Truck Conveyor Belt with Intermediate Rollers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle body designs for transporting objects, particularly in semi-trailers, face challenges due to non-standard chassis dimensions and large holes in the side walls caused by the installation of conveyor belts and tensioning systems, making it difficult to resell the vehicles at the end of their life.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a second conveyor adjacent to the first, with a common drive roller system positioned between them, eliminating the need for side-mounted drive devices and using intermediate rollers to compensate for belt expansion, thus allowing for standard chassis dimensions and easier disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a conveyor belt is permanently installed on the floor of the vehicle body with a drive device placed at one of the lateral ends, then the conveyor can transport loose objects towards the open rear end for unloading, but the chassis of the vehicle has non-standard dimensions and large holes in the side walls
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor system is divided into a removable conveyor belt component and a fixed drive device component. The conveyor belt can be detached and removed from the vehicle body, allowing the vehicle to be resold for other uses while retaining the drive device infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor belt is designed to be dynamically removable rather than permanently fixed. This allows the system to transition between two states: operational state with conveyor belt installed for unloading capability, and resale state with conveyor belt removed to restore standard vehicle dimensions.
2Ease of operation
If the drive device is placed at one of the lateral ends of the conveyor belt in the side wall of the box, then the conveyor can be driven in translation, but the vehicle chassis has non-standard dimensions and is notably narrower than conventional semi-trailer chassis
Solution Approach 1:
The drive device is extracted from the lateral side wall position and relocated to a position at one of the longitudinal ends of the vehicle body, preferably at the rear end. This extraction eliminates the need for large holes in the side walls and allows the vehicle to maintain standard chassis dimensions while still providing effective conveyor operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The drive device positioning transitions from a lateral dimension (side wall mounting) to a longitudinal dimension (end wall mounting). This dimensional change allows the drive mechanism to function effectively while preserving the standard width dimensions of the vehicle chassis.
3Productivity
If the conveyor belt extends substantially over the entire surface of the floor of the box, then the conveyor can transport bulk objects, but the vehicle requires large holes in the side walls for tensioning system access and maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The tensioning system is designed with access through the longitudinal end walls rather than through the side walls. This intermediary approach to access routing allows the conveyor belt to extend across the entire floor surface for bulk transport while maintaining the integrity and standard dimensions of the side walls.
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 enables the use of standard semi-trailer chassis, reduces manufacturing costs, and facilitates easier resale by eliminating non-standard dimensions and access holes, while maintaining efficient object transportation and unloading capabilities.
Implementation Method 1
the empty return strand forming under the action of its own weight a chain of variable depth between two intermediate rollers so as to compensate for the expansion of the band
Implementation Method 2
a geared motor and the drive device comprises a driving member at the output of the geared motor
Implementation Method 3
the inclined plane is arranged in an inclined manner downwards and rearwards with respect to the plane of the conveyor belts
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The truck box has a conveying device with a conveyer arranged in an inner transport space of the trunk box, and another conveyer (24B) adjacent to the former conveyer. Each conveyer comprises a driven roller (33) driven by a driven device (28) that is coupled to the roller between the conveyors. The device comprises a belt (54) for connecting a driving component i.e. pinion (48), to a driven component i.e. sprocket (51), where the driving component is placed in an outlet of a gear motor (M). The driving component and the gear motor are arranged under a lower wall (23) of the truck box.