Extendable Conveyor With Strip Curtain for Item Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Telescopic conveyors face challenges in preventing items from falling off, especially when conveying bulk loads, due to the lack of side guards on movable telescope portions, which increases the risk of item loss and safety concerns.
Innovation Solution
An extendable conveyor system integrated with a separation module that decelerates items to separate bulk loads into smaller units, combined with a flexible strip curtain to prevent items from falling, allowing for adjustable speed control and a level difference to guide items onto the conveyor, reducing the risk of items falling off.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If side guards or side rails are added to telescope portions to prevent items from falling, then item loss is reduced, but the overall build size is enlarged and complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A flexible strip curtain is introduced as an intermediary element between the conveyor belt and the external environment. The curtain acts as a mediator that prevents items from falling off the conveyor without requiring rigid side guards or rails, thus maintaining a simple conveyor structure while improving item retention reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible strip curtain is implemented as a thin, flexible barrier that hangs along the sides of the conveyor. This flexible film structure provides item retention without the bulk and complexity of rigid side guards, allowing the conveyor to maintain a compact build size while preventing item loss
2Reliability
If side guards or side rails are added to telescope portions to prevent items from falling, then item loss is reduced, but safety risks are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible strip curtain serves as a safety intermediary that creates a soft barrier to prevent items from falling. Unlike rigid side guards that could cause injury or damage, the flexible curtain provides a safe, yielding barrier that reduces safety risks while maintaining item retention effectiveness
3Productivity
If the conveying speed is increased to improve productivity, then output increases, but the risk of items falling off increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible strip curtain provides continuous lateral support along the conveying path, creating a contained environment that allows the conveyor to operate at higher speeds without increasing the risk of item loss. The curtain moves with the conveyor, maintaining effective item retention even during high-speed operation
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 reduces the risk of items falling off by separating bulk loads into single pieces and maintaining a stable flow, even without side guards on the telescope portions, enhancing safety and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The separation module is operable for conveying items towards the extendable conveyor and configured to decelerate the conveying of the items on the separation module
Implementation Method 2
The flexible strip curtain is configured to extend across a conveying surface of the extendable conveyor
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3
AI summary
Systems, devices, methods and computer program products for extendable conveyors are provided. A system comprises an extendable conveyor and a separation module. The extendable conveyor is operable to convey items from an upstream side of the extendable conveyor to a downstream side of the extendable conveyor. Further, it is configured to increase the distance from the upstream side to the downstream side. The separation module is operable for conveying items towards the extendable conveyor and configured to decelerate the conveying of the items on the separation module.