Bristle Brush Conveyor Belt Structure for Smooth Direction Changes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing conveyor belts formed by bristle brushes face issues such as high manufacturing costs, weight, and power requirements due to rigid support plates, and micro-separations during changes in direction, affecting durability and aesthetics.
Innovation Solution
A conveyor belt design featuring flexible bristles with polygonal-shaped support plates and coupling elements like anchors or flanges, allowing for staggered assembly and even stress distribution through traction rods, enabling smooth transitions and reduced turning radii.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If rigid support plates are used to fix bristles, then the conveyor belt has sufficient strength and stability, but the weight increases and power requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces rigid support plates with flexible support elements that can be thin films or shells. These flexible elements maintain sufficient structural strength while dramatically reducing weight, allowing the conveyor belt to be moved with lower power requirements while still supporting the bristle structures needed for material handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic flexibility to the support structure, allowing it to adapt and flex during operation rather than remaining rigid. This dynamic capability enables the support elements to maintain strength where needed while reducing overall weight and power consumption through controlled flexibility.
2Device complexity
If a single axis joins modules, then the structure is simple, but micro-separations occur between modules during forward movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple joining functions into an integrated coupling mechanism. Rather than using a single axis for all joining requirements, the design merges positioning, stress distribution, and alignment functions into a unified coupling system that prevents micro-separations while maintaining structural coherence.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from single-axis joining to multi-dimensional coupling mechanisms. By adding dimensional complexity to the joining interface (such as multi-point contact or distributed coupling elements), the system eliminates micro-separations that occur with simple single-axis connections while maintaining overall structural simplicity.
3Strength
If rigid materials are used for bristle brushes, then the conveyor belt has structural integrity, but flexibility and turning radius are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by transitioning from rigid materials to flexible materials with controlled mechanical properties. By adjusting material parameters such as elasticity, tensile strength, and flexural rigidity, the conveyor belt achieves both structural integrity and the flexibility needed for small turning radii and adaptive handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material structures that combine different material properties within the bristle brush assembly. This allows the structure to maintain integrity through rigid components while incorporating flexible elements that enable bending and turning, achieving both structural integrity and adaptability simultaneously.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design achieves homogeneous transitions, reduces micro-separations, and enhances durability and flexibility, facilitating automation and collaborative handling with robots and cobots, while lowering power requirements and manufacturing costs.
Implementation Method 1
the flexible materials tend to yield slightly in the shaft area, creating micro-separations between the brushes
Data Source
AI summary
The bristle brush comprises a support plate (1), a plurality of bristles (2) emerging from one of the surfaces thereof, the distal ends of the bristles (2), the ones further from the support plate (1), defining a support surface intended to receive a piece to be transported and/or cut or handled, wherein the distal ends of the plurality of bristles (2) have a semi-spherical or conical shape ending in a tip. It enables a bristle brush to be provided wherein the distal ends of said bristles have a shape which enables the bristles to move when a cutting blade or any other element comes into contact with them, without damaging them.