Hybrid sprocket

Abstract

A hybrid sprocket for a conveyor comprises a robust toothring formed of cast metal and a pair of bore plates fastened to each side of the toothring. The toothring includes drive structure for driving a conveyor belt. The bore plates include aligned bore holes for receiving a shaft. Fasteners extending through fastening openings in an inner rim of the toothring and aligned fastener openings in the bore plates connect the bore plates to the toothring.

Description

[0001] HYBRID SPROCKET

[0002] RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0003] The present application claims priority to US Provisional Application No. 63,701,795, filed October 1, 2024 and entitled "Hybrid Sprocket", the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] The invention relates generally to power-driven conveyors and more particularly to sprockets used to drive conveyors.

[0006] Sprockets are used to drive endless power-transmission and conveyor belts and chains. Each sprocket is mounted on a shaft received by a bore extending axially through the sprocket. For certain applications, such as high heat applications, it may be desirable to have sprockets formed of a durable material, such as metal. However, the cost of producing cast metal sprockets is high. In addition, thick sprockets used in high load or high heat applications may be less hygienic, due to large surface contact area between the shaft and the bore hole.

[0007] SUMMARY

[0008] A hybrid sprocket for driving a conveyor belt includes a robust toothring and a bore plate attached to each face of the toothring. The toothring includes drive structure for driving the conveyor belt and the bore plate mounts the toothring to a drive shaft. Fasteners extending through fastening barrels in an inner rim of the toothring connect outer protrusions on the bore plates to the toothring.

[0009] According to one aspect, a sprocket for driving a conveyor comprises a toothring comprising an annular base, a first bore plate and a second bore plate. The annular base includes a plurality of drive teeth extending outwards from the annular base. The first bore plate is attached to a first side of the toothring and defines a first bore hole. The second bore plate is attached to a second side of the toothring and defines a second bore hole aligned with the first bore hole.

[0010] PCTappln3273.docx 1 According to another aspect, a sprocket for driving a conveyor comprises a toothring, a first bore plate, a second bore plate and a plurality of fasteners. The toothring comprises an annular base and a plurality of drive teeth extending outwards from the annular base. A first set of fastener openings is distributed about an inner rim of the toothring. A first bore plate comprises a base defining a first bore hole, a plurality of outward-extending protrusions extending from the base and a second set of fastener openings formed in the outward-extending protrusions and aligned with the first set of fastener openings. The second bore plate comprises a base defining a second bore hole aligned with the first bore hole, a plurality of outward-extending protrusions extending from the base and a third set of fastener openings formed in the outward-extending protrusions and aligned with the first and second sets of fastener openings. The fasteners are inserted in the aligned fastener openings to attach the first bore plate to a first side of the tooth ring and the second bore plate to a second side of the tooth ring.

[0011] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0012] These and other features of the invention are described in detail in the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, in which:

[0013] FIG. 1 is a front view of a hybrid sprocket according to an embodiment;

[0014] FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the hybrid sprocket of FIG. 1;

[0015] FIG. 3 is a front view of the hybrid sprocket of FIG. 1 with fasteners removed;

[0016] FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the sprocket of FIG. 3;

[0017] FIG. 5 is a front view of the toothring of the hybrid sprocket of FIGS. 1 —4;

[0018] FIG. 6 is an isometric view of the toothring of FIG. 5;

[0019] FIG. 7 is a front view of a hybrid sprocket including the toothring of the hybrid sprocket of FIG. 1 and a different bore plate;

[0020] FIG. 8 is an isometric view of the hybrid sprocket of FIG. 7;

[0021] FIG. 9 is a side view of a hybrid sprocket.

[0022] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] A hybrid sprocket includes a toothring and a bore plate attached to each face of the toothring. The present invention will be described below relative to certain illustrative

[0024] PCTappln3273.docx 2 embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be implemented in a number of different applications and embodiments and is not specifically limited in its application to the particular embodiments depicted.

[0025] Referring to FIGS. 1 —4, a hybrid sprocket 10 comprises a robust toothring 20 including drive teeth 23 and bore plates 30 attached to each side of the toothring. The bore plates 30 define a bore hole 33 for a shaft upon which the hybrid sprocket is mounted. Fasteners, 40, shown as bolts, connect the bore plates 30 to the toothring 20. The illustrative toothring has a high strength, is wear resistant and can withstand high operating temperatures without deformation or degradation.

[0026] The illustrative toothring 20, shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, comprises an annular base 24, with the drive teeth 23 extending radially outwards from the outside surface of the annular base and distributed about the periphery thereof. The annular base has a thickness T from a first side to a second side, as seen in FIG. 9. A thinner webbing 26 extends radially inwards from the annular base 24 to form an opening 29 defined by an inner rim 27. The invention is not limited to a webbing, and the opening 29 can be defined by any suitable structure. Fastener barrels 38 are distributed about the inner rim 27 of the webbing 26. The illustrative fastener barrels 38 include openings 39 extending longitudinally and open to both sides of the toothring for receiving the fasteners 40.

[0027] The toothring 20 can comprise one or more arc-shaped sections fastened together to form a complete structure, allowing the toothring to be assembled on an installed shaft.

[0028] The illustrative toothring 20 is formed of cast metal by pouring molten metal into a mold, then cooling the material to solid form, resulting in a robust structure. In another embodiment, the toothring 20 is injection molded or machined of a strong material, such as, but not limited to, a steel alloy.

[0029] Each bore plate 30, shown in FIGS. 1 —4, comprises a flat, thin annular base 31 defining a bore hole 33 and a plurality of outward-extending protrusions 35 forming openings 36 (shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) for the fasteners 40. The bore holes 33 of the two bore plates 30 align with each other. As shown, the illustrative bore plate base 31 is smaller than the toothring opening 29, forming gaps between the periphery of the annular base 31 and the inner rim 37 of the toothring, but the invention is not so limited and a bore plate can have any suitable size and shape depending on the size and shape of the bore hole needed.

[0030] PCTappln3273.docx 3 The bore holes 33 of the bore plates are also smaller than the inner rim 27 of the toothring, so that the inner rim 27 does not contact the shaft when assembled. The bore plates 30 can also comprise a plurality of sections fastened together to form a complete bore plate.

[0031] The use of a robust toothring with relatively thinner bore plates promote hygiene and enhanced sanitation. The use of two opposing, thin bore plates minimizes contact with a shaft, which reduces the risk of contamination. The illustrative design also minimizes the interface between the bore plates and the toothring to reduce contamination.

[0032] The bore plates 30 can be laser-cut or water jet-cut, making them more economical. In addition, the hybrid sprocket 10 promotes flexibility, allowing replacement of the bore plates to accommodate a different shaft without requiring a different toothring.

[0033] Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, a pair of different-shaped bore plates 60 can be attached to the toothring 20 to accommodate a shaft having a different size and— or shape. The same toothring 20 can thus be used with different bore plates for a number of different applications.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 9, the illustrative bore plates 30 extend slightly beyond the faces of the toothring 20 when the hybrid sprocket 10 is assembled, but the invention is not so limited, and the bore plates 30 can alternatively be recessed from or flush with the toothring end faces.

[0035] The illustrative design enables use of metal sprockets for certain application, such as high heat applications, while minimizing cost and promoting hygiene.

[0036] The invention has been described relative to certain illustrative embodiments, though those skilled in the art will recognize that modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0037] PCTappln3273.docx 4

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A sprocket for driving a conveyor comprising: a toothring comprising an annular base and a plurality of drive teeth extending outwards from the annular base; a first bore plate attached to a first side of the toothring and defining a first bore hole; and a second bore plate attached to a second side of the toothring and defining a second bore hole aligned with the first bore hole.

2. The sprocket of claim 1, wherein the toothring has an inner rim defining an opening.

3. The sprocket of claim 2, wherein the toothring further comprises a webbing extending inward from the annular base, the webbing terminating in the inner rim.

4. The sprocket of claim 3, wherein the webbing is thinner than the annular base.

5. The sprocket of claim 2, wherein the toothring includes a plurality of fastening openings distributed about the inner rim for receiving fasteners connecting the first bore plate and second bore plate to the tooth ring.

6. The sprocket of claim 5, wherein the fastening openings comprises barrels extending from a first side to a second side.

7. The sprocket of claim 5, wherein each bore plate comprises a plurality of fastening openings that align with the fastening openings of the toothring and receive the fasteners.

8. The sprocket of claim 7, wherein each bore plate comprises a base defining a bore hole and a plurality of outward-extending protrusions in which the fastening openings are formed.PCTappln3273.docx 59. The sprocket of claim 8, wherein the base of each bore plate is smaller than the inner rim of the toothring.

10. The sprocket of claim 1, wherein each bore plate is thinner than the annular base of the tooth ring.

11. The sprocket of claim 1, wherein the toothring is formed of cast metal.

12. The sprocket of claim 11, wherein the cast metal is a steel alloy.

13. The sprocket of claim 1, wherein the first bore plate and second bore plate are formed by laser cutting.

14. The sprocket of claim 1, wherein the toothring comprises multiple arc-shaped sections fastened together to form a complete ring.

15. The sprocket of claim 1, wherein each bore plate comprises multiple sections fastened together to form a complete bore plate.

16. A sprocket for driving a conveyor comprising: a toothring comprising an annular base and a plurality of drive teeth extending outwards from the annular base; a first set of fastener openings distributed about an inner rim of the toothring; a first bore plate comprising a base defining a first bore hole, a plurality of outwardextending protrusions extending from the base and a second set of fastener openings formed in the outward-extending protrusions and aligned with the first set of fastener openings; a second bore plate comprising a base defining a second bore hole aligned with the first bore hole, a plurality of outward-extending protrusions extending from the base and a third set of fastener openings formed in the outward-extending protrusions and aligned with the first and second sets of fastener openings; andPCTappln3273.docx 6a plurality of fasteners inserted in the fastener openings to attach the first bore plate to a first side of the tooth ring and the second bore plate to a second side of the tooth ring.

17. The sprocket of claim 16, wherein the inner rim of the toothring is larger than an outer periphery of the bases of the first and second bore holes.

18. The sprocket of claim 16, wherein each bore plate is thinner than the annular base of the tooth ring.PCTappln3273.docx 7

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