Conveying Wheel Entrainers for Carriage Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conveying systems face challenges in transferring carriages from a feed chain to a conveying wheel, especially when the chain's length changes due to wear or loading, leading to operational issues.
Innovation Solution
The conveying wheel incorporates guiding and entraining elements, referred to as 'entrainers,' which are individually controllable to accelerate carriages and facilitate a smooth transfer, even with varying chain lengths, by pivoting and adjusting to accommodate changes in the chain's length.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a conveying wheel is used to move carriages in deflection areas, then the carriages can be transported along the conveying segment, but the transfer from the feed chain to the conveying wheel becomes problematic when the chain length changes due to wear or loading
Solution Approach 1:
The entrainers are made individually controllable and can pivot dynamically to adjust their position and angle relative to the conveying wheel. This dynamic adjustment allows the entrainers to compensate for changes in chain length caused by wear or loading, maintaining reliable carriage transfer from the feed chain to the conveying wheel while preserving transport efficiency
2Duration of action of stationary object
If the chain length changes due to wear or loading, then the conveying system can continue operating, but the transfer of carriages to the conveying wheel becomes unreliable
Solution Approach 1:
The entrainers' geometric parameters (position, angle, and pivot points) are designed to be adjustable within certain ranges. When chain length changes occur due to wear or loading, the entrainers can change their operational parameters by pivoting to different angles and positions, thereby maintaining reliable carriage engagement and transfer throughout the system's operational life
3Reliability
If individual control of entrainers is implemented, then carriage transfer reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The conveying wheel is segmented into multiple independent entrainer units, each capable of individual control and adjustment. This segmentation allows each entrainer to be optimized for its specific function of engaging and releasing carriages, improving reliability while distributing the control complexity across multiple simpler, independent components rather than requiring a single complex control system
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for use in a conveying system having carriages guided on a guide of a first conveying segment, each of which has a wheel catcher that includes a conveying wheel having carriage catching areas, each of which is associated with one of several entrainers disposed along a periphery of the conveying wheel. Each entrainer has a carriage-catching surface that faces the rotation direction and that cooperates with a wheel catcher on a carriage. The entrainers are all independently controllable.