{
  "abstract": "This disclosure describes a self-correcting belt tracking system designed for conveyor applications. It addresses the problem of conveyor belts wandering off-center, which leads to premature wear, edge damage, and potential operational failure. The system employs a pivoting idler roller assembly, whose angular position is controlled by an actuator in response to the belt's lateral position. Belt edge location is detected using a non-contact sensing array. A control algorithm calculates the required idler angle to steer the belt back to its central path, preventing sustained off-tracking and reducing maintenance requirements.",
  "canonical_url": "https://opentechnical.org/p/OT-2026-000000001",
  "categories": [
    "material-handling/conveying-systems/belt-conveyors",
    "conveyors-transport-systems/belt-systems/belt-tracking"
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    {
      "caption": "This diagram illustrates the functional components and signal flow within the self-correcting belt tracking system.",
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    {
      "caption": "This drawing shows the geometry of the pivoting idler and its interaction with the conveyor belt.",
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    {
      "caption": "This diagram illustrates the arrangement of the emitter and receiver for non-contact belt edge detection.",
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  "keywords": [
    "belt tracking",
    "conveyor systems",
    "idler roller",
    "non-contact sensing",
    "lateral control",
    "pivot geometry",
    "actuator",
    "control gain",
    "belt alignment",
    "edge detection"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "license": {
    "name": "Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
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  "publication_id": "OT-2026-000000001",
  "published_at": "2026-09-15T11:03:55.387867Z",
  "publisher": "Nebula Innovations Limited",
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  "supersedes": null,
  "title": "Pivoting Idler Belt Tracking with Non-Contact Edge Sensing",
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}