CN218369941U - Carrier roller set and belt conveyor - Google Patents

Carrier roller set and belt conveyor Download PDF

Info

Publication number
CN218369941U
CN218369941U CN202222598986.XU CN202222598986U CN218369941U CN 218369941 U CN218369941 U CN 218369941U CN 202222598986 U CN202222598986 U CN 202222598986U CN 218369941 U CN218369941 U CN 218369941U
Authority
CN
China
Prior art keywords
support
supporting
frame
roller
support column
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Active
Application number
CN202222598986.XU
Other languages
Chinese (zh)
Inventor
薛虎强
刘慧奇
王猛军
张战胜
张学林
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Huadian Heavy Industries Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Huadian Heavy Industries Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Huadian Heavy Industries Co Ltd filed Critical Huadian Heavy Industries Co Ltd
Priority to CN202222598986.XU priority Critical patent/CN218369941U/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CN218369941U publication Critical patent/CN218369941U/en
Active legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

Links

Images

Abstract

The utility model discloses a carrier roller group and a belt conveyor, wherein, the carrier roller group comprises a first support frame and a second support frame; the second support frame comprises a first upper support assembly and a second upper support assembly, the first upper support assembly can slide in and out of the first support frame along the first direction of the axis of the side roller, the second upper support assembly can slide in and out of the first support frame along the second direction of the axis of the middle roller, and the first direction and the second direction are two directions of the axis of the middle roller. The first upper supporting assembly comprises a first upper supporting cross beam and a first edge roller supporting frame arranged on the first upper supporting cross beam, and the first upper supporting cross beam is detachably connected with the first supporting frame. The second upper supporting assembly comprises a second upper supporting beam, a middle roller supporting frame and a second side roller supporting frame, the middle roller supporting frame and the second side roller supporting frame are arranged on the second upper supporting beam, and the second upper supporting beam is detachably connected with the first supporting frame. The application provides a bearing roller group convenient to detach.

Description

Carrier roller set and belt conveyor
Technical Field
The utility model relates to a technical field is carried to the material, in particular to bearing roller group. The utility model discloses still relate to a belt conveyor including above-mentioned bearing roller group.
Background
The carrier roller group is an important component of the belt conveyor and is a direct bearing part for ensuring the continuous transportation of materials, and the continuous transportation of the materials can be affected by the abrasion of the surface of a roller, the failure of a bearing, even the deformation and the damage of a carrier roller group frame body and the like caused by the continuous rotation of the carrier roller group, such as the abrasion of an adhesive tape, the deviation of the adhesive tape, the breakage of the adhesive tape and even the generation of fire. Therefore, routine maintenance of the carrier roller group is also an important link for maintaining the belt conveyor. In production and use, the DTII (A) belt conveyor carrier roller group is widely applied to the industry, other nonstandard carrier roller groups are evolved based on the DTII (A) form, and when the carrier roller group needs to be disassembled, the rubber belt needs to be lifted up by other tools, so that the carrier roller frame body can be pulled out from the side surface of the belt conveyor.
As shown in fig. 1, for the roller sets (buffer roller sets, grooved roller sets, etc.) at the lower part of the material guiding chute 02, the installation distance between the adjacent roller sets is small, so that the roller sets are not favorable for being drawn out from the side after being inclined along the central line of the belt conveyor, and the material guiding chute 02 installed at the upper part of the material guiding chute is connected with relatively fixed components (welding, bolting, etc.) from top to bottom, so that the material guiding chute 01 is not easy (or can not be) disassembled in later maintenance operation, which can cause difficulty (if other components of the belt conveyor must be disassembled first) for maintenance of the roller sets, and even the roller sets can not be disassembled from the belt conveyor.
Therefore, how to facilitate the disassembly of the carrier roller group is a technical problem to be solved urgently by those skilled in the art.
SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL
The utility model aims at providing a bearing roller group, this bearing roller group convenient to detach. Another object of the utility model is to provide a belt conveyor including above-mentioned bearing roller group.
In order to achieve the above object, the utility model provides a carrier roller group, include: the device comprises a first support frame and a second support frame; the second support frame comprises a first upper support assembly capable of sliding in and out of the first support frame along a first direction of an edge roller axis and a second upper support assembly capable of sliding in and out of the first support frame along a second direction of a middle roller axis, wherein the first direction and the second direction are two directions of the middle roller axis;
the first upper supporting assembly comprises a first upper supporting cross beam and a first edge roller supporting frame arranged on the first upper supporting cross beam, and the first upper supporting cross beam is detachably connected with the first supporting frame;
the second upper supporting assembly comprises a second upper supporting beam, a middle roller supporting frame and a second side roller supporting frame, the middle roller supporting frame and the second side roller supporting frame are installed on the second upper supporting beam, and the second upper supporting beam is detachably connected with the first supporting frame.
Optionally, in the carrier roller set, the first support frame includes a bottom support beam and two bases installed at the bottom end of the bottom support beam, the bases are detachably connected to the middle frame of the belt conveyor, the two bases are respectively disposed at two opposite sides of the bottom end of the bottom support beam, and the first upper support beam and the second upper support beam are both installed on the bottom support beam.
Optionally, in the above roller set, a sliding rail is formed on the upper surface of the bottom supporting beam, and sliding grooves that slide along the sliding rail are respectively disposed on the lower surface of the first upper supporting beam and the lower surface of the second upper supporting beam.
Optionally, in the carrier roller set, the slide rail is a V-shaped slide rail whose top middle position gradually expands towards both sides of the bottom end, and the slide groove is a V-shaped slide groove matched with the V-shaped slide rail.
Optionally, in the carrier roller group, the first edge roller support frame includes a first support column and a second support column respectively used for supporting two opposite ends of the first edge roller, the first support column and the second support column are both mounted on the first upper support beam, and the height of the first support column is the height of the second support column.
Optionally, in the carrier roller group, the first edge roller support frame further includes a first reinforcing support rod, two ends of which are respectively connected to the first support column and the first upper support beam.
Optionally, in the carrier roller group, the middle roller support frame includes a third support column and a fourth support column, and the third support column and the fourth support column support opposite ends of the middle roller;
the second side roller supporting frame comprises a fifth supporting column and a sixth supporting column, the fifth supporting column and the sixth supporting column support the two opposite ends of the second side roller, the third supporting column, the fourth supporting column, the fifth supporting column and the sixth supporting column are installed on the second upper supporting beam, and the height of the sixth supporting column is higher than that of the fifth supporting column.
Optionally, in the roller group, the fourth supporting column and the fifth supporting column are formed by bending the same supporting member.
Optionally, in the carrier roller group, the second side roller support frame further includes a second reinforcing support rod, two ends of which are connected to the sixth support column and the second upper support beam, respectively.
A belt conveyor comprises a rack and a carrier roller group arranged on the rack, wherein the carrier roller group is any one of the carrier roller groups.
In the above technical solution, the carrier roller set provided by the utility model comprises a first support frame and a second support frame; the second support frame comprises a first upper support assembly and a second upper support assembly, the first upper support assembly can slide in and slide out of the first support frame along the first direction of the axis of the edge roller, the second upper support assembly can slide in and slide out of the first support frame along the second direction of the axis of the middle roller, and the first direction and the second direction are two directions of the axis of the middle roller. The first upper supporting assembly comprises a first upper supporting cross beam and a first edge roller supporting frame arranged on the first upper supporting cross beam, and the first upper supporting cross beam is detachably connected with the first supporting frame. The second upper supporting assembly comprises a second upper supporting beam, a middle roller supporting frame and a second side roller supporting frame, the middle roller supporting frame and the second side roller supporting frame are installed on the second upper supporting beam, and the second upper supporting beam is detachably connected with the second supporting frame.
According to the above description, in the bearing roller group provided in this application, because the second support frame includes independent setting's first upper portion supporting component and second upper portion supporting component for the slip drags first upper portion supporting component and second upper portion supporting component and then realizes that well roller, first limit roller and second limit roller are dismantled, easy operation, bearing roller group convenient to detach that this application provided.
Drawings
In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to the provided drawings without creative efforts.
Fig. 1 is a view showing an installation position of a conventional carrier roller group;
fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a carrier roller set according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a side view of the idler set of FIG. 2;
fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a first support frame according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a side view of the first support bracket of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a top view of the first support bracket shown in FIG. 4;
fig. 7 is a schematic structural view of a second supporting frame according to an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 8 is a schematic structural view of a first upper support assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 9 is a schematic structural view of a second upper support assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Wherein in FIGS. 1-9:
01. an upper down pipe; 02. a material guide chute; 03. a belt conveyor frame;
1. a first support frame; 1-1, bottom supporting beams; 1-2, a base;
2. a second support frame; 2-1, a first upper support assembly; 2-1-1, a first upper support beam; 2-1-2, a first support column; 2-1-3, a second support column; 2-1-4, a first reinforcing support rod;
2-2, a second upper support assembly; 2-2-1, a second upper support beam; 2-2-2, a third support column; 2-2-3 and a fourth supporting column; 2-2-4 and a sixth supporting column; 2-2-5, a second reinforcing support rod; 2-2-6, a fifth support column;
3. a first locking member;
4. a second locking member;
5. a middle roller;
6. a first edge roller;
7. and a second edge roller.
Detailed Description
The core of the utility model is to provide a carrier roller group, this carrier roller group convenient to detach. The other core of the utility model is to provide a belt conveyor including above-mentioned bearing roller group.
In order to make those skilled in the art better understand the technical solution of the present invention, the present invention will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.
Please refer to fig. 2 to fig. 9.
In one embodiment, the carrier roller set provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes a first support frame 1 and a second support frame 2; the second support frame 2 comprises a first upper support component 2-1 capable of sliding in and out of the first support frame 1 along a first direction of the axis of the edge roller and a second upper support component 2-2 capable of sliding in and out of the first support frame 1 along a second direction of the axis of the middle roller 5, wherein the first direction and the second direction are two directions of the axis of the middle roller 5.
The first upper supporting component 2-1 comprises a first upper supporting beam 2-1-1 and a first edge roller supporting frame arranged on the first upper supporting beam 2-1-1, and the first upper supporting beam 2-1-1 is detachably connected with the first supporting frame 1.
The second upper supporting component 2-2 comprises a second upper supporting beam 2-2-1, a middle roller supporting frame and a second side roller supporting frame, the middle roller supporting frame and the second side roller supporting frame are arranged on the second upper supporting beam 2-1-1, and the second upper supporting beam 2-2-1 is detachably connected with the first supporting frame 1. The specific middle roller 5 is arranged on a middle roller support frame and can rotate freely. The first side roller 6 is mounted on the first side roller support frame and can freely rotate, and the second side roller 7 is mounted on the second side roller support frame and can freely rotate.
In one embodiment, the first support frame 1 comprises a bottom support beam 1-1 and a base 1-2 mounted at the bottom end of the bottom support beam 1-1. The base 1-2 is used for being detachably connected with an intermediate frame of the belt conveyor, the base 1-2 comprises two bases which are respectively arranged on two opposite sides of the bottom end of the bottom supporting beam 1-1, the first upper supporting beam 2-1 and the second upper supporting beam 2-2-1 are both arranged on the bottom supporting beam 1-1, and the first upper supporting beam 1-1 and the second upper supporting beam are arranged on the base 1-2 in a welding, clamping or screwing mode and the like. Specifically, the base 1-2 is mounted on the belt conveyor intermediate frame through a second locking member 4, and specifically, the second locking member 4 is preferably a threaded fastener. The base 1-2 is provided with a mounting hole, and the second locking piece 4 passes through the mounting hole to be fixed with the intermediate frame of the belt conveyor.
For convenience of processing, the bottom supporting cross beam 1-1 is preferably of an integrally bent plate structure, and the base 1-2 is preferably of a plate structure.
In particular, the first upper supporting beam 2-1-1 and the second upper supporting beam 2-2-1 are each connected to the bottom supporting beam 1-1 by a first locking member 3, in particular, the first locking member 3 is preferably a threaded fastening assembly. The first upper supporting beam 2-1-1 and the second upper supporting beam 2-2-1 are provided with round holes for installing the first locking pieces 3, and the first locking pieces 3 penetrate through the round holes and are screwed into corresponding threaded holes in the bottom supporting beam 1-1, so that the first upper supporting beam 2-1-1 and the second upper supporting beam 2-2-1 are locked with the bottom supporting beam 1-1.
As can be seen from the above description, in the carrier roller group provided in the present application, since the second support frame 2 includes the first upper support assembly 2-1 and the second upper support assembly 2-2 that are independently arranged, so as to make the sliding drag of the first upper support assembly 2-1 and the second upper support assembly 2-2, and then to realize the detachment of the middle roller 5, the first side roller 6 and the second side roller 7, the operation is simple, and the carrier roller group provided in the present application is convenient to detach.
Preferably, the first support frame 1 and the second support frame 2 are metal members.
In order to improve the disassembly and assembly stability, preferably, sliding rails are formed on the upper surfaces of the bottom supporting beams, and sliding grooves which slide along the sliding rails are respectively arranged on the lower surfaces of the first upper supporting beam 2-1-1 and the second upper supporting beam 2-2-1. Specifically, the sliding groove may be a long-strip arc sliding groove.
For the convenience of processing, preferably, the slide rail is the V type slide rail that the top intermediate position gradually expands to bottom both sides, and the spout is the V type spout with V type slide rail complex. That is, the upper surface of the bottom support rail is a downwardly open V-shaped structure.
In one embodiment, the first edge roll support frame comprises a first support column 2-1-2 and a second support column 2-1-3 for supporting opposite ends of the first edge roll 6, respectively, the first support column 2-1-2 and the second support column 2-1-3 are both mounted on the first upper support beam, and the first support column 2-1-2 is higher than the second support column 2-1-3. Specifically, the first support column 2-1-2 and the second support column 2-1-3 may be welded to the first upper support beam. The tops of the first supporting column 2-1-2 and the second supporting column 2-1-3 are provided with clamping grooves for mounting the first side rollers 6.
In order to improve the support stability of the first side roll 6, preferably, the first side roll support frame further comprises a first reinforcing support rod 2-1-4, two ends of which are respectively connected with the first support column 2-1-2 and the first upper support beam 2-1-1, and specifically, two ends of the first reinforcing support rod 2-1-4 are respectively welded on the first support column 2-1-2 and the first upper support beam 2-1-1.
On the basis of the schemes, preferably, the middle roller support frame comprises a third support column 2-2-2 and a fourth support column 2-2-3, and the third support column 2-2-2 and the fourth support column 2-2-3 support the two opposite ends of the middle roller 5.
The second side roller support frame comprises a fifth support column 2-2-6 and a sixth support column 2-2-4, the fifth support column 2-2-6 and the sixth support column 2-2-4 support two opposite ends of a second side roller 7, the third support column 2-2, the fourth support column 2-2-3, the fifth support column 2-2-6 and the sixth support column 2-2-4 are all installed on a second upper support beam 2-1-1, preferably, the third support column 2-2-2, the fourth support column 2-2-3, the fifth support column 2-2-6 and the sixth support column 2-2-4 are all welded on the second upper support beam 2-1-1. The height of the sixth support columns 2-2-4 is higher than the height of the fifth support columns 2-2-6. The third supporting column 2-2-2 and the fourth supporting column 2-2-3 are provided with clamping grooves for mounting the middle roller 5, and the fifth supporting column 2-2-6 and the sixth supporting column 2-2-4 are provided with clamping grooves for clamping the second side roller 7.
Specifically, the fourth supporting column 2-2-3 and the fifth supporting column 2-2-6 are formed by bending the same supporting piece. The supporting piece is preferably welded on the second upper supporting cross beam 2-1-1, and the fourth supporting column 2-2-3 and the fifth supporting column 2-2-6 are formed by bending the same supporting piece, so that the supporting stability is improved.
In order to improve the support stability of the second side roller 7, the second side roller support frame preferably further comprises a second reinforcing support rod 2-2-5, two ends of which are respectively connected with the sixth support column 2-2-4 and the second upper support cross beam 2-1-1. Preferably, both ends of the second reinforcing support bar 2-2-5 are respectively welded with the sixth support column 2-2-4 and the second upper support beam 2-1-1.
When the carrier roller group needs to be disassembled, the second support frame 2 is separated from the first support frame 1 by rotating the first locking piece 3, the first upper support assembly 2-1 and the second upper support assembly 2-2 are respectively drawn out from two sides of the side face of the belt conveyor, so that the first support frame 1 is conveniently drawn out from the side face of the belt conveyor without performing any auxiliary operation on the adhesive tape and other components on the upper portion of the adhesive tape, the carrier roller group can be conveniently drawn out from the side face of the belt conveyor, and the overhaul and the maintenance are convenient.
The application provides a belt conveyor, including the frame and install the bearing roller group in the frame, wherein the bearing roller group is above-mentioned arbitrary bearing roller group. The specific structure of the carrier roller group is described above, and the present application including the carrier roller group has the technical effects described above.
The embodiments in the present description are described in a progressive manner, each embodiment focuses on differences from other embodiments, and the same and similar parts among the embodiments are referred to each other.
The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims (10)

1. A carrier roller group, characterized in that it comprises a first support frame (1) and a second support frame (2); the second support frame (2) comprises a first upper support assembly (2-1) capable of sliding in and out of the first support frame (1) along a first direction of an axis of an edge roller and a second upper support assembly (2-2) capable of sliding in and out of the first support frame (1) along a second direction of the axis of a middle roller (5), wherein the first direction and the second direction are two directions of the axis of the middle roller (5);
the first upper supporting assembly (2-1) comprises a first upper supporting cross beam (2-1-1) and a first edge roller supporting frame arranged on the first upper supporting cross beam (2-1-1), and the first upper supporting cross beam (2-1-1) is detachably connected with the first supporting frame (1);
the second upper supporting assembly (2-2) comprises a second upper supporting cross beam (2-2-1), a middle roller supporting frame and a second side roller supporting frame, the middle roller supporting frame and the second side roller supporting frame are installed on the second upper supporting cross beam (2-2-1), and the second upper supporting cross beam (2-2-1) is detachably connected with the first supporting frame (1).
2. A roller set according to claim 1, characterised in that the first support frame (1) includes a bottom supporting beam (1-1) and a base (1-2) mounted at the bottom end of the bottom supporting beam (1-1), the base (1-2) is used for being detachably connected with a belt conveyor intermediate frame, the base (1-2) includes two bases which are respectively arranged at two opposite sides of the bottom end of the bottom supporting beam (1-1), and the first upper supporting beam (2-1-1) and the second upper supporting beam (2-2-1) are both mounted on the bottom supporting beam (1-1).
3. A set as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that the upper surface of the bottom supporting cross-member (1-1) forms a slide track, and the lower surfaces of the first (2-1-1) and second (2-2-1) upper supporting cross-members are each provided with a respective slide slot for sliding along the slide track.
4. The carrier roller set as claimed in claim 3, wherein the slide rails are V-shaped slide rails gradually expanding from the middle position of the top end to the two sides of the bottom end, and the slide grooves are V-shaped slide grooves matched with the V-shaped slide rails.
5. A idler roll set according to any one of claims 1-4, characterised in that the first side roll support frame includes first (2-1-2) and second (2-1-3) support columns for supporting opposite ends of a first side roll (6) respectively, the first (2-1-2) and second (2-1-3) support columns being mounted on the first upper support beam, the first support column (2-1-2) being of a height which is the height of the second support column (2-1-3).
6. Idler set according to claim 5, characterised in that the first side roll support frame further comprises a first stiffening support bar (2-1-4) connected at both ends to the first support column (2-1-2) and the first upper support beam (2-1-1), respectively.
7. A idler set as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the centre roll support frame includes third (2-2-2) and fourth (2-2-3) support columns, the third (2-2-2) and fourth (2-2-3) support columns supporting opposite ends of the centre roll (5);
the second side roller support frame comprises a fifth support column (2-2-6) and a sixth support column (2-2-4), the fifth support column (2-2-6) and the sixth support column (2-2-4) support two opposite ends of a second side roller (7), the third support column (2-2-2), the fourth support column (2-2-3), the fifth support column (2-2-6) and the sixth support column (2-2-4) are all installed on the second upper support beam (2-2-1), and the height of the sixth support column (2-2-4) is higher than that of the fifth support column (2-2-6).
8. Idler set according to claim 7, characterised in that the fourth supporting columns (2-2-3) and the fifth supporting columns (2-2-6) are formed by one and the same support bend.
9. Idler set according to claim 7, characterised in that the second edge roll support frame further comprises a second stiffening support bar (2-2-5) connected at both ends to the sixth support column (2-2-4) and the second upper support beam (2-2-1), respectively.
10. A belt conveyor comprising a frame and a set of idler rollers mounted on said frame, wherein said set of idler rollers is as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.
CN202222598986.XU 2022-09-29 2022-09-29 Carrier roller set and belt conveyor Active CN218369941U (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CN202222598986.XU CN218369941U (en) 2022-09-29 2022-09-29 Carrier roller set and belt conveyor

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CN202222598986.XU CN218369941U (en) 2022-09-29 2022-09-29 Carrier roller set and belt conveyor

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CN218369941U true CN218369941U (en) 2023-01-24

Family

ID=84956604

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CN202222598986.XU Active CN218369941U (en) 2022-09-29 2022-09-29 Carrier roller set and belt conveyor

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CN (1) CN218369941U (en)

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
CN218369941U (en) Carrier roller set and belt conveyor
CN212424434U (en) Turning track and sorting equipment
CN105129392A (en) Plate conveying transition device
CN216996456U (en) Automatic feeding device for junction boxes
JPH0553717B2 (en)
CN215141689U (en) Heating and conveying assembly of gluing equipment
CN213727559U (en) Plate conveying butt joint device
CN212197286U (en) Special automatic deviation adjusting device for steel frame floor belt conveyor
CN214494619U (en) Adjustable inclined to one side cell type bearing roller
JP2001072222A (en) Flexible conveyor rail
CN212312241U (en) Stable plate conveying structure
CN210593852U (en) Telescopic machine belt tensioning adjusting device and telescopic conveyor
CN113979049A (en) Harmless conveyor of sticky tape
CN211149354U (en) Connecting structure of server case node
CN213010416U (en) Quick replacement bearing roller device
CN219238242U (en) Integral type belt prevents off tracking device
CN206375286U (en) A kind of Mobyneb sheet material conveying equipment
CN212173606U (en) Carrier roller anti-falling device of belt conveyor
CN211418627U (en) Belt deviation correcting device of belt conveyor
CN213801457U (en) Heavy-load large-inclination-angle conveyor convex arc frame
CN216140774U (en) Conveyer belt deviation-preventing and supporting device
CN214358290U (en) Transmission device
CN216104219U (en) Lower carrier roller set
CN216736225U (en) Fluency strip with side limit
CN212312020U (en) Mobile robot track system

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
GR01 Patent grant
GR01 Patent grant