Systems and methods for providing an improved timing conveyor

• US 7,770,718 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2006
• Issued: 08/10/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Laitram LLC
• Original Assignee: Laitram LLC
• Inventors: Fourney, Matthew L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawford; Gene
• Assistant Examiner(s): CUMBESS, YOLANDA RENEE
• Application Number:
  US11/610,737
• Publication Number:
  US 20080264757A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,335 Days
• Field of Search: 198/779, 198/850, 198/853
• US Class Current: 198/803.9
• 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 2201/02 Articles
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/28 during transit by a single conveyor
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/29 by temporarily stopping movement stopping elements B65G47/88

Abstract

A conveyor includes a conveyor belt, a plurality of rollers, and a flight. The rollers have lower surfaces configured to engage a roller-engagement surface, and upper surfaces that substantially form a plane, such that the rollers engage the roller-engagement surface and rotate to move an object supported by the rollers over the plane. The flight includes a cam configured to engage a cam surface below the conveyor belt to impart a moment on the flight, and a projection that responds to the moment by rotating from a retracted position to an extended position.

Claims

1. A conveyor comprising:

a conveyor belt having a top surface and a bottom surface;

a plurality of rollers coupled to the conveyor belt, the rollers extending above the top surface and below the bottom surface of the conveyor belt so as to be configured to engage a roller-engagement surface below the conveyor belt and form an object support plane above the conveyor belt, engagement between the rollers and the roller-engagement surface causing the rollers to rotate and move an object supported by the rollers along the conveyor belt; and

a flight coupled to the conveyor belt, the flight including a projection and a cam, the cam being configured to engage a cam-engagement surface below the conveyor belt to impart a moment on the flight that causes the projection to pivot from a retracted position in which the projection is substantially parallel to the object support plane to an extended position in which the projection is substantially perpendicular to the object support plane and halts movement of objects along the conveyor belt.

2. The conveyor of claim 1, wherein the flight does not pivot from the retracted position to the extended position when an object is positioned over the flight.

3. The conveyor of claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt is configured to move objects in a first direction and the roller-engagement surface is configured to move in a second direction that is opposite from the first direction.

4. The conveyor of claim 1, wherein the cam is configured to engage the cam-engagement surface when the flight is in the retracted position, and to not contact the cam-engagement surface when the flight is in the extended position.

5. The conveyor of claim 1, wherein the cam has a relief along a backside that prevents the cam from skidding along the cam-engagement surface once the flight is in the extended position.

6. The conveyor of claim 1, wherein the cam-engagement surface is the same surface as the roller-engagement surface.

7. The conveyor of claim 1, wherein the projection does not extend above the object support plane when the flight is in the retracted position.

8. The conveyor of claim 1, wherein the projection is substantially co-planar with the object support plane when the projection is in the retracted position.

9. The conveyor of claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt includes a plurality of openings in which the rollers and the flights are suspended.

10. The conveyor of claim 9, wherein:

the openings are arranged in rows and columns, each opening being spaced apart from the openings of adjacent rows and columns; and

the flight includes at least two cams, the cams being disposed in adjacent openings and being coupled to each other above the conveyor belt by the projection.

11. The conveyor of claim 9, wherein:

the openings are arranged in rows and columns, each opening being spaced apart from the openings of adjacent rows and columns;

the flight includes at least two cams, the cams being disposed in adjacent openings and being coupled to each other above the conveyor belt by the projection; and

the projection includes a series of interleaving members that fit around adjacent rollers.

12. A conveyor comprising:

a conveyor belt;

a plurality of rollers mounted within the conveyor belt configured to rotate to cause an object on the conveyor belt to travel along the conveyor belt;

a flight mounted to the conveyor belt, the flight having a projection including an object engagement surface, the projection being movable from a retracted position to an extended position in which the object engagement surface extends above and is substantially perpendicular to the conveyor belt so as to form a wall that the object can abut to halt travel of the object along the conveyor belt; and

a roller-engagement surface, wherein the rollers are configured to rotate as a result of engaging the roller-engagement surface.

13. The conveyor of claim 12, wherein the flight does not move from the retracted position to the extended position when an object is positioned over the flight.

14. The conveyor of claim 12, wherein the roller-engagement surface is configured to move in an opposite direction from a direction of belt travel.

15. The conveyor of claim 12, wherein the conveyor belt moves at first speed relative to the ground and the rollers cause the object to move at least substantially twice the first speed relative to the ground.

16. The conveyor of claim 12, wherein:

the projection does not obstruct the movement of the object when in the retracted position, such that the rotating rollers move the object over the projection while the projection is in the retracted position; and

the projection obstructs the movement of the object when in the extended position, such that the conveyor belt moves the object at the first speed relative to the ground when the object abuts the projection.

17. The conveyor of claim 12, further comprising a cam surface, wherein the projection begins and remains in the retracted position until the conveyor belt is positioned adjacent the cam surface and the cam engages the cam surface to rock the flight from the retracted position to the extended position.

18. The conveyor of claim 17, wherein when an object is positioned over the projection and the flight engages the cam surface, the flight temporarily skids on the cam surface so that the flight remains in the retracted position as the rollers continue rotating and move the object off of the projection so that the flight can move into the extended position.

19. The conveyor of claim 12, wherein:

an upper surface of the projection is a material having a relatively low-coefficient of friction, such that when the projection is in the retracted position, the rotating rollers move the object over the projection with relative ease; and

exterior surfaces of the rollers are made of a material having a relatively high coefficient of friction, such that the rotating rollers slip relatively little with respect to the object being moved by the rollers or the roller-engagement surface being engaged to rotate the rollers.

20. A conveyor comprising:

a conveyor belt configured to move objects in a forward direction;

a plurality of rollers coupled to the conveyor and configured to rotate such that objects placed on the conveyor belt in contact with the rotating rollers are moved along the conveyor belt in the forward direction;

a positioning component coupled to the conveyor belt and configured to halt movement of the object with respect to the conveyor belt; and

a roller-engagement surface positioned adjacent the conveyor belt and configured to engage the rollers to rotate the rollers, the roller-engagement surface being configured to move in a rearward direction opposite from the forward direction of belt travel.

21. The conveyor of claim 20, wherein:

the conveyor belt is configured to move at a first speed relative to the ground; and

the roller-engagement surface is configured to move at speed that is greater than zero, such that the rotating rollers move objects at a second speed that that is more than twice the first speed relative to the ground.