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CONVEYING TECHNOLOGYLOADING TECHNOLOGYPALLETIZING TECHNOLOGYPACKAGING TECHNOLOGY SORTATION AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

Belt Tray Sorter with contactless energy supply

The BEUMER Belt Tray Sorter with con-tactless energy supply and linear inductionmotor drive is the high-capacity systemfor sorting a variety of products, including:

• Letter trays, packets and small envelopes in the postal and courier industry

• Shoeboxes and apparel in the foot-wear and clothing industry

• Plastic film wrapped products withhigh-friction (sticky) surfaces as inmail-order companies and the news-paper distribution industry

• Unstable and sensitive products, such asfrozen foods, cakes and dairy products

• Other industries with extremevariation in product types, shapesand frictional behavior such as bag-gage handling for airports or freightcenters

These and many other industries canbenefit from the high-speed but gentlesortation of their products through thedistribution chain.The BEUMER Belt Tray Sorter withcontactless energy supply sorts itemssafely and gently to the right desti-nation, irrespective of size, shape orsurface characteristics of the producthandled.

BELT TRAY SORTERwith contactless energy supply

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The outstanding features of theBEUMER Belt Tray Sorter are:

• Power supply on demand due tocontactless energy supply, no additionalgenerators or batteries required

• Modular design, mechanical com-ponents field-proven in all types of industry and applications

• A control system featuring standard, commercially available components rather than proprietary and sole sourced

• Low maintenance, easy access, a Belt Tray with 50 % fewer component parts

• Wide range of applications, designedfor ambient temperatures between–30°C and +45°C (–22°F – 115°F)

• 80% reduction in maintenance costs compared to conventional bus bar power supply systems

• Low life cycle costs because of maintenance-free carriage assembly

• Heavy-duty carriage connection, ball-joint type bearing, lubricated for life

• Positive (mechanical) braking system for controlled stop of the sorter during power outage or other loss of primary power supply

• Quality assurance conforms to DIN ISO 9001 standard

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and the product is smoothly transferredto the destination.

The BEUMER Belt Tray Sorter has50% fewer components than othercrossbelt sorters. The gaps betweenpulleys and adjacent belt trays areminimized. Product damage, jams andsystem downtimes are significantlyreduced by this unique belt tray design.

As with all models in the BEUMERfamily of fine sorting machines, theBelt Tray Sorter is engineered inmodules:

Belt TrayThe operating principle for the BeltTray Sorter is a series of reversingbelt conveyors which operate per-pendicular to the sorter direction oftravel. To induct a product, the specificcrossbelt is activated. The item istransferred at a controlled velocity.The opposite process is effected du-ring the discharge. The belt is activa-ted in the direction of the discharge

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brakes with adjustable braking forcecan be mounted to the frame.

Safety CoversTop, side and bottom covers are ofmolded, synthetic material. The lightweight covers are easily removedto allow maintenance access to allareas of the sorting machine.

Each belt tray is driven by a standardDC-motor. The required energy issupplied by a traveling-medium fre-quency to direct current converter(MF / DC converter).

BEUMER has designed belt conveyorssince its foundation in1935. Duringthe design phase quantities and typesof mechanical components are keptto a minimum.

Frame and TrackThe frame profiles with integratedtrack rails are extruded from anodizedaluminum. Safety covers, photocellsand other components are attachedconveniently at any position along theframe.

CarriageMaintenance-free carriages made ofdie-cast aluminum are assembled toform a continuous, closed loop. Sup-port and guide rollers are polyurethanewith integral, sealed and lifetime lu-bricated bearings. The carriages areconnected by high-strength bolts anduniversal-type joints for simple assem-bly and disassembly.

DriveThe linear induction motors (LIM)which propel the sorter have no moving parts. Low noise levels areassured. Force components whichnormally impose additional wear onthe carriage rollers are canceled bythe double-sided vertically pos-itioned drives. Power loss and theneed for frequent adjustments thatare typical for single-coil, horizontalLIM-arrangements are avoided.

BrakesIn normal operation, deceleration andstopping is effected by a direct currentdynamic brake. In addition and if re-quired, one or more mechanical

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Contactless Energy Supply

An outstanding feature of the BEUMER Belt Tray Sorter is the un-paralleled system for contactlessenergy supply. In the past, electricalpower has been transmitted to an ac-tive/traveling conductor by maintai-ning a continuous connection bet-ween the moving pick-up device anda static passive supply line, often cal-led a busbar system. It is still usedfor electric overhead trolleys and so-me conventional crossbelt sorters. Some alternative designs produceenergy as the carriage assembly ispushed by, equipping the support rol-lers with a generator. The energy pro-duced is stored on the moving unitby means of batteries.

The transfer or production of electricalenergy with moving contactors resultsin sparking. This is a disadvantage ofall contact-line transmission systems.The power pick-up device is a frequentwear part and high maintenance costsfor contactor or battery systems are theconsequence. The actual as well asenvironmental cost of battery disposalshould also be considered.The BEUMER Belt Tray Sorter avoidsthese additional labor, environmentaland material costs by transferring en-ergy from an energized cable to thetraveling conductor through the air.By converting electrical power into amedium frequency current, the electri-cal energy can be transmitted fromthe static power supply to the flyingtransformer over an air gap of ap-proximately 20 millimeters (3/4 inch)or “thumb clearance“.Due to the selected frequency of thecurrent, a very high transmission effi-ciency of 98 % is realized. At the belttray, the transmitted medium frequencycurrent is changed to DC power by theMF / DC converter. This converter isequipped with an intelligent power out-put to control the DC motor of theBelt Tray.

(IR)-data transmitter

Berührungslose Energieversorgung

Travelingcontroller and MF/DC-converter

DC motor

Contactless Data Transmission

Stationary infrared (IR)-data transmit-ters are located along the sorter loop,generally where the belt tray performsactions like load-ing or discharging.The (IR)-data transmitter sends con-trol commands for each sort item,specifying the individual handlingcharacteristics like footprint, shape or weight.

Each belt tray is equipped with acontrol unit. The control unit comprisesan infrared (IR)-data transceiver and a microprocessor. The control unitprocesses the control commandscaptured by the (IR)-data transceiver

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and adjusts acceleration, decelerationand speed of the belt tray throughthe MF / DC converter and belt traymotor. The control unit monitors thestatus of each belt tray as well.

A stationary belt tray check module,equipped with infrared (IR)-datatransceiver and microprocessor is installed strategically, for instanceshortly before the induction group, atthe sorter loop. This module receivesfunction and status reports from eachbelt tray’s control unit for further pro-cessing.

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BEUMER Sort Control (BSC)

The control of all machine-relevantfunctions relies on a standard, off-the-shelf, programmable logic controller(PLC). This real-time system, servicesupported worldwide, executes con-trol commands for all the mechanicalelements of the sorter and its peripherysuch as product induction conveyors,code reading devices (scanners) andthe outputs. It also processes the signals from all sensors and statusmonitoring units of the Sorter.

The BSC system comprises decen-tralized input/output (I/O) devices,communicating by means of a standardPROFI-/ASI-bus local area network(LAN).

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BEUMER System Server (BeSS)

The BeSS is a PC-based Windowsserver, attending to the upper levelcontrol of the sorting process.

Its major tasks are to:

• communicate, if required, with amanagement data acquisition computer, often called HOST, overa multitude of available networkstandards and protocols.

• provide the human-machine-interface (HMI) by means of menudriven color graphic displays andeasy to use keyboard, securely protected by a multi-level passwordsystem. The operator interface maybe further enhanced by adding ahardened industrial grade computermouse, touchpanel screens or other input devices.

• provide extensive data loggingtools for statistics, maintenanceand error corrections.

• transmit data files to the HOST forfurther detailed processing, alsowith standard office software.

• serve as the sort allocation com-puter (SAC) for the BSC over thelocal area network. A huge amountof freely selectable sor-ting tablescan be downloaded, edited andstored on the BeSS.

• ensure historical archive of systemoperations for reporting integrity inthe event of communication inter-ruptions with the HOST.

Destinations

IR Data transmitter

Sensor-network

Linearmotor

Checkmodule

Induction

Fieldbus network

Customer LAN

ScannerRS422

BSC

Powerpanel

Linearmotor

BeSS

Belt Tray SorterControl Configuration

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Merits of the BEUMER Belt Tray Sorter

As with all products in the BEUMER family of sorting equipment, the dis-charge sequence of the BEUMER BeltTray Sorter is 100% controlled, safe-guarding the gentle handling of prod-ucts with the minimal affect of gravity.The directed, horizontal discharge pathwith the assisted power of the belt traymakes it possible to use smaller, closelystacked destinations allowing significantspace savings.

As the discharge sequence is initiatedwithout external operation, destinationscan be realized in the sorter areas,which were unsuitable in the past, e.g.in curve areas.

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Thanks to the contactless data andpower transmission, the BEUMER BeltTray Sorter incorporates the utmost inflexibility.

The system can adapt rapidly tovarying requirements in operating „throughput rate“ or „individual prod-uct requirements“ associated withseasonal peaks in the business cycle.

As the belt tray induct and dischargespeed can be adjusted for each indi-vidual item (providing a multitude ofdifferent ramps, tailored to your prod-uct), impact resulting in product dam-age and noise development is kept toa minimum. By individually adjustingthe start position of each dischargesequence, higher filling rates densityof products) can be achieved in theafter-sort accumulation areas. It iseven possible to separate heavy itemsfrom lightweight (fragile) ones withinthe same output selection. Belting materials and surface textures can beformulated to the specific product re-quirements.

The extensive use of proven techno-logies and reliable components theBEUMER Belt Tray Sorter provideshigh reliability with a cost of main-tenance that can be 80% less thanthat of conventional crossbelt sorters.

The unique contactless energy supplysystem keeps operating costs at aminimum – and the modular designconcept means that systems can beconfigured to ideally suit your build-ing’s floor space without having tocompromise on system performance.

Tomorrow's sorting and distributiontasks require precise, experienced attention to mechanical design andsystem implementation. BEUMER isprepared to act globally with our well-balanced range of products, our world-wide presence and an establishedtradition of excellence and integritythat is passed on from one generationof workers to the next.

For many years BEUMER has delivered sortation and distribution systems to businesses all over the world. We provide system solutions from stand alone machines to fully inte-grated material handling systems.Our customers appreciate ourproven, well-engineered technologyas much as the reliability of our pro-ject management teams.

BEUMER – your professional partner

The information contained in this brochure merely serves as a non-binding description of our products and is without guarantee.Binding information, in particular relating to capacity data and suitability for specific applications, can only be provided within the framework of concrete inquiries.

BEUMER Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KGPostfach 12 54 D - 59267 Beckum/Germany Tel. +49 - (0) 25 21 - 24 0 Fax +49 - (0) 25 21 - 24 280E-Mail: BEUMER@BEUMER.com Internet: www.BEUMER.com

BEUMER CorporationBranchburg, NJ 08876/ USA Tel.: +1 (732) 560-8222Fax: +1 (732) 563-0905

Australian Representative Office of BEUMER • North Ryde / AustraliaPh. +61(0) 2-9889-5561Fax +61(0) 2-9889-5562

Asia Representative Office of BEUMER • Bangkok/ThailandPh. +66 (0) 2731-7190 Fax +66 (0) 2731-7194

BEUMER Ltda.Campinas - SP/BrazilTel.: +55 (0) 19-3243-1700Fax +55 (0) 19-3242-1411

BEUMER S.a.r.l.St. Ouen L’Aumone/FranceTel.:+33 (0) 1-3464-2520Fax +33 (0) 1-3037-6883

BEUMER Technology India Private Limited • Mumbai / IndiaTel.: +91 (0) 22-2577-2874Fax +91 (0) 22-2577-2876

+86 (0) 21-6921-3788+86 (0) 21-6921-3628

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