Rapistan Systems Advertising Corp.

Rapistan Demag Corporation

Dematic Gmbh

Rapistan Corporation

Mannesmann Dematic Rapistan Corp.

Curtis E LeMay

David H Cotter

Kenneth J Kooistra

Bernard H Woltjer

Dennis J Schuitema

Ricardo N Schiesser

Ronald J DeVree

Gerald A Brouwer

Ronald C Ehlert

Thomas J Pelak

Michael Thane McGettigan

James F Hergenrother

Eric R Taylor

A belt conveyor includes a driven roller and at least one other roller positioned along and between opposite sidewalls of the conveyor and a continuous belt routed around the driven roller and the other roller or rollers. The driven roller is drivable to drive the belt around the rollers to move articles along the respective zone. The belt has a low modulus characteristic and may be initially stretched at least 0.75 percent in its lengthwise direction when the belt is reeved or routed around the rollers. The driven roller may be drivable in response to an article sensor that senses articles on the conveyor belt, in order to convey or accumulate articles on the belt conveyor.

Belt conveyor

A belt conveyor includes spaced-apart opposite sidewalls and at least two rollers positioned along and between the sidewalls defining a zone in which two of the rollers are end rollers located at opposite ends of the zone. A continuous conveying belt is reeved around the rollers and defines a conveying surface between the sidewalls. At least one of the rollers is a driven roller to drive the conveying belt and move articles along the belt conveyor. The conveying belt is initially stretched lengthwise at least 0.75 percent when it is reeved around the rollers. The conveying belt is tracked around the rollers, without a take up device, by engaging with the rollers. End rollers are mounted to axles, each axle extending through and protruding from both sidewalls. Axle retainers may receive the ends the end roller axles and connect the axle ends to their respective sidewalls. The rollers may be driven in response to an article sensor that senses articles on the conveying belt, in order to convey or accumulate articles on the belt conveyor. The belt may be applied as a retrofit to an existing roller conveyor system, and the belt may be incorporated into a kit which may also include replacement end rollers and/or axle retainers for use at either end of a zone.

Belt conveyor and method of converting a roller conveyor to a belt conveyor, and retrofit kit

A belt conveyor or belt accumulator includes at least two tandem zones, each of which is defined by a motorized roller and at least one idler roller positioned along and between opposite sidewalls of the conveyor and a continuous belt routed around the motorized roller and the idler roller or rollers. The motorized roller is operable to drive the belt around the rollers to move articles along the respective zone. The belt may have a low modulus characteristic and may be initially stretched at least 0.75% in its lengthwise direction when the belt is reeved or routed around the rollers. The motorized roller of each zone may be independently operable, such as in response to an article sensor at each zone, to convey or accumulate articles on the respective zone of the belt conveyor.

A self-driven roller shaft support for supporting a shaft end of a self-driven conveyor roller at a conveyor is interconnectable to the shaft end and to the conveyor. The conveyor includes a frame and a plurality of passive conveyor rollers driven by the self-driven conveyor roller. The self-driven conveyor roller has an axis of rotation extending longitudinally along the self-driven roller between the shaft end and an opposite shaft end. The shaft support is pivotable to move the opposite shaft end of the self-driven conveyor roller relative to the frame in a generally vertical plane.

Axle holding yoke for conveyor roller

A compact article singulation and accumulation conveyor includes a receiving portion which receives articles in random order including clusters of side-by-side articles and a discharge portion from which articles are discharged in a single file singulated stream. A first conveying surface transports articles longitudinally from the receiving portion to the discharge portion. A recirculating bed removes side-by-side articles from a downstream portion of the first conveying surface to an upstream portion of the first conveying surface. The recirculating bed is made up of at least one peel-away conveyor having a second conveying surface adapted to move side-by-side articles laterally off the first conveying surface, at least one coupling conveyor having a third conveying surface adapted to move articles from the second conveying surface upstream and at least one return conveyor having a fourth conveying surface adapted to move articles from the third conveying surface to the first conveying surface. Each of the conveying surfaces may be defined by the upper surfaces of a plurality of powered rollers or traveling belts. Clusters of articles tend to recirculate around the recirculation bed and the first conveying surface and provide contact accumulation thereon as individual articles of the cluster are pulled away along the first conveying surface. An output section diverts packages having a width transverse the direction of conveyor travel which is greater than a particular dimension, rotates diverted packages, and returns the rotated packages to the conveyor.

Compact article unscrambler

A contact assembly for an accumulation conveyor includes a support member having a cavity dimensioned to receive a force producing device. A contact member is positioned between the force producing device and the conveying rollers and reciprocates with respect to the conveying rollers. The contact member includes a wheel assembly which, when vertically reciprocated by the force-producing device, places the drive belt into driving contact with the conveying rollers. The wheel assembly is configured to move in a substantially transverse direction to the direction of movement of the drive belt to maintain alignment between the drive belt and the contact assembly.

Contact assembly for accumulation conveyors

A shaft support for supporting a shaft end of a conveyor roller is pivotable about an axis extending generally along the direction of conveyance of a conveyor, such that the support may pivot to accommodate a change in vertical positioning of one or both ends of the roller. The shaft support may also be pivotable about a generally vertical axis in order to also accommodate skewed rollers mounted at an angle not perpendicular to the direction of conveyance. Because the shaft support is pivotable about the axis extending in the direction of conveyance, the shaft support simplifies the installation and removal of the motorized roller, while providing for a roller does not require a spring loaded shaft or axle. The roller may thus be a low cost roller which may be easily installed and removed from the conveyor.

An article unscrambler and aligner is disclosed which receives articles of different sizes in random order and position, and using plural side-by-side lanes each of which lanes has driven article transport rollers at different speeds, which speeds are uniform for the length of the lane, but are progressively higher in each lane toward one side of the unscrambler in order to provide a lateral linear speed increase. This speed increase causes separation and rotation of the articles and also causes them to arrange in single file along one side of the unscrambler's surface and so discharge them onto a conveyor at the end of the unscrambler remote from that at which the articles were received. One or more lanes are composed of rollers of tapered diameter in order to make the lateral speed increase more uniform.

Conveyor article propelling roller drive system

High speed article unscrambler and aligner

A conveyor for unscrambling and discharging in single file articles received in random order and orientation from side-by-side sources, the conveyor having a plurality of rollers arranged in parallel relationship to each other, the central axes of the rollers being parallel and skewed to the side frame of the conveyor, a plurality of intermediate roller support frame members spaced from the side frame and extending lengthwise to the transport surface, aligned rollers on each side of each of the intermediate frame members being separate and independent from the rollers on the opposite side thereof, certain ones of the intermediate frame members being parallel to the side frame, the intermediate frame members dividing the article transport surface of the conveyor into a plurality of article transport zones with one of the transport zones at the article receiving end of the conveyor having a width which is a minor portion of the total width of the conveyor and means driving the rollers thereof at a higher peripheral speed than that of the rollers forming the remaining portions of article transport surface laterally thereof.

Multizone unscrambler

A switch for use at the intersection of two pallet pin guide tracks in a conveyor, the switch having a switch plate with a recessed pallet pin channel therein, a pivot pin supporting the switch plate for pivotal movement to align the pin channel with either one of the tracks, a locking device for alternately holding the switch plate in alignment with each of the guide tracks, a pallet actuatable device for releasing the switch plate from the locking device when the pallet approaches the switch along the guide tracks with which the guide pin track of the switch is not aligned and a suface of the switch plate for causing it to pivot about its pivot pin to align its guide pin track with an approaching pallet pin.

Track intersection pin guide

A sortation system includes a plurality of slats connected at opposite ends in spaced relation with each other to a pair of endless chains. The slats define a conveying surface moving longitudinally along a frame. A plurality of diverter shoes are provided. Each diverter shoe is movably mounted on one of the slats for lateral movement with respect to the conveying surface. Each slat is defined by a wall formed as a right cylinder including an outer surface having a planar upper portion defining the conveying surface, each diverter shoe having a support portion including a substantially continuous glide surface surrounding the wall, the glide surface having substantially the same configuration as the outer surface of the slat. Each diverter shoe additionally has a diverting portion joined to the support portion by a dove-tail groove and includes one or more vertical diverting surfaces and a plurality of contiguous, generally planar surfaces sloping downwardly from the upper extent of each diverting surface laterally inwardly as well as forwardly and rearwardly. Different configurations of diverting portions may be easily applied to the support portions to accommodate left-hand divert, right-hand divert or bi-directional divert applications. Both the support and diverting portions are defined by a plurality of wall segments having substantially the same thickness and arranged in a honey-comb manner.

Modular diverter shoe and slat construction

A flowsplitting conveyor device for controlling a load imposed on a conveyor utilizes a load allocating device which is capable of dividing a incoming load between two receiving conveyors for the purpose of balancing the load between the two receiving conveyors or it can be used to allocate the entire load to either one of the receiving conveyors.

Growing community of inventors

Shelbyville, MI, United States of America

Curtis E LeMay