Adjustable skirt holder for conveyor

Flexible skirts which engage the tops of the belts of conveyors are suspended from the sidewalls of the cover of conveyor by vertically adjustable skirt holders. Elongated plates engaging the walls have outwardly extending, U-shaped humps. U-shaped skirt clamping jaws are looped over the humps. Fasteners include eyebolts passing through the bights of the jaws with their eyes disposed in slots formed in the bends of the humps. The eyes are free to rock about a rod secured to the humps at their bends.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to holders for conveyor belt skirts embodying 
bracket-like attachments to the sides of the conveyor hood or other 
supports and a series of jaws for clamping the skirts to the attachment. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Material advancing conveyor belts are oftentimes provided with overlying, 
dust-confining hood-like covers therealong or open framework and with 
flexible, belt-engaging, sealing skirts for precluding discharge of the 
materials laterally of the belt. Holders for suspending the skirts from 
their supports must have a high degree of adjustability in order to 
maintain the skirts in proper engagement with the belt for assuring 
effective seals against lateral escape of the particulate material and the 
dust off the top of the belt beneath the skirts. Moreover, the holders 
must have a minimum of parts such that attachment to the walls and all 
adjustments can be made quickly and easily without need for skilled labor. 
All of such requirements are met through use of the holder of my present 
invention, first because of its consisting of but two parts other than 
nuts and washers. In conjunction therewith, the holders, made of 
skirt-clamping jaws looped over humps, are advantageously equipped with 
novel fasteners in the nature of eyebolts which may be rocked about 
rigidly mounted rods. A multiplicity of major and fine adjustments are 
made possible by slots in support-engaging plates, slots which clear the 
eyes of the eyebolts and bolt-clearing slots in the jaws themselves. 
Additionally, in combination with the holders, I provide a panel, using the 
same adjustment bolts as the plates of the humps, for reducing the amount 
of larger materials passing from the belt onto the skirt and thence 
upwardly toward the bend of the hump. 
The instant invention is related to my U.S. patent application Ser. No. 
118,474, entitled "Adjustable Skirt Holder for Conveyors", filed Feb. 4, 
1980 and abandoned on June 9, 1981.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The holders which form the subject matter of my present invention are for 
use with a cover or hood for a belt conveyor 12 to support elongated, 
flexible skirts 14 depending from sidewalls 16 of the cover and 
terminating in sealing engagement with belt 18 of the conveyor 12. If, on 
the other hand, no such hood is provided for the belt 18, with no 
available sidewalls 16, as shown, the holders will be attached, as 
explained below, to suitable frameworks (not shown) in lieu of the 
sidewalls 16. 
Accordingly, each holder 20 may be in the form of a section 22 of 
preselected length, e.g., five feet, and include an elongated plate 24 all 
of which plates 24 flatly engage the outer faces of the walls 16. 
Releasable means 26 such as bolts and nuts, passing through a number of 
upright slots 28 in the plates 24, are used to mount the plates 24 on the 
walls 16 adjacent but spaced above the lower longitudinal edges 30 of the 
walls 16. 
FIG. 3 of the drawings shows, by way of example only, one section 22 with 
six spaced jaws 40 and with six spaced slots 28, and as above indicated, 
the bolts 26 may well pass through suitable framepieces (not shown) rather 
than through walls 16 of a hood for the conveyor 12. 
Coextensive in length with each plate 24 is a lower, transversely U-shaped 
hump 32 having an upper, outwardly and upwardly extending arm 34 integral 
with the plate 24. Each hump 32 is also provided with a downturned arm 36 
which slopes inwardly toward the wall 16. An intermediate, transversely 
arcuate upper bend 38 integrally joins the arms 34 and 36. The lengths of 
the arms 34 and 36, and of the bend 38 are, manifestly, the same as the 
length of the plate 24 making up one of the sections 22. 
Spaced along and looped over each hump 32 are a number of upper, 
transversely U-shaped jaws 40. Each jaw 40 has an upper leg 42 which 
slopes downwardly and inwardly toward the plate 24, terminating in 
engagement with the top of the arm 34 adjacent but spaced outwardly of 
line 44 of transversely arcuate joinder between the plate 24 and the arm 
34. 
Each jaw 40 is also provided with a downturned leg 46 spaced outwardly of 
the arm 36 and parallel with the latter along the lower marginal edge of 
the leg 46. Moreover, each jaw 40 has an intermediate, transversely 
arcuate, upper bight 48 integrally joining the legs 42 and 46. The bights 
48 are spaced upwardly and outwardly of the bend 38. Once again, while the 
jaws 40 are relatively narrow, the legs 42, 46 and the bight 48 extend 
entirely thereacross. Rigidly fixed to the legs 46 of all the jaws 40 as 
by welding, is an elongated bar 50 having the same length as the hump 32. 
The bar 50 extends along the inner marginal edges of the legs 46 and 
depends therefrom in spaced, parallel relationship to the arm 36. 
Each jaw 40 has a releasable fastener 52, and common to the jaws 40 is an 
elongated rod 54 having the same length as that of the hump 32. The rod 54 
engages the concave face of the bend 38 and is rigidly secured to the hump 
32, as by welding. Each fastener 52 is in the nature of an eyebolt 56, and 
passing through a slot 58 in the bight 48, having an upper nut 60 at the 
convex face of the bight 48. Eyes 62 of the bolts 56 receive the rod 54 
and are cleared by slots 64 in the bend 38. 
Hence, the two-part assembly (the hump 32 with its fasteners 52 and the bar 
50 with its jaws 40) operates to clamp the skirt 14 between the bar 50 and 
the arm 36 when the nuts 60 are tightened on the bolts 56. The slots 28 
and 58 provide for quick and easy adjustments for proper clamping of the 
holders 20 to the skirts 14 and proper sealing engagement of the skirts 
with the belt 18. Noteworthy is the freedom of rotation of the eyes 62 on 
the rod 54 within the slots 64 and the free movement of the legs 42 along 
the arm 34 toward and away from the plate 24 during adjustment. 
The jaws 40 may be rocked relative to the hump 32 because of the slots 58 
and because of the freedom of the eyes 62 to rotate about the rod 54 
within the slots 64 as the leg 42 shifts along the arm 34 toward and away 
from the line 44. To also assure proper engagement of the skirt 14 with 
the belt 18, the plate 24 may be shifted up and down because of its slots 
28 which receive the bolts 26 but the rod 54 holds the bolts 56 against 
turning as the nuts 60 are tightened and released. 
In combination with all of the above, I provide an elongated panel 66 
extending along the plates 24, using the same bolts 26 for mounting 
purposes and for vertical adjustment of the panels 66. Hence, the bolts 26 
are rigid to the panel 66 and shiftable vertically along slots 68 in the 
wall 16 or other supporting frame pieces. Therefore, the distance between 
lower edge 70 of the panel 66 and the skirt 14 may be varied at will. It 
is contemplated that such distance be chosen such as to preclude movement 
of large particles being conveyed by the belt 18 upwardly and outwardly 
along the skirt 14 toward the bend 38 of the hump 32. The panel 66 will 
also tend to prevent upward and outward movement of conveyed materials 
between the belt 18 and the skirt 14. The panels operate, therefore, to 
reduce wear on the skirt 14 threabove and therebelow. Here again, the 
bolts 26 will not turn as their nuts are tightened and released. 
To further reduce wear on the skirts 14, I provide a series of transverse, 
inclined grooves 72 and 74 in the inner and outer faces respectively of 
the skirts 14. The spacing and angularity are somewhat optional but an 
angle of about 45.degree. has proved to be most effective. Also, the depth 
and width of the grooves 72, 74 may be chosen as conditions dictate. 
With respect to the grooves 72, all material rising along the skirt 14 from 
beneath the edge 70 and entering the grooves 72 will gravitate back along 
such grooves onto the belt 18 rather than become lodged or dragged along 
by the belt 18, thereby reducing wear on the skirt 14, especially along 
the lower, top margin of the skirt 14. The grooves 72 should, as shown in 
FIG. 2, slope downwardly and rearwardly with respect to the direction of 
travel of the belt 18. 
By providing the grooves 74, the skirts 14 may be relocated in a number of 
positions as wear takes place, e.g., inside-out, top to bottom and from 
one side to the other side of the belt 18.