EP-4741321-A1 - METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ACCELERATING A FLOW OF GOODS

EP4741321A1EP 4741321 A1EP4741321 A1EP 4741321A1EP-4741321-A1

Abstract

To accelerate (±) a flow of goods (6), a method and a device (5) with the following features are proposed: The flow of goods (6 i ) is formed by conveyed goods (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) brought on a feeder conveyor (1 ). The feeder conveyor (1) is connected to the device (5) for acceleration. The device (5) contains a cascade of conveyor belts (22 1 , 22 2 , ... , 22 N ) arranged successively in the conveying direction (r), each having its own individually controllable drive (20 1 , 20 2 , ...). For a positive acceleration (+) of the material flow, the length of the conveyor belts (22 1 , 22 2 , ... , 22 N ) in the cascade is progressively longer in order to accelerate the conveyed goods individually on each conveyor belt while maintaining static friction between the conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ... , 22 N ) and the conveyed goods (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M) on it. For a negative acceleration of the material flow, the length of the conveyor belts (22 1 , 22 2 , ... , 22 N ) in the cascade is correspondingly progressively shorter.

Inventors

ASCHPURWIS, CARSTEN

Assignees

Siemens Logistics GmbH

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20241108

Claims (15)

Method for accelerating (±) a flow of goods (6 i ) which is formed by conveyed goods (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) brought on a feeder conveyor (1) in a conveying direction (r) to a device (5), wherein a conveying conveyor (2) for further conveying the accelerated flow of goods (6 o ) is connected to the device (5) in the conveying direction (r) and this device (5) comprises: a cascade of conveyor belts (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) arranged successively in the conveying direction (r), each having a circulating belt (21) and each having its own individually controllable drive (20 1 , 20 2 , ...); in which process the following steps are carried out: a) Conveying a conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) on the feeder (1) towards the first downstream conveyor belt (22 1 ) of the device (5) and driving this first conveyor belt (22 1 ) at the same speed as the speed of the feeder (1); b) detect the position of the trailing edge (11) of the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) when the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) leaves the feeder (1); c) accelerate (±) the conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ... , 22 N ) carrying the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) while maintaining static friction conditions between the conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) and the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ); d) driving the following conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) at the same speed as that of the incoming conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) on the preceding conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) to take over a conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ); e) Repeating process steps c) and d) until the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) has passed through the cascade of successive conveyor belts (22 1 , 22 2 , ... , 22 N ) in the conveying direction (r) and is on the road conveyor (2).
Method according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that In process step d) the preceding conveyor belt (22 N+1 ) is accelerated in the opposite direction to the acceleration in process step c) until it reaches the speed of the conveyor belt (22 N ) preceding the preceding conveyor belt (22 N +1 ) when the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) has left the preceding conveyor belt (22 N+1 ).
Method according to one of claims 1 to 2, characterized by the fact that after process step d) the position of the trailing edge (11) of the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) is detected when the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) is completely on the following conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ... , 22 N ).
Method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by the fact that the detection of the position of the trailing edge (11) of the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) with a sensor (24, 24 1 , 24 2 , ... , 24 N ).
Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by the fact that In process step c) the conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ... , 22 N ) is positively accelerated.
Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by the fact that In process step c) the conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ... , 22 N ) is negatively accelerated.
Method according to claim 5, characterized by the fact that the length of the conveyor belts (22 1 , 22 2 , ... , 22 N ) in the conveying direction (r) is progressively larger.
Method according to claim 6, characterized by the fact that the length of the conveyor belts (22 1 , 22 2 , ... , 22 N ) in the conveying direction (r) is progressively smaller.
Method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 characterized by Determining the speeds of the feeder (1) and the conveying conveyor (2) in order to obtain, in process steps a) and d), the same speed of the first conveyor belt (22 1 ) and the last conveyor belt (22 N ) of the cascade for the transfer of a conveyed item (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ).
Method according to any one of claims 4 to 9 characterized by the fact that at the end of each conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ... , 22 N ) position of the trailing edge (11) and of the leading edge of the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) is determined by a sensor (24, 24 1 , 24 2 , ... , 24 N ) to monitor the acceleration process within the device (5).
Device (5) for accelerating (±) a flow of goods (6) containing a plurality of conveyed goods (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) in which a feeder (1) for feeding the conveyed goods (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) and a conveying conveyor (2) for further transport of the conveyed goods (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) is connected, characterized in that a) the device (5) includes a cascade of conveyor belts (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) arranged successively in the conveying direction (r), each having a circulating belt (21 1 , 21 2 , ... , 21 N ) and each having its own drive (20 1 , 20 2 , ...) that can be individually controlled via a control system, in order to accelerate the conveyed goods (101, 102, ... ,10M) successively on the conveyor belts (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) under static friction conditions between the conveyed goods (10) and the conveyor belt (22) (± ); b) the control system controls the drives (20 1 , 20 2 , ...) so that when a conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) is transferred from the feeder (1) to the first conveyor belt (22 1 ) of the cascade, the speed of the feeder (1) and the first conveyor belt (22 1 ) is the same; c) for the entry of a conveyed item (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) onto the first conveyor belt (22 1 ) a sensor (24 1 ) is arranged to detect the position of the trailing edge (11) of the conveyed item (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) and is connected to the control system in order to detect the exit of the conveyed item (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) from the feeder (1); d) the control system controls the drive (20 1 , 20 2 , ...) of the conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ... ,10 M ) carrying the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,22 N ) in such a way that, while maintaining static friction conditions between the conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) and the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) located on it, the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) is accelerated (±); e) the control system drives the drive (20 1N+1 ) of the following conveyor belt (22 N+1 ,) at the same speed as that of the incoming conveyed goods (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) on the preceding conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) to take over a conveyed goods (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ); f) the control repeats the actions specified in d) and e) until the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) has passed through the cascade of the conveyor belts (22 1 , 22 2 , ... , 22 N ) that are successive in the conveying direction (r) and is on the road conveyor (2).
Device (5) according to claim 11, characterized by the fact that at each end of a conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) a sensor (24 1 , 24 2 , ...) is arranged and each is connected to the control system to detect the exit of the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) from the respective conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ...).
Device (5) according to claim 12, characterized by the fact that After a conveyed item (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) leaves a conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) the control system controls the drive (20 1 , 20 2 , ...) of this conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) in such a way that it is accelerated inversely to the acceleration of the conveyed item (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) until it reaches the speed of the preceding conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) .
Device (5) according to one of claims 11 to 13, characterized by the fact that the control system positively accelerates the flow of goods (6) via the conveyor belts (+) and the length of the conveyor belts (22 1 , 22 2 , ... , 22 N ) in the conveying direction (r) is progressively larger.
Device (5) according to one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that the control system accelerates the flow of goods (6) negatively (-) via the conveyor belts and the length of the conveyor belts (22 1 , 22 2 , ... , 22 N ) in the conveying direction (r) is progressively smaller.

Description

The present invention relates to the technical field of conveying systems for unit loads, as illustrated by example in the document. WO 2022/002510 A1 [1] is explained. In a conveying system, a flow of material – also called a goods flow – is guided through various process units, such as a sorting unit (technical term "sorter"), a singulation unit, etc. The speed of this material flow must be set to a specific value before each process unit. This setting is achieved by accelerating the material flow accordingly. The term "acceleration" is a signed quantity, as described in detail in source [2]. i) Negative acceleration is understood as deceleration [of a flow of goods]. ii) A positive acceleration causes an increase in the speed of the flow of goods. As an example, consider the flow of luggage at an airport: Passengers' luggage must be transported several kilometers to a terminal, depending on the airport. The luggage is placed on trays. To avoid undesirable delays for departures and arrivals, the conveyor speed must be increased for this long-distance transport. A speed of 7.5 m/s is given as an example. For the distribution and sorting of luggage, a speed of 2 to 3 m/s is generally considered the upper limit. Since the speeds and required accelerations in such conveying systems can reach very high values, accelerating the drive motor of a conveyor belt with conveyed goods on it, without further measures, does not solve this problem for two reasons: i) Excessive acceleration can change the relative positions of goods in an uncontrollable manner; ii) In an overall assessment, the throughput of such an acceleration unit does not change and therefore, in the case of the The solution involves accelerating the drive motor for subsequent conveyed goods, which changes the distances between the conveyed goods in an uncontrollable, i.e., uncontrollable, manner. The present invention therefore aims to provide a method and a device for accelerating a flow of goods that reliably enables individual acceleration of the conveyed goods and avoids the aforementioned disadvantages. This objective is achieved by the features specified in the independent claims. The inventive method is defined in an independent patent claim with the following wording: Method for accelerating (±) a flow of goods (6 i ) formed by conveyed goods (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) brought on a feeder conveyor (1) in a conveying direction (r) to a device (5), wherein a conveying conveyor (2) for further conveying the accelerated flow of goods (6 o ) is connected to the device (5) in the conveying direction (r) and this device (5) comprises: a cascade of conveyor belts (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) arranged successively in the conveying direction (r), each having a circulating belt (21) and each having its own individually controllable drive (20 1 , 20 2 , ...); in which process the following steps are carried out: a) Conveying a conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) on the feeder (1) towards the first downstream conveyor belt (22 1 ) of the device (5) and driving this first conveyor belt (22 1 ) at the same speed as the speed of the feeder (1); b) detect the position of the trailing edge (11) of the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) when the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) leaves the feeder (1); c) accelerate (±) the conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ... , 22 N ) carrying the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) while maintaining static friction conditions between the conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) and the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ); d) driving the following conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) at the same speed as that of the incoming conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) on the preceding conveyor belt (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) to take over a conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... , 10 M ); e) Repeating process steps c) and d) until the conveyed material (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) has passed through the cascade of successive conveyor belts (22 1 , 22 2 , ... , 22 N ) in the conveying direction (r) and is on the road conveyor (2). The device according to the invention is defined in an independent patent claim with the following wording: Device (5) for accelerating (±) a flow of goods (6) containing a plurality of conveyed goods (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) in which a feeder (1) for feeding the conveyed goods (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) and a conveying conveyor (2) for further transport of the conveyed goods (10 1 , 10 2 , ... ,10 M ) is connected, characterized by the fact that a) the device (5) includes a cascade of conveyor belts (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) arranged successively in the conveying direction (r), each having a circulating belt (21 1 , 21 2 , ... , 21 N ) and each having its own drive (20 1 , 20 2 , ...) that can be individually controlled via a control system, in order to successively accelerate the conveyed goods (101, 102, ... , 10 M ) on the conveyor belts (22 1 , 22 2 , ...) under static friction conditi