Sorting conveyor provided with tilting bowls

• US 7,284,654 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2004
• Issued: 10/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Dematic SRL (KION GROUP AG)
• Original Assignee: Dematic SRL (KION GROUP AG)
• Inventors: Mignano, Paolo, Affaticati, Artemio G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bidwell; James R.
• Application Number:
  US10/547,888
• Publication Number:
  US 20060260908A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,364 Days
• Field of Search: 198/370.01, 198/370.03, 198/370.04
• US Class Current: 198/370.04
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/962 tilting about an axis substantially parallel to the conveying direction

Abstract

The invention relates to a sorting conveyor provided with tilting bowls consisting of trucks coupled to each other and transporting carrying bowls which are tilted to an unloading position by a rotary drive arranged on the truck. The rotary drive is connected by a free lower end to a swinging lever which extends downwards and rotates around a pivot axis on the truck. The lever carries the bowl by an opposite top end thereof. The rotary drive is fixed to the free lower end of the swinging lever and is provided with an electric motor.

Claims

1. A sorting conveyor for goods such as packages, parcels, containers and baggage, said sorting conveyor comprising:

a plurality of cars coupled to one another to form a train, said cars being moveable along running rails, each said car comprising;

at least one carrier bowl arranged said car, said carrier bowl being pivotable from a horizontal transport position about both sides of a tilting axis extending in the direction of travel to an unloading position for delivering conveyed goods transported on the carrier bowl; and

a tilting drive adapted to control the pivoting movement of said carrier bowl, said tilting drive acting on the free, lower end of at least one tilting lever, said tilting lever extending downwards and being pivotable about said tilting axis mounted on said car, said tilting lever bearing the carrier bowl centrally at an opposite, upper end of said tilting lever;

said tilting drive being fixed to the free, lower end of said tilting lever and comprising an electric motor having an alterable direction of rotation, and at least one pinion adapted to be driven by said electric motor and having an axis of rotation which is parallel to said tilting axis, said pinion corresponding to an arched, toothed rod, said toothed rod being fixed to said car transversely with respect to the direction of travel and extending equidistantly with respect to the tilting axis of said carrier bowls, said toothed rod having a radian measure that at least corresponds to the maximum pendulum angle of said tilting lever required for tilting said carrier bowl into the unloading positions.

2. The sorting conveyor of claim 1, wherein each said pinion is arranged directly on an output shaft of said electric motor.

3. The sorting conveyor of claim 2, wherein two said tilting levers act on each said carrier bowl, said electric motor being fixed between the lower, free ends of said tilting levers, and wherein said electric motor includes, at each of two ends of said motor shaft, a toothed wheel, and wherein each said toothed wheel corresponds to one of two arched, toothed rods fixed to said car.

4. The sorting conveyor of claim 1, wherein said electric motor is adapted to be driven by a controller, said controller being arranged in the upper region of said tilting lever close to said carrier bowl.

5. The sorting conveyor of claim 1, wherein a latching mechanism is provided between at least one of said tilting levers and said car, said latching mechanism being adapted to enable said carrier bowl to be locked in the horizontal transport position.

6. The sorting conveyor of claim 5, wherein said latching mechanism comprises a locking bolt arranged on at least one of said tilting levers, said locking bolt adapted to being electromagnetically latched to said car.

7. The sorting conveyor of claim 6, wherein the pendulum angle of at least one of said tilting levers can be controlled electronically and can be delimited by end stops provided on both sides of the pendulum path on said car.

8. The sorting conveyor of claim 7, wherein said end stops interact mechanically with said locking bolt arranged on said tilting lever.

9. The sorting conveyor of claim 8, wherein the horizontal transport position of said carrier bowl can be set by spring force acting on at least one said tilting lever.

10. The sorting conveyor of claim 9, wherein the spring force is provided by a leaf spring, said leaf spring being clamped at one end and extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of said tilting lever in the relieved position, said leaf spring storing the resetting spring force between stops on said car as soon as said tilting lever is deflected out of the rest position.

11. The sorting conveyor of claim 10, further including contact collector lines on the travel path of said car, said contact collector lines adapted to feed in at least one selected from the group consisting of an electrical drive current and a control current.

12. The sorting conveyor of claim 4, wherein said carrier bowl can be pivoted in a targeted manner from the horizontal to any desired position between the horizontal transport position and the unloading position with the aid of said tilting drive and said controller, and wherein said carrier bowl can be fixed temporarily in this position.

13. The sorting conveyor of claim 4, wherein the duration, the speed and the acceleration of the tilting operation of said carrier bowl can be controlled.

14. The sorting conveyor of claim 4, wherein the tilting operation of said carrier bowl can be controlled as a function of the size, the position and the weight of the conveyed goods lying on said carrier bowl.

15. The sorting conveyor of claim 1, wherein two carrier bowls are arranged on at least one said car, and wherein the tilting movement of said two carrier bowls is adapted to be controlled independently or to be controlled simultaneously.

16. The sorting conveyor of claim 4, further including a control system, said control system comprising:

a power supply line for said control system;

communications lines between a junction box connected to an upstream computer and said controllers arranged on the individual said cars;

a communications line between said controllers of adjacent said cars of said train for self-addressing of said cars; and

a power supply line between said controller of each said car and the associated said electric motor.

17. The sorting conveyor of claim 1, wherein the pendulum angle of at least one of said tilting levers can be controlled electronically and can be delimited by end stops provided on both sides of the pendulum path on said car.

18. The sorting conveyor of claim 1, wherein the horizontal transport position of said carrier bowl can be set by spring force acting on at least one said tilting lever.

19. The sorting conveyor of claim 18, wherein the spring force is provided by a leaf spring, said leaf spring being clamped at one end and extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of said tilting lever in the relieved position, said leaf spring storing the resetting spring force between stops on said car as soon as said tilting lever is deflected out of the rest position.

20. The sorting conveyor of claim 1, further including contact collector lines on the travel path of said car, said contact collector lines adapted to feed in at least one selected from the group consisting of an electrical drive current and a control current.

21. The sorting conveyor of claim 16, wherein each said car of said sorting conveyor further includes a locking bolt arranged on said tilting lever, said locking bolt adapted to being electromagnetically latched to said car to enable said carrier bowl to be locked in the horizontal transport position, and wherein said power supply line between said controller of each said car and the associated said electric motor is also between said locking bolt.

22. A method for controlling a sorting conveyor, said sorting conveyor comprising:

a plurality of cars coupled to one another to form a train, each said car comprising;

at least one pivotable carrier bowl arranged on said car;

a tilting drive adapted to control the pivoting movement of said carrier bowl, said tilting drive being fixed to a tilting lever and comprising an electric motor and at least one pinion driven by said electric motor;

a controller adapted to drive said electric motor; and

a control system comprising a power supply line, communications lines between a junction box connected to an upstream computer and said controllers arranged on the individual said cars, a communications line between said controllers of adjacent said cars of said train for self-addressing of said cars, and a power supply line between said controller of each said car and the associated said electric motor;

said method comprising;

communicating information required for operating the transport system from an upstream computer in which the information is stored to said junction box;

providing a master controller, arranged on a said car coupled to said train with an address from said junction box;

passing on the address for self-addressing purposes to a further said car of said train;

receiving the address by the said controller of the further said car of train;

self-configuring of said controller with the address;

repeating the steps of passing on the address for self-configuration purposes to the next car, receiving the address, and self-configuring until all cars of the train have been configured.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising providing activation commands for the electric motor for the purpose of altering the position of the tilting lever, wherein the activation commands are fed to said controllers arranged on the individual said cars via said communications lines between said junction box connected to the upstream computer and said controllers.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising exchanging information relating to system diagnostics and statistics via said communications lines.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein each said car of said sorting conveyor further includes a locking bolt arranged on said tilting lever, said locking bolt adapted to being electromagnetically latched to said car to enable said carrier bowl to be locked in the horizontal transport position, and wherein said power supply line between said controller of each said car and the associated said electric motor is further between said locking bolt, said method further comprising unlatching the locking bolt for the tilting lever electromagnetically prior to activation of said electric motor.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein each said car of said sorting conveyor further includes a locking bolt arranged on said tilting lever, said locking bolt adapted to being electromagnetically latched to said car to enable said carrier bowl to be locked in the horizontal transport position, and wherein said power supply line between said controller of each said car and the associated said electric motor is further between said locking bolt, said method further comprising unlatching the locking bolt for the tilting lever electromagnetically prior to activation of said electric motor.