CONVEYOR BOWL, VIBRATORY CONVEYOR DEVICE HAVING THE CONVEYOR BOWL, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE CONVEYOR BOWL

Abstract

A conveyor bowl for a vibratory conveyor device includes a main body made of stainless steel and manufactured by primary shaping. The main body has an interface section for coupling to a vibration unit, and a conveyor section for conveying conveyed parts. The main body may be designed as a cast part. The main body may be a precision cast part or an investment cast part. The main body may be made of austenite. The interface section and the conveyor section may be formed in one piece or formed integrally with the main body.

Claims

1.-10. (canceled)

11. A conveyor bowl for a vibratory conveyor device comprising: a main body made of stainless steel and manufactured by primary shaping, comprising: an interface section for coupling to a vibration unit; and a conveyor section for conveying conveyed parts.

12. The conveyor bowl of claim 11 wherein the main body is designed as a cast part.

13. The conveyor bowl of claim 12 wherein the main body is a precision cast part or an investment cast part.

14. The conveyor bowl of claim 11 wherein the main body is made of austenite.

15. The conveyor bowl of claim 11 wherein the interface section and the conveyor section are formed in one piece or formed integrally with the main body.

16. The conveyor bowl of claim 11 wherein the conveyor section forms a conveyor track with a spiral-shape, a screw-like shape or a helical shape.

17. The conveyor bowl of claim 16 wherein: the main body comprises a bowl bottom and bowl opening; and the conveyor track or the conveyor section comprises a diameter that increases from the bowl bottom to the bowl opening.

18. The conveyor bowl of claim 16 further comprising a wall section, wherein the wall section forms a lateral guide along the conveyor track.

19. A vibratory conveyor comprising: a vibration unit; and the conveyor bowl of claim 11 operatively connected to the vibration unit.

20. The vibratory conveyor of claim 19 designed as a spiral conveyor device.

21. A method for producing the conveyor bowl of claim 11 comprising manufacturing the main body via primary shaping.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Further features, advantages and effects of the disclosure result from the following description of exemplary embodiments and the attached figures. In the figures:

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a schematic, three-dimensional representation of a conveyor bowl in a view from below as a first exemplary embodiment of the disclosure;

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a schematic three-dimensional sectional view of a vibratory conveyor device as a further exemplary embodiment of the disclosure;

[0025] FIG. 3 shows a schematic three-dimensional sectional view of a vibratory conveyor device as a further exemplary embodiment of the disclosure; and

[0026] FIG. 4 shows a schematic three-dimensional sectional view of a vibratory conveyor device as a further exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a conveyor bowl 1 as an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure in a schematic three-dimensional view. The conveyor bowl 1 is designed as a circular shell. In this exemplary embodiment, the bowl bottom 2 is designed without a base or baseless, so that a base opening 3 is formed.

[0028] The conveyor bowl 1 has a main body 4, the main body 4 being formed from a common section of material. For example, the main body 4 is formed as one piece and/or integrally.

[0029] From a structural point of view, the main body 4 has an interface section 5. The interface section 5 is for coupling the conveyor bowl 1 or the main body 4 to a vibration unit 6, where the vibration unit 6 is part of a vibrating conveyor device 7, as shown, for example, in FIG. 3 or in FIG. 4. Vibrations and/or oscillations are introduced into the conveyor bowl 1 via the interface section 5 to transport and orient conveyed product arranged in the conveyor bowl 1 along a conveyor track 8, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4. The vibratory conveyor device 7 corresponds to a vibratory conveyor, for example a spiral conveyor or a vibratory spiral conveyor.

[0030] The conveyor track 8 is formed by a conveyor section 9, the conveyor section 9 being designed as a spiral ascending from the bowl bottom 2 in the direction of a bowl opening 10. The course and extension of the conveyor track 8 can be formed by a radial vector rotating about a main axis and simultaneously ascending in the direction of the bowl opening 10 along the main axis, e.g., inclined outwards.

[0031] Furthermore, the conveyor bowl 1 and/or the main body 4 has a wall section 11, the wall section 11 forming a radial boundary towards the outside for the conveyor track 8. From a structural point of view, the wall section 11 connects the individual spiral areas of the conveyor section 9 in the vertical direction of the conveyor bowl 1 and/or of the main body 4.

[0032] The main body has molded-on axial ribs 12 which extend in an axial direction to the main axis. The axial ribs 12 serve to increase the mechanical stability and/or rigidity of the conveyor bowl 1 and/or the main body 4 and support the casting behavior.

[0033] The main body 4 of the conveyor bowl 1 is made of stainless steel and can therefore be used for the transport of conveyed products that meet the regulations for the food sector. In particular, the steel is a stainless steel without added sulfur, such as 1.4301 or 1.4307 or 1.4404 or 1.4571. The main body 4 is produced via a primary shaping process, namely via a cast. More precisely, this is a precision casting process or an investment casting process. The melt is fed into the casting mold under gravity. For better demoldability, the main body 4 may be positioned in the casting mold with the bowl opening 10 facing downwards.

[0034] FIG. 2 shows the conveyor bowl 1 from FIG. 1 or a similar conveyor bowl 1, with the same reference symbols denoting the same sections, components, etc., in each case, as is also the case in the following figures.

[0035] In FIG. 2, the spiral conveyor track 8 can be seen, which is formed as a surface on the conveyor section 9. The wall section 11 can also be seen. In principle, the bowl bottom 2 can be closed off in one piece in the main body 4 with a base section (not shown). For weight reasons, however, the bowl bottom 2 may be formed by a base 13 which is made of plastic.

[0036] In FIG. 2, an intermediate plate 14, also made of plastic, can also be seen, which forms an adapter between the vibration unit 6 and the conveyor bowl 1. As an alternative to this, the conveyor bowl 1 can also be connected directly to the vibration unit 6 for transmitting the vibrations and/or oscillations. In terms of the mode of operation, the product to be conveyed is transported along the conveyor track 8 to the output 15 by the vibrations and/or oscillations.

[0037] FIG. 3 shows an alternative embodiment of a vibratory conveyor device 7, which differs in the dimensions of the conveyor section 9 and wall section 11, for example. Furthermore, the base 13 is designed to be larger than in FIG. 2 and the intermediate plate 14 is also implemented differently. In the same way as before, the conveyor section 9 forms the conveyor track 8, which conveys the conveyed product from the base 13 to an output 15, to which a material guiding device 16 is connected.

[0038] FIG. 4 shows a further exemplary embodiment of a vibratory conveyor device 7, this in turn having a different conveyor bowl 1, which differs in the dimensions of the conveyor section 9 and wall section 11. In the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 4, the output 15 is connected to a material guiding device 16, which is designed as a linear conveyor and transports and/or orients the conveyed product.

[0039] Thus, a conveyor bowl 1, designed as a vibratory conveyor bowl and made of cast stainless steel is proposed, which is manufactured using the precision casting process. The precision casting may have an average roughness depth Rz, e.g., according to DIN EN ISO1302, of less than Rz 6.5, e.g., less than Rz 6.4, which results in the conveyed product, in particular the conveyor bowls (felt-like, silicone-like, plastic, metallic, etc.) can be conveyed more easily. The conveyor bowl may provide feeding of conveyed parts to machines and systems with the required performance and/or in the correct position across the entire value creation chain.

[0040] The vibration unit 6 and/or the oscillating conveyor device 7 may be designed as a rotary oscillating conveyor, for example. The conveyor bowl 1 is firmly connected to the vibration unit 6 as a drive so that the oscillation and/or vibration can be transmitted directly or indirectly to the conveyor bowl 1. The oscillation and/or vibrations cause the conveyor bowls to move and make it possible for them to be conveyed. The conveying behavior may be manipulated through partial coatings or linings. Attached, connected sorting devices, such as gutters, for example, can optionally be molded on or connected to the main body 4 as additional components. These sorting devices enable the conveyed parts can be transferred to the subsequent machines or their assemblies with the required performance and/or in the correct position.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0041] 1 Conveyor bowl [0042] 2 Bowl bottom [0043] 3 Base opening [0044] 4 Main body [0045] 5 Interface section [0046] 6 Vibration unit [0047] 7 Vibratory conveyor device [0048] 8 Conveyor track [0049] 9 Conveyor section [0050] 10 Bowl opening [0051] 11 Wall section [0052] 12 Axial ribs [0053] 13 Floor [0054] 14 Intermediate plate [0055] 15 Output [0056] 16 Material guiding device