Conveyor unit with adjustable transport wheels

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of conveying systems for goods, in particular to conveying systems that allow directed conveying and changing the orientation of goods.

[0002] Directed conveying of goods in adjustable transport directions on a conveyor line is particularly important in sorting systems, especially mail and baggage sorting systems, and manufacturing plants. A solution for adjusting transport directions integrated into the conveyor line can eliminate the need for expensive components, such as a corner transfer device. Changing the orientation of goods—during transport or without changing their position—can also be advantageous for automated detection. Skillful manipulation of a flow of goods allows a conveyor system to be used beyond normal transport and enables buffering, singling, lane changes by steering, rotation at a standstill or during transport, diverting, inward transfer, and crossing functions.

[0003] The state of the art for directional conveying is the use of swivel rollers mounted on a vertical axis. The swivel rollers' angles are adjusted around this axis, individually or as a row, using guide rods. Orthogonally freely rotating rollers that are driven together are also used. If active conveying in a specific direction is required, additional rollers are raised up to the product. Another solution uses a cylindrical roller arranged diagonally in a link belt. Cross-conveyance is triggered by applying a friction surface to the link belt from below, forcing the cylindrical roller to perform a forced movement.

[0004] US 2016 / 145053 A1 relates to a conveyor device, particularly for wood, that positions, transports, and accelerates workpieces to meet systematic requirements. US 2016 / 145053 A1 discloses a conveyor unit according to the preamble of claim 1 and a method according to the preamble of claim 9.

[0005] US 5 921 374 A relates to a sorting and rejecting device for conveying objects with a plurality of spherical sorting rollers along a conveying direction and a transverse direction.

[0006] In the solutions described above, the transport rollers can only be pivoted discretely between two or three positions and are driven together. Individual adjustment of individual transport rollers is not possible, thus limiting the possibilities for directed conveying and manipulating the orientation of the goods. Differential treatment of goods transported next to each other is not possible. Changing the orientation of a good during transport is also only possible to a limited extent. Therefore, an improved solution is required that offers a diverse range of options.

[0007] The present invention is therefore based on the object of providing a conveyor unit and a method for adjusting a conveyor unit in order to transport a product with minimal effort and yet with many degrees of freedom. This object is achieved by the solutions described in the independent claims.

[0008] The solution according to the invention provides a conveyor unit for transporting goods on a transport plane comprising transport rollers, wherein the transport rollers are rotatable about their respective axes of rotation at an adjustable speed and adjustable direction of rotation, the axes of rotation of the transport rollers are adjustable about their respective pivot axes by rotation by a separate pivot axis angle, and at least two of the transport rollers are adjustable differently from one another.

[0009] Different adjustability refers to the individual adjustability of individual transport rollers or groups of transport rollers with respect to the parameters speed, direction of rotation, and pivot axis angle, whereby the individual adjustability encompasses only one, two, or all of the parameters. The individual adjustability, which is possible in principle, also encompasses the identical setting of these parameters.

[0010] Depending on its design, the conveyor unit according to the invention is suitable for various types of goods, such as parcels, packages, letters and other mail, suitcases and luggage, crates, containers, and orderable piece goods. It can transport similar or different types of goods. In addition to directed conveying in the broader sense, transporting also includes a change in the orientation of the goods, with or without changing their center of gravity. The conveyor unit according to the invention thus allows goods to be manipulated beyond normal straight-line conveying.

[0011] In order to enable a structurally simple arrangement and mounting of the transport rollers and also to avoid unnecessarily complicating the calculation of a resulting transport direction and transport speed of a transport roller, the rotation axis is arranged essentially parallel to the transport plane and the pivot axis is arranged essentially orthogonal to the transport plane.

[0012] According to the invention, the transport rollers have a spherical surface in an area intended for contact with the goods. Compared to a cylindrical surface, a spherical surface allows for easier adjustment of the pivot axis angle. Furthermore, a spherical surface has fewer interfering contours. A spherical surface is a special form of a spherical surface.

[0013] To simplify the simultaneous adjustment of the rotational axes of multiple transport rollers, the conveyor unit includes an adjustment device designed to adjust the pivot axis angles of two or more transport rollers together. This adjustment device enables a reduced design of the conveyor unit. By adjusting the rotational speed and / or direction of rotation differently, the goods can still be transported with many degrees of freedom.

[0014] According to the invention, the transport rollers comprise their own drive means integrated into the respective transport roller.

[0015] To drive the transport rollers, the conveyor unit can include controllable drive means for driving a transport roller. This enables a straightforward, controlled, individual drive of individual transport rollers, thus making it particularly easy to use the conveyor unit for purposes beyond simple transport, even with matching pivot axis angles.

[0016] According to a further embodiment, the drive means can be configured as servo drives. This enables robust and precise position, speed, and / or torque control of the transport rollers of the conveyor unit using readily available components.

[0017] To enable even greater transport variability, the transport rollers can be driven in a positive and / or negative direction of rotation.

[0018] To enable fine adjustment of the transport direction of one or more transport rollers, the swivel axis angle can be continuously adjustable.

[0019] To facilitate coordinated adjustment of the transport rollers, two or more transport rollers can be arranged in an orderly fashion, for example, along a line or in a circle. This simplifies the controlled adjustment of all transport rollers of the conveyor unit. This orderly arrangement can also be implemented multiple times with multiple conveyor units.

[0020] To achieve improved frictional engagement between the transport roller and the goods, the surface of a transport roller in the area intended for contact with the goods can be optimized for transporting the goods in terms of contour and / or surface finish. Improved frictional engagement allows for extremely precise transport, as it reduces uncontrolled movements of the goods, such as sliding.

[0021] According to a further embodiment, the conveyor unit can comprise a control unit configured to control the transport rollers. This enables controllable adjustment of the pivot axis angle, speed, and / or direction of rotation of the transport rollers.

[0022] To enable even more optimized control of the transport rollers, the control unit can be configured to control the transport rollers depending on the position and / or orientation of one or more goods. This control can be done manually and / or automatically.

[0023] With regard to a method, the above-mentioned object is achieved by a method according to claim 9.

[0024] In order to enable manipulation of goods in a variety of ways beyond linear transport of goods, the speed and / or direction of rotation and / or swivel axis angle of at least two of the transport rollers of the conveyor unit can be set differently from one another.

[0025] According to a further embodiment, two or more conveyor units can be adjusted in a coordinated manner. This allows for the control of a single item over a larger area, thus enabling: deceleration and acceleration, buffering, singling, lane changing by steering, rotation while stationary or during transport, diverting, parallel diverting of multiple items, diverting at a specific point with simultaneous alignment, diverting, crossing functions, targeted shifting of gaps between items, changing the sequence of items, and more.

[0026] Embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the figures. Figure 1 shows a conveyor unit with all degrees of freedom; Figure 2 shows a section of another conveyor unit with differently adjusted transport rollers; Figure 3 shows a conveyor unit with a common adjustment device for all transport rollers; Figure 4 shows a conveyor unit with its own adjustment device for each transport roller; Figure 5 shows a modular conveyor unit with transport rollers arranged in an orderly manner along a line; Figure 6 shows another conveyor unit in plan view.

[0027] Figure 1shows the degrees of freedom of a conveyor unit 2 in a lateral cross-section. The conveyor unit 2 comprises transport rollers 8a - 8d, each with its own axis of rotation 10a - 10d and its own pivot axis 12a - 12d, whereby the transport rollers 8a - 8d span a transport plane 6. By driving the transport rollers 8a - 8d, a product 4 (not shown here) resting on at least one of the transport rollers 8a - 8d can be transported along the transport plane 6 and / or its orientation can be changed - simultaneously or sequentially. The transport rollers 8a - 8d can be rotated about their respective axes of rotation 10a - 10d at an adjustable speed and adjustable direction of rotation. The speeds can be the same in terms of magnitude and / or sign and / or differ from one another completely or in groups. A positive speed corresponds to a positive direction of rotation, a negative speed to a negative direction of rotation.The transport rollers 8a - 8d can be rotated with their axes of rotation 12a - 12d about their own pivot axis angles 14a - 14d, whereby their respective transport directions 34a - 34d can be adjusted. The transport rollers 8a - 8d therefore have three adjustable degrees of freedom – speed, direction of rotation, and pivot axis angle – which can be individually adjusted. Individual adjustability also includes the setting of two or more of the transport rollers 8a - 8d with regard to all or some of the three adjustable degrees of freedom being the same or being adjustable together. The transport rollers 8a - 8d can therefore be adjusted to rotate at the same and / or different speeds about their axes of rotation 10a - 10d. The pivot axis angles 14a - 14d of two or more transport rollers 8a - 8d can be adjusted to match and / or differ from one another.

[0028] If the transport rollers 8a - 8d are arranged so that their rotational axes 10a - 10d are located in the drawing plane, the transport direction 34a - 34d of the transport rollers 8a - 8d is either into the drawing plane or out of it - depending on the direction of rotation. The transport rollers 8a - 8d can be arranged as shown in Figure 1 As shown, it can be cylindrical, but also spherical, cambered, with a spherical surface, or otherwise spherical. With a pivot axis 12a arranged non-orthogonally to the transport plane 6 and a cylindrical transport roller 8a, the transport roller 8a would protrude from the transport plane 6 by a pivot axis angle 14a when the rotation axis 10a is adjusted about the pivot axis 12a.

[0029] To rotate a load 4 resting equally on all four transport rollers with parallel rotation axes and matching pivot axis angles 14, the two right-hand transport rollers 8c, 8d can be driven in a positive direction of rotation and the two left-hand transport rollers 8a, 8b in a negative direction of rotation but with the same speed – or vice versa. Instead of driving the transport rollers 8a - 8d in opposite directions of rotation, the pivot axis angles 14a - 14d could also be adjusted.

[0030] At least two differently adjustable transport rollers 8 are required to rotate a product 4. With more transport rollers 8, the guidance of the product 4 is improved.

[0031] Figure 2shows a top view of a section of another conveyor unit 2 with differently adjusted transport rollers 8a - 8d. Only the transport direction 34b of the transport roller 8b coincides with the main transport direction 22 of the conveyor unit 2; the pivot axis angle 14b here is 0°. The transport rollers 8a, 8c are driven in the negative direction of rotation, while the transport rollers 8b, 8d are driven in the positive direction of rotation.

[0032] Figure 3shows a cross-section of a conveyor unit 2 with a control unit 20 and a common adjustment device 16 for all transport rollers 8a - 8d. The transport rollers 8a - 8d are fastened with transport roller bearings 24a - 24d and are each connected to the control unit 20. The transport rollers 8a - 8d comprise their own drive means 18a - 18d integrated into the respective transport roller 8a - 8d. The control unit 20 is designed to control the adjustment device 16 and the drive means 18a - 18d. The drive means 18a - 18d can be individually controlled and regulate the direction and speed of rotation of the respective transport roller 8a - 8d. For this purpose, a design of the drive means 18a - 18d as a servo drive is particularly suitable, since these are designed for precise individual adjustment and control. The control unit 20 can be used to control and adjust the settings of the transport rollers 8a - 8d.

[0033] The adjustment device 16 connected to the control unit 20 is mechanically connected to the transport roller bearings 24a-24d via an adjustment device axis 16', so that the rotation axes 10a-10d of all transport rollers 8a-8d can be adjusted jointly by the same pivot axis angle 14a-14d. The rotation axes 10a-10d thus always remain parallel to each other. The pivot axis angles 14a-14d can be continuously adjusted with the adjustment device 16 and thus assume any desired angle values ​​between 0° and 360°. The continuous adjustment of any desired angle values ​​allows for very precise adjustment of the transport direction 34a-34d of the transport rollers 8a-8d.

[0034] However, it is also conceivable to limit the pivot axis angles to values ​​between, for example, +-45° or +-90°. Nevertheless, any transport direction 34 of the transport rollers 8a - 8d can be achieved by adjusting the direction of rotation to positive and negative. Manipulation of the goods 4 is also achieved by varying the speeds and / or directions of rotation of the transport rollers 8a - 8d.

[0035] Figure 4 shows another conveyor unit 2 with its own adjustment device 16a-16d for each transport roller. Each of the transport rollers 8a-8d comprises its own individually adjustable drive means 18a-18d, which can be individually controlled by the control unit 20. The adjustment devices 16a-16d are also individually adjustable and can be individually controlled by the control unit 20.

[0036] Figure 5shows a modular conveyor unit 2 with transport rollers 8a - 8h arranged in an orderly manner along a line. The conveyor unit 2 comprises transport roller bearings 24a - 24h for the individual transport rollers 8a - 8h and drive means 18a - 18h, each designed as an external motor, for the individual transport rollers 8a - 8h. The modular conveyor unit 2 has, like the conveyor unit 2 of Figure 3 a common adjustment device 16 with an adjustment device axis 16' for the simultaneous adjustment of the rotation axes 10a - 10h of all transport rollers 8a - 8h. The modular conveyor unit 2 also includes a compactly installed electronics unit 30, which, in addition to a control unit 20, also includes a connecting device 32 for easy connection to a higher-level control system 21.

[0037] The surface of the transport rollers 8a - 8h is partially coated with a friction lining 26 designed as a friction belt, which optimizes the transmission of the movement of the transport roller 8 to the material 4. The friction lining is designed to be durable and therefore particularly low-maintenance.

[0038] Figure 6shows a further conveyor unit 2 in plan view, comprising a plurality of transport rollers 8 according to an embodiment of the invention. The transport rollers 8 are arranged in a roller carpet manner and are individually adjustable and controllable. The goods 4, 4' lying on them and to be transported are transported along the main transport direction 22, wherein the goods 4' not aligned parallel to the main transport direction 22 have their orientation changed during their transport by driving those transport rollers 8 on which a good 4 rests at the same or differing pivot axis angles 14 at different speeds and / or directions of rotation.

[0039] According to one embodiment, the transport rollers 8 of a conveyor unit 2 are arranged in a circle, making them even more suitable for rotating a product 4. Multiple conveyor units 2 can be arranged one behind the other and / or next to each other as desired, thus enabling the simultaneous, directed transport and rotation of multiple products 4 that, due to their dimensions, cannot rest simultaneously on the transport rollers 8 of a conveyor unit 2. The conveyor units 2 are controlled in a coordinated manner. List of reference symbols

[0040] 2 Conveyor unit 4 Goods 6 Transport level 8 Transport roller 10 Rotation axis 12 Swivel axis 14 Swivel axis angle 16 Adjustment device 16 Adjustment device axis 18 Drive means 20 Control unit 22 Main transport direction 24 Transport roller bearing 26 Friction lining 30 Electronic unit comprising control unit 20 32 Connecting device 34 Transport direction

Claims

1. Conveyor unit (2) for transporting goods (4) on a transport level (6) comprising transport rollers (8), wherein a) the transport rollers (8) can be rotated about their respective axes of rotation (10) at an adjustable speed and in an adjustable direction of rotation; b) the axes of rotation (10) of the transport rollers (8) are adjustable by rotation about their respective pivot axes (12) about their own pivot axis angle (14); and c) at least two of the transport rollers (8) can be adjusted differently from one another; d) the axis of rotation (10) is arranged substantially parallel to the transport level (6) and the pivot axis (12) is arranged substantially orthogonal to the transport level (6); e) the transport rollers (8) have a spherical surface in an area intended for contact with the goods (4); f) the conveyor unit (2) comprises an adjusting device (16) which is designed to adjust the pivot axis angles (14) of two or more transport rollers (8) together; and characterized in that g) the transport rollers (8) comprise their own drive means (18) integrated into the respective transport roller (8).

2. Conveyor unit (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that the conveyor unit (2) comprises controllable drive means (18) for driving a transport roller (8).

3. Conveyor unit (2) according to claim 2, characterized in that the drive means (18) are designed as servo drives.

4. Conveyor unit (2) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the transport rollers (8) can be driven in a positive direction of rotation and / or a negative direction of rotation.

5. Conveyor unit (2) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the pivot axis angle (14) is continuously adjustable.

6. Conveyor unit (2) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that two or more transport rollers (8) are arranged in an orderly fashion, for example along a line.

7. Conveyor unit (2) according to one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a control unit (20) which is designed to control the transport rollers (8).

8. Conveyor unit (2) according to claim 7, characterized in that the control unit (20) is designed to control the transport rollers (8) as a function of the position and / or orientation of one or more goods (4).

9. Method for adjusting a conveyor unit (2) comprising transport rollers (8) for transporting goods (4) on a transport level (6), wherein - the transport rollers (8) can be rotated about their respective axes of rotation (10) at an adjustable speed and in an adjustable direction of rotation; - the axis of rotation (10) is arranged essentially parallel to the transport level (6) and the pivot axis (12) is arranged essentially orthogonal to the transport level (6); - the transport rollers (8) have a crowned surface in an area intended for contact with the goods (4); the conveyor unit (2) comprises an adjusting device (16) which is designed to adjust the pivot axis angles (14) of two or more transport rollers (8) together; and - the axes of rotation (10) of the transport rollers (8) can be adjusted by rotation about their respective pivot axes (12) about their own pivot axis angle (14); comprising the process steps a) the speed, the direction of rotation and the pivot axis angles (14) of the transport rollers (8) of the conveyor unit (2) are adjusted individually, wherein the pivot axis angles (14) of two or more transport rollers (8) are adjusted jointly by means of the adjusting device (16); b) a good (4) is transported by the adjusted transport rollers (8), characterized in that - the transport rollers (8) comprise their own drive means (18) integrated into the respective transport roller (8).

10. Process according to claim 9, characterized in that speed and / or direction of rotation and / or pivot axis angle (14) of at least two of the transport rollers (8) of the conveyor unit (2) can be set to differ from one another.

11. Method according to one of claims 9 to 10, further comprising the method step of two or more conveyor units (2) are set in a coordinated manner.