Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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The present inven-tion rela-tes to a method of t.rans-
erring with successive increases of speed an object from a
first conveyor driven at constant speed to a second conveyor
driven at a higher constant speed.
The invention also relates to a feeding apparatus
for objects delivered at regulax intervals, comprising a
first conveyor with an endless conveyor belt having projecting
driving elements positioned at xegular intervals, and a sec-
10 ond conveyor.
In the packaging industry, for example, frequentlymore or less finished packing containers are moved between
different processing machine~ or processing stati.ons by means
of conveyors. To ensure an accurate coordination of the
packing containers moved forward in relation to the subsequent
prscessing machine, the conveyors are often provided with
d.riving elements which make possible the feeding of the pack-
ing containers at predetermined intervals. In the transfer
of packing containers from a slower to a faster conveyor it
has been found difficult to prevent the feeding elements of
the faster conveyor from damaging or deforming the packing con-
tainers, especially when the speed difference between the con-
veyors is great or when the packing containers are not yet
finished.
The present invention provides a method by means of
which, in the packaging industry as well as in other fields,
objects can be fed or transferred from a first relatively
slowly moving conveyor to a second relatively fast moving con-
veyor without the object being deformed or damaged and without
more comprehensive, complicated and expensive technical solu-
tions having to be adopted.
According to the present invention there is provided
a method for transferring with a successive increase of speed,
A
of an object from a first conveyor driven at constant speed
to a second conveyor driven at a hlyher constant speed in
which the object i5 fed by means of a driving element posi
tioned on the conveyor belt of the first conveyor which at
the end of the active portion of the first conveyor i5 tipped
forward so as to impart to the object an increase of speed
before the feeding is taken over by the second conveyox. In
this manner the object fed by the driving elernents of the
first conveyor will be accelerat:ed to a higher speed than the
basic speed of the conveyor immediately before -the object is
transferred to and is driven by the driving elements of the
second, faster conveyor. In this way the speed difference
between the object and second conveyor is appreciably diminished
50 that the transfer can take place without jerks or impacts
causing damage to the object.
In a preferred embodiment of the method in accordance
with invention the forward tipping of the driving element is
effected by causing the conveying track to change its direction
of movement.
In a further preferred embodiment of the method in
accordance with the invention the speed of the first conveyor
plus the additional speed caused by the driving element give
a combined speed which substantiaIly corresponds to the speed
of the second conveyor.
The present invention also provides an apparatus for
the execution of the method in accordance with the invention.
In particular, the present invention provides a feeding
arrangement within which individual objects can be transferred
from a first relatively slow conveyor to a second, faster con-
veyor without being damaged, deformed or detrimentally affected
in some other way.
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Thus, the present in~entl~n provides a feeding arr-
angemen-t o~ the abov~mentioned type which is of a simple and
reliable design and which can readily be combined with known
Eeedlng arrangements.
In accordance with the invention the feeding arrange-
ment compxises a first conveyor with an endless conveyor belt
which i5 provided with projecting driving elements positioned
at regular in~ervals, and a second conveyor, the first con-
veyor comprising devices adapted for changing the orientation
of the driving elements in relation to the direction of move-
ment of the active portion of the conveyor. This makes it
pos~ible, through a change in the orientation of the driving
elements, to impart to the conveyed objects a speed during
part of their movement along the active portion of the conveyor
which differs from the actual speed of the conveyor. A con-
veyed object can be given a higher speed, for example, at the
end of the active portion of the conveyor by forward tipping
of the driving elements in the direction of movement, which can
be made use of, for example, for imparting to the object a
total speed which corresponds to the speed of the subsequent
conveyor.
The present invention will be further illustrated by
way of the accompanying schematic drawing, in which:-
FIGURE 1 is a side view of a feeding arrangement in
; accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; and
FIGURE 2 is a side view of a part of the feeding arrange-
ment in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.
For the sake of clarity, only the details necessary
for understanding the invention have been included.
The feeding arran~ement shown in Figure 1 comprises a
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first conveyor 1 and a second con~eyor 2 which extend sub-
stantially in the same direction, but are displaced in respect
of one ano-ther, so that the front end of -the second conveyor
is substantially adjacent to the tail end of the first con-
veyor. The structure of the -two conveyors 1 and 2 is con-
ventional and each of the conveyors thus comprises its end-
less conveyor belt 3 and 4 which comprises one or more chains,
straps or the like. The conveyor belts 3 and 4 in each of
th* conveyors 1 and 2 run over conventional end pulleys 5 and
6 and 7 and 8, respectively. One pulley in each conveyor is
driven at cons~ant speed by an lelectric motor (not shown) or
other conventional driving unit. The direction of movement
of the conveyor 1 is indicated by means of an arrow 9, and
the direction of movement of the conveyor 2 is indicated by
lS an arrow 10.
The conveyor belts 3 and 4 of the first as well as of
the second conveyor include projecting driving elements 11
and 12, respectively positioned at regular intervals. The
2Q driving elements 11 and 12 are of elongated shape and are
substantially at right angles to the surface of the conveyor
belt 3 and 4. Each driving element 11 and 12
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comprises one or more plates or bars which are positioned at
i.ntervals over par-ts of the total width of -the conveyor belt
3 and 4. The plates or bars forming the driving element 11
are laterally displaced in relation to the bars or pla-tes
of the driving element 12, which makes it possible for the
driving elements to engage and to pass each other without
obstruction in the area where the conveyors 1 and 2 meet one
another, which will be subsequently explained in detail.
Each driving element 11 on the conveyor belt 3 or each in-
dividual unit included in the driving element 11 is provi.ded
at the outer end of its front side, seen in the direct.ion
of feed, with a curved or convex contact surface 13. The
length of the driving element l.l, that is to say -the per-
pendicular distance between the conveyor belt and the ou-ter-
most end or contact surface of the dri.ving elemen-t in the
preferred embodiment of the arrangement in accordance with
the invention is greater than the radius of the end pulley
6. More particularly, it is preferred, for reasons which
will be explained hereinafter in more detail, that the
driving element 11 should be 1 to 3 times longer than the
radius of the end pulley 6.
The abovementioned relation between the length of
tne driving element 11 and the radius of the end pulley 6
is dictated by the circumstances that the rear end pulley
of the conveyor 1, that is to say the end pulley 6 situa-
ted at the tail end of the active portion of the conveyor,
not only acts as a conventional end pulley, but also serves
as a device for changing the orientatio~ of the driving ele-
ment 11 in relation to the direction of movement of the
active portion of the conveyor. This change of orientation
is in particular a tipping forward of the driving element
11 in the direction of movement of the conveyor, which
momentarily influences the conveyed object so that a higher
speed is imparted to the object than that of the conveyor
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bel-t. Xt has been found -t.hat optimum function can be ob-
tained iE -the relation of the length of the driving element
11 to the radius of the end pulley 6 is as stated, that is
to say if it is 1 to 3 -times greater than the radius.
At the front end of the Eirst conveyor (to the
left in Fig. 1) can be seen a delivery chute 1~ for the
objects 15 which are to be conveyed by means of -the feeding
arrangement in accordance with the invention. The del:ivery
chute 14 is arranged so that i.ts tail end lies direc-tly
adjacent -the starting end of the active upper por-tion of
the first conveyor and is provided in the said end with
cutouts 16 which make it possible for the driving elements
11 to pass the tail end of the delivery chute 14 without
being obstructed. The shape and the positioning of the
cutouts 16 will be adapted, of course, to the shape and
positioning o~ the driving elements 11 on the conveyor belt
3. At the opposite end or tail end of the first conveyor
tto the right in the Figure) a device comprising a feeding
out surface 17 is present which is situated directly adja-
~ cent the tail end of the active portion of the first con-
; veyor and is provided, similarly to the delivery chute 1~,
with cutouts 18 to permit an unhindered passage of the
25 driving elements 11 of the conveyor belt 3. The feeding
out surface 17 is a direct continuation of the upper, active
portion of the first conveyor 1, and the second conveyor 2
extends substantially paral:Lel with the extension of the
first conveyor 1 as well as with the feeding out system 17,
the distance between the active portions of the conveyors
1 and 2 facing each other being equal to, or slightly
greater than, the length of the driving elements 11.
The preferred embodiment of the feeding arrange-
ment in accordance with the invention shown in ~igure 1
and the manner in which it is applied will now be described
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in greater detail. In this context thet~ethod and the appara-
tus are shown and described as used isl the packaging industry
and more particularly in the manufacture of packing containers
for fluid contents, where the arrangement is used for the
transfer of partly finished packing containers from a first
machine`part to a second machi.ne part. In doing this it
is desirable to increase during the transfer the distance
between the packing containers fed out i.n rapid succession
from the first machine part, so as to facilitate the feeding
into the subsequent machine part. The second conveyor is
then operated at practically twice the speed as the first
conveyor and the apparatus woxks in the following manner.
I'he partly formed packing containers or objects
15 are delivered t.o the conveyor 1 via the delivery chute
14 OlltO which they are fed out from the first machine part.
The objects 15 slide
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down -the chute l~ under gravity to s ~ ~ ~e end ~f ~le dq~e d~e-~o
the diminishing ~lope of the chute 14. r~'hen the conve~c~ belt 3
of the conveyor 1 is driven in the direction indicate~ by
means of the arrow 9, one of the driving elements 11, fitted at
re~ular interv~ls alon5 the conveyor belt 3 engages
the rear end of the packing container or object 15 ~nd drive the
object onto the active portion Or the co~veyor 1, Due to
the cutout 16 in the tail end of the delivery chute, the driving
eler-ent 11 can pass the chute 14 freely a~d engage ~ith the
object 15~
The object 15 is then moved at a conctant speed along the
upper, active portion of the coveyor whic:~ ~ay be of the re~uired
length. ';,hen the conveyed obj~ct 15 approaches the tail end of
the conveyor 1 (to the right in Fig. 1), it is to be trans-
fe-red to the second conveyor 2 which subsequently takes over
the driving and at ~pproximately twice the speed of conveyor 1
moves the object to the second processing machine. S~nce the
packin~ containers are not yet finished9 they are easily damaged
and the transfer between the conveyors working at different speeds
therefore has to take place without a~rupt increases in ~peed~ jerks
or impacts on engagement between the driving elements 12 of the
second conveyor moved forward at a relatively high ~peed and the
packin~ co~tainer~ This i9 prevented in accordance with the in-
vention in that the driving element of the first conveyor at the
end of the first conveyor is ~ipped forward so that an increase
of speed i~ imparted to the object 15 directly before the feeding
is taken over by ths second conveyor ~ In the preferred embodiment
~hown~ the re-orientation or tipping forward of the actual driving
element 11 is brought about in that the con~eyor belt 3 is
made to change direction of movement when it approache~ the end
pulley 6, The outer end or contact surface 13 of the driving
element 11 will thus be given additional speed ~hich, together with
the basic speed of the conveyor~ will accelerate the moved object 15
90 that ~hen it i9 ~o~ed out onto the feeding out ~urface 17, posi-
tioned in the ext~nsion of the active portion of conveyor 1,
it has a linear speed ~hich substantially corre3ponds to the linear
speed of the second conveyorO ~he ~peed of the object 15 over
the eeding out surface 17 can be adaptQd to the apeed of the second
conveyor -through adjustmen-t of -the length of the driving
element in rela-tion to -the radius of the end pulley 6. The
principle is that a driving element 11 of a greater length
or an end pulley 6 of a smaller diameter impart a greater in-
crease of linear speed -to the objec-t. In practice, however,
the possible increase of speed is limited by the capacity o-F
the object 15~to endure the acceleration, and it has been
Found appropriate in the case of packing con-tainers to select
a length of driving element which is 1 to 3 times greater than
the radius of the end pulley 6. During the transport of the
object along the plane part of the active portion of the conveyor
-the driving element 11 will usually extend above -the upper
limiting surface of the object so that when -the driving element
is moved along the periphery of the end pulley 6 it slides
downwards along the rear limiting surface oF the~object 15~
seen in the direction oF movement, at the same time as the
object is accelerated to a speed which is approximately twice
as great as the linear speed of the conveyor 1, that is to say
a speed which substantially corresponds to the linear speed of
the conveyor 2. Immediately before the contact surFace 13
of the driving element 11 leaves the rear surFace of the ob3ect
15 and passes down through the cutout 18 in the feeding out
surface 17, the driving element 12 of the conveyor belt 4
will come to rest against the object 15 and take over the fur-
ther movement of the object along the feeding out surface 17.
; The feeding out surFace 17 terminates in a feeding in pocket
(not shown) in the subsequent processing machine, to which the
packing containers of objects are thus fed at substantially
twice as long intervals as when they are fed out from the
first processing machine.
The preFerred embodiment of the method and apparatusin accordance with the invention makes it possible without
complicated and expensive mechanical structures gently to
accelerate a conveyed object during the movement from a
first conveyor of relatively low speed to a second conveyor
oF higher speed. In practice this has been found to be
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reaclily applicable and the arrangelnent has been proved to
Function well in practical trials.
Since in the embodimen-t oF the appara-tus in accor-
dance with the invention described above the end pulley 6
is used as the device which con-trols the change of orien-
ta-tion of the driving element, the tipping of the driving
elements must ~take place at a part of the conveyor which
is provided with a pulley, that is to say usually at the
two ends oF the conveyor. If a temporary accelera-tion or
retardation of an object moved on the conveyor is to take
place in an area oF the conveyor which does not pass over
an end pulley, this may be achieved by means oF a second
embodiment of the arrangment in accordance with the
invention which is illustrated in Figure 2.
In Figure 2 only one conveyor 1~ is shown,
corresponding to the conveyor 1 in Figure 1. Other par-ts
of the arrangement may be of the same design as in Figure 1
and are not described in greater detail. Like the conveyor
1, the conveyor 18 comprises two end pulleys 19, 20 over
which passes an endless conveyor belt 21. The conveyor
belt 21, like -the conveyor belt 3 in Figure 1, may be in the
form of a chain, for example, which carries driving elements
22 fitted at a regular pitch. The driving elements 22 are
in the form of fingers or arms which are attached to the
conveyor belt 21 so that they can swivel about axles 23
which are parallel to one another and parallel to the axes
of rotation of the end pulleys 19 and 2~. Each driving
element 22 is provided with an arm or control part 24
extending on the opposite side of the axle or the conveyor
belt 21 which at its end has a roller 25. During the movement
of the conveyor belt the rollers 25 run along a cam 26
which extends along the whole length of the belt 21. The
distance between the cam 26 and the conveyor belt 21 is
constant, except For the part of the active portion of the
conveyor belt 21, where the orientation of the driving element
22 in relation -to -the direct-ion o-f movelnent o-f -the conveyor
belt is to be changed. Within -the said area -the cam 26
and the conveyor bel-t 21 draw nearer towards each other,
so that the driving elements 22 are -tipped forward by the
rollers 25 and con-trol parts 2~ running alony the cam 26
in the direction of movement of -the conveyor. As a
result the required increase of the speed of movement
of the conveyed object 15 and the subsequent working rnoment
are obtained, e.g. the trans-fer of the object lS to a
faster conveyor can take place without hindrance.
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Although the apparatus described in Figure 2 is
of a more complicated and hence somewhat more expensive
design, it offers certain advantages over the apparatus
shown in Figure 1, which advantages under cer-tain circum-
stances can make up for -the disadvantages conditioned by
the construction. Thus, for example, -the temporary accelera-
tion of the conveyed objects may take place at any desired
part of the whole length of the conveyor. During the
acceleration and the total final speed of the object can
be controlled very accurately, and independently of such
factors as the diameter of the end pul.leys, and it is also
possible to provide a nega-tive acceleration of the objects,
should -this be desired.
A feeding apparatus in accordance with the in-
vention can be combined, of course, with a number of dif-
ferent types of conveyors, and it is also possible to
orientate the conveyors in a different manner to that shown
in the Figures. The two conveyors in Figure 1 may be arranged
sequentially in the same plane, for example, the feeding out
surface 17 being omitted and the end pulleys 6 and 7 of the
two conveyors partly engaging in one another, which can be
solved simply in that either the end pulley 6 or the end
pulley 7 is in the form of two separate pulleys situated at
some distance from each other. Naturally, in this case
the conveyor passing over these pulleys must be in the form
of two conveyor belts or chains running next to one another.
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