Belt cleaner

Abstract

To provide a belt cleaner excellent in cleaning properties for a forward / reverse rotating belt conveyor.SOLUTION: A belt cleaner for a forward / reverse rotating belt conveyor consists of a flat scraper 19 and a rubber spring 20 that elastically holds the base of the scraper. The tip 19a of the scraper is bent upstream in the running direction of the conveyor belt 7 to be cleaned to form a rake angle, and the tip 19a of the scraper is offset upstream in the running direction of the conveyor belt 7 to be cleaned with respect to the central axis of the rubber spring 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a belt cleaner for cleaning deposits on the surface of a conveyor belt of a belt conveyor that rotates forward and backward. [Background technology]

[0002] Belt cleaners for belt conveyors that can be switched between forward and reverse rotation have been known for some time, as shown in Patent Documents 1 to 5. These conventional belt cleaners have a structure in which a flat scraper, held upward by an elastic body such as rubber, is pressed perpendicularly from below onto the surface of the return-side conveyor belt.

[0003] The conventional structure described above was designed to achieve the same scraping performance in both forward and reverse rotation, but there was a problem in that the scraper would move downstream of the conveyor belt in both forward and reverse rotation, causing the scraper to scatter the debris onto the conveyor belt.

[0004] Patent Document 6 describes a belt cleaner for a unidirectional conveyor belt. This cleaner has a scraping tip attached to the tip of an arm that extends approximately parallel to the surface of the head pulley. During unidirectional conveyance, the scraped material from the conveyor belt surface can fall along the outside of the arm. However, when the conveyor belt is reversed, the gap formed between the arm and the conveyor belt surface is small, so the scraped material adheres to the inside of the arm and grows, causing the scraping tip to lift off the conveyor belt surface. For this reason, this belt cleaner cannot be used for a reversible belt conveyor.

[0005] Patent Document 7 also describes a belt cleaner for a one-way conveyor belt. In Patent Document 7, the relief angle formed between the cleaner head and the conveyor belt surface is small, so similar to Patent Document 6, when the belt conveyor is reversed, the scraped deposits adhere to the inside of the cleaner head and grow, causing the scraping part to lift off the surface of the conveyor belt. Therefore, this belt cleaner also cannot be used as a belt cleaner for a belt conveyor that rotates forward and backward. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 56-36628 [Patent Document 2] Jikko No. 57-51219 [Patent Document 3] Jikko No. 58-11772 [Patent Document 4] Jikko No. 61-36498 [Patent Document 5] Patent No. 3080308 [Patent Document 6] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 63-247214 [Patent Document 7] Patent No. 4012208 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional belt cleaner and to provide a belt cleaner for a forward / reverse rotating belt conveyor which has excellent cleaning properties. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The first invention made to solve the above problems is a belt cleaner for cleaning deposits on the surface of a conveyor belt of a forward / reverse rotating belt conveyor, comprising a flat scraper and a rubber spring that elastically holds the base of the scraper, wherein the tip of the scraper is bent upstream of the running direction of the conveyor belt to be cleaned to form a rake angle, and the tip of the scraper is offset upstream of the running direction of the conveyor belt to be cleaned with respect to the central axis of the rubber spring, so that the pressing force of the scraper against the conveyor belt is changed depending on the running direction of the conveyor belt. It is preferable that the pressing force of the scraper against the conveyor belt is such that the pressing force of the scraper against the conveyor belt is large in the running direction of the conveyor belt to be cleaned, and is small in the running direction opposite to the running direction of the conveyor belt to be cleaned, and that regardless of the running direction of the conveyor belt, if a foreign object gets caught in the conveyor belt, the rubber spring will deform and move the tip of the scraper away from the conveyor belt.

[0009] The second invention made to solve the above-mentioned problems is a belt cleaner for cleaning deposits on the surface of a conveyor belt of a forward / reverse rotating belt conveyor, comprising a flat scraper and a rubber spring that elastically holds the base of the scraper, the scraper having two tip ends, one of which is bent upstream in the running direction of the conveyor belt to be cleaned to form a rake angle and has a shape that is offset upstream in the running direction of the conveyor belt to be cleaned, and the other tip end has the same shape as the one tip end but is arranged back to back with the one tip end so as to be symmetrical about the central axis of the rubber spring, and either tip end of the scraper is pressed against the conveyor belt depending on the running direction of the conveyor belt.

[0010] In any of the belt cleaners of the present invention, the base portion held by the rubber spring and the tip portion forming the rake angle can be made into a separate structure. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] The belt cleaner of the first invention has an excellent cleaning effect in the direction of travel of the belt conveyor to be cleaned, and can protect the conveyor belt in the opposite direction by reducing the pressing force of the scraper against the conveyor belt. Moreover, in either direction of travel, when a foreign object is caught, the scraper moves away from the conveyor belt, preventing the foreign object from getting caught in the conveyor belt.

[0012] The belt cleaner of the second invention can ensure the same scraping performance in both the forward and reverse directions, and can protect the conveyor belt by preventing foreign matter from getting caught in the conveyor belt. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 10 is a front view showing a conventional belt cleaner when the belt conveyor is stopped. [Figure 2] 1A and 1B are front views showing a conventional belt cleaner during forward and reverse rotation. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is an overall view of a forward / reverse rotating belt conveyor equipped with a conventional belt cleaner. [Figure 4] 1 is an overall view of a forward / reverse rotating belt conveyor to which a belt cleaner according to a first embodiment is attached. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a side view of the belt conveyor. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a front view of the belt cleaner of the first embodiment when the belt conveyor is stopped. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a front view of the belt cleaner of the first embodiment during normal rotation. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a front view of the belt cleaner of the first embodiment during reverse rotation. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a rake angle and a relief angle. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a front view of the belt cleaner of the second embodiment when the belt conveyor is stopped. [Figure 11]10A and 10B are front views of the belt cleaner of the second embodiment during forward and reverse rotation. [Figure 12] 1 is a front view of a split-type belt cleaner according to a first embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a front view of a split type belt cleaner according to a second embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 1 is a front view of a conventional belt cleaner. [Figure 15] FIG. 1 is a front view showing a state in which the scraper of a conventional belt cleaner has been replaced with the tip portion of the split belt cleaner of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Before describing the embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned conventional belt cleaner will be described again. FIG. 1 shows a conventional belt cleaner 501 attached to a forward / reverse rotating belt conveyor, with the conveyor belt 507 at a standstill. Since the conventional belt cleaner 501 must ensure the same scraping performance in both forward and reverse rotation, a flat scraper 519, held upward by a rubber spring 520, is pressed perpendicularly against the return-side surface of the conveyor belt 507. The amount of pressure a is constant. As shown in FIG. 2, in both forward and reverse rotation, the scraper 519 escapes downstream in the running direction of the conveyor belt 507, and the deposits scraped off by the scraper 519 are smoothed onto the conveyor belt 507.

[0015] FIG. 3 is an overall view of a forward / reverse rotating belt conveyor 502 equipped with a conventional belt cleaner 501. 505a is a drive pulley, 505b is a driven pulley, and belt cleaner 501 is attached only near drive pulley 505a. This configuration is sometimes adopted to reduce the maintenance required for components when belt conveyor 502 mostly rotates forward and occasionally rotates in the reverse direction. However, during the rare reverse rotation, conveyed objects 508 attached to conveyor belt 507 are struck by numerous return rollers 512 arranged on the underside and fall off return side 511, resulting in the formation of deposits 522 along the entire length of belt conveyor 502, as shown in the figure. To avoid this problem, it is preferable to attach belt cleaners 501 to forward / reverse rotating belt conveyor 502 near drive pulley 505a on the forward side 510 as well as near driven pulley 505b on the reverse side.

[0016] (First embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 4 is an overall view of a forward / reverse rotating belt conveyor 2 equipped with a belt cleaner 1 according to the first embodiment. The belt conveyor 2 has a drive pulley 5a driven by a reduction motor 4 located on the side of a chute 3 that discharges sand during forward rotation (as indicated by arrow 9), and a driven pulley 5b located on the side of a chute 6 that discharges sand during reverse rotation (as indicated by arrow 10). A conveyor belt 7 is stretched between the drive pulley 5a and the driven pulley 5b. A number of return rollers 12 are located on the return side 11 of the conveyor belt 7 to support the conveyor belt 7. A take-up 13 is provided in the center to tension the stretched conveyor belt 7. By installing the belt cleaners 1 near the drive pulley 5a and the driven pulley 5b, respectively, it is possible to reduce the amount of conveyed materials 8 adhering to the conveyor belt 7 that fall to the bottom of the return side 11.

[0017] Fig. 5 is a side view of the belt conveyor 2, showing the belt cleaner 1 attached to the underside near the drive pulley 5a. Fig. 6 shows the details of the attachment of the belt cleaner 1 according to the embodiment. The belt cleaner 1 comprises a flat scraper 19 and a rubber spring 20 that elastically holds the base of the scraper 19.

[0018] As shown in Figures 5 and 6, two pipe clamps 15 are attached to left and right frames 16 of the belt conveyor 2 via brackets 17. The height of the pipe clamps 15 can be adjusted using adjustment bolts 14. The base of a rubber spring 20 is held by a pipe 18 spanning between these pipe clamps 15, 15. Thus, the height of the belt cleaner 1 can be adjusted. As shown in Figure 5, multiple belt cleaners 1 are arranged in series according to the width of the conveyor belt 7. As shown in Figure 6, the rubber spring 20 of this embodiment has a rectangular cross section at the base but a tapered upper cross section, and the base 19b of a flat scraper 19 is embedded in the upper end of the spring, elastically holding the scraper 19.

[0019] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the belt cleaner 1 of the embodiment when the belt conveyor is stopped. As shown in Fig. 6, the rubber spring 20 is symmetrical with respect to the central axis L passing through the center O of the base of the rubber spring 20, and when the belt conveyor is stopped, the base 19b of the scraper 19 extends along the central axis L toward the conveyor belt 7. However, the tip 19a of the scraper 19 is bent leftward in Fig. 6.

[0020] In this embodiment, the belt conveyor 2 runs to the right during forward rotation as shown in FIG. 7, and runs to the left during reverse rotation as shown in FIG. 8. The running direction in which the belt cleaner 1 should clean shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is the running direction during forward rotation, and the left side of FIGS. 6 and 7 is the upstream side of the running direction in which cleaning should be performed. Therefore, the tip 19a of the scraper 19 is bent to the left, which is the upstream side. In this embodiment, the bending angle is 30°. Furthermore, by bending the tip 19a of the scraper 19 in this manner, the tip 19a of the scraper 19 is offset upstream of the running direction in which the belt conveyor 2 should be cleaned with respect to the central axis L of the rubber spring 20. The offset amount is 10 mm in FIG. 6.

[0021] As shown in Figure 7, when the conveyor belt 7 is traveling in the forward direction (rightward), the scraper 19 is tilted to the right. In Figure 7, this tilt angle is 23°, but because the bending angle of the tip 19a is 30°, a rake angle of 7° is formed between the scraper and the conveyor belt 7. As shown in Figure 9, the rake angle is the angle between the cutting surface AB of the blade and the perpendicular line AD to the cutting surface of the workpiece. By bending the tip 19a of the scraper 19 upstream in this way, even when the scraper 19 is tilted in the direction of travel of the conveyor belt 7, a positive rake angle is formed, thereby achieving excellent cleaning performance in the direction of travel to be cleaned. The bending angle is set to form this rake angle.

[0022] Furthermore, by offsetting the tip 19a of the scraper 19 to the upstream side, the contact point between the tip 19a and the conveyor belt 7 moves significantly from the left side of the central axis L of the rubber spring 20 to the right side of the central axis L during the period from the stopped state in FIG. 6 to the forward rotation state in FIG. 7. Accordingly, the amount of elastic deformation of the rubber spring 20 also increases, resulting in an interface in which the pressing force against the conveyor belt 7 increases. Here, the interface refers to the state (relative position) of the scraper 19 with respect to the conveyor belt 7.

[0023] On the other hand, when the conveyor belt 7 runs leftward, which is the reverse direction, as shown in FIG. 8, the contact point between the tip 19a of the scraper 19 and the conveyor belt 7 only moves slightly leftward from the stopped state shown in FIG. 6. In this embodiment, the inclination angle of the scraper 19 is 23° during forward rotation, but is halved to 12° during reverse rotation. As a result, the amount of elastic deformation of the rubber spring 20 is reduced, resulting in a reduction in the pressing force against the conveyor belt 7. In this way, the pressing force of the scraper 19 against the conveyor belt 7 is changed depending on the running direction of the belt conveyor 2, so the conveyor belt 7 can be protected during reverse rotation. Furthermore, the direction of movement of the tip 19a, indicated by arrow X in FIGS. 7 and 8, is away from the conveyor belt 7 during both forward and reverse rotations. Therefore, even if a foreign object gets caught, the scraper 19 can escape, preventing damage to the conveyor belt 7.

[0024] As described above, the belt cleaner 1 of this embodiment exhibits excellent cleaning effects during forward rotation and allows the scraper 19 to escape during reverse rotation, protecting the conveyor belt 7. Furthermore, if a foreign object gets caught, the direction of movement of the tip 19a is away from the conveyor belt 7, preventing the foreign object from getting caught. Therefore, the conveyor belt 7 is not damaged during either forward or reverse rotation. The belt cleaner 1 of the first embodiment described above is designed to specify the running direction to be cleaned, and must be attached near the drive pulley 5a for forward rotation as shown in Figure 6, and near the driven pulley 5b for reverse rotation with the left-right opposite of Figure 6.

[0025] (Second embodiment) In contrast to this, a belt cleaner 201 according to a second embodiment described below is designed to ensure the same scraping performance in both the forward and reverse directions.

[0026] As shown in Fig. 10, the belt cleaner 201 of the second embodiment has two flat scrapers 219 arranged back to back, with their bases elastically held by rubber springs 220. The scraper 219c on the left side shown in Fig. 10 has the same shape as the scraper 19 of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 6, but the tip 219a of the scraper 219c is bent upstream in the running direction of the conveyor belt 207 to form a rake angle and is offset upstream in the running direction of the conveyor belt 207 to be cleaned. The other scraper 219d has the same shape as the scraper 219c, but is arranged back to back with the scraper 219c so as to be symmetrical with respect to the central axis L of the rubber spring 220. As a result, the two tip portions 219a are arranged in opposite directions.

[0027] FIG. 11 shows the behavior of the belt cleaner 201 during forward and reverse rotation. During forward rotation, the tip 219a of one scraper 219c contacts the conveyor belt 207 to scrape off deposits. The contact of the scraper 219c with the conveyor belt 207, the rotation angle of the rubber spring 220, and the rake angle are the same as those in the first embodiment. During reverse rotation, the one scraper 219c separates from the conveyor belt 207, and the tip 219a of the other scraper 219d contacts the conveyor belt 207 to scrape off deposits. Thus, the belt cleaner 201 of the second embodiment has the advantage of ensuring the same scraping performance during both forward and reverse rotation. Therefore, although this belt cleaner 201 still has the problem of deposits growing along the entire length of the belt conveyor during reverse rotation, it is possible to provide a belt cleaner at only one location near the forward-rotation pulley if reverse rotation is rare, prioritizing the goal of reducing the number of maintenance items required for the components.

[0028] In the above-described embodiment, one-piece scrapers 19, 219 were used, but because the tips 19a, 219a are prone to wear due to contact with the conveyor belt, they can be split at the rubber spring side of the angled portion of the tips 19a, 219a as shown in Figures 12 and 13. In the illustrated example, the tips 19a, 219a are attached to the bases 19b, 219b with bolts 300. The split-structure scraper shown in Figure 13 also has two tips 219a arranged back-to-back, similar to the scraper shown in Figure 10.

[0029] Furthermore, if tip portion 419a of scraper 419 of the conventional split-scraper type belt cleaner shown in Fig. 14 is removed and replaced with tip portion 19a of the present invention (tip portion 219a when arranged back to back), as shown in Fig. 15, it is possible to obtain the same effect as the belt cleaner of the present invention using rubber spring 420 of the conventional belt cleaner. The difference in height between tip portion 419a of scraper 419 of the conventional product and tip portion 19a of the scraper of the present invention (tip portion 219a when arranged back to back) can be adjusted with adjustment bolt 414.

[0030] As described above, according to the present invention, the cleaning performance of the conveyor belt of the forward / reverse rotation conveyor can be improved, and the conveyor belt can be protected. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1 Belt cleaner (first embodiment) 2. Reversible belt conveyor 3 Shoot 4 reduction motor 5a Drive pulley 5b Driven pulley 6 Shoot 7. Conveyor Belt 8. Transported items 9 Arrows 10 Arrows 11 Return side 12 Return roller 13 Take-up 14 Adjustment bolt 15 Pipe Clamp 16 frames 17 Bracket 18 Pipe 19 Scraper 19a Tip of scraper 19b Scraper base 20 rubber spring 201 Belt cleaner (second embodiment) 219 Scraper 219a Scraper tip 219b Scraper base 219c scraper 219d Scraper 220 Rubber Spring 207 Conveyor Belt 300 volts 414 Adjusting bolt 419 Conventional belt cleaner scraper 419a Tip 420 Rubber Spring 501 Belt cleaner (conventional) 502 Reversible belt conveyor 505a Drive pulley 505b driven pulley 507 Conveyor Belt 508 Transported goods 511 Return side 512 Return roller 519 Scraper 520 Rubber Spring 522 Sediment

Claims

1. A belt cleaner for cleaning deposits on the surface of a conveyor belt of a forward / reverse rotating belt conveyor, It consists of a flat scraper and a rubber spring that elastically holds the base of the scraper. The tip of the scraper is bent upstream in the running direction of the conveyor belt to be cleaned to form a rake angle; a tip end of the scraper is offset upstream of the central axis of the rubber spring in the running direction of the conveyor belt to be cleaned; A belt cleaner in which the pressing force of the scraper against the conveyor belt is changed depending on the running direction of the conveyor belt.

2. Regarding the pressing force of the scraper against the conveyor belt, The direction of travel to be cleaned should be such that the pressing force of the scraper against the conveyor belt is greatest. In the direction opposite to the direction of travel to be cleaned, the scraper is positioned so that the pressing force of the scraper against the conveyor belt is small.

2. The belt cleaner according to claim 1, wherein when a foreign object is caught in the conveyor belt, the rubber spring is deformed so that the tip of the scraper moves away from the conveyor belt, regardless of the running direction of the conveyor belt.

3. A belt cleaner for cleaning deposits on the surface of a conveyor belt of a forward / reverse rotating belt conveyor, It consists of a flat scraper and a rubber spring that elastically holds the base of the scraper. the scraper has two tips; one tip end portion is bent toward the upstream side in the running direction of the conveyor belt to be cleaned to form a rake angle, and the tip end portion is offset toward the upstream side in the running direction of the conveyor belt to be cleaned; The other end portion has the same shape as the one end portion, but is arranged back to back with the one end portion so as to be symmetrical with respect to the central axis of the rubber spring, A belt cleaner in which either tip of the scraper is pressed against the conveyor belt depending on the running direction of the conveyor belt.

4. 4. The belt cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the base portion held by the rubber spring and the tip portion forming the rake angle are of a separate structure.

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