Patent Application
20250136381
This invention relates generally to a system, method, and apparatus for automatically adjusting lanes of a conveyor system.
Conventional conveyor systems may include one or more lanes for separation and travel of individual conveyed products, such as cartons, bottles, cans, boxes, etc. The conveyor lanes are typically adjustable with physical lane spacers and related hardware. Current systems require operators to remove lane spacers, manually move the lanes into position, and then install new lane spacers. This process is time and labor consuming, requires additional onsite storage, and causes production delays.
The invention generally relates to a system, method and apparatus for automatically adjusting lanes of a conveyor system.
A preferred embodiment utilizes an automated change-over process for laned conveyers. This process can either be done automatically via motors or manually, for instance with a hand-crank. The subject invention can adjust lanes to fit various conveyed product, such as containers like bottles or cans, widths and offsets.
In a preferred embodiment, there are two driven ACME threads: one for the lane width adjustments, and the other for offset. The use of the ACME threads creates a non-backdriveable system so that the forces of the conveyed products acting on the lanes will not alter the lane positions.
The width adjustment is preferably controlled via a scissor system. This method allows the lanes to all remain equal in width throughout the changeover process. The change in offset is made possible by mounting the entire scissor system on linear slides.
The entire scissor mechanism is preferably mounted to uprights and repeated down the length of the lane dividers. At least a portion, and preferably all, of the width and offset ACME threads are tied together via chains and sprockets, respectively. The resulting system provides the ability to move the lane width and offset independent of each other.
Other objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the appended claims and drawings.
The present invention provides a system, apparatus and method for automatically adjusting lanes of a conveyor system. A conveyor system according to the subject invention is shown in
Conventional conveyor systems typically include fixed lanes that must be disassembled and reinstalled with new spacers to permit changeover of container sizes and configurations. The subject system preferably installs on existing systems and prevents or minimizes the need for time consuming changeover.
As shown in
Two or more lane dividers 40 are preferably positioned between the side walls 20. The lane dividers 40 are preferably generally rigid bars or rails that provide discrete lane paths for conveyed products.
One or more rails 50 are preferably positioned between opposite uprights. The rails 50 may be slide rails or a similar arrangement that permits movement of the subject mechanisms across the rails 50 and generally perpendicular to a direction of travel of the conveyor 10. Linear slides 70 may be positioned along the rails to enable smooth linear motion of the lane dividers 40. The linear slides 70 are preferably each connected to a divider 40 to enable free sliding movement of the respective dividers 40 into a desired position.
A scissor mechanism 60 is preferably positioned along the rails 50 and connected with respect to the lane dividers 40. The scissor mechanism 60 is configured to independently adjust lane width from the offset distance. As used herein, “offset” is the distance a lane arrangement is from a centerline (or a datum line) of the conveyor 10. As such, the scissor mechanism 60 can adjust both a distance within the lane and a distance between lanes, preferably independently. In an embodiment shown in the figures, the lane width is adjustable with the scissor mechanism 60 and the offset is adjustable with the linear slide 70 and rails 50. In this embodiment, the lane width and the offset are independently adjustable. The scissor mechanism 60 and the lane dividers 40 are preferably configured to maintain equal spacing of all lane widths, although differing widths may be preferable in some applications.
The scissor mechanism 60 may be driven by one or more motors 120 configured to move the scissor mechanism. Alternatively, or in addition, a hand crank 130 may be configured to move the scissor mechanism.
In one embodiment of this invention, a plurality of sprockets 80 may be positioned along the side walls 20. The plurality of sprockets 80 may be connected to a chain 90 configured to move the scissor mechanism 60, preferably in a synchronized fashion across the system.
The conveyor system preferably further includes driven ACME threads 102, 104 extending transversely across the lanes in association with each rail 50. Specifically, a width ACME thread 102 and an offset ACME thread 104 are positioned between each opposite upright 30, each dedicated to adjusting the lane width and the offset, respectively. The ACME threads 102, 104 are preferably non-backdriveable so as to prevent movement of the width or offset generated by the flow of conveyed products.
The invention illustratively disclosed herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element, part, step, component, or ingredient which is not specifically disclosed herein.
While in the foregoing detailed description this invention has been described in relation to certain preferred embodiments thereof, and many details have been set forth for purposes of illustration, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is susceptible to additional embodiments and that certain of the details described herein can be varied considerably without departing from the basic principles of the invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application, Ser. No. 63/545,652, filed on 25 Oct. 2023. The co-pending provisional application is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety and is made a part hereof, including but not limited to those portions which specifically appear hereinafter.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63545652 | Oct 2023 | US |
