GB1561429A - Conveyor - Google Patents

Description

(54) IMPROVED CONVEYOR (71) We, ASEA AKTIEI30LAG, a Swedish Company, of Vasteras, Sweden, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to a conveyor of the kind comprising an endless band or belt.

For convenience in the ensuing description and claims the term belt will be used to mean either a belt or a band.

Depending on the material being handled by an endless belt conveyor, the belt is exposed to wear and sooner or later must be replaced. Certain belt conveyors are constructed so that one side of the conveyor has to be dismantled in order to be able to remove the belt, whereas other types of conveyors do not have this possibility. In the latter the worn belt is cut off and the ends of the newly-inserted belt are vulcanised together on the spot. Both these arrangements are time-consuming and costly, above all because the conveyor must be removed from operation during the belt replacement. Any possibility of shortening the time for belt replacement is therefore of great economic value.

The present invention aims to provide a conveyor in which belt replacement can be effected more simply than in hitherto known conveyors.

According to one aspect of the invention a conveyor comprising an endless belt supported on a framework comprising a longitudinal beam arranged on each side of the conveyor belt and connecting members which connect said longitudinal beams to each other, is characterised in that the framework with the conveyor belt is turnable about a joint from a first position, in which the whole framework rests on a foundation supporting the conveyor, into a second position in which the framework is supported by said joint but a gap is formed between the framework and the foundation on the long side of the conveyor opposite to the joint, through which gap the conveyor belt can pass when replacement of the belt is required.

Suitably where the conveyor has a filling hopper attached to the framework, the filling hopper opens from a filling tube with sufficient clearance so that the tube need not move as the hopper moves with the framework.

According to a further aspect of the invention a conveyor comprising an endless belt supported on rollers journalled in a framework having long sides which are arranged substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the conveyor belt, the framework having a width which is substantially equal to the width of the conveyor belt and comprising a longitudinal beam arranged on each side of the conveyor belt, said longitudinal beams being connected to each other by means of connecting members, is characterised in that the framework is turnably mounted at one of its long sides on a foundation supporting the conveyor along a horizontal axis for movement about an axis parallel to the long sides, the other long side of the framework being arranged to define a gap between the framework and the foundation when the framework is turned about said axis, through which gap the belt can pass when belt replacement is required.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the ac companying drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic side view of a belt conveyor according to the invention showing only those details which are of importance for understanding the invention, and Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in Figure 1.

In the embodiment - of a belt conveyor shown in the drawing, the conveyor rests on a foundation consisting of two beams 1 on a firm base 2. At one end the beams have an upright support 3, shown in the righthand part of Figure 2. A second support 4 is arranged at a small distance from the lefthand end of the beam. The framework supporting the conveyor belt consists in the illustrated embodiment of two longitudinal beams 5 arranged parallel to the direction of movement of the belt and held together by a number of connecting elements in the form of frames, of which one is shown in Figure 2. The frames are built up of two vertical parts 6 and 7, respectively, and two horizontal parts 8 and 9.Such frames are arranged at least above the beams 1, the lower end of the frame part 6 resting against the upper end of the support 3, and the lower end of the frame part 7 being turnably (e.g. flexibly) connected to the upper end of the support 4 by means of a joint 10. The two longitudinal beams 5 support, in a known manner, a number of supporting rollers 11 for the conveyor belt 12. At each end of the conveyor the belt 12 runs over a roller 13, of which at least one is a driving roller.

To the left-hand frame part 7 shown in Figure 2 there is attached a bracket 14 which, if necessary, keeps the framework with the conveyor belt in position on the foundation by some suitable locking device.

In Figure 2 the locking device is shown as a screw 15 with nuts 16, 17. When the nut 17 is screwed downwards on the screw 15, the framework with the belt can be swung in counterclockwise direction around the joint 10. This causes the right-hand side of the framework to lift so that a gap is formed at the region 18 where the upper end of the support 3 abuts the lower end of the frame part 6. The belt tension is then decreased in a known manner by moving either of the rollers 13 towards the other one. Thereafter the belt can be withdrawn sideways from the conveyor, the lower part of the belt passing through the aforesaid gap in the region 18.The gap is arranged to be at substantially the same level as the lower part of the conveyor belt, which means that only a slight rotation of the framework around the joint 10 is needed in order for the gap to be large enough for the belt to pass through it.

In those cases where the conveyor is provided with a filling hopper 20, the latter is suitably attached to a support 21 on the framework, so that the hopper follows the rotation of the framework. The filling tube 22 then has lateral clearance inside the hopper, so permitting the hopper to move in relation to the end of the tube.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A conveyor comprising an endless belt supported on a framework comprising a longitudinal beam arranged on each side of the conveyor belt and connecting members which connect said longitudinal beams to each other, characterised in that the framework with the conveyor belt is turnable about a joint from a first position, in which the whole framework rests on a foundation supporting the conveyor, into a second position in which the framework is supported by said joint but a gap is formed between the framework and the foundation on the long side of the conveyor opposite to the joint, through which gap the conveyor belt can pass when replacement of the belt is required.

2. A conveyor according to claim 1, in which the conveyor has a filling hopper attached to the framework, and a filling tube opening into said hopper with clearance so that the hopper may accompany the framework when the latter turns about the joint.

3. A conveyor comprising an endless belt supported on rollers journalled in a framework having long sides which are arranged substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the conveyor belt, the framework having a width which is substantially equal to the width of the conveyor belt and comprising a longitudinal beam arranged on each side of the conveyor belt, said longitudinal beams being connected to each other by means of connecting members, characterised in that the framework is turnably mounted at one of its long sides on a foundation supporting the conveyor aIong a horizontal axis for movement about an axis parallel to the long sides, the other long side of the framework being arranged to define a gap between the framework and the foundation when the framework is turned about said axis, through which gap the belt can pass when belt replacement is required.

4. A conveyor constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawing.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (4)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. is arranged at a small distance from the lefthand end of the beam. The framework supporting the conveyor belt consists in the illustrated embodiment of two longitudinal beams 5 arranged parallel to the direction of movement of the belt and held together by a number of connecting elements in the form of frames, of which one is shown in Figure 2. The frames are built up of two vertical parts 6 and 7, respectively, and two horizontal parts 8 and 9. Such frames are arranged at least above the beams 1, the lower end of the frame part 6 resting against the upper end of the support 3, and the lower end of the frame part 7 being turnably (e.g. flexibly) connected to the upper end of the support 4 by means of a joint 10.The two longitudinal beams 5 support, in a known manner, a number of supporting rollers 11 for the conveyor belt 12. At each end of the conveyor the belt 12 runs over a roller 13, of which at least one is a driving roller. To the left-hand frame part 7 shown in Figure 2 there is attached a bracket 14 which, if necessary, keeps the framework with the conveyor belt in position on the foundation by some suitable locking device. In Figure 2 the locking device is shown as a screw 15 with nuts 16, 17. When the nut 17 is screwed downwards on the screw 15, the framework with the belt can be swung in counterclockwise direction around the joint 10. This causes the right-hand side of the framework to lift so that a gap is formed at the region 18 where the upper end of the support 3 abuts the lower end of the frame part 6. The belt tension is then decreased in a known manner by moving either of the rollers 13 towards the other one. Thereafter the belt can be withdrawn sideways from the conveyor, the lower part of the belt passing through the aforesaid gap in the region 18.The gap is arranged to be at substantially the same level as the lower part of the conveyor belt, which means that only a slight rotation of the framework around the joint 10 is needed in order for the gap to be large enough for the belt to pass through it. In those cases where the conveyor is provided with a filling hopper 20, the latter is suitably attached to a support 21 on the framework, so that the hopper follows the rotation of the framework. The filling tube 22 then has lateral clearance inside the hopper, so permitting the hopper to move in relation to the end of the tube. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. A conveyor comprising an endless belt supported on a framework comprising a longitudinal beam arranged on each side of the conveyor belt and connecting members which connect said longitudinal beams to each other, characterised in that the framework with the conveyor belt is turnable about a joint from a first position, in which the whole framework rests on a foundation supporting the conveyor, into a second position in which the framework is supported by said joint but a gap is formed between the framework and the foundation on the long side of the conveyor opposite to the joint, through which gap the conveyor belt can pass when replacement of the belt is required.

2. A conveyor according to claim 1, in which the conveyor has a filling hopper attached to the framework, and a filling tube opening into said hopper with clearance so that the hopper may accompany the framework when the latter turns about the joint.

3. A conveyor comprising an endless belt supported on rollers journalled in a framework having long sides which are arranged substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the conveyor belt, the framework having a width which is substantially equal to the width of the conveyor belt and comprising a longitudinal beam arranged on each side of the conveyor belt, said longitudinal beams being connected to each other by means of connecting members, characterised in that the framework is turnably mounted at one of its long sides on a foundation supporting the conveyor aIong a horizontal axis for movement about an axis parallel to the long sides, the other long side of the framework being arranged to define a gap between the framework and the foundation when the framework is turned about said axis, through which gap the belt can pass when belt replacement is required.

4. A conveyor constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawing.