Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor section – Endless conveyor
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-06
2001-12-11
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor section
Endless conveyor
C198S525000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06328156
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to materials handling equipment, and more particularly to the design of side curtains for use with conveyor belts used for transporting bulk materials for inhibiting spillage of the granular material.
II. Discussion of the Prior Art
Rubberized fabric conveyor belts are commonly used for transporting bulk materials, such as sand, gravel, iron ore, taconite and similar materials. Likewise, conveyor belts are commonly used in the grain milling industry for transporting granular materials.
A problem often arises at a location along the conveyor belt where the bulk material of the type described is dispensed from a hopper or chute onto the conveyor belt because of a tendency for the bulk material to overflow the side edges of the conveyor belt. This is especially true if the flow rate from the hopper is not properly matched to the speed of the conveyor belt. To avoid the attendant mess and need for frequent cleanup, an economical means must be provided for inhibiting spillage of the bulk material off from the side edges of the conveyor belt onto which the bulk material is being deposited.
The prior art teaches a variety of conveyor belt side curtains, also commonly referred to as skirt boards, and in this regard, reference is made to the Stahura U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,628, which became Reissue U.S. Pat. Re. No. 31,249. It comprises a plurality of relatively narrow (6″ wide) interlocking skirt board sections having dove-tail grooves formed therein so as to mate with corresponding dove-tail shaped, outwardly projecting ribs on a mounting plate. The interlocking skirt board members have a lower edge that is adapted to cooperate with a moving conveyor belt when the mounting plate is appropriately suspended from a frame system. The narrow rubber blocks comprising the skirt members fail to properly seal in that the blocks tend to fall off their mounts and leakage occurs at the numerous joints. Other patents directed to conveyor belt side curtains include deRooy U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,813, Mott U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,280, Swinderman U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,048,669 and 4,874,082, Gordon U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,471, and Klegg U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,523.
Each of these patents describes side curtains or skirt boards having a stationary mounting plate and a displaceable skirt whose lower edge is brought into contact with a moving conveyor belt to inhibit spillage of granular material off the sides of the conveyor. The need still exists, however, for a less expensive skirt board design that provides ease of mounting relative to a conveyor system and ease of adjustment of the skirt board member at periodic intervals to accommodate wear of the skirt board and an ability to conform to curves in conveyor belts such as commonly occurs at transition areas where the belt leaves a tail pulley and crosses an adjacent troughing roller. The present invention provides such an improvement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention comprises a conveyor belt skirt board apparatus that includes a generally rectangular mounting plate of a predetermined thickness and having an upper edge, a lower edge and opposed side edges. The mounting plate is adapted to be suspended from a frame structure that is aligned parallel to side edges of an endless conveyor belt. The mounting plate includes a plurality of regularly spaced, parallel slots of a predetermined width that are formed inward from the lower edge thereof and through its predetermined thickness so as to extend toward, but short of its upper edge. The mounting plate is bent and an angle of about 90° along a line extending between the opposed side edges thereof, the line intersecting at least a portion of each of the parallel slots such that the bent upper portion of the mounting plate includes a plurality of apertures, each contiguous with one of the plurality of parallel slots.
The apparatus further comprises a generally rectangular elastomeric skirt member having first and second major surfaces, a lower edge, an upper edge and opposed side edges. The width of the skirt member spans a plurality of the slots on the mounting plate. The first major surface is generally planar and the second major surface has a plurality of integrally formed, outwardly projecting, compressible, parallel ribs of predetermined thickness and width and the same regular spacing as the regular spacing between the parallel slots formed in the mounting plate. The predetermined thickness of the ribs is less than a corresponding dimension of the aperture in the mounting plate and the width of the ribs is slightly greater than the width of the slots in the mounting plates such that when the ribs are inserted through the apertures and squeezed into the slots in the mounting plate, the skirt member is suspended on the mounting plate with a predetermined friction force.
By serrating the edges of the parallel slots in the mounting plate, upward displacement of the skirt member relative to the mounting plate is inhibited.
REFERENCES:
patent: Re. 31249 (1983-05-01), Stahura
patent: 2665795 (1954-01-01), Holwick
patent: 3024893 (1962-03-01), Lambert
patent: 3344909 (1967-10-01), Hansen et al.
patent: 3499523 (1970-03-01), Clegg
patent: 4231471 (1980-11-01), Gordon
patent: 4236628 (1980-12-01), Stahura
patent: 4641745 (1987-02-01), Skates
patent: 4874082 (1989-10-01), Swinderman
patent: 4898272 (1990-02-01), Swinderman et al.
patent: 5048669 (1991-09-01), Swinderman
patent: 5129508 (1992-07-01), Shelstad
patent: 5154280 (1992-10-01), Mott
patent: 5303813 (1994-04-01), de Rooy
patent: 5816388 (1998-10-01), Bowman
patent: 5913404 (1999-06-01), Bowman
patent: 0151277 A1 (1984-12-01), None
patent: WO 91/09798 (2001-07-01), None
Dillon, Sr. Joe
Ellis Christopher P.
Nikolai & Mersereau , P.A.
Ostman Arthur C.
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