FR2825691A1 - Conveyor belt for transporting goods or persons in outdoor situation has frame with side panels that can be raised and joined to give protection - Google Patents

Abstract

The conveyor belt (2), comprising upper (3) and lower sections that move between end turning structures in a frame (1) with a drive, has the frame fitted with side panels (9, 9a) that can be raised and joined above the upper section of of the belt to make a roof giving protection from inclement weather e.g. snow. Each of the side panels is in two articulated sections - a base and an upper section - which are folded and horizontal when not in use, with the edges of the upper sections designed to engage when raised.

Description

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BELT CONVEYOR
The present invention relates to belt conveyors, intended to move objects or people by placing them on a continuous belt in stretched band in movement between a first end deflection structure and a second end deflection structure.

 The present invention relates in particular to such conveyor belts intended to be used outside, in situations in which the conveyor is subjected to bad weather.

 Belt conveyors, or conveyor belts, are structures commonly used to transport goods or people. They generally comprise a frame, a continuous belt in a band stretched between a first end deflection structure and a second end deflection structure to form an upper carrying ply and a lower return ply. Motorization means cause the strip to move between and around the return structures. Guide means guide the sheets laterally and vertically between the return structures.

 It is understood that such conveyors, when they are placed outside the buildings, are directly subjected to the weather. The problem arises in particular when such a conveyor belt is used in winter conditions and / or at altitude, for example in winter sports resorts, to transport people. The difficulty is then that bad weather occurs in the form of snow, likely to accumulate on the upper carrying layer, in particular during periods of prolonged shutdown (non-operation). It is then necessary to periodically remove the snow, to prevent it from disturbing the operation of the conveyor belt.

 For example, the conveyor belt remains stationary overnight. If snowfall occurs overnight, it is necessary to remove the snow in the morning before restarting the conveyor belt. Snow removal is a delicate and tedious operation, which requires the manual intervention of maintenance or operating personnel.

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 The problem proposed by the present invention is to design a new conveyor belt structure which considerably facilitates maintenance operations, and in particular operations for removing snow that may have accumulated during a period of non-operation. . We seek in particular to avoid the use of shovels to remove snow, in particular by promoting the use of tracked grooming machines.

 Another object of the invention is to design such a conveyor belt which is particularly simple to use, to assemble and disassemble.

 To achieve these and other objects, the invention provides a conveyor belt, comprising a chassis, a continuous belt in tensioned band between a first end deflection structure and a second end deflection structure to form a upper carrying ply and a lower return ply, motorization means for driving the moving belt between and around the end deflection structures, guide means for guiding the plies laterally and vertically between the end deflection structures ; according to the invention, the conveyor further comprises two retractable lateral passageways, articulated by rotation along a longitudinal axis between an open position in which each lateral passageway forms a lateral plate parallel to the upper carrying ply and suitable for carrying users moving the along the conveyor, and a cover position in which the lateral passageways are raised above the upper carrying ply and meet to form a hipped roof above the upper carrying ply.

 It is understood that with such a structure, when the snow falls during a period of non-use, the passageways being in the cover position raised above the upper carrying ply, the snow falling on the passageways slides towards the sides and s 'accumulates on the ground on both sides of the conveyor belt. It is enough for the maintenance personnel to remove the snow from both sides of the conveyor belt, preferably using a tracked machine, then fold down the side gangways

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 retractable to the outside to allow free access to the upper carrying ply without snow, so that the conveyor belt is then immediately usable.

 According to an advantageous embodiment, each lateral passageway consists of two successive articulated sections, namely an articulated passageway base and an upper passageway flap, the articulated passageway base having an internal longitudinal edge articulated on the chassis along an axis of longitudinal base in the vicinity of a lateral edge of the upper carrying ply to pivot between a tilted raised position in which it comes into contact with a support stop and between a lowered position in which it is generally horizontal away from the upper carrying ply and in contact with a support stop on the chassis, the upper gangway flap being a plate of which a first longitudinal edge is articulated on the external longitudinal edge of the articulated gangway base, for pivoting between an open position in which it is folded towards the upper carrying ply and comes to rest on the articulated base of gangway, and between a raised position in which it extends the articulated gangway base and engages by its second longitudinal edge on the second corresponding longitudinal edge of the other upper gangway flap.

 This advantageous arrangement facilitates the handling of passageways, and in particular makes it possible to produce a roof that is sufficiently inclined by means of passageways having a reduced width, substantially equal to the half-width of the carrier strip.

 Preferably, the second longitudinal edges of the upper gangway flaps are shaped to fit in pairs.

This improves the sealing of the roof formed by the two passageways in the raised position.

 According to an advantageous embodiment, the articulated passageway base comprises a main plate and transverse flanges defining a lower edge substantially perpendicular to the main plate, the lower edges coming to bear against a side wall of the chassis which thus constitutes the support stop . In this way, the articulated gangway base remains cantilevered above a lateral space

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 which it then releases when it is in the raised position. This facilitates the removal of snow that has accumulated laterally on either side of the conveyor belt during the period of non-use, allowing the use of tracked machines.

 According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the chassis is formed by assembling a plurality of sections each consisting of two main parts, namely a lower chassis structure shaped to rest on the ground and provided with lateral guide means. and means for lower guiding of the lower return ply, and an upper chassis structure shaped to rest and fix on the lower chassis structure and provided with means for lateral guiding and lower guide of the upper carrying ply, the structure upper chassis comprising the articulation means of the articulated gangway base. This considerably facilitates the mounting and dismounting operations of the conveyor belt, the structure being constituted by easily assembled sub-assemblies and individually presenting a reduced weight allowing their displacement by a single person.

 For example, the lower chassis structure comprises lateral lower chassis beams, with a U-structure open laterally towards the outside, interconnected by crossmembers of the lower chassis and connected by transverse fins to adjustable feet themselves resting on support sleepers.

 Similarly, the upper chassis structure comprises upper chassis beams, L-shaped structure with horizontal upper branch and vertical lower branch, connected by crosspieces of upper chassis.

 Other objects, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge from the following description of particular embodiments, given in conjunction with the attached figures, among which: - Figure 1 illustrates the general structure of the belt conveyor according to the invention , in half cross-section, with a

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 left half in cover position and right half in use position; - Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the right half of the carrier of Figure 1; - Figure 3 is a side view illustrating a length module of the conveyor of Figure 1; - Figure 4 illustrates the detail of the embedding of the two roof parts along the made; and - Figure 5 illustrates in perspective a length module of the conveyor of Figure 1.

 As shown in the figures, a belt conveyor according to the invention comprises a chassis 1, a continuous belt 2 in a stretched belt between a first end deflection structure and a second end deflection structure to form a supporting upper ply 3 and a lower return ply 4. Motorization means make it possible to drive the strip moving between and around the return structures. Guide means such as lateral rollers 5 and lower longitudinal slides 6 allow the sheets 3 and 4 to be guided laterally and vertically between the return structures.

 FIG. 5 illustrates the general structure of an intermediate length module of the belt conveyor, on which the main elements are distinguished such as the chassis 1, the continuous belt 2. The end deflection structures are provided in the end modules, and are therefore not visible in the figure. The conveyor comprises two lateral passageways 9 and 9a, which border the lateral sides of the continuous belt 2 to allow the operators or users to walk along the continuous belt 2. The side passageways 9 and 9a are used, for example, for an adult to accompany a child placed on the continuous carpet 2. The adult walks on the gangway while the child is moved by the carpet 2.

 According to the invention, the two lateral passageways 9 and 9a are retractable, each articulated by rotation illustrated by the respective arrows 11 and 12 around a respective longitudinal axis of rotation 1-1 and II-II. The side passageways 9 and 9a pivot between an open position, illustrated in strong lines

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 in FIG. 5, in which each lateral passageway 9 and 9a forms a lateral plate parallel to the upper support web of the mat 2 and adapted to carry users moving along the conveyor, and a cover position illustrated in fine lines and in which the side passageways 9 and 9a are raised above the upper support ply 3 of the mat 2 and meet to form a hipped roof above the upper support ply 3. The two positions are illustrated in FIG. 1 , on which there is the side passageway 9 in the raised position, while the side passageway 9a is in the open position.

 Each passageway such as the side passageway 9 consists of two successive articulated sections, namely an articulated passageway base 13 and an upper passageway flap 14.

 The respective elements of the lateral passageway 9a are identified by the same numbers as the corresponding elements of the lateral passageway 9, by adding the letter a.

 The articulated gangway base 13 includes an internal longitudinal edge 15 which is articulated on the chassis 1 along a longitudinal base axis 16 in the vicinity of a lateral edge 17 of the upper carrying ply 3, for pivoting between an inclined raised position (position of the articulated gangway base 13 in FIG. 1). In the inclined raised position, the articulated passageway base 13 comes into contact with a support stop 18.

 The articulated passageway base 13 can pivot towards a lowered position, illustrated in FIG. 1 by the lowered position of the articulated passageway base 13a, in which it is generally horizontal away from the upper carrying ply 3 and in contact with '' a support stop on the chassis 1.

 The articulated gangway base 13 comprises a main plate 19 and transverse flanges 20 each defining a lower edge 21 substantially perpendicular to the main plate 19. The lower edges 21 bear against a side wall 22 of the chassis 1 when the articulated base of passageway 13 is in the open position, said side wall 22 of the chassis 1 thus constituting the support stop. As seen in Figure 1 in relation to the position of the articulated base

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 passageway 13a, the articulated passageway base 13a is cantilevered above a lateral space 122a which it then releases when it is in the raised position, as is the case for the lateral space 122 opposite.

 The upper passage flap 14 is a plate of which a first longitudinal edge 23 is articulated along a longitudinal axis 123 on the external longitudinal edge 24 of the articulated passage passage base 13, to pivot between an open position illustrated in relation to the side passage 9a on the right part of FIG. 1, and a closed position illustrated in relation to the lateral passageway 9 on the left part of FIG. 1. In the open position, the plate forming the upper passageway flap 14a is folded down towards the upper carrying ply 3 and comes to rest on the articulated base of gangway 13a. In the raised position, the plate constituting the upper passageway flap 14 extends the articulated passageway base 13 and engages by its second longitudinal edge 25 on the second longitudinal edge 25a corresponding to the other upper passageway flap 14a such that illustrated in fine lines.

 In the embodiment illustrated in more detail in FIG. 4, the second longitudinal edges 25 and 25a of the upper gangway flaps 14 and 14a are shaped to fit in pairs. One can in particular provide, in each longitudinal edge 25 and 25a, a lower groove 26 or 26a in which can engage the end of the other upper passage flap 14 or 14a shaped with a vertical return downwards 27 or 27a.

 The chassis 1 is formed by assembling a plurality of chassis sections each having a length chosen to constitute portable subassemblies. A length of 3 meters can be satisfactory. Each chassis section consists of two main parts, namely a lower chassis structure 28 shaped to rest on the ground, and an upper chassis structure 29 shaped to rest and fix on the lower chassis structure 28.

 The lower chassis structure 28 comprises lateral side rails of lower chassis 30 and 30a, with U-shaped structure

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 open laterally outwards, interconnected by lower chassis cross members 31, and connected by transverse fins 32 or 32a to adjustable feet 33 or 33a themselves resting on the ground by means of support crosspieces 34.

 The upper chassis structure 29 comprises upper chassis beams 35 and 35a with an L-structure. In the upper chassis beam structure 35 or 35a, there is thus a horizontal upper branch 36 or 36a, developing outwards, and a lower vertical branch 37 or 37a.

The upper chassis beams 35 and 35a are connected by crossbeams of upper chassis 38 with inverted U structure.

 The upper chassis structure 29 rests on the lower chassis structure 28 by the two horizontal upper branches 36 and 36a of the upper chassis rails 35 and 35a which come to bear on the upper branches of the lateral chassis side rails 30 and 30a respectively. Assembly means are provided such as bolts, as illustrated in the figures.

 The lower chassis crosspieces 31 carry lower longitudinal slides 6, which constitute means for lower guiding of the lower return sheet 4 of the carpet.

Also, the lower chassis crosspieces 31 carry lateral rollers 5 and 5a, constituting means for lateral guiding of the lower return sheet 4 of the carpet.

 Similarly, the upper chassis crosspieces 38 carry longitudinal slides 39, constituting means for lower guiding of the upper support web 3 of the carpet. The longitudinal members of the upper chassis 35 and 35a carry longitudinal slides 40 and 40a, constituting means for lateral guidance of the upper support ply 3.

 Each adjustable foot 33 or 33a comprises a foot rod 41 or 41a, threaded, passing through a tube 42 or 42a secured to a transverse fin 32 or 32a. The longitudinal position of the foot rod 41 or 41a is determined in the tube 42 or 42a by lower nuts 43 and 43a and upper nuts 44 and 44a screwed onto the corresponding foot rod 41 or 41a and bearing

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 against the ends of the tube 42 or 42a. It is thus possible to adjust the height and the flatness of the chassis section relative to the ground.

 Each frame section forms, with the continuous belt 2 which passes right through it, a length module of the conveyor. The length modules can be aligned with each other if the terrain is flat, or can be slightly angled one after the other to follow slight variations in the longitudinal slope of the terrain.

 As can be seen in FIG. 1, in the left part, when the lateral passage structure 9 is in the cover position, the articulated passage base 13 has pivoted about its base axis 16 so that its main plate 19 is inclined towards the center at an inclination of 45 to 600 approximately, coming to bear on a support stop 18. Also in this position, the upper gangway flap is an extension of the main plate 19, thus forming an inclined structure constituting the left side of a roof. Similarly, the opposite side passage structure 9a is raised and forms the second section of the roof.

 In the open position, illustrated on the right-hand part of FIG. 1, or in FIG. 2, the lateral passage structure 9a is folded, the articulated passage base 13a being pivoted outwards and coming into abutment by its lower edge 21a against the side wall 22a of the chassis constituted by the beam 30a, so that its main plate 19a is generally horizontal. The upper gangway flap 14a is folded inwards and comes to rest on the main plate 19a. It can be seen that, in this position, the return 27a is vertical and forms a vertical longitudinal border in the vicinity of a lateral edge of the upper carrying ply 3.

 Advantageously, it is possible to provide, in the chassis structure, means adapted to receive and retain staking stakes, which the operating personnel can place to mark the location of the transporter and thus signal its presence under a possible layer of snow. For example, such a stake 100 (in dashed lines in FIG. 1) can be fitted vertically on the free upper end of the foot rod.

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 41, in the markup position, and can then be stored horizontally under a passageway by engagement in the holes 101 of the transverse flanges 20.

 The present invention is not limited to the embodiments which have been explicitly described, but it includes the various variants and generalizations thereof contained in the field of claims below.

Claims (7)

1-Belt conveyor, comprising a chassis (1), a continuous belt (2) in a stretched band between a first end deflection structure and a second end deflection structure to form an upper carrying ply (3) and a lower return ply (4), motorization means for driving the band in movement between and around the end deflection structures, guide means (5,6, 39,40) for guiding the plies laterally and vertically (3,4) between the end deflection structures, characterized in that it further comprises two retractable side passageways (9,9a), articulated by rotation along a longitudinal axis (1-1; II-II) between an open position in which each lateral passageway (9, 9a) forms a lateral plate parallel to the upper carrying ply (3) and adapted to carry users moving along the conveyor, and a cover position in which the lateral passageways ( 9 , 9a) are raised above the upper carrying ply (3) and meet to form a hipped roof above the upper carrying ply (3).  2-Conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that each lateral passageway (9,9a) consists of two successive articulated sections, namely an articulated passageway base (13,13a) and an upper passageway flap (14,14a ), the articulated gangway base (13,13a) having an internal longitudinal edge (15,15a) articulated on the chassis (1) along a longitudinal base axis (16,16a) in the vicinity of a lateral edge of the ply upper carrier (3) for pivoting between an inclined raised position in which it comes into contact with a support stop (18,18a) and between a lowered position in which it is generally horizontal away from the upper carrier ply (3) and in contact with a support stop (22,22a) on the chassis (1), the upper gangway flap (14,14a) being a plate of which a first longitudinal edge (23,23a) is articulated on the outer longitudinal edge (24,24a) of the articulated gangway base (13,13a), for pivot between an open position in which it is folded back towards the upper carrying ply (3) and comes to rest on the articulated passageway base (13,13a), and between a <Desc / Clms Page number 12>  raised position in which it extends the articulated gangway base (13,13a) and engages by its second longitudinal edge (25, 25a) on the corresponding second longitudinal edge (25, 25a) of the other upper gangway flap (14a, 14).  3-carrier according to claim 2, characterized in that the second longitudinal edges (25, 25a) of the upper gangway flaps (14,14a) are shaped to fit in pairs.  4-Conveyor according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that the articulated passageway base (13,13a) comprises a main plate (19, 19a) and transverse flanges (20,20a) defining a lower edge ( 21,21a) substantially perpendicular to the main plate (19, 19a), the lower edges (21,21a) coming to bear against a side wall (22,22a) of the frame (1) which thus constitutes the support stop, so that the articulated gangway base (13,13a) remains cantilevered above a lateral space (122,122a) which it then releases when it is in the raised position.  5-Conveyor according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the chassis (1) is formed by assembling a plurality of sections each consisting of two main parts, namely a lower chassis structure ( 28) shaped to rest on the ground and provided with lateral guide means (5, 5a) and lower guide means (6) of the lower return ply (4), and an upper chassis structure (29) shaped to rest and fix on the lower frame structure (28) and provided with lateral guide means (40,40a) and lower guide means (39) of the upper carrying ply (3), the upper frame structure comprising the means of articulation of the articulated gangway base (13,13a).  6-Conveyor according to claim 5, characterized in that the lower chassis structure (28) comprises side rails of lower chassis (30,30a), in a U-structure open laterally outwards, interconnected by crosspieces lower chassis (31) and connected by fins <Desc / Clms Page number 13>  transverse (32,32a) to adjustable feet (33,33a) themselves resting on support crosspieces (34).  7-Conveyor according to one of claims 5 or 6, characterized in that the upper chassis structure (29) comprises upper chassis beams (35,35a), L-shaped structure with horizontal upper branch (36,36a) and with vertical lower branch (37,37a), connected by crosspieces of upper chassis (38).