Roller-Belt Conveyor with Convex Bearing Surface for Immediate Pull-Away
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional roller-belt conveyors experience a delay in accelerating articles due to non-rotating rollers at the infeed end, which causes a lag in separating articles from trailing ones.
Innovation Solution
The conveyor design includes a roller belt with rollers extending through its thickness, featuring a convex bearing surface at the infeed end that allows rollers to rotate before reaching the carryway segment, ensuring immediate acceleration of articles by rotating rollers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If idle sprockets are positioned at the infeed end of the roller-belt conveyor, then the belt can be properly engaged and driven, but the bearing surface must extend downstream of the sprockets causing rollers to be non-rotating at the infeed end
Solution Approach 1:
The bearing surface is extended upstream of the idle sprockets to allow rollers to begin rotating before they reach the carryway segment. This preliminary rotation ensures that rollers are already spinning when articles are transferred onto the conveyor, eliminating the acceleration delay that occurred when rollers had to wait until reaching the bearing surface.
2Loss of time
If the bearing surface extends upstream past the idle sprockets, then rollers can rotate before reaching the carryway, but the sprockets may interfere with the bearing surface
Solution Approach 1:
The bearing surface includes a convex portion that curves upward toward the carryway segment. This curved configuration allows the bearing surface to extend upstream past the idle sprockets without interference, as the convex shape naturally clears the sprocket area while still providing a rolling surface for the rollers to accelerate before reaching the carryway.
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 design eliminates the delay in article separation by ensuring all rollers are rotating at full speed before entering the carryway segment, allowing immediate pull-away of articles from the infeed end.
Implementation Method 1
Tension in the advancing conveyor belt conforms the conveyor belt to the convex portion of the bearing surface and causes the rollers to rotate by contact with the convex portion
Data Source
AI summary
A separation conveyor using a roller belt whose rollers are already rotating before receiving an article to provide immediate pull-away from an infeed conveyor. The rollers of a roller belt extend through the thickness of the belt and into contact with a bearing surface in a reversing segment of a belt path between the returnway and the carryway of the separation conveyor. The rollers are already rotating on the bearing surface in the reversing segment at the infeed end before they contact articles to avoid delays in pulling articles away from the infeed conveyor and onto the separation conveyor.