CONVEYOR SYSTEM

Abstract: The system comprises a conveyor surface between respective members of at least two pairs of support member sections (3). Each support member section (3) has a channel (5, 6) to accommodate a respective edge of the conveyor surface (12). A first pair of support member sections (14) has a convexly curved end and a pivot point (18). A second pair of support member sections (15) has a concavely curved end and this second pair of sections is adapted to pivot about the pair of pivot points (18). The channels (5, 6) adjacent the convex ends of the first sections (14) are so divergent as to allow connection with the channels (5, 6) adjacent to the concave ends of the second sections (15) at all times when the second sections are pivoted with their longitudinal axis at an angle of between 0 DEG and 45 DEG with respect to the longitudinal axis of said first sections.

Description: CONVEYOR SYSTEM The present invention relates to a conveyor system. More particularly, in one aspect it relates to a conveyor system which may be hinged to have a variably angled section to elevate or depress the direction of travel of the conveyor over a portion of it's length, and in which movement about the hinge is possible without the need for stopping the conveyor. It is known to provide conveyor systems using modular link conveyor belts, i.e. belts formed of a plurality of transverse slats, each so flexibly interlinked to the adjacent slats that the belt may partially encircle the guide or driving wheels at at least the two ends of the belt. It is usual for such conveyor belts to be guided and supported along their length by channels in opposed side surfaces of the conveyor belt run. In a second aspect, the invention relates more particularly to a conveyor system in which a modular link conveyor belt, as described above, may be more easily removed from the system either in case of damage or in case its length needs to be changed. A replacement belt or a new belt may also be added more easily to the system. In a third aspect, the invention relates more particularly to a system in which modular conveyor belts, guided and supported along their length by channels in opposed side surfaces of the conveyor belt run may be allowed a degree of freedom in terms of their overall length. Further aspects of the invention relate to a system in which any adjacent pair of elements of the conveyor system may be joined together by means of accurately aligned joining means, and to a method of assembling a conveyor system from said elements. It is often required for a conveyor system to deliver goods at a level higher than their starting point. To this end, the conveyor belt may be angled along the full length of its run, so that its upper return at a delivery point is at a higher level than its loading point. Alternatively, two or more conveyor belts may be used with goods debouching from one onto a subsequent belt, with at least one of them being angled upwardly. However, if it is desired to change the height of the point of delivery, it usually requires the conveyor or conveyors to be stopped whilst necessary adjustments are made. It is one object of the present invention to provide a conveyor system, which overcomes or obviates the above disadvantages. In the case of modular linked conveyor belts which are guided and supported along a length by channels in opposed side surfaces of a conveyor belt run, it is possible that the link between adjacent transverse slats or a slat may break or become damaged so that it is necessary to extract the belt from the system for repair or exchange It may also be necessary to lengthen the belt by adding additional slats or shorten the belt by removing some of the slats In existing conveyor systems, this is not easily possible without dismantling at least part of the system It is another object of the present invention to provide a conveyor system in which the opposed side surfaces of the conveyor belt run are so disposed as to allow easy removal of the conveyor belt A further disadvantage of such modular link conveyor belts is that the spacing between adjacent slats may vary, albeit slightly, but over a number of slats this may be perceptible In the less common case of conveyor belt length shortening, breakage is almost inevitable In the case of lengthening of the conveyor belt, the channels in opposed side surfaces of the conveyor belt run are unable to accommodate the increased length and again problems are caused It is therefore a further object of the present invention to provide a conveyor system in which the channels in opposed side surfaces of the conveyor belt run are able to accommodate some variation in conveyor belt length Finally, there is often a need to make conveyor systems of a length to suit a particular job When the job is over, the conveyor belt may be of the wrong length for any subsequent jobs In order to overcome this problem it would be advantageous to provide a conveyor belt system which consists of a number of elements, each joinable to the next to form the sides of a continuous run into which a belt of an appropriate length may be inserted However, it is important that adjacent elements line up exactly so that the conveyor belt does not encounter interruptions or catches at the junctions between adjacent elements It is a further object of the present invention to provide a conveyor system which enables more accurate alignment of adjacent elements of a multi-element conveyor system According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conveyor system comprising a conveyor surface, at least two pairs of support member sections the members of each pair being disposed on opposite sides of the conveyor, each support member section having channel means to accommodate a respective edge of the conveyor surface, each of a first pair of support member sections having a convexly curved end and a pivot point, each of a second pair of support member sections having a concavely curved end, said second pair of sections being adapted to pivot about said pair of pivot points, said channel means adjacent said convex ends of said first sections being so divergent as to allow connection with said channel means adjacent to said concave ends of said second sections when said second sections are pivoted with their longitudinal axis at an angle of between 0° and 45° with respect to the longitudinal axis of said first sections The preferred maximum angle is in region of 40° The system may further comprise additional pairs of support member sections adapted to be connected one to the next to extend the length of the conveyor system, with an end one of said pairs of extender sections being connectable to said first pair of support member sections and/or optionally an end one of a second set of pairs of extender sections being connectable to said second pair of support member sections. Each section is preferably provided with two channels, one for the forward run of the conveyor surface and one for its return run. In this case, at least some of the sections adapted to receive a return run of the conveyor surface may be widened over a portion of their length to accommodate slack, i.e excess length, in the conveyor belt. Also, where two channel means are provided in each section, the first pair of support member sections have each channel divergent to an angle similar to that of the other channel. The second pair of support member sections, or extender sections affixed thereto, may be supported by lift means, which may be hydraulically or pneumatically operable. Such lift means may be actuatable when desired, without the need for stopping operation of the conveyor. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conveyor system comprising a conveyor surface, at least one pair of support member sections, the member sections of said pair being disposed on opposite sides of the conveyor surface, at least one pair of support member sections having channel means to accommodate respective edges of the conveyor surface, said channel means including a continuous section and a branch channel connecting said continuous section with edges of said pair of support member sections Preferably the pair of support member sections including a branch channel are adapted to be disposed at an end of a conveyor system In this case, said pair of support member sections may also include bearing means for a driving or guide wheel Advantageously, each branch channel may be adapted to connect with a channel for cooperating with the conveyor surface over a forward part of its run and with a channel for cooperating with the conveyor surface over a return part of its run The branch channel is, in this case, divergent to connect smoothly with each of the channels of the section According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conveyor system comprising a conveyor surface, at least one pair of support member sections, the member sections of said pair being disposed on opposite sides of the conveyor surface and each being provided with channel means to accommodate the respective edge of the conveyor surface on both forward and return runs through the membei section, wherein the channel means adapted to accommodate a respective edge of a conveyor surface on its return run has a width, over at least a portion of its length, greater than the width of the edge of the conveyor surface or of the slats forming said surface According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conveyor system comprising a plurality of pairs of support member sections, each pair being joinable to an adjacent pair wherein an end of each support member section is provided with a pan of pockets each adapted to receive a portion of a fastening means In this case, the pockets of support membei sections adjacent a join are so aligned that the portion of a fastening means held in one pocket can be joined to another portion of the fastening means held in the pocket of the adjacent member section Preferably, the fastening means comprises a nut and bolt Preferably, the pockets are disposed to be open to the surface of the support member section which is adapted to face the conveyor surface Cover means may be provided for each pocket In this case, the cover means may be a friction fit within the walls of the pocket for use when the adjacent support member sections have been connected Advantageously, each end of each support member section is provided with an alignment recess spaced a predetermined distance from each channel means and optionally also a predetermined distance from each pocket The system may comprise, in this case, an alignment peg which is a friction fit in two co- extending alignment recesses According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of constructing a conveyor system from a plurality of pairs of support member sections, each as described above, comprising the steps of aligning two support member sections end to end, aligning said sections by means of the alignment dowel, and inserting fastening means extending between respective pockets of said member sections, longitudinally of the support member sections Embodiments of the present invention will now be more particularly described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which. Figure 1 is a perspective view of a conveyor system embodying the invention, Figure 2A is a side elevation, from the side adapted to face a conveyor surface, of a first support member section, Figure 2B is a side elevation of a second section, shown aligned with but separate from the first section of Figure 2a, Figure 3 is a side elevation of a connecting piece for joining the first and second sections shown above, Figures 4A and 4B show first and second sections in aligned but separated condition, and at a maximum angle of relative inclination; Figure 5 is an end elevation of a support member section. Figure 6 is a side elevation of an end support member section, Figure 7 is a side elevation of an end support member section having a branch channel for exchanging conveyor supports, and Figure 8 is a side elevation of an extension support member section Referring now to the drawings, in particular Figure 1, the system comprises a conveyor belt 1 of the modular linked type, which comprises a plurality of transversely extending units or slats 2, each flexibly connected to adjacent ones Referring now to Figure 8, the system, over a major part of the length of the conveyor belt run, is bounded on opposed sides by pairs of support member sections 3, usually but not necessarily of equal length and each connectable to adjacent sections by means of nuts and bolts connected longitudinally with their ends within respective pockets 4 of the internally facing walls of the sections 3 At each end of each support member section 3 there is provided an alignment recess 8 towards the interior of the system Each section 3 is provided with a pair of channels extending longitudinally of the section 3 and spaced one from the other An upper, in use, one of the channels 5 is adapted to accommodate, support and guide an upper edge of the conveyor surface 1 on its forward journey. A lower channel 6 is adapted to accommodate, support and guide a lower section of the conveyor surface on its return run. This lower channel 6 may be provided at intervals with sections of increased width 16 so that slack in the conveyor surface 1 may be taken up into such widened sections 16 of the channel 6. These channels 5 and 6 are however continuous when adjacent sections 3 of the side support members are connected together. As may be seen from Figure 8, the ends of the channels 5 and 6 are chamfered to minimise any danger of the conveyor belt catching on an imperfectly aligned edge of a channel. In fact, the channels should not be misaligned since each is a predetermined distance from the alignment recess 8. When assembling two sections together, they are first placed in end to end alignment and an alignment dowel (not shown) is inserted into two co-extending alignment recesses, one on each section 3. Once the alignment recesses 8 are aligned in this manner, the channels 5 and 6 will be aligned, as will the pockets 4 and the holes 4a extending from them toward the pocket of an adjacent section. Referring now to Figure 6, at each end of the conveyor run, an extension section 3 is connected to a return section 7 in which the upper 5 and lower 6 channels are connected together by a semi circular channel 11 centred about a bearing point 10. A motor can be connected to power a drive roller (not shown), rotatable in the bearing point 10. At an opposite end of the conveyor system, a guide roller may be provided, rotatable within the bearing point 10. Referring now to Figure 7, a return section 7 is provided with a semi circular channel 1 1 to join upper channel 5 and lower channel 6 around the bearing point 10. In normal use, as a lower return section, the conveyor links 2 pass from the lower channel 6 to the upper channel via the semi-circular channel 1 1 However, should it be desired to lengthen or shorten the belt (possibly when adding one or more additional sections 3) or to take up a slack or extend a tightened belt, or if a breakage has occurred, the belt will need to be withdrawn for changeover and this may be accomplished by directing an end (once the belt has been split) into branch channel 9 which extends from the semi circular channel 11 to an outside face of the return section 7 A similar branch channel 9 is provided in the end pair's opposite return section 7 As may be seen, the branch channel 9 can cooperate with either the upper channel 5 or the lower channel 6 without undue flexing of the belt being withdrawn or inserted. In the example shown in Figure 1, a first end 12 of the conveyor system is disposed to be substantially horizontal in use and this end section 12 leads to a second end 13 which is supported at one of its ends by the first end 12 and near the other of its ends by means of a hydraulic or pneumatic ram 21 The second end 13 is so hinged to the first end 12 at its one end that its angle of inclination can be changed by means of varying the pressure in the hydraulic or pneumatic ram 21 at any time, even during operation of a conveyor system Such variable adjustment is achieved by means of co-operating end sections of the first and second parts of the conveyor system The first, substantially horizontal, part 12 of the conveyor system is provided at its end with a convexly curved section 14 (see particularly Figures 2 A and 4A) The second part 13 of the conveyor system is provided at its corresponding end with a concavely curved end section 15 (see particularly Figures 2B and 4B) A connecting plate 17 attached to the internal face of each of the pair of second concavely curved end members I S is adapted to be pivoted about pivot point 18 of the convexly cui ved first end members As can be seen, the second part of the system may be pivoted at will, even while the convevor is running In order to effect the hinged connection of the conveyor surfaces, it is important that the channels 5 and 6 of the first part 12 of the conveyor system align with channels 5 and 6 of the second part 1 of the conveyor s^ stem, whatever the relative angle of inclination there between To this end, the channels 5 and 6 of the concavely curved second end section 15 continue parallel one to the other ending at the concavely curved end face However, the channel sections 5 and 6 of the first convexly curved end member 14 diverge at their ends adjacent to the convex end to the face The maximum angle of inclination is preferably 40°, although angles of up to 45° can be contemplated withm the present invention The lower, in use, edge of each of the channels 5 and 6 remains substantially horizontal (see Figures 2 A and 2B), while the upper edge of the channels diverges through an arc until the tangent is at the maximum angle of 40° or 45° An end section, adjacent to the convexly curved end face is sufficiently straight to align with channels 5 and 6 of the second end section 15 when that is at its maximum angle with respect to the general axis of the first section (see Figures 4A and 4B) Where the second part of section 13 of the conveyor system is angled with respect to the first part 12 at an angle between 0° and the maximum, the channels 5 and 6 of the second end section 15 will align with the respective channels 5 and 6 of the first end section 14, at a point between the top and bottom edges thereof Thus, for a short distance beyond the end of the second end section 15 the conveyor surface 2 will be unsupported and not guided other than to be maintained within the maximum limits set by the divergence of the channels 5 and 6 of the first end section 14 As may be seen, the present invention allows the conveyor system to be variably angled, if necessary during use of the conveyor system

Claims: CLAIMS A conveyor system comprising a conveyor surface, at least two pairs of support member sections, the members of each pair being disposed on opposite sides of the conveyor, each support member section having channel means to accommodate a respective edge of the conveyor surface, each of a first pair of support member sections having a convexly curved end and a pivot point, each of a second pair of support member sections having a concavely curved end, said second pair of sections being adapted to pivot about said pair of pivot points, said channel means adjacent said convex ends of said first sections being so divergent as to allow connection with said channel means adjacent to said concave ends of said second sections when said second sections are pivoted with their longitudinal axis at an angle of between 0° and 45° with respect to the longitudinal axis of said first sections. A conveyor system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the maximum angle is in the region of 40°. A conveyor system as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising additional pairs of support member sections adapted to be connected one to the next to extend the length of the conveyor system, with an end one of said pairs of extender sections being connectable to said first pair of support member sections and/or optionally an end one of a second set of pairs of extender sections being connectable to said second pair of support member sections. A conveyor system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each section is provided with two channels, one for the forward run of the conveyor surface and one for its return run A conveyor system as claimed in claim 4, wherein at least one section has a channel adapted to receive a return run of the conveyor surface which is widened over a portion of its length to accommodate slack, i e excess length, in the conveyor belt A conveyor system as claimed in either claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the first pair of support member sections have the walls of each of the two channel means provided in each section divergent to an angle similar to that of the other channel means A conveyor system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second pair of support member sections, or extender sections affixed thereto, is supported by lift means, which may be hydraulically or pneumatically operable A conveyor system as claimed in claim 7, wherein said lift means are actuatable when desired, without the need for stopping operation of the conveyor A conveyor system comprising a conveyor surface, at least one pair of support member sections, the member sections of said pair being disposed on opposite sides of the conveyor surface, at least one pair of support member sections having channel means to accommodate respective edges of the conveyor surface, said channel means including a continuous section and a branch channel connecting said continuous section with edges of said pair of support member sections. 10 . A conveyor system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the pair of support member sections including a branch channel are adapted to be disposed at an end of a conveyor system. 1 1. A conveyor system as claimed in claim 10, wherein said end pair of support member sections also include bearing means for a driving or guide wheel. 12. A conveyor system as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 1 1, wherein each branch channel is adapted to connect with a channel for co-operating with the conveyor surface over a forward part of its run and with a channel for co-operating with the conveyor surface over a return part of its run. 13. A conveyor system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the branch channel is divergent to connect smoothly with each of the channels of the section. 14. A conveyor system comprising a conveyor surface, at least one pair of support member sections, the member sections of said pair being disposed on opposite sides of the conveyor surface and each being provided with channel means to accommodate the respective edge of the conveyor surface on both forward and return runs through the member section, wherein the channel means adapted to accommodate a respective edge of a conveyor surface on its return run has a width, over at least a portion of its length, greater than the width of the edge of the conveyor surface, or of the slats forming said surface A conveyor system comprising a plurality of pairs of support member sections, each pair being joinable to an adjacent pair wherein an end of each support member section is provided with a pair of pockets each adapted to receive a portion of a fastening means. A conveyor system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the pockets of support member sections adjacent a join are so aligned that the portion of a fastening means held in one pocket can be joined to another portion of the fastening means held in the corresponding pocket of the adjacent member section A conveyors system as claimed in either claim 15 or claim 16, wherein the fastening means comprises a nut and bolt A conveyor system as claimed in any of claims 15 to 17, wherein the pockets are disposed to be open to the surface of the support member section which is adapted to face the conveyor surface A conveyor system as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 18, wherein cover means are provided for each pocket A conveyors system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the cover means are a friction fit within the walls of the pocket for use when the adjacent support member sections have been connected. A conveyor system as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein each end of each support member section is provided with an alignment recess spaced a predetermined distance from each channel means and optionally also a predetermined distance from each pocket A conveyor system as claimed in claim 21, further comprising an alignment peg which is adapted to be a friction fit in two co-extending alignment recesses. A conveyor system substantially as described herein with reference to the Figures of the accompanying drawings. A method of constructing a conveyor system from a plurality of pairs of support member sections comprising the steps of aligning two support member sections end to end, aligning said sections by inserting an alignment dowel into a pair of two co- extending alignment recesses, and inserting fastening means extending between respective pockets of said member sections, longitudinally of the support member sections

Inventors: BECKHURST TREVOR ALAN, BECKHURST, TREVOR, ALAN
Applicants: BECKHURST TREVOR ALAN, BECKHURST, TREVOR, ALAN
Application year: 1999
Main classification: B65G21
IPC codes: B65G21