Device and method for lubricating a chain

Abstract

A device for lubricating a chain (10), comprising a lubricant tank (5) and a carriage (2) connected thereto, which carriage can be placed on the chain with its lubricating side facing the chain and has at least one guide rail (4) on the lubricating side, which guide rail is designed to guide the carriage (2) on an upper side of the chain (10) along its longitudinal direction. The carriage (2) has at least one nozzle (7) on the lubricating side, via which a lubricant from the lubricant tank (5) can be sprayed onto the chain (10), so that the chain can slide along the lubricating side while lubricant can be sprayed onto it via the nozzle at the same time. The carriage (2) has a plastic attachment (3) on its lubricating side, which forms the at least one guide rail (4) and, in the transverse direction, flat sliding surfaces (13) adjacent to the guide rail (4), and the attachment (3) has the at least one nozzle (7).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a device and a method for lubricating chains, in particular conveyor chains.

[0002] Conveyor chains are used in logistics centers, for example, to transport goods, pallets, boxes, and the like. For maintenance, the chains must be lubricated at regular intervals. The chain must also be checked for defective components. A liquid lubricant is used for lubrication, which employees apply to the chain from individual bottles using a conventional dispenser. The dosage of the lubricant and its accuracy on the relevant chain sections are in the hands of each individual employee. Overdosing results in the liquid lubricant dripping to the floor, and the chain becomes dirty. Underdosing results in excessive chain wear. Furthermore, applying the lubricant using bottles is not ergonomically convenient for employees.

[0003] Various lubrication devices for lubricating a chain using nozzles are known, for example, from documents DE 87 00 109 U1 and DE 100 06 283 A1. However, these are stationary and arranged at a distance from the chain. Furthermore, documents DE 199 02 342 A1, DE 200 15 780 U1, and US 2004 / 0065511 A1 teach lubrication devices with lubrication nozzles for lubricating lubrication sleeves, which are arranged on slides to compensate for the relative movement between the lubrication nozzle and the chain.

[0004] Furthermore, lubrication devices are known from the documents WO 2008 / 031 176 A1, DE 10 2016 002 327 A1 and DE 10 2009 028 728 A1.

[0005] The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a device and a method for lubricating a chain which ensure uniform, fast, ergonomic and quantitative lubrication.

[0006] These objects are achieved by the feature combinations according to patent claims 1 and 9.

[0007] According to the invention, a device for lubricating a chain is proposed, as defined by the main claim. The device according to the invention comprises a lubricant tank and a carriage connected thereto, which has at least one guide rail on a lubrication side, which is designed to guide the carriage on an upper side of the chain along its longitudinal direction. The carriage has at least one nozzle on the lubrication side, via which a lubricant can be sprayed from the lubricant tank onto the chain.

[0008] The longitudinal direction of the chain is defined as the direction along the chain conveyor movement.

[0009] The invention is particularly suitable for roller chains, but can also be used for other types of chains, such as leaf chains or toothed chains. When lubricating simplex chains, one guide rail is sufficient; for duplex or triplex chains, two or three guide rails are preferably used, respectively.

[0010] The carriage is placed on the chain with its lubrication side facing the chain and is guided along the guide rail in a transverse direction, perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the chain, while the chain slides past the carriage during conveying operation. The carriage is manually held in position via the guide rail, and the chain slides past the carriage in the longitudinal direction of the chain along the lubrication side. At the same time, liquid lubricant is sprayed from the lubricant tank via the nozzle on the lubrication side. The amount of lubricant supplied at any one time can be adjusted using the nozzle. The nozzle is also aligned so that it sprays exactly into the predetermined area of the chain. Furthermore, the fixed position of the carriage and the defined dosage via nozzles means that the chain can be checked for damage as it slides past the carriage.

[0011] In addition to controlling the lubricant quantity by selecting the nozzle, one design variant provides for the use of a manual control element, which allows the amount of lubricant sprayed from at least one nozzle per unit time to be manually controlled. In a favorable solution, the manual control element has a pressure control valve for adjusting the amount of lubricant delivered from the lubricant tank by pressure and is attached to the slide. In one design, the control element is provided with a manually operable lever, whereby the amount of lubricant supplied depends on the lever width.

[0012] In one embodiment, the at least one nozzle is a 3D printer nozzle. By using existing and commercially available nozzles, costs can be reduced. Furthermore, the 3D printer nozzles are suitable for precisely adjusting the dosage amount and spray direction for liquid lubricants.

[0013] The invention further provides that the carriage has a plastic attachment on its lubrication side, which forms the guide rail and flat sliding surfaces adjacent to the guide rail in the transverse direction. During lubrication operation, the guide rail rests, for example, laterally against the outer link plates of the chain, and the cross pins with their sleeves slide along the end face of the guide rail. The upper edges of the outer link plates of the chain facing the lubrication side slide along the sliding surfaces. The nozzle(s) are formed on the attachment.

[0014] To direct the lubricant spray onto the predetermined sections of the chain, the nozzle extends vertically through the carriage or, if an attachment is used, through the carriage and the attachment, so that a nozzle spray opening is formed on the lubrication side of the carriage. The nozzle is flush with the lubrication side or is slightly recessed.

[0015] In one variant, the carriage and / or the attachment are dimensioned in such a way that they overlap the chain in the transverse direction. This overlap completely covers the chain in the transverse direction, so that the lubricant spray is applied directly and exclusively to the chain without contaminating the surrounding area.

[0016] In an advantageous embodiment, the guide rail extends along the longitudinal centerline of the carriage, parallel to the chain conveying direction. Furthermore, two nozzles are arranged adjacent to the guide rail in the transverse direction or overlapping it. Thus, a separate nozzle is provided for each outer link section to optimally lubricate the critical area between the outer link and the pin.

[0017] It is also advantageous that the guide rail has a bevel on its front edge facing the chain movement so that the chain elements cannot get caught on the guide rail.

[0018] In a further development of the invention, two carriages are connected to a lubricant tank, which can be mounted parallel on two chains. Lubricant from the lubricant tank can be sprayed onto both chains simultaneously via both carriages. Thus, two spaced-apart chains can be lubricated simultaneously from one lubricant tank.

[0019] The invention also encompasses the method for lubricating the chain using the device described above, wherein the carriage connected to the lubricant tank, which has at least one guide rail on its lubrication side, is placed on top of the chain so that the guide rail rests against the chain and guides the carriage along the chain's longitudinal direction, and lubricant is sprayed from the lubricant tank onto the chain via at least one nozzle on the lubrication side of the carriage. The further developments of the device are applicable to the method in the manner described, without needing to be explained again here.

[0020] The carriage can be held in position on the chain manually or automatically. Furthermore, the lubricant quantity can be controlled manually or automatically via an electronic control system.

[0021] Other advantageous developments of the invention are characterized in the subclaims or are presented in more detail below, together with the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the figures. They show: Fig. 1 a schematic view of the device in front view, Fig. 2 a view of the carriage from below.

[0022] Fig. 1 shows, by way of example and without claiming to reproduce correct proportions, a view of the device 1 for lubricating the chain 10 in a front view, wherein the chain 10 is cut away.

[0023] The lubricant tank 5 is a pressure vessel with an operating pressure of 0.6 to 6 bar and holds 5-15 liters of liquid lubricant. It is connected via a hose 6 to the control element 8 attached to the slide 2. The control element 8 includes a control valve for controlling the amount of lubricant delivered from the lubricant tank 5 via the pressure.

[0024] The plastic attachment 3 is attached to the carriage 2 on the lubricant side facing the chain 10. This attachment forms the guide rail 4, which in turn guides the carriage 2 on an upper side of the chain 10 along its longitudinal direction. The guide rail 4 has a width that essentially corresponds to the width of the sleeve 14 of the chain 10 to ensure guidance on both sides. Flat sliding surfaces 13 are provided on the attachment 4 adjacent to the guide rail 4 (see FIG. Fig. 2, which are placed on outer plates 11 of the chain 10. The guide rail 4 rests on the sleeve 14 of the chain 10, which surrounds the pin 13. Two nozzles 7 extend through the carriage 2 and the attachment 4, through which the lubricant is sprayed from the lubricant tank 5 onto the chain 10. The nozzles 7 have nozzle spray openings directed toward the chain 10, which ensure a predetermined lubricant distribution.

[0025] The carriage 2 and the attachment 4 are wider in the transverse direction than the chain 10, so that all chain elements are covered.

[0026] Referring to Fig. 2 is an example schematic of the carriage 2 from Fig. 1 in a bottom view. The nozzles 7 can be seen adjacent to the guide rail 4. Furthermore, the attachment 3 has a chamfer 9 on its front side, which faces in the longitudinal direction of the chain and also extends over the guide rail 4. The section of the attachment 3 that comes into contact with the chain 10 is chamfered across its entire width in the transverse direction. A plastic of sufficient hardness, yet with good sliding properties, is selected for the attachment.

[0027] In manual operation, the carriage 2 is placed on the chain 10 with the guide rail 4 formed on the attachment 3 as shown in Fig.1 and held in one position. The chain 10 slides beneath the carriage 2, while the guide rail 4 prevents the chain 10 from shifting laterally relative to the carriage 2. At the same time, lubricant is sprayed from the lubricant tank 5 onto the chain 10 via the nozzles 7. The amount of lubricant can be adjusted by the chain speed, the control element 8, and the nozzle selection.

[0028] The invention is not limited in its implementation to the preferred embodiments described above. Rather, a number of variants are conceivable, which utilize the presented solution even in fundamentally different configurations. For example, the nozzles can be interchangeably mounted in the carriage in order to use predetermined nozzle types or nozzle opening cross-sections for specific chain types. The attachment and the carriage can also be formed as a single piece.

Claims

[1] Device for lubricating a chain (10) with a lubricant tank (5) and a carriage (2) connected thereto, which can be placed on the chain with its lubrication side facing the chain and has at least one guide rail (4) on the lubrication side, which is designed to guide the carriage (2) on an upper side of the chain (10) along its chain longitudinal direction, wherein the carriage (2) has at least one nozzle (7) on the lubrication side, through which a lubricant from the lubricant tank (5) can be sprayed onto the chain (10), so that the chain can slide along the lubrication side while lubricant can be sprayed via the nozzle at the same time, wherein the carriage (2) has on its lubricating side a plastic attachment (3) which forms the at least one guide rail (4) and flat sliding surfaces (13) adjacent to the guide rail (4) in the transverse direction, and wherein the attachment (3) has at least one nozzle (7). [2] Device according to claim 1, characterized by that a manual control element (8) is provided, via which a quantity of lubricant sprayed from the at least one nozzle (7) per time can be manually controlled. [3] Device according to claim 2, characterized by that the manual control element (8) has a pressure control valve for adjusting the amount of lubricant supplied from the lubricant tank (5) by pressure and is attached to the carriage (2). [4] Device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the at least one nozzle (7) is a 3D printer nozzle. [5] Device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the carriage (2) and / or the attachment (4) is / are dimensioned in the transverse direction to overlap the chain (10) in the transverse direction. [6] Device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the at least one nozzle (7) extends in a vertical direction through the carriage (2) or through the carriage (2) and the attachment (3), so that a nozzle spray opening of the at least one nozzle (7) is formed on the lubricating side of the carriage (2). [7] Device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the at least one guide rail (4) extends along a longitudinal center line of the carriage (2) and two nozzles (7) are arranged adjacent to the guide rail (4) in the transverse direction or superimposed thereon. [8] Device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by that two carriages (2) are connected to a lubricant tank (5), which can be placed in parallel on two chains and lubricant from the lubricant tank (5) can be sprayed onto the two chains simultaneously via both carriages (2). [9] Method for lubricating a chain (10) using the device according to at least one of the preceding claims, wherein the carriage (2) connected to the lubricant tank (5), which has at least one guide rail (4) on its lubrication side, is placed on top of the chain (10) so that the guide rail (4) bears against the chain (10) in a guiding manner and guides the carriage (2) along the chain's longitudinal direction, and lubricant is sprayed from the lubricant tank (5) onto the chain (10) via at least one nozzle (7) on the lubrication side of the carriage (2) while the chain is conveyed in the chain's longitudinal direction.

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