EP0453670A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Conveyor
Assignee: John Bean Technologies AB
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Filing: 1990-04-25
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2010-04-25
Abstract
Abstract An endless conveyor having a belt which follows a helical conveying path over part of its length and comprises a plurality of self-supporting tiers, wherein the lowermost tier of the stack is supported by a plurality of trolleys (36) running around a support rail (30), the trolleys being individually driven around the support rail by an internal drum (13) which is driven in rotation also to drive the belt.
Inventors
- 👤 Keith Cawley
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 05:36
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65G; B65G21/00; B65G21/16; B65G21/18; B65G2207/00; B65G2207/24
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
106 words
An endless conveyor having a belt a portion of the length of which is caused to follow a helical conveying path consisting of a plurality of tiers stacked one on top of the other, in self-supporting manner at least on the inside of the path, the belt being drivable by a capstan located inside the helical conveying path and itself drivable in rotation about a generally vertical central axis, characterised in that the lowermost tier of the stack is supported by a plurality of spaced trolleys (36) mounted on a fixed helically extending rail (30), the trolleys being individually driven directly by the internal capstan (13).
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
66 words
A conveyor according to claim 1, characterised in that the helically extending rail (30) extends in a helical path around the major part of a single turn of 360 degrees, and over the remaining minor part has a transition section (34) via which in use the trolleys (36) descend from a raised end of said major part to a lower starting point of said major part.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
41 words
A conveyor according to claim 2, characterised in that, above the transition section (34), the conveyor belt is supported by a fixed transition plate (44), beyond the end of which begins the next tier of the stack above the lowermost tier.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
62 words
A conveyor according to claim 1 or claim 2 or claim 3, characterised in that the trolleys (36) have a vertical component of movement while travelling around the support rail and, for enabling this component of movement whilst also being driven around the support ring, are slidably attached to vertical guides (22) carried by or forming part of the internal capstan (13).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
40 words
A conveyor according to claim 4, characterised in that the support rail (30) is a rail of generally round cross-section, the trolleys (36) each having at least one wheel (62) with a concavely curved rim for running on said rail.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
52 words
A conveyor according to claim 5, characterised in that each trolley (36) has a pair of opposed rollers (60) which engage opposite sides of the vertical guides (22) of the capstan in order to maintain the trolley in a generally constant or upright orientation whilst being driven around the support rail (30).
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
43 words
A conveyor according to claim 5 or claim 6, characterised in that the wheel or wheels (62) on each trolley (36) is or are spring mounted to allow limited movements thereof generally along the radius of the helix defined by the support rail.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
46 words
A conveyor according to claim 7, characterised in that said wheel or wheels (62) is or are carried by a supporting element (52) which forms part of the trolley (36) and is pivotally mounted about a vertical axis to allow limited turning movement of the wheels.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
53 words
A conveyor according to any of claims 5 to 8, characterised in that at least the major components of the trolleys (36), and especially the at least one wheel (62) and the opposed rollers (60) thereof, are made of an ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) plastics material which has a low coefficient of friction.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
43 words
A conveyor according to any of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the conveyor is self-stacking by means of spacer plates on the inside of the helical path and is supported by a fixed helical guide on the outside of said path.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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