Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor having impinging fluid to feed – shift or discharge...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-14
2001-02-27
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor having impinging fluid to feed, shift or discharge...
C198S841000, C198S866000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06193052
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to belt-type conveyors. More particularly, the present invention concerns a device for lifting the belt away from the underlying support frame, which is particularly useful when cleaning the conveyor.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Conveyor belts are utilized in various applications to move items from one location to another. As will be further indicated below, it is often desirable to shift the belt away from the underlying support frame. This is particularly true when the conveyor is used to move items which may have a tendency to soil the belt. It will be appreciated by those ordinarily skilled in the art that soiling of the belt may damage the items or the conveyor or might otherwise adversely affect the function of the belt. In the food processing industry, spillage or retention of food items on the belt surfaces contributes to the additional problems of poor sanitation and the growth of undesirable microorganisms. Accordingly, it is necessary in a significant number of conveyor belt applications to ensure proper cleaning of the belt.
Although some conveyors include means for cleaning the belt during operation (e.g., scrapers or sprayers to rid the outer support surface of material clinging thereto), virtually all conventional cleaning techniques require the conveyor to be routinely shut down so that the belt may be thoroughly cleaned. Scrapers or sprayers are obviously limited to cleaning the outer support surface and consequently are ineffective in removing soilage from the undersurface of the belt. Thus, a thorough cleaning of the conveyor also requires access to the undersurface of the belt. In a conveyor application utilizing an endless belt driven in a linear fashion to present an upper conveying stretch and a lower return stretch, belt movement is typically halted so that the conveying stretch of the belt may be shifted away from the support frame to provide access to the undersurface of the belt.
One known cleaning expedient involves a long pole or bar (e.g., a PVC pipe) that is inserted between the belt and frame and swung in a direction to shift the belt away from the frame. The pole is either held or secured in a desired position once it has been sufficiently swung to shift the belt away from the frame. The undersurface of the belt and underlying frame may thereafter be cleaned by suitable means, such as a hand-held spray washer. Those ordinarily skilled in the art will appreciate that this technique is often accomplished in a haphazard and uncontrolled manner and consequently causes breakage or, at the very least, inordinate wear of the belt. Furthermore, because the forces exerted against the belt by the pole are not equal across the width of the belt, belt stretch may occur unevenly so as to cause belt tracking problems. There are also concerns that the pole does not securely maintain the elevated section of the conveying stretch away from the frame (especially when the pole is held by the operator). In this respect, the belt is likely to be damaged or cause injury to the operator should it fall toward to the frame.
These problems are magnified when the belt is driven while a section of the conveying stretch is pried away from the frame by the pole. In fact, most conveyor operators stop belt movement to avoid such problems. This requires the operator to clean the belt section-by-section. In other words, because the pole is capable of prying only a section of the belt away from the frame, the operator is limited to cleaning the undersurface of only the relatively elevated section before moving along the length of the conveying stretch to lift and clean another section. Clearly, this technique can become quite time consuming when used on relatively lengthy conveyors. A number of conveyor operators utilize hand-held spray washers that continuously discharge water or a water-based cleaning solution once activated. There is consequently water and/or solution wasted as the operator is required to move from one section of the belt to another.
It has also been known to place a spacer between the belt and frame for maintaining the belt in the relatively elevated location. Because the belt must be initially pried away from the frame using the pole, this technique also presents many of the above-noted problems. It will be appreciated that some spacers have been provided with a triangular shape so that the belt moves gradually along the upwardly sloping surface of the spacer from the frame. Although this configuration is designed to permit the belt to be driven as a section of the conveying stretch is lifted away from the frame, it is still problematic. For example, there is a risk that the moving belt will dislodge the spacer and thereby cause damage to the belt and/or injury to the operator.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Responsive to these and other problems, an important object of the present invention is to provide a device for shifting the belt away from the frame so as to provide access to the undersurface of the belt and the portions of the frame covered by the belt. It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a belt shifting device that reduces the time necessary for cleaning the undersurface of the belt and conserves the water and/or the solution used to clean the belt. Particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a belt shifting device that permits the belt to be driven as a section of the belt is shifted away from the frame so that the operator may stand in one location to clean the entire undersurface of the belt. Another important object of the present invention is to provide a belt shifting device that is unlikely to damage or unduly wear the belt. An additional important object of the present invention is to provide a device that shifts the belt away from the frame in a controlled manner. It is also an important object of the present invention to provide a belt shifting device that has a simple, inexpensive, yet durable construction. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a device that is safe and easy to use. In this respect, an important object of the present invention is to provide a device that securely maintains the belt in its relatively shifted position, even while the belt is driven.
According to these and other objects apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment, the present invention concerns a device for shifting a conveyor belt away from the underlying support frame so as to facilitate cleaning of the undersurface of the belt. The device includes a rotatable support bar and an arm projecting from the bar such that rotation of the bar effects swinging of the arm. The arm is configured to engage the undersurface of the belt and shift the belt away from the frame as the arm is swung from a standby position to an operating position. The support bar is rotatably mounted to the conveyor frame with a pair of bearing assemblies.
The arm has a substantially flat distal end disposed at an angle relative to the radial line, along which the arm extends from the rotational axis of the support bar. Accordingly, when the arm is in its operating position, the belt exerts a force against the distal end that causes a moment about the rotational axis of the support bar so as to urge the arm to swing in a direction toward the operating position. The device includes an operating stop configured to prevent swinging of the arm in that direction beyond the operating position. Moreover, the distal end slopes gradually upwardly in the direction of belt travel so that the belt may be driven when the arm is in the operating position. As indicated above, this will allow the operator to remain in one location as the undersurface of the belt is cleaned, which will save time and conserve water and/or cleaning solution. It will be noted that the risk of inadvertent shifting of the arm from the operating position to the standby position is virtually eliminated because the arm is biased toward t
Cloud Stephen R.
Montgomery Rodney Lynn
Nashert Robert Mathew
Cloud Stephen R.
Deuble Mark A.
Ellis Christopher P.
Hovey Williams Timmons & Collins
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