Conveyor with Oblique Rollers for Closely Spaced Article Diverting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional power-driven conveyors with oblique rollers struggle to efficiently divert closely spaced articles for sorting and other applications, as the need for extended activated regions increases spacing between articles, reducing conveyor throughput.
Innovation Solution
A conveyor system with oblique rollers and movable bearing surfaces that form contiguous roller-control zones along the belt, allowing for selective activation and deactivation of these zones to divert articles, enabling closer spacing and improved throughput.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the bearing surface section is raised and lowered to divert articles, then articles can be directed off the side of the belt, but the length of the activated region increases the minimum spacing between consecutive articles, reducing conveyor throughput
Solution Approach 1:
The bearing surface is divided into multiple discrete bearing surface elements arranged end to end, forming separate roller-control zones. This segmentation allows individual zones to be activated independently, enabling article diverting while reducing the total activated region length, thereby increasing conveyor throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The bearing surface elements are made individually movable into and out of contact with the belt rollers, allowing dynamic activation and deactivation of specific zones. This dynamic control enables precise timing of article diverting operations, minimizing the time articles are in activated regions and maximizing conveyor throughput.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the bearing surfaces are activated to divert the leading article, then the article is directed off the side of the belt, but the trailing article cannot be diverted simultaneously, requiring increased spacing between articles
Solution Approach 1:
The bearing surface is segmented into multiple discrete elements that form separate roller-control zones. This allows different zones to be activated at different times for different articles, enabling selective diverting of leading and trailing articles independently, thereby maintaining high throughput while preserving sorting capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The bearing surface elements can be activated in advance before articles reach the divert zone, allowing the system to prepare for article diverting operations. This preliminary action enables precise timing and spacing control, allowing closely spaced articles to be diverted efficiently without reducing throughput.
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 system effectively diverts closely spaced articles while maintaining high conveyor throughput by allowing precise control over the activation and deactivation of roller-control zones, optimizing the spacing between articles and enhancing sorting capabilities.
Implementation Method 1
The bearing surfaces in a region of the conveyor may be raised into an activated position in contact with the rollers from a lowered, deactivated position out of contact with the rollers
Implementation Method 2
the rollers can propel conveyed articles toward a side of the belt as it advances
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
. A conveyor (10) and associated method for diverting closely spaced articles (40) conveyed along the conveyor. The conveyor includes a conveyor belt with rollers (24) oriented to rotate on axes (26) oblique to the direction of belt travel (14) . A series of arrays of bearing surface elements (32) are arranged end to end along the conveyor. The bearing surfaces may be static or rotational . Each array defines a roller-control zone in which the array is selectively activated with its bearing surface elements in contract with the belt rollers (24) or deactivated with its bearing surface elements out of contact with the belt rollers . As the belt advances through an activated roller-control zone, the belt rollers rotate to propel a conveyed article toward a side of the belt. The contiguous roller-control zones are sequentially activated and deactivated to direct articles to the side and off the belt or to let them pass straight through.