Vertical Conveyor Buffering for Oven Throughput and Dwell Time
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional conveying systems face challenges in maintaining throughput while ensuring adequate cooking or curing time for items in ovens, particularly due to space constraints and the inability of existing mechanisms to operate correctly in high temperatures, leading to reduced efficiency and alignment issues with independent carriers.
Innovation Solution
A conveyor system comprising a first and second vertical conveyor, a lateral conveyor, and processing circuitry that controls the movement of independent carriers through a non-linear path, allowing for extended exposure to oven heat and efficient transfer between conveyors, including a controller to manage the conveyance and alignment of carriers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If conveyor speed is reduced to increase cooking time, then items receive adequate heat treatment, but throughput decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from horizontal conveyor movement to vertical conveyor movement, adding a vertical dimension to the conveying path. This allows the system to increase the conveying path length and cooking time without expanding horizontal floor space, thereby maintaining throughput while achieving adequate cooking time through vertical stacking of carriers.
2Productivity
If oven size is increased to accommodate more carriers, then more items can be processed simultaneously, but space constraints and construction costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes vertical space by implementing multi-level carrier stacking and vertical conveyors, allowing the system to process more carriers simultaneously without increasing the horizontal footprint of the oven. Carriers are arranged in vertical columns and transferred between levels, effectively using the third dimension to increase capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs nested carrier configurations where carriers are stacked vertically one above another in columns. Multiple carriers are nested in the vertical dimension, allowing the oven to process multiple items simultaneously while maintaining a compact horizontal footprint, as each vertical column occupies minimal floor space.
3Ease of operation
If conventional conveying mechanisms are used in high temperature ovens, then carriers can be transported, but alignment difficulties and operational failures occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces vertical conveyors as intermediary devices that operate outside the high-temperature oven zone to transfer carriers between levels. These vertical conveyors handle the hot carriers, isolating the transfer mechanisms from direct exposure to extreme temperatures, thereby maintaining alignment reliability and preventing operational failures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical conveying mechanisms that fail in high temperatures with vertical conveyor systems designed to handle hot carriers. The system uses vertical conveyors with appropriate temperature-resistant components to transfer carriers, substituting the failed horizontal transfer mechanisms with a more suitable vertical transfer approach.
Data Source
AI summary
A conveyor system includes a first vertical conveyor, a second vertical conveyor adjacent to the first vertical conveyor, and a lateral conveyor disposed at least partially above the first and second conveyors. The system may independently convey a carrier through the system for temporary buffer storage, such as in an oven application to increase time at a desired temperature. The first vertical conveyor may elevate a carrier to couple with lateral supports of the lateral conveyor. The lateral conveyor may laterally convey the carrier to a position above the second vertical conveyor via the lateral supports. The second vertical conveyor may decouple the carrier from the lateral support and lower the carrier through the second vertical conveyor. The system may also include a controller configured to control operation of the conveyors.