Rotating Sorter Base With Swivel Support Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sorting devices for discrete products in industrial processing often require complex designs and incur high costs due to interference with conveyor systems and the need for additional transport mechanisms, leading to production delays and increased construction efforts.
Innovation Solution
A sorter with a base element that can swivel or rotate around a central axis, featuring multiple flat support surfaces arranged in a regular pattern, allowing for seamless integration into the product stream and rapid sorting by swapping support surfaces to divert products intended for removal without the need for back-and-forth deflector movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If individual products are eliminated from the product stream at points arranged in the product stream, then sorting can be performed, but the devices become elaborate in design and costly to make, and they interfere with conveyers and impede regular forward transport
Solution Approach 1:
The sorting device is divided into multiple sorting stations arranged along the product stream, with each station having its own deflector that can independently divert products. This segmentation allows sorting to occur at multiple points without requiring a single complex device, thereby reducing overall device complexity while maintaining sorting capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The deflectors at each sorting station are designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing them to dynamically adjust their position to divert products as needed. This dynamic capability enables the system to perform sorting functions without requiring permanent interference with the conveyor system, reducing device complexity while maintaining reliability.
2Reliability
If individual products are eliminated from the product stream at points arranged in the product stream, then sorting can be performed, but additional transport means are required for removal of sorted products, leading to additional costs and construction effort
Solution Approach 1:
The sorting function is merged with the existing conveyor system by placing deflectors directly on the conveyor belts at various stations. Sorted products are diverted onto the same conveyor belts that continue to transport regular products, eliminating the need for separate transport means and reducing construction effort while maintaining sorting capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor belts serve multiple functions: they transport regular products forward and simultaneously serve as the destination for diverted sorted products. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for dedicated transport systems for sorted products, reducing construction effort and costs while maintaining reliable sorting capability.
3Productivity
If a support surface is swiveled out of the conveyor to remove a product, then the product enters a sorting path, but the base element must complete a full swivel cycle to bring the next support surface into position
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple support surfaces are pre-positioned on the base element in a circular arrangement. When one support surface is swiveled out to remove a product, the next support surface is already in position to immediately receive and convey the next product, eliminating idle time and maintaining high productivity without requiring a full swivel cycle.
Solution Approach 2:
The base element is designed with multiple support surfaces arranged circumferentially, ensuring that while one surface is being used for product removal, another surface is simultaneously ready to receive and convey products. This continuous arrangement eliminates interruptions in the sorting process, maintaining productivity without time loss from swivel cycles.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention concerns a sorter having a base element that can be swiveled around a horizontal swivel axis with a number of support surfaces uniformly arranged about the swivel axis. Each of the support surfaces can be swiveled into a conveyor for conveying a product along a product stream and swiveled out of the conveyor for ejection of a product from the product stream.