Method and device for discharging piece goods from a conveying apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9394118-B2
Application number	US-201514641737-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 9, 2015
Priority date	Mar 11, 2014
Publication date	Jul 19, 2016
Grant date	Jul 19, 2016

Abstract

Conveying apparatus including a plurality of conveying vehicles that can be moved along a movement path by the force of gravity independently of one another for conveying piece goods. The conveying apparatus also includes a discharging device for discharging piece goods from the conveying vehicles to a receiving device as well as an entraining device with a plurality of actively driven entrainment devices. The conveying vehicles include contact elements for producing a guiding contact with the entrainment devices. The entraining device supplies the conveying vehicles to a discharging region of the discharging device while exerting a holding-back contact with the contact elements and guides the conveying vehicles out of the discharging region again while exerting an entraining contact with the contact elements.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A conveying apparatus including:
a plurality of conveying vehicles that can be moved along a movement path independently of one another for conveying piece goods;
an entraining device with a plurality of entrainment members that can be moved along a movement path via an entraining drive;
the plurality of conveying vehicles having contact elements for producing a guiding contact with the entrainment members, and the plurality of conveying vehicles having holding bodies for holding the piece goods;
a discharging device for discharging piece goods from the conveying vehicles to a receiving device, said discharging device having a plurality of releasing bodies that can be moved along a closed movement path for releasing the piece goods out of the holding bodies in a discharging region;

wherein in a direction of movement the discharging device realizes an inlet region, the discharging region and an outlet region,
wherein the conveying apparatus is developed such that:
the movement path of the conveying vehicles and of the entrainment members toward the inlet region extends along a descent such that the conveying vehicles can be held back from preceding entrainment members by the contact elements while forming a holding-back contact and can be moved in the direction of the discharging region in a synchronous manner with the entrainment members;
the movement path of the conveying vehicles and of the entrainment members in the outlet region extends along an ascent such that, the contact elements of the conveying vehicles form an entraining contact with following entrainment members and thus the conveying vehicles can be moved away from the discharging region.

2. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the holding bodies are clips.

3. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the releasing bodies are ejecting bodies, which can be moved along a closed movement path for ejecting the piece goods out of the holding bodies in the discharging region.

4. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of the releasing bodies includes a contact member for producing a guiding contact with a conveying vehicle or with an item of the piece goods that is held by said conveying vehicle in the inlet region for moving the conveying vehicle into the discharging region in a manner guided synchronously with the releasing body.

5. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the discharging device includes a driving device for driving the releasing bodies along the movement path, and the driving device is coupled with the entraining drive.

6. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the releasing body includes a releasing member that is activatable by a stationary control linkage.

7. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the entraining device includes a flexible driving element, which is driven in a rotating manner by the entraining drive and on which the entrainment members are mounted.

8. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the movement path of the conveying vehicles is a curved path in the region of the discharging device and in the direction of movement of the conveying vehicles leads from a higher potential level in the inlet region to a lower potential level in the discharging region and from the lower potential level in the discharging region to a higher potential level in the outlet region.

9. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the movement path of the conveying vehicles is realized by a guide rail, along which the conveying vehicles are movable.

10. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the contact elements in each case realize a first contact zone for producing a holding-back contact with a preceding entrainment member and a second contact zone for producing an entraining contact with a following entrainment member.

11. A discharging device for a conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the discharging device includes a releasing wheel module that is drivable about a rotational axis and on which releasing bodies are arranged.

12. The discharging device according to claim 11 , wherein the discharging device includes a stationary control linkage for activating the releasing member of a releasing body in a discharging region.

13. A method for discharging piece goods in a conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , comprising the steps of:
moving the entrainment members and conveying vehicles with piece goods along an identically extending movement path into the inlet region of the discharging device, wherein the conveying vehicles that follow the entrainment members move into the inlet region in a guided manner at the speed of the entrainment members while forming a holding-back contact;
moving the entrainment members away from the following conveying vehicles in the inlet region and/or in the discharging region while cancelling the holding-back contact;
discharging the piece goods from the conveying vehicles to the receiving device in the discharging region of the discharging device following the inlet region;
moving the entrainment members, in each case, toward the preceding conveying vehicles while forming an entraining contact;
following the discharging region, forwarding the conveying vehicles in a guided manner by the entrainment members at the speed of the entrainment members by the entraining contact.

14. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the conveying vehicles are moved in the discharging device along a movement path by a force of gravity from a higher potential level in the inlet region to a lower potential level in the discharging region and by the entrainment members from the lower potential level in the discharging region to a higher potential level following the discharging region.

15. The method according to claim 13 , wherein:
conveying vehicles that follow entrainment members move into the inlet region in a guided manner at the speed of the entrainment members while forming a holding-back contact;
bringing the conveying vehicles together in the inlet region while forming a guiding contact with releasing bodies;
the releasing bodies moving the conveying vehicles into the discharging region in a guided manner at the speed of the releasing bodies by the guiding contact;
moving the entrainment members more rapidly than the releasing bodies such that in the inlet region the entrainment members are moved in the direction of movement, in each case, away from the following conveying vehicle while terminating the holding-back contact;
following the inlet region, discharging piece goods from conveying vehicles to the receiving device in the discharging region of the discharging device;
moving the entrainment members, in each case, toward the preceding conveying vehicle while forming an entraining contact;
following the discharging region, forwarding the conveying vehicles in a guided manner by the entrainment members at the speed of the entrainment members by the entraining contact.

16. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the releasing bodies, the conveying vehicles and the entrainment members are moved along an identically extending movement path in the inlet region, in the discharging region and in the outlet region.

Assignees

• Ferag Ag

Inventors

• Fenile Roberto
• Bonadimann Christian

Classifications

• B65G17/12

  comprising a series of individual load-carriers fixed, or normally fixed, relative to traction element · CPC title

• B65G19/025

  for suspended articles · CPC title

• B65G47/82

  Rotary or reciprocating members for direct action on articles or materials, e.g. pushers, rakes, shovels {(means for pushing glass articles onto a conveyor C03B9/453)} · CPC title

• B65G47/61 Primary

  for articles · CPC title