Rotatable Cam Nip Sheet Deceleration for Stacking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sheet deceleration technologies face limitations in increasing stacking capacity, reliability, and reducing complexity and power requirements, particularly at higher conveyor speeds, due to issues like machine wear and damage from repeated high-speed acceleration and deceleration, and difficulties in sensor identification and jam prevention with shingled sheets.
Innovation Solution
A sheet deceleration apparatus utilizing a rotatable cam nip with a lobe end that decelerates sheets by temporarily nipping them as they pass, allowing for increased conveyor speeds without excessive backstop impact and minimizing machine wear, incorporating a servo motor for synchronized operation and adjustable deceleration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the entry conveyor speed is increased to improve stacking capacity, then the number of sheets stacked per unit time increases, but the sheets strike the backstop at excessive speed causing bouncing and damage to leading edge protrusions
Solution Approach 1:
The deceleration apparatus is positioned upstream of the stacking hopper to slow sheets before they reach the backstop. The cam nip engages the sheet trailing edge in advance, reducing its speed from conveyor line speed to a safe impact speed before the sheet contacts the backstop, preventing bouncing and leading edge damage while allowing the conveyor to operate at high speeds for improved productivity
2Object-affected harmful factors
If spatially fixed nip rollers are used to decelerate sheets, then sheet speed is reduced before reaching the backstop, but the rollers experience machine wear and tear from repeated high-speed acceleration and deceleration
Solution Approach 1:
The cam nip is rotatable about an axis, allowing it to dynamically engage and disengage from the sheet trailing edge. The cam profile controls the timing and duration of the nip, enabling the apparatus to adapt to varying sheet speeds and positions while reducing mechanical stress and wear compared to fixed rollers that must repeatedly accelerate and decelerate
Solution Approach 2:
The rotatable cam nip operates in periodic cycles, engaging the sheet trailing edge temporarily to decelerate it, then releasing it to pass through. This periodic engagement pattern reduces continuous mechanical contact and wear, allowing the deceleration mechanism to function reliably at high conveyor speeds without the excessive wear experienced by continuously engaged fixed rollers
3Measurement precision
If sheets are conveyed with gaps between them, then sensor identification and jam detection are improved, but the sheet density along the conveyor decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The deceleration apparatus processes sheets individually by engaging the trailing edge of each sheet separately. The cam nip timing and duration are adjusted to decelerate one sheet at a time while maintaining proper spacing, allowing sensors to clearly distinguish between individual sheets and accurately detect jams or misalignments without the confusion caused by shingled overlapping sheets
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables higher stacking capacities, reduced machine wear, improved reliability, and lower power consumption by effectively decelerating sheets from high speeds to prevent bouncing and damage, while maintaining accurate sheet alignment and jam prevention.
Implementation Method 1
The cam nip includes a lobe end, such that when the lobe end is away from the travel path, the sheet of material can pass substantially unimpeded past the cam nip, and when the lobe end is near the travel path, the sheet of material is nipped by the cam nip decelerating the sheet of material from the first speed to a second speed
Data Source
AI summary
Sheet deceleration apparatus and methods for decelerating a sheet of material for use in a sheet stacking or other application. The deceleration apparatus includes a rotatable cam nip, rotatable about a first axis and provided on one side of the travel path, such that the sheet of material can pass by the cam nip. The cam nip includes a lobe end, such that when the lobe end is away from the travel path, the sheet of material can pass substantially unimpeded past the cam nip, and when the lobe end is near the travel path, the sheet of material is nipped by the cam nip decelerating the sheet of material from the first speed to a second speed.