WO2009061981A1 - Dispositif d'orientation de fonds de caisses - Google Patents

Dispositif d'orientation de fonds de caisses Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2009061981A1
WO2009061981A1 PCT/US2008/082721 US2008082721W WO2009061981A1 WO 2009061981 A1 WO2009061981 A1 WO 2009061981A1 US 2008082721 W US2008082721 W US 2008082721W WO 2009061981 A1 WO2009061981 A1 WO 2009061981A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
conveyor
belt
article
case
conveyor belt
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/US2008/082721
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Robert F. Risley
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Laitram LLC
Original Assignee
Laitram LLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Laitram LLC filed Critical Laitram LLC
Priority to EP08847328.5A priority Critical patent/EP2205508A4/fr
Publication of WO2009061981A1 publication Critical patent/WO2009061981A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G17/00—Conveyors having an endless traction element, e.g. a chain, transmitting movement to a continuous or substantially-continuous load-carrying surface or to a series of individual load-carriers; Endless-chain conveyors in which the chains form the load-carrying surface
    • B65G17/24—Conveyors having an endless traction element, e.g. a chain, transmitting movement to a continuous or substantially-continuous load-carrying surface or to a series of individual load-carriers; Endless-chain conveyors in which the chains form the load-carrying surface comprising a series of rollers which are moved, e.g. over a supporting surface, by the traction element to effect conveyance of loads or load-carriers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
    • B65G47/22—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors
    • B65G47/24—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors orientating the articles

Definitions

  • the invention relates generally to power-driven conveyors and, more particularly, to a case turner using a conveyor belt with rollers rotating about axes oblique to the direction of belt travel to convey cases to a retarding surface engaging portions of the bottoms of the cases to cause them to rotate.
  • a frictional ramp with a stop bump is positioned at the inside of the entrance of a turn in a flat-belt conveyor system.
  • Cartons on a frusto- conical conveyor belt in the turn ride partly on the belt and partly on the ramp, which causes the cartons to rotate from the easy way to the hard way, or vice versa, as they also make the 90° turn.
  • a conveyor in one aspect, includes a conveyor belt advancing along a conveying path in a direction of belt travel.
  • the belt has an article-conveying surface that extends in width from a first side to a second side.
  • the conveyor belt includes a plurality of article- supporting rollers that rotate in a direction to push a supported article toward the first side of the conveyor belt as the conveyor belt advances in the direction of belt travel.
  • a retarding surface disposed at the first side of the conveyor belt receives and engages a first portion of the bottom of the article while a second portion of the bottom of the article is supported by some of the article-supporting rollers. The retarding surface slows the advance in the direction of belt travel of the first portion relative to second portion to cause the article to pivot as it is conveyed in the direction of belt travel.
  • a conveyor in another aspect of the invention, includes a conveyor carryway including a bearing surface and a conveyor belt supported on the carryway.
  • the belt advances in a direction of belt travel and includes an article-conveying surface extending in width from a first side to a second side.
  • the conveyor belt also includes a plurality of article-supporting rollers in rolling contact with the bearing surface. The rollers extend above the article- conveying surface and rotate about axes oblique to the direction of belt travel as the belt advances to push supported articles toward the first side of the conveyor belt.
  • a side rail spaced apart from the first side of the conveyor belt across a gap receives articles pushed across the belt.
  • a retarding surface disposed at a position along the conveyor in the gap at the first side of the conveyor belt, forms a high-friction contact area supporting first portions of the bottoms of the articles while second portions of the bottoms of the articles are supported by some of the article-supporting rollers.
  • the retarding surface slows the advance in the direction of belt travel of the first portions relative to the second portions to cause the articles to pivot as they are conveyed in the direction of belt travel.
  • Another aspect of the invention is a method for turning a case.
  • a case is conveyed on a conveyor belt advancing in a direction of belt travel.
  • a first portion of the bottom of the case is supported on rollers in the conveyor belt that are rotating in a direction to push the supported case toward a first side of the conveyor belt.
  • a second portion of the bottom of the case is frictionally engaged to retard the advance of the second portion in the direction of belt travel relative to the advance of the first portion.
  • FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of a conveyor embodying features of the invention, including a frictional pivot;
  • FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the conveyor of FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 3 is a top schematic representation of the operation of the conveyor of FIG. 1.
  • the conveyor 10 includes a conveyor belt 12, in this case, an oblique-roller belt, such as the Series 400 Angled Roller belt manufactured and sold by Intralox, L.L.C., of Harahan, Louisiana, U.S.A. Such a belt is also described in U.S. Patent No. 6,494,312, which is incorporated by reference.
  • the belt is a modular plastic belt consisting of a series of rows 14 of belt modules 16 having leading and trailing hinge eyes interleaved with the trailing and leading hinge eyes of adjacent rows and interconnected by hinge pins 18 installed in lateral passageways formed by the aligned interleaved hinge eyes between adjacent rows.
  • Each row is formed of one or more modules. If more than one module forms each row, the modules are preferably arranged in a bricklay pattern for strength. Consecutive rows pivot about the hinge joints between rows as the belt articulates about sprockets 20, which are mounted on a drive shaft 22 and an idler shaft 23.
  • a motor 24 coupled to the drive shaft rotates the shaft and the sprockets to drive the belt in a direction of travel 26.
  • Bearing blocks 28 support the drive and idler shafts at opposite ends.
  • the conveyor is conventionally supported in a frame, which is omitted from the drawings for clarity.
  • the conveyor also includes a carryway 30, which may be realized as a pan or a set of parallel, longitudinal wearstrips underlying the belt along the conveying portion of the belt path.
  • the belt makes its return trip along a lower returnway 32, which typically would include support rollers or shoes.
  • the belt includes rollers 34 arranged to rotate about axes 36 oblique to the longitudinal direction of belt travel 26. Salient portions of the rollers extend above an outer, top article-conveying surface 38 and below an inner, bottom surface 39 of the belt along the carryway. As the belt advances along the carryway, the salient portions of the rollers extending below the bottom surface of the belt roll on the carryway, which forms a bearing surface for the rollers. For rollers whose axes are about 60° or more from the direction of belt travel, a flat bearing surface suffices. For angles of less than about 60°, a bearing surface formed by carryway rollers underlying the belt is preferred to prevent sliding contact between the belt rollers and the bearing surface.
  • rollers perpendicular to their oblique axes of rotation as the belt is driven in the direction of belt travel directs articles supported on the rollers to a first side 40 of the belt.
  • the rollers are realized as generally cylindrical rollers, each with a central bore that receives an axle defining the axis 36 about which the roller rotates as the belt is driven.
  • the belt extends in width from the first side 40 to a second side 41.
  • a side rail 42 spaced from the first side 40 of the belt across a gap 44 serves two functions: (a) as a registration surface against which articles conveyed on the belt are registered; and (b) as a pivot at which a conveyed article, such as a case 45, can pivot 90°.
  • Rollers 46 in the side rail extend toward the belt to provide low- friction, scratch-resistant contact with the sides of cases, if needed to protect labeling.
  • the width of the gap is preferably less than the minor axis of the smallest case to be rotated.
  • a retarding surface 48 Positioned in the gap between the side rail and the first side of the belt at a fixed position along the carryway is a retarding surface 48, which may be realized as parallel strips 50 of rubber or elastomer mounted to a base 52, such as three rows of an Intralox ® Diamond Friction Top conveyor belt.
  • the gap is shown as open, except for the retarding surface, it could be filled with, as one example, rollers, such as freely rotatable rollers in roller-top belts to provide low- friction support for cases advancing along the side rail in the direction of belt travel.
  • the top surface of the rubber strips may be textured, in a raised diamond pattern, for example, to provide a high- friction contact area supporting a portion of the bottom of a case conveyed atop the strips.
  • any surface material or surface characteristic that slows the advance of a case's side closer to the side rail relative to the side away from the side rail may be used to form the retarding surface.
  • the base of the retarding surface may form a ramp 53, as shown intentionally exaggerated in phantom lines in FIG. 1.
  • the level of the upwardly ramped retarding surface increases in the direction of belt travel from a level at or below the top surface of the belt to a level above the top surface of the belt at the downstream end of the ramp.
  • a ramped retarding surface can be shorter in the direction of belt travel than a horizontal retarding surface, which effects a 90° case rotation in a shorter distance and in less time.
  • a case 45 shown with a generally rectangular footprint has a long major axis 56 and a shorter minor axis 57.
  • the case enters the upstream end 58 of the conveyor belt 12 the "hard way," i.e., with its minor axis parallel to the direction of belt travel 26.
  • the case is then pushed, with little or no rotation, toward the side rail 42 by the rotation of the obliquely arranged belt rollers rolling on the bearing surface in the direction indicated by arrow 60 as the belt advances along the carryway in the direction of belt travel 26.
  • the short side 62 of the case, conveyed along the first side of the conveyor belt is registered against the side rail.
  • the case turner may be used to rotate cases 90° from the “easy way” to the "hard way.”
  • the retarding surface may be selectively activated (raised and lowered, for instance) into and out of contact with the bottoms of cases to rotate only selected cases.
  • the case turner would be equipped with a controller to control an actuator according to a predetermined sequence or according to case- orientation information gathered from one or more upstream sensors. So, as these few examples suggest, the scope of the claims is not meant to be limited to the version described in detail.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Attitude Control For Articles On Conveyors (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un transporteur comprenant un dispositif d'orientation de caisses et un procédé d'orientation de caisses. Le transporteur comprend une courroie de transporteur comprenant des rouleaux de support d'articles effectuant des rotations autour d'axes obliques par rapport à la direction de déplacement de la courroie. Un rail latéral est espacé du côté de la courroie de transporteur d'un interstice. Une surface de retardement disposée dans l'interstice fournit une zone de contact à frottement élevé horizontale ou inclinée vers le haut à une partie du fond d'une caisse située contre le rail latéral. Une autre partie du fond de la caisse reste en contact avec les rouleaux obliques rotatifs. La surface de retardement ralentit l'avancement de la partie de la caisse avec laquelle elle coopère par rapport à la partie située au sommet des rouleaux, ce qui amène la caisse à effectuer une rotation dans une orientation différente.
PCT/US2008/082721 2007-11-09 2008-11-07 Dispositif d'orientation de fonds de caisses Ceased WO2009061981A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP08847328.5A EP2205508A4 (fr) 2007-11-09 2008-11-07 Dispositif d'orientation de fonds de caisses

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US98684007P 2007-11-09 2007-11-09
US60/986,840 2007-11-09

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2009061981A1 true WO2009061981A1 (fr) 2009-05-14

Family

ID=40626182

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US2008/082721 Ceased WO2009061981A1 (fr) 2007-11-09 2008-11-07 Dispositif d'orientation de fonds de caisses

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP2205508A4 (fr)
WO (1) WO2009061981A1 (fr)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2011112449A3 (fr) * 2010-03-08 2011-10-27 Laitram, L.L.C. Système de convoyeur et procédé de triage de paquets
WO2019101772A1 (fr) * 2017-11-21 2019-05-31 Sicpa Holding Sa Appareil d'alignement d'articles en forme de boîte de diverses tailles sur une bande transporteuse, station d'impression, station de lecture et station d'étiquetage le comprenant

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5924549A (en) * 1998-01-23 1999-07-20 Materials Handling Systems, Inc. Container turning device
US5989126A (en) * 1998-03-17 1999-11-23 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Water raft amusement ride including a device for spinning a circular water raft
US7111722B2 (en) * 2004-08-13 2006-09-26 Laitram, L.L.C. Angled-roller belt conveyor

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
NL7302039A (fr) * 1973-02-14 1974-08-16
DE29613864U1 (de) * 1996-08-10 1996-10-10 Geyssel, Jürgen W., 50829 Köln Vorrichtung zum Umsetzen von mit einem Transportmittel transportierten, etwa quaderförmigen Gegenständen
US6923309B2 (en) * 2003-10-03 2005-08-02 Laitram, L.L.C. Article-orienting conveyor
KR20090029783A (ko) * 2006-06-15 2009-03-23 라이트람, 엘엘씨 물품 회전용 벨트 컨베이어

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5924549A (en) * 1998-01-23 1999-07-20 Materials Handling Systems, Inc. Container turning device
US5989126A (en) * 1998-03-17 1999-11-23 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Water raft amusement ride including a device for spinning a circular water raft
US7111722B2 (en) * 2004-08-13 2006-09-26 Laitram, L.L.C. Angled-roller belt conveyor

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See also references of EP2205508A4 *

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2011112449A3 (fr) * 2010-03-08 2011-10-27 Laitram, L.L.C. Système de convoyeur et procédé de triage de paquets
CN102781795A (zh) * 2010-03-08 2012-11-14 莱特拉姆有限责任公司 包装件拣选运送系统和方法
US8528742B2 (en) 2010-03-08 2013-09-10 Laitram, L.L.C. Package-culling conveyor system and method
CN102781795B (zh) * 2010-03-08 2014-11-12 莱特拉姆有限责任公司 包装件拣选运送系统和方法
US9199281B2 (en) 2010-03-08 2015-12-01 Laitram, L. L. C. Conveyor systems and methods
WO2019101772A1 (fr) * 2017-11-21 2019-05-31 Sicpa Holding Sa Appareil d'alignement d'articles en forme de boîte de diverses tailles sur une bande transporteuse, station d'impression, station de lecture et station d'étiquetage le comprenant
CN111433142A (zh) * 2017-11-21 2020-07-17 锡克拜控股有限公司 用于在传送带上对齐各种尺寸的箱形物品的设备、包括该设备的打印站、读取站和贴标站
US11014764B2 (en) 2017-11-21 2021-05-25 Sicpa Holding Sa Apparatus for aligning box-shaped articles of various sizes on a conveyor belt, printing station, reading station, and labelling station including same
CN111433142B (zh) * 2017-11-21 2021-11-16 锡克拜控股有限公司 用于在传送带上对齐各种尺寸的箱形物品的设备、包括该设备的打印站、读取站和贴标站
EA039687B1 (ru) * 2017-11-21 2022-02-28 Сикпа Холдинг Са Устройство для выравнивания коробчатых изделий различных размеров на конвейерной ленте, печатная станция, считывающая станция и этикетировочная станция, содержащая его

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP2205508A4 (fr) 2014-01-08
EP2205508A1 (fr) 2010-07-14

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