Conveyor having rollers actuated by electromagnetic induction
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A conveyor comprising:
- a conveyor belt having a plurality of electrically conductive rollers having axes of rotation;
a magnetic-field source generating a magnetic field passing through the conveyor belt and inducing a current in the electrically conductive rollers that causes the electrically conductive rollers to rotate.
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Abstract
Conveyor rollers rotated by electromagnetic induction to propel articles conveyed atop the rollers. A magnetic-field source induces a current in the electrically conductive rollers that causes them to rotate. The rollers can be mounted in conveyor belts or immobile mats. The magnetic-field source can be static if the rollers are advance through the field or dynamic. Alternatively, the rollers can be magnetic and induce a current in a stationary electrically conductive plate that creates interacting magnetic fields to rotate the rollers.
32 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A conveyor comprising:
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a conveyor belt having a plurality of electrically conductive rollers having axes of rotation; a magnetic-field source generating a magnetic field passing through the conveyor belt and inducing a current in the electrically conductive rollers that causes the electrically conductive rollers to rotate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A conveyor comprising:
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a magnetic circuit having a magnetic-field source forming a primary side of the magnetic circuit and an electrically conductive element forming a secondary side of the magnetic circuit, wherein the magnetic-field source provides a primary magnetic field that induces a current in the electrically conductive element that provides a secondary field; a plurality of rollers forming a mat supporting conveyed articles; wherein each of the rollers is one of the magnetic-field source and the electrically conductive element and the other of the magnetic-field source and the electrically conductive element resides proximate the mat so that the primary and secondary magnetic fields coact to rotate the plurality of rollers. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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- 18. A conveyor belt advanceable in a direction of belt travel and comprising a plurality of modular body sections and a plurality of electrically conductive rollers supported in the body sections and serving as secondaries of magnetic circuits in which a primary magnetic field passing through the electrically conductive rollers as the conveyor belt advances induces currents in the electrically conductive rollers that produce secondary magnetic fields that interact with the primary magnetic field to produce forces acting on the electrically conductive rollers that cause the electrically conductive rollers to rotate.
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24. A method for conveying articles, the method comprising:
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supporting articles atop electrically conductive rollers in a conveyor belt; subjecting the electrically conductive rollers to a magnetic field; inducing a current in the electrically conductive rollers with the magnetic field to rotate the electrically conductive rollers; and propelling articles along the conveyor belt with the rotating electrically conductive rollers. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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Specification