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US 2003/0196875 A1Published application
Conveyor roller nip point automatic protection decvice
AssigneeNone recorded
InventorBert Y. Bube
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AssigneeNone recorded
InventorBert Y. Bube
Estimating the term…
In industrial belted conveying systems, it is common to have a pull chord extending longitudinally along the conveyor, sometimes one chord on each side of the conveyor, said chord being attached to a trip mechanism, or safety switch. A number of serious accidents have occurred in the industry due to unprotected nip points at the return idlers under these conveyors. Accidents were the result of these pull chords not being easily accessible for manual activation of the safety features. In this invention, a primary pull chord is placed near the nip point, inserted through guides, and linked to one or more secondary longitudinal pull chord(s). The primary pull chord may be sleeved with a semi-rigid, pliable rod as additional support between the guides. Further, this semi-rigid rod may be encapsulated in a lightweight foamy tube to give it bulkiness. In the event of an inadvertent incident, the primary pull chord is entrained into the nip point, pulling the secondary longitudinal pull chord which then trips the safety switch, automatically disabling the conveyor drive.
A belted conveyor roller nip point automatic protection device comprising of a primary pull chord length, sleeved with a shorter semi-rigid pliable support rod;
A belted conveyor roller nip point automatic protection device comprising of a primary pull chord length, sleeved with a shorter semi-rigid pliable support rod;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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Control devices
Transport or storage devices
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to novel and advantageous improvements to belted conveyor safety devices. It is common to have a pull chord extending longitudinally along the side of industrial materials handling conveyors, sometimes one chord on each side of the conveyor. These chords are generally rigidly attached at one end, then threaded through the center of eyebolts along the length of the conveyor, and are finally fastened at the other end to a trip mechanism, or safety switch. These devices are un-affectionately known as ‘Dead-Man Switches’.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of one embodiment, and;
FIG. 2 is a more detailed elevation sectional view of another embodiment.
Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawings which designate identical or corresponding practical embodiments of the invention throughout the several views, FIG. 1 illustrates a primary pull chord 10, which spans across a conveyor 20 and parallel to a return idler 21 for the conveyor belt 22, said primary chord spotted in close proximity upstream to the nip point 23 between the conveyor belt motion 24 and the return idler rotation 25.
The free-standing primary pull chord 10 would eventually droop downwards because of thermal variations, or age. As a preventative measure, the primary pull chord 10 is sleeved with a semi-rigid, yet pliable support rod 11.
Each end of the primary pull chord 10 is then reeved through a guide 30 rigidly attached to the side of the conveyor 20, until each end of the support rod 11 rests onto their respective guides 30.