U.S. patent application number 15/702545 was filed with the patent office on 2018-03-15 for flat-wire belt conveyors.
The applicant listed for this patent is Vermeer Manufacturing Company. Invention is credited to Gregory Anderson, Nathan Meyer, Brandon Storm, Markus Terry.
Application Number | 20180072601 15/702545 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 61559054 |
Filed Date | 2018-03-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180072601 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Storm; Brandon ; et
al. |
March 15, 2018 |
FLAT-WIRE BELT CONVEYORS
Abstract
Separation units for dewatering slurries such as flat-wire belt
conveyors are disclosed. In some embodiments, the separation unit
includes a tension pulley for maintaining tension in the flat-wire
conveyor belt. The flat-wire conveyor belt is looped around the
head pulley, tail pulley and tension pulley. In some embodiments,
the head pulley and/or tail pulley include teeth for removing
material from the mesh openings of the flat-wire belt conveyor.
Inventors: |
Storm; Brandon; (Pella,
IA) ; Meyer; Nathan; (Knoxville, IA) ; Terry;
Markus; (Pella, IA) ; Anderson; Gregory;
(Pella, IA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Vermeer Manufacturing Company |
Pella |
IA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
61559054 |
Appl. No.: |
15/702545 |
Filed: |
September 12, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62393151 |
Sep 12, 2016 |
|
|
|
62452706 |
Jan 31, 2017 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F26B 17/04 20130101;
Y02W 30/30 20150501; F26B 17/023 20130101; B65G 69/287 20130101;
B65G 15/30 20130101; C02F 2201/008 20130101; B65G 65/42 20130101;
C02F 2301/08 20130101; B65G 67/24 20130101; B01D 33/04 20130101;
C02F 11/14 20130101; B01D 2201/089 20130101; B01D 33/0346 20130101;
C02F 11/121 20130101; B65D 90/54 20130101; C02F 11/123
20130101 |
International
Class: |
C02F 11/12 20060101
C02F011/12; F26B 17/02 20060101 F26B017/02; B65G 23/44 20060101
B65G023/44; B65G 23/06 20060101 B65G023/06; B65G 15/30 20060101
B65G015/30; B01D 33/056 20060101 B01D033/056; B01D 33/46 20060101
B01D033/46 |
Claims
1. A separation unit for dewatering a slurry comprising: a conveyor
belt having mesh openings to separate material in the slurry; a
head pulley; a tail pulley; and a tension pulley for maintaining
tension in the flat-wire conveyor belt, the conveyor belt being
looped around the head pulley, tail pulley and tension pulley.
2. The separation unit as set forth in claim 1 comprising a floor
to carry liquid and any solids that passes through the conveyor
belt toward a separation unit liquid outlet, the separation unit
having a pivot axis about which the floor and tension pulley may
pivot to allow the tension pulley and floor to rise and fall with
changes in belt loading and/or length.
3. The separation unit as set forth in claim 1 comprising
deflectors to turn solids on a top course of the belt.
4. The separation unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein the tail
pulley comprises teeth that protrude through the belt mesh openings
during rotation of the belt to push material through the mesh
openings.
5. The separation unit as set forth in claim 4 wherein the teeth
are arranged in rows, the teeth in each row being circumferentially
staggered.
6. The separation unit as set forth in claim 5 wherein each tooth
is staggered from adjacent teeth in the row.
7. The separation unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein the
separation unit is angled upward from the tail pulley toward the
head pulley.
8. The separation unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein the belt is
a flat wire belt conveyor that includes bands that form the mesh
openings.
9. A separation unit for dewatering a slurry comprising: a head
pulley; a tail pulley; and a flat-wire conveyor belt having mesh
openings to remove solids from the slurry, the flat-wire conveyor
belt being looped around the head pulley and tail pulley, the head
pulley and/or tail pulley having teeth arranged in rows to push
material through the mesh openings, the teeth in each row being
circumferentially staggered.
10. The separation unit as set forth in claim 9 wherein the tail
pulley has teeth arranged in rows, the teeth in each row being
circumferentially staggered.
11. The separation unit as set forth in claim 10 wherein each tooth
is staggered from adjacent teeth in the row.
12. The separation unit as set forth in claim 9 wherein each tooth
is staggered from adjacent teeth in the row.
13. The separation unit as set forth in claim 9 comprising a floor
to carry liquid and an solids that pass through the flat-wire
conveyor belt toward a separation unit liquid outlet.
14. The separation unit as set forth in claim 9 comprising
deflectors to turn solids on a top course of the belt.
15. The separation unit as set forth in claim 9 wherein the teeth
are arranged in rows, the teeth of each row comprising a first set
of teeth and a second set of teeth circumferentially offset from
the first set of teeth.
16. The separation unit as set forth in claim 9 wherein the belt
includes bands that form the mesh openings.
17. The separation unit as set forth in claim 16 wherein the bands
are connected to rods.
18. The separation unit as set forth in claim 17 wherein the bands
undulate such that each row of openings comprises a first set of
openings and a second set of openings, the first and second set of
openings having circumferentially offset centerlines.
19. The separation unit as set forth in claim 18 wherein the teeth
are arranged in rows, the teeth of each row comprising a first set
of teeth and a second set of teeth circumferentially offset from
the first set of teeth.
20. The separation unit as set forth in claim 19 wherein a width of
the offset of the centerlines of the openings is equal to the width
of the offset of the teeth.
21. A separation unit for dewatering a slurry comprising: a head
pulley; a tail pulley; and a flat-wire conveyor belt having mesh
openings to separate a liquid fraction from a solid fraction in the
slurry, the flat-wire conveyor belt being looped around the head
pulley and tail pulley, the head pulley and/or tail pulley having
teeth, the teeth being arranged to extend through at least 50% of
the openings along a width of the flat-wire conveyor belt.
22. The separation unit as set forth in claim 21 wherein the tail
pulley has teeth, the teeth being arranged to extend through at
least 50% of the openings along a width of the flat-wire conveyor
belt.
23. The separation unit as set forth in claim 21 wherein the teeth
extend through at least 75% of the openings along a width of the
flat-wire conveyor belt.
24. The separation unit as set forth in claim 21 wherein the teeth
extend through at least 90% of the openings along a width of the
flat-wire conveyor belt.
25. The separation unit as set forth in claim 21 wherein the teeth
extend through each opening along a width of the flat-wire conveyor
belt.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims the benefit of U.S.
Provisional Patent Application No. 62/393,151, filed Sep. 12, 2016
and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/452,706, filed Jan.
31, 2017, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety.
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0002] The field of the disclosure relates to separation units for
dewatering slurries and, in particular, to flat-wire belt
conveyors.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Flat-wire belt conveyors may be used to convey material
and/or to dewater slurry by separating a solid fraction from a
liquid fraction. Over time, the flat-wire belt of the conveyor may
stretch and lose tension which can cause the conveyor to wear or to
even fail. A need exists for flat-wire belt conveyors that may be
automatically tensioned and in which the tension applied may be
maintained to be relatively constant. In embodiments in which
earthen slurry such as slurry produced during drilling or potholing
of utilities is dewatered, a need exists for methods that can
clean-out the mesh openings of the belt to maintain dewatering
capacity of the belt.
[0004] This section is intended to introduce the reader to various
aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the
disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This
discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with
background information to facilitate a better understanding of the
various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should
be understood that these statements are to be read in this light,
and not as admissions of prior art.
SUMMARY
[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a
separation unit for dewatering a slurry. The separation unit
includes a flat-wire conveyor belt having mesh openings to separate
material in the slurry. The unit includes a head pulley, a tail
pulley and a tension pulley for maintaining tension in the
flat-wire conveyor belt. The flat-wire conveyor belt is looped
around the head pulley, tail pulley and tension pulley.
[0006] Another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a
separation unit for dewatering a slurry. The separation unit
includes a head pulley, a tail pulley, and a flat-wire conveyor
belt. The flat-wire conveyor belt has mesh openings to remove
solids from the slurry. The flat-wire conveyor belt is looped
around the head pulley and the tail pulley. The head pulley and/or
tail pulley have teeth arranged in rows to push material through
the mesh openings. The teeth in each row are circumferentially
staggered.
[0007] Yet another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to
a separation unit for dewatering a slurry. The separation unit
includes a head pulley, a tail pulley, and a flat-wire conveyor
belt. The flat-wire conveyor belt has mesh openings to separate a
liquid fraction from a solid fraction. The flat-wire conveyor belt
is looped around the head pulley and tail pulley. The flat-wire
conveyor belt has teeth. The teeth are arranged to extend through
each opening along a width of the flat-wire conveyor belt.
[0008] Various refinements exist of the features noted in relation
to the above-mentioned aspects of the present disclosure. Further
features may also be incorporated in the above-mentioned aspects of
the present disclosure as well. These refinements and additional
features may exist individually or in any combination. For
instance, various features discussed below in relation to any of
the illustrated embodiments of the present disclosure may be
incorporated into any of the above-described aspects of the present
disclosure, alone or in any combination.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a separation unit for
dewatering slurry;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a detailed perspective cross-section view of the
separation unit showing a tail pulley and a tension pulley;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of the separation unit;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a perspective cross-section view of the separation
unit with the belt not shown;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the separation unit with the belt
not shown;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the tail pulley of the
separation unit;
[0015] FIG. 7 is a detailed perspective view of an embodiment of
the separation unit showing the belt and tail pulley; and
[0016] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the tail pulley of FIG.
7.
[0017] Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding
parts throughout the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] A separation unit 25 for dewatering slurries such as an
earthen slurry having a liquid fraction and a solid fraction is
shown in FIG. 1. In accordance with embodiments of the present
disclosure, the separation unit 25 is a flat-wire belt conveyor
having mesh openings 80 (FIG. 7). Such flat-wire belt conveyors may
include spaced wires or bands which form an open mesh in the belt
that allow for liquids and particles that fit through the mesh
openings to pass through the mesh. In various embodiments, the mesh
size of the belt may be from about 0.25 cm to about 5 cm or from
about 0.5 cm to about 3 cm. Liquid and small solids that pass
through the mesh fall through the top course 53a (FIG. 2) of the
belt, land on the bottom course 53b of mesh (i.e., the return) and
fall through the bottom course of mesh onto a conveyor floor or
"chute" 58. The belt 53 may rest on the conveyor floor 58 and
scrape material toward the liquid discharge end 61 of the
separation unit 25. Solids that do not pass through the openings
are carried forward by the belt to solids outlet 76 (FIG. 1). While
the belt 53 is shown as being a solid belt in FIGS. 1-5 for
simplicity, it should be understood that the belt 53 includes mesh
openings throughout the top course 53a and bottom course 53b.
[0019] In some embodiments in which the separation unit 25 is a
flat-wire belt conveyor, the conveyor includes a series of
deflectors 55 (FIG. 1) that act to turn or otherwise redirect
solids that are moving forward on the separation unit 25. By
turning the solids, additional fluid may fall through the conveyor
and be recovered as effluent. In some embodiments, the deflectors
55 are angled relative to the direction of travel of the material
on the top course 53a of the belt to allow material to roll as it
passes up the separation unit 25. The deflectors 55 may be arranged
in rows with the rows being spaced from the walls of the conveyor
to prevent material from being driven into the wall.
[0020] The separation unit 25 includes a tail pulley 51 and head
pulley 54 over which the open mesh belt 53 is wrapped. As
illustrated in FIGS. 1-5, the head pulley 54 is the drive pulley.
The separation unit 25 also includes a tension pulley 56 to
maintain tension in the belt 53. The tension pulley 56 is secured
within first and second brackets 62, 64 (FIG. 5). The brackets 62,
64 are attached to a support frame 66 that supports the floor
58.
[0021] The floor 58 is attached to two pins 71, 72 (FIGS. 1 and 3)
disposed towards the end 76 of the unit 25 at which solids are
discharged. The pins 71, 72 define a pivot axis P about which the
floor 58 pivots. In this arrangement, the floor 58, support frame
66 and tension pulley 56 may move up and down toward the loading
end of the separation unit 25. The weight of the floor 58, support
frame 66 and tension pulley 56 maintains tension on the belt 53 by
pivoting about pins 71, 72 and pulling down on belt 53 at the
tensioning pulley 56.
[0022] The tail pulley 51 extends across the width of the belt 53
and includes teeth 60 (FIG. 6) that protrude through belt mesh
openings (preferably through at least 50%, 75%, 90% or through each
mesh opening) during rotation to push material bound within the
belt through the openings to reduce pluggage of the belt.
[0023] In some embodiments and as shown in FIG. 7, the openings 80
of the belt 53 (FIG. 7) are circumferentially staggered. The belt
53 includes undulating wires or bands 88, with rods 94 which extend
through the bands 88. Each band 88 is connected to two rods 94. In
such embodiments, in a row 82 of openings 80, the centerline
CL.sub.1 (i.e., the centerline being midway between the top and
bottom of each opening) of a first set of openings 80A is offset
from the centerline CL.sub.2 of adjacent of a second set of
openings 80B. The width of the offset is W.sub.1.
[0024] In some embodiments, the teeth 60 of the tail pulley 51 are
configured to match the offset of the openings 80. Referring now to
FIG. 8, the teeth 60 in each row 75 of the tail pulley 51 are
circumferentially staggered. One set of teeth 60A is offset from
adjacent teeth 60B. The teeth 60 in each row are offset by a
distance W.sub.2. The offset W.sub.2 of the teeth 60 is
substantially equal to the offset W.sub.1 between the centerlines
CL.sub.1, CL.sub.2 of the belt openings 80 (FIG. 7).
[0025] With reference to FIG. 4, the head pulley 54 includes
sprockets 65 that are spaced to rotate the belt 53 around the head
pulley 54. Alternatively, the head pulley 51 may extend across the
width of the belt 53 and include teeth that protrude through belt
mesh openings (preferably through at least 50%, 75%, 90% or through
each mesh opening) during rotation. Additionally the tail pulley 51
may extend across the width of the belt 53 and include teeth that
protrude through belt mesh openings (preferably through at least
50%, 75%, 90% or through each mesh opening) during rotation.
[0026] The tension pulley 56 includes an auger 68 to convey solids
that pass through the top course 53a (FIG. 1) of the belt but do
not pass through the lower course 53b. In the illustrated
embodiment, the auger 53 has a bi-directional pitch (i.e., one
auger flight promotes conveying material from the center of the
belt to the left and a second flight conveys material from the
center to the right of the belt) to move material off the belt.
Such a bi-directional auger may also keep the belt 53 centered.
[0027] The separation unit 25 includes a scraper 74 (FIG. 2), which
may be made of a flexible material such as rubber, that contacts
the belt 53 while it rotates. The scraper 74 removes material from
the belt while the teeth 60 of the tail pulley 51 engage the belt
53. The separation unit 25 includes a plurality of belt supports 70
(FIG. 4) that support the weight of the belt 53 and solids loaded
on the belt as the belt 53 moves toward the head pulley 54. The
separation unit 25 also includes a series of deflectors 55 that are
arranged in rows and are angled relative to the direction of travel
of the slurry to turn or otherwise redirect solids that are moving
forward on the separation unit 25.
[0028] As slurry contacts the open mesh of the flat-wire belt 53,
the slurry falls through both the top and bottom courses 53a, 53b
of the belt and slides downward on a floor 58 (FIG. 2) of the
separation unit 25 and falls through outlet 61 (FIG. 1). The slurry
may be collected and/or further processed. Larger clumps of
material are carried by the top course 53a of the belt and may fall
within a collection vessel (not shown) or a further processing unit
at the solid discharge end 76 (FIG. 1) of the belt.
[0029] Compared to conventional separation units, the separation
units described herein have several advantages. Use of deflectors
to turn the solids allows the material to be better dewatered. The
tension pulley maintains the belt under tension which allows the
belt to not need adjustment if stretched. When the loading on the
belt changes, the floor and tension pulley may correspondingly
pivot up or down which allows the belt tension to be relatively
constant which may improve the life of the belt. This arrangement
also allows the separation unit to provide a variable amount of
belt slack which reduces the frequency at which the belt is
manually tensioned. In embodiments in which the tail pulley of the
flat-wire belt conveyor includes teeth that protrude through most
openings of the mesh belt, better dewatering may be achieved
relative to embodiments in which only the head pulley includes such
teeth. In embodiments in which the teeth are circumferentially
staggered within each row of teeth, the teeth may better match the
opening profile of the mesh belt.
[0030] As used herein, the terms "about," "substantially,"
"essentially" and "approximately" when used in conjunction with
ranges of dimensions, concentrations, temperatures or other
physical or chemical properties or characteristics is meant to
cover variations that may exist in the upper and/or lower limits of
the ranges of the properties or characteristics, including, for
example, variations resulting from rounding, measurement
methodology or other statistical variation.
[0031] When introducing elements of the present disclosure or the
embodiment(s) thereof, the articles "a", "an", "the" and "said" are
intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The
terms "comprising," "including," "containing" and "having" are
intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional
elements other than the listed elements. The use of terms
indicating a particular orientation (e.g., "top", "bottom", "side",
etc.) is for convenience of description and does not require any
particular orientation of the item described.
[0032] As various changes could be made in the above constructions
and methods without departing from the scope of the disclosure, it
is intended that all matter contained in the above description and
shown in the accompanying drawing[s] shall be interpreted as
illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
* * * * *