The present disclosure generally relates to a conveyor assembly for use in moving food products through an oven for cooking. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a multi-section conveyor including a slave drive mechanism to interconnect each of the conveyor sections.
Presently, many different types of ovens exist that include a conveyor for moving food products through an oven enclosure for baking or heating the food product. These conveyor assemblies are typically constructed including a single section conveyor frame having a conveyor belt that moves along the length of the conveyor between two end rollers and is driven by a drive motor. The continuous conveyor belt is formed from a metallic material that can withstand the temperatures within the oven enclosure.
Although such conveyors function well to move food product through the oven enclosure, cleaning the conveyor assembly requires removing the entire length of the conveyor from the oven enclosure. Such cleaning process requires sufficient space at one or both ends of the oven since the conveyor must be removed as a single unit.
Therefore, the inventors have identified a need for an improved conveyor assembly that allows the conveyor assembly to be removed in sections for both the ease of cleaning and for the ease of disassembly. The inventors have recognized that utilizing a single drive motor remains most desirable to reduce the cost and operating complexity of the conveyor assembly. Therefore, in accordance with the present disclosure, a conveyor assembly is provided having multiple conveyor sections that are linked to each other by one or more slave drive mechanisms such that a single drive motor can impart rotation to the conveyor belts of each of the plurality of conveying sections.
The present disclosure relates to a multi-section conveyor assembly that includes slave drive mechanisms to interconnect each of the conveyor sections such that the conveyor assembly can be operated by a single drive motor.
The conveyor assembly of the present disclosure includes first and second conveyor sections that combine to move a food product from an infeed end to a discharge end. The conveyor assembly can be positioned within an oven enclosure such that the food product is heated or baked as the food product moves through the oven enclosure along the conveyor belts.
The first conveyor section includes a driven shaft and an idler shaft that are rotatably supported between a pair of spaced side frames and are coupled to each other by a first conveyor belt. The first conveyor belt interconnects the pair of spaced shafts such that rotation of the driven shaft imparts rotation to the idler shaft.
A second conveyor section is positioned adjacent to the first conveyor section and includes a first connecting shaft and a second connecting shaft that are rotatably supported between a pair of spaced side frame members. The first and second connecting shafts are coupled to each other by a second conveyor belt.
The conveyor assembly includes a gear box that is positioned between the idler shaft of the first conveyor section and the first connecting shaft of the second conveyor section such that rotation of the idler shaft imparts rotation to the first connecting shaft through the gear box. In this manner, the gear box is able to transfer the movement of the first conveyor belt to the second conveyor belt without the need for a second drive motor.
In one contemplated embodiment of the present disclosure, a third conveyor section can be incorporated in the conveyor assembly. The third conveyor section includes a similar first connecting shaft and a second connecting shaft that are rotatably supported between a pair of spaced side frame members. The first and second connecting shafts are coupled to each other by a third conveyor belt. In accordance with the exemplary embodiment, a second gear box having the same configuration as the first gear box, is positioned between the second conveyor section and the third conveyor section. The second gear box includes similar components and interconnects the second connecting shaft of the second conveyor section to the first connecting shaft of the third conveyor section. The use of the second gear box transfers the rotational movement of the second conveyor belt to the third conveyor belt without the need for an additional drive motor.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the gear boxes utilized to transfer rotation between conveyor sections include a first coupling member and a second coupling member that are each rotatably supported within the gear box. The first and second coupling members each include a shaft portion and a head portion. The head portion is rotatably supported within the gear box through a bearing assembly. Each of the first and second coupling members includes a sprocket fixed to the shaft portion. The pair of sprockets are linked to each other by a linking chain such that rotation of one of the connecting members results in rotation of the other connecting member.
The interconnection between the first and second coupling members in each of the gear boxes along with the use of a linking chain allows the gear box to compensate for expansion and contraction of the conveyor sections when used within oven enclosure. Each of the first and second gear boxes are not fixed to the conveyor sections which allows for the ability to compensate for the expansion and contraction. The first and second gear boxes can be easily removed from the conveyor assembly without the need for any additional tooling. When the gear box is removed, the conveyor sections can be separated and serviced as desired. The use of the separate gear boxes allows for the conveyor assembly to be separated and cleaned without the need to remove the entire conveyor assembly from the oven.
Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.
The drawings illustrate the best mode presently contemplated of carrying out the disclosure. In the drawings:
The oven 10 further includes a motor and control housing 30 that encloses an operating electric drive motor 31 that drives movement of the conveyor assembly 14 to move the food product through the oven 10. The motor and control housing further includes the control components needed to control the operation of the drive motor 31 and the resistive heating elements contained within the oven enclosure 12. A control panel 32 is provided to allow an operator to control settings related to the operation of the drive motor and the temperature resistive heating elements to control the baking cycle for the food product as the food product passes through the oven enclosure 12.
It should be understood throughout the entire disclosure, the temperature within the oven enclosure 12 can reach temperatures in the range of 600° F. in order to bake the pizzas moving through the oven enclosure. Thus, all of the operating components of the conveyor assembly 14 must be able to withstand the temperatures within the oven enclosure 12.
The conveyor sections 34, 36 and 38 are shown in
Referring back to
The first conveyor section 34 includes a pair of spaced side frames 52 that define the overall width of the conveyor section. The side frames 52 provide a mounting location for a support grid 54 which is used to support the upper run of the conveyor belt as the conveyor belt moves along the first conveyor section 34. The first conveyor section 34 further includes a driven shaft 56 and an idler shaft 58. Both the driven shaft 56 and the idler shaft 58 are rotatably supported at each end by a mounting block 60. The mounting blocks 60 are each supported along an inside surface of one of the side frames 52. Both the driven shaft 56 and idler shaft 58 include a plurality of sprocket wheels 62 spaced along the length of the shaft. As shown in
Referring back to
When the first conveyor belt 42a is installed on the first conveyor section 34, rotation of the driven shaft 56 will result in rotation of the idler shaft 58. Such rotation will cause food product to move along with the conveyor belt 42a from the upstream end of the first conveyor section to the downstream end of the first conveyor section.
As illustrated in
The third conveyor section 38 is configured in a similar manner to the second conveyor section 36 and includes a pair of spaced side frames 70 that each support a first connecting shaft 76 and a second connecting shaft 78 that combine to move the conveyor belt 42c. The third conveyor section 38 includes the end frame 80 since it is the most upstream portion of the combined conveyor assembly 14.
As can be understood in
As indicated above, each of the first, second and third conveyor sections 34, 36 and 38 are separate components that each include a separate conveyor belt. When the conveyor assembly 14 is assembled as shown in
The first and second gear boxes 82 and 84 have an identical design such that the following description for the first gear box 82 will apply to the second gear box 84. As shown in
Referring now to
As best illustrated in
As can be seen in
Each of the first and second coupling members 114, 116 further includes a sprocket 130 that fixed is rotatable with the shaft portion 126. Each sprocket 130 includes a series of spaced teeth that are sized to engage the individual links 132 of a linking chain 134. The linking chain 134 thus interconnects the first coupling member 114 to the second coupling member 116 such that rotation of the first coupling member 114 results in corresponding rotation of the second coupling member 116.
When the gear box 82 is fully assembled, as illustrated in
As can be understood in
When the gear box 82 is installed to link the first conveyor section 34 to the second conveyor section 36, the configuration and mounting of the first and second coupling members 114, 116 allow for a degree of expansion and contraction between the metal components of the first and second conveyor sections. Specifically, each of the first and second coupling members 114, 116 are mounted within the first gear box 82 only at the end including the bearing 122. Thus, the opposite, distal end of the rotating shaft can move slightly due to the expansion or contraction of the metal components of the conveyor sections. In addition, the linking chain 134 provides a linking connection between the sprockets 132 to allow for relative movement between the sprockets 130. In this manner, the configuration of the first and second gear boxes 82, 84 provide a flexible connection between the respective conveyor sections as compared to a fixed gear box.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.