ABRASIVE BELT CLEANER

Abstract: An abrasive belt cleaner comprising a rubber pad (3) secured to a base portion (2) whereby to clean an abrasive belt on a sanding machine the cleaner is passed through the machine.

Description: "ABRASIVE BELT CLEANER" This invention relates to an abrasive belt cleaner, and more particularly to the cleaning of a wide belt on an installed sanding machine. It is known that with small belt sanders, pa ti¬ s ' cularly those which are hand-operated, that the belt can be cleaned to remove the embedded wood and rosin by the application of a block of rubber thereto. This rubber is preferably crepe rubber and is manually applied to the belt, this quickly removing the 10. embedded wood and rosin from the spaces between the abrasive particles on the belt. While this has been satisfactory for cleaning of the smaller sanding machines, where it is possible to apply the rubber to the belt, to date, as far as the 15. applicant is aware, there is no means of cleaning the belts of the larger machines. These large machines which have belts approaching 2 metres in width, are fully enclosed, with a table being provided beneath the belt to support the work, 20. so that there is no portion of the belt which is exposed. Thus with these machines it is virtually impossible to apply the rubber to the belt to clean the belt, and to date these belts have been discarded 25. when they become clogged and not effective to sand the wood. Thus it is an object of this invention to provide a unit which can be passed through a sanding machine to clean the belt thereof. Thus there is provided, according to the invention a cleaner unit for cleaning the belt of a sander, the unit including a base portion to support a pad of rubber thereon, the unit also including a solid 5. portion whereby the sanding machine can be adjusted to the correct depth or thickness for the unit to be passed through the machine. In order to more fully describe the invention reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing 10. which is a perspecitive view of one form of the invention. In a preferred form of the invention as shown in the single figure of the drawing, the unit can comprise a base portion 2 formed of a solid material, 15. such as chip board or the like. This base is of a dimension suitable for the width of the sander, and also of a length so that the unit can be safely passed through the sander. The base 2 carries on its upper surface over at 20. least a portion of its length, a layer or pad of rubber 3, this preferably being crepe rubber, the rubber pad 3 being of a length along the base sufficient that when passing through the machine, the rubber contacts at least the whole circumference of 25. the belt as it comes into contact with the surface of the rubber. OM? /_,_. V/IP Thus for example, the base could be of a length, for example, 1 metre, and the rubber only have a length of approximately 25 cms. This being preferably toward one end of the base. 5. While these figures given are examples only, the actual dimensions can be varied depending upon the type of sander being cleaned, and the invention is not to be limited to these dimensions. Preferably, the base includes along each longi- 10. tudinal side thereof, wooden rails or runners 4, these embracing on each side the rubber pad, with the upper surface of the wooden rails being the same height as the rubber pad. The rubber pad is provided toward the rear of the 15. base, and is passed through the machine in the direction of the arrow. The leading edge of the rubber pad is bevelled to prevent undue wear at this leading edge. The rubber pad is secured to the base by gluing with a suitable adhesive. 20. The wooden rails thus are used to set the machine for the correct distance between the lower table or feeding belt, and the abrasive belt, so that the required pressure is applied to the abrasive belt by the rubber for the cleaning. O ?I /,_ IPO Λ If sufficient pressure is not applied, the belt would not be sufficiently cleaned, while if an excessive pressure is applied, there would be excessive abrasion of the belt and even the pressure 5.- could be sufficient to stop or slow down the rotation of the abrasive belt. If desired, the cleaning unit need not be of a width sufficient to clean the abrasive belt in one pass , and in which case the unit could be passed ~^' through the machine more than once, the unit being displaced across the belt to effectively clean the whole area of the belt. It has been found that one pass only is required for each portion of the belt to be cleaned. 15. Preferably, the lower or under surface of the unit is provided with a material so that it will effectively grip the lower transport belt, and in this respect the lower surface could have a friction type material applied thereto and for example, could be a 20. sheet of canvas or the like which is secured as by gluing to the lower surface of the unit. It will be seen then that the unit effectively cleans the belt, and thus could double or even more than double the life of the belt. 25. This then cuts down the cost of replacing the belt, and also the downtime required for such replace¬ ment. Where the machine has a variable speed control for the belt sander, the machine would be set to the slower speed for the cleaning operation. It is thus a simple matter of setting the 5. thickness required by the probe or finger on the machine engaging the rail or rails of the unit and the unit passed through the sanding machine to clean the belt. Although one form of the invention has been 0- described, in some detail, it is to be realised that the invention is not to be limited thereto but can include various modifications falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. O PI /,, " IrO " < Λ

Claims: 6. ' - - The claims defining the invention are as follows: 1. An abrasive belt cleaner for cleaning the sanding belt of a belt sanding machine having an enclosed belt, said cleaner comprising a base portion and rubber pad secured to said base portion, whereby said 5. cleaner is passed through said sanding machine to clean the belt thereof. 2. An abrasive belt cleaner as defined in Claim 1, characterised in that said cleaner is provided with at least a pair of guide rails, said rubber pad being * provided between said guide rails. 3. An abrasive belt cleaner as defined in Claim 1, wherein said rubber pad is provided forward one end, the other end being the leading end to be inserted in the machine, and the leading edge of the rubber pad 5. being bevelled. 4. A method of cleaning a sanding belt on a sanding machine, comprising the steps of providing a belt cleaner having a rubber pad mounted on a base with gguide rails on said base, adjusting the depth of 5. thesanding machine to the depth of the guide rails, and passing the unit through the machine while operating to clean the belt. 5. An abrasive belt cleaner substantially as herein¬ before described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings .

Inventors: SMITH R
Applicants: SMITH R
Application year: 1980
Main classification: B24B53
IPC codes: B24B53