Buffer Conveyor With Nested Helical Belts And Smooth Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing buffer conveyors face issues such as complex construction, limited adaptability to different products, abrupt direction changes, and inability to handle long or fragile products due to their design, which affects efficiency and stability in product transfer.
Innovation Solution
A buffer conveyor design featuring separate, adaptable conveying elements with a transfer unit that moves in a path making a small angle with the horizontal, allowing for wide bends and optimal product handling, including the use of disc-shaped conveyors and adjustable guides for various product types, enabling smooth transfer and buffering of diverse products.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single conveyor belt winds in double helical paths with transfer units, then buffering capability is achieved, but the construction becomes complex and driving becomes inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The single conveyor belt system is divided into two separate conveyor belts, each handling one helical path independently. This segmentation eliminates the need for complex transfer units between windings and simplifies the driving mechanism, as each belt can be driven separately without requiring the entire long belt to be powered.
Solution Approach 2:
The two conveyor belts are arranged concentrically, with one belt nested inside the other, both following helical paths around the same central axis. This nested arrangement allows both conveyors to occupy the same spatial envelope efficiently while maintaining independent operation and simplifying the overall structure.
2Productivity
If transfer units are used to transfer products between conveyors, then product transfer is achieved, but abrupt direction changes occur affecting unstable or fragile products
Solution Approach 1:
The inlet end and outlet end of the transfer unit are merged into a single continuous path that makes at most a small angle with the horizontal. This eliminates abrupt direction changes by creating a smooth transition zone where products move gradually from one conveyor to the other without sudden angular deviations that could destabilize fragile items.
3Productivity
If transfer units are positioned between conveyors, then product transfer is enabled, but long products cannot be transferred
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer unit path extends outside the area defined by the adjacent paths of the first and second conveyors, utilizing the radial space between them. This dimensional arrangement allows long products to be transferred by moving the transfer unit along the helical paths, providing sufficient linear distance for the transfer operation without constraining product length.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the conveyor belt is moved onto and off the guide construction, then buffering length can be varied, but the construction becomes complex due to compensation loops
Solution Approach 1:
The buffering length is made variable by allowing the transfer unit to move along the helical paths of the conveyors. This dynamic adjustment capability eliminates the need for fixed compensation loops, as the transfer unit can be positioned at different locations to achieve the desired buffering length, providing adaptability without the complexity of mechanical compensation mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A buffer conveyor for conveying and buffering products, comprising at least a first elongated conveyor (7), which can be driven in a first direction, a second elongated conveyor (8), which can be driven in a second, opposite direction, and a transfer unit (12) having an inlet end and an outlet end, wherein a transfer element of the transfer unit describes a path between the inlet end and the outlet end which makes at most a small angle with the horizontal and which extends outside the area defined by the adjacent paths of the first and the second conveyor.