Removable Conveyor Unit With Pivot Belt Release for Easy Cleaning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing endless conveyor devices face challenges in cleaning due to components like drive units for rollers, which hinder the process, especially when conveying food products that require specific material considerations.
Innovation Solution
The design includes a conveyor unit with a drivable belt and a support element featuring a cam that allows the belt to be relaxed by pivoting, enabling easy removal and reinsertion, along with a magnetic system to maintain tension and prevent accidental release, facilitating cleaning and enabling applications like belt weighing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the conveyor device includes drive units and rollers for driving the conveyor belt, then the conveyor device can effectively convey items, but the cleaning process is hampered by these components
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor device is divided into modular components: a stationary drive unit and a removable conveyor unit. The conveyor unit can be detached from the drive unit to provide unrestricted access to all rollers and drive mechanisms for thorough cleaning, eliminating the cleaning access problems caused by integrated designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor unit is designed with dynamic mounting and demountable features, allowing it to be easily attached to and removed from the stationary drive unit. This dynamic configuration enables the conveyor belt to be accessed for cleaning by removing the conveyor unit, while maintaining operational integrity when assembled.
2Reliability
If the conveyor belt is tightly secured to maintain tension during operation, then the conveyor can effectively transmit drive force, but the removal and reinsertion of the conveyor unit becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting mechanism incorporates dynamic elements that allow the conveyor unit to be securely attached during operation for reliable drive force transmission, yet easily detached when removal is needed. The demountable connection enables transition between secured and removed states without permanent fastening.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor unit is pre-configured with mounting features and alignment elements that facilitate quick attachment and detachment. The preliminary design of the mounting mechanism ensures that the conveyor unit can be rapidly secured or removed without complex alignment procedures or specialized tools.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the conveyor device uses traditional fixed mounting for the conveyor belt, then the structure is stable, but the weight and complexity of the device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor system is segmented into a stationary drive unit containing the motor and drive mechanisms, and a removable conveyor unit containing the belt and support rollers. This segmentation eliminates the need for heavy permanent mounting structures throughout the entire device, reducing overall weight while maintaining stability where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor belt itself serves as a flexible structural element that provides the necessary support and tension without requiring rigid mounting structures. The thin film conveyor belt replaces heavy fixed mounting frameworks, reducing device weight while maintaining functional stability during operation.
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
This configuration simplifies the cleaning process, reduces the weight and complexity of the conveyor device, and extends its applications, such as in food product weighing, by allowing for efficient belt tension management and secure attachment.
Implementation Method 1
a magnetic system to maintain tension and prevent accidental release
Data Source
AI summary
An endless conveyor device comprises a conveyor unit having at least one endless conveyor, which is configured to convey items; a drive roller assembly, which is drivable by a drive belt and configured to drive the endless conveyor and has a support element; a deflecting roller assembly and an intermediate body, disposed between the drive roller assembly and the deflecting roller assembly, as well as between a conveying strand and a return strand of the endless conveyor. The endless conveyor device further comprises a drive unit comprising the drive belt, a motor and a support device, which is configured to engage with the support element. The drive belt is relaxable by pivoting the conveyor unit relative to the drive unit about a rotation axis of the drive roller assembly in a first direction. A method for removing a conveyor unit from an endless conveyor device is also provided.