WO2019096503A1

WO2019096503A1 - Movable strip for a toothed belt

Info

Publication number: WO2019096503A1
Application number: PCT/EP2018/077776
Authority: WO
Inventors: Raimondo Motterle
Original assignee: Scala Spa
Priority date: 2017-11-15
Filing date: 2018-10-11
Publication date: 2019-05-23

Abstract

This patent relates to a movable strip for a toothed belt, to be applied onto a toothed belt or another type of belt (T), of the type that comprises an arm (2), which rests transversally on the surface of said toothed belt or of said belt (T), and which is made up of two brackets held together through an elastic system. Said movable strip (1) is characterised in particular by the fact that each of the two brackets is provided at the bottom with a block from which a horizontal pin projects outwards; said blocks are arranged opposite to one another and are inserted into a slit (20) made on the toothed belt or on the belt (T), since said, mutually opposite pins slot into a corresponding hole (30) made transversally at a tooth of the toothed belt or on the thickness of said belt (T).

Description

Title: Movable strip for a toothed belt

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a movable strip to be applied onto a toothed belt or another type of belt, according to the general part of claim 1.

Among the various types of conveyor belts, created by means of toothed belts or belts, the so-called "paddle" type is commonly used, which is identified by the presence on its surface of said protruding element supports, usually arranged transversally on said surface, identified with the term "paddles", which have the function of pushing or stopping the products placed on the conveyor belt, or the function of defining the spaces between the two paddles, the so-called "pockets", which must be filled with bulk products.

In common conveyor belts, consisting of toothed belts or flat belts, the paddles are integrated with their support, held with mechanical means or, in a more economical manner, are made by moulding them together with a support consisting of a toothed belt or a belt.

These constructive forms have the drawback that, when the integral paddles are firmly fixed onto the support, when a different "pitch" is required, that is, a different distance between two consecutive paddles, the entire support must be changed, consisting of the toothed belt or the belt, with obvious additional costs.

To overcome this drawback, toothed belts or belts are used where the paddles are not directly applied to the belt, but are applied to an intermediate block, the so-called "movable strip", which is detachably coupled to the aforesaid underlying support.

In the current state of the art, the most commonly used movable strips are those held onto the toothed belt or the belt by screws, but this disadvantageously involves the need of having to perform screwing and unscrewing assembly operations whenever they must be replaced or the“pitch” must be modified.

In practice, considering the marked number of movable strips which make up the toothed belt or the belt, these operations require considerable downtime for said supports, thereby being negative from an economic point of view.

To overcome this drawback, that is, to make the assembly and disassembly operations of the movable strip fast, there is the widespread use of so-called "elastic" movable strips, which are characterised by the fact that they have a body divided into two parts, held together by an elastic system which allows its enlargement during the assembly/disassembly phase and, when in position, the closure and coupling onto the toothed belt or the belt.

In its simplest embodiment, an elastic movable strip is constituted by a horizontal arm, spring-loaded and equipped with two vertical side shoulders facing downwards, each of said shoulders being equipped with at least one pin projecting horizontally inwards, such to be able to couple onto the corresponding cavities formed on the toothed belt or the belt, which support said strip.

By way of example, the patent document US 6,854,591 Bl is cited, which is the most important document of the state of the art (the following references apply to this document) and which describes (figs. 1-3) an elastic strip (ref.10) constituted by an arm (ref.12) with two lateral shoulders applied (ref.26, 34), each equipped with a pin (ref.30, 40) (fig.l).

An elastic system (ref.20,22) is inserted in the arm (ref.12), which allows the forced elastic enlargement (fig. 2) and subsequent free entry (arrow ref.50), such that the pins (ref.30A,30B) slot into the corresponding holes of the mesh (ref.46A,46B) of the articulated chain that moves the conveyor belt, not shown (fig. 3). Still by way of example, the Italian patent application 102016000126746 is cited (the following references apply to this document), which describes (fig. 1, 2, 4) an elastic movable strip (ref.l) equipped with an elastic system (ref.4) of enlargement/contraction, such to position said strip on the conveyor belt (ref. T) with the pins (ref.15, 16) inserting between the two underlying teeth (ref. D) to hold said strip on said belt.

In industrial use the aforesaid elastic movable strips exhibit the drawback caused by the fact that the lateral shoulders supporting the pins are positioned outside the edge of the conveyor belt (see fig. 1, ref.2, 3 of the Italian patent application 102016000126746 and fig. 3, ref. 26, 34 of the patent document US 6,854,591 Bl), thereby requiring considerable lateral dimensions, especially during the strip enlargement phase.

Other documents of the state of the art are US 4832183 A, JP S5662355 U and DE 102007017287 Al.

The object of the present invention is to provide an elastic movable strip to be applied onto a toothed belt or another type of belt, which is free of the drawbacks of similar, known products.

Specifically, the object of the invention is to provide an elastic movable strip, to be applied onto any type of belt, toothed (toothed belt) or flat (smooth belt), which, in addition to the advantage of being able to be applied quickly and precisely, advantageously has minimum transversal dimensions, with a width that does not exceed the width of the toothed belt or the belt.

Another object of the invention is to provide an elastic movable strip which is simple to manufacture and has a limited cost. These objects are achieved with the construction of an elastic movable strip which is characterised by the fact that its overall dimensions are completely delimited within the width of the toothed belt or the belt which supports said strip.

Constructively, the elastic movable strip is characterised by the fact that the two parts, held together by an elastic system, are each provided with a lower block equipped with a horizontal pin, which are inserted in an opening formed on the toothed belt or on other types of belts and are held by the aforesaid pins which are inserted into a corresponding hole, made transversally on the tooth of the toothed belt or on the thickness of the belt.

These and further characteristics of the invention will become clearer through the description of a possible embodiment thereof, given solely by way of non-limiting example, with the aid of the attached drawings, wherein:

fig. 1 (table I) shows a perspective view of a toothed belt equipped with the strip of the present invention;

fig. 2 (table II) shows a section view, according to line II- II, of fig. 1;

fig. 3 shows the assembly phases of the strip on the toothed belt;

fig. 4, 5 (table III) show views, respectively an enlarged view and in the assembled condition, of the strip referred to in fig. 1;

fig. 6, 7-8, 9 (table IV) show orthogonal, frontal and side views of the two components of the arm of the strip referred to in fig.l.

As can be seen in particular in figures 1, 4 and 5, the strip according to the invention, indicated as a whole with reference number 1, on which a paddle "P" can be applied, comprises an arm 2, which rests transversally on the toothed belt or the belt "T" and is made up of two brackets 3 and 4, held together by an elastic system 5, consisting of a thrusting spring 6 and a threaded pin 7. Each of the two brackets 3 and 4 is provided at the bottom with a block, respectively 8 and 9, from which a horizontal pin projects outwards, respectively 10 and 11, such that when aforesaid blocks 8 and 9 are inserted in a slit 20 made on the toothed belt or on the belt“T”, aforesaid brackets 3 and 4 are held by aforesaid pins 10 and 11, which slot into a corresponding hole 30, made transversally on the tooth of the toothed belt or on the thickness of the belt“T”.

As shown in fig. 2, when the strip 1 is applied onto the toothed belt or on the belt "T", said strip 1 is in the condition of maximum extension, with the blocks 8 and 9 inserted in a slit 20, formed on the toothed belt or on the belt "T" and which are mutually spaced apart (space "x"), resting on the transversal walls 21 and in abutment against the side walls 22 (centring effect) and are held by the respective blocks 8 and 9, which are mutually opposite and slotted in the corresponding hole 30, applied transversally to the tooth of the toothed belt or to the thickness of the belt "T" (anti slip effect).

As shown in fig. 3, assembling the strip 1 on the toothed belt or on the belt“T” provides for a first closing operation, wherein, overcoming the force of the spring, the two brackets 3 and 4 come towards one another, until the two blocks 8 and 9 (see arrows Fi) are brought to rest on one another; thereafter, the arm 2 rests, with the two brackets 3 and 4 brought together, on the toothed belt or on the belt“T”, so that the two blocks, still brought together, insert in the slit 20 and the pins 10, 11 are coaxial with the hole 30 (see arrow F₂); again thereafter, once the compression action has stopped, by means of the elastic return of the spring 6, the aforesaid two blocks mutually distance themselves and are positioned in abutment against the side walls 22 and, consequently, the aforesaid two pins slot into the hole 30 (see arrow F₃). Constructively, in order to ensure the correct alignment of the arm (2) of the strip during extension/retraction, a dovetail joint 40 is provided between the two brackets 2 and 3 as well as a projecting key 41.

From the foregoing it is clear that the intended objectives have been achieved, as the entire strip 1 has a manual, simple and rapid operation; it can be applied onto any type of conveyor belt, consisting of a toothed, smooth belt and composed of a limited number of pieces.

Obviously, the shape, dimensions and materials of the components of the strip 1 can be the most varied, according to the design requirements, provided that everything falls within the inventive concept defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. MOVABLE STRIP FOR A TOOTHED BELT, to be applied onto a toothed belt or another type of belt (T), of the type that comprises an arm (2), which rests transversally on the surface of said toothed belt or of said belt (T), and which is made up of two brackets (3, 4), held together through an elastic system (5),

said movable strip (1) being characterised in that each of the two brackets (3, 4) is provided at the bottom with a block (8, 9) from which a horizontal pin (10, 11) projects outwards, said blocks (8, 9) being arranged opposite to one another and inserting in a slit (20) made on the toothed belt or on the belt (T) with it being foreseen that said mutually opposite pins (10, 11) slot into a corresponding hole (30) made transversally at a tooth of the toothed belt or on the thickness of said belt (T), and in that, when the strip (1) is applied onto the toothed belt or onto the belt (T), said strip (1) is in the condition of maximum extension, with the blocks (8, 9) inserted in the opening (20), said blocks (8, 9) being mutually spaced apart, brought to rest on the transversal walls (21) and in abutment against the side walls (22) and also are held by the respective blocks (8, 9), slotted in the hole (30).

2. MOVABLE STRIP, according to claim 1, characterised in that the elastic system (5) consists of a thrusting spring (6), which exerts a contrast action in extension and of a threaded pin (7), which holds the two brackets (3, 4) together.

3. MOVABLE STRIP, according to claim 1, characterised in that, to ensure a correct alignment of the arm (2) during the extension and/or retraction of the strip, a dovetail joint (40) is provided between the two brackets (3, 4).

4. MOVABLE STRIP, according to claim 1, characterised in that, to ensure a correct alignment of the arm (2) during the extension and/or retraction of the strip, a projecting key (41) is provided.

5. ASSEMBLY OPERATION OF A MOVABLE STRIP FOR A TOOTHED BELT, to be applied on a toothed belt or on another type of belt (T), according to one or more of claims 2, 3 e 4, characterised in that assembling the strip (1) on said toothed belt or on said belt (T) provides for a first closing operation, wherein, overcoming the force of the spring (6), the two brackets (3, 4) come towards one another, until the two blocks (8, 9) are brought to rest on one another; thereafter, the arm (2) rests, with the two brackets (3, 4) brought together, on the toothed belt or on the belt (T), so that the two blocks, still brought together, insert in the slit (20) and the pins (10, 11) are coaxial with the hole (30); again thereafter, once the compression action has stopped, by means of the elastic return of the spring (6), the aforementioned two blocks (8, 9) go back into the condition of being mutually spaced apart, being positioned in abutment against the side walls (22) and, consequently, the aforementioned two pins (10, 11) slot into the hole (30).