Gravity chute
A gravity chute for articles, comprising a chute floor defining a conveying surface, wherein the conveying surface has a conveying angle of inclination pointing in a conveying direction, and comprising at least one side wall which laterally delimits the chute floor, wherein, in addition to the conveying angle of inclination, the conveying surface has a transverse angle of inclination directed transversely to the conveying direction and pointing to a side wall, wherein the side wall, to which the conveying surface runs at a transverse inclination, has first friction properties within a first region extending from the conveying surface to a height h, and has second friction properties within a second region extending above the height h, which differ from the first friction properties, the side wall being recessed within the first region with respect to the second region.
1. A gravity chute for articles, comprising a chute floor defining a conveying surface, wherein the conveying surface has a conveying angle of inclination pointing in a conveying direction, and comprising at least one side wall which laterally delimits the chute floor, wherein, in addition to the conveying angle of inclination, the conveying surface has a transverse angle of inclination directed transversely to the conveying direction and pointing to a side wall, characterised in that the side wall, to which the conveying surface runs at a transverse inclination, has first friction properties within a first region extending from the conveying surface to a height, and has second friction properties within a second region extending above the height, which differ from the first friction properties, the side wall being recessed within the first region with respect to the second region.
2. A gravity chute as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that the side wall encloses an angle with the conveying surface of less than 90°.
3. A gravity chute as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that the side wall is designed to be recessed within the first region as a whole with respect to the second region.
4. A gravity chute as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that the transverse angle of inclination of the conveying surface is between 5° and 45°.
5. A gravity chute as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that the conveying surface possesses friction properties which, in friction pairing with articles to be conveyed, generate a coefficient of sliding friction between about 0.05 and about 1.
6. A gravity chute as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that the conveying surface consists of metal, with or without a coating, stainless steel, plastic, wood, roller strips or a roller track.
7. A gravity chute as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that within the first region, a surface of the side wall comprises one or more of a metal, a plastic, a belt material, a roller strip, and a wood.
8. A gravity chute as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that within the second region, a surface of the side wall comprises one or more a of a metal, a plastic, a belt material, a roller strip, and a wood.
9. A gravity chute as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that the side wall and/or the conveying surface are flat and are arrangeable perpendicularly to one another.
10. A gravity chute as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that it is designed as a multiple chute with a plurality of chute floors and side walls arranged side by side.
11. A sorting conveyor, comprising:
a delivery station; and
a gravity chute for articles arranged on the delivery station, the gravity chute comprising a chute floor defining a conveying surface, wherein the conveying surface has a conveying angle of inclination pointing in a conveying direction, and comprising at least one side wall which laterally delimits the chute floor, wherein, in addition to the conveying angle of inclination, the conveying surface has a transverse angle of inclination directed transversely to the conveying direction and pointing to a side wall, characterised in that the side wall, to which the conveying surface runs at a transverse inclination, has first friction properties within a first region extending from the conveying surface to a height, and has second friction properties within a second region extending above the height, which differ from the first friction properties, the side wall being recessed within the first region with respect to the second region.
12. A gravity chute as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the side wall encloses an angle with the conveying surface of between about 45° and about 85°.
13. A gravity chute as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the side wall encloses an angle with the conveying surface of less than about 45°.
14. A gravity chute as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the side wall is designed to be recessed within the first region as a whole with respect to the second region by a step height (d) of at least 1 mm.
15. A gravity chute as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the step height (d) is between about 1 mm and about 50 mm.
16. A gravity chute as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the step height (d) is at least 50 mm.
17. A gravity chute as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the transverse angle of inclination of the conveying surface is between about 10° and about 30°.
18. A gravity chute as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the conveying surface possesses friction properties which, in friction pairing with articles to be conveyed, generate a coefficient of sliding friction between about 0.1 and about 0.6.