Patent Publication Number: US-2023133864-A1

Title: Air-Powered Conveyor Belt Cleaner for Small Debris and Particles

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Conveyor belt cleaning systems can deploy motorized cleaning heads that spray some material against a dirtied conveyor belt. Some cleaning heads are configured with brushes to mechanically clean the dirtied conveyor belts. Typical conveyor belt cleaning systems may be inadequate for cleaning certain types of conveyor belts and/or debris particles, such as sesame seeds, that get stuck within a conveyor belt’s openings or apertures. 
     SUMMARY 
     An air-powered conveyor belt cleaner is configured with a spinner manifold with cleaning heads having nozzles that output air against a conveyor belt and an opposing catch tray assembly that catches dislodged sesame seeds and small debris or particles from the cleaned conveyor belt. A hanging bracket attaches to opposing sides of the conveyor belt’s frame and uses rollers to direct the conveyor belt in a temporarily vertical direction while the air-powered conveyor belt cleaner operates. Once the conveyor belt is vertically-oriented, plant air is directed to inlets at the spinner manifold, which is then output through nozzles perpendicularly arranged relative to the conveyor belt. The cleaning heads are adapted to rotate while operating to increase the agitation against the conveyor belt. The tips of the nozzles/tubes are bent at an obtuse angle to create a thrust caused by the output air, thereby obviating the need, at least in some scenarios, for a motor for rotational movement. While air is discussed throughout the disclosure, the cleaning heads and system is also capable of outputting other media, including steam, water, sanitizing solution, dry ice crystals, etc. Each one of which can cause the functionality for air discussed herein, but may be better suited depending on the type of debris or particles intended to be cleaned on the conveyor belt, or depending on the conveyor belt’s material itself. 
     As output air engages with the conveyor belt’s mesh makeup, seeds and other small debris are dislodged and escape on a side opposite the spinner manifold into the catch tray assembly. The catch tray assembly, with a minimized distance from the conveyor belt, includes an angled backstop to direct any crashing debris downward toward a base. The base includes a lip adjacent to the conveyor belt to prevent any caught debris from escaping. A vacuum port adjacent to or at the base of the catch tray assembly is adapted to receive a vacuum to suction out any caught debris and enable the continuous operation of the conveyor belt cleaner. 
     This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that is further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure. It will be appreciated that the above-described subject matter may be implemented as a computer-controlled apparatus, a computer process, a computing system, or as an article of manufacture, such as one or more computer-readable storage media. These and various other features will be apparent from reading the following Detailed Description and reviewing the associated drawings. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    shows an illustrative diagram of a conveyor belt cleaning system configured to rid a conveyor belt of sesame seeds and other smaller particles; 
         FIG.  2    shows an illustrative view of a cutout portion from  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  3    shows an illustrative mesh conveyor belt with seeds and like particles stuck within the conveyor belt’s apertures; 
         FIG.  4    shows an illustrative rear perspective view of the air-powered cleaning heads; 
         FIG.  5    shows an illustrative rear perspective view of the air-powered cleaning heads with the spinner manifold and conveyor belt removed; 
         FIG.  6    shows an illustrative rear perspective view of the backplate that opposes the air-powered cleaning heads; 
         FIG.  7    shows an illustrative rear perspective view of the backplate with the backplate and conveyor belt removed to show the front of the air-powered cleaning heads; 
         FIGS.  8 - 11    show illustrative representations of the air-powered cleaning head assembly from different angles; 
         FIG.  12    shows an illustrative representation of the nozzles for an air-powered cleaning head; 
         FIG.  13    shows an illustrative representation of the inlet assembly of the air-powered cleaning head; 
         FIGS.  14 - 16    show illustrative representations of the catch tray assembly from different angles; 
         FIG.  17    shows illustrative representations of the air-powered cleaning heads laterally outputting air against a surface of a mesh conveyor belt for dislodging sesame seeds and particles into the catch tray assembly; and 
         FIG.  18    is a simplified block diagram of an illustrative architecture of a control panel or user computing device that may be used at least in part to implement the present air-powered conveyor belt cleaner for small debris and particles; and 
     
    
    
     Like reference numerals indicate like elements in the drawings. Elements are not drawn to scale unless otherwise indicated. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG.  1    shows an illustrative representation in which a conveyor belt  110  that progresses along a conveyor belt frame  190  is advanced along a lower roller  140  and upper roller  145  to arrange the belt vertically. The rollers may be comprised of silicone, plastic, metal, a combination thereof, or any material that can facilitate the operations discussed herein.  FIG.  2    shows a closer view of the cutout portion  150  from  FIG.  1   . The hanger bracket  185  is attached to a section of the conveyor belt frame  190  via, for example, screws, bolts, a clamp, etc. 
     Opposing hanger brackets  185  attach to opposing ends/sides of the conveyor belt frame  190  so that the brackets straddle the conveyor belt (see  FIGS.  4 - 7   ). The hanger brackets may be substantially perpendicular to the conveyor belt’s frame to facilitate the conveyor belt’s vertical orientation. The conveyor belt is then manually manipulated over the upper and lower rollers  145 ,  140  to redirect and create a temporary vertical orientation of the conveyor belt for cleaning by the conveyor belt cleaner  105 , which is generally comprised of a spinner manifold  155  and a catch tray assembly  115 . The spinner manifold and catch tray assembly may be comprised of metal (e.g., steel, stainless steel, copper, etc.) and are further shown with various views in  FIGS.  8 - 16   . 
     By utilizing a hanger bracket  185  that temporarily orients the conveyor belt  110  vertically, product or food production can continue while the conveyor belt cleaner  105  performs its job, cleans debris from the belt, and does not interfere with the belt’s dedicated operations. Additionally, the vertical approach reduces belt real estate occupancy so production can continue during cleaning. Conveyor belt production components can stay in place to continue cleaning since the conveyor belt cleaner occupies a small section of the conveyor belt. The conveyor belt continues on the conventional horizontally-oriented path after detouring to the conveyor belt cleaner section of the circuit. 
     The catch tray assembly  115  is adapted to catch any sesame seeds or other particles blown into it from the spinner manifold’s cleaning heads  180 . The catch tray assembly includes handles  120 , a backplate  125 , a base  135 , and slots  175  that lock into pins  195  attached to the hanger bracket  185 . The slots rest on the pins through gravity and are removable without tools; however, in other implementations, screws, bolts, press-fit, tab and notch, or other mechanisms may be used to secure the catch tray assembly in place. The catch tray assembly  115  further includes a vacuum port into which a vacuum hose may be positioned to suction out any removed particles from the conveyor belt resting on the base  135 . 
     The spinner manifold  150  includes a frame  255  having handles  170  and inlets  165  that transfer air or another medium (e.g., spray, mist, chemicals, etc.) to blowers  180 . The blowers  180  are comprised of an entry point  205  from which generated air from the inlet  165  advances through tubes (or nozzles)  260  and then output from respective outlets  225 . The nozzles may be comprised of plastic, but other materials, such as silicone, metal, or another suitable polymer, are also possible. In the present implementation, the blowers have a tentacle-like structure to enable multiple powerful streams of air to be output against the conveyor belt  110 . This may be helpful, for example, when smaller particles or debris like sesame seeds are stuck within the conveyor belt’s apertures or crevices. The blowers are also on rotating assemblies which causes the blower’s tentacles to rotate while outputting air and effectively covering more ground when blowing against the belt. The outlets of the blowers are configured and bent at a non-orthogonal angle relative to the belt to provide thrust to rotate the assemblies. The spinner has two halves, an inlet on a rear side of the spinner manifold and a pressed-in bearing on the cleaning head  180  side of the manifold that enables rotation and which holds the rotating assembly in place. These halves are designed to sandwich the in-between sheet metal to which they mount. 
     While air is discussed throughout the disclosure, the cleaning heads and system is also capable of outputting other media, including steam, water, sanitizing solution, dry ice crystals, etc. Each one of which can cause the functionality for air discussed herein, but may be better suited depending on the type of debris or particles intended to be cleaned on the conveyor belt, or depending on the conveyor belt’s material itself. For example, air may work well for semi-dry debris, but steam would provide additional heat and emulsifying power for removing difficult, stuck-on debris (i.e. grease, jelly, honey, other sticky substances). A sanitizing solution could be sprayed onto the surface through this device, either as a stand-alone sanitizing solution or by first passing air through the device to clean, and then passing sanitizing solution through the same device. Dry ice, when ground into fine particles, could be introduced into the air stream to add agitation and abrasion, for additional cleaning. Dry ice is used in food environments because it leaves behind no residue and is considered food-safe. 
     The spinner manifold  155  may be connected to components that establish plant air generation, such as a power source  230  (e.g., battery or plugged into a power outlet), compressor  235 , motor  240 , and a conduit  245  through which the generated air travels to reach the inlets  165 , among other operational components. The plant air may be filtered and regulated to provide 35-40 PSI (pounds per square inch). The conduit may be tubes that attach to respective inlets  165  via a clamping mechanism, press-fit, connector-receptacle connection, or another attachment mechanism. Knobs (or thumb screws)  160  are used to control a clamp bushing  265 , which attaches to rails  215  extending from the hanger bracket  185 . Clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations of the knobs cause the clamp bushing to engage with and disengage from respective rails  215 . Using rails and clamp bushing enables a user to adjust the distance between the spinner manifold and the conveyor belt; that is, the user can clamp the spinner manifold at various positions along the rails. Additional knobs and components are shown in the ensuing drawings. 
       FIG.  3    shows an illustrative representation of a dirtied conveyor belt  110  with sesame seeds  305  and other debris stuck inside the belt’s apertures and crevices. In this regard, the conveyor belt may be an open mesh belt used in bakeries and similar settings, which can cause small particles and foodstuffs to get stuck into the belt. The present conveyor belt cleaner  105  is adapted and designed to successfully rid the conveyor belt of at least small particles. 
       FIG.  4    shows an illustrative perspective representation of the spinner manifold  155  side of the conveyor belt cleaner  105 . The inlets  165  include a base bracket  405  attached to a frame  255  via bolts  410 . The inlet may be a rotatable threaded receptacle that can secure to a corresponding male socket attached to a tube, such as the conduit  245  ( FIG.  2   ). Rails  215  extend from the hanging bracket  185  and enter through corresponding holes in the frame  255 . The rotatable knob  160  is then utilized to engage the clamp bushing to the rails  215 , thereby mounting the spinning manifold  155  to the hanger bracket  185 . 
       FIG.  5    shows an illustrative perspective representation of the same view from  FIG.  4    but with the spinner manifold  155  and conveyor belt  110  removed for clarity. The horizontally extending rails  215  from the hanging bracket  185  extend outward to secure the spinning manifold. A window is formed between the spinning manifold and the catch tray assembly  115  so that output air from the cleaning heads  180  (not shown in  FIG.  5   ) engages with the conveyor belt  110  and then hits against the backplate  125  on the catch tray assembly  115 . A lip  505  is shown adjacent to the base  135  ( FIG.  1   ) to prevent flying debris from escaping from the catch tray assembly  115 . Overall, the structure of the conveyor belt cleaner  105  may be compact such that space between the cleaning heads  180 , conveyor belt  110 , and catch tray assembly  115  is minimized. This can ensure that output air is not losing momentum while traveling to the conveyor belt and also prevent cleaned debris and seeds from escaping the conveyor belt cleaner unnecessarily and reaching the surrounding floor and environment. 
     The benefit of using an air-powered mechanism to clean the conveyor belt  110 , as opposed to brushes in other embodiments, includes reducing contaminants (e.g., seeds and oils) from the belt from reaching the cleaning mechanism (unlike brushes). Furthermore, unlike brushes, the outlets  225  won’t lose bristles and may wear relatively slower. 
       FIG.  6    shows an illustrative perspective representation of the catch tray assembly  115  side of the conveyor belt cleaner  105 . Pins  195  extend inwardly from the hanging bracket  185  to enable a user to secure the catch tray assembly to the hanging bracket  185 . A user may grasp handles  120  and rest the tray’s slots ( FIGS.  1  and  14 - 16   ) onto the pins. 
       FIG.  7    shows an illustrative perspective representation of the same view from  FIG.  6    but with the catch tray assembly  115  and conveyor belt  110  removed for clarity in exposition. The pins  195  are shown, on which the catch tray’s slots  175  would typically rest. The cleaning heads  180  are laterally positioned in front of the catch tray assembly to enable output air - or another medium in other examples - to engage with the conveyor belt and dislodged debris to hit against the catch tray’s backplate  125 . 
     The cleaning heads  180  include a mounting bracket  705 , which secures to the frame  255  of the spinning manifold  155  via, for example, screws, bolts, or another fastening mechanism. As shown, the cleaning heads rotate 360 degrees while operating, which occurs responsive to air pushing through the tubes/nozzles  260  and the tubes’ angled tips. In this regard, the mouting bracket  705  may include bearings in between the bracket and the manifold plate that enable rotational movement thereof which translates to the For example, the tubes’ tips may form an obtuse angle greater than 90 degrees to stimulate and cause rotational movement. The angle may be anywhere from 91 degrees to 130 degrees. In some implementations, however, the angled tips of the tubes  260  may form acute angles less than 90 degrees to stimulate rotation. Alternatively, a hybrid approach of obtuse and acute angles for individual cleaning heads  180  may be used. Alternatively, some cleaning heads may form acute angles, and others may form obtuse angles. 
       FIGS.  8 - 11    show illustrative representations of the spinning manifold  155  from various angles. The various components shown have been described in greater detail above. Some components and the manifold as a whole may be better represented and observed in these drawings. For example, the clamp bushing  265  and its controlling knobs  160  on both ends of the manifold may be more observable. Furthermore, the holes  905 , which receives the hanging bracket’s rails  215  ( FIGS.  4 - 5   ), are shown, to which the clamp bushing secures. The inlet of the cleaning heads have corresponding mounting brackets  910  that attach through to the outlet portion of the cleaning head. The spinner manifold (and corresponding catch tray assembly  115 ) can come in varying lengths to accommodate different belt sizes, but the overall structure and functionality may otherwise be the same with the increase or reduction of cleaning heads  180 . 
       FIGS.  12  and  13    show illustrative representations of the cleaning head  180  and the inlet  165  for the cleaning head, respectively. Plant air is routed from the inlet to the entry point  205  of the cleaning head and then travels through the tubes  260  and out the outlet  225 . The airflow travels into the conduit  245  (which may extend to and from the air-generation source) and to the inlet  165  ( FIG.  13   ), which is operatively connected to the cleaning head on the reverse side ( FIG.  12   ) and output. A rotatable plate  1205  having bearings  1210  is connected to the mounting plate  705 . The bearings are shown in broken lines to to represent that their placement is underneath the rotatable plate  1205  and engages with a surface of the mouting plate  705  responsive to air outflow. A figurative line showing the obtuse angle of the tube’s tips is shown (e.g., “+90°”). Such a configuration causes the thrust for the rotational movement of the cleaning head when air is output by the nozzles, as representatively illustrated by the rotational arrow. In that regard, at least in this implementation, a motor that specifically causes rotational movement is unnecessary, but rather, generation and output of air is used as the thrusters. In other implementations, however, a dedicated motor, such as an electric motor, for rotation may also be used. 
       FIGS.  14 - 16    show illustrative representations of the catch tray assembly  115  from varying angles that may provide more observable details relative to the other drawings. For example, the slots  175  (although partially observable in  FIG.  1   ) is adapted to receive, engage, and rest on respective pins  195 . This enables a user to easily assemble the catch tray to the hanging bracket  185  and manually remove the catch tray for disassembly without tools. In other implementations, however, tools may be used if bolts or screws are used. 
     The vacuum port  130  is positioned adjacent to or at the base  135  of the catch tray assembly to vacuum debris. For example, a tube may be inserted into the port  130 , and then a vacuum is switched on to suction up the debris dislodged from the conveyor belt  110 . The vacuum port  130  is positioned behind the lip  505 , which helps prevent dislodged debris from escaping the catch tray assembly. Furthermore, the backstop  125  is angled relative to the base  135  and the opposing spinning manifold ( FIG.  1   ) to influence the direction of debris to the base upon hitting the backstop. Specifically, the backstop forms an acute angle relative to the base  135 . 
       FIG.  17    shows an illustrative schematic representation of the conveyor belt cleaner  105  in operation. The cleaning heads  180 , which would be attached to the spinner manifold’s frame  255 , rotatably output air against the vertically-oriented and advancing conveyor belt  110 . Sesame seeds and other particles are dislodged and cleaned from the conveyor belt as air strikes it. Dislodged debris may then follow a trajectory  1705  of hitting against the backstop  125  of the catch tray assembly  115  and then dropping to the base  135  for subsequent cleanup (e.g., via vacuum port  130  ( FIGS.  14 - 16   )). 
     In alternative embodiments, a flat air knife may be utilized instead of or in addition to rotating spinners, in which case an electric motor may be used to make the air knife oscillate and provide extra agitation or cleaning power against the conveyor belt  110 . In another alternative embodiment, a blower that injects air at one side of the conveyor belt may be used. A horizontally facing vacuum on the belt’s opposite side can create a wind tunnel that carries seeds away and prevents buildup in the catch tray assembly  115 . 
       FIG.  18    shows an illustrative architecture  1800  for a computing device such as a control panel or user computing device (e.g., laptop computer, desktop computer, smartphone, etc.) that may be used to control the operations for the present air-powered conveyor belt cleaner for small debris and particles. For example, the architecture may control the blower generation from the computing device  295 . The architecture  1800  may be non-exhaustive for a given computing device but may be utilized to execute the functions described herein. 
     The architecture  1800  illustrated in  FIG.  18    includes one or more processors  1802  (e.g., central processing unit, dedicated Artificial Intelligence chip, graphics processing unit, etc.), a system memory  1804 , including RAM (random access memory)  1806  and ROM (read-only memory)  1808 , and a system bus  1810  that operatively and functionally couples the components in the architecture  1800 . A basic input/output system containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the architecture  1800 , such as during startup, is typically stored in the ROM  1808 . The architecture  1800  further includes a mass storage device ,  1812  for storing software code or other computer-executed code that is utilized to implement applications, the file system, and the operating system. The mass storage device  1812  is connected to the processor  1802  through a mass storage controller (not shown) connected to the bus  1810 . The mass storage device  1812  and its associated computer-readable storage media provide non-volatile storage for the architecture  1800 . Although the description of computer-readable storage media contained herein refers to a mass storage device, such as a hard disk or CD-ROM drive, it may be appreciated by those skilled in the art that computer-readable storage media can be any available storage media that can be accessed by the architecture  1800 . 
     By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable storage media may include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. For example, computer-readable media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory), EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory), Flash memory or other solid-state memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD, HD-DVD (High Definition DVD), Blu-ray, or other optical storage, a magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the architecture  1800 . 
     According to various embodiments, the architecture  1800  may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to remote computers through a network. The architecture  1800  may connect to the network through a network interface unit  1816  connected to the bus  1810 . It may be appreciated that the network interface unit  1816  also may be utilized to connect to other types of networks and remote computer systems. The architecture  1800  also may include an input/output controller  1818  for receiving and processing input from a number of other devices, including a keyboard, mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, control devices such as buttons and switches, or electronic stylus (not shown in  FIG.  18   ). Similarly, the input/output controller  1818  may provide output to a display screen, user interface, a printer, or other output device types (also not shown in  FIG.  18   ). 
     It may be appreciated that the software components described herein may, when loaded into the processor  1802  and executed, transform the processor  1802  and the overall architecture  1800  from a general-purpose computing system into a special-purpose computing system customized to facilitate the functionality presented herein. The processor  1802  may be constructed from any number of transistors or other discrete circuit elements, which may individually or collectively assume any number of states. More specifically, the processor  1802  may operate as a finite-state machine in response to executable instructions contained within the software modules disclosed herein. These computer-executable instructions may transform the processor  1802  by specifying how the processor  1802  transitions between states, thereby transforming the transistors or other discrete hardware elements constituting the processor  1802 . 
     Encoding the software modules presented herein also may transform the physical structure of the computer-readable storage media presented herein. The specific transformation of physical structure may depend on various factors in different implementations of this description. Examples of such factors may include but are not limited to, the technology used to implement the computer-readable storage media, whether the computer-readable storage media is characterized as primary or secondary storage, and the like. For example, if the computer-readable storage media is implemented as semiconductor-based memory, the software disclosed herein may be encoded on the computer-readable storage media by transforming the physical state of the semiconductor memory. For example, the software may transform the state of transistors, capacitors, or other discrete circuit elements constituting the semiconductor memory. The software also may transform the physical state of such components in order to store data thereupon. 
     As another example, the computer-readable storage media disclosed herein may be implemented using magnetic or optical technology. In such implementations, the software presented herein may transform the physical state of magnetic or optical media when the software is encoded therein. These transformations may include altering the magnetic characteristics of particular locations within given magnetic media. These transformations also may include altering the physical features or characteristics of particular locations within given optical media to change the optical characteristics of those locations. Other transformations of physical media are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the present description, with the foregoing examples provided only to facilitate this discussion. 
     The architecture  1800  may further include one or more sensors  1814  and a battery or power supply  1820 . The sensors may be coupled to the architecture to pick up data about an environment or a component, including temperature, pressure, etc. Exemplary sensors can include a thermometer, accelerometer, smoke or gas sensor, pressure sensor (barometric or physical), light sensor, ultrasonic sensor, gyroscope, among others. The power supply may be adapted with an AC power cord or a battery, such as a rechargeable battery for portability. 
     In light of the above, it may be appreciated that many types of physical transformations take place in the architecture  1800  in order to store and execute the software components presented herein. It also may be appreciated that the architecture  1800  may include other types of computing devices, including wearable devices, handheld computers, embedded computer systems, smartphones, PDAs, and other types of computing devices known to those skilled in the art. It is also contemplated that the architecture  1800  may not include all of the components shown in  FIG.  18   , may include other components that are not explicitly shown in  FIG.  18   , or may utilize an architecture completely different from that shown in  FIG.  18   . 
     Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.