ARRANGEMENT FOR A CONVEYOR

Abstract: The present invention relates to an arrangement (1) for a coveyor (2) comprising a driven endlesss flexible belt (5) running around deflector devices (3, 4). In accordance with the invention, the load-bearing part of the conveyor belt (5) is so arranged as to be formed by and supported on a formed supporting surface (7) which exhibits a transition from an essentially plane form to a curved form.

Description: Arrangement for a conveyor The present invention relates to an arrangement for a conveyor comprising a driven endless flexible belt running around deflector devices. The principal object of the present invention is, in the first place, to make available a conveyor which is simple, easy to construct and permits the transport of bulk material reliably and efficiently without the material accumulating in large amounts on the return part of the conveyor belt and at other undesired points on the conveyor. Said object is achieved by means of an arrangement in accordance with the present invention, which is characterized essentially in that the load-bearing part of the conveyor belt is so arranged as to be formed by and supported on a formed supporting surface which exhibits a transition from an essentially plane form to a curved form. The invention is described below as a preferred illustrative example, in conjunction with which reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a conveyor in accordance with the invention, viewed from the side; Fig. 2 shows a sectional view along the line II- II in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows a feed hopper in perspective view; Fig. 3A shows a side view of the feed hopper; Fig. 4 shows a joint between two longitudinally joined formed supporting surfaces viewed from the side; Figs. 5 and 6 show variants of examples of initial formed supporting surfaces; Figs. 7 and 8 show variants of examples of intermediate formed supporting surfaces; Fig. 9 shows a dismantled formed supporting surface; Fig. 10 shows a support, frame section in perspective; Fig. 11 shows examples of final formed supporting surfaces; Figs. 12 and 13 show perspective views of formed supporting surfaces seen at an angle from below; and Fig. 14 shows a joint between two longitudinally joined formed supporting surfaces viewed in perspective. An arrangement 1 in accordance with the present invention in the form of a conveyor 2 comprising a driven endless flexible belt 5 running around deflector devices 3, 4, involves the upper running part of the belt, i.e. the load-bearing part 6 of the conveyor belt 5 being so arranged as to be both formed by and supported on a formed supporting surface 7. Said formed supporting surface 7 is so arranged as to exhibit a transition from an essentially plane form to a curved form. The formed supporting surface 7 is so arranged, for the purpose of permitting the construction of a conveyor 2 with a certain desired length L, as to be appropriately formed from a number of formed supporting surface sections 9, 9 1 joined together in the longitudinal extent 8 of the conveyor, which formed supporting surface sections 9, 9 1 are preferably integrated with associated supporting frame sections 10. The supporting frame sections 10 are formed preferably from longitudinally hollow channels consisting of end walls 11, a base 12 and a top attachment part 13 situated above each end wall 11. An associated formed supporting surface 7 is so arranged as to be capable of being connected, for example capable of being attached by spot welding, in conjunction with said supporting frame sections 10 in the area of the respective top attachment part 13. Said formed supporting surface 7 completely bridges the distance to the top attachment parts 13 situated laterally at a relative distance A, whereby loaded bulk material 14 is prevented from falling down to the under side of the conveyor. Lateral parts 15 of formed supporting surfaces 7 exhibit a transition to belt edge delimiting devices 16, which are formed from pairs of inwardly angled edge parts of the respective formed supporting surface 7, situated opposite one another and so arranged as to interact with a respective longitudinal belt edge 5A, 5B. For the purpose of preventing the material 14 being transported from finding its way outside the conveyor 2, for example by also damming up the lateral edges of the conveyor 2, or by permitting contact from outside with the conveyor belt 5 and the load 14, removable covers 17 are included which are able to cover the conveyor 2. Said covers 17, which can be formed from flat sheets with downward- sloping sides, interact with the devices 16 executed as a supporting surface and/or the lateral parts 15 of the formed supporting surfaces 7. The simple and effective construction of a conveyor 2 is made possible thanks to the ability of a desired number of formed supporting surfaces 7 placed together edge 7 1 to edge 7 2 to be joined together in a longitudinal sense by means of strap-shaped connecting elements 18 which bridge and connect together pairs of supporting frame sections 10, preferably by means of elements 18 which comprise both an under part 18A and side parts 18B, 18C beneath and to the side of said sections 10. It is appropriate for at least a number of the formed supporting surfaces 7, supporting frame sections 10 and connections 18 contained in the conveyor 2 to be made of galvanized sheet steel, plastic or some other suitable similar material. It can be appreciated from Figures 5 and 7 that the formed supporting surfaces 7 have been bent so that any residual bending lines 19 can be seen, or at least traced, in the formed supporting surfaces 7. Said bending lines 19 are produced, for example, in the course of the radiation bending of sheet steel to the desired curvature of the formed supporting surface 7 in question. Figures 6 and 8 show smoother formed supporting surfaces 7, which can be produced, for example, by some other process of forming the material in question, or by making the formed supporting surfaces 7 from, for example, a plastic material which lends itself to being manufactured with a curved form without any bending creases or other similar lines occurring in the final product in question. A conveyor 2 consists of an initial part 20, a number of intermediate parts 21, and a final part 22, in conjunction with which the initial part 20 shown in Figures 5 and 6 has a formed supporting surface 7 which, in the direction away from the inlet end 7A, exhibits a transition from an essentially plane form 23 successively to an essentially curved form 24 at the discharge end 7B of the initial part 20, similar to a channel. The conveyor belt 5 rests upon said formed supporting surface 7, both as the belt 5 is guided in from a deflector pulley and a tensioner pulley 3, and as the belt 5 is forced to adopt essentially the form of the upper surface of the formed supporting surface. The belt 5 is guided along the edges 5A, 5B of the side parts 15 and the belt edge delimiting devices 16 situated to either side of the formed supporting surface 7, so that the belt 5 is prevented from slipping sideways out of the intended formed supporting surface 7. Thereafter the belt 5 rests against the formed supporting surface 7 and, by adapting the choice of material between the belt 5 and the formed supporting surface 7, the friction between them lies within acceptable limits for the conveyor 2 to function efficiently and reliably. An initial part 20 is followed by one intermediate part 21 arranged edge-to-edge and connected together by means of, for example, a connecting strap 18, and the conveyor 2 can be assembled simply, and also dismantled simply by means of screwed joints 25 from outside the sides of the conveyor. These are then followed by the desired number of intermediate parts 22, so that the conveyor 2 achieves the desired length with regard to both the transport distance and the permissible drive values for the driving motor and on the driving roller 4 for the conveyor belt 5. Finally, at the end of the conveyor 2 and attached to an intermediate part 22, there is a, final part 23 with a formed supporting surface 7 which exhibits a transition from a curved form 24 to an essentially plane form 23. A conveyor belt 5, which is drawn over rollers 3, 4, and which rests on said formed supporting surfaces 7, can then be vulcanized or joined in some other suitable fashion to form an endless conveyor intended to accept a load 14 on its upper load-bearing part 6 and for transport in the direction of driving and the direction of transport 8, at the same time as it slides over subjacent formed supporting surfaces 7 along the length L of the conveyor. The return part 26 of the belt 5 runs inside the frame, in conjunction with which any material 14 or dust, etc., that has fallen down is scraped away from same by means of, for example, a scraper 28 operating in a previously disclosed manner at the starting end. Also present at the starting end are a feed hopper 29 for feeding the intended material 14 onto the conveyor 2, and flaps 30, 31 situated below, behind and to the sides guide the material and prevent it from finding its way other than onto the belt 5. Lateral edges 32 can support the hopper 29 on the conveyor 2. At the final end of the conveyor 2 the material 14 may be intended to fall freely down into a receiving hopper 33 for further delivery and discharge to the desired point of consumption. A conveyor 2 produced in accordance with the invention functions efficiently and reliably over a long period and enables a large quantity of material 14 to be transported in only a short time. Cereal grain, for example, can be transported at a rate of approximately 34 ton/h, with the drive provided by a motor of about 1.5 kW and with a belt 5 which exhibits a width of 250 mm. The invention is not, however, restricted to the illustrative example described above and shown in the drawings, but may be varied within the scope of the patent claims without departing from the idea of invention.

Claims: Patent Claims 1. Arrangement (1) for a conveyor (2), comprising a driven endless flexible belt (5) running around deflector devices (3, 4), characterized in that the load-bearing part (6) of the conveyor belt (5) is so arranged as to be formed by and supported on a formed supporting surface (7) which exhibits a transition from an essentially plane form to a curved form. 2. Arrangement in accordance with Patent Claim 1, characterized in that the formed supporting surface (7) is formed from a number of formed supporting surface sections (9, 9") joined together in the longitudinal extent (8) of the conveyor. 3. Arrangement in accordance with Patent Claim 2, characterized in that the formed supporting surface sections (9, 9 1 ) are integrated with associated supporting frame sections (10) . . Arrangement in accordance with Patent Claim 3, characterized in that the supporting frame sections (10) are formed from channels consisting of end walls (11), a base (12) and a top attachment part (13). 5. Arrangement in accordance with Patent Claim 4, characterized in that said supporting frame sections (10) in the area of the top attachment part (13) are so arranged as to be capable of being connected to an associated formed supporting surface (7) which completely bridges the distance between top attachment parts (13) situated laterally at a relative distance (A) . 6. Arrangement in accordance with one or other of the above Patent Claims 3-5, characterized in that a desired number of formed supporting surfaces (7) is capable of being joined together in a longitudinal sense (8) by means of connecting elements (18) which bridge and connect together pairs of supporting frame sections (10), preferably strap- shaped elements which extend beneath and to the side. 7. Arrangement in accordance with one or other of the above Patent Claims, characterized in that lateral parts (15) of formed supporting surfaces (7) exhibit a transition to belt edge delimiting devices (16) 8. Arrangement in accordance with Patent Claim 7, characterized in that said devices (16) are formed from pairs of inwardly angled edge parts of the respective formed supporting surface (7), situated opposite one another. . Arrangement in accordance with Patent Claim 8, characterized in that the outside of the respective formed supporting surface forms a supporting surface for a removable conveyor cover (17). 10. Arrangement in accordance with one or other of the above Patent Claims, characterized in that at least a number of the formed supporting surfaces (7), supporting frame sections (10) and connections (18) contained in the conveyor (2) are made of galvanized sheet steel, plastic or a similar material. AMENDED CLAIMS [received by the International Bureau on 30 November 1993 (30.11.93); original claims 1-10 replaced by amended claims 1-5 (2 pages)] 1. Arrangement (1) for a conveyor (2), comprising a driven endless flexible belt (5) running around deflector devices (3,4) of which the load-bearing part (6) of the conveyor belt (5) is so arranged as to be formed by and supported on a formed supporting surface (7), which exhibits a transition from an essentially plane form to a curved form, and that the formed supporting surface (7) is formed from a number of formed supporting surface sections (9,9 ) joined together in the longitudinal extent (8) of the conveyor, characterized in that the formed supporting frame sections (10) are formed from channels consisting of end walls (11), a base (12) and a top attachment part (13) and in that said bottom equiped supporting frame sections (10) in the area of the top attachment part (13), are so arranged as to be capable of being connected to an associated formed supporting surface (7) which completely brigdes the distance between top attachment parts (13) situated laterally at a relative distance (A), lateral parts (15) of formed supporting surfaces (7) exhibiting a transition to belt edge delimiting devices (16) which are formed from pairs of inwardly angled edge parts of the respective formed supporting surface (7), situated opposite one another, arranged as to cooperate with respectively longitudinal belt edges (5A,5B). 2. Arrangement in accordance with Patent Claim 1, characterized in that the formed supporting surface sections (9,9 ) are integrated with associated supporting frame sections (10). 3. Arrangement in accordance with one or other of the above Patent Claims, characterized in that a desired number of formed supporting surfaces (7) is capable of being joined together in a longitudinal sense (8) by means of connecting elements (18) which bridge and connect together pairs of supporting frame sections (10), preferably strap-shaped elements which extend beneath and to the side. 4. Arrangement in accordance with Patent Claim 1, characterized in that the outside of the respective formed supporting surface forms a supporting surface for a removable conveyor cover (17). 5. Arrangement in accordance with one or other of the above Patent Claims, characterized in that at least a number of the formed supporting surfaces (7), supporting frame sections (10) and connections (18) contained in the conveyor (2) are made of galvanized sheet steel, plastic or a similar material.

Inventors: AAHL LEIF, AAHL, LEIF
Applicants: AAHL LEIF, AAHL, LEIF
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B65G15
IPC codes: B65G15