trough. A constantly alternating current to the electromagnet can produce a constantly changing attractive or repulsive force, thereby causing a vibrating movement of the conveyor trough.

[0014] The conveyor trough is connected to the bearing assembly via the positive guidance device. The positive guidance device is designed to enable vibration movements, which are generated via the operative connection with the drive unit. Simultaneously, these vibration movements of the conveyor trough are guided in such a way as to ensure the directed conveyance of the objects resting on the conveyor trough. This conveying movement of the conveyor trough can be achieved, for example, by the positive guidance device imparting an upward movement of the conveyor trough in the conveying direction, thus exerting a force impulse on the objects resting on the conveyor trough in the conveying direction and imparting a momentum to the objects in that direction.During the subsequent return movement of the conveyor trough to its starting position, the objects, due to their momentum, briefly lift off the returning trough and shift slightly in the conveying direction with a bouncing motion before falling back onto the surface of the trough. Various designs for suitable forced guidance devices are known from practice, which can achieve a directed conveying motion of the objects through appropriately controlled, directed vibration movements of the conveyor trough.

[0015] The drive unit is connected to the bearing unit via the vibration unit. The vibration unit can be designed such that the drive unit can perform virtually any vibration relative to the bearing unit. For example, the vibration unit can include a spring assembly that connects the drive unit to the bearing unit in such a way that, when the drive unit deflects relative to the bearing unit, the spring assembly exerts a spring force on the drive unit that counteracts this deflection. The vibration unit does not necessarily have to provide positive guidance for the drive unit during a vibration relative to the bearing unit.

[0016] The conveyor trough, the forced guidance system, the drive unit, and the vibration unit form a vibrating assembly with natural frequencies that can excite it to vibrations of a particularly high amplitude. This vibrating assembly is advantageously mounted on the bearing assembly in a region within the assembly where, during conveying operation, it exhibits only vibrations of a small amplitude or, if necessary, no significant vibrations at all. Such a region is expediently located in a space between the conveyor trough and the drive unit, each of which is mounted on the bearing assembly in a vibration-damping manner.

[0017] According to one embodiment of the invention, the positive guidance device and the vibration device can be designed identically. The positive guidance device can be designed such that vibrations of the conveyor trough are also enabled with a movement sequence predetermined by the positive guidance device, and the vibration device can be designed such that the vibrations of the drive device are carried out by a simultaneously effected positive guidance with a movement sequence that is similar to or corresponds to the movement sequence of the conveyor trough. In this way, it can be achieved that the movement sequences of the conveyor trough and the drive device are similar or identical during conveying operation and are, for example, positively guided vibrations with a matching frequency or with a frequency adapted to each other.This can lead to a situation where, during conveying operation, the forces transmitted to the bearing assembly by the moving drive unit and the moving conveyor trough can largely compensate each other over a long period. Advantageously, the positive guidance device can include a first spring assembly that enables or supports vibrations with a sufficiently large amplitude suitable for conveying operation. It can also be provided that the vibration unit includes a second spring assembly. The first and second spring assemblies can be adapted and coordinated with respect to their respective spring characteristics so that the conveyor trough with the objects resting on it and the drive unit can be excited to vibrate at a matching natural frequency during conveying operation.

[0018] Advantageously, the positive guidance device and the vibration device can be designed as a single unit. A one-piece design of the positive guidance device and the vibration device can enable cost-effective manufacturing and assembly of these two components. A suitable one-piece design can also eliminate the need for separate bearing elements for the positive guidance device and the vibration device, thereby reducing the manufacturing effort for the vibratory conveying system and lowering its overall weight.

[0019] It is also possible for the positive guidance device to have several positive guidance elements of identical or different designs, and for the vibration device to also have several vibration elements of identical or different designs. By using multiple positive guidance elements and vibration elements, the orientation and degrees of freedom of movement of the conveyor trough or the drive unit for conveying operation can be advantageously defined. In this case, it can be advantageous if each positive guidance element and its associated vibration element are designed as a single unit and form a positive guidance vibration element, which is mounted on the bearing assembly and connected to both the conveyor trough and the drive unit.

[0020] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the positive guidance device may comprise two positive guidance elements, which are spaced apart from each other in the conveying direction and mounted on the bearing assembly and the conveying trough, respectively, with the conveying direction being from the starting area to the destination area of ​​the conveying trough. The two positive guidance elements can, for example, be two leaf springs spaced apart from each other in the conveying direction and which support the conveying trough on the bearing assembly. Alternatively, the two positive guidance elements can be pivotably mounted link elements, which are pivotably mounted at their respective ends about a pivot axis perpendicular to the conveying direction on the bearing assembly and on the conveying trough, respectively.Depending on the arrangement and design of the guide elements, a suitable directed vibration movement of the conveyor trough in the direction of conveying can be specified. The two positive guidance elements prevent unwanted tilting of the conveyor trough in the conveying direction. The two positive guidance elements can also be designed and arranged in such a way as to prevent lateral tilting of the conveyor trough perpendicular to the conveying direction. If necessary, it may also be advantageous, and particularly useful when uneven loading of the conveyor trough with objects is expected during conveying, for two positive guidance elements, such as two guide elements, to be spaced apart from each other perpendicular to the conveying direction and mounted on opposite side edges of the conveyor trough.

[0021] It may also be provided that the vibration device has two vibration elements arranged apart from each other in the conveying direction.

[0022] It is particularly advantageous that the design of the forced guidance device and the design of the vibration device are coordinated in such a way that the masses of the conveying trough and the forced guidance device on the one hand and of the vibration device and the drive device on the other hand are coordinated in such a way that during conveying operation the magnitude of an amplitude of a resulting force effect, which corresponds to a superposition of the respective force effects from the conveying trough and from the drive device, is less than 50%, preferably less than 20% and particularly preferably less than 10% of the magnitude of an amplitude of a force effect from the conveying trough or from the force effect from the drive device.By appropriately adjusting the relevant properties of the flexibly mounted conveyor trough and the similarly flexibly mounted drive unit, the resulting force acting on the bearing assembly during conveying operation can be largely compensated and thus very low. In this way, only minimal vibrations are transmitted to the bearing assembly and, via the bearing assembly, to the frame. Additional damping devices are either unnecessary or can be comparatively small to achieve the desired damping of the forces transmitted to the bearing assembly during conveying operation, or of the forces transmitted via the bearing assembly to the frame.

[0023] In order to determine the quantity of objects that are simultaneously on the conveyor trough at a given conveying rate and are conveyed during operation, orDepending on the weight of the objects on the conveyor trough, it may be possible to enable the greatest possible compensation of the forces transmitted to the bearing assembly by the forced-guided conveyor trough on the one hand and the oscillating drive unit on the other. This can be achieved by using additional mass elements, which can be detachably fixed to the drive unit or the conveyor trough, or which are movably mounted, to change the respective masses and adjust them so that the respective natural frequencies of the conveyor trough and the drive unit can be matched and aligned, and so that the resulting force effect, as the superposition of the respective force effects of the conveyor trough and the drive unit moving during conveying operation, can be reduced or minimized.

[0024] With a view to generating a conveying motion that displaces the objects on the conveying trough as efficiently as possible, it can be provided that the drive device has a vibration generation device and is configured in such a way that vibrations can be generated with the vibration generation device that can be transmitted to the conveying trough at a frequency which corresponds to a natural frequency of a vibrating structure mounted on the bearing device, wherein the vibrating structure comprises the conveying trough and the forced guidance device as well as the vibration device and the drive device.The excitation of a vibratory movement of the conveyor trough required for the desired transport of the objects can be significantly reduced in terms of the amplitude and excitation energy required for the excitation by suitable excitation with a natural frequency of the vibrating structure, compared to excitation with a different excitation frequency, and thus be carried out more cost-effectively and energy-efficiently than with a poor coordination of the individual components.If the drive unit is deflected in the opposite direction to the conveyor trough at the same frequency during conveying operation, a greater deflection of the conveyor trough and thus more efficient conveying of the objects on the conveyor trough can be achieved compared to a drive unit oscillating at a different frequency, provided the drive unit has a lower weight.

[0025] According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the bearing device is connected in an area within the vibrating structure to the positive guidance device and to the vibration device of the vibrating structure, in which the amplitude of the deflection of the vibrating structure is less than 20%, preferably less than 10%, and particularly preferably less than 5% of the maximum amplitude of the deflection of the conveyor trough or the drive device.

[0026] For every oscillating structure, when appropriately excited at a natural frequency of the oscillating structure, there exists a region within the oscillating structure in which the oscillating structure experiences no or at least no significant displacement during the oscillations, while another region experiences a very large displacement in comparison, which can be referred to as the node and antinode of the oscillation.With a suitable design of the spring characteristics of the positive guidance device and the vibration device, and their adaptation to the inertial masses of the conveying trough containing the objects and the drive device, it can be achieved that the vibration assembly experiences no significant deflection during conveying operation in a region that is typically located, at least approximately, on a straight line passing through the respective centers of mass and between the conveying trough and the drive device. If the bearing assembly is connected to the vibration assembly in this region or at a vibration node, correspondingly few or no resulting vibration forces are transmitted to the bearing assembly and, via the bearing assembly, to the frame during conveying operation.

[0027] The vibratory conveying device described above is particularly well-suited for use in a dosing system that allows for the precise delivery of a quantity of objects or a specific conveying rate of objects via the conveying trough during operation. To achieve the most precise dosing possible, a suitably designed control device can adjust the actual conveying rate generated during operation to a desired rate. For this purpose, a storage container can be arranged and fixed to the frame in such a way that objects can be fed from the storage container through an opening onto the discharge area of ​​the conveying trough, and the frame can be mounted on a base frame via a weight force measuring device.The storage container can be positioned above the conveyor trough in such a way that objects previously placed in the container can fall through the container opening onto the conveyor trough's discharge area, thus eliminating the need for an additional conveying device to transfer the objects stored in the container to the discharge area. The distance between the storage container opening and a surface of the conveyor trough in the discharge area can be set so small that an unintentional ejection of a large number of objects from the storage container is prevented by objects already resting on the conveyor trough in the discharge area that might obstruct the storage container opening.The opening of the hopper is blocked until a conveying system moves the objects located on the conveyor trough in the discharge area away from the discharge area towards the discharge area. This releases the hopper opening, allowing further objects to exit the hopper and rest on the discharge area of ​​the conveyor trough. In this way, a continuous supply of objects from the hopper to the conveyor trough can be achieved without additional valves or shut-off valves. Depending on the specific objects and their properties, such as their size or flow characteristics, the flow rate can be adjusted accordingly.Conveyor features may include additional object feeding dosing devices such as valve devices, flaps or slides arranged at the reservoir opening and configured or connected to a control device via data transmission so that the reservoir opening is partially or completely closed or fully opened as required during conveying operation.

[0028] The force exerted by the vibratory conveying system, including the attached hopper and all objects within the hopper and on the conveying trough, on the trough can be determined using the force-weight measuring device located between the frame and the base. If, during conveying operation, individual objects fall from the trough out of the target area, the force transmitted from the frame to the base decreases proportionally to the weight of these objects. The resulting change in the force measured by the force-weight measuring device within a given time period during conveying operation is a measure of the number or volume of objects that have left the trough during that time period.

[0029] In practice, the weight of the vibratory conveying system and the hopper filled with objects is often significantly greater, or more than two orders of magnitude greater, than the weight of the objects that leave the conveying trough within a given time period during operation. The accuracy with which the change in the weight force exerted on the base frame can be measured by the weight force measuring device is generally better for vibratory conveying systems with the lowest possible weight than for those with a comparatively higher weight. For this reason, a vibratory conveying system with the characteristics described above is advantageous and particularly well-suited for use in a dosing system.

[0030] For many applications, it is advantageous for the weight force measuring device to have one or more load cells, each capable of detecting forces and, if necessary, moments transmitted via the load cell. For example, two load cells can be arranged between the frame and the base frame, spaced apart from each other or on opposite sides of the conveyor trough, enabling precise measurement of the weight force transmitted from the frame to the base frame.

[0031] The following section explains various embodiments of the invention, which are illustrated in the drawings. It shows: Fig. 1 a schematic diagram of a vibratory conveying device, Fig. 2 a schematic illustration of a differently designed vibratory conveying device, and Fig. 3 A schematic illustration of a dosing device with a base frame and with a vibratory conveying device, the frame of which is connected to the base frame via a weight force measuring device, wherein a storage container is additionally fixed to the frame.

[0032] In Fig. Figure 1 schematically shows a vibratory conveying device 1 designed according to the invention. The vibratory conveying device 1 has a conveying trough 2. The conveying trough 2 is operatively connected to a drive unit 3. During conveying operation, the conveying trough 2 can be set into vibration by the drive unit 3 such that in Fig. 1. Objects (not shown) resting on a support surface 4 of the conveyor trough 2 are conveyed from an output area 5 in a conveying direction towards a target area 6 located at a distance from the output area 5. During conveying operation, objects placed on the conveyor trough 2 in the output area 5 can be continuously conveyed towards the target area 6, where they are either lifted and removed from the conveyor trough 2 by a suitable removal device or fall laterally from the target area 6 over an edge of the conveyor trough 2.

[0033] The conveyor trough 2 is mounted on a bearing assembly 8 via a positive guidance device 7, which is only schematically indicated. The positive guidance device 7 allows a vibratory movement, or an oscillating movement, of the conveyor trough 2, which is set into vibration by the drive unit 3. At the same time, the positive guidance device 7 causes the conveyor trough 2 to perform a positively guided and directed vibratory movement, so that the objects resting on the conveyor trough 2 are conveyed in the conveying direction on the support surface 4. This is achieved by accelerating the objects through a vibration movement directed obliquely upwards in the conveying direction, and then causing them to perform a bouncing movement relative to the retracted conveyor trough 2 in the conveying direction. They briefly lift off the support surface 4 of the conveyor trough 2 and then fall back onto the support surface 4 of the conveyor trough 2 at a distance from their initial position in the conveying direction.The forced guidance device 7 is also expediently designed and set up in such a way as to prevent an undesirable tilting of the conveying trough 2 in the conveying direction or perpendicular to the conveying direction during conveying operation.

[0034] The drive unit 3 is also mounted on the bearing unit 8 via a vibration unit 9. The vibration unit 9 enables the drive unit 3 to vibrate relative to the bearing unit 8 during conveying operation. The vibration unit 9 can be configured differently from the positive guidance unit 7 and not provide positive guidance for the drive unit 3, or it can provide positive guidance for the drive unit 3 with a different configuration. The vibration unit 9 can also be configured similarly to the positive guidance unit 7 and cause a positively guided vibration movement of the drive unit 3, similar to that of the conveying trough 2, as shown schematically in Fig. 3 is indicated.

[0035] The conveying trough 2 is connected to the bearing device 8 via the forced guidance device 7, and the drive device 3 is connected to the bearing device 8 via the vibration device 9, such that during conveying operation both the conveying trough 2 and the drive device 3 each perform at least temporarily opposite vibration movements relative to the bearing device 8.

[0036] The drive unit 3 has an electromagnetic device 10, with which, by means of a Fig. A time-varying magnetic field can be generated by the control unit 1 (not shown). Within the effective range of the magnetic field of the electromagnetic device 10 of the drive unit 3, a magnetic element 11 is arranged on the conveyor trough 2 such that the magnetic element 11, and thus the conveyor trough 2, can be attracted or repelled by the electromagnetic device 10. A constantly changing magnetic field allows the drive unit 3 to exert a constantly changing magnetic force on the conveyor trough 2, so that the conveyor trough 2 is repeatedly repelled or attracted by the drive unit 3. The electromagnetic device 10 and the magnetic element 11 are components of the functional connection between the drive unit 3 and the conveyor trough 2.

[0037] Since both the conveyor trough 2 and the drive unit 3 can each perform oscillating movements relative to the bearing unit 8, the conveyor trough 2 and the drive unit 3 each perform opposing oscillating movements relative to the bearing unit 8 at least temporarily during conveying operation. In this way, the forces transmitted from the conveyor trough 2 to the bearing unit 8 and from the drive unit 3 to the bearing unit 8 are at least partially compensated.By appropriately adapting the conveyor trough 2 and the drive unit 3 to each other, it can be achieved that the conveyor trough 2 and the drive unit 3 continuously perform oppositely directed vibrations relative to the bearing unit 8 at a matching frequency during conveying operation, and thereby the resulting total forces acting on the bearing unit 8 are largely compensated as a superposition of the forces exerted on the bearing unit 8 by the conveyor trough 2 and the drive unit 3 respectively, and the resulting total force is at all times significantly lower than the force exerted on the bearing unit 8 by the conveyor trough 2 or by the drive unit 3.

[0038] In Fig. Figure 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of a vibratory conveying device 1, in which both the drive unit 3 is adapted to the conveying trough 2 and the vibration unit 9 is adapted to the positive guidance unit 7. The vibratory conveying device 1 has two bearing elements 12 of the bearing unit 8 arranged at intervals from each other in the conveying direction. A double bending spring 13 is fixed to each bearing element 12 such that a first bending spring end 14 of the double bending spring 13 is connected to the conveying trough 2, and a second bending spring end 15 arranged opposite it is connected to the drive unit 3.The electromagnetic device 10 of the drive device 3 and the magnetic element 11 of the conveyor trough 2 are each arranged between the two bearing elements 12 such that the operative connection between the drive device 3 and the conveyor trough 2 is located and acts centrally between the two bearing elements 12. The mass distributions of the conveyor trough 2 with the loads resting on it are shown in the diagram. Fig. The two objects not shown, on the one hand, and the drive unit 3, on the other, are appropriately adapted to each other. During conveying operation, the conveying trough 2 and the drive unit 3 each perform opposing oscillatory movements relative to the bearing elements 12 of the bearing unit 8 at largely identical natural frequencies, so that the forces and moments exerted on the bearing elements 12 during the vibration movements during conveying operation largely compensate each other. In this way, the conveying trough 2 can be set into vibrations with a large amplitude during conveying operation, while the vibrations, forces, and moments transmitted via the bearing elements 12 or via the bearing unit 8 to a frame 16 are comparatively much lower.

[0039] In Fig.Figure 3 schematically depicts a vibratory conveying device 1 as part of a dosing device 17. The frame 16 of the vibratory conveying device 1 is mounted on a base frame 19 via several load cells 18. The load cells 18 allow the force of gravity transmitted from the frame 16 to the base frame 19 to be detected and measured. A storage container 20 is arranged and fixed to the frame 16 such that objects from the storage container 20 can be transferred through a storage container opening 21 onto the discharge area 5 of the conveying trough 2. Advantageously, the storage container opening 21 of the storage container 20 is located directly above the discharge area 5 on the conveying trough 2.During conveying operation, objects are continuously transferred from the storage container 20 through the storage container opening 21 onto the discharge area 5 of the conveying trough 2 and then conveyed along the conveying trough 2 from the discharge area 5 towards the destination area 6. In the destination area 6, the objects can fall laterally from the conveying trough 2 over an edge of the conveying trough 2. The total weight force transmitted from the frame 16 to the base frame 19 is reduced by the objects leaving the conveying trough 2 from the destination area 6 during conveying operation. This total weight force corresponds to the sum of the weight forces of the vibratory conveying device 1, the storage container 20, and all objects located in the storage container 20 and on the conveying trough 2. This change is measured by the load cells 18.By recording the reduction of the total weight force, the mass and thus, for known objects, also the number or volume of the objects transported by and leaving the conveyor trough 2 can be determined.

Claims

[1] Vibrating conveying device (1) with a conveying trough (2), with a drive device (3) which is operatively connected to the conveying trough (2) in such a way that the conveying trough (2) can be set into vibration by the drive device (3) during conveying operation in such a way that objects lying on an output area (5) of the conveying trough (2) are conveyed by a vibratory movement of the conveying trough (2) in the direction of a target area (6) of the conveying trough (2) spaced apart from the output area (5), and with a frame (16) on which the drive device (3) and the conveying trough (2) operatively connected to it are mounted via a bearing device (8), characterized by, that the conveying trough (2) is mounted directly on the bearing device (8) via a positive guidance device (7), and that the drive device (3) is mounted directly on the bearing device (8) via a vibration device (9), so that during conveying operation both the conveying trough (2) and the drive device (3) each perform at least temporarily opposite vibration movements relative to the bearing device (8). [2] Vibrating conveying device (1) according to claim 1, characterized by , that the forced guidance device (7) and the vibration device (9) are of the same design. [3] Vibrating conveying device (1) according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized by , that the forced guidance device (7) and the vibration device (9) are formed in one piece. [4] Vibrating conveying device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by, that the forced guidance device (7) has two forced guidance elements which are spaced apart from each other in a conveying direction on the bearing device (8) and on the conveying trough (2), wherein the conveying direction is directed from the starting area (5) to the target area (6) of the conveying trough (2). [5] Vibrating conveying device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by, that the design of the forced guidance device (7) and the design of the vibration device (9) are coordinated in such a way and that the masses of the conveying trough (2) and the forced guidance device (7) on the one hand and of the vibration device (9) and the drive device (3) on the other hand are coordinated in such a way that during conveying operation the magnitude of an amplitude of a resulting force acting on the bearing device (8), which corresponds to a superposition of the respective force acting from the conveying trough (2) and from the drive device (3), is less than 50%, less than 20% or less than 10% of the magnitude of an amplitude of a force acting from the conveying trough (2) or from the force acting from the drive device (3) on the bearing device (8). [6] Vibrating conveying device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by, that the drive device (3) has a vibration generation device and is configured such that vibrations transmissible to the conveying trough (2) can be generated by the vibration generation device with a frequency which corresponds to a natural frequency of a vibrating structure mounted on the bearing device (8), wherein the vibrating structure comprises the conveying trough (2) and the forced guidance device (7) as well as the vibration device (9) and the drive device (3). [7] Vibrating conveying device (1) according to claim 6, characterized by, that the bearing device is connected in an area within the vibration system with the positive guidance device (7) and with the vibration device (9) of the vibration system in which an amplitude of the deflection of the vibration system is less than 20%, less than 10% or less than 5% of the maximum amplitude of the deflection of the conveyor trough (2) or the drive device (3). [8] Vibrating conveying device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that a storage container (20) is arranged and fixed on the frame (16) in such a way that objects from the storage container (20) can be applied to the outlet area (5) of the conveying trough (2) through a storage container opening (21), and that the frame (16) is mounted on a base frame (19) via a weight force measuring device. [9] Metering device (17) with which objects resting on an output area (5) of a conveying trough (2) and which can be conveyed by a vibration movement of the conveying trough (2) in the direction of a target area (6) of the conveying trough (2) spaced apart from the output area (5) at a predefinable conveying rate or with a predefinable mass flow, characterized by , that the dosing device comprises a vibratory conveying device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8. [10] Dosing device (17) according to claim 9, characterized by , that the dosing device (17) has a control device which is designed and set up in such a way that the delivery rate actually generated during the delivery operation can be adjusted to a desired delivery rate by means of the control device.

Images