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An accumulation conveyor is a specialized material conveying mechanism used in applications where products require queuing or accumulation at some point in the conveying path. Similar in many ways to a conventional roller conveyor, the accumulation conveyor differs in that it includes mechanisms that allow sections of the conveyor to be slowed down or completely stopped to allow goods to be picked up at that point. This is usually accomplished by dividing the conveyor into short, individually driven sections that include sensors and drive clutches, allowing individual sections to be operated, slowed down, or stopped at will. This functionality is commonly used in situations where palletizing, sorting or sealing operations require products to accumulate on the conveyor instead of constantly flowing.
Roller conveyors are commonly used material transport mechanisms in a wide variety of shipping facilities. This mechanism normally consists of a steel frame with a series of sequentially arranged cylindrical rollers within its outer members. Generally, the rollers are positioned so that they are in constant contact with each other. This allows a single driven roller to transfer its motion to all the rollers in the series, thereby driving the entire conveyor. In this way, a load that has been placed on the conveyor at any point will be transported along the entire length of the conveyor on the moving rollers.
This arrangement works well in situations where goods must move from one point to another without stopping to take an intermediate action. However, when such stops are required, an accumulation conveyor is typically used. These machines are similar in many ways to their conventional sisters, with a continuous path of rollers along the conveyor. The main difference between the accumulation conveyor and conventional types is a series of individual sections or zones that are created along the path of the conveyor.
Typically, a single motor drives the entire conveyor, with each individual zone having two drive points, one at each end of the section. The first point, which is equipped with a remote controlled clutch, activates that section and the final activation point is used to transfer activation to the next section. In this way, the entire accumulation conveyor is driven simultaneously with the ability, thanks to the clutches, to stop a specific section of the belt when required. Stops are made through motion or pressure sensors located at strategic points along the conveyor route. This allows goods on the belt to be queued at a defined point when actions such as loading, palletizing or gluing boxes are required.