The invention relates generally to power-driven conveyors and more particularly to modular radius conveyor belts having magnets to prevent vibration between consecutive rows of belt modules.
Side-flexing, or radius, conveyor belts are used to convey articles on a conveying path that includes turns. Modular plastic radius conveyor belts, such as the INTRALOX® Series 2600 SPIRALOX® 1.1 Radius belt manufactured and sold by Intralox, L.L.C. of Harahan, La., U.S.A., are constructed of a series of rows of belt modules linked together end to end at interleaved hinge eyes forming hinge joints. When negotiating a turn, these radius belts collapse at the inside of the turn because the travel path at the edge of belt at the inside of the turn is shorter than the path of the opposite edge at the outside of the turn. Because all the belt tension passes through the outside edge portion of the belt, the outside edge is fully expanded and stretched tight, while the collapsed inside edge is free of tension. Unlike the taut outside edges of the belt rows, the untensioned inside edges are free to move relative to each other in the direction of belt travel. As the inside edges of the rows rub along the inside rail or the side of a drive tower in a spiral conveyor, they tend to stick and release continuously. As they do so, they bump into each other as the belt advances. The bumping causes the belt edges to chatter and the belt to vibrate, which can cause conveyed articles to change their orientations atop the belt. In many applications, product orientation is important. And chatter is annoying.
Thus, there is a need for a conveyor belt that does not vibrate enough to change product orientation. And there is a need to reduce chatter in radius and spiral belts.
These needs and others are addressed by a modular conveyor belt embodying features of the invention. One version of such a conveyor belt comprises a series of rows of one or more belt modules hingedly linked together at hinge joints that extending transverse to a direction of belt travel from a first side edge of the rows to an opposite second side edge. Magnetic material is disposed in selected rows. At least some of the selected rows are magnet rows in which the magnetic material in each magnet row comprises a first magnet arranged to attract the magnetic material in an adjacent selected row.
In another aspect of the invention, a conveyor belt module comprises a first hinge end and an opposite second hinge end that define first and second hinge axes extending transverse to a travel direction between first and second side edges. At least one magnet has a polar axis parallel to the travel direction.
These aspects and features of the invention, as well as its advantages, are described in more detail in the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, in which:
A portion of a modular plastic conveyor belt embodying features of the invention is shown in the bottom plan view of
Each row 14 of the conveyor belt 10 has a set of leading projections 30′, 30″ spaced apart laterally along the leading end 20 and a set of trailing projections 31′, 31″ spaced apart laterally along the trailing end 21. The leading and trailing projections are laterally offset from each other so that they can be interleaved with each other. In this example, some of the projections 30′, 31′ are A-shaped with two legs 32, and other projections 30″, 31″ have a single leg 33. The projections of each row have elongated rod holes 34, 35 that form a lateral passageway with the aligned holes of the interleaved projections, or hinge eyes, of adjacent modules. A hinge rod 36 is received in the passageway to connect adjacent belt rows together at a hinge joint 38.
In a turn 13, as in
Although the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary version, other versions are possible. For example, the magnets can be embedded permanently within the belt modules or can be detachably mounted to the modules. As another example, each row could include a magnet at the leading edge and a paramagnetic material along the trailing edge attracted by the magnet in the leading edge of the trailing row. As yet another example, electromagnets could be used instead of permanent magnets. So, as these few examples suggest, the scope of the claims is not meant to be limited to the details of the exemplary version.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2012/020868 | 1/11/2012 | WO | 00 | 7/29/2013 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2012/102857 | 8/2/2012 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4981208 | Jones | Jan 1991 | A |
5199551 | Wallaart | Apr 1993 | A |
5738205 | Draebel | Apr 1998 | A |
5890583 | Garbagnati | Apr 1999 | A |
6050397 | Kato et al. | Apr 2000 | A |
6196381 | Kato | Mar 2001 | B1 |
6382405 | Palmaer | May 2002 | B1 |
6971507 | Forman | Dec 2005 | B2 |
20060011093 | Jensen et al. | Jan 2006 | A1 |
20090308716 | Marsetti | Dec 2009 | A1 |
20100012469 | Szarkowski et al. | Jan 2010 | A1 |
20110062001 | Garbagnati | Mar 2011 | A1 |
Entry |
---|
International Search Report and Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority, PCT/US2012/020868, mailed May 1, 2012, USPTO, Alexandria, Virginia. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20130306445 A1 | Nov 2013 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
61436667 | Jan 2011 | US |