Patent Application
20230339698
Applicant claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of German Application No. 10 2022 109 936.9 filed Apr. 25, 2022, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to a conveyor element for transporting goods, having a hook element for suspension on a conveyor rail and a holder hanging on the hook element, on which holder one or more goods can be received, and a conveyor device.
US 2003/0006123 A1 discloses a conveyor device with a guide rail on which a plurality of pawls are driven in rotation. The pawls have a receptacle into which an upper hook of a clothes hanger can be inserted in order to move it along the guide rail. Such a conveyor has proven itself, but problems can arise when adjacent hangers are pushed on top of each other and get caught in each other, so that the conveyor comes to a standstill. Therefore, in these conveyors, the hangers are arranged at a predetermined stowage distance, which depends on the length of the pawl. The longer the pawl, the greater the fixed accumulation distance between the clothes hangers. By lengthening the pawls, the accumulation distance can be increased, but this also reduces the transport capacity.
EP 2620394 B1 discloses a conveyor system with carrier bags, in which carriers can be moved along a conveyor rail with a U-shaped cross-section, which roll with rollers on the inwardly projecting webs of the conveyor rail. The carrier bags are then suspended from the carrier at a suspension point and can be opened and closed by means of a mechanism. Spacers are provided on the conveyor rail to stop the carriers at a predetermined distance and to prevent adjacent bags from piling up. In the case of such a carrier with rollers, there is the problem that these are exposed to high mechanical loads, especially on downhill sections and at accumulation areas, and have to be replaced due to wear, which makes the operation of such a conveyor system costly. In addition, the control of the drivers along the accumulation sections with the spacers is complex.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to create a conveyor element and a conveyor device that enable reliable spacing of the conveyor elements by simple mechanical means and ensure a high transport capacity.
This object is achieved according to the invention with a conveyor element for transporting goods comprises a hook element for hanging on a conveyor rail and a holder hanging on the hook element, on which holder one or more goods can be received, wherein the hook element comprises a first hook and at least one second hook, between which at least one engagement opening is formed.
This allows a pawl of a pawl conveyor to engage the engagement opening to move the hook element along a conveyor rail. By providing two spaced hooks, the accumulation distance of multiple conveyor elements along the conveyor rail is increased so that there is less accumulation pressure when multiple conveyor elements are arranged side by side along an accumulation path. At the same time, the length of a pawl of the pawl conveyor can be kept the same in an existing installation, which keeps the transport capacity high. In addition, the use of two hooks distributes a weight load on the bearing surface, which reduces wear and tear.
The distance between the first hook and the at least one second hook is preferably at least as long as the length of the receptacle of a pawl, so that the pawl lifts on the rear hook in the direction of movement, but securely grips the front hook. The tip of the pawl engages between the rear and front hooks.
Preferably, the at least one engagement opening is provided at the uppermost area of the hook element in the hanging position. This allows a pawl to engage between the two hooks from above. The distance between the first hook and the second hook in the conveying direction can be, for example, between 5 mm to 100 mm, in particular between 10 mm to 50 mm. This allows a pawl with a tip to engage between the two hooks and the stowage distance is extended correspondingly to the distance between the two hooks compared to a conveyor element with only a single hook.
For a stable design of the conveyor element, the first hook is preferably connected to the second hook at a free end, optionally via a separate connecting element or by an integral one-piece design. The first hook and the second hook can optionally be integrally formed with each other from a bent wire. The free ends of the wire can be fixed to a plastic body so that the opening between the two hooks is completely closed.
For effective handling of the conveyor element, the holder is hingedly connected to the hook element. In this case the holder can be connected to the hook element via a double joint that is rotatable in two axes. A first axis preferably extends horizontally and perpendicularly to the conveying direction, while a second axis extends vertically to enable movement of the holder on the hook element. Preferably, the holder is biased into an initial position by gravity in this case. For this purpose, corresponding guide surfaces can be provided on the hook element and the holder, so that when the holder is rotated about an axis, in particular the vertical axis, the holder is simultaneously lifted so that the holder rotates back to the starting position without the effect of force due to gravity and lowers itself in the process.
To prevent several adjacent conveyor elements from being inclined, the thickness of the hook element in the conveying direction is preferably essentially the same as the thickness of the holder. This allows several conveyor elements to be pushed together without them being inclined.
The holder preferably comprises a bracket. A projection can be formed on the holder, in particular on the bracket, on one side in the conveying direction and a receptacle for a projection of an adjacent holder on a side opposite to the conveying direction. Similarly, a receptacle can be provided on the holder on one side in the conveying direction and a projection can be provided on the side opposite the conveying direction, which can be inserted into a receptacle of an adjacent holder. This design enables adjacent conveyor elements to be centered and fixed to each other so that, after being pushed together, they can only be moved as a unit in different directions, in particular can only be pivoted around the conveyor rail as a unit. The projection on the holder can in this case be conical in order to achieve centring when pushed together.
The holder may be designed for transporting items of clothing and may only comprise a retaining bracket. Preferably, however, the holder also comprises a bag in which objects can be placed for transport. Such bags can be opened automatically via opening mechanisms and can transport different objects.
For a stable structure, a bolt made of metal can be provided on the hook element, from which the holder hangs. The holder can hang on the bolt via another connecting bolt, which are aligned at right angles to each other so that a rotary movement about two different axes is possible.
The hook element preferably comprises a body made of plastic to which the at least two hooks are fixed. A memory element can optionally be provided on the plastic body for identifying the hook element and the goods transported with the conveyor element.
According to the invention, a conveyor device with a conveyor rail and a pawl conveyor with a plurality of rotating pawls is also provided, wherein at least one conveyor element can be moved along the conveyor rail by means of the pawls. Such conveyors enable reliable transport and sorting of goods, wherein the pawl element is preferably movable along the conveyor rail with sliding surfaces to avoid wear of guide rollers. The individual conveyor elements can be easily separated via the engagement opening on the hook element.
Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed as an illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.
In the drawings,
A conveyor 1 comprises a conveyor rail 2 along which a pawl conveyor 3 with a plurality of pawls 4 can be moved. The pawl conveyor 3 is driven in rotation and comprises pawls 4 which are pivotably mounted in order to move conveyor elements 5 hanging on the conveyor rail 2.
Each conveyor element 5 comprises a hook element 6 from which a holder 7 hangs. The holder 7 comprises a bracket from which hangs a bag 14 that can be opened via a swivelling opening element 15 in order to insert goods into or remove goods from the bag 14.
Each hook element 6 comprises a first hook 8 and a second hook 9, both of which are suspended from the conveyor rail 2 and between which an engagement opening 10 is provided. This distributes the weight load of the conveyor element 5 over two hooks 8 and 9.
Each pawl 4 of the pawl conveyor 3 is mounted to pivot about a horizontal axis 11 and is guided, for example, on a chain or a cable. The pawl 4 rests from above on the conveyor rail 2 or on one of the hooks 8 or 9 and comprises a tip 12 at the end facing away from the axis 11 which can engage in the engagement opening 10 between the two hooks 8 and 9 in order to move the hook element 6 along the conveyor rail 2.
In
In
The bracket-shaped holder 7 comprises a projection 16 in the conveying direction, which can be inserted into a recess or receptacle 17 of an adjacent holder 7. The holder 7 comprises a projection 16 both in the conveying direction and against the conveying direction, and receptacles 17 are formed on the holder 7 on the opposite side. The projections 16 and receptacles 17 are each tapered (shaped in form of a conical frustum) so that adjacent holders 7 are aligned when they are joined together. Other geometries of projections 16 and receptacles 17 can also be used and the positioning of the projections 16 and receptacles 17 can also be changed.
Because of gravity and the formation of the side walls 22, the holder 7 is thus biased into an initial position in which the holder 7 is aligned substantially perpendicular to the conveyor rail. The bolts 18 and 20 may be made of metal in this case to ensure stable support of the goods in the bag 14.
The plastic body 23 further comprises a memory element 24 for identifying the conveyor element 5 and thus the goods transported therein. The memory element 24 can be designed as an RFID chip or other memory element.
In
Even if the conveyor elements 5 are arranged at the minimum distance, the foremost conveyor element 5 in each case can be gripped by a pawl 4, which engages with its tip 12 in the engagement opening 10 between the two hooks 8 and 9 in order to separate it from the other conveyor elements 5.
In addition, depending on the required accumulation distance, the distance between the two hooks 8 and 9 can be changed and depending on the transport capacity, the length of the pawls 4 can be changed.
Although only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2022 109 936.9 | Apr 2022 | DE | national |
