Replaceable Trolley Conveyor Sprocket Rings for Wear and Noise Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional trolley conveyor sprockets lack support for horizontal roller blocks, leading to chain separation, increased vibration, noise, and excessive wear, resulting in high maintenance and repair costs.
Innovation Solution
A multi-piece conveyor chain driving sprocket design with a disc-shaped body and removably affixed sprocket rings featuring protrusions to support horizontal roller blocks, reducing wear and noise while allowing for easy replacement of wear parts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional sprocket design without protrusions is used, then the structure is simple, but horizontal roller blocks are not supported leading to chain separation and excessive wear
Solution Approach 1:
The sprocket is divided into a main body and removable sprocket rings with teeth. The sprocket rings can be separately replaced when worn, while the main body with protrusions remains. This segmentation allows the support structure (protrusions) to be permanent while the wear-prone teeth are replaceable, resolving the contradiction between reliability and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Protrusions are added as intermediary support elements between the sprocket body and horizontal roller blocks. These protrusions provide the necessary support function without requiring complete redesign of the entire sprocket, enabling reliable chain engagement while maintaining reasonable structural complexity.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional sprocket design is used, then manufacturing is simple, but wear on sprocket teeth is excessive requiring frequent replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The sprocket is segmented into a permanent main body and removable sprocket rings containing the teeth. The rings can be replaced independently when worn, extending the overall service life of the sprocket assembly without requiring replacement of the entire component or complex manufacturing processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The sprocket rings with teeth are designed as consumable components that can be discarded when worn and replaced. The valuable main body structure with protrusions is recovered and reused, significantly extending the service life while keeping manufacturing simple.
3Stability of the object's composition
If conventional sprocket design without support for horizontal roller blocks is used, then the structure is simple, but vibration and noise increase deteriorating transport stability
Solution Approach 1:
The sprocket structure is segmented to include dedicated protrusions that specifically support horizontal roller blocks. This segmentation allows the support function to be added without complicating the overall design, as the protrusions are simple extensions of the existing sprocket body geometry.
4Ease of repair
If conventional sprocket design is used, then maintenance cost is high due to frequent replacement, but adding support structures increases complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The sprocket is segmented into replaceable sprocket rings and a permanent main body. This allows maintenance to be simplified by replacing only the worn rings rather than the entire sprocket, while the added protrusions for supporting horizontal roller blocks become permanent features that reduce vibration and noise long-term.
Solution Approach 2:
The sprocket rings with teeth are designed as inexpensive, replaceable components that can be easily swapped when worn. This disposable approach to the toothed rings, combined with permanent protrusions for support, reduces overall maintenance costs while adding necessary structural complexity only where needed.
Data Source
AI summary
A chain driving sprocket for a trolley conveyor. The chain drive sprocket includes a disc shaped central body, chain rings including a first sprocket ring and a second sprocket ring. The first sprocket ring and the second sprocket ring are each removably affixable to the disc shaped central body. The first and second sprocket rings are each provided with spaced apart teeth pairs having a curved surface therebetween, sized and shaped to receive a horizontal shaft in a vertical roller unit of the trolley conveyor, for driving the chain of a trolley conveyor. The disc shaped central body further includes curved rectangular shaped protrusions which extend radially outward on the circumferential surface of the disc shaped body. The chain rings are configured to be interchangeably coupled to each of the two sides of the disc shaped central body, thereby reducing manufacturing cost and reducing maintenance costs, since the chain rings may be replaced when the teeth pairs wear. Horizontal roller units are supported by protrusions, thereby improving stability and reducing noise generation.