WO2015023171A1

WO2015023171A1 - Support station having a single concave roller for troughing a conveyor belt and conveyor comprising same

Info

Publication number: WO2015023171A1
Application number: PCT/MA2013/000027
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mohamed MOUSSADEK; El Mehdi MOUSSADEK
Original assignee: Moussadek Mohamed
Priority date: 2013-08-13
Filing date: 2013-10-07
Publication date: 2015-02-19
Also published as: MA20150093A2; MA20150093A3; MA36189B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a support station for a conveyor, said station being intended to receive a conveyor belt, deform the latter into a trough and cause same to advance. Composed of a single concave shell (8) that describes an arc of a circle, two side flanges (10) and a through-shaft (9), it is able to be mounted on roller bearings that are installed on either side of the conveyor. This function used to be ensured by support stations having three rollers arranged in a trapezoidal shape with a horizontal central roller and two inclined side rollers. The technical solution consisted in replacing the station having three rollers arranged in a trapezoidal geometry with a station having a single roller, the shell of which is concave, describing an arc of a circle. Composed of a single shell (8), two side flanges (10) and a through-shaft (9), the station is in one piece and is able to be mounted on standard bearings. The transport of bulk materials over long distances and at high rates is now more economical and more reliable.

Description

SUPPORT STATION HAS A SINGLE CONCAVE ROLL FOR THE LAYING OF A CONVEYOR BELT AND CONVEYOR HAVING THE SAME

DESCRIPTION:

The present invention relates to a path roller designed with a concave surface describing an arc to receive, deform into a deep trough and advance an elastomeric conveyor belt in the direction of travel of a conveyor.

It concerns the field of elastomer belt conveyors for the handling of raw materials or finished products in bulk

It is known that the transport of materials of different particle sizes such as sands, gravels, ores or any other homogeneous or mixed products from a loading point to an unloading point at a distance of a few meters or several kilometers is made by the use of elastomer belt conveyors.

The technique of belt conveyors also called belt conveyors is widely used in industry, mines, cement plants, quarries and agriculture.

It is the most economical way of handling materials over long distances and at high flow rates.

Belt conveyors have seen a number of improvements throughout their history that have focused on increasing throughput, correcting operational problems and improving the safety of production and maintenance personnel.

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The operating principle of a conveyor is simple. It consists in advancing, throughout the path required to move a material from a loading point to an unloading point, an elastomeric strip held taut by end drums placed at the top and bottom of the conveyor. Support stations, having 3 rolls each, are arranged at regular intervals along the conveyor infrastructure. Their role is to support (receive and deform in deep trough) and advance an elastomeric band and the load it contains. According to this principle of operation the band then fulfills a dual role: to contain the product to be transported AND to transmit all along its strand the force necessary for its displacement. The support stations are mounted on metal supports called trestles, and are arranged 3 rollers in a trapezoidal configuration. Indeed, and this is one of the most important improvements that conveyors have experienced to increase their flow: the designers have thought to increase the capacity of the band to increase the flow of the conveyors. Also, to increase the capacity of the belt it was necessary to deform it into a deep trough with angles ranging from 20 to 45 degrees for band widths ranging from 400 to 2200 mm.

Also with this logic of increase of flows, the support stations have undergone a deep improvement. It was a question of placing a horizontal roller in the center of the station, and two inclined lateral rollers placed on both sides of the said central roll. Because in the design prior to this improvement the support stations had only two rollers arranged in V, but which had other problems such as the limit of the capacity of containment and the break of the reinforcement structure of the band because of the weakness of the radius of curvature. The configuration thus obtained represents a trapezoidal geometry that has allowed both to better support the band at the center of the width of the conveyor, and also to increase the capacity of the band which carries more material per linear meter. ¹

But the arrangement of the rollers in a trapezoidal shape is too restrictive for the elastomeric strip. Indeed, this provision in a trapezoidal shape blocks the advancement of the band become more loaded, and creates parasitic forces that cause the misalignment or the offset of the band. Also the transported materials are poured into the vicinity of the conveyor causing jamming and jamming rollers. The said blocking of the tape inside the support stations! ^and jamming of the rollers are the major sources of the main malfunctions that still taint the use of conveyors.

Hence long and tedious operations for the cleaning of spilled material and / or the replacement of damaged rollers. The unplanned outages caused by these accidents also contribute to the degradation of productivity and the increase in the operating costs of conveyors. This not to mention the injury or fatal accidents that can cause the rollers to fall or break the tape. Moreover, the design of the three-roller support stations arranged in a trapezoidal configuration, the most used on the conveyors, makes that the band fulfills a dual function: In addition to containing the product to be transported, it must ensure the transmission, all the along its strand, the tensile force applied to the control drum. This means that the belt, taking into account its large content of products to be transported and its weight, must have a significant resistance to the pulling forces that it undergoes at the control drum. However, a band with high strength is necessarily too rigid to be deformed deep trough inside the support stations. This is the main reason for the difficulties encountered by the band by confining itself inside the three-roller support stations arranged in a trapezoidal configuration. The binding position of acute and non-concave folding, which must undergo the tape inside the support stations, fatigue and accelerates the deterioration of its reinforcing structure and its rubber coatings. In addition the design of the three-roller support stations then offers no possibility of motorization of said stations, and makes all improvements to increase the flow and stabilize the band focus on the geometric shape of the arrangement of the rollers AND on the robustness of the band. This does not make it possible to eliminate definitively the problems of the offsets of the band, those of the exaggerated energetic demands due to the weight and the rigidity of the band, and those related to the difficulty to advance it inside support stations with three rollers.

This situation is inherent in the design of the 3-reel support stations with a trapezoidal configuration which, although it still has the merit of having increased the conveyor flow rates, is still the main cause of the parasitic forces which cause the misalignments and misalignments. offsets themselves responsible for jamming and jamming rollers.

Furthermore, the conventional roller is made by assembling a cylindrical spindle and a through shaft with a diameter of 20 to 35 mm I through the ball bearing housings provided with sealing devices presents, for its part, another source of vulnerability. In fact, the infiltration of water and / or dust causes damage to bearings that no longer rotate, which blocks the rotation of the pox thus creating additional resistance to progress the band and consequently an increase in energy demands, overheating of the band and especially the piercing of the so-called cylindrical pox that becomes sharp and tears the band. Other more serious problems can also occur following the jamming of the pox, it is in particular the fall of the rollers which can have serious consequences for the safety of the personnel.

Also conveyors, and despite their economic advantage as a conveyance infrastructure for materials with high flow rates and over long distances still retain major drawbacks impacting both the operating costs and the safety of production personnel and that of maintenance. This is mainly due to the design of three-roller stations arranged in a trapezoidal shape

Indeed, the trapezoidal shape that must take the band confining itself in the said stations is too restrictive for it, and said band must deform into a trough in a brittle configuration and not concave which fatigues its reinforcement structure and its coatings both superior and inferior.

The independence of the rotation of the rollers of a station, relative to each other, is responsible for it parasitic forces that cause the misalignment of the band and spills materials, themselves responsible for jamming rollers. Indeed, this independence of the rotation of the rollers and with the trapezoidal configuration makes the tensile forces of the belt converging towards the center of the conveyor, and any blocking of the rotation, of one or more rollers of a roll station or from several stations, has the band moved out of the axis of the trajectory of the conveyor. This causes unscheduled stops of the conveyors or spills of the products with the consequences exposed in supfa. Several solutions have been described in the state of the art to make up for the gaps which still remain, and which negatively taint the smooth operation of the conveyors.

This is the case of CN 102502204 which describes a support station which has a horizontal central portion, and conical side edges and a shaft projecting on both sides of the station for mounting on rolling bearings. This solution may be ineffective for 45-degree inclination angles, because with this level of inclination it will be very difficult to advance the belt and the load it contains. The support stations of the prior art composed of three independent rollers in their rotational movement allowed deformations ranging from 20 to 45 ° with respect to the horizontal plane and for widths of the band ranging from 400 mm to 2200 mm and with diameters traversing axes ranging from only 20 to 35 mm, precisely because there was freedom of movement of the rollers relative to each other. And this is where lies the great technical advantage of the support stations of the prior art: tangential contact with the band and an independence of the rotation compared to other rollers of the same station.

However, the solution of the station described in the document CN 102502204 can not offer significant inclinations up to 45 ° without causing a blockage of; the band inside the said station.

Another major disadvantage appears with the station described in CN 102502204. This is the bending that must undergo the shaft overflowing on both sides of the station. Indeed, this problem did not exist in the support stations with 3 rollers arranged in a trapezoidal shape. Because there is a well-balanced distribution of radial forces by the fact that each roller is fixed in its position with its own traversing shaft whose length is short compared to the width of the strip (3 trees for each width of the strip ), and that the diameter of said shaft varies between 25 and 35 mm only. This ensures sufficient rigidity of the station and eliminates all forms of radial bending that could suffer the said station.

Now the solution described in the document CN 102502204 by having a horizontal shaft to be fixed on bearings placed on the edges of the conveyor, makes the station

i a strong bending due to both the load and the movement of the rotation of the roller itself. To overcome this drawback, the document recommends a large diameter of the traversing shaft. However, increasing the diameter to avoid bending is to increase the weight of the station which is synonymous with a large consumption of electrical energy. Also a tree overflowing with a large diameter means the use of bearings of a large diameter, and bearings of large diameter which can generate additional costs both at the level of investment and operation than those of maintenance. Finally, this solution with the problems of bending and a traversing shaft of large diameter does not seem to be very practical on conveyors containing several hundred or even thousands of support stations. Indeed, it is sufficient to imagine the total weight of the stations to be carried by the band and the energy fall that it generates, and to calculate the necessary time and quantity of the lubricant to perform a normal maintenance of the bearings (two per support station ) to realize how difficult it is to use this solution.

CN 28953328 discloses a station composed of a plurality of rollers having concave surfaces for closing a tubular conveyor belt. Apart from the pox which is concave, the roller described in document CN28953328 retains the same principle as the conventional roller used in the three-roller support stations arranged in a trapezoidal shape, namely; a flattened attachment and bearing housings provided with sealing devices.

This maintains the solution recommended by document CN28953328 always at the same level of vulnerability as that of conventional rolls in terms of infiltration of water and dust and the serious consequences as well on the productivity, manifested by the unplanned stops (roller damage and deterioration of the band) than those of safety, manifested by the risks of falling rolls blocked. On the other hand, and as mentioned in CN28953328, the support station therein described appears to be effective only in having a reduced tree length for an application to close a tubular web. Indeed, and for widths beyond 500 mm, and given that the traversing shaft does not rotate and the support of the radial force is located at the tracks of the bearings housed in the side housings and at the level of the ends of the shaft fixed by flat, there may be a phenomenon of unbalance and vertical swing, and the concave shape of _: the pox can not ensure stability of the movement of the rotation.

The present invention aims to overcome the disadvantages and gaps that still exist in the state of the art. It proposes a support station composed of a single

a roll whose surface is concave describing an arc of a circle, two lateral flanges mounted on either side of said pox, and a through shaft with a diameter of not more than 35 mm suitable for being mounted on rolling bearings placed on the edges of the conveyor frame. The constituent elements of the new support station, in this case the concave pomegranate, the two lateral flanges and the traversing shaft whose diameter does not exceed 35 mm, are assembled by welding and constitute a single piece capable of being mounted on standard bearings. placed on either side of the conveyor frame to receive, distort deep trough and advance the elastomeric conveyor belt and the load it contains.

The new support station according to the invention constitutes a permanent part of the conveyor, and has enough flexural strength thanks to the arcuate shape of the pox while maintaining the diameter of the through shaft within the limit of 35 mm. maximum.

Compared to CN102502204 the new support station according to the invention aims to eliminate the problem of bending while keeping the diameter of the traversing shaft in the standard dimensions between 20 and 35 mm and that in proportion to the length of the pox. This is possible with the concave shape of the pox which has the technical advantage of better resisting radial forces and eliminating, thanks to the arcuate shape of the pox, all the radial forces that can bend the tree crossing. This then makes it possible to keep the diameter of the traversing shaft in the standard dimensions (between 20 and 35 mm), which does not impact the total weight of the station, and allows the use of standard bearings sealed and greased to life, which significantly reduces investment and maintenance costs. Because it is not necessary to maintain standard bearings with sealed bearings and greased for life

The concave shape of the pox according to the invention overcomes the disadvantages left by! the document CN 102502204 eliminating the problems of bending the shaft with its arcuate shape which has a better resistance to radial forces compared to the solution recommended by the document CN 102502204 which proposes a roll with a central portion horizontal and conical side edges .This same increased resistance of the pox, according to the invention, and thanks to the shape in an arc

! i allows the use of a traversing shaft with a diameter of not more than 35 mm, whereas for the document CN102502204 the traversing shaft must have a much larger diameter precisely to withstand flexion, hence its vulnerability too good technical (large diameter of the shaft therefore more weight and more electrical energy) than economic (large diameter shaft involves bearings with bearings ¹ large diameters and maintenance operations). In addition to this enormous technical advantage, the new station according to the invention considerably reduces the investment costs and offers more economic benefits related to the increase in productivity (fewer conveyor stops) and the improvement safety of maintenance personnel (not falling rollers).

Compared to CN28953328, the present invention has the technical advantage of extemalizing the rolling elements, namely rolling bearings, outside the pox.

Indeed, according to the invention the shaft passing through not exceeding 35 mm is to be placed on bearings installed on either side of the conveyor frame, which eliminates; the vulnerability of seals, and that of fixing and makes more stable the movement of the rotation generated by the passage of the band. It is clear that the sealing of bearings of standard bearings have a better resistance to infiltration of water and dust in comparison with the sealing of the bearing housings mounted inside the pox as recommended by CN28953328.

It is also clear that the mounting of the traversing shaft on rolling bearings, according to the invention, ensures a better stability of the traversing shaft, and eliminates by any means, all the unbalance phenomena that may appear for shaft lengths beyond 500 mm, as well as any possible risk of falling from the station compared to the flat fastening recommended by CN28953328. ;

The present invention aims to overcome these disadvantages. First, it proposes the elimination of conventional support stations known in the state of the art by eliminating freely rotating rollers and independent of each other. It also aims to provide the possibility of placing control groups at different locations of the conveyor. j

The present invention provides a device for receiving, deforming the belt of a deep trough conveyor and facilitating its movement, characterized in that it has a single roller with a concave pore describing a circular arc, two side plates reinforced by ribs and mounted on both sides of the said pox, and a traversing shaft with a diameter not exceeding 35 mm, capable of being mounted on conventional bearings with bearings placed on the edges of the conveyor frame. The concave pox describing a circular arc is obtained by the assembly by welding of two cones shaped by the embossing technique and arranged back to back.

The disc-shaped lateral flanges have reinforcing ribs on their inner faces, and are welded to the edges of the concave pox.

The traversing shaft is fixed on the flanges by welding. Overflowing on both sides of the pox it is intended to be mounted on conventional bearing bearings.

In another embodiment of the invention, the arcuate concave pox is made from thermosetting (or thermoplastic) technical polymer material reinforced with a filler such as fiberglass, for example. By the technique of centrifugation or that of the casting by gravity the pox or by process injection; the so-called concave pox is obtained whole and in one piece. Nuts are to be inserted in the mold, before casting, around the edges of the pox to receive the flanges which, according to this variant, are joined to the pox by bolts. The traversing shaft with a maximum diameter of 35 mm is assembled with the side flanges by welding. The device thus obtained, according to one of the two embodiments of the invention, is a one-piece piece adapted to be mounted on conventional rolling bearings placed on both sides of the conveyor, and which turns when the tape is moving forward. .

According to the invention, the support station characterized in that it comprises a single concave roller, two lateral flanges and a traversing shaft of a diameter not exceeding! 35 mm, receives the band and deforms it deep trough a geometry circle arq, and not brittle compared to that of the three-reel stations known in the prior art which were arranged in a trapezoidal geometry. The device according to the invention obtained by assembling two cones welded back to back and comprising two flanges and a shaft traversing the whole sealed by welding, or | in alternatively by centrifugation or casting or by injection of polymer for making the concave pox that receives the flanges by bolts (according to this variant) while said flanges remain welded with the shaft (for both variants); is able to be mounted on rolling bearings installed on both sides of the conveyor.

The device according to the invention is particularly intended to be placed, in sufficient quantity, on a conveyor to form a concave bed adapted to receive and deform a conveyor belt, characterized in that the strip permanently maintains tangential contact with the entire surface of the conveyor belt. concave roll. According to the invention, the bending of the internal reinforcing structure of the strip is attenuated, and the severe lateral bending experienced by the strip in the stations of the prior art is eliminated.

Consisting of several parts, a concave pox sufficiently rigid to counter bending due to the radial load and the rotational movement thanks to the arcuate shape, two lateral flanges and a traversing shaft with a diameter of 35 mm maximum, the device is monoblock characterized in that the entire concave surface rotates at the same time with the advance of the strip, this eliminates the parasitic forces that the band underwent at the empty spaces between the horizontal central roller and the rollers inclined stations of the prior art. According to the invention, the problems of off-centering of the web caused by the empty spaces between the conventional rolls and the difference in the speed of the rollers

Another option is also offered with the shape of the pox, concave and continuous without empty spaces, of the support station according to the invention, is the possibility to provide it

i ^! a rubber liner to isolate the lower liner from the contact with a metallic material as was the case in the support stations of the prior art.

It then becomes possible to reduce the thickness of the lower coating of the strip, even to remove it, because its main function was to isolate the strip from contact with the metal of the rollers. Huge savings are available, both in the purchase price of the band and in the gain in electrical energy, since the weight of the band can decrease with the reduction of the thickness, or the suppression of the lower coating. This being understood, the rubber coating of the pox has a longer life than that of the lower lining of the strip, because it does not undergo the same stretching or compression efforts that the lower lining of the strip underwent. in three-roller trapezoidal stations.

According to the invention, the support station characterized in that it comprises a single roll whose surface is concave describing a circular arc, is a permanent part of the conveyor contrary to the conventional rollers of the prior art which were parts of wear that had to be changed periodically. The device is intended for lifetime operation on conveyors. This reduces maintenance costs (conventional roll costs, labor costs and lost revenue costs due to unplanned outages), and routine inspection and monitoring operations to locate rolls blocked or jammed required for the use of multi-roll support stations. As it eliminates all the risks related to falling rolls since the support station is mounted on rolling bearings installed on the edges of the conveyor, and can not under any circumstances present such risks (fall). The safety of personnel working on or around the conveyor is greatly increased with the concave roller station. Also, is the use of the concave roller support station as a substitute for the prior art three-roller support station? simple and advantageous. The comparison with trapezoidal three-reel stations is largely justified by the fact that it is these three-reel stations which are the most used, currently on conveyors in all sectors of activity. Indeed, the design of the station according to the invention offers several possibilities of use.

He i The support station according to the invention is to be installed on the chassis of the conveyor by means of roller bearings, and is able to receive an endless elastomer conveyor belt, deforming it into a deep curvature following the arc of a circle. described by the pox; the displacement of the strip rotates the concave roller with less resistance compared to the support station composed of three rollers arranged in a geometrical shape. This represents a first way of using the support station according to the invention.

In a second variant of the use of the invention, the traversing shaft is provided with a member of the mechanical transmission a pulley with several grooves or a pinion with double toothing, a member of the same type (pulley or pinion according to the selected configuration) is to be installed on the control drum shaft opposite to the control unit (the free side of the drum shaft). All these elements of the mechanical transmission, both those installed on the shafts passing through the support stations and the one installed on the shaft of the control drum (pulleys or pinions as the case may be), are joined by belts or by chains (according to the selected configuration) for transmitting the rotational movement of the control drum driven by the geared motor unit to the set of concave roller support stations, The control unit rotates the drum whose shaft is joined to the first station to concave roller, the same station being linked by a member of the mechanical transmission (belt or chains) to the station that follows it transmits this movement, and so on until the last station installed near the hopper loading. Each station receives the movement of the station which is installed to its lover to transmit it to that located downstream. Thus, the set of concave roller stations is driven by the control group in a synchronized movement, which facilitates the movement of the band and the load that it contains. According to this use option there is a reduction in the tensile tension experienced by the band on the periphery of the control drum in the configuration of the prior art three-roller support stations, which relieves it and eliminates the problems of decentering, elongation or rupture. In the same vein, the joining points of the strip (cold gluing or vulcanization or staples) which were vulnerable points are relieved of the high tensile tension, by the synchronized movement of all stations concave rollers, and no longer present a risk of rupture. In a third variant of use of the support stations according to the invention, it is possible to group said stations into several sub-assemblies, composed of at least two rollers provided with members of the pulley-belt mechanical transmission or pinion. chain. Each subassembly is provided with a control group, and all subassembly control groups of the support stations are synchronized in their rotational movement with the main control group installed on the head drum. It is then possible to distribute the power on several places of the conveyor. The head control group is designated as master, and the other control groups of the support stations are slaves to it, the use of an electronic speed controller is necessary for the synchronization of the rotational movement.

In a fourth variant of the use of the support stations according to the invention, each of said stations is individually equipped with a control group. The control group of the head is always designated as master and the groups of the other stations are slaves to it (by the use of variable speed drives).

A great flexibility is then offered to vary the speed of the belt, which may offer the possibility of reducing the weight of the material transported per linear meter while maintaining the nominal flow rate of the conveyor.

Compared to the support stations of the prior art which offered no possibility of motorization both in terms of congestion and that of the arrangement of the axes of the rollers, the various variants of use of the concave roller station have several advantages. In fact, eliminate, offsets, wear parts and failures, distribute the power on several locations of the conveyor and increase the duration of use of the belt and consequently the overall efficiency of the conveyor, improves the productivity of the conveyors. conveyors, the profitability of investments, and commercial competitiveness.

The invention will be better understood on reading the schematic illustrations below.

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a three-roller support station known in the prior art. Rollers (5) arranged in trapezoidal geometry as illustrated by FIG. 1, supports the band (1) deforms it into a deep trough; and are in free rotation and independent of each other. The axes (6) of the rollers (5)

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are arranged in a geometry that offers no possibility of providing the support station with a control group. The empty spaces (detail A) between the horizontal central roller and the inclined lateral rollers constitute a major drawback which creates the parasitic forces responsible for most of the offsets of the strip (1). The same axes (6) of the rollers (5) are fixed on the flange (7) by flats which presents another vulnerability of the rollers (5) which increases the risk of falling rollers (5). The ends of the steel poxes of the three rollers (5) are in contact with the strip (1), via the lower coating (4) in a pointwise manner, and under the effect of the weight of the strip (1) and the load it carries (not shown), exert a significant pressure on the lower coating (4) of the band (l) causing damage or premature wear. The arrangement in trapezoidal geometry of the rollers (5) makes the band (1) undergo a brittle deformation at the empty spaces (Detail A) and exposes the upper covering (2), the lower covering (4) and the structure of the reinforcing (3) the band (1) at a severe lateral flexion which fatigues the band (1) and accelerates its wear. The empty space (a) located between the horizontal central roller and the base of the support rack (7) is the location where the spilled material is housed, and the jamming of the rotation of the roll begins there. Inspection and cleaning operations are mainly related to this location. The detail A (detail A) represents the empty spaces between the horizontal central roll and the inclined lateral rollers, and clearly illustrates the arrangement of the axes (6) of the rollers (5) as independent of each other in their rotational movement, and which can have according to this arrangement (detail A) speeds different from each other, which creates the parasitic forces responsible for offsets of the band (1). The (detail A) clearly shows the broken fold of the strip (1), and the non-concave position which breaks the upper coating (2), the lower coating (4) and the reinforcement structure (3). !

Fig 2 is a schematic representation of a support station according to the invention. The roller (8) whose surface describes a circular arc is obtained by the assembly of two cones (arranged back to back) by welding receives the band (1) and deforms it according to a

i. geometry less serious than that illustrated in Figl by (detail A). The flanges (lO in the form of reinforced discs by reinforcing ribs (1) are mounted on the concave roller (8) by welding. The flanges (10) constitute an important support point to guarantee the support of all the compound weight of the strip (1) and its load and also constitute a point of support for the roller (8) on the traversing shaft ( 9) so that the arcuate shape responds well to the bending forces. The through shaft (9) with a diameter of not more than 35 mm is joined to the flanges (10) also by welding. The entire device consisting of the roller (8), side flanges (10), and the traversing shaft (9) constitutes a one-piece piece adapted to be mounted on rolling bearings (not shown) installed parts and d others of a conveyor. FIG. 2 clearly shows that the strip (1) is deformed according to a concave geometry in an arc of a circle, and that the upper coating (2) and the lower coating (4) as well as the reinforcement structure (3) of the strip (1) ) are folded concavely and not brittle unlike the support station of the prior art illustrated in Figl (detail A).

The ends of the traversing shaft (9) with a maximum diameter of 35 mm protrude from the two flanged sides (10) and are able to be mounted on conventional rolling bearings (not shown). The flanges (10) are in the form of disks reinforced on their inner faces by the ribs (11). The shape of the pox (8) being concave and in one piece is well to receive a rubber coating (not shown). The assembly consisting of the pox (8), the lateral flanges (10) and the traversing shaft (9) constitutes a one-piece piece operating for life on a conveyor, rotates with the advancement of the strip (1) without unbalance or flexion. The support station according to the invention, composed of the concave pox (8) of the flanges (10) and the through shaft (9) is able to be mounted on only two conventional rolling bearings, and has less resistance to the Advancement of the band (l), and therefore less electricity consumption because it has only two bearings, alqrs

i that the support station of the prior art which had three rollers (5) opposed more resistance to the band (l), because the said rollers (5) had two bearings each or six in total for a support station!

FIG. 3 is a view of a set of support stations installed in the path of a conveyor and mounted on rolling bearings to form a concave curved bed, and are ready to receive an endless closed elastomeric strip. for the deform into a deep curvature. The displacement of the strip rotates the support stations with less resistance, because they comprise only two rolling bearings per station compared to the support stations of the prior art which opposed more resistance because they had two bearings per roll or at the same time. total six bearings. The construction of the conveyors becomes simple and will not require so much material compared to those made with support stations with three rollers. Two rails (17) of any modular section and arranged parallel to one another, placed in the path of the conveyor, and reinforced by crosspieces (18) for receiving rolling bearings, are sufficient to build a conveyor. Huge savings are possible with the support stations according to the invention. The said longitudinal members (17) are modular and facilitate both the transport and assembly of conveyors.

Figure 4 is a view of a conveyor equipped with support stations whose pomegranates (8) are concave arcuate; the traversing shafts (9) of said support stations are each provided with a mechanical transmission member (19) pulley or pinion, said transmission members are interconnected by a movement transfer member (20). belt or chain according to the configuration selected for the member (19). The shaft (13) of the control drum (12) is equipped with a mechanical transmission member (21) compatible with those mounted on the traversing shafts (9) and connected with the traversing shaft (9) of the first station supported by the same transfer element of the movement (20) retained for the other support stations. Driven by the control unit (14), the shaft (13) of the control drum (12) drives in its rotational movement the traversing shaft (9) of the first support station. The latter is equipped with a transmission member (19) and connected with the support station which follows it by the movement transfer member (20) Pentraine with it, and so on until the last support station. The rotational movement of all the support stations facilitates the movement of the band and the load it carries. Also, the tension force experienced by the band on the control drum (12) inevitable because of the arrangement of the rollers of the support station of the prior art, which condemned the tape to transmit all along its strand the force necessary for its displacement, is it relieved by the simultaneous rotation of all the support stations according to the invention. Long service life and elimination of offsets, and possibility of increasing the speed of the belt, and therefore also the possibility of reducing the weight per linear meter of the load while maintaining the nominal flow rate of the conveyor, are to be counted among the advantages of the concave roller support stations according to the invention . FIG. 5 is a view of a third variant of use of the concave roller support station according to the invention. The concave roller support stations therein are interconnected by the mechanical transmission members (19) and the movement transfer elements (20) and are grouped together as a sub-assembly. Each subassembly is provided with a control group (22). The head drum (12) is always driven by the control unit (14). The advantage of this variant of use of concave roller stations is to distribute the power required to move the belt on several locations of the conveyor. According to this variant there is a reduction of the tension at the head drum and distribution of the power over the entire path of the conveyor which relieves the band and reduces the resisting torque at the control group level (12). The use of a variable speed drive is necessary for the synchronization of the rotational movement of the control groups, both the head (14) and the subassemblies (22).

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the fourth variant of use of the concave roller support station. All the concave roller stations (8) are each equipped individually with a control unit (22) whose power is adapted to the effort it has to provide, locally, to make advance the tape and its load (not shown). The synchronization of all the control groups (22) is performed by electronic speed controller. Relieving the belt of the high tension it experienced at the control drum (12), distributing the power to several locations of the conveyor to relieve the head control group (14), increasing the speed of the belt and reducing the load by linear meter toutjen

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maintaining the nominal flow rate of the conveyor are the objectives also targeted by this fourth variant of use of the concave roller support station. ;

Referring to FIG. 2, the support station according to the invention is composed of pits (8) of the flanges (10) reinforced by the ribs (1) and the traversing shaft (9) with a diameter of 35 mm maximum. .. The pox (8) is made by welding together two cones obtained by the spinning technique and arranged back to back to form a concave part describing a circular arc.

The flanges (10) in the form of discs receiving, by welding, on their inner faces the reinforcing ribs (11); said flanges (11) are welded to the edges of the concave pox (8).

The reinforcing ribs (11) arranged in a triangular arrangement and offset from each other by 120 ° are welded to the inner faces of the flanges (10)

The traversing shaft (9) with a diameter ranging from 20 to 35 mm depending on the width of the strip, mounted by welding on the flanges (10), and projecting on both sides of said flanges (10); is able to be mounted on rolling bearings placed on both sides of the conveyor frame to receive, deform in deep trough and advance an elastomeric conveyor belt.

In another embodiment of the concave roller support station according to the invention, said arcuate concave pox (8) is made of a technical polymer material (thermosetting or thermoplastic). By the processes of centrifugation or casting by gravity or that of the injection; the concave pox is obtained in one piece and in one piece. Nuts are to be inserted in the mold before casting, they will receive the side flanges (10) with bolts, the through shaft (9) with a diameter of 20 to 35 mm maximum, depending on the width of the band, remains to be welded with side flanges (10)

The support station thus obtained is a one-piece piece and is a permanent component of the conveyor intended to operate there for life to receive, deform in deep trough and advance an elastomeric strip. '

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Also, the use of the concave roller support station finds its application on all conveyors used in industry, mining and agriculture with enormous economic and security benefits. |

One of the interesting advantages of the support station according to the invention is the increase in the safety of the maintenance personnel, since the said personnel are no longer called to change the rolls, sometimes performed while the conveyor is in the market. Also the risk of falling rollers is to be removed from the list of dangers conveyors, since the conventional rollers are removed and replaced by the single roller station whose pox is concave and mounted on rolling bearings without any risk of rupture or fall.

Another interesting advantage of the invention is that the jamming and locking of the rollers will no longer exist, since the support station is mounted on traditional bearings with effective sealing. The risk of falling rolls from tearing or breaking the web is eliminated. Another interesting advantage of the invention is the reduction in the number of bearings contained in a support station. Indeed, the three-roller support station known in the prior art had six bearings, at the rate of two bearings per roll, while the device proposed by the invention has only two bearings, one rolling per step . This reduces the resistance to movement of the strip, and consequently the reduction of electrical energy necessary to advance the strip and the load it carries.

Another interesting advantage of the invention is the reduction of the costs of manufacturing the conveyors. In fact, in order to manufacture endless elastomer belt conveyors with deformed troughs, it is sufficient to assemble two beams, of any profile, in a modular way to cover the distance of the desired transport, to have them distant. to the desired width and parallel to each other, to reinforce them by sleepers, to climb them on feet to reach the desired height, and to place bearings with bearings of parts and others of said rails to receive the monobloc support stations with concave rollers whose pox is in an arc to support deforming trough and advance the band. Also, the conveyors will no longer require so many sheets or steel profiles compared to what was needed to fabricate the conveyor infrastructure to receive the prior art three-roller support stations.

Another interesting advantage of the invention is that station monitoring! concave rollers is now done visually and at safe distances for maintenance personnel, or remotely centrally on a desk that receives a motion signal through rotational sensors installed on one of the two ends of the traversing shaft of the concave roller support station. The said remote monitoring which could not be carried out for the prior art three-roller support stations (only the head or foot drums could accept such remote monitoring), represents a very interesting advantage of the invention. Indeed, it is no longer necessary to cover long distances on conveyor gangways to inspect and monitor the running condition of the rollers as a routine and tedious and risky operation with the use of the device proposed by the manufacturer. invention. Conveyors as essential infrastructures for the transport of bulk materials over long distances and at high flow rates become more available and more economical (manufacture and operation) with very high efficiency levels.

Another interesting advantage of the invention is the possibility of increasing the speed of the band. Also, the regulation of material flows from one conveyor to another, which was done by the differentiation of conveyor widths, is it possible, from now on, by the variation of the speed of the belt (electronic variator of the conveyor belt). frequency or by differentiation reduction ratio of speed reducers). This makes it possible to have standard conveyor widths, hence standard widths for the belts as well.

Significant savings are thus achieved, both by the economies of scale generated by the manufacture of conveyors with a single width (thus a single width of the band), as for the storage of spare parts

As a result, fewer downtimes and breakdowns, less wearing part, more safety for the personnel, longer life for belt and other conveyor components, standardization of widths, optimization of consumption of electricity, the use of the support station to a single concave roller describing a! An arc of the circle opens the way to several strategic advantages that will contribute to the improvement of productivity, competitiveness and profitability.

Claims

CLAIMS:

Claim 1 / Conveyor support station consisting of a single roller (8), two side plates (10) and a through shaft (9); intended to receive, to deform in deep trough and to advance an endless closed elastomer conveyor belt, characterized in that said roller (8) has a concave surface describing an arc of a circle, characterized in that the two lateral flanges (10 ) placed on either side of said roller (8) comprise reinforcing ribs (11), and characterized in that the through shaft (9) adapted to be mounted on rolling bearings installed parts and others of the chassis of said conveyor is of a diameter ranging from 20 to 35 mm.

Claim 21 Support station according to Claim 1, characterized in that the lateral flanges (10) have reinforcement ribs (11) on their inner faces.

Claim 3 / Support station according to claims 1 and 2 characterized in that the concave roller (8) of said station comprises a rubber coating.

Claim 4 / Support station according to Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the traversing shaft (9) with a diameter of 20 to 35 mm from said station is equipped with mechanical transmission members (19) and ( 20), and adapted to receive the rotational movement of the station located upstream to transmit it to that located downstream.

Claim 5 / Support station according to claims 1 to 3 characterized in that said station is equipped with a control group (22). ,

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Claim 6 / Support station for an endless closed elastomer belt conveyor;

i consists of a single arcuate concave roller (8), two lateral flanges (10), and a through shaft (9) and adapted to be mounted on rolling bearings installed on the one hand and on the other. other of said conveyor, characterized in that said concave roll (8) is of thermosetting or thermoplastic technical polymer material

20 Claim 11 Belt conveyor for the conveyance of bulk materials consisting of two longitudinal members (17) which are modular and parallel to one another and reinforced by sleepers (18) to form the framework of said conveyor, characterized in that it comprises at least two concave roller support stations (8) describing an arc of a circle.

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