Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor section – Endless conveyor
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-28
2001-07-17
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor section
Endless conveyor
C198S502100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260693
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to a conveyor device which consists of a driven conveyor belt comprising a plurality of individual, directly or indirectly connected conveyor belt segments, and a driving device, in particular a drive engine with transmission located downstream, wherein said conveyor belt segments present optical information.
From the document DE 84 30 410.3 U1 an airport conveyor belt for transferring pieces of luggage to a luggage claim is already known, which conveyor belt includes a continuous transportation belt, in particular of the articulated type, of which the supporting plates are provided on the upper side thereof with foils for the arrangement and conveying of informative contents. These foils are pasted together with said supporting plates.
Furthermore, from the document U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,526 an airport conveyor belt is known which also consists of a plurality of individual, directly or indirectly connected driven conveyor belt segments. Each conveyor belt segment includes a thin foil carrying visual information arranged on the bottom side of the transparent conveyor belt segments. In this case, the conveyor belt segments are screwed to a sub-structure, so that for interchanging the optical information all the conveyor belt segments that are provided with optical information have to be dismounted. Accordingly, a disadvantage in this pre-known conveyor device is that the optical information is arranged between a supporting means and the conveyor belt segments mounted onto said supporting means.
A similar conveyor device is additionally known from the document WO 93/03472 in which foils are pasted onto the conveyor belt segments, which foils are subsequently covered with a transparent foil or with transparent plates, wherein an essential disadvantage of this construction is that the interchanging of visual information is labor-consuming and expensive, since removing the transparent foils or the foils carrying the visual information has the consequence of long stoppage periods of the conveyor device. Moreover, in an arrangement where the foils are pasted onto the conveyor belt segments the problem arises that these foils are scratched to pieces and are destroyed very rapidly by the pieces of luggage sliding onto the belt, so that the visual information becomes partly invisible or fully invisible after a very short time. Therefore, with this method the advertising effect is lost very rapidly.
Starting from this prior art, the invention is based on the problem of further developing a conveyor device of this kind in such a manner that optical information can be arranged in a simple way, remains intact at least for a given period and is easily interchangeable, wherein said optical information can easily be attached to existing conveyor devices.
The solution of this problem provides for the optical information forming an integral part of a conveyor belt segment, wherein the optical information as a closed unit is limited to one conveyor belt segment or covers several conveyor belt segments at the same time.
Particularly, the conveyor device according to the invention enables the advantage to be obtained that by the integral arrangement of the optical information in each conveyor belt segment this optical information remains intact over a long period of time, so that it is also visible for a long time. In addition, a simple and consequently inexpensive arrangement of the optical information on each conveyor belt segment is possible, whereby the special advantage is obtained that already existing conveyor devices can be provided with the optical information here under discussion.
For example, the optical information can be vulcanized onto the conveyor belt segments which consist of flexible plastics. An alternative provides for the optical information being engraved, etched, eroded or otherwise machined in the conveyor belt segments. In this connection, both conveyor belt segments made of flexible plastics and conveyor belt segments made of metal are possible.
Thereafter, the optical information can be visually emphasized by the introduction of color particles in the recesses and deepenings that are formed by machining.
A preferred embodiment of the invention provides for the conveyor belt segments being in a multipart form, wherein at least one part of each conveyor belt segment presents the optical information. By this construction the part of each conveyor belt segment which presents the optical information can be interchanged easily without requiring the conveyor belt segments to be completely detached from the conveyor device.
Preferably, each conveyor belt segment consists of a supporting member connected to at least one driving member, and a transparent cover member, wherein the optical information is arranged between said supporting member and said cover member, and wherein said cover member with the optical information is arranged within a recess, particularly a deepening, provided in said supporting member. In this way, the cover member covering the optical information protects the optical information from damage, so that owing to its arrangement in a recess of the supporting member said cover member, too, which for example consists of a flexible plastic material, is protected against damage and destruction. In this connection it must be taken into consideration that numerous pieces of luggage are transferred by means of such conveyor devices, which pieces of luggage frequently have sharp edges that may constitute a particular danger for the cover member or the optical information.
A further feature of this embodiment of the invention provides for the deepening joining at all the edges of the cover member. In this way, the cover member is fully integrated in the supporting member. In this case, the supporting member preferably is the conveyor belt segment customary per se which may be both rectangular and sickle-shaped and which may consist of metal or plastics. This conveyor belt segment has worked into it said recess which serves for receiving the cover member and the optical information. In this way, the cover member is accessible from the top, i.e. from the upper surface of the conveyor belt segments, so that the cover member is readily detachable, for example, for the purpose of interchanging the optical information. Preferably, this optical information is arranged on a foil or a very thin plate, so that in the case of existing conveyor devices the conveyor belt consisting of the conveyor belt segments doesn't have to be exchanged. The cover member and the optical information as a whole are of a very small material thickness, which is clearly smaller than the material thickness of usual conveyor belt segments, so that the supporting capability of the conveyor belt segments is not essentially influenced by the working in of said recess.
According to a further feature of the invention it is provided that the cover member terminates with its upper surface flush with the rim portion of the supporting member. Accordingly, in this constructions any edges are not formed that protrude beyond the upper surface of the conveyor belt and that might in case damage pieces of luggage sliding onto the conveyor belt. However, as an alternative one may also provide for the upper surface of the cover member being arranged slightly below a surface plane which is defined by the rim portions of the supporting member. By this construction the advantage is obtained in particular that pieces of luggage sliding onto the conveyor belt come into contact with the upper surface of the cover members only in part-areas, As a rule, the pieces of luggage rest on the rim portions of the supporting member and won't touch the upper surface of the cover members, so that the transparent cover members are prevented from being damaged, e.g. scratched, particularly at the time when the pieces of luggage slide onto the conveyor belt.
To facilitate the mounting of the optical information to the conveyor device, particularly at the time when the optical information is interchanged at
Communication Belt Werbeflächen GmbH
Crawford Gene O.
Ellis Christopher P.
Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP
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