Conveyor Belt Splice With Reverse-Turn Edge Rod Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional conveyor belts require specialized tools and skilled labor for maintenance and repair due to button head or clinched rod ends, leading to increased downtime and resource challenges in a market with decreasing maintenance resources and skill levels.
Innovation Solution
A conveyor belt system featuring a reverse-turn closed edge on outer edge links that restricts rod movement, allowing for easy insertion and locking of rods without welding or clenching, and enables quick splicing and repair with minimal tools and skill.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If button head or clinched rod ends are used for rod retention, then the conveyor belt can maintain structural integrity, but specialized tools and skilled labor are required for maintenance and repair
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using button head or clinched rod ends that require specialized tools for installation and removal, the patent inverts the approach by using a rod end design that is easily inserted and retained through the reverse-turn closed edge geometry. The rod end simply passes through the closed edge and is automatically retained, eliminating the need for welding or clenching operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the complex welding and clenching operations from the rod retention system. By removing these specialized processes and replacing them with a simple mechanical retention system using the reverse-turn closed edge, the maintenance complexity is significantly reduced while structural integrity is maintained.
2Strength
If welding or clenching operations are used to secure rod ends, then strong mechanical connection is achieved, but increased downtime and resource requirements result
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the thermal and mechanical processes of welding and clenching with a purely mechanical retention system. The reverse-turn closed edge geometry provides automatic retention of the rod end through simple insertion, eliminating the need for energy-intensive welding or clenching operations and significantly reducing maintenance time.
3Manufacturing precision
If specialized tools such as grinders and bolt cutters are used for belt splicing, then precise cutting and connection are achieved, but resource requirements and skill levels must be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the need for specialized cutting tools like grinders and bolt cutters from the belt splicing process. The reverse-turn closed edge design allows for simple mechanical insertion and retention of rod ends, eliminating the need for precision cutting operations and specialized tools while maintaining connection integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
A splice system for a conveyor belt system includes a plurality of spaced tractive rods; a plurality of rows of flat wire pickets transversely disposed with respect to a direction of travel and interconnecting the plurality of spaced tractive rods, wherein at least one of the rows of flat wire pickets includes an outer edge link on each end thereof, the outer edge link including a reverse-turn closed edge on an outer side thereof; and wherein movement of at least one of the plurality of rods is restricted by the reverse-turn closed edge on the outer edge link.