CONVEYOR CONSISTING OF A CABLE HAVING ENTRAINING MEMBERS

Abstract: Conveyor for bulk goods comprising an endless flexible cable (3) with entraining members (4) and cable pulleys (1) with a continuous circumferential groove (9), which cable (3) is provided with bosses (10) in series, the external form of which is adapted to the groove (9). The internal form of the bosses (9) is such that the cable (3) is running over the pulley (1) without kinking.

Description: Conveyor consisting of a cable having entraining members. The invention relates to a conveyor for bulk goods comprising an endless flexible cable having fixed thereon entraining members, a driving pulley and at least one return pulley, which pulleys are implemented as flat cable pulleys having a continuous groove, and a tubular and/or through-shaped enclosure within which the entraining members can be advanced by the cable in fitting but free relation, which eintraining members each are provided with a straight radial slot from the fastening location on tha cable, which slot has a slightly larger width than the thickness of the cable pulley. Such a conveyor is known from German patent specification 282,119 and can be used for many applications such as unloading ships. In this patent specification it is not indicated how the entraining members are fixed to the cable. No solution is given for the problem of a too much curved cable at the fixing place of the entraining member to the cable when running over the cable pulleys. A strong connection between entraining members and cable is impossible with an unfinite small or very small connection element, but this element, must have a certain length and thickness so that during running of said connection elements over the cable pulleys on that place in the cable unadmissible high bendings can occur. The invention has the object to avoid and according to the invention this is obtained in that the the cable over the whole length is provided with adjacent bosses in series connected fixedly to the cable, in which any of predetermined bosses are provided with entraining members each connected axially isdisplaceable to the associated boss and that the continuous circumferential groove of the cable pulleys is adapted to the coopering external form of the bosses and the internal form of the bosses is such that when the cable with bosses is running over a cable pulley the cable without kinking cannot be bent further than to a constant radius which is equal to the radius of the cable pulleys plus the web thickness of the fixing place of the belonging entraining member. By the special form of the bosses it is also reached that the cable with the bosses is running on and from the cable pulley withou impacts and that the velocity of the cable is nearly proportional to the angular velocity of the cable pulleys. It is noted that a conveyor having bosses fixed on a cable, which bosses have a bore in form of a body of revolution is known from the Dutch Patent Specification 158,758. Typically, this is a conveyor in which the driving pulley is provided with nests in Which the bosses and the buckets fixed thereto find a seat. Therein, the bosses do not engage in a continuous cable pulley. According to the invention it is further possible that adjacent to the return pulley being at the lower end two further conveyors of the same type are provided, of which the shafts of the upper pulleys are coupled to the shaft of said return pulley, which two further conveyors incline in opposite direction with respect to the axis of the first conveyor, which inclination is adjustable, in which adjacent to the return pulleys located at the lower end of the further conveyors are two screw conveyors having left- and right-hand pitch or other digging apparatus operating in opposite direction are provided. By said features the digging forces in the bulk goods are only small because they are nearly only under strain of shear and practically not under strain of pressure. The digging process is approximately symmetrical so that all forces and moments resulting from digging are balanced nearly internally. The invention will be explained in details by reference to the drawing in which a number of embodiments are shown. Fig. 1 is a schematical front view of the conveyor according to the invention having digging screws at the lower end, Fig. 2 is a schematical side view of the same conveyor, Fig. 3 is a cross-section on enlarged scale through an upper portion of the conveyor according to the invention in a plane of the cable, Fig. 4 is a cross-section along the line IV-IV of Fig. 3, Fig. 5 is a schematical front view of the lower end of a conveyor according to the invention equipped as digging apparatus having further conveyors. Fig.6 is a bottom view of Fig. 5 and Fig. 7 shows the conveyor according to Fig. 5 and 6 used as unloading apparatus for a ship's hold. Basically, the conveyor according to the invention comprises in known way a flat upper driving pulley 1, a flat lower return pulley 2, an endless cable 3, disk-shaped entraining members 4 and a tubular enclosure 5. The driving motor, not shown, is coupled to the shaft of the driving pulley 1 by which the disk-shaped entraining members 4 are entrained by cable 3 and conveys upwards the bulk goods thereon indicated by 6 through the right-hand tube of the enclosure 5 to a discharge 7. This is the general principle of such a conveyor. In Fig. 3 and 4 the upper driving pulley 1 is shown enlarged and in more details. The driving pulley 1 of the conveyor according to the invention is a flat pulley, fixed on a shaft 8 which can be driven by a motor, not shown, frequently through a reduction gear. The flat driving pulley 1 is provided with a continuous circumferential groove 9 as each normal cable pulley. This is also true for the return pulley 2. The cable 3 is provided with elongated cylindrical bosses 10 clamped behind each other on the cable 3 or fixed thereon in another way. On predetermined bosses 10 the entraining disks 4 are mounted axially indisplaceable. From Fig. 3 and 4 it appears that the circumferential groove 9 is adapted to the diameter of the bosses 10. The continuous aperture in each boss 10 is in the form of a body of revolution in which a circle arc is the descriptive line and the axis of the boss 10 the axis of the body of revolution. The radius of the circle arc is equal to the radius of the bottom of the groove 9 plus the largest web thickness of the boss 10 thus in its center. In this way the cable 3 is kinked nowhere. From Fig. 3 it appears that alternatingly a boss 10 is provided with an entraining member 4. Also another arrangement is conceivable and the arrangement can also be modified without objection, because the pulleys 1 and 2 are nestless pulleys. In order to allow this, according to the invention each entraining member 4 is provided with a radial slot 11, see Fig. 4. When the entraining members 4 pass the pulley 1 or 2 the slots 11 run over the pulleys 1 and 2. One can also provide longer or shorter bosses 10 and connect the entraining members 4 to each arbitrary boss. It is also not required to have the pulleys 1 and 2 in one and the same plane. They can cross each other or lie in another parallel plane. Selfevidently, the shape of the enclosure 5 should be adapted thereto. Otherwise, said enclosure 5 needs not to be a closed tube. In conveying in a horizontal or slightly inclining plane the conveying portion of the enclosure may be a trough opened upwards. Even, the return portion of the enclosure may lack entirely. Selfevidently, at circular entraining members, such as known from German Patent Specification 282,119, care should be taken that each entraining member 4 arrives in a correct rotational position at the pulleys 1 and 2. Therefore, it is necessary to guide in rotational direction the entraining members 4 over the entire traject. For example this can be accomplished by fixing a strip 12 against the inner side of the enclosure 5, see Fig. 1 and 5. Said strip 12 fits in the end of each slot 11 and serves that each slot 11 comes in the planes of the pulleys 1 and 2 also if said planes are not the same. At non-circular entraining members these strips 12 arfe superfluous, In Fig. 1 and 2 the conveyor is implemented as self-filling apparatus. Thereby, at both sides on the shaft of the return pulley 2 screw conveyors 13 and 14 are mounted having opposite pitches. Thus, the bulk goods 15 to be picked up is conveyed by screws 13 and 14 to the apertures in the enclosure 5 after which the bulk goods are transported upwards by the entraining members 4. By the screws 13 and 14 having opposite pitches the lower end of the conveyor is maintained in its position. The screws 13 and 14 are driven from the pulley 1 through the cable 3 so that beneath no motor or the like needs to be arranged. In the embodiment according to Fig. 5and 6 further similar conveyors 16 and 17 are connected between the screws. When said further conveyor 16 and 17 are journaled around the axis of the pulley 2 of the main conveyor as indicated by arrows, the material 16 may be digged away deeper without to have the main conveyor itself to descend. Fig. 7 shows the conveyor according to Fig. 5 and 6 used for unloading a ship 18. A conveyor is pending from a conveyor 19 of arbitrary type extending nearly horizontally and in its turn pending from the mobile supporting construction 20. By descending of the left-hand end of the conveyor 19 the digging depth into the ship 20 is varied. By journaling the conveyors 16 and 17 in opposite direction each corner of the ship 18 can be reached.

Claims: C L A I N S. 1. Conveyor for bulk goods comprising an endless flexible cable having fixed thereon entraining members, a driving pulley and at least one return pulley, which pulleys are implemented as flat cable pulleys having a continuous circumferential groove, and a tubular and/or trough-shaped enclosure within which the entraining members can be advanced by the cable in fitting but free relation, which entraining members each are provided with a straight radial slot from the fastening location on the cable, which slot has a slightly larger width than the thickness of the cable pulleys, characterized in that the cable over the whole length is provided with adjacent bosses in series connected fixedly to the cable, in which any of predetermined bosses are provided with entraining members each connected axially indisplaceable to the associated boss and that the continuous circumferential groove of the cable pulleys is adapted to the coopering external form of the bosses and the internal form of the bosses is such that when the cable with bosses is running over a cable pulley the cable without kinking cannot be bent further than to a constant radius which is equal to the radius of the cable pulleys plus the web thickness of the boss on the fixing place of the belonging entraining member. 2. Conveyor according to claim 1, in which the lower end of the conveyor is arranged for supplying the bulk goods, for which the enclosure is provided with access apertures for the bulk goods, characterized in that adjacent to the return pulley located at the lower end two further conveyors of similar type are provided, of which the shafts of the upper pulleys are coupled to the shaft of said return pulley, which two further conveyors incline in opposite direction with respect to the axis of the first mentioned conveyor, which inclination is adjustable, in which adjacent to the return pulleys of the further conveyors located at the lower end two screw conveyors having left- and right-hand pitches, or other digging apparatus operating in opposite direction are provided.

Inventors: SPAANS, CORNELIS
Applicants: SPAANS, CORNELIS
Application year: 1981
Main classification: B65G19
IPC codes: B65G67, B65G19