SLIDE FOR CONVEYOR ASSEMBLY

SOLE DE GLISSEMENT POUR CONVOYEUR

English Abstract

A return slide for an endless belt conveyor, which includes an endless belt passing around a pair of end rollers, has a wear pad mounted on a base extending traversely beneath the belt for supporting the latter. The top surface of the wear pad is bowed upwardly perpendicular to the path of travel of the belt for reducing wear on the belt edges.

French Abstract

Une sole de retour d'un convoyeur à courroie sans fin, qui comprend une courroie sans fin passant autour d'une paire de rouleaux d'extrémité, comporte un coussinet d'usure installé sur une base s'étendant transversalement sous la courroie pour la soutenir. La surface supérieure du coussinet d'usure est arquée vers le parcours de la courroie afin de réduire l'usure causée aux rebords de la courroie.

Claims

Claims:
1. A hanger assembly used for suspending a return slide from an endless
belt
conveyor frame comprising:
a hanger plate having a top end for suspending the hanger from the conveyor
frame; a bottom end for supporting one end of a return slide; a keyhole slot
in
said bottom end for receiving a bar for connecting the hanger plate to one end
of
a return slide; a clip for locking said bar in said slot;
wherein said bar includes an inner end for supporting one end of said return
slide; an outer end for extending through said keyhole slot in the hanger
plate;
and, opposed grooves in said outer end for securing the bar in said slot; and
wherein said clip is generally C-shaped including a horizontal top arm for
straddling said out end of said bar and a lower arm, whereby, when the clip is
placed on the bar and secured to said hanger plate, the bar is locked in said
keyhole slot by said top arm of the clip.
2. The hanger assembly of claim 1, including a flange on said top end of
the plate
for connecting the hanger to the conveyor frame; and an inclined web
connecting said
top end to said bottom end of the plate.
3. The hanger assembly of claim 1, wherein the clip is pivotally connected
to said
hanger plate for rotation between a closed position in which said top arm
straddles said
bar an open position in which the lower arm covers a bottom end of said
keyhole slot.
4. The hanger assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the
return
slide is curved.
5. The hanger assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the
return
slide is straight.
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Description

CA 02517766 2005-08-31
SLIDE FOR CONVEYOR ASSEMBLY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to a slide for supporting a conveyor belt, and
in
particular to a return slide for use with an endless belt conveyor.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Slides, which have been referred to as idlers, have been used for some
time to support conveyor belts. For example, United States Patent No,
5,799,780
issued to Steeb et al (hereinafter Steeb) on September 1, 1998, discloses a
slide,
referred to therein as a wear bar, for slidably supporting a continuous
conveyor
belt. The first embodiment of Steeb is a feed idler assembly, which includes a
generally U-shaped frame defined by a base, a pair of legs on opposite ends of
the base and a pair of shorter intermediate supports between the legs. Plates
are attached to the top ends of the legs of the intermediate supports. Wear
bars
are attached to the tops of the plates. A conveyor belt sliding over the wear
bars
forms a trough which is useful for conveying materials in the manufacturing
and
mining industries.
[0003] The fixed wear bars of Steeb are intended to replace rotatable idler
rollers.
The Steeb patent discloses two different types of wear bars, namely those used
for a feed idler assembly (see Figs 8a to 8c in particular) and one for a
return
idler assembly (see Figs. 11 a to 11 c). The feed idler wear bar has a flat
top
surface and tapered side surfaces. The return idler is a flat plate. The Steeb
return idlers cause the edges of the conveyor belt to wear, because the belt
has a
slightly bowed profile upon its return and accordingly contacts the edges of
the
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return idlers.
[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a solution to the wear
problem outlined above with respect to the Steeb apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] According to one aspect the present invention relates to a return slide
for
use on an endless belt conveyor, which includes a pair of rollers and an
endless
belt extending around said rollers, said slide comprising a base for extending
perpendicular to the path of travel of the endless belt beneath said rollers;
and a
wear pad on said base for supporting said belt during travel of the belt
beneath
said rollers, said wear pad having a top surface which is convex along its
length
for positioning beneath an endless belt with the pad extending perpendicular
to
said path of travel.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The invention is described below in greater detail with reference to
the
accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the
invention, and wherein:
Figure 1 is a schematic side view of an endless belt conveyor
incorporating the return slide of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a front view of a transition or trough slide assembly for use in
the conveyor of Fig. 1;
Figure 3 is a front view of a return slide in accordance with the invention
and used in the conveyor of Fig. 1;
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Figure 4 is a cross section taken generally along line 4 - 4 of Fig. 3;
Figure 5 is a side view of a hanger for mounting the return slide of Figs. 3
and 4 on a conveyor;
Figure 6 is a top view of a bar for connecting the hanger of Fig. 5 to a
conveyor frame;
Figure 7 is an isometric view of a clip for retaining the ends of the return
slide in the hanger of Figs. 3 and 4;
Figure 8 is a side view of the hanger of Fig. 5 with the clip of Fig. 7 in the
use position; and
Figure 9 is an end view of the clip and hanger of Fig. 8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0007] Referring to Fig. 1, the slide of the present invention is intended for
use in
a conveyor assembly including an inclined endless belt, for receiving material
to
be conveyed from a chute 2 located above the belt. The belt 1 passes around a
tail pulley 3 and a driven head pulley 4. The pulleys 3 and 4 include axles 6
and
7 mounted in pillow block bearings 8 and 9, respectively. The bearings 8 and 9
are mounted on the ends of a frame indicated generally at 10, which includes a
plurality of legs 12 and sides 13 (one shown) supported by the legs.
[0008] During travel over the top of the pulleys 3 and 4, the belt 1 is
supported by
transition slides 14 and troughing slides 15. When passing beneath the pulleys
3
and 4 the belt is supported by return slides 17. Each of the transition and
troughing slides 14 and 15 includes a frame defined by a tubular base 18 with
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plates 19 on the ends thereof for mounting the assembly on the main frame 10
of
the conveyor. The top ends of vertical center posts 21 extending upwardly from
the middle of the base 18 are interconnected by a crossbar 22. A wear pad 23
is
mounted on the crossbar 22. Inclined wear pads 24 are mounted on arms 26
extending outwardly and upwardly from the posts 21. Inclined side posts 27
extend between the base 18 and the arms 26 for supporting the latter. The only
difference between the transition and troughing slide assemblies 14 and 15 is
the
angle of the inclined wear pads 24 with respect to the horizontal. The
troughing
wear pads and the supporting arms 26 have a greater inclination for forming a
deep material conveying trough. The wear pads 23 and 24, which are formed of
a Teflon (trade-mark for synthetic fluorine-containing resin) composite, are
similar
to the pads disclosed by applicant's US Patent No. 6,854,592, issued February
15, 2005.
[0009] With reference to Figs. 3 and 4, each return slide 17 includes an
elongated steel base 30 having a generally C-shaped cross section. The base
30 is arcuate, i.e. upwardly bowed or convex when viewed from the front or
rear.
A wear pad 31 mounted on the base 30 is also convex when viewed from the
front or rear. Longitudinally extending grooves 33 in the sides of the pad 31
receive inverted L-shaped brackets 34 for retaining the pad on the base 30.
the
brackets 34 are welded to the sides 35 of the base 30. The use of a return pad
31 with a top surface, which is convex in a direction perpendicular to the
direction
of travel of the conveyor belt 1 beneath the rollers 3 and 4 substantially
reduces
wear on the edges of the belt. It will be appreciated that, when passing
around
the driven roller 4, the belt 1 tends to be concave even after the contents of
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CA 02517766 2005-08-31
belt have been dropped. Thus, when it passes beneath the roller 4, the belt 1
tends to define a shallow, transversely extending inverted trough. The slide
31
accommodate this belt configuration, reducing belt wear. It will also be
appreciated that neither the base 30 nor the wear pad 31 need be arcuate. It
is
merely necessary for the top, belt engaging surface of the pad 31 to be bowed
upwardly perpendicular to the path of travel of the belt 1 beneath the rollers
3 and
4.
[0010] The base 30 is suspended from the sides 13 of the conveyor frame 10 by
hangers 37. As best shown in Fig. 5, each hanger 37 includes a metal plate
which is bent to define a large downwardly tapering, vertical top end 40, a
central
inclined web 42 and a smaller downwardly tapering bottom end 43. A rectangular
flange 44 extends inwardly over the web 42 at the top of the hanger. Holes 45
in
the flange 44 receive bolts or screws (not shown) for suspending the hangers
from the frame sides 2.
[0011] A keyhole slot 46 in the bottom end 43 of the hanger receives one end
48
of a short bar 49, the other end 50 of which supports one end 51 of the slide
base
30. In the use position, the outer end 48 of the bar 49 is horizontal, and the
inner
end 50 is inclined slightly upwardly to match the slope of the base 30. The
outer
end 48 of the bar 49 includes diametrically opposed flats, i.e. notches 53 for
locking the bar in the slot 46.
[0012] Referring to Fig. 7, a novel clip 55 for locking the hanger 37 on the
bar 49
includes a generally C or boomerang-shaped thin metal body with a horizontal
top arm 56 and an inclined bottom arm 57. A threaded hole 59 in the top arm 56
receives a screw 61, and a hole 62 in the arm 57 at the bottom of the vertical
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corner 63 of the body receives a rivet 65. When the bar 49 is in the narrow
bottom of the keyhole slot 47 and the clip 55 is in position with the top arm
56
extending over the bar, the bar 49 is locked in position and cannot escape
from
the hanger. When the conveyor is being transported from one location to
another, the return slide can be dislodged from the hangers 37, i.e. the bar
48
can bounce out of the slot 47 in the hanger. The clip 55 prevents such
accidental
release of the slide.
[0013] If the return slide or a portion thereof is to be replaced, the slide
can be
removed from the hangers 37 by removing the screws 61 and lifting the slide.
The bars 49 cause the clips 55 to pivot around the rivets 65 to release the
slide.
The rivets 65 are long enough to permit the clip to rotate, but sufficiently
short
that when rotated by the bars 49 the bottom arm 57 of the clip remains in
position
covering the bottom end of the keyhole slot 47. When the bars 49 are inserted
in
the slots 47 and lowered, the bars engage the arms 57 to cause the clips to
rotate to the bar locking positions. The screws 61 are replaced in the holes
59 to
lock the return slide in the hangers 37.
[0014] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art to which the present
invention relates that the clip 55 can be used with hangers for suspending
straight return slides or even roller assemblies from a conveyor frame.
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Representative Drawing