Spatially modulated magnetic fields for part selection and alignment on a conveyor belt

摘要

A conveyor belt with integrated spatially-modulated magnetic arrays and a vibrating device, and a method for use thereof are described, for sorting and aligning parts. A part which is to be sorted and aligned is provided with a spatially-modulated magnetic array that is complementary to that which is integrated into the conveyor belt. The vibrating device assures that parts placed in arbitrary locations on the conveyor belt will be sufficiently moved to come into magnetic proximity with the magnetic arrays integrated into the conveyor belt. A system of multiple conveyor belts for sorting and/or aligning a number of different parts is disclosed.