Abstract:
The present invention is a conveying apparatus for the bi-directional guidance of one or more objects, ingredients, products, containers, packs or packaging components from a primary location to a secondary location. Matter, such as the objects, ingredients, products, containers, packs or packaging component, supplied to the conveying apparatus from the primary location are monitored and corresponding speed and directional values are determined that are indicative of the relationship between matter supplied to the conveying apparatus and the matter being guided by the conveying apparatus to the secondary location. Based upon the speed and directional values, the conveying apparatus may be managed for bi-directional guidance of one or more objects from the primary location to the secondary location.

Description:
RELATED U.S. APPLICATION DATA 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to commonly assigned U.S. provisional application Ser. No.  61 / 634 , 216 , filed February  24 ,  2012 , and entitled CONVEYING APPARATUS, the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference herein. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention is in the technical field of conveyors, as machines and equipment which guide matter, such as one or more objects, ingredients, products, containers, packs or packaging components, from one place to another. More particularly, the present invention is in the technical field of a conveyor apparatus for the bi-directional guidance, sorting, orientating, combining, indexing or unscrambling of matter, such as one or more objects, ingredients, products, containers, packs or packaging components, from a primary location to a secondary location. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The present invention is directed to a conveying apparatus and, in particular, to a conveying apparatus in which matter, such as one or more objects, ingredients, products, containers, packs or packaging components is supplied to the conveying apparatus from a primary location and are guided by the conveying apparatus to a secondary location. The present invention is compatible to linear sorters, including positive displacement sorters, and carousel sorters, such as a tilt-tray and cross belt sorters. It is common for matter to be supplied to a material-handling apparatus for the guidance of the products from a primary location to a secondary location. One difficulty in such material-handling apparatus is that such apparatus are typically limited to guidance in a single direction. Where a user prefers guidance in more than one direction, multiple material-handling apparatus are required, at expense to the user in terms of process speed and required process footprint. 
         [0004]    The various aspects of the present invention relate to the speed and bi-directional guidance of matter, such as one or more objects, ingredients, products, containers, packs or packaging components from a primary location to a secondary location. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome some of the drawbacks relating to the designs of prior art devices as discussed above. The present invention is a bi-directional conveying apparatus for guiding matter, such as one or more objects, ingredients, products, containers, packs or packaging components, from a primary location to a secondary location, which increases the performance of a one directional material-handling apparatus by ensuring speed and directional efficiency in one unit, therefore improving process speed and reducing required process footprint. In other aspects, the invention provides a conveying apparatus optimizing speed and directional guidance of matter, such as one or more objects, ingredients, products, containers, packs or packaging components, from a primary location to a secondary location having features and advantages corresponding to those discussed above. These and other objects, advantages and features of this invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art upon review of the following specification in conjunction with the drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    Having thus described the present invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a conveying apparatus of the present invention; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a front view of the conveying apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a front view of the conveying apparatus of  FIG. 1 , having a primary location; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a side view of the conveying apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is an alternate side view of the conveying apparatus of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
       [0012]    It should be understood that the drawings are for purposes of illustrating the concepts of the present invention and are not necessarily the only possible configurations for illustrating the present invention. 
       DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0013]    The preferred embodiments of the present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some examples of the embodiments of the present invention are shown. Indeed, the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. 
         [0014]    The present invention is a conveying apparatus for guiding one or more objects, ingredients, products, containers, packs or packaging components from a primary location to a secondary location. Referring now specifically to the drawings of  FIGS. 1-5 , and the illustrative embodiments depicted therein, there is shown a conveying apparatus  10  comprising a conveyor means  12 , and at least one integrally formed push plate member  14 , in a novel combination operable in a novel manner. The conveyor means  12  follows a continuous loop-shaped bi-directional path of travel, having the push plate member  14  aligned in the bi-directional path and speed of travel of the conveyor means  12 . The conveying apparatus  10  includes at least one driving means  18  for guiding the conveyor means  12  such that the conveyor means  12  is rotated aligned with the path and speed of travel. The driving means  18  is connected to the conveyor means  12  by at least one drive shaft means. 
         [0015]    The conveying apparatus  10  of the present invention is configurable to guide a plurality of different sized and shaped objects, ingredients, products, containers, packs or packaging components in conjunction with varied material handling systems from a primary location to a secondary location. The construction details of the conveying apparatus  10  as shown in  FIG. 1  are that the conveying apparatus  10  may of any sufficiently rigid and strong material such as high-strength plastic, metal, and the like. 
         [0016]    The conveying apparatus  10  as shown in  FIG. 1  is useful with other types of material-handling apparatus known in the art such as transverse belt sorters, stationary pusher sorters, tilt wheel sorters, and the like. 
         [0017]    In further detail, referring to  FIG. 2 , the conveying apparatus  10  has a receiving end  20  from the primary location for receiving guiding matter, such as one or more objects, ingredients, products, containers, packs or packaging components and one or more discharge ends for discharging the guiding matter to the secondary location. In the preferred embodiment, only one receiving end would be active at any one time, but it is reasonably conceived that more than one receiving end could be active for operations. The receiving end  20  and discharge ends could be made up of a plurality of belt conveyors, gravity conveyors, chutes, loading or unloading dock, or the like. 
         [0018]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the integrally formed push plate member  14  of the conveyor means  12  can function endlessly in either a frontwardly or backwardly direction and such direction is changeable during the conveying apparatus  10  use and operations. It is conceived that the push plate member  14  is substantially rigid and sufficiently wide and long to form a conveying surface for the guiding, sorting, orientating, combining, indexing or unscrambling of objects, ingredients, products, containers, packs or packaging components from a primary location to a secondary location. In the preferred embodiment, the push plate  14  is substantially a rectangle shape, although it is conceived that the push plate could be of any shape, size or angular configuration, which configuration does not otherwise extend below the plane of conveyor means  12 . In the preferred embodiment, the push plate  14  is adjustably aligned with the conveyor means  12  and the secondary location. 
         [0019]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 ,  4  and  5 , the conveyor means  12  is supported in an upright position by a frame means  16 . The frame means  16  defines at least one horizontal surface  24  laterally offset from the conveyor means  10 . The frame means  16  is sufficiently tall to hold the push plate member  14  a distance off the ground when the push plate member  14  is conveying around the loop-shaped path of travel. The horizontal surface  24  supports a plurality of control input means  22  and at least one status indicator. 
         [0020]    The preferred embodiment has a plurality of status indicators which are numbered or colored or otherwise marked so as to correspond to the status of the conveyor apparatus, which may include a start switch, a stop switch, and the like. In the preferred embodiment, it is reasonably conceived that the control input means  22  may rely on electrical or mechanical energy or other propulsion source as may be configured to the driving means  18 . The driving means  18  may include a variable speed and direction control means, which may be manually set or otherwise managed through real time or programmed application, such as a programmable logic controller, for bi-directional guidance of one or more objects by the conveying apparatus  10  from the primary location to the secondary location. The status indicator may include multiple color indicators, such as green, yellow, and red, utilized to indicate the status of the conveyor means  10 , including status of on/off, speed, direction, and the like. 
         [0021]    In the preferred embodiment, an object identification means located at or about the receiving end  20  may be configured to the speed and direction means for the operation of the conveyor means  12 , as aligned with the push plate member  14  the guiding, sorting, orientating, combining, indexing or unscrambling of objects, ingredients, products, containers, packs or packaging components from a primary location to a secondary location. Such object identification means may include an electrical operator, such as a photo eye, photo sensor, motion detector, a mechanical operator, programmed logic controller, a human or robot operator, scale or the like. In the preferred embodiment, the driving means  18  operates the conveyor means  12  at a slightly higher speed that the receiving end  20  or secondary location. 
         [0022]    The advantages of the present invention include, without limitation, that the conveying apparatus  10  can sort, orient, combine, index or unscramble objects, ingredients, products, containers, packs or packaging components from a primary location to a secondary location. In an alternate embodiment, the conveying apparatus  10  includes a plurality of conveying apparatus  12 , configured in parallel operations. 
         [0023]    While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. Other modifications will become apparent to the skilled artisan. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention as claimed.