Conveyor Belt Segmentation for Weighing Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing weighing apparatuses for continuous product flows, such as conveyor belts with rotatable weighing rollers, suffer from insufficient accuracy for industrial applications due to pretensioning effects that impair measurement precision.
Innovation Solution
An endless conveyor belt design with transition parts that provide a flexible suspension between the outer edges and the middle part, maintaining low belt tension and preventing pretensioning, allowing the conveyor belt to hang slack while maintaining sufficient traction for accurate weighing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the conveyor belt is pretensioned to maintain structural stability and transmit traction, then the belt can transmit driving forces and maintain robustness, but the belt tension increases causing sagging reduction which adversely affects weighing accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor belt is segmented into three distinct zones: outer edge zones for traction transmission, transition zones with reduced tension, and a middle zone for accurate weighing. This segmentation allows each zone to fulfill its specific function without compromising the others, enabling the belt to transmit traction where needed while maintaining low tension in the weighing area.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the conveyor belt are given different mechanical properties. The outer edges are designed to be stronger and stiffer for traction transmission, while the middle part is designed to be more flexible and maintain lower tension for accurate weighing. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by allowing the belt to simultaneously provide structural stability where needed and measurement precision where required.
2Measurement precision
If the conveyor belt is designed to hang slack to improve weighing accuracy, then measurement precision increases, but the belt loses sufficient traction capability for driving
Solution Approach 1:
The belt is divided into functional zones where the outer edge segments are optimized for traction transmission while the middle segment is optimized for weighing accuracy. The transition zones connect these functional areas, allowing the belt to maintain slackness in the weighing area while preserving traction capability at the edges.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor belt exhibits different mechanical characteristics in different regions: the outer edges possess higher stiffness and strength for effective traction transmission, while the middle region maintains lower tension and higher flexibility for accurate weighing measurements. This local quality differentiation enables the belt to simultaneously satisfy both requirements.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If the conveyor belt is made robust with high pretensioning for industrial durability, then lifespan and reliability improve, but weighing accuracy deteriorates due to increased belt tension effects
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor belt structure is segmented into zones with different tension characteristics. The outer edge zones are designed with higher strength and stiffness for durability and traction, while the middle weighing zone is designed to maintain low tension for measurement accuracy. This segmentation allows the belt to be robust overall while preserving weighing precision in the critical measurement area.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the conveyor belt are engineered with different mechanical properties to balance durability and measurement accuracy. The outer edges are made more robust for long lifespan and effective traction transmission, while the middle section is designed with properties that minimize tension effects for accurate weighing, thereby resolving the contradiction between industrial durability and measurement precision.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to an apparatus for weighing a product flow, comprising an endless conveyor belt for transporting the product flow thereon in a transport direction, wherein a width direction extends in an imaginary transport plane substantially transversely of the transport direction, and wherein a carrying direction extends substantially transversely of the transport plane, wherein one or more transition parts are arranged slightly inward of the outer edges in the width direction, wherein a middle part is situated between the transition parts, and wherein the transition part is adapted to provide the middle part with a substantially flexible suspension in the carrying direction and/or the transport direction of the conveyor belt relative to the outer edges. The invention also relates to a method comprising of transporting a product flow over said conveyor belt, wherein the conveyor belt sags as a result of the mass of the product flow, and weighing the product flow transported on the sagging conveyor belt with a weighing unit.