Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
  • B65G47/22—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors
  • B65G47/26—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors arranging the articles, e.g. varying spacing between individual articles
  • B65G47/28—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors arranging the articles, e.g. varying spacing between individual articles during transit by a single conveyor
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
  • B65G47/22—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors
  • B65G47/24—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors orientating the articles
  • B65G47/244—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors orientating the articles by turning them about an axis substantially perpendicular to the conveying plane
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G17/00—Conveyors having an endless traction element, e.g. a chain, transmitting movement to a continuous or substantially-continuous load-carrying surface or to a series of individual load-carriers; Endless-chain conveyors in which the chains form the load-carrying surface
  • B65G17/24—Conveyors having an endless traction element, e.g. a chain, transmitting movement to a continuous or substantially-continuous load-carrying surface or to a series of individual load-carriers; Endless-chain conveyors in which the chains form the load-carrying surface comprising a series of rollers which are moved, e.g. over a supporting surface, by the traction element to effect conveyance of loads or load-carriers
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
  • B65G47/02—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors
  • B65G47/04—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors for feeding articles
  • B65G47/06—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors for feeding articles from a single group of articles arranged in orderly pattern, e.g. workpieces in magazines
  • B65G47/08—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors for feeding articles from a single group of articles arranged in orderly pattern, e.g. workpieces in magazines spacing or grouping the articles during feeding
  • B65G47/084—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors for feeding articles from a single group of articles arranged in orderly pattern, e.g. workpieces in magazines spacing or grouping the articles during feeding grouping articles in a predetermined 2-dimensional pattern
  • B65G47/086—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors for feeding articles from a single group of articles arranged in orderly pattern, e.g. workpieces in magazines spacing or grouping the articles during feeding grouping articles in a predetermined 2-dimensional pattern cubiform articles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
  • B65G47/22—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G2207/00—Indexing codes relating to constructional details, configuration and additional features of a handling device, e.g. Conveyors
  • B65G2207/30—Modular constructions

Definitions

• the invention relates to power-driven conveyors and, more particularly, to a conveyor using a conveyor belt with obliquely oriented rollers to accumulate and move articles laterally across the conveyor.
• a conveyor comprises a conveyor belt supported on a carryway flanked by a side guide.
• the carryway extends from an upstream end to a downstream end in a direction of belt travel.
• the conveyor belt includes rollers extending above an outer conveying surface of the belt at individual roller positions. The rollers, which do not contact the carryway, support conveyed articles.
• Each roller is arranged to rotate on an axis oblique to the direction of belt travel.
• Each axis intersects the side of the carryway at the side guide at a position downstream of the roller position.
• a retractable stop is movable to and from a blocking position along the carryway.
• a conveyor In the blocking position, the stop blocks the advance of conveyed articles in the direction of belt travel and causes the rollers underlying the blocked articles to rotate as the belt runs.
• the oblique rollers provide a component of force to the blocked articles directed toward the side guide.
• Another version of a conveyor comprises a modular conveyor belt running along a carryway.
• the carryway extends from an upstream end to a downstream end in the direction of belt travel.
• a side guide extends along a first side of the carryway. Support surfaces extending in the direction of belt travel are spaced apart laterally on the carryway across spaces.
• the modular belt is constructed of a series of rows of belt modules connected together at hinges between successive rows into an endless belt loop. Cavities in the belt open onto outer and inner surfaces of the belt loop.
• Salient portions of rollers disposed in the cavities extend past the outer and inner surfaces of the belt loop.
• Each roller is arranged to rotate on an axis oblique to the direction of belt travel. The axis intersects the first side of the carryway downstream of the roller's cavity.
• the carryway underlies a belt loop portion along which articles are conveyed atop the salient portions of the rollers extending past the outer surface of the belt.
• the carryway portion of the belt loop is supported on the support surfaces with the salient portions of the rollers extending past the inner surface of the belt loop positioned in the spaces between support surfaces.
• a stop is movable between a first position and a second position, hi the first position, the stop blocks the advance of conveyed articles along the carryway in the direction of belt travel.
• the stop In the second position, the stop allows articles to advance in the direction of belt travel.
• the stop In the first, blocking position, the stop causes the rollers in contact with the blocked articles to rotate as the rollers advance with the belt. The rollers rotating beneath the blocked articles provide a component of force directed to push the blocked articles toward the side guide.
• a conveyor comprises an upstream conveyor section at a first end of the conveyor and a downstream conveyor section at a second end of the conveyor receiving conveyed articles from the upstream conveyor section.
• At least one conveyor belt advances in a direction of belt travel from the first end to the second end along the upstream and downstream conveyor sections.
• the belt has rollers arranged to rotate on axes oblique to the direction of belt travel. Salient portions of the rollers extend past outer and inner surfaces of the conveyor belt. Opposite first and second side guides flank the upstream and downstream conveyor sections.
• the upstream conveyor section includes roller bearing surfaces that underlie the conveyor belt. The roller bearing surfaces contact the salient portions of the rollers in rolling contact to rotate the rollers as the conveyor belt advances.
• a movable stop is positionable across the downstream conveyor section to block conveyed articles from passing the stop as the belt advances along the downstream conveyor section.
• the downstream conveyor section includes a belt- supporting surface underlying the conveyor belt out of contact with the salient portions of the rollers extending past the inner surface of the conveyor belt. This lack of contact allows the rollers in the downstream conveyor section in contact with a blocked article to rotate opposite to the rotation of the rollers in the upstream conveyor section to push the blocked articles in the downstream conveyor section toward the first side guide with reduced back line pressure.
• rollers are embedded in at least one conveyor belt advancing in a direction of belt travel through an upstream conveyor section and a downstream conveyor section.
• the rollers are arranged to rotate on generally parallel axes oblique to the direction of belt travel.
• Bearing surfaces underlie the rollers in the upstream conveyor section in rolling contact to rotate the rollers in a first direction as the conveyor belt advances along the upstream portion.
• the rotation of the rollers pushes conveyed articles toward the second side of the conveyor.
• a belt-supporting surface supports the belt in the downstream conveyor section without contacting the rollers.
• a stop extends laterally across the downstream conveyor section between the first and second sides of the conveyor to block conveyed articles from advancing with the belt past the stop.
• the rollers in the downstream conveyor section rotate in a second direction opposite to the first direction by contact with blocked articles. This opposite rotation pushes the blocked articles toward the first side of the conveyor.
• FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a conveyor embodying features of the invention
• FIG. 2 is a cross section of a portion of the conveyor of FIG. 1 taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1;
• FIGS. 3A-3E are top views of the conveyor of FIG. 1 illustrating its operation
• FIGS. 4A-4F are top views of the conveyor of FIG.1 illustrating its operation when configured as a palletizer
• FIGS. 5A-5B are side elevation schematic views of the conveyor of FIG. 1 operating as a palletizer as in FIGS. 4A-4F;
• FIG. 6 is a cross section of the conveyor of FIG. 4 A taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 4 A;
• FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of another version of a portion of a conveyor as in FIG. 1 operating as a palletizer.
• FIG. 1 shows a conveyor 10 embodying features of the invention including a conveyor belt 12, such as a modular roller-top conveyor belt.
• the conveyor belt shown is a modular conveyor belt made up of belt modules 14 arranged in a series of rows 16. The rows are connected together by hinge pins 17 at hinge j oints 18 that allow the belt to articulate about drive and idler sprockets 20 at each end of the conveyor.
• the belt forms an endless loop trained around a drive shaft 22 and an idler shaft 24.
• the shafts are supported at their ends in bearing blocks 26 mounted on a conveyor frame (not shown for simplicity).
• a motor 28 is coupled to the drive shaft 22 to drive the belt. As the motor's output shaft 30 rotates as shown by arrow 32, the belt advances in a direction of belt travel 34.
• the belt returns from the drive sprockets via a returnway 40 beneath the carryway.
• Shoes, drums, or rollers may be used in the returnway to reduce sag in the belt.
• the belt includes a plurality of rollers 42, preferably arranged in longitudinal lanes parallel to the direction of belt travel.
• the rollers are arranged to rotate on axes 44 oblique to the direction of belt travel.
• the axes may be 30°, 45°, or 60° from the direction of belt travel.
• the rollers are mounted in cavities 46 that open onto an outer, article-conveying surface 48 and an opposite inner surface 49 of the belt loop.
• One suitable belt is the Series 400 Angled RollerTM belt manufactured and sold by Intralox, L.L.C. of Harahan, Louisiana, U.S.A.
• the Intralox belt is made of a thermoplastic polymer such as polypropylene, polyethylene, acetal, or composite materials in an injection-molding process.
• the rollers 42 as shown in FIG. 2, are generally cylindrical in shape and mounted in the cavities on axles 50. Bores 52 through the rollers receive the axles. The rollers are free to rotate on the axles, which define axes of rotation for the rollers. The ends of the axles are embedded in the body of the belt module 14.
• a side guide 54 mounted on supports 55, bounds one side 56 of the belt along the carryway 38.
• the carryway extends in the direction of belt travel 34 from an upstream end 58, at which articles are fed onto the conveyor, to a downstream end 59, from which articles are transferred off the conveyor.
• a stop 60 at the downstream end of the conveyor is movable from a first position blocking conveyed articles, as shown in FIG. 1, to a second unblocking position allowing arranged articles to pass.
• An elevator 62 is shown in this example for raising and lowering opposite ends of a stop barrier, as indicated by double- headed arrow 64. In the raised, unblocking position, the stop barrier is elevated high enough above the outer belt surface along the carryway to avoid articles passing below.
• the stop could be realized in other ways.
• One example is a gate that swings from a blocking position across the carryway to an unblocking position alongside the carryway.
• the belt is supported in the carryway on support surfaces, such as metal rails or plastic wearstrips 66, mounted on a conveyor pan 68 or other structure.
• the wearstrips which are preferably made of a wear-resistant, low-friction material, such as UHMW (ultra-high molecular weight) plastic, are laid out along the carryway longitudinally in the direction of belt travel and spaced laterally across spaces 70 between consecutive wearstrips.
• UHMW ultra-high molecular weight
• the operation of the conveyor is illustrated step by step in FIGS. 3A-3E with the stop 60 in the blocking position.
• the carryway extends in the direction of belt travel 34 from the upstream end 58 to the downstream end 59.
• the rollers 42 rotate on oblique axes 44, each of which intersects the side guide 54 at a point 76 downstream of the roller's position 78.
• articles A, B, and C are being conveyed along the carryway in the direction of belt travel atop the rollers.
• the rollers, which do not contact the carryway or its wearstrips, are not rotating significantly, and the articles travel with the belt.
• lead article A meets the stop 60 blocking its further passage along the carryway.
• Trailing articles B and C continue to advance with the running belt toward article A. With article A blocked, the rollers beneath it rotate as they encounter the article's bottom surface. Because article A is prevented from advancing in the direction of belt travel, it causes the rollers beneath it to rotate in the direction indicated by arrow 80.
• the direction 80 is perpendicular to the roller axis and has a first component opposite the direction of belt travel and a second component directed toward the side guide.
• the component opposite the direction of belt travel generally matches the speed of the belt and allows articles to accumulate with low backline pressure against each other and the stop.
• the component directed toward the side pushes article A against the side guide 54, as shown in FIG. 3 C.
• the accumulation and registration conveyor 10 receives a conveyed article D from an upstream conveyor belt 82 across a gap 84, which may be partly filled by a transfer plate.
• the upstream conveyor belt could be, as shown in FIG. 4 A, identical in construction to the belt 14 in the downstream conveyor. But the upstream belt is operated differently from the downstream belt.
• the rollers 42 in the upstream belt 82 extend past its inner surface 49 and its outer surface 48 and ride on supporting bearing surfaces 86, such as UHMW wearstrips, in rolling contact.
• FIG. 4E shows the formation of a packed group of articles in two rows. Because the final article in the leading row, article F, does not leave enough room between itself and the left side guide, the following article, article G 5 is pushed by the rollers across the belt to the right side guide along the rear of the leading row of articles. The process continues until a group 89 of articles of a predetermined size and shape is formed. Then the stop is retracted from its blocking position to an unblocking position, and the group is advanced by the downstream conveyor, as shown in FIG. 4F onto a palletizer table 90, for example. As also shown in FIG. 4F, each row could be arranged with articles in different orientations by an upstream process that presents the articles in the correct orientation to the conveyor.
• FIGS. 5 A-5B illustrate the formation of a pallet of articles on the palletizer table 90.
• the table is lowered, as indicated by arrow 92 in FIG. 5B, to level at which the tops of the article in the bottom layer 89 are generally level with the outer surface of the conveyor belt. Then a second layer 89' is formed and transferred onto the top of the first layer, and the table is lowered again for a third layer, and so on, until a pallet of predetermined size is formed. After the pallet is removed, the table is elevated to its original position to receive the next bottom layer, as indicated by two-headed arrow 93 in FIG. 5A.
• the palletizing conveyor shown in the example of FIGS. 4A-4F uses an upstream conveyor belt 82 and a separately driven downstream conveyor belt 12. But, as shown in FIG. 7, the two-belt system can be replaced by a single oblique-roller belt 94 with retractable roller bearing surfaces 96.
• the bearing surfaces may be vertically raised and lowered into and out of contact with the rollers as indicated by arrows 98.
• Individually actuated roller bearing surface selectively positioned along the carryway under the belt can program the belt to have different characteristics along its length. For example, with the bearing surfaces in a raised position engaging the rollers, conveyed articles are urged toward one side of the belt in that section.
• the stop may translate along the belt as indicated by arrow 99 to accumulate articles at various positions along the length of the carryway.
• the belt shown has rollers that extend from cavities through the belt's thickness past the outer and inner belt surfaces. But it would be possible to use a belt in which the rollers do not extend past the inner surface of the belt. With such a belt, different carryway bearing configurations could be used. Instead of linear wearstrips, chevron wearstrips or a continuous carryway pan would be possible. Another oblique-roller belt that could be used with almost any carryway configuration would be one in which the rollers are mounted completely above the outer belt surface. Alternatively, the rollers could pop up out of the belt cavities to engage conveyed articles along the carryway.
• rollers could, instead of rotating about fixed axles, include integral stubs that define axes of rotation.
• the ends of the stubs could be rotatably received in belt recesses that would allow the rollers to rotate.
• roller bearing surfaces underlying rollers could be static surfaces, such as on wearstrips or wearsheets, or rotatable surfaces, such as provided by rollers rotatable on axes in the direction of belt travel. So, as these few examples suggest, the scope of the claims is not meant to be limited to the versions described in detail. What is claimed is:

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Structure Of Belt Conveyors (AREA)
• Attitude Control For Articles On Conveyors (AREA)
• Stacking Of Articles And Auxiliary Devices (AREA)

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Publications (1)

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Cited By (4)

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Citations (2)

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• 2005
  • 2005-05-06 US US10/908,326 patent/US7249671B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
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