GB1585763A - Endless band conveyors - Google Patents

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO ENDLESS BAND CONVEYORS (71) We, U.M.E.C.-BOYDELL (BELT ING)' LIMITED, a British Company of Alma Street, Heath Town, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire WV10 Owe , do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- This invention relates to endless band conveyors and more particularly to the bands of such conveyors of the kind constructed of load-bearing components supported by space rod members which extend transversely of the direction of travel of the conveyor band.Such bands are hereinafter referred to as "of the kind described." Hitheto the load-bearing components, or at least their main bodies, have been of unitary construction, being made generally as a moulding or casting, or from a formed plate. The unitary construction has tended to limit the size of the components, and once made their sizes are fixed.

The present invention consists in a loadbearing component for an endless conveyor band of the kind described, which component is of composite construction comprising a pair of end modules which form opposite end portions of the component and at least one intermediate module which forms an intermediate portion of the component between the end modules, the modules being plastics mouldings having integral eye portions at opposite sides thereof adapted for connecting the component to rod members of the conveyor band so as to be hingedly supported thereby in use, and the modules having connecting means whereby the modules are releasably attached together end-to-end, the connecting means being constructed and arranged so that the, or each, intermediate module may be detached and the end modules, or remaining modules, connected together.

The present invention further consists in an endless conveyor band of the kind described which has load-bearing components as set forth in the preceding paragraph.

The modules may be arranged so that in a conveyor band the modules of adjacent composite components longitudinally of the conveyor band are in staggered relationship and mesh at the support rods. The staggered relationship and the meshing of the modules binds the components together. Accordingly, the band will tend to remain intact and not add further complications to the breakdown if, for example, the conveyor band has driving chains connected to the support rods and the chains should break during use. The staggered relationship may be ahcieved by making the modules of the adjacent composite components of different lengths, that is to say the lengths of the modules of one of two adjacent components may be different from those of the modules of the other component.Alternatively, each component may comprise modules of at least two different lengths, adjacent components having modules of these different lengths but the modules being differently arranged in the components to produce the staggered relationship.

The end modules may be of substantially similar form to one another although if the components are to be, or are, arranged with modules in the aforesaid staggered relationship in the conveyor band they may differ in length. Where there are two or more intermediate modules they may be of similar form to one another but possibly again of different lengths, or at least of two different lengths. Preferably the intermediate modules are adapted so that any desired number of them may be connected between the end modules and modules may be added or subtracted. Thus, the component may be made in various lengths, and its length may be adjusted, if desired. With just two different forms of modules, or three if the end modules are required to be handed, a variety of sizes of components can be produced.

Thus, the present invention enables the manufacture of conveyor bands to be more versatile than hitherto, and manufacture and construction can be simplified.

Complementary male and female formations, such as pegs and slots, or tongues and grooves, may be provided on the modules for connecting them together.

The composite component or components may take various forms according to the intended use of the conveyor band. For example, the component or components may be of generally flat plate form or bucket forum. In some instances it is possible to have a combination of those two forms in a conveyor band.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which, Figure I is a side view of a composite load-bearing component of an endless conveyor band according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the component; Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 2, and Figure 4 is an enlarged detail view.

In this embodiment the conveyor band to which the invention is applied is for an elevator and has load-bearing components 1 of bucket form hinged to support-rods 2 which extend transversely of the band and are connected to drive chains, not shown.

As shown in the drawings, each loadbearing component 1 is an assembly of four interconnected modules, comprising two end modules 3 and two intermediate modules 4.

All of the modules are moulded from plastics material, for example nylon. The two end modules 3 are of opposite hand to one another but otherwise are similar, each providing an end wall 5 of the complete loadbearing component and portions of opposite side walls 6 and a bottom wall 7 of the component. The intermediate modules 4 are identical to one another having portions which make up the remainder of the side and bottom walls of the component.

The modules are connected together by means of mating peg and hole formations, 8 and 9 respectively, Figure 4, on and in depending lugs 10 on the bottom wall portions of the modules. The end modules each have one lug 10. The lug of one end module has a peg formation 8 and the lug of the other end module has a hole 9. Both of the intermediate modules have two lugs 10, the one having a peg formation 8 and the other having a hole 9. Corresponding lugs are at corresponding ends of the intermediate modules. The pegs are force fits in the holes and the friction retains the connections.

It will be appreciated from the arrangement of the lugs 10 that one of the intermediate modules 4 could be readily omitted and the remaining modules connected together, if a shorter load-bearing component is required. Both intermediate modules could even be omitted and the two end modules 3 connected directly one to the other. Alternatively for a longer component one or more additional intermediate modules could be connected into the assembly.

All the modules of the load-bearing component have integral, outwardly projecting, cylindrical eye portions 11 at the top edges of their opposite side wall portions. The eye portions 11 presented at the two sides of the component by the modules are co-axial.

Those at one side are staggered with respect to the eye portions at the other side, so that the eye portions of successive components in the conveyor band are able to mesh with one another. The support rods 2, which are metal, pass through the eye portions 11 and hingedly connect the components to the rods. The rods also serve to stiffen the asembled component.

Depending upon the materials to be carried by the band in use the inside surfaces of the load-bearing components may be smooth or roughened, for example by serrations. It is advantageous for the surfaces to be roughened when frozen foodstuffs, for example, are to be carried because it helps to prevent the foodstuff from sticking to the surfaces.

In the drawings the walls of the loadbearing components are all shown solid but some or all of them may be perforate if required.

In one particular practical example of the band described and illustrated the loadbearing components are 15" long, the end modules 3 of the components each being 12" long and each intermediate module 4 being 6" long.

The load-bearing components may each extend across the full width of the band, or in some instances it may be preferable for two or more components to be disposed endto-end across the width of the band, as indicated in Figure 2.

The drive chains may be of conventional metal construction. They may alternatively be made at least in part of elements of plastics material such as nylon.

By virtue of the fact that both sides of the load-bearing components are hingedly connected to the support rods 2, a stronger and generally more satisfactory band construction is provided than the known constructions for elevators having load-bearing components of bucket form in which only one side of a component is hinged and the other side merely rests on the hinged side of the next adjacent component along the band.

It will be readily understood from the foregoing how, by arrangement of the modules, or charges in the lengths of the modules, of the composite components, a staggered relationship between the modules of components which are adjacent to one another longitudinally of the made-up conveyor band may be achieved, if desired.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A load-bearing component for an endless conveyor band of the kind described, which component is of composite construction comprising a pair of end modules which form opposite end portions of the component and at least one intermediate module which forms an intermediate portion of the component between the end modules, the modules being plastics mouldings having integral eye portions at opposite sides thereof adapted for connecting the component to rod members of the conveyor band so as to be hingedly supported thereby in use, and the modules having connecting means whereby the modules are releasably attached together end-to-end, the connecting means being constructed and arranged so that the, or each, intermediate module may be detached and the end modules, or remaining modules, connected together.

2. A load-bearing component according to Claim 1 wherein the connecting means comprise complementary male and female formations integral with the modules.

3. A load-bearing component according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 which is of bucket form comprising two opposed end walls, two opposed side walls and a bottom, the end modules being formed to provide respectively one end wall and portions of the side walls and bottom, and the or each intermediate module being formed to provide further portions of the side walls and bottom.

4. A load-bearing component according to any preceding claim wherein the connecting elements are provided at lugs formed integrally with the modules.

5. A load-bearing component according to Claim 4 as dependent from Claim 3 wherein the lugs depend from the parts of the modules which form the bottom portions of the component.

6. A load-bearing component according to Claim 3 or Claim 5 wherein the inside surfaces of the bucket form defined by the modules are roughened.

7. A load-bearing component according to any preceding claim wherein the modules are of at least two different lengths.

8. A load-bearing component according to Claim 7 wherein the end modules are of similar lengths.

9. A load-bearing component according to Claim 7 or Claim 8 wherein there is a plurality of intermediate modules and the intermediate modules are of at least two different lengths.

10. An endless conveyor band of the kind described which has composite load-bearing components as claimed in any preceding

Claims (1)

1. claim.

   11. An endless conveyor band according to Claim 10 wherein each composite component extends across the full width of the band.

   12. An endless conveyor band according to Claim 10 or Claim 11 wherein the modules of adjacent composite components longitudinally of the conveyor band are in staggered relationship, their eye portions meshing at the support rods.

   13. A load-bearing component for an endless conveyor band of the kind described substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

   14. An endless conveyor band substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.