FR2656288A1 - Guide ramp for conveying chain with cardan (universal) joint - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a guide ramp for a conveying chain with cardan joint intended for the continuous transportation of goods. According to the invention, the guide ramp is formed from monobloc spacers (3) pinched between lateral guide flanks (4 and 5) which support top (11) and bottom (12) longitudinal supports of the chain (1 and 2). Moreover, according to the invention, the longitudinal supports (11 and 12) are fastened on the spacers (3) only on a single side in order to create a discontinuity in the longitudinal link and thus to accept a greater positioning tolerance. The invention relates to conveyor manufacturers.

Description

 The invention relates to a guide ramp for a cardan conveyor chain. It will particularly find its application in the field of continuous handling.

 In industry, more and more frequently, the manufacturing of products is carried out according to the technique of the production line. This involves breaking down the complex manufacturing process into a number of elementary operations. For each of these elementary operations. a work station is created which is generally in the form of a specially designed automatic machine. Of course, it is necessary to connect the various workstations to accomplish all of the elementary operations.

 Depending on the type of manufacturing encountered. it is necessary to develop a suitable conveyor chain. In the context of the present invention, the conveyor chain used is of the cardan type. It consists of links which each have a bearing surface and which are capable of being articulated in two dimensions so that the chain can both change level and also follow a turn. The food industry, whether for bottling or canning, uses this type of conveyor chain a lot. It generally extends over fifty meters, which allows all the operations necessary for the final packaging of the product to be carried out.

 Originally, all of the parts used to build a conveyor chain were made from stainless steel. It is a metal which has excellent corrosion resistance properties and which also has great compatibility with food products. Stainless steel supports frequent washing and can work in high humidity conditions.

 Unfortunately, it has the disadvantage of being extremely expensive and difficult to work with. Its machining poses great difficulties because of its great hardness. Consequently, special precautions must be taken in the layout of the parts necessary for the development of the conveyor chain to facilitate the machining of the parts. Thus, for example, recourse is frequently had to the use of fixing by bolts because the machining required for the installation of such a fixing is a simple hole. The bolt, however, offers some drawbacks such as a relatively long installation and disassembly time, which causes genes for the disassembly of the guide rail for cleaning.

 Furthermore, stainless steel suffers from a relatively high coefficient of friction, which is a handicap for guiding the chain itself as well as the products transported. It is sometimes necessary to use a secondary lubricant to facilitate the sliding of the products transported along the ramp in order to avoid blockages or wear of the packaging.

 To lower production costs, manufacturers of conveyor chains have tried to replace many stainless steel parts with parts made of synthetic material such as polyamide or polyethylene. Thus, the links of the conveyor chains are very often entirely made of resin and certain supports encountered in the guide ramps are themselves also made of polyamide.

 The use of these new materials constitutes undeniable progress. With easier machining possibilities and largely lowered coefficients of friction, it is possible to envisage a completely different architecture for the construction of conveyor chains.

 Currently, the structure of a guide ramp mainly uses three types of parts. These are lateral guides made of stainless steel sheet which are responsible for ensuring the lateral guidance of the chain, spacers whose function is to provide support for the structure and finally longitudinal supports which provide support for the chain. between the different spacers. When dealing with a conveyor chain whose return movement is placed at the bottom of the direct transport movement, users complain about the lack of accessibility of the bottom part to ensure the return of the chain.

 Indeed, especially in the food industry, it is necessary to carry out frequent washings and cleanings which oblige to disassemble a good part of the guide ramp to access the different parts. Those skilled in the art generally use bolt fasteners to secure the spacers on the lateral flanks and the longitudinal supports on the spacers.

Disassembly is therefore long and tedious.

 It should also be noted that the constructions must be studied according to each specific case and therefore the installation costs are very high.

 The main object of the present invention is to present a guide ramp for a universal joint conveyor chain, the mounting and maintenance of which are very convenient. First of all, the disassembly and installation of the longitudinal supports is done without tools, which makes it possible to clean the parts easily. Then, unlike current constructions, the longitudinal supports do not provide the longitudinal fixing of the spacers hence a wider mounting tolerance and ease of installation.

Finally, in the case of return conveyor chains at the bottom of the direct transport movement, the support of the high and low structure is combined, which in particular reinforces the rigidity of the assembly.

 Finally, the use of synthetic material such as polyamide and polyethylene makes it possible to reduce friction and facilitates the proper sliding of the chain.

 According to the present invention, the conveyor can be delivered in an assembly kit, which makes it possible to very significantly lower the cost price and to offer users a great ease of installation whatever the configuration encountered. The reduced labor also saves the maintenance costs of the conveyor chain.

 Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear during the description which follows which is however given only for information.

 According to the invention, the guide ramp for a universal joint conveyor chain, intended for the continuous transport of goods, with return of the chain in the lower part of the direct transport movement, is characterized in that it comprises monoblock spacers, pinched between the lateral guide flanks, which provide support for the top and bottom longitudinal supports of said chain.

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description accompanied by attached drawings, among which:
FIG. 1 shows diagrammatically in cross-section the various elements making up the guide ramp for a conveyor chain according to the present invention,
- Figure 2 shows the monobloc spacer,
- Figure 3 shows schematically the establishment of the longitudinal supports on the spacers,
- Figure 4 illustrates a longitudinal support.

 The present invention relates to a guide ramp for a universal joint conveyor chain. It will find its application in particular with manufacturers of conveyors.

 To ensure the continuous transport of goods between different workstations, the industry currently very frequently uses the chain conveyor for this purpose. The conveyor chain consists of a succession of links hinged together which can also be spread over several rows in width to extend the dimensions of the chain. There are conveyors which are operational over the entire length of the chain which then loops in the horizontal plane; however, the present invention relates more specifically to conveyor chains, the return of which takes place in the lower part of the direct transport movement.

In this case, the chain loop takes place in the vertical plane and the links are reversed during the entire return phase.

 The first conveyor chains used numerous stainless steel parts to be compatible in particular with the requirements of working in liquid medium. Stainless steel has the defect of being very expensive and difficult to machine, hence a very high cost price for the first conveyor chains. With the development of new synthetic materials such as polyamide, polyethylene or other, many parts are currently made in this type of material, which has led to significant savings.

 Unfortunately, we can blame existing constructions for certain maintenance and installation difficulties. These difficulties are mainly related to the type of construction adopted. In particular, many assemblies are made using bolts. This fixing takes a long time to remove and replace, therefore, maintenance or it is necessary to disassemble the different parts to clean them, are tedious.

Then, another defect lies in the high precision necessary to proceed with the assembly of the different parts. This requires the use of a very precise preliminary study and the use of highly qualified personnel to install the guide rails.

 With the guide ramp of the present invention, it is possible to very easily disassemble the different parts to perform cleaning and maintenance of the chain and, moreover, at the level of its installation, a tolerance in the positioning of the different parts is offered to facilitate assembly and in particular authorize installation by non-specialized personnel. For example, the conveyor chain of the present invention can be installed by the user, similarly, architectural modifications can be relatively easily carried out.

 Figure 1 illustrates in sectional view the conveyor according to the present invention. The conveyor chain is composed of cardan links 1 with a direct transport movement at the top and a return movement 2 of the chain located under movement 1.

The links of movement 2 are returned. It is a traditional execution within the reach of those skilled in the art.

 The conveyor chain is supported and guided by the guide ramp according to the present invention. This guide ramp includes in particular one-piece spacers 3 pinched between lateral guide flanks 4 and 5. The spacers 3 are distributed punctually along the conveyor chain at regular intervals, of the order of 0.5 m. On the other hand, the lateral guide flanks 4 and 5 extend over the entire conveying length, their range is of the order of 3 to 4 m long. Furthermore, the lateral guide flanks are generally made up of a stainless steel sheet and the fixing of the spacers 3 on the flanks 4 and 5 is done by means of bolts passing through the parts. In Figure 1, only the bores 6 and 7 for the establishment of the through bolts are shown in dotted lines.

 As regards the lateral guidance of the products transported proper, this is ensured by means of lateral guides 8 which extend over the entire length of the chain and which are supported by uprights 9 fixed on the sides 4 and 5 for example by means of the same bolts passing through the spacers 3.

 To increase the longevity of the lateral guides 8 machined in polyethylene or polyamide, preferably, a metal rod 10 is clipped inside as illustrated in FIG. 1 which can be exchanged quickly. To do this, a profiled groove is hollowed out in the guide 8 so that the rod 10 is slightly included in the part 8. The elasticity of the polyamide makes it possible by deformation to extract or place the rod 10.

 The guide ramp also includes top and bottom longitudinal supports 12 and 12 respectively to support the movement 1 of direct transport of the chain, and return 2 to the bottom of the previous movement. These longitudinal supports 11 and 12 extend between the spacers.

 Unlike existing installations, the spacers of the present invention are monobloc and provide support for the direct line 1 and return 2 of the chain. This provides great rigidity and simplifies assembly.

 In addition, by combination with the longitudinal supports 11 and 12, the one-piece spacers 3 of the present invention provide support and guidance for the longitudinal supports 11 on the top and 12 in the lower part.

 By way of example, FIG. 4 shows a longitudinal element, the length of which can reach in particular several meters, comprising at one end, a first notch 15, of width 22 mm for example, at the other end a second notch 16 and possibly intermediate notches, for example every 500 mm and a width for example of 30 mm to allow free expansion in operation.

 The assembly according to the lengths of conveyors considered, multiples of 500 mm for example, can be carried out in particular according to FIG. 3. This configuration will allow the chain to slide over its entire bearing surface, thereby reducing wear and with better balance . The longitudinal supports have an overlap at the junction as shown in Figure 3.

 The direct consequence of this characteristic is a longitudinal discontinuity of the guide ramp at the level of the longitudinal supports. This discontinuity has several advantages, firstly an ease of installation but above all a greater tolerance in the positioning of the different spacers. Indeed, since the longitudinal supports are fixed only. one end, regardless of their precise spacing encountered between the different spacers.

Only one of them will be used for a. position the longitudinal support axially and it is possible to allow a certain tolerance in the spacing of the spacers without the latter implying mounting impossibilities.

 To do this, the spacers as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 2 include a series of cutouts 13 for the upper level and 14 for the lower level which are completely symmetrical and which will cooperate with notches made on the longitudinal supports 11 and 12 to ensure the longitudinal fixing. said supports t1 and 1Z only on one side of the latter.

 In practice, the spacers 3 are of two different models by the height "hs" of the plane of the upper cutouts 13 and have four upper grooves 13 and four lower 14 always identical. The lower spacer always has a constant height "hi *, 23 mm for example.

 On the other hand, the upper spacer has two different heights "hs", ie 93 mm or 106 mm for example. This allows taking one or the other model of these spacers 3 to use chains of different thickness and / or height, in particular for accumulation chains with rollers often higher than standard chains.

 The longitudinal sliding supports 11 and 12 always remain identical and in the curves, the polyethylene sides are connected by horizontal spacers comprising the same centering grooves of these supports.

 With such a configuration, the positioning of the longitudinal supports 11 and 12 is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 3. Central cutouts 13 of the spacers 3 serve to receive the longitudinal supports coming from the left of FIG. 3 while, on the contrary, the cutouts 13 serve to receive the longitudinal supports 11 which extend to the right of the spacer 3.

 For the establishment of the lower longitudinal supports 12 on the spacers 3, an anti-symmetrical mounting is adopted in the preceding as illustrated in top view in FIG. 3 where the lower longitudinal supports 12 are illustrated in dotted lines. We therefore use the outer cutouts 14 of the spacer 3 to set up the longitudinal supports 12 which extend to the left of each spacer 3 while the central cutouts 14 are used to set up the longitudinal supports 12 which extend to the right of each spacer 3.

 For reasons of simplicity, the example chosen uses a conveyor chain extending only over a link width, however, it would of course be possible to use several juxtaposed chains, in which case the number of longitudinal supports and cutouts should be extended over the spacers 3.

 The figure ; illustrates a longitudinal support 11 which has at one end a notch 15 for longitudinal fixing and at the other end a notch 16 open to allow a tolerance of longitudinal positioning in the cutout 13 of the spacer. On the contrary, the width of the notch 15 corresponds to the thickness of the spacer 3 in order to obtain a longitudinal fixing of the support 11 by interlocking in this case.

 The fixing of the longitudinal supports 11 and 1Z is therefore ensured by the own weight of the support and of the supported components.

Disassembly and installation are extremely easy.

 Other implementations of the present invention within the reach of ordinary skill in the art could also have been contemplated without departing from the scope thereof.

Claims (8)

 1. Guide ramp for a cardan conveyor chain intended for the continuous transport of goods with return of the chain (2) in the lower part of the direct transport movement (1), characterized in that it is formed of spacers ( 3) monoblocks pinched between lateral guide flanks (4 and 5) which provide support for the top (11) and bottom (12) longitudinal supports of the chain.  2. Guide ramp for a universal joint conveyor chain according to claim 1, characterized in that the longitudinal connection between the different spacers (3) and longitudinal supports (11 and 12) is discontinuous.  3. Guide ramp for cardan conveyor chain according to claim 2, characterized in that the longitudinal supports (11 and 12) have a longitudinal fixing on the spacers (3) limited to one end.  4. Guide ramp for cardan conveyor chain according to claim 3, characterized in that the spacers (3) include cutouts (13, 14) in which engage the notches (15 and 16) of the longitudinal supports ( 11 and 12).  5. Guide ramp for cardan conveyor chain according to claim X, characterized in that the longitudinal supports (11 and 12) have at one end a closed notch (15) and at the other end an open notch (16 ).  6. Guide ramp for cardan conveyor chain according to claim 4, characterized in that the spacers (3) comprise symmetrical cutouts (13 and 14) at the level of the chain passages (1 and 2) to adopt a clipping anti-symmetrical top and bottom longitudinal supports (11 and 12).  7. Guide ramp for a universal joint conveyor chain according to claim 1, characterized in that the lateral flanks (4 and 5) are raised by lateral guides (8) having a longitudinal groove in which a metal rod (10) is enclosed. ).  8. Guide ramp for cardan conveyor chain according to claim 1, characterized in that the spacers (3) are traversed by bores (6 and 7) intended to allow their attachment to the lateral flanks (4 and 5) through bolts going through.