Pocket conveyor belt and pocket conveyor belt system

Abstract

Pocket conveyor belt (1), with a conveyor belt body (10) which is designed to receive a conveyed material in the interior (18) of the closed pocket conveyor belt (1), characterized by at least one flat element (2) which is arranged at least substantially transversely to the direction of movement (A) of the pocket conveyor belt (1) on a first side (17) of the conveyor belt body (10), which is the inner side (17) of the closed pocket conveyor belt (1), wherein the planar element (2) projects perpendicularly from the inner side (17) of the closed pocket conveyor belt (1) towards the material to be conveyed, and wherein the planar element (2) is at least partially unconnected to the first side (17) of the conveyor belt body (10) and in this region a relative movement between the edge of the planar element (2) and the inner side (17) of the pocket conveyor belt (1) is made possible.

Description

The present invention relates to a pocket conveyor belt according to the preamble of claim 1 and to a pocket conveyor belt installation with such a pocket conveyor belt according to claim 11.In the field of conveying technology, a conveyor belt type called SICON® is known, which is described, for example, in EP 0 286 637 B1. An SICON conveyor belt has two steel cables as tension carriers in the longitudinal direction, i.e. in the direction of movement of the conveyor belt, which are vulcanized in the transverse direction in the two edge regions in each case. The region in the transverse direction between the two steel cables is free of tension carriers. The two edge regions also have profiles around the steel cables, which can be guided substantially jointly by corresponding guide rollers, so that the conveyor belt can be held hanging downward.In this way, a SICON conveyor belt for closed transport of loose material to be conveyed can be folded together in a pocket-like manner, so that the two edge regions can be guided lying one above the other. The intermediate surface of the SICON conveyor belt hangs freely downward and carries the material to be conveyed in a closed manner. An SICON conveyor belt can therefore also be referred to as a pocket conveyor belt or pocket conveyor. By means of appropriate guides, the SICON conveyor belt can be opened and closed at the feed and delivery points.It is advantageous in the case of SICON conveyor belts that the SICON conveyor belt or the corresponding conveyor belt installation has a small space requirement and can thus be used in narrow situations. This also applies to overcoming differences in elevation in tight situations. In this case, height differences with SICON conveyor belt closed in the shape of pockets with slopes of up to approximately 35° can usually be overcome in that the material to be conveyed can be compressed within the pocket or the bag and can thereby be held in a force-fit manner.However, it is disadvantageous in the case of SICON conveyor belts that, in the case of free-flowing conveyed products such as cement, only slopes up to about 10° can be realized due to the comparatively low force-locking connection between the conveyed product and the inner side of the SICON conveyor belt. It is also disadvantageous that SICON conveyor belts cannot be used to implement vertical, i.e. vertical, conveyor belt installations.In order to overcome these disadvantages for an SICON conveyor belt, very long conveyor lines would be required, which, however, can lead to correspondingly high investment and operating costs. Furthermore, space is required for this purpose in order to be able to set up the corresponding conveyor belt installation. However, this space cannot be present at all, so that the SICON conveyor belt cannot be used at all for overcoming greater slopes. This can prevent the use of the advantageous properties of a SICON conveyor belt for many applications.For conveying loose material to be conveyed at high slopes up to vertical conveying, various conveyor belts or conveyor belt installations are known which have planar elements which project perpendicularly from the carrying side of the conveyor belt transversely to the conveying direction in order to hold the material to be conveyed as a holding surface at regular intervals in the conveying direction. Planar elements of this type are usually vulcanized onto the carrying side of the conveyor belt. Individual planar elements or a plurality of planar elements can be provided which move towards one another in the transverse direction in the rolled-up, folded or in the recessed state of the conveyor belt and can thereby form a common or supplementary holding surface which can hold the material to be conveyed positively in the direction of movement or conveying direction. Examples of these are to be found in DE 10 14 024 A, DE 958 549 B, CH 647 737 A 5, FR 2 469 365 A 1, FR 810 482 A, GB 444 549 A, JP S64-87416 A and JP S57-151 509 B.A disadvantage of these solutions is that the flat elements are always arranged on the carrying side of the respective conveyor belt. This is usually carried out by means of vulcanization, so that an only destructively separable connection is produced between the flat elements and the carrying side of the conveyor belt. This can lead to the entire conveyor belt having to be repaired or replaced in the event of wear and or or damage to the flat elements. Furthermore, planar elements which are fixed in sections at least in the transverse direction are usually created, which elements can have a restrictive effect on the flexibility of the conveyor belt.Conversely, the stretching of the conveyor belt during operation and in particular in curves, especially in tight curves, can lead to loads on the flat elements, so that the connection between the flat elements and the carrying side of the conveyor belt can be damaged or eliminated. This can lead to the detachment of the flat elements during operation, so that the material to be conveyed can no longer be held and can get into slipping or dropping. This material to be conveyed can carry further planar elements with it, so that the closed conveyor belt can tear or a recessed conveyor belt can swell over by the material to be conveyed. As a result, the entire conveyor belt installation can be damaged and shut down. This can also jeopardize the environment and persons.EP 0 637 556 A1 describes a flat belt which can be rolled up into a hose conveying belt to convey material in its interior. While the flat belt is being converted from a tubular shape to a flat shape and vice versa, the belt travels through guide rollers into guide frames. The guide roller is provided to separate from a straight line between the outer peripheries of the pulleys, thereby preventing the belt from being biased or folded back. In addition, a dummy roll and expansion rolls are provided while the belt is being transformed between tubular and flat shapes, thereby achieving the same results.FR 2 900 914 A1 describes a conveyor with a cradle which is extended in the longitudinal direction in the form of a channel. A movable belt is movable with respect to the cradle along a longitudinal direction, the cradle supporting and guiding the belt. A compressed air insufflation unit is disposed between the belt and the cradle through distribution apertures disposed in the cradle and distributed longitudinally along the cradle. The unit has a separate and spaced air distribution manifold extending along the cradle where the unit has conduits connecting the manifold to the openings.DE 32 28 937 A1 describes a belt conveying system in which the conveyor belt can be closed in tubular fashion. In order to increase the flexibility of the system and the operational reliability and to reduce the production costs, the assembly effort and the operating costs, the closure of the conveyor belt is created by two clamping strips which can be connected to one another in a latching manner by lateral pressure rollers and can be opened again by centrally arranged separating rollers.DE 10 2014 224 291 A1 describes a conveyor belt, in particular a tube conveyor belt or a pocket conveyor belt, having a belt body which has a support-side cover plate for receiving conveyed items to be transported, wherein a profiling which is formed substantially in the perpendicular direction to the surface of the support-side cover plate is formed on the support-side cover plate, wherein the profiling has a plurality of transverse strip profiling regions along a longitudinal direction of the support-side cover plate, wherein the profiling has a plurality of chevron profiling regions in addition to the transverse strip profiling regions along the longitudinal direction of the support-side cover plate.An object of the present invention is to provide a pocket conveyor belt and or a pocket conveyor belt installation of the type described at the beginning, so that the conveyed material can be conveyed with greater slopes and or vertically. This is to be made possible in particular with the least possible outlay and or with the least possible additional space requirement. At least one alternative to known possibilities is to be provided.The object is achieved according to the invention by a pocket conveyor belt having the features according to claim 1 and by a pocket conveyor belt installation having the features according to claim 11. Advantageous refinements are described in the dependent claims.The present invention thus relates to a pocket conveyor belt having a conveyor belt body which is designed to receive a material to be conveyed in the interior of the closed pocket conveyor belt. The conveyor belt body can preferably comprise an elastomeric material or consist of an elastomeric material. The material to be conveyed can preferably be a bulk material and particularly preferably a free-flowing or free-flowing material to be conveyed, such as cement.The pocket conveyor belt according to the invention is characterized by at least one planar element which is arranged at least substantially transversely to the direction of movement of the pocket conveyor belt on a first side of the conveyor belt body, which is the inner side of the closed pocket conveyor belt.In other words, at least one planar element is created which projects perpendicularly from the inside of the closed pocket conveyor belt toward the material to be conveyed and can thus hold the material to be conveyed in a positive-locking manner, in particular if the direction of movement of the pocket conveyor belt deviates from the horizontal plane. In this way, the material to be conveyed can be conveyed at greater slopes than previously known and even in the vertical direction depending on the extent of the flat element.In this way, the material to be conveyed can also be generally saved even at lower slopes, because the forces within the material to be conveyed can be reduced by the positively locking holding of the material to be conveyed by means of the flat element. This makes it possible to achieve a more material-saving conveyance than in the case of known pocket conveyor belts.In order to enable this positive transport of the conveyor belt in a pocket conveyor belt, the planar element is at least partially unconnected to the first side of the conveyor belt body. In this way, the pocket conveyor belt can be opened at least partially to completely for loading and unloading at the loading or dispensing point and spread out flat in the transverse direction. In this case, a firm connection between a flat element and the first side of the pocket conveyor belt would interfere, because this could tear during opening or could greatly restrict opening.Thus, according to the invention, the planar element is not connected at least in sections to the first side of the pocket conveyor belt, in order to enable a relative movement between the edge of the planar element and the first side of the pocket conveyor belt in this region. Furthermore, the flexibility and the curve-running ability of a pocket conveyor belt can be retained even when the planar element is expanded according to the invention, so that the possible applications of a pocket conveyor belt are merely expanded or the properties thereof are merely improved, without limiting the possible applications to date or changing or even degrading the properties.According to one aspect of the present invention, the planar element has a first planar half element which is connected by a first connection to a first conveying belt edge of the pocket conveying belt, and a second planar holding element which is connected by a second connection to a second conveying belt edge of the pocket conveying belt. The connections can be made in a materially integral, positive-locking and or force-locking manner. Rivet connections and or adhesive connections or vulcanization can be used for this purpose. Preferably, the connections are implemented by means of releasable screw connections in order to be able to easily replace the flat half elements in the event of damage or destruction.Providing the connections at the conveyor belt edges is advantageous because a stable connection between the pocket conveyor belt and the two flat half elements can be provided without a connection of the two flat half elements to the conveyor belt body being present. As a result, the flexibility and the curveability of the pocket conveyor belt can be maintained.According to another aspect of the present invention, the first planar half member and the second planar holding member are completely unbonded to the inner side of the conveyor belt body in the transverse direction. In this way, the flexibility and the curveability of a pocket conveyor belt can be maintained as previously known.According to a further aspect of the present invention, the first planar half element and the second planar holding element are connected to one another by means of a rotation mechanism such that they can rotate about an axis of rotation, wherein the axis of rotation corresponds at least substantially to the direction of movement of the pocket conveyor belt. In this way, the two flat half elements can be designed and arranged so as to be movable relative to one another in a defined manner, so that the two flat half elements can rotate relative to one another both during the opening and closing of the pocket conveyor belt and during the operation of the closed pocket conveyor belt.According to a further aspect of the present invention, the rotation mechanism is arranged in each case at the end of the planar half element which is opposite the respective connection perpendicular to the direction of movement. As a result, the rotation mechanism can be spaced as far as possible from the connections which represent a fixed connection of the respective flat half element to the pocket conveyor belt or to its conveyor belt edges.According to a further aspect of the present invention, the first conveyor belt edge and the second conveyor belt edge are or are designed to be reinforced, preferably fabric-reinforced. In this way, the stability of the conveyor belt edge or conveyor belt edges can be increased. In particular, the tear strength can be increased. This can increase the service life. Fabrics are particularly suitable for this purpose, which can be embedded in the material, for example, in the conveyor belt edges, which comprise an elastomeric material or consist of an elastomeric material.According to a further aspect of the present invention, the shape of the planar element or of the two planar half elements corresponds at least substantially to the shape of the interior space of the closed pocket conveyor belt perpendicular to the direction of movement. In this way, the completeest possible closure of the interior space in the closed state of the pocket conveyor belt can be achieved together by the planar element or the two planar half elements, as a result of which the positive hold of the material to be conveyed can be achieved or maximized.According to a further aspect of the present invention, the planar element or the first planar half element and or the second planar half element comprise an elastomeric material, preferably consists of an elastomeric material. By using an elastomeric material such as rubber, the planar element or elements can be produced simply, flexibly in shape and cost-effectively.According to a further aspect of the present invention, the planar element or the first planar half element and or the second planar half element is or are formed reinforced, preferably fabric-reinforced. As a result, the durability and thus the service life of the planar element or of the planar half elements can be increased. Furthermore, it is possible to improve the positive hold of the material to be conveyed especially at high to vertical slopes, because the reinforced flat element or the reinforced flat elements can hold the weight of the material to be conveyed better, i.e. with less than or no deflection at all.For this purpose, a fabric-based reinforcement can be advantageous especially in the case of a flat element or flat half elements made of an elastomeric material, because the fabric can be embedded in the material.According to a further aspect of the present invention, the pocket conveyor belt further comprises a plurality of planar elements which are arranged spaced apart from one another in the direction of movement of the pocket conveyor belt. As a result, the load to be borne of the material to be conveyed can be distributed over a plurality of planar elements, so that the individual planar elements can be relieved. This is the more significant, the greater the slope.In this case, the planar elements can be arranged at the same distance or at different distances from one another. Preferably, the flat elements are arranged at equal distances from one another in order to distribute the loads as uniformly as possible.The present invention also relates to a pocket conveyor belt installation having a pocket conveyor belt as described above. In this way, the properties and advantages of the pocket conveyor belt according to the invention can be used in a corresponding conveyor belt installation.An exemplary embodiment and further advantages of the invention are explained below in conjunction with the following figures. The following shows: FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional illustration of a pocket conveyor belt according to the invention in the open state; FIG. 2 shows the pocket conveyor belt of FIG. 1 in the closed state; FIG. 3 shows a schematic top view of a first conveyor belt edge with a first flat half element; FIG. 4 shows the representation of FIG. 3 with an additional second conveying belt edge and second flat half element; and FIG. 5 shows a schematic perspective illustration of a pocket conveyor belt according to the invention with a plurality of planar elements.FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional illustration of a pocket conveyor belt 1 according to the invention in the open state. FIG. 2 shows the pocket conveyor belt 1 of FIG. 1 in the closed state. FIG. 3 shows a schematic top view of a first conveyor belt edge 11 with a first flat half element 20, FIG. 4 shows the representation of FIG. 3 with an additional second conveyor belt edge 12 and second flat half element 21, FIG. 5 shows a schematic perspective representation of a pocket conveyor belt 1 according to the invention with a plurality of flat elements 2.The pocket conveyor belt 1 can be, for example, a SICON conveyor belt 1. The pocket conveyor belt 1 extends in a longitudinal direction X in the representations of FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, which can also be referred to as length X. The pocket conveyor belt 1 can be moved in the longitudinal direction X, so that the movement direction A or the conveying direction A points in the longitudinal direction X. Perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X or to one another extend the transverse direction Y, which can also be referred to as width Y, and the vertical direction Z, which can also be referred to as height Z.The pocket conveyor belt 1 has a conveyor belt body 10 which is substantially made of rubber as the elastomer material and can also be referred to as a pocket 10 or bag 10. The conveyor belt body 10 is designed to be as flexible as possible in order to allow it to be opened and closed and to be able to hold and transport the material to be conveyed (not shown) accommodated therein in a pocket-like manner in the closed state.The pocket conveyor belt 1 further comprises a first conveyor belt edge 11 and a second conveyor belt edge 12, each of which consists of rubber as an elastomeric material and comprises a vulcanized-in fabric as reinforcement. The conveyor belt edges 11, 12 each have a profile 13 which can be aligned to the same side and held arranged one above the other by the guide rollers of a conveyor belt installation (not shown), so that the pocket shape of the closed pocket conveyor belt 1 is formed. Embedded within the profiles 13 of the conveyor belt edges 11, 12 is a respective tension carrier 14 in the form of a steel cable 14 running in the longitudinal direction X and closed in an endless manner in this direction.The two conveyor belt edges 11, 12 each further have a first contact region 15 or a second contact region 16, which are each connected by vulcanization in a materially integral manner to the edge, pointing in the transverse direction Y, of the opened conveyor belt body 10 spread out horizontally over the surface. The upper side of the opened and horizontally spread flat conveyor belt body 10 is referred to as the first side 17 of the conveyor belt body 10 or as the inner side 17 of the closed pocket conveyor belt 1. In the closed state, the pocket conveyor belt 1 encloses with its inner side 17 an interior space 18, in which the material to be conveyed can be transported.Such pocket conveyor belts 1 are known and have the disadvantage, among other things, that the material to be conveyed can slide during transport with a slope in the direction of movement A.In order to avoid this, the pocket conveyor belt 1 according to the invention has a plurality of planar elements 2 which are arranged transversely to the direction of movement A at uniform distances C from one another in the interior 18 of the closed pocket conveyor belt 1. In this way, the material to be conveyed can be held in sections, so that slipping beyond the respective planar element 2 can be avoided.Each planar element 2 has a first planar half element 20 and a second planar half element 21, which are each designed as approximately half-drop-shaped elastomer plates 20, 21. The two flat half elements 20, 21 are arranged in such a way that they can overlap one another and, in the closed state of the pocket conveyor belt 1, fill the interior 18 thereof as completely as possible in the plane perpendicular to the direction of movement A.For this purpose, the two flat half elements 20, 21 are each detachably connected to the respective contact region 15, 16 of the conveyor belt edges 11, 12 by means of a connection 24, 25 in the form of screw connections. The edges 23 of the two flat half elements 20, 21, which face the first side 17 of the conveyor belt body 10, are not connected to the conveyor belt body 10, so that the two flat half elements 20, 21 are connected to the remaining pocket conveyor belt 1 only via the two contact regions 15, 16 and are otherwise movable toward the conveyor belt body 10. This allows a stable connection to be effected without impairing the flexibility and the flexibility of the pocket conveyor belt 1.At their ends opposite the connections 24, 25, the two flat half elements 20, 21 have a rotation mechanism 23 in the form of a screw connection 23, by means of which the two flat half elements 20, 21 can be rotated relative to one another about an axis of rotation B. In this way, the two flat half elements 20, 21 can be connected to one another and at the same time continue to adapt to the contour of the conveyor belt body 10 when the pocket conveyor belt 1 is opened and closed.According to the invention, a pocket conveyor belt 1 can be provided as a result, so that the conveyed material can be conveyed with greater slopes and or vertically. This can be made possible with little effort and without additional space requirements.List of Reference Numerals (part of the description)A direction of movement or conveying direction of the pocket conveyor belt 1B axis of rotation of the rotary mechanism 23C distance between two adjacent planar elements 2 in the direction of movement A X longitudinal direction; length Y transverse direction; width Z vertical direction; height 1 pocket conveyor belt; SICON conveyor belt 10 conveyor belt body; pocket; bag 11 first conveyor belt edge 12 second conveyor belt edge 13 profiles of the conveyor belt edges 11, 12 14 tension members; steel cables 15 contact region of the first conveyor belt edge 11; flag of the first conveyor belt edge 11 16 contact region of the second conveyor belt edge 12; flag of the second conveyor belt edge 12 17 first side of the conveyor belt body 10; carrying side of the pocket conveyor belt 1; Inner side of the closed pocket conveyor belt 1 18 Inner space of the closed pocket conveyor belt 1 2 Planar element 20 First planar half element; first (half drop-shaped) elastomer plate 21 Second planar half element; second (half drop-shaped) elastomer plate 22 Edges of the planar half elements 20, 21 23 Rotation mechanism; screw connection 24 First connection of the first planar half element 20 to the contact region 15 of the first conveyor belt edge 11; 25 Second connection of the second planar half element 21 to the contact region 16 of the second conveyor belt edge 12

Claims

Pocket conveyor belt (1), having a conveyor belt body (10) which is designed to receive a material to be conveyed in the interior (18) of the closed pocket conveyor belt (1), characterized at least one planar element (2) which is arranged at least substantially transversely to the direction of movement (A) of the pocket conveyor belt (1) on a first side (17) of the conveyor belt body (10), which is the inner side (17) of the closed pocket conveyor belt (1), wherein the planar element (2) protrudes perpendicularly from the inner side (17) of the closed pocket conveyor belt (1) toward the material to be conveyed, and wherein the planar element (2) is at least partially unconnected to the first side (17) of the conveyor belt body (10) and a relative movement between the edge of the planar element (2) and the inner side (17) of the pocket conveyor belt (1) is made possible in this region.The pocket conveyor belt (1) according to claim 1, wherein the planar element (2) comprises a first planar half element (20), which is connected by a first connection (24) to a first conveyor belt edge (11) of the pocket conveyor belt (1), and a second planar holding element (21), which is connected by a second connection (25) to a second conveyor belt edge (12) of the pocket conveyor belt (1).The pocket conveyor belt (1) according to claim 2, wherein the first planar half element (20) and / or the second planar holding element (21) is / are completely unconnected to the inner side (17) of the conveyor belt body (10) in the transverse direction (B).The pocket conveyor belt (1) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first planar half element (20) and the second planar holding element (21) are connected to one another by means of a rotation mechanism (23) such that they can rotate about an axis of rotation (B), wherein the axis of rotation (B) corresponds at least substantially to the direction of movement (A) of the pocket conveyor belt (1).The pocket conveyor belt (1) according to claim 4, wherein the rotation mechanism (23) is arranged at the end of the flat half element (20, 21), respectively, which is opposite the respective connection (24, 25) perpendicular to the direction of movement (A).The pocket conveyor belt (1) according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the first conveyor belt edge (11) and / or the second conveyor belt edge (12) is / are reinforced.The pocket conveyor belt (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the shape of the flat element (2) corresponds at least substantially to the shape of the interior space (18) of the closed pocket conveyor belt (1) perpendicular to the direction of movement (A).The pocket conveyor belt (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the planar element (2) comprises / comprises an elastomeric material.The pocket conveyor belt (1) according to claim 8, wherein the planar element (2) is / are designed to be reinforced.The pocket conveyor belt (1) according to one of the preceding claims, having a plurality of planar elements (2) which are arranged spaced apart from one another in the direction of movement (A) of the pocket conveyor belt (1).Pocket conveyor belt installation, having a pocket conveyor belt (1) according to one of the preceding claims.

Images