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Title:
CONVEYOR DEVICE AND RESISTANCE DEVICE OF ITS CONVEYOR BELT
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2023/129875
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
A conveyor device comprising: a conveyor belt (2) configured to travel to convey a workpiece; a plurality of stationary support members (3) disposed below the conveyor belt and configured to contact and support the conveyor belt, the support member generating a frictional force on the conveyor belt sliding thereon opposite to a heading direction of the conveyor belt; and a resistance device configured to generate resistance, for the conveyor belt sliding on the support member, whose direction is the same as that of the frictional force generated by the support member for the conveying belt sliding thereon, the resistance and the frictional force being superimposed, thereby making the traveling of the conveyor belt stable. The resistance device of the present disclosure "stores" a loose portion of the conveyor belt to the lower side of the conveyor belt so that the conveyor belt on the support member remains tensioned while traveling. Thus, a jitter can be eliminated when the length of the conveyor belt is a predetermined length; a jitter resulting from a length change is also eliminated when the length of the conveyor belt becomes longer in use.

Inventors:
LIU WEIZHOU (US)
Application Number:
PCT/US2022/082279
Publication Date:
July 06, 2023
Filing Date:
December 22, 2022
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS (US)
International Classes:
B65G23/44; B65G23/26; B65G15/48
Domestic Patent References:
WO2020229598A12020-11-19
Foreign References:
US20160090243A12016-03-31
US20160107840A12016-04-21
EP0583849A11994-02-23
CN210587535U2020-05-22
CN213864022U2021-08-03
JPS62130770A1987-06-13
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
PAHNKE, Chad A. (US)
Download PDF:
Claims:
CLAIMS

What is claimed is:

1 . A conveyor device comprising: a conveyor belt configured to travel to convey a workpiece; a plurality of support members disposed below the conveyor belt and configured to contact and support the conveyor belt, the plurality of support members being stationary, the conveyor belt sliding on the support member as it travels, the support member generating a frictional force opposite to a heading direction of the conveyor belt sliding thereon; and a resistance device configured to generate resistance, for the conveyor belt sliding on the support member, whose direction is the same as that of the frictional force generated by the support member for the conveying belt sliding thereon, the resistance and the frictional force being superimposed.

2. The conveyor device according to Claim 1 , wherein the conveyor device further comprises: a driven wheel configured to contact the conveyor belt and support the conveyor belt, the driven wheel being driven to rotate when the conveyor belt travels; wherein the resistance device is configured to couple to and be driven by the driven wheel.

3. The conveyor device according to Claim 1 , wherein the resistance device generates constant resistance, and the support member generates a varying frictional force on the conveyor belt sliding thereon.

4. The conveyor device according to Claim 1 , wherein the support member is a support rod.

5. The conveyor device according to Claim 3, wherein the constant resistance is greater than the varying frictional force generated by the support member on the conveyor belt sliding thereon, and the constant resistance is configured to superimpose on the varying frictional force generated by the support member on the conveyor belt sliding thereon, so that the conveyor belt travels stably.

6. The conveyor device according to Claim 2, wherein the position of the driven wheel is fixed, the resistance device is configured to prevent a varying portion of the conveyor belt from being conveyed back onto the plurality of support members, the varying portion of the conveyor belt being caused by tensioning a portion of the conveyor belt sliding on the plurality of support members.

7. The conveyor device according to Claim 2, wherein the conveyor device further comprises an active wheel, the active wheel is in contact with the conveyor belt, and the active wheel is provided on a discharge side and is configured to be driven by a motor.

8. The conveyor device according to Claim 7, wherein both the resistance device and the driven wheel coupled to the resistance device are provided on a feed side, and the resistance device is configured to generate resistance to tension the conveyor belt sliding on the plurality of support members.

9. The conveyor device according to Claim 8, wherein the resistance device comprises a planet gear and an output shaft coupled to the planet gear, the output shaft is coupled to the driven shaft by using a coupling mechanism, the driven shaft is configured to rotate to drive the planet gear to rotate, and the conveyor belt is configured to travel forward to drive both the driven shaft and the planet gear to rotate.

10. The conveyor device according to Claim 1 , wherein whether the conveyor belt travels stably is detected by using a detection device, which comprises a vibration analysis device.

11. The conveyor device according to Claim 10, wherein the vibration analysis device is configured to be disposed on the conveyor belt sliding on the plurality of support members, to detect an acceleration of the conveyor belt while the conveyor belt is traveling, and to display the acceleration for an operator to determine whether the conveyor belt is traveling stably.

12. The conveyor device according to Claim 1 , wherein the conveyor belt and the support member are made of stainless-steel materials.

13. The device according to Claim 1 , wherein the conveyor belt comprises a mesh belt, and the conveyor device comprises a reflow conveyor device.

-16-

Description:
CONVEYOR DEVICE AND RESISTANCE DEVICE OF ITS CONVEYOR BELT

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a conveyor device, particularly to a reflow soldering conveyor device.

Background

In a conveyor device, a conveyor belt is held on a plurality of stationary support members provided below the conveyor belt during operation, and the conveyor belt slides on the support member as it travels.

Summary

Upon observation, the inventors recognize that a support member generates a frictional force on a conveyor belt sliding thereon in a direction opposite to a direction in which the conveyor belt travels. In a reflow soldering machine, a conveyor belt and a support member are made of stainless-steel materials, thus the support member generates a large frictional force on the conveyor belt sliding thereon, and this large frictional force varies due to the material and shape of the conveyor belt. This large and varying frictional force affects the operation of the conveyor belt, making it tight when traveling, generating jitter, for example, generating a large unacceptable jitter. The jitter problem of the conveyor belt still exists even when the length of the conveyor belt is set to the optimum length before operation, because the conveyor belt is affected during operation by a large and varying frictional force from the support member; and the conveyor belt loosens due to the extended overall length resulted from metal properties after reflow heating and long operation, which affects stable traveling of the conveyor belt (e.g., with a small acceptable jitter).

To solve the above-mentioned jitter problem, the present disclosure connects a resistance device to a driven wheel, which is a rotatable device. The driven wheel drives the resistance device to rotate together so that the resistance device exerts resistance on the conveyor belt opposite to the heading direction to eliminate the jitter while the conveyor belt is traveling. The resistance device generates constant reverse resistance, which is greater than the varying reverse frictional force generated by the support member on the conveyor belt, so that the varying reverse frictional force does not have an effect and thus the jitter phenomenon is eliminated. When large constant reverse resistance is superimposed with a small varying reverse frictional force, the jitter generated by the change in reverse frictional force is not obvious and the jitter phenomenon is basically eliminated, for example, a smaller acceptable jitter is generated. In this embodiment, there is a planet gear in the resistance device, and the constant reverse resistance generated by the resistance device is achieved by using the rotating planet gear.

Rather than adjusting the position of a structure used to tension the conveyor belt to tension the conveyor belt, the loose portion of the conveyor belt is “stored” to the lower side of the conveyor belt, that is, the conveyor belt is tight on the upper side of the conveyor device and loose on the lower side of the conveyor device. When the conveyor device is to convey the lower loose conveyor belt to the tight upper side, the resistance generated by the resistance device opposite to the heading direction of the conveyor belt can counteract a conveying force to convey the loose conveyor belt of the lower side towards the tight upper side, so that the loose portion of the conveyor belt is kept on the loose lower side without being conveyed to the tight upper side, so the tension of the conveyor belt of the upper side is still in compliance with the requirements. As a result, the conveyor belt of the present disclosure can also be used normally when the conveyor belt becomes longer after a period of use, as the resistance device can adjust the tension of the conveyor belt on the support member, even without adjusting the position of the structure used to tension the conveyor belt.

Thus, the present disclosure produces at least the following technical effects: The jitter generated when the conveyor belt is traveling can be eliminated when the length of the conveyor belt is a predetermined length; the jitter resulting from a length change is also eliminated when the length of the conveyor belt becomes longer in use.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides a conveyor device, including: a conveyor belt configured to travel to convey a workpiece; a plurality of support members disposed below the conveyor belt and configured to contact and support the conveyor belt, the plurality of support members being stationary, the conveyor belt sliding on the support member as it travels, the support member generating a frictional force opposite to a heading direction of the conveyor belt sliding thereon; and a resistance device configured to generate resistance, for the conveyor belt sliding on the support member, whose direction is the same as that of the frictional force generated by the support member for the conveying belt sliding thereon. The resistance and the frictional force are superimposed, allowing the conveyor belt to travel stably.

In one embodiment, the conveyor device further includes: a driven wheel configured to contact the conveyor belt and support the conveyor belt, the driven wheel being driven to rotate when the conveyor belt travels. The resistance device is configured to couple to and be driven by the driven wheel.

In one embodiment, the resistance device generates constant resistance, and the support member generates a varying frictional force on the conveyor belt sliding thereon.

In one embodiment, the support member is a support rod.

In one embodiment, the constant resistance generated by the resistance device is greater than the varying frictional force generated by the support member on the conveyor belt sliding thereon, and the constant resistance is configured to superimpose on the varying frictional force generated by the support member on the conveyor belt sliding thereon, so that the conveyor belt travels stably.

In one embodiment, the position of the driven wheel is fixed, the resistance device is configured to prevent a varying portion of the conveyor belt from being conveyed back onto the plurality of support members, the varying portion of the conveyor belt being caused by tensioning a portion of the conveyor belt sliding on the plurality of support members.

In one embodiment, the conveyor device further includes an active wheel, the active wheel is in contact with the conveyor belt, and the active wheel is provided on a discharge side and is configured to be driven by a motor.

In one embodiment, both the resistance device and the driven wheel coupled to the resistance device are provided on a feed side, and the resistance device is configured to generate resistance to tension the conveyor belt sliding on the plurality of support members.

In one embodiment, the resistance device includes a planet gear and an output shaft coupled to the planet gear, the output shaft is coupled to the driven shaft by using a coupling mechanism, the driven shaft is configured to rotate to drive the planet gear to rotate, and the conveyor belt is configured to travel forward to drive both the driven shaft and the planet gear to rotate.

In one embodiment, whether the conveyor belt travels stably is detected by using a detection device, which includes a vibration analysis device.

In one embodiment, the vibration analysis device is configured to be disposed on the conveyor belt sliding on the plurality of support members, to detect an acceleration of the conveyor belt while the conveyor belt is traveling, and to display the acceleration for an operator to determine whether the conveyor belt is traveling stably.

In one embodiment, the conveyor belt and the support member are made of stainless-steel materials.

In one embodiment, the conveyor belt includes a mesh belt, and the conveyor device includes a reflow conveyor device.

Brief Description of Drawings

Figure 1 shows a schematic stereo structure of one embodiment of a conveyor device 1 according to the present disclosure;

Figure 2 shows a partial diagram of a support member 3 in the conveyor device 1 (with a conveyor belt 2 removed) according to Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 shows a schematic stereo structure of another angle of the conveyor device 1 according to Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 shows a partial enlarged view of a driven wheel 7 and a resistance device 8 in the conveyor device 1 according to Figure 1 ; and

Figure 5 shows a cross-sectional schematic view of one embodiment of a planet gear 11 in the resistance device 8 shown in Figure 1.

Detailed Description

Various specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the attached drawings that form a part of this Specification. It should be understood that the same or similar reference numerals used in the present disclosure refer to the same components where possible.

Figure 1 shows a schematic stereo structure of one embodiment of a conveyor device 1 according to the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1 , the conveyor device 1 includes a conveyor belt 2, a plurality of support members 3 (visible in Figure 2), an active wheel 5, driven wheels 6a, 6b, and 7, and a resistance device 8. In one embodiment, the conveyor device 1 also includes other devices and structures, such as other driven wheels, tensioning wheels for tensioning the conveyor belt, and so forth. The conveyor belt 2 is configured to travel to convey a workpiece (not shown) placed thereon so that the workpiece can be processed accordingly during conveyance. In one embodiment, the conveyor device 1 is a conveyor device in a reflow soldering machine for conveying a workpiece (e.g., a wafer) for heating or the like. In other embodiments, the conveyor device 1 may be a conveyor device in another machine.

The plurality of support members 3 (visible in Figure 2) are located below the conveyor belt 2 and contact and support the conveyor belt 2 to enable the conveyor belt 2 to slide on the support member 3 as it travels. The plurality of support members 3 are located below the conveyor belt 2 and are occluded in Figure 1 and visible in Figure 2. Figure 2 shows a partial diagram of a support member 3 in the conveyor device 1 (with a conveyor belt 2 removed) according to Figure 1. The plurality of support members 3 are stationary, and the plurality of support members 3 can be fixed to a stationary frame (not shown) of the conveyor device 1 . In one embodiment, the support member s is a support rod. In other embodiments, the support member 3 may be another support structure for supporting the conveyor belt 2. As shown in Figure 2, the support member 3 includes a bending portion 3a located at the end and a straight-line portion 3b located in the middle. In one embodiment, the frame of the conveyor device 1 includes a clamping slot and a locking block. The bending portion 3a of the support member 3 may be fixed into the clamping slot of the frame, and the straight-line portion 3b of the support member 3 may be fixed onto the locking block of the frame. In other embodiments, the frame includes other structures for fixing the support member 3. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the conveyor belt 2 contacts and wraps the active wheel 5 and the driven wheels 6a, 6b, and 7. The driven wheels 6a and 6b are provided near the support member 3 and are located near both ends of the support member 3, the conveyor belt 2 spans the driven wheels 6a and 6b, and the portion of the conveyor belt 2 between the driven wheels 6a and 6b is supported by a plurality of support members 3. The driven wheels 6a, 6b, and 7 are used to support the conveyor belt 2 and are driven to rotate by the conveyor belt 2. The active wheel 5 is driven to rotate by a motor 4 (visible in Figure 3). The active wheel 5 rotates and thereby drives the conveyor belt 2 wrapped thereon to travel forward, and the conveyor belt 2 travels forward and thereby drives the driven wheels 6a, 6b, and 7 it wraps around, so that the conveyor belt 2 travels forward (as shown by the arrows in Figure 1 ) to convey the workpiece. The active wheel 5 is located on a discharge side 9 to drive the conveyor belt 2 to travel forward. The motor 4 may be mounted on a rear side 1 b of the conveyor device 1 , which is occluded in Figure 1 and visible in Figure 3. Figure 3 shows a schematic stereo structure of another angle (the motor 4 is visible) of the conveyor device 1 according to Figure 1 . The various structures of the conveyor device 1 in Figure 3 are the same as those in Figure 1 , except that Figure 3 is a schematic stereo structure of the conveyor device 1 as viewed from the rear side 1 b of the conveyor device 1 . In other embodiments, the motor 4 may be mounted on a front side 1a of the conveyor device 1 . As shown in Figure 3, the active wheel 5 is coupled to the motor 4 by a coupling structure (not shown), such as including a chain and a chain wheel. In other embodiments, the coupling structure may include other structures for coupling the active wheel 5 to the motor 4.

As shown in Figures 1-3, the conveyor belt 2 slides on the support member 3 as it travels, so that the support member 3 will generate a frictional force on the conveyor belt 2 sliding thereon opposite to the heading direction of the conveyor belt 2. In one embodiment, for example, in the reflow soldering machine, the conveyor belt 2 and the support member 3 are made of stainless steel materials so as to operate normally when the furnace interior of the reflow soldering machine reaches a temperature above 300°, and the stainless steel materials have advantages over other metals because a rust protection layer (galvanized, nickel-plated, chrome- plated) is lost after wear between other metals, thereby rusting. In other embodiments, the conveyor device 1 may be a conveyor device in another machine, and the conveyor belt 2 and the support member 3 of the conveyor device 1 may be made of other rigid materials. Since the conveyor belt 2 and the support member 3 are made of stainless-steel materials, the support member s generates a large reverse frictional force to the conveyor belt 2 sliding thereon. In one embodiment, the conveyor belt 2 is a mesh belt including a plurality of segments, each of which is composed of stainless-steel wires. Since the conveyor belt 2 is stainless steel metal and is spliced by several mesh belts, the reverse frictional force of the support member 3 on the conveyor belt 2 sliding thereon varies. This large and varying reverse frictional force affects the operation of the conveyor belt 2, such that the conveyor belt 2 is loose or tight when traveling, generating jitter, for example, generating large jitter that causes the conveyor belt 2 to travel unstably. As the conveyor belt 2 is subjected to the large and varying reverse frictional force generated by the support member 3 on it during operation, the above-mentioned jitter problem exists during operation of the conveyor belt 2 even when the length of the conveyor belt 2 has been set to the optimal length before operation. In addition, the conveyor belt 2 loosens because of the metal properties after being heated by reflow welding and the overall length is extended after long operation, which in turn affects stable traveling of the conveyor belt 2, that is, generates large jitter.

In order to solve the above problem, as shown in Figures 1-2, the present disclosure disposes a resistance device 8 in the conveyor device 1 , which is configured to generate resistance on the conveyor belt 2 sliding on the support member 3 whose direction is the same as the direction of frictional force on the conveyor belt 2 sliding thereon, the reverse resistance generated by the resistance device 8 and the reverse frictional force generated by the support member 3 being superimposed, thereby making the traveling of the conveyor belt 2 stable. The resistance generated by the resistance device 8 is constant reverse resistance that is greater than the varying reverse frictional force of the support member 3 on the conveyor belt 2 sliding thereon, and the large constant reverse resistance and the small varying reverse frictional force (the direction of the reverse resistance and the direction of the reverse frictional force are the same) are superimposed, so that the small varying reverse frictional force has little impact and thus the jitter phenomenon is basically eliminated. Because when large constant reverse resistance is superimposed with a small varying reverse frictional force, the change in the reverse frictional force is canceled, and the jitter phenomenon (which results from the varying reverse frictional force) is eliminated.

The present disclosure does not adjust the positions of various structures (e.g., the active wheel and driven wheel) used to tension the conveyor belt 2 to tension the conveyor belt 2, but instead “stores” a loose portion of the conveyor belt 2 to the lower side of the conveyor device 1 through the resistance device 8 so that the conveyor belt 2 on the upper side of the conveyor device 1 is tight, while the conveyor belt 2 on the lower side of the conveyor device 1 is loose. When the conveyor device 1 is to convey the lower loose conveyor belt 2 to the tight upper side, the reverse resistance generated by the resistance device 8 on the conveyor belt 2 in contact with the driven wheel 7 can counteract the conveying force to convey the lower loose conveyor belt to the upper side, so that the loose portion of the conveyor belt remains on the lower side of the conveyor device 1 without being conveyed to the tight upper side of the conveyor device 1 , so the tension of the conveyor belt 2 on the upper side still meets the requirements. Thus, the present disclosure is able to eliminate jitter generated by the operation of the conveyor belt 2 when the length of the conveyor belt 2 has been set to the optimal length before operation. Also, when the conveyor belt 2 becomes longer after a period of use, the jitter generated by the change in length is also eliminated because the conveyor belt 2 on the support member 3 has been tensioned.

As shown in Figures 1-3, the driven wheel 7 is located on a feed side 10 and is driven by the conveyor belt 2 to rotate to couple to the resistance device 8 on the driven wheel 7, which is located on the feed side 10. The resistance device 8 is located on the front side 1 a of the conveyor device 1 , which is visible in Figure 1 and occluded in Figure 3. In other embodiments, the resistance device 8 may also be located on the back side 1 b of the conveyor device 1 . The resistance device 8 includes a rotatable device, and the driven wheel 7 drives the rotatable device of the resistance device 8 to rotate, so that the conveyor belt 2 rotates together with the driven wheel 7 and the rotatable device of the resistance device 8 during traveling, so that the resistance device 8 will generate resistance whose direction is the same as the direction of frictional force generated by the support member 3 on the conveyor belt 2 sliding thereon, which is superimposed with the frictional force, so that the traveling of the conveyor belt 2 is stable and the jitter phenomenon is eliminated.

In one embodiment, the resistance device 8 includes an output shaft 12 and a planet gear 11 coupled to the output shaft 12 (visible in Figure 5). As shown in Figures 1-3, during operation, the conveyor belt 2 drives the driven wheel 7 in contact with it to rotate, the driven wheel 7 in turn drives the output shaft 12 of the resistance device 8 through the coupling structure 13 to rotate, and the output shaft 12 in turn drives the planet gear 11 (see Figure 5) of the resistance device 8 to rotate. As a result, when traveling, the conveyor belt 2 needs to drive the driven wheel 7 and the planet gear of the resistance device 8 to rotate together, so that the planet gear of the resistance device 8 will generate resistance to the traveling of the conveyor belt 2. The resistance device 8 generates resistance to forward traveling of conveyor belt 2 in contact with the driven wheel 7. As the conveyor belt 2 is annular and according to mechanical principles, the resistance generated by the resistance device 8 to the conveyor belt 2 in contact with the driven wheel 7 generates effective reverse resistance to the conveyor belt 2 sliding on support member 3 opposite the heading direction of the conveyor belt. The effective reverse resistance has the same direction as an effective reverse frictional force generated by the support member 3 on the conveyor belt 2 sliding thereon opposite the heading direction of the conveyor belt. The effective reverse resistance and the effective reverse frictional force are forces along the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belt and have effective impact on the forward traveling of the conveyor belt. The effective reverse resistance is constant resistance determined by the structure of the resistance device 8, for example by the structure of the planet gear (e.g., the quantity of gears, the gear ratio, the transmission ratio, etc.). For a determined planet gear, resistance generated by the planet gear is substantially constant (in case of not changing other structures of the conveyor device 1). In the present disclosure, the constant effective reverse resistance generated by the planet gear is greater than the varying effective reverse frictional force generated by the support member 3, so that when this large effective reverse resistance and the small effective reverse frictional force are superimposed, the jitter caused by the change in the effective reverse frictional force is not obvious (the impact is not large), so the jitter is basically eliminated. In other embodiments, the resistance device 8 may include other structures for generating resistance.

As shown in Figures 1-3, in operation, when the active wheel 5 located on the discharge side 9 rotates, it drives the conveyor belt 2 in contact with it to travel forward, while the planet gear 11 of the resistance device 8 (see Figure 5) operates to generate resistance to the forward traveling of the conveyor belt 2 in contact with the driven wheel 7 located on the feed side 10, so the conveyor belt 2 between the active wheel 5 on the upper side of the conveyor device 1 and the driven wheel 7 is always tensioned. The resistance generated by the planet gear 11 is configured to tension the conveyor belt 2 on the support member 3 without affecting the operation of the active wheel 5, the driven wheels 6a, 6b, and 7, and the conveyor belt 2 (or other structure), for example, without changing the rotational speed/traveling speed of the active wheel 5, the driven wheels 6a, 6b, and 7, and the conveyor belt 2, in case of not changing the rotational speed of the motor 4. For example, it is undesirable for the present disclosure that the driven wheel 7 rotates slower (or does not rotate) due to the resistance generated by the planet gear 11 , because the frictional force on the conveyor belt 2 increases greatly when the driven wheel 7 rotates slower (or does not rotate), resulting in a tendency for the conveyor belt 2 to wear or break after a period of use.

In tensioning the conveyor belt 2, the present disclosure does not adjust the positions of the various structures (e.g., the active wheel and driven wheel) used to tension the conveyor belt 2, but instead “stores” the loose portion of the conveyor belt 2 to the lower side of the conveyor device 1 through the resistance device 8. As shown in Figures 1-3, the resistance device 8 makes the conveyor belt 2 on the upper side of the conveyor device 1 and between the driven wheel 7 and the active wheel 5 tight, while the conveyor belt 2 on the lower side of the conveyor device 1 and between the driven wheel 7 and the active wheel 5 loose. When the conveyor device 1 is to convey the lower loose conveyor belt 2 to the tight upper side, the reverse resistance generated by the resistance device 8 on the conveyor belt 2 in contact with the driven wheel 7 can counteract the conveying force to convey the lower loose conveyor belt 2 to the upper side, so that the loose portion of the conveyor belt 2 remains on the lower side of the conveyor device 1 without being conveyed to the tight upper side of the conveyor device 1 , so the tension of the conveyor belt 2 on the upper side and between the driven wheel 7 and the active wheel 5 still meets the requirements. As a result, the conveyor belt 2 of the present disclosure can also be used normally when the conveyor belt 2 becomes longer after a period of use, as the resistance device 8 can adjust the tension of the conveyor belt 2 on the support member 3, even without adjusting the various structures used to tension the conveyor belt 2. The conveyor belt 2 extends the overall length due to the metal properties after reflow heating and long operation, and the jitter generated by the change in length is also eliminated because the conveyor belt 2 on the support member 3 is always tensioned.

When the conveyor belt 2 has small acceptable jitter, the conveyor belt 2 travels stably and the jitter phenomenon is basically eliminated. In operation, whether the resistance device 8 enables the conveyor belt 2 to travel stably may be detected by a detection device. In one embodiment, if the conveyor belt 2 does not travel stably, a resistance device 8 having another resistance magnitude may be used for replacement. The resistance device 8 may be selected from a standard product without the need for additional manufacturing. In other embodiments, the resistance device 8 may be a resistance device of an adjustable resistance magnitude. In one embodiment, the detection device includes a vibration analysis device configured to determine whether the resistance device 8 adjusts the conveyor belt 2 to travel stably. In one embodiment, the vibration analysis device is provided on the conveyor belt 2 sliding on the support member 3. The vibration analysis device is configured to detect an acceleration of the conveyor belt 2 running on the support member 3 as the conveyor belt 2 travels. The vibration analysis device may display and/or print the value of the acceleration for an operator to determine whether the conveyor belt 2 is traveling stably. When the acceleration of the conveyor belt is within a certain threshold range, it can be determined that the acceleration meets the requirements, the jitter is within an acceptable small jitter range, and the conveyor belt travels stably.

Figure 4 shows a partial enlarged view of a driven wheel 7 and a resistance device 8 in the conveyor device 1 according to Figure 1 . As shown in Figure 4, the driven wheel 7 is coupled to the resistance device 8 through a coupling structure 13. The driven wheel 7 includes a rotating shaft 7a which is driven to rotate by the conveyor belt 2. The resistance device 8 includes a housing 14, an output shaft 12 extending from the housing 14, and a planet gear 11 (visible in Figure 5) located within the housing 14. In one embodiment, a first end of the output shaft 12 is coupled to one gear of the planet gear 11. In other embodiments, the output shaft 12 may also be a rotating shaft of one gear of the planet gear 11 . A second end of the output shaft 12 disposed opposite the first end is coupled to the rotating shaft 7a of the driven wheel 7 by the coupling structure 13. In one embodiment, the coupling structure 13 includes a chain 13a and chain wheels 13b and 13c engaged with the chain 13a, and the chain wheels 13b and 13c are fixed to the second end of the output shaft 12 and the rotating shaft 7a of the driven wheel 7, respectively. In other embodiments, the coupling structure 13 may include other structures coupled to the driven wheel 7. When the rotating shaft 7a of the driven wheel 7 rotates, the chain wheel 13c is driven to rotate, which in turn drives the chain 13a to move, which in turn drives the chain wheel 13b to rotate, which in turn drives the output shaft 12 to rotate, and the output shaft 12 drives the planet gear 11 to rotate. By the coupling structure 13, the planet gear 11 of the resistance device 8 is driven to rotate by the driven wheel 7. Since the driven wheel 7 is to drive the planet gear 11 of the resistance device 8 to rotate, the planet gear 11 generates resistance to the rotation of the driven wheel 7, while the conveyor belt 2 in turn drives the driven wheel 7 to rotate, the driven wheel 7 generates resistance to the traveling of the conveyor belt 2, whereby the planet gear 11 generates resistance to the traveling of the conveyor belt 2 in contact with the driven wheel 7.

Figure 5 shows a cross-sectional schematic view of one embodiment of a planet gear 11 in the resistance device 8 shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 5, the planet gear 11 includes a sun wheel 11 a, a planet wheel 11 b, a planet carrier 11 c, and a gear ring 11 d. Four planet wheels 11 b are shown in Figure 5, and in other embodiments, the quantity of planet wheels 11 b may be other suitable numbers. The planet wheel 11 b is supported by and rotates around a fixed axis of the planet carrier 11c. The gear ring 11 d is an inner gear, the sun wheel 11a is located in the center of the planet gear 11 , and the planet wheel 11 b and the adjacent sun wheel 11 a and the gear ring 11 d are always in a constant engaged state. In one embodiment, the output shaft 12 is a rotating shaft of the sun wheel 11 a of the planet gear 11 . When the driven wheel 7 drives the output shaft 12 of the resistance device 8 to rotate, i.e. , drives the rotating shaft of the sun wheel 11a to rotate, the planet wheel 11 b that engages the sun wheel 11a is driven to rotate. Accordingly, the driven wheel 7 drives the sun wheel 11a and the planet wheel 11 b of the planet gear 11 to rotate, which generates resistance to the operation of the driven wheel 7 and thus to the traveling of the conveyor belt 2 in contact with the driven wheel 7. In other embodiments, the output shaft 12 may alternatively be a rotating shaft of the planet wheel 11 b in the planet gear 11. In other embodiments, the planet gear 11 may include other structural forms.

Although the present disclosure has been described in connection with examples of the embodiments outlined above, various alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and/or substantial equivalents, whether known or foreseeable now or in the near future, may be apparent to those having at least ordinary skill in the art. In addition, the technical effects and/or technical problems described in this Specification are exemplary and not limiting; therefore, the disclosure in this Specification may be used to solve other technical problems and have other technical effects and/or may solve other technical problems. Therefore, examples of embodiments of the present disclosure as set forth above are intended to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is intended to include all known or earlier developed alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements and/or substantial equivalents.