Mesh belt

Abstract

To provide a mesh belt which can expand / contract and which has a small pitch.SOLUTION: A mesh belt 100 is formed of metal wire materials knitted in a wire-net shape. The mesh belt 100 includes: two types of spiral members 11, 12 having different winding directions which extend in a width direction longitudinally juxtaposed alternately in units of a plurality of pieces; wavy line bar-like ribs 3 for connecting the two types of spiral members 11, 12 by being inserted in both two types of spiral members 11, 12 adjacent to each other; and wavy line-like spring members 2 for energizing the adjacent two types of spiral members 11, 12 in a direction where an inter-axis distance of the two types of spiral members 11, 12 is separated so as to be inserted in both two types of spiral members 11, 12 adjacent to each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a mesh belt in which metal wires are woven into a wire mesh shape, and particularly to a mesh belt in which two types of helical members with different winding directions are alternately arranged and connected.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, for belt conveyors used in processes that require heat resistance and corrosion resistance, such as the conveyance of workpieces in the quenching process of metal products, and the conveyance of food materials in the steaming process and washing process of processed foods, etc., a mesh belt is used in which helical members made of metal wire rods are connected by ribs formed by bending metal wires into a corrugated rod shape and woven into a wire mesh shape (see Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

[0003] Such a mesh belt has problems such as scratching the workpieces that fall on it due to its high rigidity, and restraining the elongation of the chain that drives the belt conveyor, causing damage to the connecting members that connect the chain and the belt.

[0004] Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses a mesh belt in which two corrugated rod-shaped ribs are stacked, the two ribs are welded at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction, and spring members are provided so that the two ribs spread in a bamboo leaf shape between the welded portions, and normal ribs each consisting of one corrugated rod-shaped member are alternately provided. The mesh belt of Patent Document 1 expands the mesh belt in the conveying direction by contracting the width of the portion where the spring member spreads in a bamboo leaf shape, so as not to damage the workpieces that fall on the mesh belt. Incidentally, the spring member of Patent Document 1 is configured to lock the helix of the helical member at the wave portion of the corrugated rod-shaped rib that constitutes it.

[0005] In Patent Document 2, two non-wavy straight rod-shaped wire rods are stacked, and in the same manner as the spring member of Patent Document 1, the two wire rods are welded at predetermined intervals, and a chain-driven mesh belt is disclosed in which the two wire rods spread out in a bamboo leaf shape between the welded portions. In the mesh belt of Patent Document 2, by making the mesh belt extensible, the mesh belt is extended in accordance with the elongation of the chain during chain drive to prevent damage to the support portion that connects the chain and the mesh belt.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] However, in the mesh belts of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, since the force members are composed of two wire rods, there is a problem that they cannot be used when it is desired to narrow the pitch of the helical members. The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a mesh belt provided with a spring member that can be used even when the pitch of the helical member is small.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] The invention made to solve the above problems is a mesh belt in which metal wire rods are woven into a wire mesh, extending in the width direction of the mesh belt, and arranged in parallel and alternately in the longitudinal direction perpendicular to the width direction, and two types of helical members having different winding directions, inserted through both of the adjacent two types of helical members and while alternately locking the loops of the two types of helical members with waves to prevent the displacement in the width direction of the two adjacent types of helical members a wavy rod-shaped force member that connects the two types of helical members, the pitch of the waves is set larger than the pitch of the loops of the two types of helical members,It is characterized by comprising a wavy spring member that is inserted through both of two adjacent helical members and biases the two adjacent helical members in a direction in which the axial distance between the two helical members increases.

[0009] As described above, since the spring member of the mesh belt of the present invention is constituted by a single wavy member, the pitch (axial distance) between two adjacent helical members can be made smaller than in the case of using a spring member formed by welding two wire rods as in the mesh belts of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

[0010] It is preferable that the spring member is welded to the helical member only at one end in the width direction of the mesh belt. If neither end of the spring member is welded and the spring member is made free with respect to the helical member, there is a risk that the spring member will be displaced in the width direction of the mesh belt as the mesh belt repeatedly expands and contracts. Also, if both ends of the spring member are fixed to the helical member by welding, there is a risk that the spring member cannot be elastically deformed because it is constrained. On the other hand, by welding the spring member to the helical member only at one end, it is possible to prevent the displacement of the spring member with respect to the mesh belt without restricting the elastic deformation of the spring member.

[0011] A plurality of the spring members are provided in the longitudinal direction of the mesh belt, and it is preferable that the ends of the plurality of spring members on the side to be welded to the helical member are alternately interchanged between one end side and the other end side in the width direction of the mesh belt. By doing so, the mesh belt can be configured to expand and contract uniformly.

Effects of the Invention

[0012] As described above, according to the mesh belt of the present invention, the pitch of the helical members can be made smaller.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0015] Fig. 1 shows a mesh belt 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the mesh belt 100 is formed by connecting a plurality of two types of helical members (right helical member 11 and left helical member 12, hereinafter collectively referred to as "helical members") having different helical directions, a spring member 2, and a rib 3. The two types of helical members 11, 12, the spring member 2, and the rib 3 are all formed of metal wire.

[0016] The metal wire forming each member of the mesh belt 100 is not particularly limited as long as it has appropriate elastic strength, but stainless steel wires such as SUS304 and SUS316, and galvanized steel wires are preferably used.

[0017] As shown in Fig. 1(b), a plurality of right helical members 11 and a plurality of left helical members 12 are arranged in parallel and alternately in the longitudinal direction of the mesh belt 100 (the left - right direction in Fig. 1(b)). When viewed from one end side in the width direction of the mesh belt 100 (the front side of the paper surface in Fig. 1(a) or the upper side in Fig. 1(b)), the right helical member 11 is wound so as to extend in a right - handed helical shape from one end side to the other end side of the mesh belt 100, and the left helical member 12 is wound so as to extend in a left - handed helical shape from the one end side to the other end side. The right helical member 11 and the left helical member 12 partially overlap in the longitudinal direction of the mesh belt 100 by inserting helical rings 12a, 11a each consisting of one turn of the helix into the gaps between the helical rings 11a, 12a of the other helix, and the spring member 2 and the reinforcing rib 3 are inserted through and connected to the overlapping portion. As shown in Figs. 3(a) and (b), the pitches P1 of the helical rings 11a, 12a of the right helical member 11 and the left helical member 12 are provided to be equal.

[0018] As shown in Figs. 1(b) and 3(c), the spring member 2 is formed in a wave - like shape with a plurality of waves 2a continuous from a metal wire. As shown in Fig. 1, it is inserted through both of two adjacent types of helical members 11 and 12 and connects the two adjacent types of helical members 11 and 12.

[0019] The pitch P2 of the waves 2a of the spring member 2 is provided to be larger than the pitch P1 of the helical rings 11a, 12a of the helical members 11 and 12. If the pitch P2 of the spring member 2 is smaller than the pitch P1 of the helical members 11 and 12, there is a risk that the waves 2a of the spring member 2 will enter between the rings 11a, 12a of the helical members 11 and 12, causing a deformation that reduces the wave height of the waves 2a, which is the source of the elastic force of the spring member 2.

[0020] Also, if the pitch P1 of the helical rings 11a, 12a of the helical members 11 and 12 is the same as the pitch P2 of the spring member 2, that is, if the spring member 2 becomes only a member for connecting two adjacent types of helical members 11 and 12, similar to the reinforcing rib 3 described later.

[0021] By making pitch P2 larger than pitch P1, it is possible to suppress the waves 2a of the spring member 2 from entering between the rings 11a and 12a of the helical members 11 and 12, and insert the spring member 2 through the helical members 11 and 12 while the helical members 11 and 12 are separated from each other. When the axial distance between the helical members 11 and 12 is reduced, the waves 2a can be pushed by the rings of the helical members 11 and 12 to cause deformation such that the wave height of the waves 2a becomes smaller. Therefore, an elastic force can be formed in the spring member 2. The pitch P2 is preferably 2 times or more, more preferably 3 times or more, even more preferably 4 times or more, and particularly preferably 5 times or more of the pitch P1.

[0022] In the example of Fig. 1(a), only one of the both ends 2b, 2b of the spring member 2 is welded. The symbol 2bw in the figure indicates the end on the welded side. However, both ends of the spring member 2 may be welded to the ends of the right helical member 11 or the left helical member 12, or neither end may be welded, or only one side of the both ends may be welded to the right helical member 11 or the left helical member 12.

[0023] However, when the spring member 2 is deformed so that the wave height becomes smaller, it extends in the length direction (the width direction of the mesh belt 100). Therefore, if both ends are fixed by welding, there is a possibility that the deformation that makes the wave height smaller cannot occur because the extension is restricted.

[0024] Also, if both ends of the spring member 2 are not welded and are free, there is a possibility that the spring member 2 will be displaced in the width direction of the mesh belt 100 while the mesh belt 100 repeatedly expands and contracts.

[0025] On the other hand, by welding only one of the both ends of the spring member 2 to the end of the right helical member 11 or the left helical member 12, the spring member 2 can be elastically deformed to reduce the wave height without being restricted in extension and without being displaced, and can effectively form an elastic force, enabling the mesh belt 100 to expand and contract and giving the mesh belt 100 cushioning properties.

[0026] When arranging a plurality of spring members 2 in parallel, it is preferable to weld at least a part of the spring members 2 to the right helical member 11 or the left helical member 12 at the end 2b on the side different from the other spring members 2. It is more preferable to change the welding end 2bw for welding a certain number of the arranged spring members 2 at one end side and the other end side in the width direction of the mesh belt 100, and as shown in FIG. 1(b), it is even more preferable to change the welding end 2bw for welding alternately one by one. By doing so, the mesh belt 100 can be made to expand and contract uniformly.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 3(d), the rib 3 is formed in a wavy rod shape from a metal wire and includes a number of waves 3a, 3b arranged alternately in the length direction (width direction of the mesh belt 100). As shown in FIG. 4, the wave 3a locks the ring 11a of the right helical member 11, and the wave 3b locks the ring 12a of the left helical member 12, connecting the adjacent helical members 11, 12 while preventing the displacement in the width direction of the adjacent helical members 11, 12.

[0028] Both ends of the rib 3 are fixed by welding to one of the right helical member 11 or the left helical member 12 and are not fixed to the other of the right helical member 11 or the left helical member 12, so it can move freely among the right helical member 11 or the left helical member 12. By the movement of the rib 3, the axial distance between the adjacent right helical member 11 and the left helical member 12 expands and contracts.

[0029] In the example of FIG. 1, an example is shown in which units are arranged in order in one longitudinal direction (the right direction in FIG. 1) of the mesh belt 100, with the force ribs 3, the right helical member 11, the spring member 2, the left helical member 12, the force ribs 3, the right helical member 11, the force ribs 3, and the left helical member 12 as the minimum unit. In other words, in the mesh belt 100 of FIG. 1, between two adjacent force ribs 3, 3, a configuration in which two types of helical members 11, 12 are connected by a spring member 2 and a configuration in which only the right helical member 11 is sandwiched between two adjacent force ribs 3, 3 are alternately repeated in the longitudinal direction. However, it is also possible that a spring member 2 is sandwiched between all the force ribs 3, 3, or that the number of configurations in which the spring member 2 is not sandwiched between the force ribs 3, 3 is more than that in the example of FIG. 1.

[0030] As described above, the mesh belt of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, some of the spring members 2 may be replaced with spring members formed by welding two wire rods shown in Patent Document 2. Needless to say, the mesh belt of the present invention may be used for applications other than belt conveyors.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0031] 100 Mesh belt 11, 12 Helical members 2 Spring members 3 Force ribs 3a, 3b Waves

Claims

1. A mesh belt formed by knitting metal wire into a wire mesh, Two types of helical members with different winding directions that extend in the width direction of the mesh belt, are arranged in parallel and alternately in the longitudinal direction perpendicular to the width direction, and are arranged in plural numbers; A corrugated rod-shaped stiffener that is inserted through both of the two adjacent types of helical members, alternately locks the loops of the two types of helical members with waves, and connects the two types of helical members while preventing the displacement of the two types of helical members in the width direction; A corrugated spring member provided with a pitch of waves larger than the pitch of the loops of the two types of helical members, inserted through both of the two adjacent types of helical members, and biasing the two adjacent helical members in a direction in which the axial distance between the two types of helical members is separated; A mesh belt, characterized by comprising the above.

2. The mesh belt according to claim 1, wherein the spring member is welded to the helical member only at one end in the width direction of the mesh belt.

3. The mesh belt according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of the spring members are provided in the longitudinal direction of the mesh belt, and the ends of the plurality of spring members on the side welded to the helical members are alternately interchanged between one end side and the other end side in the width direction of the mesh belt. ​ ​ ​

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