Motorized transfer apparatus for conveyors of bulk objects

A motorized transfer apparatus (10) comprising:

• a conveyor belt (12) movable along a predetermined feeding direction (A), said conveyor belt (12) comprising a plurality of modular elements (14) arranged in sequence and articulated with one another to form a closed loop conveyor belt (12) with articulated links having a predetermined overall length;
• a support structure (16) comprising at least one sliding surface (18) for said conveyor belt (12), said sliding surface (18) having a substantially cross-sectional triangular shape, that is, a section which is parallel with respect to said feeding direction (A), so as to form in sequence:
• a first flat portion (20) of the sliding surface, which is substantially horizontal in the operating configuration of the motorized transfer apparatus (10) and which defines a transport plane for the objects transported by said conveyor belt (12),
• a second flat portion (22) of the sliding surface, which is inclined downward in the operating configuration of the motorized transfer apparatus (10) and defines a descent path for said conveyor belt (12), and
• a third flat portion (24) of the sliding surface, which defines an ascent path for said conveyor belt (12);
• at least one motorized actuator (26) for said conveyor belt (12);
• and
• at least one drive unit (32, 34), inserted inside said support structure (16) and arranged to transmit the motion generated by said motorized actuator (26) to said conveyor belt (12),
• wherein each modular element (14) has a length (L), measured along said feeding direction (A), which is between 1.5% and about 6% of the overall length of said conveyor belt (12), wherein said third flat portion (24) of the sliding surface connects said second flat portion (22) of the sliding surface with said first flat portion (20) of the sliding surface.