GB2272196A - Distribution system. - Google Patents

Abstract

Gate less distribution system for loose materials such as chopped foodstuffs, crisps or the like has two or more main line vibratory or other conveyor units 20a, 20b arranged end-to-end for feed of the material along a main path, at least one said unit being selectively movable relative to the next adjacent unit or units along the path to a diversion position at which a gap is opened between the units for feed of material to a branch path 14, 16. The movable unit may be shiftable forwardly or rearwardly from its non-diversionary position so that a diversion gap can be selectively opened at its upstream or downstream end without need for the next adjacent units to be movable. <IMAGE>

Description

DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM This invention relates to distribution systems for feeding material from a common source to supply a number of outlets along a distribution line, for example in the batch weighing, packaging or other processing of foodstuffs or the like The term 'material' is used herein to comprise any substance or product of a granular or particulate nature or consisting of discrete portions or pieces which can be handled as a flow, for example chopped frozen vegetables, frozen potato chips, crisps or similar snack foodstuffs, wrapped or unwrapped sweets (confectionery), or non-food products such as screws or other fasteners or other small components processed in bulk.

It is known to provide distribution systems in which the main flow of material along the line is diverted in whole or in part according to need to branch lines by the use of movable doors or other gates but these add very substantially to the mechanism of the distribution system, involve numerous moving parts which are subjected to wear and tear, increase the likelihood of damage to the material being handled, are liable to become jammed or may fail to close completely, e.g. due to material lodging therein, and are unsatisfactory from a hygienic viewpoint in relation to materials such as foodstuffs.

One form of gateless distribution system is described in GB2010206A. In this arrangement the main distribution line comprises a series of at least two main conveyor units operable to convey a flow of material away from a source, the main feed path between adjacent units extending across one or more aligned branch conveying surfaces mounted and operable independently of the main units. The main units have to give sufficient impetus to the material to pass them across the dead branch conveying surfaces when no diversion of material is required, when a branch calls for material the related branch surface will be operated to divert the flow accordingly. This type of system avoids the need for gates but still has the disadvantages of complexity of operation and control and may give rise to problems.

particularly with some types of material which may not pass readily over the dead section or sections.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple and effective distribution system avoiding the need for gates, which is particularly simple and flexible to install and operate, which has a minimum of moving parts, which is easily cleaned and maintained, and will operate consistently with a wide range of types of material.

According to the invention there is provided a distribution system including a series of two or more main material transfer units disposed in end-to-end relationship to define a main line feed path for conducting a forward flow of material from a source in use, at least one said unit being a powered main conveyor unit selectively movable relative to the next adjacent unit or units along the path between a diversion position at which a gap is opened between said one unit and a said adjacent unit to permit feed of the material from the main path to a branch path, and a main feed position at which said gap is closed.

Conveniently the main conveyor unit or units are vibratory conveyor units comprising a trough or other conveying surface mounted in known manner on a respective reaction base and individually powered for selective forward flow of material. However, the invention contemplates that other forms of conveyor could be employed, for example endless belt conveyors and the line may comprise different types of conveyor units.

Conveniently the whole of the or each moveable unit will be located on rails or other track for movement bodily between the diversion and main feed positions by actuating means such as a pneumatic or other fluid pressure operated ram.

Two or more main conveyor units may be disposed in parallel relationship for side-by-side feed of discrete streams of material along the main path or part thereof and said parallel units may be independently controlled and/or independently movable for control or diversion of a selected one or more of said parallel streams.

In -its simplest form the system will consist of a single movable conveyor unit providing selective diversionary feed to a single branch off the main line by opening a gap at one end of said movable unit.

For most applications a more complex distribution system is required wherein the main line feeds a plurality of branch paths selectively and involving a longitudinal series of three or more main units. It will be necessary to open a gap between any two adjacent main units of the series and it is desirable that more than one gap can be opened at any given time for simultaneous feed to more than one branch path. Thus the invention further contemplates a system in which the main line comprises three or more main conveyor units all or any of which are selectively movable in unison or by different distances relative to a fixed point for the selective opening of a gap between any two adjacent units and/or more than one gap simultaneously between adjacent pairs of units.

A serious disadvantage of the latter arrangement is that, particularly with a long line comprising many main units, the units at or near the extremities of the line would have to be relatively shifted over a great distance to allow for several gaps being opened along the line.

Apart from adding to the complexity of the construction this would make it difficult to keep the branch paths within an acceptable range of alignment with fixed branch processing stations for the position of the gaps would also need to be translated longitudinally.

To avoid the latter problems and provide a particularly simple and effective arrangement which can be used with any number of main units making up a main line of any length with any number of branch paths the next defined system is preferred for multi-branch feed.

According to another aspect of the invention a distribution system for selectively supplying material to multiple branch paths from a main feed line comprises a series of three or more main line conveyor units disposed in end-to-end relationship to define the main line feed path for conducting a forward flow of material from a source in use, at least every alternate main unit being selectively movable relative to the other units between a forward diversion position at which a gap is opened between that movable unit and the next adjacent unit upstream thereof to permit feed of the material from the main path to a branch path at the downstream end of said next upstream unit; a rearward diversion position at which a gap is opened between that unit and the next adjacent unit downstream thereof to permit feed of the material from the main path to a branch path at the downstream end of said movable unit; and a main feed midposition at which both gaps are closed for transmission of material along the three adjacent units without diversion.

Examples of the invention are now more particularly described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of part of a distribution system being a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of said part, Figures 3A, B and C are schematic side elevations of part of another distribution system being a second embodiment of the invention, and Figures 4A-E are schematic plan views of the latter system showing various modes of operation thereof.

Figures 1 and 2 show a distribution system having a main feed line 10 operatively conveying material, for example frozen or other processed foodstuffs such as chipped potatoes from right to left as viewed in the drawings from a source 12. Main line 10 serves a series of successive branch paths or lines 14,16,18 spaced at intervals along the main line which supply batch weighing and packaging or other processing stations.

To keep these stations supplied according to demand flow from the main line to the branch lines must be selectively controlled, each branch will hold a buffer supply and will not need to be replenished until this is nearly consumed, thus feed to the branches will be intermittent and will normally be automatically controlled by sensors in known manner and/or by manual control.

In this example main line 10 comprises two main vibratory conveyor units 20a and 20b disposed in end-toend relationship. Each said unit comprises a trough 22 supported by flexure mountings above a reaction base 24, the trough 22 being vibrated by a respective motor (not shown) to advance the flow of material therealong in known manner.

The reaction base 24 of each unit 20 is in turn mounted on a respective wheeled bogie 26 running on short sections of rail 28 fixedly mounted on supporting structure 30 of the main line. Each bogie 26 is linked to fixed structure 30 by a pneumatic actuating ram 32.

Each ram 32 can be selectively operated to shift the associated conveyor unit 20 bodily longitudinally of the main feed path from the main feed position shown in the drawings to a diversion position spaced to the left of the main feed position as viewed in the drawings.

With both units 20a and 20b at the main feed position the source 12 and the two troughs 22 form a continuous feed path without gaps leading to the third downstream branch line 18 (not seen in Figure 2) so that the latter branch line is receiving feed to the exclusion of the other branch lines by the operation of the main feed units.

If material is required by the most upstream branch line 14 main unit 20a will be shifted to its leftward diversion position, so opening a gap between the upstream end of its trough 22 and the output end of source 12 permitting material to drop from the latter onto a trough 40 of a secondary vibratory conveyor unit 42 forming the branch line 14.

If feed to branch line 16 is required the upstream unit 20a will be returned to or maintained at its righthand main feed position and the downstream unit 20b will be shifted leftwards to its diversion position so opening a gap between the downstream end of trough 22 of unit 20a and the upstream end of trough 22 of unit 20b so that the flow of material can drop onto the trough of the branch vibratory conveyor at 16.

In this way selective feed of the material to any one of the three branch lines of this example is readily and simply provided, in particular there are no gates or similar elements in contact with the material.

It will be appreciated that other forms of conveyor unit could be employed, for example in some applications some or all of the main or branch units could include endless belt conveyors, or for some applications simple gravity feed chutes might be incorporated, particularly for the branch lines so that the material drops directly to the weighing or other processing station.

Figures 3A-C show another form of main line conveyor unit 50. This form of unit is particularly convenient for long lines serving a large number of branches. The unit comprises a feed trough 52 forming a section of the feed path along the main line and carried on a reaction base 54 by flexure mountings in conventional manner. The trough is driven for vibratory movement by a motor (not shown).

The reaction base 54 is in turn mounted on a bogie 56 running on longitudinal rails 58 as described with reference to Figure 1 so that the whole unit can be shifted bodily longitudinally of the main path. However, in this example, the unit can be selectively moved to any one of three spaced positions as the bogie 56 is linked to fixed structure by a pair of pneumatic rams 60,62 arranged to act in series by being joined back-to-back as shown diagrammatically in Figure 3A (the bogie and rams are not shown in Figures 3B and C).

Figure 3A shows unit 50 at a mid-position selected by extending one but not the other of the rams 60,62. At this position the upstream end of trough 52 is aligned immediately below the downstream end of a source 64 (which may be the next upstream main conveyor unit of the main line) and the downstream end of trough 52 is likewise aligned immediately above the upstream end of the trough of the next unit 66 along the line, thus material will be fed without diversion along this part of the main line.

In Figure 3B unit 50 has been shifted to the left as viewed in the drawings by extension of both of the rams 60 and 62 to a forward diversion position. In this mode the downstream end of trough 52 extends further over the upstream end of trough 66 so that, if vibration is maintained, any residue of material on trough 52 will continue to be fed downstream. However, by this leftward movement, a gap is opened between the upstream end of trough 52 and the source 64 so that material drops from the latter to a first branch conveyor 68.

In Figure 3C unit 50 has been shifted to the right of the mid-position to a rearward diversion position by retraction of both rams 60 and 62. In this position there is no gap at the upstream end of trough 52 but a gap is opened at the downstream end so allowing the main flow of material to drop onto a second branch conveyor 70.

It will be seen that this three position arrangement enables feed to be diverted to either of the two branch conveyors 68 or 70 by control of unit 50 only, thus there is no need for the source 64 or the downstream main unit 66 to be movable for this purpose and this enables main line of any length and having any number of branches to be simply provided so that the system is extremely adaptable.

Figures 4A-4E show one arrangement of such a multiple branch system, material being fed from a source indicated diagrammatically at 412 from right to left as viewed in the drawings.

In this example the first upstream section of the main line comprises a pair of movable conveyor units 420, 421 arranged side-by-side to act in parallel but independently controlled. Each of these units is of the type described in Figure 1 i.e. it is movable between a main feed and a diversion position and the downstream ends of these units are associated with a first branch 414.

Next in the main line is a fixed conventional vibratory conveyor unit 410a, this is a vibratory conveyor of known kind mounted in the usual way, i.e. its reaction base is not movable. The downstream end of this is aligned with a second branch 414b and it in turn is followed by a three position main conveyor unit 450a of the kind described with reference to Figures 3A,B and C.

The sequence of alternate fixed units and movable three position units 410b, 450b, 410c etc is continued down the main line as far as may be required as is the sequence of branches 414c, d, e etc.

The line can be operated to feed material selectively, e.g. according to demand, to any one (or more) of the branches 414.

In Figure 4A all of the movable main line units 420, 421 and 450a, b are at their main feed positions, thus there are no gaps in the main line and all the material will be passed from the source 412 to the extreme end without diversion.

In Figure 4B unit 420 remains at its main feed position so that it carries material onto the upstream end of the first fixed unit 410a but the parallel unit 421 of the pair has been shifted to the right to its diversion position so that half of the main stream of material is fed onto the first branch 414a.

At the same time the two remaining movable units shown, 450a and 450b have been shifted to the left to their forward diversion positions so opening gaps which feed branches 414b and 414d.

In Figure 4C both of the parallel units 420 and 421 are shifted to the diversion position so that all of the feed from source 412 is passed to first branch 414a.

In Figure 4D and E the two parallel units 420 and 421 are again in the mode shown in Figure 4A so that first branch 414a is fed with half the main supply while the other half continues onto unit 410a. In Figure 4D the next downstream movable unit 450a has been shifted to its extreme right rearward diversion position so that material passes from its downstream end onto branch 414c.

At the same time unit 450b is likewise at its rearward diversion position so that feed will continue from it and fixed unit 410b onto branch 414e.

In Figure 4E unit 410b has been moved back to its mid-position so that feed can continue down the line from unit 420 to the downstream branch 414e.

It will be appreciated that numerous different arrangements of main and branch lines and the conveyor units therein are possible, thus the main feed line could itself be split to serve two separate series of branches in parallel and/or the branches themselves may include one or more movable conveyor units for selective feed to sub-branches. The main line may comprise sequences or arrangements of two-position and three-position movable units other than as shown in Figure 4 and may or may not include one or more fixed units.

Claims (17)

1. A distribution system including a series of two or more main material transfer units disposed in end-to-end relationship to define a main line feed path for conducting a forward flow of material from a source in use, at least one said unit being a powered main conveyor unit selectively movable relative to the next adjacent unit or units along the path between a diversion position at which a gap is opened between said one unit and a said adjacent unit to permit feed of the material from the main path to a branch path, and a main feed position at which said gap is closed.

2. A system as in Claim 1 wherein one or more of the main transfer units is a vibratory conveyor unit comprising a trough or other conveying surface mounted in known manner on a respective reaction base and individually powered for selective forward flow of material.

3. A system as in Claim 1 or 2 wherein one or more of the main transfer units is an endless belt conveyor.

4. A system as in Claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the whole of the or each movable unit is located on rails or other track for movement bodily between the diversion and main feed positions by actuating means.

5. A system as in Claim 4 wherein the actuating means comprises one or more fluid pressure operated rams.

6. A system as in any preceding claim including two or more main conveyor units disposed in parallel relationship for side-by-side feed of discrete streams of material along the main path or part thereof.

7. A system as in Claim 6 wherein said parallel units are independently controlled and/or independently movable for control or diversion of a selected one or more of said parallel streams.

8. A system as in any preceding claim in which the main line comprises three or more main conveyor units all or any of which are selectively movable in unison or by different distances relative to a fixed point for the selective opening of a gap between any two adjacent units and/or more than one gap simultaneously between adjacent pairs of units.

9. A distribution system for selectively supplying material to multiple branch paths from a main feed line comprising a series of three or more main material transfer units disposed in end-to-end relationship to define a main line feed path for conducting a forward flow of material from a source in use, at least every alternate main unit being selectively movable relative to the other units between a forward diversion position at which a gap is opened between that movable unit and the next adjacent unit upstream thereof to permit feed of the material from the main path to a branch path at the downstream end of said next upstream unit; a rearward diversion position at which a gap is opened between that unit and the next adjacent unit downstream thereof to permit feed of the material from the main path to a branch path at the downstream end of said movable unit; and a main feed mid-position at which both gaps are closed for transmission of material along the three adjacent units without diversion.

10. A system as in Claim 9 wherein one or more of the main transfer units is a vibratory conveyor unit comprising a trough or other conveying surface mounted in known manner on a respective reaction base and individually powered for selective forward flow of material.

11. A system as in Claim 9 or 10 wherein one or more of the main transfer units is an endless belt conveyor.

12. A system as in Claim 9, 10 or 11 wherein the whole of the or each movable unit is located on rails or other track for movement bodily between the diversion and main feed positions by actuating means.

13. A system as in Claim 4 wherein the actuating means comprises one or more fluid pressure operated rams.

14. A system as in Claim 13 wherein the actuating means includes a pair of fluid pressure operated rams acting in series by being joined back-to-back to provide the three positions by selectively extending none, one or both rams.

15. A system as in any one of Claims 9 to 14 including two or more main conveyor units disposed in parallel relationship for side-by-side feed of discrete streams of material along the main path or part thereof.

16. A system as in Claim 15 wherein said parallel units are independently controlled and/or independently movable for control or diversion of a selected one or more of said parallel streams.

17. A distribution system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3A,B and C; or in Figures 4A-E of the accompanying drawings.