The present invention relates to a belt for a belt conveyor and a conveyor comprising said belt.
The use of belt conveyors for moving extracted rock in quarries or mineral extraction sites is known. This movement may take place over relatively long distances which may be as much as several tens of kilometers.
The conveyors that are used make use of belts which are commonly carried by guide rollers distributed along the path of the belt.
When the transported material is powdered, it is preferable for the conveyors to be closed with covers preventing the dispersion of the powdered material.
The rollers used for supporting the conveyor belt are difficult to position and adjust.
To overcome this problem, the design of floating conveyor belts has been proposed, these belts being capable of moving on the surface of water, either on the surface of an existing watercourse or on the surface of a channel specifically created to support the belt.
The conveyor belt generally has a trough-shaped cross section, and when the material is powdered it tends to escape, making it necessary to provide a cover. Such a cover is also desirable in order to limit the accumulation of water on the belt in case of rain, which could cause the floating belt to sink. However, it is difficult to position a cover over a liquid surface.
The object of the invention is to propose an economically viable solution for conveying materials, particularly powdered materials, over long distances.
For this purpose, the invention proposes a belt of the aforesaid type, characterized in that it has the shape of an unflattened tube over the main part of its length, the belt delimiting a closed tubular space for confining transported products with the product receiving surface on the inside of the tube.
In specific embodiments, the belt has one or more of the following characteristics:
The invention also proposes a belt conveyor having:
Advantageously, the conveyor has one or more of the following characteristics:
The invention will be more clearly understood with the aid of the following description, provided solely by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which:
In the example under consideration, the conveyor extends in an essentially flat area 16 and then on a slope 18 having a marked difference in level, the discharge station being at the top of the slope 18.
The conveyor 10 has a floating endless belt 20 closed in the form of a loop and having a transport portion 20A and a return portion 20B generally extending parallel to each other along the movement path of the conveyor. This belt is held from its ends between two return rollers 22 of which one is provided in the discharge station 14 while the other is provided downstream of the loading station 12.
Along its path, the belt rests on and moves with respect to suitable support means which are described below.
Driving stations indicated by the general reference 24 are distributed along the length of the belt. In the embodiment shown in
According to the invention, and as shown in
More precisely, the belt 20 has an outer surface 30 and an inner surface 32 which forms a support surface for the products to be transported.
The belt forms a tubular closed space 34 inside itself. This closed space is generally of circular cross section, the belt fitting over a cylinder of circular section. The perimeter of the belt is advantageously in the range from 0.5 m to 3 m. For example, it is such that the diameter of the closed space 34 formed by the belt is substantially equal to 0.40 m and preferably in the range from 0.2 m to 1 m.
The belt is split longitudinally, the two lips marked 36A and 36B of the belt being adjacent to each other and forming between them a longitudinal slit 37 which is normally closed. In particular, the lip 36A has a projecting part forming a tenon, while the lip 36B has a complementary hollow part in its thickness, forming a mortise which can receive the projecting part of the lip 36A. This mortise and tenon joint is designed to provide a satisfactory tightness of the belt.
At rest, in other words in the absence of any external pull or load due to the materials contained in the space 34, the belt 20 is self-supporting, so that it remains in the shape of an unflattened tube which is preferably substantially circular.
The belt 20 is generally made from rubber or PVC, and is reinforced longitudinally along the whole of its length by a metal or synthetic reinforcement 38 made from longitudinal reinforcing wires 40 which are embedded in the rubber.
A ballast 42 is provided in the belt along the generatrices of the belt in an area generally opposite the longitudinal slit 37. This ballast is formed by a greater density of reinforcing wires.
As shown in
More precisely, and as shown in
The quantity of water 52 contained in the pipe is such that the belt, whether loaded or unloaded, can float on the surface of the body of water, without striking the upper or lower part of the pipe.
On the other hand, in the sloping regions, and particularly in the region 18, the conveyor, as shown in
At its ends, as shown in
The belt 24 becomes progressively flattened to form a flattened tube as it passes around the roller 22. At the downstream end of the portion 20A, the roller 22 also ejects the products from the belt, as described below.
A driving station 24 is shown in
Thus the belt is totally confined between the driving rollers 82 and the retaining rollers 86.
These driving stations are located, for example, one every kilometer.
Two divergent cam surfaces 92A and 92B are fixed in this channel and are engaged through the longitudinal slit 37 formed in the belt. These two cam surfaces 92A and 92B meet each other at a common front end 94 forming a point, and diverge from each other along the direction of advance of the portion of the belt. These cam surfaces are extended by generally parallel retaining plates 96A and 96B, on the outer surfaces of which the two separated lips 36A and 36B of the belt bear, as shown in
A chute 98 for guiding the materials to the belt opens between the two plates 96A and 96B.
These plates extend over a length of several metres. Downstream of these plates, the belt is left free, in such a way that the two lips 36A and 36B of the belt meet each other because of the inherent resilience of the belt.
This installation operates in the following way.
The belt is continuously driven by the action of the driving stations 24. In these stations, the belt 20 is gripped between the driving rollers 82 which impart a longitudinal advance movement to it.
Outside the driving stations 24, the belt rests on the surface of the water in the pipes 50 or on the rollers 62 in the sloping sections of the conveyor.
In the pipes 50, the belt is held with its longitudinal slit in the upper part, because of the ballast 42 incorporated in the belt and diametrically opposite the longitudinal slit for access to the inside of the belt.
Clearly, since the belt forms a closed tubular space, any dust which may be created by the transport of a powdered material is kept confined inside the space 24 and therefore does not damage the environment.
For loading, as shown in
Similarly, the belt is progressively discharged immediately downstream of the return roller 22 provided at the downstream end of the transport portion 20A. At this end, the belt is flattened and the two lips 36A and 36B which are normally joined are separated, allowing the discharge of the material contained in the tubular space 24 formed by the belt.
Clearly, this conveyor can transport materials efficiently, while avoiding complex arrangements for avoiding the leakage of powdered materials.
Because of the long distances that can be covered by this conveyor, it can be used to relieve the pressure on road transport.
In this case, the transport portion and the return portion 20A and 20B of the belt float on the surface of the same body of water.
It is assumed that the conveyor described here transports materials obtained from a quarry. A variant of this conveyor can be used to transport waste materials, particularly domestic waste. In this case, the tubular belt travels in a pipe of the sewerage system. Loading stations are provided at regular intervals along the whole path of the belt, to enable users to dispose of their waste by tipping it on to the belt.
In this case, for example, one of the return rollers is eliminated and the belt travels through the sewerage system to form a loop, the belt being guided along its path by the sewerage pipe. In this case, only one return roller is present, and is used for discharging the contents of the belt.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
04 06249 | Jun 2004 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/FR2005/001434 | 6/9/2005 | WO | 00 | 2/8/2007 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2005/123552 | 12/29/2005 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3089581 | Moar | May 1963 | A |
3338383 | Hashimoto | Aug 1967 | A |
4958724 | Hashimoto | Sep 1990 | A |
5836440 | Mindich | Nov 1998 | A |
6170644 | Nakaegawa et al. | Jan 2001 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
0 058 040 | Aug 1982 | EP |
571 210 | Aug 1945 | GB |
0185579 | Nov 2001 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20070235289 A1 | Oct 2007 | US |