Pacing device for gravity conveyors

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9499345-B2
Application number	US-201514643277-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 10, 2015
Priority date	Mar 20, 2014
Publication date	Nov 22, 2016
Grant date	Nov 22, 2016

Abstract

A pacing device for a transfer of individual vehicles of a gravity conveyor onto a conveying device of the gravity conveyor that conveys in a paced manner. Thereby, the pacing device is designed such that the individual vehicles can be assigned to a pace of the conveying device and that the pacing device includes a damping mechanism that gently weakens an impulse of an individual vehicle moving in the direction of the pacing device, the impulse acting upon the pacing device. The pacing device can include a release on which the damping mechanism is formed. The damping mechanism in particular can be designed as an arm with an elastic part-region.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A pacing device for a transfer of individual vehicles of a gravity conveyor onto a conveying device of the gravity conveyor that conveys in a paced manner, wherein the pacing device is designed such that the individual vehicles can be assigned to a pace of the conveying device, wherein the pacing device comprises a drive mechanism and a damping mechanism, said damping mechanism weakens an impulse of each individual vehicle acting upon the pacing device, the impulse being weakened in an extended manner over a time period of at least 0.05 seconds;
wherein the pacing device comprises a singularizing device including a release, said release, via a contact fit with the individual vehicles, paces the individual vehicles into the conveying device, said damping mechanism being formed on the release,
wherein the singularizing device effects a singularization of the individual vehicles on pacing into the conveying device.

2. The pacing device according to claim 1 , wherein the damping mechanism comprises an arm, and wherein at least a portion of the arm is elastic.

3. The pacing device according to claim 1 , wherein the damping mechanism comprises an elastic contact zone for a contact fit with the individual vehicles.

4. The pacing device according to claim 1 , wherein the pacing device comprises a pivot, about which the release is rotatably mounted, wherein the pivot is arranged running through a mass center point of the release.

5. The pacing device according to claim 1 , wherein the drive mechanism is driven by the conveying device.

6. The pacing device according to claim 5 , wherein the drive mechanism rigidly couples the release onto the conveying device.

7. The pacing device according to claim 1 , wherein the pacing device is designed and positioned such that a release position relative to the gravitational direction is arranged above the transfer location to the conveying device, wherein the release position indicates a spatial position of the individual vehicles, in which the last possible contact fit between the individual vehicles and the pacing device can be effected on passing the pacing device in the movement direction of the individual vehicles.

8. The pacing device according to claim 1 , wherein the conveying device comprises a chain with drivers.

9. The pacing device according to claim 1 , wherein the gravity conveyor comprises a sensor for individual vehicles, and a sensor for the conveying device.

10. The pacing device according to claim 1 , wherein the pacing device, given an impulse acting upon the pacing device, engages on an individual vehicle of the gravity conveyor at a first contact location of the individual vehicle, and the conveying device engages on a second contact location of the individual vehicle that is different from the first contact location.

11. The pacing device according to claim 1 , wherein the gravity conveyor comprises individual vehicles with lateral contact members, wherein the pacing device, given an impulse acting upon the pacing device, engages on the contact members by way of the pacing device engaging between contact members of consecutive individual vehicles.

12. A pacing device for a transfer of individual vehicles of a gravity conveyor onto a conveying device of the gravity conveyor that conveys in a paced manner, wherein the pacing device is designed such that the individual vehicles can be assigned to a pace of the conveying device, wherein the pacing device comprises a drive mechanism and a damping mechanism, said damping mechanism gradually weakens an impulse of each individual vehicle acting upon the pacing device;
wherein the pacing device comprises singularizing device including a release, said release, via a contact fit with the individual vehicles, paces the individual vehicles into the conveying device, said damping mechanism being formed on the release;
wherein the singularizing device that effects a singularization of the individual vehicles on pacing into the conveying device;
and wherein the release comprises an arm, and wherein at least a portion of the arm is elastic.

13. A method for pacing individual vehicles of a gravity conveyor into a conveying device of the gravity conveyor that conveys in a paced manner, comprising the steps of:
directing individual vehicles that are outside a desired pace of the conveying device with a contact fit onto a release,
weakening an impulse of the individual vehicles in an extended manner over a time period of at least 0.05 seconds in a running-on of the individual vehicles,
releasing, via the release, individual vehicles in time windows, which are assigned to the desired pace of the conveying device,
driving the individual vehicles, between the running onto the release and the release by the release, exclusively by gravitational force and/or by individual vehicles that are subsequent in a movement direction of the individual vehicles, and,
moving the individual vehicles that are released by the release from the release to the conveying device, and thereby driving the individual vehicles exclusively by gravitational energy and/or by individual vehicles that are subsequent in the movement direction of the individual vehicles.

Assignees

• Ferag Ag

Inventors

• Fenile Roberto
• Guhl Simon

Classifications

• B65G47/61

  for articles · CPC title

• B65G9/006

  Arresting, braking or escapement means · CPC title

• B65G19/025 Primary

  for suspended articles · CPC title

• B65G47/846

  Star-shaped wheels or wheels equipped with article-engaging elements · CPC title