Modular Conveyor Units with Adjustable Rollers for Easy Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional conveyor units are discretely designed for specific conveyor systems, requiring specialist knowledge for installation, maintenance, and lack flexibility in transport direction changes, with unidirectional drive elements and limited adjustability of transport rollers.
Innovation Solution
A conveyor unit with rotatable, individually controllable transport rollers, adjustable pivot axes, and a modular design, featuring a control unit and plug-in connection for easy integration into higher-level systems, allowing for variable speed, direction, and orientation control of goods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conveyor units are discretely designed for specific conveyor systems, then they can be precisely adapted to the dimensions of the respective system, but they require specialist knowledge for installation, maintenance, and removal, and lack flexibility for other applications
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor system is divided into discrete, modular conveyor units that can be independently installed, maintained, and removed. Each unit is a self-contained module with standardized dimensions and interfaces, allowing non-specialists to perform installation and maintenance tasks without requiring deep system-level knowledge.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor units are designed with universal dimensions and standardized interfaces that allow them to be used across different conveyor system configurations and applications. This multi-functionality enables the same modular units to be deployed in various systems without requiring custom fabrication or specialist installation knowledge.
2Device complexity
If transport rollers are swiveled discretely between two or three positions, then the control programming is simplified, but the transport direction cannot be continuously adjusted
Solution Approach 1:
The transport rollers are equipped with continuously adjustable swivel mechanisms that can be dynamically positioned at any angle within a specified range, rather than being limited to discrete positions. This dynamic adjustability is controlled through standardized control signals that maintain manageable programming complexity while enabling continuous transport direction changes.
3Device complexity
If drive elements are permanently installed beneath transport rollers and designed unidirectionally, then the mechanical structure is simplified, but changes in transport direction are not easily achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The drive elements are designed to rotate with the transport rollers as they swivel, maintaining continuous mechanical contact and power transmission. This dynamic drive configuration allows the rollers to change direction continuously while the drive elements remain permanently installed, combining mechanical simplicity with directional flexibility.
4Ease of operation
If each transport roller is considered individually for control unit programming, then precise individual control is achieved, but the design of the control unit becomes non-trivial
Solution Approach 1:
All transport rollers are equipped with identical sensors, actuators, and control interfaces that communicate through a standardized protocol. This homogeneity allows the control unit to manage individual rollers using uniform programming patterns, reducing design complexity while maintaining precise individual control capability.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a conveying unit (2) for a superordinate conveying system (28) for transporting goods (4) on a transport plane (6). The conveying unit (2) comprises transport rollers (8), drive means (18), at least one adjusting device (16), and a control unit (20). The transport rollers (8) can be rotated about the respective axes of rotation (10) thereof with controllable speed and controllable direction of rotation. The drive means (18) are designed to drive the transport rollers (8) in a controllable manner. The axes of rotation (10) of the transport rollers (8) are designed to be adjusted about the respective pivot axes (12) thereof by a particular pivot axis angle (14) in a controllable manner by rotation. The adjusting device (16) is designed to adjust the axes of rotation (10) of the transport rollers (8) about the respective pivot axes (12) thereof in a controllable manner. The control unit (20) is designed to control the conveying unit (2), in particular the adjusting device (16) and the drive means (18), and the conveying unit (2) additionally comprises a connecting device (32) for connecting the conveying unit (2) to the superordinate conveying system (28).