Product path splitting and merging conveyor system

Description of equivalent WO 2004026730 A2

PRODUCT PATH SPLITTING AND MERGING CONVEYOR SYSTEM

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conveyor systems are routinely used to handle and transport products between upstream

and downstream destinations located in different and sometimes remote sections of a facility.

In a normal operation of this type, products are placed on a conveyor at the upstream location,

for instance at one operational station, and then they are transported to the downstream operation

by conveyor where the next step in the manufacture or distribution of the products take place.

Often, the process includes upstream machines providing product which must be fed to

downstream product receiving machines via different product delivery streams or paths. For

example, a single upstream machine may output products by means of a single product path, but

there may be a need to supply a downstream machine or machines with multiple product infeed

delivery paths. Similarly, an upstream operation, e.g. two separate upstream product machines,

may supply products by means of dual product delivery paths, wherein the downstream operation

may require input by means of a single product path.

The above are cited only as examples. It can be appreciated that there are conveying

systems with multiple different upstream to downstream product path delivery requirements,

depending on the industry and need.

To date, no product path splitting and merging system has been developed which

smoothly and efficiently divides upstream products into two or more outfeeds or combines

products from multiple upstream sources to a single feed or to a different number of outfeed

paths.

Co-pending U.S. application serial number 09/984,682 relates to a product conveying and

accumulation system with multiple conveyors, including product supply and discharge conveyors

and an accumulator conveyor. The accumulator conveyor in this co-pending application efficiently and smoothly receives product for accumulation, should there be a disruption in the

system, and for effectively delivering product to conveyors for distribution to downstream

destinations, after the disruption is addressed. However, an important consideration not included

in this application, and inadequately addressed by prior conveyor systems, concerns the need for

such systems to have the ability to effectively split and/or merge product delivery paths, as the

need arises.

The current invention is not an accumulator system, but employs some of the principles

disclosed in application serial number 09/984,682, to accomplish conveyor system product path

line splitting and merging.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is thus the object of the present invention to overcome the limitations and

disadvantages of prior product path delivery conveyor systems.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a product conveying system which can

receive a single product delivery path or multiple product delivery paths from an upstream

destination and smoothly, efficiently and effectively output products to a downstream destination

in a single delivery path or multiple delivery paths.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a product conveying system

which employs the use of a continuous loop conveyor system to accept products from an

upstream destination, traveling in one or more product delivery paths, and to distribute those

products to a downstream destination in different product delivery path configurations.

These and other objects are accomplished by the present invention which consists of a

continuous product conveyor system of loop configuration, designed to receive products from

an upstream destination in a given product delivery path arrangement and to deliver those

products to a downstream destination in a different product delivery path arrangement. The system is adapted, for example, to deliver a single file product path from an upstream destination

and deliver multiple delivery paths downstream. The system also can be used to receive multiple

product delivery paths from an upstream destination and deliver a single file product path or a

different number of product paths downstream. The system can further be used for receiving

mass product flow and delivering one or more product delivery paths downstream.

Novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in

particular in the appended claims. The invention, itself, however, both as to its design,

construction and use, together with the additional features and advantages thereof, are best

understood upon review of the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying

drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is one embodiment of the present invention showing a single product feed and

dual product discharge configuration.

FIG. 2 is a second embodiment of the present invention showing a single product feed

and multiple product discharge configuration.

FIG. 3 is a third embodiment of the present invention showing a dual product feed and

single product discharge configuration.

FIG. 4 is a fourth embodiment of the present invention showing mass product flow feed

and single product discharge configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the product conveyor system of the invention.

System.l comprises conveyor 2, a continuous conveyor with a planar surface 4. Conveyor 2 is

looped in configuration with curved and sections 6 and 8 and straight runs 10 and 12. Conveyor

2 traveling in the direction indicated by arrows 11 and 13, is similar in basic configuration to the system described in detail in the aforereferenced serial number 09/984,682, directed to an

accumulation system. However, the present system is not an accumulator, but is configured to

receive products from upstream destinations, in one or more designated product delivery streams

or paths, and deliver those products downstream in a different number of delivery path or paths.

System 1 in FIG. 1 shows a single upstream machine 14 delivering products 100, via conveyor 18, in a single product delivery path shown at 20. Conveyor 18, traveling in the direction

indicated by arrow 19, is in adjacent alignment to conveyor 2 at location 22 and both conveyors

are moving in the same direction at this adjacent alignment location. Products 100 on path 20

travel onto conveyor 2, which transports the products on its planar surface 4. Some of the

products 100 are transported in the direction indicated by arrow 27 directly to downstream

machine 24, via single product delivery path 26. Other products 100 are transported in the

direction indicated by arrow 29, via a single product delivery path 28. A guide rail 21 or similar

guiding device insures that products 100 remain in their designated paths. Products 100 which

do not proceed directly to paths 26 and 28, are moved around the loop of conveyor 2, where they

eventually are lined up with and enter paths 26 and 28 and proceed to machines 24 and 25. By

this configuration, an upstream supply of products in a single delivery path are smoothly and

efficiently transported downstream in two separate delivery paths - in this case to two different

parallel machines, each requiring a single file input.

FIG. 2 shows a second use of the product conveyor system this invention. In this use,

conveyor 2 receives products 100 from two parallel upstream machines 30 and 32, each with

single product paths 34 and 36, traveling in the direction of arrows 35 and 37 respectively.

Conveyor 2 is traveling in the same direction as shown in FIG. 1 and is in adjacent alignment to

conveyors 34 and 36 at location 33, where the conveyors are moving in the same direction.

Products 100 enter conveyor 2 via these two paths, where they are guided by rails 42 or similar guides, on planar surface 4 of the conveyor. Some of the products 100 are transported directly

to downstream machine 38 via single product delivery path 40, traveling in the direction of arrow

41. Products 100 which do not proceed directly to path 40 are moved around the loop of

conveyor 2, where they are eventually lined-up with and enter path 40 and proceed to machine

38. By this configuration, an upstream supply of products in two independent product delivery

paths is smoothly and efficiently merged and transported downstream in a single delivery path,

to a machine requiring single file input.

FIG. 3 shows yet another use of the product conveyor system of this invention. In this

use, conveyor 2 receives products 100 from a single upstream machine 44, via conveyor 46,

traveling in the direction indicated by arrow 48. Conveyor 2 is traveling in the same direction

as shown in FIG. 1. Conveyor 46 is in adjacent alignment to conveyor 2 at location 52 and both

conveyors are moving in the same direction at this location. Products 100 received by conveyor

2 are transported to delivery section 50, comprising four separate delivery paths. Products 100

are directed to downstream machine 54, on these four paths, by rails 56 or similar guides, in the

direction of arrow 58. Products 100 which are not directly aligned for delivery to section 50, are

directed onto the loop of conveyor 2, where they are eventually positioned for movement onto

section 50. By this configuration, an upstream supply of products in a single product delivery

path is smoothly and efficiently merged and transported downstream via multiple delivery paths,

to a machine requiring multiple file input.

FIG. 4 shows still another use of the product conveyor system of this invention. In this

use, products 100 are delivered to conveyor 2 as a mass flow of product from upstream machine

60, via conveyor 61, traveling in the direction indicated by arrow 62. Conveyors 2 and 61 are

in adjacent alignment with each other at location 63 and move in coordinated relation. Conveyor

2, traveling in the same direction as shown in FIG. 1, transports products 100 received from conveyor 61 for delivery, via single conveyor 64, traveling in the direction indicated by arrow

66, to downstream machine 68. Rails 70 or similar guides, direct products 100 onto conveyor

64. By this configuration, an upstream mass of products is smoothly and efficiently merged and

transported downstream in a single delivery path, to a machine requiring single file input.

Certain novel features and components of this invention are disclosed in detail in order

to make the invention clear in at least one form thereafter. However, it is to be clearly

understood that the invention as disclosed is not necessarily limited to the exact form and details

as disclosed, since it is apparent that various modifications and changes may be made without

departing from the spirit of the invention.

Thus, this invention discloses a continuous product conveyor system which is configured

to receive products from an upstream destination in a given product delivery path arrangement

and to deliver those products, efficiently and smoothly, to a downstream destination in a different

product delivery path arrangement. While specific product infeed and outfeed configurations are

discussed herein, this invention is not limited to those configurations, but instead contemplates

any system in which there are a different number of upstream product delivery paths supplying the conveyor system than downstream product delivery paths exiting the system. For example,

this includes but is not limited to, systems with dual infeed paths and three or more outfeed paths

and three or more infeed paths and one or two outfeed paths.