Transverse-Belt Sorter Having a Control Device

Abstract

A control device for activating a transverse belt (8) of a conveying carriage (6) of a transverse-belt sorter (2), wherein a transverse-belt conveyor (4) for conveying an article in a transverse conveying direction, which is oriented substantially transversely to the conveying direction of the transverse-belt sorter (2), is formed on the conveying carriage (6), and wherein the transverse belt (8) can be driven mechanically, wherein the control device is configured so that, when the article is introduced laterally onto the transverse belt (8), it activates the transverse belt (8) such that the article is transported to a conveying position on the transverse belt (8) or, when the article is discharged laterally, it activates the transverse belt (8) such that the article is transported in the downward direction from a conveying position on the transverse belt (8); and wherein, when the article is introduced and/or discharged laterally, the control device activates the transverse belt (8) at least in dependence on a mass of the article.

Claims

1. A control device for activating a cross belt of a conveying truck of a cross-belt sorter, wherein a cross-belt conveyor for conveying a conveyed material in a cross conveying direction oriented substantially at right angles to the conveying direction of the cross-belt sorter has been formed on the conveying truck, and wherein the cross belt is capable of being driven mechanically, wherein the control device is configured to activate the cross belt in the course of the lateral charging of the conveyed material onto the cross belt in such a manner that the conveyed material is transported to a conveying position on the cross belt; and wherein in the course of the lateral charging of the conveyed material the control device activates the cross belt at least in a manner depending on a mass of the conveyed material.

2. The control device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the activation of the cross belt is effected—at least with respect to a drive direction, a drive duration and/or a driving force—in a manner depending on the mass of the conveyed material.

3. The control device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cross belt has been activated in such a manner that the conveyed material is conveyed along a cross transport path of the conveyed material from a charging position at a lateral edge of the conveying truck as far as the conveying position or from the conveying position to a discharging position at a lateral edge of the conveying truck.

4. The control device as claimed in claim 3, wherein, depending on the mass of the conveyed material, the cross belt has been activated over the entire cross transport path or for at least one mass-dependent subsection of the cross transport path or for no subsection of the cross transport path.

5. The control device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the cross belt has been activated and/or accelerated in the direction toward the conveying position and/or in the direction away from the conveying position, depending on the mass of the conveyed material.

6. A cross-belt sorter with at least one control device as claimed in claim 1 and with at least one conveying truck with a cross-belt conveyor for conveying a conveyed material in a cross conveying direction oriented substantially at right angles to the conveying direction of the cross-belt sorter, wherein in the course of the lateral charging of the conveyed material the control device activates the cross belt at least in a manner depending on a mass of the conveyed material.

7. The cross-belt sorter as claimed in claim 6 with a charging belt for lateral charging of the conveyed material onto one of the conveying trucks, wherein the charging belt exhibits a mass-ascertaining apparatus for ascertaining the mass of the conveyed material, and/or with at least one discharge station for receiving conveyed material discharged laterally.

8. The cross-belt sorter as claimed in claim 7, wherein in the course of the transportation on the charging belt the mass of the conveyed material has been ascertained by means of a registered power consumption of an electric motor for accelerating the conveyed material to a target speed or by means of a weighing device arranged in the charging belt.

9. The cross-belt sorter as claimed in claim 6, wherein the cross belt is capable of being driven by means of a friction-roller drive, wherein the friction-roller drive exhibits a friction roller, arranged on the conveying truck, and a first and second actuating flap arranged in stationary manner with respect to the conveying direction and designed to be capable of swiveling in the cross conveying direction, wherein the actuating flaps have been arranged opposite one another in the cross conveying direction and the friction roller is capable of being arranged between the actuating flaps, and wherein the cross conveying direction comprises a first cross conveying direction and a second cross conveying direction oriented contrary to the first.

10. The cross-belt sorter as claimed in claim 9, wherein the cross belt is capable of being driven in the first cross conveying direction by means of a contact of the friction roller with the first actuating flap and/or is capable of being driven in the second cross conveying direction by means of a contact of the friction roller with the second actuating flap.

11. A method for lateral charging of a conveyed material onto a conveying truck of the cross-belt sorter as claimed in claim 6, with the following steps: ascertaining a mass of the conveyed material to be charged lateral charging of the conveyed material onto a cross belt of the conveying truck, and activating the cross belt in a manner depending on the mass of the conveyed material by means of a control device as claimed in claim 1 for transporting the conveyed material into the conveying position on the cross belt.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein data relating to the mass of the conveyed material are communicated to the control device prior to the lateral charging of the conveyed material.

13. A control device for activating a cross belt of a conveying truck of a cross-belt sorter, wherein a cross-belt conveyor for conveying a conveyed material in a cross conveying direction oriented substantially at right angles to the conveying direction of the cross-belt sorter has been formed on the conveying truck, and wherein the cross belt is capable of being driven mechanically, wherein the control device is configured to activate the cross belt in the course of the lateral discharging of the conveyed material in such a manner that the conveyed material is transported down from a conveying position on the cross belt; and wherein in the course of the lateral discharging of the conveyed material the control device activates the cross belt at least in a manner depending on a mass of the conveyed material.

14. The cross-belt sorter according to claim 6, wherein in the course of the lateral discharging of the conveyed material the control device also activates the cross belt at least in a manner depending on a mass of the conveyed material.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein the following steps are carried out to laterally discharge conveyed material from the conveying truck of the cross-belt sorter: lateral discharging of the conveyed material from the cross belt of the conveying truck and activating the cross belt in a manner depending on the mass of the conveyed material by means of the control device as claimed in claim 1 for transporting the conveyed material from the conveying position on the cross belt.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] Shown are:

[0053] FIG. 1 a top view of a portion of a cross-belt sorter; and

[0054] FIG. 2 a cross-section through a conveying truck with cross-belt conveyor

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0055] The portion of a cross-belt sorter 2 shown in FIG. 1 consists, on the one hand, of a cross-belt conveyor 4 which, in turn, has been assembled from individual conveying trucks 6 connected to one another. It will be understood that the cross-belt conveyor 4 is constructed as a closed system consisting of a plurality of conveying trucks 6, in order to cover a particular conveying route (for instance, an oval).

[0056] Each conveying truck 6 exhibits a cross belt 8 onto which a conveyed material 10 can be charged which can subsequently be discharged by motion of the cross belt 8 to one side or the other. The discharging is effected into chutes or slides arranged laterally alongside the conveying trucks 6 in the course of the conveying route, which are not represented in FIG. 1.

[0057] For the purpose of charging the conveyed material 10, it is firstly loaded onto a transfer belt 12 and transported to an acceptance belt 14 and transferred thereto. The acceptance belt 14 may consist of several timing-belt or buffer-belt portions 16 situated one behind the other.

[0058] An angle-compensating portion 18, which preferentially may take the form of a so-called “strip merge”, serves as a connection between the acceptance belt 14 and the conveying truck 6. Such a merge consists of individual narrow belts arranged alongside one another in parallel, which in the connecting region are moved onto the acceptance belt 14 via a driven diverting roller.

[0059] A mass-ascertaining apparatus 20 serves for the ascertainment, according to the invention, of the mass of the conveyed material 10. It will be understood that the respective conveyed material 10 may have an extremely wide range of masses—colloquially, an extremely wide range of weights.

[0060] As explained in the introduction, the varying masses influence the position of the conveyed material 10 on the conveying truck 6 or, to be more exact, on the cross belt 8. This is the case, in particular, when the cross belt 8 of the conveying truck 6 is not held in a state of rest and is set in motion by application or charging of, in particular, a conveyed material 10 having a large mass. In order to be able to take varying masses of the respective conveyed material 10 into account, in accordance with the invention the mass-ascertaining apparatus 20 is provided. The latter may be an apparatus for registering the mass—for instance, a weighing device—or an apparatus for registering a current consumption (or a torque) of the drive elements (as a rule, of the drive motors) for driving the timing-belt or buffer-belt portions 16. In particular, synchronous drum motors come into operation by way of drive motor. As is generally known, the timing-belt or buffer-belt portions 16 are belt conveyors, the belts of which are moved via the aforementioned drive elements. In this connection it will be understood that in the course of the motion of a conveyed material 10 having a large mass a higher current consumption obtains at the drive motor than in the case of a lower mass. This is because the acceleration is to be kept constant in the region of the timing-belt or buffer-belt portions 16, or in the region of the timing-belt or buffer-belt portions 16 a particular final speed is to be attained, starting from a particular initial speed. The values for the current consumption—in particular, the maximum current consumption, where appropriate the total current consumption—corresponding to the respective mass of the conveyed material 10 can then be ascertained empirically. Instead of the current consumption, the torque—in particular, the maximum torque—can also be ascertained. The values ascertained in this manner serve to adjust the control device for driving the cross belt 8 of the respective conveying truck 6 in such a way that the respective conveyed material 10 to be charged onto the conveying truck 6 takes up the desired conveying position.

[0061] It is also conceivable that the mass-ascertaining apparatus registers the appropriate values in the region of the transfer belt 12 or in the region of the angle-compensating portion 18.

[0062] The aim is ultimately to ensure that the respective conveyed material 10 reaches a desired conveying position on the cross belt 8 of the conveying truck 6.

[0063] FIG. 2 shows a cross-section through a conveying truck 6 with a cross-belt conveyor 4, on the cross belt 8 of which a conveyed material 10 has been charged centrally. The direction of motion of the conveying trucks 6 arranged one behind the other is perpendicular to the plane of the page. The motion of the cross belt 8 is perpendicular to the direction of motion of the conveying trucks 6, accordingly to the right or to the left in FIG. 2.

[0064] The drive of the cross belt 8 is effected in known manner as described in EP 0 930 248 B1. In this case the drive consists of a friction wheel 22 arranged beneath the cross belt 8, which drives a friction roller via a gear mechanism. The friction wheel 22 is set in motion via actuating flaps 24, 26, by the actuating flaps 24, 26 being swiveled toward the friction wheel 22 during the motion of the conveying truck 6, in order to abut the friction wheel.

[0065] The control device influences a time and a duration of the abutment of the actuating flaps 24, 26 in a manner depending on the ascertained mass of the conveyed material 10 charged onto the cross belt 8. In this connection it will be understood that, for instance, in the course of the abutment of actuating flap 24 against the friction wheel 22 for the drive thereof a correction of the resulting speed or run-off distance of the cross belt 8 can be effected by the opposing actuating flap 26. In this case, actuating flap 24 serves for the drive, and the opposing actuating flap 26 serves for decelerating or retarding the friction wheel 22 and consequently the cross belt 8.

[0066] If, for instance, a conveyed material 10 of high mass is charged onto the cross belt 8, under certain circumstances it may not be necessary to drive the cross belt 8, since the motion of the charged conveyed material 10 is sufficient to move the cross belt 8, in order to convey the conveyed material 10 into the desired conveying position (preferentially centrally) on the cross belt 8. It may even be necessary to decelerate or to stop the motion of the cross belt 8, resulting by virtue of the charging of the conveyed material 10, by the abutment of the corresponding actuating flap 24, 26 against the friction wheel 22, in order to ensure that the conveyed material 10 will not be conveyed too far beyond the desired conveying position.

[0067] In the case of a comparatively low mass of the conveyed material 10, on the other hand, it may be necessary to provide for a drive of the friction wheel 22 by means of the corresponding actuating flap 24, 26, since the motion of the cross belt 8 resulting by virtue of the charging of the lightweight conveyed material 10 may turn out to be too slight to convey the conveyed material 10 into the desired conveying position on the cross belt 8 without any drive.

[0068] The corresponding motions of the actuating flaps 24, 26 are effected by means of the control device in a manner depending on the aforementioned values corresponding to the respective mass of the conveyed material 10. This applies not only to the charging of the conveyed material 10 but also to the discharging of the conveyed material 10. In other words, the ascertained masses of the respective conveyed material 10 are intended to influence the control device and consequently the motion of the actuating flaps 24, 26 even when the conveyed material 10 is being discharged from the cross belt 8.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0069] 2 cross-belt sorter [0070] 4 cross-belt conveyor [0071] 6 conveying truck [0072] 8 cross belt [0073] 10 conveyed material [0074] 12 transfer belt [0075] 14 acceptance belt [0076] 16 timing-belt or buffer-belt portion [0077] 18 angle-compensating portion [0078] 20 mass-ascertaining apparatus [0079] 22 friction wheel [0080] 24 actuating flap [0081] 26 actuating flap