Claims:1. An automated system for transferring of banana pseudo-stem sheaths, comprising:
a spacing conveyor or spacer conveyor [100];
a moving conveyor [101];
an infeed conveyor [102];
a backward limit switch [104A];
a forward limit switch [104B];
an output end, said output end [105] made as an end of the infeed conveyor where the components or parts of a next process is positioned;
a pinion [106A]; and
a rack [106B], wherein said rack fixed below a bed of the moving conveyor.
2. The automated system for transferring of banana pseudo-stem sheaths as claimed in claim 1, wherein said transfer conveyor system is a set of three independent belt conveyors arranged in a specific manner to facilitate material transfer in an orderly and precisely controlled manner for achieving maximum productivity, collaboratively.
3. The automated system for transferring of banana pseudo-stem sheaths as claimed in claim 1, said spacer conveyor [100] serves as a stage of separation between the raw materials and creates a gap that prevents object collision during a translocation process.
4. The automated system for transferring of banana pseudo-stem sheaths as claimed in claim 1, said moving conveyor [101] is responsible to layup of one article after another right beside each other parallel to the moving conveyor width.
5. The automated system for transferring of banana pseudo-stem sheaths as claimed in claim 1, said infeed conveyor [102] performs a task of moving the article to the next stage of the process keeping the new alignment intact.
6. The automated system for transferring of banana pseudo-stem sheaths as claimed in claim 1, wherein said conveyors configured as modular and customizable to a certain degree.
7. The automated system for transferring of banana pseudo-stem sheaths as claimed in claim 1, said three conveyors are controlled by the control board Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) unit to customize their operation to a high degree.
8. The automated system for transferring of banana pseudo-stem sheaths as claimed in claim 1, said incoming articles or materials made to move perpendicular to the length of the objects or articles.
9. The automated system for transferring of banana pseudo-stem sheaths as claimed in claim 1, whereas the outgoing articles move parallel to the length of the product.
10. The automated system for transferring of banana pseudo-stem sheaths as claimed in claim 1, wherein said transfer conveyor provisioned with frames and supporting structures to handle different loading capacities suitable for the application.
11. The automated system for transferring of banana pseudo-stem sheaths as claimed in claim 1, wherein said transfer conveyor provisioned to accommodate the material with complex shape and characteristics.
12. The automated system for transferring of banana pseudo-stem sheaths as claimed in claim 1, wherein said material made to align themselves by having the proper speed and movement.
13. The automated system for transferring of banana pseudo-stem sheaths as claimed in claim 1, wherein said transfer conveyor provisioned to support any additional checkpoint for quality and testing with the help of sensors as an accessory.
14. The automated system for transferring of banana pseudo-stem sheaths as claimed in claim 1, wherein said autonomous transfer conveyor and methods of translocating materials in process line, comprising steps of:
receiving a plurality of articles in a spacer conveyor [100];
collecting said articles in a moving conveyor [101] as it moves backwards;
reversing said moving conveyor [101] using a pair of forward and backward switches [104];
rotating said incoming articles perpendicular to the length of the article in an infeed conveyor [102]; and
making said outgoing articles parallel to the length of the article in the infeed conveyor [102].
, Description:[0043] The present invention as herein described an autonomous transfer conveyor and methods of receiving said articles in the spacer conveyor, collecting said articles in the moving conveyor as it moves backwards, reversing said moving conveyor using said forward and backward switches, rotating said incoming articles perpendicular to the length of the article in the infeed conveyor, and making said outgoing articles parallel to the length of the article in the infeed conveyor.
[0044] Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the assembly of functional components provisioned in the transfer conveyors, said transfer conveyor, comprising a spacing conveyor, said spacing conveyor or spacer [100] serves as a stage of separation between the raw materials, a moving conveyor, said moving conveyor [101] is responsible for the layup of one article after another right beside each other parallel to the moving conveyor [101] width, an infeed conveyor, said infeed conveyor [102] performs the simple task of taking the articles to the next process in the line, a backward limit switch, said backward limit switch [104A] configured as a physical reference point with an electronic switch to be detected by the moving conveyor [101] and know when to move backward, a forward limit switch, said forward limit switch [104B] configured as a reference point with an electronic switch to be detected by the moving conveyor [101] and know when to move forward, an output end, said output end [105] made as an end of the infeed conveyor [102] where the components or parts of next process is positioned, a pinion, said pinion [106A] provisioned to transfer the drive of the motor to enable said moving conveyor [101] to perform the desired action, and a rack, said rack [106B] configured to define the linear path of the moving conveyor [101].
[0045] Referring to Figure 3, in an embodiment, said transfer conveyor considered the length of materials or articles measured in the longitudinal direction is not bounded by any geometric constraints, but both the breadth and thickness have a maximum range of 300 mm to confirm an effective transformation of articles using the conveyor. Wherein said transfer conveyor provisioned with speed controller in form of a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) unit, to fine-tune the performance as per the load of the article moved. Said backward and forward limit switches [104] placed on the spacing conveyor decide the stroke length of articles laid down on the infeed conveyor [102] by controlling the distance the moving conveyor travels. Said parameter is the critical factor stating how many rows of articles need to arrange for the next stage. Said three conveyors are controlled by the control board Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) unit to customize their operation to a high degree.
[0046] Said transfer conveyor delivers the output as simply a new arrangement of the product, no physical alteration is done to the product transferred through the conveyors. Said material or article subjected to a rotation of 90 degrees of rotation and a division of batches where each batch has products arranged beside one another. Whereas the input is one long uniform row of products one after the other. Said incoming articles or materials made to move perpendicular to the length of the object, whereas the outgoing products move parallel to the length of the product. Wherein said transfer conveyor provisioned to support any additional checkpoint for quality and testing with the help of sensors as an accessory. The open-air belts enable even image processing for quality assurance to be added to the system and PLC with ease.
[0047] Referring to Figure 4, in an embodiment, the functionalities or methods of translocating the articles illustrated in a form of flow-chart representation, wherein said articles are loaded on the spacer conveyor [100] which has twice the linear speed relative to the previous velocity of the articles that generates a boost to the articles when they move from the slower to the faster conveyor and inevitably a gap is formed between the articles. Said moving conveyor [101] is attached at the end of the spacer conveyor which collects the articles as it moves backwards. Once the moving conveyor [101] is filled the limit switch is triggered and reverses the direction of the moving conveyor. Said moving conveyor provisioned to translate and rotate simultaneously and the present invention refers to only the reversal of translation linear motion and not the rotation of the belt of the moving conveyor [101]. In the forward stroke, the moving conveyor reaches the backward side of the infeed conveyor [102] while carrying the articles where it hits the forward limit switch. Said backward switch reverses the direction of the moving conveyor [101]. While moving backwards the moving conveyor lays down all the articles it had preloaded from the previous step. The laid down articles attain the required arrangement in the infeed conveyor [102] and then move forward in batches to the next process in the line.

Application examples of said autonomous transfer conveyor:

[0048] Said autonomous triple conveyor system considered for the movement of banana sheaths as raw materials to describe the applicability. As the sheaths are peeled perpendicular to their axial direction, it should be rotated and aligned beside each other parallelly before feeding them into the fibre extraction system. Certainly, this form of translation and rotation could be achieved in more than one way but keeping in mind the maximum working efficiency and consistency, said triple conveyor system utilized, effectively.
[0049] Referring to Figure 5, in an embodiment, said transfer conveyor considered the length of banana sheaths measured in the longitudinal direction is not bounded by any geometric constraints, but both the breadth and thickness have a maximum range of 300 mm to confirm an effective transformation of banana sheaths using the conveyor. Said banana sheaths are loaded on the spacer conveyor [100] which has twice the linear speed relative to the previous velocity of the sheaths and generates a boost to the sheaths when they move from the slower to the faster conveyor and inevitably a gap is formed between the sheaths. Then at the end of the spacer conveyor [100] is the moving conveyor [101] which collects the sheaths as it moves backwards. Once the moving conveyor [101] is filled the limit switch is triggered and reverses the direction of the moving conveyor [101].
[0050] Note that the moving conveyor [101] can translate and rotate simultaneously and here we refer to only the reversal of translation linear motion and not the rotation of the belt of the moving conveyor [101]. Now in the forward stroke, the moving conveyor [101] reaches the backward limit switch [104A] of the infeed conveyor [102] while carrying the articles where it hits the forward limit switch [104B]. Again, this backward limit switch [104A] reverses the direction of the moving conveyor [101]. Now while moving backwards the moving conveyor [101] lays down all the articles it had preloaded from the previous step. The laid down articles attain the required arrangement in the infeed conveyor [102]. Which now moves forward in batches to the next process in the line.
[0051] Said transfer conveyor provisioned to accommodate the banana sheath with complex shape and characteristics, wherein said sheaths made to align themselves by having the proper speed and movement in a no predefined path. Wherein said transfer conveyor provisioned to support any additional checkpoint for quality and testing with the help of sensors as an accessory.
[0052] Referring to Figure 6, in an embodiment, the functionalities or methods of translocating the banana sheaths illustrated in a form of flow-chart representation, wherein said transfer conveyor system are a set of three independent belt conveyors arranged in a specific manner to facilitate transfer banana sheaths as raw material in an orderly fashion. Said conveyor system configured as a unique setup enables one to have control over the raw material movement. Essentially designed to provide complete automation to the processing unit keeping in mind the critical factors for achieving maximum productivity. The set includes one parallel to the ground conveyor or spacer conveyor [100], the moving conveyor [101], and the inclined conveyor or infeed conveyor [102]. All three serve specific tasks in the movement of banana sheaths successfully from one machine to the fibre extractor or desaptor in a plant layout. The spacer conveyor [100] serves as a stage of separation between the banana sheaths and creates a gap that prevents object collision in the translocation process. The moving conveyor [101] is responsible for the layup of one article after another right beside each other parallel to the moving conveyor [101] width. The last conveyor is the infeed conveyor [102] which performs the task of moving the article to the next stage of the process keeping the new alignment intact. Said three conveyors work collaboratively to translocate the banana sheaths in a new alignment for the next process, fibre extractor or desaptor. Said sheaths of 6 to 8, each has a thickness of 10 – 25 mm, length of 500 – 800 mm, width of 150- 200 mm considered in the transfer conveyor.
[0053] Another specific application is for the packaging of bar chocolates in a box. After wrapping and sealing the bar chocolate in an airtight cover they need to be turned in a 90-degree fashion to pack effectively. But to pack several chocolates into multiple boxes all at once it is required to arrange them beside each other and they fall into multiple boxes at the end of their lane. This process is achieved using the triple conveyor system, to control the number of chocolates getting packed in each box with the belt speed and effectively increase the packing by filling multiple boxes simultaneously.
[0054] Similar use is found at stacking cut plywood pieces in rails to be carried in trunks for long-distance transportation. Finished pieces of plywood arrive at the end of the station in a single row arranged perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, to stack them all quickly it is required to move them in parallel to the longitudinal direction and beside each other. Hence, it is used to use such triple conveyors to perform a transformation at three levels and stack the plywood productively. The ability to handle different lengths and widths of plywood and maintain alignment at all times comes from the unique design of the triple transfer conveyor system.
[0055] In the making of particular food products as cream-filled buns, productivity can be improved by providing connectivity to a typical conveyor from the ovens without needing a person arranging the buns in a straight line. When only after such tedious alignment tasks are performed with an advent of the transfer conveyor described, filling of cream in buns, quickly. The machinery engagement with repetitive and unvaried tasks leads to less margin of error than the manual operator. Said engagement eventually causes low waste of raw material in further processing lines. Hence it is best to relieve the operator of such tedious tasks and let the automation do it even better and quicker with very less margin of error. A creative way to rearrange the freshly baked buns in order such that multiple nozzle arrays plunge cream into all the buns simultaneously which remarkably increases the productivity proven by the triple conveyor system.

TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS:

[0056] Said transfer conveyor precisely controlled in terms of revolutions per minute to the motor assembled with each conveyor and configured independent of each other to control input and output product rate.
[0057] Said transfer conveyor assembled with programmable logic control (PLC), variable frequency drive (VFD), and backward and forward limit switches [104] work to form a feedback loop of complete automation.
[0058] Said article movement and conveyor movement are detected using sensors to enable perfect timing and synchronicity.
[0059] Said all three conveyors [100] [101] [102] are belt type conveyors, the present invention provides a wide range of options for a variety of applications, including:
a. Modular anti-lock braking system (ABS) belts for easy assembly/disassembly.
b. Polyurethane (PU) belt for food-grade consumables.
c. Cleated belts for loosely packed articles.
d. Threaded and rubber lined belts for extra grip.
e. Perforated belts for the self-draining system.
[0060] Said transfer conveyor provisioned with frames and supporting structures are built in different loading capacities suitable for the particular application. It is possible to have a range of light-duty to heavy-duty variants in frames to support the load of the article.
[0061] Said transfer conveyor configured to accommodate the material with complex shape and characteristics, due to the free handling nature of the conveyor system.
[0062] Said conveyor provisioned to allow the material to align themselves by having the proper speed and movement. No predefined path for the product movement is established hence even products such as paper and cloths could be easily handled.
[0063] Said conveyor configured with any additional checkpoint for quality and testing with the help of sensors could be easily incorporated as an accessory. The open-air belts enable even image processing for quality assurance to be added to the system and PLC with ease.
[0064] The need for transfer of the sheaths intactly from sheath peeler to desaptor without change in its orientation and arrangement has been met without having high consumption of electricity as the structural formation of this machine is compact and modular.
[0065] The arrangement of the three conveyors in this machine has been done so as to provide the highest efficiency while occupying the least floor space possible. This enables the users to have more units in a unit area thus providing increased productivity.
[0066] As the sheaths are spatially arranged on its own in the machine by tweaking the relative speeds, it removes the need for human interference of the products thus ensuring high hygiene and food grade standards.

[0067] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
[0068] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully revealed the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
[0069] Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.
[0070] The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
[0071] Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form a part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.
[0072] The numerical values mentioned for the various physical parameters, dimensions or quantities are only approximations and it is envisaged that the values higher/lower than the numerical values assigned to the parameters, dimensions or quantities fall within the scope of the disclosure, unless there is a statement in the specification specific to the contrary.
[0073] While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.