Wire-Hook Conveyor Connector with Fabric Carrier

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing wire-hook connectors for conveyor belts are complex and time-consuming to install, requiring multiple work steps and materials like paper or cardboard that need to be removed, and they can cause damage to conveyed items and operators due to exposed wire parts.

Innovation Solution

A wire-hook connector with individual wire hooks spaced apart and held on a plastic or textile fabric carrier material, which guides and stabilizes the hooks during installation and remains in place to cover and protect the conveyor splice, eliminating the need for a crosswire and simplifying the installation process.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If paper or cardboard carrier material is used for wire-hook connectors, then the wire hooks are guided uniformly during installation, but the carrier material must be removed after installation which is time-intensive

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveguidance of wire hooks during installationVSAvoidtime for removing carrier material

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent removes the paper or cardboard carrier material entirely from the wire-hook connector system. Instead, the wire hooks are directly attached to each other forming a continuous connector structure that provides guidance during installation without requiring removal afterward, thus eliminating the time-consuming removal step while maintaining installation guidance functionality

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent merges the carrier material function directly into the wire-hook connector structure by creating a continuous metal connector where the wire hooks are interconnected. This integration eliminates the separate carrier material component, combining the guidance function and the connector function into a single unified structure that remains in place after installation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

2Reliability

If wire hooks are installed with high pressure to ensure grip, then the connector reliability improves, but the installation process becomes more complex and time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegrip strength of wire-hook connectorVSAvoidcomplexity of installation process

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the wire-hook connector into individual wire hooks that are attached to a continuous connector body at specific spacing intervals. This segmentation allows each wire hook to be independently positioned and pressed into the conveyor belt at optimal pressure points, ensuring reliable grip while simplifying the overall installation process through modular attachment

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The wire hooks are pre-attached to the connector body in a controlled manufacturing environment, forming a complete connector assembly before installation. This preliminary action ensures proper spacing and alignment of all wire hooks, so that during installation, the entire connector can be installed as a unit with uniform pressure distribution, reducing installation complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If pre-treatment of conveyor ends is performed to improve wire-hook connector grip, then the connector reliability improves, but the installation time and production downtime increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegrip strength of wire-hook connectorVSAvoidproduction downtime for pre-treatment

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The connector body and wire hooks are pre-assembled and pre-positioned in the correct configuration during manufacturing. This preliminary preparation allows the connector to be installed as a complete unit without requiring on-site pre-treatment of the conveyor ends, eliminating production downtime while ensuring proper installation geometry for reliable grip

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Object-affected harmful factors

If wire hooks are covered to protect conveyed items from damage, then the safety improves, but the visibility and accessibility of the connector decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedamage to conveyed itemsVSAvoidvisibility of connector components

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses the thin metal connector body itself as a covering element that envelops and protects the wire hooks. The connector body acts as a flexible shell that contains the wire hooks within its structure, providing protection to conveyed items while maintaining the visibility of the connector's location and orientation through the metal body's presence

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Data Source

PatentUS7762390B2Wire-hook connector and conveyor or belt end provided therewith

Publication Date: 2010.07.27 WILHELM SUELZLE E K

AI summary

Wire-hook connectors with a series of individual wire hooks that are not connected to one another, are arranged spaced apart by pair and parallel to one another, and are held only on strip-like carrier material, which is a film, fabric or shaped plastic part, in corresponding openings. The wire hooks are fabricated of, for example, round or flat steel wire, each of which has two hook legs that are unequal in length and that run at an angle to one another on either side of the buckling area formed thereby. The hook legs have hook tips at ends thereof that are bent towards one another, whereby a wire hook is arranged centrally between a mutually adjacent pair of mutually parallel wire hooks, with mirror symmetry with respect to the plane formed by the angle bisectors thereof.