U.S. patent number RE38,607 [Application Number 10/459,039] was granted by the patent office on 2004-10-05 for conveying apparatus having a modular conveying belt and at least one toothed drive wheel.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Habasit AG. Invention is credited to Dieter Guldenfels, Felix Rolle.
United States Patent |
RE38,607 |
Guldenfels , et al. |
October 5, 2004 |
Conveying apparatus having a modular conveying belt and at least
one toothed drive wheel
Abstract
A conveying apparatus comprises a modular conveying belt (1),
which is made up of a plurality of modules (2), and a plurality of
toothed drive wheels (4). The modules (2) have a module body (21),
two series of articulation-eyelet elements (22, 23), which project
from opposite sides of the module body (21) and each comprise an
articulation eyelet (221, 231), and a transverse rib (24) arranged
on the underside of the module body (21), transversely to the
conveying direction. Two adjacent modules (2) interengage and are
articulated on one another by an articulation rod (3). The toothed
drive wheels (4) have teeth (41, 42) which, during driving of the
conveying belt (1), are positioned against the transverse ribs
(24). The modules (2) and the toothed drive wheels (4) are designed
and arranged such that, during driving of the conveying belt (1),
the teeth (41, 42) each engage between two adjacent
articulation-eyelet elements (22, 23) of a module (2), in order to
form direct lateral guides for these two articulation-eyelet
elements (22, 23).
Inventors: |
Guldenfels; Dieter (Pfeffingen,
CH), Rolle; Felix (Muttenz, CH) |
Assignee: |
Habasit AG (Reinach,
CH)
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Family
ID: |
25685850 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/459,039 |
Filed: |
June 11, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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Reissue of: |
551068 |
Apr 18, 2000 |
06425479 |
Jul 30, 2002 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
198/834 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65G
17/08 (20130101); B65G 23/06 (20130101); B65G
2201/02 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65G
17/06 (20060101); B65G 017/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;198/834,853 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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0113909 |
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Dec 1983 |
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EP |
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0 113 909 |
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Jul 1984 |
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EP |
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1199151 |
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Jun 1966 |
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GB |
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1 199 151 |
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Jul 1970 |
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GB |
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2309062 |
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Jul 1997 |
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GB |
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Primary Examiner: Dayoan; D. Glenn
Assistant Examiner: Engle; Patricia L.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hodgson Russ LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A conveying apparatus having a modular conveying belt (1, 101)
which is made up of a plurality of modules (2, 102) and a first and
second series of articulation-eyelet elements (22, 23, 122, 123)
which project from two opposite sides of a module body (21, 121)
and each comprise an articulation eyelet (221, 231, 126, 127), in
which two adjacent modules (2, 102) interengage and are articulated
on one another by an articulation rod (3, 103) which passes through
the articulation eyelets (221, 231, 126, 127) of one
articulation-eyelet-element series of the adjacent modules (2,
102), and having at least one toothed drive wheel (4, 104) with
teeth (41, 42, 141, 142) for driving the conveying belt (1, 101),
characterized in that the modules (2, 102) and the at least one
toothed drive wheel (4, 104) are designed and arranged such that,
during driving of the conveying belt (1, 101), the teeth (41, 42,
141, 142) each engage against an articulation-eyelet-element of a
first module and are positioned between two adjacent
articulation-eyelet elements (22, 23, 122, 123) of a second module
(2, 102) forming direct lateral guides for the modular conveying
belt.
2. Conveying apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that
on each module one transverse rib (24) is arranged on the underside
of the module bodies (21), transversely to the conveying direction,
and, during driving of the conveying belt (1), the teeth (41, 42)
of the toothed drive wheel (4) engage against said transverse ribs
(24).
3. Conveying apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that
the articulation-eyelet elements (22, 23, 122, 123) each have a
part extending directly on the underside of the module body (21,
121).
4. Conveying apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that
the underside of the module bodies (21, 121) is smooth apart from
the transverse rib (24) and the parts of the articulation-eyelet
elements (22, 23, 122, 123) which extend directly on the underside
of the module body (21, 121).
5. Conveying apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that
the at least one toothed drive wheel (4, 104) has two series of
teeth (41, 42, 141, 142) distributed over the circumference, the
teeth (41, 141) of one series and the teeth (42, 142) of the other
series being offset with respect to one another laterally and in
the circumferential direction, with the result that, during driving
of the conveying belt (1, 101), the transverse ribs (24) each end
up between one tooth (41, 141) of one series and one tooth (42,
142) of the other series.
6. Conveying apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that
one tooth (41, 141) of one series and one tooth (42, 142) of the
other series are arranged on a planar surface (43) of its drive
wheel, in which the ends of the two teeth (41, 42, 141, 142) which
are directed away from one another in the conveying direction
extend as far as a border of the surface (43), and the two teeth
(41, 42, 141, 142) arranged on a surface (43) are preferably of the
same shape but have been rotated through 180.degree. in a
horizontal plane with respect to one another.
7. The conveyor apparatus of claim 5 wherein each tooth of one
series of teeth has a curved surface which engages against a
matching curved surface of the articulation-eyelet element of the
first module and wherein each tooth of the other series of teeth
further has a planar drive surface which engages against matching
planar drive surface of the transverse rib of the second
module.
8. The conveyor apparatus of claim 5 wherein each tooth in the two
series of teeth have a curved surface which engages against a
matching curved surface of the articulation-eyelet element of the
first module and a third module and further having a planar drive
surface which engages against a matching planar drive surface of
the transverse rib of the second module with the teeth of one
series having the curved tooth surface facing in a forward
direction and the planar drive surface facing in a rearward
direction and wherein the teeth of the other series have the curved
tooth surface facing in a rearward direction and the planar drive
surface facing in a forward direction so that the modular conveyor
belt is capable of being driven in both a forward and a rearward
direction.
9. The conveyor apparatus of claim 2 wherein the transverse rib has
a trapezoidal cross-section.
10. The conveyor apparatus of claim 2 wherein at least a portion of
the transverse rib engaged by the teeth is planar.
11. The conveyor apparatus of claim 2 wherein at least a portion of
the teeth which engages against the transverse rib is planar.
12. The conveyor apparatus of claim 2 wherein at least a portion of
the transverse rib engaged by the teeth is planar to match a
similarly planar drive surface of the teeth.
13. The conveyor apparatus of claim 12 wherein the matching planar
surface of the transverse rib and the planar drive surface of the
teeth are inclined with respect to an upper surface of the
module.
14. Conveying apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in
that, during driving of the conveying belt (101), the teeth (141,
142) of the toothed drive wheel (104) are positioned against the
articulation-eyelet elements (122, 123).
15. A conveying apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in
that the toothed drive wheel has at least two laterally and
circumferentially offset series of teeth (41, 42, 141, 142)
distributed over the circumference.
16. The conveying apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least a portion
of the articulation-eyelet elements engaged by the teeth is
curved.
17. The conveyor apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least that a
portion of the teeth which engages against articulation-eyelet
elements is curved.
18. The conveyor apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of
the articulation-eyelet elements engaged by the teeth is curved to
match a similarly curved drive surface of the teeth.
19. Conveying apparatus having a modular conveying belt (1, 101)
which is made up of a plurality of modules (2, 102) and a first and
second series of articulation-eyelet elements (22, 23, 122, 123)
which project from two opposite sides of a module body (21, 121)
and each comprise an articulation eyelet (221, 231, 126, 127), in
which two adjacent modules (2, 102) interengage and are articulated
on one another by an articulation rod (3, 103) which passes through
the articulation eyelets (221, 231, 126, 127) of one
articulation-eyelet-element series of the adjacent modules (2,
102), wherein each module has a transverse rib provided on the
underside of the module body, transversely to the conveying
direction, and having a toothed drive wheel (4, 104) with teeth
(41, 42, 141, 142) for driving the conveying belt (1, 101), the
drive wheel having two series of teeth (41, 42, 141, 142)
distributed over the circumference, the teeth (41, 141) of one
series and the teeth (42, 142) of the other series being offset
with respect to one another laterally and in the circumferential
direction, and wherein each tooth in two series of teeth have a
curved surface which engages against a matching curved surface of
the articulation-eyelet element of the first module and a third
module and further having a planar drive surface which engages
against a matching planar drive surface of the transverse rib of a
second module with the teeth of one series having the curved tooth
surface facing in a forward direction and the planar drive surface
facing in a rearward direction and wherein the teeth of the other
series having the curved tooth surface facing in a rearward
direction and the planar drive surface facing in a forward
direction so that the modular conveyor belt is capable of being
driven in both a forward and a rearward direction.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
Applicants hereby claim priority based on Swiss Patent Application
No. 837/99 filed May 5, 1999.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a conveying apparatus having a
modular conveying belt and at least one toothed drive wheel.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Known modular conveying belts are made up of a plurality of modules
in which each has a plate-like module body and a first and second
series of articulation-eyelet elements which project from two
opposite sides of the module body. Each of these
articulation-eyelet elements comprises an articulation eyelet, it
being the case that the articulation eyelets of each of the two
articulation-eyelet-element series are aligned in order to receive
a continuous articulation rod. Two adjacent modules interengage and
are articulated on one another by an articulation rod which passes
through the articulation eyelets of one articulation-eyelet-element
series of one module and the articulation eyelets of one
articulation-eyelet-element series of the other module. The modules
are usually offset with respect to one another, with the result
that it is possible to form a conveying belt of the desired length
and width. The conveyable articles are transported on conveying
surfaces of the module bodies and of the articulation-eyelet
elements.
In certain applications, particularly in the foodstuffs industry,
it is necessary to have a conveying-belt structure which can easily
be cleaned. A modular conveying belt of this type is described, for
example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,016. In order to drive the
conveying belt, a transverse rib is arranged on the underside of
the module bodies, transversely to the conveying direction in each
case. Longitudinal ribs have been dispensed with in order to ensure
good cleaning. The conveying belt is driven by a plurality of
parallel, spaced-apart toothed drive wheels which have drive teeth
which are positioned against the transverse ribs. Provided on the
toothed drive wheels in addition to said drive teeth are guide
teeth which each engage in the gap between two adjacent
articulation-eyelet elements of interengaging modules and thus
guide the modular conveying belt laterally.
This conveying apparatus known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,016 has the
disadvantage that the toothed drive wheels have guide teeth in
addition to the drive teeth, that is to say they involve relatively
high outlay in structural terms. Moreover, the additional guide
teeth make cleaning more difficult and there is a risk of
conveyable articles passing onto the conveying-belt underside being
pressed by said guide teeth into the narrow interspace between two
adjacent articulation-eyelet elements, from where they were very
difficult to remove again.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the disadvantages of the hitherto-known,
above-described, modular conveying belts and toothed drive wheels,
the object of the invention is to provide a conveying apparatus of
the type mentioned in the introduction in the case of which the
toothed drive wheel or the toothed drive wheels, which serves/serve
both for driving and for guiding the modular conveying belt, is/are
of as straightforward a construction as possible. The conveying
belt and the toothed drive wheel or wheels are also intended to be
easy to clean.
The object is achieved by the conveying apparatus according to the
invention as is defined in independent Patent Claim 1. Preferred
design variants can be gathered from the dependent patent claims.
Independent Patent Claims 9 and 10 related respectively to a
toothed drive wheel and to a modular conveying belt according to
the invention.
The invention relates to a conveying apparatus having a modular
conveying belt which is made up of a plurality of modules, and
having at least one toothed drive wheel. The modules each have a
plate-like module body and a first and second series of
articulation-eyelet elements which project from two opposite sides
of the module body and each comprise an articulation eyelet. Two
adjacent modules interengage and are articulated on one another by
an articulation rod which passes through the articulation eyelets
of one articulation-eyelet-element series of one module and the
articulation eyelets of one articulation-eyelet-element series of
the other module. The at least one toothed drive wheel has teeth
for driving the conveying belt. The essence of the invention, then,
resides in the fact that the modules and the at least one toothed
drive wheel are designed and arranged such that, during driving of
the conveying belt, the teeth each engage between two adjacent
articulation-eyelet elements of a module, in order to form direct
lateral guides for these two articulation-eyelet elements.
By virtue of the invention, the toothed drive wheels can be
produced in a more straightforward manner than in the case of the
hitherto-known conveying apparatuses having modular conveying belts
which have modules with plate-like module bodies. Instead of
separate drive and guide teeth, both the drive function and the
guidance function are performed by the same teeth. Since these
teeth do not engage in the gap between two adjacent
articulation-eyelet elements of interengaging modules, the risk of
conveyable articles passing onto the conveying-belt underside being
pressed into the gap is reduced to a considerable extent.
Moreover, it is possible to use the same toothed drive wheels both
for modular conveying belts with continuous conveying surfaces and
with conveying surfaces which are provided with openings, e.g.,
grid-like conveying surfaces, as well as for conveying belts which
do not have any gaps between two adjacent eyelets. A single
toothed-drive-wheel shape is sufficient for all belt types with the
same pitch. A cost-effective solution with straightforward storage
is thus provided.
Since, alongside the articulation-eyelet elements and the
transverse ribs which are provided in a fair number of design
variants, there are no additional elements for belt guidance, e.g.,
ribs or protuberances, on the underside of the modular conveying
belt, the latter is also easy to clean.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The conveying apparatus according to the invention is described in
more detail hereinbelow by way of two exemplary embodiments and
with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view, obliquely from beneath, of two
modules, connected by an articulation rod, of a first exemplary
embodiment of a modular conveying belt according to the
invention;
FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a toothed drive wheel according
to the invention;
FIG. 3 shows the modular conveying belt from FIG. 1 being driven
and guided by the toothed drive wheel from FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 shows an enlarged detail from FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 shows a view from beneath a part of the modular conveying
belt from FIG. 4 with toothed-driven-wheel teeth sectioned along
line A--A; and
FIG. 6 shows a second exemplary embodiment of a modular conveying
belt being driven and guided by a toothed drive wheel.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIG. 1, that part of a modular conveying belt 1 which
is illustrated is made up of two interengaging modules 2 which are
articulated on one another by means of an articulation rod 3. Each
module 2 has a module body 21, a first and second series of
articulation-eyelet elements 22, 23,, which project from two
opposite sides of the module body 21 and each comprise an
articulation eyelet 221, 231 in the form of a slot, and a
transverse rib 24 arranged on the underside of the module body 21,
transversely to the conveying direction. A part of the
articulation-eyelet elements 22, 23 extends in each case directly
on the underside of the module body 21. The articulation eyelets
221, 231 of each of the two articulation-eyelet-element series 22,
23 are aligned with one another and arranged more or less at an
angle of 45.degree. to the conveying surface, with the result that
the articulation rod 3 can pass through the articulation eyelets
231 of one articulation-eyelet-element series 23 of one module 2
and the articulation eyelets 221 of one articulation-eyelet-element
series 22 of the other module 2 and is fixed by the two
articulation-eyelet-element series 22, 23.
The articulation-eyelet elements 22, 23 are considerably wider in
their top part than in their bottom part, which has the
articulation eyelet 221, 231 with the result that adjacent
articulation-eyelet elements 22, 23 of interengaging modules 2
adjoin one another in a virtually gap-free manner in the top
region. Moreover, the top side of the modules 2 is of flat design,
which results in a planar, essentially virtually fully continuous
conveying surface.
The transverse ribs 24 extend downwards from the underside of the
module bodies 21, in the center of the latter, and have a
symmetrical, in this case trapezoidal cross section, with the
result that the modular conveying belt 1 can be moved just as
easily forwards as backwards, perpendicularly to the transverse
ribs 24.
The following applies to the rest of this description. If, in order
to clarify the drawings, a figure contains designations which are
not explained in the directly associated text of the description,
then you are referred to the point at which they have been
mentioned in previous descriptions of the figures.
Referring to FIG. 2, the toothed drive wheel 4 illustrated
comprises an octagonal wheel body 44 which is provided with four
oval holes 45 and in the center of which there is arranged a hub 46
with an essentially square opening 47 which is fastened on a square
shaft. The wheel body 44 is of considerably wider design in the
outer region 442 than in the inner region 441 and, on its outer
circumference, forms eight planar surfaces 43 on which two teeth
41, 42 are arranged in each case. The two teeth 41, 42 arranged on
the surface 43 are each of the same shape, but have been rotated
through 180.degree. with respect to one another. Those ends of the
two teeth 41, 42 which are directed away from one another in the
direction of rotation of the toothed drive wheel 4 each extend as
far as the border of the planar surface 43.
The teeth 41, 42 are distributed in two series over the
circumference of the toothed drive wheel 4 such that, during
driving of the modular conveying belt 1, the transverse ribs 24 of
the latter each end up between one tooth 41 of one series and one
tooth 42 of the other series, and driving in both directions of
rotation of the toothed drive wheel 4 is possible. The teeth 41 of
one series and the teeth 42 of the other series are offset
laterally with respect to one another.
Turning to FIGS. 3-5, in order to drive the modular conveying belt
1, which comprises a multiplicity of modules 2 articulated on one
another by means of articulation rods 3, use is usually made of a
plurality of toothed drive wheels 4 spaced apart from one another
on a shaft, only one toothed drive wheel being visible here. It can
clearly be seen that the transverse ribs 24 of the driven modules 2
are each located between one tooth 41 of one series and one tooth
42 of the other series, and, depending on the direction of
rotation, the tooth 41 or the tooth 42 pushes the corresponding
transverse rib 24 forwards.
Those ends of the teeth 41, 42 which are directed away front the
transverse ribs 24 each extend between two adjacent
articulation-eyelet elements 22, 23 of a module 2, with the result
that, during driving of the conveying belt 1, the teeth 41, 42 each
engage between two adjacent articulation-eyelet elements 22, 23 of
one module 2 and, at the same time, between the transverse rib 24
of said module 2 and the articulation-eyelet element 23, 22,
likewise engaging between said two adjacent articulation-eyelet
elements 22, 23, of the articulated module 2. The side surfaces of
the teeth 41,42 serve as guide surfaces for the side surfaces of
the articulation-eyelet elements 22, 23 since the modules 2 can
only be displaced laterally to the extent where the side surfaces
of the articulation-eyelet elements 22, 23 butt against the side
surfaces of the teeth 41, 42.
In FIG. 6, the modular conveying belt 101 according to the second
exemplary embodiment illustrated is made up of interengaging
modules 102 which are articulated on one another by means of
articulation rods 103. Each module 102 has a module body 121 and a
first and second series of articulation-eyelet elements 122, 123
which project from two opposite sides of the module body 121 and
each comprise an articulation eyelet 126, 127 in the form of a
slot. A part of the articulation-eyelet elements 122, 123 extends
in each case directly on the underside of the module body 121. The
articulation eyelets, 126, 127 of each of the two
articulation-eyelet-element series 122, 123 are aligned with one
another and arranged more or less at an angle of 45.degree. to the
conveying surface, with the result that the articulation rod 103
can pass through the articulation eyelets 126 of one
articulation-eyelet-element series 122, 123. In contrast to the
modular conveying belt 1, the modular conveying belt 101 does not
have any transverse rib on the underside of the module body 121.
The ease of cleaning is thus further improved.
Apart from the shape of the teeth 141, 142, the toothed drive wheel
104 is of the same construction as the toothed drive wheel 4. Since
the conveying belt 101 is driven in this case by the teeth 141, 142
being positioned against the articulation-eyelet elements 122, 123,
the amount of play between the teeth 141, 142 and the
articulation-eyelet elements 122, 123 must not be as high as in the
case of the first exemplary embodiment. The teeth 141, 142 are thus
of longer design at the ends which are directed away from one
another, with the result that, during driving, they each butt
against the articulation-eyelet element 122, 123 located in front
of them in the conveying direction. In the case of the example
illustrated, the teeth 142 push the articulation-eyelet elements
123, and thus the conveying belt 101, to the left.
Further design variations can be realized in relation to the
above-described conveying apparatus. The following should be
expressly mentioned here:
It is also conceivable to use a toothed drive wheel 4; 104 with a
round outer circumference.
The teeth 41, 42 and the transverse ribs 24 may be of specific
shapes which allow better mutual rolling characteristics. The same
applies to the teeth 141, 142 and the articulation-eyelet elements
122, 123.
Instead of, in the second exemplary embodiment, the teeth 141, 142
of the toothed drive wheel 104 being of longer configuration than
in the first exemplary embodiment, it would also be possible for
the articulation-eyelet elements 122, 123 of the modular conveying
belt 101 to be of longer design.
* * * * *