WO2012078661A1 - Conveyor accumulator for controlling the flow of articles being conveyed - Google Patents
Conveyor accumulator for controlling the flow of articles being conveyed Download PDFInfo
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- WO2012078661A1 WO2012078661A1 PCT/US2011/063577 US2011063577W WO2012078661A1 WO 2012078661 A1 WO2012078661 A1 WO 2012078661A1 US 2011063577 W US2011063577 W US 2011063577W WO 2012078661 A1 WO2012078661 A1 WO 2012078661A1
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- Prior art keywords
- accumulator
- feed
- conveyor
- articles
- lane
- Prior art date
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Classifications
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- 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
- B65G47/261—Accumulating articles
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- 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
- B65G1/00—Storing articles, individually or in orderly arrangement, in warehouses or magazines
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- 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
- B65G47/34—Devices for discharging articles or materials from conveyor
- B65G47/46—Devices for discharging articles or materials from conveyor and distributing, e.g. automatically, to desired points
- B65G47/51—Devices for discharging articles or materials from conveyor and distributing, e.g. automatically, to desired points according to unprogrammed signals, e.g. influenced by supply situation at destination
- B65G47/5104—Devices for discharging articles or materials from conveyor and distributing, e.g. automatically, to desired points according to unprogrammed signals, e.g. influenced by supply situation at destination for articles
- B65G47/5109—Devices for discharging articles or materials from conveyor and distributing, e.g. automatically, to desired points according to unprogrammed signals, e.g. influenced by supply situation at destination for articles first In - First Out systems: FIFO
- B65G47/5113—Devices for discharging articles or materials from conveyor and distributing, e.g. automatically, to desired points according to unprogrammed signals, e.g. influenced by supply situation at destination for articles first In - First Out systems: FIFO using endless conveyors
- B65G47/5118—Devices for discharging articles or materials from conveyor and distributing, e.g. automatically, to desired points according to unprogrammed signals, e.g. influenced by supply situation at destination for articles first In - First Out systems: FIFO using endless conveyors with variable accumulation capacity
- B65G47/5127—Devices for discharging articles or materials from conveyor and distributing, e.g. automatically, to desired points according to unprogrammed signals, e.g. influenced by supply situation at destination for articles first In - First Out systems: FIFO using endless conveyors with variable accumulation capacity by relative displacement between conveyor and input or output
Definitions
- This invention relates generally to power-driven conveyor systems.
- the invention relates to horizontally oriented sections for accumulating items and controlling the flow of items moving between an upstream source and a downstream destination.
- a problem with prior art horizontal accumulators is that the accumulators require a relatively large footprint to provide the needed buffer capacity (in some cases two to three times the footprint for a given capacity because of the drive and wheel arrangements), cannot accomplish a 90-degree transfer of articles in a direction of product flow without compressing the articles when the transfer device repositions itself upstream of its current position, and cannot independently and simultaneously control a plurality of lanes which provide buffer capacity between the in-feed and out-feed side of the accumulator.
- accumulators are especially problematic in high speed production operations such as those found in the food processing, handling and packaging industry.
- One horizontal accumulator designed specifically for high-speed operations is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,858.
- the accumulator disclosed therein operates on a first-in-first-out (FIFO) principle so that regardless of whether the upstream or downstream station is malfunctioning, the articles exit the accumulator in the same order that they arrive.
- the accumulator has a plurality of fixed pulley wheels located at each end which guide an endless carrier or conveyor along a serpentine path. Located between the fixed pulley wheels is a plurality of interconnected pairs of pulley wheels which also help guide the endless conveyor.
- a slide assembly connects each of the interconnected pairs. The slide assemblies move toward one end of the accumulator or the other and carry the interconnected pair along to provide more or less carrying capacity and, therefore, more or less travel time between the in-feed and out-feed side of the accumulator.
- a rather complicated in-feed and out-feed drive mechanism controls, respectively, the accumulation of the incoming and outgoing items.
- These two drive mechanisms which are located on opposing sides of the accumulator, must always rotate opposite one another. Further, the mechanisms require a number of pulley wheels and belts to achieve the desired direction of endless conveyor travel. Periodic reversals of direction and looping are needed to prevent slack in the endless conveyor.
- each interconnected pair of pulley wheels rotates when at least one of the in-feed or out-feed side drive mechanisms is engaged because one or more of the fixed pulley wheels are being driven by the engaged drive mechanism.
- the only way to stop the rotation of the interconnected pair of pulley wheels is to idle or stop both the in-feed and out-feed drive
- the pair of pulley wheels by themselves cannot reverse travel without losing the conveyor because the slide assembly is a fixed body with no means, such as spring loading, to compensate for slack in the conveyor when reversing the travel.
- this accumulator is highly questionable at best for use in high speed operations, and is mostly likely not at all suitable for use in high speed operations.
- the accumulator is the MEURER HSPTM horizontal buffer (Meurermaschinessysteme GmbH & Co. KG, Furstenau, DE).
- the accumulator has an in-feed transfer unit, a mirror-image out-feed transfer unit and a plurality of storage lines or lanes located between the in-feed and out-feed transfer units.
- the transfer of articles is direct between the transfer units and the plurality of lanes.
- the accumulator has a number of limitations.
- the design is complex, requiring a relatively large number of parts.
- Articles being carried on the in-feed and out-feed units must be carried across a long dead plate by many small belts which can fail, leading to article damage.
- the design requires a lot of safety covers which limit access and make maintenance more difficult.
- the in-feed and out-feed transfer devices take product directly from a running conveyor with no means to alter, control or absorb the flow.
- the incremental indexing of the transfer unit on the in- feed side from one storage lane to an adjacent storage lane of the accumulator during loading must occur against the article flow because if it is instead
- this accumulator also creates gaps in article flow on the out-feed side because it has no means to compensate for the travel time required for the out-feed transfer unit to reposition itself. Moreover, because two storage lanes cannot simultaneously start, any time the downstream receiving station goes down the in-feed transfer unit must immediately index, thereby creating a gap in article flow when conveying is resumed.
- the transfer unit either indexes from one lane to the next against product flow or travels with product flow to move from the last to the first lane. There is no disclosed control means for repositioning the transfer unit from the last lane to the second-to-last lane or repositioning the transfer unit from any lane to any given other lane upstream or downstream of its current lane position. Lastly, the transfer unit cannot move independently of the in-feed or out-feed conveyor.
- Still yet another limitation of the accumulator is that it relies upon a complex drive pinion and drive motor arrangement.
- the drive motors are pivotally arranged on moveable carriages such that the motors can be independently connected to each of the drive pinions.
- a complex belt and pulley idler or clutch arrangement resides between the motors and the drive pinion.
- accumulator is the 6400 DYNAC ® accumulator which at the time of filing of the parent application referenced above was made and sold by Hartness International, Inc. (Greenville, SC).
- the transport member moves along a path parallel to an in-feed conveyor and an out-feed conveyor and deflects articles from the in-feed to the out-feed conveyor. Depending on the relative speeds of the two conveyors, the transport member moves to increase or decrease the quantity of items which can be stored on the conveyors. However, each conveyor extends past the transport member and there is no conveyor looping around the transport member. The exposed length of conveyor on both the in-feed and out-feed side remains constant but the available length for storage changes based upon the relative position of the transport member Further, the in-feed storage capacity cannot change independently of the out-feed storage capacity and vice versa.
- the conveying speed is limited by amongst other things incline and inertia. Also, the 180° transfer from one conveyor to the other can be difficult because the transfer takes place along curves and at angles and the articles must be gripped, lifted, moved and placed.
- a system and method of providing accumulation and flow control between an upstream delivery station and a downstream receiving station includes an in-feed accumulator, a mass storage accumulator, and an out-feed accumulator.
- Articles processed by the upstream delivery station are accumulated on or conveyed by the in-feed accumulator and then transferred to one of the lanes of the mass storage accumulator. This transfer is indirect, resulting in a direction of article flow different than that of article flow on the in-feed accumulator.
- Articles being accumulated on and conveyed by the mass storage accumulator are then transferred onto an out- feed accumulator. This transfer is also indirect, resulting in a direction of article flow different than that of the mass storage accumulator.
- the in-feed and out-feed accumulators each have an endless conveyor that moves between first second positions. As each of the endless conveyors moves between different positions, the length of its exposed carrying surface, and therefore its carrying capacity, changes. During its travel between the first and second position, the conveyor may be transporting product faster, slower, or at the same rate as its carrying capacity is growing or shrinking.
- the ability of the endless conveyor to extend or retract allows the feed accumulator to maintain a constant density of article flow. Additionally, the endless conveyor can momentarily reverse its direction of rotation, as needed when the transfer device moves against the flow of articles, thereby providing additional time for the transfer device to reposition itself before receiving additional articles.
- the endless conveyor of the feed accumulator is preferably guided by first and second U-turn wheels, located in different horizontal planes, and being linked to each other in a manner such that they translate in equal and opposite directions relative to each other.
- a first and second drive motor preferably located on a single end of the feed accumulator, control the position and rotational speed of the U-turn wheels.
- the position and rotation of the endless conveyor responds to a speed difference and/or a rotational speed difference between the first and second motors. As the length of the exposed carrying surface increases, the length of the unexposed carrying surface decreases, and vice versa.
- the transfer device independently from the endless conveyor of the in-feed accumulator.
- the transfer device preferably indexes in the direction of article flow. As the transfer device indexes between a first and second position, the density of article flow is not affected. In other words, indexing does not compress or alter the spacing between the articles.
- the endless conveyor moves independently from the transfer device, it can extend or retract to accommodate indexing of the transfer device and compensate for the indexing time. The endless conveyor may also reverse its travel when the conveyor retracts to allow the transfer device additional time to position itself.
- the transfer device is preferably a transfer apparatus having a lane defined by first and second curved vertical surfaces that guide articles flowing into the mass storage accumulator and change their direction of travel.
- the first and second curved surfaces may take many forms.
- the first curved surface may be a vertically oriented rail and the second curved surface may be a vertically oriented endless belt with a plurality of flexible fins.
- a pivot or lifting mechanism is preferably provided for raising the nose end of the transfer apparatus so it clears the conveying sections which define each lane.
- the lifting mechanism is preferably a roller and cam plate arrangement.
- the mass storage accumulator preferably includes a plurality of independent conveyor lanes. Each lane may be selectively driven by either of two motors.
- the first motor may be a different rated motor than the second motor.
- the first motor preferably serves as a receiving motor for driving a lane when products are being loading onto said lane
- the second motor preferably serves as a discharge motor for driving a lane when products are being loading onto said lane.
- Each lane in the plurality of lanes preferably has its own first and second clutches, one of which is preferably operatively connected to the first motor and the other of which is preferably connected to the second motor.
- the first clutches of all lanes are preferably operatively connected to the first drive motor via a common drive shaft or axle.
- all of the second clutches are preferably operatively connected to the second drive motor via another common drive shaft.
- the two drive motors are not necessarily always running but could be, as needed.
- each lane can be operatively connected to the receiving motor or the discharge motor via the clutches
- two or more lanes can simultaneously, instantaneously, and independently move between various states as the respective first or second clutch of the lane engages or disengages and as the receiving and discharging motors vary their speeds.
- one lane driven by the first motor can stop or decelerate as another lane driven by the second motor starts or accelerates; one lane can be running at a different speed than another lane as each can be driven by a different motor; or two lanes driven by the same motor can simultaneously stop at the same time that a different two lanes driven by the other motor simultaneously start.
- these functions could be performed instead by providing each lane with its own drive motor, but the costs would be far greater.
- the in-feed accumulator may be modified for use as a stand-alone
- the transfer is direct between the in-feed and out-feed portions of its endless conveyor, and thus also between the upstream delivery station and the downstream receiving station, respectively.
- the central portion of the feed accumulator includes the upper and lower U-turn wheels which guide the endless conveyor and traverse in a direction adjacent to the in-feed and out-feed portions of the endless conveyor, thereby extending and retracting the length of exposed endless conveyor.
- non-rotating guides could be used in place of the wheels to direct the conveyor around the U-turns.
- the present invention provides for a horizontal accumulator having many advantages. It provides a much larger accumulation capacity in a much smaller footprint relative to many other horizontal prior art accumulators.
- the accumulator lends itself to modular design and, therefore, is easier and less costly to size, install, retrofit, maintain, or repair according to a particular application than many prior art accumulators.
- the accumulator allows for optimal in-feed and out-feed locations depending on the current state of the upstream delivery station, downstream receiving station and the accumulator itself.
- the accumulator accommodates and reduces inherent variability in article flow. In other words, the accumulator maintains or provides a relatively constant flow density of articles and does not create variability in article flow due to how it accumulates, transfers and conveys articles.
- the accumulator transfers items from one accumulator to another without the conveyor sliding under the article, compressing adjacent articles, or in any way damaging the articles being conveyed and transferred.
- the accumulator ensures no damage to the product during indexing of the transfer device.
- the accumulator isolates questionable articles in position for rework or auto-pulls audit samples, if required.
- the accumulator allows two or more conveying lanes to simultaneously, instantaneously, and independently change their respective conveying states.
- the accumulator eliminates the use of water or dry lubricant and tolerates any line lubricant carryover.
- the accumulator is characterized by a smaller shipping volume and, therefore, has less shipping cost.
- the accumulator reduces operational cost, eliminates or minimizes the use of doors, and provides improved maintenance access and fewer safety issues.
- the accumulator is able to handle high product flow rates. And still further, the accumulator can be used to transfer items which, due to instability, could not transferred using prior art accumulators.
- FIG. 1 is top plan view of a prior art accumulator in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,858.
- the accumulator has a plurality of interconnected paired pulley wheels located adjacent one another in the same horizontal plane.
- An endless carrier or conveyor is guided along a serpentine path by the paired pulley wheels and a plurality of fixed pulley wheels located at each end of the accumulator.
- An in- feed and out-feed drive mechanism located on opposite ends of the accumulator, drive the endless conveyor.
- the interconnected pair of pulley wheels responds to a speed difference between the drive mechanisms and pulls the endless conveyor toward one end of the accumulator.
- the length of the exposed carrying surface provided by the endless conveyor, and therefore its carrying capacity remains fixed but is reallocated between the in-feed side and out-feed side as the situation requires.
- Figure 2 is a top plan view of another prior art accumulator, that of DE Pat. No. 103 12 695. Because the transfer device of that accumulator loads against article flow, it compresses the items when indexing to load a new lane. If the transfer device were to index load with article flow, it would nonetheless compress the items during its return travel. Further, the accumulator creates gaps in article flow on the out-feed side because of (1) the return travel time required to reset the transfer device to the next or new lane; (2) the use of a discrete drive mechanism (see Figure 3) which, like return travel, increases cycle time; and (3) the accumulator lacking means to compensate for increased cycle time. Additionally, it is difficult to offer different in-feed and out-feed locations.
- Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the accumulator of Figure 2.
- a drive pinion and pivotal drive motor arrangement controls the movement of each storage line or lane. When engaged, the drive pinion moves the lane from an idle state to a travel or convey state. Although one lane can theoretically move from travel to idle as another lane moves from idle to travel, because of the discrete nature of the drive mechanism the movement is not simultaneous. Further, the acceleration and deceleration of the two lanes are not independent of one another. Because one drive must completely disengage before it can shift to the next lane and re-engage, a time lag exists between one lane starting and the other lane stopping. In other words, two or more lanes cannot change their respective states simultaneously.
- FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the prior art accumulator disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,998.
- the accumulator stores items in a vertical spiral and uses a transport member to move along a path parallel to an in-feed conveyor and an out- feed conveyor.
- the transport member deflects articles from the in-feed conveyor to the out-feed conveyor.
- the transport member moves to increase or decrease the quantity of items which can be stored on the conveyors.
- the in-feed storage capacity cannot be adjusted without also adjusting the out-feed storage capacity.
- FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a preferred embodiment of a horizontal accumulator made according to this invention for controlling the flow of items between an upstream and downstream processing operation.
- Accumulator capacity is provided by an in-feed and out-feed side accumulator and a mass storage device or accumulator having a plurality of storage lines or lanes located between the in- feed and out-feed accumulators.
- the transfer of items between the in-feed and out- feed accumulators and the plurality of lanes is not direct. Rather, the transfer occurs by way of an intermediate transfer device that provides accumulation and flow control and moves independently from the accumulator that it services.
- the in-feed and out-feed accumulators can adjust the length of its respective endless conveyor to provide more or less carrying capacity while the conveyor is not rotating.
- FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the in-feed accumulator of Figure 5 with the accumulator housing partially removed, the out-feed side accumulator being a mirror image.
- An endless conveyor is guided by two wheels physically and flexibly connected together and located in different horizontal planes.
- Figure 7 is an elevational view of the drive motor end of the in-feed accumulator.
- One drive motor controls the speed and direction of the left half of its endless conveyor and another drive motor controls the speed and direction of the right half of the endless conveyor.
- the endless conveyor rotates and the U-turns move to different positions in response to speed and rotation differences between the two drive motors.
- the motors drive the two halves of the endless conveyor in opposite directions and at the same speed, the U-turns of the endless conveyor maintain a constant position.
- Figure 8 is a top plan view of the in-feed accumulator of Figure 5, illustrating the endless conveyor in a first position while rotating. Articles being conveyed flow along the upward facing portion of the endless conveyor and are transferred to a storage lane. When being repositioned, the upper and lower U-turns traverse in opposite directions and the endless conveyor extends or retracts.
- Figure 9 is a top plan view of the in-feed accumulator of Figure 5, illustrating the endless conveyor moving to a second position, while the U-turns remain stationary. During this reverse travel, the exposed individual carrier segments maintain the position relative the U-turn that each was in at the start of the reverse travel (see carrier segments 23A, 23B and 23c in Figure 8 and 9).
- Figure 10 is a top plan view of the intermediate transfer device shown on the accumulator shown in Figure 5. The transfer device loads in the direction of the flow of articles and has mechanical means that allow it to reposition against the flow of articles without compressing the items (i.e., decreasing the spacing between items and causing items to touch).
- One curved surface of the transfer device is an endless belt having outward extending flexible ribs.
- Figure 11 is a partial elevational view of the nose end of the intermediate transfer device of Figure 5 when positioned to transfer articles between a feed side accumulator and one lane of the mass storage accumulator.
- Figure 12 is a view taken along section line 12-12 of Figure 11.
- the nose end of the intermediate transfer device includes lifting means in communication with a cam plate. When the lifting means are positioned over the low cam positions of the cam plate, the nose end of the transfer device is in a substantially horizontal orientation.
- Figure 13 is a partial elevational view of nose end of intermediate transfer device of Figure 5 as it indexes from one lane to the next lane. As the transfer device indexes from one lane to the next, the lifting means lifts the nose end of the transfer device to avoid any interference with the carrier segments of the mass storage accumulator.
- Figure 14 is a view taken along section line 14-14 of Figure 13. When the lifting means are positioned over the high cam positions of the cam plate, the nose end of the transfer device pivots or raises upward.
- Figure 15 is a partial elevational front view of the cam plate of Figures 11 to 14 relative to the mass storage accumulator of Figure 5.
- FIG 16 is a side elevational view of the plurality of lanes shown in Figure 5.
- Each lane can be driven by either its first or second clutch.
- the first and second clutches are shown as upper and lower clutches, they could also be located on opposite ends of the respective lane, side-by-side, or anywhere wherever is practical along the lane's endless conveyor. That being said, all of the upper clutches share a common axle driven by an upper drive motor and all of the lower clutches share an axle driven by a lower drive motor.
- the upper and lower drive motors may be different rated motors.
- Each clutch is independent of the other and moves between a disengaged and engaged state. When in the engaged state with the respective motor operating, the lane is in a conveying or travel state. For example, an upper or lower clutch in one lane may engage at the same time that an upper or lower clutch in another lane disengages. Two or more adjacent upper or lower clutches may be engaged at the same time to accommodate flow or create a wider lane.
- Figure 17 is a side elevational view of the plurality of lanes of Figure 5, showing the side opposite to that shown in Figure 16.
- Various sensors such as photoelectric eyes, may be used to monitor and communicate information about the status and position of articles being conveyed by the lanes.
- Other sensors such as encoders, may be used to monitor and communicate information about the number of revolutions of the upper and lower motor drive shafts.
- Figure 18 is a partial cut-away elevational front view of the plurality of lanes of Figure 5 at the out-feed end, illustrating each lane having an upper and lower clutch connected in series. A clutch may be bypassed without having to take the lane or the entire plurality of lanes out of service.
- Figure 19 is a view taken along section line 19-19 of Figure 18, illustrating the arrangement of an upper and lower clutch pair.
- Figure 20 is the accumulator of Figure 5 superimposed over of the prior art accumulator of Figure 1. Both accumulators have been sized to have the same capacity. The accumulator of Figure 5 requires a much smaller footprint to provide the same capacity as that of the prior art accumulator.
- Figure 21 is the in-feed and out-feed accumulator of Figure 5 drawn adjacent to the paired interconnected pulley wheels of the prior art accumulator of Figure 1. Because the paired pulley wheels are located in the same horizontal plane, the footprint of this prior art accumulator is much larger than that of the in-feed and out- feed accumulator of Figure 5 in order to provide the same carrying capacity.
- Figure 22 is an alternate embodiment of the in-feed or out-feed accumulator of Figure 5, configured for use as a stand-alone accumulator. Unlike the feed accumulators of Figure 5, the feed accumulator of Figure 22 includes in-feed and out-feed runs or portions of the endless conveyor. The upper and lower U-turns located in the mid-portion of the accumulator traverse adjacent to the in-feed and out-feed portion of the endless conveyor. The drive motors are mounted opposite one another, on the in-feed and out-feed portions, respectively.
- Figure 23 is a top plan view of the horizontal accumulator of Figure 5 with an alternate intermediate transfer device.
- Figure 24 is a top plan view of the in-feed or out-feed accumulator for explaining the relationship between speed V, relative conveyor direction R, and upper U-turn position on the endless conveyor 21.
- Figure 25 is a top plan view of the horizontal accumulator showing examples of control and sensing devices for controlling product flow through the accumulator.
- Figure 26 is a top plan view of the horizontal accumulator showing a partially accumulated state. Articles are shown being received and discharged
- a horizontal accumulator in accordance with this invention may be used in many different industries to control the rate of flow of articles between an upstream delivery station and a downstream receiving station.
- the accumulator is particularly well-adapted for use in applications involving an upstream delivery station, which may be a filling station for placing contents into a package, and a downstream receiving station in which the package may be placed in boxes. Because of its unique and inventive structure, the accumulator in comparison to prior art
- accumulators (see Figures 1 to 4) provides far greater programming flexibility and control to accommodate and reduce variability in article flow on both the in-feed and out-feed side of the accumulator.
- the accumulator also provides a carrying capacity equivalent to prior art horizontal accumulators but in a much smaller footprint (see Figures 16 to 18).
- a preferred embodiment of a horizontal accumulator 10 made according to this invention includes a mass storage device or accumulator 50 located between an in-feed accumulator 20
- is located at one end of mass storage accumulator 50 and the out-feed accumulator 20o is located at the other end.
- , 50, and 20 o collectively function as a "shock absorber" when the flow of articles being conveyed between the upstream delivery station and downstream receiving station becomes variable or "lumpy.”
- shock absorber when the flow of articles being conveyed between the upstream delivery station and downstream receiving station becomes variable or "lumpy."
- articles being conveyed are referred to as articles and are referenced in the drawing figures by the letter "A”.
- , 50, and 20o perform this shock absorbing function by working in concert to smooth out article flow when article flow does become lumpy, and by providing first-in-first-out article flow regardless of the current status of the upstream delivery station or the downstream processing station.
- Various sensors of types well-known in the art are used to collect status information and facilitate communication between and within the feed accumulators 20 and 50.
- the mass storage accumulator 50 includes a plurality of storage lines or lanes 51 that provide most of the accumulation or buffer capacity of accumulator 10.
- the lanes 51 convey articles received from the in-feed accumulator 20
- the current lane at which intermediate transfer device 70 is positioned is referred to as lane 51
- lane 51 +I is the next lane in the direction of article flow
- lane 51N-I is the next lane in the direction opposite that of article flow.
- is positioned at the filling lane 51 N-
- the transfer device 70o is positioned at the emptying lane 51 N-
- the filling lane 51 N may be a different lane than the emptying lane 51 , with the respective intermediate transfer devices 70 being positioned accordingly.
- the filling lane 51 N might be the first lane and the emptying lane 51 N might be the third or fourth lane. If the two lanes 51 N are different lanes, filling lane 51 N may be running at a different speed than the emptying lane 51 N- Additionally, the transfer device 70 may need to index multiple lanes 51 on either the in-feed or out-feed side. For example, if the transfer device 70
- the transfer device 70 is capable of indexing itself ⁇ + ⁇ or ⁇ - ⁇ lanes 51 , where ⁇ is the lane increment (e.g. 1 , 2, 3 . . . total lanes). There are two exceptions. When the transfer device 70 is positioned at the first lane 51 , it cannot index in the negative direction because there are no more upstream lanes 51 to which to index. Similarly, when the transfer device 70 is positioned at the last lane 51 it cannot index in the positive direction because there are no more downstream lanes 51 to which to index.
- ⁇ is the lane increment (e.g. 1 , 2, 3 . . . total lanes).
- is the same as that of the out- feed accumulator 20o in all respects.
- & o is that the in-feed side accumulator 20
- the in-feed and out-feed accumulators 20i & o are sometimes referred to as feed accumulator 20 or feed accumulators 20.
- the endless conveyor 21 of the feed side accumulator 20 can extend or retract (or extend and extend again or retract and retract again) between a first position and a second position as the transfer device 70 is moving in the same or opposite direction.
- the endless conveyor 211 can momentarily extend (move opposite the transfer device 70
- indexes and the endless conveyor 21 extends or retracts may be different speeds. Additionally, regardless of whether the endless conveyor 21 is extending or retracting to accommodate indexing of the transfer device 70, the rotation of the conveyor 21 does not necessarily need to speed up or slow down.
- both feed accumulators 20 maintain their respective endless conveyor 21 in a same position and each transfer device 70 services the same lane 51 N as the filling and emptying lane (the first lane 51 in this example).
- the endless conveyors 21 do not need to extend or retract from their current positions to accommodate either the rate of article flow, variability in article flow, or the indexing of the intermediate transfer device 70. Further, the intermediate transfer devices 70 does not need to reposition or index from one lane 51 N to a next lane 51 +I ⁇ ⁇ - ⁇ ⁇
- accumulators 20 can each adjust the exposed length of its endless conveyor 21 , as well as the speed of the endless conveyor 21 , to provide different carrying capacity, different total transit time, or different carrying capacity and transit time. Adjusting the speed of endless conveyor 21 may include stopping the rotation of the conveyor 21 around its U-turn wheel 27 or guide as its exposed length is adjusted, which is done simply by operating both the left drive motor 39L and the right drive motor 39u at the same speed and in the same direction.
- a filling or emptying lane 51 N of the mass storage accumulator 50 may be slowed down, speeded up or completely stopped and a next filing or emptying lane 51N+I ⁇ ⁇ - ⁇ (or any other filling or emptying lane 51 ⁇ + ⁇ ⁇ - ⁇ ) simultaneously, instantaneously and independently started.
- the intermediate transfer device 70 on the in-feed side indexes to the next available filling lane 51N+A C ⁇ - ⁇
- two lanes 51 may be running at the same time and at different speeds (or at different rates of acceleration and deceleration), and may be simultaneously, instantaneously, and independently started.
- the endless conveyor 21 which may be constructed of linked carrier segments 23, is guided by a sprocket-and-wheel arrangement 25 that places one portion of the conveyor 21 in a different horizontal plane than the remaining portion.
- a curved rail (not shown) guides articles being carried by endless conveyor 21 as the articles move around the U-turn wheels 27u.
- the conveyor extends around U-turn wheels, the U-turns could also extend partially around non-rotatable guides.
- the U-turns need not necessary have a semicircular shape and could comprise several smaller turns with various shapes.
- the wheels 27U&L each ride on a respective platform or plate 29 received by opposing longitudinally extending channels 31 of the accumulator housing 33.
- the movement of the plate 29 is responsive to its wheel 27 and the speed and rotational differences between the motors 39U&L-
- Each plate 29 is tethered to the other plate 29 by a cable 41 , thereby placing the wheels 27U&L in a master-slave relation to one another (i.e., when one wheel is forced to move, the other must also move).
- the total exposed length of the in-feed endless conveyor 21 is at a maximum when its upper wheel 27u (and therefore its upper plate 29 u ) is at the end of its travel toward the first end 35 of housing 33 and wheel 27u (and therefore plate 29u) is at the end of its travel toward the second end 37 of housing 33.
- the total exposed length is at its minimum when the upper wheel 27u is at the end of its travel toward the second end 37 of housing 33 and the other wheel 27 is at the end of its travel toward the first end 35 of housing 33.
- each wheel 27 U0 rL is driven independently of the other wheel 27i_oru by its respective drive motor 39uoit- Because each wheel 27 responds to a speed and rotation of its drive motor 39, and because the wheels 27 are in a master-slave relation to one another, the position and direction of rotation of the endless conveyor 21 responds to a speed "V" and rotational "R" difference of the drive motors 39.
- one of the drive motors 39uorL runs at a constant speed and serves as a governor with the speed of the other drive motor 39 being varied according to current feed conditions.
- the speed of the motor 39 serving as the governor on the in-feed side is set according to the incoming feed rate.
- the governor motor 39 is set according to the out-going feed rate.
- the endless conveyor 21 may also be reversed with counter rotation of the conveyor at the U-turn wheels or guides for timing purposes (see scenarios 5, 6, and 7 of Table 1 and Figure 24).
- This allows the intermediate transfer device 70 additional time, if required, for the transfer device 70 to index to a proper position relative to a lane 51 and verify that position before starting the actual transfer of articles between feed accumulator 20 and the lane 51.
- the length of the upper portion of the endless conveyor is increased at a rate greater than the speed at which the conveyor is being reversed.
- Another unique, inventive feature is the placement of the wheels 27 in different horizontal planes. This placement allows the drive motors 39 to be located at the same end of the feed accumulator 20, thereby giving the feed accumulator 20 a smaller footprint. The wheel placement also allows the wheels 27, and therefore the endless conveyor 21 , to have a greater length of travel within this smaller footprint.
- the feed accumulator 20 provides a greater carrying capacity within its footprint than prior art accumulators which place the wheels in the same horizontal plane (see Figures 20 & 21). Placing the wheels in the same horizontal plane results in a footprint approximately 30 to 40 percent longer than that of feed accumulator 20, which has its wheels 27 placed in different horizontal planes.
- the indirect drive placed at each end of the prior art accumulator also extends its length by about 10 to 20 percent compared to that the accumulator 20 of the invention, which has its drive motors placed at the same end.
- the prior art accumulator also cannot reverse its travel without losing its conveyor because the slide assembly which carries the interconnected pulley wheels is a fixed body with no means, such as spring loading, to compensate for slack in the conveyor when reversing the travel.
- each feed accumulator 20 cooperates with a respective intermediate transfer device 70 that is detachably secured to a transfer member 71.
- the transfer member 71 traverses left-to-right and right-to-left by means of an endless belt 73 controlled by a stepper or servo motor (see S3 and S4 in Figures 25 and 26 ).
- the stepper or servo motor S3, S4 controls the speed and direction of rotation of the endless belt 73 and, therefore, the speed and direction of travel of transfer device 70.
- the intermediate transfer device 70 preferably has the ability to pivot or lift its nose end 75 when indexing from one lane 51 to another lane 51 , thereby avoiding any interference with the lanes 51 during indexing.
- Each lane 51 is an endless conveyor 53 typically made up of linked carrier segments 55 (i.e., a slat chain conveyor). Any given carrier segment 55 in one lane 51 may not lie exactly in the same horizontal plane as a carrier segment 55 laying adjacent to it in the next lane 51 (carrier segments 55N and 55N ⁇ I, respectively). Further, one carrier segment 55 may lie partly ahead or behind another adjacent segment in the next lane 51.
- a leading portion of the carrier segment might lie slightly above that of an adjacent carrier segment. If any of these interference situations occurs at the same time that the transfer device 70 needs to reposition or index to the next lane 55N ⁇ I (or to any lane 55 ⁇ ), the device 70 might hit the carrier segment 55 and cause damage to the lane 51 N or 51N ⁇ I, the transfer device 70, or articles being transferred.
- the intermediate transfer device 70 has lifting means 77 located toward the nose end 75.
- the lifting means 79 includes rollers 81 positioned below the transfer member 71 and configured to ride over the undulating upper surface 101 of a cam plate 100.
- Each roller 81 has a bracket 83 connected to its axle that receives a fastener 85. The fastener 85 passes through the transfer member 71 until its upper end 87 comes into contact with the lower surface 77 of the nose end 75.
- the cam plate 100 is arranged relative to the mass storage accumulator 50 so that each low cam position 103 is directly opposite the median line of each lane and each high cam position 105 is between lanes, that is, the gap 57 formed by the opposing longitudinal edges of adjacent lanes 51.
- the nose end 75 of the transfer device 70 is in a normal horizontal orientation.
- the rollers 81 ride up and onto the high cam position 105, lifting the nose end 75 and allowing it to clear the carrier segments 51 N and 51 N ⁇ I .
- the high cam position 105 lifted the nose end 75 of the transfer device 70 a maximum of about 2 mm.
- the intermediate transfer device 70 provides an indirect transfer between the feed accumulator 20 and the mass storage accumulator 50 by way of two opposing, spaced-apart curved surfaces 89, 95.
- the curved surfaces 89, 95 which need not be similar in structure, form a lane 91.
- the curved surfaces 89, 95 may be arranged relative to one another so that an incoming article to lane 91 enters the lane 91 oblique to the article flow on endless conveyor 21 rather than enter orthogonal to it.
- This oblique entry angle is accomplished in one preferred embodiment by the curved surfaces 89, 95 forming about a 45-degree lead-in or entry portion 93 of the lane 91 of the transfer device 70.
- the articles are received by the entry portion 93 and then guided by the curved surfaces 89, 95 to accomplish the 90-degree transfer.
- the first curved surface 89 may be a curved rail or a curved wall having a plurality of beads or rollers (not shown).
- the second curved surface 95 may be an endless belt 97 guided by a chain-and-sprocket arrangement and controlled by a stepper or servo motor S1 or S2.
- the belt 97 includes a plurality of flexible fins 99 that come into contract with articles flowing into the lane 91 of the transfer device 70 and help guide those articles along the lane.
- the stepper or servo motor S1 or S2 used to control the endless belt 95 is preferably located toward the nose end 75 of the transfer device 70 to make the transfer device 70 nose-heavy. Being nose-heavy helps the nose end 75 remain in communication with the fasteners 85 and helps the rollers 81 remain in communication with the cam plate 100 as the transfer device 70 traverses left-to-right and right-to-left.
- the lane 91 formed by the curved surfaces 89, 95 provides a lane width appropriate for the article being processed by the upstream processing station and received by the downstream receiving station. If the upstream processing station changes over to a different article that requires a different lane width, the
- intermediate transfer device 70 may be removed from the slide 71 and replaced by a different, appropriately sized transfer device 70.
- the different article may be one that is wider than a single lane 51 of the mass storage accumulator 50 and, therefore, requires that two adjacent lanes 51 be moved in concert with one another.
- a nonadjustable transfer device 70 configured to receive an article equal to or less than the width of a single lane 51 could not accommodate this different article and would need to be changed out for a transfer device 70 that could accommodate it.
- the width of the lane 51 of the transfer device 70 could be adjustable.
- the intermediate transfer device 70 may be a true 90-degree transfer device 70ALT- Unlike the transfer device 70 of Figures 5 and 8 to 10 with its oblique lead-in or entry portion 93, the transfer device 70ALT shown in Figure 23 has its entry portion 93ALT arranged coaxial to the endless conveyor 21 that passes underneath it. Like the other transfer device 70, the transfer device 70ALT shown in Figure 23 remains independent of the endless conveyor 21.
- the intermediate transfer device 70 being independent of the endless conveyor 21 is yet another unique and inventive feature of accumulator 10.
- the intermediate transfer device 70 can index before (or after) the endless conveyor 21 repositions, the transfer device 70 can move at half the rate it would have to move if it were physically connected to the wheel 27u. Further, the transfer device 70 can index without an article moving into it. Last, the endless conveyor 21 can momentarily traverse in a direction opposite that of the transfer device 70 as it indexes to lane 51N+I or as the transfer device 70 indexes between the last lane 51 and the first lane 51.
- the intermediate transfer device 70 may be mechanically connected to the plate 29u of the feed side accumulator 20 but this is not preferred for use in high speed operations. When mechanically connected in this way, the transfer device 70 moves in unison with the plate 2 -
- each lane 51 of the mass storage accumulator 50 is in communication with a sprocket 61U&L that engages the carrier segments 55 and its respective electro-magnetic clutches 59U&L ("Electro-magnetic clutch” is referred to as “clutch” in the following and alternatively could be substituted by motors or other clutches).
- the clutches 59 Uo rL of two or more lanes 51 may be configured in a modular arrangement, with a set of clutches 59uoit mounted on the same shaft or axle 61uoit with the axles 61 then connected to accommodate a wider configuration of the mass storage accumulator 50.
- the shaft or axle 61 u of the upper clutches 59u are in communication with an upper drive motor 63u.
- _ is in communication with a lower drive motor 63
- the drive motors 63 are preferably located within the footprint of the plurality of lanes 51 and a respective shaft or axle 69.
- Each axle 69uorL shares a chain drive with its corresponding axle 61 ⁇ , respectively.
- the drive motors 63U&L may have different power ratings.
- both drive motors 63 may be running at their respective, predetermined constant speed and driving their respective axle 61.
- the motors 63 may be modulated based on in-feed and out-feed conditions, thereby changing the speed at which any given lane 51 travels.
- Encoders E2, E3 may be used to record the number of rotations of the motors 63 for purposes of tracking product movement.
- a pair of opposing photoelectric eyes 113 may also be used to monitor the status of article flow on lanes 51.
- Each clutch 59 U0 rL is independent of the other clutch 59 Lor u to which it is connected in series. Each clutch 59 is also independent of any other clutch 59 U0 rL in any other lane 51.
- the upper clutches 59u and the upper drive motor 63u may be under the control of the in-feed logic while the lower clutches 59
- Each clutch 59 when engaged, allows for control of the speed, acceleration and deceleration of its respective lane 51.
- One of the unique and inventive features of the mass storage accumulator 50 is that the clutches 59U&L are connected in series on the same lane 51. Another unique and inventive feature is that the clutches 59u 0 rL are arranged side-by-side on the same axle 61. This arrangement allows at least two different lanes 51 to be in the traveling or conveying state at the same time. This also allows at least two different lanes 51 to simultaneously and instantaneously move into a conveying state. Still further, this allows one lane 51 to run at a different speed than another lane 51 or to accelerate or decelerate at a different rate. Additionally, this
- the mass storage accumulator has a much faster cycle time than that of prior art accumulators in moving between lanes and the ability to close or reduce any gap that might occur in the article flow.
- gap refers to spacing between adjacent articles different than the spacing created by the processing rate of the upstream delivery station.
- the spacing of articles on a drink box packaging line might be about one-half inch when the upstream delivery station is processing drink boxes. This constant spacing is interrupted whenever the upstream delivery station momentarily goes down, thereby creating gaps in the product flow.
- this prior art accumulator has a slower cycle time than that of accumulator 10 and mass storage accumulator 50 of the invention, and only can close or reduce any gap that may be present in the article flow by pausing the loading of the lane. Additionally, that prior art accumulator cannot return those articles to the customer conveyor without creating a gap in article flow.
- the lane's respective upper clutch 59u is engaged and and the in-feed motor 63u comes under the control of in-feed logic.
- _ may also be running but the lower clutch 59[_ associated with the lane 51 N is disengaged. If the upstream delivery station is momentarily down (about 2 or 3 seconds) and then up, incoming articles begin arriving in a "lumpy," rather than constant flow pattern because there is now a gap in the article flow.
- the in-feed motor 63u modulates according to the incoming article flow as does the in-feed accumulator 20
- a different emptying lane 51 N may be discharging articles, with its respective clutch 59
- the emptying lane 51 N may be running at a faster speed than filling lane 51 N and might have to slow or stop.
- the endless conveyor 21 o can extend all the way to the second end 37 of the accumulator housing 33 while the transfer device 70o continues to transfer articles to the conveyor 21 o without moving away from the current emptying lane 51 N-
- the out-feed conveyor 21 0 remains in its current position and, when the current emptying lane 51 N is empty, the lane 51 is stopped and the transfer device 70 o indexes at the same time to a another lane 51 N +i -
- downstream receiving station goes down.
- 5l N&N ⁇ A can be in at the same time and the states to which each can independently, simultaneously, and instantaneously change at the same time.
- One lane 51 N is the filling lane and the other lane 51 ⁇ is the emptying lane.
- the acceleration or deceleration of each lane 51 is a function of the modulation of the drive motor
- the in-feed or out-feed accumulator 20 of Figure 5 may be configured for use as a stand-alone accumulator 20SA- Unlike the oblong shaped of the endless conveyor 21 of the in-feed accumulator 20, the stand-alone accumulator 20 S A has a straight, in-feed run portion 211 of its endless conveyor 21 and a straight, out-feed run portion 21o- The portion of the endless conveyor 21 guided by the U-turn 27 is located in the mid-portion 21 M of the endless conveyor 21.
- the mid-portion 21 M traverses relative to the in-feed and out-feed portions 21
- a customer-supplied motor or a motor of a downstream delivery station is in communication with the out-feed portion 21 o of conveyor 21.
- the clutches 59 of the mass storage accumulator 50 may be modularized sets of clutches 59 that are assembled together to create a mass storage accumulator 50 having a particular width.
- the mass storage accumulator 50 may also be a modular design so that it can be scaled up or down according to the demands of a particular application.
- the in-feed accumulator 20 may also be made available in a standard length to match the size of the mass storage accumulator 50. When shipping the accumulator 10 to a site, both the in-feed and out-feed accumulators 20 may be placed on and secured to mass storage accumulator 50 such that no further assembly will be required. Further, the various modular components of the accumulator 10 may be arranged to reduce the overall shipping footprint.
- , 39U a first servo motor S1 , the mass storage in-feed drive motor 63U, the in-feed clutch (shown as 59u in Figure 18) for lane 51 N, the second servo motor S2 and the out-feed accumulator motors 39Uo and 39l_o are all energized. All of these motors are initially operated at a matched speed, with the in-feed and out-feed accumulator motors 3911 ⁇ 2 ⁇ and 39l_i & o turning in opposite directions and all operating the conveyor in the normal direction of article flow.
- the first photocell PE1 can detect articles that have become too closely packed on the customer's in-feed accumulator. Should the first photocell PE1 detect a tightly packed group of articles approaching the machine in-feed accumulator, a short delay timer will allow the leading edge of this group to reach the in-feed endless conveyor 2 * 1 ⁇ All of the motors and servos which are operating at matched speed except the lower out-feed accumulator motor 39l_o (which controls the speed at which articles flow out of the out-feed accumulator) will accelerate.
- the U-turn 27U 0 of the out-feed accumulator 20 o will slightly extend due to the upper out-feed motor 39Uo running slightly faster than the lower out-feed motor 39l_o.
- the horizontal accumulator 10 will have inserted the correct gap between the previously tightly packed articles, maintaining a consistent spacing through the machine.
- PLC programmable controller
- & o , 39Li & o, the in-feed drive motor 63U of the mass storage accumulator 50, the first servo motor S1 , and the second servo motor S2 are controlled via the PLC and modulate together as one unit.
- the out- feed drive motor 63L of the mass storage accumulator 50 does not need to run until articles have been loaded thereon and the in-feed transfer device 70ALT
- the lower out-feed motor 39Loof the out-feed accumulator 20o will stop or remain stopped. All other motors upstream will continue to run as previously described. As a result, the out-feed accumulator U-turn 27Uo will extend (because the lower out- feed motor 39Loof the out-feed accumulator 20o continues to run) and no articles will be discharged from the out-feed accumulator.
- the out-feed motor 39Lo of the out-feed accumulator 20o will restart and run faster than normal until all of the articles that were absorbed by the out-feed buffer have been emptied and the U-turn 27Uo returns to its home position relative to the out-feed transfer device 70ALTO. At this point the machine will return to a steady state condition and the out-feed motor 39Lo will drop its speed to match the speeds of the other motors. Full stop downstream with in-feed indexing from lane 51 N to lane 51N+I
- the lower out-feed motor 39l_o of the out-feed accumulator 20o will stop. All other motors and servos will continue to run or operate as previously described. As discussed above, this causes the out-feed U-turn 27Uo to extend so as to buffer articles.
- the first servo motor S1 will stop. Additionally, the in-feed clutch for lane 51 N + I will be energized. More or less simultaneously with the stopping of the first servo motor S1 , a third servo motor S3 will index the in-feed transfer device 70ALT
- a second encoder E2 corresponding to the in-feed motor 63U of the mass storage accumulator 50, is set to zero and starts counting pulses so that the PLC can keep track of the estimated distance that the articles have traveled along the new lane 51N+I following their placement thereon.
- indexed away from the U-turn 27U
- moved with the flow of the article (i.e., away from the incoming articles).
- no article compression occurs on the in-feed accumulator 20
- is accelerated in order to bring the U-turn 27U
- the first servo motor S1 and the in-feed drive motor 63U of the mass storage accumulator 50 are also increased to maintain consistent spacing of the articles on the lane on which they are being placed.
- the in-feed operation Unlike during normal steady state conditions, during full stop downstream with in-feed indexing conditions the in-feed operation also changes in that if a gap between articles is sensed by the first photocell PE1 , all elements of the in-feed operation will immediately stop until more articles are detected at the first photocell PE1. This ensures that the gap is removed and thereby maximizes the storage capacity of the accumulator 10.
- the PLC determines from the second encoder E2 that the lane 51 N+1 being filled of the mass storage device is almost-full (which corresponds to being about eight inches from the maximum allowed travel)
- the PLC will again look to the third photocell PE3 to detect the leading edge of an article that is about to be placed on the mass storage accumulator.
- the in-feed clutch 59UN+2 for the next lane 51 N+ 2 will energize.
- the in-feed clutch 59U N +i of the current lane 51 +I remains energized until that lane has reached its maximum allowed travel. This ensures that the last article that has been placed onto the lane 51N+I has cleared the fourth photocell PE4 and that it is therefore safe to index the in-feed transfer device.
- may follow in what could be described as an "accordion" motion during high speed operations or when articles being conveyed are relatively unstable.
- the accordion motion allows for additional accumulation on the in-feed accumulator 20
- will extend away from the in-feed transfer device 70ALT
- will momentarily slow while the third servo motor S3 is moving the in-feed transfer device 70ALT
- the lower in-feed motor 39L i will be accelerated to a rate faster than the upper in-feed motor 39U
- out-feed clutch for the first lane 51 N will be energized and out-feed drive motor 63L of the mass storage accumulator 50, the out-feed motors 39UO&L of the out-feed accumulator 20o, and the servo motor S2 of the out-feed transfer device 70ALTO will all begin to run with their speeds controlled in unison. Thereafter, articles will begin exiting the first lane 51 N - These motors will run according to the demand of the customer's downstream machine, and their speeds will modulate simultaneously based on the length of queue at the downstream machine as determined by the second photocell PE2 or some other downstream detector.
- out-feed U-turn 27U 0 remains fully extended (near the last lane 51 ⁇ + ⁇ )-
- the extra amount of articles on the out-feed conveyor 21 o will be reserved for use in eliminating gaps created during indexing cycles of the out-feed transfer device 71 ALTo.
- the upper out-feed motor 39U 0 can be slowed or stopped momentarily. As a result, the out-feed U-turn 27U 0 will retract towards the first lane 51 N of the mass storage accumulator 50 to ensure that product can continue to be discharged from the accumulator 10. This also prevents any product gap from forming at the exit or inlet of the out-feed transfer device 71 ALT 0 .
- the out-feed lower drive motor 63L of the mass storage accumulator 50, the second servo S2 on the out-feed transfer device 70ALTO, and the upper out-feed motor 39Uo will be accelerated to a higher speed than the rate at which the lower out-feed motor 39L.O is running (i.e., faster than demand).
- the out-feed U-turn 27Uo reaches its maximum extension, such motors slow back down to the speed of the upper out-feed motor 39Uo.
- the out-feed U-turn 27Uo return to its home position relative to the out-feed transfer device 70ALTO.
- After the in-feed transfer device 70ALT
- continues at normal speed rate while the in-feed lower motor 39L
- complete control of the rotational movement of the conveyor 20
- the third servo motor S3 simultaneously indexes the in-feed transfer device 70ALT
- the speed of this movement matches the reversal speed of the lower in-feed motor 39L
- reverses rotation again, thereby causing articles to move toward the in-feed transfer device 70ALT
- the machine Assuming this "catch-up" occurs on a lane other than the first lane 51 N , the machine is considered empty but out of position.
- the lane transporting the articles initially is being driven by the in-feed drive motor 63U of the mass storage accumulator 50 via the lane's in-feed clutch. More or less simultaneously, the control for this lane will be switched to the out-feed drive motor 63L of the mass storage accumulator 50 and via the lanes out-feed clutch, and the in-feed transfer device 70ALT
- When the in-feed transfer device 70ALT
- the out-feed transfer device 70ALTo continues to unload articles from the other lane 51N + Y and will traverse back to the first lane 51 N after emptying that other lane.
- the out-feed upper motor 39Uo While the second servo motor S2 is stopped during the indexing of the out-feed transfer device 70ALTo, the out-feed upper motor 39Uo reverses direction to retract the out-feed U-turn 27Uo to avoid creating article gaps on the out-feed conveyor 21 o adjacent the out-feed transfer device.
- the second servo S2 and the upper out-feed motor 39Uo of the out feed accumulator 20o Upon completing the indexing, the second servo S2 and the upper out-feed motor 39Uo of the out feed accumulator 20o resume their normal rotation and the machine is then back in steady state mode.
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (10)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
BR112013013959A BR112013013959A2 (en) | 2010-12-06 | 2011-12-06 | conveyor accumulator for controlling the flow of articles being transported |
CN2011800668489A CN103339047A (en) | 2010-12-06 | 2011-12-06 | Conveyor accumulator for controlling the flow of articles being conveyed |
EP11847772.8A EP2648999A4 (en) | 2010-12-06 | 2011-12-06 | Conveyor accumulator for controlling the flow of articles being conveyed |
CA2820620A CA2820620A1 (en) | 2010-12-06 | 2011-12-06 | Conveyor accumulator for controlling the flow of articles being conveyed |
AU2011338542A AU2011338542A1 (en) | 2010-12-06 | 2011-12-06 | Conveyor accumulator for controlling the flow of articles being conveyed |
US13/376,789 US9212008B2 (en) | 2010-12-06 | 2011-12-06 | Conveyor accumulator for controlling the flow of articles being conveyed |
JP2013543284A JP2013544733A (en) | 2010-12-06 | 2011-12-06 | Conveyor accumulator for controlling the flow of goods being conveyed |
RU2013131032/11A RU2013131032A (en) | 2010-12-06 | 2011-12-06 | CONVEYOR STORAGE FOR MANAGING THE FLOW OF TRANSPORTED PRODUCTS |
MX2013006341A MX340569B (en) | 2010-12-06 | 2011-12-06 | Conveyor accumulator for controlling the flow of articles being conveyed. |
US14/933,726 US9415947B2 (en) | 2010-12-06 | 2015-11-05 | Conveyor accumulator for controlling the flow of articles being conveyed |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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US96117610A | 2010-12-06 | 2010-12-06 | |
US12/961,176 | 2010-12-06 |
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US96117610A Continuation | 2010-12-06 | 2010-12-06 |
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Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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US13/376,789 A-371-Of-International US9212008B2 (en) | 2010-12-06 | 2011-12-06 | Conveyor accumulator for controlling the flow of articles being conveyed |
US14/933,726 Division US9415947B2 (en) | 2010-12-06 | 2015-11-05 | Conveyor accumulator for controlling the flow of articles being conveyed |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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WO2012078661A1 true WO2012078661A1 (en) | 2012-06-14 |
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PCT/US2011/063577 WO2012078661A1 (en) | 2010-12-06 | 2011-12-06 | Conveyor accumulator for controlling the flow of articles being conveyed |
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US (2) | US9212008B2 (en) |
EP (1) | EP2648999A4 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2013544733A (en) |
CN (1) | CN103339047A (en) |
AU (1) | AU2011338542A1 (en) |
BR (1) | BR112013013959A2 (en) |
CA (1) | CA2820620A1 (en) |
CL (1) | CL2013001611A1 (en) |
MX (1) | MX340569B (en) |
PE (1) | PE20131406A1 (en) |
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US9688482B2 (en) | 2015-03-17 | 2017-06-27 | Illinois Tool Works Inc. | Apparatus for buffering the flow of articles |
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EP3366617A1 (en) | 2015-03-17 | 2018-08-29 | Illinois Tool Works Inc. | Apparatus and methods for buffering the flow of articles |
EP3838812A1 (en) | 2019-12-16 | 2021-06-23 | Forspective | Conveying apparatus with buffering unit |
WO2021122786A1 (en) | 2019-12-16 | 2021-06-24 | Forspective | Conveying apparatus with buffering unit |
CN114955497A (en) * | 2022-06-29 | 2022-08-30 | 昆明鼎承科技有限公司 | First-in first-out cache conveying method and device |
CN114955497B (en) * | 2022-06-29 | 2024-03-29 | 昆明鼎承科技有限公司 | First-in first-out buffer memory conveying method and device |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
PE20131406A1 (en) | 2013-12-16 |
CL2013001611A1 (en) | 2014-02-14 |
MX340569B (en) | 2016-07-13 |
CA2820620A1 (en) | 2012-06-14 |
US9415947B2 (en) | 2016-08-16 |
EP2648999A4 (en) | 2017-12-06 |
US20160052726A1 (en) | 2016-02-25 |
US9212008B2 (en) | 2015-12-15 |
MX2013006341A (en) | 2014-01-31 |
RU2013131032A (en) | 2015-01-20 |
CN103339047A (en) | 2013-10-02 |
US20140001008A1 (en) | 2014-01-02 |
BR112013013959A2 (en) | 2016-10-04 |
EP2648999A1 (en) | 2013-10-16 |
AU2011338542A1 (en) | 2013-06-13 |
JP2013544733A (en) | 2013-12-19 |
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