Transfer device

Abstract

Transfer device (20), adapted to - take over a conveyed object (9) at a takeover area (26a), - conveying the conveyed object (9) at least temporarily within a conveying area (26f) in a conveying direction (FR) and, in particular, in a conveying plane (FE), and - selectively transfer the conveyed object (9) in the direction of a transfer area (3) arranged laterally in the conveying direction (FR), the transfer device (20) comprises a plurality of carriages (21, 22) which are arranged circumferentially along a guide (23) in such a way that the belt carriages (21) move at least temporarily, in particular in the conveying area (26f), in the conveying direction (FR), the at least some of the carriages (21, 22), in particular belt carriages (21), comprise a transport belt (24), the transport belts (24) together are forming at least temporarily a conveying surface (201) for the conveyed object (9), the transport belts (24) being selectively movable in a transverse direction (Q) transverse to the conveying direction (FR) for selective lateral transfer of the conveyed object (9), wherein the belt carriage (21) or the transport belt (24) has an extension (X21,X24) in the transverse direction (Q) which is at least the double of an extension (L21) of the belt carriage (21) in the direction of travel (FR), wherein at least some of the carriages (21, 22) have a horizontal support surface (219), which is contacting a horizontal guide surface (239) of the guide (23).

Description

Transfer deviceDescriptionThe invention relates to a transfer device.WO 2022 / 122792 A2 discloses a transfer device, which is adapted to take over a conveyed object at a takeover area from an upstream conveying section, to convey the conveyed object at least temporarily within a conveying area in a conveying direction, and selectively transfer of the conveyed object in the direction of a transfer area arranged laterally in the conveying direction. The transfer device comprises a plurality of belt carriages which are arranged circumferentially along a guide in such a way that the belt carriages move at least temporarily. The belt carriage comprises a transport belt, forming at least temporarily a support surface for the conveyed object: The transport belt is selectively movable in a transverse direction transverse to the conveying direction for selective lateral transfer of the conveyed object.US 2023 / 0001453 A1 discloses an article sorting apparatus. A plurality of article carrying assemblies are arranged to rotate in circumferential manner. Each article carrying assembly has a crossbelt. Guide wheels are provided on each side of the bottom of the carriage of the article carrying assembly to support the article carrying assemblies vertically (

[0077] ). US 4,096,936 A discloses a sorting conveyor comprising a plurality of conveyor elements having a cross-conveyor means mounted cross-wise of the moving direction of said conveyor element, being selectively operable for effecting diversion of an article resting on said said discharge stations.EP 2 985 242 A1 discloses a a variable pitch cross-belt system, the system comprising a plurality of interlocking palettes that form a conveyor belt and one or more diverter components below the conveyor belt. The diverter components include a series of rollers that lift to engage the palettes and divert items on the palettes to one or more loading areas. A controller triggers one or more rollers in the series of rollers to engage the palettes (200, 1410).CN113772331 A discloses a linear cross belt, comprising two groups of conveyor chains, and a plurality of bearing trolleys arranged on the two groups of conveyor chains, each group of the conveyor chains comprises a plurality of identical chain links. The bearing trolley comprises a connecting frame detachably connected to two corresponding chain links, mounting holes (41), the connecting column portion (6) is fixedly connected to the mounting hole.US 2018 / 0147442 A1 relates to a different technical area and showing a treadmill apparatus, on which a user can walk in all directions. Another treadmill is disclosed in US 6,123,647 A.It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved transfer device as described above.The object underlying the invention is solved by a transfer device according to the main claims. Embodiments are the subject of the subclaims and the description.The small overall length of the carriage in the conveying direction however provides a general disadvantage with respect to driving stability.To provide increased stability, the carriage is supported to the guide via horizontal surfaces, instead of rollers. The horizontal surfaces provide a defined alignment of the carriage at the guide, thereby preventing unintentional pivoting of the carriage against the guide.In one embodiment, the conveying speed in the conveying direction is at least 1.5 m / s, preferably at least 2.0 m / s, further preferably 2.5 m / s.In one embodiment, the length of the transfer device is max. 10 m, in particular max. 7 m.In one embodiment, the transfer device is adapted for use in which the smallest side length (width) of the conveyed object is max. 120 mm, in particular max. 100 mm, preferably max. 90 mm. Of course, the transfer device can also convey larger conveyed goods. In particular, the transfer device is adapted to convey a conveyed object that has a smallest side length of 120 mm.Any suitable object to be conveyed is dimensioned in such a way that it comes to rest simultaneously on at least two adjacent transport belts.In particular, the transport belt is positively drive-connected to the drive. In particular, the transport belt is a toothed belt with elevations on an underside that serve to engage with a toothed wheel as the drive wheel.In particular the belt carriages arranged upstream are displaced downwards the support surfaces of the belt carriages being movable along a downwardly curved circulation path.The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the figures; herein shows: figure 1 a perspective view of an inventive transfer device; figure 2 an enlargement of the section Y from figure 1 ; figure 3 a perspective section along the section plane Z of figure 2;figure 4 perspective sections along the angled section plane XY of figure 3 from two different perspective directions; figure 5 schematically a carriage supported on the main frame 28 in an embodiment of the transfer device according to figure 1 a) in frontal view, b) in side view; figure 6 schematically a carriage supported on the main frame 28 in in another embodiment of the transfer device according to figure 1 a) in frontal view, b) in side view; figure 7 schematically a carriage supported on the main frame in another embodiment of the transfer device according to figure 1 in side view; figure 8 a formula one car in schematic side view for reference purpose.For the basic understanding of a generic transfer device, to which the present invention is applicable, it is made reference to the description of WO 2022 / 122792 A2.Figures 1 to 4 show details of a transfer device 20 according to the invention and are described together below. Figures 5 to 7 shows more details of the transfer device 20 in different embodiments.The transfer device 20 comprises a main frame 28 with, for example, four feet (figure 1). The transfer device 20 forms a conveying surface 201 on which an object 9 can be conveyed in the conveying direction FR. The conveying surface 201 defines a conveying plane FE.The transfer device 20 comprises a guide 23 (see figures 5-7), along which a plurality of belt carriages 21 are arranged. The belt carriages 21 are movably arranged on said guide 23 in such a way that the belt carriages 21 are moved in a circuit. At a first side, here the upper side, the belt carriages 21 move in the conveying direction FR. At a takeover area 26a, a conveyed object 9 is taken over from an upstream conveyor and arranged on an upper side of the belt carriage 21 . At a handover area 26b, the conveyed object 9 is handed over to a downstream conveyor and, provided that the object 9 has not previously been transferred laterally.Each belt carriage 21 carries a transport belt 24 (figure 2, 3) whose longitudinal extension is aligned in the transverse direction Q (see figures 1-3). The transport belt 24 protrudes above the remaining components of the belt carriage 21 and thus constitutes the conveying surface201 which defines the conveying plane FE and on which the conveyed object 9 comes to rest during conveying.The belt carriage 21 is driven in the conveying direction FR by a drive 29. The drive 29 can comprise a motor 291 and a separate gear unit 292 (figure 1). Alternatively, the drive 29 can be designed as a drum motor. The carriages 21 , 22 are connected to a drive belt 27 (figures 4 and 6 to 7), which is driven by the drive 29 (not shown).The conveyed object 9 is thus conveyed by the belt carriage 21 (figures 2, 3) in the conveying direction FR. During transport, individual conveyed objects 9 can be selectively transferred laterally into a transfer area 3 (figure 1). Conveyed objects 9 that are not transferred into the transfer area 3 reach the handover area 26b, which may be followed by a downstream conveyor.The area between the takeover area 26a and the handover area 26b is referred to as the conveying area 26f (figure 1). Here, the conveyed object 9 is in contact with the belt carriage 21 . The conveyed object 9, which is used with the conveyor system as intended, is at least of such large dimensions that, provided it is arranged completely in the conveying area 26f, it rests on at least two belt carriages 21 , in particular comes into contact with the transport belt of two adjacent belt carriages 21 . A smaller conveyed object 9 cannot be reliably conveyed, since it can get into the spaces between two adjacent transport belts 24; reliable transfer would not be ensured in this case.In the conveying area 26f, two successive belt carriages 21 can be so close to each other that a gap size of a gap between two adjacent belt carriages 21 is within a predetermined maximum value. In particular, the maximum value is so small that no finger can enter the gap. In a deflection area, said gap between the adjacent belt carriages 21 inevitably increases due to the curved path, so that an increased circumferential gap could result here, into which a user can get his finger(s). To prevent the risk of an injury in this area, an intermediate surface 222 is provided which closes the circumferential gaps (figures 2 and 3).The intermediate surface 222 can in particular prevent a flat conveyed object 9 from entering into said gap between the belt carriages 21. Such an entering is particularly possible in the near of the takeover area 26a, since here the conveyed object 9 hits the conveying surface 201 for the first time and at the same time a gap between two carriages can be particularly large due to the deflection of the carriages.The carriage 21 form a closed surface by the transport belt as well as laterally adjacent guide surfaces 212. These guide surfaces 212 are statically fixed to a frame of the belt carriage 21(figure 3). In the conveying area, the guide surfaces 212 of adjacent belt carriages 21 lie against each other to form a closed surface. In a deflection area near the takeover and handover areas 26a, 26b, the aforementioned circumferential gap is formed between the guide surfaces 212 of adjacent belt carriages 21 , which is directly closed by the intermediate surface 222 appearing in the circumferential gap.The intermediate surface 222 may be part of an optional intermediate carriage 22 disposed between two adjacent belt carriages 21 (figure 3, 4).The belt carriages 21 , and in particular also the intermediate carriages 22, are arranged in a circumferential manner and form an upper run 20U of carriages and a lower 20L run of carriages (see figure 3 and for common understanding also in figure 6 of WO 2022 / 122792 A1).A length L20 of the transfer device 20 is max. 10 m, in particular max. 7 m, in particular about 3 to 5 m (figure 1).A width B24 of the transport belt 24 in the conveying direction FR is in particular 16 mm (figure 2). A length L21 of the belt carriage 21 in the conveying direction is in particular 50 mm (figure 2). An extension X21 of the belt carriage 21 in the transverse direction Q is in particular 1 ,000 mm (figure 5a). An extension of the transport belt X24 in the transverse direction Q is in particular 1 ,000 mm.With reference to figure 8, an excursion is made to the area of formula one cars. To provide best possible driving stability also in curved areas or during longitudinal acceleration, the car is designed in a manner, so that a distance W between the wheels in driving direction is as large as possible. Also the ratio between length and width of the car is usually larger than 1 .The belt carriage 21 can also be considered as a car, but disadvantageously the ratio between length and width is much smaller than 1 , in the present example the relation is about 1 / 20. In addition the length of the belt carriage 21 is dimensioned so small, that there is no realistic possibility to support the carriage over the guide 23 by means of two rollers located at a distance in the “driving direction” which is here the conveying direction FR. Accordingly, compared to a formula 1 car, a roller supported carriage isolated would be as instable as a Segway roller (see https: / / de.wikipedia.org / wiki / Segway_Personal_Transporter).Figure 5 shows an inventive way of supporting the belt carriage 21 over the guide 23; the following description is in addition also applicable to the optional intermediate carriage 22, so that the description in the following “the carriage” is mentioned as a representation for both kinds of carriage 21 , 22.The carriage 21 ,22 has a flat support surface 219 which comes to rest on a flat horizontal guide surface 239 of the guide 23 when the carriage is located in the upper run 20U. The guide 23 is fixed to the main frame 28. The cooperation of the flat surfaces 219, 239 ensure cooperation in a most stable way. This is supported by the fact, that the carriage 21 is urged downwards against the guide 23 by a) gravity and b) by the tension of the drive belt 27.In the embodiment of figure 5, the support surface 219 may be provided by sliding pads separate for each carriage 21 , 22. The sliding pads provide low friction.In the embodiment of figure 6, the support surface 219 is provided by the drive belt 27 itself. Here the drive belt 27 is a wear component which needs to be replaced regularly. Accordingly, by replacing the drive belt 27 in a regular and planned manner, the support surface 219, which is subject to wear as well, can be replaced at the same time.To enable accurate driving of the carriages 21 , 22 and for avoiding any slippage in the drive connection, the drive belt 27 is a toothed belt having a plurality of teeth 272. To enable driving the belt 27 via a driven pulley, the toothed surface is located on an inner side. So in the upper run, the teeth 272 are facing downwards. Thereby the plurality of teeth 272 of the drive belt 27 constitute the flat support surface 219.“Flat surface” means in this context, that the projections of the teeth span the flat horizontal surface, even if this surface is disrupted by the valleys between the teeth.By the way, guiding the toothed surface via stationary rollers is not an advantageous solution, since cooperation of the toothed surface with rollers would lead to large vibrations and further to noise.In case that the horizontal guide surface 239 is a stationary surface (as in figure 5 and 6), the transfer device 20 may comprise a lubrication device 238, which provides a lubricant between the support surface 219 and the guide surface 239 (only shown exemplarily for all embodiments in figure 6 on the right side).Figure 7 shows again a further development based on the embodiment of figure 6. Here again the support surface 219 is provided by the drive belt 27 and the respective belt teeth 272. The flat guide surface 239 is formed by a guide belt 232. The guide belt 232 is in contact with the support surface 219, thereby moving synchronously in conveying direction FR with the same conveying speed as the drive belt 27. Accordingly no slippage and therefore no friction occurs between the support surface 219 and the guide surface 239.The guide belt 232 is arranged in a rotating manner and is deflected around two deflection rollers 234.The guide belt 232 itself is supported by support rollers 233 located below the upper run of the guide belt 232. Accordingly the guide belt 232 is supported in a low friction manner. In sum, a roller based support is provided for the toothed belt 27 where the guide belt 232 provides an intermediate damping element avoiding the above mentioned vibrations and noise.The support rollers 233 and the deflection rollers 234 are attached to a support frame 235. The support frame is attached to the main frame 28. Alternatively the support frame 233 can be a part of the main frame 28. In another embodiment, in particular where there is no guide belt 232 and / or no guide surface provided, the support rollers 239 can be in contact directly or indirectly with the support surface 219 of the carriage 21 , 22.List of reference signs3 transfer area9 conveyed object20 transfer device201 conveyor surface20U upper run of carriages20L lower run of carriages21 belt carriage212 guide surface219 support surface22 intermediate carriage222 intermediate surface23 guide232 guide belt233 support roller234 deflection roller235 support frame238 lubrication device239 horizontal guide surface24 transport belt26a takeover area26f conveying area26b handover area27 drive belt272 tooth of drive belt28 main frame29 drive291 motor292 gearboxV speedB24 width of transport belt in conveying directionL21 length of belt carriage in conveying directionX21 extension of the belt carriage in transverse directionX24 extension of the transport belt in transverse directionFR conveying directionFE conveying planeQ transverse directionL20 length of transfer device wheel distance

Claims

Claims1. T ransfer device (20), adapted to- take over a conveyed object (9) at a takeover area (26a),- conveying the conveyed object (9) at least temporarily within a conveying area (26f) in a conveying direction (FR) and, in particular, in a conveying plane (FE), and- selectively transfer the conveyed object (9) in the direction of a transfer area (3) arranged laterally in the conveying direction (FR), the transfer device (20) comprises a plurality of carriages (21 , 22) which are arranged circumferentially along a guide (23) in such a way that the belt carriages (21) move at least temporarily, in particular in the conveying area (26f), in the conveying direction (FR), the at least some of the carriages (21 , 22), in particular belt carriages (21), comprise a transport belt (24), the transport belts (24) together are forming at least temporarily a conveying surface (201) for the conveyed object (9), the transport belts (24) being selectively movable in a transverse direction (Q) transverse to the conveying direction (FR) for selective lateral transfer of the conveyed object (9), wherein the belt carriage (21) or the transport belt (24) has an extension (X21 ,X24) in the transverse direction (Q) which is at least the double of an extension (L21) of the belt carriage (21) in the direction of travel (FR), characterized in that at least some of the carriages (21 , 22) have a horizontal support surface (219), which is contacting the guide (23), in particular contacting a horizontal guide surface (239) of the guide (23).

2. Transfer device (20) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the carriages (20, 21) are located in a circumferential manner, so that the carriages (20. 21) form an upper run (20L) and a lower run (20L); where the horizontal support surface (219) and the horizontal guide surface (239)are oriented relative to each other in a manner, that carriages located within the upper run (20U) supported vertically by said horizontal guide surface (239).

3. Transfer device (20) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transfer device (20) is further adapted to- handover a non-transferred object (9) in a handover area (26b) downstream in the conveying direction (FR).

4. Transfer device (20) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the belt carriage (21) has an extension (L21) in the conveying direction (FR) which is max. 120 mm, in particular max. 100 mm, in particular max. 60 mm; and / or that the belt carriage (21) and / or the transport belt (24) has an extension (X21 , X24) in the transverse direction (Q) which is at least 400 mm, in particular 600 mm, and / or max. 1500 mm.

5. Transfer device (20) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transport belt (24) has a width (B24) in the conveying direction (FR) of at most 100 mm, in particular at most 60 mm, in particular about 16 mm, in particular the width (B24) of the transport belt (24), viewed in the conveying direction (FR), is smaller than the extension (L21) of the belt carriage (21).

6. Transfer device (20) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the horizontal support surface (219) is flat and / or that the horizontal guide surface (239) is flat.

7. Transfer device (20) according to the preceding claim, characterized by a drive belt (27) adapted to transmit a drive force from the drive (29) to the carriage (21 , 22); wherein the horizontal support surface (219) is formed by said drive belt (27); in particular that the horizontal support surface (219) is formed by the toothed surface of the drive belt (27).

8. Transfer device (20) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the that the horizontal support surface (219) is, at least indirectly, supported by support rollers (233) of the guide (23) located below the horizontal support surface (219), in particular when the respective carrier is located in the upper run (20U).

9. Transfer device (20) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the horizontal guide surface (239) is movable synchronously with the horizontal support surface (219) in the conveying direction (FR).

10. Transfer device (20) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the movable horizontal guide surface (239) is supported by support rollers (233) located below the horizontal guide surface (239).

11. T ransfer device (20) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the horizontal guide surface (239) is formed by a guide belt (232).

12. Transfer device (20) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the guide belt (232) is arranged in a rotating manner.

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