Lateral sensor for conveyor belt
AssigneeCarrier Commercial Refrigeration, Inc.
InventorsJeffrey L. Sands, Ronald J. Glavan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lateral sensor positioned proximate to at least one of the edges of a conveyor belt continually monitors the position of the edge of the conveyor belt. If lateral movement is detected by the lateral sensor, an adjustment motor rotates to move an end of a non-drive pulley to adjust for the lateral movement. The lateral sensor can be a non-contacting inductive proximity sensor, a proportional sensor such as a linear variable displacement transducer or a linear potentiometer which determines if the edge of the conveyor belt has moved laterally by monitoring the resistance in the spring, or a Hall effect sensor.
Claims15
An endless member system comprising:
- a moveable endless member;
- a motor to move said endless member in a first direction;
- a sensor positioned proximate to an edge of said endless member to detect movement of said endless member from a desired position in a second direction which is perpendicular to said first direction;
- and
- an adjustment system to return said endless member to said desired position.
An endless member system comprising:
- a moveable endless member;
- a motor to move said endless member in a first direction;
- a first sensor positioned proximate to an edge of said endless member to detect movement of said endless member from a desired position in a second direction which is perpendicular to said first direction;
- a second sensor positioned proximate to an opposing edge of said endless member to detect movement of said endless member from said desired position in a third direction which is opposite to said second direction;
- an adjustment system to return said endless member to said desired position;
- and
- a non-drive pulley controlled by said adjustment system, and said adjustment system moves an end of said non-drive pulley when one of said sensors detect movement of said endless member in one of said second direction and said third direction, returning said endless member to said desired position.
A method of adjusting an endless member to a desired position comprising the steps of:
- moving said endless member in a first direction;
- detecting movement of said endless member from a desired position in a second direction which is perpendicular to said first direction;
- and
- adjusting said endless member to said desired position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.