Patent Application
20210016971
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/656,440, filed Apr. 12, 2018 and entitled “Mounting Plate for Conveyor Components Including Grease Egress”, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to power-driven conveyors. More particularly, the invention relates to infeed and outfeed assemblies for a conveyor to transition conveyed items onto and off of the conveyor.
Power-driven conveyors are used to convey items. At the indeed and outfeed ends, mounting plates may be used to mount various conveyor components, such a sprockets, rollers or other components. Grease-filled bearings may be used to connect a rotating component, such as a drive shaft for a sprocket, with a fixed component, such as a mounting plate. However, it is not desirable for grease to enter the stream of conveyed products.
An end assembly for a conveyor comprises opposing mounting plates including openings for mounting a drive between the mounting plates, a grease egress below the openings for directing grease from a bearing in the opening to the exterior of the end assembly.
According to one aspect, a mounting plate for conveyor components is provided. The mounting plate comprises a planar portion extending in height from an upper edge to a lower edge, in length from a rear edge to a front edge and in thickness from an inner surface to an outer surface. A first opening for a bearing is formed in the planar portion. A grease egress channel is below and in communication with the first opening, the grease egress channel extending to the outer surface of the planar portion.
According to another aspect, a conveyor comprises a frame including opposing mounting plates at an end of the conveyor, each mounting plate including an upper opening for mounting a drive shaft and a grease egress channel for channeling grease from the upper opening to an outer surface of the mounting plate and a drive assembly mounted in the upper openings. The drive assembly comprises a drive shaft mounted on bearings received in the upper openings and a drive mounted on the drive shaft.
According to another aspect, a method of manufacturing a mounting plate for conveyor components comprises the steps of providing a steel billet extending in height from an upper edge to a lower edge, in length from a rear edge to a front edge and in thickness from an inner surface to an outer surface, machining a bearing opening through the steel billet extending from the outer surface to the inner surface, and machining a grease egress channel below and in communication with the bearing opening. The grease egress channel has an opening in the outer surface of the steel billet.
A conveyor system includes a mounting plate for conveyor components having a grease egress. The invention will be described below relative to certain illustrative embodiments, though the invention is not limited to the illustrative embodiments.
The illustrative mounting plates 12, 14 are connected by a back plate 16. Each mounting plate includes an upper opening 22, for receiving a drive shaft 40, on which a full-width sprocket 42 or other conveyor drive is mounted. A motor or other means drives the sprocket 42. The drive shaft 40 is mounted in a bearing 46 at each end. Each bearing 46 is seated in an opening 22. The upper opening 22 is substantially circular in cross-section with an upper cleaning window facing the inner surface 120 of the plate, though the invention is not so limited.
Lower openings 24 are used to mount a position limiter—scraper assembly 26. A suitable position limiter—scraper assembly 26 is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,296,565, 9,555,971, US Patent Application Publication Number 20170158434, and WO2017205135, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. The illustrative lower openings 24 comprise open slots extending from the front of the plate 12 or 14 to an intermediate dosed end for receiving a mounting shaft of the position limiter-scraper assembly 26.
The illustrative mounting plates 12, 14 are machined from stainless steel billet, but any suitable manufacturing process or material can be used. A stock piece of billet can be provided, then openings 22, 24 and other features can be machined to form the final mounting plate.
Referring to
The bottom wall 51 of channel 50 is curved, with a nadir corresponding to the middle of opening 22, The bottom wall 51 slants down towards the outer surface 121 of the plate 12 to catch and direct great away from an interior region. The illustrative opening 52 in the outer surface 121 of the mounting plate 12 is kidney-shaped, with a curved bottom edge, curved side edges and a curved upper edge. in one embodiment, curvature of channel 50 matches the curvature of the bottom of the opening 22, but the invention is not so limited.
A catch pan (not shown) can be placed adjacent to the opening 52 to trap grease exiting the channel 50,
In one embodiment, the opening 22 includes an additional lip 70 on the inner surface to accommodate a bearing that is wider than the thickness of the mounting plate 12 or 14. The lip 70 extends the bottom of the inner wall of the opening 22 to support a bearing. The channel 50 extends into the lip, as shown, Smaller bearings can he mounted flush to the inside of the plate and the added lip will not be required.
The scope of the claims is not meant to be limited to the details of the described exemplary embodiments.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2019/025547 | 4/3/2019 | WO | 00 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62656440 | Apr 2018 | US |
