Elevated Tread Device for Roller Conveyor Safety
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for transporting pallets along a funding level often pose safety risks for personnel crossing the roller coaster, as the minimum required width for safe crossing cannot be met, especially when transporting half-pallets.
Innovation Solution
A device with rotatable conveyor rolls that define the funding level, featuring a performance facility with a foot entrance area that is arranged above the funding level, allowing personnel to safely cross without hindering pallet movement. The performance facility is designed to fit between neighboring conveyor rolls and is non-contact with them to avoid frictional braking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If filler plates are installed between conveyor rollers to enable personnel crossing, then personnel can cross the roller conveyor, but the minimum tread width of 0.1 m cannot be maintained when transporting half pallets
Solution Approach 1:
The tread device is positioned above the conveying plane instead of between conveyor rollers, changing the spatial dimension from horizontal (between rollers) to vertical (above conveying plane). This allows the tread surface to extend beyond the roller spacing while maintaining safety width requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
A tread device with tread surface acts as an intermediary structure between personnel and the conveyor system. The tread surface provides a safe crossing surface while the support structure (filler plates, side parts) mediates between the tread surface and the conveyor rollers below.
2Reliability
If filler plates extend beyond conveyor level to increase tread width, then personnel crossing safety improves, but pallets run into filler plates and become stuck
Solution Approach 1:
The tread surface is positioned above the conveying plane, separating the personnel crossing function from the pallet conveying function in the vertical dimension. This prevents pallets from contacting the tread surface while allowing personnel to cross safely on the elevated tread.
Solution Approach 2:
The device separates the crossing function (tread surface) from the conveying function (conveyor rollers). The tread surface and support structure are segmented into components that can be positioned to serve different functions without interfering with each other.
3Reliability
If tread device is permanently mounted above conveying plane, then personnel crossing safety is ensured, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tread device uses simple geometric forms (elongated plate with recesses) that can be manufactured as standard components. The recesses copy the circular cross-section of conveyor rollers, allowing direct mounting without complex custom fabrication.
Solution Approach 2:
The side parts use uniform circular segment-shaped recesses that match the homogeneous circular shape of conveyor rollers. This homogeneity simplifies manufacturing and assembly, reducing overall device complexity despite the permanent mounting requirement.
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 solution enables safe and uninterrupted crossing of the roller coaster by personnel while maintaining the process-proof transport of pallets, as the performance facility can remain permanently assembled and does not interfere with the pallet's movement.
Implementation Method 1
The plurality of conveyor rollers 2 are rotatable about a roller axis that extends in the conveying direction FR. The pallets P can be conveyed in the conveying direction FR along the conveying plane FE by means of the conveyor rollers 2.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a device for conveying pallets (P) along a conveying plane (FE) in a conveying direction (FR), wherein the device comprises several conveying rollers (2) which define the conveying plane (FE), the device has at least one step device (3) with a tread surface (4) for being stepped on by at least one human foot, and the step device is arranged such that at least the tread surface is located above the conveying plane. The step device is spaced apart from the conveying rollers such that it does not make contact with the conveying rollers and therefore does not exert any friction-related braking effect on the conveying rollers. The step device has dimensions such that it fits between adjacent skids of the pallet and can be traversed by the pallet moving in the conveying direction.