GB2200088A - Drive unit for a conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

A drive unit 30 for driving an endless conveyor includes a rotary drive means for drivingly contacting the endless conveyor at a terminal end of the conveyor, a drive input spaced longitudinally of the conveyor from the rotary drive means, the drive input being adapted for connection to a drive motor 110 and being drivingly connected to the rotary drive means by drive transmission means, the drive input, drive transmission means and rotary drive means being rotatably mounted in a housing adapted for location directly beneath the upper run of the endless conveyor. The drive is preferably located within the width of the endless conveyor. The rotary drive means comprises a sprocket, the transmission means a gear train and the motor may be electric or hydraulic. The conveyor is preferably an armoured mining conveyor having transverse scrapers. <IMAGE>

Description

DRIVE UNIT FOR A CONVEYOR The present invention relates to a drive unit for a conveyor and to a conveyor assembly including such a drive unit.

In certain working environments, such as a coal face or mine roadway, the width and height occupied by a conveyor system should be a minimum in order to provide as much unrestricted space as possible. It is common practice with a conveying system having a continuous conveyor, such as spaced flights joined by endless chains as used in a flexible armoured conveyor, to provide motive power to a terminal roller or sprocket wheel in order to drive the continuous conveyor. Normally such motive power is supplied by a motor and gear box which are coupled to the outside of the sprocket wheel.

Accordingly the width of the conveyor drive assembly at the driven terminal end is determined by the width of the conveyor plus the width occupied by the motor and/or gear box supplying drive to the terminal roller or sprocket wheel and therefore the overall width is substantially greater than the width of the conveyor.

A general aim of the present invention is to provide a driven unit for the terminal end of a conveyor assembly which does not substantially increase the width of the conveyor drive assembly beyond the width defined by the conveyor.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a drive unit for driving an endless conveyor, the drive unit including a rotary drive means for drivingly contacting the endless conveyor at a terminal end of the conveyor, a drive input spaced longitudinally of the conveyor from the rotary drive means, the drive input being adapted for connection to a drive motor and being drivingly connected to the rotary drive means by drive transmission means, the drive input, drive transmission means and rotary drive means being rotatably mounted in a housing adapted for location directly beneath the upper run of the endless conveyor.

The drive transmission means includes a drive output which is drivingly connected to the rotary drive means, the drive connection between the rotary drive means and drive output being located within the vicinity of the width boundaries of the conveyor to be driven by the drive unit. This means that the drive connection between the rotary drive means and the drive output may be located wholley within the width boundaries of the conveyor or that the drive connection may be located adjacent to and slightly beyond the width boundaries of the conveyor.

Preferably the rotary drive means includes a gear wheel which is driven by said drive output.

Preferably, the housing is arranged such that its longitudinal axis is generally centrally located relative to the width of the conveyor. Preferably, the drive transmission means comprises a gear train which is preferably located within the housing so as to be contained generally within the width of the conveyor to be driven. Preferably a drive motor, such as an electric or hydraulically powered motor, is connected to the drive input and is preferably arranged so as to extend longitudinally of and beneath the upper run of the conveyor and have a width which is located predominately within, or totally within the width of the conveyor.In such an arrangement the drive motor and drive unit do not project or do not project substantially beyond the width boundaries of the conveyor and thereby provide a conveyor drive assembly which, in the region of the driven terminal rotary drive means is a minimum width.

The present invention also provides a conveyor assembly including a drive unit as defined above.

Preferably, the housing of the drive unit defines the terminal end -of the conveyor assembly and provides support for the upper run of the endless conveyor.

In the case of an endless conveyor of the type having flights attached on one or more endless chains, the housing preferably defines a static support surface for the conveyor as it passes around the terminal end of the conveyor assembly.

Various aspects of the present invention are hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of part of a conveyor assembly according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a side view of a drive unit according to the present invention; Figure 3 is a section along line III-III in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a plan view of the drive unit of Figure 2 with the upper housing casing removed; and Figure 5 is a plan view similar to Figure 4 but showing an alternative embodiment of the invention.

The conveyor assembly 10 illustrated in Figure 1 is particularly suited for use in a restricted space, such as a coal mine roadway, and is intended to feed mineral to a terminal end 12 of the conveyor assembly from which mineral is discharged. A take away conveyor (not shown) is normally located in the space 14 below the terminal end 12.

The conveyor assembly 10 is of the armoured flexible conveyor type having an endless conveyor 15 comprising a spaced pair of endless chains 22 (Figure 3) located in guideways 20 and having flights 23 attached at either end to a respective chain.

Located at the delivery end of the conveyor assembly is a drive unit 30 which is illustrated in greater detail in Figures 2 and 4.

The drive unit includes a housing 40 which forms part of the support structure of the conveyor assembly.

The housing 40 contains a train of gears 45 which rotatably connect and thereby transmit drive between an input shaft 46 and an output gear wheel 48.

A conveyor drive means 50 is rotatably mounted in the housing 40 and in the illustrated form comprises a pair of sprocket wheels 52 mounted on a shaft 53.

Intermediate to sprocket wheels 52, and thereby lying within the axial extent of the drive means 50, is a gear wheel 58 which meshes with output gear wheel 48. The gear wheel 58 and sprocket wheels 52 are connected so as to rotate in unison so that rotation of the input shaft 46 causes rotation of the sprocket wheels 52. The sprocket wheels 52 are preferably located on splines on the shaft 53 and held in place by removable retaining plates 54. Plates 54 are conveniently held in place by bolts.

The gear 58 is located within the interior of the housing 40 and the sprocket wheels 52 are located externally of the housing 40. The wall portion 40a of the housing located between the sprocket wheels 52 serves as a static support surface over which flights of the conveyor sweep on rotation of the sprocket wheels. In conventional systems a rotatable drum is located between the sprocket wheels and this requires successive flights to pass from a static surface (defined by the floor of the conveyor pan) onto a moving surface (defined by the drum). This arrangement necessarily means that there is a gap between the static and moving surface into which objects may become lodged and cause snagging with the flights of the conveyor.

By contrast the present construction provides a continuous static support surface for the flights as they approach and then pass around the terminal end of the conveyor.

Wear plates 41 are preferably seated on the walls of the housing 40.

As illustrated the gear train 45 is contained completely within the interior of the housing 40 which contains lubricating oil for the gears. In the embodiment illustated most gears have a substantial axial extent and are located generally centrally within the width of the housing.

A separate compartment 60 is preferably provided within the housing 40 which is accessible via a cover plate 61. Contained within the compartment 60 is a pair of gears 63,64 which are removably mounted on shafts 65, 66 respectively. By removing gears 63, 64 and replacing them with different pairs of gears of different sizes it is possible to change the gear ratio between input shaft 46 and output shaft 48 in a simple and convenient manner.

This is an advantageous feature as it enables the speed of the conveyor to be easily and quickly changed in response to the handling requirements.

The housing 40 is preferably formed from an upper casing portion 70 and a lower casing portion 71 which are joined together generally along a central plane which also contains the axes of various gears in the gear train 45. In this way splittable gearing housings for the various bearings for the gears of the gear train are provided integrally within the housing 40 thus facilitating assembly of the drive unit.

As seen in Figure 1 the housing 40 is secured, by suitable bolts, to the conveyor support structure and forms the terminal delivery end of the conveyor assembly.

The drive unit at a lower location is attached to the forward portion 90 of a support skid 91 and projects forwardly therefrom to define the lower space 14. The upper run of the conveyor is defined by guide pans 92 secured together by beam plates 94 and the lower run is defined by guide pans 93.

A conveyor guide pan 93a is attached to the lower surface of the housing 40 and a conveyor guide pan 92a is attached to the upper surface of the housing 40.

Successive guide pans 92 extend rearwardly from pan 92a and are supported on the rear portion 95 of the support skid 91. A space 100 is defined between the rear of the drive unit and the forward end of portion 95. A drive motor 110 is located within space 100 and is attached by bolts to the rear of the drive unit and is drivingly connected to the input shaft 46. It will be appreciated that in view of the rigid connection between the respective housings of the drive unit and motor 110 the weight of the motor acts to counterbalance the weight of the drive unit as it projects unsupported forwardly of the skid portion 90.

As seen in Figure 3 the housing 40 is located centrally relative to the conveyor 15 and has a width which is slightly greater than the width of the conveyor 15.

The drive unit described above with reference to Figures 1 to 4 is particularly adapted for driving an armoured flexible conveyor having a spaced pair of endless chains which are spaced apart and between which extend a plurality of flights.

An alternative type of conveyor is known wherein flights are connected to a centrally located endless chain with the flights projecting laterally outwardly on both sides from the chain. The drive unit illustrated in Figure 5 is a modification to the drive unit of Figures 1 to 4 which is adapted to drive a conveyor having an endless chain located inboard of the flights.

The drive unit 500 illustrated in Figure 5 is constructed and arranged to operate in the same manner as the drive unit described with reference to Figures 1 to 4 except for the modifications necessary to enable the drive unit to drive an endless chain located inboard of the conveyor flights. Accordingly in Figure 5 the same reference numerals have been adopted to designate the same components as those described and illustrated in Figures 1 to 4.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 5, the conveyor drive means 50 includes a shaft 53 rotatably mounted in housing 40; mounted on shaft 53 is a sprocket wheel 52 for driving the endless chains of the conveyor (not illustrated) and it will be noted that the sprocket wheel 52 is located centrally on the longitudinal centre line of the drive unit.

The shaft 53 is provided with a gear 53a which meshes with the output gear 48 of the train of gears 45.

It will be noted that the drive connection between gears 48 and 53a is still located within the side boundaries of the conveyor.

Claims (11)

1. A drive unit for driving an endless conveyor, the drive unit including a rotary drive means for drivingly contacting the endless conveyor at a terminal end of the conveyor, a drive input spaced longitudinally of the conveyor from the rotary drive means, the drive input being adapted for connection to a drive motor and being drivingly connected to the rotary drive means by drive transmission means, the drive input, drive transmission means and rotary drive means being rotatably mounted in a housing adapted for location directly beneath the upper run of the endless conveyor.

2. A drive unit according to Claim 1 wherein the rotary drive means includes a gear wheel located within the housing to be drivingly connected to the transmission means and conveyor contacting means projecting from the housing for drivingly contacting the conveyor.

3. A drive unit according to Claim 2 wherein the conveyor contacting means is at least one sprocket wheel located centrally of the conveyor.

4. A drive unit according to Claim 2 wherein the conveyor contacting means includes a pair of sprocket wheels, the sprocket wheels being spaced apart and being located adjacent respective side boundaries of the conveyor.

5. A drive unit according to any preceding claim wherein the drive transmission means includes a drive output which is drivingly connected to the rotary drive means, the drive connection between the rotary drive means and drive output being located within the vicinity of the width boundaries of the conveyor to be driven by the drive unit.

6. A drive unit according to any preceding claim wherein the housing is arranged such that its longitudinal axis is generally centrally located relative to the width of the conveyor.

7. A drive unit according to any preceding claim wherein the transmission means includes a gear train housing a pair of gears located in an access opening formed in the housing, said pair of gears being removable for substitution by a different pair of gears to enable the gear ratio of the gear train to be altered.

8. A drive unit substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in any of the accompanying drawings.

9. A conveyor assembly including a drive unit according to any preceding claim.

10. A conveyor assembly according to Claim 9 wherein the housing of the drive unit defines the terminal end of the conveyor assembly and provides support for the upper run of the endless conveyor.

11. A conveyor assembly according to Claim 9 or 10 wherein the conveyor includes an endless conveyor having flights attached by one or more endless chains, the housing defining a static support surface for the conveyor as it passes around the terminal end of the conveyor assembly.