Conveyors: power-driven – Conveying system having plural power-driven conveying sections
Patent
1990-05-16
1991-07-16
Valenza, Joseph E.
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveying system having plural power-driven conveying sections
198778, 62381, B65G 3700
Patent
active
050317512
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a conveyor comprising an endless conveyor belt which along part of its length follows a path consisting of a number of helically extending turns laid upon each other, and a supporting installation consisting of two endless chains which are carried by supports and support the lowermost of the helically extending belt turns by supporting the belt edge portions along said turn.
Conveyors of this type are disclosed in for example SE-C-7303179-1 and SE-C-8206760-4. The actual conveyor belt consists of link means which are mutually articulated and displaceable relative to each other. Each link means consists of a bottom part and spacing members fitted at the side edges of the bottom part and constituting the two sides of the belt.
The supporting installation used in the conveyor can be of the type disclosed in SE-C-8206759-6. This supporting installation can support a belt pile throughout a continuous revolution, since it is positioned substantially outside and, respectively, inside the circumferential surfaces of the belt pile and since each of its chains and the associated support rail are not higher than the height of the belt, i.e. the height of the spacing members.
The described conveyor is conveniently used in a freezing plant, the belt pile being accommodated in a substantially closed container or the like which also holds a refrigerating machine adapted to blow cooling air axially through the belt pile.
The freezing capacity of such a freezing plant is, of course, dependent on the cooling capacity of the refrigerating machine, but the product of the maximum speed of the belt and its load capacity per unit of length sets an upper limit to the freezing capacity. This means that the freezing plant is poorly used when freezing easily frozen products, since the entire cooling capacity of the refrigerating machine then cannot be used efficiently. If the belt thus travels at its maximum speed and the entire cooling capacity of the refrigerating machine is used, the products will be frozen long before they have passed through the freezing plant. A conveyor belt of smaller length inside the container, for example fewer turns in the belt pile, would then be sufficient, but such a lower belt pile restricts the capacity when freezing products which are difficult to freeze.
A first object of the present invention is to provide a conveyor of the type mentioned by way of introduction which renders it possible to fully utilise the capacity of the refrigerating machine in a freezing plant, independently of whether the products which are to be frozen, are easy or difficult to freeze.
A second object of the invention is to achieve such an improvement without necessitating an increased space for the freezing plant.
According to the present invention, these objects are achieved through the arrangement of a second endless conveyor belt which is of substantially the same shape as the first-mentioned conveyor belt and along part of its length follows a path consisting of a number of helically extending turns laid upon each other and alternating with the turns of the first-mentioned conveyor belt, each turn of one of the conveyor belts, except the lowermost turn of the first-mentioned conveyor belt, being supported by an underlying turn of the other conveyor belt, and vice versa, via spacing members arranged adjacent the belt edges, such that a self-supporting belt pile is formed of the helically extending turns of the two conveyor belts.
By arranging double conveyor belts in a self-supporting belt pile, which involves considerable difficulties, one obtains the advantage of a doubled freezing capacity for easily frozen products and a maintained freezing capacity for products that are difficult to freeze.
To make the belt pile with double conveyor belts possible, the endless chains have, in their run along the lowermost of the helically extending turns of the first-mentioned conveyor belt, a rise corresponding to the total height of the two conveyor belts, and moreover at least the inner chain sup
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Frigoscandia Contracting AB
Valenza Joseph E.
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