Modular conveyor belt with tight radius in one curve direction
AssigneeHabasit AG
InventorsWilliam Bickel, Jeffrey Delair
Life of this patent
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AssigneeHabasit AG
InventorsWilliam Bickel, Jeffrey Delair
Estimating the term…
A modular plastic conveyor belt is designed to turn a tight radius in one direction only. Particularly it is designed for use as a spiral conveyor belt, the belt can turn in the opposite direction, but with a much larger radius. At the outer edge of the belt, the link ends or knuckles are larger and heavier for increased strength in accepting tension at the outer edge of the belt. The outside knuckles or link ends are not only wider than at the inside, but they also are longer, with increased material beyond the rod opening for increased tension strength. By having wider link members at the inner edge, the belt can collapse more closely at the inner edge than would be possible if the turn were in the other direction, providing a tighter radius of turn. This is useful in spiral conveyors which ordinarily turn in only one direction through the entire path of travel.
In a modular plastic conveyor belt assembled from a multiplicity of plastic modules in module rows each made up of one or more modules, the belt adapted to travel in a direction generally perpendicular to the module rows, each module having a series of first link ends or knuckles and a series of second link ends or knuckles, the first and second link ends extending in opposite directions from one another and generally perpendicular to the width of the module rows, the link ends each having an aperture, with the apertures of a series of link ends aligned to receive a connecting rod extending through apertures of first link ends of one module row and second link ends of an adjacent module row when the link ends of the two module rows are interdigited in overlapping relationship, and the apertures of the second link ends being elongated slots to allow radius belt travel, a construction which allows a tighter turning radius in one direction of curvature than in an opposite direction of curvature, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.