Conveyor Roller

Abstract

a metal tube (21) that is rotatably attached around a rotation axis (A) and that provides a contact surface (21a) on its outer circumferential surface with respect to the object to be conveyed and / or the conveyor belt; The conveyor roller (2) is provided with a communication device (4) adapted for wireless communication, in particular an NFC device or an RFID device, A communication device (4) is provided, in particular adapted to provide information wirelessly to a reading device (5) located nearby the conveyor roller (2).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to conveyor rollers, and more particularly to motor-driven conveyor rollers. [Background technology]

[0002] WO2018 / 109165A1 discloses a motor-driven conveyor roller. The conveyor roller includes a tube, typically made of metal. The tube is mounted on a frame so that it can rotate about an axis of rotation. Metal parts of the conveyor roller or metal parts in the vicinity of the conveyor roller constitute an electromagnetic shield.

[0003] For maintenance purposes, it may be useful to identify the conveyor roller, for example to determine the type of construction or age, the installed software or hardware version, or the conveyor roller's operating manual, from which specific maintenance measures can be derived.

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide an easy-to-use possibility for identifying conveyor rollers. The identification of the conveyor rollers must be reliable and must not adversely affect the function of the rollers. Preferably, the identification should be possible when the conveyor rollers are installed in the conveyor system. This identification should be possible by a reading device that is not part of the conveyor roller control or the control of a higher-level conveyor system.

[0005] The object of the present invention is solved by a conveyor roller, a conveyor device and uses according to the independent claims, embodiments being the subject of the dependent claims and the description.

[0006] The invention proposes providing a communication device on the conveyor roller, which is capable of providing information to a reading device in the vicinity of the conveyor roller, in particular: Unique identification information, especially serial numbers, Information about the software (including firmware) installed; Information about the hardware installed; may be included.

[0007] In one embodiment, the communication device is a passive device, in which case it does not require its own power source: the energy required for communication may be inductively supplied by the reader during use.

[0008] The communication device is in particular an NFC device or an RFID device, and therefore in one embodiment the communication device comprises in particular an RFID or NFC badge.

[0009] In particular, the communication device is adapted to communicate according to the RFID standard or the NFC standard, in particular the HF ISO 14443 1-10 cm standard at frequency 14443 is used.

[0010] Badges are understood to mean in particular what are also called "tags" in common parlance.

[0011] In particular, the badge comprises a communications chip with data processing capabilities and an antenna for wireless transmission of the data provided by the communications chip.

[0012] In particular, the invention is applicable to conveyor rollers with a maximum diameter of 60 mm, since in this case the lateral coverage by the longitudinal members is relatively large. Reading by bringing the reading device axially close to the conveyor groove is prevented.

[0013] Drum motors, which can be considered conveyor rollers, typically have a diameter of at least 80 mm. For larger diameter drum motors, the lateral shielding provided by the side members is relatively small, or the RFID chip can be integrated into a relatively large shaft stub, allowing reading by a reader from the side / axial direction.

[0014] In the context of the present invention, directional designations such as axial and radial refer to the axis of rotation of the conveyor roller.

[0015] When used as intended, the present invention allows for reading information from a conveyor roller despite shielding components in or near the conveyor roller, and reading can occur when the conveyor roller is installed, and particularly when the conveyor roller is in operation. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings, in which:

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conveyor device according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the conveyor device according to FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a plan view of a part of the conveyor device according to FIG. 1 with several conveyor rollers. [Figure 4] 4 is a side view of the conveyor roller of the conveyor device according to FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram according to FIG. 4 showing the degree of obscuration. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] 1 shows a conveyor system 1 with a conveyor roller 2 according to the invention. The conveyor roller is 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 arranged parallel to the conveying direction F.

[0019] The conveyor rollers 2 are arranged between the longitudinal members 32 transversely to the conveying direction F, only one of which is shown in Figure 1. In one embodiment, several conveyor rollers 2 are part of a roller conveyor section. In one embodiment, the conveyor rollers according to the invention function as support rollers and / or deflection rollers for the conveyor belt.

[0020] The conveyor roller 2 is mounted rotatably around a rotation axis A. The rotation axis A is disposed in a direction transverse to the conveying direction F.

[0021] FIG. 2 shows a cross section of the conveyor device in the connection area of ​​the conveyor roller and the side member.

[0022] The conveyor roller has a metal tube 21 that forms a contact surface 21a for the conveyed material or conveyor belt. The metal tube 21 is closed at its axial end 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 stub shaft that does not extend along the entire axial length of the conveyor roller 2. The shaft 24 is attached to a longitudinal member 31. The shaft 24 may have a non-circular cross section, which allows it to form a shape-related pivot lock with respect to the longitudinal member 31.

[0023] The side members 32 are made of metal.

[0024] Both the longitudinal beam 32 and the metal tube 21 form a shield against electromagnetic signals.

[0025] The conveyor roller 2 has a communication device 4, which can be read by a reading device 5. The communication device 4 can contain information about the conveyor roller 2, in particular, for example, the type designation, the serial number, the date of manufacture, etc. Alternatively, the communication device 4 can contain individual links to database entries, the contents of which can be obtained via the Internet.

[0026] The communication device 4 can be read out during the installed state and also during operation, ie while the conveyor rollers are rotating.

[0027] Viewed from above (FIG. 3), the communication device 4 is arranged in the gap 33 between the metal tube and the longitudinal member 31. The main radiation direction V of the communication device 4, and in particular of the antenna(s) of the communication device, is radial to the axis of rotation A. The communication device 4 therefore uses the unobstructed gap 33 to transmit data from the conveyor roller 2 to the reading device 5.

[0028] The main radiation direction V of a communication device or antenna is understood to be in particular the direction in which the communication device (in particular its antenna) provides a higher transmission power than in other directions.

[0029] In particular, the transmission power of the communication device is greater in the radial direction than in the axial direction.

[0030] Viewed from the side, the communication device 4 is located entirely within the diameter D of the contact surface 21a, and is therefore protected from the transported object or conveyor belt by the metal tube.

[0031] The present invention is particularly applicable to conveyor rollers that are relatively small in diameter, and as shown in Figure 4, a small conveyor roller is very likely to be completely or largely covered by the shielding side members 31 when viewed from the side.

[0032] Figure 5 shows what is meant by the degree of lateral shielding. The longitudinal members 31 that cover the roller when viewed from the side are shown in dashed lines. Since only 10% of the roller is visible from the side, the area covered by the side members is, for example, 90%. The degree of lateral shielding is therefore 90%. The greater the degree of lateral shielding, the lower the probability that a reader will be able to reliably receive data emitted laterally, i.e., axially. With such laterally shielded conveyor rollers, it is not possible to simply hold a reader axially next to the conveyor roller in order to communicate with a communication device.

[0033] To allow for several radial radiations, various possibilities are conceivable.

[0034] The antenna of a single communications chip can be designed to be nearly omnidirectional in radiation.

[0035] In another variation, the communication device can have a plurality of individual communication badges, each having a primary radiation direction V in one direction, for example, one of the arrows V shown in Figure 4. If the device has, for example, eight such distinct individual communication badges distributed circumferentially, they can together provide a radial radiation in the entire circumference.

[0036] In this way, the communication device can be read independently of the current rotational position of the conveyor roller.

[0037] The communication device 4 may be ring-shaped and arranged coaxially around the shaft.

[0038] The communication device 4 may be in the form of a sticker and may be adhered to the end cap 22 . [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1 Conveyor equipment 2 conveyor rollers 21 Metal tube 21a Contact surface 22 End cap 23 Pivot bearing 24 shaft 3 frames 31 Stand legs 32 Longitudinal member 33 Interstitial space 4. Communications equipment 5. Reading devices (e.g., mobile phones) A rotation axis F Conveying direction S gap width V Main transmission direction D Outer diameter

Claims

1. A conveyor device (1) for conveying an object along a conveying direction (F), the conveyor device (1) comprising: a frame (3) including at least one longitudinal beam (31) aligned parallel to said conveying direction (F); and at least one conveyor roller (2) fixed to the longitudinal beam (31) transversely to the conveying direction (F), said at least one conveyor roller (2) comprising: a metal tube (21) rotatably attached around a rotation axis (A) and providing a contact surface (21a) on its outer circumferential surface with respect to the conveyed object and / or the conveyor belt; a communication device (4) adapted for wireless communication, in particular a near field communication (NFC) device or a radio frequency identification (RFID) device, in particular adapted to provide information wirelessly to a reading device (5) located in the vicinity; a gap formed in the axial direction between the metal tube (21) and the longitudinal beam (31); In an environment where the metal tube (21) and the longitudinal beam (31) form an electromagnetic shield, the gap (33) functions as an electromagnetic wave transmission window, and the communication device (4) is arranged on the conveyor device (1) so that the main radiation direction (V) of the communication device (4) is arranged in the gap (33) and radially aligned with the rotation axis (A), thereby enabling reliable transmission of signals to the reading device (5).

2. 2. A conveyor device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that, when viewed from the side, the at least one conveyor roller (2) is shielded by the longitudinal beam (31) to an extent of at least 60%, in particular at least 80%, in particular at least 90%, in particular 100%.

3. 2. Use of a conveyor device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the reading device (5) is arranged vertically above the communication device (4) in order to establish a communication link between the reading device (5) and the communication device (4), in particular to read the communication device (4).

4. Use of a conveyor device (1) according to claim 3, wherein for reading, said reading device (5) is held at a distance of 1 to 10 cm from said communication device (4).

5. 4. Use of a conveyor device (1) according to claim 3, wherein said at least one conveyor roller (2) undergoes a rotational movement around said axis of rotation (A) during reading.

6. 2. The conveyor device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the communication devices (4) are attached to the axial ends of the at least one conveyor roller and, optionally, to end caps (22) at least partially closing the metal tubes (21).

7. 2. The conveyor device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the communication device (4) is arranged adjacent to the metal pipe (21) in the axial direction, and in particular, the metal pipe (21) is arranged so as not to cover the communication device (4) in the radial direction.

8. 2. The conveyor device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that, in a side view, the communication device (4) is arranged within the outer diameter (D) of the contact surface (21a).

9. 2. The conveyor device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the main radiation direction (V) of the communication device (4), in particular the main radiation direction of the antenna of the communication device (4), is aligned radially with respect to the rotation axis (A).

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