Belt puller and method for pulling belt ends together
By designing a belt puller and ratchet belt system, the problem of difficult connection at the ends of modular conveyor belts was solved, enabling effective pulling of various belt types and simplifying installation and maintenance.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- LAITRAM LLC
- Filing Date
- 2021-12-22
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-23
AI Technical Summary
Existing technologies struggle to effectively pull unconnected ends of modular conveyor belts together, especially for long, wide, and heavy belts, where conventional pullers do not mesh well with belts that have few or no openings.
A belt puller is designed, comprising a puller body with aligned eyelets and a rod that extends through the eyelets. The connection of the ends is achieved by inserting the eyelets into the gaps of the hinge elements and pulling them using the rod, in conjunction with a ratchet belt or other pulling tool.
It enables the efficient pulling of the ends of modular conveyor belts together, suitable for various belt types, including belts with few or no openings, simplifying the installation and maintenance process.
Smart Images
Figure CN116635646B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Background Technology
[0001] The present invention relates to a tool for pulling the ends of a modular conveyor belt and a method thereof for pulling the belt ends together.
[0002] The modular conveyor belt consists of a series of rows of belt modules connected together by hinge rods to form the conveyor belt. The belt is connected around the hinge rods at hinge joints between consecutive rows. New belts are received with their opposite ends not connected to each other. The length of the belt is mounted in the conveyor around the drive sprocket and idle sprocket, and is supported by track plates or rollers in the lower return stroke and by abrasion strips in the upper conveyor. During installation or maintenance, the unconnected opposite ends of the belt are pulled together to close the belt, allowing the hinge rods to be inserted at the hinge joints between the two rows at opposite ends of the belt length. Once the hinge rods are inserted, the belt forms a loop.
[0003] Before the opposite ends of the belt are engaged, the weight of the belt tends to pull the two ends apart during return. Pulling these ends together by hand on the conveyor is difficult—especially for long, wide, and heavy belts. Belt pullers, which hook into openings at each end through the thickness of the belt and are connected via ratchet belts, are typically used to pull the opposite belt ends together. However, pullers that work well with belts with a large number of openings do not always work well with belts with few or no openings. Summary of the Invention
[0004] One type of belt puller includes a puller body and a rod. The puller body has a first side and an opposing second side, and a first end and an opposing second end extending laterally between the first side and the second side. Alignment holes are laterally spaced along the first end. The rod has a long section and a short section connected by a curved section that keeps the long section and the short section non-collinear. The long section extends through the hole.
[0005] One type of belt-driven system includes a pair of belt pullers and a pulling tool. Each belt puller includes alignment holes spaced apart along a first end, an attachment point at an opposing second end, and a rod extending through the holes. The pulling tool is attached between the pair of belt pullers at the attachment point.
[0006] A method for pulling an open end of a modular conveyor belt, comprising: (a) inserting an eyelet along an end of a belt puller into a gap between consecutive hinge elements of the modular conveyor belt; (b) aligning the eyelet with an orifice through the hinge element; (c) extending a puller rod through the eyelet and through the orifice of the hinge element; and (d) dragging the belt puller away from the modular conveyor belt to pull the modular conveyor belt. Attached Figure Description
[0007] Figure 1 It is an isometric view of a portion of a conveyor belt attached to a type of belt puller.
[0008] Figure 2 Is it like this? Figure 1 An isometric view of two belt pullers attached to, for example... Figure 1 It is attached to the unconnected end of the conveyor belt and engaged by a ratchet belt.
[0009] Figure 3 Is it like this? Figure 2 An isometric view in which the belt puller is connected to the belt module on the inside of the unconnected belt end. Detailed Implementation
[0010] Figure 1 A belt puller 10 is shown connected to an open end 12 of a modular conveyor belt 14, which consists of rows 16 of belt modules 18 engaged at hinge joints 22 between consecutive rows by hinge rods 20. The hinge rods 20 are received in a transverse channel 24 formed by alignment orifices 26 of staggered hinge elements 28, 29 of the consecutive rows 16. The belt puller 10 includes a puller body 30 having a first side 32 and a second opposing side 33, and a first end 34 and a second end 35 extending transversely between the first and second sides. Eyelets 36 (three in this example) extend outward from the first end 34 and are transversely spaced along the first end.
[0011] A belt puller 10 is connected to the open end 12 of the conveyor belt 14. An eyelet 36 of the puller is fitted into a gap 38 between the transverse continuous hinge elements 28. The eyelet 36 has a transverse width sized to fit within the gap 38. The eyelet 36 is laterally positioned as an integer multiple of the transverse pitch of the hinge elements 28. Once the eyelet 36 of the belt puller is secured in the gap 38, a rod 40 is inserted through the transverse channel formed by the eyelet and the alignment orifice 26 of the hinge elements 29. The conveyor belt 14 can then be pulled by dragging the belt puller 10 in a direction away from the modular conveyor belt section.
[0012] The belt puller 10 shown in this example has an opening 42 in the puller body 30, located between the first end 34 and the second end 35, and between the first side 32 and the second side 33, to form a handle for easy manual pulling. A hole 44 through the second end 35 provides an attachment point to which a ratchet belt or other pulling tool can be attached. The rod 40 shown in this exemplary model has a long section 46 and a short section 47 connected by a curved section 48. The long section 46 is used to connect the belt puller 10 to the conveyor belt 14 via the hinge element 29 of the conveyor belt. As shown in this example, the short section 47 is set at a 90° angle relative to the long section 46, but other angles may be used. Therefore, the long section 46 and the short section 47 are not collinear. A notch 50 formed at the first side 32 along the first end 34 of the puller body 30 receives the end of the short section 47 of the rod 40 to stabilize the inserted rod. A second notch 51 may also be formed along the first end 34 at the opposite second side 33 to allow the rod 40 to be inserted into the channel from another direction. However, it should be clear that no short rod can be used with the belt puller 10. For example, a rod with a head at one end can be used. In that case, notches 50, 51 would be unnecessary. Because the belt puller 10 uses a rod received in the hinge element 29 of the belt, it is useful for belts with few or no opening areas as well as belts with many opening areas.
[0013] Figure 2 The diagram illustrates how two opposing open ends 66, 67 of a modular conveyor belt 14 are pulled together by a belt pulling system comprising two belt pullers 10, 10' connected by a pulling tool such as a ratchet belt 54. The ratchet belt 54 includes a fixed-length webbing 56, one end of which is attached to a central ratchet mechanism 58. A free end of a second-length webbing 57 extends through the ratchet mechanism 58. A handle 60 is manually pumped to advance the second-length webbing 57 through the ratchet mechanism 58 to pull the two belt portions 52, 53 together such that they engage via a hinge lever when the puller lever 40 is pulled out. Hooks 62 at the outer ends of the webbing 56, 57 engage in holes 44 in the pullers 10, 10'. Other pulling tools, such as winches, coils, and other cable or rope systems with or without ratches, can be used to connect between the two pullers 10, 10'.
[0014] Figure 3Pullers 10 and 10' are shown connecting to hinge elements 28 and 29 of belt modules 64 and 65 inside the open ends 66 and 67 of the two belt sections 52 and 53. After the hinge rods are withdrawn from modules 64 and 65, their ends near the open ends 66 and 67 of belt 14 are lifted and then connected to belt pullers 10 and 10'. Puller eyelets 36 are inserted into the gap between the hinge elements of lifting modules 64 and 65. Eyelets 36 are aligned with orifices passing through the hinge elements. Puller rods 40 then extend through a transverse channel formed by the aligned orifices and eyelets. Ratchet belt 54 hooks between the two pullers 10 and 10' and pulls them together to drag the two open ends 66 and 67 of belt 14 toward each other so that they can engage. Once the orifices of the staggered hinge elements at the open ends are laterally aligned, hinge rods are inserted into the channel to join the two ends 66 and 67 together. Then remove the puller rod 40 from the belt modules 64 and 65 and reinsert the hinge rod to form an acyclic belt loop.
Claims
1. A belt puller, comprising: - The main body of the puller includes: -- The first side and the opposite second side; -- A first end and an opposite second end, which extend laterally between the first side and the second side; -- A plurality of alignment holes, which are laterally spaced along the first end, wherein the holes are configured to fit into the gaps between the continuous hinge elements of the modular conveyor belt; - A rod having a long segment and a short segment connected by a curved segment, the curved segment keeping the long segment and the short segment non-collinear; The long section extends through the eyelet, and the puller body further includes a notch along the first end on the first side to receive the end of the short section of the rod, thereby preventing the rod from moving in the direction along the first end.
2. The belt puller according to claim 1, wherein the eyelets are laterally positioned as integer multiples of the lateral pitch of the hinge element of the modular conveyor belt.
3. The belt puller of claim 1, wherein the puller body includes a second notch at the second side along the first end to receive the end of the short segment of the rod.
4. The belt puller according to claim 1, wherein the puller body includes a hole through the second end.
5. The belt puller of claim 1, wherein the puller body includes an opening between the first end and the second end and between the first side and the second side to form a handle.
6. The belt puller of claim 1, wherein the eyelet has a lateral width, the dimension of which is adapted to fit into the gap between the continuous hinge elements of the modular conveyor belt.
7. The belt puller of claim 1, wherein the rod is removable from the puller body.
8. A belt-driven system, comprising: - A pair of belt pullers, each comprising: -- Multiple alignment holes spaced apart along the first end, wherein the holes are configured to fit into the gaps between the continuous hinge elements of the modular conveyor belt; -- An attachment point located at the second end opposite to the first end; -- A rod that can extend through the eyelet; and -- A notch, located on the first side of the belt puller along the first end, to receive the end of a short section of the rod, thereby preventing the rod from moving in the direction along the first end; and - A pulling tool, which is attached at the attachment point between the pair of belt pullers.
9. The belt pulling system of claim 8, wherein the attachment point is formed as a hole passing through the belt puller at the second end, and wherein the pulling tool has a hook at the opposite end that hooks into the hole.
10. The belt-driven system of claim 8, wherein the eyelet of each belt puller has a lateral width, the dimension of which is adapted to fit into the gap between the continuous hinge elements of the modular conveyor belt.
11. The belt-pulling system of claim 8, wherein the rod of each belt puller is removable from the eyelet.
12. The belt-driven system according to claim 8, wherein the pulling tool is a ratchet belt or a winch.
13. A method for pulling an open end of a modular conveyor belt, comprising: (a) Insert the eyelet along the end of the belt puller into the gap between the continuous hinge elements of the modular conveyor belt; (b) Align the eyelet with the opening through the hinge element; (c) Extending the puller rod through the eyelet and through the orifice of the hinge element, wherein the belt puller further includes a notch at a first side along the end to receive a short section of the end of the puller rod, thereby preventing the puller rod from moving in the direction along the end of the belt puller; (d) Drag the belt puller away from the modular conveyor belt to pull the modular conveyor belt.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the eyelet is inserted into the gap between the continuous hinge elements along the open end of the modular conveyor belt.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising: Prior to step (a), the hinge bar is removed from the hinge joint inside the opening end of the modular conveyor belt; as well as Raise the end of the belt module at the hinge joint where its rod has been removed so that the hinge element of the belt module at that end can be accessed; Then proceed with steps (c) and (d).
16. The method of claim 13, further comprising: Steps (a) to (c) are performed using a second belt puller across the gap between the two open ends of the modular conveyor belt. A pulling tool is attached between the two belt pullers; Pull the pulling tool tight to pull the two opposing open ends together; Remove the puller rod from the hinge element; The hinge elements at the two open ends are staggered; A hinge rod is inserted along the two open ends through the interlaced hinge elements to close the modular conveyor belt.