Servo Rotary Shingle Diverter Reducing Acceleration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional shingle diverters, such as the 'wig-wag' diverter, face limitations in accelerating and decelerating shingles to create sufficient spacing for diversion, leading to increased production bottlenecks due to high acceleration and deceleration rates, slip, and loss of control over shingle movement at higher speeds, which restricts production speed and consistency.
Innovation Solution
A rotary diverter with toothed discs mounted on a shaft, controlled by a servo motor, alternately positions teeth between conveyor belts to divert shingles to either auto-catcher infeed conveyor, reducing the required spacing between shingles and allowing for controlled acceleration and deceleration, enabling higher production speeds without compromising control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional wig-wag diverters are used to divert shingles, then shingles can be directed to alternate auto-catchers, but high acceleration and deceleration rates are required creating production bottlenecks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the diverter fingers movable between lowered and raised positions to dynamically redirect shingles. The fingers are positioned to engage with shingles in motion, allowing continuous diversion without stopping the production line. This dynamic positioning enables the system to maintain high production speeds while reliably controlling shingle movement to alternate auto-catchers.
Solution Approach 2:
The diverter fingers serve as an intermediary element between the moving shingles and the auto-catchers. These fingers physically interact with the shingles, guiding them onto the appropriate conveyor paths. By using these intermediary fingers, the system achieves reliable control over shingle diversion without requiring high acceleration and deceleration rates, thus resolving the contradiction between productivity and reliability.
2Length of moving object
If shingles are accelerated to create spacing for diversion, then spacing is achieved, but slip and loss of control occur at higher speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by positioning the diverter fingers in advance within the gap between shingles before the actual diversion occurs. The fingers are pre-positioned to engage with the trailing shingle as it approaches, allowing spacing to be created naturally through the diversion action itself rather than through high-speed acceleration. This eliminates slip and maintains control over shingle movement.
3Productivity
If a single auto-catcher is used, then equipment complexity is reduced, but it becomes a bottleneck at higher production rates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the shingle stream into two separate streams, directing alternating shingles to two different auto-catchers. This is achieved through the diverter fingers that redirect shingles to alternate conveyors. By segmenting the single stream into multiple streams, the system can handle higher production rates without requiring a single overloaded auto-catcher, thus increasing productivity while maintaining reasonable equipment complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies periodic action by alternating the diversion of shingles to different auto-catchers in a regular pattern. The diverter fingers systematically direct one shingle to the first auto-catcher, the next to the second auto-catcher, and so on. This periodic diversion pattern allows multiple auto-catchers to share the workload efficiently, increasing overall production capacity without proportionally increasing equipment complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A servo rotary shingle diverter includes toothed diverter discs disposed along the path of a stream of shingles separated by spaces. In a first or home rotary position, the diverter discs are disposed entirely beneath the shingle path so that shingles pass the diverter discs unimpeded to a first destination. The diverter discs are rotated at the same rate as the moving shingles such that a tooth of the discs moves along with the shingles and into the path of a selected shingle within the gap head of the selected shingle. The discs are stopped when their teeth align to define a ramp and the next selected shingle engages and rides up the ramp and is diverted thereby to a second destination. The diverter discs are then rotated back to their home position. Every other shingle is thus diverted to the second destination while remaining shingles move on to the first destination.