Modular Conveyor Belt with Interleaved Spheres
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional modular conveyor belts face issues with high backline pressure, difficulty in cleaning due to roller surfaces, and reduced belt pull strength, which can lead to damage and bacterial contamination in industries like meat-handling.
Innovation Solution
A modular conveyor belt design featuring rollers supported between modules, with axles extending through the rollers to allow for low-friction contact and easy cleaning, and the option to orient rollers at various angles or replace them with spheres for enhanced performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If rollers are placed on the pivot rod to reduce backline pressure, then friction is reduced and backline pressure decreases, but the belt pull strength is reduced due to fewer or thinner link ends
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor belt is divided into modular belt modules that can be independently configured. Rollers are integrated into specific modules rather than requiring modification of all link ends, allowing segmentation of the belt structure to maintain strength while providing rolling contact where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The roller is nested within the belt module structure, with the roller supported by the module's link ends. This nesting allows the roller to be contained within the existing module geometry without requiring additional external support structures that would compromise belt strength.
2Productivity
If rollers are used to reduce friction and backline pressure, then object transfer efficiency improves, but cleaning difficulty increases due to many surfaces and nooks and crannies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional cylindrical rollers with spherical elements. The spherical shape eliminates the axial surfaces and edge nooks that are difficult to clean, while maintaining the rolling contact function. Balls can be easily wiped or rinsed clean compared to rollers with complex geometries.
Solution Approach 2:
The belt modules are designed with smooth, light-colored surfaces that make contamination visible and facilitate cleaning verification. The modular design allows for easy disassembly and cleaning of individual modules.
3Device complexity
If link ends are made thinner to accommodate rollers on pivot rod, then roller installation is simplified, but belt pull strength is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The roller support function is merged into the belt module design itself. The link ends are designed to inherently support the roller through integrated bearing surfaces and mounting features, eliminating the need for separate pivot rod mechanisms and thin link end configurations.
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 reduces backline pressure, facilitates easy cleaning, and maintains belt strength, ensuring efficient object transfer while minimizing damage and bacterial growth.
Implementation Method 1
Rotatable elements, such as rollers, in rolling contact with the undersides of conveyed articles have been used to reduce friction and lower backline pressure.
Implementation Method 2
A pivot rod, or hinge pin, journalled in the aligned apertures of the end-to-end-connected rows, connects adjacent rows together to form an endless conveyor belt capable of articulating about a drive sprocket.
Data Source
AI summary
A series of rows of belt modules wherein a first one of the rows may have a plurality of hinge elements along an end of the first row. A second one of the rows may have a plurality of hinge elements along an end of the second row. The plurality of hinge elements of the first row may be interleaved with the plurality of hinge elements of the second row. A pivot rod may extend through the plurality of hinge elements of both the first row and the second row so as to pivotally join the first row to the second row. A sphere may be supported from a first module of the first row and supported from a second module of the first row, so that the sphere resides between the first module and the second module and so that the sphere extends above the modules in order to allow an object, which is to be conveyed by the conveyor belt, to be supported on the sphere. The modules may be moved in a belt travel direction in order to convey the object from a first location to a second location.