Slip Conveyor Tray Angular Delivery Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing slip conveyors, particularly those used in food packaging, are complex, expensive to manufacture, and difficult to service and clean due to their intricate mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A slip conveyor design featuring a longitudinally elongated tray with a receiving portion and a delivery portion, capable of angular movement, which eliminates the need for a gate by using a base and side walls to facilitate product transfer between trays, and includes a drive assembly with motors for reciprocation and angular movement, allowing for easy cleaning and inspection through intermediate apertures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If complex gate mechanisms are used to deliver product from trays, then product delivery function is achieved, but device complexity increases and ease of manufacture deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the complex gate mechanism entirely from the conveyor system. Instead of using gates to control product discharge, the invention uses the natural angular movement of the tray itself to deliver product at different locations, thereby extracting the problematic component and simplifying the overall device structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than using a gate to actively control product discharge from a fixed tray position, the invention inverts the approach by keeping the tray movable and using its angular position to control where product is delivered. The tray's movement becomes the delivery control mechanism, replacing the traditional gate function.
2Ease of repair
If gate mechanisms are incorporated in trays, then product delivery is enabled, but ease of repair and servicing deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By removing the gate mechanism completely and relying solely on the tray's angular movement for product delivery, the patent eliminates components that would require repair and servicing. The simpler structure with fewer moving parts directly improves maintainability.
3Ease of operation
If intricate mechanisms are used for product delivery, then delivery precision is achieved, but ease of cleaning deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The removal of gate mechanisms and intricate delivery components eliminates hard-to-clean areas. The open tray design with simple geometry allows for easier access and cleaning, while the angular movement mechanism maintains precise product delivery capability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple delivery portions are provided on trays, then versatility of product delivery is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses dynamic angular movement of the tray to achieve multiple delivery positions rather than providing multiple static delivery portions. The tray can be positioned at different angles to deliver product to different locations, providing versatility through movement rather than through complex multi-purpose structures.
Data Source
AI summary
A slip conveyor (10) including a plurality of conveyor trays (11) that convey product (34) in the downstream direction (12). Each tray (11) is of a tubular construction and has at least one aperture (20) through which product is delivered upon angular movement of the tray (11) about its longitudinal axis.