Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor section – Endless conveyor
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-01
2001-12-04
Valenza, Joseph E. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor section
Endless conveyor
C198S848000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06325205
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of co-pending German Patent Application No. 199 20 068.8 entitled “Fördereinrichtung für Warenstücke, insbesondere für mit Schokolademasse zu überziehende Sü&bgr;warenstücke” filed on May 3, 1999.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to an apparatus for conveying articles. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for conveying articles to be covered with a chocolate mass or a similar mass including a grid belt being driven by a motor to transport the articles in a conveying direction.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Usually, apparatuses for conveying articles, especially for conveying sweets to be covered with a chocolate mass, are used in combination with a treating apparatus, especially a coating apparatus, in which the surfaces of the articles are covered with a chocolate mass, a different mass containing cacao butter or a similar fat containing mass. The articles may especially be bars. The essential element of the conveying apparatus is a grid belt. It is important that the grid belt includes a surface having openings on which the articles are supported to be conveyed through the treating apparatus. The openings of the grid belt allow for the chocolate mass and other coating masses to penetrate through the grid belt in a downward direction following gravity, to be collected and to be pumped through the circuit, again. Such conveying apparatuses including a grid belt are used in different treating apparatuses for articles. For example, they are used in the food processing industry to transport cookies and the like. In this case, the grid belt including openings allows for a different medium than chocolate mass, for example warm air, to penetrate through the grid belt and to flow about the surfaces of the cookies.
A coating apparatus for coating articles with a chocolate mass is known from German patent No. 38 39 440 C1. The coating apparatus includes a conveying apparatus including a grid belt. The endless grid belt is guided about a drive shaft and about one or more deflecting axes. The drive shaft includes gear wheels. The gear wheels with their teeth engage the grid belt to move the grid belt in the conveying direction.
Grid belts made of a web of steel are commonly known in the art. The web of steel includes a majority of bars substantially extending in a transverse direction with respect to the conveying direction of the grid belt Each single bar has a plurality of Z-shaped angled deformations. Usually, wire having a circular cross section is used for the web of steel and for the bars, respectively. Such a bar includes and forms, respectively, a majority of straight bar portions extending in a direction transverse with respect to the conveying direction. Additionally, there are U-shaped meshes with their slightly transverse oriented legs extending approximately in the conveying direction. The single adjacent bars are interconnected such that the endless grid belt is formed. Usually, it is sufficient to provide one drive shaft. The drive shaft is used in combination with a plurality of deflecting axes. The deflecting axes may include deflecting wheels. A motor is fixedly connected to the drive shaft. There may be a transmission. The gear wheels are arranged on the drive shaft such that they exclusively engage the straight bar portions of the web of bars to transmit torque necessary for the movement of the grid belt in the conveying direction. The legs of the meshes extend at a certain distance latterly from the gear wheels. The gear wheels usually engage the pulling bar portions of the grid belt. The lifetime of such a grid belt made of a web of steel is limited. The grid belt and the single bars of the web of bars, respectively, are subjected to bending forces during operation of the conveying apparatus. Due to forces being transmitted in the lateral periphery of the gear wheels, the bars are subjected to changing bending forces. The bars are bent at the same location again and again. Accordingly, there is the danger of fatigue fractures and repeated stress failures of the grid belt. Such fractures of the grid belt require a stop of the production until the grid belt has been removed and a new grid belt has been assembled, or until the broken grid belt has been fixed. Losses due to necessary stops of the production may be substantial.
Gear wheels having a deep continuous centered channel to prevent the danger of impurities accumulating in the deepenings between teeth in the center of the teeth are also known in the art. The gear wheels are designed to be smaller than the width of the straight bar portions of the web of steel such that the legs of the meshes extending in the conveying direction are located at a distance with respect to the faces of the gear wheels. The channel does not reduce the danger of fatigue fractures.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly described, the present invention provides an apparatus for conveying articles. The apparatus includes a grid belt including a plurality of straight bar portions extending in a substantially transverse direction with respect to the conveying direction. A plurality of meshes interconnects the straight bar portions. A drive shaft includes a plurality of gear wheels being designed and arranged to engage the straight bar portions and including disk-like enlargements being located in a transverse direction with respect to the conveying direction and in the region of the meshes. The disk-like enlarged sections or enlargements are designed and arranged to support the meshes. A motor is operatively connected to the drive shaft, and the motor is designed and arranged to drive the drive shaft and to move the grid belt in the conveying direction.
The present invention is based on the concept of not only supporting the straight bar portions in the region of the gear wheels, but also to support the meshes being located between the straight bar portions. Consequently, the one point support of the grid belt known in the prior art is replaced by a novel two point support. The straight bar portions extending in a transverse direction with respect to the conveying direction are supported by the gear wheels in an outer region, meaning in a region close to the meshes. Additionally, the apparatus includes disk-like or cylinder-like enlargements, protrusions, thickenings or the like extending in axial direction of the drive shaft into the regions in which the meshes are located. The meshes are supported by the enlargements. The two points of support are located comparatively close to one another, but at the same time in a spaced apart manner such that reversed bending forces having an effect on the bar are substantially reduced. As a result, lifetime and usable operational time of the conveying apparatus and of the grid belt, respectively, are increased. A two point support is attained at each side of a gearwheel and of a straight bar portion, respectively, the two point support encompassing one of the U-shaped legs of a mesh. Thus, bending effects of the straight bar portions are substantially reduced. This leads to the straight bar portions better contacting the teeth of the gear wheels and contacting the teeth of the gear wheels with an increased surface such that friction losses are substantially reduced compared to conveying devices known in the prior art including a known grid belt.
The disk-like enlargements or protrusions may be located at both sides of a gear wheel. This means that a first enlargement is arranged at a first side of the gear wheel, and a second enlargement is arranged at the second side of the gear wheel. In this embodiment, the axial length of the gear wheel and of the body of the gear wheel, respectively, is chosen such that the straight bar portion is engaged by the lateral periphery of the gear wheel or by the body of the gear wheel to achieve a large support. Consequently, the corresponding mesh is supported at both ends of a straight bar portion. It is to be understood that the gear whee
Sollich KG
Thomas Kayden Horstemeyer & Risley LLP
Valenza Joseph E.
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