Flexible Hopper for Conveyor Misalignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conveyor systems used in cold planers face issues with misalignment and varying material transfer, leading to material loss during the transfer from the first conveyor to the second conveyor, which affects the efficiency and reliability of material handling in road rehabilitation processes.
Innovation Solution
A flexible hopper system is integrated into the conveyor system, featuring a flexible connector and skirt made of overlapping flexible strips that expand or contract to form an enclosure between the discharge ends of the conveyors, ensuring consistent material transfer and accommodating varying amounts of material.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid transfer housing is used to transfer material between conveyors, then structural stability is improved, but adaptability to misalignment and varying material amounts deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the transfer housing flexible rather than rigid. The transfer housing includes a flexible connector and a flexible skirt made of flexible strips that can dynamically adjust their configuration to accommodate misalignment between conveyors and varying material amounts, while still maintaining structural integrity for stable operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by using flexible strips that can change their physical state between extended and retracted positions. This allows the transfer housing to adjust its dimensional parameters (length, shape) in response to misalignment conditions and material volume variations, resolving the contradiction between structural stability and adaptability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the second conveyor is fixed in position, then structural stability is improved, but material transfer efficiency deteriorates due to misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the second conveyor to pivot about its charge end while the transfer housing remains relatively stable. The flexible transfer housing accommodates the dynamic movement of the second conveyor, allowing material transfer efficiency to improve through alignment adjustment while the overall system maintains structural stability.
3Loss of substance
If a fixed enclosure is used for material transfer, then material containment is improved, but flexibility in alignment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies flexible shells by using a flexible skirt made of flexible strips as the enclosure for material transfer. This flexible enclosure can adapt its shape and position to maintain alignment between conveyors and prevent material loss, while simultaneously providing the alignment flexibility needed to handle misalignment conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible enclosure can dynamically adjust its configuration to maintain material containment during conveyor misalignment. The flexible strips can extend and retract, and fold and unfold, to keep the enclosure sealed around the material transfer path regardless of positional variations.
4Stability of the object's composition
If the flexible strips are tightly connected, then enclosure integrity is improved, but flexibility in movement deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the flexible skirt into multiple flexible strips that are connected in a series. This segmentation allows each strip to move independently with sufficient flexibility, while the collective arrangement of multiple strips maintains overall enclosure integrity through their coordinated movement and overlapping configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
Some examples described herein include a flexible hopper for a conveyor system. The flexible hopper may include a hopper weldment attached to a frame of the conveyor, wherein the hopper weldment surrounds a charge end of the conveyor, a flexible connector that is attached to the hopper weldment and configured to enable an opening of the flexible hopper to expand or contract, and a flexible skirt that is folded over the flexible connector. The flexible skirt may include a plurality of flexible strips configured to form an enclosure between the flexible connector and the hopper weldment.