Sorting installation, latching apparatus and transport unit
A sorting installation, in particular for transporting and/or sorting items to be conveyed, includes a transport path, a stator arranged adjacent to the transport path and a transport unit configured to move on the transport path in a movement direction. The transport unit includes a conveyor element for loading and/or unloading an item, and a conveyor rotor for driving the conveyor element. The conveyor rotor includes a permanent magnet and interacts electromagnetically with the stator for rotation about an axis of rotation. A latching apparatus applies a detent torque on the conveyor rotor, when the conveyor rotor interacts electromagnetically with the latching apparatus.
1. A sorting installation, in particular for transporting and/or sorting items to be conveyed, said sorting installation comprising:
a transport path;
a stator arranged adjacent to the transport path;
a transport unit configured to move on the transport path in a movement direction, said transport unit comprising a conveyor element for loading and/or unloading an item, and a conveyor rotor for driving the conveyor element, said conveyor rotor including a permanent magnet and interacting electromagnetically with the stator for rotation about an axis of rotation; and
a latching apparatus configured to apply a detent torque on the conveyor rotor, when the conveyor rotor interacts electromagnetically with the latching apparatus.
2. The sorting installation of claim 1 , wherein the conveyor rotor includes a plurality of said permanent magnet.
3. The sorting installation of claim 2 , wherein the latching apparatus has a tooth pitch which corresponds at least substantially to a pole pitch of the permanent magnets of the conveyor rotor.
4. The sorting installation of claim 1 , wherein the latching apparatus includes soft-magnetic material.
5. The sorting installation of claim 1 , wherein the latching apparatus is distanced from the conveyor rotor to define an air gap there between.
6. The sorting installation of claim 5 , wherein the latching apparatus includes a tooth configured to point in a direction of the air gap.
7. The sorting installation of claim 1 , wherein the latching apparatus includes a plurality of teeth, with a groove being defined between adjacent two of the teeth.
8. The sorting installation of claim 7 , wherein the latching apparatus includes between 10 and 15 of said teeth.
9. The sorting installation of claim 7 , wherein the latching apparatus includes a magnetically conductive yoke configured to connect the teeth.
10. The sorting installation of claim 7 , wherein the latching apparatus includes a winding system to generate and/or increase a holding torque, said winding system being positioned in grooves of the latching apparatus between adjacent teeth.
11. The sorting installation of claim 10 , wherein the latching apparatus includes permanent magnets to generate and/or increase the holding torque.
12. The sorting installation of claim 11 , wherein the permanent magnets are arranged in the grooves and/or on a side of the tooth pointing in a direction of an air gap between the latching apparatus and the conveyor rotor.
13. The sorting installation of claim 1 , wherein the latching apparatus includes a plurality of material layers.
14. The sorting installation of claim 1 , wherein the latching apparatus is defined by an inside diameter which is greater than an outside diameter of the conveyor rotor.
15. The sorting installation of claim 1 , wherein the latching apparatus is embodied as a segment which describes an angle in a range between 90° and 150°, in particular between 110° and 130°.
16. The sorting installation of claim 1 , wherein the latching apparatus is arranged on a section of the transport path such that at least one of a centrifugal force and gravity causes the conveyor rotor to rotate in the absence of an electromagnetic interaction with the stator.
17. The sorting installation of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of said transport unit connected, preferably connected in an articulated manner, to form a transport chain.
18. A latching apparatus for a sorting installation, said latching apparatus configured to apply a detent torque on a conveyor rotor of the sorting installation, when the conveyor rotor interacts electromagnetically with the latching apparatus, said latching apparatus comprising soft-magnetic material and including a tooth configured to point in a direction of an air gap between the latching apparatus and the conveyor rotor.
19. The latching apparatus of claim 18 , further comprising:
a winding system to generate and/or increase a holding torque, said winding system being positioned in grooves of the latching apparatus between adjacent teeth, and
permanent magnets generating and/or increasing the holding torque and arranged in the grooves and/or on a side of the tooth pointing in the direction of the air gap.
20. A transport unit for a sorting installation, said transport unit comprising:
a conveyor element for loading and/or unloading an item, and
a conveyor rotor for driving the conveyor element, said conveyor rotor caused to rotate by a centrifugal force and/or gravity in the absence of an electromagnetic interaction of the conveyor rotor with a stator interacting electromagnetically.