Sound-Damped Conveyor Rollers and Totes for Noise Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Material handling operations produce significant noise due to vibrations in conveyor rollers and resonance in material handling totes, causing deleterious health effects for workers.
Innovation Solution
Implement sound damping materials, such as high density polyurethane or vinyl, internally within conveyor rollers and on the surfaces of material handling totes to attenuate vibrations and noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If exterior coating is applied to rollers to add traction and sound attenuation, then sound attenuation is improved, but roller outer diameter must be reduced to fit in roller clearance, requiring replacement of existing rollers
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of applying sound damping material on the exterior of the roller, the patent inverts the approach by placing the sound damping material on the interior surface of the roller. This allows the roller to maintain its original outer diameter and fit within the existing roller clearance without requiring replacement, while still providing effective sound attenuation through the internal damping material.
Solution Approach 2:
The sound damping material is nested within the hollow interior space of the roller, utilizing the existing internal volume of the roller structure. This nesting approach allows the damping material to be contained within the roller without increasing the external dimensions, thereby avoiding the need to reduce the roller outer diameter or replace existing rollers.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If exterior coating is applied to rollers for sound attenuation, then noise reduction is achieved, but manufacturing time increases and cost increases due to additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The sound damping material is integrated into the roller manufacturing process as a preliminary action, where the damping material is placed in the roller interior during the manufacturing phase. This allows the roller to be manufactured as a complete assembly with built-in sound attenuation, eliminating the need for separate post-manufacturing coating operations and reducing overall manufacturing time and cost.
3Strength
If totes are made from high density polymers like HDPE for durability, then strength is improved, but noise production increases during conveyance and manipulation
Solution Approach 1:
Sound damping material is introduced as an intermediary substance between the high density polymer tote and the surrounding environment. This damping material absorbs and attenuates the vibrations and impacts generated by the durable HDPE tote during conveyance and manipulation, thereby reducing noise production while preserving the structural strength and durability benefits of the high density polymer material.
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
Reduces noise and vibrations by ensuring continuous contact of damping materials with the inner surfaces of rollers and strategic placement on tote surfaces, enhancing worker safety and operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The sound damping material attenuates vibration and/or noise produced by the material handling element during the material handling process
Implementation Method 2
sound damping material attenuates vibration and/or noise produced by the material handling element
Data Source
AI summary
A sound attenuated material handling element reduces vibration and sound in a material handling system. The material handling element may be a sound attenuated roller for use in a roller conveyer or a sound attenuated nestable tote for receiving and transporting articles in the material handling system. Reducing vibration in material handling element reduces the noise produced by the element. The sound attenuated roller includes sound attenuating material disposed inside of the roller and in contact with the inner surface of the roller body. The sound attenuated nestable tote includes sound dampening material disposed in or formed with the tote structure. The sound damping material may be integrally formed with the roller or tote in order to maximize vibration and noise attenuation. Three dimensional computer analysis may be used to determine optimized locations for placement of the sound damping material on the roller or tote.