US2232623A - Slatted conveyer pulley - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 18, 1941. J. .1. NEUMAN SLATTED CONVEYER PULLEY Filed Jan. 30, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 nventor (Ittorneg Feb. 18, 1941. J. J. NEUMAN SLATTED COVEYER PULLEY 3 Sheets-Sheet 2` Filed:4 Jan. 30, 1939 l'mventor (ttorneg Feb. 18, 1941. J. J. NEUMAN SLATTED CONVEYER PULLEY 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 30,' 1939 Snventor Gttorney Patented Feb. 18, 1941 SLAITTED CONVEYER PULLEY l Jacob J. Neuman. South Salem, N. Y., assignor to United States Patent Development and Royalty Company, South Salem, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application `lanuary 3l), 1939, Serial No. 253,696

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to slatted conveyer pulleysand more particularly to slatted conveyer pulleys for use on belt conveyers handling bulk materials of a sticky nature, such as raw sugar.

Slatted pulleys in general are employed to provent the adherence and subsequent building up of the material on both the surface of the belt While the slatted pulleys which have been used in the past are successful with some types of material, it has been found that with materials of a particularly sticky nature, notably raw sugar, that unless frequentl cleaning is resorted to, the material wedges in the spaces between the slats and the pulley and then presents a continuous surface to the belt and is in effect no longer slatted.

It is, therefore, the primary object oi.' this invention to provide a slatted pulley so constructed that the material is prevented from wedging between the slats thereof.

A further object is to provide means for insuring positive lateral discharge of the material from the inside of the pulley to prevent material collecting therein and eventually filling up the space within the bars or slats.

Another object is to provide a slatted pulley of the idler type so constructed that the ball bearings thereof are totally enclosed and sealed from any possible contact with the material being conveyed, thereby prolonging their life, insuring enicient operation of the conveyers and guarding the material being conveyed from contamination by the lubricant.

A still further object is to provide a simple clutch means of disconnecting the pulley from the driving shaft to render the conveyer inoperative.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention will 'be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

Figure 1 isa side elevation of the driving type pulley.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 showing the construction of the slats.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section takenon the line 3-3 of Figure 2 showing the construction of the end and reinforcing rings.

Figure 4 is an axial sectional view of the embodiment of Figure 1 showing the pulley mounted on a driving shaft.

(Cl. :IBS-203) Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 isl a side elevation ofthe idler type embodiment of the pulley.

Figure 7 is a section on the line 'I-l of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view partv ly in section of the idler of Figure 6.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly Figures 1 to 'thereof, the open-work facing of the pulley is made up of the lateral slats or bars I0 which are equally spaced around the periphery of the reinforcing rings I Iand the end rings I2 and are all cast as one unit. The pulley is supported concentrically on the shaft by the spoke I3 and the hubs I 4 (Figs. 4 and 5) of the end rings I2. The bars Ill are so spaced and the thickness thereof so proportioned that the spaces between them are relatively large in proportion to the thickness of the bars. Furthermore, the thickness of the |bars decreases inwardly toward the axis of the pulley said taper being so proportioned in relation tothe overall diameter of the pulley that the width of the spaces at I5 is considerably greater than at I6. It ls obvious that if the bars were of uniform thickness along their depth, as heretofore constructed, that the inverse would be true and the spaces between bars would be less at I5 than at I6. Since the pressure of the conveyer belt tends to force the material inwardly between the bars I0 it is easily seen that if the spaces decrease toward the axis of the pulley the material will tend to pack therein. However, if the bars are tapered as described, any pressure from without immediately dislodges such material and it falls into the space inside the lattice formed by the bars II) and the rings II. The rings I I are also tapered toward their axis (Figure 3). In order to free the pulley of the material which would otherwise accumulate therein the conical pieces I1 are provided within thebars In land the rings II. These conical sections I1 are constructed with the largest diameter thereof equal to the entirely enclose the shaft on the inside of the pulley.

Both the bars I0 and the rings Il 'are rounded at their outside edges (Figs. 2 and 3) to decrease the possibility of material caking thereon. and to reduce wear on the conveyer belt.

For added strength the bars l0 opposite each of the spokes I3 may be made larger as shown in Fig. 2.

The collars I8 (Figs. 4 and 5) are secured to the hollow shaft I9 by th pins 20 and conform to the inside curvature of the strap pieces 2i and 22 which are journalled on the bolts 23 each of which is in turn secured to one of the spokes I3. The opposite ends of the strap pieces 2l and 22 are formed to receive the clamping bolts 24. It is thus seen that when the bolts 24 are tightened the strap pieces 2i and 22 will act to clamp the pulley securely to the shaft I9 and when-loosened allow it and the collars I8 to rotate freely within the hubs I4. Sleeves 25 of a suitable wear resistant bearing material are provided between and held in position by the hubs I4 and the collars I8. The clutch thus formed is especially well adapted to use where several parallel conveyers are driven from a single line shaft and it is desired to operate one or more of the conveyers at a time selectively. Also this clutch is particularly well adapted to use with conveyers carrying bulk materials of a sticky nature such as raw sugar since the very small number of limitedly moving parts prevents it from becoming clogged with the material as is the case with conventional clutches having a multiplicity of lmoving parts.

The line shaft I9 may be made up in short sections such as the ones shown and connected by the simple flexible coupling plates or discs 26 which compensate for shrinkage of the shaft 'metaL due to temperature changes, as well as bearing misalignment.

Referring now to Figures 6, 7 and 8 the'invention is shown applied to a small diameter or so called belt idler pulley which in use is employed to support the top and return runs of the conveyer belt between the head and tail pulleys as embodied in Figures 1 to 5. The construction is substantially the same insofar as applies to the bars 21 and the rings 28, which are cast integrally with the hubs 29. The hubs 29 in this case however, have 'no spokes and are formed to enclose the ball bearings 30 totally which bearings are retained in position by the shoulder 29a (Fig. 8) and the sleeve 3|. The hub 29 is provided with the plate 32 which is retained by the screws 33 and may be removed for bearing inspection or replacement. The bearings 30 are preferably of the enclosed type having grease retaining rings and a groove 34 is provided in the hub 29, through which additional grease may be added by means of the grease fitting 35 and the hole 36 in the outer raceway of the bearing 30. The shaft 31 is stationary and is mounted in any suitable manner such as by the U bolts 38.

In conventional types of idlers the bearings are usually mounted externally of the idler and the shaft and idler rotate asv a unit. Such bearings are hard to keep in true alignment due to shifting of the steel supporting framework whereas with the bearings mounted in the idler itself, this Adiiiiculty is entirely obviated.

With the embodiment of Figures 6, 7 and 8 vno discharge vcones are necessary as the conveyer belt only rests tangentially on the top of the idler and any material forced through the bars by the belt' readily falls out at the lower side. With the larger type end pulleys of Figures 1 to 5 the conveyer belt makes a complete half wrap and material falling to the bottom cannot escape and must be discharged laterally.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such'changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A conveyer pulley comprising supports including hubs forming bearings for mounting on the pulley shaft, on open-work facing attached to and extending between said supports, said facing having openings therein of cross-sectional area increasing toward the axis of the pulley, said supports also having discharge openings disposed substantially at right angles to the openings in said facing, a cylindrical deflector between the hubs within the facing shaped to deflect material falling through the openings in said facing and .out through the discharge openings, the longitudinal extremities of said deiiector embracing the hubs to prevent material falling through the openings in said facing from entering said bearing-forming hubs, a collar secured to said shaft adjacent each of said supports ,and extending inwardly into the corresponding hub for supporting the same on the pulley shaft, the outer end of each of said collars terminating in a disc head adjacent the outer face of said supports, a pair of strap pieces mounted on said supports in line with said disc heads and adapted to embrace the same, and adjustable means for clamping said strap pieces about said disc heads to connect said pulley and shaft drivingly together.

2. A conveyer pulley for belt conveyers handling raw sugar and the like comprising supports including hubs forming bearings for mounting on the pulley shaft, an open-work facing attached to and extending between said supports, a deilector between the hubs within the facing, said defiector terminating at the hubs around said bearings to protect the latter from the raw sugar, a collar secured to the pulley shaft adjacent each of the hubs to provide a pair of disc heads disposed adjacent the outer faces of said supports, a pair of strap pieces mounted on said supports in line with respective disc heads and adapted to embrace the same, and adjustable means for clamping the strap pieces about said disc heads.

JACOB J. NEUMAN.

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