Opposed Deck Conveyor with Belts and Wheels for Scrap Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sheet stacking systems face issues with scrap material interference, leading to alignment problems, jams, and inclusion of scrap in the final stack, particularly when using die cut machines that produce excess scrap, which can result in crooked or oversized stacks and contamination in applications like food packaging.
Innovation Solution
A conveyor system with opposed upper and lower decks, where one deck features belts and the other deck features wheels, allowing for improved scrap removal by ensuring that sheets make direct contact with both belt and wheel surfaces, facilitating the separation and removal of scrap through coordinated movement and staggered contact points.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional single-deck conveyor is used, then the structure is simple, but scrap material interferes with blank transport causing alignment problems and jams
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor is divided into two separate decks (upper and lower) that operate independently. Each deck has its own set of contact elements (belts or wheels), allowing scrap material on one deck to be handled separately from blanks on the other deck, thereby preventing scrap interference while maintaining transport reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The solution transitions from a single-plane conveyor to a three-dimensional dual-deck configuration. By stacking conveyors vertically with an upper deck and lower deck, the system creates additional spatial dimensions for scrap removal without significantly increasing horizontal footprint, thus improving reliability without proportional complexity increase
2Object-affected harmful factors
If scrap removal devices are added to the layboy, then scrap interference is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Scrap removal functionality is extracted from the main conveyor path by implementing a separate lower deck dedicated to scrap handling. The lower deck's contact elements are specifically configured to contact and remove scrap material from the stream, separating the scrap removal function from blank transport function and reducing overall system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The lower deck acts as an intermediary between the layboy and the main conveyor. It receives material stream input, separates scrap from blanks through its contact elements, and delivers cleaned blanks to the upper deck for final transport, thereby reducing scrap interference without requiring complex modification of existing components
3Reliability
If both upper and lower decks use belts, then contact surface area is increased, but scrap removal efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Different contact element types are assigned to different decks based on their specific functions. The upper deck uses belts optimized for gentle blank handling and transport, while the lower deck uses wheels or other contact elements optimized for scrap removal. This localized optimization of contact element properties maximizes scrap removal efficiency without requiring complex uniform configuration across the entire system
Data Source
AI summary
A conveyor includes a first conveyor deck having a first plurality of contact elements, each having a contact surface movable around a closed path from a contact region to a non-contact region, the first contact regions lying in a plane or being bounded by the plane and a second conveyor deck having a second plurality of contact elements, each having a contact surface movable around a closed path from a contact region to a non-contact region, these contact regions lying in a second plane or being bounded by the second plane. The transport path of the conveyor is defined by the contact surfaces of the first and second contact elements in the contact regions, and the first plurality of contact elements are belts and the second plurality of contact elements are wheels.