Angled-roller article-rotating belt conveyor

• US 7,007,792 B1
• Filed: 03/08/2005
• Issued: 03/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Laitram LLC
• Original Assignee: Laitram LLC
• Inventors: Burch, Ronald H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bidwell, James R.
• Application Number:
  US10/906,832
• Time in Patent Office: 364 Days
• Field of Search: 198850-853, 198/597, 198/779, 198/457.02, 198/370.03, 198/370.09
• US Class Current: 198/457.02
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 17/24 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
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2203/0225 Orientation of the article
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2203/042 Sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/22 Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors during feeding B65G47/14
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/244 by turning them about an axis substantially perpendicular to the conveying plane

Abstract

A conveyor system including a pair of roller-top belts arranged side by side, each individually controllable to cause articles conveyed atop both to rotate into preferred orientations. The roller-top belts include rollers that rotate about axes oblique to the direction of belt travel. The rollers on each belt direct conveyed articles toward the other belt as the belts advance in the direction of belt travel and the rollers contact an underlying bearing surface in rolling contact. The rotation of the rollers exerts a force on articles conveyed atop the rollers. The force has a component directed toward the other belt and another component directed downstream. A sensor array senses the footprint of an article at an upstream location and sends signals to a controller that determines the size and orientation of the article to selectively stop one or the other roller-top belt if necessary to rotate the article to change its orientation.

Claims

1. A conveyor comprising:

first and second conveyor belts in the form of belt loops, each conveyor belt extending in width from a first side to a second side and in thickness from an outer surface to an inner surface, wherein the first and second conveyor belts are disposed parallel to each other with the first side of the first conveyor belt adjacent the second side of the second conveyor belt, a portion of the loops defining a carryway along which articles are conveyed along the outer surfaces from an upstream end of the carryway to an opposite downstream end;

a first drive engaging the first conveyor belt to advance the first conveyor belt along the carryway in a direction of belt travel from the upstream end to the downstream end;

a second drive engaging the second conveyor belt to advance the second conveyor belt along the carryway in the direction of belt travel;

wherein the first and second conveyor belts include a plurality of rollers protruding beyond the outer and inner surfaces of the first and second conveyor belts;

at least one bearing surface underlying the first and second conveyor belts along a portion of the carryway, the rollers protruding beyond the inner surfaces of the first and second conveyor belts into rolling contact with the bearing surface to rotate as the first and second conveyor belts advance in the direction of belt travel;

wherein the rollers in the first conveyor belt are arranged to rotate about first axes oblique to the direction of belt travel to exert a first force to articles conveyed atop the rollers in rolling contact with the bearing surface to urge the articles downstream and toward the second conveyor belt and wherein the rollers in the second conveyor belt are arranged to rotate about second axes oblique to the direction of belt travel to exert a second force to articles conveyed atop the rollers in rolling contact with the bearing surface to urge the articles downstream and toward the first conveyor belt;

a controller coupled to one or both of the first and second drives to selectively stop either of the first and second conveyor belts while the other conveyor belt continues to advance.

2. A conveyor as in claim 1 further comprising a first sensor disposed proximate the upstream end of conveyor and sending a first signal to the controller indicative of the orientation of an article conveyed along the carryway.

3. A conveyor as in claim 2 wherein the first sensor comprises an array of individual sensors each sending individual first signals to the controller.

4. A conveyor as in claim 2 wherein the controller is capable of stopping one or the other of the first and second conveyor belts in response to the first signal.

5. A conveyor as in claim 4 wherein the controller stops the first or second conveyor belt for a predetermined period of time.

6. A conveyor as in claim 4 wherein the controller is capable of speeding up one or the other of the first and second conveyor belts in response to the first signal.

7. A conveyor as in claim 2 further comprising a second sensor disposed at an upstream position along the carryway sending a second signal to the controller indicative of the presence of an article in position to be sensed by the first sensor.

8. A conveyor as in claim 2 further comprising a third sensor disposed along the carryway proximate the upstream end of the bearing surface to send a third signal to the controller indicative of the presence of a conveyed article at that position along the carryway and wherein the controller selectively sends a stop signal to one of the first and second drives after receipt of the third signal.

9. A conveyor as in claim 1 wherein the bearing surface underlies the first and second conveyor belts at the downstream end of the carryway.

10. A conveyor comprising:

a carryway including first and second roller-top conveyor belts disposed side by side between an upstream end and a downstream end of the carryway to convey articles atop rollers in the first and second roller-top conveyor belts;

a bearing surface underlying the first and second roller-top conveyor belts along a portion of the carryway;

the rollers in the first and second roller-top conveyor belts having salient portions supporting conveyed articles along the carryway and engaging the bearing surface in rolling contact as the belts advance along the carryway in a direction of belt travel;

wherein the rollers in the first conveyor belt in rolling contact with the bearing surface are arranged to rotate about first axes oriented to urge conveyed articles toward the second conveyor belt as the first conveyor belt advances and wherein the rollers in the second conveyor belt in rolling contact with the bearing surface are arranged to rotate about second axes oriented to urge conveyed articles toward the first conveyor belt as the first second conveyor belt advances;

first and second drives coupled to the first and second roller-top conveyor belts to selectively stop the advance of either of the roller-top conveyor belts as the other continues to advance.

11. A conveyor as in claim 10 further comprising sensors sensitive to the orientation of a conveyed article and a controller coupled to the first and second drives to selectively send a stop signal to either of the first and second drives in response to signals from the sensors.

12. A conveyor as in claim 11 wherein a portion of the sensors are arranged in an array having a geometry selected to enable the controller to determine the major axis of a conveyed article and the angular orientation of the major axis relative to the direction of belt travel.

13. A conveyor as in claim 12 wherein the controller sends the stop signal to one of the first and second drives whenever the major axis exceeds a predetermined major-axis value and the angular orientation of the major axis differs from the direction of belt travel by more than a predetermined angle value.

14. A conveyor as in claim 10 wherein the drives stop the conveyor belts for a predetermined period of time.

15. A conveyor as in claim 10 wherein one of the first and second drives speeds up one of the first and second roller-top conveyor belts while the other is stopped.

16. An article-rotating conveyor comprising:

a conveyor arrangement extending from an upstream end to a downstream end and comprising a pair of individually driven conveyor belts disposed side by side across a gap, each conveyor belt including rollers, each roller having a salient portion extending past top and bottom belt surfaces and rotatable on an axis that intersects the gap at a position upstream of the roller, the conveyor arrangement defining a carryway along which articles are conveyed atop the rollers as the belts advance from the upstream end toward the downstream end;

the carryway having an active portion underlain by a bearing surface contacting the rollers extending past the bottom belt surfaces to cause the rollers to rotate as the conveyor belts advance and an inactive portion in which the rollers extending past the bottom belt surfaces are out of contact with a bearing surface;

a controller coupled to the conveyor arrangement to selectively stop the advance of one or the other of the pair of conveyor belts when a conveyed article is in the active portion of the carryway to cause the conveyed article to rotate.

17. A conveyor as in claim 16 further comprising a first sensor disposed proximate the upstream end of conveyor and sending a first signal to the controller indicative of the orientation of an article conveyed along the carryway.

18. A conveyor as in claim 17 wherein the first sensor comprises an array of individual sensors each sending individual first signals to the controller.

19. A conveyor as in claim 17 wherein the controller is capable of stopping one or the other of the first and second conveyor belts in response to the first signal.

20. A conveyor as in claim 19 wherein the controller stops the first or second conveyor belt for a predetermined period of time.

21. A conveyor as in claim 17 wherein the controller is capable of speeding up one of the first and second conveyor belts while the other is stopped.

22. A conveyor as in claim 17 further comprising a second sensor disposed at an upstream position along the carryway sending a second signal to the controller indicative of the presence of an article in position to be sensed by the first sensor.

23. A conveyor as in claim 17 further comprising a third sensor disposed along the carryway proximate the upstream end of the bearing surface to send a third signal to the controller indicative of the presence of a conveyed article at that position along the carryway and wherein the controller selectively sends a stop signal to one of the first and second drives after receipt of the third signal.

24. A conveyor comprising:

first and second individually driven conveyor belts forming belt loops, each conveyor belt extending in width from a first side to a second side and in thickness from an outer surface to an inner surface, wherein the first and second conveyor belts are disposed parallel to each other with the first side of the first conveyor belt adjacent the second side of the second conveyor belt, a portion of the loops defining a carryway along which articles are conveyed along the outer surfaces from an upstream end of the carryway to an opposite downstream end;

the first and second conveyor belts including a plurality of rollers protruding beyond the outer and inner surfaces of the first and second conveyor belts;

a bearing surface underlying the first and second conveyor belts along at least a portion of the carryway, the rollers extending from the inner surfaces of the first and second conveyor belts into rolling contact with the bearing surface to rotate as the first and second conveyor belts advance in a direction of belt travel;

wherein each of the rollers in the first conveyor belt is arranged to rotate about an axis intersecting the first side of the first conveyor belt at a position upstream of the roller and wherein each of the rollers in the second conveyor belt is arranged to rotate about an axis intersecting the second side of the second conveyor belt at a position upstream of the roller;

a controller coupled to one or both of the first and second conveyor belts to selectively stop either of the first and second conveyor belts while the other conveyor belt continues to advance.

25. A conveyor as in claim 24 further comprising sensors sending signals indicative of the orientation of conveyed articles to the controller from which signals the controller decides whether to stop either of the first and second conveyor belts.

26. A conveyor as in claim 25 wherein the sensors are arranged in an array having a geometry selected to enable the controller to determine the major axis of a conveyed article and the angular orientation of the major axis relative to the direction of belt travel from the signals.

27. A conveyor comprising:

a first roller-top conveyor belt arranged to be driven in a direction of belt travel along a carryway;

a second roller-top belt arranged side by side with the first roller-top conveyor belt along the carryway;

a bearing surface underlying the first and second roller-top conveyor belts along at least a portion of the carryway;

each of the first and second roller-top conveyor belts including rollers contacting the bearing surface in the carryway to rotate the rollers as the roller-top conveyor belts are driven in the direction of belt travel;

wherein the rollers on each roller-top conveyor belt are arranged to exert on conveyed articles forces having components directed toward the other roller-top conveyor belt as the rollers are rotated by contact with the bearing surface;

a drive system coupled to the first and second roller-top conveyor belts to selectively stop one of the roller-top conveyor belts while the other advances in the direction of belt travel for a sufficient time to rotate an article being conveyed atop both roller-top belts.

28. A conveyor as in claim 27 wherein the drive system comprises:

a first drive coupled to the first roller-top conveyor belt to start and stop the advance of the first roller-top conveyor belt in the direction of belt travel;

a second drive coupled to the second roller-top conveyor belt to start and stop the advance of the second roller-top conveyor belt in the direction of belt travel;

a controller coupled to the first and second drives to control the starting and stopping of the first and second roller-top conveyor belts.

29. A conveyor as in claim 28 further comprising sensors sending signals to the controller indicative of the size and orientation of articles conveyed on the conveyor.

30. A method for rotating an article comprising:

selecting a first conveyor belt extending in width from a first side to a second side and having rollers that protrude past outer and inner surfaces of the belt and that are arranged to rotate on first axes forming acute angles measured counterclockwise from the first side of the belt;

selecting a second conveyor belt extending in width from a first side to a second side and having rollers that extend past outer and inner surfaces of the belt and that are arranged to rotate on second axes forming acute angles measured clockwise from the second side of the belt;

arranging the first and second conveyor belts side by side with the first side of the first conveyor belt adjacent to the second side of the second conveyor belt;

supporting a portion of the first and second conveyor belts atop an underlying bearing surface contacting the rollers protruding past the bottom surfaces to rotate the rollers as the belts advance;

advancing the first and second conveyor belts in a direction of belt travel;

putting an article atop the rollers protruding past the outer surfaces of the first and second conveyor belts advancing in the direction of belt travel;

stopping one of the first and second conveyor belts from advancing to rotate the article atop the rollers as the other of the belts continues to advance.

31. The method of claim 30 further comprising:

arranging an array of sensors in a position to sense the orientation of the article.

32. The method of claim 30 further comprising:

sensing the orientation of the article atop the rollers.

33. The method of claim 30 further comprising:

determining the length of the major axis of the article and the angular orientation of the major axis relative to the direction of belt travel.

34. The method of claim 33 further comprising:

selecting which one of the first and second conveyor belts to stop depending on the length of the major axis of the article and the angular orientation of the major axis.

35. The method of claim 30 further comprising:

while stopping one of the first and second conveyor belts from advancing, speeding up the other.