Omnidirectional Conveyor Gapping for Unordered Goods Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gapping systems in material flow systems are limited by the need for manual intervention, large space requirements, and inability to handle unordered or bulk-fed goods, leading to inefficiencies in throughput and reliability.
Innovation Solution
A conveying system with individually controllable drives that allow goods to be moved in any direction within the conveying plane, enabling dynamic gapping and maintaining target distances between goods, even when unordered, using omnidirectional wheels and sensors for precise control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If manual gapping is used to create sufficient distances between conveyed goods, then sorting quality is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to laborious and slow manual manipulation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical gapping operations with an automated optical-mechanical system. Sensors detect the positions and orientations of conveyed goods, and this information is processed by a control unit that automatically adjusts the conveying speeds of individual sections to create precise gaps, eliminating manual intervention while maintaining high precision and throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback by using sensors to monitor the real-time positions and orientations of conveyed goods. This feedback information is fed back to the control unit, which dynamically adjusts the conveying speeds of different sections to maintain optimal gapping, ensuring both precision and high productivity through closed-loop control.
2Extent of automation
If conveyor belts arranged in series are used for dynamic gapping, then gapping automation is improved, but device complexity increases and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the existing conveyor system sections serve multiple functions: they simultaneously convey goods and perform speed adjustment for gapping purposes. The control unit coordinates the speeds of existing conveyor sections to create gaps, eliminating the need for additional specialized gapping devices and reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges the gapping function with the existing conveying function by using the same conveyor sections for both purposes. Instead of adding separate gapping mechanisms, the patent combines speed control of existing conveyor sections with gap creation, reducing device complexity and space requirements.
3Extent of automation
If conveyor belts are used for gapping, then automation is improved, but the system can only gap goods fed individually in order, deteriorating adaptability to handle bulk-fed unordered goods
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic speed adjustment of individual conveyor sections based on real-time detection of goods positions and orientations. This dynamic control allows the system to adapt to various feeding patterns (ordered or unordered, individual or bulk) by continuously modifying the conveying speed of different sections to maintain proper gapping regardless of the initial goods arrangement.
4Manufacturing precision
If large distances are maintained between conveyed goods for sorting quality, then sorting accuracy is improved, but throughput rate deteriorates as sorting becomes a bottleneck
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates periodic gaps between conveyed goods through coordinated speed adjustments of different conveyor sections. By rhythmically accelerating and decelerating specific sections, the system generates consistent spacing that provides sufficient distance for accurate sorting while maintaining high overall throughput by minimizing idle time between goods.
Data Source
Figure 1a~1d
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3a~3d
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for creating spacings (d) between a first group of conveyed goods (11) and a second group of conveyed goods during simultaneous transport of the groups of conveyed goods in a conveying direction (z), said method comprising the following steps: - feeding a plurality of at least the first groups of conveyed goods (11) and the second group of conveyed goods in a first arrangement, the first group of conveyed goods (11) and the second group of conveyed goods being fed partially simultaneously in the conveying direction (z), and the groups of conveyed good being fed offset from one another orthogonally to the conveying direction (z), - detecting (S1) the group of conveyed goods (11) for typification, - determining a target position of the first group of conveyed goods (11a…1d) and of the second group of conveyed goods (S2), - open-loop or closed-loop control of a target spacing (d) between the first group of conveyed goods (11a…d) and the second group of conveyed goods on the basis of said target position (S3), and - for this purpose, moving individual groups of conveyed goods (11a…11d) (S4) by conveyed goods drives (2, 2a, 2c), which can move one or more groups of conveyed goods variably and individually in any direction of the conveying plane, in such a way that the target spacing (d) between the first group of conveyed goods (11a…11d) and the second group of conveyed goods is achieved during the transfer to a subsequent conveying section (16), the target spacing (d) being different from the first spacing, the movement being performed in accordance with control signals which are generated from the typifying detection (S1) of the first group of conveyed goods (11a…11d) and of the second group of conveyed goods and form the determination of the target positions of the first group of conveyed goods (11a…11d) and of the second group of conveyed goods (S2), the first group of conveyed goods and the second group of conveyed goods being transported simultaneously in the conveying direction (z).