Destacking Conveyor with Vertical Wall Gap for Package Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional singulating conveyors often fail to separate stacked packages effectively, limiting their ability to process individual packages efficiently.
Innovation Solution
A destacking conveyor system featuring a conveyor belt with pushers and a vertical wall, where package detectors trigger actuation zones to push the stack against the wall, separating the top and bottom packages by creating a gap, allowing the bottom package to pass through while the top package is restrained, or using a liftable wall segment to achieve the same separation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional singulating conveyors are used, then packages can be conveyed, but stacked packages cannot be separated effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor system is segmented into multiple functional zones: actuation zones with pushers for transverse movement, a vertical wall with gap for separation, and detection zones for stack identification. This segmentation allows the system to handle stacked packages by processing them in discrete stages - detection, transverse pushing, and separation through the gap - rather than attempting to separate all packages simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The vertical wall acts as an intermediary element between the pushers and the packages. It provides a fixed reference structure that, combined with the movable pushers, creates the gap mechanism. The wall mediates the interaction between the pushing force and the stacked packages, enabling separation without direct contact between all packages and the conveying system.
2Ease of operation
If pushers are used to push packages transversely, then packages can be moved to the side, but stacked packages remain together
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by first detecting the presence of a stack using package detectors upstream of the actuation zones. This detection triggers the sequential actuation of pushers in advance, allowing the bottom package to be pushed transversely before the top package is fully engaged, creating the separation gap before the stack reaches the vertical wall.
Solution Approach 2:
The pushers are designed to be dynamically actuated rather than statically positioned. Actuators selectively engage pushers based on the detected stack position, allowing the system to adapt the transverse pushing action to the specific location and configuration of stacked packages. This dynamic engagement enables effective separation of stacks varying in height and position.
3Productivity
If a vertical wall with gap is used, then bottom packages can pass through, but top packages are restrained
Solution Approach 1:
The vertical wall with fixed gap is a passive structure that performs its separation function automatically based on the package stack configuration. The gap width is designed to allow bottom packages to pass through while naturally restraining top packages through gravity and physical contact. The system does not require active control of the wall itself, reducing complexity compared to fully actuated wall segments.
4Reliability
If package detectors trigger actuation zones, then stacks can be separated sequentially, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Package detectors provide feedback signals that trigger the sequential actuation of pushers in response to detected stack positions. This feedback mechanism ensures accurate timing of the transverse pushing action relative to the stack's position on the conveyor, improving separation accuracy. The feedback loop closes when the separated packages are detected, allowing the system to reset and prepare for the next stack.
Data Source
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Figure 4A~5B
Figure 6A~7B
AI summary
A destacking conveyor having a conveyor belt with pushers selectively pushing stacked packages transverse to the conveying direction to one side of the conveyor against a vertical wall with a gap between the bottom of the wall and the belt to block the top package of a stack and allow the bottom package to pass through the gap and off the side of the belt to a reject bin. In another version a destacking conveyor uses a force applicator to apply a downward force against the top of a stack to hold the top package while the pushers slide the bottom package from under the top package.