Belt conveyor system, roller-engagement mechanism, and related method

摘要

A conveyor system having a roller-engagement mechanism and a method for conveying articles. The conveyor system includes an infeed conveyor feeding articles to a conveyor belt advancing in a direction of belt travel. The conveyor belt comprises obliquely rotatable rollers—single rollers or stacked sets of rollers—selectively activated by the roller-engagement mechanism. The roller-engagement mechanism has a rack supporting a plurality of flat belts. The flat belts advance in the direction of travel of the conveyor belt. The rack is movable between a first position in which the flat belts advancing with the conveyor belt contact the belt rollers to inhibit their rotation and carry articles atop the belt in the direction of belt travel and a second position in which the flat belts are out of contact with the belt rollers. In the second position, the roller-engagement mechanism can allow the belt rollers to rotate freely or can include a parallel set of elongated rollers between the flat belts put into rolling contact with the belt rollers to rotate them as the conveyor belt advances in the direction of belt travel.

主权项

1. A conveyor system comprising:
a first conveyor including:
a conveyor belt arranged to advance forward along a conveying path at a belt speed in a first direction and including:
a first side and a second side defining the width of the conveyor belt; anda plurality of belt rollers rotatable on axes of rotation oblique to the first direction and arranged in columns extending longitudinally in the first direction and spaced apart laterally across the width of the conveyor belt a distance d;a roller-engagement mechanism underlying the conveyor belt along a portion of the conveying path to form a roller-engagement zone, wherein the roller-engagement mechanism includes:
a plurality of parallel first belt support surfaces extending longitudinally and spaced apart laterally the same distance d as the columns of belt rollers, wherein the first belt support surfaces advance in the first direction at the belt speed;an actuator coupled to the first belt support surfaces to move the first belt support surfaces between a first position in which the first belt support surfaces are in contact with the belt rollers and a second position in which the first belt support surfaces are out of contact with the belt rollers;wherein, in the first position, the first belt support surfaces advance in the first direction at the belt speed to inhibit the rotation of the belt rollers passing through the roller-engagement zone.