Pivoting Tray Conveyor for Stable Travel on Curved Paths
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional food and drink conveying devices experience instability of trays when navigating curved paths, leading to potential loss of stability for food and drink items.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a travel body with pivotable leading and following bodies equipped with rotatable contact sections that align on either side of the curved path, ensuring stable travel by maintaining contact with the path at multiple points, reducing friction noise, and preventing swaying.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the tray travels over a support piece in the corner portion to prevent resistance from the conveyor surface, then the tray can travel smoothly along the curved path, but the tray inclines by a predetermined angle relative to the conveyor surface which causes loss of stability for the food and drink placed on the tray
Solution Approach 1:
The travel body is divided into multiple independent components: a tray main body and a separate tray bracket that can pivot relative to each other. This segmentation allows the bracket to rotate and adapt to curved paths while the tray main body remains level, solving both the smooth travel and stability requirements simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray bracket is designed with rotational freedom around a pivot point, allowing it to dynamically adjust its angle as the travel body moves through curved sections. This dynamic adjustment enables the bracket to follow the curved path while the tray main body maintains a stable, level position for the food and drink.
2Stability of the object's composition
If contact sections are provided on the leading body to make contact with the travel path in two locations, then the rotation of the leading body matches the curved path, but the friction between the travel body and travel path generates noise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces direct mechanical friction contact with magnetic interaction. Magnets are embedded in the travel path, and corresponding magnetic sensors or magnetic elements are placed on the contact sections of the leading body. This substitution eliminates friction-based noise while maintaining the ability to detect and match the curved path geometry.
3Productivity
If the tray is connected to and supported by one end of a tray bracket extending from the chain, then the tray can travel when the chain is driven, but the tray inclines and becomes unstable in curved sections
Solution Approach 1:
The connection system is segmented into a driven chain mechanism and a separately pivoting tray bracket. The chain provides the driving force and basic support, while the tray bracket acts as an independent intermediate component that can rotate to accommodate curved paths, thereby maintaining tray stability without compromising the driving capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray bracket serves as an intermediary component between the driven chain and the tray main body. It mediates the transmission of motion while allowing angular adjustment, enabling the tray to follow curved paths smoothly while maintaining a stable, level position for the contents.
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
This configuration allows for stable and noise-reduced travel of food and drink along curved paths, maintaining the stability of items placed on the tray.
Implementation Method 1
noise can be prevented from being made due to friction between the travel body and the travel path
Data Source
AI summary
A food and drink conveying device allows a travel body carrying food and drink to stably travel along a curved path of a travel path while maintaining stability. A travel body (7) includes a travel body main unit (26), and a leading body (27) at the front end of the travel body main unit (26) in the travel direction. The leading body (27) is supported by the travel body main unit (26) so as to be pivotable in a horizontal plane. Contact sections (29) are provided to both sides of the leading body (27) in the widthwise direction relative to the travel direction and aligned on either side in the travel direction. The contact sections (29) provided on the inner side of a curved path portion (10a) are configured to make contact in the curved path (10a) at two locations in a travel path (1a).