GB2063808A - An improvement in or relating to endless belt conveyor mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

Endless belt conveyor mechanism including means, e.g. troughing rollers 14, for causing the belt to trough on opposite sides of a discharge area 12 and adjustable means at or in the region of the discharge area whereby, at will, the material being conveyed by the belt can be carried across the discharge area or can be caused to fall from the conveyor at that region. The adjustable means referred to are such that at or in the region of the discharge area the belt can be caused to trough (Fig. 2) or can be caused to be oppositely deformed, that is to say to form an inverted U- shape in transverse cross section (Fig. 3). Preferably, the adjustable means comprises a set of troughing rollers in which the central roller (24) is mounted on a fixed axle and the outer rollers (26) can be raised and lowered by means (28-32) which includes a scraper (38) for complete removal of the material from the belt. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION An improvement in or relating to endless belt conveyor mechanism The invention relates to endless belt conveyor mechanism and has for its object to provide an improvement therein.

It is known to convey various materials, such as coal, on endless belt conveyor mechanism and to maintain the material on the belt by causing the belt to trough, that is to say by causing the belt to assume a shallow U-shape in transverse cross section. Various means have been employed for causing the belt to trough, the most usual being the provision of sets of support rollers extending transversely of the direction of travel of the belt, outermost roller of each set of rollers being inclined at the required troughing angle of the belt.

According to the invention, there is provided endless belt conveyor mechanism including means for causing the belt to trough on opposite sides of a discharge area, and means at or in the region of the discharage area whereby, at will, the belt can either be caused to trough, so that the material being conveyed by the belt is carried across the discharge area, or can be caused to be oppositely deformed, that is to say to form an inverted shallow U-shape in transverse cross section, so that the material being conveyed by the belt is allowed to fall from the conveyor at the discharge area.The means at or in the region of the discharge area whereby, at will, the belt can either be caused to trough or caused to be oppositely deformed, may be constituted by a set of support rollers extending transversely of the direction of travel of the belt, said support rollers being hingedly connected together and outer ends of the assembly of support rollers being connected to adjustable suspension means whereby the outermost rollers can be raised above the height of a fixed central element or can be lowered below the height of said fixed central element according to whether the belt is to be caused to trough or is to be oppositely deformed. The fixed central element may be the spindle of a central one of the set of support rollers.The adjustable suspension means may be constituted by a pneumatic ram depending from a support beam, a bridle suspension plate, and a hanger the opposite ends of which are connected by means of universal attachments to the projecting ends of the outermost spindles carrying the adjustable rollers. In this case, the hanger will preferably carry an inverted U-shaped former which when the conveyor belt has been caused to trough is suspended above the belt but when the hanger has been lowered so that the conveyor belt has assumed its inverted Ushaped condition is brought into engagement with the belt to act as a scraper for any residue of material remaining on the belt.On opposite sides of the adjustable support rollers, that is to say a short distance upstream and a short distance downstream from the discharge point, there will preferably be provided full width horizontal rollers which when the conveyor belt is changing from troughed to inverted U-shaped condition stabilise the belt in its travel.

In order that the invention may be fully understood and readily carried into effect, the same will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side view of endless belt conveyor mechanism embodying the invention, Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1, that is to say at a discharge area, showing the mechanism adjusted for the carrying of the material on the conveyor belt across said discharge area, and 0 Figure 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the mechanism adjusted for the discharge of the material at said discharge area.

Referring now to the drawings, the endless belt conveyor mechanism there illustrated includes means for causing an endless belt 10 to trough on opposite sides of a discharge area generally indicated 12, the means for causing the belt to trough being constituted by sets of support rollers generally indicated 14, extending transversely of the direction of travel of the belt. Each set 14 of support rollers comprise a central horizontally disposed roller 1 6 and respective flanking rollers 1 8 which are appropriately inclined to cause the belt to trough to the required extent.

In the region of the discharge area, that is to say apprximately at a point where the endless belt in its travel first coincides with the flared mouths of oppositely disposed discharge chutes 20 on opposite sides of the belt, there are provided adjustable means whereby, at will, the belt can either be caused to trough, so that the material being conveyed by the belt is carried across the dischage area, or can be caused to be oppositely deformed, that is to say to form an inverted shallow Ushape in transverse cross section so that the material being conveyed by the belt is allowed to fall from the conveyor to be received by the chutes 20.The adjustable means referred to are constituted by a set of support rollers, generally indicated 22, which extend transversely of the direction of travel of the belt, this set of rollers being constituted by a central support roller 24, rotatably mounted on a horizontally disposed spindle, and adjustable rollers 26 which are rotatably mounted on respective spindles which are hingedly connected together and to the spindle of the central roller. The arrangement is such that, as illustrated in the drawings, the outermost rollers of the hingedly connected set of rollers can be raised above the height of the central roller or can be lowered below the height of said central roller according to whether the belt is to be caused to trough or to be oppositely deformed.

Means which are provided for effecting a height adjustment of the adjustable rollers 26 are constituted by adjustable suspension means comprising a single acting pneumatic ram 28 (shown depending from a support beam which for example in a coal mine could be one of the mine roof support arches or a beam connected to a number of such arches), a bridle suspension plate 30, and a hanger 32 the opposite ends of which are connected by means of universal attachments to the projecting ends of the outermost spindles carrying the adjustable rollers 26.A 3-way valve 34 is shown to be provided in a compressed air supply line 36 for conveying air under pressure to the ram 28 and the arrangement is such that when air under pressure is directed to the ram the adjustable rollers are raised and the belt is caused to trough, and when the air is released from the ram the adjustable roller are allowed to fall so that the belt is oppositely deformed. As the belt assumes its inverted U-shaped condition, the material carried thereby is able to slide sideways and to fall from the opposite side edges of the belt into the discharge chutes.

It will be noted that the hanger 32 carries an inverted U-shaped former 38 which when the conveyor belt has been caused to trough is suspended above the belt. However, when the hanger has been lowered so that the conveyor belt has assumed its inverted Ushaped condition, the former is brought into light engagement with the belt to act as a scraper for any residue of material remaining on the belt. The height of the former is adjustable so that it can in fact be spaced very slightly form actual contact with the belt the former then being operative merely to scrape any substantial thickness of residue from the belt surfaces.It will also be noted that on opposite sides of the adjustable support rollers, that is to say a short distance upstream and a short distance downstream from the discharge point, there are provided full width horizontal rollers 40 which when the conveyor belt is changing from troughed to inverted Ushaped condition stabilise the belt in its travel.

As shown, these rollers are set slightly higher than the bottom of the normal trough line and serve to distribute the stress across the width of the belt.

Thus there is provided endless belt conveyor mechanism of very simple construction which can be operated in such a way that material being carried by the belt can either be carried across a discharge area or discharged from the belt at that point as required. The mechanism is such that the use of conventional so-called contact ploughs to discharge material from the conveyor belt is avoided, thus saving the usual severe wear and tear of the belt and the cost of replacement of the contact ploughs which tend to wear rapidly.

Various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the means provided for effecting a height adjustment of the adjustable rollers 26 may be somewhat different from those illustrated. Instead of being effected by adjustable suspension means, the adjustment could be made by mounting the adjustable rollers on a bracket which is pivotally mounted so as to be capable of being inverted by the use of adjustment mechanism. Furthermore, it will be understood that whatever means are employed for the adjustment of the adjustable rollers, these means may be either power operated or manually operated.

Claims (8)

1. Endless belt conveyor mechanism including means for causing the belt to trough on opposite sides of a discharge area, and means at or in the region of the discharge area whereby, at will, the belt can either be caused to trough, so that the material being conveyed by the belt is carried across the discharge area, or can be caused to be oppositely deformed, that is to say to form an inverted shallow U-shape in transverse cross section, so that the material being conveyed by the belt is allowed to fall from the conveyor at the discharge area.

2. Endless belt conveyor mechanism according to claim 1, in which the means at or in the region of the discharge area whereby, at will, the belt can either be caused to trough or caused to be oppositely deformed, are constituted by a set of support rollers extending transversely of the direction of travel of the belt, said support rollers being hingedly connected together and outer ends of the assembly of support rollers being connected to adjustable suspension means whereby the outermost rollers can be raised above the height of a fixed central element or can be lowered below the height of said fixed central element according to whether the belt is to be, caused to trough or is to be oppositely deformed.

3. Endless belt conveyor mechanism according to claim 2, in which the fixed central element is the spindle of a central one of the set of support rollers.

4. Endless belt conveyor mechanism according to either one of claims 2 and 3, in which the adjustable suspension means are constituted by a pneumatic ram depending from a support beam, a bridle suspension plate, and a hanger the opposite ends of which are connected by means of universal attachments to the projecting ends of the outermost spindles carrying the adjustable rol lers.

5. Endless belt conveyor mechanism according to claim 4, in which the hanger carries an inverted U-shaped former which when the conveyor belt has been caused to trough in suspended above the belt but when the hanger has been lowered so that the conveyor belt has assumed its inverted Ushaped condition is brought into light engagement with the belt to act as a scraper for any residue of material remaining on the belt.

6. Endless belt conveyor mechanism according to any one of the preceding claims, in which on opposite sides of the adjustable support rollers, that is to say a short distance upstream and a short distance downstream from the discharge point, there are provided full width horizontal rollers which when the conveyor belt is changing from troughed to inverted U-shaped condition stabilise the belt in its travel.

7. Endless belt conveyor mechanism constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

8. Means for fitment to an endless belt conveyor mechanism for causing the belt to trough or, at will, to assume an inverted Ushape in transverse cross section in the region of a discharge area, said means being constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.