Systems and methods for diverting objects
In one embodiment, a conveyor system includes a conveyor belt having a plurality of conveyor belt rollers configured to divert objects on the conveyor belt, and a drive mechanism that engages the conveyor belt rollers, the drive mechanism being configured to drive the conveyor belt rollers, the drive mechanism being adjustable such that the conveyor belt rollers can be selectively driven in a first angular direction and a second, opposite angular direction so that objects can be selectively diverted to either side of the conveyor belt at a desired diverting angle.
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This application is a reissue application of U.S. Ser. No. 11/627,132, filed Jan. 25, 2007, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,461,739 on Dec. 9, 2008, which claims priority to copending U.S. provisional application entitled “Systems and Methods for a Variable Angle High-Speed Diverting Conveyor System,” having Ser. No. 60/762,227, filed Jan. 26, 2006, both of which is are entirely incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUNDIt is often necessary to divert objects from a conveyor belt, for example to another conveyor belt, for purposes of routing or positioning the objects for processing of one type or another.
Recently, conveyor systems have been developed in which the conveyor belt comprises a plurality of small, angled rollers that extend beyond the top and bottom surfaces of the belt. With such systems, objects carried by the conveyor belt, and more particularly by the rollers contained within the belt, can be diverted from the belt by rotating the rollers. The conveyor belt rollers can be caused to rotate using various methods. In one such method, the rollers are driven by selectively bringing a friction plate located beneath the conveyor belt into and out of engagement with the rollers. When the plate engages the rollers, the rollers are caused to rotate in response to the frictional forces between the friction plate and the rollers. In another method, free-spinning rollers located below the conveyor belt are selectively engaged with and disengaged from the conveyor belt rollers, and friction between the engaged rollers causes rotation of both sets of rollers in opposite directions.
Although the above-described conveyor systems provide significant advantages in relation to diverting objects from a conveyor belt, some limitations in their use still exist. For example, because the angles of the conveyor belt rollers are fixed, diverting can only be performed to one side of the conveyor belt and at a fixed diverting angle. Therefore, if it is desired to change the diverting direction or angle, the conveyor line must be shut down and the conveyor belt must be replaced with a different conveyor belt having rollers arranged in a different orientation.
A further disadvantage relates to roller slip. Specifically, when a friction plate is brought into contact with the rollers, the rollers must accelerate from zero angular velocity to a final angular velocity proportional to the speed at which the conveyor belt is travelling. Given that the rollers cannot instantaneously accelerate to the final angular velocity, roller slip occurs that causes wear to the rollers. The same phenomenon can occur, albeit to a lesser degree, in embodiments that employ free-spinning rollers to rotate the conveyor belt rollers. Specifically, although rotation of the free-spinning rollers reduces slip, slip can still occur during the period just after roller-to-roller contact is made.
Furthermore, when the friction plate or the free-spinning rollers are disengaged from the conveyor belt rollers, the conveyor belt rollers are free to rotate, which can enable objects present on the conveyor belt to drift across the belt. Although such drift may be desirable in some situations, it may be undesirable in situations in which it is desired to precisely control the lateral position of an object on the conveyor belt.
The disclosed systems and methods can be understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale.
As described above, existing conveyor systems that include conveyor belt rollers, although providing advantages over previous systems, still have limitations. As described in the following, however, such limitations can be overcome with a conveyor system that employs a drive mechanism comprising free-spinning angularly adjustable rollers that control rotation of rollers contained within a conveyor belt. In some embodiments, a conveyor belt comprises a plurality of longitudinally oriented free-spinning rollers that are “driven” through contact with free-spinning angularly adjustable rollers that are positioned below the conveyor belt. In such systems, objects can be diverted at various angles to either side of the conveyor belt through mere actuation of the angularly adjustable rollers. Furthermore, when the angularly adjustable rollers are aligned with the direction of belt travel, the conveyor belt rollers can be braked such that they will not rotate, thereby reducing or eliminating object drift. Moreover, given that the angularly adjustable rollers can be gradually rotated from the braking orientation to a desired diverting angle, the conveyor belt rollers can be gradually accelerated, thereby reducing or eliminating slip.
Referring to the figures, in which like numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views,
Interposed between the conveyor belt links 112 are elongated longitudinally oriented free-spinning conveyor belt rollers 118. For the purposes of this disclosure, the term “free-spinning” means that the rollers are free to spin about their axes of rotation in either angular direction. Therefore, the rollers 118 may be said to comprise “idler” rollers that will freely rotate in either angular direction when driven by an appropriate force. In the embodiment of
The conveyor belt rollers 118 are made of metal and/or plastic and are provided with a rubber or plastic high-friction outer layer or coating that prevents slippage when rollers of the roller modules 106 are brought into contact with the conveyor belt rollers. Each roller 118 can connect at each of its ends to the conveyor belt frame 108 and/or to the rods or shafts that connect the various conveyor belt sections 110. As indicated in
With further reference to
Turning to
As shown in
As best shown in
As indicated in
As described above, the drive roller modules 106, and therefore the drive rollers 125, can be pivoted about their central vertical axes 134 (
The linking members 146 can be displaced by any appropriate means. In embodiments in which multiple linking members 146 are to be simultaneously displaced, and therefore multiple rows of rollers 125 are to be simultaneously pivoted, the linking members can be connected to a single actuation member 150 that is positioned adjacent either side of the conveyor system 100 and pivotally connected to control arms 131 of an adjacent column 144 of drive roller modules 106. In such a case, longitudinal displacement of the actuation member 150 in the directions indicated by arrow 151 will cause pivoting of the adjacent column 144 of drive roller modules 106, which therefore causes the linking members 146 to laterally translate, which, in turn, causes the remaining drive roller modules to pivot.
When the drive rollers 125 are positioned in the 0 degree orientation shown in
In addition to being angularly adjustable, the drive roller modules 106 can, optionally, be vertically actuated to engage or disengage the drive rollers 125 with conveyor belt rollers 118. Such functionality is depicted in
From the above it can be appreciated that several advantages can be achieved through use of conveyor systems that comprise angularly adjustable rollers that drive rollers contained within a conveyor belt. For example, objects can be diverted to either side of the conveyor system at various angles. In addition, the conveyor belt rollers can be braked to control object drift across the conveyor belt. Furthermore, the conveyor belt rollers can be accelerated to some desired angular velocity with virtually no slip.
It is noted that other advantages can also be realized with such conveyor systems. For example, discrete groups of drive rollers can be operated in different zones of the conveyor system not only along the direction of travel of the conveyor belt but also along the width of the conveyor belt through the provision of discrete control mechanisms (e.g., linking members). In such cases, the positions of objects on the conveyor belt can be controlled with great precision by individually controlling the drive rollers of the different zones. In fact, when a “smart” detection and control system is provided, such as an imaging-based system, individual objects can be identified and precisely moved along and/or across the belt, for example to enable desired ordering and/or alignment of the objects on further conveyor belts on which the objects are to be placed.
Turning to
As with the conveyor system 100, the drive rollers 208 can be angularly adjusted using a variety of adjustment mechanisms.
Each drive roller 208 is supported at both ends by a joint that permits the change in orientation as well as free rotation. With reference to the detail view of
Returning to
While particular embodiments have been disclosed in detail in the foregoing description and drawings for purposes of example, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations and modifications thereof can be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In one such variation, the axles of the conveyor belt rollers can serve as the tensioning members of the conveyor belt. In such a case, the conveyor belt frame and its links can be omitted to enable higher roller density. In addition, such an arrangement may reduce the possibility of items being pulled down into the conveyor belt when the belt rollers are spinning because the surfaces of adjacent rollers move in opposite directions and the downward force of one spinning roller may be nullified by the upward force of the adjacent spinning roller.
Claims
1. A conveyor system comprising:
- a conveyor belt having an upper surface, a lower surface, and a plurality of free-spinning conveyor belt rollers protruding above the upper surface and configured to divert objects on the conveyor belt; and
- a drive mechanism that engages the conveyor belt rollers, the drive mechanism being configured to drive the conveyor belt rollers, the drive mechanism being adjustable such that at least one individual conveyor belt roller can be selectively rotated in a first angular direction and a second angular direction so that objects can be selectively diverted to either side of the conveyor belt at a desired diverting angle.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt rollers have axes of rotation that are aligned with a direction of travel of the conveyor belt such that the conveyor belt rollers can divert objects in either transverse direction across the conveyor belt.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt rollers are elongated in a direction of their axes of rotation.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism comprises a plurality of free-spinning angularly adjustable drive rollers that engage the conveyor belt rollers, such engagement causing the conveyor belt rollers to rotate when a direction of rotation of the drive rollers is not aligned with a direction of belt travel.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the angularly adjustable drive rollers can be adjusted from an orientation in which they rotate in a direction in line with the direction of belt travel to orientations in which they rotate in directions that form an angle with the direction of belt travel.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein the greater the angle between the direction of drive roller rotation and the direction of belt travel the greater a diverting angle at which objects are diverted by the conveyor belt.
7. The system of claim 5, wherein the diverting angle can extend from approximately −90 degrees to approximately 90 degrees relative to the direction of belt travel.
8. The system of claim 5, wherein the diverting angle can extend from at least approximately −70 degrees to at least approximately 70 degrees relative to the direction of belt travel.
9. A conveyor system comprising:
- a conveyor belt having a plurality of free-spinning conveyor belt rollers configured to directly contact and divert objects across the conveyor belt, the conveyor belt rollers having axes of rotation that are aligned with a direction of travel of the belt such that the conveyor belt rollers can divert objects in either transverse direction across the conveyor belt; and
- a plurality of free-spinning angularly adjustable drive rollers that engage the conveyor belt rollers, such engagement causing the conveyor belt rollers to rotate when a direction of rotation of the drive rollers is not aligned with the direction of belt travel, wherein the angular orientation of the drive rollers can be adjusted relative to the direction of belt travel to change a diverting direction and a diverting angle of the conveyor belt.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the conveyor belt rollers are elongated in a direction of their axes of rotation.
11. The system of claim 9, wherein the angularly adjustable drive rollers can be adjusted from an orientation in which they rotate in a direction in line with the direction of belt travel to orientations in which they rotate in directions that form an angle with the direction of belt travel, the angle being equivalent in magnitude to the diverting angle.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the diverting angle can extend from approximately −90 degrees to approximately 90 degrees relative to the direction of belt travel.
13. The system of claim 11, wherein the diverting angle can extend from at least approximately −70 degrees to at least approximately 70 degrees relative to the direction of belt travel.
14. The system of claim 9, wherein the angularly adjustable drive rollers can be selectively engaged with and disengaged from the conveyor belt rollers.
15. The system of claim 9, wherein the angularly adjustable drive rollers comprise relatively short caster rollers.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein at least two angularly adjustable drive rollers are positioned adjacent a conveyor belt roller during conveyor operation.
17. The system of claim 15, wherein the angularly adjustable drive rollers are aligned in rows transverse to the direction of belt travel and columns aligned with the direction of belt travel.
18. The system of claim 15, wherein at least some of the angularly adjustable drive rollers are independently actuable such that an angular orientation of at least some of the drive rollers can be independently controlled.
19. The system of claim 15, wherein at least some of the angularly adjustable drive rollers are actuable together in groups such that an angular orientation of at least some of the drive rollers can be controlled in synchrony.
20. The system of claim 9, wherein the angularly adjustable drive rollers are elongated in a direction of their axes of rotation.
21. The system of claim 20, wherein the angularly adjustable drive rollers are supported by a frame, an orientation of the frame being adjustable, and wherein when the orientation of the frame is adjusted, orientations of the drive rollers are adjusted in synchrony.
22. A conveyor system comprising:
- a conveyor belt having a frame and a plurality of free-spinning conveyor belt rollers supported by the frame, the conveyor belt rollers extending above and below top and bottom surfaces of the frame and being configured to divert objects across the conveyor belt, the conveyor belt rollers having axes of rotation that are aligned with a direction of travel of the belt such that the conveyor belt rollers can divert objects in either transverse direction across the conveyor belt, the conveyor belt rollers being elongated along their axes of rotation; and
- a plurality of free-spinning angularly adjustable drive rollers that can be selectively engaged with and disengaged from the conveyor belt rollers from a position below the conveyor belt, angular orientations of the drive rollers being adjustable relative to the direction of belt travel such that the drive rollers can be selectively positioned from an orientation in which, through engagement with the conveyor belt rollers, the drive rollers rotate in the direction of belt travel to orientations in which the drive rollers rotate in directions other than the direction of belt travel;
- wherein drive roller rotation in the direction of belt travel brakes the conveyor belt rollers so that they will not rotate and drive roller rotation in directions other than the direction of belt travel drives the conveyor belt rollers due to frictional forces between the drive rollers and the conveyor belt rollers;
- wherein angular orientations of the drive rollers can be adjusted such that the drive rollers rotate in directions that form substantially any angle from at least approximately −70 degrees to at least approximately 70 degrees relative to the direction of belt travel.
23. The system of claim 22, wherein the angularly adjustable drive rollers comprise relatively short caster rollers that are aligned in rows transverse to the direction of belt travel and columns aligned with the direction of belt travel.
24. The system of claim 23, wherein at least two angularly adjustable drive rollers are positioned adjacent a conveyor belt roller during conveyor operation.
25. The system of claim 23, wherein at least some of the angularly adjustable drive rollers are independently actuable such that an angular orientation of at least some of the drive rollers can be independently controlled.
26. The system of claim 22, wherein the angularly adjustable drive rollers are elongated in a direction of their axes of rotation and are at least as long as the conveyor belt is wide.
27. The system of claim 26, wherein the angularly adjustable drive rollers are supported by a frame, an orientation of the frame being adjustable with an actuator, and wherein when the orientation of the frame is adjusted, orientations of the drive rollers are adjusted in synchrony.
28. A method for diverting objects, the method comprising:
- supporting the objects on a conveyor belt that includes a plurality of free-spinning conveyor belt rollers configured to directly contact the objects;
- engaging the conveyor belt rollers with free-spinning angularly adjustable drive rollers; and
- adjusting an angular orientation of the drive rollers relative to a direction of belt travel to adjust a diverting angle of the conveyor belt.
29. The method of claim 28, further comprising adjusting the angular orientation of the drive rollers such that a direction of rotation of the drive rollers in in line with the direction of conveyor belt travel to brake the conveyor belt rollers.
30. The method of claim 29, further comprising adjusting the angular orientation of the drive rollers from the orientation in which the direction of drive roller rotation is in line with the direction of conveyor belt travel to an orientation in which the direction of drive roller rotation forms an angle with the direction of belt travel so as to cause the conveyor belt rollers to accelerate from zero angular velocity to a final angular velocity.
31. The system of claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt rollers protrude below the lower surface of the conveyor belt.
32. The system of claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt rollers are configured to directly contact the objects on the conveyor belt.
33. The system of claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt rollers are arranged in a multiplicity of columns of conveyor belt rollers extending along a length of the conveyor belt and in a multiplicity of rows of conveyor belt rollers extending across a width of the conveyor belt.
34. The system of claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt rollers are arranged in a multiplicity of columns of conveyor belt rollers extending along a length of the conveyor belt and wherein the drive mechanism includes a plurality of free-spinning drive rollers arranged in a multiplicity of columns, each column of free-spinning drive rollers being aligned with a column of conveyor belt rollers.
35. The system of claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism includes discrete groups of drive rollers individually controlled in different zones of the conveyor system.
36. The system of claim 35, wherein the discrete groups of drive rollers are individually rotatable in the different zones.
37. The system of claim 35, wherein the discrete groups of drive rollers are individually vertically actuable in the different zones to engage and disengage the conveyor belt rollers.
38. The system of claim 9, wherein the conveyor belt has an upper surface and a lower surface and the conveyor belt rollers protrude above the upper surface and below the lower surface.
39. The system of claim 9, wherein the conveyor belt rollers are arranged in a multiplicity of columns of conveyor belt rollers extending along a length of the conveyor belt and in a multiplicity of rows of conveyor belt rollers extending across a width of the conveyor belt.
40. The system of claim 9, wherein the conveyor belt rollers are arranged in a multiplicity of columns of conveyor belt rollers extending along a length of the conveyor belt and wherein the drive rollers are arranged in a multiplicity of columns extending along the length of the conveyor belt, each column of drive rollers being aligned with a column of conveyor belt rollers.
41. The system of claim 9, wherein the drive rollers are arranged in discrete groups that are individually controlled in different zones of the conveyor system.
42. A conveyor system comprising:
- a conveyor belt having a plurality of free-spinning conveyor belt rollers arranged in a multiplicity of columns of conveyor belt rollers extending along a length of the conveyor belt and in a multiplicity of rows of conveyor belt rollers extending across a width of the conveyor belt, the conveyor belt rollers being configured to divert objects from the conveyor belt; and
- a drive mechanism that engages the free-spinning conveyor belt rollers, the drive mechanism being configured to drive the conveyor belt rollers, the drive mechanism being adjustable such that at least one individual conveyor belt roller can be selectively rotated in a first angular direction and a second angular direction so that objects can be selectively diverted to either side of the conveyor belt at a desired diverting angle.
43. A conveyor system comprising:
- a conveyor belt having a plurality of free-spinning conveyor belt rollers arranged in a multiplicity of columns of conveyor belt rollers extending along a length of the conveyor belt and configured to divert objects from the conveyor belt: and
- a drive mechanism that engages the free-spinning conveyor belt rollers, the drive mechanism including a plurality of free-spinning drive rollers arranged in a multiplicity of columns of drive rollers equal in number to the multiplicity of columns of conveyor belt rollers, each column of drive rollers being aligned with a column of conveyor belt rollers, the drive rollers being configured to drive the conveyor belt rollers, wherein the drive mechanism is adjustable such that at least one individual conveyor belt roller can be selectively rotated in a first angular direction and a second angular direction so that objects can be selectively diverted to either side of the conveyor belt at a desired diverting angle.
44. A conveyor system comprising:
- a conveyor belt having a plurality of free-spinning conveyor belt rollers arranged in columns extending along a length of the conveyor belt and configured to divert objects from the conveyor belt; and
- a drive mechanism including drive rollers, each drive roller being directly engageable with all the free-spinning conveyor belt rollers of one of the columns of conveyor belt rollers, the drive mechanism being configured to drive the conveyor belt rollers, the drive mechanism being adjustable such that at least one individual conveyor belt roller can be selectively rotated in a first angular direction and a second angular direction so that objects can be selectively diverted to either side of the conveyor belt at a desired diverting angle.
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- Attachment: English computer translation of CNIPA Invalidity Decision of Chinese Patent No. 200780003527.8, Jun. 18, 2021.
Type: Grant
Filed: Mar 15, 2022
Date of Patent: Oct 24, 2023
Assignee: LAITRAM, L.L.C. (Harahan, LA)
Inventor: Matthew L. Fourney (Laurel, MD)
Primary Examiner: William C Doerrler
Application Number: 17/695,457
International Classification: B65G 17/24 (20060101);