Turntable With Balls For Lateral Offset And Rotation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for conveying and rotating piece goods struggle to align them efficiently for palletization, as they either lack lateral movement capabilities or are difficult to control, leading to inefficiencies in space-saving stacking.
Innovation Solution
A device featuring a horizontally aligned turntable with freely rotatable balls, a conveyor belt, and drive mechanisms that allow for both vertical rotation and lateral movement of piece goods during conveyance, enabling precise alignment and displacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a gripper is used to grasp and rotate piece goods on a conveyor belt, then the goods can be rotated about the vertical axis and moved laterally, but the robot required for this is complex to control and the process takes relatively long time
Solution Approach 1:
The device segments the functions of grasping, rotating, and laterally moving piece goods into separate components: the conveyor belt handles conveying, the turntable handles rotation, and the carriage handles lateral movement. This segmentation eliminates the need for a complex robot controller while achieving all required functions through simple, dedicated mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The turntable with balls acts as an intermediary mechanism between the conveyor belt and the carriage. The balls on the turntable surface enable piece goods to be easily rotated during conveying, while the carriage moves the entire turntable assembly laterally. This intermediary structure simplifies control by decoupling the rotation and lateral movement functions.
2Speed
If a rotary table with balls is used to rotate piece goods, then rapid rotation during conveying is possible, but lateral displacement capability is limited without additional mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The device merges the rotary table mechanism with a lateral displacement mechanism by mounting the turntable on a carriage that can move back and forth on the machine frame transversely to the conveying direction. This combination allows the piece goods to both rotate rapidly during conveying and be laterally displaced to different positions on the conveyor belt.
Solution Approach 2:
The turntable is designed to be rotatable about a vertical axis during conveying, and the carriage is designed to be movable back and forth transversely. This dynamic configuration allows the system to adapt to different positioning requirements while maintaining rapid rotation capability during the conveying process.
3Manufacturing precision
If the turntable is made rotatable about a vertical axis, then piece goods can be aligned in desired orientation, but the mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The turntable with freely rotatable balls allows piece goods to self-align during the conveying process. The balls on the turntable surface provide a simple mechanism that enables rotation without requiring complex actuators or control systems, achieving precise alignment through the natural rolling motion of the balls.
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
Enables quick rotation and lateral offset of piece goods, facilitating efficient alignment and space-saving stacking without significant time loss, allowing for seamless transfer between conveyor belts.
Implementation Method 1
a conveyor belt below the rotary table such that the upper run of the conveyor belt is in contact with the lower ball sections of the rotary table and moves in the opposite direction to the conveying direction of the transport devices
Implementation Method 2
The belt rests against the circumferential surface of the turntable along a partial circumference and is pressed against the circumferential surface there by at least two pressure rollers, so that the rotary drive of the turntable can take place
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention relates to a device for conveying, rotating and moving unit loads.According to the invention, it is proposed that the device has a horizontally oriented rotary table arranged between two spaced-apart transport devices in the free space thereby formed, that several freely rotatable balls are mounted on the rotary table such that the upper ball sections and the lower ball sections project beyond the flat side of the rotary table, that a conveyor belt is arranged below the rotary table such that the upper run of the conveyor belt is in contact with the lower ball sections of the rotary table and moves in the opposite direction to the conveying direction of the transport devices, that the rotary table is arranged on a carriage which is movable back and forth transversely to the conveying direction in order to move the workpiece transversely to the conveying direction, and that drive means are provided which rotate the rotary table about its vertical axis in order to rotate the workpiece.