Wing Pulley Helical Wings Material Ejection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wing pulleys in belt conveyors face issues with material damage and belt tracking due to material accumulation, leading to reduced load carrying capacity and pulley damage.
Innovation Solution
A wing pulley design featuring a drum with radially extending helical wings, creating gaps between inner ends of opposing sets of wings to facilitate material ejection and maintain belt alignment, with a robust construction and uniform wing thickness for effective material handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a drum pulley is used, then the structure is simple, but material causes damage to the belt and pulley and leads to loss of tracking
Solution Approach 1:
The pulley is segmented by adding radial wings that divide the drum surface into multiple sections. These wings create gaps between them, allowing material to be ejected from the belt-pulley contact area, preventing material accumulation and tracking loss while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful material is extracted from the belt-pulley contact zone through the gaps between the radial wings. The wings act as barriers that redirect material away from the belt, preventing damage and tracking issues while the pulley structure remains fundamentally simple.
2Device complexity
If material is allowed to accumulate between the wings, then the pulley structure is simple, but material builds up and damages the belt and pulley
Solution Approach 1:
The wing pulley introduces dynamic material ejection through the rotational motion of the wings. As the pulley rotates, the gaps between wings continuously sweep material away from the belt contact area, preventing static accumulation and reducing damage while adding only moderate structural complexity.
3Productivity
If the wings are positioned to maximize material ejection, then material is effectively removed, but belt tracking may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The wing pulley applies different functional qualities to different parts of the structure. The radial wings provide material ejection function, while the drum surface between wings maintains the tracking function. This local differentiation allows both material removal and tracking stability to be optimized simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The wings are positioned asymmetrically with specific spacing and angles optimized for material ejection. The gaps between wings are strategically located to maximize material removal while the overall asymmetric configuration is designed to maintain belt tracking, resolving the contradiction between ejection efficiency and tracking reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A winged pulley for a conveyor belt has a drum with an outside diameter, a first end portion and a second end portion. A hub is located in each end of the drum, with the hub receiving a shaft. A first set of plural radial wings extends from the first end portion of the drum toward the second end portion, and a second set of plural radial wings extends from the second end portion of the drum toward the first end portion. Each of the wings in the first and second sets of wings has an outer end located adjacent the respective first or second end portions. The first and second sets of wings are arranged helically about the drum in opposite orientations. The inner ends of the first set of wings is circumferentially offset from the inner ends of the second set of wings so as to create gaps between the inner ends of the first set of wings and the inner ends of the second set of wings.