SEPARATING DEVICE FOR A HANGING CONVEYOR SYSTEM

Abstract

A separating device for separating holding adapters in a conveying device for conveying hanging objects, wherein the separating device comprises two separating elements that are each designed as a disk having a plurality of entrainment elements, designed as pinion teeth, and which are mounted so as to be able to rotate in opposite directions with respect to one another in a plane and are arranged spaced apart from one another in such a manner that holding adapters can be conveyed through the separating elements, where, in one possible rotational position of the separating elements on an imaginary line between an axis of rotation of a first separating element and an axis of rotation of a second separating element, a pinion tooth of the first separating element and a pinion tooth of the second separating element are located with their end faces opposite one another.

Claims

1. A separating device for separating holding adapters in a conveying device for conveying hanging objects, wherein the separating device comprises: first and second separating elements that are each configured as a disk having a plurality of entrainment elements configured as pinion teeth, wherein the separating elements are mounted so as to be able to rotate in opposite directions with respect to one another in a plane and are spaced apart from one another such that holding adapters can be conveyed through the separating elements; wherein in one possible rotational position of the separating elements on an imaginary line between an axis of rotation of the first separating element and an axis of rotation of the second separating element, a pinion tooth of the first separating element and a pinion tooth of the second separating element are located with their end faces opposite one another.

2. The separating device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, as seen in the direction of rotation of the respective separating element, a front flank of at least one of the pinion teeth is steeper than a rear flank of the same pinion tooth.

3. The separating device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first and second separating elements are connected to one another via torque-transmitting and/or rotational speed-transmitting connecting elements.

4. The separating device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the connecting elements comprise a gear mechanism having a transmission ratio of 1:1.

5. The separating device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a housing for mounting at least one of the first and second separating elements.

6. The separating device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the at least one of the first and second separating elements mounted on the housing is mounted via a rolling bearing

7. The separating device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the rolling bearing comprises a ball bearing.

8. The separating device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a rotating actuator, and wherein a rotation of at least one of the first and second separating elements can be effected with the actuator.

9. The separating device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the rotating actuator comprises an electric motor.

10. The separating device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the electric motor comprises a stepping motor.

11. The separating device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second separating elements are connected to one another via torque-transmitting and/or rotational speed-transmitting connecting elements.

12. The separating device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the connecting elements comprise a gear mechanism.

13. The separating device as claimed in claim 11, further comprising a housing for mounting at least one of the first and second separating elements.

14. The separating device as claimed in claim 11, further comprising a rotating actuator, and wherein a rotation of at least one of the first and second separating elements can be effected with the actuator.

15. A system comprising holding adapters and a separating device: wherein the separating device comprises first and second separating elements that are each configured as a disk having a plurality of entrainment elements configured as pinion teeth, and wherein the separating elements are mounted so as to be able to rotate in opposite directions with respect to one another in a plane and are spaced apart from one another such that holding adapters can be conveyed through the separating elements; wherein in one possible rotational position of the separating elements on an imaginary line between an axis of rotation of the first separating element and an axis of rotation of the second separating element, a pinion tooth of the first separating element and a pinion tooth of the second separating element are located with their end faces opposite one another; and wherein the pinion teeth are arranged with respect to one another such that only a single holding adapter is accommodated in a region formed by two adjacent pinion teeth of the first separating element and two adjacent pinion teeth of the second separating element.

16. The system as claimed in claim 15, wherein an engagement element of the single holding adapter is accommodated in the region formed by two adjacent pinion teeth of the first separating element and two adjacent pinion teeth of the second separating element.

17. The system as claimed in claim 15, further comprising a rail profile for mounting and guiding the holding adapters, and wherein each of the first and second separating elements are connected to a shaft and the shafts are disposed on both sides of the rail profile.

18. The system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the separating device comprises a housing for mounting at least one of the first and second separating elements, and wherein the at least one of the first and second separating elements is mounted on the housing by a rolling bearing, and wherein the housing of the separating device engages at least partially around the rail profile.

19. A method for separating holding adapters in a conveying device for conveying hanging objects, said method comprising: providing a separating device having two separating elements that are each designed as a disk having a plurality of entrainment elements, wherein the entrainment elements are designed as pinion teeth, and wherein the separating elements are mounted so as to be able to rotate in opposite directions with respect to one another in a plane and are disposed on both sides of a conveying path with holding adapters to be separated, and wherein the pinion teeth are arranged with respect to one another in such a manner that only a single holding adapter is accommodated in a region formed by two adjacent pinion teeth of a first one of the separating elements and two adjacent pinion teeth of a second one of the separating elements; and rotating the separating elements in opposite directions with respect to one another by a specified angle of rotation in order to detach and thus separate the single holding adapter from a group of holding adapters.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the pinion teeth are arranged with respect to one another such that an engagement element of the single holding adapter is accommodated in the region formed by two adjacent pinion teeth of the first one of the separating elements and two adjacent pinion teeth of the second one of the separating elements, and wherein said rotating the separating elements in opposite directions with respect to one another comprises detaching and separating the single holding adapter from an accumulated group of holding adapters.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of four holding adapters and a schematic plan view of an embodiment of the separating device in accordance with the invention at a first time;

[0041] FIG. 1a shows a sectional view of four holding adapters and a schematic plan view of an embodiment of the separating device of FIG. 1 at a second time;

[0042] FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective view of a system having an embodiment of the separating device in accordance with the invention;

[0043] FIG. 3 shows a combined side and sectional view of the system of FIG. 2;

[0044] FIG. 4 shows a schematic perspective view of a system having a further embodiment of the separating device in accordance with the invention; and

[0045] FIG. 5 shows a combined side and sectional view of the system of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0046] FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of four holding adapters 20 and a schematic plan view of an embodiment of the separating device 1 in accordance with the invention at a first time. FIG. 1a shows a sectional view of four holding adapters 20 and a schematic plan view of the embodiment of the separating device 1 of FIG. 1 at a second time. The second time differs from the first time, wherein the second time of FIG. 1a is later than the first time of FIG. 1.

[0047] The separating device 1 in the illustrated embodiment has two disk-shaped separating elements 2 which are mounted so as to be able to rotate in opposite directions with respect to one another in a plane and in each case about an axis of rotation D. To this end, a first separating element 2′ is mounted so as to be able to rotate in a first direction of rotation d1 or clockwise and a second separating element 2″ is mounted so as to be able to rotate in a second direction of rotation d2 or anticlockwise. The separating elements 2 are arranged mirror-symmetrically on both sides of a conveying path which is provided for conveying holding adapters 20. The holding adapters 20 which can be conveyed in a conveying direction x can be conveyed through the two separating elements 2. The conveying direction x extends such that it “harmonises” with the first direction of rotation d1 and the second direction of rotation d2.

[0048] The separating elements 2 have entrainment elements which are designed as pinion teeth 4. The pinion teeth 4 are suitable for entraining the holding adapters 20, in particular by engaging with an engagement element 21 of the retaining adapter 20. In the illustrated exemplified embodiment, both separating elements 2 each have eight pinion teeth 4.

[0049] It is readily apparent that, as seen in the direction of rotation d of the respective separating element 2, a front flank 4a of the pinion teeth 4 is steeper than a rear flank 4b of the pinion teeth 4. This allows the engagement element 21 of a first holding adapter 20′ (see FIG. 1) or the engagement element 21 of a second holding adapter 20″ (see FIG. 1a) to be received in a friction-free manner into a region between two adjacent pinion teeth 4 of the first separating element 2′ and two adjacent pinion teeth 4 of the second separating element 2″. The region is designed in such a manner that only a single engagement element 21 fits into it or is accommodated therein.

[0050] It can likewise be clearly seen that, in the illustrated rotational position of the separating elements 2 on an imaginary line between the axis of rotation D of the first separating element 2′ and an axis of rotation D of the second separating element 2″ a pinion tooth 4 of the first separating element 2′ and a pinion tooth 4 of the second separating element 2″ are located with their end faces 4c opposite one another. The four holding adapters 20 (see FIG. 1) or the three holding adapters (see FIG. 1a) are accumulated in a group at the thus disposed pinion teeth 4 on an input side E of the separating device 1 at the times shown.

[0051] In the separating method, the separating elements 2 are simultaneously or synchronously rotated in opposite directions with respect to one another by a specified angle of rotation in order to detach and to separate the first holding adapter 20′ (see FIG. 1) or the second holding adapter 20″ (see FIG. 1a) lying at the front in the conveying direction from the accumulated group of holding adapters 20 and thus to carry out a first separating procedure.

[0052] The specified angle of rotation, by which the separating elements 2 are rotated during each separating procedure, is determined by the number of pinion teeth 4. A separating procedure corresponds in particular to an angle of rotation of 360 degrees divided by the number of pinion teeth 4 on one of the separating elements. In the present case, the angle of rotation 360 degrees divided by eight pinion teeth 4 is equal to 45 degrees. During such a rotation (not shown), the first holding adapter 20′ (see FIG. 1) or second holding adapter 20″ (see FIG. 1a) lying at the front in the conveying direction is pressed out or pushed out on an output side A of the separating device 1 by means of the two pinion teeth 4 engaging with said holding adapters.

[0053] At the time shown in FIG. 1a, the first holding adapter 20′ is already separated. As can be seen in FIG. 1a, the subsequent second holding adapter 20″ is fixedly held on the pinion teeth 4, in particular on the same pinion teeth 4, with which the first holding adapter 20′ was previously pressed out or pushed out. The second holding adapter 20″ is then already received into the region between the separating elements 2.

[0054] The previously described separating procedure is repeated in order to separate the second holding adapter 20″ and further holding adapters 20.

[0055] FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective view of a system having an embodiment of the separating device 1 in accordance with the invention. FIG. 3 shows a combined side and sectional view of the system of FIG. 2. The system comprises, in addition to the separating device 1, a rail profile 101 and four holding adapters 20 which are mounted and guided in the rail profile 101. The holding adapters 20 each have an engagement element 21 which, in the present case, is formed by a neck part of the holding adapter 20 disposed below the rail profile 101. The separating device 1 has, in addition to the separating elements 2, an actuator 9, an angle gear 12, a shaft coupling 7, a gear mechanism 5, a housing 8 and a first shaft 6′ and a second shaft 6″.

[0056] In the present case, the actuator 9 is designed as an electric motor, more specifically as a stepping motor. The first shaft 6′ is driven by the actuator 9, wherein the angle gear 12 and the shaft coupling 7 are disposed between the first shaft 6′ and the actuator 9. The shaft coupling 7 comprises two coupling elements 7a, wherein one of the coupling elements 7a is connected to the first shaft 6′ and the other coupling element 7a is connected to an output shaft of the angle gear 12. Alternatively, in an embodiment without an angle gear 12, the latter coupling element 7a can also be directly connected to the actuator 9, in particular to the rotor thereof.

[0057] In the illustrated embodiment, the housing 8 is disposed on the rail profile. The actuator 9 and the angle gear 12 are fastened to the housing 8 via an L-shaped bracket 11. In the present case, the bracket 11 is fastened by means of a screw connection. However, it is possible to use any other type of connection, such as e.g. a form-fitting connection.

[0058] The gear mechanism 5 has two gear wheels 5a which are the same size, have the same number of teeth and engage with one another. Therefore, in the present case the gear mechanism 5 has a transmission ratio of 1:1. In the illustrated embodiment, the gear wheels 5a are disposed outside the housing 8. It is feasible that, alternatively, they are disposed inside the housing 8.

[0059] The first shaft 6′ is connected to one of the gear wheels 5a and moreover to the first separating element 2′ (not shown). The second shaft 6″ is connected to the further gear wheel 5a and moreover to the second separating element 2″. The first separating element 2′ and the second separating element 2″ have the pinion teeth 4 in accordance with the invention. Both shafts 6 are mounted on the housing 8 via, in each case, two ball bearings 10. In FIG. 3, the bearing of the second shaft 6″ can be clearly seen. The ball bearings 10 are disposed spaced apart from one another. The first shaft 6′, not shown, is similarly mounted on the housing 8. The shafts 6 are disposed on both sides of the rail profile 101. However, only the second shaft 6″ can be seen in the figure. The first shaft 6′ cannot be seen because it is covered by the rail profile 101.

[0060] FIG. 4 shows a schematic perspective view of a system having a further embodiment of the separating device 1 in accordance with the invention. FIG. 5 shows a combined side and sectional view of the system of FIG. 4.

[0061] The embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 differs from the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 in terms of the design of the housing 8. While the housing 8 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is disposed on the rail profile 101, the housing 8 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is disposed on, next to and underneath the rail profile 101 and thus engages around it completely. Alternatively, it is feasible to have embodiments, in which the housing 8 engages merely partially around the rail profile 101.

[0062] By reason of the housing 8 configured in this manner, in particular the mounting of the two shafts 6 can be effected differently to the mounting shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, wherein the two ball bearings 10 are arranged at a greater spacing from one another. Otherwise, the description relating to FIGS. 2 and 3 applies analogously to FIGS. 4 and 5. However, even if no holding adapters 20 are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, they can be mounted and guided in the rail profile and can be separated by the illustrated separating device 1 in precisely the same way as in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0063] Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the principles of the present invention which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims, as interpreted according to the principles of patent law including the doctrine of equivalents. The priority German application no. DE 10 2022 103 809.2, filed on Feb. 17, 2022, is hereby incorporated by reference, in particular for support with regard to the translation for the present disclosure.