Modular Elevating Conveyor with Centering Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional elevating conveyors are custom-made for specific heights, leading to high transportation costs and susceptibility to damage, require complex bearing configurations, and need extensive disassembly for belt servicing or replacement.
Innovation Solution
A modular elevating conveyor with a vertical helical flight and rotatable tubular barrel, featuring a centering assembly with movable rollers and a dust recovery system, allowing for adjustable height assembly, convenient storage, and reduced disassembly needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional elevating conveyors are custom-made for specific heights, then the conveyor can be tailored to the exact application needs, but transportation costs increase and the components become susceptible to damage during transportation
Solution Approach 1:
The elevating conveyor is divided into multiple modular sections that can be assembled in different configurations. Each module contains a complete set of components including the barrel, elevating member, and support structure, allowing the conveyor to be transported in compact units and assembled to various heights on-site without requiring transportation of long, custom-length components
2Manufacturing precision
If conventional elevating conveyors use complex bearing configurations to keep the rotating barrel centered, then the clearance between barrel and elevating member is maintained, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor system automatically centers the rotating barrel through its modular structural design and geometric constraints, eliminating the need for complex bearing configurations. The barrel is guided by the modular frame structure itself, which provides natural alignment and centering as the modules are assembled, thereby maintaining precise clearance without additional centering mechanisms
3Ease of operation
If drive belts are used to rotate the barrel relative to the elevating member, then the barrel rotation is achieved, but extensive disassembly is required when belts need servicing or replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The drive belt system is integrated into modular sections of the conveyor, allowing the belts to be accessed and serviced by simply disassembling the specific module containing the belt rather than requiring disassembly of the entire conveyor system. Each module can be independently opened and reconfigured for belt maintenance
Data Source
AI summary
In one aspect, an elevating conveyor includes a vertical elevating member having a helical flight and a tubular barrel surrounding the elevating member. The tubular barrel is rotatable relative to the elevating member and is directed toward a centered position with respect to the elevating member by a centering assembly. In one embodiment, the centering assembly includes a plurality of rollers spaced circumferentially around the barrel and being movable in directions toward or away from the barrel. In another aspect, the conveyor has a modular construction that facilitates storage, transportation, and assembly of the conveyor in various heights. The elevating conveyor may further include a dust tube surrounding the barrel and defining a chamber therebetween. An end cap extends over and is spaced from the second end of the dust tube to define a gap through which dust generated by operation of the conveyor is drawn into the chamber.