Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor section – Endless conveyor
Patent
1991-09-23
1993-01-26
Valenza, Joseph E.
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor section
Endless conveyor
198309, B65G 2114
Patent
active
051816008
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to structural supports for conveyor belts and, in particular, discloses an expandable conveyor structure that can be transported between sites of operation in a retracted configuration.
In order to transport a conventional conveyor structure, it is necessary for the structure to be dismantled by way of separating the belt from the frame and then separating the frame into its constituent pieces. The various pieces of the dismantled structure are then transported. Once the new site of operation is reached, the structure is then reassembled.
Such a conveyor system is used, for example, in coal mining where the conveyor is used to convey coal within the mine from the coal face to a local storage point or the start of a fixed conveyor line. It is therefore required that as the coal face moves, whilst mining progresses, the conveyor structure must move with the coal face and hence transportability is necessary. Typically, it takes seven men fourteen hours to operationally relocate a thirty meter section of the prior art conveyor structure. Also, because of the dismantling and modular construction of a conventional conveyor structure, realignment of the relocated structure is required prior to use.
It is an object of the present invention to substantially overcome, or ameliorate, the abovementioned difficulties through provision of a concertina like conveyor structure that can be compressed or retracted and thereby transported without substantial dismantling between sites of operation.
In accordance with the present invention there is disclosed a conveyor structure comprising:
a set of H-frames each comprising two substantially parallel rigid supports of equal length, and a cross-member arranged to support a conveyor belt, said H-frames being pivotally joined together in zig-zag configuration with corresponding ends of each of said rigid supports being pivotally connected whereby said set of frames is able to extend and retract in concertina fashion between a compact transport configuration in which the rigid supports of adjacent frames are substantially parallel and an extended zig-zag support configuration, the angular separation between adjacent frames being limited by a plurality of links extending between said frames.
A conveyor structure of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is a thirty meter length of conveyor and is capable of being operationally relocated over a period of three hours by three men.
Two embodiments able to achieve the above result will now be described with reference to the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of the first embodiment;
FIG. 2 illustrates a section of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1 showing the H-frames in each of their operative and transportable configurations;
FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative roller configuration to support the conveyor belt.
FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the second embodiment in its operative configuration;
FIG. 5 illustrates the support for the rollers in the second embodiment.
FIGS. 6 and 7 each illustrate alternative brace arrangements that can be used with either embodiment;
FIG. 8 is a side elevation of the loading/unloading of the conveyor structure of FIG. 4 onto a trailer especially designed for the purpose; and
FIG. 9 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 8.
As seen in FIG. 1, the conveyor structure 1 comprises a plurality of H-frames 2 each formed from rigid support members 2A and 2B of equal length joined approximately at their mid points by a cross-member 3. The cross-member 3 carries rollers for the support for the upper and lower runs of the conveyor belt 4 residing thereon. The H-frames 2 are joined together by hinged connections 5 at each end of the supports 2A and 2B. Each pair of H-frames 2 is connected by a mild steel chain 6 that provides rigidity when the structure 1 is in its operative extended zig-zag configuration illustrated in FIG. 1. The supports 2 can be manufactured of any rigid material, tubular steel being a good example.
Referring now to FIG
REFERENCES:
patent: 4860878 (1989-08-01), Mraz et al.
Chappell Ian C.
Matusch Dagobert R.
Matusch Peter W. G.
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