Conveyor Middle Guide for Article Flatness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing article transport facilities face challenges in smoothly transferring articles between conveyors that support articles from below and those that require a higher degree of flatness, as the middle portion of the article's bottom surface bends downward, obstructing smooth transfer.
Innovation Solution
An article transport facility with a conveyor device comprising a first transporter, a second transporter, and a middle guide, where the middle guide is inclined to support the middle portion of the article's bottom surface, allowing it to be pressed upward and unbent at a joint, enabling smooth transfer between conveyors with different support mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If articles are transported using a conveyor device that supports only both ends of the article bottom surface, then smooth transfer between adjacent chain conveyors is enabled, but the middle portion of the article bottom surface bends downward which obstructs smooth transfer to conveying devices requiring higher flatness
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor device is divided into three independent transporters: a first transporter supporting the bottom first portion, a second transporter supporting the bottom second portion, and a middle guide supporting the bottom middle portion. This segmentation allows each component to address specific support needs, enabling the middle portion to be kept flat while ends remain supported, thus resolving the contradiction between smooth transfer and maintaining flatness.
Solution Approach 2:
The middle guide acts as an intermediary element between the first and second transporters. It specifically addresses the bottom middle portion that would otherwise be unsupported and bend downward. The middle guide surface provides the necessary support to maintain flatness in the middle region while allowing the end portions to continue functioning for smooth transfer between conveyors.
2Shape
If the middle guide surface is inclined downward from the reference plane at a greater distance from the joint, then the bottom middle portion is gradually pressed upward to eliminate bending, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The middle guide surface is designed with a dynamic inclination rather than a fixed horizontal position. The surface slopes downward from the reference plane at the joint toward the far end, creating a gradual pressing action that dynamically adjusts support as the article moves along. This dynamic design efficiently eliminates bending without requiring additional complex mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The middle guide surface changes its vertical parameter (height) along the transportation direction, transitioning from the reference plane at the joint to a lower position at the far end. This parameter change creates the inclined surface that gradually presses the bottom middle portion upward, effectively eliminating bending while maintaining a relatively simple structural form.
Data Source
AI summary
A middle guide is located between a first transporter and a second transporter in a width direction in an area of a conveyor device extending in a transportation direction including a joint connecting to a support conveying device to guide a bottom middle portion of a bottom surface, and the bottom middle portion is a portion of the bottom surface between a bottom first portion and a bottom second portion in the width direction. The middle guide has a middle guide surface to guide the bottom middle portion, and the middle guide surface is located in a reference plane at the joint and inclined further downward at a greater distance from the joint.