Center Loading Assembly for Conveyor Belt
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Belt conveyors experience lateral shifting due to fixed conveyor belt covering skirts, leading to off-centered loading and potential fouling of idler and drive pulleys, which results in material spillage, maintenance issues, and equipment damage.
Innovation Solution
A center loading assembly with a carriage and carriage support that includes angled side members with side rollers and adjustable pivoting carriage support arms, allowing the conveyor belt to remain centered by engaging side rollers on either side as it shifts, ensuring material is loaded onto the belt's center portion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fixed conveyor belt covering skirts are used, then the structure is simple and stable, but the conveyor belt shifts laterally causing off-centered loading and potential fouling of pulleys
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the carriage and covering skirts movable rather than fixed. The carriage is equipped with rollers that allow it to move laterally in response to belt position changes, and the covering skirts are attached to the carriage so they move with it. This dynamic adjustment enables the system to track the belt's lateral shifts and maintain centered loading, resolving the contradiction between reliability and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback through the interaction between the belt edge and the carriage rollers. As the belt shifts laterally, its edge contacts the rollers on the carriage, creating a feedback mechanism that automatically positions the carriage and covering skirts to follow the belt's position. This passive feedback system maintains centered loading without requiring active control systems, balancing reliability improvement with moderate complexity.
2Reliability
If V-shaped rollers on a V-shaped track are used to track belt movement, then the carriage can follow lateral shifts, but friction increases and derailing occurs frequently
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies inversion by reversing the traditional V-shaped track configuration. Instead of having V-shaped rollers on a V-shaped track, the patent uses a flat or slightly curved track with rollers that have a different contact geometry. This inversion reduces the friction between the rollers and track while maintaining the carriage's ability to follow lateral belt shifts, thereby reducing derailing incidents and harmful friction effects.
3Device complexity
If open roller and track arrangement is used, then the structure is simple, but debris from load material frequently fouls the mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the principle of flexible shells and thin films by using a covering skirt that acts as a protective barrier. The covering skirt is a flexible element that extends over the roller and track mechanism, preventing debris from load material from directly contacting and fouling these components. This protective covering reduces maintenance requirements while maintaining the simplicity of the overall structure, resolving the contradiction between device complexity and debris fouling.
4Productivity
If the carriage is designed to operate in a circular path, then maximum loading capacity is achieved, but the mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies spheroidality (curvature) by designing the carriage and covering skirts to move along a curved or circular path that matches the belt's trajectory during loading. This curved motion path allows the carriage to optimize its position for maximum loading capacity while the simplicity of the roller-and-track mechanism keeps the overall device complexity manageable. The curvature principle enables the system to achieve high productivity without excessive mechanical complexity.
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 solution effectively maintains the conveyor belt's center position, preventing material spillage, reducing maintenance costs, and minimizing the risk of equipment damage by using vertical and side bearings to facilitate smooth movement and debris protection.
Implementation Method 1
The carriage support has vertical bearings attached thereto to support the carriage as the carriage moves from the left side to the right side and vice versa
Implementation Method 2
The carriage support also has side bearings attached thereto to hold the carriage in position on the vertical bearings
Implementation Method 3
When the conveyor belt shifts to the left side the conveyor belt engages the side roller near the left side and moves the carriage to the left side
Data Source
AI summary
A center loading assembly for a conveyor belt having a carriage support attached to a belt conveyor main frame and having a carriage within the carriage support. The carriage has a center member with side members extending at an angle therefrom, each having an upward extension. The upward extensions have side rollers and conveyor belt covering skirts and keep the conveyor belt centered between the conveyor belt covering skirts. The carriage support has vertical bearings to support the carriage and side bearings to hold the carriage on the vertical bearings. The carriage and conveyor belt covering skirts follow a trough angle of the conveyor belt as the conveyor belt shifts. Material deposited onto the conveyor belt is deflected to the center portion of the conveyor belt by the conveyor belt covering skirts.